Fresh fruit and new coffee!

Last month I was on a mission. I had to prepare for a coffee tasting and wanted to make something that would compliment my coffee well. Luckily enough, Starbucks came out with Kati-Kati.

It means "In Between" in swahili and is the in between or balance of citrus and spice from Kenya and Ethiopia. If any of you old timers out there remember Gazebo Blend -

It's similar but wayyy better. Gazebo Blend use to be used for Iced Coffee before Tarazza came out and it was a very good acidic and citrusy coffee that only came out in the summer. I was bummed when it left but am super excited for Kati-Kati. It's very acidic, light and fresh and goes great with fresh fruit. More specifically it pairs well with lemon and strawberry. Did you see the lightbulb go off? 

I decided to make lemon cupcakes with fresh strawberry frosting. I hit some snags but it ended up being the perfect compliment to the new citrusy summery coffee. 

That snag came with the fresh strawberries. I diced 'em up and thought I'd toss 'em in the frosting while I had the mixer going. It was good until the juices from the Strawberries made the frosting soupy. I kind of panicked but just added another stick of butter and some more powdered sugar to get that consistency back. I'm thinking maybe next time just fold the strawberries into the frosting. 

Needless to say, I killed the tasting and killed a new recipe that will be used again. 

Don't have the energy to bake or can't take the extra heat? Chop up a fruit salad and it's just as good with a fresh french press. 

Also, try it iced! Just brew it at double strength, pour over ice and refrigerate. It's that easy and just as good iced. 

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Long time no bake!

Can't believe it's been so long since I pulled out the oven mits and got to work, but I'm back and it's been a very productive day.

First let's look back at the mini lemon loaves I made for Christmas. I knew I couldn't completely imitate the Starbucks ones but I did my best and they came out pretty darn good. Amazing what some pound cake, lemon juice and icing can do.

Instead of going with all white icing, I also made a lemon glaze. Didn't want the cake to be pure sugar so I just crosshatched some white icing so it wasn't overpoweringly sweet.

Now today, I may have broken my rule a little but it's worth it when it comes to Cinnamon Toast Crunch Muffins..

Yup, just like the cereal, only in amazing muffin form. They're not square but I got to use my killer new Wilton baking gear thanks to my wonderful boyfriend. The least I can do is make the guy some normal looking muffins, which could have been his plan all along but I'll take it!

Now, the kicker is a version of salted carmel cupcakes.

Pretty simple really, starting with just a normal pound cake recipe. While they're still warm, poke holes in them and drizzle carmel on top. Either home made or store bought carmel sauce works.

Now I wanted to make salted carmel somehow but I normally don't have sea salt on hand in the apartment and you can't pour normal salt on a cupcake. Well, you could, but that'd be kinda gross.

So I decided to chop up some pretzels and add them to the frosting.

Crazy how simple it is. It's really just butter, carmel, powdered sugar, pretzels and boom. Awesome frosting. Something I'm still pretty proud of considering I almost ditched the salted carmel idea because I didn't have sea salt. You never know what you'll find in your kitchen to turn into a cupcake.

But wait.. can't leave you hanging without a coffee suggestion. Casi Cielo is back. A medium-roast coffee from Guatemala that actually translates as "almost heaven," is the perfect sweet and smooth roast to go with salty sweet carmel.

Oh and guess what?! It's available for Keurig now too! This roast is the most elegant in the Starbucks family being paired well with gourmet desserts and better served straight. It's smooth body, dark cocoa notes was originally created exclusively for gourmet restaurants. Sounds strange but now, with cupcake in hand, bring gourmet into your kitchen!

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Another case of the Mondays...

Okay maybe not thaaat bad but Mondays are usually baking days which brings the pumpkin bars I've been talking about. It's not too late for pumpkin, it IS still fall! No skipping Thanksgiving.

Crunchy, cookie-esque bars complete with pumpkin and complimenting flavors like nutmeg and cinnamon. Not to mention the cream cheese frosting I made with little dashes of cloves and cinnamon, giving it that chai-like flavor.

Of course I didn't stop there. Couldn't decide if I wanted to make cookies or brownies, sooo I combined them!

Chocolate chip brownie meets chocolate chip cookie. What's even better is eating them warm with vanilla ice cream on top. Or just eating them warm with your favorite cup of coffee (again, Verona's cocoa flavor notes go perfectly with all the chocolate madness going on) or a hot chocolate. Just feels right now that it's snowing in November.

