Category Archives: Sweet Tooth

Arroz con Leche (Mexican Rice Pudding)

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Ever since I got back from Portugal I’ve been in an international state of mind. It’s still pretty cold in Philly and I wanted something hot and sweet. I decided to toy with the idea of making a rice pudding and found a Mexican recipe for arroz con leche. Luckily, I had most of the ingredients in my fridge and although it was a lengthy cooking time, it was very easy to make. Also its funny how many cultures eat similar variations of rice pudding – North Indians make a twist on this called Kheer with cardamom. (Had to toss that tip out there since Jess is obsessed with cardamom these days, did you try her cookies?)

  • 1 tsp almond extract (my 1st batch I definitely put too much-yikes!)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup white, long grain rice
  • so the recipe said 7 cups of water I did like 3 cups I don’t get why you need 7 but just letting you guys know.
  • 1 handful of raisins (optional)
  • 1 handful of slivered almonds (optional)
  • 1 14 oz can of sweet condensed milk
  • 1 12 oz can of evaporated milk
  • 1 cup of whole milk
  • 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Put the water, rice, and cinnamon in a medium-size heavy saucepan set over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, uncovered, and cook until the rice is tender, about 18 minutes. Strain out the excess liquid and reserve the rice. Return the rice to the saucepan. Stir in the evaporated milk, condensed milk, and whole milk (Along with the extracts I added to the original recipe, this is also where you could add the cardamom seeds-remove from pods) . Continue cooking over medium-high heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook, uncovered, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick, about 20 minutes. Add the raisins & almonds and stir well. Transfer the pudding to a serving bowl. Dust the top of the pudding with ground cinnamon to look pretty and serve!

FYI: this recipe is GLUTEN-free, Vegetarian, and serves 4-5 people.

Happy Eating, XO.

Tea Time: Lemon Cookies

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In an attempt to drink less coffee I don’t allow myself to have a cup post lunch. Having said that though, sometimes the work day can drag and we all need a little afternoon pick me up. I have been turning to tea at around 2:30pm daily. (Earl Grey has been my jam although I try to mix it up with Green tea every so often for the antioxidants).

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Ok so I digress, with tea time I often crave a little snack. So, I thought of doing something sweet, but nothing too heavy that it will make you lethargic for the remainder of your day. When poking around the world wide web I came upon this easy cookie recipe and when I brought them into work I got mouthfuls of thumbs ups and yays from everyone. Hope you enjoy as well! (Also go out and buy a nice tea cup and matching saucer as it makes tea time more special, pretentious, fun etc…I got 4 recently! Some even monogrammed for the true tea snob factor.)

  • 1 box of store bought lemon cake mix
  • 1 lemon’s zest (if you don’t have a zester, a boxed grater works well also)
  • 1 tub of cool whip
  • 1 egg
  • Powdered sugar

Mix the first 4 ingredients well and the spoon mixture into the powdered sugar. The batter will be very sticky so you will need to coat with the powdered sugar in order to form into balls for baking sheet. I would do a little bowl of powdered sugar in which you can drop the spoonfuls into the bowl, as this can get messy if you don’t have it all set up beforehand. Lay out on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Let them sufficiently cool after you remove from oven as they will still be too soft to handle/will break if touched right after cooking.

Lemon tea cookies

Happy Eating, XO.

Italian Love Cake: Happy Valentine’s Day

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Not sure on the history of why this is called love cake, but I will tell you its two major components are items I love dearly: chocolate & cheese!! (It’s ricotta, chill) Anyway, it’s not super laborious, but it’s also not your traditional cake. Set aside a good amount of time to make this and it’s actually best if you make the night before serving. Also! there’s an element of magic involved. That’s right kids, magic.

  • 1 boxed chocolate cake mix AND the ingredients listed on the box (I know I’m a disappointment to Martha but whatever, I love me a solid shortcut)
  • 2 lbs. (32 ounces) ricotta cheese (seemed like an insane amount when I was buying it but is actually the right quantity)
  • 4 eggs
  • 3/4 cup sugar (my coworkers seemed to think 1 cup would’ve been better as that layer wasn’t quite as sweet, so use your judgment)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 (5.1 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
  • 1 cup cold milk (yes that seems like too little, but just trust the recipe please, also I may swap this for Kahlua next time and see if that improves/ruins this “frosting”)
  • 8 ounces Cool Whip

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 9×13 inch pan and set aside. In a large bowl, prepare your cake mix batter according to the directions on the box. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a super strong whisking arm like mine), beat together the ricotta cheese, eggs, sugar, and vanilla until smooth.

Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking pan and use an off-set spatula to spread evenly in the pan. Next, carefully pour the ricotta mixture evenly over the top of the cake batter. Gently spread the ricotta mixture so it evenly covers the cake batter. (The layers will switch while baking so the ricotta moves to the bottom and cake to the top – like magic or the scientific reason that ricotta weighs more than cake batter, whatever I am sticking with MAGIC.)

Bake for 60 minutes or until cake is set. Let cake cool completely before “frosting.”

Once the cake is cool, whisk together the pudding mix and milk until combined. Gently fold the Cool Whip into the pudding until combined. Spread the pudding mixture over the top of the cooled cake. Cover the cake and refrigerate at least 6 hours, or overnight, before serving. You know what -this cake SHOULD be called Love Cake because if I have to wait overnight to dive into this puppy I must really love you/it.

Not a very “pretty” picture but this is all I could sneak in as my coworkers devoured the cake.

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We are sending you all loads of Italian love this valentine’s day: tanti baci!

Happy Eating, XO.

Dirty 30, Red and Flirty

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By now, you probably realize that today is no ordinary day. Today is our BIRTHDAY! And not just another birthday, it’s Sonia’s dirty 30! This weekend we’re celebrating together with a red velvet cake from this awesome little shop in Sonia’s town. We figured we’d keep with the theme and give you all a tasty red velvet cake to join in! (PS. This is also great for V-Day).

Cake mix

  • 1 box Betty Crocker German cake mix (TRUST ME. I tried making this without the premade mix and it’s just not worth it.)
  • 1 Tablespoon cocoa
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups oil
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 Tablespoon vinegar
  • 1-2 oz. red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8 inch cake pans. Put all of the ingredients in to a mixing bowl,  mix on medium until well blended, and pour directly into cake pans. Now here’s a cool trick I just learned – drop the pans on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles. (Who knew?!) Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. After about ten minutes, remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack (approximately 20 minutes). While they cool, it’s time to blend the frosting.

Frosting

  • 8oz cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 5 cups confectioners’ sugar

Blend the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla well, then slowly add in the confectioners’ sugar one cup at a time. Once all the sugar is added, blend on medium-high for another minute until it’s a thick consistency.

Put the first layer of cake on a plate and add a layer of frosting on top. Then add the second layer and frost the entire thing to your hearts content. (We give you permission to lick the spoon when you’re done.)

 Red velvet cake

Happy Eating Birthday!, XO

Cardamom Tea Cookies

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Recently, our good friend Tara had a birthday, and you know how much we LOVE birthdays. She also happens to be fan of all things “spice”, particularly cardamom. So for a gift, I thought I’d be clever and make her something with cardamom in it! The problem? Other than our cardamom iced tea I had no idea how else to use it. Turns out, you can “spice” up just about any old cookie recipe to taste exotic. Enter in – cardamom! Not to mention, these little puppies make your house smell ah-mazing.

*Disclaimer, this recipe isn’t instant. You need time to chill the dough. (Just thought I’d point this out. I find it so annoying when I start making something and find out I have to wait! #impatientmuch?)

  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 tsp ground cardamom (feel free to add more if you’re really in to the flavor)
  •  2 cups flour
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • Dash of salt

Whisk the butter with an electric mixer until fluffy. Gradually add in the sugar until fully blended. Finally add in the egg yolk, cardamom, baking soda, and salt. Once combined, add in the flour. The whisking will get tough and eventually turn in to one big ball of dough. Chill the dough for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

When ready to shape the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough in to small 1 inch balls and bake for 15 – 20 minutes. Hot out of the oven, sprinkle the cookies with sugar. And remember – pinkies up!

 

Cardamom Tea Cookies

Happy Eating, XO.