Coconut Rum and Amaretto Liqueur Pound Cakes

During the holidays, I participated in a Secret Santa gift exchange. It was hosted by the magnificent Joy, author of Gourmeted,  Thank you Joy!!!

She sent everyone a “Santa Baby” name and address so we could send something fabulous, whether  it be homemade or bought,  And in true Christmas style, it wasn’t about the money, it was about the thought!

I received my package from the lovely Lindsey who writes the blog Scoop: Adventures in Ice Cream. It’s all about ice cream and she has some good looking scoops that I’ll be trying during the hot days of summer.

She sent me some delicious homemade Cowboy Cookies that didn’t last long in my house. My daughter even said, :You should get the recipe for these mom!” So Lindsey, if you wouldn’t mind? :)

She also sent me some killer candied nuts that had a hint of orange and pepper. They were good right out of hand but I managed to sprinkle some on a salad for a light killer lunch.

And look at this adorable apron! 

Yep!!! She sent me that too.

Thank you Lindsey for being my Secret Santa and for  the wonderful things you sent. I loved them all.

Now!

Who and what did I send my Secret Santa Baby you ask?

My package went to the talented Amy of She Wears Many Hats.

Among with some other things, I sent her a pound cake!

And not just any pound cake!

It was Coconut Rum Soaked Liqueur Pound Cake!

It’s a rich and delicious cake soaked in liqueur. Because they store well unrefrigerated, they make perfect gifts to leave under the tree or to send to friends far and near.

I made  Coconut Rum and Amaretto Pound cakes.

But they would be equally delicious if you used an orange liqueur or hazelnut. You can even make chocolate ones and use a coffee liqueur. So many options!

You could even make them now. Then you could have a few little loaves for Super Bowl and save some for Valentines Day. Trust me, it would be a  a win win situation!

Liqueur Pound Cakes

• 1 1/2 cups butter, at room temp.
• 1 pound powdered sugar
• 6 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 3/4 cups cake flour
• Liqueur Syrup (recipe follows)

In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter till creamy. Sift powdered sugar, gradually, add to creamed butter beating untill mixture is light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Gradually mix flour into creamed mixture.

Scrape batter into four 3 1/2 x7 inch loaf pans. Smooth top of batter.

Bake at 300 degrees until a wooden toothpick inserted into center comes out clean (about 50 minutes). Let cool in pans on a rack for 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of each pan and turn cake out; immediately return cake to pan. With a wooden skewer or a fork, poke 1 inch deep holes all over the top of the cakes. Immediately pour equal amounts of liqueur syrup over each cake. Let cool on rack for about 30 minutes.

Liqueur Syrup

In a 2 to 3 quart pan, combine 2 cups sugar, 1/2 cup corn syrup, and 3/4 cup water. Stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a simmer. Continue heating, without stirring, until mixture comes to a boil. Cover and continue to boil until sugar is dissolved and liquid is clear-about 1 minute. (If you don't cover the pan and if you stir while syrup boils, crunchy sugar crystals will form in the finished cake)

Remove from heat, uncover, and let stand until it’s slightly cooled (about 5 minutes). Stir in 1 1/4 cups rum or almond, hazelnut, or orange flavored liqueur. Use; or let cool, then cover and let stand at room temperature till the next day. Makes 3 1/2 cups.

Chocolate Liqueur Cakes

Follow directions for Liqueur Pound Cake, but decrease powdered sugar to 3 cups. Combine butter and sugar, then add 5 ounces melted semi-sweet chocolate. Cakes will develop a thin crisp top crust as they bake.

Prepare Liqueur Syrup as directed, but decrease water to 1/2 cup and increase rum or liqueur to 1 1/2 cups. Options include almond, hazelnut, orange, coffee, or chocolate flavored liqueurs. As syrup soaks through cake, top crust will soften. 

