Hopealicious Bake Shop

Pumpkin Chai Bread

October 1, 2021 || By: Hope F

Autumn, the time of the year when you love to imagine living in a house in a forest, with fog rolling in, and you’re sitting watching the sunrise, drinking a cup of tea, and your bread – your oh so delicious smelling bread – is in the oven! We all love when fall comes around so that we can make these recipes and really embrace the “sweater weather” time of year. To start off this autumn, I made Apple Spice Muffins (recipe to come), so now I am making a pumpkin chai bread – twist on regular pumpkin bread 🙂 This recipe is adapted from BowlofDelicious.

Recipe: Prep Time: 20 Minutes, Cook Time: 1 hour – 1 hour and 10 minutes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Canola Oil (makes the loaf extra moist!)
3/4 cup Granulated Sugar
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
2 large Eggs
1 cup Canned Pumpkin Puree (NOT Pumpkin Pie filling!)
1/2 cup Chai Concentrate (I used Trader Joe’s) w/ a splash of Almond Milk
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Nutmeg
1 teaspoon Ground Cloves
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 and 2/3 cup All-Purpose Flour
A sprinkling of Turbinado Sugar (for topping)

How to Make:

Preheat the oven to 350° F and line a 9×5 baking/loaf pan with parchment paper.
Mix the canola oil, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer (on high speed) until combined.
Next, add in the eggs and mix until light and fluffy.
Then add the pumpkin puree, chai tea concentrate, vanilla extract, and mix them until just combined.
Sift in the baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt; stirring them until combined.
Then sift in the flour and gently fold it into the batter, be careful not to overwork it.
Pour the batter into the loaf pan.
Sprinkle some turbinado sugar on top (it might not give the outside much of a crunch since it could just sink into the watery batter, still tasty!).
Bake the loaf for an hour to an hour and 10 minutes, whenever an inserted toothpick comes out with only a few granules of batter.
Wait a few minutes for the loaf to cool, or risk a burn so that you can delight your tastebuds faster!
Enjoy!

Note: You can store the bread in a container in the fridge for up to a week and it warms up brilliantly! A fun twist I will be adding on later is a chai glaze for this bread (yuuuummm)!

Maple Blueberry Rolls

March 20, 2021 || By: Hope F

I was in study hall last week, and needed inspiration for what to bake. So, what did I do? I went to Pinterest! As I was scrolling through baked goods, a friend peered over my shoulder and I said that I was trying to figure out what to bake. She said, “Those. You have to make those!” As she pointed to some yummy looking rolls. I adore cinnamon rolls, so when I see any variant, I have to try and make them. I am glad that I tried these, because they are great and so different from normal cinnamon rolls. They are very sweet, so you will want some water with them! This recipe is adapted from rainbownourishments.

Recipe: Prep Time – 2 hours, Cook Time – 25/30 minutes

Ingredients:

3 and 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
1 cup Whole Milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) Butter, at room temp
3 tablespoons Granulated Sugar
1 tablespoon (or 1 packet) Instant Dried Yeast
3 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
Pinch of Salt

Filling Ingredients:

2 cups Blueberries (separated)
1 cup Maple Syrup (or 1/4 cup if you want more of the blueberry flavor)
2 tablespoons Corn Starch
1 and 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

How to make:

Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl and mix until combined. Knead the dough until it is smooth and slightly stretchy. You may need to add some more flour if the dough is sticking to the bowl. If it is dry, add some milk.
Heat your oven to its lowest temp for a few minutes (just to get it warm enough to activate the yeast). Cover the dough in the bowl with a damp towel and place it in the warmed oven for 1 hour (or until doubled in size).
While the dough is proofing, prepare the glaze.
Add 1 cup of blueberries, the maple syrup, cornstarch, and vanilla extract to a small pot. Mix all these together on a high temperature, and bring it to a boil. Try to mash up some of the blueberries with a wooden spoon. Once the mixture is boiling, cook for 5 minutes or until the mixture has thickened.
When the dough has doubled in size, place it on a flour dusted countertop and roll it into a rectangular shape.
Spread half of the purée onto the dough, with the rest in the small pot. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of blueberries onto the dough/purée.
Roll the dough (from the long side) into a tight tube, and try to keep the blueberries from bunching up in the middle.
Cut the rolls with a sharp knife or with unscented/non waxed floss into 1/2 in thick rolls.
Place them in a 9 x 12 inch baking pan that’s lined with parchment paper, giving them little space between each roll. Place a damp towel on them and set them to proof for 30 minutes (or until doubled in size).
Once they are ready, preheat the oven to 350° F and bake them for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean (they should also be golden brown).
Drizzle the rest of the glaze on the rolls once they have cooled.
Enjoy! (They can be saved for 1-2 days at room temp, or in the fridge for 5 days).

