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Archive for the ‘Desserts’ Category

220 Cupcakes

Posted in Cake, Desserts, Entertaining Ideas, Recipes, tagged , , , on June 18, 2012| 3 Comments »

A friend asked me a while ago to bake cupcakes for her wedding reception.

I was both honored by her request and somewhat terrified at the thought of not only baking that many cupcakes, but baking that many edible cupcakes.

Saturday, I spent four hours baking 220 chocolate cupcakes. Actually, there were 227, but seven of them tragically didn’t make the cut and had to be disposed of. (Yum!)

To make 220 cupcakes, I used eight cake mixes which I doctored up with my Grandma’s secret step to making a boxed mix taste fantastic (and I can’t share the secret or it wouldn’t be a secret, now, would it?).

I then made three batches of buttercream frosting which the bride-to-be helped me slather on the cupcakes and top with assorted sprinkles.  It only took us about two hours to do the frosting.

While frosting the cupcakes we learned some valuable information:

• There is a perfect temperature for the frosting that is somewhere between chilled and warm. Too cold and it wouldn’t squirt out of the bag and too warm it was really hard to work with. The perfect temperature lasts for approximately 9.8 seconds.

• Making sure the bag holding the frosting is completely sealed before squeezing it is a vital step in the success of the project.

• Husbands are not so helpful when it comes to frosting and sprinkling, but they are super helpful when someone needs to run to the store and get another bag of powdered sugar so another bowl of frosting can be made in the midst of the project. Thanks, CC for coming to the rescue!

• You can create all sorts of cool frosting designs with nothing more than a Ziploc bag and your imagination.

• Approximately two large jars of sprinkles are way more than plenty to do 220 cupcakes. The other 14 pounds of sprinkles I purchased will have to wait for another project.

• It’s always more fun to do projects like this with a good friend!

Here is the buttercream frosting recipe I used.  It should frost about 60-75 cupcakes, depending on how  much you use per cupcake.

Buttercream Frosting

1 cup butter, softened

1 bag powdered sugar (appox. 8 cups)

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

4 tbsp. cold milk

Beat butter on low speed until smooth. Add vanilla extract and mix then slowly mix in powdered sugar, alternating with the milk. You may need to add more milk, depending on how thick you want your frosting. Chill until ready to use. Store leftovers in the freezer (if you have leftovers).

To make the frosting chocolate, I added 1/2 cup cocoa powder and another tablespoon of milk.

She Who is Cupcaked Out for A While

 

 

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Happy Father’s Day

Posted in Desserts, Pie, Recipes, tagged , , , on June 15, 2012| Leave a Comment »

With Father’s Day this coming Sunday, I thought I’d share a few recipes my good ol’ dad enjoys!

He always said he only likes two kinds of pie – hot or cold! So here are a few pie recipes. Make one for your dad or hubby and see if it doesn’t make them smile!

Chocolate Raspberry Ritz Pie

Cream Pie

Orange Dream Pie

Apple Pie

Lemon Meringue Pie

and you need a good recipe for pie crust…

Vodka Pie Crust

Happy Father’s Day!

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Buttery Blackberry Bars

Posted in Captain Cavedweller, Cookies, Desserts, Entertaining Ideas, Recipes, tagged , , , on June 8, 2012| 1 Comment »

I needed to make something sweet and wonderful for a group of people who’ll be gathering at my house tonight.

So I found a recipe on Pinterest that sparked my interest, gave it a few tweaks and ta-da… wonderfully delicious Blackberry bars.

These were easy to put together and so yummy.

Captain Cavedweller may have tasted more than his fair share in his efforts to provide quality control over my baked goods.

Ingredients

 

Mix up crust until crumbly.

 

Press half of mixture into an 8×8 baking pan.

 

Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes, then cool for about 10 minutes.

 

While the crust is cooling, whisk eggs.

 

Add in flour, sugar, sour cream, lemon, almond and salt, blending well.

 

Add berries to filling.

Folding them in gently.

 

Spoon filling over crust and top with remaining crumbles. Bake for about 45 minutes or until top is lightly browned and berry filing is bubbly.

 

Remove from oven and let cool slightly.

Then top with vanilla frosting you have nuked for about 10 seconds to warm. Just pour it over the top in a drizzling pattern.

 

Let cool completely to serve as bars or scoop out warm and serve with vanilla ice cream!

Buttery Blackberry Bars

Crust:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

pinch of salt

3/4 cup butter, softened

Filling:

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup flour

pinch salt

1/2 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp almond extract

3 cups fresh blackberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly coat an 8×8 baking pan with non-stick spray.

Combine the sugar, flour, salt and butter, cutting together until the mixture is crumbly. Divide in half.

Press half into the bottom of the baking pan and bake for about 10 minutes. Cool for about 10 minutes.

While it is cooling, whip eggs, then add in sugar, sour cream, lemon, salt, and almond extract. Mix well. Gently fold in the berries. Spoon over crust then top with remaining crumbled mixture.

Bake about 45 -50 minutes until mixture is lightly browned and berries are bubbly.

Cool and cut into bars or scoop out like a crisp and serve warm with ice cream!

She Who Liked These Way Too Much

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Salted Caramel Shortbread Bars

Posted in Cookies, Desserts, Entertaining at Home, Recipes, tagged , , , on May 18, 2012| 2 Comments »

I love shortbread. I love caramel. I’m even learning to appreciated salt on my caramel. So why not combine the three?

This is a quick and simple recipe that will earn you many rave reviews!

Ingredients for Shortbread. Cream butter and eggs, stir in flour and vanilla.

Press dough into an 8×8 baking pan and bake until set.

Ingredients for caramel filling. Mix in a heavy saucepan and follow directions below because I realized after I started making this that my sweetened condenses milk expired a year ago and being the paranoid-freakazoid I am, I just couldn’t make myself use it even though it looked fine. In a panic, I used caramel sauce from a jar, which I would not recommend if you want these to look pretty.

Chill the bars until caramel is set then sprinkle with sea salt. You can also drizzle with chocolate if you desire (which I always do).

Salted Caramel Shortbread Bars

For the Shortbread

1 cup flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 stick of butter

1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream together sugar and butter. Stir in flour and vanilla. Press into a greased (spray with Pam) 8×8 baking pan. Bake until shortbread is set but not brown (about 10-13 minutes). Remove from oven and let cool slightly before pouring on caramel layer.

For the caramel layer

1  sticks  butter, cut into pieces

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbsp. light corn syrup

1 (14 oz.) cans sweetened condensed milk

To make the caramel layer, combine the butter, sugar, corn syrup and condensed milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter is melted.  Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, stirring constantly.  Continue simmering and stirring until the mixture turns an amber color and thickens slightly.  Pour the mixture over the shortbread layer, smooth the top, and allow to cool completely and set.  Make sure you use a heavy-duty saucepan or you’ll have burnt bits in your caramel.

When cool (I stuck mine in the fridge to hurry things along) sprinkle with sea salt. Cut into squares and enjoy!

She Who Needs to Stock up on Sweetened Condensed Milk

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