Strawberry cake

This strawberry cake I made for a breakfast for when my friends were in town.  Typically I make breakfast cakes that are totally overly sweet and this one was nice and tart and the cake was dense yet flaky.  Anytime I get to use my spring form pan I will jump at the opportunity.  I would make this one again!

Adapted from sallysbakingaddiction.com

Ingredients:

Crumb Topping

3/4 cup (95g) all-purpose flour

1/4 cup (50g) light brown sugar

1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

6 Tablespoons (90g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed

Cake

1 large egg, room temperature

1/4 cup (60g) butter, melted and cooled

1/2 cup (120ml) milk*

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 and 1/2 cups (190g) all-purpose flour

2/3 cup (134g) granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

8-10 fresh strawberries, sliced* (you can also use raspberries)

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened to room temperature

1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar

Vanilla Glaze

3/4 cup (90g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted

2 Tablespoons (30ml) milk or cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Strawberry Sugar (Optional)

Directions:

Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Spray an 8-in or 9-in springform pan with non-stick spray. Springform pan is required. Set aside.

Make the crumb topping: Combine the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl. Cut the butter into the mixture with a pastry blender or mix with hands until it resembles coarse crumbs. Set in the refrigerator until ready to use. This crumb mixture must be chilled.

Make the cake: In a large bowl using a hand-held or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the egg and melted butter together on medium speed until combined. Add the milk and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and beat on medium speed until thoroughly mixed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Set aside.

Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl until combined. With the mixer running on low, pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined. Pour into the prepared baking pan.

In a medium bowl using a hand-held or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on high speed until smooth. Add remaining 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1/4 cup granulated sugar and beat on medium speed until combined. Spread over the crumb cake batter. Layer with sliced strawberries as shown in the photo above. Top with the crumb topping and gently press the topping into the batter.

Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out free of cake crumbs. I covered the cake with aluminum foil after 40 minutes to help avoid the top from browning too much. Allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before glazing.

Make the glaze: Whisk the confectioners’ sugar, milk, and vanilla together. Remove the sides of the springform pan and drizzle the glaze over the cake. The cake will stay fresh covered at room temperature for 4 days.

Make ahead: Bake the cake as directed and freeze without the glaze for up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bake for 20 minutes at 200 degrees to warm it up. Glaze before serving.

*Any milk including soy, almond, buttermilk, regular is OK for the cake. I used 1%.

*Frozen strawberries are fine - thaw and blot dry before using.

© Kim Bohme and A Bohme Cooked Meal

My new favorite yoghurt!

I went to a food bloggers conference in September called the International Food Blogger Conference. There were tons of things to learn and eat.  However, I have to share my favorite food find from the conference... Noosa Yoghurt.  I have seen this brand of yogurt in the store but haven't put a second thought into it.  One of the breakfasts at this event was sponsored by Noosa.

\



I walked into the conference room with tables adorned with all sorts of yoghurt toppings.











I sat down and this was sitting infromt of me.  I have to say that although I love pumpkin.  I am a bit weirded out by the idea of pumpkin in my drinks and in my yoghurt.

I pulled off the top and peeled back the foil seal.  I took a spoon and took my first bite.  I was shocked by how much I enjoyed this yoghurt.  It is so creamy and smooth.  It reminded me of pumpkin pie!  There is nothing about this yoghurt that I don't like.  I ate the entire thing.  I vowed to myself that I was going to buy more. This pumpkin flavor is only available at Target.  I have tried most of their other flavors and I have yet to be disappointed.

















Please do yourself a favor and buy a few of these amazing flavors.  They are a little pricey but you can't go wrong.

International Food Blogger Conference 2014- Day 1

\\

A while back after I started this blog that I wanted to go to a blogger conference to learn more about how to food blog.  Most of the conferences would have required a plane to attend.  After a bit of research I found IFBC!  I decided to attend because the cost was very reasonable.

When I was signing up I was just hoping to learn more about blogging.  As the conference became closer to reality I was really hoping to meet new people who enjoy food as much as I do and learn new tips and tricks for my new blog. 

