Mini Rocky Road Bundts with "Marshmallow" Frosting - #BundtBakers

Some time ago, Laura of Baking in Pyjamas chose Rocky Road as the theme for this month's Bundt Bakers. Since then, I've had the cake in the back of my mind. I wasn't sure what I would make. But I thought I would make it a chocolate cake and then add in the other Rocky Road ingredients somehow. I planned all previous Bundts around the fact that this one would be chocolate. I even grabbed the marshmallows that I would need back in early April. You can't have Rocky Road with marshmallows, right?

Finally, it was time to bake the Bundt. I went back and forth for a while but finally settled on a chocolate cake that would have mixed nuts and dried fruit (the British Rocky Road uses dried fruit) and then I'd use those marshmallows in some kind of glaze.I pictured my little Bundts with a lovely white glaze drizzled in perfect lines. Clearly, I was picturing someone else's cake since I can't do a neat drizzle to save my life. But I wasn't about to ruin the fantasy with thoughts like that.

I whipped up my chocolate batter - opting for a thin one that really doesn't support fillings but it had been on my to-try list for a while. A couple of my cakes stuck a wee bit because I had also stirred in some chocolate chips and they sank to the bottom creating a deliciously fudgey situation. No big deal really. The sticking was minor and I expected it since I knew I hadn't greased two of my mini pans well. Chocolate? Check. Nuts? Check. Dried Fruit? Check. Chocolate chips for extra happiness? Check. Now all I needed were the marshmallows and maybe even biscuits (cookies) too since the British Rocky Road uses biscuits.

I reached for my container that had my marshmallows, ready to work on my glaze and the perfect drizzle. I pulled out the bag of marshmallows and then.... Well, you see, remember I mentioned that I bought the marshmallows in the beginning of April? Well, uh, since April, I've been helping myself to marshmallows each time I entered the kitchen. And apparently, the marshmallows did not magically refresh themselves so I was staring at only 2 sad marshmallows left in the bag. A classic Kelly move.

The Bundts were cooling and I needed a new plan - one that did not involve leaving the house. That's when I decided to go with what many label a "marshmallow" frosting. It's really just an Italian meringue and you certainly can't drizzle those perfect lines with it. But it will do when someone eats all the marshmallows that you were saving for your Rocky Road Bundt. Plus, you get to practise piping.

Be sure to scroll down to see all the lovely variations on this Rocky Road theme. Someone is sure to have  that perfect marshmallow drizzle .

Mini Rocky Road Bundts with "Marshmallow" Frosting

Recipe by: Kelly  Cake adapted from: Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake

Yield: 5 one-cup sized mini Bundts

Cake Ingredients 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup butter 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons cocoa 1 cup flour 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 egg 1/4 cup yogurt 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup mix-ins (nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chips) 1 tablespoon flour  Marshmallow Frosting  1/2 cup granulated sugar 2 egg whites, room temperature 3 tablespoons water 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions Cake Preheat oven to 350 F. Thoroughly grease and flour 5 one-cup mini Bundt pans.  Add the water, butter, and cocoa to a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the butter is just melted. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Add half the chocolate mixture. It will be thick. Then stir in the remaining chocolate mixture. Stir in the egg until fully combined then stir in the yogurt and vanilla. . Mix until smooth. Toss the mix-ins with the tablespoon of flour then stir them into the batter.  Pour into the prepared mini Bundt pans. Bake 18-22 minutes or until a skewer inserted all the way to the bottom of the pan comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes in the pans then invert onto wire racks to continue cooling.  Marshmallow Frosting  Place the egg whites in a mixing bowl. Place the sugar in a small saucepan and pour the water over the sugar. Do not stir. Bring the mixture to a boil. When it reaches 235 F, start beating the egg whites. Beat the egg whites to a soft peak.  When the sugar mixture reaches 245 F, remove from heat, turn the mixer to high speed and slowly pour the hot syrup into the egg whites. Beat on high speed until the meringue reaches room temperature. Finally, beat in the vanilla. Decorate the mini Bundts as you desire.

Notes The batter is thin so most of your mix-ins will sink. That's OK though. It means you'll have a nice "rocky" top for your Rocky Road Bundts. Double the recipe for a full-sized Bundt.

