Almond Joy Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal

With its chunks of dark chocolate, coconut, & toasted almonds, this Almond Joy Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal only tastes like a decadent breakfast treat...

I have a confession to make, you all- About 90% of the time my house is a cluttered mess. I know most people on the outside of the blogging world probably think that all bloggers have immaculate, perfectly decorated homes with fresh baked cookies sitting on the kitchen counter, and Pinterest perfect laundry rooms... But guess what? Most of us don't! ;) Because so many of us work at home while chasing little ones or do our blogging in addition to a job outside the home, our houses usually are the first to suffer. While I am glad to be doing something that I love while still being able to stay at home, blogging is not as easy as most think that it is. There is so much that goes on behind the scenes. But for more on that, you should check out my post on The Truth About Starting A Blog...

Back to the messy house issue- Yesterday morning I had a complete and total meltdown over the state of chaos our home has been in the past month or so. Why? Because there are four people living in this home! Yes, four people does mean more mess, but it also means more hands available to help clean up said mess. After having this realization and thus blowing up at my husband (it happens), I headed to the gym to work off a little of that steam and the tons of delicious food and good wine and beer I had consumed while visiting Harrisonburg, Virginia for the weekend with my family. 

Triple Chocolate Almond Creme Brulee

As has become our tradition since we started dating, I make my husband and I a "fancy" dinner every New Year's Eve.  We really are not much for going out on that night.  Last New Year's Eve I was super pregnant.  This past New Year's Eve we had an almost 11 month old baby girl with us.  So, once again we stayed in and I made my fancy dinner.

We ended this fancy dinner with some special champagne cocktails (click here for my Sweetheart Sorbet Champagne Floats recipe) and these Triple Chocolate Almond Creme Brulees.  Yes, I made these for New Year's, but as we were indulging in each creamy bite I couldn't help but to think ahead as to how amazingly decadent these creme brulees would be for after a special Valentine's Day dinner.  And so I held onto to this little gem of a recipe until now... ;)

What you will need:

1 pint of heavy cream

1/4 cup + 3 tbsp sugar

5 egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp almond extract

1 oz baker's chocolate, chopped

2 oz of a dark chocolate bar, chopped

1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup of sliced almonds, toasted

Sugar for caramelizing on top

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees.  Lightly spray 4 oven safe ramekins with cooking spray and set aside.

Heat the cream and 1/4  cup of sugar over medium heat in a small saucepan.  When the sugar has completely dissolved and the cream has simmered just a little, remove from the heat.

Add in the chocolate chips, baker's chocolate, and dark chocolate to the cream/sugar mixture.  Whisk until well incorporated and smooth.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and 3 tablespoons of sugar.  Then whisk in the vanilla and almond extract.  

Slowly pour the chocolate/cream mixture into the egg yolk mixture, whisking as you pour.

Set some water to boil on the stove.

Fill each ramekin with the chocolate creme brulee mixture.  Set the filled ramekins into a roasting pan.  Then fill the pan with boiling water until the water is halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

Bake for about 1 hour or until the custards are set.  Remove the ramekins from the pan and allow them to cool slightly.  Then transfer the brulees to the refrigerator for at least one hour.

Right before you are ready to serve your brulees, top each one with about 1 tablespoon of sugar.  I actually used turbinado sugar on mine.  You can caramelize the sugar by either setting the brulees under the broiler in your oven for 1-2 minutes or by using a kitchen torch.  As soon as you caramelize the sugar, sprinkle the tops of each one with the toasted almond slices.

And there you have it- a rich, decadent, chocolaty, creamy dessert to end your Valentine's Day dinner with.  Or any dinner... Or just because you love dark chocolate. 

Still looking for am easy yet impressive Valentine's Day dinner idea?  Did you happen to catch my Herb & Apple Roasted Chicken recipe from last week? ;)

*This recipe is adapted from THIS ONE from marthastewart.com.