Lemon Blueberry Muffins

March 6, 2021 || By: Hope F

Lemon is great, blueberry is great, put together they are outstanding! I was making these for a friend and I ended up making two batches because I wanted some for myself! (I think I ate three in 2 minutes). These muffins are light, airy, and delightfully delicious. Sprinkle some turbinado sugar on top and you’ve got something that is truly a divine treat. This recipe is adapted from twopeasandtheirpod.

Recipe: Prep Time – 15 minutes, Cook Time – 20-25 minutes

Ingredients:

2 cups All Purpose Flour
1 and 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 cup Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
3 teaspoons Lemon Zest
2 Large Eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
2 tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice
1/2 cup Whole Milk, at room temperature
1 cup Blueberries
Some Turbinado Sugar

How to make:

Preheat the oven to 350° F and put muffin liners in a muffin pan.
In a large bowl, mix the sugar and lemon zest together until fragrant and well combined. Then beat the butter and sugar until they’re light and fluffy, add the eggs, vanilla, lemon juice, and milk, mixing these until just combined.
Add the flour, baking powder and salt, and mix on low until just combined.
Now, gently fold in the blueberries. I would suggest rolling the blueberries in a little bit of flour before adding to the batter so that they do not sink to the bottom of the muffins.
Divide the batter among the muffin liners and sprinkle some turbinado sugar on top, then bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Let them cool and then enjoy!

Brownies

February 28, 2021 || By: Hope F

You may be thinking, “Girl, everything that you have done recently is chocolate, do something different!” My response – “Don’t worry! Different flavors and treats will be coming soon! (After I make a dairy-free chocolate cake for someone that is).” Either way, you will thank me for bringing these brownies to your attention!

Story time – When I was in second grade, I found that I did not like my mom’s brownies as much as I had in the past. There was something different about them. Then one day, her brownies were amazing! I said this to her and she looked to the ground and said, “They were from a box mix.” My mom NEVER uses boxed mixes, but she was in a hurry that day and her guilt was obvious!

Ever since then, we have been trying to find a recipe that beats the boxed mix and does not have that artificial flavor. Today is the day that we discovered it! This recipe, adapted from Tasty, is gooey, chocolatey, rich, and decadent. You will definitely need a glass of milk with it, but it will be worth it.

Recipe: Prep Time: 20 minutes, Cook Time: 25-30 minutes

Ingredients:

8 ounces Semi-Sweet Chopped Chocolate, divided in half
12 tablespoons (1 and 1/2 sticks) Melted Unsalted Butter
1 and 1/4 cups Sugar
2 Eggs
4 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
3/4 cup All Purpose Flour
1/4 cup Cocoa Powder
1 teaspoon Salt

How to make:

Preheat the oven to 350° F and line an 8×8 square baking pan with parchment paper.
Chop the chocolate into small pieces and melt half (4 ounces) of it in a bowl in 15 second intervals. The other half will be used later.
In a medium-large bowl, cream the melted butter and sugar. Then, add in the eggs and vanilla and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.
Mix in the melted chocolate (shouldn’t be too hot or else the eggs could cook). Then, sift in the flour, cocoa powder, and salt, folding in to incorporate.
Now, use the other 4 ounces of your chocolate chunks and fold them into the brownie batter.
Transfer the batter into your baking pan and cook it for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes back with only some crumbs on it. A Note: if you stick the toothpick into an area of the brownie batter where there’s a chocolate chunk, it will seem gooey and underdone since it is just melted chocolate. To make sure the brownies aren’t underdone, you can press your finger on top of them to see if the batter sinks, or you could stick a toothpick in multiple areas.
Let the brownies cool completely, then slice them and enjoy!

