Bake on!

I saw this on Pinterest and just had to share on my blog here. It so describes me! Whatever happens, whether I am healthy or sick, happy or sad, I bake on! :)))

Dark Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

 

My, oh my! This frosting totally blew me away! Let's say, despite the "warnings" about its deliciousness on the site I discovered it, I was just not prepared for this. No, I wasn't.

It was creamy, it was luscious, it was velvety, it was rich, it was light, it was DIVINE! An what a great combo with the dark chocolate cupcakes I piped it on! Wow!

For the love of all things chocolate, do give this frosting a try! It will not disappoint you!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3-4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1-2 tsp vanilla
1-3 tbsp milk or half-n-half or cream :)

Directions: 
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.
Frost your cake or cupcakes. (I actually filled mine with it too, for a a little extra awesomeness. :)) Enjoy! :) 

Recipe courtesy goes to: http://theshakybaker.com

Lemon Sugar Cookies

I love this sugar cookie recipe because it does not require butter at room temperature- that is, no pre-planning involved. As long as you have butter in the fridge, you can whip these up in no time- just cut the cold butter in chunks and cream with the sugar! Voila! You've got yourself some pretty good sugar cookies with minimal wait time! What is also great about this recipe is that because of the cold butter, the dough is very easy to roll and cut out and the cookies hold their shape really well with baking. What more can you ask for when sugar cookies are concerned? Well, taste of course- that's why I decided to boost the flavor with some fresh lemon juice and lemon zest and I think this really sealed the deal. The frosting, of course, had to be pink... :)) Just look at these babies:

Of course, since I made them for Teacher Appreciation Week, I had to incorporate a "Thank-you" somewhere. :) Piping it on almost 4 dozen cookies was definitely a labor of love, but my kids' teachers deserve it. :)

Lemon Sugar Cookies:

3 c unbleached, all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter, cold & cut into chunks
1 egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tsps freshly squeezed lemon juice
lemon zest of one lemon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt, set aside. Cream the sugar and butter. Add the egg, vanilla extract, lemon juice and mix. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat just until combined, scraping down the bowl, especially the bottom.

The dough will be crumbly, so knead it together with your hands as you scoop it out of the bowl for rolling.

Roll on a floured surface to about 1/4" to 3/8" thick, and cut into shapes. Place on parchment lined baking sheets. (You may want to freeze the cut out cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before baking- they will hold their shape better). Bake for 10 minutes. Let sit a few minutes on the sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack. Ice with your favorite icing. Since I am not too crazy about the taste of royal icing, I used the following recipe to which I added some lemon juice to carry out the lemon theme, but only vanilla extract would be fine too.

And here are my cookies, packaged for the teachers, along with spring flowers and some thank-you balloons too. :) 

Lemon Frosting:

• 2-2 ½ cups powdered sugar
• ½ cup oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsps fresh lemon juice
• 3-4 Tbsp milk
• Coloring if desired

Directions:

Mix all ingredients well and add a little more milk or powdered sugar to get the right consistency for spreading and/or piping.

Recipe for cookies adapted from: bakeat350
Recipe for frosting adapted from: melskitchencafe

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

I have had the recipe for this delicious dessert for more than ten years now. I have made it dozens and dozens of times over these years and never- for some reason- posted it on my blog. Until now, that is. :) Last Sunday we celebrated Orthodox Easter with friends of ours who are Orthodox Christians. This was the dessert I decided to make for this occasion. It is super easy to put together, yet every time I have made it for parties, I have had excellent reviews. This time was no exception: there was only one piece left out of the whole pan- hence, the corner piece is what I had to take a picture of for here. :))

Another great thing about this "salad" dessert is that it is extremely versatile. You can make it with pretty much any kind of fruit, as long as you can find a gelatin to match its flavor. I have made it with raspberries and it is outstanding. I am pretty sure blueberries, cherries, peaches/apricots will be awesome too. It is not overly sweet and the combination of the slightly salty pretzel crust, the tangy cheesecake middle layer and the fruity top layer is  a winner. It could be a little tricky to serve and keep it in neat looking slices- as you can see from the picture below, but nobody complains once they have a bite. :)

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

2 cups crushed pretzels
3/4 cup butter, melted
3 tablespoons sugar
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 (8 ounce) carton frozen whipped topping, thawed
2 (3 ounce) packages strawberry gelatin, such as Jell-O

2 cups boiling water
2 (10 ounce) packages frozen strawberries or 1 lb fresh strawberries, sliced

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.
 

