Lemon Strawberry Coconut Cupcake

This post has been sitting in my draft folder for over a year. That's ridiculous. The other thing that is ridiculous is that I haven't blogged for over a year. What's the problem? I guess now that I'm retired, life has become either so busy or so boring that I don't have time to blog or I have nothing to blog about. Either way, there's a total lack of blogging going on. Here's the post that's been in the draft folder forever. 

Agnes wanted to make cupcakes a couple weeks ago. I wasn't too excited about it since I had made cupcakes for two separate events in the last 48 hours prior to that, but I didn't want to tell her no so we made more cupcakes. We had some leftover frosting from the other events' cupcakes and we used that as a jumping off point to decide what kind of cupcakes to make. After a couple of failed suggestions because I didn't have specific ingredients (limes or coconut milk) Agnes came up with lemon strawberry coconut cupcakes. We gave a plate of them away and got rave reviews, which was comforting because I was concerned with the amount of different flavors we were using. I should have taken a better picture, but again, I didn't know if they were going to work, so I only took the one picture.

Lemon Strawberry Coconut Cupcakes

I adapted Lizzy Early's lemon blackberry cupcake recipe found here.

Cupcakes

1 box white cake mix

1/3 C. oil or melted butter

3 eggs

zest of 2 lemons

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup sour cream

3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup freeze dried strawberries

Glaze
zest of half a lemon
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 2/3 cup powdered sugar

Frosting
1/2 cup butter
4 oz cream cheese
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp coconut extract
1 cup heavy cream
Toasted coconut, sliced strawberries and sanding sugar for garnish

Preheat oven to 350°F. For the cupcakes, put all the ingredients except the strawberries in a mixing bowl and blend together for 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium and beat for about 2 minutes. Stir in the strawberries. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 17-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into baked cupcake comes out clean.
Allow cupcakes to cool. Meanwhile, stir glaze ingredients together. When cupcakes are cool to the touch, spread about 1 teaspoon of glaze over the top of the cupcake.

Frosting
Beat butter and cream cheese together in a mixing bowl for 3 minutes. Mix in coconut extract. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time and whip until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, whip cream until it holds stiff peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese frosting until blended well. Frost cupcakes and top with toasted coconut. Dip strawberry slice in the lemon glaze and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Add another dollop of frosting and top with glazed strawberry.

Piña Colada Cupcake

I had a missionary reunion a couple weeks ago. It was so great to see some of the people I worked with from April 2012 to 2014. I was assigned to bring salad, but that was boring so I brought cupcakes, of course (I'm a rebel). It was a good thing I did because so many people asked when they saw me if I brought cupcakes! The next morning I needed more cupcakes for a Relief Society event I was teaching, and after Laura tasted a cupcake I took to the reunion, she made suggestions on how I could make the cupcake taste better. I followed her suggestions and this was the result.

I realized that particular pineapple slice looked a little weary, so we bought a whole new one. 

Cute, but then my friend scouted out some umbrellas for me which made them super cute! 

Here are my cupcakes at the reunion. I didn't get a picture of the new and improved version after Laura made her suggestions, but they would have looked the same anyway. They just tasted better.

Piña Colada Cupcakes
Cupcakes
1 box white cake mix
1/3 cup butter, melted
3 eggs
1 1/4 cup crushed pineapple with juice
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a mixing bowl, add the melted butter and pineapple with juice. Stir to cool the butter before adding the eggs. When butter is cooled enough, add the eggs, vanilla extract, and sour cream and stir to combine. Add the cake mix and mix until incorporated. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 17-20 minutes or until toothpick tests clean.
Frosting
1/2 cup butter
4 oz cream cheese
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp coconut extract
Toasted coconut, maraschino cherries and pineapple slices for garnishing
Beat butter and cream cheese together in a mixing bowl for 3 minutes. Mix in coconut extract. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time and whip until light and fluffy.
Frost cupcakes, sprinkle with toasted coconut and top with a maraschino cherry. Insert a toothpick into the pineapple slice and stick it into the edge of the cupcake. Top with a festive umbrella, if you have some on hand!

June's Cupcakes, Light Versus Dark

I made cupcakes for Relief Society's June meeting. No surprise there. The hardest part is always deciding what flavor to make. I know some people don't like chocolate, so I when I know I'm making something chocolate, I try to offer a second choice. I was told they were both really good, and I have one person who has been waiting for me to post the recipes, so here they are. 

