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The Pastry Affair - Home - Butterbeer Cupcakes

The Pastry Affair - Home - Butterbeer Cupcakes
This is part IV in a mini-series of Harry Potter snacks from the books brought to life (part I is on Honeydukes treats, part II is all about the cauldron cakes, and part III features every wizard's favorite drink—butterbeer!). I confess that Butterbeer Cupcakes aren't actually mentioned in the Harry Potter series. In my defense, if JK Rowling had been given one of these while writing the books, she would have found a way to fit them in. They are so exceptional, I wouldn't be surprised if she featured them as a major plot point. I'm only half joking. Humor aside, the release of the final movie is upon us. Yet, as I keep reminding myself, this isn't really goodbye. My collection of Harry Potter books isn't going anywhere. I don't know about you, but I can always use the comfort of an old friend. These Butterbeer Cupcakes are easily on my list of the top three cupcakes of all time (if you put another one in front of me, I just may declare these the winner). You need to make these.

Red Velvet Cheesecake August 11, 2011 at 6:07 pm Red Velvet cake, a layer of cheesecake, and cream cheese frosting. August makes me think of peach skin against my lips, of yellowing grass, and inevitably of the coming school year. I remember exactly where I was last August – the kitchen. This summer, though, I haven’t spent much time baking. A year ago, I remember standing with my dad in the kitchen. I wasn’t sure what he meant. He shrugged a little and said, “You never know. “Never going to happen.” Now I can’t get it out of my mind. I didn’t spend as much time with my parents this summer as I expected, or as I would have liked. This semester I’m going to Europe, where baking opportunities will be even scarcer than they were in Boston. But I am more than my insecurities. D- is a new friend, but already a good one, and his first visit to Seattle is wrapping up in a few days. This week I rediscovered the process of finding The One. The thrill! I never lost the passion. [Too hot to bake? Assembling the cake.

Sugarcrafter Caramel Apple Pie Cupcakes « The Craving Chronicles It seems like once the weather cools down everyone wants to jump right into pumpkin season. Don’t get me wrong, I love pumpkin as much as anyone else, but to me September is apple season. I was thinking about how often apples get overshadowed by pumpkin a few weeks ago when my husband asked me if I wanted to attend a dinner party with some of his coworkers. It took me a while to decide on an approach for these cupcakes. Ultimately, I decided the best way to pack that punch of apple flavor into a cupcake was to use apple pie filling. I was apprehensive while putting these cupcakes together. In the end, they didn’t. They tasted approximately a million times better than I had imagined. I was hoping for good cupcakes, but these were amazing. Caramel Apple Pie Cupcakes Printable Recipe (Includes all sub-recipes) Makes about 24 cupcakes There are several steps to complete before assembling the cupcakes, but some can be done a day ahead to speed things up. Ingredients Directions Apple Filling

Correcting The World's Wrongs With Campfire Bananas - Home - Burgh Baby "What are you doing?" my husband asked. He was staring at me as if I had eighteen heads, each with 20 piercings and Mike Tyson-esque tattoos. "Making Campfire Bananas," I said. "What are those?" ::blink::blink::blink:: ::blinkblinkblinkblinkblink:: "Are you serious?" "Yeah, what are they?" "You are a victim of child abuse," I told him in a bewildered tone. I turned to Twitter to report this crime against humanity. My memories of Campfire Bananas are wrapped in Girl Scout camp and fires by the lake and all sorts of . . . . hell, who really cares? Anyway, let me share with you how joy can be packaged in a banana peel. Campfire Bananas You'll need some bananas, chocolate chips, marshmallows, and I am a fan of throwing some peanut butter into the mix as well. Peel one strip from the banana and then cut a groove in the banana, kind of like how the Sandwich Artists at Subway used to cut the bread "boat style." Stuff that strip full of good stuff. Put the peel back in place. Wrap it in foil.

