Rainbow Cake in a Jar | The Family Kitchen I’ve always had a penchant for sunshine in a jar. Doesn’t the very phrase itself, “sunshine in a jar,” roll off your tongue and fill your mouth with magic? While I’ve never yet found myself a sunshine in a jar, I think we may have just concocted it in our kitchen tonight. In this simple recipe, a basic white cake is turned into a slew of bright colors, baked to perfection, then topped with a creamy white frosting. Cakes baked in jars can be topped with traditional metal canning lids and stored in the fridge for up to five days. Rainbow Cake in Jar 1 box white cake mix made according to package instructionsNeon food coloring in pink, yellow, green, turquoise, and purple3 one-pint canning jars1 can vanilla frostingRainbow sprinkles Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Scoop about 1/2 cups of cake batter into five small bowls. Spoon about 3 tablespoons of the purple batter into the bottom of each jar. For even more great desserts in a jar, check out our slideshow “Contain Yourself!
Banana Split Bites Banana Split Bites ~ A classic ice cream dessert gets mini for some bite size fun. And yes, there is actually a tiny scoop of ice cream tucked inside and underneath the whip cream of those little darlings. Banana Split Mini Bites For once I made something mini for portion control and not just for the cute factor. My little guy had some friends over the other day and of course with a mom who is a baker, the expectation is dessert will not only be good but it will be fun. And I was asked, by friend Caroline, not to let her boys eat too much dessert. Keeping all things in mind what I served is what you see here. Here’s what wasn’t a hit and what I learned. Impromptu play dates with four kid’s ages 3-5 year olds after a full work day –not a good idea.Know in advance what other kids will and won’t eat. Luckily, dessert made all things right. No recipe just a few notes: Use firm bananas and cut into 1 inch sections. Leave a Comment
Chocolate Mousse This is a serious dessert mousse, friends. A chocolate experience so rich, velvety and decadent, a few tablespoons is really all that any one person needs. I usually chuckle when I watch Mrs. Pastry eat chocolate bars, because she nibbles them like a mouse, savoring every tiny morsel. However even I — a man known to wolf chocolate bars down by the handful — eat this only incrementally, off the tip of a spoon. With a little pâte à bombe on hand, chocolate mousse is a ridiculously easy thing to make. 4 ounces pâte à bombe 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate 8 ounces (1 cup) heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks Begin by whipping the cream just about to the soft peak stage (or less), you want it a little loose and runny. Stir it until it’s uniform… The mixture will firm up here and look a little rough. No matter, I just add in about a third of the whipped cream… …and whisk it in until it’s all smooth: I then do the same with the remaining cream… …and that’s pretty much it!
Frozen Butterbeer for the Deathly Hallows Premiere – Cook Like a Champion There’s something you might not know about me. I’m a huge fan of the Harry Potter books and movies. I wasn’t always, but once I watched one movie, I was hooked. I was devastated when I found out Eric and I were moving away from Orlando before Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened at Universal’s Islands of Adventure. Luckily, we were able to fly back over the summer and use our season passes one last time. Butterbeer, for those who don’t know, is a favorite drink of young witches and wizards. Looking for more Harry Potter recipes to celebrate the premiere of Deathly Hallows this week? Frozen Butterbeer for the Deathly Hallows Premiere Ingredients For the butterbeer: 1½ cups cream soda 6 tablespoons butterscotch schnapps 2 cups ice For the foamy topping: 6 tablespoons heavy cream 1 tablespoon butterscotch schnapps Directions Combine cream soda, schnapps and ice in a blender. In a small bowl, combine heavy cream and schnapps. Source Cook Like a Champion original
The Brownie That Will Change Your Life Let me start off by saying that viewer discretion is advised for today’s post. OK now with the story that preludes possibly the greatest brownie I have ever sunk my teeth in thus far in my life. Last Saturday Mrs. Zesty had a baby shower to attend and she was designated for a dessert/sweet treat for the girls. I knew time was tight and I didn’t want to spend all night Friday night to prep a dessert. This recipe, I cannot take any credit for and nor will I try as it is compliments of Nestle Toll House and as you can see from the reviews…. Ingredients 1 pkg. (18.25 oz.) chocolate cake mix1 cup chopped nuts ( Optional )1 cup Evaporated Milk1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted35 (10-oz. pkg.) caramels, unwrapped2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) Method Preheat oven to 350° F.Combine cake mix and nuts in large bowl. Bake for 15 minutes.Heat caramels and remaining evaporated milk in small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until caramels are melted. Thanks zesty
Brownie Covered Oreos Can it really be December 6th? I LOVE this time of year, but wish it would SLOW down just a little! Mama’s got lots of shopping to do still To help the you in the kitchen this Holiday Season I have whipped up an ULTRA simple cookie that is not only the cutest little thing I’ve seen but is absolutely delicious! I mean come on, can’t you just imagine how good oreos wrapped in fudgy brownies are? Well lucky for you this recipe only involves a couple ingredients and is done in record time! These will be so cute on any Christmas plate or cookie exchange, have fun and enjoy!! Can you even stand how cute these are? Here’s your line up. ….and if you can’t find the icing writer by Wilton, feel free to melt white chocolate to drizzle on top. Whip up your brownie mix…. Time to dip! Place your dipped Oreos in muffin tins that have been sprayed with cooking spray. Drizzle with icing, sprinkle and you get these little cuties! Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Makes entire package of Oreos
Peanut Butter Cookies with Peanut Butter Cups Posted on December 22, 2010 by Christina If you love Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, you must try these peanut butter cookies with peanut butter cups! I made these cookies for the first time back in May for my parents’ anniversary. They were a big hit! These cookies are soft and melt in your mouth delicious and a MAJOR fix for people like me who think chocolate and peanut butter are a match made in cookie heaven. They are perfect for the holidays – or as DIY wedding favors. Recipe and Tutorial for Peanut Butter Cookies with Peanut Butter Cups Ingredients 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 cup butter, softened 1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup peanut butter 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1 egg, beaten 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 tablespoons milk 40 miniature chocolate covered peanut butter cups, unwrapped Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Place your peanut butter cups in the freezer. Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda; set aside. Yum!
