Profiteroles with Dark Chocolate Sauce

January 2nd is National Cream Puff Day. So to honor that, I decided to try a recipe I've had marked in a cookbook for quite some time. Profiteroles with Dark Chocolate Sauce adapted from Kitchen Library Desserts.

Cream Puffs have been in the US since 1880 but were actually invented in the 1540's by Catherine de Medici's pastry chef for Henry II.



The one issue I have with the recipe I used was that it did not tell you to cut them or pipe them immediately. It said to let them cool in the oven for 5 minutes so when I took them out they had deflated. BOO. However, deflated or not, these little bad boys are not only phenomenal but addictive. I am officially a Profiteroles fan. These remind me of my favorite Krispy Kreme doughnut: Custard filled, chocolate glazed. It's like little delicate bites of heaven.

Profiteroles (Cream Puffs) with Dark Chocolate Sauce
1/4 cup chopped butter
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup flour
3 eggs, room temp, lightly beaten

White Chocolate Filling
1/4 cup instant vanilla pudding mix
1 tbs sugar
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup white chocolate chips

Dark Chocolate Sauce
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425. Spray a baking sheet liberally with cooking spray. Put butter and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil then remove from heat and add flour. Return to heat and stir to form a smooth ball. Set aside and let cool slightly. Add eggs to flour ball with an electric mixer until dough is smooth and glossy (thick paste like consistency). Using a cookie scoop place balls evenly on cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for 12-14 minutes until golden and puffed. Turn off Oven and skewer a hole in the side/base of each puff and let dry in oven for 5 minutes. (When I took mine out they deflated immediately so I'm not sure how apt that direction is.)


For Filling:
Combine pudding mix and sugar in saucepan. Whisk in milk slowly until smooth. Heat slowly until boiling and thickening (mine thickened but I never quite let it boil, my fault). Remove from heat and add white chocolate. Stire until melted and let cool. Using a piping bag, filling each pastry with custard.

Combine dark chocolate and cream in a saucepan. Stir over low heat until chocolate is melted and drizzle over filled pastry.

Love me Ginger, Love me True

I have never understood the fixation with Gingerbread or any of the gingery assortment of treats at the holidays though the smell is divine. However, I LOVE Ginger snaps. Since becoming pregnant, ginger cookies have become a favorite of mine. It helps with nausea, calms the stomach and has been my savior for a snack (except to my hips-my hips and ginger cookies do not jive). My little boy is probably going to be born with a fixation for all things Ginger and if he has red hair, it won’t surprise me a bit. LOL

I have been a little timid of making anything with Ginger though, but had to give these big soft cookies a try. The dough is beautiful, seriously. This creamy thick dough with the most amazing color. I could seriously paint my walls Ginger Cookie Dough. (Martha Stewart Paint needs to jump on that color). The smell is divine and they were so simple and came out perfect. Possibly one of my new favorite cookie recipes!

Soft Ginger Cookies
Slightly Adapted from AllRecipes.com

2 ¼ cups Self Rising Flour (If using AP add 1 tsp baking soda and ¼ tsp salt)
2 tsp ground ginger
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves
¾ cup butter, softened (1 ½ sticks)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tbs water
¼ cup molasses (spray your measuring cup with Cooking Spray before filling with molasses and they will come right out)
2 tbs white sugar (or holiday colored sanding sugar)

In a medium bowl combine flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves. Set aside.

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg and add water and molasses until creamy. Gradually add the dry ingredients and mix until blended and thick. Using a cookie scoop, scoop out dough and drop into remaining sugar (2 tbs or sanding sugar). Roll into balls coated in the sugar and place 2 inches apart onto greased cookie sheet.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool slightly then finish cooling on wire rack.

May I have S'more Cookies Please?

