Jessiker Bakes!

Check out this vlog done by guest blogger  Jessiker Bakes here on Candid Cinni

Perfect for the holiday season!

produced by Struck x Gold.

SN: Try the Biscotti flavor of Baileys in the recipe.

Foodie Wednesdays: Guest Post by Jessica from Jessiker Bakes {Pumpkin Pie}

Hello Candid Cinni followers! My name is Jessica of Jessiker Bakes and this is my guest post on Candid Cinni's blog. Every Wednesday we will be doing a foodie themed blog post to satisfy your sweet (and sometimes savoury) cravings! Everyone does love to eat, right? Great. So it's almost December (wow) but here's one last Fall themed dessert - pumpkin pie!

Give us your feedback so I can cater these guest posts to your desires!

Happy reading and even happier eating! 

- Jessica @ Jessiker Bakes

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What better way to end Thanksgiving season/Fall with Pumpkin Pie? I made some for the Thanksgiving holidays and just wanted to share this delicious recipe with you! It's a delicious Graham Crusted Pumpkin Pie straight from the genius Rachel Ray! So you know it's good! I topped it with some whipped cream and it's a delightful treat!

Graham Cracker Crusted Pumpkin Pie
P.S. the original recipe calls for granola bars but I didn't have any on hand so I just used Graham Crackers and loved it! I used about 1 1/2 cups of crumbs.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 box (8.9 oz.) crunchy granola bars, broken into chunks
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. packed light brown sugar
• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten, plus 1 egg white
• 1 can (15 oz.) pure pumpkin puree
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp. salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°. Grease a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan. Using a food processor, grind the granola bars with 2 tbsp. brown sugar. Add the butter and egg white and pulse until the crumbs are moistened. Pat the mixture evenly onto the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pan. Bake until the edge is crisp and lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar, the pumpkin puree, eggs, cream, maple syrup, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Pour into the piecrust. Bake the pie until the center is almost set, about 45 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Foodie Wednesdays: Guest Post by Jessica from Jessiker Bakes {Black Velvet Cupcakes}

Hello Candid Cinni followers! My name is Jessica of Jessiker Bakes and this is my guest post on Candid Cinni's blog. Every Wednesday we will be doing a foodie themed blog post to satisfy your sweet (and sometimes savoury) cravings! Everyone does love to eat, right? Great. This week it's a way to incorporate something new and familiar (beer!) into your Thanksgiving celebrations! 

Give us your feedback so I can cater these guest posts to your desires!

Happy reading and even happier eating! 

- Jessica @ Jessiker Bakes

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Let me make two points -

1. I hate beer.
2. I am in love with these cupcakes.

I'm not sure, if it's the chocolate-y but not so chocolate-y flavour. If it's how deliciously moist they are: the most moist cupcakes I've ever tasted. If it was the distinct after taste. Or maybe it was how fluffy they were. Or the fact that I just did a little potion magic and turned Guinness into a sweet butterbeer-esque potion.

Whatever it was, these were so good.
I brought them to school, and my friends devoured them in I'm estimating about 2 seconds flat?
I converted non-chocolate lovers with these cupcakes.

I converted myself.

I would say I enjoyed them so much that I had 2, but I didn't have 2.

....

I had 3. 

Oh dear, that's pretty horrible isn't it? Especially since the smell was so intoxicating that I ate one about 4 seconds after it came out of the oven doing the infamous -it's-so-hot-it's-burning-my-tongue mouth blowing dance and enjoyed every second. Then I thought about them all the way until the next morning and started my day with one.

Then I kept one back in the fridge to have after class since Tuesdays are my roughest day. Yum.

Let me know what you think!

P.S. I left out the almonds.

