One of our favorite desserts are these little
Chocolate Chip Cannoli. The kids absolutely love them and they are really easy to make. We have tried a few different recipes over the years and this is the one we settled on. This recipe is the one my brother and sister in-law asked me to make for their wedding..what an honor...no pressure or anything! They turned out great and this simple dessert has become a regular for us! 

You will find them at the bakery with pistachio bits on the end. The kids are not a fan of the texture of the nuts on the end so we leave those off. Our favorite way to fill them is with tiny chocolate chip bits. I like to use the small cannoli shells instead of the larger ones. The mini make a perfect little snack! 

I am not certain of the origin of this recipe. In the attempts to find just the right one for the wedding 
we had several we were working from and this is a combination of several. Feel free to substitute whatever you would like for the chocolate chips. 

Hope you enjoy! 

To make the Cannoli you will need: 

1 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese (I use whole milk ricotta)
1 cup of powdered sugar
1/2 cup of whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 oz dark chocolate chopped up into tiny bits or grated with a microplane.

Grate or chop the chocolate and set aside. Mix the remaining ingredients together then add the chocolate. Do not over mix once you have added the chocolate, especially if you grated the chocolate. It will melt and change the appearance of the tiny bits mixed into the cheese mixture.

Once mixed I spoon the mixture into a disposable icing bag. Once full I snip off a small bit from the tip of the bag. Then stick the tip of the icing bag into the cannoli shell and fill. I usually fill from both ends instead of pushing the mixture through from one side. 

Once the cannoli shells have been filled I will sprinkle a bit of powdered sugar or cocoa powder on the top and serve. 

It is best to fill the cannoli right before you serve them so that the cannoli shells stay crisp. Otherwise the shell will soften with the moisture of the filling. 

The filling will keep in the bag for up to four days.  

This weekend was full of baking for dear ones as there were celebrations all around! I made two of my favorite cakes for a sweet friend and her high school graduate. These were special requests made just for them.

The Chocolate Whiskey Cake with Whiskey Caramel Sauce is one you have all seen before. It was Greg's 40th Birthday cake. It is a family and friend favorite and requested quite frequently. This cake was the top seller at the children's school auction this past year! What am I going to make next year?! 

The Coconut Layer Cake is one of my favorite cakes to make and to eat! I don't make it very often so when I do it is a real treat. The recipe came from the Tyler Florence Family Meal Cookbook. It is a beautiful book with several amazing dishes in it. 

I have adapted this recipe a bit. It calls for 2 cups of sweetened shredded coconut in the frosting. The original instructions said to toast those 2 cups of coconut and stir the toasted into the frosting and reserve 1/2 cup for the top. I could only find the really finely shredded sweetened coconut and did not like the look of the little brown pieces in the icing so I just added 1 1/2 cups of un-toasted shredded coconut to the icing and then put the bigger toasted flakes on as another layer. It is a beautiful cake. 

Check out the Chocolate Whiskey Cake and Coconut Layer Cake recipes...


To make the Chocolate Whiskey cake you will need:

The Cake: 
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sifted dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup whole buttermilk
2 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup decent quality Tennessee whiskey or bourbon

The Caramel Sauce:
1 cup granulated sugar
pinch cream of tartar
1/4 cup water
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 1/2 tablespoons whiskey or bourbon

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Butter a standard (12-cup) bunt pan. Dust with 1 tablespoon each flour and cocoa powder, and tap and turn until pan is completely coated. Dump out excess.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, whisking until thoroughly combined. Add eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla and mix with an electric mixer on medium-low speed until dry ingredients are almost incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add warm water and whiskey and mix until just combined and no dry ingredients remain. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the deepest part of the pan comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack until cool enough to handle, then gently invert onto a wire rack. Allow to cool completely.

To prepare caramel, place sugar and cream of tartar in a medium, high-sided saucepan set over medium-high heat. Pour water around edges. Bring to a boil, then cover and cook for 2 minutes (the steam buildup will help dissolve any stray sugar crystals on the sides). Remove cover and continue to boil, without stirring, until sugar caramelizes to a light amber color, about 5 to 7 minutes. Watch it carefully, as it can go from golden brown to burnt in no time if left unattended.

Remove from heat and quickly whisk in cream and butter (mixture will bubble vigorously), then return to low heat and whisk until completely smooth. It may seem like it is seizing, but keep whisking and all the hard caramel chunks should dissolve. Remove from heat and let cool for about 2 minutes, then stir in whiskey. Transfer to a heat-proof container and let cool to room temperature, about 1 hour, or until thickened yet still pourable. 

Pour about half of the caramel over the top of cake, letting it drip down the edges and pool at the base. Slice and serve and drizzle with additional caramel as desired. Cake will keep, stored in an airtight container, for up to 5 days.

***I successfully cut this recipe in half and made and adorable little bundt cake. This is definitely one I will make again and give as gifts. 