Here is how my prep for the conference and the first day went!

Packing: 
I figured I would be eating...ALOT!  So far that is accurate!  I made sure to pack shirts that were a bit loose and pants that weren't too binding.  So far this has been an amazing choice.
I also packed a backpack because I was not staying at the Westin where the conference was held and I wanted to be fairly hands free  I am staying at a cute little boutique hotel called Hotel 5 that is about 3 blocks down the road.  (I recommend it!  The people are so friendly!)

I also packed my tablet to blog, business cards and a notebook.

Arrival:

I arrived in Seattle around 11:30am and was starting,  Our first IFBC event wasn't scheduled until 1pm so I headed to Pike Place which is about 6 blocks away.  I had Piroshkys. 
YUM!  I walked back to the hotel and it was about time to head to the shuttle to Sur la table. 

I am a total introvert at heart so when I arrived at the lobby I got overwhelmed because there were 49 other people there who all seemed to know each other.  I kept reminding myself that one of my goals were to meet new people but in the moment I felt impending doom.  I swallowed my heart back into my stomach and got onto the bus.  I sat in one of the first seats and hoped that whoever ended up sitting next to me wasn't a total asshat.  Lucky for me, my seatmate was a total sweetie.  We bonded over our introversion and had a good time. 

The Sur la table excursion was fun,  They did a cooking demo of homemade pasta with pesto,  and a cranberry tart ( I will be making that one soon!  YUMMO).

I couldn't believe the swag that we received.  A great start to this conference to a swag whore that I am.

After I returned the two bags of swag back to the hotel, I went back to the Westin to go to the Gift Suite.  The sway whore in me went crazy.  So much free stuff to try.

They also fed us too!

Even though I have eaten a crazy amount of food, I still went out to dinner at a local bar named Palace Kitchen.  I had a drink that had cherry, vodka, and moscato in it.  It was a soft and sweet drink.  I had an appetizer of Olive Poppers and dinner was a potato corn soup that had smoked salmon in it.  It was a great atmosphere and really yummy!

Now I am currently unwinding in my room watching food network and will soon be calling it a day once I finish this post!

So far... totally worth it even if I have to make myself a bit uncomfortable!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Matt's Almond Birthday Cake

adapted from aaronandyolanda.com

I have an almond cake obsession!  So when Matt asked for an almond cake recipe I was excited to look for something outside of the box that I typically don't think of when I make an almond cake.  The coolest thing about this is that this cake is made up of ripped up muffins.  I had about 6 left over muffins that I was able to have for breakfast after making this cake.  It's a twofer!  This was a delicate cake that has soft and subtle flavors!  Right up my husbands alley!

No picture today!  I totally made this amazing cake and forgot to take a picture....You have to trust me...it was pretty and super tasty.  If you want to see what this bad boy looks like check out the link above.

INGREDIENTS

Strawberry Almond Muffins:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups almond flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 large yolk, room temperature

1 1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 cup whole milk, room temperature

1 cup sour cream, room temperature

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups strawberries

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature

pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

2-3 cups sifted confectioners' sugar, amount depending on desired consistency

Other components:

sliced blanched almonds, lightly toasted

raspberry jam 

DIRECTIONS

Raspberry Almond Muffins:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line with cupcake liners. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, whisk eggs and yolk. Add in sugar, melted butter, milk, sour cream, and vanilla extract. Whisk until fully combined.

In three additions, pour wet mixture into large bowl with the dry ingredients. Fold together until combined. Gently fold in raspberries. Divide batter into prepared muffin tin.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until muffins are golden in color and a toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 5-10 minutes before removing and allow muffins to cool on wire rack.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add salt and vanilla. Mix until combined. Slowly add sifted confectioners' sugar. Mix until smooth and desired consistency is achieved.

Layer Cake Assembly:

Take an 8-inch cake ring and place on a slightly larger cake board. Alternatively, place it on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Cut a 3-inch wide acetate strip to line the inside of the cake ring.

Take the raspberry muffin scraps and divide it into three equal parts. Take one part of the scraps and make the first layer inside the ring. Use the palm of your hands, the bottom of a drinking glass, or a tamper to push the scraps together into a flat and even layer.

