To Bake or Not to Bake

"Perfectly" Chocolate Bundt Cake With Chocolate Ganache

2013-04-17T11:49:00.000-04:00

I know Easter is done but this post is long overdue. The photo shoot took place a few days before Easter and I took advantage of my mom's beautiful place settings and arrangements. Besides, bunnies and bird eggs are still relevant. It's spring after all!

I made a chocolate bundt cake using my new favorite go-to chocolate cake recipe, Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake. The end result is such an amazingly flavorful cake. To make it even more delectable, I topped it off with a layer of chocolate ganache. This cake is so rich and fantastic. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and your head will be swimming.

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

2 cups sugar
1 cup cocoa (I use Hershey's Special Dark)*
1-3/4 cups all purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
I cup milk
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup strong hot coffee*

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 12 cup bundt pan
Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in hot coffee. (Batter will be thin).
Pour batter into pan and bake 50-55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes in pan then turn out onto a wire rack to cool thoroughly.

Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients

9 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped (can use chocolate chips)
1 cup heavy cream

Directions

Place chocolate in a heat proof bowl.
In a small saucepan, heat cream over low-medium heat until bubble start to form around the edges.
Pour hot cream over chocolate and stir utnil the chocolate is fully melted.
Pour ganache over cake slowly making sure to evenly coat.*
Allow ganache to set up, about two hours.

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*A few things....

~Hershey's recipe calls for 3/4 cup cocoa. I think a cup does the cake even more justice.

~Their recipe also calls for 1 cup of boiling water but I opted to use coffee. Coffee is such a compliment to chocolate. It really amps up the flavor so why not use it?

~PLEASE, make sure the ganache is not thin. I made the mistake of turning my mom's kitchen into a massacre-like scene during my second attempt making ganache. I used milk chocolate instead of bittersweet and it did not set up near as quick. I made the mistake of thinking once it hit the cake some sort of magic would happen and it would thicken. Uh, no. It ran off the cake platter and anywhere it could travel. And let me tell ya, it traveled FAST. (Did you know that chocolate syrup was used for blood in black and white movies? I TOTALLY see why now.) Let the ganahce set up until it is thick, about at a batter consistency. Pour on just a bit to see how it goes and if it is too thin, pop it in the fridge and stir it every 5 minutes until it thickens a bit. If you have to spread it around the cake with a spatula, that is better than having to chase it down counter tops and drip it ALL OVER a freshly mopped floor. I cussed so much that day.

Rose Easter Cake

2013-03-29T11:51:00.000-04:00

Easter candy, you are killing me.

This time of year is always tough. Right as I decide I am going to get in shape for summer, BAM! I forget about the 5 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies I ordered and they show up on a day when I could eat every single one in a sitting. Then, just as I get those out of the picture I am inundated with all that delicious and tempting Eater candy. (I think I had more fun shopping for Easter Bunny candy for Mini Mac than I did shopping for Christmas. That aisle is so much fun.)

Oh, and did I mention that ALL of the above takes place during Lent? Yeah. Pretty dang tough for this gal. I had to quit giving up sweets for Lent because I failed miserably EVERY year.

I made this cake for my friend Sherry for Easter. Her in laws are coming into town and she wanted something special for their visit. They are not big chocolate fans so she decided on strawberry. I make a mean strawberry cake. My secret? Just a boxed mix, but in place of the water I use pureed strawberries. It makes SUCH a difference.

I have had this rose pattern on my to-do list for a while now. I thought it would be perfect for an delicate Easter cake. Yes, the large rose to the left screams "Look at me! I want all the attention!" But I think it's pretty for my first try. Check out the tutorial I found at I Am Baker.

And then since it's Easter, I nestled a few Cadbury Mini Eggs in the center. These are the perfect candy for Easter baked goods.

Aren't they adorable?

One last tip that I must share. I was on a discussion board at Wilton.com one day and the topic was how to get a moist cake. One of the commenters shared that her grandmother ALWAYS put any cake she made in the freezer for at least 24 hours and then thawed it prior to decorating. She claims that her cakes were always so super moist and comparable to bakery cakes. Once my layers were cooled, I wrapped them twice in plastic wrap, tied each one up in a plastic bag and tucked them into my freezer. I laid them out to thaw the night before I was set to decorate. They appeared super moist to me, but I can't wait to hear the reviews from Sherry.

A very Happy Easter to you and yours!

Easy Cake Mix Cookies

2013-03-21T17:35:00.001-04:00

I love Reese's ANYTHING. Pieces, cups, mini cups, eggs, cereal (Have you had this? It rocks.), ice cream bars (These rock even more), Blizzards, you name it. If it has Reese's in the title I am likely to salivate profusely over it. As with any other sweet treat these days, I approach this love affair with much moderation. But let me tell you, it is super tough.

Recently on a walk, I saw an unopened Reese's egg just lying casually under a tree next to the sidewalk. I was sure there was an early Easter egg hunt of some sort going on, but no one was around. It crossed my mind that it would be so easy to take off with that little guy and treat myself in celebration of all my walking calories burned. But, I stayed strong and passed that sucker up for the sake of my rear end and thighs. Boy, was it hard. I am bound to believe that my arch nemesis strategically planted the egg there to bring me down.

Need a quick Reese's fix? These cookies are perfect. They are oh so delicious and pretty much the easiest cookies I have ever made!

