When I Say "S'Mores", YOU Say "More"... S'Mores!!!!

Every summer, in almost every town in the United States (for sure) someone, SOMEwhere is making a s'more.  I haven't "Googled" this but my guess, after having eaten about a bajillion of these myself, is that "s'more" HAS to stand for "some more" because I can NEVER eat just one, I always want some MORE.  Makes sense to this English major...

I am sure there is a sweet little story behind how these came about but I am gonna skip right over it and get to the baking...  Sounds good, right?  Sure it does...

I tried to figure out a way to make this delectable delight in a mass quantity and easily distributable amongst a crowd..say, a church "potluck".  Yeah...hmmm...  So I made a tart one night.  Graham cracker bottom, ricemellow creme in the middle and a chocolate ganache on top that I garnished with vegan marshmallows and more graham cracker crumbs.  This is what I ended up with...

Not TOO bad to look at before slicing, but what a ooey gooey lookin MESS after serving.  The ricemellow kinda oozed down the sides, hiding the beautiful thickness of the graham crust...  We just can't have that!  And...honestly, even if you were conservative with portions on this tart....at a potluck it would only feed about 20 people with some SUPER tiny slices.  I had to go back to the drawing board with this one.  This is the first time I felt satisfied with something I just made up on my own and then changed my mind after I saw the result.  But...the best things come out of failure, which make those mistakes no failure at all!

I decided what I had to do was instead change up the marshmallow layer into actual toasted marshmallow, then cover them with the chocolate and again for a garnish top it with mini marshmallows and some extra graham crumbs just for good measure and obvious identification...

These bars turned out better than the tart as far as the messy factor and are in the right direction of what I was aiming for.  The people that I passed these goodies on to loved them.  Both versions, noting that the tart version with the ricemellow fluff was indeed very messy.  I personally wasn't a fan of the solid marshmallow version because I didn't like the taste of "toasted marshmallow" in the middle.  I'm not sure how I achieved that in my oven but those marshmallows literally tasted like I roasted them over a fire...  Hmmm....I wasn't too keen on that.

My guinea pigs (random people I shove stuff on to at church) tell me that both the tart and bars were fabulous in taste but after having both they LOVED the bars more and only because they were less gooey to handle.

In an ideal world I would make up a recipe of cookie dough that tastes like a graham cracker then top it with a marshmallow fluff type frosting and drizzle it with chocolate OR a graham cracker flavored cupcake/cake that I fill with marshmallow creme and top with liquid milk chocolate.

Because I believe the world can be as ideal as we make it, I decided to take a leap and make up some cupcakes...  Portable, flavorful but still graham crackery, marshmallowy, ooey gooey milk chocolatey as the classic S'More itself.  Below you will find ALL THREE recipes for the love I was cooking up in the kitchen.  The tart, the bars and the cupcakes.  There is just NO end to the ways that you can have fun with S'Mores!!
  

S'Mores Tart
1 recipe of graham cracker crust, baked and cooled
1 bag of dairy free Enjoy Life! chocolate chips
4 T. vegan shortening
1 tub of vegan Ricemellow fluff
Sweet & Sara vegan mini marshmallows for garnish
extra crushed graham cracker crumbs for garnish

Preheat oven to 375 F

To make the graham cracker crust mix 1 3/4 c. graham cracker crumbs with 1 T. of sugar and 1/2 c. of melted butter.  Either pulse this in a food processor or do it in a medium bowl with a fork.  When the crumbs are sufficiently coated in the butter, pat firmly into the bottom of a round or rectangular tart pan.  Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes.  Set baked crust aside and allow it to cool completely before adding the ricemellow fluff.

When crust has cooled completely (1-2 hours) evenly spread on your ricemellow fluff then set it aside until you are ready to ladle on the melted chocolate.

In the microwave or on the stove top, melt all of your chocolate chips with the shortening.  (The shortening helps the chocolate stay shiny and keeps it from turning the dreaded white once it resets.)  Once the chocolate is completely smooth, ladle it onto the ricemellow fluff until it is completely covered in chocolate.

Working quickly (before the chocolate sets) toss on your vegan marshmallows and sprinkle on the crushed graham crackers.  Let it set for up to 4 hours at room temperature or 2 hours in the fridge before serving.

S'Mores Bars
1 recipe of graham cracker crust, baked
1 bag of dairy free Enjoy Life! chocolate chips
14 oz. of Sweet & Sara vegan marshmallows
4 T. vegan shortening
Sweet & Sara vegan mini marshmallows for garnish
extra crushed graham cracker crumbs for garnish

To make the graham cracker crust mix 1 3/4 c. graham cracker crumbs with 1 T. of sugar and 1/2 c. of melted butter.  Either pulse this in a food processor or do it in a medium bowl with a fork.  When the crumbs are sufficiently coated in the butter, pat firmly into the bottom of a square or rectangular baking dish. (Choose your shape and pan size based on how thick you want your crust to be.)  