Black Velvet Baby Cakes by BBC Good Food
Makes 10 regular cupcakes

• Ingredients
• 100g softened butter , plus extra for greasing
• 175g light brown soft sugar
• 1 egg
• 100g self-raising flour
• 50g ground almonds
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 5 tbsp cocoa , plus a little extra for decorating
• 150ml Guinness

• 200ml double cream
• 25g icing sugar
• splash Champagne (optional)

1. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease and line the bases of 6 dariole moulds with baking parchment. Put the butter, sugar, egg, flour, ground almonds, bicarbonate, cocoa and Guinness in a mixing bowl. Beat together until lump-free. Divide between the tins then bake for 20-25 mins until risen and a skewer poked in comes out clean. Cool for 15 mins, then remove from tins and cool completely - the same way up they baked, don't turn upside-down.
2. Whip cream with the icing sugar and splash of Champagne, if using, until thick. Spoon a dollop onto the top of each cake and dust with a touch of cocoa. Serve with glasses of Champagne or Black Velvets for pudding.

Foodie Wednesdays: Guest Post by Jessica from Jessiker Bakes {Bruschetta}

Hello Candid Cinni followers! My name is Jessica of Jessiker Bakes and this is my guest post on Candid Cinni's blog. Every Wednesday we will be doing a foodie themed blog post to satisfy your sweet (and sometimes savoury) cravings! Everyone does love to eat, right? Great. This week it's savoury - bruschetta, my favourite appetizer! Let's switch it up with some divine flavours!!

Give us your feedback so I can cater these guest posts to your desires!

Happy reading and even happier eating! 

- Jessica @ Jessiker Bakes

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Bruschetta is my favourite appetizer in the world. If you're a tomato lover and you haven't tried bruschetta yet, you need to try it. Bruschetta originated from Italy, and is basically toasted bread that has been rubbed with garlic, butter and lightly salted topped with a blend of tomatoes, basil and mozzarella cheese. Sometimes it's served cold, sometimes hot; I love both ways. What you're essentially making to describe it differently, is garlic bread topped with delicious tomatoes and cheese.


To twist it a bit, I roasted my tomatoes first to produce an absolutely delicious home-made version of sun-dried tomatoes. If you want me to do a separate blog post on that just let me know; it's so easy and delicious.
Anyhow, then I blended them a bit before using them. I also added parsley, well, because I love parsley. Please! Fresh ingredients only. Needless to say, I ate every single serving as a meal; no judgments please! It's appetizer portion *wink*

Roasted Tomatoes Bruschetta


1 french bread roll
Fresh basil (fresh is always the best!)
Fresh parsley
2 roasted tomatoes or 4 halves
Sprinkling of mozzarella
1 crushed and chopped garlic clove
butter
salt

Prepare the roasted tomatoes first. If you aren't using roasted tomatoes, then just wash regular tomatoes and use those. Note: roasted tomatoes give a lot more flavour. To roast tomatoes, cut them in half, sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes 

Place tomato halves into a blender with fresh basil and parsley (leave some behind for garnish). Select "chop" or grind" and pulse in 1 second pulses for about 10 seconds.

Preheat toaster oven to 400 Degrees F. Slice french roll into slices that are about 1/2 inch thick. Mix butter, a pinch of salt and crushed garlic together and rub and top bread with the mixture.

Place slices with topping up on a tray and bake for about 5 minutes until lightly toasted.

Remove slices and top with tomatoes. Add a sprinkling of mozzarella and parsley or basil for garnish. Serve and enjoy!

Foodie Wednesdays: Guest Post by Jessica from Jessiker Bakes {Pumpkin Doughnuts}

Hello Candid Cinni followers! My name is Jessica of Jessiker Bakes and this is my guest post on Candid Cinni's blog. Every Wednesday we will be doing a foodie themed blog post to satisfy your sweet (and sometimes savoury) cravings! Everyone does love to eat, right? Great. This week it's pumpkin dougnuts! Still in the theme of fall, these are simply delicious!

Give us your feedback so I can cater these guest posts to your desires!

Happy reading and even happier eating! 

- Jessica @ Jessiker Bakes

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I'm not sure words will allow me to express how amazing these were.

And I REALLY meant that.

Let's be realistic here.

I had one six.

SIX.

I wanted to lie and say five...but my hands typed six as in a confessional.