Easy Cake Mix Cookies

1 -18.5 oz. devil's food cake mix*
3/4 cup chunky peanut butter
2 tbsp milk
2 large eggs
1 cup Reese's Pieces

-Preheat oven to 350. Combine cake mix, peanut butter, eggs and milk in a large mixing bowl. Beat at low speed until blended. Stir in Reese's Pieces. Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet. Press down a bit to flatten. Bake 7-9 minutes or until lightly browned. Once out of the oven, press down again to flatten a bit more.** Let rest about 5 minutes then remove to cooling racks.

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*We are getting jipped on cake mixes these days. Manufacturers have reduced the size of the mixes but we are paying the same price. Many run between 15.5 ounces and 16.25. The standard is 18.5 ounces. I have found that the store brand mixes have stayed true to this amount. And they are just as good.

**These cookies do not spread well on their own. The first batch I made came out baked in the exact shape they went in, round balls. That is why I flatten them before I put them in the oven and again right when they come out. This second time is not necessary, but I just like a flatter cookie.

Springtime Magic Bars

2013-03-12T11:50:00.000-04:00

The weather at my house this weekend was such a wonderful taste of Spring. It was beautiful and it got me in the mood for some type of pretty springtime dessert.

These ARE truly magic. I know I often say, "These are SO unbelievably good," but honestly, THESE are the best things I think I have ever made. OK, best BARS I have ever made. I had to specify "bars" because I just remembered a cupcake recipe I am going to share with you guys soon and it's pretty unbelievable, too. But seriously, bar-wise, these rock the house.

I adapted this recipe from one I came across at Lauren's Latest last week. Love her site. I didn't have the toppings her recipe required (chopped Oreos, mini chocolate chips and mini marshmallows--YUM!) so I used what I had. These bars are so easy. It's a graham cracker crust topped with sweetened condensed milk and then pretty much whatever you want to throw on top. I used chopped peanut butter sandwich cookies and pastel Sixlets. The magic happens when they are baked. The milk turns all caramely (that's a word, right?) and binds the ingredients together.

Right when they came out of the oven, I topped them with chopped Reese's Minis. Look at those guys. Simply gorgeous. Kate Upton has some serious competition in that shot above. I have SUCH a thing for peanut butter and chocolate. I was never a fan of peanut butter sandwiches or even PB & J for that matter. (I was an odd child. I also didn't like pancakes, waffles or donuts for breakfast. I wanted oatmeal. Don't worry. I have more than made up for that in my adult years.) But give me something sweet that has peanut butter as an ingredient and you could probably get me to do most anything you needed me to. Except push ups. I loathe push ups. And ironing.

To make them prettier, not to mention more delicious (if that is even possible), I drizzled on some melted white chocolate.

I love a recipe that can be adapted so easily. This is definitely one of those. As I mentioned, you can top these bars with basically whatever you want. With all the fun Easter candy out right now, lots of experimentation could be had with this recipe. I do recommend, however, if you want to use Reese's cups or something similar in texture, throw them on AFTER they come out of the oven. That way, they hold their shape but melt just enough to stay put on the bar.

Springtime Magic Bars

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup melted butter
1-14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups chopped peanut butter sandwich cookies
1/2 cup pastel Sixlets or M & M's
1 cup Reese's Minis cut in half
1/4 cup melted white chocolate (optional)

-Mix graham cracker crumbs and butter until blended well. Press into the bottom of a sprayed 9 x 13 pan. Pour on the condensed milk. Spread evenly. Sprinkle on the cookies and Sixlets. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, until edges are browned and bars are set.

-Once out of the oven, sprinkle on the Reese's cups. Let bars cool completely.

-Carefully invert out of pan onto chopping block. (I invert them onto one board, then lay another board on top and flip them again so that they are right side up.)

-Drizzle with the white chocolate. Once that is set, cut into 16 bars.

For Lauren's original version with Oreos and marshmallows (that woman is a genius) check out the recipe here.

"I'm Not Gonna Call Them That" Bars

2013-02-26T12:57:00.000-05:00

If you've been on Pinterest, you are familiar with recipe names that contain the words "crack" or "white trash." "Crack" referring to the fact that it's delicious and could be considered addictive and "white trash" because it uses simple everyday ingredients that are just kind of thrown together. (If you haven't been on Pinterest, then you must be a baby or a teenage boy. Seriously, check it out. Fair warning, you may be glued to the computer for days.) I have to be honest, I really can't stand those names. It's a pet peeve of mine. Like the word "britches" or "moist." Oh, and "scrumptious." Who says that? I don't think I have ever been at a dinner table and overheard someone say, "Margaret, these mashed potatoes are just scrumptious!" I think "scrumptious" is only used in the movies. And books. And maybe at Windsor Palace.

These are called White Trash Bars. Shelly at Cookies and Cups shared this recipe last week and as soon as I read the ingredients and realized I had them all on hand, I HAD to make them. They are super easy and SO tasty. As Shelly says, "These bars are pretty crazy." I am pretty sure they are a million calories a piece, but they're absolutely worth it.

And you won't believe what is in them. Now, because I got the recipe from Shelly and am posting about them so quickly after she did I am sending you to her site to get the ingredient low down. I will tell you that because I was short on the toffee pieces by about a half a cup, I threw in that much coconut to make up the difference. If you are not a toffee fan I bet you could replace the toffee pieces with just about anything you wanted. Chocolate chips, nuts, M & M's...Oh my. The wheels are turning and I think I just might have to experiment soon.