I found this recipe a few years ago on a great food blog called Love of Olive Oil. They have some really amazing food. Be sure to check them out! 

To make the Coconut Layer Cake you will need: 

The Cake: 
1 package yellow cake mix (one without pudding included)
1 3.4 oz package of instant vanilla pudding
4 large eggs
1/4 cup coconut or vegetable oil
2 cups of sweetened shredded coconut

The Frosting:
1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut 
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter (at room temperature)
8 oz cream cheese (at room temperature)
2 teaspoons of whole milk
3 1/2 cups of sifted powdered sugar 
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups of unsweetened coconut flakes

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Butter and flour 3 9-inch round cake pans. 

In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, pudding, eggs, oil, and 1 1/2 cups of water. Mix with an electric mixer on medium speed until well combined. Once combined stir in the coconut. 

Distribute the cake batter evenly in the 3 pans and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean in the center of the cake. 

Once the cakes are out of the oven spread the 1 1/2 cups of unsweetened flakes of coconut on a cookie sheet and toast in the oven for 10 minutes or until they are lightly browned. Set them aside to cool. 

Combine the butter and cream cheese in a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until fluffy. Adding one ingredient at a time, making sure that it is completely incorporated into the mixture, add the milk, powdered sugar, then vanilla. Finally, stir in the 
1 1/2 cups of sweetened shredded coconut. 

To assemble the cake, place one layer on a cake plate and spread with a layer of frosting. Sprinkle a handful of the toasted coconut on top. Repeat this process with the two remaining layers. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

A big thanks to Alex for a wonderful evening at Moving Sidewalk! We look forward to coming by again soon! 

Happy Birthday…Are you surprised? I really meant to have this working so I would be able to launch it on your birthday, but it wasn't the way I wanted it yet so I chose to wait. It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that it took me a bit longer than it should have to figure it out…but for the most part I have. There are only a few food entries. That will increase since I now have the framework in place, but it is killing me not to share this with you. So here you go. 

I am excited for the challenge this gives me and am looking forward to cooking you more great food. 

I love cooking almost as much as I love you. Thank you for always encouraging me to do what I love. 
 
Happy birthday my love ~ R

My goal is to get this up and running before Greg's birthday. I never surprise him. He ALWAYS figures out what his gifts are going to be. It really stinks… so me doing my own blog and getting all the pictures and text and links and attachments uploaded and working myself…that will definitely be a SURPRISE! Technology and I are not exactly compatible. I am constantly asking him to help me with the computer and my phone…it's really not a skill of mine. What I love to do is cook and I wish I would take the time to do is keep track and share the recipes I like. This blog takes care of all that, plus if it all goes well, I will be able to answer my own technology questions. I just have to learn how to do it! Yikes!

So here we go. The other day I posted my first recipe and picture…Yeah! I am feeling really good about this. I spent the day designing and uploading, adding pages and pictures and click…it is posted onto a web site that I will give Greg in a few days. SURPRISE!! 

Well…that was my plan. Just a bit ago as I was scrolling the pages I saw that I had comments…Comments? How can I have comments? Who on earth is going to find this website and make a comment? Then I realize the comment tag is by the Facebook icon. What? I inadvertently linked the page to my FB page, which I wanted to do at some point but not yet. As it turns out my family and friends like the Coconut Muffin recipe. Great…it really is delicious but I wasn't ready for anyone to see this yet! I have only published some lame text on a few pages and a list of incomplete recipes. Can I fix it, delete it? Aaaghh….I will try again tomorrow. 

The first time I made this muffin I was trying to find something good for Sister Edna Ann. She loves coconut just like my Gram! These muffins are delicious and Gram would have LOVED them too! This is my first food post because it is one of my favorite food pictures! Along with trying to figure out how to cook good food, write a blog and figure out all of the  technology that goes into this attempt at Mastering of Something…I also want to learn how take, edit and share good pictures of my food and family. I am starting my blog with this picture however, because it came out AWESOME the first time…no edits needed! 

These muffins really are as good as they look and did I mention they are pretty healthy too?    

Check out the recipe! It is from one of my favorite cooking websites…Smitten Kitchen! 

To make these Coconut Muffins you will need: 

1/2 cup virgin coconut oil
3/4 cup of flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 cup greek yogurt at room temperature 
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cups sweetened shredded coconut, divided

Preheat your oven to 375*. Grease or line your standard muffin tins. In a small saucepan warm up your coconut oil just until it melts. In a medium bowl you will whisk together your flours, baking powder and salt. Stirring in 1/2 cup of the shredded coconut. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, sugar, coconut oil, yogurt and vanilla. Stir this into your flour mixture just until combined. Fill your muffin cups with the batter and sprinkle the tops with the remaining coconut (about 1-2 teaspoons on each). Bake 20 minutes or until the tester comes out clean. Transfer to a rack to cool. 

These muffins are best the day of, but are good 3-4 days later if stored in an airtight container at room temperature.