K Bakes

K Bakes Valentines

2012-02-13T06:35:00.000-08:00

Raspberry Cream Cupcakes

5 Minute Chocolate Mousse

Chocolate Doughnuts with Blood Orange Glaze

Red Velvet cupcakes in a jar

Blackberry Rosewater Sorbet

Mini Cheesecakes with Raspberry Hearts

Strawberry Cloud Cake

Raspberry and White Pancakes with Chocolate Peppermint syrup

Nigella Lawson Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Sauce

Balsamic Truffles with a wink of cherry

Since I am headed to Detroit tomorrow for work I won't be making any fun Valentine baked goods this year. I know–so tragic. Instead I thought I would do something I don't often do and write about my favorite sweetheart recipes that I have saved over the past year. I hope something tickles your fancy. You can also now follow me on Pinterest HERE to get daily inspiration for all your sweet tooth needs.

From top to bottom:

Raspberry Cream Cupcakes - a K Bakes original
5 Minute Chocolate Mousse
Chocolate Cupcakes with Blood Orange Glaze
Red Velvet cupcakes in a jar
Blackberry Rosewater Sorbet
Mini Cheesecakes with Raspberry Hearts
Strawberry Cloud Cake
Raspberry and White Pancakes with Chocolate Peppermint syrup
Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Sauce - I don't think anything says Valentines day like Nigella in the kitchen!
Balsamic Truffles with a wink of cherry

On another note, in the spirit of Valentines Day I recently read an interesting article on www.gourmetlive.com about the tradition of giving chocolate on this special day each year and I thought you all might enjoy it as well...

Our infatuation with chocolate first began 2,000 years ago when it was discovered in Latin America. The Maya and Aztec elites infused cocoa beans with water to form frothy chocolate drinks – the first frappuccinos, if you will – for special occasions and as sacrifices to the gods. The Aztec ruler Montezuma believed that chocolate was an aphrodisiac and routinely drank it before entering his harem, thus increasing chocolate’s popularity and its association with love and romance. As it turns out, he was ahead of his time. Modern-day scientists have linked the chemical phenylethylamine in chocolate to feelings of excitement, attraction and even pleasure.

The rest of Aztec society used cocoa beans as money and were unable to afford to drink it. Thus “gifting” chocolate for consumption was the Aztec version of John Cusak standing outside of your window with a boom-box. Christopher Columbus saw how the Aztecs revered cocoa when he entered the picture in the sixteenth century and immediately took the luxury product back to Queen Isabella of Spain. Chocoholics sprouted up all over Europe, sharing the legend of their new obsession’s alleged mythical powers. At one point in time, chocolate was believed to be so potent that nuns were forbidden from eating it and French doctors used it to treat “broken hearts.”

By the 1800s, the Cadbury Brothers set up shop in England and began packaging candies to sell to a mainstream audience. In 1861, in a genius marketing move, Richard Cadbury created the first ever heart-shaped box for Valentine’s Day, spurring the commercialization of the holiday. To this day, every February 14th we all still have a sweet spot for the sweet stuff.

read the full article here

Happy Valentines! xoxo-K

Blue and Orange Baby Shower

2011-11-28T20:12:00.000-08:00

I ordered the orange and blue balloons from Sweet Shop Lulu and then had

them blown up at my local party store the day before the party.

I also ordered these straws from Shop Sweet Lulu and then found the cups at Hobby Lobby.

I am in love with the "rose" look on cupcakes.

It is super easy to do and makes each cupcake look like a flower.

These are my all time favorite fall muffins - Pumpkin Chocolate chip - YUM.

Chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream - Their was a baby elephant on the

baby shower invite so when I found this little guy at the party store I thought he

would be perfect for the top of the cake. Simple goes a long way.

Some little minis for the ladies who didn't want a whole piece of cake...

Snicker doodle shooters! The little cups are filled with cold milk, very fun for a shower.

The lovely hostesses!

I really do love baking AND creating dessert tables for people. It is a great way for me to be creative and for some reason I love the challenge of organizing the table and really bringing it all to life. This was a great example of how just a few key recipes can help make a really big statement.

I made a cake, cupcakes, muffins, cinnamon buns, and cookies - just 5 key recipes that were pretty manageable to make. I added in some candy in the theme colors and some really beautiful roses that I found that morning at the grocery store that matched the orange perfect! One bunch split into 3 jars down the back center was just enough. Then for the big statement - the balloons. I am such a believer in using these big balloons to make a big impact on a budget. I used them in the green and white baby shower I did a few months ago as well and they couldn't have been a bigger hit. Shop Sweet Lulu has the best color options I have come across.

People always ask me for advice when it comes to making a successful dessert table and I think the most important thing is time management. Always plan your recipes out in advance, make sure you can bake as many of the recipes in before the day of your party. I like to bake one thing each night starting 4 days before the event - you can freeze cake layers in advance and ice the day of, cake balls will last wonderfully in the fridge in an airtight container and most breads can be frozen before your ready to server them as well. This way the morning of your event you aren't waking up at 4am to bake. One day I will do a whole blog post on tips and tricks for dessert tables... stay tuned.

Resources:

Cupcake liners, balloons, and straws: Shop Sweet Lulu

Blue and white polka dot trays: Ikea

Orange and blue cups: Hobby Lobby

Table runner - Hostess owned

Cake stands - My personal collection from over the years.

Beach Birthday Cake

2011-11-10T07:26:00.001-08:00

Before I added the white chocolate shells.

All the shells set and dusted with edible glitter.

The birthday girl!

The demolished cake after they dug in.

It has been far too long since my last post so I wanted to make it a good one. This is one of the best cakes I have ever made so I am very excited to share it. It was for my Creative Director's daughter Isabelle's 14th birthday party. He and his wife wanted it to be a surprise, so they came up with a beach themed cake but also told me she liked neon colors so I did a sand colored buttercream frosting with white chocolate shells and then a basic white cake dyed in different shades of blue for the 4 layers. I love using this technique because it makes the inside of the cake really dramatic. They also told me she liked SpongeBob so I found a SpongeBob candle at the party store they added at the party as a surprise; he fit in seamlessly with the beach theme.

I used candy molds from the cake decorating store for the shells and sea horses. Once they were set I then dusted them with edible glitter to add shine and make them look even more realistic. I crushed graham cracker in the food processor for the sand and made the Happy Birthday flag in Illustrator. I prefer using the flags rather than piping the message on the cake so you can easily remove it. For the cake layers I made a classic white cake and then separated the batter into 4 bowls and dyed each one a shade of blue going from light to dark. The cake was a big hit and I am so proud of it. Hope you guys enjoy it!

Pinkalicious Cupcakes

2011-10-04T15:23:00.000-07:00

I was recently asked to make cupcakes for a little girls birthday party that was Pinkalicious themed. Apparently there is this whole world of children's books that I didn't know about. There is not only Pinkalicious, but there is also Purplicious, Goldlicious, Silverlicious... all equally popular. In the Pinkalicious story a little girl eats too many pink cupcakes causing her to turn pink- The only cure is to eat vegetables! Those tricky authors :-)

The plan was to match the cupcakes in the book as closely as possible. I used chocolate cupcakes since the birthday girl herself requested they be chocolate, and a classic buttercream with pink food coloring. In the book each cupcake had a cherry on top but since regular cherries run everywhere I rolled them in sugar the night before and put them in the fridge uncovered to help dry them out a little - very sweet but very cute. A dash of pink and white sprinkles and voila! Pinkalicious cupcakes. I also dipped strawberry marshmallows in pink white chocolate and sprinkles for marshmallow pops. Jill at Stamped Paper co made the adorable crown toppers to add to the theme. I hope these ideas inspire you if you are planning a Pinkalicious party...

Going to Cabo!

2011-10-04T08:09:00.000-07:00

Click on the template to download the larger version

So I wish I could say that I have been waiting until the week of my friend Stephanie's wedding to post this but the truth is that I am so behind on my blogging that the fact that her wedding is this weekend is really a coincidence. With that said, I am still very excited to share these pictures and most importantly the template for the cupcake toppers I made. I made my chocolate Chambord ganache cupcakes as well as a chocolate whoopie pie with peanut butter filling (special request from the bride) for her wedding shower a few weeks ago. If you want to download the template for the cupcake toppers all you do is click on the image and then you can bring the file into photoshop or illustrator to add your own message. Or you can always just hand write on them. In this case her wedding is in Cabo, Mexico so I used the colors from her invitation designed by the talented Stamped Paper Co. and put "See you in Cabo" on the flags. Use a pair of sharp scissors and just glue a toothpick on the back to stick into the cake. Good luck!

Here is the recipe for the chocolate whoopie pie original recipe from Whoopie Pies:

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flout
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons stick unsalted butter at room temp
4 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 375 and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt onto a sheet of waxed paper. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter, shortening, and browns sugar on low speed until just combined. Increase the speed to medium and beat until fluffy and smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat for another 2 minutes.
Add half of the flour mixture and half of the milk to the batter and beat on low until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the remaining flour mixter and milk and beat until completely combined (be careful not to over mix)
Use a spoon or a pipping bag and drop about 1 tablespoon of batter onto your baking sheets and repeat, spacing them at least 2 inches apart. Bake for about 10 min each but keep on aye on them since smaller ones will cook faster.

*Let them cool completely before filling.

Catfish Cake!