I used some leftover vanilla bean buttercream I had on hand, hence the black flecks. And also, because I LOVE sprinkles I embellished them with some rainbow nonpareils. Sprinkles just make everything better. Mini Mac would agree. She adores sprinkles SO much that she would pick them out of dirt to eat them if she had to.

Happy Valetine's Day!

2013-02-14T11:03:00.001-05:00

Mini Mac is having her first Valentine's Party today. She was thrilled. Because she has to question everything these days she asked me, "Mommy, what do Balentine's do?" Talk about creativity in an answer. I had to think a while on that and then said something along the lines of cards and hearts. Keeping it simple.

For her party I made strawberry cupcakes with buttercream icing. I embellished them with pink sugar pearls and chocolate hearts. I used the method from the wedding shower cupcakes only I melted white chocolate and tinted it pink with some Americolor gel.

I almost forgot to take a picture. I remembered as I was getting them out of my car and snapped one with my phone. Breathtaking, I know.

Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours!

Hiatus...

2013-01-24T08:34:00.001-05:00

I apologize for being MIA for so long. I started a new job in December and it's taken all of my focus. I hope to be back very soon. I bought some cute cupcake papers this week that I can't wait to share with you guys!

Cupcake Times Two

2012-11-30T11:41:00.000-05:00

Today is Clarissa's birthday! She is my student worker and such an asset to me. She is thorough, a quick learner and dependable. So for her special day I made cupcakes topped with mini cupcakes. These are so fun!

I saw this idea last year and it just seemed like so much work. Baking mini cupcakes actually takes more work than making the larger ones, if that makes any sense at all. Then a few weeks ago I saw a post on Annie's blog With Sprinkles on Top. Instead of baking mini cupcakes, she had a trick up her sleeve: miniature Reese's cups! How genius is that?! Take the foil off, pipe icing on top and embellish with sprinkles. Looks just like the real thing!

I am a sucker for miniatures. I once saw a tiny bottle of Heinz ketchup and went into cuteness overload.

Forgive me for the low quality pictures. My camera was out of commission last night and I had to use my phone. Also, I searched quite a while for the right staging materials for my pictures, but eventually had to settle with my simple counter top because Mini Mac was going sprinkle crazy. I told her she couldn't have anymore but a minute later she was making excuses to "clean" my floor. She found a loophole in the "no more sprinkles" rule and began wiping my floor with a paper towel saying, "Mommy, I clean you floor!" leading me to believe she was simply being super helpful to me. In reality she was infiltrating fallen sprinkles each time I turned me head. She really had me thinking she was just having a super fun time wiping down my floor. I should have known better. That child has become too smart for her own good. But she told me I was a good "cooker" so I tend to fold like origami a lot these days.

Happy Birthday, Clarissa!!

Wedding Shower Cupcakes

2012-11-16T08:13:00.000-05:00

I LOVE these cupcakes. I was so pleased with the finished product! These were made for a wedding shower, hence the chocolate monogram. I got the idea for the monogram from Leslie, The Hungry Housewife. (I guess you have figured out by now that she is pretty much my food blogging idol.) She made these cupcakes for my other blogging idol, Kristan. Lots of food bloggers threw her a virtual baby shower for her little Lucy set to arrive any day now. I love the idea of a virtual baby shower!

If you haven't already been to either of these ladies' sites, you must check them out. These girls are incredibly creative, not to mention mega hilarious. Leslie is here and Kristan here. I assure you, they will make your day!

Sweet Buttermilk Glaze

2012-10-31T12:13:00.000-04:00

Please forgive the out of focus picture. I was tired. I was not into it. My mind was elsewhere. Like getting this cake in my mouth as fast as possible.

My mom has made an Amish Carrot Cake for years that, instead of being topped with icing, is topped with what is called a Buttermilk Glaze. It is to die for. It's comes out almost like a caramel sauce. This cake has been requested by many a child for their birthday. Now, the above cake is not the Amish Carrot Cake. (I WILL share that with you guys sometime.) It is a mixture of a carrot cake mix and a spice cake mix.

Here's the deal.

I was making some carrot cupcakes for a friend's birthday. While I LOVE the above Decadent Carrot Cake mix from Duncan Hines, it's just a bit too dense for cupcakes so I mixed in some of the spice cake batter.

After the cupcakes were done I had some of the combined batters left and since I LOATHE wasting food I poured the mixture into a 9 x 13 dish to make a cake. I didn't want to make icing for it, but remembered that glorious buttermilk glaze and knew it would be perfect for this cake.

And it's so easy. Just boil together some sugar, butter, buttermilk, corn syrup and baking soda until it becomes amber in color. Stir in some vanilla.

Transfer to a pourable container.

Once the cake is out of the oven, poke holes in it with a skewer or straw.

While the cake is still warm, pour the glaze slowly over the top. The slower you pour the better. That gives the glaze time to get down in all the little nooks and crannies.

Lastly, cut a slice and prepare to be wowed.

Sweet Buttermilk Glaze

1 cups sugar

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 TB light corn syrup

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

-In a medium saucepan, bring all the ingredients (except the vanilla) to a boil over medium high heat stirring constantly, Continue to boil until it reaches an amber color.

-Turn off heat and stir in vanilla.

-Pour over warm cake.

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Happy Halloween!!!

Caramel Peanut Butter Chip Brownies

2012-10-15T11:48:00.000-04:00

Do you say "Kar-mul" or "Care-a-mel?" I say the latter. And I say it often. I just love caramel anything. It's my favorite flavor, if you will. So when Leslie, The Hungry Housewife, made some super-simple and oh-so-tasty caramel stuffed brownies, I had to get on that bandwagon.