  

• Almond, Blueberry & White Chocolate Rocky Road Bundt by Jane's Adventures in Dinner
• Biscoff & Chocolate Rocky Road Bundt Cake by Spice Roots
• Blueberry Pecan Cocoa Ripple Cake by Magnolia Days
• Brownie Style Rocky Road Bundt Cake by Basic N Delicious
• Cheery Cherry Rocky Road Bundt Cake by Our Good Life
• Cherry Chocolate Walnut Bundt by Noshing with the Nolands
• Chocolate Toffee Rocky Road Bundt Cake by The Chef Next Door
• Chocolate Chip Bundt with Rocky Road Topping by Baking & Creating with Avril
• Culture Confusion Rocky Road Bundt by Food Lust People Love
• Fantasy Rocky Road Bundt Cake by Los Chatos Chefs
• Elvis on a Rocky Road Bundt by It's Yummi
• Marshmallow Drenched Rocky Road Bundt Cake by Making Miracles
• Mini Rocky Road Bundts with Marshmallow Frosting by Passion Kneaded
• Nutty Chocolate Banana Bundt Cake by The Freshman Cook
• Not Just For Ice Cream Rocky Road Bundt by Tea and Scones
• Rock n' Roll Rocky Road Bundt by Living the Gourmet
• Rocky Road Bundt Cake by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Rocky Road Bundt Cake by I Love Bundt Cakes
• Rocky Road Bundt Cake by Kids and Chic
• Rocky Road Bundt Cake by Liv For Cake
• Rocky Road Bundt Cake with Marshmallow Glaze by Brooklyn Homemaker
• Rocky Road Fudge Bundt Cake by La Cocina De Aisha
• Rum Rocky Road Bundt Cake by Adventures in All Things Food
• S'more Rocky Road Bundt Cake by Baking in Pyjamas
• Strawberry Rocky Road Bundt Cake by Recipes, Food and Cooking
• Toasted Chocolate Almond Bundt Cake by Eat, Drink and Be Mighty
• Triple Chocolate Rocky Road Bundt Cake by Simply Veggies

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on the BundtBakers home page.

Chipotle Brownies with Mango Frosting

 This month's Crazy Ingredient Challenge see us pairing mango and chipotle peppers. Sweet mangoes go very nicely together with smokey, spicy chipotle peppers. I tried the combination in a delicious chili over the weekend but ultimately decided that I wanted to share dessert. My original plan was a mango chipotle pie. It would have worked had it not been for that pesky crust. I'm not sure where I went wrong there. A pox on thee, pie crust. I'll try it again eventually. The pie filling is delicious. I'll just have to use a cracker crust instead of trying to tackle my nemesis, the pie dough. But these brownies are great so I'm happy. The smokey flavour pairs very well with the chocolate. I wish I had also added some chipotle to the frosting. Next time!

Life is throwing me lots of curve balls this month so I'll keep this pretty short. Be sure to check out what others made below!

Chipotle Brownies with Mango Frosting

Ingredients
Chipotle Brownies
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 - 1 teaspoon chipotle pepper, to taste

Mango Frosting 
2 1/2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup mango puree
1/2 cup butter, room temperature

Directions
Preheat oven to 300 F. Line an 8" x 8" baking pan with a parchment or foil. Allow some of the parchment or foil to hang over so that the brownies can be removed easily.
Beat together sugar, eggs and vanilla then mix in melted butter.
Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt then stir into the wet ingredients until combined. Add chipotle pepper to taste.
Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs.

For the frosting, whisk together flour and sugar in a small saucepan. Mix in the mango puree then place over medium heat. Cook for 5 minutes or until mixture has thickened. Stir it as it cooks to keep it from sticking. Allow mixture to cool to room temperature. 

Transfer the mango mixture to a mixing bowl and beat until fluffy. Add the butter and beat until the frosting reaches your desired consistency. Spread over cooled brownies.

An InLinkz Link-up

Jamaican Meat Loaf - #BreadBakers

Patties - spicy ground beef enclosed in a flaky crust - are the quintessential Jamaican lunch. Even if you brought lunch to school every day, you still had special days when you bought a patty. People from all walks of life - lawyers, doctors, the higgler at the school gate, we all enjoy our patties. Nothing beats biting into a hot patty knowing that the steam is probably going to burn you. And more than likely there'll be hot meat doing the same. Yes, we look forward to that. Pair your patty with a coco bread and you have a perfect meal. Our patty shops are also known for the meat loaf. It's like a marriage between the patty and the coco bread. The beef filling is now inside a soft dough - no more flaky crust. Not eating meat? Not to worry, you can grab a callaloo loaf. Those are pretty delicious. I've heard rumours of a soy loaf but I haven't paid much attention.

Folded dough (My house is really dark)

I don't eat a lot of meat loaves. I do like them, but my heart belongs to the flaky patty crust. I just cannot bring myself to order a meat loaf over a patty. Patty lover for life! Seriously. When I return from trips home, I almost always have a box or two of frozen patties with me. The patties that are available here are just not the same. The flavour, the crust - it's just all wrong. Despite my "step-child" treatment of the meat loaf, it is actually perfect for this month's Bread Bakers as we are making stuffed breads.Thanks for hosting, Jenni!