I have recently come to appreciate the true value of a S’more. These perfect little tasty treats that are so simple in nature and a luscious bit of heaven on a Fall night sitting around a large fire. I have discovered a few new recipes to bring the taste of S’mores indoors in other sweet treats: cookies, blondies, brownies, icecream etc. Since I’m a Holiday Cookie Machine this year, I decided to give these little numbers a try. Note: DO NOT use a Williams Sonoma Stainless Steel Sheet to bake these on. DISASTER. A simple cookie sheet with sides works best. I would also recommend refridgerating the dough before baking and lightly greasing the cookie sheet. The good news is: even the cookie scraps peeled up from the WS sheet were tasty if less than pretty.


S’mores Cookies
1 ½ cups Self-Rising flour (if you use All purpose add 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking soda)
1 cup Graham Cracker crumbs
¼ tsp cinnamon
2 sticks butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups miniature chocolate chips (I used regular which was too much so definitely go for the mini)
1 ½ cups mini marshmallows
2 Hershey bars, chopped (freeze then use a large chef’s nice for clean cuts)

Directions:
In a medium bowl combine flour, graham cracker crumbs and cinnamon and set aside. Cream butter and both sugars with vanilla until creamy. Add eggs on at a time while mixing. Slowly add in the flour mixture, beating until smooth. Stir in the chcocolate chips. (Refridgerate dough for an hour at this point).

Use a cookie scoop to drop onto cookie sheet. Bake for 8 minutes on 375. Add a few pieces of Hershey bar and 3-4 mini marshmallows onto each cookie (slightly pushing them into soft cookies. Return to oven to finish baking another 3-5 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Chocolate Pumpkin Cake

I am not going to re post this recipe as I followed it pretty exactly from Country Living. However it does need improvement. I doubled the orange food coloring and still did not get a true orange color after the chocolate cream cheese was added back in. My chocolate glaze was also too runny. I checked with Ashley who also made this recipe (and turned me on to it) and she had the same issues but we both agreed the cake part was extremely moist and delicious.

Pumpkin Dip

For a Mary Kay Facial Party I threw Friday night, which was very relaxing and a fun giggling time with the girls, one of the new items I tested was Pumpkin Dip. I’m a huge pumpkin fan: pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread and pumpkin spice lattes but there are certain mixtures with pumpkin and cream cheese I don’t do well. It’s the combination of flavor and texture. Among them: pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheesing icing and now, pumpkin dip. Everyone else in the known world loves it though. I’m the weird one. I served this recipe with Gingersnaps and it was tasty, I was just able to stop after two cookies, so maybe my slight aversion is a good thing.

Pumpkin dip

Ingredients:
1 can Pumpkin Puree
1 package cream cheese (8 ounces, room temp, lightly beaten or whipped)
1 ½ cups brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ginger
¼ tsp cloves
Dash vanilla

Directions:
Mix everything, cover and chill. (We actually served it fresh which I liked better than chilled but most recipes call for you to chill pumpkin dip).

Key Lime Cupcakes

National Cupcake Week was last week and I did manage to bake a batch of cupcakes that went over in a big way here at work. This recipe is courtesy of Mrs.Beth and is a refreshing light cupcake with a citrus flavor and to-die-for icing. It’s also great because its one of the few that is not completely from scratch so it can be made in a hurry with minimal effort for last minute school functions and potlucks! Everyone (even the best cooks/bakers) need a recipe like this hanging around!

Key Lime Cupcakes

For the cake:

1 box white cake mix
3 eggs
1/3 cup oil
(B uses the zest of two limes, I left that out)
One small container of Key Lime Juice (gives you about ¾ cup) (then add enough water to this to make 1 cup of liquid) ( B uses-juice of 6 limes plus the water)

Mix and bake as directed.
Cool on a wire rack.

For the icing:

1 8oz package of cream cheese-softened
1 stick butter -softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup finely crushed graham crackers
splash of milk if needed (you will need it)

I mix my cream cheese and butter really well first, then slowly add the
sugar. Add a splash of milk if needed to bring icing to proper consistency. Add graham cracker crumbs last and mix well.