These are incredibly easy to make. Just prepare a box mix (I used a family size Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge mix), pour half of it into the pan then arrange a layer of some sort of chocolate covered caramels. I used these:

Feel free to use any kind you want. These come wrapped individually. They make me feel a bit spoiled.

I prepared a the brownie mix, poured half of the batter into a 9 x 9 pan and strategically placed the unwrapped candy.

I topped it with the remaining batter. Next, because I had some on hand, because they are fantastic with chocolate and most of all because I CAN, I topped the batter with some Reese's Peanut Butter Chips. I baked them according to package directions until they were set in the middle.

Today one of my other favorite food bloggers, Kristan (Confessions of a Cookbook Queen) posted some Caramel Brownies that have a bit of a different approach but same end result. Feel free to check our her recipe or Leslie's and decide which one appeals to you most. If you don't want a ton of caramel going on, use mine. If you like more, go with one of theirs. (The candies they used had a bit more caramel punch.)

Enjoy!

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So, Facebook is a great in lots of ways. But lately they are getting weird. I have learned that most of you guys may not be seeing my posts since Facebook only allows a small percentage of you to see them in your news feed. If you want to be able to see anything I post on Facebook, follow the steps below to ensure it is displayed in your feed.

1) Hover over the "LIKED" Button
2) Click "Add to interest lists" otherwise you will only see a small percentage or none of my posts
3) Start an interest list, with my page and your other favorite pages as well. One of my lists is called "Favorite Food Blogs."

You can also subscribe to me by email or follow me on Twitter.

My New "Can't Do Without"

2012-10-04T12:20:00.000-04:00

So I have never owed a cast iron skillet until now. I know. A southern cook without a cast iron skillet? That's like Superman without his cape, Linus without his blanket or Pee Wee without his bike. Those references totally date me. I'm okay with that.

My mom found this beauty for me at the Peddler's Mall. Are you familiar with these places? We call it a Peddler's Mall in Kentucky but I am sure there are similar set-ups all over the world. Basically sellers rent booth space to sell their wares which consist of antiques, yard sale type items and even new things. No one mans the booths and there is one check out at the front so you can feel free to browse without pressure. It's an amazing treasure hunt. You never know what you will find. One time I found a book called The Professional. It was a very short book published at the turn of the century about a man who installed out houses. I could kick myself for not getting it.

My mom makes this AMAZING deep dish pizza in her cast iron skillet and now I do the same. There is something about this skillet that just makes things taste better. You see, cast iron skillets are like fine wines. They get better with age. But, they have to be treated with the utmost care. They can't be put in the dishwasher and in fact they can't be soaked or left in water for very long at all. Each time I am done with mine, I wipe it out real good with a wet washcloth (not much of anything ever sticks to it) and wipe the inside down with an oiled paper towel. This is called "seasoning" the skillet. A cast iron skillet is the treasured item of a southern cook.

So for the pizza, I just press my dough into the skillet, add sauce, cheese and toppings and bake at 450 until the cheese is bubbly and a bit brown. I will NEVER make regular pizza again. This stuff is phenomenal.

My mouth is watering right now. I am a HUGE pizza lover. If I had to choose one thing to eat for the rest of my life it would definitely be pizza.

Obviously there is SO much more you can do with a cast iron skillet. Martha Stewart swears by it for frying chicken. My mom uses it for many cooking jobs. It has a ton of uses from frying up bacon or sausage to sauteing veggies to chicken pot pie. I even found an apple upside-down-type cake online the other day that turns out beautiful from one. It was touted to knock your socks off. I hope to try it soon.

So my advice when it comes to a cast iron skillet? As Turtleman would say, "Getcha some!"

Marshmallow Pops

2012-09-28T11:53:00.000-04:00

I made some S'mores Pops for a fundraiser this week but I wanted to make an additional pop of some sort to sell alongside them. I had found an alternate take on the pops on Pinterest that involved putting a marshmallow on a stick, dipping it in chocolate and rolling it in crushed graham crackers. I think I have mentioned before that I am not a big fan of s'mores because I don't like marshmallows. (Un-American, I admit.) But I LIVE for the sweet and salty snack. And since everything is all about me (please note the sarcasm) I got the wheels turning and came up with the beauty above.

Have you seen these guys?

They are a bit smaller than baseballs and while they are way to big for s'mores they are great for snacking and PERFECT for this project.

These pops are simple. First, I melted just a few white chocolate chips. Then I dipped the stick into the melt and planted it into the marshmallow. (The white chocolate "glues" the stick into the marshmallow.) Next, I dipped the marshmallow into melted chocolate and rolled it in a combination of crushed pretzels and fall colored sprinkles.

Let me tell ya, these things rock. And this is coming from someone who could do without Marshmallows. But the sweetness of the mallow coupled with the salty crunchy pretzels then backed up by a chocolate kick? It's the perfect candy marriage.

And since it's the S'mores time of year I thought I would share this ingenius product wtih you.

I used these to make the S'mores pops this time and I will never use a regular marshmallow again. These are fabulous! Why did it take so long for someone to come up with a flat marshmallow for s'mores? Just as good as sliced bread in my book.

Have a great weekend!

I Was Abducted by Aliens

2012-09-25T11:50:00.000-04:00

I'm back! Yes, I am still alive and kickin'. Don't worry. I was not abducted by aliens. (As far as I know.) It's just that life has been happening at full force for the last couple of months. I have continued to bake some but just have not had the time or desire to post for a bit. But not to fear. I have plenty of creations and favorite things to share with my faithful readers. Thanks for hanging in there, guys. You are the reason I do this!