Bake in the oven for 12 minutes then quickly remove it from the oven and spread an even layer of marshmallows over the crust and return it back to the oven.  Watch it closely, the marshmallows will expand to almost double their size.  Remove it from the oven before the marshmallows start to brown.  Set the pan aside and let the pan cool for 1-2 hours before ladling the chocolate on top (you don't want to collapse the marshmallow layer).

In the microwave or on the stove top, melt all of your chocolate chips with the shortening.  (The shortening helps the chocolate stay shiny and keeps it from turning the dreaded white once it resets.)  Once the chocolate is completely smooth, ladle it onto the marshmallow layer until it is completely covered in chocolate.

Working quickly (before the chocolate sets) toss on your vegan marshmallows and sprinkle on the crushed graham crackers.  Let it set for up to 4 hours at room temperature or 2 hours in the fridge before serving.

S'Mores Cupcakes
1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs (about 15 whole crackers)
1/2 c. flour

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 c. (1 stick) vegan buttery spread, room temperature

3/4 c. sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 c. milk (you can use soy here with no problem!)

Ganache

8 ounces milk chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

(for dairy free option use Enjoy Life! chips in place of milk chocolate and use 6 T. of vegan buttery spread instead of cream)

Marshmallow Cream

1 c. sugar, divided

4 egg whites

¼ tsp. salt

1 tsp vanilla
1/4 c. water

*This can be made into a 9 x 13 cake as well.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick clean.  Allow to cool completely (2 hours at least) before filling and decorating.  Once cooled, simply score the cake into 1 x 1 or 1 x 2 inch slices with a sharp knife and use the cupcake corer to remove portions of the cake so you can fill each hole with marshmallow creme.  Cover the whole top of the cake with the milk chocolate ganache and garnish with toasted marshmallows and graham crumbs.  (pictured below)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 12 standard muffin cups with paper liners.

Whisk graham crumbs, flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating to blend between additions. Beat in vanilla. Add graham-cracker mixture in 3 additions alternately with milk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with graham-cracker mixture. Divide batter among muffin cups.  Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center come out clean, about 22 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to rack; cool completely.

Place chocolate in medium bowl. Bring cream just to boil in small saucepan; pour over chocolate. Let stand 1 minute; stir until smooth. Cool ganache until lukewarm.  You can also do this in a microwave in 30 second spurts.

Combine 3/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan and simmer syrup without stirring until the thermometer reads 240°, occasionally swirling pan and brushing down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush.

Meanwhile, place egg whites, salt, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whip attachment. Whip on high until frothy. Slowly add remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Whip until soft peaks form. Continue whipping until medium peaks form. Reduce speed to medium, then pour hot syrup into meringue in a slow, steady stream while whipping. Increase speed to high and continue whipping until stiff peaks form. Reduce speed to medium and whip until meringue is cool.

Using a small knife or apple corer, cut a small whole in the top of each cupcake, approximately 1 inch deep.  Spoon or pipe marshmallow fluff into each cupcake.

Dip the tops of each filled cupcake into the chocolate ganache.  Decorate with toasted mini marshmallows and graham crumbs.

The cake version of this cupcake may feel a little more involved, but it really isn't any more fiddle farty than the cupcakes.  The cake is just as ideal to bring to a potluck event as the cupcakes are and the slices are an even smaller portion but they DO pack the same flavor wallop with less calories.

Scored Cake

Coring the Cake Slices

 

The ONLY difference with the way you core cake slices and the way you core a cupcake is what you see in the picture.  With a cupcake you stick the corer ALL the way in until the guard you see there in the picture touches the top of the cupcake.  But because the CAKE isn't as thick as a cupcake, you only stick the corer about half way in and just as you would with the cupcakes when you core them, you gently twist a full 360 degree circle before attempting to remove the core.  Plop them onto a plate...our Sprout loves to eat the cored pieces of S'More cake and cupcake!

Cored Cake

Marshmallow Creme Filled Cores

Completed Cake Slice

NO matter how you put this recipe together, cupcakes or cake, this is going to be a winner with your crowd.  I hope that you have fun with this one!

Hit The Spot...

I end up eating out WAY too often when I am visiting Minnesota to miss out on the opportunity to try new, great places and flog them up.  So I was hangin with my big bro and his loverly bride down in Blaine and I went through my "to eat" list...yeah, there are places in almost every place in the world on that list, even little ol' Minnesota.

I had heard about some great Japanese that wasn't too far from their house.  The way the heat and humidity was going since we had crossed the border into Minnesota, I wasn't planning on cooking any time soon and I wasn't about to ask my sister to either.  So when I told them I wanted to eat at Hajime my big bro gave his approval right away.  He loves the place!  Well...that was easy.