I think you know how to combine the icing and cupcakes. If you need directions, we have bigger problems than my blog can address. ;)

Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffins

One of my Dad's neighbors has HUGE blueberry bushes the size of houses with the most amazing blueberries. She doesn't charge to pick them and people who know her drive from states away to come pick her berries. My father brought me a gallon of blueberries this past weekend. I was in heaven.

Since it was a co-workers birthday yesterday, I decided to try out a new recipe that has been formatting itself in my head for awhile. A cross between my Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins and the Blueberry Muffins I love so much.

I think they need a little tweaking to notch that flavor up a level but they are yummy just the same!

Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffins

Heat oven to 375° F. Lightly coat a 12-cup standard muffin tin with oil and set aside. Mix 8 ounces (one block) cream cheese, 1 egg, and 3 tablespoons sugar in a small bowl and set aside.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries
Splash of vanilla
1 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups 3/4 to the top.

Place two teaspoonfuls of cream cheese filling in the center of each cup. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

I use a cookie scoop to fill muffin cups. So I used two scoops of blueberry batter and one scoop of cream cheese mixture.

Coconut Cream Trifle

For my mom’s birthday (which falls at Father’s Day every year), I had planned on making coconut cream cupcakes. Due to a wedding I forgot we had to go to, I decided it would be a little simpler to make a trifle instead so I didn’t have to wait on cooling to ice etc. This turned out really well. It is SO rich. Mom claims it’s the best thing she’s ever eaten, but she may be a little biased and I’m not sure anyone loves coconut as much as she does.

This took a little longer than I expected just because of the cooling times for the cream. Assembling it is a breeze and would be awesome with some slivered almonds, chocolate chips or fruit like pineapple to give the layers more color and depth!

Ingredients:
1 white cake mix baked per instructions
1 15oz can of Cream of Coconut
½ cup sugar
2 tbs cornstarch
2 cups heavy cream
¾ cup powdered sugar
1 tsp coconut extract
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 bag shredded coconut

Directions:
Bake Cake per instructions and set aside to cool. (I used a bunt pan).

In a 350 degree oven (I did this while the cake was cooking), spread the shredded coconut on a cookie sheet. Bake in oven for 7-10 minutes, stirring every few minutes. Be careful. It burns easily. Set aside to cool.

In a medium sauce pan over medium heat bring coconut cream, sugar and cornstarch to a slow boil. Stir constantly. Reduce heat to medium low and stir until mixture is slightly thick. Pour into a glass bowl and let cool. Stir occasionally to release heat to cool it faster.

In a stand mixer, beat cream until whipped. Once stiff peaks have formed halve the mixture. Place one half with half of the cooled coconut cream mixture, folding together and refrigerate until assembly. Whip the other half for a minute more adding the coconut extract and powdered sugar till blended. You can store this in the refrigerator as well until needed.

To assemble: Stir the condensed milk into the coconut cream mixture (the half that doesn’t have the whipped cream in it). Set out all your layers: Cake (cubed), coconut Cream, Whipped coconut cream, whipped cream, toasted coconut. Start your layers in your trifle bowl with cake. Pour 1/3 of the coconut cream. Sprinkle with toasted coconut. Add 1/3 of the whipped coconut cream, sprinkle with coconut and then 1/3 of the whipped cream. Repeat 2 more times, topping with the remaining toasted coconut. Refrigerate for a few hours before serving for best taste.

Peach and Blueberry Sonker

I promised I would list every version and concoction of the Sonker through the summer. This one is not much different then the previous post but here it is. I am trying to clean out my freezer to make room for fresh preserves. I found a lone package of peaches frozen from last year. The package was small so not enough to do the traditional peach sonker but I mixed it with a pint of blueberries and some vanilla for a flavorful purple pie full of antioxidants and southern goodness. I can not express the simple goodness of this pie. I put this together with hardly any time while waiting for my ingredients to cook for my zucchini casserole. Both items went in the oven together. I turned the oven off when I took the casserole out and let the pie finish baking as the oven cooled down. When we were done with dinner, the pie was ready! How perfect can you get for a summer dessert?