So on to cakes...

I made this squeal-worthy cake this weekend for a girl named Ally. Ally loves One Direction. Are you familiar with the band? If you don't have a tween in the house you might not be, unless you are like me and follow lots of celebrity gossip blogs. They were on the UK's X Factor a few seasons back and their songs are super catchy. Basically they are the British equivalent of The Backstreet Boys or five Justin Biebers. In my day it was New Kids on the Block. Oh, that Donnie Wahlberg. He was such a bad boy.

So here are the guys of One Direction (from L to R): Naill, Zayn, Louis, Liam and Harry. (I had to use Google images to figure this out. I don't know them THAT well.) Apparently one is dating Demi Levato, another dates cougars and another cheats on his girlfriend frequently. Again, I get my information from gossip blogs so what do I know?

I used a sugar image for this cake. I love sugar images. (Remember the Caillou cake?) You can get just about anything you want on a cake without having Rembrandt drawing skills. I searched "One Direction cake sugar image" and found it on eBay. There were several different designs. The company even personalized it for free!

I decorated the cake in pink and purple icing and made it even more special by adding pearl embellishments.

This cake was so much fun to make and I was so happy with how it turned out! The birthday girl loved it, too.

And by the way, Harry is my favorite. (It doesn't hurt that he is the only one whose name I can remember.) I think it's his curly locks. He's just a cutie pie.

I'll see you guys again by the end of the week! (I promise with sprinkles on top.)

Lemon Curd Filled Cupcakes

2012-08-01T13:30:00.000-04:00

I love lemons. I put lemon in my tea, squeeze lemon on fish and chicken and of course, lemon rocks out a dessert any day.

The above cupcakes were inspired by this stuff:

We recently had a Trader Joe's open here in town and while I was there I found Imported English Lemon Curd. I could put a straw in this and go nuts. It is SO good. Yes, I could make my own lemon curd, but when it's this good at $2.99 a jar, why go to that trouble?

I also recently got this handy little gadget.

It's a cupcake corer. It remove the middle of a cupcake to make room for fillings. How fun is that?

I decided to put these two items to the test and make some lemon curd filled cupcakes with lemon butter cream. A friend of mine had a daughter come into town for a visit and she loves lemon desserts. I thought these would be the perfect "Welcome Home" treat!

I started with a lemon cupcake. I used a white cake mix and added a couple tablespoons of lemon baking emulsion and a tablespoon of lemon zest. Baking emulsions are fantastic. Extracts contain alcohol. When baked, the alcohol evaporates taking some of the flavor with it. With emulsions, the flavor is "encased" in gum which helps it hold it's qualities. I am a big fan. Especially of this brand. I use the Princess flavor in a lot of my baked goods and always in my vanilla buttercream icing. A blogger I follow uses the Butter flavor in lots of stuff and she swears it makes a pie crust to die for.

Next, I cored out the middle of the cakes.

Mini Mac especially enjoyed this part. When using the corer this is what happens:

So you end up with a pile of these.

Lemony bites of heaven.

Next, I spooned some curd into each cupcake...

...and topped them with some lemon buttercream.

I just made a basic buttercream icing and added 3 tablespoons of lemon juice and tablespoon of lemon zest.

These cupcakes are so refreshing especially after chilling in the fridge for a while. Not to mention they are pretty simple to make.

I just love the cupcake corer and I can't wait to see what other cupcake creations I can come up with!

Cupcake Bouquet

2012-07-24T12:17:00.000-04:00

How fun is this? A friend found this on Pinterest one day and asked if I would make it for her grandmother's birthday. It takes some time, but the results are SO worth it!

Start with cupcakes that have been decorated using a middle-to-outside swirl so that they resemble a flower.

Insert a Styrofoam ball into a flower pot. There are several different sizes so I suggest taking your pot with you to test out which size works best.

Insert toothpicks into the ball wherever you want the cupcakes to go. Here is a tip: leave your toothpicks pretty high. If you insert them too far, they will be too short and the cupcakes will slowly fall off. For some of the cupcakes I used three toothpicks.


Close up view of how the toothpicks should stand.

Once you have the cupcakes secure, cut strips of green tissue paper...

...then fold them accordion style at one end and insert between the cupcakes.

After the tissue paper was between all the cupcakes and all empty spaces were filled, I then used a glue gun to secure some pieces around the outside edges to hide any of the ball that might be showing. Then I glued a white ribbon around the base of the ball in order to have a clean edge. (I apologize I did not get any action or close up shots of this.)

What's better than flowers and cake? Both! This cupcake bouquet is sure to make anyone's day over-the-top special.

Can't Do Without...

2012-07-18T17:27:00.000-04:00

This is the Tervis Tumbler. It is something I absolutely cannot do without, especially during these hot summer days. There are several great things about these cups. First, they keep cold things cold longer than regular glasses or plastic cups. The ice melts incredibly slow in the Tervis Tumbler. And I love that I can use a Tervis lid so that I can take my morning smoothie on the drive to work and drink it with a straw. It keeps the smoothie from melting and I don't spill it all over myself or the car, which I am notorious for.

Second, it keeps hot drinks hot. During the winter, I use the Tervis Tumbler as my travel coffee mug. (They also make a coffee lid.) I have left the cup in my car while I went into the doctor's office and an hour later my coffee is still as warm as when I left it.

