My Top 10 List!
As some of you may know, Dave Letterman holds a special place in my heart. Don’t worry I’m not one of those girls who digs really older men, there’s a good reason for it. Back when I was in college, I was a guest on Letterman. Yep, you read that right, a guest. And not just a stupid human tricks guest or something similar, an actual guest (Hubby was in the audience, and for those of you who we know in real life, I know you’ve seen him in his Letterman t-shirt!). Even before that day, I was always a fan. I had a great roommate who was OBSESSED and we would watch together. My favorite part was always the Top 10 list.
When I saw Cait’s Top 10 blogging event (check out her blog Food*Nerd), I knew it was something I wanted to participate in. This month the topic is Blog Envy: Top Ten Recipes You’ve Been Meaning to Make.
Basically you make a list of the top 10 recipes you’ve been saving and then you make one and blog about it! This is very time appropriate since our kitchen renovation just about finished up and I’ve been trying to figure out what to bake when I could get back in the kitchen. I had a really hard time coming up with a Top Ten List since there are so many great recipes out there I want to try. But here it is (in no particular order):
10. Rainier Cherry and Goats Cheese Pie from Peabody – I love goat cheese and this combo sounds awesome
9. Chocolate Bacon Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream from Scrumptious Photography – I’ve been dying to try the chocolate/bacon combo – update: I made these cupcakes for a friend’s pirate party!!!
8. Fresh Strawberry Cake from A Good Appetite – Strawberries are in season and this cake looks awesome – update: I made this cake into cupcakes!!
7. Dorie’s Chipster-Topped Brownies from Engineer Baker – I’ll probably leave out the nuts and add ganache to the top like Bakerella did – update: I made these!!
6. Chocolate Goat Cheese Truffles from Divine Domesticity – I’m intrigued by this recipe…
5. Bagels from Smitten Kitchen – I’ve been wanting to make bagels for a while, but they kind of definitely intimidate me… – update: I used a different recipe, but I did make these Mini Whole Wheat Bagels
4. Choc-alot Cake from Confections of a Foodie Bride – You knew I was going to have a super chocolatey cake on here – update – I made this cake and it’s AMAZING!
3. Billy’s Vanilla Cupcakes from How to Eat a Cupcake – I’m still searching for the perfect vanilla cupcake… – update: I’ve found a go-to vanilla cupcake recipe, so I’m not going to be trying this one!!
2. White Cake with Fresh Strawberry Buttercream from Peabody – again, strawberries are in season and how awesome does this cake look?!?
1. Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake from Smitten Kitchen – Um, hello?!? Cheese cake, ganache, and brownies in one dessert – heaven! update – I made this cake with a winter twist – peppermint!! It was everything I hoped and dreamed it would be.Â
I had HIGH hopes of actually being able to make something off my top ten list by the end of the month. However, we had a mishap with the granite (um, they lost our order for over a week!?!) which set us back about a week. The good news is that on Thursday, I’ll be able to use the kitchen again!! It won’t be completely done, but very close. I’ve decided that the first thing I’m going to bake is going to be from this list… now which one should I make… I’ll post as soon as I make it!
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
Yum that looks delicious and welcome back to my hometown! Cincinnati’s actually a great town that grows on you and has been evolving quite a bit in the time that you’ve been away. I suspect given your profession and work location history that we probably work for the same company as our day jobs ;).
beantownbaker — January 23rd, 2013 @ 8:30 am
Yes, Cincinnati has changed a LOT since we moved away in 2007.
I would suspect you’re right. There’s enough info to know where I work, especially if you work here too 😉 Going to go check out your blog now. I would love to meet some other Cincinnati area bloggers!
beantownbaker — January 23rd, 2013 @ 8:31 am
Ok I work for the *other* big company in town (just checked your About page).
Isn’t the KA ice cream attachment the best thing ever? I am always making ice cream, even in the wintertime, but I never thought of using canned coconut milk as the base. I’ll have to try this out soon!
beantownbaker — January 23rd, 2013 @ 11:37 am
Absolutely. I didn’t think I could love my KAM any more than I already did. The ice cream attachment proved that I can.
I have lots of cans of coconut milk laying around and I know they make a good ice cream! Adding this one to my list 🙂
I bought myself KA ice creamer maker for my birthday this summer and I adore it! I’ve been thinking about making non-dairy ice creams, but the recipes all sounded strange. It’s great to see a recipe from a trusted source. Can’t wait to try.
beantownbaker — January 23rd, 2013 @ 10:28 pm
Let me know what you think if you try it. I am going to be experimenting with different milks since I can’t have cow’s milk…
love coconut milk based ice creams!! this one looks fabulous, and good call throwing in those oreos 😉
beantownbaker — January 24th, 2013 @ 12:05 pm
It’s ALWAYS a good idea to throw oreos in 🙂
My brother’s favorite thing to get at Coldstone is chocolate oreo ice cream. Too bad I don’t have an ice cream maker, or I would definitely try this!
beantownbaker — January 29th, 2013 @ 7:51 am
I’ve been told you can make ice cream without an ice cream maker. I never tried it before I got mine though…
I just made your recipe and luckily I tasted it before I cooled it. The ratio of sugar to cocoa powder is off. You should use at least twice the amount of sugar to cocoa powder in order for it not to have a horribly bitter taste. After adding more sugar it had a nice sweet to chocolately balance. Thanks for the recipe, my daughter is lactose intolerant and she will enjoy it.
beantownbaker — January 31st, 2013 @ 2:03 pm
I am glad you were able to adjust this recipe to suit your needs. Hubby and I both enjoyed the sweetness level of this recipe. I’m sure different cocoa powders have different levels of sweetness. I plan to try this recipe without the cocoa powder to make vanilla ice cream too. We loved the creaminess of it!
This look yummy and chocolate ice cream is one of my favorite. Thanks for sharing the directions and ingredients.
I just opened a can of coconut milk and it looked extremely curdled. I shook it a lot but it was still completely curdled. Is that how coconut milk is supposed to be out of the can? Are there any brands that you specifically like to use?
beantownbaker — April 24th, 2013 @ 1:44 pm
Hm. It doesn’t usually look curdled, more just separated. Did you try shaking it up? I use Native Forest since that’s what they sell in my grocery store. It looks like this: http://www.amazon.com/Native-Forest-Organic-Classic-13-5-Ounce/dp/B001HTJ2BQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366829034&sr=8-1&keywords=coconut+milk
Oh how I wish I could try this.. I am currently gluten and dairy free.. However this being dairy free is is not gluten free with the oreo’s… Bummer!!
beantownbaker — October 23rd, 2013 @ 12:28 am
I’ve made this recipe again without the Oreos and it’s really good. Not quite as good as with the Oreos, but if you wanted to make it gluten free, just leave them out.
Enjoy the Best Movie of All Time
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