Triple Chocolate Almond Creme Brulee

by Frugal Foodie Mama

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour then refrigerate 1 hour

6041897

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 1 pint of heavy cream
• 1/4 cup + 3 tbsp sugar
• 5 egg yolks
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 1 oz baker's chocolate, chopped
• 2 oz of a dark chocolate bar, chopped
• 1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup of sliced almonds, toasted
• Sugar for caramelizing on top

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees. Lightly spray 4 oven safe ramekins with cooking spray and set aside.

Heat the cream and 1/4 cup of sugar over medium heat in a small saucepan. When the sugar has completely dissolved and the cream has simmered just a little, remove from the heat.

Add in the chocolate chips, baker's chocolate, and dark chocolate to the cream/sugar mixture. Whisk until well incorporated and smooth. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and 3 tablespoons of sugar. Then whisk in the vanilla and almond extract.

Slowly pour the chocolate/cream mixture into the egg yolk mixture, whisking as you pour.

Set some water to boil on the stove.

Fill each ramekin with the chocolate creme brulee mixture. Set the filled ramekins into a roasting pan. Then fill the pan with boiling water until the water is halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

Bake for about 1 hour or until the custards are set. Remove the ramekins from the pan and allow them to cool slightly. Then transfer the brulees to the refrigerator for at least one hour.

Right before you are ready to serve your brulees, top each one with about 1 tablespoon of sugar. I actually used turbinado sugar on mine. You can caramelize the sugar by either setting the brulees under the broiler in your oven for 1-2 minutes or by using a kitchen torch. As soon as you caramelize the sugar, sprinkle the tops of each one with the toasted almond slices.

Powered by Recipage

Framboise Raspberry Cupcakes with a Dark Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

This is one of the first recipes that I have posted that I cannot really claim as "frugal".  You have to use quality ingredients to create a quality cup cake.  And quality, decadence, and eye candy is what I was going for here.  For the first time in my life, I entered a baking contest this past weekend.  A Cup Cake Bake-Off at a local festival, to be exact.  Now while I did not take the top prize, I did place third so I think I am able to claim my cup cake recipe as award-winning, right? ;)

The inspiration for my cup cake recipe came after my family and I had visited Pittsburgh over the weekend for a Pirates game and to have dinner at one our favorite local restaurants.  Since finding good craft beer is a challenge in our hometown, we carried out a six-pack from the above-mentioned restaurant.  Included in this six-pack was a bottle of Lindeman's Framboise Lambic.  Now you could use any raspberry lambic that you like, but I am partial to Lindeman's.

What you will need to make 12 cup cakes:

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tbsp of canola oil
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup raspberry lambic beer
• 1/4 cup evaporated milk
• Raspberry puree (2/3 cup frozen raspberries, thawed; 1 tbsp of sugar; 3 tbsp of water- blend all 3 together until smooth & then strain out seeds with a wire mesh strainer.)

 Straining out the raspberry seeds

Line a muffin pan with 12 cupcake liners, and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a large bowl, beat butter on medium speed for 30 seconds.  Gradually add the sugar, beating well.  

Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each one.

Add vanilla and beat again.

Mix together beer and evaporated milk in a measuring cup and then quickly add and beat into the butter mixture. (Don't wait too long after mixing to add it to the batter! It will start curdling like a Irish Car Bomb that didn't get chugged fast enough. ;) )  

Beat in the flour mixture to the beer/butter mixture a little bit at time.

Now you have your Framboise batter, raspberry puree, and cupcake liners all ready to go.  Start by filling each cup cake liner 1/3 full with batter.  Then add a tbsp or so of raspberry puree, and then top with a little more batter.

Using a toothpick, thoroughly swirl the raspberry puree and batter in each cup cake liner until it looks a little something like the photo above and to the right.  

Bake the cup cakes at 375 for 17 minutes, or until slightly golden & a toothpick in the center comes out with little more than a bit of raspberry on it.

Let the cup cakes cool completely before you even think about frosting them with the rich chocolate frosting below. ;)

 Dark Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

What you will need:

1 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

3 oz of bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled ( I used baking chocolate.)