Third, and my favorite characteristic about the Tervis Tumbler, is that it produces NO condensation since it's double walled. That makes me one happy mama. My furniture does not get ruined and I don't have to keep up with coasters. In fact, since the Tervis Tumbler is the only cup we use around my house, I don't own any coasters! I made the mistake of using a glass one day last week (haven't done that in a long time) and I ended up with a puddle on my end table within just a few minutes. It made me realize even more just how much I love these tumblers.

I even have a large 24 ounce Tervis Tumbler with a lid and straw that I keep at work. I refill it a few times a day. No condensation and my water stays cold!

The Tervis Tumbler is definitely something I can't do without!

Best Ever Banana Bread

2012-07-07T10:07:00.000-04:00

Ever heard of Nurse Maid's Elbow? We found out about it the hard way yesterday. It sounds all simple and insignificant. "Nurse Maid's Elbow. Aw. That sweet little nurse maid has a tired elbow." Ha! Hardly. Basically it's a dislocation of the elbow in children. It's super common and it happened to Mini Mac yesterday. It scared the bejeezus out of me.

See, this pigeon has been showing up in our backyard this week while I have been on vacation. We're talking huge, fat, blue-headed, downtown pigeon that should be perched on top of the courthouse. NOT in my neighborhood. (For some reason my yard is a favorite hangout for all types of wildlife. Pretty fun for us and Mini Mac.) The first day it appeared, it flew off before I could get Mini Mac to lay eyes on it. Yesterday, I called her to the back porch quickly and she came running. As I held her hand, she stepped off the back stoop and began to lose her footing. I lightly lifted her by the hand to keep her from hitting the ground. Immediately she started crying and holding her arm to her body. Last year one of the bloggers I follow posted about her 1 year old dislocating his elbow and I automatically knew that was what had happened. Off to the ER we went. She was not hysterical but crying and in pain.

Now, those who know me and the men in my family, know that we have "trick knees." They dislocate without warning and for no reason at all. (In fact, it just happened to one of my brothers a few days ago.) I am never doing anything cool like snowboarding or mountain climbing. I am usually just reaching for a paper towel or getting groceries out of the car. This has happened many times and I have made a few ER trips to get it popped back into place. Not fun. Not pretty. NOT a good sound when they pop it back into place. Needless to say, all I could think of was how uncomfortable and in pan Mini Mac was.

We got to the emergency room and luckily were the only ones there. Mini Mac was not happy about the triage activities that took place even though it was just temperature taking and heart rate checking. The nurse tried to tell her the electrode was just like a band aid and I had to interrupt her quickly to tell her Mini Mac is the only child in the state who does NOT like band aids. We called it a sticker instead.

Once Mr. Mac got there, he held Mini Mac at her request for her daddy and the doctor came in to check her out. I talked with the registrant about payment for about a minute and by the time we were done the doctor had put her elbow back into place. She didn't even make a peep. And right away she was moving her arm like a champ. She thanked the doctor for making it "Aww betta" and told me later in the day she wanted to go back to see him.

The tricky thing here is that apparently she is now predisposed to Nurse Maid's Elbow. It can happen again. I have had friends on Facebook tell me they know people who have been to the ER 4 times in 2 years. Fantastic. I CONSTANTLY walk around aware of my knees and their odd and totally useless superpower of taking on characteristics of Optimus Prime and now I have to do the same for my daughter's elbow. Fingers and toes crossed that we get blessed and never have to go through this again.

Needless to say, the morning was so exhausting we both napped for 3 hours in the afternoon. When we woke, I had a hankering for the best banana bread you will ever eat so I participated in some baking therapy.

Seriously, this banana bread will knock your socks off. The addition of sour cream or yogurt just amps up the flavor and keeps the bread very moist. And it's also super simple.

Best Ever Banana Bread (Recipe Credit: Martha Stewart)

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup (1 stick) room temperature butter, plus more for pan

1 Cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 & 1/2 Cup unbleached flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 Cup very ripe mashed bananas

1/2 Cup sour cream (or plain yogurt)

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 Cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions:

~Preheat oven to 350 and butter a 9 x 5 x 3 loaf pan. Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and beat to incorporate.

~In a medium bowl, whisk flour, salt and baking soda together. Add to butter and sugar mixture and beat until combined. Add bananas, sour cream and vanilla again beating until combined. Add nuts and pour into prepared pan.

~Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 30-40 minutes. Let rest in pan for about 10 minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack.

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Here are some variations:

-Add a cup of fresh blueberries with the nuts.

-Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners to make an easy grab-and-go breakfast muffin.

-Remember the banana cake I made a while back? I used this recipe for the cake the other day and it was SO much more flavorful. I will do this from now on.

Happy Birthday, Mini Mac!

2012-06-22T08:34:00.000-04:00

Well, I can't very well call her "Baby Mac" anymore now that she is 2. I thought "Mini Mac" would be a good replacement.

My BABY is 2! What? How did that happen? Before I had her I often heard people say, "I can't believe my little one is already [insert age here]!" I would think, "Yeah, well kids grow up, what did you expect?" But I get it now. Time flies SO much. It seriously feels like it was only 6 months ago that I was in the hospital giving birth to that 9 pound baby. I swear, she came out looking like she was a month old.

I have mentioned before that she adores Caillou. I was so excited when I came across an edible sugar image in a birthday catalog I got in the mail. I hate junk mail but I am a sucker for any catalog or circular that sells fun stuff. And my curiosity paid off! The image is super cute and so easy to use!

