Birthdays

Happy Birthday to us!

June 5, 2014

Today is my birthday and my (step)sisters birthday! Say whaaat? Yup – we’re born on the same day, one year apart. Even better? We have the same name! Alysha & Alicia

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This will be the first year in 5 years we haven’t celebrated together! We’ll be celebrating from afar and then reunite in the summer for another celebration!

Also, it’ll be the first time in 5 years Adam and I haven’t been together for my birthday, however he gets home next week and we’re going away on a fun little vacation. 

I got an early birthday surprise this week with a sneak preview from our engagement photo shoot with my lovely friend Ainsley Rose Photography!

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Adam left me a little card before he left to be opened on my birthday – I thought it was pretty funny that it was almost exactly like our engagement photo sneak peak!

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Off to spend my birthday with Kindergarteners, and then dinner with the family!

 

Brownies

Raspberry Brownies

June 4, 2014

Raspberry Brownies // bakeaholic.ca

Raspberry Brownies // bakeaholic.ca

It’s my birthday week!

Actually It’s my birthday tomorrow. I’m celebrating it Saturday night as well, and had a lovely birthday lunch yesterday with my soon to be mother-in-law and sister-in-law, along with my adorable little niece. 

Every year I try and bake something special just for my birthday and share it with family or friends. I have a few recipes I’m wanting to make for this weekend so I’ll share them next week. I made these brownies at 10:00 at night on Monday because it’s far too hot out right now to have the oven on during the day. Also, brownies are better (read: a must) if they sit overnight, usually in the fridge. This allows them to become dense and fudge-like without being too cake-y. Baking them the night before means you have no option but to wait, and you can go to bed dreaming of brownies without being tempted to eat them 😉

If I had a choice between a layered cake, a cookie or a brownie I would almost definitely choose a brownie. It has to be a certain type however, one that is dense, crisp on top with a layer of crackle crust, and a dense fudge centre that you can really sink your teeth into. I like cookies and cake too, but I would always go for a rich chocolate brownie over the other two. 

Raspberry Brownies // bakeaholic.ca

Brownies are in the same category as cookies because they’re a ‘finger food’ dessert, meant to be eaten with your hands instead of a fork like cake. The ‘food legend’ goes to say a housewife forgot to add baking soda to her cake mix and the batter didn’t rise, therefore creating a thinner dense dessert. She cut it up into small pieces and served it as a bar. 

I’ve made quite the collection of brownie recipes on my site to prove my love for the dense dark square including:

Vegan Brownies (amazingly dense, you’d never guess they were vegan)

Flourless Almond Meal Brownies (no flour! same texture if not better than regular and perfect for gluten/wheat sensitive friends)

Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Brownies a.k.a brookies (the best of both worlds, brownies topped with chocolate chip cookie dough)

Fudgey Banana Brownies (a delicious blend of fruit and chocolate to create a thick brownie)

Banana Brownies with Chocolate Avocado Ganache (the banana brownie taken to the next level with avocado ganache, believe me it tastes good!)

Chocolate & Blonde Swirled Brownies (blonde brownies with a touch of chocolate)

Pumpkin Swirl Brownies (perfect for fall, pumpkin and chocolate are a great duo)

Raspberry Brownies // bakeaholic.ca

Raspberry Brownies
Yields 16
A dense delicious brownie studded with raspberries.
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Ingredients
  1. 1 1/4 cups whole spelt flour (can sub regular AP flour, Whole Wheat Flour or gluten-free)
  2. 1/2 cup cacao powder
  3. 1/4 tsp baking soda
  4. 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
  5. 3.5 oz dark chocolate, chopped (or 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips)
  6. 1/2 cup sugar
  7. 1/4 cup almond milk
  8. 2 eggs (flax or regular will work)
  9. 1/2 pint raspberries
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line a 9″ square pan with parchment paper; set aside.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cacao powder and baking soda.
  3. In a a microwave-proof bowl melt the shortening and chocolate, 1-2 minutes.
  4. Once melted, stir in the sugar and heat additional 30 seconds.
  5. Create a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the eggs (flax or regular) and chocolate mixture; stir with a whisk just until combined. Add in almond milk.
  6. Batter will be thick, switch to spatular and fold together.
  7. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and level with the back of spatula.
  8. Dot with raspberries (use as many as you want).
  9. Bake at 350ËšF for 20-25 minutes.
  10. Allow to cool in pan entirely, transfer to fridge for an hour or two or overnight. The longer they sit the fudge-ier they will be.
Notes
  1. If your raspberries sink into the batter while baking, simply top with fresh raspberry halves as soon as the brownies come out of the oven.
  2. You could also fold in some raspberries into the batter before pouring it into the pan, and then top with more berries.
Adapted from Oh, Ladycakes
Adapted from Oh, Ladycakes
b a k e a h o l i c https://www.bakeaholic.ca/

 

 

Cookies

Cookies for the Teachers

June 2, 2014

cokies cookiesAs a student I have experienced lots of teacher strikes, missed days of school and walk-outs in high school. However, this year I am on the other side of the battle as a practicing teacher. 

I’m one month away from finishing my first year of teaching. It’s been a rewarding experience full of learning. Yes – as a teacher I am still learning. Learning doesn’t end in the classroom – we are all lifelong learners (as I was taught in my education program). Even if I weren’t a teacher, I would still believe this statement. No one can say that they ever stop learning – no matter the content, the subject or idea we are continuously learning and shaping our world around us through these experiences. I believe that education is important. Thus, I am standing on the picket line for my first ever strike along with fellow colleagues. 

Last week was our first day of rotating strikes in BC, and this week I’ll be on the line again. It was great to talk to other teachers, to inform those driving by, giving us a honk (or, other times a not-so-nice gesture or plain looking away altogether). However I do hope that our strike will bring about some much needed changes to help those students in our classroom that need it the most. 

It was nice to see public support from students parents and family, bringing the teachers coffee or snacks along with homemade signs. This week I said I would bake something to share with the teachers – simple chocolate chip cookies. 
 cokies bake

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yields 36
Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Ingredients
  1. 2 sticks butter
  2. 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
  3. 1/2 cup quick oats
  4. 1 teaspoon baking soda
  5. ¼ cup sugar
  6. 1¼ cups brown sugar
  7. 2 eggs
  8. 2 tablespoons almond milk
  9. 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
  10. 2 cups dark chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Sift together the flour and baking soda and set aside.
  2. Pour melted butter in the mixer’s bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the eggs, 2 tablespoons almond milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
  3. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture and oats until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
  4. Chill dough in freezer 10 minutes.
  5. When ready to bake, heat oven to 375F.
  6. Scoop chilled dough onto lined baking sheets.
  7. Bake for 10-14 minutes or until golden brown.
b a k e a h o l i c https://www.bakeaholic.ca/