Oh my!

photo credit: Ina Mae Unga Taea

photo credit: Ina Mae Unga Taea

photo credit: Ina Mae Unga Taea

Oh my... I'm in love... With these cupcakes! A friend of mine, who is a fellow cupcake-aholic, found some red velvet cupcakes with chocolate chips baked in them. What a good idea I thought! Then that same friend found some red velvet cupcakes with a cream cheese swirl baked in them, wow! That's also a great idea! So my genius idea was to combine the two! So here we have red velvet cupcakes with a baked in cream cheese and chocolate chip center topped off with vanilla bean cream cheese frosting.
For the red velvet cake I used this recipe. That was my first ever blog post! Haha. It's a slight adaption from Paula Deen's recipe.

For the filling:
1 8ounce package of cream cheese
1 egg
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 heaping cup semisweet chocolate chips

Beat cream cheese till smooth, add egg then powdered sugar and beat till smooth again then add chocolate chips.

Preparation:
Fill cupcake liners about 1/4 full with red velvet batter then add about a tablespoon full of cream cheese chocolate chip mixture to each cupcake and top with more red velvet batter to make each cupcake liner about 3/4 full or a little more. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. let cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting:

1 8 ounce package cream cheese
3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5-6 cups powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth, add vanilla. Slowly add powdered sugar, beating well, until desired consistency is reached. Continue to feat until fluffy about 2-3 minutes.

S'mores Bars

A bunch of my friends have been having bon fires and making S'mores all summer long which made me really really jealous! I've been dying to have a bon fire, pretty much for s'mores alone but it didn't happen and I couldn't wait any longer! I have had this recipe bookmarked for quite some time now from "the girl who ate everything" and I've been dying to try it! Definitely a success!! I can't wait to make them again! The graham cracker crust is so good, like a soft warm cookie and then obviously the filling is great! I actually used semi sweet chocolate chips instead of the chocolate bars just because it was what I had on hand. Anyways you should try these! super easy and de-lish!

Smores Bars

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 king-sized Hershey's milk chocolate bars
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (7 1/2 oz jar)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.

2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined.

3. Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Place chocolate bars over dough. 2 king-sized Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick. Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff. Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff. This part can be tricky. I made little disks with the dough and formed them into a sheet on some parchment paper then transferred it over. Spread it around gently.

4. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Makes 16 cookie bars.

ocean fun

sorry, no new recipe but here are some pictures of the cupcakes and mini cakes I baked for my friend's twin boys for their first  birthday party! The cupcake flavors are coconut, red velvet and chocolate. I made the sea creatures out of royal icing. I also used royal icing to paint the bikinis and surf shorts on the teddy graham cookies. Hope you get some fun ideas.

Chocolate Toffee Macadamia Nut Banana Bread

lame iphone pic- sorry

 So a while back my dear friend Kami told me she makes her banana bread with chocolate covered macadamia nuts sprinkled on top, what a genius idea!!! So I thought, what about delightful chocolate toffee macadamia nuts because of their crunchy and buttery goodness, and yum! I also added macadamia nuts to the batter itself, not the toffee chocolate ones though. Here is the recipe, I dare you to try it!

Recipe:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups (3-4 medium sized) very ripe bananas, mashed (I used apple bananas)
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped macadamia nuts
1/2 to 3/4 cups chopped chocolate toffee covered macadamia nuts chopped (I think the brand I used was island princess, but I'm sure a few companies make them)

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350. spray 2 (8x4 inch) loaf pans with pam or grease bottoms.
2. In your mixer beat sugars and butter. Add eggs, bananas, buttermilk and vanilla, beat with mixer until smooth. Add remaining ingredients except for chocolate toffee mac nuts and mix just until well incorporated. Pour batter into prepared loaf pans and top with chopped chocolate toffee mac nuts.
3. Bake at 350 f for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool for about an hour before slicing(or eat hot because you can't wait).

jungle fun

i went to a jungle themed pot luck baby shower yesterday and brought these fun treats =)

lately

chocolate cupcake filled with cookie dough and topped with cream cheese frosting!

half baked cookie dough center

chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream and buttercream flowers

(black) chocolate and (yellow) vanilla layer cake for my friends husband. i wish i had a picture of a slice of the inside! it was 4 layers alternating black and yellow. 