It gave me another reason to use my new ladder display that we (Bud, Laura and I) made last month. I'm loving that thing!

Forgive the off-balance display of the cupcakes. One container of chocolate cupcakes tipped over and were no longer presentable, so we were a little lopsided on how the remainder were arranged on the stand. None of the cupcake recipes are original, so I will just link you to where I found them. 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcakes, by Lizzy Mae Early (Your Cup of Cake), found here. The only thing I did differently was to drizzle some leftover peanut butter ganache over the top of the cupcake and used a regular chocolate frosting instead of the peanut butter frosting. 

Chocolate Frosting (this may or may not have been the frosting I used. Sorry if it is not!)

1 lb. powdered sugar (that's about 4 cups or so)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Beat the butter and cocoa powder in a standing mixer until mixed well. Add powdered sugar a cup at a time until you've added it all. Slowly add in the cream and beat for about five minutes until it is smooth. 

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes, again by Lizzy Mae Early, found here. 

After I made the cupcakes (I only put in the zest of one lemon instead of two, but I did use 1/4 cup lemon juice as directed), I cored out the center of the cupcakes and added a dollop of lemon curd from Leigh Anne Wilkes (Your Homebased Mom), found here. I replaced the top of the cored-out cupcake and frosted it with OBB's strawberry cream, found here, then added half of a strawberry to the top. 

That's pretty much it! If you tried one, I hope you liked it. If you didn't try one, you should have come to the Relief Society extra meeting! 

Slow Cooker Cranberry Pork Loin

Break out the slow cooker. You're going to want to try this soon! It's so easy and completely yum to the tum. 

                 

Six Sisters Stuff is to blame for this one. Here's the thing- I'm stuck in St. George and I only brought four cookbooks with me. Two of them are Six Sisters, and since I'm loving their "stuff" lately, that's what I'm cooking and blogging. Costco sells a two-pack of pork tenderloin, and within that two-pack are two tenderloins, so you're really dealing with four tenderloins per total package. Use two of the tenderloins (or one half of the total package you've purchased) for this recipe. 

I like to make my cranberry sauce (thank you OBB girls- I haven't forgotten you!). 

Slow Cooker Cranberry Pork Loin (Click to go to the original post at SSS)

3 lbs. boneless pork loin or tenderloin  

1 can (16 oz.) whole cranberry sauce (or click on the cranberry sauce link above to make your own)

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

1 T light brown sugar

1 tsp prepared yellow mustard

Place roast in a slow cooker coated with cooking spray. Combine the rest of the ingredients and pour over the roast. Cook on high 4-5 hours or on low 6-8 hours, making sure the internal temperature of the pork is 145°F. Remove roast and cover with foil while you make the sauce. 

To make the sauce, just add a little water and cornstarch to the mixture left in the crock pot. Whisk until combined. Serve with sliced pork.

I didn't thicken my sauce as I felt it was fine without the cornstarch mixture.  

It's the Pits

Laura came up with an ingenious way to pit cherries. I love it.

Hold the cherry with the stem end down (the stem has already been removed) over a frosting tip. Laura is using a Wilton #10. It's round and fairly large, but not so large that it takes out much more than just the pit. 

Press the cherry down onto the frosting tip and the pit comes right out. 

Take a look at how easy this is! 

Diet Cupcakes- Almost!

My last post was about superifically-calorified cupcakes. These, on the other hand are practically calorie-free. Okay, so not quite but they are "slimmed down." 

A friend of mine was having some challenges with her three-year-old son's escapades, so I figured she needed a treat. I had just cleaned out the refrigerator and knew I had some strawberries, and I had some chocolate frosting that I'd made a couple days earlier. Why not put them together? By the way, you know it's time to clean the fridge when you have absolutely no idea what is inside a particular container and/or your plasticware drawer (I'd say Tupperware, but it's actually all Rubbermaid or Snapware) is empty!  

Another friend of mine was celebrating a birthday, so she got a plate too. 

Another friend has a two-year-old boy who is my best pal, so they got a plate too. The first friend wasn't home (she was the reason I turned the oven on in the first place!) so I picked a different friend and it seemed to brighten her evening a lot. I'll try the first friend again tomorrow. My idea came from here, but I've changed the recipe a lot. Still, let's give credit where credit is due. My eighth-grade history teacher, Mr. Beglinger always said, "Fair is fair." So thanks to Lizzy Early over at Your Cup of Cake for the recipe idea. Anyway, let's get to how I slimmed these down. 

