Sugar Rush

Put a fork in me, I'm done! Whew, what a rush... just finished teaching my I HEART SUGAR class in Adriene Rathbun's kitchen. Fourteen lovely ladies (and one super-sweet 2-year-old) watched and listened, as I demonstrated how to make eight different Valentine's Day-inspired treats. It was so much fun. I hope everyone learned a few baking tricks to try at home for their loved ones. 

If you'd like to download a file of all the projects, just click here. I also posted each of them separately on Project Denneler - just scroll down and you'll see what's been occupying my time. Eric says I'm not allowed to turn the oven on for a while. We'll see.

Happy Valentine's Day. Stay sweet!

You-Warm-My-Heart Hot Cocoa Packets

Ingredients & Supplies
Individual hot cocoa packets
Heart-shaped marshmallows
Plastic bags (3”x4”)
Labels & staples

1. Empty packets of hot cocoa into plastic bags.
2. Put 2 heart-shaped marshmallows on top of cocoa in each bag.
3. Fold 3”x6” custom labels or decorative paper over top of
bag and staple twice. (To download a file, click here. Print on card stock, cut and fold in half.)

Secret Lover Cake

Ingredients
Four, 4-inch or 8-inch cake rounds (whatever color you prefer)
One, 9x13 cake (whatever color you prefer for the inside heart of the cake)
6 cups of buttercream icing

1. Crumble the 9x13 cake and mix in 1 cup of frosting.
2. Level each of the cake rounds with a long knife or cake level
3. Spread 1/2 to 1 cup of frosting on two layers and put the remaining two layers on top of each stack.
4. In the center of both cake stacks, trace a smaller circle for a guide of where to cut.
5. Carve out a V-shape in the first cake stack.
6. Carve out a small, pointy island in the second cake stack. (Use
a spoon to help carve out a more rounded edge for the tops of
the hearts.)
7. Fill the two cake stacks with the crumbled mixture of cake and frosting.
8. Put the cake stacks in the freezer for 15 minutes.
9. Frost the top edge of the V-shaped cake stack to act as “glue” to hold the two stacks together.
10. Flip the top cake stack over (it’s the one with the small, pointy island carved inside) and place it on top of the other one.
11. Apply a crumb coat of frosting over the whole cake.
12. Put the cake in the fridge for at least an hour to firm.
13. Remove the cake from the fridge and frost & decorate with remaining icing as you wish.
14. When serving, cut into the cake and remove at least 1/3 of it to see the heart that’s formed inside!


* Disclaimer: The original tutorial for this cake comes from the blog I AM BAKER. Her instructions and photos are probably way more helpful than mine. You can find her tutorial here. This cake is not easy to make. It took me several attempts to get a good heart shape inside. If you'd like a fool-proof way of making one, I suggest you purchase this pan from Wilton. I didn't even know such a thing existed until AFTER I'd struggled through this one. 

Caramel Cream Kiss

Ingredients
3 cans buttermilk biscuits
8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 butter, melted
1/2 cup heavy cream

1. Open biscuit containers and place biscuits on countertop
2. Put cream cheese inside a ziplock bag. Cut off the tip and squeeze a teaspoon of cream cheese onto each biscuit.
3. Pull edges of biscuits together, forming a pocket of cream cheese inside each one.
4. Place biscuits inside lightly greased Kiss/Lip pan
5. Pour melted butter over biscuits.
6. Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon mixture over biscuits.
7. Pour heavy cream over biscuits and sugar mixture.
9. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes.
10. Remove from oven and flip onto a serving platter.
Enjoy warm & gooey!

Makin' Whoopie Pies

Chocolate Whoopie Cakes
1-2/3 cups flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
4 tbsp. Crisco
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 375°
2. Line two baking sheets with parchement paper
3. Put flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
4. In mixing bowl, beat together butter, Crisco, and brown sugar on low speed until just combined.
5. Increase the speed to medium and beat until fluffy and smooth - about 3 minutes.
6. Add the egg and vanilla and mix for 2 more minutes.
7. Add half of the dry ingredients and half the milk and beat on low. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the remaining dry mixture and milk. Mix until combined.
8. Put half of whoopie pie dough in a pastry bag and pipe into circles or other shaped on parchment paper at least 2 inches apart.
9. Bake for 10 minutes.
10. Allow them to cool for 5 minutes before taking them off the parchment paper.

Cream Cheese Filling
4 ounces cream cheese
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
3-1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

1. In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and butter on medium speed.
2. Add the sugar and beat on low speed until combined.
3. Add the vanilla nd increase the speed to medium.
4. Beat until creamy and smooth, about 4 minutes.
5. Put half the filling in a pastry bag and pipe a dollup onto one whoopie pie cake.
6. Sandwich the cakes together and roll the edges in decorative sprinkles if you wish.

Love Makes the Whirled-Go-'Round Cookies

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter
1 cup oil
2 eggs
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
4 1/2 cups flour
1 tbsp. vanilla
1 tsp. almond extract
(lemon, raspberry, etc.)

Cream sugars with butter. Beat in eggs and oil. Combine dry ingredients. Gradually add to wet mixture. Stir in flavorings. Split dough into parts for food coloring. Mix each color separately. 

For striped cookies: Line a bread pan with plastic wrap. Layer dough
in pan however you wish the colors to appear.
Cover the dough with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 2 hours. Remove frozen dough from pan & plastic wrap and cut into bars and then slices. Line baking pans with parchment paper. Put the slices on the parchment paper and cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes.

For swirly cookies:
On a clean work surface, layer dough however you wish. Roll the dough, mixing the colors into a swirl. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and put in the freezer for at least 2 hours. Remove frozen dough from plastic wrap and cut slices from the tube shape. Put slices on the baking sheet and cut out shapes as you wish. Bake at 350°
for 12 minutes.

Love-Me-Tender Brownie Steak

Ingredients & Supplies
1 fudge brownie mix
1 can light chocolate icing
1 can dark chocolate icing
3 tbsp. peanut butter
1 steak-shaped cookie cutter


1. Bend round cookie cutter into t-bone steak shape
2. Bake brownie in an 8-inch square pan. Let cool.
3. Cut t-bone shape with cookie cutter.
4. Frost brownie with light brown chocolate icing
5. Draw lines for grill marks with toothpick or kabob skewer
6. Using dark chocolate icing, pipe grill marks and outer edge of steak brownie.
7. Using peanut butter, pipe a t-bone shape on top.
8. Crush chocolate chips or a few pieces of chocolate cereal and sprinkle on top for “pepper.”
9. Sprinkle real salt crystals.
10. Insert "A love like ours is RARE" steak marker. (To download a file, click here. Just print on card stock, cut out, and attach to a toothpick.)