2011-09-04T17:24:00.000-07:00

I know it sounds crazy but this was actually a pretty cute cake. A co-worker of mine ordered this cake for his daughters birthday. When he asked what she wanted she specifically asked for a green cake with blue frosting shaped like her favorite stuffed animal Oba the catfish. Well, I have not mastered cakes that are shaped like things so I offered up the idea of doing a mini cake for the birthday girl with cupcakes to go along with. Luckily that worked for them. I new I could pull off a small catfish made out of marshmallow fondant and a banner that said "Happy Birthday Clara Love Oba" - I made a vanilla cake with green food coloring and used a classic buttercream with blue food coloring. I also made grass/seaweed to go around the base of the cake out of fondant to make Oba feel at home :-)

Sports Themed Cake Pops

2011-09-04T16:11:00.000-07:00

Basketballs, Baseballs, and Soccer balls! I got an order recently to make cake pops for a little boys class on his birthday and I wanted to share them with you. I think they turned out really well for never having made any sort of sports accessories before in the past. I used vanilla cake with white chocolate for the soccer and baseballs and orange for the basketballs. The trickiest part for me was the lines on the basketballs. When planning I thought I would just pipe them on with chocolate but that was nearly impossible. Then I thought I would draw them on with the edible markers but no one tells you that edible markers do not write on candy coating AT ALL! So my last idea was to use black food coloring watered down to make the stripes. I used a very small paintbrush and lightly painted the lines on. For the soccer balls I first cut out small stars in black marshmallow fondant using a star cookie cutter. I then used a sharp knife and cut off each point of the star which left me with little octagons just like a soccer ball has, I put a little melted white chocolate on the back of each one to act as glue. For the baseballs (my favorite) I just used a red frosting pen and piped out the red lines.

I will warn you - the black food coloring on the basketballs will get all over your mouth when you eat them but that is part of the fun! I went to the craft store and just got a simple white metal tin and put floral foam inside to hold up the cake pops with ease. Since I am crazy I also got some long grass from the floral section and cut it down to stick into the foam to simulate sports grass. It was the perfect stiffness to stick into the foam easily, and thanks to help from my friend Taryn we finished in no time. I really like to make the packaging fun when I am baking for a theme. I hope you enjoy the photos and try making them on your own at home...

Dirt Cake

2011-08-07T12:09:00.000-07:00

At my friends BBQ - I used gerber daisies, my favorite.

Sorry for the bad picture quality - this was taken with my phone on my kitchen table

Mini dirt cakes from my friends baby shower

This is one of my most fun desserts. When I was little my mom used to make this in the summertime when company would come over. We would eat dinner out on the back porch a lot in the summer so she would put this out as the centerpiece - not telling anyone it was actually dessert. She got a kick out of everyone faces when she would start spooning out the dirt from the pot into bowls for people to eat. To add to the fun she would use a hand trowel to scoop out the mixture. Recently I made this for my friends monkey baby shower, only I spread the mixture out into mini flower pots I purchased at ikea. I put 1-3 small daisies in each pot - really fun. I also made this for a friends BBQ and people loved it! It would make a great hostess gift if you purchased a fun flower pot and then left the pot and trowel with the hostess. Kids also love this and I can't wait to make it for my own one day. However you do it, its fun to not let anyone know that it's dessert until you are ready to serve. Keep in mind this should be eaten with a spoon in a bowl - it's not the most beautiful dessert once scooped but it tastes amazing! I apologize for not having a photo of the cake scooped out. Both times I made this in the past few weeks I was at a party and didn't have my camera ready when people dug in :-(

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cup milk
2 pkg vanilla instant pudding
12 oz cool whip
1/4 cup butter
8 oz cream cheese
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 1/4 packages of Oreo cookies
Terra cotta pot
Hand garden trowel
Bouquet of flowers

Directions:

In a large bowl cream together milk and vanilla pudding. Add in cool whip and mix together until just blended. Don't over mix.
In another bowl cream together butter, cream cheese, and confectioners sugar.
Blend both mixtures together and set aside.
Using a food processor crush 1 1/4 bag of Oreo Cookies. The cream in the center will dissolve into the cookie crumb.
Take your new clean terra cotta flower pot and make sure the hole on the bottom is plugged either with tinfoil or a plastic plug from a garden shop.
Layer cookies with cream mixture starting with a cookie layer and ending with a cookie layer (for the dirt on top)
Take your bunch of flowers cut the stems evenly and wrap the base of them in tinfoil. Place the flowers with the tinfoiled stems and put them right into the center of the pot up to the edge of the tinfoil so you can't see it. You can place more cookie mixture around the base of the flowers so not to see any foil. The mixture is thick enough to hold the flowers up.

* Refrigerate leftovers or if you make in advance refrigerate until you are ready to put it out on the table. It can be left out for about 2 hours otherwise it won't taste as good warm.

* you can also put gummy worms throughout the layers and on top for a kids party.

Baby Monkey Dessert Table

2011-07-05T17:58:00.000-07:00

Whew! Finally doing another blog post with yet another baby shower dessert table. I realized it was time to sit down and post these images since the baby was born this weekend that this shower was held for. So exciting, and baby Avery is a beautiful healthy baby boy with two great parents.

Tracy (mommy) wanted a blue and brown monkey theme which I thought was great. Not only are monkeys cute they provide some great inspiration for banana themed desserts. I included the labels I made to show the full menu as well as to show the simple design. Just like the last dessert table I posted I hope to post some of the individual recipes but for now here are some images...

Color palate

labels - click to enlarge

Peanut butter chocolate layer cake

Mini Dirt Cakes

Chocolate and vanilla cake balls

Oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies

Mini banana nut cupcakes

mini monkey breads

Supply sources:

Brown and white striped cups and blue and white polka dot cups, and blue and white striped straws: http://www.shopsweetlulu.com/

Blue and white polka dot platter: www.ikea.com

Ruffled edge platter: www.sweetandsaucysupply.com/

My first dessert table...

2011-05-25T15:20:00.000-07:00

I have more images and recipes coming soon but I wanted to share this first batch with everyone. This was for my friends baby shower. They are having a little boy and they wanted green brown and white. No theme - just elegant baby...

the color palate

Caramel stuffed sugar cookies and Coconut cream whoopie pies

S'more marshmallows and white chocolate lemon truffles

Popcorn and Lemon Coconut 4 layer cake

I ordered these adorable green and white straws online to go

with Skinny Girl Margaritas to carry out the green theme

Red velvet cake balls

Lemon blueberry poppy seed bread with lemon glaze

Yellow cupcakes with chocolate cream cheese frosting

Here are some more amazing photo's from the Dad - they turned out

great and you can really see the little labels I made... thanks Aaron!

I used a little green food coloring to get a green gradient in the cake, everyone loved this

Chocolate Chambord Ganache

2011-05-16T08:16:00.000-07:00

I have never made a frosting this easy and that tastes this good. If you like chocolate you will like this recipe, and if you like booze you will love this recipe. I have always been afraid of making a ganache icing out of fear that it would just be a runny mess when the time comes to frost the cake or cupcakes. That is not the case. After a few hours of setting up this frosting is as smooth and thick as any traditional frosting and honestly a lot easier to make. I used it on a traditional chocolate cupcake for my friend Jills birthday party but this would be equally good on a classic yellow or white cake. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

18 ounces of good quality semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
4 tablespoons of Chambord

Directions:

Place chocolate in a large heat safe bowl and set aside.
In a medium saucepan, heat cream over medium heat until it just begins to boil. I don't recommend walking away from the stove during this process. Boiled cream can be a mess.
Immediately pour hot cream over chocolate and let it sit for about 4-5 minutes.
Begin to stir the cream with a wooden spoon or whisk starting in the center of the bowl and working your way out. As you stir, you will see the cream and chocolate come together.
Let the chocolate mixture cool for about 15 min before stirring in the Chambord.
Allow the ganache to cool completely and set up. On the counter it takes about 2 hours, or you can put it in the fridge for a little bit to speed up the process but watch it to make sure it doesn't get too hard.

original recipe from Bakers Royale

Graham Cracker Whoopie Pies with Key Lime Buttercream

2011-05-04T08:23:00.000-07:00

It was one of the worlds best people birthday on Monday and I was so excited to bake something yummy for her. Jill is another Art Director at The Richards Group with me and along with being an amazing art director she also helps keep me sane in what can be a crazy business, and is always there when I need a friend.

I asked Jill what she wanted me to make this weekend and she had asked for a key lime pie. I was ready to oblige until the weather took a crazy turn for February in May and we were facing 45 degree temps. Key lime pie to me is a summer treat so I had to warm it up a bit. I came up with a graham cracker whoopie with key lime buttercream filling. Of course me being me, I couldn't stop there so I dipped them in chocolate once they were all assembled... its a birthday might as well go all out. These got great reviews, the birthday girl herself even said they are one of the best things I have ever baked! If you like tart + sweet combined this is your dessert. Happy Birthday Jill!

You might remember the graham cracker whoopie recipe from the S'more whoopie pies I made last year, also I have used this same glaze on the Whoopie Pies for Elvis post so check them out for some extra photos and fun recipes.

Graham Cracker Whoopie

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c graham flour - if you can't find this then use wheat flour
3/4 c all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp. unsalted butter and room temperature
4 tbsp vegetable shortening
1 c packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 c. buttermilk
2 tbsp. milk
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Place rack in the center of the oven and prehead to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
In a medium bowl, stir together both flours, baking powder, and salt.
In a stand mixer (if you have one) fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter, shortening, and brown sugar until light and cream, about 3 min. Add eggs and buttermilk and beat until combined.
In a measuring cup, combine milk, baking soda, and vinegar. Add this mixture slowly to the batter along with the flour mixture and beat on low speed until completely combined.
Using a spoon or put your batter into a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip or even a ziplock with the tip cut off would work, drop about 1 tablespoon of batter onto your baking sheet, repeat spacing them at least 2 inches apart.
Bake for about 10 min until the cakes begin to brown.
Remove from the oven and let the cakes cool on the sheet for 3-5 min before transferring them to a rack to cool completely. Otherwise they are likely to break if you try and move them when they are too warm.
Spread with marshmallow cream and chocolate ganache, but if you are in a hurry a dollop of marshmallow fluff and a square of chocolate would work fine also.

Makes about 40 two-inch cakes, about 20 assembled whoopie pies.