I mixed up a Funfetti batter and divided it between three 8 inch cake pans. I had some Oreos on hand (I am as shocked as you are that they have made it this long without meeting their demise) so I crushed them up, mixed them with some buttercream and used it as a sort of filling. I piped a dam...

...and spread in the filling. It looks kind of funny because I used my off-set spatula to spread the dam into the filling to make up for some holes.

...put on a crumb coat...

...and tinted some icing. Caillou is drawn in primary colors so I decided to use red, blue and yellow for the accents.

After I smoothed on the top coat of icing, I peeled the image off its backing and gently laid it on the cake. It reminded me of an iron-on transfer. Remember those? I had to be very gentle when peeling it off the paper, but it was simple to do. I will definitely be using these in the future. I can't wait to see what types of images are out there!

I piped dots all over the cake. I like the simplicity of the dots. I considered using a star tip but it just didn't seem to fit Caillou's personality. I think he would approve of the dots.

I can't wait for her to see this cake. I know she is going to flip!

Happy Birthday to the best thing that has ever happened to me. Words cannot express how completely blessed your daddy and I feel to have been chosen as your parents. You have defined love for us and it's greater than we could ever imagine.

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Thank you SO much to my aunt Joanna for the beautiful cake stand! I did not have one and she thought of me at an antique store one day. I feel so fancy not having to put Mini Mac's cake on a plastic cake carrier!! I love you so much Joanna and I will think of you every time I use it! Which will be A LOT!!

Decisions, Decisions

2012-06-18T12:16:00.001-04:00

So, a little while ago I mentioned that I won a gift card for Cooking.com and I was trying to decide whether I should be smart and get something I need or be fun and frivolous and get something I want. I decided on the latter and got something I have had my eye on for a couple of years but had forgotten about.

This is the Zoku Popsicle maker. It's pretty cool. You keep it in the freezer and pull it out when you are ready to make some pops. It makes 3 at one time and they freeze in 7-9 minutes. It comes with 6 sticks so you can make 3 more after the first round is done. I thought this would be great for Baby Mac. I could make healthy concoctions right along with the sugary ones to balance things out!

People who know me know I am the most indecisive person on Earth. If I go into the grocery store without a list I am screwed because it will take me 20 minutes to decide what kind of peanut butter to buy.

I got the Popsicle maker this week and now I am not so sure about it. After reading the manual I realized you can't use some of the concoctions I planned to, such as ice cream mixes or pudding. They tend to not freeze well and the sticks just slip out. I also realized that if I make 3 pops and only one is eaten, what do I do with the other two? It's not really worth it to only mix up enough ingredients for one pop. This item would be fabulous for entertaining, but for my house with just myself, Baby Mac and Mr. Mac (who is not much of a sweets person) it may not be ideal.

Then, what really changed my mind was when I came across this item that I hadn't noticed before:

It's a Cuisinart 1.5 quart ice cream maker. I know I had mentioned the Kitchen Aid Ice Cream Attachment, but this is actually cheaper and easier to use. It just seems more practical and I think I will get more use out of it. I can still make healthy stuff like sorbet or even encourage my new vanilla bean habit by making some homemade ice cream. Plus, Mr. Mac does enjoy ice cream from time to time, so he would be more apt to enjoy this as opposed to the pop maker.

This weekend my mom made some banana ice cream that Baby Mac just fell head over heels for. That will be on my Ice Cream To-Do List for sure.

Yep. I think I have talked myself into it.

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I have recently come to the conclusion that I have way too many "irons in the fire." As much as I would love to dedicate a ton of time to this blog, I just can't. I have a toddler and husband who I want to spend as much time with as possible, plus I work full-time and have a few other commitments that take up any extra time I have. I am still going to post, but just not as frequently as I have been. Once or twice a week as a general rule, but if I have lots of baking projects come up at once it could be more on occasion.

I am so grateful for my readers and I will not leave you hanging! Be sure to like my page on Facebook, follow me on Twitter or even Pinterest. I will always have updates on any posts there.

I will be back later this week with a super special birthday cake!

Minnie Mouse, Take Two

2012-06-15T12:23:00.000-04:00

My friend Karen's daughter, Kylee, is turning two tomorrow. We were pregnant at the same time and she delivered her a week before Baby Mac. She asked if I would make some Minnie Mouse cupcakes for her special day and of course I said yes!

The last time I made Minnie Mouse cupcakes I used Oreos. This time I decided to work on my fondant skills.

I piped on some pink buttercream and added some pink sugar. I made marshmallow fondant and cut circles out for the ears and fashioned bows from strips I cut from some fondant I tinted pink.

I was so happy with how they turned out! But the icing on the cake, or should I say cupcake, was Mr. Mac's reaction. See, he is a man of very little words. Usually when I show him my creations I get a head nod and a "That's cool, Babe." Which is great. I know in Mr. Mac terms that means he likes them and he is proud of me. But, when I opened the box to show him these, his eyes got big and he said, "Wow, those are awesome!" That let me know that I am getting better at my craft and that I made something extra special. My day was made. Heck, my week was made!

Happy Birthday, Kylee! I hope you have the best birthday ever!

Graduation!

2012-06-13T12:04:00.000-04:00

The Rams (school colors, red and white)

I have three cousins on my mom's side of the family who graduated from high school this year. Three! I can't believe they old enough to be going off to college! (I am sure if they had a dollar for every time they have heard that over the last year they could fund their college educations.)

