S'MORES SWIRL BUNDT CAKE: National S'mores Day!

Summertime and the Living is Easy. Summertime is all about S'mores, so it's not surprising that today is National S'mores Day! Celebrate by making this twist on S'mores: S'mores Swirl Bundt Cake. I found this recipe in an old issue of Country Living Magazine. S'mores Swirl Bundt Cake is easy to make and the final product is delicious. I've adapted this recipe by reducing the sugar in the cake because I thought it was a bit too sweet.

S'MORES SWIRL BUNDT CAKE

Ingredients 
2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled 
2 1/4 tsp baking powder 
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt 
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 
1 - 1 1/4 cup sugar 
4 large eggs, at room temperature 
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract 
3/4 cup whole milk 

Nonstick baking spray, for pan 

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa, sifted 

1/2 cup fine graham cracker crumbs (from about 2 1/2 crackers) 

Chocolate sauce, crushed graham crackers, and mini-marshmallows, for serving 

Directions 

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in the middle position. Coat a 10 - to 12-cup Nordic Ware Bundt pan with baking spray. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. 

Beat butter and sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 4 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating to incorporate after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in flour mixture and milk alternately, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Transfer half the batter to second bowl. Add cocoa; stir until fully incorporated. Fold graham crumbs into remaining batter. 

Transfer batters to separate plastic zip-top or pastry bags. Cut a 3/4-inch opening in one corner of each bag. Pipe alternating batters into grooves of prepared pan. Squeeze remaining batter in piles on top, alternating colors, then swirl with a butter knife. 

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes, then invert onto wire rack to cool. Drizzle with chocolate sauce and sprinkle with graham crackers and mini-marshmallows.

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI MUFFINS: National Zucchini Day

Today is National Zucchini Day, so I thought I'd post one of my favorite recipes for Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins. Perfect to use up all the zucchini taking over your garden now.

Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
Makes 18 muffins

Ingredients 
1/3 cup boiling water
2 cups shredded zucchini
1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup DARK cocoa
3/4 cup sugar
1-1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup canola oil
3 eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup dark chocolate (65-75% cacao), chopped into chunks (or chocolate chips)

Directions 
Preheat oven to 350.
In large bowl, pour boiling water over zucchini.
Add other ingredients (except chocolate chunks) and stir until just combined.
Fold in chocolate chunks (or chocolate chips).
Line muffin tins with paper muffin cups (or grease muffin tin)
Using 1/4 cup measure, pour batter into cups.
Bake for 30 minutes.

How easy is that?

FROZEN CUSTARD DAY: History, Recipes, & Retro Signs

Today is National Frozen Custard Day. I'm a big fan of Frozen custard. For me, Frozen Custard was never a substitute for ice cream. It was just different.

So today, in honor of Frozen Custard Day, I'm posting some Retro Ads and Signs for Tastee Freez & Dairy Queen. And, if you scroll down there's a recipe for Cheater Chocolate Frozen Custard.

The big question is what's the difference between ice cream and frozen custard? Ice cream is made from milk, cream, or a combination of the two, while frozen custard is made from milk, cream, and egg yolks. Also, while the machine used to make ice cream churns air into it to make it have a light mouthfeel, frozen custard is produced in a machine that barely incorporates air into it, which makes it denser.

History of Frozen Custard

From eHow:

The Dairy Queen Story 

According to the book The Cone with the Curl on Top, a history of Dairy Queen, J.F. McCullough and his son, Alex, opened an ice cream shop in 1927 in Davenport, Illinois. In the early 1930s, they moved to an ice cream factory in Green River, Illinois, and decided to find out if customers preferred ice cream before it was completely frozen, which was how they liked it best. The colder ice cream had less flavor than the softer version, they felt. After an experimental, all-you-can-eat sale in Kankanee, Illinois, where they found the softer ice cream was a success, they bought a machine from a street vendor in Chicago in 1939, had a machine company tweak the design, and sold their frozen custard exclusively to a store run by Sherb Noble in Joliet, Illinois, in 1940. They nicknamed the store Dairy Queen. They bought a second store in 1941, and a third that spring.