Key Lime Buttercream:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons Key lime zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 (16 oz) package powdered sugar
3 tablespoons key lime juice
1 - 2 tsp heavy whipping cream or milk

Beat the first 4 ingredients at a medium speed in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until creamy.
Gradually add powdered sugar alternately with key lime juice. 1 tbsp at a time. and 1 tbsp of milk, beating at low speed until blended and smooth after each addition. beat in up to 1 tbsp of additional milk for desired consistency.

Makes about 2 3/4 cups of buttercream. I would recommend doubling if you are using this for a cake.

Chocolate glaze:
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter at room temperature
Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream in a small, heavy saucepan over medium heat just until it bubbles. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate in the bowl and stir until smooth. add the butter and stir to blend.

Inspiration: Pink Rainbow Cake

2011-04-27T12:53:00.000-07:00

I just came across this amazing cake and I had to share it right away. I can't wait to make one myself but in the mean time lets all be in awe of Call Me Cupcake's beautiful cake:

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

2011-04-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

Red velvet with cinnamon cream cheese frosting

The party was AARP themed since the birthday girl was turning 50... she took it like a champ!

Chocolate with peanut butter buttercream and chocolate peanut butter sauce

One of my favorite co-workers commissioned me to make 50 cupcakes for another awesome co-worker of ours and of course I was super excited. After talking it over we settled on three flavors:

Chocolate with peanut butter buttercream and peanut butter chocolate fudge sauce
Classic yellow cake with dark chocolate cream cheese frosting
Red velvet with cinnamon cream cheese frosting and red velvet crumb topping

I had made all of the icing and cakes on their own and some together over the past few years but I had never used the cinnamon cream cheese frosting in the past and it was so good that I had to share it with you all. This is crazy simple, and really nothing fancy but it ads a whole new delicious layer to a red velvet cake. It's so subtle that you can't really pinpoint what it is but when you do it is such a surprise that it makes everyone smile. Try it on you next red velvet cupcake and I promise you wont be disappointed.

-K

Ingredients:

4 cups powdered sugar sifted
1/2 cup butter, room temp
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (you can also use nutmeg)
1 tbl heavy whipping cream (this is optional but I find it helps the frosting to be extra fluffy)

Cream the butter in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Slowly add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, and heavy cream mix until well combined.
Add the cream cheese and beat on high for about 5 min or until the frosting is light and fluffy. Try not to over-beat.

Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats

2011-04-02T17:51:00.000-07:00

These are one of my most favorite treats of all time, they are like chocolate crack. My mom has been making these since I was a little girl, the only thing is that I can only remember her making them at Christmas. Almost everyone has heard of marshmallow rice krispy treats but almost no one has heard of or had a chocolate rice krispy treat. Come to think of it, I have never seen these for sale at any supermarket or bakery... that makes them even more special.

My mom and I made these this year at Christmas so I included some pictures of how she traditionally decorates them. Super easy - grocery store bought icing tubes in green and red with a little leaf tip on the green and voila! You have holly! I couldn't resist and wanted to make them for St. Patricks day this year only instead of holly I made little clovers on top with store bought vanilla icing that I died green. Just as cute, and just as fun to eat. If you like chocolate you will love these. Enjoy...

Ingredients:

11 1/2 oz package (2 cups) Milk chocolate morsels
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup light corn syrup
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup sifted confectioners sugar
4 cups kellogs rice krispies

Directions:

Combine milk chocolate morsels, butter and corn syrup in a medium sized saucepan. Stir over low heat until melted and smooth. Remove from heat - stir in vanilla extract and sugar. Add the rice krispies mixing carefully until well coated. Spread evenly in a 13x9x2 pan and chill until firm, best overnight.

Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-03-06T13:43:00.000-08:00

Cookies are my favorite, and chocolate chip cookies are my ultimate favorite. Seriously, you can ask most anyone I know that I will always opt for a chocolate chip cookie over any other when given a choice. I'm not sure what it is about them that make them so good, is it the cookie part or the chocolate chip part? I think it must be a combination of the both, with that said I couldn't think of a better way to add to that amazing combination than to add one of America's favorite cookies - the Oreo. Oreo's are by far the best cookie to dip in milk. (It is a mandatory to eat these cookies with a tall glass of cold milk) I came across this recipe after once again reading one of my favorite blogs Lovin from the Oven. This is a cookie within a cookie, or maybe I should call them 3 cookies in one cookie. Super easy, and sooo good. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Lovin from the Oven.

2 sticks of softened butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
10 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 package Oreo cookies

Cream together the butter and sugars. Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix until well combined.
In a separate bowl, mix the flour,baking soda, and salt.
Slowly add the dry mix tothe we mixture until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least an hour to rest.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Scoop a ball of cookie dough on top of the Orean and another below, sandwiching the Oreo in between. Flatten the cookie dough and seal the edges, completely covering the Oreo.
Place the cookies at least 2 inches apart on a baking sheet covered in parchment. Bake for 8-13 minutes.

My moms cookie cutters

2011-02-16T13:13:00.000-08:00

Over the holidays I went back to Savannah to visit my mom and family. As most families do over the holidays - we baked. I had it in my head that I wanted to make Linzer Cookies, which are traditional Austrian cookies that I love. They're two cookies placed on top of each other with raspberry or strawberry jam in the center and a hole cut out of the top one dusted with confectioners sugar... so good. So in order to make these I needed some round cookie cutters and then smaller round cutters for the hole in the top cookie. I asked my mom where her cookie cutters were and I was happy to see that she had quite the collection. I am the youngest of 4 children and my mom was quite the baker when we were growing up (and still is) we have home video's of us decorating cookies at almost every holiday made with these very cookie cutters. Getting them all out brought back a lot of memories and I thought I would share her expansive collection with all of you.

Garfield Cupcakes

2011-01-24T19:36:00.000-08:00

Looking good Garfield

All the eyes, ears, and mouths before they went on the cupcake tops

before the faces went on

I felt like they were watching me!

Do you think they knew they were going to be eaten?

Long time no blog! I know I have been terrible. I hope that you all can forgive me, I have been traveling once again for work and with that and the holidays things just got away from me. The good news is that I have been baking I just haven't been blogging so we have lots to catch up on.

Starting today with Garfield cupcakes! I was asked to make these for a little boys birthday this weekend which I thought was so fun. The mom sent me some pictures of other Garfield cupcakes and I gravitated toward the version that Bakerella had created. The only issue is that the adorable faces are all made out of fondant... uh oh. I have a pretty strict policy about not making things just to look good but they also have to taste good and fondant goes against that policy in a big way. However, after much back and forth I realized I couldn't get the level of detail I wanted to achieve with anything other than fondant so I decided to give it a go. I also figured that these were for kids and kids tend to not be bothered by the sugary taste of fondant since kids love anything sweet. So I decided to go with it, I promised myself that the cupcake itself and the buttercream under the fondant would be amazing to make up for the use of the fondant on top.

This was my first time ever using fondant so lets just say I was a little nervous but honestly once you get used to working with the texture it really can be pretty fun.You might be wondering how I pulled this off. My answer would be with a lot of planning.

First I created a template on the computer in Illustrator (if you don't have illustrator you can always draw it out by hand) I made the pieces of his face how I thought they should be, so two oval eyes, two eye lids, and a cute curled up mouth. The ears and nose I created just with my eye. I then printed the paper out - cut each shape, and traced those on to a thicker piece of card stock. I then cut out the pieces of card stock and used them as stencils when I was cutting out my fondant. I know this sounds like a lot to do but it only takes a few min and is worth the time. This way each cupcake looked the same and I could breeze right through all the fondant cuts.

For the fondant I used plain white fondant that you can find at any craft store in the baking section or at a baking supply store. To get the colors right to match the true Garfield I recommend using Wilton's gel coloring so that you don't water down the fondant. The colors are also much more vibrant - here is a link to Wiltons color chart, very helpful.

Once I had all my pieces cut out I dabbed a little water on each piece to get them to stick to the fondant rounds on each cupcake. One thing I did learn is that fondant dries quickly! So you kinda have to work fast. I used edible ink pens for the eyes and details on the edge.

Now I feel confident enough to try and take on any fun character only next time I think I will dry my fondant round out for a few hours and place them on top of the decorated cupcakes so that people can easily remove them if they prefer not to eat the fondant. I hope Jim Davis would be proud.

Harriot Grace

2010-12-14T07:56:00.000-08:00

Beeswax birthday candles

Sugar maple coffee scoop

Cake flags

Child's rolling pin

On any given day I probably look at about 500 websites, and at least that many emails pumped with stock shots from photographers. Since I am so over stimulated by imagery - good and bad, it's always fun when something really catches my eye.

A few months ago I came across Harriot Grace, a small humble online retailer out of Canada. I was originally drawn to them for their cake flags, but I quickly fell in love with everything else they had on their site. Not only do they have beautiful items but they have a great story. As the website states, it is a father daughter business, only this father and daughter live almost 3,000 miles apart from each other. It all started when the father started sending packages of handmade wooden spoons to his daughter which she fell in love with so she asked her father if he would like to share them with the world, after much thought he agreed and the rest is online history! Each item is lovingly handcrafted and one of a kind. They often sell out but replenish every few months. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Happy shopping.

Raspberry Thumbprints

2010-11-28T18:32:00.000-08:00

1 inch balls spaced 3 inches apart... they do spread during the baking process.

Wet your thumb when making thumbprints to keep your finger from sticking.

So Thanksgiving is all wrapped up, literally... I think I have enough left overs to last till Christmas. The great thing about Thanksgiving being over with is that now we have a excuse to make tons of cookies and Christmas treats for everyone we know. To get in the holiday spirit while I was in an airport the other day and picked up the current Martha Stewart's Holiday Cookies issue. 101 recipes for every holiday cookie under the sun. Issues like this are great because you can keep them forever and always refer back to them in times of need – like a cookbook only much less expensive.