Thank God they're small. I literally had to ask Jesus to take the wheel and keep me away from them.

I'm taking a whole batch to school to avoid me eating them all. And leaving the other at home for the rest of my family members (please eat them before I come home!)

The pumpkin adds such a unique and delicious flavour that I would I guarantee you will enjoy these. And the best part?

They ACTUALLY taste like doughnuts! Hallelujah!

Baked Pumpkin Dougnuts by Buns In My Oven

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose or white whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon cloves
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• Cinnamon and sugar, for rolling
• 1/2 cup butter, for dipping

Instructions

1. If using a babycakes donut maker, turn it on to preheat. Otherwise, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a donut pan or regular cookie sheet.
2. In the bowl of your stand mixer, mix together the dry ingredients.
3. Beat in the pumpkin, eggs, milk, and butter until well combined.
4. Fit a pastry bag with a large tip and fill with the donut batter. Alternately, fill a large ziploc bag and snip off the end.
5. Pipe into the donut maker, donut pan, or just pipe in circles on a greased cookie sheet. The dough is thick enough that it should stay in the general shape you pipe it in while in the oven.
6. If using the donut maker, cook for about 3-5 minutes, checking for doneness with a toothpick.
7. If using the oven, bake for about 10-12 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.
8. Cool on a wire rack.
9. Melt the 1/2 cup of butter in a small dish and mix together cinnamon and sugar in a second dish for dipping.
10. Dip the donuts in the butter (PS I just sprayed them with PAM Butter Flavour Spray) and then the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
11. Store in an air-tight container.

Foodie Wednesdays: Guest Post by Jessica from Jessiker Bakes {Cinnamon Roll Pancakes}}

Hello Candid Cinni followers! My name is Jessica of Jessiker Bakes and this is my guest post on Candid Cinni's blog. Every Wednesday we will be doing a foodie themed blog post to satisfy your sweet (and sometimes savoury) cravings! Everyone does love to eat, right? Great. This week, I thought I would post something probably more relevant to you - breakfast! Still in the theme of fall, these pancakes will delight you and they don't even take that long to make! Treat yourself to a wonderful breakfast every now and then.

Give us your feedback so I can cater these guest posts to your desires!

Happy reading and even happier eating! 

- Jessica @ Jessiker Bakes

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I only have one early morning class. The rest are closer to noon. I wake up, diddy daddle, stretch, daddle some more, and then somehow the last hour before school starts whizzing by. Every single morning I leave the house just in time for class. I reach on time, but somehow all that extra time disappears.

My bed is covered in layers of "this doesn't match" "I wore that before" "um, no". Try as I may to leave early, it seems time laughs and only allows just enough time.

I either

a) miss breakfast

b) eat something from law's vending machine + Nescafe coffee

c) scramble for something quick and eat in the car.

So I decided I was going to find a great quick and delicious meal to share with you for mornings like these. Something that was done in 10 minutes that I could also resort to on panic mornings.

Yeah right.

I realized that there was a reason that despite how long I searched, how many recipes I reviewed, I hadn't found that 'quick and easy' breakfast.


Because I didn't want something 'quick and easy' to fill me. 


I wanted a delicious, nutritious (pancakes have eggs in them in case you didn't know!) and completely and ridiculously guilty & satisfying meal that would make my whole day a complete success.


Sometimes granola bars just won't cut it. Sometimes skimping on 

goeey and dripping

sugary and cinnamon-y

'pour more please' treats just isn't worth it.

Let's try not to make this a habit okay? 

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
The Novice Chef Blog

Pancake:

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla

2.5 Tbsp brown sugar

1 cup flour

2 tsp cinnamon

1.25 tsp. baking powder

1 Tbsp butter, melted

Filling:

2/3 cup pecans

3 Tbsp  maple syrup

Icing:

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 tbsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

milk

Preheat your griddle or pan and grease if necessary. Beat the egg and mix it with the milk, vanilla and brown sugar in a large bowl. Sift in the flour, cinnamon, and baking powder. Add the butter and mix lightly together with a spatula.  Spoon out the batter in equal amounts onto the hot griddle. Cook until  you start to see bubbles forming around the edges and a little on the top. Flip the pancakes and finish cooking on the other side.