The Flyers (school colors, gold and navy)

My aunt asked me to make some cupcakes in honor of their accomplishments. I decided to use their Letterman images to make some flag toppers and mimick their school colors in the icings using the swirling technique. I was so happy with how they turned out!

The Knights (school colors, maroon and sliver)

Now, I photograph every cupcake I make. But for some reason this time around I had a major brain malfunction and forgot! How could I forget? I honestly think I was so much looking forward to getting the cupcakes to them that it was the last thing on my mind. Luckily, my cousin Amy was nice enough to take some pictures and send them to me. Thanks, Amy! This is your To Bake or Not To Bake debut!

The Graduates (Our family sure makes 'em good lookin'!)

Congratulations girls! I am so proud of you! You will go on to do great things!

Homemade Coffee Creamer

2012-06-12T11:48:00.000-04:00

Photo Courtesy of Piece of Cake

The first thing I made with my newly purchased vanilla beans was this homemade coffee creamer I came across on Piece of Cake. In her post she discusses her love of "lady coffee", as her husband calls it. It made me laugh! Click either of the links above to check it out her hilarious post as well as the recipe for this oh-so-simple treat!

I love lady coffee and will until I die. It is the highlight of my mornings and sometimes my whole day!

You know the funny thing about store bought flavored coffee creamers? Most don't even have a hint of cream or milk. The great thing about this recipe is it contains only three ingredients! (Four if you count the sugar in the sweetened condensed milk.) The ingredient list on the store bought versions is a paragraph long and contains things I can't even begin to pronounce. Not to mention it costs much more per ounce.

Give this recipe a try and feel free to play around with flavors. If you love your morning coffee like I do, you will not be disappointed!

Marshmallow Fondant

2012-06-10T10:49:00.000-04:00

For the first time ever, I made marshmallow fondant this morning! It was a bit messy but hardly difficult. Regular fondant is just a bit more technical since it calls for gelatin. From what I have read, marshmallow fondant is easier to make and tastes much better.

Because I need black fondant, I followed this recipe but incorporated some of the tips for kneading and mixing from this recipe that I have had on my to do list for a while. I highly recommend them both. I didn't have an ounce of trouble through the whole process!

I can't wait to roll it out and start making the shapes I need! For now, it's covered in plastic wrap so the color can develop to it's full potential. Later today I plan on making some white, as well, since the upcoming project requires some pink accents in addition to the black.

One tip: try and wear food safe gloves unless you don't mind walking around like this for a couple of days.

Have a great Sunday!

Gluten-Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

2012-06-08T12:01:00.006-04:00

I have featured recipes for Chocolate Gluten Free Cupcakes and some basic Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes. Well, this go around I merged the two recipes to make one super FAN-FREAKIN-TASTIC gluten-free cupcake! I know I said before that this gluten-free recipe is fabulous, but I have actually made a change to it that has made it even better, if that is possible. And the addition of peanut butter will just blow your mind.

I made these for my cousin Ellen's birthday a few weeks ago and she agreed, no one would ever know they are gluten-free and in fact they are WAY better than lots of regular cupcakes out there. Even if you don't have an aversion to gluten, these cupcakes are an incredibly delicious and healthier alternative to the standard version.

My co-worker Terri's husband, Tom, has a gluten allergy and she asked me to make something for his birthday. I knew immediately I had to make these for him.

He is a die hard Tennessee fan so I tinted the icing orange and made the flags I talked about in my tutorial yesterday. Don't give Tom a hard time, UK fans. Terri bleeds blue so it evens things out.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

1 can (15.5 oz) reduced-sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
4 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
5 tablespoons unsalted room temperature butter, or coconut oil
3/4 cup sugar
7 rounded tablespoons cocoa*

1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

6 Reese's cups, each cut into 8 pieces

Directions:

~Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 12-cup muffin pan.

~Blend the beans, 2 eggs, vanilla, and sugar in a food processor (or blender) until completely smooth.

~In a small bowl, combine the cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda.

~In a large bowl, beat the butter until fluffy. Add the remaining two eggs one at a time and beat well after each. Beat in the bean mixture. Beat in the dry ingredients.

~Pour the batter into muffin cups filling about 2/3 full. Cut each Reese's cup into 8 pieces. (Cut them in the same fashion you would cut a pizza.) You should have 48 little chunks. Press 4 of those chunks down into the batter of each of the cupcakes.

~Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Peanut Butter Frosting

1/3 cup vegetable shortening

1/3 cup butter

3/4 cup peanut butter

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

4 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted

4-6 tablespoons milk

12 Reese's Minis, for decoration

Directions:

~Using an electric mixer, cream shortening and butter. Add peanut butter and vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often.

~If icing gets too dry and stiff to beat, add a tablespoon of milk. Once all sugar is incorporated, add the remaining milk if necessary then beat until fluffy, about one minute. (You don't want the icing too thin or it will not stand up on the cupcakes. Lift the beaters or paddle of your mixer and if the icing doesn't fall right away you are good to go.)

~Pipe or spread onto cupcakes and top with a Reese's Mini.

Happy Birthday, Tom! I hope you have a great day and an awesome weekend!

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*The original recipe calls for 5 tablespoons of cocoa. I found the batter was just not thick enough and the final cupcake could have more chocolate flavor. I played around a bit and found that 7 ROUNDED tablespoons worked great. It made for a thicker batter and a cupcake with the perfect amount of chocolate flavor.

To get a rounded tablespoon, scoop out the cocoa without shaking or leveling off the excess. You should have a mound of cocoa in your measuring spoon.