My friends Steej came over yesterday to help decorate my Christmas tree. It was beautiful out and the perfect Saturday for Christmas decorating, Steej had the great idea to bake some cookies while we decorate... great idea! My first thought was to bake linzer cookies since I have been dying to try them out but I didn't have any almonds or hazelnuts so I decided to sift through the Holiday Cookie issue and landed on Raspberry Thumbprints which looked to be incredibly simple based on the recipe. The dough is very easily thrown together on the fly but it does take a little time to roll each ball and fill with the raspberry jam. With that said they were well worth it. I love raspberry jam so I always have it handy and I think the red color make them perfect for Christmas. They aren't overly sweet which makes them great for a middle of the day treat. I had one this morning with my coffee and I'm not complaining.

Original recipe from Martha Stewart's 2010 Holiday Cookie issue

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) of butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup of raspberry jam

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In the work bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy. 3-4 minutes. Add egg and beat until completely combined. Reduce speed to low, add flour and mix until incorporated.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place on parchment lined baking sheets spacing at least 3 inches apart.
Moisten thumb with water, and gently press center of each ball to make and indentation. heat jam in a small saucepan over medium heat until melted. Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon into each indentation. Bake rotating sheet halfway through, until cookies are golden brown around the edges about 15 min - make sure not to over bake. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Store extra's in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pie's

2010-11-14T12:18:00.000-08:00

Jose Tellez down in CBN took this photo for me, I think it came out really great. All of mine are super green from the lighting in the room. I promise my next post will have better photos :-)

In addition to my mini pumpkin cheesecakes that I made for our office Chili cook-off I also made some mini pumpkin whoopie pies. If you read my blog often you will find I love to make whoopie pies. I just think they are fun, super easy, and taste great. Since it is the season of pumpkin and I had already made pumpkin cheesecakes I thought I would stick with the theme and go with pumpkin whoopies, I mean what isn't to like? Pumpkin as an ingredient makes for some really moist and flavorful desserts - everyone loved them and they were the perfect size to just pop in our mouth. These would be awesome for kids on Thanksgiving, they are so good they might even want to help you make them.

Pumpkin Whoopies:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tblsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups solid pack pumpkin
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350, line two making sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and salt into a bowl or piece of waxed paper.
In the work bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the brown sugar and butter on low speed until just combined. Add in the pumkin, then the egg, beating well. Add the vanilla and beat until combined.
Slowly add the flour mixture and beat on low until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go.
Using a small ice-cream scoop or a pastry bag or really anything you choose... make small rounds of the batter as small or large as you like. I made mini ones so I used my eye to make them all roughly the same size and by using a large round tip on the end of my pastry bag. Make sure to space them at least two inches apart from each other.
Bake one sheet at a time for about 12-15 minutes each, or until the cakes begin to crack and are firm to the touch (this will also change depending on how small are large you make them). Let the cakes cool completely before icing them.

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting:

3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth,
Add the cream cheese and beat until combined.
Slowly add the powdered sugar, maples syrup and vanilla until smooth.

To assemble:

Flip over half of the completely cooled whoopies so the flat side is facing up.
Pipe enough to cover the whoopie 1 1/2 tsp - 1 tblsp of icing depending on how large the whoopies are.
Place another whoopie flat side down on top and press down lightly. If your icing gets too soft you can always put it in the fridge before hand to firm it up a bit. These are best served at room temperature. Store left overs in an airtight container. Enjoy!

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes

2010-11-06T16:17:00.000-07:00

Cheesecake mixture

Graham cracker mixture

Making their big debut at the TRG chili cook-off

Each year at work the re-touching department at The Richards Group which is referred to as CBN has a "Chili Cook-Off" you can enter your homemade chili or you can bring a dessert or side of your choice. There is a panel of judges that judge each chili and name a winner each year. It is a lot of fun and people really get into it which makes it an event to look forward to each year.

I thought about making chili this year but who was I kidding, dessert is my thing so I am sticking to it. As I mentioned in the last post, pumpkin is my favorite fall ingredient so I decided to not just highlight it in one dessert, but two. The first one was a mini pumpkin cheesecake recipe that I found while surfing the wonderful world of baking blogs. I had thought about making a large pumpkin cheesecake so when I found these I was thrilled. They were a huge hit at the cook-off. I think people really enjoy the small cupcake size since it is easier to handle then a full piece of cake. Not to mention the taste is out of this world. The only down side to this recipe is that you have to keep them in the fridge overnight before you can enjoy them :-)

Check back in a few days and I will post the second pumpkin dessert - mini pumpkin whoopie pies with maple cream cheese frosting - yummy

Original recipe adapted from Gingerbread Bagels (she has lots of great photos of the process and I suggest you check them out)

***NOTE: CHANGE IN RECIPE*** My Mom tried making these today and informed me that the amount of cheesecake batter the recipe makes is only enough for about 10 cupcakes... After thinking back on the day I made these I doubled the cheesecake portion of the recipe, so I didn't notice at the time. However, the amount of pumpkin mixture is plenty if you are doubling the cheesecake. So, if you need more than 10 servings I would go ahead and double the cheesecake portion of the recipe. Hope this helps! - K

Crust:

7 graham cracker sheets
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Cheesecake mixture:

1 pound cream cheese, softened (two 8 ounce blocks)
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs, at room temperature lightly beaten
1/2 cup sour cream

Pumpkin mixture:

1/3 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 tablespoons + 1/2 teaspoon all purpose flour

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line your cupcake pan with liners, set aside.
In a food processor, place the graham crackers and pulse till they are a sandlike texture. Place the graham cracker crumbs in a bowl, add 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Melt the butter and add to the graham cracker mixture. Put 1 tablespoon of the mixture into the bottom of each cupcake liner. Press down the crumbs with your finger and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl fitted with the paddle attachment mix the cream cheese on medium speed for about 3 min until it is smooth without any lumps. Add in 2/3 cup of sugar and 2 tsp of vanilla extract. mix until just combined.
in a separate bowl, crack the eggs and lightly beat. Slowly add in the eggs and mix. Add in the 1/2 cup of sour cream and mix until the cheesecake mixture is smooth, making sure to scrape down the sides as you go.
To make the pumpkin mixture, combine all the ingredients listed above under "pumpkin mixture" add in 2/3 cup of the cheesecake mixture and mix until the two batters are completely combined and there are no lumps.
Fill each cupcake liner with 1 1/2 scoop fulls of the cheesecake batter (using a small ice cream scoop) each liner should be filled almost to the top. Now place 3 dots of the pumpkin batter onto each of the batter filled liners. I used a 1/4 teaspoon to scoop the pumpkin in. Use a toothpick to swirl the two batters together.
Bake in the oven for about 27-30 min. Rotate the pan half way through the baking time. Once they are done backing, cool them completely in the fridge overnight - Keep them in the pan
ENJOY!

Here are some of my photos from the cook-off while the judging was going on before the masses of chili seekers hit...

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

2010-11-06T14:57:00.000-07:00

It's fall and in Texas that means somewhat normal temperatures. I believe that it's the best time of the year to live here, high's of 65 lows of 40... my favorite. To celebrate I have been baking anything with pumpkin since it is the ultimate fall ingredient. I am surprised my local grocery store hasn't run out yet since I have been buying a ridiculous amount. A few years ago a friend of my gave me this super simple recipe that is sure to cure a fall craving. These are great for a lazy Sunday with a big cup of coffee. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Ingredients:

1 2/3 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup of pumpkin
1/2 cup melted butter
2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or a little more :-)
Cinnamon/Sugar mixture to sprinkle on top (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350. Line a cupcake pan or muffin pan with your liners. I used cupcake pans for mine since I like them a little smaller.
Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment mix together pumpkin, eggs, and butter.
Carefully add your dry ingredients and mix until well combined, don't over mix.
Using a small ice cream scoop or a spoon, fill each cupcake liner up 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 20-25 min.

4 Layer Birthday Cake

2010-10-23T12:47:00.000-07:00

Whew, I am home! It feels like it has been a long time since I have been home baking and blogging. The past few weeks I have been to New York, Las Vegas, Las Angeles, Dallas, and back to Las Angeles! As of 1:00 am Dallas time today I am back in my own home and ready to blog. Don't get be wrong, my travels have been for work and I had a blast, I am one lucky girl to have a job where I get to go to such amazing places and do what I love.

Since I have been traveling up a storm my Beagle was fortunate enough to go to my good friends Tracy and Jeff's house. Taylor dog loves to visit them since it means she not only gets a ton of love but she also gets to play with their sweet lab Maya. As a thank you to them for taking such good care of my baby when Tracy came to me and asked if I could make a birthday cake for her brother I was so excited to help out.

After speaking with Tracy about what sort of cakes her brother liked I landed on a 4 layer classic yellow and chocolate cake with a layer of chocolate sauce and dark chocolate cream cheese icing. Pretty much a classic birthday cake elevated to the next level. You can make this cake with your own cake recipe from scratch or you can use Duncan Hines dark chocolate fudge cake mix and their classic yellow cake mix, just as amazing only a bit easier. I made this one using 8" cake pans which makes for a nice high manageable cake. You can make it as large or as small as you like.

Dark Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing: (Recipe from the lovely Miss Bakerella)

1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder ( I used Hershey’s Special Dark 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

Chocolate sauce: (original recipe from the Smiths Family 12 layer cake)

3 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder , preferably Dutch process
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter , cut up
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

To make the sauce, bring the sugar, cocoa, butter and evaporated milk to a full boil in a large saucepan. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the icing has thickened slightly (it will resemble chocolate syrup but will thicken as it cools), about 3 minutes.
Stir in the vanilla.
Let the icing cool until thick enough to spread, but still pourable.

