Guava Cheese Muffins

These muffins are a fall brunch must-have! I know that alot of people are not into guava so I will say that I have made these using dried cherries reconstituted in hot apple juice and it just got better! Nevertheless, the recipe is fabulous :)

Guava Cheese Muffins

2 cups Flour
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 cup Sugar
1 stick unsalted Butter room temperature
1 tablespoon Orange Zest
1 tablespoon Orange Juice
1 cup Whole Milk Ricotta
2 Eggs
1 teaspoon Almond Extract
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 teaspoon Orange Blossom Water
1 tablespoon large granule Sugar (I use RAW sugar) for muffin top garnish
Guava Paste cut into 12 tablespoon size chunks
OR
1-6 oz. bag of dried Cherries (reconstituted in 2 cups of hot apple juice then drained and rolled in flour before adding to the batter)

Preheat oven to 330. Prepare your 12 count muffin tin with liners or non-stick baking spray and set aside.
Cream the butter and 1 cup of sugar with a hand mixer until light yellow and fluffy. Add the vanilla and almond extracts along with the orange blossom water to the bowl. Add the eggs, orange zest, orange juice and ricotta. Mix well.
Sift the dry ingredients together (flour,baking powder, baking soda, salt) and add them to the bowl. Beat just until incorporated. It will look a little lumpy but keep in mind, the ricotta cheese is also lumpy so resist the urge to overmix.
If you choose to use the cherries, this would be the time to fold them into the batter prior to filling the muffin tins, then bake accordingly.
For guava lovers like me, pour the batter halfway up the muffin tin then place a chunk right in the middle. Top with a dollop of batter to cover. Continue until all 12 cups are evenly filled then sprinkle each with the RAW sugar or any large granule sugar you may have. You can also just skip that step and dust with powdered sugar when the muffins are done and cooled.
Bake for 20 minutes and allow to cool.

Butter Pecan Bundt Cake

This cake was completely improvised on a last minute whim to make my father a birthday cake for his 55th birthday. Although the recipe claims the "Butter Pecan" label, it has absolutely no butter in it. It just happened to be one of those times that I was out of butter and had only 1 hour to prepare a cake, but believe me, this exact combination of ingredients promises a rich, moist and flavorful cake.
This recipe is doubled due to the number of people I was entertaining that day so feel free to cut the ingredients in half to create a perfect single recipe.

Butter Pecan Bundt Cake

4 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour sifted
2 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
2/3 cup Shortening (plus more to generously grease Bundt pans)
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
2 cups Sugar
6 extra large Eggs
2 teaspoons Vanilla
1/4 teaspoon Orange Blossom Water
1/4 teaspoon Almond Extract
1 1/2 cups Evaporated Milk
1-1oz. box Sugar free Fat free Instant Jello Pudding Vanilla Flavor
1-1oz. box Sugar free Fat free Instant Jello Pudding Cheesecake Flavor
1 1/2 cups chopped Pecans
1 cup toasted Coconut Flakes (for garnish)
1/2 cup Butterscotch Ice Cream topping (for garnish)

Preheat oven to 350. Generously grease two Bundt pans with shortening or non-stick baking spray. Set aside.
Cream the two sugars and shortening in a bowl with an electric hand mixer until the consistency is light yellow and fluffy. Add the eggs, salt, vanilla, orange blossom water and almond extract. Mix on low, gently until incorporated.
In another dry bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda together well. Add these ingredients and the evaporated milk to the other ingredients. Beat with the hand mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes making sure all of the dry and wet ingredients are well incorporated from the bottom and sides of the bowl. The batter should be thicker than pancake mix but not so thick as to pull away from the beaters. If this is the case, add a little more milk.
Fold in the chopped pecans and divide the batter evenly amongst the two pans.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, then lower the temperature to 250 for 30 minutes, also use this moment to rotate the cakes for even baking. Check with a butter knife in the middle of the thickest part to see if its done. The knife should come out slightly moist but no uncooked batter should be on it.
Wait 10 minutes for the cakes to cool down then turn out onto a cake plate. While the cake cools a bit more, toast the coconut flakes at 350 for 4-8 minutes watching carefully (coconut flakes burn quite easily!) allow them to cool a few minutes afterward.
Drizzle both cakes with the butterscotch icecream topping and sprinkle tops with the coconut flakes.
Enjoy!

Mallorcas...SO worth it!

This is my version of the classic "Pan de Mallorcas".

Puerto Rico has many different cultural influences. Mallorcas come from the European-Spaniard influence.

In Puerto Rico, mallorcas are served sliced in half, toasted with butter, ham and cheese, then served with a dusting of powdered sugar on top.

In my opinion, it's like a seashell-shaped, rustic, grilled cheese sandwich with a hint of "doughnut" from the flavor of the powdered sugar. It's heavenly, and besides, how else would you be able to fool your brain into thinking that you ate a doughnut, when you clearly haven't :)

Mallorcas

1 stick unsalted Butter, melted

1/2 cup Sugar

1/2 cup Evaporated Milk room temp.