Neapolitan "Diet" Cupcakes

3 eggs 

1/2 cup applesauce

1/2 cup strawberry greek yogurt (I use Dannon Light and Fit, 2X protein, 0% fat- so that's 80 calories and 12 grams of protein!)

1/2 cup strawberry jam (I used my homemade freezer variety) 

1/4 cup milk (I used 1%)

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 box chocolate or devil's food cake mix (I used Duncan Hines Swiss Chocolate)
Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix together all the ingredients except the cake mix until the mixture is blended. Add the cake mix and beat at low speed until it's moistened, then beat on medium speed for two minutes.
I use a medium-sized cookie scoop to put the batter into the cupcake liners. It makes the process a breeze. Bake cupcakes for 17-21 minutes (mine were just right at 19 minutes) or until toothpick tests clean.
Cool in pans for about one minute and then remove the cupcakes to either a cooling rack or a couple of 9x13 pans and cover them with plastic wrap while you make your frosting.
I used the chocolate frosting from this post and then I made some vanilla frosting too.

Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 oz cream cheese, softened
2 tsp vanilla extract
5 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream (or if using milk, start with only 2 T and add a little more milk if necessary, until you reach your desired consistency)
Fresh strawberries for garnish
Beat butter and cream cheese for three minutes. Add vanilla extract and then the powdered sugar. Beat until creamy and there are no sugar lumps remaining. Add cream or milk and whip until it's smooth, about three minutes.
I have a nifty bag that you can fill with two different frostings and then place that bag into another bag with a tip and then you can just pipe away and get the two-toned effect. If you don't have a nifty bag but you do have regular bags, put one flavor in a bag and the other flavor in another bag and then put those two bags into a third bag that has a tip on it and you're all set. Pipe away and top with a fresh strawberry half.
Now go take them to a few of your favorite friends, or treat yourself. Way less guilt on these if you do eat them all because of the applesauce and greek yogurt!
The app, My Fitness Pal, counts these at 98 calories (without the frosting!). They'd be even less if I left out the strawberry jam (86 calories).

Cupcake Deliveries

I've come across a cupcake recipe that is simply divine. That is, if you're not on a diet. Otherwise, avoid these at all costs. The recipe comes from the book, Cupcakes from the Cake Mix Doctor. I frosted the first batch with strawberry frosting and the second batch with chocolate frosting, topping both with a fresh raspberry and some heart-shaped sprinkles. In two different sizes. Because...I have a sprinkle addiction. It's Orson Gygi's fault.

Let's start with the cupcake itself.

Best Birthday Cupcakes (slightly adapted from Cupcakes From the Cake Mix Doctor, page 138)

8 oz. reduced-fat cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup water

4 large eggs

1 T vanilla extract

1 box (16.5oz) Duncan Hines Butter Golden cake mix

Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare cupcake pans by placing cupcake liners in 24-30 cups (I've made this recipe several times and always get 28-30 cupcakes from it, not the 22-24 listed in the book).

Place softened cream cheese in mixing bowl (if your cream cheese isn't soft, place it on a microwaveable dish and heat on full power for 20 seconds). Beat cream cheese for one minute, then add the sugar and beat for another minute. Add oil, water, eggs, and extract and beat until combined. Add cake mix and beat at low speed for 30 seconds and at medium speed for 2 minutes. 

Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full of batter and bake for 18-24 minutes or until lightly browned and toothpick tests clean.

Remove from pan and immediately place cupcakes into a 9x13 pan and cover with plastic wrap until cupcakes are completely cool.

Now let's talk about the frosting. It can be tricky to get a good tasting fruit-flavored frosting. I adapted the strawberry buttercream recipe from Lizzy Early's website, Your Cup of Cake.

Strawberry Buttercream

1 cup butter, softened

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 teaspoons strawberry flavored gelatin (Jell-O powder)

1/4 cup strawberry jam (I used my homemade freezer jam)

4-6 cups powdered sugar
Add the strawberry Jell-O to the strawberry jam and heat it in the microwave for 30 seconds. Remove from microwave and stir until the Jell-O powder is no longer gritty. Allow jam mixture to cool completely.
Place butter in mixing bowl and beat for two minutes. Add vanilla extract and cooled jam mixture, beating briefly. Add four cups of powdered sugar and beat at the lowest speed possible unless you want a cloud of powdered sugar swirling around your head (I don't know, maybe that's a good thing?). After the sugar begins to incorporate, increase speed to medium. Continue to add powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time until you reach your desired consistency and flavor. Once you've arrived, continue beating the frosting for at least five more minutes to make it fluffy and fabulous. 