To assemble cake:

Place your first completely cooled layer of yellow cake down on your cake round or stand. I like to assemble my cakes on a lazy susan so that when I ice them it is easy to rotate the cake. Using a flat end spatula cover your layer with the dark chocolate cream cheese icing forming a layer about 1/2 inch thick.
Cover with your next layer of chocolate cake and carefully pour a layer of the chocolate sauce over top. Be careful to keep it centralized in the center of the cake round because once you put the next two layers on top the sauce will be forced out to the sides.
Place your next layer of yellow cake and cover with another 1/2 inch thick layer of the dark chocolate cream cheese icing.
Top the last of the 4 layers off with your last cake round of chocolate cake.
Start icing your crumb coat on the cake using a flat end spatula making sure to cover all the parts of the cake with a thin layer of icing. Place it in the fridge for 20-25 min. Finish coating the cake with about 1/2 inch thick layer of icing all the way around.
Using a pastry bag fitted with a large tip like a #806 pipe small rounds all the way around the base of the cake, followed by 3 layers starting at the outside moving in on top of the cake. I then piped one large round in the center to place a flag which I wrote "Happy Birthday Stefan" on.

crumb coat - ready to ice

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-09-20T08:11:00.000-07:00

I took Friday off of work to try and catch up on life. Fun stuff like dry cleaning, pharmacy, oh and let's not forget laundry and dishes. In the middle of all the fun I decided to take another stab at some Oatmeal cookies, I found this recipe on Pixie Baker and I thought it sounded and looked like one worth trying and I was right. These cookies in my opinion are better than the last batch. Rather than light and fluffy these are more thin and dense. Don't get me wrong, the last batch had it's perks but these are more my style. The addition of the peanut butter isn't overpowering, in fact you can hardly tell it's there. It does however add a level of gooey sweetness that really makes this cookie a winner. If you don't want to use chocolate chips raisins would work beautifully as well. I hope you guys try this one out this fall, I promise they will not disappoint.

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (I used reduced fat and it worked very nicely)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg at room temperature
3/4 cup oats
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (Ghiradelli's 60% cocoa chips are great here)

Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream together butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla on medium speed. Add the egg and beat to combine. On low speed gradually add the flour mixture until just combined. Using a wooden spoon stir in the oats and chocolate chips. Pour dough onto plastic wrap and form a disk, wrap tightly and chill for at least 3 hours, overnight is best.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Use a small ice cream scoop or your hands to form about 3 tbl of dough. Drop onto baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 min, or until the cookies are lightly golden. Cool completely on a wire rack. Note: The cookies should appear slightly under baked when you take them out of the oven, remember they will continue to cook as the cool and harden up on you.

Makes about 16 cookies.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-09-15T09:21:00.000-07:00

I am on a mission to perfect the oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. To be perfectly honest I have never attempted to make this type of cookie, I make oatmeal whoopie pies all the time but never a oatmeal cookie on its own. Maybe its the thought that oatmeal is healthy that scares me away? I basically just had fun with this recipe and added in ingredients that I thought would taste good. I use vanilla pudding in some cookies rather than a full cup of sugar because it makes for a light fluffy cookie that isn't overly sweet. I think these came out really nice with a great nutty flavor from the hazelnut and walnut oils without weighing the cookie down with actual nuts. If you prefer your cookies to be flat and crispy this is not the recipe, if you like light and fluffy this is a winner. Enjoy.

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter
1 pkg of Vanilla Instant Pudding
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp walnut oil
1/2 tsp hazelnut oil (optional)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs
2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups of oatmeal

Directions:

In a bowl mix flour and baking soda, set aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add brown sugar, vanilla pudding, spices, hazelnut oil, walnut oil, and eggs beat on medium for 1-2 minutes.
Slowly add in flour and baking soda mixture until well incorporated.
Using a wooden spoon mix in the chocolate chips and oatmeal.
Form dough into a flat disk, cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 8 hours.
On a well greased cookie sheet dollop 3-4 tablespoons of hand shaped cookie dough balls about 2" apart from each other. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 min or until tops are just slightly brown, don't over cook these, they will continue to cook as they cool.

Birthday Cake

2010-09-07T12:28:00.000-07:00

My birthday is coming up this week and to celebrate a few of my girlfriends and I got together and had a potluck dinner. I of course made dessert, some might say it is sad to make your own birthday cake but not for me, I loved every minute of it. The dinner was a huge success and I had so much fun. Here is a photo of what is left of my early birthday cake - Raspberry lemon coconut cake. It's a bad photo taken from my iphone but I thought I would share anyway :-) Thank you girls for celebrating with me!

Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Buttercream and Chocolate Peanut Butter Ganache

2010-09-04T10:32:00.000-07:00

I was inspired by Coco Cake and decided to make a cake last week. I am all about using what I have in the cupboard these days and since I had made Nigella's Peanut butter chocolate fudge sauce the day before and had a good amount left over I thought I would use that as inspiration for my cake. I decided to make a regular chocolate cake, you can use which ever recipe you like best here. I used my classic go to chocolate cake that for now remains my secret. To make it special I made peanut butter buttercream, my mouth is watering just thinking about it. It was so creamy and light I could eat an entire bowl. I used the chocolate peanut butter sauce in between one layer and then I topped the cake with the last little bit, this makes it look and taste extra special. It is a nice way to elevate a simple cake from the normal cake and icing to cake, icing, and ganache!

One thing I like to do is make sure my cakes are nice and high, I always double my cake recipe and in this case I used 8" cake pans and made 3 layers. It makes the cake look professional and the more cake the better, right?

Peanut Butter Buttercream: (I am giving you the doubled recipe since you will need almost all of this for the filing and to ice the cake, feel free to half it if you make a smaller cake)

2 cups butter softened (you can do 2 sticks salted and 2 sticks unsalted)
8 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
6 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream
1 cup of peanut butter

Cream the butter until light and fluffy.
Add in the sugar slowly until well combined. Add in the vanilla and cream.
Beat in the peanut butter until creamy. That's it!

Click here to see my post on how to make the Chocolate Peanut Butter sauce...

To assemble:

Place the first layer of the cake on a clean plate that is easy to ice on. I like to put a cardboard cake round down on a lazy susan so that I can spin it as I ice. Take about 3/4 cup of your buttercream and spread it evenly on the layer.
Put the next layer of cake on top of that and pour the cooled chocolate sauce on top, just enough to cover the top of the layer and not drip out over the sides. Top that with the last layer of cake.
Take a flat icing spatula and start your crumb coat - this is just a thin layer of your butter cream icing to cover the entire cake. Don't worry about the crumbs. Once your cake is completely covered put it in the fridge for 30 min.
Now you have a nice layer of cooled icing so when you put the rest of your buttercream on you won't get any crumbs. Ice an even layer of Buttercream over the entire cake.
Take the rest of your icing and put it in a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip and pipe large balls around the bottom of the cake and three layers of round balls on the top. Starting on the outside and working in.
All that is left now is to drop about a quarter of a cup of your chocolate sauce right on top, use a small flat end spatula to spread it evenly or if you use a lazy susan you can just spin it and it will flow out evenly on its own.

first 2 layers of the chocolate cake - buttercream on bottom layer, chocolate sauce on middle layer

Crumb coat ready for the fridge for 30 min.

using a round tip on a pastry bag pipe three layers of round circles on the top and 1 layer around the bottom of the cake

drop the chocolate sauce in the middle and spread evenly (spinning the lazy susan will help a ton)

Voila, Enjoy!

Whoopie Pies for Elvis

2010-08-28T12:14:00.000-07:00

Fresh out of the oven

sugar and butter mixture - should be crumbly before adding cream, honey, and lemon juice

Assembly line

Chocolate glaze

The Good, the Bad, and the Yummy states that "Elvis might have been horribly misguided about drugs and sequins, but he got one thing right—peanut butter and banana sandwiches.

I couldn't agree more. Elvis was a smart man with an even smarter mother. It is rumored that his mom used to prepare his favorite sandwich for him- a peanut butter and banana sandwich on hawaiian bread. My own father used to love to each peanut butter on ritz crackers, also very yummy and I love peanut butter and honey on wheat bread. How do you combine all three? Only in a whoopie pie of course!

My friend Taryn and I decided to tackle the idea of an Elvis whoopie pie. Banana Whoopie's with a layer of salted peanut butter spread and honey buttercream, to top it all off and really make it K Bakes style Taryn had the brilliant idea of dipping them in chocolate. It seems like a lot of hard work but they really weren't that difficult, and all the ingredients really make these amazing. By adding mashed bananas to the whoopie pies it makes for a ultra moist cake that isn't too sweet, once paired with the thick peanut butter spread and the light sweet honey buttercream you can't resist but to bite into these. I think even Elvis would be proud of the chocolate addition.

All recipes are adapted from the brilliant book "Whoopie Pies" by Sarah Billingsley and Amy Treadwell

Banana Whoopie:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole weat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
4 tablespoons vegetable shortening
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
3 very ripe bananas, mashed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Sift together using a strainer or a sifter both flours, baking soda, and salt into a bowl. Set aside
In the work bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a hand mixer if you don't have a stand mixer) beat together the butter, shortening, sugar, and vanilla until light and creamy. Add in the eggs and beat until combined.
slowly add in the dry ingredients, once combined add in the mashed bananas and mix on medium speed for about 2 min.
Using a spoon or a pastry bag with a large round tip drop about 1-2 tablespoons of batter depending on how large you want to make them onto the prepared baking sheets spacing them at least 2 inches apart. Bake on the sheets for about 10 min, or until the cakes begin to brown slightly. remove from the oven and let the cakes cool on the sheet for a few min before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

Fillings!!

Honey Buttercream:

3 cups of confectioners sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 to 4 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons of honey (I use Savannah Bee Company's Winter White Honey)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
pinch of salt

In the work bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the confectioners sugar and the butter, starting on low and increasing to medium speed, until the mixture is crumbly, about 1 minute. add the heavy cream, honey, lemon juice, and salt and beat on high speed until smooth, about 3 minutes.

