May the 4th! Baking it Star Wars Style

It's May the 4th and I thought it would be fun to celebrate Star Wars and the amazing inspiration that it has on the bakers of the world. 

It's no surprise to anyone that it was the awesomeness of Star Wars baked goods that lead me to becoming a baker. I wanted to be able to make cookies, cakes and cupcakes that look as good as these.

Aren't those amazing?

And to also help us celebrate today, here is Cookie Monster and friends in Star S'mores!

Don't you just love Darth Baker's apron! I want one for myself!

May the 4th, force and the fork be with you always!

Awesome (But Not Quite Magical) Cheddar-Sage Scones

I had a dream.... yes, a dream

I dreamed that someone gave me a scone. Now I know that doesn't sound very exciting. It it really shouldn't be, I don't even particularly like scones, but this one was different. 

This one was the most amazing scone I have ever tasted! It was buttery and flaky and just melted in my mouth. It was perfect.

The person who gave it to me asked if I wanted the recipe and I, of course, said yes!

Just as I was being handed the recipe, I woke up. I was devastated! I tried to go back to sleep, but couldn't. Visions of that perfect scone have haunted me ever since...

Months later, I was reading A Study in Darkness (The Baskerville Affair #2) by Emma Jane Holloway (read my review of the book here), I came across this passage

So that's what it took to make the best scones ever; MAGIC!

But where was I ever going to find baking magic? Only in my dreams...

but also in books!

Introducing Brownies and Broomsticks (A Magical Bakery Mystery #1) by Bailey Cates.

Why yes, this is a book about baking magic! And not only that, it confirmed my suspicions about magical scones! YAY!

This is one of those great books that not only is fun to read (see my review of the book here), but has recipes in it. And you better believe that it has the scone recipe in it! So, of course, I had to try it out

Cheddar-Sage Scones

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 tsbs baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp dried sage

6 tbsp butter, cut into 1-inch pieces and chilled in the freezer for 15 minutes

2/3 cup of cheddar cheese, grated

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 400'

Set aside 1/4 cup of flour in a small bowl. In a medium bowl combine 2 cups of flour, baking powder, salt and sage.

Add chilled butter and cut into flour by rubbing with your fingers or using a pastry blender until the consistency of rough cornmeal.

Add the grated cheddar to the 1/4 cup of flour and toss to coat.

 Shake to remove excess flour and add to pastry mixture, tossing with your hands to evenly distribute the cheese.

Whisk together egg and milk. Add to flour mixture, stirring lightly with a fork until ingredients are moistened and just hold together.

Trasfer ti a lightly floured surface and knead twenty times. Add more flour to the surface if needed. Pat into an 8-inch circle, slightly higher in the center than on the edges.

Using a very sharp knife, cut eight equal wedges. Place scones on baking sheet lined with parchment paper, slightly apart from one another.

Bake for 12-14 minutes until golden brown.

Although these scones were delicious, they were not magical. I will have to work on that for next time. Until then, I'm off to look for more magical scone recipes.

Season's Geetings from Bake Star Wars For Me!

May your pastries be fluffy and light

and may all your baking turn out right!

Happy Holidays and Happy Baking to all!

Kitchen Overlord Illustrated Geek Cookbook

I started this blog because I wanted a world with more geeky treats in it. 

I've looked for fun cooking and baking books over time, but never really found anything that really fit the image that I had in mind. 

Well, that is until I found Kitchen Overlord's Illustrated Geek Cookbook!

Kitchen Overlord's Illustrated Geek Cookbook is a lavishly illustrated, easy-to-use cookbook representing over 120 years of geek culture.

Artist Tom Gordon and I spent over a year collaborating to create dozens of beautifully illustrated, ridiculously geeky, and, most of all, surprisingly easy recipes. Fans of Kitchen Overlord begged us for a display worthy cookbook, because nobody really wants to rub smudgy food fingers all over their iPad while trying to scroll through a recipe online.

Your wish is our command! We ran a successful Kickstarter this summer which earned over $16,000. That money went straight into printing high quality hardback books. The printers say the books will be delivered in the next 4-8 weeks. Preorder it now and you'll get a copy signed by the author as well as a quad folded poster of our not so problematic Ice Planets to hang in your kitchen. 