Stir together crushed pretzels, melted butter and 3 tablespoons sugar; mix well and press mixture into bottom of 9x13-inch baking dish. Bake 8-10 minutes, until set; set aside to cool. 

 

In a large mixing bowl cream together cream cheese and sugar. Fold in whipped topping. Spread mixture onto cooled crust, making sure to create a "seal" all the way to the sides of the pan as you don't want the gelatin layer to seep in to the pretzel crust and make it soggy.
 

Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Stir in frozen strawberries and allow to set briefly. When mixture is about the consistency of egg whites, pour carefully and spread over cream cheese layer.

Refrigerate until set, at least a few hours or overnight. Enjoy!

Special thanks for this outstanding recipe to my sister-in-law, Kathryn- all the way from Texas! :)

The Ultimate Banana Muffins

So, here I was the other day- on my day off!, feeling nearly on my death bed with yet another sinus/throat/ear infection within two weeks when despite my inability to stand on my feet, I somehow managed the strength to get up and bake muffins... Yeah, I know, I am crazy, but there was so much lying around I could do in one day and I had simply reached my limit. Plus, I just couldn't sit still, knowing that there was a whole bunch of perfectly ripe bananas waiting- just pleading- to be baked into delicious muffins.I  just had to save those babies! And what a save that was! Glorious transformation, if you will. Another save from my favorite blogging mom of five, Mel over at Mel's kitchen cafe. I adapted a recipe for sour cream banana bread I found on her blog that produced the moistest, most delicious banana muffins I have ever baked in my life. Ever. I was smitten. I baked one batch- adding flax seed, walnuts and cinnamon to her recipe. The muffins were pretty much gone within an hour. And no, I wasn't the only one eating them (although I have to admit I did have 3-4 of the minis myself,  averting eyes bashfully... :)) So, as I had more babies, uhm, bananas to save, I decided to quickly whip up another batch- they are so easy! At this point any memory of ear/nose/throat infections is completely gone, all I can think of is my glorious banana muffins and reveling in the success of my latest baking adventure. The healing power of baking! Second batch was part plain, part with mini chocolate chips (I used bittersweet Ghirardeli chocolate). I had no more sour cream, so I substituted with plain yogurt- major hit! I couldn't tell the difference between the two batches- both in taste and texture. My family and co-workers were all in raptures over these muffins. I am super-mom in my kids' eyes now. :) Boy, am I looking forward to more ripe bananas!

Ultimate Banana Muffins

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 ripe bananas)
• 1/2 cup sour cream, or plain yogurt, or Green yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 
• 1 tbsp flaxseed meal (optional)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional but highly recommended :)
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pans with 16 paper liners or simply spray with Pam. Ultimately, if making banana bread, grease and flour bottom only of a loaf pan.
   
2. In a large bowl, beat together sugar and oil. Add eggs, bananas, sour cream and vanilla; blend well. Add flour, flaxseed meal, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in nuts and/or chocolate chips. Pour into prepared pan(s).
   
   
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 22 minutes (or 50-60 minutes for a loaf pan) or until toothpick inserted in center comes clean. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pan. Cool completely.
   
   Makes about 16 regular size muffins; or 42 mini muffins; or 12 regular muffins and 12 minis; or 1 loaf. For mini muffins, adjust baking time to 14 minutes.
   
