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Berry Fruit Cups

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound large strawberries, washed and cored
• 1/4 pound washed blueberries
• whipped cream (store-bought or homemade)

Method:

1. Wash, hull, and core strawberries (a melon scoop works nicely). Make sure to find large strawberries to use to make it easier.
2. Fill each strawberry with whipped cream (if homemade, pour whipped cream into a pastry bag).
3. Top with washed blueberries and serve immediately.
4. Tip: These are best served right away since the whipped cream will melt. If making for later, prepare fruit and then fill with whipped cream just before serving. You can try refrigerating these for a short time before serving to keep cool too.

Some cored strawberries stuffings:

• Mixed fruit (berries, melon, mandarin oranges, kiwi)
• Vanilla or chocolate pudding
• Lemon curd
• Custard
• Ice Cream
• Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate (or all 3!)

yackattack:

Sweet Apple Chips

One of my favorite snacks, even if I don’t make them very often. :)

Ingredients:

2 Small Apples (cut into thin slices as shown above)

2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar

1 tsp. Cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 F and place apple slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle mix of brown sugar and cinnamon over the slices. Roast for 10-15 minutes, or until the edges start to curl and brown a little bit. Set out to cool, and enjoy!

smilingfork:

Creme Egg Cake

Difficulty: ★★★★☆ (hard)

Ingredients:

Cake

• 2 sticks and 2 tablespoons butter softened
• 4 1/2 cups cake flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 9 egg whites, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/4 cups sugar

Frosting

• 5 sticks butter, softened
• 9 cups powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 tablespoons milk
• Yellow food coloring

Ganache

• 2 cups bittersweet chocolate finely chopped
• 3/4 cups heavy cream

Preparations:

Cake

1. Preheat oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Butter and flour three 9 inch round pans.
3. In bowl one - mix milk, egg whites and extracts.
4. In bowl two - sift flour, baking powder and salt.
5. In bowl three - beat butter and sugar together for 2 minutes.
6. Gradually in alternating batches, add milk mix (bowl one) and flour mix (bowl two) to butter mix (bowl three).
7. Pour evenly into the three pans and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

Frosting

1. Beat all ingredients together except the food coloring. Add additional milk or powdered sugar to reach your desired consistency.

Ganache

1. Place chopped chocolate in a large bowl.
2. Bring cream to a simmer in a saucepan over medium/high heat.
3. Remove from heat and pour over chocolate.
4. Let cream and chocolate sit for 1 minute without stirring.
5. Whisk until smooth then chill until thick and pourable.

Assembly

1. Level the tops of the cakes then split them all in half so you have 6 layers in total.
2. Place bottom layer on a 9 inch cardboard round.
3. Place 1 cup of frosting in a bowl and dye in desired shade of yellow.
4. Frost first layer evenly, top with second, frost and so on until you have reached the final sixth layer. Do not frost the top of the sixth yet.
5. Cut a 2 inch circle in the middle of the cake. With a think knife cut in four or five layers deep, going around the circle then scoop out the middle. The base layer should be completely in tact.
6. Fill the hole with yellow frosting and smooth top.
7. Evenly frost top and sides of cake.
8. Chill for 30 minutes, then pour ganache evenly over cake, making sure it runs down all sides, covering it completely.
9. Chill until set, one hour.
10. Place mini creme eggs around the border, securing with toothpicks if necessary.
11. Keep chilled until serving.

pictureimperfect:

Purple Sweet Potato Chiffon Cupcakes

Ingredients

4 Large Egg Yolks

15 g Sugar
50 g/ml Canola or Corn Oil
50 g/ml Unsweetened Soy Milk or Whole Milk
100 g Frozen Grated Purple Sweet Potato
 (I used Buenas brand), thawed
65 g Pastry Flour, sifted
1 ½ tsp Lemon Juice

Meringue
55 to 65 g Sugar (adjust accordingly to the sweetness of sweet potato)

8 g Corn Flour/Starch

4 Large Egg Whites

Equipment: Regular size muffin/cupcake pans, lined with paper cups
Baking Sheet


Crème Fraiche Frosting
2 Tbsp Granulated Sugar
1 Cup Crème Fraiche

1/3 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream

½ tsp Vanilla Extract

Method

Position the rack on lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325˚F/160˚C.



