Tagged: recipe

pecans & butter: overnight french toast

spiceopolis' pecan over-night french toast The second I saw this picture (via caitlin’s pin), I knew it had to be made as soon as possible. I’ve never tried an overnight French toast, though I had been able to hear a chorus of angels in my head singing its praises from afar for quite some time. French toast has always been my favorite “special” breakfast… I never make it too sweet, & I always favor yogurt or applesauce over syrup. It leaves you feeling less weighed down than pancakes or waffles, and it’s so simple to whip up.

Spiceopolis’s recipe, Pecan Over-Night French Toast, called for ingredients that are all already in most cupboards. Add that to the fact that you can do all the hard parts of this breakfast the night before, and we’re all set. I used a hodge-podge of different breads… a wholesome wheat bread, a few Italian heels, even a chopped up sub roll. That’s another attribute of French toast that makes it even easier to love.

Granted, my whole “not sweet” tendency was quickly overridden by the heaps of brown sugar and dollops of Karo syrup called for in the recipe. But sometimes dessert breakfasts are a good thing. :)

pecan overnight french toast

My picture isn’t nearly as pretty as hers, but I think you can still tell… this stuff is amazing. I have a good feeling about this weekend, and the chorus of angels in my head is now very loudly proclaiming the glory of overnight French toast. We’re off to a good start.

coconut chocolate cheesecake

choppy waves at sea,
grab hold of the mast, don’t let
yourself overboard!

coconut chocolate cheesecake!

YUM.

coconut chocolate cheesecake!Some cute boy and I decided it was necessary to make a cheesecake! Of course we couldn’t make an average cheesecake… we had to experiment! And I impulsively add coconut to everything I bake. So coconut chocolate it was.

After reading somewhere online that people have made crusts solely out of coconut and butter, I substituted half of the graham cracker crumbs of my recipe for coconut flakes. That was a good choice. Totally successful. I’m pretty sure I could use this crust for pretty much anything… or just eat it plain. (which i did, since i had extra.)

We used my dad’s super awesome cheesecake recipe for the basics, then split it in half for the layers. One half was the chocolate layer, and we mixed that up and stuck it in the fridge to firm up before adding the top layer. The top layer had extra vanilla and some – just enough – coconut. Then we topped it with a thin chocolate ganache and let it chill.

coconut chocolate cheesecake! Then it was eating time! We topped it with homemade whipped cream, since there was whipping cream left over from the ganache, and toasted coconut. (a tip: toasting coconut is definitely easiest to do in a frying pan, not in the oven!) And I took terrible pictures, since I just wanted to eat the stuff. Can you blame me?

And I feel super awesome, because how many college kids do you know who can bake successful cheesecakes in their dorm kitchens? Not many. And I’d say it’s a very worthwhile and completely awesome use of time and procrastinatory skills.