Lemon Pound Cake

Happy Easter!! This year, I decided I'd bring pound cake for shortcake rather than angel food cake. Mostly due to my absolutely irrational fear of egg whites. I didn't want to go through that again. So, pound cake it is! It holds up a bit better anyways to the mounds of strawberries I generally pile on (I like a little pound cake with my strawberries and whipped cream!). I also had some cute little mini-bundt pans that I wanted to try. Which kind of failed, since one fell apart while baking.. but still turned out pretty awesome!

Exhibit A: 

Finished product (my camera makes it look darker than it is, it really is only golden brown!):

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks)

1/2 cup shortening (room temp)

3 cups sugar

6 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp butter flavoring
3 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt (if using unsalted butter)
1/2 cup half and half
1/2 cup milk
zest and juice of one large lemon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350º. 

Cream butter, shortening and sugar together. Add eggs, one at a time, and extracts with last egg. Mix well after each addition. Add 1 cup flour and the baking powder (and salt, if using), mix. Add half and half, followed by another cup of flour, then milk, then remaining 1 cup flour. Add lemon zest and juice, mix until everything is well combined. Pour into a greased and floured bundt pan or two loaf pans. (I used five of these, though there is only four in a package. If you're going to use these, I would recommend reinforcing the sides if you can, and definitely put them on a baking sheet while they're in the oven.) Bake for 40-45 minutes for mini bundt pans, or 50-55 for the larger pans, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and cakes are golden brown on top. Let cool for at least 15-20 minutes before slicing. You WILL wind up with a mess otherwise. 

Healthier Cranberry Orange Muffins

For co-workers and friends, I generally will make them something of their choice for their birthdays. A co-worker has been trying to eat better recently, and requested muffins. Preferably with citrus of some sort in them, and as healthy as I could get. While I didn't go the whole 9 yards on the health bit (could also probably have added some flax seed or oats or something, and used fresh orange juice instead of pre-made), they're still quite a bit healthier than the store-bought version that is loaded with sugar and useless carbs!  I would also imagine that you could use other better oils than vegetable, such as coconut oil, but I'm not sure how it would affect the texture or flavor. Also, I apologize that I don't have a picture for this one just yet. I will have to make another batch soon to get pictures. They turned out GORGEOUS though. Perfectly domed and fluffy, but still definitely a muffin. 

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil 
1-2 tsp orange zest
1/3 cup Splenda
1 egg
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 - 1/2 cup dried cranberries (I used low-sugar Craisins)

Preheat oven to 375º. Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Add in remaining ingredients except cranberries, mix until just combined. Fold in cranberries. Divide batter equally between 6 greased or lined muffin cups. Bake 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Surprise! Cupcakes

Ok, I know I've been gone awhile, but really. This kid is sapping my energy like you wouldn't believe! I forgot how hard it was to grow one of these things. Anyways. We find out what we're having next month, and I wanted to have a cute little gender reveal party like I see on Pinterest all the time. The idea for the reveal came from a Polka Dot Cake recipe I saw. This is essentially the same thing, except cupcake sized! YIPPEE! This recipe is so easy, you don't even need a recipe! My secret to my test batch (for valentines day, of course!) used box mixes for both layers of cake, and store bought frosting. Super simple, and super easy! 

Step A: Make some cake balls! I have a nifty little cake ball maker that just does it on my stove top (it's like a waffle iron almost, except it makes little balls of goodness!). I just used that for the first layer. Do whatever color/flavor/WHATEVER you want! My test batch used a Funfetti cake mix that I used some pink gel food coloring to turn SUPER pink! SQUEE! Make the box. Or half a box. Or whatever. Just keep in mind that you'll be using about 2-3x the amount of the outer cake batter that you use for cake balls. If you want to go for old school cake balls, you know, the "I'd like a little cake with my frosting" cake balls, by all means, do it! Just keep in mind that it may lose it's shape a bit when baking because the frosting could melt. Also, be sure to not over bake them, they'll be baked again! It's perfectly acceptable in this case to have slightly under baked cake balls. 

Step B: Prepare your outer cake batter. For mine, I used red velvet. Line a cupcake pan with the liners you desire. Put a small amount of your second batter on the bottom. Don't go overboard! It'll bake up, and push your cake ball up through the top of the pan. You just want to hide the bottom of the cake ball is all. Press a cake ball into the batter. Cover the cake ball with batter! Don't fill the cups too full though, remember, the batter will rise up. Bake about 2/3 what the box or recipe says to, then check to see if they are done by inserting a toothpick near the EDGE of the cupcake. Your cake balls in the center are already done, so you're just testing the batter around them. When the toothpick comes out clean, they're done! Take them out, let them cool, and then frost however you like. Mine, I put a pretty little swirl of cream cheese frosting on top. 

Want to see the insides? It's pretty cool! Also, I promise that the insides were far more pink than my camera shows. 

I figure that for the gender reveal party, I'll do my Lemon cupcake (yellow is nice and neutral, and who doesn't like lemon?!) with a blue or pink cake ball inside! Alright folks. Tell me how you plan to make this work for you! Chocolate cake ball in a butter cake? Neon green mint inside a chocolate cupcake? 