Salty Peanut Butter:

3/4 cup of creamy or crunchy peanut butter (I used reduced fat creamy peanut butter at it was great)
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 tsp salt (if you don't want it to be too salty you could just do a pinch of salt)

In the work bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the peanut butter and butter on low speed until smooth and creamy. add the confectioners sugar and the salt and beat on low to incorporate. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the filling is light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.

TO ASSEMBLE:

Put both your fillings into pastry bags fitted with a large round tip or in a ziplock back with the tip cut off. Pipe the peanut butter filling on half of the whoopie pie's and the honey buttercream on the other half. Assemble by putting the honey buttercream whoopies on top of the peanut butter ones (so the heavier side doesn't crush the buttercream) Once they are assembled dip each one into the warm chocolate glaze, then cool on a rack. Place a sheet of parchment or waxed paper under the rack to catch the drippings.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Sauce

2010-08-24T17:58:00.000-07:00

What I am experiencing right now should be illegal. I have been craving chocolate like it's going out of style the past few days but I haven't been able to bake much since my kitchen has been closed for a few weeks. I know sad, but hopefully it will be back in full swing soon. Back to my need for chocolate - I had chocolate chips, peanut butter, and a can of sweetened condensed milk. Who knew that just by mixing those three things together you could have the most amazing chocolate peanut butter topping to pour, yes pour over ice cream. Since I decided to make this at the last minute my camera is dead and I didn't get any photos, but good news! The lovely Nigella Lawson is here to show you exactly how to make it step by step. I could listen to her gorgeous english accent talk about chocolate all day. Make this. You will love it. There is nothing more to say.

All you need:

Chocolate chips
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
Peanut butter
Boiling water
Crushed peanuts (optional)

Oh if I only lived in Canada...

2010-08-19T19:39:00.000-07:00

...Then I would order a ton of cupcakes from Coco Cake Boutique! One blog led to another blog which led to another which is how I came to find Coco Cake. Coco Cake is a small cupcake catering company in Vancouver, BC. It's owner's name is Lyndsay Sung and from what I can tell she is incredibly talented. According to the website cococake.com all the cupcakes and cakes are handmade, baked from scratch and decorated with vintage aesthetic, which I love. I pulled together some of my favorite creations to share with all of you so you can drool from afar with me. I hope you find them as inspiring as I do. You can also check our Lyndsay's creations on her blog here.

note: all images are from cococake.com

Banana Nut Cupcakes with Cinnamon + Honey Frosting

2010-08-07T18:27:00.000-07:00

Whew, thank god the week is finally over. Now a new one is about to begin and I thought I would at least end this one on a high note by posting a new recipe. Last week I was desperate for a cupcake and I had yellow cake mix and bananas, so once again I decided to make Banana Nut cupcakes, only this time I made regular sized cupcakes since I can pretty much eat a dozen mini cupcakes on my own :-) Or at least I felt like I might at the time.

So since the recipe wasn't new I decided to use a new icing recipe. A few months ago I went to Savannah for a visit and I went to one of my favorite stores the Savannah Bee Company they carry a full line up of different flavored honey's and all are amazing. The store itself is a sight to be seen, they have a oversized honey comb where children can go and play, a full honey bar where you can taste each honey with a choice of local cheese, apples, and raw honey comb, or you can view a informative honey film while you shop. On my last trip I picked up some of their Winter White honey since I like sweets it was love at first sight. It is unlike any other honey I have ever tasted, it is creamy and has a hint of cinnamon in it. I knew right away it would be great in a dessert so I bought two of the 3 oz bottles (since I flew with a carry on, hah) and I was on my merry way.

So you can imagine how excited I was when I opened the cupboard and saw the honey staring me in the face. Rather then using regular honey as I had originally planned on and would have been delightful I am sure, I thought I could really make it spectacular by using the winter white honey! This frosting is now one of my new favorites, and I hope you guys enjoy it as well.

For the cupcakes see my Banana Nut Mini post here and follow the cupcake recipe, you can make this regular sized or mini - up to you.

For the icing you will need:

1 1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 tablespoon of honey - if you can get your hands on some of the Winter White Honey then use that here.
1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon
2 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream

In a mixer fixed with a whisk attachment beat sugar, butter, honey, and cinnamon for 3-4 minutes. Once creamed together add the heavy whipping cream. Voila all done! I doubled the recipe for the amount of cupcakes I was making which was about 24.

If you like you can throw a few tablespoons of butter into a saute pan and brown, add some cut up bananas and a half a teaspoon of cinnamon. Heat through place in a bowl set aside until they cool to room temperature. Place one slice on top of each cupcake.

Mushroom Cupcakes

2010-07-29T09:36:00.001-07:00

The piped out white chocolate spots that I flipped over on top of the cupcakes so the flat side was facing up

The shower was fiesta themed so I used colors that fit in with the rest of the decor

My friend Taryn showed me some adorable mushroom cupcakes from her nieces "Alice in Wonderland" themed birthday party and I completely fell in love. So when it was time for her to co-host a baby shower last week she asked me if I thought we could make some for the party. I love a challenge and I thought they would be great for the blog so I said of course. Although the ones she showed me were adorable she mentioned they didn't taste very good, so I first off wanted to make these super moist and use a fresh buttercream for the icing so that they would be cute and taste amazing. I thought about how to make the spots on top for a few days and finally settled on using the white Candy Melts that you find in the baking section of the craft store and melting them down to make smaller spots, this worked perfectly! The theme for the shower was fiesta so we wanted the colors to match the flowers and decorations so we decided on green, blue, and orange... but you can use whatever colors you want. Lastly we did two sizes- mini and regular to really push home the mushroom look, since no mushroom looks like the other :-) And we used chocolate and classic yellow cake so that everyone was happy. In the end these cupcakes turned out to be super cute and a huge success!

Ingredients:

Chocolate cupcakes:

1 box of Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge cake mix
3 large eggs
1 1/3 cup water
1/2 cup of vegetable oil

Yellow cupcakes:

1 box of Duncan Hines Classic Yellow cake mix
3 large eggs
1 1/3 cup water
1/3 cup of vegetable oil

Buttercream Frosting:

1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp butter extract
4 cups sifted confectioners sugar
2 tbl heavy whipping cream
food coloring of your choice
1 pkg of white Candy Melts for decorating

Cupcakes: Mix and bake your cupcakes following the directions on the back of the package. Let them cool completely on a wire rack.
Spots: Melt the package of white candy melts in a microwave safe bowl according to the directions on the back of the package. Scoop melted chocolate into a piping bag and pipe out different sized round chips on a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper. Let them cool completely. Place to the side.
Make your icing: Cream the butter and shortening until fluffy. Add vanilla and butter extract. Gradually add confectioners sugar, one cup at a time - beat well. Icing will be dry at this point, add the whipping cream until you get the texture you want. (should be nice and fluffy) Separate your icing into three bowls and color accordingly. You can make which ever colors you like or you can always just make one color.
Ice each cupcake. Take your cooled candy spots and gently pull them off the parchment and place tip side down onto the top of each cupcake, this way the flat side of the spots are facing up. place as many spots on your cupcakes as you like. These are best if they are server right away. ENJOY!

The Mast Brothers

2010-07-28T19:04:00.000-07:00

I came across this video from Cannelle et Vanille, who recently tweeted about it. I was touched by the video and completely inspired to be better. I hope you guys like it and find it as inspirational as I did. Below is taken from the Vimeo link... Please CLICK HERE to watch the video.

The life of a mariner is one given over to wanderlust—the quest for adventure, crossing unseen horizons to secure precious goods—only to bring them back to their home port. This same love of adventure and curiosity defines the brotherhood of Rick and Michael Mast. They share a fiercely independent spirit, leaping into the unknown and trusting that they’ll find the answer through endurance and dedication to their craft.

They began their voyage in their apartment, using a homemade machine to process cacao beans. Over time they cultivated their creation, sourcing beans from family farms in Madagascar, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, and Ecuador. Each bar is handmade with incredible reverence for the process and history of chocolate. They are bound in ornamental papers and golden foil like a collection of rare books. Each bar offers its own story of flavors, and no two are exactly alike.

The Mast Brothers are now planning to navigate the mighty Atlantic, sailing to the Dominican Republic in search of beans and a deeper connection with the folks who grow them. Before they begin the next chapter, The Scout spent time with Rick and Michael documenting their story. Photo by Mindy Best.

Blueberry Crumble Pie

2010-07-26T06:07:00.000-07:00

Crust rolled out and placed in dish

Cut and crimped the corners, check out Taylor praying I drop the pie on the floor

Poke holes in the bottom and sides of the crust

Beans with parchment before baking for 10 min

Filling

Ready for the oven

Voila! Blueberry crumble pie!

Bonus blueberry cobbler... equally amazing.

To continue my blueberry baking binge I had to bake a blueberry pie. I came across a recipe a few years ago on Martha Stewart's show which was recently re-aired while she was on vacation to fill time on her new show. What attracted me to it was the fact that it was not only a pie but it was also a crumble, yum. After making the pie, I completely fell in love, it might be one of the best pie's I have ever tasted. The crust was perfect the filling wasn't too sweet, and the crumble makes it completely irresistible. I have no doubt that you will love this pie. A happy surprise when I went to bake the pie was that my pie dish was too small to fit all the filling (I used an 8-inch), so what is a girl to do? Well, I was not about to let all that amazing filling to go waste so I grabbed a small cobbler dish and poured the extra in there and crumbled half the crumble topping on top to make a small cobbler - granted it didn't have the crust, but who cares, it was amazing.

Rebecca Charles came up with the original recipe which I altered a little since I believe it might not have been typed up correctly on Martha Stewart's site (she has 4 tsp of cornstarch and the feedback on the post was that it was much to watery so I made it with 4 tbl... much better) I also changed the crumble a bit to add light brown sugar since I prefer it's flavor to dark but you can use either. I found this crust to be one of the best I have ever used and it was very easy to make, I will absolutely be using it again. The best part of this recipe is that you can watch Martha and Rebecca make it here, this way you can see step by step how to make this pie.

