The Broke Baker

Category: Desserts

  • Chocolate Dulce De Leche Rolls

    Chocolate Dulce De Leche Rolls

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    One of the plus sides of knowing your way around the kitchen is that food is quite often an acceptable form of currency in my social circle.  Oftentimes, people will happily trade goods and services for the right dish.  And, really, who ISN’T more likely to lend a helping hand if it means you will almost definitely get some good food out of it at some point?

    So, when one of my friends helped me out of a serious bind, I promised her something delicious in return.  Since dulce de leche is one of her absolute favorite things, I wanted to make something that had dulce de leche in it.  This recipe for chocolate dulce de leche rolls came to me in the morning of the day that she was scheduled to come and collect on my debt. (more…)

  • Dulce de Leche Brownies

    Dulce de Leche Brownies

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    When I was a teenager, I wasn’t allowed to get a job.  My “job,” I was told, was to get good grades.  So, in order to make a little bit of spending money, I started making brownies and selling them at school.  I quickly became known as “Brownie Girl,” and it would be a miracle of my batch of brownies for the day even made it to lunchtime.  Some of my friends still talk about them.

    It’s hard to believe that this happened about half of my lifetime ago.  And, back then, my brownies were made using boxed brownie mix.  My friends still insist that I did something magical to the brownies, when all I ever really did was add a little bit of vanilla extract to my brownie batter.  Brownies became such a staple of my everyday life that, after high school, I went through a period where I absolutely couldn’t stand them.  I’m over it now, but it took a very long time.  These days, my brownies are made from scratch. (more…)

  • Bourbon Pecan Pie

    Bourbon Pecan Pie

    March 14th was Pi Day!  Being the nerd that I am, how could I let the date pass without making pie?  I don’t really making fruit pies, because I am not a fan of cooked fruit (I know, I’m a weirdo).  But, this pecan pie is always a hit when I make it.  And, while certain scandals that came to light have made me dislike her as a person, I’ve got to admit that Paula Deen can make a good pie.

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  • Eggnog Mini Cheesecakes

    Eggnog Mini Cheesecakes

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    The holidays have come and gone, leaving a trail of obesity and broken diets in their wake.  I, for one, have no regrets.  Sure, none of my pants fit me quite right anymore, but it was worth it.  Plus, it’s a great time for some baking experimentation.

    I came up with this recipe after I entered a baking contest at work, at the insistence of my coworkers.  I originally planned to enter one of the candy bar cakes, but my friends urged me to come up with a dessert that used “holiday flavors.”  Pumpkin seemed too obvious, so I tried eggnog.  And, I went with cheesecake because I figured it would be something that few people would do.

    These eggnog mini cheesecakes are spiked with a hint of rum, and are topped with rum caramel sauce.  You can easily make these “kid-friendly” by omitting the booze, but I think it adds an extra depth of flavor to the overall dish. (more…)

  • Eggnog Creme Brulee

    Eggnog Creme Brulee

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    Is there any beverage more “holiday” than eggnog?  I didn’t think so.  Take that, Pumpkin Spiced Lattes!  To be honest, I don’t actually drink eggnog too much.  I do, however, enjoy the occasional scoop of eggnog ice cream around this time of year.

    That was the inspiration for this creme brulee.  I wanted to capture the essence of this traditional holiday beverage in a dessert.  My first attempt used the ingredients to make an actual eggnog, but the finished product didn’t taste enough like eggnog for me.  I managed to solve this by substituting half of the cream with actual eggnog.  This brought out the taste of eggnog in the dish, without ruining the delicate texture of a classic creme brulee. (more…)

  • Reese’s Cake

    Reese’s Cake

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    Let’s face it – it was only a matter of time before it happened.  The candy bar bug has bit me again.  After the success of my two previous candy bar cakes (Kit Kat Cake and Twix Cake, anyone?), I just KNEW that I had to keep the streak going.  Since I’ve been visiting family in Houston, and my chocolate peanut butter chip cookies were such a hit with them during my last visit, making a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup inspired cake seemed like an obvious choice.  Plus, when you have a state-of-the-art kitchen at your disposal, it’s a great excuse to be ambitious.  While, I am not the biggest fan of peanut butter, even I have to acknowledge that something magical happens when chocolate and peanut butter combine.  So, I went to work on making Reese’s cake.

