Smitten Sugar

Graham Cracker Chocolate Chip Snack Cake

2011-01-20T11:11:00.001-06:00

It's Cake Slice Bakers time again and this month we baked a Graham Cracker Chocolate Chip Snack Cake which is just a really long title for a smores snack cake! I was a little worried because the reviews seemed to be mixed on this cake. I baked it late one night and iced it the following day. I wish I has added more marshmallow fluff to the frosting because it really lacked the flavor and tasted more like a buttercream. All in all the texture of the cake was a little different but tasted pretty good. I think I prefer this other recipe for Smore's though.

Graham Cracker Chocolate Chip Snack Cake

from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman

Printable Version

For the cake:

8 whole graham crackers, finely ground (about 1 cup)

1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

6 tbsp (3/4 stick) butter, softened

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

For the frosting:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temp

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup marshmallow fluff

Cake: Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease an 8 inch square baking pan and dust it with flour, knocking out any extra. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl.

Combine the butter and sugar in large mixing bowl and cream with an electronic mixer on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes, scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. With the mixer on low speed, add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then beat until smooth.

With the mixer on low, add a third of the flour, then half of the milk, stirring until combined. Repeat with remaining flour and milk, ending with the flour. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Scrape the batter into a prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cool in cake pan for about 10 minutes then cool completely on a wire rack.

For the frosting:

Place the butter in a medium bowl and beat until creamy. With the mixer on low, add the sugar, scraping down the sides as needed. Stir in the vanilla and marshmallow fluff and beat until smooth. Use immediately or cover the bowl with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Cut the cake into squares and serve with a dollop of frosting. Make sure to bring the frosting to room temp if storing in fridge.

To check out the other members go here.

Chocolate Camo Cupcakes

2011-01-19T11:29:00.001-06:00

These are some cute cupcakes I had for an order several months back. They requested chocolate cupcakes with some type of camouflage frosting. I googled several different options and just didn't find what I was looking for. I have swirled colors of frosting together before but never more than 2. I really wanted these to have a true camouflage look so I went for 4 colors! Rebel....I know :) I was really happy with the way they turned out. The chocolate cupcakes recipe comes from Baking Bites and they were delicious. Moist and chocolately with mini chocolate chips. Will definitely be making these again!

Moist Chocolate Cupcakes from Baking Bites

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil or melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place liners in 2 12 cup muffin tins. In a large bowl, whisk together cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt until thoroughly mixed.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, water, buttermilk, vegetable oil and vanilla.

Whisk into flour mixture until all ingredients are mixed and no streaks of flour remain.

Add in mini chocolate chips, if using.

Fill muffin cups about 2/3 full. Bake for 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove cupcakes from the pan and allow to cool completely before frosting. They had the perfect cupcake dome after coming out of the over!

For the frosting colors I used Americolor Gel Paste, Leaf Green, Avocado, Chocolate Brown and Copper. Just scooped several spoonsfuls of each color in a pastry bag and that was it.

Pretty little camo cupcakes....alright maybe pretty shouldn't be used for camo! Haha manly cupcakes :)

Now I wish I had found these camouflage cupcake liners before. The birthday boy liked them so I guess that's all that matters.

Christmas Pretzel M&M Blondies

2010-12-28T14:36:00.009-06:00

Pretzel M&Ms are my new obsession, I literally cant eat just one or even 10 :) I have been wanting to bake something with them for a while and just not gotten around to it. A couple of weeks ago on a Target trip, I ran acorss the Christmas Pretzel M&M's and immediately thought of how pretty they would be baked into a blondie. So I went home and started googling, and saw Bridget, from Bake at 350, had made exactly that. Off I went to the kitchen :) I did tweak her recipe a bit, as I didnt have fleur del sel on hand and at the last minute decided against topping with sea salt.

Pretzel M&M Blondies from Bake at 350

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temp

1 cup light brown sugar packed

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup pretzel M&M's

Preheat oven to 350. Melt the butter and set aside. Line an 8 x 8 pan with foil, with some hanging over the sides.

Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, vanilla and salt. With the mixer on low speed, beat in the flour. Stir in the M&M's.

Pour into the prepared pan and spread out evenly.Bake for 30-35 minutes or unitl a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack. Lift up the foil and cut into sqaures. I drizzled red and green candy melts over the top to add a little Holiday Cheer :)

Go grab a bag and make these today. They are chewy with crunchy and salty with the sweet! Amazing!!

Giveaway Winner

2010-12-11T09:09:00.004-06:00

Sorry I fell asleep on the couch last night as I was suppose to be picking the giveaway winner. So a little late :)

The winner is... Michel-lee from Whipping Up Something Good, who said her favorite holiday dessert was a cranberry cream cheese mold. I will email you and get all your information and ship it out to you on Monday.

Congrats!

A Very Merry Red Velvet Cake & My First Giveaway!

2010-12-07T15:30:00.001-06:00

Happy Holidays everyone! I am trying to get back in the swing of regularly posting on the blog and I still haven't posted any of my Thanksgiving recipe but I wanted to share this Red Velvet Cake before Christmas, cause it's the perfect cake to serve around holidays. I found this recipe on Bakerella's site. This cake was delicious and sooo moist! Definitely hands down the best homemade red velvet cake I've ever made and everyone that tried it love it as well.

Red Velvet Cake from Bakerella

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon cocoa

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups oil

1 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 oz. red food coloring (Note: if you use food coloring paste you will not need as much)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2 8 or 9 inch pans. Lightly stir eggs in a medium bowl with a wire whisk. Add remaining liquid ingredients and stir together with whisk until blended. Set aside.

Place all dry ingredients in your mixing bowl and stir together really good with another wire whisk.

Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix on medium high for about a minute or until completely combined.

Pour into cake pans and drop on counter a few times to release any air bubbles. Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. After about 10 minutes remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack. You can also cover in plastic wrap as the cake cools.

While the cake cools, make the frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting also from Bakerella

8 oz. cream cheese, at room temp

1 cup butter, at room temp

1 teaspoon vanilla

6 cups confectioners' sugar

Sift powdered sugar and set aside. Beat cream cheese and butter on high until creamy. Add vanilla. Then add the sugar in batches. Scrape down the sides in between each addition. I also added about a teaspoon of heavy whipping cream just to make it extra creamy. It was delicious!

And now for the giveaway.... the last couple recipes I posted were cookies I had made in the Muffin Top Pan I found at Sur la Table. I got many emails asking about it. So I decided I would include it in my first giveaway. Giveaway includes: 1 muffin top pan, 1 3D Snowman Spatula and 1 can Sparkling Sprinkles in holiday colors.

To enter just leave me a comment (one comment per person please) telling me what your favorite holiday dessert is. A winner will be chosen and revealed on Friday, December 10th. Make sure to leave your name and way for me to contact you if you win.

Best of luck to everyone!

Sugar Saucers

2010-12-02T11:12:00.002-06:00

I made these cookies towards the end of summer but just now getting aroung to posting them. These were the lightest and fluffiest cookies I have ever eaten. The kind of cookies you eat 2 of and think hey I could have a couple more and still feel ok... Yea, these are those. There is a hint of lemon in these that make them perfection.

Sugar Saucers from Annie's Eats adapted from The Pastry Queen
Printable Recipe

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
8 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temp
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar, plus extra for sugaring the tops of cookies
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
Zest of half a lemon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parment paper or a silicone baking mat. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Whisk together to blend and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the vegetable oil and beat on medium-high speed until incorporated. Mix in the granulated sugar and confectioners sugar until well blended, about 1 minute.

Beat in the egg until incorporated. Blend in the vanilla and lemon zest. With the mixer on low speed blend in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour or freeze for 15 minutes before proceeding.

Using a cookie scoop, drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing the cookies at least 2 inches apart. Press the dough down to evenly flatten slightly and sprinkle with additional sugar. Bake about 11-13 minutes for large cookies, 7-9 minutes for smaller cookies, until the edges are golden. Let cool on baking sheets for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with any remaining dough. Store cookies in an airtight container.

And one more top view of how pretty these cookies were, they didnt last long!
Ok, now I think I am done posting about cookies for a while. Keep checking back this week, I am hosting my first giveaway :)
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and looking forward to all the Holiday posts coming up!

XL White Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip & XL White Chocolate Cinnamon Chip Cookies

2010-11-06T10:18:00.001-05:00

So... I think I win the worst blogger of the year award, I havent posted in over a month and havent commented on anyones blogs recently either. But, dont worry I still have been looking at all the yummy fall desserts every one has been baking up lately. I promise to get back in the

swing of things soon.

My last post was about XL Chocolate Chip cookies I saw on Picky Palate. These are the same cookies just using slightly different ingredients! This time I used white chocolate chips and added peanut butter chips in half and cinnamon chips in the other half. I didnt really end up getting many pictures with the peanut butter chips cookies cause they dissappeared quickly.

This recipe can be changed so easily to whatever cookie flavors you are craving. I really enjoyed the white chocolate and cinnamon combination however, most people went straight for the peanut butter chip ones! If you dont have this muffin topper pan, I highly recommend running out and getting one! I love mine!

Printable Recipe

Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip Loaf

2010-10-20T13:41:00.019-05:00

This month the Cake Slice Bakers baked up a Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Loaf from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman . I have made a pumpkin chocolate chip bundt cake before and it was awesome. So I was super excited to try this recipe as well. Instead of using chocolate chips though, I decided I would try out white chocolate chips instead. This cake smelled amazing while it was baking and I could hardly wait to cut into it and try it! What a way to start the fall baking season!!!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Loaf

Recipe from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman

Printable Recipe

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

/4 teaspoon ground cloves

pinch of nutmeg

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temp

1 1/4 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used white chocolate chips)

1 cup chopped walnuts (I omitted these)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat the 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with non stick cooking spray.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg in a medium bowl.

Cream together butter and sugar on medium high speed for about 3 minutes until fluffy.

Reduce mixer speed to medium low and adds eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition.

Mix in pumpkin.

Slowly add dry ingredients until well combined, scrapes down sides as needed.

Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts, if using.

Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.

Bake for 55 minutes to an hour or until cake is firm and toothpick inserted into center of a cake comes out clean.

Slice and serve!

This cake was delicious, if you want to see the other pumpkin chocolate chip cake I've made before check it out here.

If you want to check out other member of the Cake Slice Bakers check out the blogroll here.

XL Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-09-10T12:09:00.002-05:00

Over the summer I picked up this Muffin Top Pan than Jenny from Picky Palate is always gushing over! (I got mine from Sur La Table)

I made cookies one night with it and fell in love. Who doesn't love thick xtra large cookies? I made these several different ways with the same recipe just changing up the chips. The first go round I just stuck to the basics and used chocolate chips. As you can see in my picture, I had originally thought of adding white chocolate chips but at the last second I changed my mind. I have a weakness for cookies, I see them and just think I'll have a bite and before I know it, the whole cookie is gone! Whoops :)

Xtra Large Chocolate Chip Cookies from Picky Palate

2 sticks softened butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons pure vanilla
3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 oz bag of chocolate chips (or any chips you prefer)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a stand mixer beat the butter and sugar until well combined. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Place flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl, stir to mix. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet. Once combined, add the chips.

Scoop 1/4 cup of dough and press into muffin top pan. Bake for 10-13 minutes, until edges just start to turn a golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes in pan and then move to a cooling rack.

I made these cookies to go on a dessert platter I was bringing some friends that just moved on our street. They were fabulous and so simple to throw together!

Run out now and go get this pan, you will not regret it! I have a few others things Ill post soon using the pan, for other suggestions go on over to Picky Palate. Ill post the other variations soon, so stay tuned! Also I created a Smitten Sugar Fan Page on facebook, so go like the page if you like my blog.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Funfetti Cake Balls

2010-09-09T22:13:00.000-05:00

So I have been pretty busy here lately and havent been updating the blog much, but that doesnt mean I havent been baking.

These are just some pictures I took recently of some Funfetti Cake Balls I made. I made a batch and sent them to some girlfriends in Dallas. They arent here much to taste my goodies, so sometimes I have to send them some love! :)

For a recipe on how to make cake balls go here or hop on over to Bakerella's site and check out her video tutorial.

To ship these cakes balls, I put them in an egg carton and shipped with gel ice packs in the box! I think they arrived fully in tact :)

Tres Leches

2010-08-20T21:32:00.018-05:00

This month the Cake Slice Bakers baked up Johnny C's Tres Leches Cakes from Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott. I have made both a regular tres leches and a chocolate tres leches and both were amazing so I was hopeful this one would be as well. I was a little hesitant with the lime zest cause that just seemed so odd to me, but I decided to go long with the recipe. However this recipe just says to top with with cream but I decided I would use the whipped cream from the other Tres Leches cake I used cause it was so good last time.

Johnny C's Tres Leches Cake from Southern Cake by Nancie McDermott

Printable Recipe

Cake:

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tbsp plus 1 tsp baking powder

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 cup milk

Three Milk Sauce:

1 1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

One 12 ounce can evaporated milk

1 tbsp grated lime zest

Garnish with whipped cream and or fresh fruit such as kiwi or berries. I whipped a pint of heavy whipping cream with 3 tbsp sugar and covered the cake in the whipped cream.

Cake Method-

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 13 x 9 inch pan. In a medium bowl, combine the flour and baking powder and stir with a fork to mix well.

In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugar and beat with a mixer on medium high speed to mix well. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and half of the milk, beating at low speed each time until incorporated. Add another third of the flour, the remaining milk and the remaining flour the same way.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes. Mine took about 45 minutes. Bake until golden brown, the cake begins to pull away from the sides and the center springs back with touched.

While the cake bakes, make the milk sauce. You want the cake to be warm when you add the milk.

Three Milk Sauce:

Combine the milk, sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk in a medium saucepan. Hea gently over medium heat, stirring often until the mixture is smooth and steaming hot. Do not let it come to a boil. Allow 10 minutes to cool before using.

To Finish:

Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Sprinkle the lime zest over the cake

Punch holes with a toothpick or fork. Slowly pour the warm milk, in stages, stopping to let the cake absorb the sauce before adding more. You may not need it all. You can always add more if needed. Let the cake stand for an hour. Then top with any whipped topping or refrigerate covered until ready to serve. Garnish however you wish!

I really wanted this cake to be good but it really just wasnt as good as the other Tres Leches I had made. I will say I had to bake mine for 45 minutes because the middle was not done and in the process I think the bottom got a little over cooked. Nothing horrible just darker than I would normally cook it. The cake wasnt as light and fluffy as I am used to tres leches being and I think it needed more milk sauce as well.

All in all this cake wasnt bad but next time I would definitely use the other recipes I have in the past.

I also recently added a Smitten Sugar Facebook page so please go online and check it out and while you are there make sure you "Like" my page! Happy Baking everyone!