Double Chocolate Muffins (Ok fine, they’re cupcakes without frosting…)

February 22, 2021 || By: Hope F

My mom and I love the quote, “once you lick the icing off a cupcake, it becomes a muffin, muffins are healthy.” This muffin is totally that except not very healthy!. I made it because I wanted something chocolate, and when I had a bite I thought – “guess I have a new cupcake recipe!” These are very good and very tender since they have some plain Greek yogurt in them, and above all – they are delicious! They may be a little over-the-top chocolatey, so you will probably want an ice cold glass of milk with them. This recipe is adapted from wholesomepatisserie.

Recipe: Prep Time – 15 minutes (unless you are chopping the chocolate yourself, then it would be 25 minutes), Cook Time – 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 stick Butter, slightly melted
3/4 cup Sugar
2 large Eggs
1/2 cup Plain Greek Yogurt
3 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 and 1/2 cup Flour
1/4 cup Cocoa Powder
1 and 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
A pinch of Salt
3/4 cup Milk (you can use any kind of milk- diary, almond, oat milk)
170g Milk Chocolate, chopped (to go into batter)
30g Milk Chocolate, chopped (to top the batter)

How to make:

Preheat the oven to 360° F and line a muffin pan with muffin liners.
In a large bowl, beat the butter with a hand mixer for a few seconds. Then add in the sugar and beat on high speed until well combined.
Next, mix in the eggs, yogurt, and vanilla, and mix until well combined.
Add in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and the pinch of salt, mixing until it’s all just combined.
Pour in the milk and mix until just combined as well.
Fold in the 170g of chocolate.
Scoop out the batter and fill evenly among the liners, fill them below the edge (they rise a lot).
Sprinkle the 30g of chocolate on the top.
Bake the muffins for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Let them cool for a few minutes and enjoy!

Sea Salt Chocolate Chunk Cookies

February 16, 2021 || By: Hope F

Chocolate chip cookies – a craving that surely every person is bound to have at some point in their life – are taken to a whole new level with these sea salt chocolate chunk cookies! There are always fantasies of chocolate chip cookies warm out of the oven with an ice cold glass of milk. When your whole house is filled with the wafting smell of delectable-ness and you just can’t resist. Yep, these are definitely classics that are a must bake!

My class is trying to reach out to the younger kids and be good role models, so we decided to throw a party for them. You may have already guessed it, but that party involves these sea salt chocolate chunk cookies!

You can have these cookies literally any time you want them (which might be a bad thing!), and they only take around 45 minutes to make. This recipe is adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

Recipe: Prep Time – 30 minutes, Cook Time – 10/15 minutes

Ingredients:

1 stick of Butter, at room temperature
4 tablespoons Granulated Sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed Brown Sugar (if you don’t have this, just do granulated sugar and then a few drops 1/4 teaspoon of molasses)
1 large Egg
3 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
3/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
Heaped 1/4 teaspoon Fine Sea/Table Salt
1 3/4 cups All-Purpose Flour
1/4-1/2 pound (205 grams) Semi- or Bittersweet Chocolate, cut into small chunks with a serrated knife
Flaky Sea Salt, to top

How to make:

Preheat the oven to 360° F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, cream your butter and the sugars until light and fluffy (around 2-5 minutes).
Then, mix in the vanilla and egg until just combined.
Next, add in the baking soda and salt (again until just combined).
Now, mix in the flour until just combined. The dough will look crumbly, but that’s ok.
Last ingredient! Fold in the chocolate chunks.
The dough is now ready, and luckily, you don’t need to freeze it 🙂
Scoop the dough into balls and place them on the baking sheets.
Bake them for 10 to 15 minutes until they are lightly golden
Let them cool for around 5 minutes (super hot chocolate on your tongue is not pleasant).
Enjoy (and try not to eat them all at once haha)!

Chocolate M&M Cookies

February 14, 2021 || By: Hope F

Want a sweet treat on Valentine’s Day and love M&Ms and chocolate? Why not make this delicious cookie recipe with both chocolate and M&Ms! What you get in this mix is a nice combination of crunch from the m&ms and gooey chocolate from the chocolate chips in one bite. Be warned when making these cookies – they’re very addictive, and you will probably want them with a glass of cold milk. This recipe is adapted from bakerbynature.

