Quick and Easy Chocolate and Salted Caramel King Cake

Quick and Easy Chocolate and Salted Caramel King Cake

I use the term King Cake very loosely in this recipe. Usually a king cake is made with a yeasty cinnamon roll-like dough that has to rise and ends up sort of dry and bread like before it is topped with lots of colored sugar. This is not something we are huge fans of around here- although living in New Orleans and rejecting king cake is almost sacrilegious. Recently I had a chocolate king cake that had almost a croissant like dough that I really enjoyed, so this is my quick and easy attempt to duplicate that.

-2 sheets puff pastry, thawed
-3 Tbsp cinnamon
-4 Tbsp brown sugar
-1 cup chocolate chips
-2-4 Tbsp milk
-1/4 cup caramel sauce (store bought or homemade)
-1/2 tsp sea salt for sprinkling
-1 eggs, beaten

Place the shorter end of one piece of puff pastry on a floured surface against the shorter end of another piece and press the edges together. Roll the dough into one long, thin rectangle.

Combine the cinnamon and brown sugar and sprinkle over the rectangle.

Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler or by microwaving and stirring at 30 second intervals, Adding a tablespoon of milk at a time once melted to thin out the chocolate. Spread or drizzle the chocolate onto the puff pastry.

Drizzle the caramel sauce over the chocolate. Sprinkle the salt over the caramel.

Starting with one of the long ends of the rectangle start rolling the dough over itself to form one long strip of dough that has been rolled and rolled until all of the filling is on the inside. Place this long tube on a baking sheet covered with parchment and form it into a circle or oval, pressing the ends together. Brush the dough with the egg. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes until pastry is brown and puffy. Cool at least 10 minutes prior to serving.

(I usually bake mine a day ahead and heat the individual pieces in the microwave for 10 seconds prior to serving so that the chocolate is warm and melted)

Pumpkin Cobbler

Pumpkin Cobbler

This is one of our favorite desserts. It bakes up with a warm pumpkin pudding/ sauce on the bottom and a cake-like pumpkin layer on top. Serve it warm with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.


-1 cup + 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
-2 teaspoons baking powder
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-3/4 cup granulated sugar
-1 teaspoon cinnamon
-1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
-1/4 teaspoon cloves
-1/2 cup pumpkin puree
-1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup melted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Topping:
-1/2 cup granulated sugar
-1/2 cup brown sugar
-1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

-1 1/2 cups hot water

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and spices. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk pumpkin, milk, melted butter and vanilla together to combine. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir to form a thick batter. Pour into mixture into a greased 8 or 9 inch square casserole dish.

In a separate bowl, stir sugar, brown sugar and nuts together. Sprinkle the sugar/ nut mixture over the top of the batter evenly. Pour hot water over the entire thing. Do not stir. Bake for 40 minutes or until the middle is set. Cool 5-10 minutes before serving. 

Indian Spiced Lentil Stew

Indian Spiced Lentil Stew

Serve this hearty stew over brown rice (if desired) and with lots of fresh cilantro and scallions for topping.

-1 Tbsp olive oil
-1 onion. diced
-1 inch chunk of ginger, minced
-4 cloves garlic, minced
-1 (15 oz) can crushed or diced tomatoes
-4 cups vegetable broth
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 Tbsp cumin
-1/4 tsp cayenne
-1 c red lentils, rinsed
-1 lemon, thickly sliced
-fresh chopped cilantro and green onions for toppings

Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion and ginger and saute for 5-10 minutes. Add garlic and saute 1 additional minute. Add tomatoes, broth, salt, cumin, cayenne, lentils and lemon. Stir well and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and cook for 25-30 minutes, until lentils are soft. Serve warm, over rice if desired, and topped with LOTS of fresh cilantro and green onions.