Krystle

Sopapilla Cheesecake

2010-08-09T09:08:00.001-05:00

My boyfriend had this Sopapilla Cheesecake at the fire station one day and couldnt stop talking about how good it was. He brought the recipe home the next day and of course I had to make it. I love anything with cinnamon and sugar. Plus it looked super easy to throw together. I ended up bringing this to a 4th of July bbq and cut them into squares to serve.

Sopapilla Cheesecake
Printable Recipe

2 cans Crescent Rolls
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
16 oz. cream cheese, at room temp
1 stick unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Open one can of the crescent rolls and spread out covering the bottom of a 13 x 9 inch pan. You can use your fingers to press any broken seams back together.

Mix cream cheese, 1 cup sugar and the vanilla just until combined. Pour over the crescent rolls.

Open the last can of crescent rolls and spread out on top of the cream cheese mixture.

Pour the melted butter evenly over the top of the crescent roll layer. Stir the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle evenly over the top of the cheesecake.

It will look like this above, sorry for the rotated photo, photo uploader wasnt being very cooperative this morning. :)

Bake for 30 minutes or until topping is browned. Cool completely in the pan before cutting. The recipe calls for this to be served warm and refrigerate leftovers. However, I actually preferred these served chilled. But eat whichever way you prefer. Can be served with honey or fruit if preferred. Enjoy!

This really easy one of the easiest desserts I've ever made, run along now and go make it!

Chewy Fudgey Brownies

2010-07-15T09:07:00.011-05:00

I stumbled upon these brownies on Annie's Eats and the pictures really dont do these justice. They are amazing! I looovvee fudgey soft brownies. I honestly have been craving these ever since I made them a few weeks ago. I shared them with my co-workers and a friend of mine. My friend, Christa is pregnant and I sent some home with her, later that night I received a text asking for more. So I guess thats a good testament to how good these are. The recipe comes from Baking Illustrated and really is my new favorite brownie. Go, run to your kitchen and make these. They are good by themselves but I bet warmed with a scoop of ice cream would be amazing as well!

Chewy Fudgey Brownies from Annie's Eats adapted from Baking Illustrated

5 ounces of semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped

2 ounces unsweetened chcocoalte, chopped

8 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into quarters

3 tbsp cocoa powder

3 large eggs

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and place oven rack in lower middle position. Line an 8 or 9 inch baking dish with foil and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray, set aside.

In a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, melt the chocoalte and butter, stirring occasionally until smooth. Whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt. Whisk until combined, about 15-20 seconds. Whisk in warm chocolate mixture until incorporated. Then stir in flour with a wooden spoon until just combined. (This might take a little while, dont worry it will smooth out) Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and spread with a spatula to make an even.

Bake until slightly puffed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a small amount of sticky crumbs, about 35-40 minutes.

Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.

Remove the brownies from the pan, cut and enjoy!

How cute is this new cake stand I bought? I really need more brownies for a cute picture but this was all I had left, so it will have to do. :)

Printable Recipe

New Smitten Sugar Stickers

2010-07-11T09:12:00.002-05:00

I have been wanting to get some Smitten Sugar stickers and business cards made for a while now. This way when I have baking orders customers have some way of contacting me, plus... its good advertising right? I happen to have been browsing on Etsy one day and came across

Sally's Etsy Store, Your Shop Name Here.

I feel in love with her designs and immediately contacted her. I knew I wanted oval stickers with some sort of a scalloped border. I just directed her to my blog and she came up with the super cute design. I purchased 2 different sized oval stickers as well as some business cards. Here are some pictures below:

If you need anything like this I highly reccommend Sally! She did a fabulous job! Thanks again! :)

I really cant wait for the next baking order so I can use them. If you need anything like this I highly recommend her services, Your Shop Name Here.

Chocolate Cobbler

2010-07-08T10:09:00.010-05:00

Another dessert I brought to the BBQ on Memorial Day, was this Chocolate Cobbler I saw mentioned on Pioneer Woman's Site. I was drooling just looking at the photos. This cobbler is super simple to throw together and really is out of this world! The original recipe comes from Susan Hawkins and she posted it on Tasty Kitchen.

Granny's Chocolate Cobbler Recipe see on Pioneer Woman from TastyKitchen

1 cup all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoons salt
7 tablespoons cocoa powder, divided
1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
1/2 cup milk
1/3 melted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 cups hot tap water

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. First stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, 3 tablespoons of the cocoa, and 3/4 cup of white sugar. Reserve the remaining cocoa and sugar.

Stir in the milk, melted butter and vanilla to the flour mixture. Mix until smooth. Pour the mixture into an ungreased 8 inch baking dish. (I used a 9 inch square.)

In separate bowl, mix the remaining white sugar (1/2 cup), the brown sugar and remaining 4 tablespoons of cocoa. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the batter.

Pour the hot tap water over all. DO NOT STIR!

Bake for about 40 minutes or until the center is set. (Mine was ready in about 35 minutes)
Let stand for a few mintues. Serve with ice cream. It will be warm and gooey in the center, dont worry this is how it is suppose to turn out. It similar to a molten chocolate cake...heaven!!

As I was trying to get a good picture, the ice cream was melting quickly so this will have to do.

You will not be disappointed by this recipe at all! Make sure to serve with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream.

For a printable version of this recipe go here.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

2010-06-19T11:50:00.003-05:00

For Memorial Day my family had a BBQ. I wanted to bring desserts (obviously) and decided quickly on 2 that I had been dying to make. First was these Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes and the other was a Chocolate Cobbler, which I will post about soon.

When I first saw these cupcakes on Annie's Eats I knew I would be making them soon. They turned out absolutely delicious and I even had a few people tell me they were their new favorite!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes from Annie's Eats

Yield:24 cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups light brown sugar, packed
4 large eggs
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips (semisweet or bittersweet)

For the filling:

4 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 tbsp. light brown sugar, packed
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
7 oz. sweetened condensed milk
½ tsp. vanilla extract
¼ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

For the frosting:

3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
3½ cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. salt
3 tbsp. milk
2½ tsp. vanilla extract

For decoration:
Tiny chocolate chip cookies
Mini chocolate chips

Directions:
To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners (24 total). In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and brown sugar. Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir together to blend. Add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl on low speed, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, mixing each addition just until incorporated. Blend in the vanilla. Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the cookie dough filling, combine the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the flour, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla until incorporated and smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the mixture has firmed up a bit, about an hour. You can put in the freezer for about 15 minutes instead, if you are pressed for time.

To fill the cupcakes, cut a cone-shaped portion out of the center of each cupcake. Fill each hole with a chunk of the chilled cookie dough mixture. ( I will say after eating these I wished I had put a larger piece of dough into the centers. So don't be scarce with the cookie dough load it in!)

To make the frosting, beat together the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until creamy. Mix in the confectioners' sugar until smooth. Beat in the flour and salt. Mix in the milk and vanilla extract until smooth and well blended.
Frost the filled cupcakes as desired, sprinkling with mini chocolate chips and topping with mini chocolate chip cookies for decoration. ( You can make your favorite chocolate chip cookies to top these cupcakes....or you could cheat like me and buy the mini chips ahoy cookies.)

For a printable version of the recipe go here. Now, go run to your kitchen and make these...they are delicious and too cute too pass up!

Shenandoah Valley Blueberry Cake

2010-06-18T23:25:00.009-05:00

Cake Slice Bakers chose the Shenandoah Valley Blueberry Cake for June cake selection. My boyfriend and I were so excited cause we love anything with blueberries in it and this cake sounded light and delicious. It was very simple to throw together and tasted amazing. However, I would say its probably more like a blueberry muffin than a cake. Whatever you want to call it...it was delicious.

Its great with breakfast served warm or just at room temperature for a snack. The batter was a little thick but don't worry, it bakes up very nicely. I used frozen blueberries in mine and just dusted them with a little flour so they didn't sink to the bottom.

Shenandoah Valley Blueberry Cake

(Recipe from Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott)

Ingredients

1 2/3 cups all purpose flour

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

1/3 cup butter, softened

¾ cup plus 2 tbsp sugar

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (do not thaw)

Method

Heat the oven to 375F and generously grease a 9 inch square or round pan.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl and stir with a fork to mix well.

In a medium bowl, combine the butter and sugar and beat with a mixer at high speed until well combined.

Add the egg and beat well for 1 to 2 minutes, stopping to scrape down the bowl until the mixture is smooth and light.

Stir in half the flour mixture then half the milk, mixing just enough to keep the batter fairly smooth and well combined. Add the remaining flour, then the rest of the milk, mixing gently. Stir in the blueberries.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 375F for 30 minutes or until the cake is golden, springs back when touched gently in the centre and is pulling away from the sides of the pan.

Serve a square of cake right from the pan, warm or at room temperature. If its round, let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack or folded kitchen towel for 10 minutes and then turn it out to cool, top side up.

For a printable recipe go here.

This cake was buttery and moist and really let the blueberry flavor shine through. Now excuse me while I go eat another slice.

Western Sugar Cookies

2010-05-26T13:49:00.017-05:00

I had mentioned in my previous post that I had been busy baking up a storm...and below you will find out why. I made cookies, lots and lots of Sugar Cookies to be exact. You see one of my best friends got married in Austin a couple weeks ago. Their rehearsal dinner was at the SaltLick in Driftwood, Texas (outside Austin). If you live near and haven't been...go...its soo yummy! Their BBQ is out of this world and the sauce is amazing!

Anyways the bride had told me she wanted cookies at the rehearsal and of course I jumped at the chance to help. After discussing we decided on western cookies to go with the Texas theme for the wedding weekend. She had originally wanted to use the cookies as place settings but after struggling with the seating chart for the wedding, we chose to set these on the tables as favors.

Now all of this was sounding great and then I realized the size of wedding and number of people attending the rehearsal was near 300. Inside I was freaking out but of course I told her no problem :)

A little over a week before the wedding, I started making the cookies, a batch per night. After cooling completely, I put into freezer safe Tupperware and froze them until the day I decorated them. Note: When pulling them out of freezer to decorate, allow to come to room temperature before removing from the container.

The shapes I used where: Cowboy boot & hat, cactus, longhorn, Texas, horseshoe, and lastly horse head.

Here is how my kitchen looked for several days....

This is the horses and hats drying...

Horseshoes just about done and the Texas' minus the stars.

I couldnt get this picture to load the right way...but this was the only shot I got of the finished horse, so I included it anyways!

Same here with the boots...I dont understand why the picture wont turn? Anyone know how to fix this?

The Texas's I think were my favorite...

I wrapped each cookie individually and tied with white and red ribbon. I had great plans of taking photos of this step, but it was so late when I finished...I forgot :(

I additionally have no photos of the cookies on the tables at the dinner, but I did snag a photo of a friends purse she filled for cookies for later on that night. Haha...guess they were good then huh?

And this is one of my best friends, Sharon, about to eat her cookie on the bus leaving the dinner. She will probably kill me for posting this photo...but I thought it was cute!

For the cookies I used the recipe that is originally from Bridget at Bake at 350 that I blogged about here and here. This time however I made a few changes. Instead of using almond extract I used both vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste. I just love seeing the black speckles in the cookies. I believe I used about a teaspoon of each. I know, I am sorry about not having the exact amounts but after that number of batches you sort of lose count!

For the royal icing this time I actually used Ateco Meringue Powder. I think it taste better than any of the other brands I have tried to date. Also since I didnt used almond extract with the cookies, I skipped it here too and opted for just vanilla extract. I used the recipe I blogged about here.

All in all I think these cookies turned out pretty good. It was time consuming but I had a blast doing it and learned so much along the way. I look forward to my next venture with sugar cookies and royal icing :)

Butterfly Cupcakes & Cake Pops

2010-05-26T10:10:00.021-05:00

It has been a crazy couple of weeks around my house and you will get to see part of the reason in this post and part in my next post. I have been super busy in the kitchen as well as traveling for weddings and graduations.

My cousin little girl, Adelynn, turned the Big 1 at the beginning of May and her mom and I had been planning her birthday for several months. Once she picked the butterfly theme, I immediately started brainstorming ideas for the cupcakes. I instantly thought of the Butterfly Cupcake in Hello Cupcake then I stumbled upon a close vision of what I was already thinking on Annie's Eats. Perfect :)

In addition to the cupcakes, I made cake pops in flower and butterfly shapes to put in these pot we made at a pottery place here in Houston. (You can see them in the pictures below)

I tried to take step by step pictures for these cupcakes. The butterflies were made out of candy melts and made a few days in advance. If you have the book, they have pretty good instructions in there. If you dont I will try to walk you through the steps below.

To start I just traced the butterfly wings from the book on wax paper. I cut individual wax paper squares for each of the butterfly wings, 52 in total.

Using the candy melts, (I colored mine black) outline the butterfly wings and make a deep "V" shape for the antennae's.

Do one butterfly at a time, starting with the outline and then filling with the color. This allow you time to move the color around and swirl to the edges of the wing before it begins to dry.

I used bowls to melt the candy coating and then transferred to squeeze bottles. I used a toothpick to swirl around the color to the edges. Sprinkle each wing with the white nonpareils.

I made 3 different flavors of cupcakes for the party. For the chocolate I used the Hershey's recipe I have used in the past here. For the vanilla cupcakes I used my favorite recipe here. But the last flavor, my cousin requested specifically was yellow cupcakes. After looking through my recipes I realized I didn't have a "go to" yellow cupcake/cake recipe. I went searching online and decided on the recipe below. However I have to warn you...I wasn't too impressed with these cupcakes. They were a tad too dry for my taste. So if you have a favorite yellow cake or cupcake recipe, please share!

Yellow Cupcakes from BakingBlonde (She used it as a sheet cake)

2 1/2 cups cake flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1.2 cups sugar

1/2 cups butter, softened

3 eggs

1 cup milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 drop Yellow Food Coloring

Preheat oven to 350F. Place the liners in a cupcake pan.

Sift cake flour, baking powder and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer. Add sugar and using the paddle attachment, mix on low speed to blend. Cut butter into 4 or 5 chucks and drop into the bowl with the flour. Blend on low speed until mixture looks sandy and no large chucks or butter remain, about 1-2 minutes.

In large measuring cup, combine eggs, milk, vanilla and food coloring. Beat lightly with a fork until combined. With the mixer on low, pour 1 cup of the egg mixture into the bowl. Turn speed up to medium and beat for 1 1/2 minutes. Reduce speed back to low and pour in the rest of the egg mixture. Continue to beat at low speed for an additional 30 seconds, until liquid is fully incorporated.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat for a few more seconds. Pour into prepared liners. Fill about 2/3 full. Bake 18 minutes at 350. Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the frosting, I used the recipe I blogged about here. Just a simple buttercream I found on Bakeralla.