Meanwhile, toast  your pecans in a dry skillet over medium heat until they become fragrant. Put them in a mini food processor with the syrup and pulse until well combined and paste-like (adding more syrup, if you wish).

To make the glaze, sift the powdered sugar into a bowl. Then add the cinnamon, followed by the vanilla and a little milk until you get the proper consistency.

To plate, place a little bit of the pecan-maple paste in the center of a pancake and roll pancake and drizzle with the glaze. Lastly add a little more cinnamon on top and enjoy!

Foodie Wednesdays: Guest Post by Jessica from Jessiker Bakes {Pumpkin Cupcakes}

Hello Candid Cinni followers! My name is Jessica of Jessiker Bakes and this is my guest post on Candid Cinni's blog. Every Wednesday we will be doing a foodie themed blog post to satisfy your sweet (and sometimes savoury) cravings! Everyone does love to eat, right? Great. This week, the week before Halloween, I thought I would post a delicious and very thematic treat that would be perfect for your Halloween get togethers and celebrations - Pumpkin Cupcakes! P.S. I LOVE celebrating Halloween it's such a colourful and creative holiday!

Give us your feedback so I can cater these guest posts to your desires!

Happy reading and even happier eating! 

- Jessica @ Jessiker Bakes

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It's the week before Halloween! When I lived in the BVI, the custom of Halloween was definitely a tradition to look forward to! Dressing up, door to door trick-or-treating; I certainly miss it! That part of Halloween isn't that active in Jamaica; however there are several Halloween parties...

Look! A Pumpkin Cupcake Patch!

These are so easy to make! Note - maybe a little time-consuming if you tried to cram a million things into one day, but definitely worth it! I tried my best to make them look like pumpkins...

Aren't they cute? Please say yes.

These are pretty yummy too! I used the cupcakes from Kellie Cupcakes for this recipe, plus my usual buttercream recipe.

I guess you could leave out the pumpkin indentations, but I just thought it made them resemble pumpkins even more.

What I loved the most about these was that you didn't need any extra ingredients from what you would usually use for cupcakes, except green food colouring and orange/yellow and red food colouring.

Happy Pumpkin Carving!! I do hope I get to carve one soon! Looks like a lot of fun!

What do you plan to do to celebrate Halloween?

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Makes 12

1 1/2 cups cake flour

3/4 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

6 tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 + 1/8 cup white sugar

1/4 + 1/8 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 cups buttermilk, sour cream or full-fat yogurt

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a cupcake pan with liners. Set aside. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg, set aside. Cream the butter and sugar together, beating until fluffy. Add the eggs, scraping down the sides and bottom after added. Then add the vanilla, and gently mix in the buttermilk/ sour cream/ yogurt. Stir in the dry ingredients. Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tin, about 2/3 full. Bake for 18 - 22 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in the tin then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

Buttercream Recipe 

Easy Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter (room temperature)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 1b. 10X powdered sugar
1 teaspoon milk, half and half or cream

·         Using a mixer, cream softened butter and vanilla until smooth.

·         Add sugar gradually, allowing butter and sugar to cream together before adding more.

·         If you want your frosting a little creamier, add a teaspoon of milk at a time and beat on high until you get the right texture.

·         Then, just use icing colorsto tint the frosting the color of your choice.

Decoration

Separate the buttercream - majority in one bowl (about 3/4) the other in a next.

Mix equal parts yellow and red food colouring to the 3/4 buttercream. If you want a lighter orange, add more yellow. A darker orange, add more red.

Pipe unto cupcakes (you really don't have to do this; seems like a waste of piping to me), then smooth down. Roll the sides in sugar (optional). 

Colour the 1/4 buttercream with green food colouring then pipe on top of the orange frosting. Dip the tip into sugar. Use a toothpick to create the lines up the sides of the pumpkin cupcakes.

Enjoy!