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.
Molten Lava Chocolate Chip Cookie Need I say more? Just yum! Go make a couple of these! Made a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough. Then I did this: Baked these two guys for 15 minutes, next time I'll only do about 12 minutes. Plenty of chocolaty deliciousness hidden inside. But that's just not quite enough, so I did this: And that, my friends, is what I call Molten Lava Chocolate Chip Cookie heaven! Any cookie dough will work, but here's the recipe I used: The Ultimate Chewy and Soft Chocolate Chunk Cookies INGREDIENTS 1 cup unsalted butter at room temp 1 cup tightly packed light brown sugar 1/2 cup granulated sugar 2 large eggs 1 1/2 tsps. pure vanilla extract 3 cups plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour 1 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 16 oz. flavorful bitter or semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used a 1 oz square of bitter sweet chocolate, a 4 oz bar of bitter sweet chocolate and about 10 oz of semi sweet chocolate chips) INSTRUCTIONS 1. Okay, I'm done!
Warm Toasted Marshmallow S'more Bars Summer Recipe: No-Bake Strawberry Icebox Cake | Apartment Therapy The Kitchn See this? This is such an easy dessert. It looks a little fancy, doesn't it? I am a huge fan of icebox cakes (I even wrote a book about them!). Icebox cakes do usually call for some store-bought ingredients, but I like to tweak classic recipes to avoid boxed puddings and use simpler whipped cream or homemade custard. We recently gave you a basic formula for making a no-bake cake out of graham crackers, whipped cream, and any fruit. → Read More: How To Make a No-Bake Icebox Cake This particular icebox cake is just as simple as it gets, inspired by the buckets of strawberries at the markets in late spring, and by my favorite dessert: strawberry shortcake. The whole cake is drizzled with a quick, simple chocolate ganache, and garnished with whole strawberries. If you like icebox cakes, I'd love to share my book with you. → Buy Faith's Book! Serves 8 to 12 Take out a few of the best-looking strawberries and set them aside for the garnish. Recipe Notes
Cake Batter Pancakes I’m fairly convinced that the world would be a better place if more sprinkles were involved. I know. I just made pancakes. It seems I have an unnatural obsession with cake batter. Well I do. When I develop recipes, I try to make all of them for a purpose. Case in point: it isn’t anyone’s birthday. But I don’t need an excuse to eat cake and sprinkles. And because pancakes always need some sort of topping, I went with a sprinkled glaze. Because nothing goes better with cake than more sugar! These are just plain fun. Sure, they would be best for a special occasion like a birthday, but they also work on a random Saturday in January when it’s -2 degrees outside and all you want to see is some sunshine. That wasn’t me. And yes, this means you will have an open box of cake mix, just like you did with the cake batter bark. Cake Batter Pancakes makes about 12 pancakes 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour 2/3 cup yellow cake mix 1 tablespoon sugar 3/4 teaspoon baking powder pinch of salt 2 eggs assorted sprinkles
No-Bake Chewy Cookies and Cream Bars Oh how I love a treat that can be whipped up in about 15 minutes. My boys and their buddies couldn’t get enough of these Chewy Oreo Bars we had as an after school snack this week. Sometimes my spontaneous recipe creations turn out to be the most fun, lol! Yes you use an entire package of Oreo Cookies, but what you get in return is a marshmallow-y Oreo treat that is worth every bite Surprise the kids (and yourself) with this one, they’ll be all smiles, Enjoy! 3 whole ingredients. Break out your Cookies! Place them all in the food processor or blender and mix until ground. Like so. Melt the butter and marshmallows into a large bowl until puffed. You’ll get a little something like this Working quickly, pour in your ground cookies. Mix, mix and mix You’ll get a gooey mess….that’s delish! Transfer to an 8×8 inch baking pan and let set for about 10 minutes. Cut into squares and indulge No-Bake Chewy Cookies and Cream Bars One 16 oz package of Oreo 5 cups Large Marshmallows 4 tablespoons butter 1.
How to Make Marshmallow Fondant This time I decided to make it with those mini fruit flavored marshmallows. I had to sort them by colour first. I figured they would add a little bit of flavor to the fondant so I wouldn't have to add much flavoring oil. I use gel colours to dye my fondant but regular food colouring will work too. You won't be able to get really dark colours without making your fondant sticky, but for lighter colours you can just even it out with more icing sugar. I also had lemon oil and coconut flavoring on hand.. oh la la the value brand (which still works fine). Step One: Take a couple of handfuls of marshmallows and put them in a microwave safe bowl. I like to make smaller batches because its easier to add the colour to the melted marshmallow than it is to work the colour into the fondant later. Step Two: Stick the marshmallows in the microwave for ten seconds at a time until the are puffed up and easily stir into a goo with a wooden spoon. Step Three: Step Four: Fondant with the icing sugar kneaded in.