Category Archives: favorites

Easy, favorites, Holiday Bakes, Pie, Uncategorized

Caramel Pecan Pie

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Caramel Pecan Pie by twocarolines.com

A King family classic and my hubs very most favorite of all of the many pies we eat, so this is MAJOR.  It’s such a perfect crunchy, melty, nutty sensation and it’s a dessert with an old world kind of royal presence that puts a jeweled crown on top of any meal it’s accompanied with.  This recipe came straight from the pie master general Joyce King.  She used to go half corn syrup and half maple syrup but lately she’s been making it full tilt maple which you think will be too sweet but it’s actually less sweet and more of a flavorful knockout than with just the corn syrup.  Of course the pie will turn out and be adored with whatever variety you use, but we recommend the splurge of maple syrup, you won’t regret it.  I was recently commissioned to make this pie for a birthday which is why there is a rather unsightly aluminum pie pan, but the recipients praised it to the last crumb!  And bonus, it’s one of the easiest pies ever! -CK 2.0

1  9″ traditional unbaked pie shell.  We recommend our King Family Pie Crust found here on the blog
3 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup maple syrup (or you can use all corn syrup or half corn syrup and half maple syrup.  We love the trader joe’s grade B maple syrup – it’s a splurge that’s well worth it)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/3 cup whole pecans

  1. Preheat oven to 350 and prepare your pie crust
  2. Beat eggs and sugar then add butter, syrup and vanilla
  3. Evenly spread your pecans into your unbaked pie crust then pour your filling over the nuts making sure they are nicely distributed.
  4. Bake for about 45 minutes, it’s okay for your pie to still jiggle in the middle – just a jiggle, not liquid.  Just make sure the sides are set when you take it out – it will set up as it cools, which takes a solid hour or two.
  5. Serve with heaps of vanilla ice cream or fresh whip cream and enjoy!

 

 

 

Cake, favorites, Uncategorized

Banana Cake with Caramel Pecan Sauce

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Banana Cake with Caramel Pecan Sauce by twocarolines.com

If only there were a way to describe the incredible flavor of this cake that would do justice to what a taste sensation it is.  Light, bouncy, incredible texture with all that banana flavor being enhanced by beautiful caramel and salty sweet pecans.  It’s very exciting when I find a cake this delicious that I’ve never made before, and this one is going into my small elite group of regulars for sure.  I fell deep in love with it as did all who were lucky enough to get a slice.  The original recipe had the topping baked in, but it said that what wasn’t served warm the caramel topping got super hard and there’s no way my little family could eat all of that cake when it’s still warm so I made my own topping that I added to each slice and it was seriously outstanding.  It’s rare that I enjoy a cake this much that has nothing to do with chocolate, I am counting the days until I make it again.  -CK 2.0

For the Cake:

1 3/4 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (2 to 3 large)
3 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon dark rum (I didn’t have rum so I used a teaspoon rum extract)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Caramel:

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon salt

Trader Joe’s Candied Pecans  – If you don’t have these you can toast some raw pecans or make your own glazed pecans.  But I found the TJ’s one’s to be the perfect compliment.

  1. To make the cake – Preheat oven to 350°F. Sift first 4 ingredients into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and both sugars in large bowl until blended. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, then mashed bananas, sour cream, rum or rum extract, and vanilla. Beat in dry ingredients in 2 additions just until combined. Spoon batter into pan.
  2. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 to 45 minutes. Cool 15 minutes.
  3. For the Caramel whisk together sugar and water in a medium (heavy bottom) saucepan and cook over medium-low heat until sugar is just dissolved.  Add butter and bring to a slow boil without stirring.  Continue cooking over medium heat until the mixture turns a deep golden brown, almost copper (DO NOT STIR).  Remove from heat and immediately but slowly add the heavy cream.  Be careful as your caramel will bubble and steam.  Add salt.  Whisk the final mixture together well and set aside to cool – it will get thicker as it cools.
  4. To serve the cake chop up some pecans and put them in with the caramel then pour this over your cake as generously as you please.  It’s extra delicious with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  My kids ate it with no caramel or pecans or even utensils – they were absolutely crazy about it.  Store wrapped up at room temperature.

 

Banana cake adapted from Smitten Kitchen 2016 and Caramel adapted from Four and Twenty Blackbirds Pie book  2013

Bars, chocolate desserts, favorites, Uncategorized

Dark Chocolate Spelt Brownies

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Spelt brownies by twocarolines.com

Oh Brownies, with your fudgy, chewy, gooey, crunchy edged, chocolatey goodness, you have my heart.  Like most chocolate lovers, I’m just a general fan, however I have decided the last few years that box brownies are a waste of my time, especially when they are so easy to make from scratch, it literally takes 2 extra minutes to make delicious brownies with ingredients in your pantry now, but those super easy ones are for another day.  These ones aren’t hard, but you will need to chop some chocolate which I know takes a minute, and you need to buy some spelt flour, which is what gives them such an other worldly flavor.  BELIEVE ME, the reward for your efforts is so amazing you will make these again and again.  They are so over the top chocolatey because of the chopped chocolate and cocoa powder, plus the spelt gives them an almost nutty flavor that contrasts with the little bit of coarse salt to make your mouth go absolutely bonkers.  Of all the many brownies I love, these are my favorite, seriously, #1, hands down.  Make them this minute and let us know what you think!

1 stick unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, plus more for pan
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, preferably 70 percent cacao, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
3/4 cup spelt flour

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly brush an 8-inch square baking pan with butter or cooking spray. Line with parchment, leaving a slight overhang on 2 sides. Butter or spray parchment.