Supplies Needed for the Butterfly Cupcakes:

wax paper

plastic squeeze bottles

Cocoa candy melts (I added an oil based Black Candy Color)

Colored Candy Melts ( I used pink, green, blue and orange)

Toothpicks

White Nonpareils

Chocolate Chips

Plastic Baggie

Frosted Cupcakes

As the cupcakes were cooling off, I whipped up a few batches of icing and began separating it into bowls to add the color. I decided on orange, pink, blue, and green for the icing colors to match the candy melt colors of the butterfly wings. Frost your cupcakes as you desire.

To begin assembly of the butterfly cupcakes, first press down slightly on your frosting to create a slightly flat surface.

Place 2 chocolate chips about a 1/2 inch apart towards the top of the cupcake. Insert one wing into the icing and let it use the chocolate chip for support. Continue on to the next one using the same steps.

After the wings are inserted, create the body by piping chocolate blobs in between the wings. I used a plastic bag and just cut off one of the corners.

Next, place the antennea's into the frosting just at the head of the butterfly.

Here they are all lined up before getting packaged in the box.

And a picture of the dessert table at the party.

A close up...(Note I made several extra sets of antennae's and brought with me because they are a little fragile)

The birthday girl with her special cake. Her cake was a 6 inch double layer vanilla cake, frosted with the pink frosting and had 3 butterflies on the top.

Here she is sharing with her daddy!

These cupcakes turned out beautiful! I got so many compliments on them, they were definitely worth all the work. If anyone has suggestions for a yellow cake/cupcake recipe please let me know!!

Happy Memorial Weekend to everyone!

Super Moist Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

2010-04-20T13:53:00.016-05:00

This month the Cake Slice Bakers baked up a Banana Cake with Chocolate frosting. I was really excited to try this out with all the raves reviews everyone was giving them. I decided I would make mine into cupcakes instead of a 9 inch layer cake. I brought them to work today to share and everyone loved them! I had one with and without frosting and they are actually really good both ways. So even if you don't love frosting, these are amazing! The cake is super moist and delicious with a great banana flavor.

Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting from Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 eggs, beaten slightly

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)

Chocolate Frosting:

1/2 cups butter

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/3 cup evaporated milk or half and half

4 cups sifted confectioners sugar

1 tsp vanilla

To make the cake, heat the oven to 350F. Grease your 9 inch cake pans or line the cupcake pans with liners. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and stir with a fork to combine well.

In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugar and beat well, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time and then the vanilla. Beat well for 2 or 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl occasionally until you have smooth batter.

Using a large spoon, stir in half the flour just until it disappears into the batter. Stir in the buttermilk and then the remaining flour the same way. Quickly and gently fold in the mashed banana and then divide the batter evenly into cupcake liners.

Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes until the cakes are golden brown, spring back when touched lightly in the center.

Allow to cool in pan for a few minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.

To make the frosting, combine butter, cocoa and evaporated milk (or half and half) in a medium sauce pan. Place over medium heat and bring to a gentle boil. Cook, stirring often for about 5 minutes, until the cocoa dissolves into a dark buttery mixture. Remove from heat and stir in the sifted confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Beat with a mixer at low speed until you have a thick smooth frosting.

Frost cupcakes as desired and Enjoy!

For a printable version of this recipe go here.

Chocolate Tres Leches Cake

2010-04-13T09:29:00.009-05:00

For Easter this year, my step dad requested a very moist chocolate cake. His appetite hasn't been all that great recently so I was excited he was actually requesting something. His favorite cake is Tres Leches so I decided I would try making a chocolate tres leches cake for him. After browsing the Internet I couldn't really decide which recipe I wanted to go with. So I took elements from several and made my own. I was a little pressed for time, so I used a chocolate cake mix for the base of the cake and went from there.

This cake actually turned out amazing! It got rave reviews from everyone and I would definitely make this one again. Using the cake mix or with a homemade chocolate cake.

Chocolate Tres Leches Cake Inspired by Hershey's

Cake:

1- 13 x 9 inch cake (use anything from a box mix to homemade)

Bake the cake according to the directions. Allow to cool for at least 1 one. Place the cake on a rimmed cake platter.

Once the cake has cooled, using a fork, pierce the entire top of the cake. Be sure to pierce the cake all the way to the edges so the milk mixture can be absorbed evenly.

Tres Leches Mixture:

2 14 oz cans of sweetened condensed milk

1 12 oz can evaporated milk

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup chocolate syrup

Pour all the ingredients into a large bowl and combine.

Begin to pour the milk mixture slowly over the top of the pierced cake. Try to make sure to get the edges as well. It's OK if the mixture starts to puddle around the bottom of the platter, this will get absorbed too. You probably will not need all of the mixture. You can either toss what you don't use or save about a 1/2 cup to decorate the plates when serving. Leave the cake alone for at least 30 minutes to absorb all the milk. When you return it should all be gone and your are now ready to apply the whipped topping.

Whipped Topping:

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon

Combine all ingredients into a large mixer bowl, begin to beat on medium and gradually increase to medium-high speed until stiff. Spread the topping evenly on cake!

Decorate as desired. I sprinkled some cocoa powder over the top and added a few strawberries for added color. Cover the cake and refrigerate until serving.

If you like tres leches cake you will defintely like this one. It was moist and delicious and stayed fresh in the fridge for just under a week.

For a printable version of the recipe, please go here.

Enjoy :)

MIA Lately but... I have cute ladybug cupcakes to make up for it!

2010-03-22T11:19:00.001-05:00

So I know I have been MIA lately and haven't visited anyone's blogs. Life lately has been a little crazy. From packing up the apartment and now unpacking in the new house while we are also trying to remodel some...it's been a little hectic. Hopefully after a girl trip this weekend to Vegas my life will slow down a little.

A friend of mine from work, Shelley, had a birthday party for her little girl's 1st birthday. Once she decided on a ladybug themed I started to brainstorm possible ideas.

We decided on ladybug cakeballs and used those to top the cupcakes. For centerpieces I put a few of the ladybugs on sticks and had them in ladybug pots (see picture below).

In order to make it look more like a plant, I crushed up Oreos and sprinkled them in the pot to resemble dirt. However, I can't take credit for these cute planters, Shelley found them at Hobby Lobby. I used a round Styrofoam ball and cut it in half to hold the pops in place.

I tested out a few way to make the lady bug pops but in the end used 2 size cake balls for the head and body and use candy melts to attach them. Below is a picture of the antennas. Which were also attached with candy melts to the head after the body and head were attached.

Below is a picture of the ladybugs drying before I added the eyes. Looking back I probably could have added a red smile line or something and made it even more lifelike.

I used buttercream as the frosting and tinted it Kelly Green to get the grass effect before adding the ladybug toppers.

A few I just used white frosting and added red sprinkles for a little contrast!

Here is a picture of her dessert table, if you look in the back you can see one the centerpieces with the ladybug pops! Sorry I must have spaced out and not taken any :) Off to the sides is Avery's special cake :)

A close up...

How cute is the birthday girl and mom too!!

For Avery's cake, I made hers a little bigger than a cupcake. It's a 2 x 2 inch cake with 2 layers with a ladybug on top of course!

These cupcakes were so much fun to make! If you look closely you can see the birthday girl liked the green icing as well! I promise I will be back to visiting your blogs and baking soon! Enjoy :)

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

2010-03-19T11:36:00.005-05:00

This month the Cake Slice Bakers baked up a Pineapple Upside Down Cake. While I heard mixes reviews about this cake before I made it, I was really excited cause I have never made a Pineapple Upside Down Cake. The buttery crust along with caramelized fruit on top of this cake looked heavenly. However when I sliced in the cake the middle still appeared doughy and gummy. It baked for the entire 40 minutes and appeared to be done but I guess mine needed some extra time. The outer edges of this cake does taste really good I just wish it would have been more cooked throughout. I may have to try this one again! I feel there was something just a little off with this cake so I may have to experiment with it a little bit. Hope the others had a better success!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake Recipe from Sou thern Cakes by Nancie McDermott

Pineapple Topping:

1 20 oz. can pineapple rings, with their syrup or juice

4 tbsp cold butter

2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

10 maraschino cherries

Cake:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 salt

1/2 cup milk

4 tbsp butter, softened

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

To make the topping: Drain the pineapple well, reserving 2 tablespoons of the juice of syrup for the cake batter. Melt the cold butter in a 10 inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Or put the butter in a 9 inch round cake pan and put it in the oven for a few minutes as the heats melts the butter.

Remove the pan from the oven or stove and sprinkle the brown sugar over the buttery surface. Place the pineapple rings carefully on top of the scattered brown sugar and melted butter, arranging then so they fit in 1 layer. (There may be a few leftover) Place a cherry in the center of each ring and set the pan aside.

To make the cake: In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Use a fork to mix them together well. Add the milk and butter and beat well with a mixer, scraping down the bowl once or twice until you have a thick, fairly smooth batter, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the egg, reserved pineapple juice or syrup and the vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes more, stopping to scrape down the sides.

Carefully pour the batter over the pineapple arranged in the skillet or cake pan and use a spoon to spread it evenly to the edges of the pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the cake is golden brown and springs back when touched lightly in the center. Cool in the skillet or pan for 5 minutes on a wire rack.

Carefully turn out the warm cake onto a serving plate by placing the plate upside down over the cake in the pan and then flipping them over together to release the cake onto the plate. Serve warm or at room temperature.

For a printable version click here.

Wedding Cupcakes

2010-02-21T21:07:00.005-06:00

My mom got married a few weeks back and although it was just a quick ceremony without a reception I couldn't resist making a dessert for the occasion. You see...my mom and John have been together since I was 16, they have dated for almost 12 years now and they just got married! They got engaged last summer and right as they started to plan things he was diagnosed with lung cancer. They put things on hold for a while so he could concentrate on his treatment. A few weeks ago they finally did it, and although they are holding off on a reception until there is "more to celebrate" I felt everyone needs a little cake on their wedding day.

I knew there wasn't going to be a place to cut the cake so I decided on cupcakes. I picked just a basic vanilla cupcake with vanilla buttercream but decorated with these beautiful "B's" on top.

I melted white candy melts and piped the B's on wax paper. Once they dried I stood them up in the buttercream.

I found the thinner I made the letters the more fragile they were. I made several sheets like the one below and still had to make more cause many broke as I was sticking in the frosting.

The B's by the way stand for Burger which is my moms new last name!

Hopefully soon there will be some good news to report and we can actually plan a real reception for them!

An Award & Cake Ball Pops Recently

2010-02-21T20:59:00.016-06:00

Last week I received a fun award from Michelle of One Ordinary Day. Thanks Michelle! Not only is this my first blogger award but this one has a fun twist with it!

Soo...here is what you do.

1. Thank the person you gave you the award. (Thanks again Michelle!)
2. Copy the logo and paste it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who nominated you.
4. Tell us up to six outrageous lies about yourself and at least one outrageous truth.
5. Allow your readers to guess which one or more is true.
6. Nominate seven "Creative Writers" who might have fun coming up with outrageous lies.
7. Post links to the seven blogs you have nomiated.
8. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know you nominated them!

And now for the creative part....UPDATE actually two of the below are true!

1. I secretly love watching CSI Miami.

2. Carrot cake is my favorite cake of all time.

3. I auditioned to be on Real World while in college.

4. I hate watching TV.

5. I was a superstar athlete as a kid.

6. As much as I love desserts, I love working out more!

7. I had a custom pink bowling bowl with my name on it as a kid.

Now can you guess which one is true?

Other Creative Writer Bloggers: I choose these 7 because I love reading their blogs and thought they might have some fun with this award!

1. Bake*tastic

2. Ice Cream Before Dinner

3. Me & My Pink Mixer

4. Sara's Sweets

5. What's for Dinner

6. Diana's Cocina

7. Symphonious Sweet

Now...on to the cake ball pops!

My boyfriend is in the process of buying a house and a few weeks ago we showed our realtors my blog. She asked if i could make her something for an open house that was coming up. After discussing we decided on cake ball pops since they are easy to display and have very little mess and clean up.

The pops before I packaged them.

All packaged up and tied with a pink ribbon.

I filled the glass vases with M&M's and mini M&Ms. We did one vase of red velvet pops and one with vanilla pops!

I heard they were a huge hit and I think I might have gotten another customer out of it! So thanks again Sharon & Buck I really appreciate it!!

Mississippi Mud Cake

2010-02-20T15:56:00.011-06:00

This month the Cake Slice Bakers baked up a Mississippi Mud Cake. I had to sit out on the last couple of months cause I have been so busy, but I am glad I am back. I have heard mixed review from other bloggers on this cake, some really loved it and some thought the cake was more brownie-ish and the icing way too sweet! I actually probably wont be trying this cake as we have way too many sweets around here. Also I am not a huge fan on any type of nuts in my desserts so I actually only put the chopped pecans on half the cake. I am taking this cake to my family tomorrow to let them enjoy it. I will have to let you know the reviews later on. I think it smelled amazing while cooking though.

Mississippi Mud Cake from Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott

Makes one 13 x 9 inch sheet cake

February’s Cake: Mississi

ppi Mud Cake

(Recipe from Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott)

For the Cake

1 cup (2sticks) butter, cut into biug chunks

½ cup cocoa powder

4 eggs, beaten well

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups sugar

1½ cups all purpose flour

¼ tsp salt

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

For the Mississippi Mud Frosting

One 16 ounce box (3¼ cups) confectioners sugar

½ cup cocoa powder

½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted

½ cup milk or evaporated milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 cups mini marshmallows or 3 cups large marshmallows quartered

Method – Cake

Heat the oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 13x9 inch pan. In a medium saucepan combine the butter and cocoa powder and cook over medium heat, stirring now and then, until the butter is melted and the mixture is well blended, about 3 – 4 minutes. I did this in the microwave in 1 minutes intervals until the butter was melted about 3 mins. Stir in the beaten eggs, vanilla, sugar, flour, salt and pecans and beat until the batter is well combined and the flour has disappeared.

I also choose not to add the pecans to the batter until I poured into the pan that way some of the cake

didn't have the pecans in it.

Quickly pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the cake springs back when touched gently in the centre and is beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan. Mine took about 20 minutes.

While the cake bakes, prepare the frosting so it is ready to pour over the hot cake.

Method – Mud Frosting

In a medium bowl combine the confectioners sugar and the cocoa powder and stir to mix well. Add the melted butter, milk and vanilla and beat everything together well. Set aside until the cake is done.

To Serve

Remove the cake from the oven, scatter the marshmallows over the top and then ret

urn the cake to the hot oven for about 3 minutes to soften the marshmallows.

Place the cake, still in the pan, on a wire rack. Pour the frosting all over the marshmallow dotted cake and eat straight away or allow to cool to room temperature. Cut the cake into squares and serve.

If you like melted chocolately goodness this cake is probably just for you! Enjoy!