Spread about 1/4 cup of raspberry jam in an even layer over the cake.

Spread about 1/3 of cream cheese frosting over the raspberry jam layer.

Add another layer of cake scraps. Repeat the process for the first layer. Add the third layer of cake and cover with the remaining 1/3 of cream cheese frosting. Garnish with toasted sliced almonds.

Let cake rest in freezer for at least 1 hour. Gently remove cake ring and gently peel off the acetate strip while cake cold. Let cake defrost in fridge for a couple of hours before serving

© Kim Bohme and A Bohme Cooked Meal

Hamburger Pie

Please excuse the horrible picture of this.  I totally forgot to take a picture of this while it was hot and yummy.  This is all that was left when I remembered to snap a picture.  Maybe this is the best picture I could have cause you know we ate a large portion of this!  

This recipe is a fun way to change up cheeseburgers.  Especially for the winter months when you can't get outside on a grill. The best thing about this recipe is the flavor of the meat!

Get in the kitchen and make this!

Adapted from melissassouthernstylekitchen.com

Ingredients:
For the crust:
1 [20] oz package refrigerated hash brown potatoes
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp onion powder
1 large egg, beaten
For the filling:
4 slices bacon
1 medium sweet onion, diced
1 1/2 lb extra lean ground beef
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup ketchup
1 Tbsp mustard
2 large eggs, beaten
2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
12 dill pickle chips, pat dry

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375°F and spray a 9 inch deep dish pie plate with cooking spray.  Mix together the crust ingredients and press onto the bottom and the sides of the pie dish.  Place into the oven and bake for 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven and set aside.  Lower the oven temperature to 350°F.

On the stove top, cook the bacon until crisp.  Remove with a slotted spoon and crumble.  Discard all but 2 Tbsp of the pan drippings. Add the diced onion and cook for 2-3 minutes until translucent.  Season with salt and black pepper to your taste.  Add the ground beef and cook until no pink remains.  Drain any excess fat from the pan.  Season with hamburger or steak seasoning [Tip: Adjust the amount based on the brand used] and Worcestershire sauce.  Remove from the heat.  Add panko breadcrumbs, ketchup, mustard, 1 cup of shredded cheese, crumbled bacon and beaten eggs.

Mix until combined then spread over the hash brown crust.  Arrange the dill pickles on top.


Sprinkle with the remaining shredded cheese.  Bake for 35-40 minutes until set and the edges are golden.  Rest for 5 minutes before cutting.  Serve with an additional drizzle of mustard and ketchup if desired. Yield: 6-8 pieces


© Kim Bohme and A Bohme Cooked Meal

Ginger Cookies

So I have never been a huge fan of ginger cookies.  I would rather eat oatmeal raisin cookies.  That was until I was introduced to these unassuming cookies.  They are simple to make and are chewy disks of happiness. They have a great spice and kick to them while staying sweet.

I hounded my friend until she gave me the recipe. I have tweaked the recipe a smidgen by adding cardamom to the mix and occasionally ginger nibs (when I have them on hand). They have since been my go to cookie.  They freeze SO WELL!  I love to make huge batches of these and then thaw them in the microwave for 10 seconds when unexpected guests come over or I have a cookie craving that can't be ignored!  They are a regular cookie I make for Christmas too! I have yet to find someone who hasn't loved these cookies.  I dare you do try!  (P.S. if you do find that person...unfriend them because they have no taste!)

Enjoy!

Ginger Cookies
Adapted from Jess Carey
3/4 cup butter (softened)
1 cup sugar
1 egg (Room temp if you can)
1/4 cup molasses
2 1/4 cup flour
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar and I add sugar sprinkles to this sugar for texture
Optional: 1/2 cup Ginger Nibs (http://www.thespicehouse.com/spices/crystallized-candied-ginger-chunks-slices-and-nibs) these add great texture and a bit of zip (Add to the flour mixture)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

With an electric mixer cream butter and sugar together in a bowl.  Once mixture is incorporated beat in egg and molasses.