Recipe: Prep Time – 20 min, Cook Time – 18 min

Ingredients for Chocolate M&M Cookies:

1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
2 tablespoons Butter, chopped
2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
1/3 cup Light Brown Sugar
2 Large Eggs
2 tablespoons Milk
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
1/4 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 and 1/2 cups Milk Chocolate M&Ms
1 cup Milk Chocolate Chips

How to make Chocolate M&M Cookies:

Preheat the oven to 300° F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large, microwave safe bowl, melt the butter and chocolate chips in 20 second increments until fully melted (stirring in between).
Once the butter and chocolate chips are mixed, add in the vanilla, sugars, then eggs (separately), and lastly the milk.
Then sift in the dry ingredients until the mixture is just combined.
Fold in the m&ms and chocolate chips.
Now, using a 1 tablespoon scoop, scoop the cookie batter onto the baking sheets (one inch apart) and bake them for 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean (if you want the cookies to be gooey, you should take them out of the oven when the toothpick still has some melted dough on it).
Let them cool for a few minutes and then enjoy!

Cinnamon Yum Rolls!

February 8, 2021 || By: Hope F

Imagine, you’re laying in bed on a lazy-day-off in the morning and you’re woken up slowly by an ever present, pressing thought. Cinnamon rolls, cinnamonnnnn rolllsssssss! You try to shake it out of your head, but no! The thought of making cinnamon rollsr is stuck in your head. You decide that you might as well wake up and bake them since they won’t leave you alone. So you do.

That was me this morning, I was trying to get an extra hour of sleep when the thought of cinnamon rolls started pricking my brain. Usually, we only have these delicious, cinnamon-y buns on special occasions (mainly Christmas), but I just had to make them. Sure enough, they are delicious and were definitely worth it. This recipe comes from Tasty and should definitely be made (especially on a nice foggy morning or rainy day)!

Recipe: Prep Time – 2 hours 25 minutes, Cook Time – 25/35 minutes

Ingredients for Dough:

2 cups Milk, warm to the touch
½ cup Sugar
1 stick (8 tablespoons) Butter, melted
1 packet Active Dry Yeast
5 cups All-Purpose Flour, divided
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
2 teaspoons Kosher Salt

How to make Dough:

In a large bowl, mix the heated milk, melted butter, and sugar.
Add in the yeast and let it bloom (sit) for 10 minutes.
Now, mix in 4 cups of the flour (with a wooden spoon) until the dough is smooth.
Cover the bowl of dough with a damp towel and place it in a warm place to rise for 1 hour (it should double in size).
Once the dough has risen, add the last cup of flour, baking powder, and salt.
Mix them in completely, then turn it onto a clean surface, the dough will be really wet, but that’s ok, thats why you’ll add some flour on top in the next step.
Knead the dough for 10 minutes – adding extra flour on top/on the clean surface if it sticks – until it is smooth and springs back when you poke it.
Roll the dough out into a rectangle 1/2 inch thick, and (with a spatula) make the corners sharp and even.
Spread the filling evenly on the dough.
From one of the short sides, roll the dough (tightly).
Using unflavored dental floss, cut the dough into 1 and 1/2 inch thick rolls. You do this by bringing the dental floss under the dough, taking it up and crossing it, then bringing it down.
Place the rolls in two 9 inch round pans (buttered so that the dough doesn’t stick).
Cover the pans with a damp towel, and place in a warm place to proof for 35/45 minutes (they should double in size).
Preheat the oven to 350° F and bake them for 25/35 minutes.
Go to the frosting steps.

Ingredients for Filling:

12 tablespoons Butter, softened
2 tablespoons Ground Cinnamon
3/4 cup Brown Sugar

How to make the Filling:

Mix the butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar thoroughly.

Ingredients for Frosting:

4 oz Butter softened
3 tablespoons Heavy Cream
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 cup Powdered Sugar

How to make Frosting:

In a medium bowl, mix the butter, cream, and vanilla extract together until they’re smooth.
Gradually add the powdered sugar until the frosting is all smooth and mixed together (and there’s no clumps).
When the cinnamon rolls come out of the oven, let the cool for 10 minutes and then drizzle the frosting over them (or drizzle it individually whenever you want).
Enjoy…and try not to eat them all at once!

