Chocolate Cupcakes with Flaming Strawberries Call me easily amused, but these little torch-topped cupcakes delight me. Besides being a cute novelty item for a party, I think they would add a little drama to the end of a romantic meal. I've been looking for something different to serve for Valentine's dessert, and this is definitely different. The strawberries are hollowed out and filled with a bit of liquor, then ignited with a match. For the cake portion, I chose a One Bowl Chocolate Cupcake recipe because 1. it's quick 2. it is easy, and 3. it fits my prerequisite for a light ending on date night. I should say, a light ending provided you don't eat too many. The cakes are just sweet enough, and have a light, fluffy crumb - the perfect vehicle for rich chocolate buttercream. Notes for flaming strawberries:Any alcohol below 80 proof will not ignite well. Shaina made a margarita version of this on Babble Food. Chocolate Cupcakes with Flaming Strawberries Yield: About 20 cupcakes [click to print]Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
chocolate peanut butter cake Alex’s birthday was this past weekend and in case you are new here, let me give you a loose outline of a Standard Dessert Alex Politely Requests: Chocolate. Chocolate with chocolate. Chocolate with caramel. Chocolate with toffee. Chocolate with coffee. What, can you sense a theme or something? This year we added one more to the chocolate cake pile: Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake. Because did I mention the chocolate cake? You might be noticing a recurring theme here this summer, but what can I say? If you like baking cakes, especially celebration cakes, you really want to get this book. But here’s the other best part (you know, if the notion of a boston cream pie cake wasn’t enough to convince you)–a lot of these cake recipes are one-bowl. Peanut butter, previously: Peanut Butter Brownies and Peanut Butter CookiesOne year ago: Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake This cake is INTENSE. Makes an 8-inch triple-layer cake; serves 12 to 16 (the book says, I say a heck of a lot more) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 1. 2. 1.
Popcorn Cupcakes {Cupcake Carnival} Hello Cupcake Lovers!Here is the post I shared over at Attempting CreativeforKimberly’sCupcake Carnival! I love to take a theme and run with it for my little guys birthday parties. For his second year bash we held a Carnival Extraordinaire {here} and of course we had to have a themed cupcake to go along with the festivities; What carnival isn’t complete without some popcorn! These are very simple and easy to put together and they don’t require any special decorating skills, I promise! You want to begin with a cupcake of your choice. To create the ‘popcorn’ you will need {1} mini marshmallows as shown in photo above. {2} Using a knife cut the marshmallow in half. {3} Squish the two cut halves back together at one end. Working in a random pattern, begin placing the prepared marshmallows onto your cupcake. To add a ‘butter’ effect to the popcorn, take a tiny bit of water, add two drops of yellow food coloring and mix well. Yummy Goodness! I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend ~ Happy Friday !
The Pastry Affair - Home - Garlic Parmesan Pull-Apart Bread I once made the driest pancake in the world. I can see you sitting at home, staring at your computer screen, and scoffing at my bold statement. Driest pancake in the world? Yeah, right. Let me share my story with you. A few years back, I made chocolate chip pancakes. Quickly flash to the next morning. Still cold. Confusion. Was the microwave broken? I got angry, as one will when they want food and want it now. When I took it out, the pancake was slightly less cool. It took me a few hours to realize what had happened. It only stands to reason that my pancake was so utterly dry that there wasn't enough water in it to be absorbed by the microwaves. Thus, the world's driest pancake was born. And to think I took a bite... Luckily, this Garlic Parmesan Pull-Apart Bread is definitely not dry. One Year Ago: Chocolate Orange Miniature Cakes Garlic Parmesan Pull-Apart Bread Yields 1 loaf In a large mixing bowl, stir together the yeast and water. Punch down the dough.
Peanut Butter and Jelly Baby Lattice Pies Good Tuesday to you! I had so much fun making these baby pies! For some reason party food seems more fun when it’s miniature right? I don’t know what it is, but I just love it. So, these are totally doable, they look detailed, but seriously are really easy. I snapped photos while I was preparing them to show how easy they are. Peanut Butter and Jelly is one of those combinations that I could do in almost any dessert. Time to create the lattice top… My strips were a little long, but you get the idea. Brush lightly with egg wash Here you have the lovely little PB&J pies. Peanut Butter and Jelly Baby Lattice Pies 1 roll Pillsbury pie dough 1/2 Cup creamy peanut butter 1 Tablespoon sugar 1/2 Cup Smucker’s Strawberry Preserves 1 egg white whisked with 1 teaspoon water for egg wash Sugar Crystals for sprinkling on top if desired 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar 1. 2. 3. 12 mini pies…..let’s see what the judges think… Think we’ve got some happy taste testers! Other recipes you may enjoy...