Carvel's Story 
According to National Geographic and The Nibble magazine, Carvel's sold ice cream on the street in New York. After a flat tire in Hartsdale, New York, caused his ice cream to begin to melt, he sold the partially melted product as a new treat---and his customers loved it. He opened Carvel Frozen Custard in Hartsdale in 1934 and began to build a series of frozen custard shops along highways. He built a soft-serve machine in 1939.

The McCulloughs continued to improve the design of their soft-serve machine and expand their business. Carvel continued to expand its chain aggressively, too, as did another competitor, Tastee-Freez. By 1956, soft-serve ice cream consumption was increasing 25 percent every year, according to the U.S. Department of agriculture.

That same year, Tastee-Freez had 1500 stores, and Carvel had 500.

Carvel was a true innovator: he was the first to offer “buy one, get one free”; the first to franchise an ice cream store; and his patented glass building was copied by McDonald’s. Dairy Queen opened its first soft-serve ice cream store in Joliet, Illinois in 1940. Carvel’s Flying Saucer sandwich was introduced in 1951. 

CHEATER CHOCOLATE FROZEN CUSTARD

Technique adapted from John T. Edge's The Truck Food via Oprah. Makes one quart

Ingredients 
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups chocolate ice cream, softened

Directions
Using a handheld electric mixer, whisk cream in a large bowl until soft peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes. Add sugar and vanilla and continue whisking to make stiff peaks, about 30 seconds more.
Using a rubber spatula, stir in ice cream until well combined.
Transfer mixture to a large, resealable freezer bag and freeze until semi-firm (like frozen custard), 4 to 6 hours.
When ready to serve, remove ice cream from freezer and, if needed, knead bag until uniformly soft, about 30 seconds. (Cover bag with a towel to protect your hands from the cold.)
Snip off a corner of the bag to pipe ice cream into a cone, or simply scoop and serve.

Dairy Queen Cones

HOW TO USE UP YOUR ZUCCHINI HARVEST: Zucchini Brownies

If you planted zucchini in your garden, you're now probably wondering what to do with your harvest. Zucchini has a reputation for multiplying beyond one's plan, often hiding underneath the leaves. Yes, you can wrap your zucchini in blankets, put them in a basket, and leave them on the church steps, as I heard Erica Jong and Marge Piercy suggest many years ago, but you'll still have a lot to dispose of. Zucchini and Chocolate.. now there's a great and healthy combination.

I've posted zucchini muffin, bread, and cake recipes, but here's a recipe for Zucchini Brownies. You can never go wrong with brownies. I like my brownies, fudgy, so I really like this recipe. You can add frosting on top, too, for more chocolate, but I don't. These brownies are moist and delicious without. This recipe is adapted from www.crazyforcrust.com. You'll want to have a look at her video and definitely read her tip below, especially if you don't want cake-like brownies. And, you might want to make her frosting recipe.

ZUCCHINI BROWNIES

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup DARK cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups shredded zucchini
3-4 tablespoons water
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional-but I usually add them)

*Note There are no eggs, and this will seem more like cookie-dough when you're preparing it, but it will work!

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Line 9×13″ baking pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
In medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Using electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix together oil, sugar, and vanilla until well combined. Add dry ingredients and stir. Fold in zucchini. Let sit forfew minutes so batter can absorb the moisture from the zucchini. If your mixture is still powdery, add up to 5 tablespoons water (start with 1 tablespoon and work up from there, stirring well after each addition). Batter will be very thick but shouldn’t be powdery. (depends on how wet your zucchini is!) Add walnuts. Use your hands to work water in instead of  spoon. Dough is super thick. Do not add too much water! 
Spread in prepared pan.
Bake 25-30 minutes until brownies spring back when gently touched.

*Note Don't add too much water or your brownies will be cake-like (unless that's what you want)! The batter is thick and needs help spreading in the pan. If batter is liquidy or thin, you will have a more cake-like brownie.