Ingredients:
2 cups sliced peaches
1 pint blueberries
2 sticks of butter
2 cups of sugar
2 cups milk
2 cups Self Rising Flour
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
In a 350 degree oven, melt butter in 9 x 13 casserole dish. When butter is melted, whisk in sugar and flour. Slowly whisk in milk and vanilla. When there are no lumps spread fruit evenly across surface. Bake for 45 minutes.

Blueberry Sonker

Growing up, I always looked forward to peach season. I LOVE peaches. They are probably one of my favorite fruits. There was something else about peach season I loved: Dessert. My momma was never one to bake desserts often. She could bake, don’t get me wrong, but it was for special occasions. She was a busy woman with two unruly girls to raise, gardens, farming, house and yard and a family business to deal with. So baking desserts wasn’t high priority and truth be told, none of us needed it anyway.

Oh the peaches though. We would get a box on the way home from the beach and we would have peach EVERYTHING. Peach ice cream, peaches in milk, peaches on cereal and Peach Cobbler were the highlights of childhood summers (okay, that and watermelon but that’s an entirely different story). My momma made the most delicious peach cobbler that she called Easy Pie. Boy was it easy. It was one of the first things I remember making with her and it can be added to and changed at ease (a little vanilla, a little cinnamon and nutmeg, a mix of berries etc).

Since I’ve grown up, I still make it but have learned a few things. It’s not just peaches that go well with this dish. It’s any soft fruit. I’ve also recently discovered (thanks to my momma) that this pie has a real name. Fruit pies made like this are called Sonkers. Sonkers is a name completely indigenous to the Mt. Airy, North Carolina area and expands out from there. (That’s Mayberry, as in Andy Griffith to ya’ll). They actually have a Sonker Festival every year complete with Pies of all size and fruit, blue grass music etc. that benefits one of the historical homes in the area.

There are several variations of the traditional Sonker and some argument about what the original was! Some use old biscuits and juicy blackberries. Still other’s make a deep dish fruit pie with dumplings. The most well known is the Easy Pie version.

I’m THRILLED and I am TOTALLY going to go this year. October 2nd. Mark your calendars if you are anywhere close to the area or planning a trip to “my neck of the woods.” I will report back on all the various ways of the Sonker and what is my favorite (though I doubt I will find one to rival my Momma’s but that’s pure sentiment…just don’t tell her that!)

Blueberry Sonker

Ingredients:
2 cups Sugar
2 Cups Self-Rising Flour
2 Cups milk
2 sticks of butter
1 pint Fresh Blueberries

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place butter in a 9 x 13 casserole dish. Melt butter in heated oven. Whisk sugar into melted butter (right in the dish). Add Flour. Slowly whisk in milk. Pour fruit evenly over the top.

Bake for about 40 minutes or until bread is golden brown on top. Enjoy!

As I play with different versions of the Sonker I will definitely post them!

Hummingbird Cupcakes

I made the first Hummingbird Cake years ago when it first made an appearance on the Martha Stewart show. I fell in love with the pineapple flowers she did. Everyone loved it, especially my mom. Fast forward to last year when I found out a new friend’s favorite cake was Hummingbird but she paid 9.75 per SLICE at a local bakery. I made her this cake for her birthday. She loves me now. LOL

For Mother’s Day, I decided to do a little portion control since we are all losing weight (well, and I’ve become a cupcake fiend…I don’t eat them, but I LOVE to make them) and make Hummingbird Cupcakes topped with a single Pineapple flower. They came out SO well. I left out the nuts and coconut because of food allergies in some members of the family, but I took a few of the cupcakes and topped them with nuts and coconut. I’m going to write the recipe down WITH the nuts and coconut but its your choice. The batter works fine without them.