Chocolate Frosting
1 cup butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 T vanilla extract
3/4 cup cocoa powder
4-6 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream (approximate)
Place the butter and cream cheese into mixing bowl. Beat for three minutes. Add vanilla extract and beat until blended. Add cocoa powder and beat on low speed, then add two cups of powdered sugar and mix slowly until it starts to come together. Add two more cups of powdered sugar and when it is mixed in, increase speed to medium-high. Add the whipping cream as needed if the frosting is too thick. When the frosting is mixed well, taste it and see if you need to add more sugar or not. When you are satisfied with the chocolate to sugar ratio (my preference is about 5 cups of sugar), continue beating the frosting on medium-high speed for about 15 minutes. Yes, 15 minutes. You want to whip in a lot of air into this frosting which will give it a light and airy deliciousness that is incomparable to canned frosting.

I realize this just looks like a blob of brown mess. It is, in fact, fantastic chocolate frosting. It's the extra beating time that turns it from good to great. Now go deliver your cupcakes to all your friends (or just one or two of your friends) so they don't stay in your house, because they are dangerous.

Bran Muffins

Don't judge these by their name! In 2006, I assembled a family recipe book. My mother requested that I include this recipe in the book (page 209) because she loves it so much.

Refrigerator Bran Muffins
1 1/2 cups hot water
3 cups 100% bran cereal (All-Bran)
1 cup raisins
1 cup applesauce
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup honey
1 cup nonfat yogurt
1 cup buttermilk
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp soda
3/4 tsp salt
Pre-heat oven to 400°F. Put bran cereal and raisins in a large bowl. Stir in the hot water to moisten the mixture. Let the cereal absorb the water for a couple of minutes. Add applesauce, eggs, honey, yogurt, and buttermilk and stir to combine. Combine flour, baking soda and salt, and stir into the cereal mixture just until blended. Fill muffin tins 2/3 to 3/4 full (you can either use cupcake liners or spray the pan to prevent sticking). Bake for 15-18 minutes.
The batter will keep in the refrigerator for about a month if you don't want to bake all the muffins at once. If you choose this option, don't re-stir the batter. Just take it out and fill your cupcake pan. I prefer to bake mine all at once and then freeze the muffins. Pop a frozen muffin into the microwave and heat it until it is as warm as you like it.
(77 calories per muffin)

The Last Breakfast

This morning was the very laaast time we put on our missionary badges, and we went to a meeting. Once a month they do a training meeting and we eat breakfast (it's potluck). I took this as my final offering.  

It's called Overnight Blueberry French Toast. It's from here and I found it on Pinterest. It looked delicious! Her photo of the food is killer and mine kind of looks like a hamster or a wingless bat other small creature. I don't think there are such things as wingless bats, so forget I said that. 

Anyway, let's talk about the food. If you like French toast, and if you like cream cheese, and if you like blueberries, you'll like this. I used a loaf of French bread that was two days old. I shouldn't have used the entire loaf as I thought the bread to egg ratio was a little lopsided. The missionaries gave me many compliments on it, so I think they liked it. Either that, or they were all just being nice because it was my last day. However, the blueberry topping is awesome, no doubt about it. I'll type that part up because I'll need it later (when I'm off my diet) to spoon over vanilla ice cream. 

Blueberry Sauce (adapted slightly)

2 cups granulated sugar

1/3 cup plus 1 T cornstarch

3 cups water

2 T lemon juice

4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (I used half of each because that's what I had in the house)

In a medium-large saucepan whisk together the sugar and cornstarch. Add water and and lemon juice. Stir over medium-high heat until mixture boils. Continue boiling for one minute (use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon with a long handle as the mixture pops a little and if it touches your hand, you'll reeeeally feel it, if you catch my drift). Add blueberries and reduce heat to low. Simmer, stirring occasionally for at least ten minutes. I continued to let mine simmer for about 30 minutes, while the casserole was baking. The flavor improved the longer it cooked.