 

Note: Wrapped and stored in a cool area, they will last for up to 2 weeks. In the refrigerator, up to 1 month, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Homemade Gift Idea: Magic Spoon with Magic Powder

 Whether it’s for a teacher, co-worker, or all the nieces and nephews, I have an easy, homemade, magical gift idea.

A Mug of Christmas Magic!

  This mug contains a magic spoon, magic powder, candy cane, and a chocolate dipped Oreo cookie!

A magic spoon is a spoon used to stir your hot cocoa, and a marshmallow will magically appear!

To make a magic spoon, take a heavy duty plastic spoon, and scoop up some marshmallow cream,

Dip your spoonful of cream into melted white chocolate and sprinkle with holiday sprinkles.

Now you’ll want to wrap it before packaging it up. I used the corner of a sandwich bag and tied it with some curling ribbon.

After you have dipped your magic spoons, dip a few Oreo cookies. I wanted to get the holiday Oreo cookies. You know the ones, with the red cream in the middle? I couldn’t find any, so I used regular Oreos.

Don't forget to sprinkle the dipped cookies with a little holiday cheer too. And try not to eat the gift components while dipping. Not that I did or anything. That one above? Broke! ;)  Really! It did!

Now wrap up the cookie and tie it to the handle of the mug. Look how cute that is!

Now for the magic powder!

The magic powder is a simple hot cocoa mix. You can make your own with one of the following recipes below, or you can buy some commercial mix. Your choice! I think Costco had a big canister of the mix last time I was there. Or you could  use individual packaged cocoa. You can find those everywhere this time of year.

I found these cool snowflakes at Rite Aid. They are great for decorating cookies, cakes, or magic powder! Want a closer look?

They are actually made of wafer paper. Slightly sweet, they really don't have much of a taste. I bought  bags of these cute little snowflakes! I can think of many uses. I added 3 snowflakes to each cocoa bag.

Now measure the mix into individual serving sizes. See how I bagged the mix in the corner of a baggie. Tie it up with a twist tie or use some curling ribbon. Then trim off the zipper part and the excess plastic. The one on your left is not trimmed yet. The one on the right is trimmed and ready to package.

Now stuff the magic powder and the magic spoon in the Christmas mug that you tied the cookie to. Don’t forget a candy cane.You might wad up a piece of tissue paper and put it in the bottom of the mug to help position the spoon and lift the powder up a bit. It’s all in the presentation folks. Pretty it up!

Now that it’s all wrapped up, you need some instructions to tie on  it.

Tell me how this looks. Sound OK?

Here’s the magic powder hitting the mug of hot water. Looks pretty festive, yes?

After stirring with the magic spoon, I got a marshmallow!

 This IS truly magical!

OH! Don't forget to eat your cookie!

Recipe #1

Alton Browns Hot Cocoa

By Alton Brown

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup cocoa (Dutch-process preferred)
• 2 1/2 cups powdered milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or more to taste (optional)
• Hot water

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and incorporate evenly. In a small pot, heat 4 to 6 cups of water.

Fill your mug half full with the mixture and pour in hot water. Stir to combine. Seal the rest in an airtight container, keeps indefinitely in the pantry. This also works great with warm milk.

Recipe #2

Best Hot Cocoa Mix

Found at Family Fun

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

• 2 cups nonfat dry milk powder
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

• 1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup powdered nondairy creamer
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Measure all of the ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk them until they are evenly blended.

2. Store the mix in a tightly covered container at room temperature until you're ready to package it. Makes about 4 cups of mix.

3. Spoon 3 or 4 generous tablespoons of cocoa mix into your cup (depending on the size), add boiling water, and stir well."

Recipe #3

Hot Chocolate Mix

(Printable Recipe)

• 1 vanilla bean
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 pounds high-quality semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 4 1/2 oz dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1 cups Dutch process cocoa

Split and scrape vanilla bean and place in a large bowl or jar with the sugar. Work seeds into the sugar with your fingers. Bury the pods under the sugar. Cover tightly and let stand overnight (or up to months–vanilla sugar keeps forever) at room temperature.