Hummingbird Cupcakes
From Martha Stewarts Cake Recipe

Ingredients:
3 cups Self Rising Flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup vegetable oil
2 tsps vanilla extract
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
3 large ripe bananas mashed
1 (8ounces) can crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 cup coconut (shredded)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, sift together dry ingredients: flour and cinnamon. In KA Mixer (or bowl with hand mixer), cream oil, vanilla, and sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Beat for about 3 minutes until mixture is pale yellow and fluffy.

Add in banana, pineapple (and walnuts and coconut if you choose to use them). Stir until combined. Add flour mixture 1/3 at a time until completely incorporated. Pour ( or use an ice-cream scoop like I do) into lined muffin tins. Bake for 25 minutes or until done. Let cool completely. Makes about 24.

Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients:
1 pound (16 ounces) cream cheese
2 tsps vanilla extract
1 cup softened/room temp butter (2 sticks)
2 pounds confectioners’ sugar

Directions:
In KA MIXER, beat the vanilla and cream cheese about 2 minutes. Gradually add in the butter and cream together until fully incorporated. On low speed, slowly add in sugar until a whipped consistency.

Dried Pineapple Flowers

1 – 2 large pineapples (depending on how many flowers you want. One large did one flower on about 18 cupcakes)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Peel pineapples. Using a small melon baller (I actually find using a small pairing knife works well too for the tougher eyes) remove and discard “eyes”. Slice pineapple VERY thinly. Place rounds on baking sheets. Cook until the tops look dried about 30 minutes. Flip slices and cook an additional 30 minutes until completely dried and ruffled. Cool on wire rack.

TIP: Do the Pineapple First. Even the evening before and store in the refrigerator.

Homemade Vanilla Pudding

I love pudding. I love doing everything homemade. Even though boxes are often easy and quick and are convenient, I want to know exactly what’s in it, how its done etc. Plus I know if I make it homemade it doesn’t have extra preservatives and colorings to increase aesthetics and shelf life. I feel GOOD about serving even the simplest things from scratch. Pudding is one of them. Brownies are another. Really, the homemade version may take one minute longer then the boxed version. It’s insanely easy. So why pay for preservatives? How “convenient” to your body is that?

Homemade Vanilla Pudding
From allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
2 cups milk
½ cup white sugar
3 tbs corn starch
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbs butter

Directions:
In a sauce pan, heat milk until bubbling on the edges. In a bowl, combine sugar, corn starch and salt. Pour sugar mixture into sugar 1/3 at a time, whisking until dissolved. Once mixture is smooth and thickens to coat the back of the spoon, remove from heat. (do not boil). Stir in vanilla and butter. Chill before serving (or spooning into cupcakes).

Strawberry Mascarpone Scones

As part of my plot to conquer anything and all things strawberry, I decided a strawberry scone was in order. Not just ANY scone, but one with creamy Mascarpone cheese to make a luscious thick lightly sweet scone. So good. Even my husband who is not a sweets person, has been taking these to work for breakfast. YAY! They are very delicate, crumbly, juicy strawberries bursting in your mouth, a hint of cheese (almost Danish like but just a hint) and not too sweat. Love it.

Strawberry Mascarpone Scones
Ingredients:
2 ½ cups self rising flour
½ cup sugar plus some for sprinkling
1 stick butter, chilled and diced
1 egg
¼ cup milk
¼ cup mascarpone cheese
Zest of one lemon
1 ¾ cups fresh strawberries, sliced

Directions:
In food processor, combine flour and sugar. Add butter, and pulse a few times until butter is incorporated and the size of peas (like you are making a pie crust). In a small bowl, whisk together: egg, milk, mascarpone cheese and lemon zest. Set aside. Transfer flour to KA Mixer and add strawberries. On low speed for just a few seconds, mix with paddle attachment just so the strawberries are covered in flour and sugar but not so they are mashed or broken.