Karen's Requests

This past weekend went much too quickly. I picked Karen up from the airport on Wednesday evening. Even when I was just giving her the first of many hugs, my heart was already a little bit sad because I knew the days would fly by much too quickly and I'd have to return her to the airport before I was ready to let her go. That's exactly what happened.
She had a few requests for when she was home. The first was that she wanted Strawberry White-Chocolate cupcakes "waiting" for her when she got home. I did her one better, and had one waiting in the car! She also wanted scones for breakfast one morning, and she wanted caramel apples to take home with her. I was able to make all these requests happen for her.
I know I've shown these cupcakes on the blog before, but I've never written out the directions, which makes it hard to find when I'm looking for it (which, by the way, is the total reason this blog exists- so I can find my own favorite recipes).

Strawberry White Chocolate Cupcakes (adapted from Your Cup of Cake)
(Makes about 24 cupcakes)
4 egg whites
1/3 cup oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup sour cream
1 T vanilla extract (yes, a tablespoon)
Vanilla cake mix (I usually use Duncan Hines)
White chocolate ganache
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/4 cup heavy cream
Strawberry Buttercream
1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks)
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp strawberry flavored gelatin powder
4-6 cups powdered sugar
strawberry freezer jam (which is still frozen), to taste (I used about 1/4 cup, maybe a little more)
sprinkles or slices of fresh strawberries to garnish, if desired
Preheat oven to 350°F and put cupcake liners in pan. In mixing bowl, add egg whites, oil, buttermilk, sour cream and vanilla extract. Beat until combined. Add cake mix and beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then at medium speed for 2 minutes. Scoop into prepared liners, filling about 3/4 full (I use a large cookie scoop for evenly-filled cupcakes). Bake for 15-20 minutes, until tops are just beginning to brown (or test with a toothpick to come out clean)
To prepare ganache, place cream in a heat-proof bowl. Heat the cream in the microwave until it is very warm but does not boil. Add the chips to the bowl and stir until they are melted and incorporated into the cream, adding more chips if needed if it's too thin, and adding more cream if it's too thick (it's not rocket science). Dip the tops of the baked cupcakes (which have cooled somewhat) into the ganache, letting the excess drip off the cupcake before setting it upright to cool completely.
To make the frosting, beat the butter for two minutes until completely creamy. Add vanilla extract and gelatin powder and beat until the powder is no longer gritty (about three minutes). Add 4 cups of powdered sugar to start with, and beat until it is smooth. Add about 1/4 cup of frozen jam (if you don't have freezer jam, you may use plain ol' jam instead, but it won't be as awesome. Beat until incorporated. Now taste the frosting and see if it is to your liking (or licking!) and adjust as needed, adding more jam or more powdered sugar depending on how it tastes (more non-rocket science). When cupcakes are completely cool, frost cupcakes and add either sprinkles or a fresh strawberry slice.

 Since Karen wanted to take the caramel apples home with her to give to her friends (and keep a few for herself), I had to wrap them up before she could pack them away. She put them in her carry-on bag, "just in case of emergency" on the way home.

I loved having this girl back home with me. I'm sad that the time went by so quickly. 

Come back soon, Kake. 

Chocolate Orange Brownies

I only had one picture's worth of battery left in my "purse" camera, and Laura is borrowing my "good" camera and in the "good camera's" case is the charger for the "purse" camera. That means, this is the only picture of these brownies that I could take.

That layer of awesomeness is orange. Here's how they were made, in case you need a break from all the pumpkin recipes circulating right now.
Chocolate Orange Brownies
1 9x13 pan of your favorite brownies
Orange filling-
1/2 cup butter, softened
zest of 1/2 an orange
1 tsp orange emulsion
3 cups powdered sugar

1-2 T orange juice

Chocolate frosting-
1/2 cup butter
2 cups milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup powdered sugar (or more, to make the consistency as spreadable as you want)

When the brownies are nearly cool, start mixing together the orange filling. If you don't know what orange emulsion is, here's a picture.

I like it better than orange extract. Way better. Beat the butter until it is creamy. Add the zest, emulsion and powdered sugar. Add 1 T of orange juice and check the consistency. You want this stuff to be really spreadable, but not runny. Add the second tablespoon of juice if it is too thick. When the brownies are completely cool, spread the orange filling over them. Place the pan of brownies in the freezer while you mix up the chocolate frosting. 