As you'll see below, the meat loaf is pretty easy to make. You do a quick beef filling and make a simple dough. I'm not going to tell you that this is the best meat loaf you'll ever eat. It's good. But nothing will hold a candle to what you can get from Juici Beef. This will tide you over until your next fix though. Plus, you can customise this as much as you like. I hear adding cheese is a thing. Not my thing - I'm a purist - but it could be yours. The only thing missing from this is a brown paper bag. I couldn't find one that was the right size. But all patties and coco breads should be consumed from paper bags. I'll rectify that eventually.

Jamaican Meat Loaf

Recipe by: Kelly

Yield: 6 loaves

Dough Ingredients 360 grams flour 2 teaspoons instant yeast 12 grams sugar 1 teaspoon salt 113 grams milk 97 grams water 12 grams oil Filling Ingredients 1 tablespoon oil 1 small onion, finely diced 3 cloves of garlic, minced scotch bonnet pepper, to taste 1 lb ground beef 2 teaspoons dried thyme 1/4 teaspoon pimento (allspice) 1 escallion, green tops finely chopped salt & black pepper, to taste 1/4 cup water or beef stock 1/4 cup breadcrumbs

Directions Mix together all the dough ingredients and knead until you have a soft, tacky dough. This should take about 6-8 minutes. Set the dough aside to rise in a covered bowl while you work on the filling.  In a skillet, heat the tablespoon of oil then add the onion. Cook over medium low heat until softened then add the garlic and scotch bonnet pepper. When the garlic has softened, add the ground beef, thyme, pimento salt and black pepper. Break up any large pieces of ground beef. When the meat is browned and no longer pink, add about a quarter cup or so of water or beef stock and the bread crumbs. Let simmer until most of the water has been absorbed. The filling should be moist but not so wet that it would make the dough soggy. Allow to cool. Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper.  When dough has risen, divide into 6 equal pieces. Roll each piece out to a 6- 7 inch circle.  Top half of the circle with two heaping tablespoons of filling leaving a quarter inch from the edge untouched. Moisten this untouched edge with water or egg wash. Fold the other half over and press down to seal the dough. Ensure that the filling is even and there are no bulges before sealing. Let rest for 10 minutes then bake for 18 minutes or until the meat loaves are a light golden brown. Let cool for a couple minutes before eating.

Notes The actual shape used by my favourite patty shop is not a circle. It's rectangular with two rounded edges. I actually have a template that I cut out from one of the patties in my freezer. (Obsession.) It's however, a lot easier to roll out a 6 inch circle and I did that for all except the one in the first pic. Scotch bonnets are pretty spicy. Handle with care.

Stuffed Breads from the Bread Bakers

Sweet Breads

• Chocolate Caramel Stuffed Monkey Bread from Robin at A Shaggy Dough Story
• Cinnamon Roll Quickbread from Laura at Baking in Pyjamas
• Cream Pan - Japanese Custard Filled Buns from Shireen at Ruchik Randhap
• Figgy Olive Oil and Sesame Challah from Sarah at What Smells So Good?
• Jam filled Danish Pastries from Holly at A Baker's House
• No-Knead Apricot Sweet Rolls from Renee at Magnolia Days

Savory Breads

• Baked Peas Kachori from Shilpi at SimplyVeggies
• Cauliflower, Paneer & Peas Stromboli from Priya at I Camp in my Kitchen
• Cheesy Bacon Stuffed Pretzel Buns from Allison at The PinterTest Kitchen
• Cheesy Pizza Wheels from Tara at Noshing with the Nolands
• Chicken Stuffed Casserole Bread from Vimala at Cooking Club
• Cuban Sandwich-Stuffed Cuban Bread from Jenni at Jenni Field’s Pastry Chef Online
• Gruyère Stuffed Crusty Loaves from Adam at Bakers and Best
• Jalapeño Cheddar Stuffed Pretzel Rolls from Heather at Hezzi D’s Books and Cooks
• Jamaican Meat Loaf from Kelly of Passion Kneaded
• Paneer Kulchi from Anshie at Spice Roots
• Prosciutto, Salami and Mozzarella Stromboli from Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Russian Pirozhki from Mireille at Chef Mireille's East West Realm
• Sri Lankan Seeni Sambol Buns from Pavani at Cook's Hideout
• Stuffed Bazlama - Turkish Bread from Sneha at Sneha's Recipe
• Stuffed Black Garlic Monkey Bread from Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Stuffed Pretzel Bites from Karen at Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Tiganopsomo - Feta-Stuffed Fried Bread from Stacy at Food Lust People Love
• Zucchini and Goat Cheese Stuffed Bread from Aisha at La cocina de Aisha

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme.  Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.