The Broke Baker

Category: Recipes

Recipes

  • Cuban-Style Roast Pork

    Cuban-Style Roast Pork

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    As a native South Floridian, I have eaten my fair share of Cuban Style Roast Pork (Lechon Asado).  It’s easy to find pretty much anywhere in Miami, but can often be dry and bland.  And, since it’s not particularly difficult to prepare, it makes more sense to just make your own.  Anytime pork shoulder goes on sale at any local grocery store chain, there is a good chance that I will be making lechon asado that weekend.

    I originally got this recipe from my mother, but have since tweaked and modified it to suit my personal taste.  Once you get the hang of it, you will be able to go the same.  You can play around with the amount and types of spices to create different flavors.  Normally, you’d be roasting an entire pig in a roasting box (Caja China).  But, you can achieve the same flavor with a pork shoulder and your oven to feed a smaller crowd. (more…)

  • Mango Madness in July – Part 2 (2015 Chapter)

    Mango Madness in July – Part 2 (2015 Chapter)

    We have reached the tail end of Mango Season here in South Florida.  And, my successful experimentation during last year’s mango season gained me a reputation at the office.  In fact, I think I got at least twice as many mangoes this year as I did last year.  They just kept them coming!  There are only so many mangoes you can eat before you kind of get tired of them.  After that, it’s time to get creative.  Mango Madness 2 was upon me before I even knew it. (more…)

  • Mango Cinnamon Rolls

    Mango Cinnamon Rolls

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    Do you ever get an idea that is just so crazy, you just HAVE to try it to see if it will actually work?  That happened to me one afternoon, as another bag of the endless supply of mangoes from my coworker’s tree appeared by my desk this Mango Season.  There I was, sitting at my desk, when something in my head just screamed “MANGO CINNAMON ROLLS” at me.  Well, there went anything else productive I could have done for the remainder of the day, because it was now the only thing I could think about.

    I thought about different ways to incorporate the mango into the cinnamon rolls.  I ruled out adding mango to the dough, because I was afraid that it wouldn’t get enough mango flavor that way.  Mango in the filling seemed like a good idea, and I opted to use diced mango instead of mango puree.  A piece of mango in a bite would be a pleasant surprise. (more…)

  • 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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  • Red Velvet Nutella Rolls

    Red Velvet Nutella Rolls

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    Normally, I suck at posting recipes that have a holiday theme.  In fact, it’s by sheer luck and coincidence that I came across a recipe for Red Velvet Nutella Rolls from Yammie’s Noshery just one week before Valentine’s Day.  They’re red velvet, and they’re shaped like hearts!  It’s as though the universe itself was telling me that this needed to go on the blog pretty much immediately.  I don’t think I waited even 24 hours before grabbing some Nutella at the grocery store and getting to work. (more…)

  • 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…)