 

They weren't that busy when we walked in at 6ish in the pm.  I was glad.  With a 3 month old and a 3.5 year old, there is NO telling what mayhem can ensue.  The Sprout has been pushing to skip his naps these days and has been winning the battle because we're visiting grandfolks and just like them...we don't want him to miss a single opportunity to make some memories so we've caved.  Little did we know...the "over tired" bad behavior for ALL of his missed naps was about to come pouring out all at ONE time right here at Hajime.  *sigh*

We four adults, whenever my Mister or I wasn't wrangling the 3.5 year old, were scouring the menu.  Next to Indian, Japanese/Sushi is one of my most favorite things to eat.  When I was pregnant with the Sweet Pea I just couldn't lay off of it.  I knew I wasn't going to be able to eat here again for a long time so I carefully read the menu.  Then I asked for recommendations from our waiter.  I was in luck, most of the things he recommended were things I had my eye on.  For our table we ordered an appetizer of Pork Gyoza and Wasabi Red Snapper, for myself I ordered the Phoenix Roll and Chicken Yaki Soba.  I was SO hungry that I almost ordered MORE than that, but I had been tipped off that their portions were large so I showed some uncharacteristic restraint and only ordered the two things for myself.  Then I got to looking around...

Sushi Bar

They are quite a different atmosphere than what I think most people from this area of the Twin Cities are used to...and that is a GREAT thing!  The Twin Cities area is FILLED to the brim with bars, SPORTS bars, taverns and cookie cutter fast food Asian places.  Lucky for Blaine...they Hajime takes modern chic to a new high.  Not the dive bars or middle of the road tavern sort of places that are ALL over the place in the Twin Cities area.  Hajime has class.

It didn't take long before our appetizers were in front of us.  Yay for fast service!

Pork Gyoza

One of my favorite things to eat with my sushi has always been pork gyoza.  These fabulously soft pillows of dough were filled with JUST the right amount of pork.  The pork was just lightly seasoned so as not to outshine the dipping sauce.  The dipping sauce was a perfect balance of salty and sweet and was a wonderful compliment to the filling.  The gyoza skin itself was cooked perfectly.  The seared portion was crisp and the tops were steamed to a precise softness.  There wasn't a single place on my gyoza where the skin wasn't cooked all of the way through.  I've been disappointed by that situation many, many times before.  It was hard for me not to take a second one...I knew I had save room for the snapper.

Wasabi Red Snapper

 

 The wasabi honey sauce was really the first element of this dish that hit my taste buds and I have to say my mouth just LOVED the combination of heat and sweet.  It was smooth though, the wasabi didn't smack me upside the head and make me regret my bite.  It was a gentle little tap and it had to be...red snapper is a delicate fish.  It takes on flavors so easily and this snapper was quite flaky in texture.  Red snapper can range from soft and flaky (like our fish) to firm (which is better suited for grilling).  Tempura battering it and frying it was a great idea to maintaining the integrity of the fillet without it disintegrating into nothingness.  The tempura texture was smooth and crisp and allowed perfect amounts wasabi honey to settle into crevices so there was sauce in every single bite.  Fabulous...I highly recommend you try this when you are there!

Next out to the table was my sushi roll.  I was actually feeling like I was starting to run out of room in my tummy...  Nooooo!!!!

Phoenix Roll

 I had my eye on this gem when our waiter recommended it to me.  Let me tell you what is in this masterpiece...  Spicy tuna wrapped around tempura shrimp and mango with tobiko on top.  Everything about this roll was delicious.  The tempura shrimp was cooked perfectly, the fish roe was a wonderful little "pop" of saltiness in every bite and the tuna was smooth in flavor and delicately meaty in texture, the rice was cooked properly and the sauce on top rounded the combination of flavors out adding a richness and spice to each slice.  Add a bit of pickled ginger, dab of wasabi and a tweency drizzle of soy...and my friend...you have some of the best sushi in Blaine.  My big bro asked for a piece...I actually thought two or three times before I said "Sure.".  I was getting uber full and I knew it.  But, the feeding frenzy wasn't over for me quite yet.

Chicken Yaki Soba

I won't lie..I didn't get to eat very much of this.  In fact, I took most of it to go.  I was so unbelievably full I felt like my tummy was going to bust open.  I took three bites...  The noodles with veg by themselves.  Marvelous.  The chicken by itself....surprisingly good.  They seasoned the meat; good idea.  The third bite was all of the elements of the dish at once...noodles, veggies and chicken.  It was a subtle, flavorful bowl of noodles.  I would order it again.  Though, our waiter told me if I liked "lo mein" (wheat noodles) I would like the soba (buckwheat) noodles.  I kind of chuckled a bit to myself...not the same noodle.  Lo mein noodles are much thicker and substantial than these soba noodles were.  But, that didn't take away from the fact that this bowl of buckwheat noodles hit the spot for me that night.