Champagne & Strawberries Cupcakes

Well, the cat's out of the bag.. We're expecting! Which means that I don't get to share a bottle of hubs and my favorite champagne:

This stuff isn't even TECHNICALLY champagne, it's cava. Sort of like the Spanish version of champagne. No matter, it's still my favorite. Since I can't drink it this year, I decided that I was going to do a version of champagne and strawberries that I COULD have for my midnight celebration. Cupcakes! I kind of searched around, and there was a pretty awesome Mimosa cupcake recipe over at The Cupcake Project, but I didn't want anything too time/energy consuming since I've had ZERO energy this time around so far. I wracked my brain and decided to go with a mix. What is light and bubbly and sweet like champagne? Angel food cake! YES! Pair that with a delicious strawberry cream cheese frosting, and it's a match made in heaven. 

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:
1 box Betty Crocker Angel Food Cake Mix
1 1/4 c champagne (whatever you fancy!)

Frosting:
1oz freeze dried strawberries
1/2 c butter, softened (1 stick)
8oz cream cheese
4-6 c powdered sugar

Directions:

Prepare the cake mix as directed on box, just use the champagne in place of the water! Bake 20-25 minutes for cupcakes (since it doesn't have the times listed for them). Let cool completely. 

For the frosting, pulverize the strawberries. If you're having a hard time finding a package of freeze dried strawberries, check Target. They usually have packages of various freeze dried fruits available. You can TOTALLY do this with any of them! Anyways. Set the strawberries aside after they've been powdered. Cream the butter and cream cheese, add the strawberries back in, mix, and then add powdered sugar until you get the consistency you want. Frost once the cupcakes are cooled! 

Sweet Potato Pie 2 (Candied Yam Pie)

Have leftover sweet potatoes after your Thanksgiving dinner that you're looking to be rid of? Look no further! 

Ingredients:

2 cups leftover sweet potatoes, mashed/pureed (CANDIED YAMS FOR THE WIN!)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp molasses
1 tsp vanilla
1 can sweetened condensed milk (14oz)
1/2 stick melted butter, cooled (4 tbsp)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground ginger
2 prepared pie crusts (frozen or your favorite recipe)
Marshmallows (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350º. 

Combine all ingredients except crusts and marshmallows in a large mixing bowl until well blended. Divide evenly between the two crusts. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Top the pies immediately with marshmallows, return to the oven on your broil setting, juts until marshmallows are toasted. (optional) 

Cut yourself a large slice.

Then, top with whipped cream. If you're cool enough, that is. 

Cranberry Sauce

Well, it's that time of year. Food, food and more food! Thanksgiving for me though is all about turkey, stuffing and cranberries. My usual cranberry dish is a cranberry orange relish, which is super easy and pretty tasty. It's just cranberries (washed and drained), an orange (cut into small-ish chunks, skin and all), and sugar (to taste). All above goes into the food processor until it gets to where you want it to be. It's all really a matter of taste. This year though, I opted to go another route. I've had cranberry orange relish every year of my life I think. I'm almost a quarter century old, it's time to branch out! 

Ingredients:

1 bag of fresh cranberries, washed and drained

1 medium apple, peeled and chopped**

1 medium pear, peeled and chopped**

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp lemon extract (or a squeeze of fresh lemon juice)

1 tbsp brown sugar

1/2-3/4 cup white sugar or splenda (to taste)

3/4 cup water

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a medium to large sauce pan. Start with the 1/2 cup sugar, and if you need more after it's done, stir it in. Simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until all ingredients are soft and cooked down into a sauce. 

Here comes my note:

**When you're chopping your apple and pear, think ahead. If you want a "rustic" style cranberry sauce (chunky), chop them into smaller pieces. I'd say probably 1/4-1/2" dice. For my sauce, I used an immersion blender once everything was done cooking, so I made a bigger dice (about 1"). 

Another note: When selecting your apples, use a red one! The sweet will offset the tart of the cranberry and reduce the amount of sugar you'll need. Also, try to buy a good looking local breed! I used a Pacific Rose apple. Same goes for pears. Try to buy a sweeter variety, and buy local! It will be fresher, better tasting, and better for your local economy! 

/end preaching

This is what mine looked like when everything was cooked down, just before I took my immersion blender to it:

And just after:

I purposely left some chunks in mine, so that it wouldn't be like a cranberry butter. I wanted a bit of substance to it still. In the future, I think that I'll just dice the apples and pears a bit smaller and leave it as is. I like the chunks! 

Sweet Potato Pie

I <3 sweet potato and pumpkin pie. I've tried my hand before at pumpkin pie, and it turned out mediocre at best. I figured I'd give it one last shot. I'm just not a pie person, really. I fail pretty much every time I try to make a pie or snickerdoodles. I'm just incapable. This time though? Oh yeah. BIG win! 

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked/peeled red garnet yams
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp molasses
1 tsp vanilla 
2 eggs
1/2 stick melted butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground ginger 
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk 
2 prepared pie crusts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350º. 

Mash your yams or put them through a food processor until mostly smooth. Mix together with all ingredients except milk (and pie crust, obviously). I used a wooden spoon, in hindsight, I'd use my hand mixer to give it a bit more volume. Next time, my friends. Add the milk, mix well.

Now, place the two pie shells on a baking sheet, and distribute evenly between the two shells. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until a toothpick/knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let it settle for a few minutes before you cut it open. Top with whipped cream. Whip it yourself, use the canned stuff, whatever. Just do it. And sprinkle with cinnamon, or maybe a drizzle of salted caramel. YUM!