These past two weeks have been a whirlwind of mango. Yet, all good things must come to an end. As the bombardment of mangoes from my coworker’s overly fertile tree winds down, I am taking a look back at all of the mango goodness that I was able to produce with my seemingly endless stream of mangoes. Due to several requests from satisfied taste-testers, I have decided to try to compile a list of all of the mango dessert recipes that I attempted. Unfortunately, going into “Mango Mad Scientist Mode” left very little opportunity for photo ops or step-by-step walkthroughs. Still, I hope that my experiences can inspire others to get a little bit adventurous with mango, and perhaps do something those overripe mangoes besides throwing them in a smoothie. Let the Mango Madness begin! (more…)
Category: Desserts
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Mango Flan
Mango Season continues in full swing! I continue getting generous donations of ripe mangoes from work. It’s been fun experimenting with recipes to incorporate the mango. This mango flan was one such experiment. It turned out to be a success, and someone requested that I give them the recipe. So, here it is! (more…)
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Mini Mango Cheesecakes
It’s Mango Season in South Florida! And, at my new job, my coworkers are not stingy about sharing the wealth. We have been getting bags full of mangoes every day from a coworker’s over-productive tree. But, there are only so many mangoes you can eat as is. And, overripe mangoes are plentiful. We were discussing possible uses for these overripe fruits, when he asks “can you make mango cheesecake?” Well, I never have, but there’s a first time for everything!
I came up with this recipe after a little bit of online research, and adjusting my standard mini cheesecake recipe accordingly. And, because I am a big supporter of portion control and like cute little things, I made mini mango cheesecakes. You can use my previous mini cheesecake post as a guideline, if you’re unsure of the step-by-step process. (more…)
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Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies
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I am not particularly fond of peanut butter. Maybe it was too many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as a kid. In fact, to me, peanut butter is something that I eat when my calorie counting app tells me that I haven’t eaten enough fat or protein that day.Yet, when done right, something magical happens when chocolate and peanut butter come together. The peanut butter Lindt truffles are one of my favorite flavors. And, my absolute favorite cookies are chocolate cookies with peanut butter chips. These cookies have ruined my diet many, many times. In fact, I refrain from making them often, because I know that I will utterly destroy half a pan in one sitting if I do. (more…)
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Carrot Cake Cheesecake
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A lot of times, I get asked how I decide which recipes to post on the blog. There is really no specific thought-process that I follow for this sort of thing. However, I’ve noticed that the majority of my most recent recipe posts have followed a pattern. That is, I make something to take to work or to a party. They love it so much that they ask “When is this recipe going on The Broke Baker?” Well, shoot! Once they’ve pretty much expressed guaranteed blog traffic, how can I refuse?And, that is how this Carrot Cake Cheesecake recipe came to be this month’s recipe post. Originally, I made this cake using red velvet cake as the base, but my manager asked that I recreate it with carrot cake for her birthday in May. When I decided to part ways with the company, I promised to post the recipe for said carrot cake cheesecake on the blog, so that someone else may be able to make it for her. And, since I keep my promises, here it is!
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Strawberry Cream Cake (Part 2)
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Here it is! The continuation of the strawberry cream cake! So, you should already have your pastry cream made from the previous post. Now, we are going to bake and assemble the cake.The base of the cake is essentially a sponge cake. The recipe comes from an old Cuban cookbook that I inherited from my mother. This particular cake is also the base that I use for tres leches cake, on the rare occasions that I actually make it.
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Strawberry Cream Cake (Part 1)
When most people think of strawberry shortcake, they think of a white sponge cake layered with strawberries and whipped cream. And, if we lived in Japan, they would be correct. However, a true “strawberry shortcake” actually uses a crumbly, biscuit-like cake as the base. Still, most grocery stores will mass-produce sponge cakes with strawberries and whipped cream and still call them strawberry shortcakes.
I’m better than that, though. So, this recipe is not for a strawberry shortcake. It is a recipe for a strawberry CREAM cake. That is, a sponge cake that is layered with cream and strawberries. And, since it’s not a shortcake, I can also take the liberty of filling the center with pastry cream, rather than the traditional whipped cream. If you prefer the whipped cream, then have at it. I suggest you try it at least once with the pastry cream, though. I’ve broken the recipe up into two posts, since it’s a bit long.
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Rum Cake
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I love cake, but I hate soggy cakes. Let’s just get that out in the open right now. Living in South Florida, I’ve had my share of unappetizingly soggy birthday/wedding/baby shower/quince cakes. This is the main reason why, for a very long time, I paid no mind to anyone that told me that I should learn to make rum cake. A pound cake soaked in rum syrup? I don’t even DRINK rum. So, yeah. No thanks.To be honest, I don’t even remember what possessed me to finally give it a shot. All I know is that, one day, I began scouring the web for recipes. Much to my dismay, most recipes started off with a box of cake mix. Shame on them! I will not defile my kitchen with such blasphemy. Eventually, I came across this recipe. After some tweaks, it was a keeper. In the 2-3 years that I have been making rum cakes, this is one of the most-requested cakes in my repertoire. It also holds the distinction of being one of the very few “soaked” cakes that I have a stomach for. (more…)
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Caramels
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First off, I must apologize to everyone that has been asking me for this recipe. I have nothing to blame except for myself, my laziness, and the fact that I am easily distracted.I first started attempting homemade caramel when I was obsessed with caramel apples. While I still haven’t quite mastered covering an apple, I managed to find a recipe that makes a caramel that is amazing on its own. These have become a holiday tradition for me, and I easily make and wrap several hundred caramels during the holiday season. There are people who look forward to these throughout the year. So, for them, I pass the recipe along.
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Pecan Tassies
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With the holiday season upon us, it’s prime time for potlucks. So, when the Thanksgiving luncheon at work rolled around, I decided to make these little morsels. Think pecan pie, but in bite-size form. They were very well-received. In fact, a few coworkers insisted that I post the recipe. So, here it is! You’re welcome. (more…)