Pretzel Rolls

February 5, 2021 || By: Hope F

Pretzel Rolls are absolutely outstanding! The salty taste, the crunch of the crust, and that pretzel smell…it doesn’t get much better. Even pulling apart the bread is fabulous when its warm and you feel that nice, tender pull of the loaf. Pair the texture and warmth with the taste of this bread when it’s salted and buttery, it’s a match made in heaven. This recipe is adapted from JoyFoodSunshine.

Recipe: Prep Time – 1 hour 30 minutes, Cook Time – 25 minutes

Ingredients:

2 and 1/4 teaspoon (1 packet) Instant Yeast
1 cup Warm Water (around 100° F)
2 tablespoons Milk
3 tablespoons Brown Sugar
4 tablespoons Melted Salted Butter
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
3 – 3 and 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
4 quarts Water (for water bath)
1/2 cup Baking Soda (for water bath)
Pinch of Coarse Salt (topping)
1 tablespoon Melted Butter (topping)

How to make Pretzel Rolls:

Mix the yeast, water, and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes so the yeast can develop.
While the mixture is sitting, melt the butter in a bowl and then mix in the milk.
Add the butter/milk to the yeast mix and combine on low speed until just combined.
Then, add in the salt and flour and mix until fully combined.
Set the stand mixer speed to medium and let it mix the dough until it forms a ball.
Once the dough is ready, oil a large bowl (use a very small amount of oil – I always end up using too much and then the dough doesn’t rise, so really use only a tiny bit here).
Put the dough ball into the oiled bowl and cover it with a damp towel. Let the bowl sit for an hour in a warm place.
The dough has now proofed for an hour and hopefully doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 400° F, bring the 4 quarts of water to a boil, and line a baking tray with parchment paper. Slowly, very slowly, add the baking soda to the boiling water. (If you don’t add it slowly, you’ll have a watery explosion.)
Press the air out of the dough, then divide it into two equal parts.
Slide one of the balls into the boiling baking soda water and boil each side for 60 seconds. Then put the boiled dough ball onto the baking tray.
Repeat that step with the other dough ball.
Once the dough balls are on the baking tray, sprinkle them with salt and write a small X on top of each with a knife.
Bake them for 12 minutes, rotate the pan, then bake for another 12 minutes.
Remove them from the oven and brush the melted butter over them (keeps them tender).
Let them cool, then enjoy!

Mixed Berry Crumble Bars

February 2, 2021 || By: Hope F

Mixed berry is basically the best combo ever, whether it’s blueberries/raspberries (which is what this is), raspberries/blackberries, all three together, you can’t really go wrong! The crust is so tender, crips, and delicious, and it pairs very nicely with the gooey berries on top. Adding in a sprinkle of brown sugar on top blows everything away! All in all, these bars are the perfect treat for any time and are a beautiful symphony in your mouth 🙂 This recipe is adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

Recipe: Prep Time – 45 minutes, Cook Time – 45/55 minutes

Ingredients for Crust/Crumble:

1 cup (200 grams) Granulated Sugar
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
3 cups (390 grams) All-Purpose Flour
1/4 teaspoon Salt
Zest of one Lemon
2 sticks (225 grams) cold Unsalted Butter, cut into chunks
1 large Egg
Some Brown Sugar (for sprinkling it on top)

How to make Crust/Crumble:

Preheat the oven to 375° F and grease a 9×13 pan (or line it with parchment paper).
In a medium bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest.
Add in the butter with a pastry cutter or with your hands.
Mix the egg in with a fork.
Put half of the dough into the 9×13 pan.

Ingredients for Berry Mix:

2 cups Blueberries
2 cups Raspberries
4 teaspoons Cornstarch
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
Juice from 1 Lemon

How to make Berry Mix:

Mix the sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice in a bowl.
Then add in the berries (gently).

Put it all together:

Pour the berry mixture onto the crust that’s in the pan.
Sprinkle the top with the other half of the crust/crumble. (It will seem like a lot, but you need it to soak up all the juice from the berries.)
Sprinkle some brown sugar on top (it really adds a nice touch)!
Put the pan into the oven and bake it for 45/55 minutes or until lightly brown/golden (it took mine about 55 minutes).
Let it cool completely before cutting the bars (the berries need time to firm up).