This isn't yet another collection of boring nachos and cookies with recipe title puns. Instead, we give you unique recipes that look like iconic aspects of your favorite fandom.

You like science fiction? We’ve got recipes for Sandworms, Tribbles, Cylon Raiders, and lots more.

Prefer fantasy? How about washing those Princess Buttercups down with some Gelatinous Cube Jello Shots. Bring them both to a party and I promise, you’ll add plus four to your charisma.

Are you a comic lover? How about chowing down on Captain America’s Shield, Tony Stark’s Arc Reactor, or Deadpool’s Chimichangas.

Prefer the classics? We don’t stop at old school favorites like Soylent Green and a Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy recipes. We start there, then go all the way back to the earliest days of Geek culture with tributes to Cthulhu, Sherlock Holmes, and HG Wells. Then we bring it right back to the present with recipes inspired by hit shows like Once Upon a Time and the The Walking Dead.

This isn’t just a comic. It’s not just a cookbook. It’s an illustrated encyclopedia of the best of geek culture.

Check out some of the awesome recipes that are going to be in this book!

You can buy it, and these other awesome cookbooks on her Etsy 

An Unexpected Cookbook

Wood For Sheep

Dining With The Doctor

But if you're going to dine with the doctor, you might want to invest in these!

buy here

I can't wait to get cooking!

Funfetti Cake Batter Cookie Dough Brownie Layer Cupcakes

I'm always looking for a reason to create something sweet and wonderful.

An upcoming team building meeting, a gathering of friends and a birthday was the perfect excuse to try something that I had been meaning to make for awhile.

 

Funfetti Cake Batter Cookie Dough Brownie Layer Cupcakes

 

 

yup, that's a mouthful to say, so let me try to explain what this masterpiece is. It's funfetti cake batter mixed into cookie dough, sandwiched between layers of brownie and then topped with chocolate icing. In other words, melt in your mouth amazing! This recipe, brought to you by Life, Love & Sugar, is suppose to be made as a cake. Well, I'd much rather have cupcakes, so I modified it a bit.

Brownies

1 1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 cups sugar
3 tsp vanilla extract
6 eggs
1 1/2 cup flour
1 cup cocoa
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Line the bottoms of cupcake pans with parchment paper and grease the sides. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix together the oil, sugar and vanilla extract. Add eggs and mix until well combined.
Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.
Slowly add dry ingredients to the egg mixture until well combined.
Pour the batter evenly into the three pans and spread evenly.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs.

 

Remove brownies from oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes in the pan, then remove to cool on wire rack. While brownies cool, make cookie dough.

 

 

 

Cookie Dough

1 1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
two 15.25 oz boxes funfetti dry cake mix
1 1/3 cups flour
3-4 tbsp milk
4-5 tsp sprinkles
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
3/4 cup chocolate chips

 

 Cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
Mix in vanilla extract.
With the mixer on low speed, add one entire box of dry cake mix, plus 1 1/2 cups from a second box of cake mix and mix until combined. 

 

Add 1 cup flour and mix until combined. Add milk and up to an additional 1/3 cup of flour to preferred thickness.

 

 

Stir in sprinkles and chocolate chips. Dough will be thick. Set aside.

 

 

Since we're doing cupcakes instead of cake, cut the brownies in half horizontally and place in cupcake liners.

 

 

Take a handful of cookie dough and mould into a round, flattened ball and place on top of brownie half. Once finished, replace the tops of the brownies on top of the cookie dough.

 

 

Chocolate Frosting

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup shortening
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1 tbsp water or milk
sprinkles, for topping, if desired

 

 

Beat the shortening and butter together until smooth.
Slowly add the powdered sugar and cocoa and mix until smooth.
Add water or milk and mix until smooth.

 

Pipe icing onto the top of the cupcakes. Top with sprinkles.

 

 

Don't they look divine?

 

Everyone who had these wished that I had made more of them. Even I wished I had. These are quite time consuming, but totally worth making.