In a food processor fitted with metal blade, process semisweet chocolate and dark chocolate until finely ground, using 4-second pulses. Process in batches, if necessary

Remove pod from sugar. Add ground chocolate and cocoa powder to sugar and whisk to blend, making sure to combine well. Store mix airtight at room temperature for up to six months.

Yields: 38 2-Tbsp servings, or 6 3/4-cup servings Adapted from: Gourmet,

Gift Ideas for the Foodie!

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things!

With the shopping season in full swing, it’s time to have a plan, a list, or something to help you get through the shopping season. So I thought I would share 10 of my favorite things. If you have a foodie on your shopping list, I hope this will give you some inspiration! A few of my favorite things!

Some of these things I have and love, some I want and need, and some are on order. Hehe!

 Merry Christmas! 

Dean and Deluca Salt Box

House special salts and herbs in style. This solid maple box is handcrafted and finished with mineral oil combating drying and cracking. The swivel lid eases quick, last-minute pinches. Stain and odor resistant. $28.00

Herb Cheese and Chocolate

The herbs in thier Lavender Cheddar and our Rosemary Cheddar make both of these cheeses sumptuous on a cheese plate.
They also complement Dagoba’s exquisite Organic Lavender Chocolate. We top off the package with our famous Oregon Blue Cheese and Deux Chats Durum  Wheat  Crackers.  $49.00

Magic Line Sheet Cake Pan 9X13X2

• Commercial-quality aluminum cake pans
• •Bakes evenly
• •Straight sides are easy to ice
• •Dishwasher safe
• $17.49

Smokey Blue Cheese Truffles

12 generous truffles made with the perfect combination of the Rogue Creamery's award winning Smokey Blue Cheese,.. $25.00

Wüsthof® Gourmet Wave + Bonus Bread-Cutting Board

Inspired by our desire for a truly versatile knife, we partnered with Wüsthof to create the Wave, a Sur La Table exclusive.
Wider than a santoku with excellent knuckle clearance and broad, rounded scallops for clean slicing and chopping, the innovative Wave effortlessly performs multiple functions with a single blade. Hand wash. 6" blade. Made in Germany.

The Everything Cookies & Brownies Cookbook

300 recipes for every occasion. Written by our own food blogger Marye Audet!

KitchenAid Beater Blade

Beater blade (KA-TH) mixer attachment for KitchenAid 4.5 qt. and 5 qt. Tilt-Head Mixers continuously beats, scrapes and folds ingredients, making Beater Blade one of the most efficient tools in your kitchen. It virtually eliminates hand-scraping and batter build-up on the blade. $24.99

Chef's Salts of the World Sampler

These pristine salts should be used to finish foods at the last minute so the unique flavor and texture of each may be experienced fully. Each salt contained in the collection has a different mineral characteristic.
The Chef's Collection contains six 1 oz vials of salts including Italian Trapani Sea Salt, Pink Himalayan Salt from India, Seoul Bamboo Salt from Korea, briny Dominion Sea Salt from New Zealand, Black Lava Salt from Cyprus, and Kechil Sea Salt crystals from Indonesia.
Each sampler includes detailed descriptions of these wonderful salts and suggestions for their use.
A wonderful gift for any food lover! $27.95

Financier Mold Sheet

Silicone Sheet Molds
These molds are made of non-stick food grade silicone.
They are temperature resistant, with temperatures ranging from -40°F to 500°F.
Easy clean with soft sponge and water Price: $24.95                                                     2" x 1" x 7/16" each mold
20 molds to a sheet

Pain de Mie Pan with Lid - 9"

At last! A “regulation size” pain de mie pan, perfect for your favorite standard yeast bread recipe. Lidded 9” x 4” x 4”-deep pan is ideal for yeast loaves with fine-grained texture, and perfectly square corners. Think grilled cheese, French toast, cinnamon toast, hors d’oeuvres… $35.95

I hope you enjoyed a few of  my favorite things. Now…can you guess what I have on order?