   Recipe adapted from: http://www.melskitchencafe.com

Sugar Gems

I am thrilled to present to you this great gem of a recipe from one of my new favorite food blogs: Mel's kitchen cafe. I love this lady (although my thighs should probably hate her... LOL)! There are so many terrific recipes on her website that I have been drooling over, I am literally dreaming of them at night- no kidding!

So, after much deliberation on what to bake last week (oh, the choices!), I narrowed it down to this sugar cookie recipe- it sounded so intriguing! Sure enough, these cookies were incredibly easy to make, yet unbelievably yummy! I love sugar cookies but am not always in the mood for rolling dough and cutting out shapes. These sugar cookies are exactly what they are called- gems! Delicious with minimal effort- just roll into little balls and flatten with a glass! They are terrific to eat just like that, with no icing on them (and I did just that, as soon as the first batch was out of the oven- mmm, melt in your mouth good!!).

They did come with their own recipe for icing though and I have to admit I was a little skeptical about it, as it was with oil, not butter and I had never heard of such an icing before in my life. However, it was actually a very pleasant surprise. The only thing I would change next time I make the icing is to add some food coloring to it, as the natural color is not pure white (I think the oil and the vanilla extract contributed to the off-white tint and made it look more like maple icing). The sprinkles more than made up for it though. :) Everybody who tried the cookies, loved them (except for my husband but that’s not saying much as he just doesn’t care for sugar cookies at all- I don’t know what’s wrong with him but I have decided to keep him anyway!:). My son, on the other hand, ate 8 of them at one sitting- not with my permission either! :) My little Lizzie, the sharing an caring soul that she is, saw me decorating them and pleaded with me to take some to her preschool class on the following day. So, her classmates and teachers got to sample these sugar gems too. And from what I heard, they were all quite happy.:) I was asked for the recipe too.

 

Sugar Gems

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup vegetable or canola oil
• 1 cup butter, at room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 5 cups flour
• 1 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda

Directions: 

Cream together powdered sugar, granulated sugar, oil, and butter. Add eggs and vanilla extract, beating until well incorporated. Add the flour, cream of tartar, salt and baking soda. Mix well. Roll into golf size balls and place on cookie sheets. Flatten with bottom of glass dipped in sugar. Bake at 350F for 12-14 minutes. Cool, frost with sugar gem frosting and decorate with sprinkles of your choice.

Note: The recipe yielded about 80 cookies, so if you do not need that many, you may want to consider halving it. In my family, the huge yield was not a problem- they were literally gone in two days, even with no help from Daddy! :)))

Sugar Gem Frosting:

• 2-2 ½ cups powdered sugar
• ½ cup vegetable or canola oil
• 2 tsp flavoring (almond, vanilla, coconut, etc.)
• 3-4 Tbsp milk
• Food coloring (if desired- I personally recommend it)
  
  Directions:
  Mix all ingredients well and add a little more milk or powdered sugar to get the desired consistency.

Recipe courtesy: melskitchencafe.com

Double Dark Chocolate Mocha Cake

Last week, I was asked to make a cake for a farewell sort-of party. The retiring person was a big fan of any and all kinds of cake, so I was given the freedom to choose whatever I wanted to make. I was thrilled! :) I decided to bake a dark chocolate mocha cake (which is one of my personal favorite cakes) but for the filling and the frosting I wanted to try something new and different. So, I chose a chocolate cream cheese frosting for the filling and the base layer of frosting and a mocha frosting for the basket weave and the decorations on top. It worked out pretty successfully with the two shades of brown in the two frostings and the flavor combination was to die for! The lady who took it to the party said that there wasn't a single crumb left and that the cake was "amazing". That's what I like to hear! :) So, I am sharing the recipe with you, as it received such rave reviews.

Dark Chocolate Mocha Cake

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2 tsps baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 cup buttermilk, shaken
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup hot coffee
  
  Directions:
  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare two 8-inch round cake pans – Line with parchment, then butter and flour the pans (or use “PAM for Baking”).
  