My favorite chocolate cake at the moment is this recipe, it's very simple and very moist and chocolatey! I used it for all of the cakes/cupcakes in the above pictures. For the amazzzzzzing cookie dough cupcakes I dropped a ball of cookie dough in each cupcake batter before I baked them and the result is a half baked cookie center and it is to die for! you could easily make them with store bought cookie dough but I made the dough of my favorite chocolate chip cookies which I will also give the recipe for. I know I promised that recipe a looong time ago but here it is.

Chocolate Cake or Cupcakes: (24 cupcakes or 2, 8 inch layers.)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup black coffee, cooled

3/4 cup buttermilk 
1/3 cup vegetable oil or melted butter (I do half and half, butter makes it yummy but oil makes it moist so do both )
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)
 

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray pans with Pam or grease.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together cocoa, flour, white sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt until thoroughly mixed.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, water, buttermilk, vegetable oil/butter and vanilla extract. Whisk into flour mixture until all of the ingredients are mixed in and no streaks of flour remain. Add in optional mini chocolate chips, if using.
4. For cupcakes bake at 350F for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one the cakes comes out clean, or with only a few crumbs or if you press one it should spring back. cool completely on a wire rack before frosting. 

 (recipe adapted from baking bites)

Best chocolate chip cookies in the ENTIRE world!!!!!! recipe:

(If you are using this for the cupcakes you will just need 24 balls of dough for the center of each cupcake and just drop them into the batter after you've filled the cupcake liners 3/4 full, try to make sure that the dough is covered with batter. and bake for the normal time of the cupcakes you're making, if you use the chocolate cupcake recipe above then that is 15 minutes. You will have plenty of dough left to make cookies with too =) and you can even freeze the dough to make cookies for later or freeze the dough balls and make cupcakes later.

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons hot water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. Stir in flour, chocolate chips, and nuts. Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans.
3. Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned.

chocolate

It was my stepfathers birthday yesterday and this is the cake I made for him. It's this chocolate cake recipe and this chocolate buttercream recipe. Tomorrow I'll post a recipe for the world's best chocolate chip cookies. No, SERIOUSLY the BEST!!

Pumpkin Bread

Can you tell I like pumpkin? Just a little bit? haha well here is a recipe for pumpkin bread! I made these cookies the other day and had some left over pumpkin puree because I bought the bigger (29 oz.) can of pumpkin instead of the 15oz. So I made some bread. I love the moist and fluffy texture of this recipe as well as the sweet and spicy flavor. Perfect for fall! I added walnuts to mine but that is totally up to you.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup apple sauce
4 eggs, at room temp. and lightly beaten
16 ounces (2 cups) canned, unsweetened pumpkin puree
3 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
2/3 cup water
1 cup walnuts or chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and Flour or spray with pam, 2- 9x5 loaf pans. (I actually had enough batter for my loaf pans as well as 6 muffins) Stir together sugar and oil. Stir in eggs and pumpkin. Combine dry ingredients in separate bowl. Blend dry ingredients and water into wet mixture, alternating. Divide batter between loaf pans. Bake for about 50 minutes or until toothpick or cake tester comes out clean. Let stand for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and let cool.

Triple Chocolate Pumpkin Pie, I die!