Watermelon Lime Sorbet Slices A sweet and tangy watermelon lime sorbet is a great way to cool off in the summer. As a bonus, this recipe is frozen back in the watermelon rind and cut off into slices. It’s hot. The type of heat where when you step outside the door and your skin is wet before the door swings shut behind you. It’s a hot that hangs in the air, letting you breathe it in, that is cured only by two things: being completely immersed in water or hiding indoors, the air conditioning cranked as far as it will go.I find that the heat makes me very unmotivated to do things like take a walk, water and weed the garden (though I have forced that one on myself) and prepare food and eat it. However, when the promise of cooking provides ice cold watermelon sorbet, I just may be convinced. When your simple syrup is cool and watermelon chunked, blend them together in a food processor or blender until smooth. Cool the liquid completely in the refrigerator for a few hours. This then goes into the freezer. Truly, nothing.

espresso chocolate chip shortbread cookie recipe Recipe: espresso chocolate chip shortbread What new views through the lens? I went leaf hunting today and found… tall trees leftover snow on the mountains the big kahuna The rest of the sampler from today’s jaunt is on the photo blog. Right, so the title of today’s post should read “to the dogs(‘ sitters)”. espresso to batter mini chocolate chips Of course, I don’t want any hard feelings to be taken out on my girl. everyone likes some dough roll it out I have made one hundred million billion of these cookies to date. measure the slices slap it on a baking sheet and go I made a double batch of these today. this cookie will solve our energy crisis Espresso Chocolate Chip Shortbread[print recipe]from Smitten Kitchen *Note: I didn’t follow all of the instructions in Deb’s version because I am a lazy bum. Dissolve espresso powder in boiling water.

Homemade Cadbury Creme Eggs Intro Last week I had my first taste of rhubarb and asparagus. For me those two tastes symbolize Spring more than the presence of Tulips or the gentle warmth of sun (still waiting for that). The tangy tart bite of rhubarb combined with a buttery shortbread crust and cool whipped cream. But there is another taste that has become a Spring tradition – as sacred as congealed cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving, that even though it is laden with ingredients I can’t pronounce I eat it. Apparently this is the year of taking our favorite guilty pleasures (remember our Rainbow Chip Cake?) In my version the interior is created using a generous amount of butter, Lyle’s Golden Syrup as a replacement for the corn syrup, vanilla bean, salt, and a couple of subtle drops of Orange Blossom Water which is completely optional but gives this homemade version a soft perfume that intoxicates with every bite. In an effort to counteract the incredibly sweet center I coated my eggs in a bittersweet chocolate.

Spring Battenburg Cake This was my first time making Battenburg cake, and it certainly will not be my last. I'm smitten! I love the bright almond flavor the cake imparts, and I can't help but smile at the colorful two-by-two checked pattern. Traditionally the cuboid cakes are pink and yellow, but I've always thought pink and green conveyed the feeling of spring more perfectly. I had a difficult time finding good step-by-step instructions for this recipe, so I am including my own in this post. I didn't have the two 7" square pans called for in the original recipe, so I had to work around that. I ended up using a 10 x7 stoneware dish with the parchment divider and it worked great. As a final touch, I dressed the cake in white fondant and added pearl dragees. Spring Battenburg Cake [click to print] Serves 6-8 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the pan: Fold a piece of parchment paper in half, then, while folded, trim the edges to fit the length of the pan. Store in an airtight container or wrap in cling film.

Good Ol’ Homemade Brownies — Buns In My Oven This may be a cooking blog, but I find myself sharing some of my deepest, darkest secrets (never having tried oatmeal before, for instance) here. So far you all have accepted me and all the horrible things I’ve kept hidden for years and years. I can only hope that you will continue to stand by my side as I reveal this next bit of private information about myself. I prefer my brownies to be made from a box mix. I’m sorry, okay? Except, well, I’ve recently discovered a brownie recipe so beautiful and delicious and rich and fudgy and chocolatey and oh goodness, I should just go ahead and admit it. Just go ahead and scroll back up there and look at those brownies! This recipe starts out by melting butter and sugar together in a sauce pan, and I know, there are lots of one bowl brownie recipes out there, but these guys are worth the extra dirty dish. You’ll need to prepare yourself for this next part. Alright, so one lick won’t hurt anyone. Look! Print Save Ingredients: Directions: Brookies!