Pour cheese mixture into flour/strawberry mixture and gently on low mix until just incorporated. Turn dough out onto a WELL floured board and kneed for just a minute until its no longer sticky. Form patties, or cut into triangles for your scones. Place on a well greased baking sheet, sprinkle with sugar and bake on 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. Let cool completely. ENJOY!

These would also be good with a light powder sugar glaze if you want them a little sweeter.

Popovers

I decided to make Popovers to go with the Rhubarb Strawberry Jam I made to send to my parents. I've actually never made Popovers before, so I turned to Ina Garten for a recipe. I followed her tips and they came out well but a little overdoneon the outside for my taste. I would recommend keeping an eye on them through the oven glass or if you can't get a good look because your oven light is dim like mine, crack the door at 25 minutes to take a peek. These are VERY smooth and light on the inside. Perfect for bites of jam.

Popovers

Ingredients:
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups self rising flour
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup cream
1/2 cup 2% milk
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Preheat your muffin pan while heating the oven. When you take it out, spray it with Pam. In a KAMixer using the paddle attachment, mix together the flour, eggs, milk, and melted butter until smooth. The batter will be thin. Fill the popover pans about half full and bake for exactly 30 minutes. Do not peek. (I had some batter left over)

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

This weekend has been a whirlwind, but I love it. The Farmer's Market was packed yesterday but I have a nice array of seasonal goods to use for a week full of exciting recipes. (I'm feeling ambitious this week despite the desperate need to attack weeds in the garden). So what was so great that I bought? RHUBARB and STRAWBERRIES! I haven't had Rhubarb in YEARS but I distinctly remember my mama's rhubarb strawberry pies.

I decided to go in a little bit different direction though and set out to make a small batch of jam to go with my PopOvers later in the week and experiment with some cupcakes. So far so good and my house smells wonderfully of baked strawberry. MMM

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
(adapted from Simply In Season)

Ingredients:
4 cups diced Rhubarb
3 cups strawberries (decapped)
3 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup water

Directions:
Place rhubarb and strawberries in a large sturdy stock pot. Mash strawberry's slightly (I used the flat side of the measuring cup) Add water and bring to a boil. Add sugar and stir pretty consistently for 20 minutes. About 15 minutes in, you can lower the heat to medium for the last few minutes. This is when it is most likely to burn so lowering the heat is ideal as it thickens. Be careful because this will scorch on the bottom.

Ladel into hot prepared jam jars. Add seals and lids and place in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. I flipped mine upside down on a towel for about five minutes to really keep that lid seal hot, then flipped for a tight seal. This made 4 1/2 pints with about 1 cup leftover for use in my cupcakes.

ENJOY!

Strawberry Lime Cupcakes

This recipe is from Food Network and they are oh so adorable and yummy. Another item baked up for my Easter dinner and they were a hit. (I know, i'm way behind on posts, as usual).

I've become a mega cupcake ho, because there is nothing better than a table set with wonderful food and a stand full of cupcakes. Perfectly portioned sweet treats for all ages. From the elegant fruity concoctions, to the liquor inspired, to the simple. And kids LOVE them. My nephews are all about the cupcakes and now I have the cupcake rep. Meh, I'll go with it. People expect cupcakes from me now? I'm happy to oblige! Cupcakes are my new passion!

Quick Note: I did not like the icing from Food Network's recipe. It was very thin and more like a glaze so I incorporated it into a Buttercream icing. Same lime flavor, fluffy buttercream topping. Perfection. (I had A LOT OF icing left over so you can half the recipe if you want or make extra cupcakes or a strawberry cake, up to you).

Strawberry-Lime Stuffed Cupcakes
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
2 large eggs, room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup milk

Icing:
1 1/3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 1/2 tablespoons finely grated lime zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

1 stick butter, room temp
1/2 stick crisco
1 tsp vanilla
1 lb powdered sugar

Directions:
12 large ripe strawberries, hulled

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the muffin tin with cupcake liners.

Beat the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer until light and foamy, about 2 minutes. Slowly pour in the butter and then the vanilla.