In a separate bowl sift flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves & salt  together. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in small increments.  This will reduce the flour mushroom cloud and ensure even distribution.

Once the dough is mixed together, use a cookie scoop to make cookie balls.  If you do not have a cookie scoop you can just take the dough in your hands to make a 1 inch ball.  Roll your balls into the sugar to make sure you have an even coating over each dough ball.

Place cookie balls on a cookie sheet.  I have mine lined with a silpat.   I can put a dozen cookies on one sheet.  Bake in the oven for 10 minutes for a soft and chewy cookie.  If you like a crunchier cookie bake for a few minutes more.

Makes at least 3 dozen cookies (Mine often yields 4 dozen cookies)

© Kim Bohme and A Bohme Cooked Meal

Eating my way through Vegas!

So I recently took a girls weekend with some lovely ladies to Las Vegas.  I have to say that this was one of my favorite trips to Las Vegas as our only intention was to sit by the pool, go to 3 different Cirque shows (O, Michael Jackson and Zoomanity) and EAT.  This was the first time I had ever seen one of their shows and to see 3 shows in a 4 day span was amazing!  However, I was also able to visit 4 different celebrity chef restaurants while out in Las Vegas and this made me VERY happy.  The only other time I have been to a celebrity chef restaurant is when I was in Las Vegas last year for a roller derby convention and I snuck away to go to Gordon Ramsay's Burgr.  It was more than I could have imagined!

So for this trip, the best thing about eating with this group of ladies is that we all liked to eat.  And not like a bird!  We ordered multiple things and shared them all! I was so happy we did this as it allowed me to get a real sense of the each menu.

So let's get you to the food porn.  First Stop was Guy Fieri's Kitchen & Bar at the Quad.  We had just arrived in Vegas after a series of flights and a hotel mishap.  We were starving.

Picture of the front menu!

 Picture of the back

For appetizers we ordered buffalo fries!  (The sauce was the same that I used to make at Franks!!! YUMM) We also ordered crispy wanton tacos!

 Our waiter was pretty amazing and recommended we have the turkey burger off the menu!  I am so glad we did!  It was my favorite thing on their menu.

More turkey burger pictures.

Next thing we ordered was a bacon cheeseburger that had macaroni and cheese on it!  Yum!

Lastly, we finished off with the ultimate cheesecake which had chocolate, pretzels and potato chips on it.  This was a pretty spectacular work of art but in the end this was the only thing that we had that I would not order again.  It was just regular old cheesecake at the end of the day!

 The next night we went to Gordon Ramay's Pub and Grill at Caesars Palace.  The waitress we had there was not nearly as amazing as the one we had the night before but that did not effect the taste of the food.
Pub and Grill Menu

Pictures of the menu!

My drink for the night (a bit fuzzy...the room was super dark)

Pan-seared diver scallops with steamed clams with leaks, potato bacon chowder and confit tomatoes.  We were so hungry that we already started dishing out the food...so this plate is a bit messy!

Trip of pot pies- Chicken Pot Pie, Steak and Ale, and Shepherd's Pie (My favorite was the chicken)

I am not a curry fan but this was called Madras Butter Curry Chicken- Tomato with Butter, Yogurt, Aromatic Spices and Basmati Rice.  I LOVED IT!  First time I have ever had one I liked!

Lobster Mac and Cheese with Gruyere, English cheddar and Parmesan cheese!

Yum!

Night 3 we went to Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill!  I am not sure what I was thinking but when the food came out to the table I was so excited to stuff it all into my face that I missed out on the majority of the pictures.  However we tried the following: Blue Corn Lobster Tacos, Tiger Shrimp and Roasted Garlic Corn Tamale, Rough Cut Tuna "Nachos and Yucatan Chicken Skewers!

We were still hungry after all of that so we ordered the grilled chicken  that had a cilantro pesto mashed potato.  I will be recreating these mashed lovelies at some point!

Our last stop was to Fleur by Hubert Keller!  We only had time for dessert and drinks and here is what was ordered!

Needless to say I ate my way through Vegas and would not have changed a single thing!