Valentine's Cookies Galore...Sugar Cookie Cut Outs, Red Velvet Whoopie Pies and White Chocolate Chip Heart Cookies

2010-02-18T09:15:00.001-06:00

This past weekend my aunt hosted a bridal shower with a group of her friends. She asked if I could make several dozen heart shaped cookies for the shower. Rather than just making one type of cookies, I thought I would mix it up and do 3 different types. I decided on White Chocolate Chip cookies made in a heart shaped pan from Wilton that I got at Michael's, Red Velvet Whoopie Pies and lastly sugar cookie cut outs in the shapes of hearts.

I think they all turned out really cute and from what I was told they were a huge hit at the party. She said the white chocolate chip and red velvet whoopie pies were all gone! So I guess that means they were good. My boyfriend did try a whoopie pie before I packaged them all up and he loved them and is hoping I am making them again really soon!

White Chocolate Chips Heart Cookies

For the white chocolate chips heart cookies, I used my favorite chocolate chip recipe found here and replaced the chocolate chips with white chocolate chips. I grabbed about am 1 1/2 inch ball of dough and slowly pressed it into the greased heart shaped pan. Bake for about 9 minutes or until they start to puff out and are golden.

Let cool in pan for about 3 minutes then invert onto cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

Once the cookies have cooled you are decorate as you wish. I just melted pink candy coating and chocolate bark coating and drizzled over the tops of the cookies.

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies from Annie's Eats adapted from Dinner and Desserts originally from Better Homes and Garden, December 2008. Frosting adapted from Confections of a Foodie Bride

Cookies:

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

8 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temp

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temp

1 oz. red food coloring

Frosting for the Filling:

8 oz cream cheese

5 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temp

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Using a heart template or cookie cutter to trace evenly spaced hearts onto pieces of parchment paper. Place the parchment on the cookie sheets so that the side you have drawn on is facing down; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. In a bowl of the stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and brown sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg until incorporated, scraping down the bowl as needed. Blend in the vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add about a 1/3 of the dry ingredients followed by half the buttermilk, beating each addition just until incorporated. Repeat so that all the buttermilk has been added and then mix in the final third of the dry ingredients. Do not overbeat. Blend in food coloring.

Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a large plain round tip. I could not find mine so I used a smaller one, they didnt turn out as pretty as I had hoped but it worked. Next time I will make sure to find the bigger round tip.

Pipe the batter onto the parchment paper using the heart tracings as a guide. Bake 5-7 minutes or until the tops are set, rotating the baking sheets halfway through. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet at least 10 minutes, until they can be easily transferred to a cooling rack. Repeat with any remaining batter. Allow cookies to cool completely before proceeding.

To make the cream cheese frosting: Using the stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the cream cheese and butter on medium speed until well combined and smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Mix in the vanilla. Gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar until totally incorporated, increase the speed and then beat until smooth.

Transfer the frosting to a clean pastry bag fitted with a large tip. I used the star tip but you can use the large round tip as well. Pair the cookies up by shape and size. Flip the cookies over. Pipe the frosting onto every other cookie, leaving the edges clear. Sandwich the cookies together so the flat sides of the cookies are facing each other and press gently to help the filling reach the edges. To store, refrigerate in an air tight container.

Vanilla-Almond Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing

This was my second attempt at sugar cookies with royal icing. I am happy to report that this time was much easier and I think they turned out much better. So I guess practice does make perfect?...well not perfect but better :)

Anyways I used the same recipe I blogged about here from Bridget's Bake at 350. This time I did make the cookies a lot thicker and this seemed to help them be softer and more chewy...which I liked much better!

The dough was about 1/4 inch thick and I placed the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. I used various heart shaped cookie cutters I had in a few different sizes.

I baked these for about 9-10 minutes at 350 degrees and let them cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

I used the same recipe for Royal Icing this time, except instead of Wilton's brand of Meringue Powder I got the one from Williams-Sonoma. I think it tasted much better, so try this one if you aren't happy with the one you currently use. For the recipe, see this post or go to Bake at 350. I doubled the recipe just so I made sure I had enough.

Once the royal icing is made, I split the icing into 4 bowls. And used my food coloring paste to get the colors I wanted, which were red, pink, black and white. I used a little water to thin out the royal icing until it was the consistency needed for piping. The remaining icing was left in the bowl until I transferred to the bottles for flooding. (When you make the icing for flooding, make sure you thin the icing out more) If it gets too thin just add more powdered sugar.

Here are my bottles used to flood the cookies.

Here are a few pictures I took as I was decorating.

I still have a lot to learn but the more I practice the more comfortable I get with it. If you want more instruction on using royal icing, I love the tips on Bake at 350 and Annie's Eats. Everyone has their own way of doing sugar cookies, you just have to figure out what works best for you!

This time I took a tip from Bridget and rather than using room temp unsalted butter I used salted cold and this made me not have to refrigerate the dough before rolling. It was so easy, try it next time. You might like it too!

Sorry this was such a lengthy post and maybe a little late for Valentine's but I was busy baking all weekend! Enjoy!

Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies

2010-02-15T09:16:00.007-06:00

For Valentine's Day I decided to make peanut butter cookies for my boyfriend. He had to work at the fire station so I made them during the day and surprised him the next morning. You see I hate peanut butter, like a lot. The smell makes me sick. But it was Valentine's so I lived through it.

I found this recipe on Annie's Eats and I knew he would love them. From what he tells me these cookies were really soft and chewy with a nice peanut butter taste but overly peanut buttery! If you like peanut butter I bet these would be a hit. He took them to the station yesterday to share and the platter came home empty so I guess that was a good sign they were good.

Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies from Annie's Eats

3 cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

4 tbsp unsalted butter at room temp

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup honey

2 large eggs

Sugar, or sanding sugar for rolling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Whisk together and set aside. In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together shortening, butter, peanut butter and honey.

Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. With the mixer on low, slowly add in the dry ingedients to the peanut butter mixture and beat just until incorporated.

Roll the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and roll each ball into sugar. Place the dough balls on ungreased baking sheet, a couple inches apart. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until slightly puffed and golden.

Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheets for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

You will not be sorry if you try these! I heard they were really delicious!

Valentine's Vanilla Bean Cupcakes

2010-02-08T09:38:00.014-06:00

So... I know I have been MIA lately, but I promise it's not intentional! In January one of my best friends got married and our bridesmaid dresses we very fitted! Therefore, I wasn't baking cause I was trying to not gain a single pound and sure didn't need the temptation.

After that was over we decided we are moving out of our apartment when our lease comes up here in a few months. So that started the process of figuring all of that out. Anyways...Valentine's Day was just the thing I needed to kick my baking back into gear. I had to run an errand for my mom at Michaels yesterday, and it was over. I walked out with just about everything Valentine's or heart related you can buy. I found these super cute heart cupcake liners, which meant I was headed home to make some cupcakes of course!

After flipping through some recipes I decided on these Vanilla Beans Cupcakes, primarily cause I wanted to use red and white swirled icing on top to match the cute liners but also cause I love vanilla beans and love any recipe where I get to use the Beanilla Vanilla Beans I won last year!

This recipe comes from Annie's Eats. I think her blog is delicious so if you haven't stopped over there please go check it out, you won't be sorry!

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes from Annie'e Eats adapted from Confections of a Foodie Bride which was adapted from The Well Decorated Cake

3 cups cake flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

16 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temp

2 cups sugar

5 large eggs, at room temp

1 1/4 cups buttermilk, at room temp

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners and set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine cake flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together and set aside. Add butter to bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Scrape the vanilla bean seeds into the mixer bowl with butter. Beat on medium-high speed for 3 mins, until light and creamy in color. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat for one more minute.

Add sugar to the mixture, 1/4 cup at a time, beating 1 minute after each addition. Mix in the eggs one at a time until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Combine the buttermilk and vanilla extract in liquid measuring cups. Mixer the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients alternately with the wet ingredients, beginning and ending with the dry and mixing just until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for 15 seconds longer.

Divide the batter between the paper liners, filling each about 2/3 full. This makes roughly 30 cupcakes. Bake 18-22 minutes. Mine actually were ready in 15 mins so be sure to watch carefully. Allow to cool in pans for 5-10 mins then transfer to a cooling rack. Frost & decorate as desired.

I have been wanting to try using 2 different colors of frosting for decorating cupcakes and this time worked out perfect with my Valentine's themed cupcakes. I used my favorite Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Frosting recipe posted about here from Cupcake Bakeshop. and colored half red and kept the other half white. I think they turned out pretty cool looking. There were a few I just added pink and red sprinkles too just for fun!

A top view of the frosting...

One more picture a little close up...

If you like vanilla bean cupcakes you will definitely love these. The frosting however just put these over the top for me! Delicious :)

Smore's Cupcakes

2010-01-21T10:48:00.003-06:00

For Christmas I also made these Smore's Cupcakes seen on Annie's Eats. She raved about how good they were and really I have been dying to use the kitchen torch I bought. So this was the perfect excuse, plus smores's cupcakes...yes please!

So as I was baking these Christmas Eve day I was getting more excited by the second to pull out the kitchen torch, when it finally was the time, I pulled it out and realized I need to put butane gas in it. Umm, what's a girl to do when its Christmas Eve and she is running late and has no butane for the kitchen torch...I called my mom to see if she had any she could bring me. She didn't have any and couldn't really tell me where to go that late in the day on Christmas Eve. I was defeated and had no time for a store run. So I ended up using the broiler to torch the marshmallow frosting. Just be careful and keep an eye on them, it works really quickly!

These little cakes were perfection, the graham cracker crust with the moist chocolate cupcakes and the toasted marshmallow frosting....heaven! If you like smore's you will definitely love this recipe, so get in the kitchen and make this soon!

Smore's Cupcakes from Annie's Eats originally adapted from Lovin from the Oven and attributed to Trophy Cupcakes

Graham Cracker Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup granulated sugar
5 1/3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

For the cake:
2 cups plus 2 tbsp sugar
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 plus 1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

For the frosting:
8 large egg whites, at room temp
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cupcake pans with paper liners. In a small mixing bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter, mix well with a fork.
Drop about 1 tablespoon of the graham cracker mixture in the bottom of each cupcake liner and press down to line the bottom. Sprinkle a small amount of the chopped chocolate on top of the graham cracker crust. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven.

To make the cake batter, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Mix on low speed just to combine. In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs, milk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract; whisk together. Add to the dry ingredients and mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the boiling water and stir just to combine.

Divide the batter evenly between the liners, filling each about 3/4 of the way full. Return to the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes. Allow to cool in pan for 5-10 minutes, then remove and transfer to cooling racks.

To make the frosting: combine the eggs, sugar and cream of tartar in the top of a double broiler. (I just used a clean, dry mixer bowl over simmering water) Heat the mixture, whisking frequently until it reaches 160 degrees F with an instant read thermometer. Transfer the mixture of an electric bowl with whisk attachment. Whisk starting at low speed and gradually increasing to medium-high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form. Mix in vanilla until combined. Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.

Brown with kitchen torch or use the broiler. Just make sure to watch this only takes about 45 seconds to a 1 minute.

Garnish with chocolate or graham crackers as you wish!

I took a bite out of one, simply for picture purposes :)

Chocolate Cinnamon Bundt Cake

2010-01-21T08:40:00.001-06:00

I was in charge of bringing dessert for a New Years Lunch with my family. I knew I was going to make a bundt cake because my boyfriend's mom got me the most beautiful bundt pan from Williams Sonoma for Christmas!

After flipping through some recipes I decided on a cinnamon chocolate bundt cake that I saw on Lick the Bowl Good. The cakes smelled amazing while it was cooking and it was so moist and chocolately I could have eaten the whole thing!

Cinnamon Chocolate Bundt Cake from Food Librarian via Lick the Bowl Good

1/2 cup butter

1 cup water

1/2 cup vegetable oil

5 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs slightly beaten

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a large bundt pan with cooking spray. Make sure to cover all the crevices.

Put butter, oil, cocoa in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Meanwhile, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl. Pour the chocolate mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix well. Then add, the buttermilk and baking soda. Mix together the eggs, cinnamon and vanilla in a small bowl and add to the batter.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes. (Mine took closer to 38 mins. Usually my oven cooks things pretty quick but this just took a lot longer than I thought it would)

Allow to cool in pan completely!

I just sprinkled the top with powdered sugar.

A little close up...

A view of the top...

Thanks Monica for sharing the recipe, this cake was moist and delicious! My family enjoyed it with a nice scoop of vanilla ice cream. :)

Christmas Sugar Cookie Cut Outs with Royal Icing

2010-01-10T21:00:00.008-06:00

I have been wanting to try sugar cookie cut outs with royal icing for some time now. I keep promising my sister I will make some for her class. Finally I got around to trying them out for Christmas. I really enjoyed working with royal icing and cant wait for the next time. The more I worked with it the easier it got (and the cuter the cookies got)!

I used the vanilla almond sugar cookie recipe from Bake at 350 as well as her royal icing recipe. I just think Bridget's cookies always turn out amazing! I definitely need lots more practice but I was pretty proud of my of first batch!

Vanilla-Almond Sugar Cookies from Bridget at Bake at 350

3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup sugar (I used vanilla sugar)
2 sticks butter ( I used unsalted)
1 egg
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp pure almond extract

Preheat the oven to 350F. Combine all the flour and baking powder, set aside. Cream the sugar and butter. Add the egg and extracts and mix. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat just until combined, scraping down the bowl, especially at the bottom.

Roll onto a floured surface and cut into shapes. Place on parchment paper lined baking sheets and bake for 10-12 mins. Let sit for a few minutes on the sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Royal Icing from Bridget at Bake at 350
(this will cover approx. 3 dozen 3.5 inch cookies)

1 pound powdered sugar (sifted)
5 tbsp meringue powder
scant 1/2 cup water
a few drops of extract (optional)

Combine the meringue powder and water with a whisk attachment using an electric mixer. Beat until peaks begin to form. Stir in powdered sugar and beat on low to combine. Increase speed to high until stiff peaks form. (You can remove the beater and jiggle without the peaks falling) If using an extract combine for a few seconds to incorporate.

Cover with plastic wrap touching the icing or divide and color using gel paste food coloring.
I used bottles to outline the cookies and I let them dry over night.

For flooding the cookies, I just added water till it was the consistency needed. If it gets too runny just add more powdered sugar.

The flooded cookies I let dry for several more hours before I finished and added some decorations.
I definitely started to get the feel for the icing as I went on. I can't wait to try making these again. The cookies were delicious!

All packed up in a tin and ready for Christmas!
I think the snowflakes were my favorite!

More cookies....Sugar & Chocolate Chocolate Chip

2009-12-22T15:51:00.011-06:00

So the holidays came and went and I never got around to finishing up all the posts I wanted to get in. So I know these are late but really cookies can be made anytime right?

