Homemade S'more Cake and Churro S'mores SoBakeable Review




Have you ever had a really good S'more? You know the kind where the chocolate and the marshmallow is melted? We were on vacation in Utah a few weeks ago and had S'mores, but by the time the marshmallow got in the graham cracker, the marshmallow was cold and the chocolate hard. That reminded me why I generally do not eat S'mores. Not that I do not love the ingredients, I do not like the hardness of it all. Well today I just tasted the best S'more I have ever eaten and I want to eat some more. Notice the pun. :) And want to know why? Everything was perfectly melted, the way a S'more should be!

This very yummy post was sponsored by SoBakeable. (I love doing posts like these btw, ones where I get to eat yummy baked items)
What is SoBakeable?
I am so excited to share with you today my review of SoBakeable. They are a San Francisco based company founded by Chloe, who is from Australia and Jocelyn, who is from South Africa. They both moved to the US when their husbands started working here. They spend a lot of time together and really enjoy baking. They decided to start SoBakeable so others could eat the yummy things they made too. They focus on dessert items.

What do They Make?
SoBakeable has kits available on their website for different baked goods. The kits are for beginning to advanced bakers. They even have an app to download for videos and instructions on making their baked goods. Right now their offerings are; S'more Kits, Cookie Cups, Salted Caramel Brownies, Chocolate Lover, Crazy About Coolies, Fresh & Fruity, Fancy Celebration, Vanilla Cupcakes, Sprinkles and Baking Tools. They range in prices from 19.95 to 49.95.

I received the S'mores kit and I can tell you it was delish. The S'mores kit came with instructions for S'more Cake and Churro S'mores.

What's In the Kit?
Each kit comes with all the dry ingredients packaged nicely, a list of wet ingredients to buy, and instructions on how to make the dessert. Here's what came in my kit.

The S'more Cake Kit  came with chocolate chips, sugar, cake mix, crumbs, and meringue mix.
The Churro S'mores Kit came with delicious Smash Mallow Cinnamon Churro, Graham Crackers, and Chocolate Chips.
Baking
I was not too nervous to make the Churro S'mores. They looked pretty easy, melt the chocolate and warm the marshmallows. I was however nervous to make the S'more Cake. I kept putting if off scared I would mess it up. I have never made homemade marshmallow and I was super nervous about browning the top. I thought I would burn it. I decided to finally be brave and went to work. And am so glad I did.

I love to get all the ingredients and tools together before I start so I do not have to look for anything while I am cooking. I love my Breville mixer because it has a scraping mixer attachment so I do not have to scrape the sides.

Here's the finished cake. They even included a liner for the bottom for easy removal. They said to test the cake by toothpick. I did that, but I also like to feel the firmness of the cake. When it is springy everywhere, ie it pushes back up when you press it, it is done.

They had me make a ganache and melt the chocolate in the microwave. I usually use the double boiler method, but the microwave was super easy. I used a Wilton wand to spread the chocolate just like the instructions said.

Here I am starting the homemade marshmallow, so far so good.

And guess what? It turned out! I really surprised myself.  To get the little ridges I spread out the marshmallow and then dipped and raised wherever I wanted a ridge. I could have left it in a little longer, but I was nervous about burning the top. It was hard to tell if it was golden brown in the oven.

And here are the S'mores. They turned out amazing as well.

What did I think?
The food was delicious. The cake was to die for! The sponge was fluffy, the topping was sweet, but not too sweet and the chocolate added a nice layer in between. The S'more was so good. The marshmallows they use for the middle are covered in cinnamon and sugar. Yum!

I was super surprised how well I did. Their instructions helped me develop some more baking skills I did not even know I had. I made homemade marshmallow for goodness sake. I loved that the ingredients were premeasured so I did not have to measure anything. I just opened the bag and threw things in. The cake was super easy to make. I probably made the batter in 6 minutes using my mixer. The only thing I would change is to have more graham crackers. I only got enough for crackers to make three S'mores, but I definitely have enough chocolate and marshmallows to make 14. I will go buy some more graham crackers to finish the S'mores, because they were delicious. Other than that it was an amazing experience baking. I loved everything I made and surprised myself. Hurry to sobakeable.com, enter BAKINGFUN to save $5 dollars, and get baking! You will not regret it.



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French Toast made with Panera Bread


Recently I went to Panera and placed an order for fresh bread for a sponsored post I did on Instagram.  I was given a gift card to purchase the bread. They were out of the bread I ordered online. They gave me Challah bread instead and told me people liked it for French toast. So what did I do? I went home and made some French Toast and let me tell you, it was amazing! Thanks Panera for such a good idea.

French Toast Made with Panera Bread
Author: Jennifer Crowther
Yield: 8
Prep Time: 5 Min Cook time: 6 Minutes 

INGREDIENTS:
  • 1 fresh bread loaf, Challah bread from Panera, cut in to 6-8 pieces
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 Tbs salted butter melted
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 Tbs sugar
  • 1/3 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt
INSTRUCTIONS:
  1. Heat skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes
  2. Beat egg
  3. Whisk in butter, milk and vanilla
  4. Whisk in sugar, flour and salt
  5. Cook on each side until golden brown
  6. Serve with your favorite toppings
*Any bread will do

*I used strawberries, whipped cream and powered sugar for toppings


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The Best Chocolates in Seattle

Are you anything like me and love chocolate? Well you are in luck today. I am going to share my favorite chocolate confectioners in Seattle. My husband and I lived in Seattle when we were first married and dating. While there we found a couple places that had AMAZING chocolates.


Fran's Chocolate
One of our favorite places to get gourmet chocolates is Fran's Chocolate in Bellevue, Washington. We used to go there all the time with our friends when we lived in Seattle. They also have stores in the area: Downtown Seattle, University Village, and Georgetown. Fran Bigelow was inspired to start her business after a visit to Paris. She makes delicious hand crafted chocolates. Her chocolates include caramels that melt in your mouth, truffles, chocolate bars, hot chocolate and fruits & nuts.

This year my husband wanted to get me something special for Mother's Day. He had these chocolates and some mint thins shipped to our house. I was super surprised and excited that he remembered this place from our early married years.

Dark and Milk Chocolate Almond Clusters, Salted Caramels
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