  2. Place butter and 6 ounces of the chocolate (about 1 1/4 cups) in a large heatproof bowl. (reserve 3 ounces or about 1/3 a cup chocolate to put in your batter at the end) I use a pyrex in the microwave heating on defrost for 4 minutes or 30 seconds at a time at full power until the chocolate looses it’s shape and you can whisk it all smooth.  Remove from heat and whisk in sugars. Whisk in eggs, 1 at a time, until combined. Whisk in cocoa and salt, then fold in flour until combined. Last add the leftover chopped chocolate which adds just one more layer of chocolate gooey goodness.

  3. Pour batter into pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs, about 35 minutes – if you like your brownies extra gooey take it out closer to 31-2. Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Lift out brownies with parchment overhang. Cut into 16 squares and enjoy!

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Dark chocolate spelt brownies by twocarolines

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart Dark-Chocolate Spelt Brownies.

Cookies, favorites, Uncategorized

The Most Perfect Snickerdoodles

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I don’t “toot my own horn” (as they say) that often, but when it comes to Snickerdoodles, I will say that you will never have a better one than my version. I like how fluffy these are, rather than the flat versions like most other ones you’ll come across. Those ones are JUST FINE, so don’t look at me like that, but these are little clouds of fluffy perfection. The key is to keep the ingredients cold and to refrigerate between steps. I made these with one of bests last week and she and her kids loved them—I love baking with my people! That’s how we Carolines roll, we wanna bake with you and give you All the Treats.

The Most Perfect Snickerdoodle

3 cups flour
2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter (chilled – only microwave it for about 10 seconds to get it barely soft)
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs (chilled – normally room temp works for most cookies, but not this recipe)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping
2 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium-sized bowl, add flour, cream of tartar and salt. Refrigerate while you work on the next step.

Mix butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add baking powder and soda. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Once mixed, add the dry ingredients and mix until combined and uniform. Refrigerate till cool (10 – 20 minutes).

Roll into balls then refrigerate and let stand 15 minutes.

Coat the pre-rolled balls in cinnamon sugar mixture and place on greased cookie sheets. Bake for 7-8 minutes—the tops should just be getting a few cracks—remove from oven and let bake on cookie sheet at least 5 more minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Repeat for each batch.

 

Bars, favorites, Uncategorized

Creamy Salty Browned Butter Rice Krispie Treats

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I’ve had more than a little insight on myself while living abroad this past year and a half. One of these “ah-ha” moments was realizing that if I don’t have access to something I could have back home, I get an insatiable desire to possess and/or consume it. Even if it’s something that I never really cared about that much before in the homeland. Before we get all Freudian on what that could mean about my psyche, let’s just get into how obsessed I became with Rice Krispie treats. There is no Rice Krispie cereal here in Berlin and therefore, I got a major itch to make Rice Krispie Treats. Thankfully, I had a friend get a box for me in Italy, and another sweet friend sent me a care package with supplies to make the elusive treats. Included in the package was white chocolate chips—her secret ingredient. Around this time, I had a few people tell me about Smitten Kitchen‘s recipe with browned butter and sea salt. I figured that this concoction, plus the addition of white chocolate chips would put this unassuming dessert insanely over the top—and I was extremely correct. So in conclusion, if you want some bourgeois Rice Krispie treats that will blow everyone’s mind, get on it and exercise your right to buy up all the Rice Krispies you can get your hands on and make these.

4 ounces (1/4 pound or 1 stick) unsalted butter, plus extra for the pan
1 10-ounce bag marshmallows
1 cup white chocolate chips
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal (about half a 12-ounce box)

Butter an 8-inch square pan.

In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. Stirring constantly until browned and smelling nutty. Watch carefully, so as not to burn.

As soon as the butter turns golden brown, turn heat to low and stir in the white chocolate until melted. Turn off the heat, add the marshmallows and stir until melted and smooth—return to low heat if necessary.

Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the salt and cereal together. Once halfway mixed, I butter my hands and get in there to make sure everything is evenly distributed. Immediately spread into prepared pan and press down until even. Let cool completely (ha—yeah right!) before eating. Wait for copious amounts of compliments and proposals of marriage and co-habitation.

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Bars, favorites, Uncategorized

Apricot Bars

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Recently, one of my favorite humans came to visit me—my cousin Bret and I have had a special bond, since I was a wee little one, so it was a delight to have him visit. We walked all over Berlin, going to Christmas markets and eating our way through the city. Dreamy, right? He was jonesing for our Grandma King’s Apricot Bars, so I asked my mom for the recipe and whipped them up really quick. Now, there is some doubt cast on whether this is the right recipe or not, but regardless I’m sticking with this one, because it’s on point! This recipe is super easy and cinchy to alter since it’s so basic. I changed out 2 oz. of the apricots and used candied ginger for a holiday twist, and a drizzle of glaze for an added touch.

Ingredients

Apricot Filling
8 ounces dried apricots (I did 6oz. apricots, and 2oz. candied ginger)
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
water to cover

Base Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup packed brown sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 cup butter, browned

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).

Coarsely chop apricots (and ginger pieces, if using) and place in small saucepan. Add lemon juice, and white sugar. Add enough water to just cover the apricots. Bring to a boil, and cook until fruit is soft and the liquid cooks down and is glossy.

Mix flour, oatmeal, pinch of salt, and brown sugar together. Melt butter until browned and stir into flour mixture. Put 3/4 of this mixture into 8 x 8 inch greased pan. Spread apricot mixture over crust. Sprinkle remaining oatmeal mixture over apricots.

Bake for about 35 minutes.

Note: You could easily switch the fruit to anything your little heart desires—Or top with a glaze and add slivered almonds or pecans. This is a really versatile, easy recipe!