I made both Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies and Sugar Cookies for a few co-workers. The chocolate chip recipe, is the one I posted about previously but this time I used chocolate pudding instead of vanilla. To see the recipe scroll below to the Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe or go to All Recipes that's where it comes from.

As for the sugar cookies, I found a cute sprinkles jar over holidays with various red and green sprinkles so I had to use them for these cookies. If you like soft cookies I would recommend taking them out earlier that the recipe calls for. I think I left mine in for about 8-9 minutes. Some turned out a little crispier than I would have liked.

The sugar cookies come from Lovin from the Oven's Twelve Days of Cookies, Kim found them on the blog Delish and they were adapted from America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, 2006.

Go to one of the sites listed above for the recipe.

I put the cookies in these cute Christmas tins I found at Target!

How cute! Sorry I am super late posting, my life has been crazy the last month! More holiday post to come this week!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-12-22T10:10:00.006-06:00

The same trip to Target when I saw the Holiday Hershey Kisses I also found Nestle Dark Chocolate & Mint Chocoalte Chips. I decided I would make cookies half using these holiday chips and the other half with white chocolate and choc chip combo.

I used my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe . You add pudding to the dough and it makes them so soft and yummy!

I found the recipe here. Its from all recipes and has wonderful reviews. Last year I used the same recipe with Nestle Swirled Holiday Chips. So I knew I had to try it out again,

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies from All Recipes

4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 (3.4 oz) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups semi-sweet choc chips ( I used 1/2 dark choc & mint and half white choc and milk choc chips)
2 cups chopped walnuts (optional) I omitted these

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Sift the flour and baking soda and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Finally stir in the chocolate chips. Since I used 2 different types of chocolate chips I divided the batter in half prior to adding the chips.

Using a cookie scoop, scoop out the dough and roll in your hands to form a ball. When placing on the cookie sheet push down to the size you wish. These cookies dont grow too much so if you want big cookies use more dough.

Bake for about 9-10 minutes.

A close up of the white chocolate and milk chocolate cookies! Makes you want a glass of cold milk huh?

I drizzle white chocolate on some and milk chocolate on the mint chipped cookies.

My office peeps loved these cookies...and I think the fireman at my boyfriends stations did too! He came home with an empty container again!!

Holiday Kissed Muffins

2009-12-22T09:31:00.007-06:00

A few weeks ago I ran across these Holiday Hershey Kisses at Target and of course I bought several bags of each. I originally was going to use them on cookies but at the last minute I changed my mind and went with chocolate cupcakes. I froze the kisses for roughly 30 minutes before placing them in the center of the cupcakes. I used the chocolate cupcakes recipe I have in the past from Joy of Baking, I also post about them here.
Pour the batter in the cupcake liners like normal.

Place the frozen kisses in the center of the cupcake. Press down slightly.

Here is what they look like when they come out of the oven. I used the peppermint/white choc kisses, mint truffle and the plain kisses as well.

I sprinkled powdered sugar on the tops of the truffle and plain kisses and drizzled white chocolate on the peppermint ones.

Here is what they look like cut down the center.

These were super simple to throw together and everyone loved them. The mint truffle ones tasted like Thin Mints! So yummy!!

Thanksgiving Desserts---A little late....

2009-12-09T09:44:00.010-06:00

I am a little late posting but I guess it is better late than never! Anyways I was in charge of bringing desserts for Thanksgiving so I wanted to do a couple of different things, I decided on Pumpkin Cheesecake, Dutch Apple Pie and Cinnamon Cream Cheese Bundt Cake I found on Ordinary Day.

The pumpkin cheesecakes I have made many many times before, but this time I decided I wanted to try them cupcake size and mini cupcake size. Let me just tell you...they were a hit! Who can pass up a miniature sized cheesecake! I do have to apologize however, because I didn't get any pictures of what the finished product looked like. Think yummy piped whipped cream on top of each!

The apple pie I had actually made last year for Thanksgiving, it was really good however its was a little too liquidy in my opinion. So this time around I just added a little extra flour and it was absolutely perfect! Dutch apple pie is my mom's favorite so I had to make this one again this year.

The Cinnamon Cream Cheese Bundt Cake I saw on Michelle's blog One Ordinary Day a few weeks back and I just thought it sounded delicious! However the recipe calls for Brown Sugar Cinnamon Spice Swirl Cream Cheese and I looked everywhere for it for weeks until finally one day I stumbled upon it at Rice Epicurean here in Houston. I was so excited I bought 3 of them!

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Bundt Cake from Michelle at One Ordinary Day which she adapted from My Recipes and Smitten Kitchen

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temp
8 oz. Philadelphia Brown Sugar & Cinnamon Spice Swirl Cream Cheese, at room temp
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and spray a 12 cup bundt pan with baking spray.

Place butter and cream cheese in mixing bowl and beat on medium speed until smooth. Add sugar, increase mixer to high speed and beat for 5 mins, until mixture is light and airy. Add eggs, one at a time , beating after each addition. Add vanilla and cinnamon, then flour and salt all at one time. Beat just until incorporated.

Pour batter into prepared pan and even out the top.

Bake until cake is golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean, about 1 hour and 15 mins. Remove cake from oven to cooling rack. Cool in pan for 20 minutes. Remove from pan and allow to cool completely. Glaze with Cinnamon glaze. (recipe below)
Cinnamon Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp milk
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Mix ingredients in small bowl until smooth. Drizzle over cooled cake and Enjoy!!!

This cake was really good, its light and moist and ohh soo yummy! My family loved it and so did I. I would definitely make again. I do think my bundt pan might be 10 cups so it was pretty full, but it baked up nicely. (It did rise over the center but didnt cause any issues and this glaze was amazing. I heated it up just a little in the microwave for breakfast the day after Thanksgiving!

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes (This recipe comes from a copycat of the Cheesecake Factory Pumpkin Cheesecake)

1 1/2 cups graham crackers crumbs

5 tbsp. butter melted

1 cup plus 1 tbsp sugar

3 8oz. package cream cheese, softened

1 tbsp vanilla

1 cup canned pumpkin ( I used Libby's)

3 eggs

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp allspice

whipped cream and or caramel, for serving

Preheat over to 350 degrees.

Make the crust by combining the graham crackers crumbs with the melted butter and tbsp sugar in a medium bowl. Stir well enough to coat all of the crumbs with the butter, but not so much as to turn the mixture into paste. Keep it crumbly. ( I did 1. 5 times the recipe for the crust cause thats my favorite part.) Press the crumbs into the bottom of the liners.

To make into cupcake sized, put about 1 tablespoon of crumb mixture into the paper liners and smooth out with the back of a spoon. For the mini sized cheesecakes use about a teaspoon of crumb mixture. Bake the crust for 5 mins then set aside until you are ready to fill.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, 1 cup of sugar, and vanilla. Mix until smooth. Add the pumpkin, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice and continue to beat until smooth and creamy.

Pour the filling into the paper liner almost filling to the top. Bake for about 18-22 mins. The tops will turn a bit darker at this point, remove from the oven and allow the cheesecakes to chill.

Once the cheesecakes comes to room temp, put into the refrigerator. Serve with whipped topping and caramel.

These are a becoming a family favorite and I am sure I will be making them again next Thanksgiving. I enjoyed them even more since they were more bite sized then a slice of normal cheesecake.

Dutch Apple Pie Recipe from Recipezaar

1 homemade or ready made pie crust

5 1/2 cups peeled, cored and sliced cooking apples (I used 6 Granny Smith Apples)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

3 tablespoons flour (I used about 4 1/2)

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Topping:

3/4 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1/3 cup butter, at room temp

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Fit pie crust into pie plate. (If needed)

In a large bowl, mix sliced apples, lemon juice, both sugars, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Pile into crust.

Prepare topping:

In a medium bowl, with a pastry blender, mix flour, sugars, and butter until coarsely crumbled.

Sprinkle evenly over apples.

Bake at 375 degrees for 50 minutes.

If you love apple pie you definitely need to try this pie! It is delish! You can also refrigerate and just re-heat at 350 before serving. Cover with foil to keep from burning the crumb topping!

Burnt Sugar Cake

2009-11-20T17:21:00.010-06:00

This month with the Cake Slice Bakers, we baked up our second cake from Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott. This time around it was a Burnt Sugar Cake, which I thought just sounded amazing! I heard a lot about this icing being very sweet but I wanted to make it exactly how the recipe called it so I could test it out. My cake seemed to take a little longer than the directions called for so I think mine could have been a little more moist, but all in all I like the cake and I would definitely make it again. Perhaps as cupcakes or even a bundt cake with a lighter frosting or drizzle.

Burnt Sugar Cake from Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott

Burnt Sugar Syrup:

1 cup boiling water

1 cup sugar

Burnt Sugar Cake:

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup milk

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1 3/4 cups sugar

4 eggs

Burnt Sugar Frosting:

3 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup Burnt Sugar Syrup

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 or 3 tablespoons evaporated milk or milk

To make the syrup: Heat the sugar in a cast iron skillet or in another heavy pan with broad bottom and high sides, over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar melts into a clear, brown caramel syrup about the color of tea. Carefully add the boiling water, pouring it down the sides of the pan so that if the syrup foams and bubbles up, you'll be protected. Continue cooking, stirring often, until the water joins the caramel in a brown syrup. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Store the cooled syrup in a sealed jar until needed.

make the cake: heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt, and stir with fork to mix well. Stir the vanilla into the milk.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and the sugar with a mixer at high speed for 2 to 3 mins, until they are very well combined, stopping now and then to scrape down the bowl. Add the eggs, one by one, beating well each time. Pour in 1/2 cup of the Burnt Sugar Syrup and beat well. Add about a third of the flour mixture, and then about half of the milk, beating at a low speed just long enough, after each addition, to make the flour or the milk disappear into the batter. Mix in another third of the flour, the rest of the milk, and then the last of the flour the same way.

Divide the batter between the cake pans and bake at 350 for 20 to 25 mins, until the cakes are golden brown. Let the cakes cool in the pans on wire racks for 15 minutes. Then turn out the cakes onto wire racks or plates to cool completely.

To make the frosting: In a large bowl, combine the confectioners sugar, the remaining 1/2 cup of burnt sugar syrup, the butter, and the vanilla. Beat with a mixer at medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl now and then to bring the ingredients together. Add 2 tablespoons of evaporated milk and continue to beat until the frosting is thick, soft, smooth, and easy to spread. Add a little more sugar if its thin and a little more evaporated milk if it seems too thick.

I wasnt a huge fan of this icing, its very sweet and I could never seem to get the perfect texture, it was either too funny or too thick. I think this cake would be better with either no frosting at all or a very light glaze!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars

2009-11-16T11:05:00.011-06:00

My sister called me last week to see if I could make a dessert for her. She was bringing dessert to celebrate a fellow teachers birthday. She said she thought she wanted something with chocolate chip cookie dough, so I got home and started looking through my recipes. There were a few I showed her but this one was the clear winner! I have never made it so I was a little nervous shipping it off without a taste....but from what I hear it was a huge hit!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars seen on Bake or Break from The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook

(I doubled this recipe and used a 13 x 9 inch pan instead of the 9 inch square it calls for)

Crust:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2/3 cups mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cookie Dough:

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temp

1/3 cups packed brown sugar

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cups all purpose flour

Filling:

10 ounces cream cheese, at room temp

1/4 cups granulated sugar

1 large egg, at room temp

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Making the crust: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9 inch square pan (I doubled recipe and used a 13 x 9). Line pan with parchment paper, leaving enough room to extend over sides. Butter the parchment paper. (Pam with flour works fine)

Combine graham crackers and butter until crumbs are moistened. Stir in chocolate chips.

Press crust mixture into bottom of pan and 1 inch up sides. Bake for 6 minutes. Set on wire rack to cool.

Making the cookie dough: Using an electric mixer, mix butter, brown sugar, sugar, salt and vanilla extract at medium speed until smooth. Decrease mixer speed to low and add flour. Mix just until incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips. Set aside

Making the filling: Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar just until smooth. Add egg and vanilla extract, beating just until blended.

Pour batter into baked crust.

Drop cookie dough by teaspoonfuls over the top of the filling.

Bake about 30 mins, or until set. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

For chocolate drizzle, just melt semi-sweet chocolate chips in a bag in the microwave and drizzle over the top! Cut into bars and serve!

If you are a cookie dough fan this recipe is for you! My sister said everyone loved it, and now I wish I had a small piece to at least try it out. My guess is I will be making this recipe again soon!

Cinnamon Sugar CoffeeCake Muffins

2009-11-16T10:20:00.007-06:00

I made these a few weeks ago just on a whim craving something sweet. I was flipping through my recipe and these just leapt from the page at me. After reading the recipe and glancing at the pictures I realized when I printed out the recipe I didn't get which blog it was from. So as I was making them it was stressing my out trying to figure out where they were from.

After a while I was starring at the page long enough to realized, duh...I've seen this font many times, it's from Monica at Lick the Bowl Good! Once I realized they were hers I knew these were going to be delicious!

Cinnamon Sugar CoffeeCake Muffins from Monica at Lick the Bowl Good which she adapted from Ina ( Makes approx 10 muffins)

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temp

3/4 cups sugar

2 large eggs, at room temp

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 ounces sour cream

1/8 cup milk

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Cinnamon Brown Sugar Filling

1/3 sugar brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Cinnamon Sugar Topping

3 tablespoons melted butter

1/3 sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place 10 paper liners in the muffin pan or spray generously with Pam. ( I actually 11 muffins out of this recipe)

In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon for the filling. Mix and set aside. In another small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon. Mix and set aside. I also placed the butter in a small bowl so it could be melted when I was ready for it.

In a large mixer bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. With the mixer on low speed, and 1 egg at a time, then add vanilla, sour cream and milk.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the mixer on low. Mix just until combined.

Scoop about a tablespoon of batter into each muffin cup. Evenly spoon the brown sugar filling into each muffin cup. I swirled the batter and filling around just a little bit to combine.

Spoon the remaining batter evenly into the muffin cups. Fill till just under the top.

Bake for 25-30 mins. ( Mine were ready in 24) Bake until the muffins tops are golden brown or until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for a few minutes. Try using a tooth pick around the edges to loosen them if needed.

Melt the butter and set aside. After the muffins have cooled for about 15-20 mins remove them from the pan. Dip the tops of the muffins into the melted butter and then roll into a cinnamon sugar mixture.

Enjoy for a snack or with a cup of coffee.

My boyfriend is pretty good about sticking to a healthy diet but these he said were pretty tempting. We shared one that night and let me tell you, I could have easily eaten 3 or 4 more. They were that good!