1 tbsp of cocoa powder

A few splashes of Framboise (optional)

Using the whisk attachment for your mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for about 5 minutes.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, and then gradually whisk in the powdered sugar.  Do this on low speed unless you want powdered sugar flying everywhere!  Once the powdered sugar is well incorporated, add the vanilla and beat again on medium-high.  Add the melted chocolate and cocoa powder and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.  

(Note:  To melt the chocolate, cut into smaller pieces and microwave in a bowl for 30 seconds at a time.  Mix after each 30 second interval until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth.  Then let cool for about 10 minutes.)

Make sure you continue to scrape down the sides of the bowl periodically so that everything is mixed well.  If you prefer, add a few splashes of Framboise to the frosting and beat well.

Now get your icing bag (or in my case, gallon-sized food storage bag) and frosting tips and frost away.  

I garnished my cup cakes with some bittersweet chocolate shavings and a fresh raspberry.

Pssst.... I made this cupcake carrier myself.  I used an empty cereal box, some wrapping paper, and a box cutter.

Just wrap the cereal box with wrapping paper (I was lucky that I found cup cake wrapping paper at the dollar store!), and then cut large X's in the top of the wrapped box with a box cutter.  That's it!  Cute, functional, and disposable!

Cup cake recipe adapted from Miss Make.

Frosting recipe adapted from the browneyedbaker.

Framboise Raspberry Cupcakes with a Dark Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

by Frugal Foodie Mama

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 17 minutes

6045039

Ingredients (12 cupcakes)

For the cupcakes

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tbsp of canola oil
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup raspberry lambic beer
• 1/4 cup evaporated milk
• Raspberry puree (2/3 cup frozen raspberries, thawed; 1 tbsp of sugar; 3 tbsp of water- blend all 3 together until smooth & then strain out seeds with a wire mesh strainer.)

For the dark chocolate buttercream frosting

• 1 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 oz of bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled ( I used baking chocolate.)
• 1 tbsp of cocoa powder
• A few splashes of Framboise (optional)

Instructions

For the cupcakes

Line a muffin pan with 12 cupcake liners, and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a large bowl, beat butter on medium speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add the sugar, beating well.

Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each one.

Add vanilla and beat again.

Mix together beer and evaporated milk in a measuring cup and then quickly add and beat into the butter mixture. (Don't wait too long after mixing to add it to the batter! It will start curdling like a Irish Car Bomb that didn't get chugged fast enough. ;) )

Beat in the flour mixture to the beer/butter mixture a little bit at time.

Now you have your Framboise batter, raspberry puree, and cupcake liners all ready to go. Start by filling each cup cake liner 1/3 full with batter. Then add a tbsp or so of raspberry puree, and then top with a little more batter.

Using a toothpick, thoroughly swirl the raspberry puree and batter in each cup cake liner until it looks a little something like the photo above and to the right.

Bake the cup cakes at 375 for 17 minutes, or until slightly golden & a toothpick in the center comes out with little more than a bit of raspberry on it.

Let the cup cakes cool completely before you even think about frosting them with the rich chocolate frosting.

For the frosting

Using the whisk attachment for your mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for about 5 minutes.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, and then gradually whisk in the powdered sugar. Do this on low speed unless you want powdered sugar flying everywhere!

Once the powdered sugar is well incorporated, add the vanilla and beat again on medium-high. Add the melted chocolate and cocoa powder and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.

(Note: To melt the chocolate, cut into smaller pieces and microwave in a bowl for 30 seconds at a time. Mix after each 30 second interval until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Then let cool for about 10 minutes.)

Make sure you continue to scrape down the sides of the bowl periodically so that everything is mixed well. If you prefer, add a few splashes of Framboise to the frosting and beat well.

Now get your icing bag (or in my case, gallon-sized food storage bag) and frosting tips and frost away.

I garnished my cup cakes with some bittersweet chocolate shavings and a fresh raspberry.

Powered by Recipage

For Nutritional Info on this recipe, please CLICK HERE.