Adapted from Rebecca Charles " Lobster Rolls and Blueberry Pie"

Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1/4 cup ice water

Crumble:

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2) sticks unsalted butter cut into cubes

Filling:

6 cups blueberries about 3 pints
1 cup sugar
4 tbl cornstarch
1/2 tsp lemon zest
pinch of pepper
extra flour and butter for the coating the pie dish

Directions:

Crust: For the crust in a food processor (or a bowl, to mix by hand, combine the flour, salt and butter in a large bowl. add the cold water and work by hand until the mixture comes together.) combine flour, salt, and cold butter- pulse until sand like texture. Add water while pulsing until mixture comes together. Remove from the bowl or food processor (be careful not to over mix) onto a lightly floured surface. Work into a 1 inch thick disk and refrigerate for at least one hour before rolling out.
Crumble: Combine flour and sugars in a food processor (or bowl) mix until combined add chopped cold butter and mix (with a pastry cutter) or pulse until the mixture forms a crumble, being sure not to over mix. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Filling: in a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients using the back of your spoon, crush about 20 percent of the blueberries so the jice mixes with the cornstarch and thickens the filling.
To make the pie: preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 10-inch pie tin; set aside. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough. Place in the pie dish, trip off excess and crimp edges (the crust will shrink in the oven once baked so don't cut off too much, I cut off enough to fold a little under to make larger crimps) Use a fork to poke holes around the sides and bottom of the crust, chill until firm, about 20 min. Cover with a piece of parchment paper and fill it with dried beans or baking beans. Bake until the crimped edges are firm, about 10 min. Remove the parchment paper and beans, and bake until the bottom is firm, about another 10 min. Fill the crust with the perry mixture, spreading evenly, and top with the crumble. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, and bake until the filling starts to bubble, 1 hour to an hour and 20 min depending on your oven. Remove and cool on a wire rack.

Lemon Blueberry Crumb Bars

2010-07-19T06:09:00.000-07:00

sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, lemon zest, egg, and butter before it gets blended to be the crumble

Crumble mixture- half for the bottom of the pan, half for the crumble topping

Blueberry mixture

Pour your blueberries on your crust and spread evenly

Crumble your topping over the layer of blueberries, bake and you are done!

Look out it's blueberry season! That means I went on a blueberry baking binge. As you know I live in Dallas, Texas and some of you might have heard that Texas is known for it's fabulous blueberries. A few years ago a few friends of mine read about Blueberry Hill Farms in Edom, TX on Style/Swoon, the place looked like fun so we loaded up in the car and headed east to pick some blueberries. Little did we know that Edom turned out to be a great little town with fun shops and a great local cafe called The Shed- if you stop here I suggest you order either a piece or the entire Lemon Ice Box pie and take it home to enjoy all week.

Blueberry season lasts through the end of July, I recommend going early so that you don't bake in the Texas sun. I was able to pick a full basket and then I bought another pre-picked bag in the store to bring home and freeze so that I could use them all year. Freezing is easy, first lay your blueberries flat on a baking sheet on a paper towel don't cover and place in the freezer for a hour, remove the berries from the tray and place them in a plastic ziplock freezer bag and return to the freezer. I like to take a cup out at a time and let thaw in the fridge or on the counter to use in my cereal and oatmeal throughout the week. To kick off my blueberry baking binge I began with Blueberry Crumble Bars, these are amazing and super easy to make. I hope you enjoy them. You should be able to get about 36 small bars or about half of that if you do larger squares.

Ingredients:

1 cup white sugar
1 tsp baking powder
3 cups of all purpose flour
1 cup cold butter (2 sticks)
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt
zest and juice of 1 lemon
4 cups of fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
4 tsp cornstarch

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 375 and grease a 9x13 pan.

In a medium bowl stir together 1 cup of sugar, 3 cups of flour, and baking powder. Mix in salt and lemon zest. Uses a for or pastry cutter to blend in butter and egg. Doug will be crumbly. Pat half of the dough into the pan.
In another bowl, stir together sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice. Gently mix in the blueberries. Sprinkle evenly over the crust. Crumble the remaining dough over the berry layer.
Bake in the oven for 45 min, or until the top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

These are great stored in the fridge and served cold as well.

Here are some of my photos from my visit to Blueberry Hill Farms...

Triple Salted Chocolate and Caramel Cupcakes

2010-07-13T19:57:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry everyone for not posting a new recipe yet this week. Things at work have been a little crazy so I have fallen behind on my posts. Here is a little taste of what is coming, hopefully these can hold you over a few more days...

Lemon Bars

2010-07-05T14:20:00.000-07:00

It's hot out, and it is also the day after 4th of July, I think that calls for something refreshing and easy! My Aunt had given me a recipe for Lemon Bars a few years ago which is lovely but I adapted it a little bit to make them bigger (I guess Texas is rubbing off on me) and I also made a few small changes to the crust. I think they turned out really nice. What I like most about the recipe is that it is easy, probably one of the easiest lemon bar recipes you will ever try. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup confectioners sugar
3 tbl light brown sugar
3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
6 eggs
3 cups sugar
6 tbl flour
1/2 cup lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon
additional confectioners sugar for dusting

Combine, flour, powdered sugar, brown sugar, and butter in a bowl using a pastry cutter. Pat into a greased 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan, Bake at 350 for 20 min.
In another bowl whisk eggs, sugar, flour and lemon juice until frothy, stir in lemon zest. Pour over hot crust. Bake at 350 for 20-25 min or until light brown.
Cool on a wire rack, dust with confectioners sugar, and cut into squares.

Crust ready to go into the oven

Filling added to the top of the hot crust ready to be baked for 20-25 min or until golden brown

Just out of the oven, let cool completely before adding the powdered sugar

4th Flag Cupcakes

2010-06-30T06:34:00.000-07:00

4th of July is upon us and I thought we should celebrate with cupcakes! My original plan was to make a "flag cake" which in case you have never seen one it is two sheet cakes layered on top of each other usually with a whipped cream frosting and then you use either raspberries or strawberries to create the red stripes of the american flag and blueberries to make the stars. It is an adorable festive cake that I recommend you try one day if you haven't already. However, this year I wanted to make something a little more unique and I was in the mood to experiment so I drew out a cupcake that had all the colors of the American flag only in a deconstructed way so it wasn't as literal. These are easy but still special and look like a professional cupcake. If you want you can always make the cupcake part in advance along with the raspberry drizzle and assemble when you have a little time to spend doing them carefully. Happy 4th, enjoy!

Makes about 17 cupcakes

For the cupcakes:

1 package of yellow cake mix
3 eggs
1/3 cup of oil
1 1/3 cup of water
1 package of fresh blueberries
1 package of fresh raspberries

Whipped cream frosting and filling:

4 cups of heavy whipping cream (might need to make this in two batches, it makes a lot)
1/3 cup of sugar
3 tsp of almond extract

Raspberry Drizzle:

1 (12 oz) package of frozen raspberries thawed and drained, juice reserved
1/4 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons of raspberry liqueur (if you have it, don't worry if you don't)

Directions:

Preheat you oven to 350 and center your rack.
Mix the cake mix with eggs, water, and oil according to the back of the cake mix package.
Line your cupcake tray with which ever color liners you like and fill 3/4 of the way to the top so that you get a little overlap once they bake making sure you have enough to cut off and use later for tops.
Bake for about 15-18 min. Cool completely on a rack, once cooled carefully cut the top of each cupcake off using a serrated knife.
While the cupcakes are cooling make your raspberry sauce. Add enough water to reserved raspberry juice to measure 1 cup (make sure you do this otherwise it will be way to thick in the end) Stir together sugar and cornstarch in a 1-quart saucepan. Stir in juice and raspberries.
Heat to boiling over medium heat. Boil and stir 1 min; strain out the seeds and let cool completely, your done. If you want you can add the liqueur after you strain it.
In a stand mixer fixed with the whisk attachment, whisk together your whipped cream ingredients - cream, sugar, and almond extract until stiff peaks form. About 2-3 min.
In a pastry bag fitted with a small round tip fill with about a quarter of the whipped cream mixture and insert into the center of the cupcake bottoms to fill the centers with cream.
In a larger pastry bag fitted with a large round tip put a layer of frosting on the top of the cut cupcakes. Place a small handful of blueberries on top of the cream layer on each cupcake.
Put your cupcake tops back on top of the blueberry cream layer. Using the rest of the whipped cream frosting pipe a mound of whipped cream on top of it as high as you want, I feel for these they look best when there is a good amount of height to them, go all out :-)
Drizzle with the raspberry sauce using just a spoon or you can put it in a ziplock bag and cut a tiny tip off and drizzle that way. Top each one off with a fresh raspberry and your done! Happy 4th Flag Cupcakes!

Whipped Cream mixture for the inside of the cupcakes and the topping

Tops of the cupcakes cut off, whipped cream inserted into the center of each one - yum

Layer of blueberries and cream

Replace your tops and using a large tip pipe big mounds on top

Raspberry sauce on the stove top - make sure you cool it all the way before putting it on your cupcakes

Sorry for the dark photos, it was late and my house is rather dark...

S'more Whoopies

2010-06-21T07:00:00.000-07:00

After seeing a huge display in the grocery store for graham crackers and hershey chocolate - yum, I was in the mood for some s'mores. I guess since it's summer time the thing to do is go camping and eat s'mores. Since I can't go camping I figured I would just skip ahead to the s'more part.