Key Lime Cupcakes I was flipping through old issues of Bon Appetit when I spied a colorful, playful looking green cupcake topped with a mound of icing. To say it looked delicious was a gross understatement. But would it really taste as good as it looked? Only one way to find out. . . Frankly, I think it’s better. These cupcakes remind me of lime sherbet, which I had a LOT of this summer. Key Lime Cupcakesadapted from Bon Appetit, Sept 2008 Print Recipe 1 ¾ cups cake flour ½ teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt 1 stick (1/2 cup) cool unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar 2 large eggs (room temperature) 2 ½ tablespoons key lime juice 1 tablespoon key lime zest 1 drop green food coloring paste ¾ cup buttermilk (room temperature) Icing: 1 stick cool unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces 8 ounces cream cheese (room temperature), cut into 8 pieces 2 ¼ cups powdered sugar, sifted 1 tablespoon key lime zest Preheat oven to 350*F. Bake 20-25 minutes. Makes 12-14 cupcakes.
My Favorite Cake. Period. I use the word “favorite” too often. But this time I think I mean it. This cake is the cake I make for myself. Of course even as I type this I am thinking of other favorite cakes, which I will eventually get around to sharing— but this is the most important. GREEN CITY MARKET REMINDER: If you’re in Chicago, don’t forget that the Green City Market is still up and running all winter long! Caramel Cake (Gourmet, January 2008) Cake: 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sifted cake flour (not self-rising; sift before measuring)1 teaspoon baking powder3/4 teaspoon baking soda1/2 teaspoon salt1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter, softened1 cup granulated sugar1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract2 large eggs, at room temperature 30 minutes1 cup well-shaken buttermilk Caramel Glaze: 1 cup heavy cream1/2 cup packed light brown sugar1 tablespoon light corn syrup1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract Make cake: Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Upper Midwest Gourmet » Banana Nutella Muffins: Another Delipaste Recipe Now, don’t those look delicious? You agree, you say? Well here is the recipe. Ingredients: 2 cups all purpose flour 3/4 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar (packed) 1/4 cup butter, softened 1 1/2 cups ripe banana, mashed (2-3 bananas) 2 large eggs 1/3 cup plain yogurt 1 tsp vanilla extract 1/3 cup Fabbri Nocciola E Cacao delipaste (Nutella flavor) Directions: Preheat oven at 350 degrees 1) Combine softened butter and granulated and brown sugars in large bowl. 2) Mix in mashed bananas 3) Sift in 1 cup of flour along with salt and baking powder. 4) Now mix in wet ingredients including: eggs, yogurt and vanilla 5) Mix in another cup of flour. 6) Finally, add delipaste. 7) Add mix into greased muffin pan or pan liners. Bake for 18-22 min. or until toothpick comes out clean. Yield: 12 muffins
Devil's Cake Balls If you haven’t heard of cake balls yet, I recommend that you check out Bakerella’s website to see what the fuss is all about. Cake balls are a great little invention; cooked cake batter crumbled and mixed with cream cheese frosting, rolled into balls, then dunked into melted chocolate. Don’t just make these for the health benefits though, they taste pretty darn good too. The recipe says to use any boxed cake mix for the type of flavor you want. For my first attempt I used Devil’s Food Cake mix, and a homemade frosting. You can buy a can of cream cheese frosting instead, but I accidentally bought cream cheese instead of frosting, and had to improvise. Devil’s Cake Balls (makes 45-50) – adapted from Bakerella.com Ingredients: 1 Box Devil’s Cake Mix1 16 oz. can cream cheese frosting*1 16 oz. bag of chocolate chipswax paper * To make homemade frosting: combine 8 oz. cream cheese (softened), 1 stick butter (softened), and 2 cups powdered sugar. Directions: 1. Chill for several hours.