Alternate Flour and Milk, starting and ending with flour. Take care not to over mix the batter. Batter is going to be super fluffy and it expands! One and a half cookie scoop per muffin tin is plenty because it will run out.

Bake about 30 minutes. Cool cupcakes on a rack in the tin for 10 minutes, then remove. Cool on the rack completely.

For icing: Mix the confectioners' sugar and lime zest. Add the lime juice. Set aside.

Cream butter and crisco. Add vanilla and slowly add sugar. Mix until fluffy. Add Lime juice mixture. If it becomes a little thick, just add splashes of milk until a piping consistency.

To assemble: With a pairing knife, remove cone shape (the size of the strawberries) from the cupcake top/center, leaving about 1/2 to 1-inch of cake in the bottom. Stuff each cake with a strawberry (without the green stems. Pipe Buttercream icing onto cupcake. Top with a small slice or fan of strawberry.

Triple Lemon Cupcakes

Disclaimer: I'm not sure where I retrieved this recipe from. I saw something similar on Food Network and then a few more by browsing blogs. This was from a word document so I'm not sure if I yanked it from someone's blog or pulled a few pieces from various sources which I am known to do. Please let me know if this is your exact recipe and I will be happy to give credit. Thanks.

On to the cupcakes: These were to die for adorable. Seriously. A refreshing sweet tart taste perfect for spring time. I will DEFINATELY be making them again! It seems like there are a lot of stages and steps but they really do not take long and can be broken up over time (like oh you know, a trip to TJMAXX while the cupcakes cool).

I used a basic Sugar Cookie Recipe and Lemon Icing Recipe from the Joy of Baking for the cookie toppers. I also used about 5 large lemons for this whole process.

Triple Lemon Cupcakes
Cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups Self-Rising flour
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temp
2 ounces cream cheese, room temp
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/4 plus 2 tbs fresh squeezed lemon juice.
1/2 cup buttermilk
Zest of 1 lemon

Directions:
Using a KAMixer bowl, gently mix lemon zest and sugar until fragrant with a fork or fingers. Ad the butter and cream cheese and cream with a paddle attachment for 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating till blended. Alternate adding the flour and the buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour. Add lemon juice and beat on low until smooth.

Fill each lined muffin cup about 2/3 of the way full (or two scoops with a cookie scoop). Bake for 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven or until done.

Lemon Curd:
4 egg yolks
Zest of 1 Lemon
1/4 plus 1 Tbs Lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
5 Tbs unsalted butter, cold, diced

Directions:
Whisk everything except the butter in a sause pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture coats the spoon (8-10 minutes). Remove from heat, Add butter a few pieces at a time, stirring constantly. Some people strain their's, I did not since it was VERY smooth and I wanted the pop of the zest to stay in there. I poured into a greased corningware dish and covered with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic into the top of the curd.

Icing:
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temp
4 ounces cream cheese, room temp
1 tbs lemon juice
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp lemon zest

Directions:
In KAMixer cream butter, cream cheese and lemon juice. Once smooth, add powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. Add lemon zest and beat until smooth.

ASSEMBLY:
Using a paring knife, cut a cone shape out of each cupcake. Using a ziplock bag with the corner tip cut off (or a piping bag), fill each hole with lemon curd. Pipe a swirl of icing on top of each cupcake.

Top each cupcake with a sugar cookie chickadee for a spring party OR a ribbon of lemon rind.

*pictures posted this weekend! Come back to see them. They are adorable.

Grilled or Baked? It's a CUPCAKE BURGER

These little boogers have been surfing the net for some time from Blog to Blog in various forms. I chose to incorporate items from three different sources and use my own recipes instead of boxed mixes (because I'm difficult like that). It's really not as complicated as it looks. Messy? yes, a bit.

But well worth it. These were a big hit at the Birthday party yesterday!