    I went through a few ideas in my head for how to go about making this cake.  After all, one must find the perfect balance of chocolate and peanut butter, if you don’t want to be overwhelmed.  I finally decided on making a chocolate cake with peanut butter cheesecake in the middle.  And, because this is a Reese’s cake, I added some chopped peanut butter cups in the cheesecake batter. (more…)

  • Mini Pumpkin Bundt Cakes

    Mini Pumpkin Bundt Cakes

    It’s that time of the year when pumpkin treats pop up everywhere.  And, since my job recently hosted a craft fair, I thought it would be nice to feature an item that was pumpkin-flavored.  So, I made mini pumpkin bundt cakes.

    You can easily scale this recipe up and make one, large bundt cake.  However, mini bundt cakes are great for sharing.  They have built-in portion control, too.  Just make sure your mini bundt pan is well-greased.  Otherwise, you will have a hard time getting the little cakes out of the pan in one piece.  Trust me on that one.

    You can ice or glaze the cakes with anything you’d like, or leave them as-is.  I glazed these with chocolate ganache.  I think the bittersweet chocolate makes a good contrast with the sweetness of the pumpkin cake.

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  • Red Velvet Cupcakes

    Red Velvet Cupcakes

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    I started writing this post back in late June, with the full intention of posting it as a 4th of July post.  Then, mangoes happened, and I got distracted.  Still, a good red velvet cake is something that should be shared.

    I came across this recipe while I was looking for firm cake recipes that would work well for frosting-free cake pops.  I used to use a recipe that required softened butter for the cake batter, but using oil is so much easier.  Plus, there’s no planning required.  Anyone that has worked closely with me has probably seen sticks of butter or cream cheese sitting on my desk at the office, because I need to have my ingredients at room temperature by the time I get home and am ready to bake.  Hopefully, my boss isn’t reading this…

    Both Fourth of July and Christmas are great times to make red velvet anything.  Cupcakes are always winners, and all you need is some decorative sprinkles to cater the cupcakes to a holiday theme. (more…)

  • Twix Cake

    Twix Cake

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    So, a good friend of mine broke her foot the other day.  To cheer her up, I offered to make her any type of cake she wanted.  She initially asked for a Kit Kat cake.  But, some subliminal messaging from another friend, as well as an earlier suggestion from one of my coworkers, made her decide instead on a Twix cake.

    It was a challenge to try to capture the essence of a Twix bar – shortbread and caramel covered in chocolate – in the form of a cake.  Somehow, the chocolate mousse center that I had used for the Kit Kat cake just didn’t seem like it would go as well with Twix.  I toyed around with a few ideas, including making a giant shortbread cookie to be the center layer of the cake.  I finally settled on the center being a later of chopped Twix bars and caramel.   (more…)

  • Kit Kat Cake

    Kit Kat Cake

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    I have a serious problem.  I obsess over things.  All it takes is for the small seed of an idea to be planted, and the idea grows at an exponential rate and grabs hold of my brain.  Then, it won’t let go.  It’s this tendency to obsess that will lead me to do things like read a big book or watch an anime series in its entirety in a day or two, or go through dozens of web pages for “research” purposes when there’s a recipe or dish that catches my interest.

    This is exactly what happened about a month ago, when a coworker asked me if I could make a cake with Kit Kats (her favorite candy bar).  Well, several hours (okay, maybe DAYS) and hoards of web pages later, my mind was made up.  The seed was officially planted.  Challenge accepted. (more…)