1 teaspoon Salt

3-4 cup Bread Flour

1 packet Yeast

1/2 cup warm Water

5 Egg Yolks room temp.

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Egg Wash

1 Egg Yolk

1 tablespoon Milk

*In this recipe, I make the dough 1 day ahead and refrigerate overnight. This allows the dough to have the best flavor possible and a smooth texture as well.

Combine the warm water, evaporated milk and yeast in a small bowl. Stir and set aside (15 minutes).

In another bowl, combine the melted butter and sugar, mix well. Add the salt, vanilla and egg yolks, beating for 1 minute. Combine with the yeast mixture and set aside.

In a large bowl, sift the bread flour. Add the entire wet ingredients in with the bread flour.

At this point, you can add the dough to a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment. Mix for 2 minutes, or until the dough no longer sticks to the side of the bowl.

Add flour if necessary (when sticky) and turn out onto a floured surface. Knead into a smooth ball and transfer over to a lightly oiled bowl ( I seperate the dough into two equal parts, and use two seperate bowls for this step).

Cover the bowl/bowls with a large kitchen towel, and allow the dough to rise in a warm place for up to 2 hrs. Roll the dough into a log. Cut the log into several, equal, 4" pieces.

Have a baking sheet ready that has been either buttered, or sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Roll each piece into a long, skinny rope. Shape the rope into a coil (it should look like a swirled lollipop without the stick) and tuck the ends under. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough, placing each carefully on the baking sheet (it's ok if they touch). Cover the entire pan with a sheet of plastic wrap that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray (it'll stick if you don't, trust me!) and place in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day, preheat the oven to 350.

Remove the baking sheet from the refrigerator. Allow it to sit on the countertop and come to room temperature. Remove the plastic wrap gently, and brush the mallorcas with the prepared eggwash. If you like poppy or sesame seeds, this is the time to add them. It's not traditional to add seeds, but you can if you'd like.

Bake the mallorcas for 30-40 minutes. After 30 minutes, check to see if they are golden brown on top. Allow them to cool completely, then prepare them traditionally ( by slicing and toasting with butter on each side, then adding ham and cheese and toasting until it's melted perfection) or simply toasting with butter. Nevertheless, don't forget the dusting of powdered sugar in the end.

Pair with your fave coffee, and have GOOD MORNING :)

My Tropical Romance...

Canna Tropicanna

Yellow Calla Lilies

Passionflower
Passion flower

Dwarf Banana Trees

Biscotti Baby!

There are very few things that are better than having Biscotti with a steaming hot cup of Cafe Bustelo (colombian espresso).
Its rainy and windy outside today, so I whipped up a batch of Biscotti to go with my coffee. It took a few minutes to throw together, and its much better for you than a jelly doughnut. Some recipes for Biscotti tend to include cornmeal, and can taste a bit dry. I add a bit of Amaretto Liqueur and orange zest to give the Biscotti the perfect balance of flavors. I dip them in chocolate when they are cooled completely, and pair them with the wonderfully strong coffee. The aromas that fill my kitchen are like walking into an old Italian Bakery in the morning.
Go ahead and treat yourself to a relaxing morning of biscotti, strong coffee and a good book. The rest of the week may just fly right past you :)

Biscotti

3 cups Flour
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Brown Sugar
1 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 1/2 Teaspoons Salt
1 Teaspoon Anise Seeds
3 Eggs
1 Egg Yolk
1/3 cup Vegetable Oil
2 Teaspoons Amaretto Liqueur
1 Teaspoon Orange Zest
1/2 cup chopped Almonds or Almond Slivers
1/2 cup Pine Nuts

Chocolate Dip

1 cup Chocolate Chips
1 Teaspoon Shortening

Preheat oven to 350F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
Stir all of the dry ingredients together (including the Anise seeds) in a large bowl. Beat the eggs and add them and the rest of the ingredients (except the nuts) all at once into the flour mixture and stir just until it all comes together. At this point you can add the nuts.
Divide the dough into 2 parts. Shape each half into a 10x3-inch rectangle onto the prepared cookie sheet (1 half per sheet). Bake 30 minutes rotating the pans once during baking. Cool on the cookie sheets completely.
Reduce heat to 300F. Transfer the logs to a cutting board and cut 1/2 inch slices. Arrange the slices, cut sides down, back onto the cookie sheets. Bake 10-15 minutes. Let cool completely.

Have a sheet of wax paper standing by for the dipped Biscotti.

Melt the chocolate chips and shortening together in a glass bowl (sprayed with non-stick cooking spray for easy clean-up) for 30 second intervals in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds, for 1-2 minutes. Dip the biscotti into the melted chocolate or drizzle the chocolate over them. Place the finished biscotti on the wax paper for the chocolate to set.
Enjoy!