The weather has been heating up and Summer is about to smack us all in the face. I’ve been living in the Bay Area now for about 6 months and we were so excited to find our house, that we forgot to ask if there was air conditioning. As you can probably guess… I don’t have air conditioning. We didn’t think it would be a big deal, as Northern California is usually cooler than Southern California, right? Wrong. It’s been in the 80′s the past few days and we’re pretty much melting in our own house. I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t think Summer is the time for heavy cakes and warm pies anyway… it’s the time for quick snacks! Anything…
Posts from the “Desserts” Category
The Girl Scout Cookies are long gone, but that doesn’t mean my cravings for Thin Mints will stop! Luckily, they’re super easy to make and you don’t even have to be guilted into spending $5 a box from little girls flashing their big smiles at you. I will warn you, once these are made, they will be gone immediately. I only got to enjoy about 4 cookies before my visiting family members ate them all. I guess I’ll have to bake another batch… oh no… Ingredients for 30-40 cookies: • 1/2 cup butter, softened • 1 cup sugar • 1 egg • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract • 1 cup flour • 1/2 cup cocoa • 1/2 tsp. salt • 1 bag of mint &…
As someone that loves to bake and think up new and interesting recipes… there are times where I don’t want to make my same ol’ recipe and am far too lazy to think of a new one. These are the moments I check out my Pinterest boards and bake someone else’s great recipe! I’ve come across some amazing and creative ideas on Pinterest, anyone that doesn’t have an account, I highly recommend it. On this particular afternoon, I just wanted some chocolate chip cookies. I looked through the rows and rows of what looked like good cookie recipes, but one definitely caught my eye. With a caption like “The fluffiest, chewiest, most amazing chocolate chip cookies–all thanks to a very surprising ingredient!” I knew…
I was visiting my family in Southern California and was thinking of ideas for Easter on the Oven Mitt. You wouldn’t believe who had the best idea, my 13 year old nephew. He said I should dip strawberries into orange chocolate, so they look like carrots… Brilliant!! So, I take no credit in this adorable, yet super easy idea for Easter! I was in luck, as my local grocery store had just restocked their organic strawberries. They all looked and smelled perfect! It’s definitely that time of year again for some beautiful, red ripe strawberries. For the sake of them looking like carrots, I would recommend grabbing some larger strawberries. Ingredients: • Fresh Strawberries • Orange Candy Melts(I got mine from Michael’s) Make sure…
When it comes to Valentine’s Day treats, it’s always something red. Red cake, red brownies, red cookies, red candies. Here’s a cake that is perfect for your Valentine and it’s not even red! A decadent, dense chocolate cake with some spice! Nothing better to top this cake off with, then some homemade whipped cream. This recipe is for a smaller cake, it’s only one layer from a 9″ square pan. Much more intimate, don’t you think? Ingredients: • 1 1/2 cups sugar • 1/2 cup butter • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder • 1/2 cup hot coffee • 2 eggs • 3/4 cup milk • 1 tsp. vanilla extract • 2 cups flour • 1 tsp. baking soda • 1/2 tsp. salt • 1…
Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching!… So quick, in fact, that I almost forgot about it. Oops. Thankfully, my good friend Mandey from MamaMandolen.com reminded me and even suggested we do some collaboration. Well, collaborating is what we did! I’d say we’re a great team, as we created an awesome Valentine’s spread with my baking and her craftiness. I decided to make some red velvet brownies, nothing says love like red and chocolate. Ingredients for 9″x13″ baking pan: • 2/3 cup vegetable oil • 2 cups white sugar • 2 tsp. vanilla extract • 4 eggs • 1 cup flour • 1/2 tsp. baking powder • 1/2 tsp. salt • 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder • 2 tsp. white vinegar • 1 tbs. red food…
Remember when red velvet was pretty much impossible to find until the holiday season rolled around? I slightly miss those days because it was always an amazing holiday treat… but then again, I’m pretty stoked that I can easily find red velvet cakes/cupcakes/whoopie pies anywhere at anytime! My very first memory of red velvet cake was when my grandma baked it for us. She usually did a 2 or 3 layer cake, each layer had whipped cream and a cherry filling, then she’d top it off with walnuts or almonds. It’s still my favorite way to enjoy red velvet, but I decided to mix a bit of grandma’s way of doing it with the everyday red velvet. I baked one dozen red velvet cupcakes,…
I baked these cupcakes for my mum’s birthday. It was a lot of firsts for me and mistakes were made! I wanted to create a crumble to go on top of the cupcakes, that ended up being more like a brittle… but it still tasted good, so it worked out. Surprisingly enough, it was my first time making a glaze as well and as you can see by the photos it looks like a regular frosting. It was also very sweet. So, keep in mind when reading the recipe that this is exactly how I made the cupcakes, but I’ll add my little notes for suggestions to remedy everything. Afterall, the best part about baking is experimenting! My mum asked for a fruit filled…
Aah yes, butter cake. The one cake that sounds like it will clog an artery just by the name… Many wonder what the difference between a butter cake and a yellow cake is, but there really isn’t much of a difference except yellow cakes tend to be a bit fluffier and lighter, where butter cakes are slightly more dense and dare I say, buttery. If we’re going to go with the butter cake, may as well go all out with a nice sweet frosting. White chocolate it is! Butter Cake Ingredients (9″ x 13″ baking dish): • 1 cup butter, softened • 2 cups sugar • 2 eggs • 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract • 3 cups flour • 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder…
Whipped cream is one of those things that can top most treats. Luckily, it’s super quick and easy to make and it tastes even better when you make it yourself! I made some iced coffees the other day and of course, we didn’t have any whipped cream. I quickly noticed I had the whopping three ingredients needed to create my own. It’s super simple to remember, the three “1′s”: • 1 cup heavy whipping cream • 1 tbs. confectioners’ sugar • 1 tsp. vanilla extract I like to beat the heavy whipping cream first. On medium/high speed, beat the whipping cream until soft peaks start to form. Add the sugar and vanilla extract, continue to beat on medium/high speed until peaks form, usually takes…