Prince William's Groom's Cake It seems the whole world is obsessed with the impending royal nuptials scheduled for this Friday. Although I will not be watching, I am still interested in the cake! What does royalty serve on such an occasion? While the royal wedding cake recipe is yet under lock and key, the groom's cake has been revealed. I certainly wouldn't have expected this cake. Sure, the groom's cake is usually much less fancy than the wedding cake... but this? I decided to make this on a whim, and I wasn't sure I'd be able to locate the McVities Rich Tea Biscuits called for in the recipe. If you can't find McVities brand, any plain, crispy cookie would work. Enjoy! Chocolate Biscuit Cake 1/2 tsp. softened butter for greasing pan 8 oz. 1/2 stick (4 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened 1/2 cup extra find granulated sugar 4 oz. 8 oz. chocolate for icing Cinnamon for dusting Lightly grease a 6" spring form pan. Melt 4 oz. chocolate in a double boiler. Spoon the chocolate coated biscuits into the cake pan.

Cheesecake Recipes - Easy Cheesecake Recipes at WomansDay.com Whipped, mixed, baked or frozen, at one point or another, most of us have lingered in our love affair with cheesecake. Here, we have 15 suggestions that might pull you back into a dangerous remission, glistening in all their creamy glory. We've got something for everyone, from raspberry-swirled to peanut butter-flavored; from no-bake fruitcake to bite-size bars; from tiramisu to pie. Go ahead—but don't say we didn't warn you. Recipes: Caramel Macchiato Cheesecake Mocha Cheesecake Bars Layered Pumpkin Cheesecake Orange-Chocolate-Swirl Cheesecake Bars Brownie Cheesecake Mini Peanut Butter Cheesecakes Tiramisu Cheesecake Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Almond Cheesecake with Three Sauces No-Bake Berry-Orange Cheesecake Pie Raspberry Cheesecake Bars Cappuccino Cheesecake Cherry Cheesecake Pie Mango, Lime, and Ginger Cheesecake Lemon Cheesecake

Mint Chocolate Chip Cake Chocolate cake and I have had a very interesting romance. I started off with quite an intense dislike of chocolate cake. I KNOW. But try not to judge me too harshly, I had many bad experiences with store-bought dry, dense mudcakes covered in grainy baking chocolate icing. So every year when I asked Regex Man what cake he would like for his birthday and every year he replied me with "Chocolate So this year for Regex Man's birthday I offered to do a chocolate cake even though he said it didn't have to be chocolate this year. I used David Lebovitz's devil's food cake recipe again, my new favourite chocolate cake since making it for my raspberry cupcakes when I launched the new site. Originally I was going to arrange the scoops of icing around the edge of the cake, but I realised I didn't have quite enough icing to do that so I ended up just doing a few of them in the middle. Mint Chocolate Chip Cake Mix together the coffee and milk. Happy Birthday Regex Man!

Monster Brownies If you know me, you know I’m crafty. I even have a separate blog just for my crafts. Halloween does something to me creatively each year. I don’t know what it is about Halloween, but I go on a crafting craze! Lately I am completely obsessed with making monsters. So when the fun folks over at General Mills offered up a challenge to several food bloggers I jumped at the chance! I give you Brownie Monster Treats! Here’s something fun too. So now, on with the show! Monster Brownie Treatsprintable version Boxed brownie mix Betty Crocker Cookie Icing in desired colors Cheerios, Cocoa Puffs, and Trix cereals Mini chocolate chips Pretzel sticks Red and black decorator gel 1/4 cup powdered sugar milk First prepare your brownies and allow them to cool. Make the Eyes It’s important to do this step first to allow adequate time for the glaze to dry. Drop a few Cheerios into the glaze coating the cereal. Place a mini chocolate chip, upside down, in the center of each glazed Cheerio. Then you eat them!

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