Hajime is a new favorite for me.  Fabulous atmosphere, attentive service, posh decor, and an innovative, daring menu...a winning combination overall.  I can see why my big bro and his misses hit this place up when they are feelin' like inhaling some great Japanese.  For the food quality and a price that is just right, head over to Hajime for dinner tonight.  It will be the best decision you made this week!

Ginger, Lemon, and Yum!

Something I love to do is bake for other people.  A lady I know from church that is from England happens to love a good ginger cake every once in a while.  I'd never heard of "sticky stem" ginger in all of my life.  This is an English ingredient...that would be why!  When I picked up a jar of it from one of the local shops I smelled it and tasted it...  Basically what you get with sticky stem ginger is a bit of ginger pared down to a ball shape and then preserved in a syrup.  Voila!  Grate that and toss it in a cake....well, now you're talkin!

There are three ingredients in this cake that you may have to look in a specialty shop for.  "Sticky Stem Ginger", "Lyle's Golden Syrup", and "Mixed Spice".  If you can't find mixed spice in your grocery store, a recipe follows that is as close to mixed spice as I've been able to get.  Lyle's Golden Syrup (near as I can tell) seems to be a combination of corn syrup and honey.  I have no idea what the ratios are, but I suppose you could try half corn syrup and half honey...so for this recipe, a 1/4 c. of each corn syrup and honey.  If you want to step it up a notch you could try "treacle" instead of Lyle's..."treacle" in England is black strap molasses.  If you don't have black strap, regular will do in a pinch and lend an IMMENSE amount of flavor to this cake.  So that would be a FULL CUP of molasses if you omit the Lyle's.


Sticky Stem Ginger Bundt Cake with Lemon Icing 
2 c. self-raising flour

1 tsp. soda
1 T. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground mixed spice
1 stick of unsalted butter , cut into cubes
1/2 c. dark brown sugar
1/2 c. black strap molasses/treacle
1/2 c. Lyle’s golden syrup
1 c. soy milk
1/3 c. drained stem ginger, finely grated
1 egg

Icing

3.5 T. organic cane powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
1 T. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. lemon oil, optional

Mixed Spice
1 T. allspice
1 T. ground cinnamon
1 T. ground nutmeg
2 tsp. mace
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground ginger

Mix spices together and store in an airtight container.  This spice mixture would be called for in a traditional English "mince pie" as well and would work beautifully in a pumpkin pie rather than "pumpkin pie spice".

**This cake habitually falls in the center when NOT baked in a bundt pan.  I made it multiple times in a 10 inch round, 3 inch deep cake pan and it caved in the middle each time.  It ONLY results properly in a bundt pan.**

Preheat oven to 350 F

Spray your bundt pan with a cooking spray that has flour in it or with a brand like Wilton's Cake Release.  Baker's Joy is what I used and it released perfectly.

Put the flour, soda and all of the spices in a large mixing bowl.  Add the butter and rub it into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs or mix it on the lowest setting in your stand mixer until you reach the crumby consistency.

Put the sugar, treacle/molasses, golden syrup and milk in a medium saucepan and heat, gently stirring until the sugar has dissolved.  Turn up the heat and bring the mixture to just below the boiling point.

Add the grated stem ginger to the flour mixture, then pour in the milk mixture, stirring as you go with a wooden spoon.  Break in the egg and beat it into the mixture until everything is combined and it resembles a thick pancake batter.  Pour this into a prepared bundt pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick clean.

Remove it from the oven to cool on a wire rack.  Allow to cool at LEAST 15 minutes before inverting the pan and removing the cake to cool completely.  

**IF you would like to save this cake for a later time, freeze it at this point.  It keeps for up to 1 month.  Remove from the freezer and allow to sit until it comes to room temperature (about 4 hours) then proceed to make and pour on the icing.

To make the icing mix together the powdered sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice.  Stir until you have a smooth, gooey consistency.  If it doesn't taste "lemony" enough, feel free to add more zest or lemon oil if you have it.

This cake, once iced, keeps for up to 2 weeks stored in an airtight container.

Dairy-Free Sticky Stem Ginger Cake

Mmmm....

Imagine the fabulously pungent flavor of gingerbread cookies transformed into a perfectly textured, moist slice of bundt cake then kissed with a bright, sweet lemony smooch.  That's what you have here on a plate.  I made this and failed to have it turn out a couple of times...apparently the third time was the charm and TOTALLY worth the failures to hit the one HUGE success that this cake turned out to be!  Even the Mister who isn't a fan of molasses or ginger quite enjoyed this cake.  The Sprout has always been a fan of gingerbread, so he was easy to please with this concoction.

I hope you try this at least once, don't be afraid of these bold flavors!  It will become a new favorite at the kitchen table.  Have fun!