So thanks Monica...we loved them!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

2009-11-03T10:52:00.009-06:00

I have been so busy lately I have yet to make a single Halloween or even fall recipe. What a horrible baker! I think my work friends have been slightly disappointed. :(

So last night I decided it was time to get into the fall spirit. It is finally getting a little cooler here in Houston, so that helped a little too! I have been seeing all kinds of Pumpkin recipes all over the blogs so I thought I would start there as well. My boyfriend has been requesting pumpkin cheesecakes but I didn't have all the ingredients on hand. Instead I saw this Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bundt cake on Two Peas and Their Pod and went straight home to get started. I have never made anything with chocolate and pumpkin together, but apparently I have been missing out! Man was this cake ever good! I think I might have to make it again for the holidays. It comes together so quickly and you can add variations as you would like. I originally wanted to do white chocolate chips but didn't have enough on hand. So I used both mini and regular semi sweet chocolate chips and added a cream cheese drizzle to add some flare.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake from Two Peas and Their Pod which was adapted from Epicurious, Gourmet

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temp

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

3/4 tsp ground all spice

Pinch of fresh nutmeg (ground nutmeg works too)
1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 canned solid packed pumpkin ( I used Libby's 15 0z can)

3/4 cup well-shaken buttermilk

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/4 cups sugar

3 large eggs

Chocolate Chips of Chunks ( I used a combination of regular and mini semi sweet chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 10 inch bundt pan with Pam with flour.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, ground nutmeg, and salt in a bowl.

Whisk together pumpkin, buttermilk, and vanilla in a separate bowl.

All whisked together

Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at a medium speed until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, while mixing on low. On low, add flour mixture and pumpkin mixture in batches, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix just until combined, be careful not to over mix. By hand, stir in the chocolate chips.

Spoon cake batter into pan, smoothing top. Pound the pan on the counter to settle the batter. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean in center of cake, about 45-50 mins. (Mine took about 43 mins)

Cool the cake, on a rack, for 15 mins. Invert and re-invert to cool on wire rack. Cool completely before decorating or serving.

Cream Cheese Drizzle

4 ounces cream cheese, at room temp

1 tablespoon butter, at room temp

2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon milk (Add more if needed)

Melt in microwave in 15-20 second intervals. Stir and drizzle on the top!

This cake was really awesome! Have it for breakfast with some coffee, for a snack or serve it up for the holidays you will not be disappointed!

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Reese's Cake

2009-10-19T10:13:00.041-05:00

Ok so I am a little late posting this but things got a little hectic and busy before I left for vacation. My sister's birthday was a few weeks back, I called her a few days before her bday dinner and asked what dessert she wanted. She isn't the greatest with decisions so I brought her my recipe book and collection of desserts I have been waiting to make and let her thump through it. She picked a few but several of them had to do with peanut butter and chocolate. So I knew that's really what she wanted. You see I HATE peanut butter....not a little but literally the smell makes me gag! Haha so she was a little hesitant to ask for this combo. But since I am a wonderful sister I went ahead and made this for her! Also another way to not eat or even try a dessert....bake something you don't like!

I got most of my inspiration from Annie's Eats but went with a different peanut butter frosting. I decided to take it up a notch and make Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting. (When I told my sister, I think she started to drool :) )

Chocolate Peanut Butter Reese's Cake inspired by Annie's Eat's, cake from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan and Frosting from Sky High

For the cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder ( I used Hershey's)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temp
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled ( I used Ghirradelli)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 2, 9 inch cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper and butter again. I used Pam with Flour here and it worked out perfect!

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Place aside.

In the mixer bowl (using the paddle attachment), beat the butter on medium speed until creamy and soft. Add the sugar and beat for about 2 mins, until thoroughly combined with butter. Add the eggs and yolks one at a time, beating after each addition for about a minute. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk; add the dry ingredients in 3 additions and the buttermilk in 2. (Beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix each addition only until blended . Scrape down the bowl and add the melted chocolate, folding in using a spatula.

Divide the batter between the cake pans.

Bake for 26-30 minutes. (Mine was actually ready in about 23 mins) The cake feels springy to the touch and starts to pull away from the sides. Transfer to wire racks to cool for about 10 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cake, pull off paper liners. Cool to room temperature.

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting from Sky High

10 ounces cream cheese, at room temp
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temp
4-5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2/3 cups smooth peanut butter, preferably a commercial brand. ( I used Jif)

In a large bowl using the electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl often. Continue to beat on medium speed until light and fluffy for about 3-4 mins.

Add the peanut butter and beat until blended.

For decorating: I used Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, cut in halves and cut into pieces. Freeze about 30-45 mins prior to use.

Adding the halves to the top and bottom of the cake.

A view from the top during decorating

Add cut up pieces of the Reese's to the top of the cake
This picture isn't very good, but it was the last slice I had leftover. So since I don't like peanut butter, I didn't taste this cake. But everyone else seemed to love it! I guess it was a hit since I didn't have much leftover to take a picture with. Enjoy!

Sugar & Spice Cake

2009-10-19T10:13:00.040-05:00

My boyfriend requested a Sugar & Spice Cake for his birthday this year. I have made this cake in the past for him and he just loved it! It's a tradition in the Houston Fire Department to bring cake for any special occasions for everyone at the station to enjoy. So this is what he wanted to bring. It's super easy and since it is based on a box mix, it is all thrown together very quickly!

This is a recipe my aunt passed on to me from Southern Living Magazine. So if you are interested go to Southern Living.

Just combine all the ingredients and mix!

Here is what the batter looks like...I might have licked the spatula once I was done :)

The recipe calls for 3 8 inch pans but I used 2 9 inch pans and it was fine!

All baked up! I used the awesome little bake even strips with these cakes! Look how even :)

Starting to ice the cake...

And finally, the finished product! I sprinkled a little edible glitter on top.

Everyone should definitely try this cake! The cake box came home empty...not even a crumb left :)

Tres Leches

2009-10-19T10:13:00.039-05:00

My mom's soon to be husband was asking me the other day if I had ever made a Tres Leches Cake. When I stopped and thought about it, I realized I hadn;t. So I went home that night and searched a recipe, and found the perfect one to test out on Pioneer Women!

He has a tough week ahead of him as he starts radiation this week. So I thought this would help lift his spirits! I didnt get a chance to taste it so hopefully it turned out ok :)

Tres Leches Cake

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

5 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup milk

1 can evaporated milk

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 pint heavy cream, for whipping

3 tablespoons sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Spray 9 x 13 inch pan liberally until coated.Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Separate eggs. Beat egg yolks with 3/4 cup sugar on high speed until yolks are pale yellow. Stir in milk and vanilla. Pour egg yolk mixture over flour mixture and stir very gently until combined.Beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. With mixer on, pour in 1/4 cup sugar and beat until egg whites are stiff but not dry.Fold egg white mixture into other mixture very gently until just combined. Pour into prepared pan and spread to even out surface.Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.Turn cake out onto a rimmed platter and allow to cool.

Combine condensed milk, evaporated milk, and 1/2 cup heavy cream in a small pitcher.When cake is cool, pierce the surface with a fork several times.

Slowly drizzle all but about 1 cup of the milk mixture—try to get as much around the edges of the cake as you can.Allow the cake to absorb the milk mixture for 30 minutes. Look its all gone!Whip 1 pint heavy cream with 3 tablespoons of sugar until thick and spreadable.Spread over the surface of the cake. Decorate cake with whole or chopped maraschino cherries. Cut into squares and serve.

Spread over the surface of the cake...

Yum....

Add some decoration...

Pioneer Woman decorate with cherries, I thought strawberries looked just as cute. But decorate however you wish! Enjoy :)

Cinamon Pecan Coffee Cake

2009-10-19T10:13:00.038-05:00

This was my first time baking along with The Cake Slice Baker's from our new book, Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott. While I am what some would call a picky eater, I figured this group was a way to try baking new things that normally I would never pick. So this first one what I really wanted to do was omit the pecans and raisins and have a lovely Cinnamon Coffee Cake. However since I am leaving for Mexico in 2 days and will be in a bathing suit on the beach, I decided to leave everything as the recipe called for so I wouldn't touch it! (Clever huh?)

Anyways this recipe calls for a lots of different bowls, but from what I hear the results are totally worth it! Everyone thought this cake was delicious, and I actually plan on taking the leftovers to my aunt;s house tonight so she can enjoy the rest! As I was assembling the layers I thought I would leave one section without nuts and raisins just for a sample tasting. However, it was late and once I added the second layer of batter I forgot which side was without, turns out I have one side bottom layer without and one side top layer without! Genius...right? :)

Cinnamon Pecan Coffee Cake from Southern Cakes

(Makes a 13 x 9 inch cake)

For the cake:

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup milk

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

For the Cinnamon Raisin Filling:

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar

3 tbsp all purpose flour

3 tbsp cinnamon

1 1/2 cups raisins

1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans

3/4 (1 1/2 sticks) butter, melted

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 x 9 inch pan. (I used Pam for Baking)

To make the filling, combine the light brown sugar, flour and cinnamon in a bowl and stir with a fork to mix everything well. Combine the raisins and pecans in another bowl and toss to mix them. Place the cinnamon mixture, nut mixture and melted butter but the pan for later use.

To make the cake, combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Stir the vanilla into the milk. In a large bowl combine the butter and sugar and beat with a mixer on high speed until pale yellow and evenly mixed, about 2 mins. Scrape down the bowl to ensure a good mix. Add the eggs and beat for another 2 mins, scraping down the bowl now and then, until the mixture is smooth and light.

Use a large spoon or spatula to add about a third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir only until the flour disappears. Add a third of the milk and mix in. Repeat twice more until all the flour and milk mixtures have been incorporated. Stir just enough to keep the batter smooth.

Spread half the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Sprinkle half the cinnamon mixture over the batter followed by half the melted butter. Scatter half the raisins and nuts over the top. Spread the remaining batter over the fillings, using a spatula to smooth the batter all the way to the edges of the pan. Top with leftover cinnamon, butter and nut mixture, covering the cake evenly.

Bake for 45 to 50 mins until the cake is golden brown , fragrant and beginning to pull away from the edges of the pan. (Mine I took out about 40 and I think it was a little more brown than I wanted.) Place the pan on a wire rack and allow to cool in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes before serving in squares right from the pan. The cake is delicious hot, warm or at room temperature.

The cake recipe makes an entire 13 x 9 inch cake and I would totally recommend for a family holiday gathering!

Ghirardelli White Chocolate Blondies

2009-10-07T11:14:00.007-05:00

After I made the Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie I still had some time so I thought I would try out the Classic White Chocolate Blondie Recipe on the back of the Ghirardelli White Chocoloate Baking Bar.

Classic White Chocolate Blondies from Ghirardelli

2 bars (8oz) ghiradelli white chocolate (broke into 1" pieces)

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

2 large eggs

1/3 cup granulated white sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a 9 inch baking pan with parchment paper, then grease the paper.

Melt white chocolate and butter in a double boiler over hot, but not boiling water.

Stir mixture occasionally until smooth. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs until foamy.

Add sugar, vanilla extract, melted chocolate and butter slowly.

Fold in flour, salt and chocolate chips until well combined.

Spoon mixutre into the prepared pan.

Bake 20-25 minutes.

Cut and serve warm or at room temperature.

These were super easy to make and tasted delicious! I think the tops of mine were starting to brown so be careful. I took mine out at exactly 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

2009-10-06T11:41:00.006-05:00

I originally saw this on Bakerella's site quite some time ago but then it popped up again on Me & My Pink Mixer and it reminded me I wanted to bake this. If you want a quick dessert that is absolutely amazing, you need to give this a try. You can use all different types of chocolate chips or other varieties. I plan on trying this with the peanut butter chips next!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie from Bakerella or from Me & My Pink Mixer

1 unbaked 9-inch deep dish pie shell

2 large eggs

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup butter, softened (1 1/2 sticks)

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels

1 cup chopped pecans (I omitted these)

** If using a frozen pie shell, use deep dish style and thaw completely. Bake on baking sheet and increase baking time slightly.

Preheat oven 325 degrees F.

Beat eggs in large mixer bowl on high until foamy.

Beat in flour, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat in butter.

Stir in morsels and nuts (optional) and spoon into pie shell.

Bake for 55-60 minutes. Cool on wire. Serve warm. (Mine actually only took about 50 mins)

I drizzled a little milk chocolate on the top just to add some color! I was kind of in a hurry so it was the prettiest but that's ok!

Serve warm with ice cream...it is delicious!

Vanilla Bean Cake with White Chocolate Buttercream

2009-09-17T11:12:00.007-05:00

My grandma called a few weeks ago and asked if I could make her a cake for a function she was attending at Methodist Hospital. She said since everything I bake is always so good, she thought she would see if I had the time. Well how could I say no to that?

The last cake I made for her was chocolate so this time I wanted to do something vanilla. And when I saw the Vanilla Bean Recipe in Sky High, I knew I had to make it!

Remember I won all of those yummy vanilla beans from My Baking Addiction's giveaway! This was a perfect time to dip into them. They are from Beanilla, and they are awesome. This time I used the Tahitian Vanilla Bean. It smelled amazing. After using the seeds for the cake, I put the pod in a tupperware with sugar, and made vanilla sugar.

Vanilla Bean Cake with White Chocolate Buttercream from Sky High

(makes an 8 inch triple layer cake, I used 2 9 inch cakes and had enough to fill a 6 inch square pan as well)

3 cups cake flour

2 cups sugar

4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 whole vanilla bean, split lengthwise(I used Tahitian Vanilla Bean from Beanilla)

2 sticks, plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temp

1 1/3 cups milk

5 egg whites

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the bottom of pans. Line each with a round of parchment paper, butter the paper.

Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixer bowl. With the mixer on low speed, blend well. With the tip of a small knife, scrape out the seeds from inside the vanilla bean into the bowl. Add the butter and 1 cup of milk and mix to blend. Raise the mixer speed to medium and beat until batter is light and fluffy, about 2 mins. In a mixing bowl, whisk egg whites with the vanilla extract and the remaining 1/3 cup of milk. Add this to the batter in 2 to 3 additions, scraping down the bowl well and mixing only to incorporate. Divide among your pans.

Bake for about 30 mins. Allow to cool in pans for 10 minutes, then invert onto wire racks. Remove the paper and cool completely, about an hour.

White Chocolate Buttercream from Sky High

3 egg whites

4 ounces good quality white chocolate

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temp

Put the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer. Melt the white chocolate about halfway in a double boiler. Remove from heat , stir until smooth , and set aside to cool.

Combine the sugar and water in a small heavy saucepan. Set over medium heat and stir to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a boil and cook without stirring, until the syrup reaches the soft-ball stage 238 degree F on a candy thermometer.

Immediately start beating the egg whites on medium low speed. Slowly add the syrup in a thin stream, taking care not to hit the beaters. Continue to whip until the mixture is body temperature and stuff meringue has formed.

Reduced the speed to low and add the butter 2 to 3 tablespoons at a time. When the butter is incorporated, beat on medium speed until the frosting appears to curdle. Continue to whip and it will suddenly come together. Add the white chocolate and mix well.