Can I just tell you that I cannot wait for Thanksgiving!! I am so excited, not only does Thanksgiving mean delicious food and quality family time but it also means Christmas is like SUPER soon!! The year before last I made this pie and it was actually one of the first pies I have baked on my own. I usually bake cupcakes if you haven't noticed. But that Thanksgiving was the first Thanksgiving I cooked all by my big girl self. I chose this pie to make because I am a die hard chocolate fan but I also LOVE pumpkin pie! I am so excited to make it again this year, first of all so I can make it prettier! 2 years ago I kind of sucked, my piping bag exploded which explains the awful layer of milk chocolate smear on top! haha. But it tasted divine and I have been dreaming about it ever since! I am also making a classic pumpkin pie with a ginger snap crust... I will post the recipe for the crust on my next post. Yay for Thanksgiving and yay for Martha Stewart, she is the Thanksgiving queen! I am forever indebted to her for this recipe!

Serves 12

• FOR THE GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST
• 2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs (about 16 crackers)
• 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate (preferably 61 percent cacao), finely chopped
• FOR THE FILLING
• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate (preferably 55 percent cacao), chopped
• 2 ounces (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
• 1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
• 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Ground cloves
• 1 ounce milk chocolate, melted

Directions

1. Make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugars, salt, and cinnamon in bowl. Firmly press mixture into bottom and up sides of a deep, 9 1/2-inch pie dish. Bake until firm, 8 to 10 minutes.
2. Remove from oven, and sprinkle bittersweet chocolate over bottom of crust. Return to oven to melt chocolate, about 1 minute. Spread chocolate in a thin layer on bottom and up sides. Let cool on a wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.
   
3. Make the filling: In a large heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, melt semisweet chocolate and butter, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat.
4. Mix pumpkin, milk, brown sugar, eggs, cornstarch, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and a pinch of cloves in a medium bowl. Whisk 1/3 pumpkin mixture into chocolate mixture. Whisk in remaining pumpkin mixture until completely incorporated.
5. Transfer pie dish to a rimmed baking sheet, and pour pumpkin mixture into crust. Bake until center is set but still a bit wobbly, 55 to 60 minutes. Let cool in pie dish on a wire rack. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 8 hours (preferably overnight). Before serving, drizzle melted milk chocolate on top. Serve immediately.

FALL RECIPES!

Here is a delicious recipe for fall. I plan on posting more of my favorite fall recipes in the next couple of days. And I'm sorry for being such a bad blogger recently but I'm back!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies (cake like, fluffy, deliciously flavorful)

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup canned pumpkin puree
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 cups (12 oz bag) chocolate chips (milk or semi-sweet, I usually use semi-sweet)

non-stick cooking spray

 Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees and spray cookie sheet with non stick cooking spray
Using an electric mixer beat butter until smooth, beat in sugars a little at a time until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Then add in vanilla and pumpkin puree. In a large bowl whisk together remaining ingredients except for chocolate chips. Add flour mixture into butter mixture in thirds, scraping the sides of your mixing bowl down in between. Stir in chocolate chips. Scoop dough by heaping tablespoon onto the prepared cookie sheets and bake 15 to 20 minutes. ENJOY!

Monsters and Brides (not related whatsoever)

This week I made cupcakes for an old friend's bridal shower who's wedding is on Halloween (today) and I also made cupcakes for Halloween. The bridal shower cupcakes are vanilla and half of them have vanilla buttercream and the other half have a very light cocoa buttercream. The colors for the party were light brown, light pink and magenta, hence the light brown, light pink and magenta flowers. haha. And for Halloween I made these little monster cupcakes! They were so fun to make! I'm thinking I'm going to have to have some sort of monster themed party for my son in the future so I can make them again! I made green vampires complete with blood on their teeth, mummies, silly purple monsters, jack-o-lanterns,  and ones with sugar skulls.

SPORTS

this was the "play cake"

basketball mini's up close

football mini's up close... the little football's I made out of rice crispy treats and dipped them in chocolate and piped on the stitches with white chocolate.

the tower

Sports are usually not my cup of tea but I was hired to bake mini cuppys for a sports themed 1st birthday party and here is the turnout! Maybe I do like sports... Or at least sports themed cupcakes haha!