In preparation for that I picked up stuff to make gingerbread cakes. Still think it's too early to tackle that, I'm not a fan of skipping holidays. But, speaking of gingerbread and spices, what the end of Thanksgiving means is the return of Christmas Blend to Starbucks! Also known as Holiday Blend (yes, they really are the SAME thing)

Starbucks has managed to throw you for even another loop by creating Christmas Blend Espresso roast.

What's the difference?

Well first, people automatically assume that espresso roast can only be used for espresso machines and espresso beverages. Nope! It's just a stronger roasted coffee that yes, is used in espresso machines but can be made in your coffee pot at home.

Back to the Christmas Blend. The normal blend is sweet, spicy and herbal and will go perfectly with all your gingerbread and nutmeg treats.

The Christmas espresso roast is basically the same thing, but has a little more kick. Not in caffeine, but in flavor. Remember, the darker the roast the LESS caffeine there is.

It's deeper and darker with that the help of the rich espresso roast but still holds the spicy and sweet and a smooth-like carmel feel to it.

Getting waaay ahead of myself. Even though Starbucks already has the red cups, it's only fair to let Thanksgiving Blend finish it's course.



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Wake up!

First of all, I must say, I ate one of those cocoa white chocolate chip rice krispies and they are just a fabulous as I thought.

Since I was up all hours of the night baking, this is my situation:

Iced Venti sub lemonade Cool Lime Refresher.. aka liquid speed. Why? It's made with caffeine extract. They take caffeine out of un-roasted arabica beans and un-roasted beans have a ton of caffeine!

Still trying to find something to pair it with, obviously in the lime variety, key lime bars?? A new twist on the lemon square? Although I don't think I can touch the lemon square idea.. not after experiencing Aunt Donna's lemon squares - I'm usually not a fan of the tart lemon thing but my boyfriend's aunt uses some sort of magic on the baked goodness underneath that powdered sugar.

Anyway, until I figure that out, the refresher just wasn't cuttin' it. Welcome to the caffeine drawer:

While I was able to stock up on my Cafe Verona, which usually wakes me up, I needed an extra caffeinated smack in the face.

Don't worry, I still love that gorgeous espresso machine and the cafe I set up in my kitchen..

But I'm not so sure I can bring this to the office.

But, now that I have my stash back - including Pumpkin Spice Via - in the on-deck circle (or square for this place) is a pumpkin bar with cream cheese frosting and hot chocolate cakes with yes, marshmallow frosting. Perfect with Verona. ;) Maybe I'll tackle lemon squares, but it'll take a lot of convincing.



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Coffee Talk

Say hello to my new favorite toy! Well, maybe at least until I join the Keurig frenzy.

Coffee's the perfect pairing for anything baked but the right coffee is always key. Being a barista for, yes, eight years, I tend to be pretty picky in this department.

Obviously, pumpkin syrup in any coffee goes with anything pumpkin but if you're a not-so-fancy coffee drinker and a chocolate lover, I have to admit Starbucks' Cafe Verona is the way to go. Even as a barista I wasn't a huge coffee drinker but this full-bodied, multi-region blend with a touch of Italian Roast is perfect.

It's a blend of of Latin American and Asia/Pacific coffees and a touch of Italian Roast for depth. The rich, well-balanced flavor, cocoa texture and slight roasted sweetness pairs well with your favorite fudge brownie or chocolate chip cookie.

Some say Starbucks' coffee is too strong, and this drives me up a wall. Coffee is only as strong as you make it. The coffee beans at Starbucks come from the same place in the world as similar blends of beans at Dunkin Donuts, Intelligentsia, Lavazza, etc. It's all how they're prepared. Starbucks' grind-to-water ratio may be a little higher which is why some people don't like it; you can actually taste the coffee. They make it so you can catch those flavor notes, tell which part of the country their from with their acidity and pair it with things while it's not clogged up with extra cream and sugar.

Another fun coffee myth; The darker the roast the stronger it is. Stronger in flavor? Yes. Caffeine? Nope. The roasting process takes out the caffeine so if you think you're being gutsy by choosing Thanksgiving Blend over Pike Place this week at Starbucks, think again.

Okay one more fun coffee myth; Espresso has way more caffeine than brewed coffee. Nope. Two shots of espresso (give or take four ounces) has less caffeine than a 12 ounce cup of coffee. Why you ask? Espresso is shot out at about 20 seconds per 2/4 ounces depending on if you pull single or double, while brewed coffee does exactly that; brew. It takes about four minutes for a regular cup of coffee so the coffee grounds have more time to soak. Weird, huh? Did I lose ya? Probably way more than you wanted to know about coffee but something to think about next time you set that coffee pot for the morning.

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