To add some color, I decorated with chocolate shavings! It looked so delicious it was hard to hand it off and not know how it tasted. Soo....

I had a little extra batter left over from the cake and baked it in a 6 inch square cake pan. I cut it diagonally and layered the 2 triangles. I took this part to work for my co-workers to try, and I might have tasted some too! ( I thought I got a photo of it, but apparently I took it on my blackberry and its not the greatest photo.)

This cake was fabulous! I got some many compliments on the frosting, I am really excited to try it again on something else. The cake had a tender crumb and was very moist!

Tiffany's Cakes for Sharon's Bridal Shower

2009-09-16T10:57:00.005-05:00

My best friend, Sharon, had her bridal shower this last weekend and the theme for the shower was Breakfast at Tiffany's. Early on we had discussed I would do some sort of mini cakes as favors for the guests. But once the theme was chosen I knew I needed to make Tiffany's Box Cakes.

I planned for several weeks and ordered all the necessary items, such as the boxes, mini cakeboards and the 3 inch mini square cake pan set. I got them from Confectionary House along with the 3 3/4 inch cakeboards.

About a week before the shower I started baking the cakes, she was having 22 guests so that meant 44 cakes. Hmm it was going to be a long week :)

I made about 15 cakes a night for 3 nights straight. After they had cooled I triple wrapped them in plastic wrap and put them in the freezer. After I was done with the cakes, the next night I made a large batch of marshmallow fondant. I found the recipe via Playing with Sugar which she got from What's Cooking America. It was my first time making fondant on my own. I thought it tasted good and went fairly smooth. It was quite sticky but using lots of Crisco helped! After I was done kneading the marshmallow fondant I wrapped in plastic wrapped and sealed in a bag overnight.

The next day I started to roll the fondant out and started to make all the pieces for the bows. First I started with the loops, then the tails of the ribbon and lastly the middle ribbon that wrapped around the loops. I let everything sit out on the counter and get firm as I continued to work. I even had my girls over to help a little :)

Next came the leveling of the cakes, then the crumb coating and finally the frosting. I make this last line sound fairly simple but let me tell you...it was the most time consuming. Let's just say days of work. To be fair, she did help me frost a few one night :)

Lastly I added the bows and dotted them with white frosting around the edges. Here is a quick picture before they went into the boxes.

I think they turned out adorable. Of course there are always things you would do differently next time.

For the cakes I used Billy's Vanilla Cupcake Recipe paired with my favorite vanilla buttercream.

Billy's Vanilla Cupcakes ( I made 3 batches of this batter)

1 3/4 cups cake flour, not self-rising*
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes (Room Temperature)
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly coat min cake pans in nonstick spray with flour; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt; mix on low speed until combined. Add butter, mixing until just coated with flour. Consistency will be crumbly.

In a large glass measuring cup, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla. With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients in 3 parts, scraping down sides of bowl before each addition; beat until ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat.

Pour about 1/3 cup of batter in each mini cake pan , filling about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Vanilla Buttercrean (I made 2 double batches of the recipe below) from Bakerella

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temp

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 box (1 lb) 10x powdered sugar

1-3 tablespoons milk

Teal gel paste food coloring

Using a mixer, cream softened butter and vanilla until smooth. Add sugar gradually, allowing butter and sugar to cream together before adding more. If you want your frosting a little creamier, add a teaspoon of milk at a time and beat on high until you get the right texture. Then, just add gel colors to tint the frosting the color of your choice.

Here are the cakes are packaged up and ready to go!

This was the table all set up! Isn't it so cute! I loved it! The middle cake was made by another person. And it was so yum!!

So what do you guys think? I think half way through the process I thought I was nuts for taking on this project, but in all I think everything worked out. And the bride loved them so that's all that really mattered to me :)

Chocolate Cake Present with Dulce de Leche Cream Filling

2009-09-09T09:47:00.008-05:00

Last weekend my family threw a party for my grandmothers 80ths birthday. They wanted to order one vanilla cake for the celebration and asked if I would do a chocolate cake to supplement. So after browsing through some of my favorite cake books, I decided I would do a chocolate cake from Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes. I choose to use the chocolate butter cake. But I wasn't set for sure on the filling. After several experiments with white chocolate mousse, chocolate pudding, chocolate bavarian cream and dulce de leche cream I choose the dulce de leche cream. The recipe is also from the same book, but from another recipe for the Dulce de Leche Cake.

I baked the 3 10 inch square layers earlier in the week and froze them. The dulce de leche I made the night before and refrigerated until was ready to make the dulce de leche cream. (Pull out and bring to room temperature before use.)

Chocolate Butter Cake from Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes (makes 3 10 inch square cakes)

4 cups cake flour

4 cups sugar

2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder, not Dutch process

4 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 pound unsalted butter, at room temp

2 cups buttermilk

4 eggs

2 cups freshly brewed coffee, cooled to room temp

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 2 10 inch square cake pans. Line the bottom with parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. With electric mixer on low speed, blend for about 30 seconds. Add the butter and buttermilk and blend on low until moistened. Raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy. About 2 to 3 minutes.

Whisk the eggs and coffee together, and add to the batter in 3 additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl and beating only until blended after each addition. Divide the batter among the 3 prepared pans, each 10 inch pan will take about 4 1/2 cups of batter.

Bake the layers for 40-45 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for about 15 mins. Carefully turn them onto wire racks and allow to cool completely. Remove the paper liners only when they are cool.

Dulce de Leche Cream from Sky High

1 1/3 cups whole milk

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cups light corn syrup

1 small cinnamon stick

1 one inch piece of vanilla bean, split lengthwise

3 cups heavy whipping cream

Place the milk, sugar, corn syrup, and cinnamon stick in a heavy medium size saucepan. With the tip of a knife scrape the tiny seeds from the inside of the vanilla bean into the pot; toss in the pod as well. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat; stirring to dissolve sugar. Continue to simmer; stirring occasionally and scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden or silicone spatula, until the liquid turns a light amber color, about 45 minutes.

Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring more frequently as the milk darkens and the mixture reduces and thickens, until the color reaches a rich milk caramel, 45-60 minutes. Watch carefully and stir often near the end, because the milk caramel can burn quickly.

Remove and discard the cinnamon stick and vanilla pod and pour the caramel into a heatproof bowl. Let the dulce de leche cool slightly, then cover with plastic wrap pressed directly onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming and let cool completely.

In large chilled mixer bowl with chilled beaters, combine the cream with the dulce de leche. Beat on low to combine and dissolve the dulce de leche. Raise the mixer to medium-high and whip until stiff peaks form.

(I reserved a little dulce de leche before the creaming process to coat the layers before adding the cream. Although I am not really sure you could taste the difference)

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting from Bakerella ( I doubled this recipe)

1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature

8 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temperature

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder ( I used Ghirardelli Unsweetened Cocoa)

1 box (1 lb) confectioner's sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1-3 Tbsp milk

Cream the butter and cream cheese with a mixer.
Add the cocoa and vanilla.
Add the confectioner's sugar in small batches and blend on low until combined. Scrape down sides with each addition.
Add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time until you get the consistency you desire.

When you are ready to assemble your cake, take the layers from the freezer and level any layers necessary. I put a little frosting on the cake board before placing the first layer down just to secure the cake. On top of the first layer I used a layer of dulce de leche, then the dulce de leche cream, next cake layer, dulce de leche, dulce de leche cream and then the final layer. I crumb coated the cake and let it sit in the freezer over night. This helped the next day when I was icing the cake everything stayed in place and wasn't moving around.

One of the 3 layers cooling before I triple wrapped them and put them in the freezer.

The cake was going to be a cake present with white fondant loop bow. This was the first time I have made this type of bow, so I was a little nervous. But a few days before the party I rolled out the fondant to 1/8 inch thick and cut strips 1 inch by 6 inches and formed the loops below. I left them out to dry for a few days and assembled the bow the morning of the party.

A shot of the bow loops drying.

My pretty bow all put together! I used white candy melts to "glue" it together.

Frosting the cake....Notice the wax paper pieces under the cake so I didn't mess up the cake board.

All put together....

After seeing a few places missing frosting after removing the wax paper, I decided to pipe some dots around the bottom of the cake.

A picture of the dessert tables. My chocolate cake on the left and the beautiful cake from Cakes by Gina on the right.

A little closer up!

Let me know what you think. All in all I think the bow turned out great but the icing was definitely not what I wanted. I wanted a smooth finish frosting and this was a little more whipped than I was going for. Anyone have a great chocolate frosting recipe?

Oh and the cake was awesome, I got tons of compliments on it and I think the dulce de leche cream was a perfect pairing with the chocolate cake. I need to work on my leveling cake skills cause this one was far from perfect but a pretty decent start. :)

Snickerdoodle Cookies

2009-09-03T14:20:00.006-05:00

A few weeks ago I was helping my cousin over the phone with the snickerdoodle blondies, and it made me crave snickerdoodles myself. So I decided to test out a new snickerdoodle cookie recipe I had. I gathered everything together and whipped a batch of these cookies up! They turned out fantastic, they were soft in the centers with a slight crisp around the edges, in my opinion...perfection! These stayed fresh for several days, my work friends and some of my family got to enjoy them as well. This is my new favorite cookie recipe!

Soft Snickerdoodle Cookies from Recipezaar

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350°F.
2.Mix butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar and eggs thoroughly in a large bowl.
3.Combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl.
4.Blend dry ingredients into butter mixture.
5.Chill dough, and chill an ungreased cookie sheet for about 10-15 minutes in the fridge.
6.Meanwhile, mix 3 tablespoons sugar, and 3 teaspoons cinnamon in a small bowl.
7.Scoop 1 inch globs of dough into the sugar/ cinnamon mixture.
8.Coat by gently rolling balls of dough in the sugar mixture.
9.Place on chilled ungreased cookie sheet, and bake 10 minutes. (I took mine about about 8 1/2 mins just to make sure they stayed soft and chewy!)

10.Remove from pan immediately. Place on cooling rack.

Try these cookies, you will not be sorry!

Cupcake Recipes from Baby Shower

2009-08-26T09:50:00.006-05:00

Ok, now for all the recipes of the cupcakes.

Chocolate Cupakes from Joy of Baking

1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 cup boiling hot water
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp.
1 cup granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 and line muffin tray with liners.
In a small bowl stir the boiling water and cocoa powder together until smooth. Let cool to room temp.
In another bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Then in the mixer bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth. Beat in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture and beat only until combined. Then add the cocoa mixture and stire until smooth.
Fill each muffin cup 2/3 with batter and bake for 16-20 mins. (Mine took about 17 mins) Remove from oven and cool on wire racks.

This recipe made approximately 15 cupcakes. I used 9 for just plain chocolate cupcakes and the other six i used for the peanut butter cupcakes.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes (inspired by Ice Cream Before Dinner)

I used the same chocolate cupcake recipe above as I only wanted 6 peanut butter cupcakes. But really you can use any chocolate cupcake recipe you choose.

Place mini Reese Peanut Butter Cups in freezer for 30 mins prior to baking.

Once thechocolate batter is in the liner, place the frozen peanut butter cup on top of the batter in the center of the cupcake. It will sink down during baking and partially melt into the cupcake.

Frost with peanut butter frosting. (Recipe to follow)

Oreo Cupcakes (I dont remember where this recipe is from, I just have a print out.)

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, unsalted at room temp
1 3/4 granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
4 large egg whites
1 1/2 cup sour milk (I used buttermilk)
1 1/2 cups finely chopped oreo pieces

Preheat the oven to 350. Mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in medium bowl.
In large bowl, mix together the butter with the sugar and vanilla.
Then add the egg whites, half at a time. The mixture will go from crumbly to soupy.
Add half of the flour mixure and half of the sour milk. Mixxing until well blended. Repeat with the remaining halves. (The mixture should be a normal cake batter consistency)
Stir in the Oreo pieces.
Pour the batter into the liners and bake for 20 mins. Cool completely before frosting. Makes 24 cupcakes.

I honestly have no clue what I frosted these with I thought it was cream cheese with cookies pieces sprinkled on top. But my friend said it wasnt tangy, so it must have just been vanilla buttercream? God, I think I might be losing my mind!

Red Velvet Cupcakes from Martha Stewart's Cupcake Book

2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self rising), sifted
2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 large eggs, room temp
1/2 teaspoon red gel-paste food color
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

Preheat over to 350 F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cake flour, cocoa and salt.
With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whisk together sugar and oil until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorportated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Mix in food coloring and vanilla.
Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with 2 additions of buttermilk, and whisking well after each. Stir together the baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl (it will foam); add mixture to batter and mix on medium speed 10 seconds.
Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three quarters full. Bake rotating tins halfway through, until a cake taster inserted in centers comes out clean, ab0ut 20 mins. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing. Makes 24 cupcakes.

Frosted with Vanilla Bean Frosting, recipe to follow.

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes Book

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour (not self rising), sifted
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon, plus 1/2 teaspoon for dusting
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
1 3/4 cups sugar, plus 2 tablespoons for dusting
4 large eggs, room temp
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cups milk

Preheat oven to 350F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together flours, baking powder, salt, and 1 tablespoon cinnamon.
With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three bathes, alternating between with the 2 additions of milk, and beating until combined after each.
Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 20 mins. Transfer tins to wire rack to cool completely. Makes 28 cupcakes.
I did sprinkle a little bit of cinnamon sugar on top of each cupcake before I put in the oven, I figured it couldnt hurt!

Frosted with Seven-Minute Frosting from Martha's Cupcake Book (recipe to follow)

Vanilla Cupcakes from Billy's Vanilla Cupcakes

1 3/4 cups cake flour, not self-rising*
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes (Room Temperature)
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly coat cupcake pans in nonstick spray with flour; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt; mix on low speed until combined. Add butter, mixing until just coated with flour. Consistency will be crumbly.In a large glass measuring cup, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla. With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients in 3 parts, scraping down sides of bowl before each addition; beat until ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat.Divide batter evenly among pans, filling about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 17 to 20 minutes.Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

These have become my go-to recipe for vanilla cupcakes. I am still out there searching for my go-to chocolate cupcake recipe.

Vanilla Bean Frosting from Cupcake Bakeshop

2 sticks of butter, unsalted at room temp
1 package cream cheese
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out
4-5 cups powdered sugar

Beat the butter at medium speed until creamy, add the cream cheese and beat until combined. Add vanilla extract, vanilla seeds and 3 cups of powdered sugar and beat on low speed until light and fluffy. Add more powdered sugar to get the consistency you desire. I added royal blue gel paste food coloring until I reached the color I desired.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting from Bakerella

1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 box (1 lb) confectioner's sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1-3 Tbsp milk

Cream the butter and cream cheese with a mixer. Add the cocoa and vanilla. Add the confectioner's sugar in small batches and blend on low until combined. Scrape down sides with each addition. Add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time until you get the consistency you desire.

