...just too many types of flour!

I’ll admit it… there are just too many types of flour to choose when baking. There’s all-purpose flour, bread flour, buckwheat flour, cake flour, gluten flour, instant flour pastry flour, rice flour, self-rising flour, semolina flour, splet flour, teff flour, whole-wheat flour, soy flour, quinoa flour, organic bread flour and even gluten-free flour to name a few. 

Now, I am a casual baker, so all- purpose flour has always proven to be my best option. It’s versatile enough for everything from cakes to breads; and, most importantly, it is the cheapest and most common flour found in my local grocery store. Besides, if a recipe calls for a special type of flour and all I have is all purpose flour (which is always the case), I simply add two (2) tablespoons more per cup when baking breads to increase the amount of protein and subtract two (2) tablespoons less per cup when baking cakes and cookies to decrease the amount of protein.

Chubby Yummy

Okay...100 Days and 100 Cakes

Okay… I am going to attempt the impossible. I am going to make 100 different cakes in 100 days. You got it… during the next 100 days; I am going to make a different cake from scratch (homemade) each day using one or more of the following as the “key” ingredient: chocolate, butter and/or bacon. Each day, I’ll post a picture of the cake along with its recipe for your personal enjoyment.

 

If you have any suggestions, ideas and/or recipes, please share them. Wish me luck!

• Day One

• December 17, 2010

• Dark-Chocolate Cake with Ganache Frosting

Maybe it was a crazy idea gone badly!

Last night I unveiled my Chocolate Bacon Pound Cake to my Bible study group. And, as I sat there anticipating whether they would like it or not, I was overwhelmingly surprised by their hesitation to try it.  For many, the idea of making a cake with bacon was outrageous, ridiculous and just stupid. I over-heard someone saying, “It’s definitely a different look!”

I was flabbergasted to say the least. Could it be that a week of researching for the perfect combination of ingredients was all in vain? Maybe I added to much of this and not enough of that, or maybe it was a crazy idea gone badly, I reasoned.

Well, my fears were quickly erased when I witness my companions overcoming their initial hesitations and smiling with joy as they ate and ate and ate my Chocolate Bacon Pound Cake.  

It was a hit!!!

Chubby Yummy

The Ultimate Salty-Sweet Combination

Like every bacon enthusiast, I fantasized about tasting the ultimate salty-sweet combination of bacon and chocolate. So, instead of jumping into a car and heading to a specialty food vendor at the Boca Raton Mall that makes the pork-chocolate treat, I decided to experiment with my own variation. 

The process is reasonably uncomplicated; and, most importantly, it involves simple ingredients and an even a simpler cooking method. The result is an extraordinarily delicious dessert with a rich, delicate balance of sugar, butter and smoke: scrumptious, homemade chocolate-covered bacon is the ultimate eats!

Ingredients

8-10 slices thick cut, best-quality bacon
16 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 TSP of sweet butter

1 TSP of pure vanilla extract

(combine all ingredients)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 355°F.
2. Place the bacon on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in the oven, until bacon is cooked to your liking: about 20 minutes for crispy bacon.
3. Let bacon cool on the parchment paper for 10 minutes then transfer to a plate lined with paper towels.
4. Meanwhile set up a double boiler. Heat a large saucepan filled with water over high heat until boiling. Reduce heat to a simmer.
5. Set a heat-proof bowl over the simmering water. Add the chocolate chips and stir with a fork until smooth and completely melted.
6. Cover another baking sheet with parchment paper.
7. Using tongs, carefully dip the bacon into the melted chocolate turning to coat all sides in chocolate. Transfer to the clean sheet of waiting parchment paper. Repeat with remaining slices of bacon.
8. Refrigerate until chocolate is hard. ENJOY!

Bacon & Butter: the very best of both worlds.

My signature Bacon Butter Pound Cake™ is a perfect balance between two groups of ingredients: one hand the sugar, butter and egg and the other bacon. This is my exclusive specialty pound cake created to celebrate the marriage of bacon, butter and chocolate. And, whether you enjoy a slice of this cake with a dusting of powdered sugar or with my signature Chocolate Bacon Sauce, you will quickly recognize it as a superstar among cakes.