Place the egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl, and beat well. Add oil, soy milk, and grated sweet potato and stir to incorporate with a whisk. Add flour and lemon juice; mix well, until the batter becomes sticky.



Make the meringue: Combine sugar and corn flour. Beat the egg whites until foamy. Add half the sugar and continue beating for a few minutes, then add remaining sugar and beat until egg whites are glossy and stiff peaks form.

Add one-third of meringue into the egg yolk mixture and fold in lightly, then add remaining meringue and fold to incorporate completely.

Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them almost full. Bake for 16-17 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean. 

When cake is done, remove from the oven and leaving it to cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

For the Crème Fraiche frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the crème fraiche, cream, vanilla and 2 Tbsp granulated sugar. Whip on medium-high speed until soft peaks form and the cream hold its shape.

Note: For 7 inches Chiffon/Angel Tube Pan
Pour batter into an ungreased angel cake tube pan. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes.

When cake is done, remove from the oven and turn it over, leaving it to cool for about an hour.

Once the cake is cool completely, carefully run a knife or spatula around the sides of the cake to loosen it before inverting onto a wire rack.

Makes 16 Regular Size Cupcakes or One 7 inches Chiffon Cake

pictureimperfect:

Mile High Pound Cake Cupcakes

Ingredients

1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, plus more for pan
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
3 cups sugar
5 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup milk 1 cup of heavy cream (which will give the top a cookie crunch top)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Bake at 180c for 45-90 minutes, what I’ve noticed, is I can get a really high, fluffy cake/cupcake or one of those mile high cupcakes by cooking it at a lower temp at say, 165c for an hour.  Cream your butter and sugar , and oil at room temperature on high speed, until it becomes a pale-like yellow in color.  Add two eggs to the mixture, and beat on high until fluffy, add the remaining three eggs, and beat on high until it becomes fluffy.  Add your flours, along with the 1 cup of cream and beat on high, you’ll soon notice how much volume the batter gets as you’ve beaten in your eggs.

pictureimperfect:

Chocolate Espresso Bundt Cake with Dark Chocolate Cinnamon Glaze       

Chocolate Espresso Bundt Cake

Ingredients

8 oz butter (2 sticks/1 cup)

1/2 cup high quality Dutch process cocoa, such as Cacao Barry Extra Brute

1 tablespoon instant espresso powder dissolved into 3/4 cup water

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Method

Preheat oven to 350° F. Butter and flour a 10-12 cup bundt pan or Kugelhopf pan.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat; add cocoa, stirring until smooth. Whisk in the espresso water and remove from heat. Add the sugar, sour cream, vanilla, and eggs to the warmed cocoa mixture and whisk until smooth. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add all at once to the first mixture, whisking until well blended.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until it feels firm to the touch and has slightly pulled away from the sides of the pan. Cool in pan on a rack for 20 minutes. Carefully loosen the cake with a knife and invert onto a large plate.

*Bundt cake recipe adapted from Chocolate Bundt Cake from About.com.

Dark Chocolate Cinnamon Glaze

Ingredients

4 oz high quality bittersweet chocolate (I use Callebaut), coarsely chopped

1/3 cup unsalted butter,  softened and cut into 1/2 pieces

1 1/2 teaspooons light corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Method

Place the chocolate, butter, corn syrup, and cinnamon in a medium heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Stir the mixture using a rubber spatula until melted and smooth.

Assembly

Pour warm glaze over bundt cake. Keep covered in a cake-keeper at room temperature for up to 4 days.