  1. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined.
  2. In another bowl or large measuring cup, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Gently whisk.
  3. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer on the lowest setting, add the coffee and stir just to combine – scrape up from the bottom to make sure all the flour is incorporated. Batter will be very thin and runny- don't worry!
  4. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack to complete cooling.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting/Filling

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 Tbsp chocolate syrup
• 1-2 Tbsp milk
  
  Directions:
  Beat butter and cream cheese for 3-5 minutes, until fluffy. Bean in powdered sugar, cocoa powder, chocolate syrup and 1 Tbsp milk. Beat for an additional 3-5 minutes, adding more milk to get desired consistency.
  I used this frosting to fill the cake with and to do the crumb coating on the sides and cover the top.

Mocha Frosting

• 1 tbsp instant coffee powder
• 2 tbsp boiling water
• 3-oz unsweetened or dark chocolate (I used Ghirardelli's bittersweet), chopped
• 3/4 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 cups confectioners’ sugar

Directions: 

In a medium sized, microwave-safe bowl, combine instant coffee and boiling water. Stir to completely dissolve coffee. Add chocolate to the bowl and allow the hot water to begin to melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally. If the chocolate does not melt, microwave mixture in 20-30 second intervals until chocolate is melted. Set aside to cool completely.

In a large bowl, beat butter until fluffy and creamy. Beat in vanilla extract and cooled chocolate mixture. Gradually blend in the confectioners’ sugar and beat until frosting is thick and fluffy.

I used this frosting to pipe the basket weave on the sides and to make the roses for the top of the cake.

Recipes adapted from:
Dark Chocolate Mocha Cake: click here.
Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting: click here.
Mocha Frosting: click here.

Key Lime Cupcakes

These cupcakes were inspired by Trisha Yearwood's recipe for Key Lime Cake. I first saw it on Pinterest and was intrigued by it right away since I love all citrus-flavored desserts. After reading the numerous contradicting reviews (many people raving about it and just as many complaining that it's awful), I decided I must give it a try. I did take into account some of the major complaints about this cake though and so, ended up changing it a bit, to avoid any disappointments on my part. I was very happy I did! The original recipe called for 1 1/2 cups of oil in the cake which most people stated was way too much. I cut the amount of oil to only 1 cup and the cake turned out moist but not greasy. Some other complaints were that it didn't have a strong lime flavor. I added more lime juice and more lime zest to both the batter and the frosting and my cupcakes were wonderfully flavorful with a nice punch of lime to them. Everybody who tried them commented that they were "unique" and "lovely". I was extremely pleased with the final outcome. Please, let me know what you think if you decide to give them a try yourself!

Cake:
■1 3-oz package lime-flavored gelatin
■1⅓ cups granulated sugar
■2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
■½ tsp salt
■1 tsp baking powder
■1 tsp baking soda
■5 large eggs, slightly beaten
■1 cup vegetable oil (the original recipe wanted 1 1/2 cups but I cut this to just 1 cup)
■¾ cup orange juice (I used 1/2 cup orange juice)
■3-4 tbsp Key lime juice and the zest of about 2-3 limes
■½ tsp vanilla extract (or lemon extract to give extra citrus flavor)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line muffin pans with cupcake liners- I ended up making 24 regular size cupcakes and 20 mini cupcakes out of this recipe.

In a large mixing bowl, mix the gelatin, sugar, flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir to mix well. Add the eggs, oil, orange juice, lime juice, and vanilla (or lemon extract). Using an ice-cream scoop, scoop batter into muffin pans and bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes for regular size cupcakes and about 14 minutes for minis. Test for doneness by lightly touching the tops of the cupcakes or inserting a toothpick. Cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then take them out onto racks.

Glaze: 
■½ cup Key lime juice (from about 25 small Key limes or 4 large regular limes)
■½ cup confectioners’ sugar

While the cupcakes are still hot, mix the lime juice and confectioners’ sugar and brush it over the tops (I went over each cupcake about 3-4 times). You can pierce the cupcakes with a fork first to allow the glaze to soak in better. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely as you prepare the cream cheese icing.