Spinach Artichoke Egg Bake

Spinach Artichoke Egg Bake

-16 eggs
-1/4 c milk or heavy cream
-1 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp pepper
-1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
-1/2 tsp dried rosemary
-1/2 tsp dried thyme
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-1 (10 oz) package frozen spinach, thawed and moisture squeezed out in a kitchen towel
-1 (15 oz) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
-1 1/4 c shredded mozzarella
-1/4 c shredded parmesan

In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, milk/ cream, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, rosemary, thyme and garlic. Stir in the spinach, using a fork to separate it and break it up. Stir in the artichoke hearts and 1 cup of the mozzarella. Pour egg mixture into a greased 13x9 pan. Top with remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella and the parmesan. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, until set. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

Handmade Christmas Gifts

I'm a big fan of giving and receiving handmade gifts for many reasons. I like gifts to be about a thought rather than the amount of money spent. I like holidays to be focused on things other than presents, pressure and items. I like to focus on experiences, words and thoughtfulness. The act of making handmade gifts is also a fun creative outlet for me and the boys. That said, here are the gifts we did this year;

Instead of doing our traditional cookie baking this year I decided to simplify and go with chocolate dipped pretzel rods covered in sprinkles. I got all of the stuff set up but the boys were able to do this mostly on their own with some supervision from me. They enjoyed making and eating these goodies and had such pride when they were able to give their teachers items that they themselves had made.

Every year we make a different ornament for our family members and close friends. This year we did these super simple birdseed ornaments that can be hung outside to feed the birds (or inside if you prefer). Eli was able to help me press this mixture down into the cookie cutters and poke in straws for the holes.

For the grandparents I always try to incorporate something that the boys are able to make. This year we did these note cubes. This was so quick and easy. I bought plain note cubes and let the boys color all over the sides with markers.

This Chocolate Peppermint Lip Gloss was super easy to mix up and smells quite festive.

I melted 1/4 c un-petroleum jelly and 1/4 c coconut oil in the microwave at 30 second intervels. Then stirred in 1 stevia packet, 1 tsp cocoa powder and 6 drops of peppermint oil until well mixed. Then I poured the mixture into these little lip gloss pots and let it sit for a few hours until it solidified.

These Curried Lentil and Wild Rice Soup Mixes are super easy to whip up and all the receiver has to do is add 7 cups of water and 25 minutes of cooking and dinner is served.

For these I layered 1/2 cup green lentils, 1/2 cup red lentils and 3/4 cup wild rice in a pint jar.  Then I mixed together 1 Tbsp sugar, 1.5 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1 tsp dried parsley, 1 Tbsp curry powder, 2 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp ginger and 1/4 tsp coriander and put in a small bag. I set the bag in the jar on top of the rice and attached a label instructing to rinse the rice and lentils in a strainer, then put them in a large pot with 7 cups of water and simmer for 25 minutes, or until the rice and lentils are tender.

Two of my boys got these stuffed owls because they were obsessed with them when I made them for friends.

And the third boy got one of these monsters.

For more of my handmade gift ideas sort through my older posts by selecting the Gifts/ Holiday label in the sidebar.

Spinach, Artichoke and White Bean Soup

Spinach, Artichoke and White Bean Soup

I couldn't decide whether to leave this soup chunky or puree it.  I ended up partially pureeing it using my immersion blender and was happy with that result, but you could definitely go chunky or entirely pureed with this soup based on your preference. Serve this soup with some crusty bread for dunking and additional parmesan for topping.

-1 Tbsp olive oil
-1 onion, diced
-3 cloves garlic, minced
-1 (15 oz) can artichokes, drained and chopped into a chunky dice
-2 (15 oz) cans white beans, rinsed
-3 cups vegetable or chicken broth
-2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp pepper
-1/2 c cream
-zest and juice of 1 lemon
-1/2 cup grated or shredded parmesan cheese (optional)
-4 cups spinach, torn into bite sized pieces

Heat a soup pot over medium heat. Add oil and onion, saute until soft, 5-10 minutes. Add garlic, saute an additional minute, stirring constantly. Add artichokes, white beans, broth, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to medium low so that the soup is not boiling. Add the cream, lemon juice and zest and parmesan, if using. Cook an additional 5 minutes. Stir in the spinach and cook an additional 5 minutes, or until all of the spinach is wilted. Puree if desired or serve as is.

Handmade Baby Shower Gifts

Here are some of my favorite handmade gifts to give and make as of late for baby showers and 1 year old birthdays.

These skirts are so simple to make. I mostly followed this tutorial.

This sweet little doll. I mostly followed this pattern but increased the size.

These simple headbands.

This monogram onesie, baby bow tie, paci clip, bandana bib and giraffe rattle.

These stuffed owls. I mostly followed this pattern but eliminated the feet.

These stuffed monsters are a more masculine alternative to the owls for little boys. I mostly followed this pattern but eliminated a few steps and increased the size with my copy machine.