Recipes:
Buttermilk Cupcakes and Cream Cheese Icing (just eliminate the chocolate from this recipe for white icing)

Scratch Brownies

What you will need:
A Round Cookie Cutter
Gel Food Coloring
White Fondant
shredded or Flaked coconut

Bake cupcakes and brownies per directions. Cool overnight (or several hours). Make icing per instructions leaving out chocolate. Seperate icing into three bowls.

Lettuce=Shredded coconut, icing and green food coloring (add a little at a time until your color is the way you want).

Ketchup=icing plus a few drops of blue food coloring and quite a bit of red (to get a deeper red.

Mustard=yellow plus icing.

Cheese= Fondant kneeded with yellow, roll out on floured board to very thin and cut into small square.

Directions:
Cut cupcakes in half, pipe on some "lettuce", place a circle of brownie, pipe on "mustard", place fondant "cheese", pipe on "ketchup", and top with the cupcake top! TA DA! Easy Peasy.

Buttermilk Cupcakes with Chocolate Icing

So I took a hiatus yesterday even though I have quite a backlog of entries because it was my birthday! Happy Birthday to me. (Not really, I'm not one who enjoys getting older at this stage of my life...oh to still be in my 20's and not care).

Now, I'm one of those freaks of nature that as a child, the one thing that made me happy for my birthday was grilled hamburgers and yellow cake with chocolate icing. Out of all the elaborate cakes etc, I always wanted yellow with chocolate icing. (I vaguely remember a strawberry cake one time but I think that was during my Strawberry shortcake doll phase). As an adult, my leanings are for coconut cake but I digress.

Last night I took a trip down memory lane and made homemade buttermilk cupcakes with chocolate icing courtesy of The Neelys. Let me tell you, this is by far the best tasting yellow/chocolate combination I've ever had. My one tip: do NOT fill the cupcakes as high as you do with other recipes because these expand a great deal and overflow. So mine are not that pretty but I will be making them again (and again and again).

Excellent Recipe and so simple!

Buttermilk Cupcakes with Chocolate Icing
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups Self Rising Flour
2 large eggs
2 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1 and 1/2 sticks of butter (melted)
2 tsps vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 stick of butter (room temp)
8 ounces of cream cheese (room temp)
3 cups confectioner's sugar
4 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, melted
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In KA Mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs and yolks one at a time. Add vanilla and buttermilk.

Slowly add flour. Mix until smooth. Batter will be very fluffy.

Fill Muffin Cups 1/2-3/4 full and bake for 20 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

For Icing: Cream butter and cream cheese until smooth. Blend chocolate and vanilla into mix and then slowly add confectioner's sugar. Pipe icing onto cupcakes. (I tried spreading and it makes a mess of the cupcakes; the piping worked much better).

As Promised: Picture! (Please ignore the bad icing job. I tried spreading icing first. Ended up piping the rest).

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

This is the recipe I impressed my grandmother with at Easter. Seriously, poised older Southern baptist lady. Compressed smile, folded hands, peering over her nose in disapprovement prissy grandmother. I finally got to her through my coffee cake (and my spinach lasagna). SCORE!

This recipe comes from a fellow NCer (soon to be back in her native SC-Congrats on the Farm!) and horse lover Branny from Branny Boils Over. Check out her site, its lovely!

Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Ingredients:
2 cups Self Rising Flour
1 cup Sour Cream
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter (room temp)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Topping:
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
Mix topping ingredients together and set aside. In KA mixer on medium speed with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat well. Mix in 1/2 of flour, then sour cream and then flour until blended smooth. Pour half of the batter in a greased and floured loaf pan. Sprinkle half of topping mixture and carefully spread. Carefully smooth the rest of the batter on top. Sprinkle the rest of the topping mixture and then bake at 350 for 55 minutes.

Make sure you use a large loaf pan or put a baking pan underneath. Mine went over the side a little bit.

I served with a choice of sides: sugared strawberries in juice, sweetened whipped cream and chopped walnuts. Everyone was able to make it their own special piece and LOVED IT.