When you're making the chocolate frosting, you want this to be really spreadable too. I think I got mine too thick. The recipe which inspired these gave only butter and chocolate chips as the frosting ingredients. That made it quite grainy, which is why I added the powdered sugar. That helped to smooth out the texture, but it was still not what I was hoping for. In the end, they turned out super-tasty, but if you want to go with a different chocolate frosting, feel free. This one would work well, as would this one but on that one, leave out the peppermint extract and cut the ingredient amounts in half unless you want a lot of leftover chocolate frosting. Or, just open a can of your favorite frosting (if you own such a thing) and spread it on top of the orange frosted brownies. Keep in mind that you want a very thin layer of chocolate frosting over the orange frosting. Cut 'em up and chow down. I took four of the brownies to an ailing friend and took the rest of them to the missionaries at the employment center. I was surprised at how fast they disappeared! 

Apple Puffed Pancake

Yesterday we went apple picking, so this morning we had this! It was devoured immediately.
Apple Puffed Pancake
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup flour (all-purpose)
3 T granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup butter
2 apples, peeled and thinly sliced
2-3 T brown sugar
Preheat oven to 425°F. In a blender, mix eggs, milk, flour, granulated sugar, vanilla, salt and cinnamon. Pulse briefly to blend. If you have one fluted porcelain quiche dish that's 12 inches across, you can use that. If you don't, you can use two that are 9 inches across, or you can use a 9x13 baking dish.
Place the butter in your pan(s) and put it in the oven to melt the butter. When the butter is melted, add the apple slices to the butter and return the dish to the oven. When the butter starts to sizzle (in a couple of minutes), remove the pan and pour the batter over the top of the apples. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Return the pan to the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
Your pancake will get puffy while it's baking but will fall slightly after you pull it from the oven. Serve immediately. Serves 6 (if some of them are children).

Cupcake Extravaganza

My stepdad wrote his life story and had the book published, so he gathered his extended family to share the book with them. This involved feeding them as well. When I discussed the menu with my mom, she said she had it all figured out except for the dessert, but thought she'd just buy some pies and cupcakes. Gasp! I told her how gross store-bought cupcakes were, and then, yes, volunteered to make the cupcakes. She told me she'd need 100. After much thought, day and night (I lost three night's worth of good sleep), I knew which cupcakes I wanted to make.

Just getting started

Agnes is always a willing helper

Minions

Here's a quick look

Butterfinger cupcakes. Caramel is in the middle, topped with a peanut butter frosting and chopped Butterfingers.

Lemon cupcakes. Lemon curd is in the middle, topped with a cream-cheese lemon frosting. 

White-chocolate raspberry cupcakes. Raspberry filling is in the middle, topped with a swirl of melted white chocolate and a marion berry jam/cream cheese frosting, and three silver dragees (we'd have preferred using a fresh raspberry instead, but we were "fresh" out).

Banana Split cupcakes- we got the idea for this by watching an episode of DC Cupcakes. They have chopped bananas baked into a vanilla batter. Hot fudge is in the middle, topped with Pastry Pride, chocolate syrup, chopped peanuts and a cherry. 

Let's get them outside for the party.

I had to hire a new taste-tester since my other one moved to Arizona in July of 2012. 

Put the fork down and nobody gets hurt. 

She eats her cupcakes with a spoon?

I couldn't resist posting this picture. 

Here's Walt and my mom, while Cheryl holds the microphone as he tells his experiences with writing his story.

So, which would you choose?

My favorite was the Butterfingers cupcakes because the peanut butter frosting was so divine. Cheryl liked the lemon one best, Amy liked the raspberry one best, and the banana split was my favorite for presentation purposes. The kids thought the minion cupcakes we're awesome. So, I guess they are all winners. I have to make more tomorrow to take to the ERC (Employment Resource Center) on Wednesday. Which ones should I make, because I'm only making one kind, not four.
P.S. My apologies for taking soooo long to update the blog.

Raspberry Morning Cake

OBB posted a recipe a couple weeks ago called Blueberry Boy Bait. I'm always keeping an eye out for breakfast recipes because we go to a missionary meeting every month which involves a breakfast pot-luck. When I saw the "B-B-B" recipe I thought it would be perfect for this months offering. I started to gather the ingredients last night only to find I had no blueberries. I did, however, have raspberries so I went with what I had and let my ox stay in the mire.
It was very popular this morning, so I'll share how I changed the recipe.