I tried to think of fun ways to jazz up a normal s'more cause that would make for a pretty boring blog post. While scanning one of my favorite stores Paper Source the other day I ran across the "Whoopie Pies" cookbook - an entire cookbook on whoopie pies, why didn't I think of that?!? I was oddly drawn to the page with the s'more whoopie pie recipe... strange, I know :-)

I have made a few whoopie pies in the past, including my yummy lemon oatmeal whoopies which are great, but most of my whoopies have more of a nontraditional cookie texture rather then a cake texture. Since I hadn't tried a cake like recipe I thought it might be good to start here. These are insanely good, but I should warn you that they do take a little time, not quite as easy as baking a batch of cookies. I suggest preparing your chocolate ganache first and setting it aside while you make your whoopies and the marshmallow filling, that way you can be most efficient with your time. Also, they stick together since they are so moist which is good for taste but bad for storage. If you don't eat them all an once ;-) then place a piece of parchment in between each layer when you stack them in your storage container. I promise if you take the time to try this recipe you will not be disappointed! Give me s'more whoopies!

Start with your chocolate ganache - here is the cream right after I poured it over the chocolate chips.

This is the smooth ganache once all the cream and chocolate have melted together, yum!

Flour mixture

Sugar mixture

eggs and buttermilk

finished batter

I used a pastry bag with a extra large tip to make my circles, but use whatever you have handy, and make sure they are at least 2 inches apart so they don't bake into each other.

marshmallow cream mixture

I made sure I was organized so it wouldn't be chaos when I it came time to assemble

Graham Cracker Whoopie

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c graham flour - if you can't find this then use wheat flour
3/4 c all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp. unsalted butter and room temperature
4 tbsp vegetable shortening
1 c packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 c. buttermilk
2 tbsp. milk
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Place rack in the center of the oven and prehead to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
In a medium bowl, stir together both flours, baking powder, and salt.
In a stand mixer (if you have one) fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter, shortening, and brown sugar until light and cream, about 3 min. Add eggs and buttermilk and beat until combined.
In a measuring cup, combine milk, baking soda, and vinegar. Add this mixture slowly to the batter along with the flour mixture and beat on low speed until completely combined.
Using a spoon or put your batter into a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip or even a ziplock with the tip cut off would work, drop about 1 tablespoon of batter onto your baking sheet, repeat spacing them at least 2 inches apart.
Bake for about 10 min until the cakes begin to brown.
Remove from the oven and let the cakes cool on the sheet for 3-5 min before transferring them to a rack to cool completely. Otherwise they are likely to break if you try and move them when they are too warm.
Spread with marshmallow cream and chocolate ganache, but if you are in a hurry a dollop of marshmallow fluff and a square of chocolate would work fine also.

Makes about 40 two-inch cakes, about 20 assembled whoopie pies.

For the Marshmallow Cream!!

1 1/2 c marshmallow fluff, this is about 1 full normal sized jar
1 1/4 c vegetable shortening
1 c confectioner's sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla extract

In the work bowl of a stand mixer fitter with the paddle beat together marshmallow fluff and shortening, starting on low and increasing to medium speed until the mixture is smooth and fluffy, about 3 min.
Reduce mixer speed to low, add confectioner's sugar and vanilla, and beat until incorporated. Increase mixture speed to medium and beat until fluffy.

Chocolate Ganache - this is the easiest chocolate ganache ever!

11 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Place your chocolate in a large, heat proof bowl.
Heat the cream in a saucepan over medium heat just until in bubbles.
Pour the heated cream over the chocolate in the bowl and let it sit for about 10 minutes, until the chocolate is melted. Stir with a whisk until smooth.
Allow the mixture to rest until firm enough to spread, about 2 hours. Or you can refrigerate it for about 30 min until it is firm enough to spread, shirting every 10 min.

Coco Balsamic Truffles With a Wink of Cherry

2010-06-13T19:46:00.000-07:00

Friday night a few friends of mine were gathering to celebrate my good friend Tracy's birthday. Tracy had asked me to make something which I was happy to do since any excuse for me to bake is a good one. She picked the restaurant Trece in Dallas, so I thought the obvious dessert would be truffles - Truffles for Tracy's birthday at Trece, hah. Since we were going to a restaurant it can be tricky when someone brings dessert from outside, most places aren't so welcome to the idea and it can be a little awkward. I thought truffles were a good option since they are small and can be easily passed around the table in a box, also it is more polite to the restaurant since you aren't leaving a big mess for them to clean up and you don't need to ask for any extra plates or silverware. I made the White Chocolate Lemon Truffles along with a new recipe for Coco Balsamic Truffles with a Wink of Cherry, this way I had a dark chocolate truffle and a white chocolate truffle. They were a big hit, and everyone loved the packaging. I hope you guys like it. The original recipe was one I found from Design Sponge by Kristine Sitko, however I did adapt it a bit... I am sure her recipe as she has it is amazing as well.

Ingredients:

1 13oz bag of dark chocolate chips (the best you can find)
1/4 cup of heavy cream
1/3 cup of Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 cup of sifted powdered sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons of dried cherries
1/2 cup cocoa powder for dusting

Directions:

Put the balsamic and cherries into a small pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 min. Remove cherries and set balsamic aside to cool.
Melt chocolate and cream in a double boiler or a heat proof glass bowl over a pot filled with water, making sure the water is hot, not boiling. Place melted chocolate in a small bowl and add the cooled balsamic (you should have about 2 1/2 tablespoons of this to add, you can add a little more depending on your preference) add in the sifted powdered sugar - mix well. Cool in the fridge for about 1 hour. let sit at room temperature for 1 hour, until firm but moldable.
Roll mixture into one inch balls and place on a parchment lined tray. Pour cocoa powder into a shallow dish and rolls balls to cover. Server immediately or store in an airtight container up to one week.

Balsamic and cherries simmering in a small pot together

Adding the powdered sugar

all done, ready for the fridge

I got a round box and a square box from Michaels Craft store along with mini treat liners to hold each truffle individually... easy and affordable.

I wrote the flavors of the two different types of truffles on normal paper tags and attached them using my wax "K" stamp that I have had for years.

I had a big stack of cake liners which worked perfectly to separate the layers of truffles. I was able to do 2 layers but depending on the size of your box you might be able to fit 3. If you don't have cake liners, just cut some parchment paper and place a sheet in between each layers so they don't collapse on each other.

I used normal hemp that you can find anywhere for the wrapping, that way it stayed rustic and chic without a whole bunch of fuss. Or you can separate the flavors into brown paper bags that I also found at the craft store and sealed them with colored masking tape, very cute.

Large Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-06-05T17:12:00.000-07:00

Butter and sugars before they are mixed

Dough before the chips are added (my favorite part!)

Who doesn't like chocolate chip cookie dough?

For my entire life the only chocolate chip cookie I have ever made have been from my family recipe that has been handed down. I love chocolate chip cookies probably more than any other dessert so I wanted to make some, only I'm not quite ready to release my family recipe on the internet. The chocolate chip cookies I normally make are light and fluffy, I thought I should try making something different - I chose a recipe that made more of a large crispy on the outside gooey on the inside cookie. Not to mention these are giant sized cookies so 1 is all you will need to ease that sweet tooth. They were really easy to make as most cookies are, and a huge hit.

INGREDIENTS:

2 Sticks of cold and cubed unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 3/4 cup of all purpose flour

1 tsp table or fine sea salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

3 cups of good quality semisweet chocolate chips or chunks

you can add 1 cup of walnuts if you want

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375

1. If you have a stand mixer use the paddle attachment. Cream together butter and sugars until well blended and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mix in vanilla and beat until well incorporated.

2. In another bowl mix your dry ingredients together- flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder. Slowly add this mixture into the batter until just combined. Gently fold in the chocolate chips.

3. If you like you can weigh out the dough into 4 ounce balls, I don't have a scale so I didn't weigh mine so don't stress if you don't. Just make sure you make your cookies large, to give you an idea only 4 balls would fit on a cookie sheet at a time making sure to allow plenty of room for them to spread out when they bake. Place them on a sheep pan lined with parchment and bake for 15 min depending on how gooey and rawish you like the interior, they should be lightly browned on the edges. Make sure you don't overbake or they will be very chewy. Keep in mind that when cookies cool they harden a good bit.

5. Let cool on a rack and store in an airtight container so they don't turn to bricks.

These are best eaten right out of the oven or the day they are made. To freshen them after a fews days give them a quick turn in the microwave for 5-10 seconds. You can always make them smaller if you like, I am sure they would be just as good.

Watermelon Cookies

2010-06-01T08:40:00.001-07:00

Dough ready to be made into watermelons

Ready for the oven

my decorating station

In honor of Memorial Day weekend I wanted to make something that reminded me of summer. These cookies are from my childhood, my mom used to make these for my birthday which is also in the summer so they hold happy memories for me. The recipe is from the June 1988 edition of Better Homes and Garden... yes 1988. Good news is that they still have it posted on their website, even though I prefer to use my old photocopied version from my moms magazine tear out :-)

They don't have any watermelon in them, they are meant only to look like watermelon slices. Kids love these, and so do adults since they aren't overly sweet. They are somewhere between a sugar cookie and a shortbread cookie in disguise. Great to bring to a summer party or for a kids birthday party... Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup butter (no substitutes)

1/3 cup of shortening

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

1 tablespoon orange juice or milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups of all purpose flour

red food coloring

1 egg white

1 tablespoon of water

Green coarse sugar

Miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside. Beat butter and shortening in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar - beat till fluffy. Beat in egg, orange juice or milk, and vanilla until combined. Add in your food coloring (takes about 8 drops to get the red) Slowly mix in the flour mixture till combined. Divide dough in half. Cover and chill dough for 3 hours or until easy to handle.

2. Stir together egg white and water. Roll each half of dough on a floured surface until 1/4 inch thick. Cut with a floured 3-inch round cookie cutter. Cut cookies in half. place on an ungreased cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Press a few chocolate pieces into each.Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 5 to 7 minutes or until bottoms begin to brown; do not allow to brown on top.

3. Transfer to wire racks and cool. In a small shallow bowl stir together egg white and water; brush the edge of each cookie. Sprinkle sugar on edges. dry on your wrack then transfer to your dish. Makes about 30 cookies.