Peanut Butter Frosting

1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (I used closer to 2 cups)
3-4 tablesspoons of milk

Beat butter until creamy, add peanut butter and mix until combined. Add the powdered sugar in 2 batches. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time and beat until you reach the consistency you desire.

Seven Minute Frosting from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes Book

1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2/3 cup water
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
6 large egg whites, room temperature

Combine 1 1/2 cups sugar with the water and corn syrup in a small saucepan; clip a candy thermometer to side of pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Continue boiling, without stirring, until syrup reaches 230 degrees.

Meanwhile, in the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk egg whites on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. With mixer running, add remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, beating to combine.

As soon as sugar syrup reaches 230 degrees, remove from heat. With mixer on medium-low speed, pour syrup down side of bowl in a slow, steady stream. Raise speed to medium-high; whisk until mixture is completely cool (test by touching the bottom of the bowl) and stiff (but not dry) peaks form, about 7 minutes. Use immediately.

Whatever I frosted the Oreo Cupcakes with, I am still not sure. I will have to look through my recipe book and see if I can figure out which one I used.

Enjoy!

Baby Shower Cupcakes & Karsyn's 3rd Birthday

2009-08-24T15:53:00.011-05:00

A friend of mine from work, Shelley, was co-hosting a baby shower and birthday party for a friend of hers. She asked if I would make some cupcakes for the shower and something special for the little girls 3rd birthday.

For the shower I made 48 cupcakes, using vanilla, chocolate, oreo, red velvet, chocolate & peanut butter, and snickerdoodle as the flavors. I used chocolate, vanilla (which I made baby blue), cream cheese, peanut butter and seven minute frosting for all the icing! On top of the cupcakes I made airplanes out of a chocolate mold in all the primary colors of the babies nursery. I think they turned out super cute. Here are a few photos I snapped for delivering.

Here are some of the chocolate and vanilla cupcakes!

A shot of the box, all chocolate and vanilla with a few red velvet!

Snickerdoodle cupcakes with 7 minute frosting. (From Martha Stewart's Cupake Book)

Oreo Cupcakes....

Red velvet cupcakes....

And the favorite from what I hear, chocolate & peanut butter cupcakes!

Another shot of the other box.

Here are a few pictures they sent me afterwards on the set up! I think their presentation was adorable!
A little closer up on the cupcake plate!

For the little girls birthday, she wanted to do so strawberry cake pops. So how could I go with anything other than pink! I picked up a square 6 inch vase from Michaels and we order M&M's with the little girls names on them in both the light and dark pink. I filled that vase up a little more than half way with the M&M's and they stuck the cake pops in! This was the only picture I got before I left, but I thought it showed all the cute sprinkles!

Below are a few more shots she sent me after the party! How cute is this presentation! I love it!One with the cute birthday day girl, Karsyn!

Recipes of the cupcakes soon to come!!! Just thought I would share a few pics :)

Cookies n Cream Cheesecakes

2009-08-24T11:16:00.014-05:00

When I first bought Martha's Cupcake Book, I bookmarked about 20 different recipes I wanted to try right away (wishful thinking huh?) anyways one of them was the Oreo Cheesecakes. Around that same time, Monica from Lick the Bowl Good & Ingrid from 3 B's baked these together as well. After seeing their pictures I couldn't wait anymore. I decided I would make them and Scott could take half to the fire station with him and I would bring the other half to my work. I decided I wanted to do both mini and standard size cupcakes.

(If you don't have this book, you need to get it! Its great!)

Cookies n Cream Cheesecakes from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

42 Oreos(30 left whole and 24 coarsely chopped. Half of the chopped will go into the batter the other half will be used for the bottoms of the mini cheesecakes. )

2 lbs. cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

4 large eggs, room temp. slightly beaten

1 cup of sour cream

Pinch of salt

1. Preheat over to 275 F. Line standard and mini muffin tins with paper liners. Place one whole cookie in the bottom of each lined cup. Spoon cookie crumbles into bottom of mini muffin tins.

2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Gradually add sugar, and beat until combined. Beat in vanilla.

3, Drizzle in eggs, a bit at a time beating to combine and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in sour cream and salt. Stir in chopped cookies by hand.

4. Divide batter evenly among cookie filled cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until filling is set, about 22 mins. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely. Refrigerate in tins at least 4 hours. Remove just before serving.

They turned out fantastic! I had enough batter to make 24 full size and 24 mini cheesecakes with a little batter left over.

This post is several weeks late as I have been a very bad blogger lately. Hopefully this week I will catch up and show you other things I have been up to. Enjoy!

I didn't put any pictures of the bottoms of the mini cheesecakes because once you take the wrapper off its pretty crumbly. But they were delicious. I didn't have much of anything to bring home after work!

Birthday Cupcakes & Cake Balls

2009-08-12T10:37:00.006-05:00

My aunt had a surprise party for my uncle's 60th birthday last week, and I was in charge of making desserts for the event. It was a low key thing she had at a sports bar so I didnt want to get to crazy with a cake since many people dont eat cake and drink at the same time. Anyways I decided I would be pretty simple and stick to basic, vanilla & chocolate cupcake and red velvet cakes balls or cake ball pops since I put them on a stick!

It has taken me a few days to get a post together mainly because I am a moron and didnt take any pictures or anything, not during or even after. Though I will say I got stuck at work later than usual last Friday and was in a rush to get everything ready and out the door for the party. Thank goodness my mom was there and she got a few pics so I can share with you guys!

I made vanilla and chocolate cupcakes with both vanilla bean and chocolate frosting. I also made chocolate letters that spelled out happy birthday on the cupcakes just for added decoration. Every sprinkle I had just seemed to girly to me. So I went for simplicity on these! :)

Billy's Vanilla Cupcakes

1 3/4 cups cake flour, not self-rising*

1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes (Room Temperature)

4 large eggs

1 cup whole milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly coat cupcake pans in nonstick spray with flour; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt; mix on low speed until combined. Add butter, mixing until just coated with flour. Consistency will be crumbly.In a large glass measuring cup, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla. With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients in 3 parts, scraping down sides of bowl before each addition; beat until ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat.Divide batter evenly among pans, filling about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 17 to 20 minutes.Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Hershey's Chocolate Cupcake

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin).

3. Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Makes about 30 cupcakes.

Vanilla Bean Frosting from Cupcake Bakeshop via Monica at Lick the Bowl Good

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out
4-5 cups powdered sugar ( I used 4 cups)

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy. Add the cream cheese and beat until combined. Then add the vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, and 3 cups of powdered sugar and beat at low speed, occasionally stopping to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, until light and fluffy. Add more powdered sugar to arrive at the consistency and sweetness you like.

"PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine

2/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa

3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

All in all the cupcakes turned out great, but the vanilla vanilla cupcakes were by far the best! I am acutally going to use this cupcake recipe for mini Tiffany's Box Cakes I will be doing for my best friends brial shower coming up here in a few weeks!

The dessert table where clearly I was unaware of the color scheme :) haha I was originally going to do a Houston Astros theme, which is why I went with the red and yellow. I change my mind when I decided to go for a more simple look.

Another picture, and you can see people started to get dessert at this point, the "B" in birthday is gone and the cake balls are starting to disappear!

Haha again with the "B" missing..

Sorry I didnt get anymore photos, I promise next time I will do better! Thanks mom for taking the pics you did :)

Another Chocolate Sheet Cake

2009-08-06T09:31:00.003-05:00

In the Chocolate Sheet Cake Post I wrote a week or 2 ago, I talked about another cake recipe that I grew up on and was still hands down my favorite chocolate sheet cake. I got the recipe from my aunt this weekend so I wanted to share it with you guys. I havent had a chance to make it this week cause I am making some desserts for a birthday party Friday night, but as soon as I do Ill update with some photos. I will say it looks a lot like the one here, but just slightly different amount of ingredient and the addition of cinnamon.

Chocolate Sheet Cake

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees

In large bowl sift:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups of sugar

In saucepan:
1 stick margarine
1/2 cup shortening
4 tbsp Cocoa Powder
1 cup water

Bring to a rapid boil. Stir until everything is dissolved. Pour over flour and sugar and mix well.

Add:
1/2 butermilk
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix well and pour into greased and floured 13 x 9 pan or jelly roll pan.

Bake 20-25 mins

Five minutes before the cake is done start the frosting.

Frosting:

In saucepan:
1 stick margaine
4 Tbsp. Cocoa Powder
6 Tbsp. Milk

Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add 1 box powdered sugar (1 lb), 1 tsp. vanilla, and 1 cup chopped nuts (optional), Beat until sugar. Pour and spread on warm cake.

Hope you guys can try this one out its soo good! I actually think these might make yummy cupcakes so maybe I will try that out soon.

Giveaway

2009-08-03T15:25:00.002-05:00

Vanilla Beans...I love them...they smell amazing and I just love the added punch of flavor they have. I dont use them all that often cause they are pretty expensive but how exciting that I have all kinds of vanilla beans on the way to me. I won the giveaway from My Baking Addiction for 40 vanilla beans from Beanilla!

I cant wait to get them and see what recipes I can come up with to try the different types out. If you have a suggestions please feel free to send to me.

Last week was a busy week and I didnt get to bake anything...my work friends were not very happy with me about this! So hopefully this week my schedule will be less hectic and I can get back in the kitchen!

If you have a chance stop by My Baking Addiction, she has the cutest website and some yummy pictures to drool over!

Hope everyone has a good week and let me know if you have any suggestions!!

Chocolate Sheet Cake

2009-07-22T09:02:00.000-05:00

So when I was growing up my grandma used to make the best chocolate sheet cake ever. It was a staple at everyone's birthday's. She doesn't bake quite as much anymore but my aunt still makes it all the time. I have wanted to get the recipe from her forever and just always forget! Anyways so I was playing around the other day and see Pioneer Women's Chocolate Sheet Cake Recipe and it looked really similar to the one I remembered.

I decided last night I would try it out. It looked really pretty but I was so tired I didn't even taste it! I brought it to work today for all my favorite work friends to try. After checking with my aunt I think the recipe is for the most part the same but the one I remember has a small amount of cinnamon in it! Dang...that would have be good to add! So this one is really good but I hope I can make the family recipe soon...cause it's amazing!

I did have a few mishaps I ran into last night as I was baking. First the recipe calls for buttermilk, which I don't ever have in the fridge and secondly I knew I was going to be cutting it close on the cocoa powder. I decided it was too late for a store run and I would just improvise. For buttermilk, I added 1 tablespoon of vinegar to the milk and waited and few minutes and voila you have buttermilk! For the extra cocoa powder, I was right I was about 3 tablespoons short. So I added 1 ounce (1 bar) of unsweetened chocolate to the butter mixture for the icing.

I think the cake turned out great even with all the changes I had to make! I will say that I think I prefer the one my family makes but this one was great too! I never even had to break the mixer out!

Pioneer Woman Chocolate Sheet Cake

Combine in a mixing bowl:

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

In a saucepan, melt:

2 sticks butter (use the salted butter, if using unsalted make sure to add more salt to the flour mixture)

Add 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa. Stir together.

Add 1 cup boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat.

Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.

In measuring cup, pour 1/2 cup buttermilk.

Add:

2 beaten eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes.

While cake is baking, make icing:

Chop 1/2 cup pecans finely. (I omitted these)

Melt 1 3/4 sticks butter in a saucepan.

Add 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat. (I had to improvise and use unsweetened chocolate bars cause I ran out of cocoa powder)

Add:

6 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 lb minus 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Stir together and pour over warm cake. (Make sure to stir until powdered sugar is completely disolved.)

Cut and enjoy!

Cake Pops!

2009-07-21T10:23:00.000-05:00

I have been wanting to make cake pops for months now after I saw them on Bakerella's site and popping up all over the blog world. I just never got around to it. This weekend I had a few things to go to and didn't want to show up empty handed so I finally decided to try them out.
They are super cute! I can't believe it took me so long to make these. I don't know why they are so much cuter on a stick, they just are! It did take me a little while to figure out the best way to use the flower cookie cutter. I had to make the balls a little bigger since my cutter was 1.5 inches wide. Also they definitely are easier to work after being in the freezer for about an hour or so.

The process took me a little longer than expected so I was really not sure how I was going to serve the cake pops. At the last minutes I filled a glass with M&M's and put the pops in there. If I had more time I would have color coordinated the M&M's with the colors of the pops but either way it worked out.

I didn't get too many photos of these either, just the last 4 leftovers I brought home with me. So next time I hope to get more photos to share.

Cake Pops (Orginally by Bakerella)

Make your favorite flavor cake balls (see recipe)

Put in fridge for several hours or about an hour in the freezer will help speed things up.

Remove. Begin to shape into cupcakes using a small flower-shaped cookie cutter. Take the chilled ball and roll it into more of an oval and then slide into cookie cutter. Push it into cutter until about half fills the cutter and the rest sticks out of the top in the shape of a mound. Then push the shaped cupcake carefully out of the cookie cutter from the bottom. Set right side up on a wax paper covered cookie sheet. Continue with remaining balls.

Once shaped, cover and return to freezer. (5-10 minutes)

While cupcake shapes are chilling, begin to heat up your chocolate bark.

Brown or white chocolate bark for the bottoms. Pink or whatever color chocolate for the tops.

Follow the instructions on the package for melting. Most recommend heating for 30 second intervals at a time and stirring in between. You can also do the double boiler method.

When you are ready to dip, remove from freezer and set up another wax paper covered cookie sheet.

Take the cupcake shaped mixture and dip bottoms into the melted chocolate - just to the point where the mounded shape starts.

Remove from chocolate, turn upside down and wiggle so that the excess starts to slide down slightly.

Then lay on the wax paper upside down. If you want them to be lollipops, then go ahead and insert the lollipop sticks while the chocolate is still wet. Continue with rest of the cupcakes. You can also leave some without the sticks. They’re just as cute as Cupcake Bites.

TIP: Dip end of your lollipop stick in the melted chocolate before inserting into chocolate bottoms. Not sure if this helps a lot, but it couldn't hurt.

Dry completely. (15-20 minutes)

Once dry, dip the tops of the cupcakes in the pink or other chocolate color. You may need to move it around a little to cover all the exposed areas.

Remove from the pink/white chocolate and turn right side up. You may need to hold and rotate it if there is any excess so that it doesn’t drip down too far.

Continue holding and place an m&m on the top and add sprinkles. Let them dry in a styrofoam block that you have already poked holes into.

When completely dry serve as you wish. I placed mine in a glass half full with M&M's. Enjoy

The few pitful pictures I took late that night after getting home! Ill have to get better ones next time :)

The next day at work, one of my devoted tasters enjoying his afternoon snack! (Haha-Kevin)