Raspberry Morning Cake (because I didn't want to call it Boy Bait) adapted from Our Best Bites
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
3 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 T baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup frozen raspberries, divided
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pressurized whipping cream (if desired)

Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Spray 9x13 pan with Baker's Joy, or grease and flour pan. Set aside.
Beat the butter, brown sugar and 1/2 cup granulated sugar for about 3 minutes or until light and fluffy, scraping bowl as necessary. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined before adding the next egg.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the  butter/sugar/egg mixture and blend slightly. Then add 1/2 of the buttermilk, followed by another 1/3 of the flour mixture, beating just until incorporating. Finish adding the buttermilk and the final third of the flour and when it's blended, stir in 1/2 cup of the frozen raspberries. Pour batter into prepared pan. Top batter with the other 1/2 cup of frozen raspberries. Stir the cinnamon into 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and sprinkle it over the batter and raspberries.
Bake for 35-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool for 20 minutes or more. You can serve this warm or cold with a shot of whipped cream. I made it the night before and served it in the morning.
To make it Blueberry Boy Bait, substitute the raspberries for blueberries (fresh or frozen).

Like Banana Pie, But Not

Last week before my sister got sick (again), she made us a wonderful dessert. It was so delicious that the next time I needed to make a dessert, I knew I was going to make the same recipe. Bud's cousin dinner was last Monday, so there was my event.

The recipe is from Six Sister's Stuff. They call it Easy Banana Cream Pie (with Nilla Wafer Crust). I changed it a little bit from what they've done because I thought it needed a little more pudding in the middle. Oh, and I added some toasted coconut to the top because coconut is divine. If Karen was here, it would not have any coconut on it, of course. I liked the chewy texture it added.

Easy Banana Cream Dessert (adapted from Six Sister's Stuff)

80 Nilla Wafer cookies, crushed (about one 12 oz box)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese (light is fine)
2 cups powdered sugar
2 (8 oz) containers Cool Whip, thawed (light is fine)
1 box (5.1 oz) banana cream instant pudding

1 box (3.4 oz) vanilla instant pudding
3 cups milk (skim is fine)
3 bananas, sliced

Directions: 
Mix together the crushed cookies and melted butter. Press into a 9x13" baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Let cool.
Beat together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and 1 container of Cool Whip. Spread on top of cooled cookie crust.
Beat together the banana cream and vanilla pudding with milk. Let stand for about 4-5 minutes until it has thickened. Spread on top of cream cheese layer.
Spread sliced bananas on top of pudding, covering the entire pan.
Spread the last container of Cool Whip on top of the bananas. Let set in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving (I found that a whole container on top was a little too much. Use your own judgment). 
Top with caramel sauce, sliced bananas and crushed cookies as a garnish (totally optional, but it makes it look good. I preferred mine without the caramel sauce, but I'm just a little crazy that way). 

Rice Krispies Treats With A Twist

Last month we had an Empty Nester's party. My assignment was the desserts. Of course.

Eliot is counting...something. 

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I had a few helpers with me to decorate. 

Just because Fun Dip is on sale for 50¢ for 24 packages, doesn't mean you should buy it. That's what is all over Olive's face. At least it matches her shirt. 

She loved wearing her "glasses" all day. 

Here's the dessert table all set up. 

Peppermint Krispies Treats

Strawberry Krispies Treats

Cherry Pies

Cherry Chip cupcakes

More baby pies

And a super cute baby helping with the decorations (that love jelly decoration was a mistake to put on the wall. It left a red residue on the wall that couldn't be scrubbed off). 

Strawberry Rice Krispies Treats (by Our Best Bites)

1 8-ounce bag Strawberry flavored marshmallows (or 5 cups regular mini marshmallows plus strawberry or raspberry flavoring to taste)

2 1/2 tablespoons butter, chopped in small pieces
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3 cups Rice Krispie cereal
1/2 cup dried strawberries or mixed berries, roughly chopped
1/3-1/4 chocolate chips (I prefer semi-sweet or dark)

Lightly butter an 8×8 or slightly larger pan with butter (or line with lightly buttered waxed paper).  Place marshmallows and butter in a large microwave-safe bowl.  Heat in 30 second intervals, stirring in-between until melted and smooth.  Stir in almond extract and immediately add cereal and dried fruit.  Press mixture into prepared pan.

Place chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and heat until melted and smooth.  Drizzle over treats and refrigerate until set.  Cut into squares.

Alternately, cut bars with cookie cutters into shapes and dip in chocolate.

Thanks to Kate and Sara, the Berry Krispies Treats were a big hit!