Brownie Peanut Butter Cups For a while now, I’ve been wanting to use muffin pans to make brownies. I found several recipes, but none I could really get excited about. Then, I found this one that features one of my favorite combinations: chocolate and peanut butter. The brownies are prepared in traditional brownie fashion, but scooped into muffin tins like cupcake batter. Instead of the swirled chocolate/peanut butter chips, I used a combination of chocolate chips and peanut butter chips in the batter and also on top. I actually think I like the look of the different chips better than I would the swirled chips. I really love the dollop of peanut butter in the center. We found these to be best served warm. Brownie Peanut Butter Cups Ingredients Instructions Preheat oven to 350°. In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine sugar, butter, and water. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until top is set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out slightly wet. Place peanut butter in a small microwave-safe bowl. Notes
Biggest Loser Curtis Stone's 60 calorie cupcakes: - National Comfort Food There aren't many people, especially with the current cupcake phase going on, who doesn't love the comfort of a good, old fashioned cupcake. Quick to prepare, simple to serve and definitely easy to eat, cupcakes are fantastic for get-togethers, cookouts and simple dinners. They can also be dressed up quite nicely for special occasions. This is Curtis Stone's (of Biggest Loser and The Next Great Restaurant fame) version of a healthy cupcake. Only 60 calories and 1 PointsPlus each. Curtis Stone's 60 Calorie Cupcakes Ingredients: 5 organic egg whites Pinch of salt 3 tablespoons honey 2 teaspoons vanilla extract ¼ cup nonfat Greek yogurt ½ cup whole wheat flour 1 teaspoon baking powder Frosting Ingredients: 1 cup nonfat cream cheese, at room temp 1 cup fresh raspberries Fresh raspberries to garnish Directions: 1. Makes 14 Cupcakes (1 Per Serving) Calories 60; Total Fat 0g; Sat Fat g 0g; Cholesterol 5mg; Sodium 190mg; Total Carb 10g; Dietary Fiber 1g; Sugar 4g; Protein 5g Want to Read More? Twitter
Rainbow Jello Recipe June 22, 2010 When I was young, rainbow Jello would always be one of the offerings on the dessert table. I used to peel the layers of Jello apart and eat them one by one, my favourite being cherry. I have a lot of fond memories of rainbow Jello, but like most things from my childhood, rainbow Jello slowly disappeared without much fanfare. I don’t eat Jello much, but when I do, I prefer eating rainbows. It’s funny because people are still impressed by rainbow Jello! Rainbow Jello Recipe adapted from The Food Librarian5 small packages of Jello (I used cherry, grape, blueberry, lime and lemon) 4 1/2 tablespoons of unflavoured gelatin 1 can sweetened condensed milkMix the cherry Jello with 1/2 tablespoon of gelatin.
Food Librarian Chocolate-Caramel-Banana Upside-Down Cake The upside-down cake is a big favorite of mine. After the Bundt, of course. Chocolate.Caramel.Bananas.Perfect! This is from the cookbook, Cake Keeper Cakes: 100 Simple Recipes for Extraordinary Bundt Cakes, Pound Cakes, Snacking Cakes and Other Good-To-The-Last-Crumb Treats by Lauren Chattman. Some brown sugar and butter is heated to make caramel. After baking, let it sit for 5 minutes and then flip onto your serving tray. I want to try David Lebovitz's Banana-Chocolate Chip Upside Down Cake next! Chocolate-Caramel-Banana Upside-Down CakeClick here for printable recipeAdapted from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman (2009), page 58. Topping:1 stick butter3/4 c light brown sugar3 ripe bananas, cut into 1/4-inch slices(I thought the caramel was a little too much. 1.
Baked Eggs in Bread Bowls This was our breakfast Sunday morning. Aren’t they cute? They were very, very good. It’s the whole egg and the toast combo all together in one nice package. These are so easy to make and wouldn’t they be splendid on a brunch buffet table? The best part, you can easily make two, ten, a hundred, whatever your needs are at the moment. I think there are a lot of variations you could do nicely with this recipe, such as, swap out the Parmesan cheese with grated Gruyere or crumbled blue cheese to give a different taste. I used sourdough but I think this would also be nice with onion or brioche rolls as long as they are sturdy. Any way you put these together, they will be great. Slice off top of each dinner roll and gently remove some bread until there is a hole large enough to accommodate an egg. Arrange rolls on a baking sheet. Top each egg with some herbs and a bit of cream. Place tops on rolls and serve warm. Eat with a knife and fork. Print Recipe Ingredients Directions