Cream Cheese Icing:

■½ cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
■1 (8-oz) package cream cheese, room temperature
■1 (1-lb) box confectioners’ sugar
lime zest and lime juice (optional)


Cream the butter and cream cheese. Beat in the confectioners’ sugar until the mixture is smooth and easy to spread. Add lime zest and lime juice (if using). Pipe icing on cupcakes (I added jelly beans on mine as well, since I made them for Easter :)). 

To see the original recipe (which I modified), click here.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone! He is risen!

The kids and I worked on our Easter egg coloring yesterday and we all had lots of fun! The eggs came out so colorful! Here they are, drying out: 

My treasures, posing with the finished "product" :)

Proud with their work:)

Our Easter centerpiece this year (we started cat grass a week ago and it was ready just in time- so exciting- and springy!):

Chocolate Trifle with Homemade Pudding

For my Mom's Birthday party a few weeks ago I also made this chocolate trifle that I forgot to blog about. :) All chocolate lovers raved about it. It was a snap to put together. The only more time-consuming element was the homemade chocolate pudding but it so silky and delicious, it was definitely worth the few extra minutes. I made a batch of brownies and since I was pressed for time- (i.e. made this at 11:30PM) I simply used a box mix. I then layered brownies, chocolate pudding, and Cool Whip, repeating the layers a couple of more times and finishing of with chocolate syrup that I swirled around with a knife for a fancier presentation. It was almost completely gone by the end of the party! :)

 

Chocolate Pudding:
Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup white sugar 
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 
• 1/4 cup cornstarch 
• 1/8 teaspoon salt 
• 2 3/4 cups milk 
• 2 tablespoons butter 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Directions:

1. In a saucepan, stir together sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt. Place over medium heat, and stir in milk. Bring to a boil, and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Remove from heat, and stir in butter and vanilla. Let cool briefly, and serve warm, or chill in refrigerator until serving.

This is a link to the original recipe for the chocolate pudding:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chocolate-cornstarch-pudding/

White Texas Sheet Cake

This was a cake I made a couple of times last week. I had seen it on Pinterest and thought it sounded delicious- anything vanilla sounds great to me! :) Of course, I had to add a little bit of my own to the recipe: I couldn't resist throwing in some lemon zest, as I had fresh lemons and I love the flavor they add to vanilla desserts. It was extremely easy to prepare and it turned out very yummy! I had some excellent reviews!

Ingredients:

Cake:
1 c. butter
1 c. water
2 c. sugar
2 c. + 4 T flour
1/2 t salt
1 t soda
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
zest of 1 lemon (optional)
1/2 c. sour cream

Frosting:
1 C butter
6 T evaporated milk
1 t vanilla
4-5 c. powdered sugar
dash of salt
1 c. pecans, chopped (optional)

Directions:
Put butter and water in a large bowl.  Heat in microwave for 2 minutes.  Stir until all the butter is melted.  Add sugar, flour, salt, and soda.  Stir with a wire whisk until smooth.  Add eggs, vanilla and lemon zest. Beat well.  Stir in sour cream until all is blended. 
Pour into a 11”x17” baking sheet that has been greased and floured. 
Bake at 375º for 20-25 minutes, until cake springs back when lightly touched or toothpick inserted in center comes clean.
Remove from the oven and make the frosting.
Cook butter and milk for 3-4 minutes in microwave.  Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and a dash of salt.  Beat until smooth. Add nuts and gently spread on warm cake.

Cool and serve.

This awesome recipe came from:
http://www.friedalovesbread.com/2011/12/quick-easy-dessert-for-group-white.html

Spring cupcakes

Anna and I worked on some spring cupcakes last night, for my son's spring party at school. We had lots of fun! Anna did quite a lot of decorating. I am so proud of her! She did a great job!

We started with these vanilla cupcakes to which I just added 1/3 cup of sprinkles to the batter:
(for recipe click here)

We then prepared our buttercream frosting in four colors:
(for recipe click here)

And after some piping and fun we transformed these:

into these:

Happy Spring! :)