salted caramel chocolate cupcakes

I found this recipe on pinterest. Yes, I do have a pinterest, and yes, I do actually make recipes that I find on there. I love these cupcakes because they are just heavenly. Salted caramel, chocolate and did I mention salted caramel. Yum!

Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 eggs (you could easily substitute applesauce here)

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2/3 cup sour cream

2/3 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350*F. Begin by creaming together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.

Mix in the eggs, one at a time and then the vanilla, beating well.

In a separate bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda. Add this mixture alternately with the sour cream, mixing on low until just combined. Mix in the water.

Pour batter into cupcake liners* and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Allow the cupcakes to cool while you make the salted caramel filling. This is the salted caramel recipe that I use, although you will find a different one on the original cupcake recipe.

Then cut little divets in the top of the cupcakes using a small, sharp knife. Pour the salted caramel sauce into this divets.

Top with salted caramel cream cheese frosting.

Salted Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened

1/2 stick butter, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

salted caramel sauce to taste

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in butter until smooth. Add in powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth. Beat in salted caramel.

These cupcakes are so delicious. I'm serious. My mouth is watering right now as I am thinking about them, and I'm thinking it has been too long since I last made them. Please make and love! :)

*A helpful hint that my sister shared to help with pouring cupcakes is to use an  ice cream scoop. It is super easy and all of your cupcakes come out very uniform.

One-Bowl Brownies

These brownies are possibly the first thing that I remember making on my own. They are called One-Bowl brownies because you make them all in one bowl.  And they are the prefect brownie to take to any event because they are super easy and fast to make, and they will be devoured because they are delicious!

One-Bowl Brownies

4 square unsweetened chocolate

3/4 cup unsalted butter

2 cups brown sugar

3 eggs*

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

*I used applesauce to replace the eggs, but if you are making these for people who aren't used to applesauce replacement for eggs you will probably want to stick with the eggs as the applesauce does slightly change the consistency and flavor.

Start by putting the butter and chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and microwaving it for 2 minutes, checking it at 1 minute to stir. Be careful with how long you microwave it for because the chocolate can burn easily.

Stir until the chocolate is all melted. Add in the sugar and vanilla. I might have added a dusting of cinnamon here as well.

 Add in the eggs (or applesauce) and stir to combine.

 Add in the flour.

 Pour into a 9x13 pan or a 9x9 pan for thicker brownies. I also don't have a 9x9 pan so I use a 9x13.

Bake at 350*F for 30ish minutes. Here is where it helps to know your oven because you definitely don't want to cook these too long. You want them to be a little gooey in the center.

You can eat these with ice cream and Bailey's or some salted caramel sauce or just straight out of the pan when they are warm.

Strawberry Cake

I have several recipes to add on here, but this one I had a request for which is why it is getting precedence. I made this for the Valentine's Day dinner that I hosted. I thought it fit well with Valentine's Day to make a pink cake, so Strawberry Cake was the winner. If you have been reading this blog for long, you know by now that I dislike using box cake mixes, and may I just say that it is extremely difficult to find a from scratch strawberry cake recipe. When I found this one I was sold. I made it once last fall, and it was so delicious, I knew it would be perfect for Valentine's. (I apologize for the lack of photos.)

Strawberry Cake
24 oz frozen strawberries, thawed
1/4 cup almond milk
4 eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cup cake flour
1 3/4 cup sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
dash cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350*F and grease two 8inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with a paper towel. Thaw strawberries and drain some of the liquid off using a strainer. Puree the strawberries using a food processor or blender. Reserve 3/4 cup puree for the cake and set the rest aside to add to the frosting. In a small bowl combine the puree, almond milk, eggs, and vanilla. Mix with a fork until well blended and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer mix together the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Mix to combine. Beating on low speed, beat in the butter until moist crumbles form. Add in the liquids and mix until combined. Pour evenly into the cake pans, smooth tops, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool and then frost.

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
5 Tbsp. butter, softened
2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
reserved strawberry puree

Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add in butter and beat until smooth. Add in vanilla. Then add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add in some of the strawberry puree, but not too much or the frosting will be runny.

To assemble, place one layer of cake on cake plate, top with some strawberry puree. Place other layer on top. Then frost and enjoy!!

Notes: You can also make this cake with fresh strawberries. I'm looking forward to trying that this summer when there are fresh ripe strawberries. Obviously, you will want to hull the strawberries before you puree them. 6 large egg whites can also be substituted for the 4 eggs. I haven't tried this recipe with applesauce instead of eggs, but it seems to me like it would be delicious and make this cake even more moist than it is already. Maybe next time I make it that will happen.

classic french

Chocolate Souffle. Yep. I don't even need to say anything else about it because it's just that good (or perhaps I'm tired and just don't want to take time to be descriptive and witty. . .you're choice).

Chocolate Souffle
1 Tbsp. white sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
sprinkle cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup milk (I used almond milk)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs, separated
2 Tbsp white sugar

Preheat oven to 350*F. Butter a 6 cup souffle dish. Or if you don't have a 6 cup souffle dish a springform pan works as well. Coat with 1 Tbsp. white sugar.

In a bowl stir together cocoa powder, cinnamon and flour. Add butter and blend well.

Heat milk in a medium saucepan until very hot. Reduce heat; add cocoa mixture, beating with a whisk until smooth and thick. Remove from heat and stir in dark brown sugar and vanilla. Cool slightly and add egg yolks one at a time beating well after each addition. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Beat the egg white until foamy and then gradually add the 2 Tbsp. white sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Stir a small amount of egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then fold the chocolate mixture into the remaining egg whites. Pour into the prepared baking dish and bake for 30-45 minutes or until the top is puffed.

This is best served immediately. The picture shows it served with a creme anglaise sauce which I will post the recipe for some other time. You do not have to serve it with this sauce. It could also be served with ice cream or whipped cream.

Sugar Cookies

I have been living with an extreme dislike of making sugar cookies. Without going into any detail, sugar cookies were the cause of me ultimately quitting my last job. It has been almost a year since I have made sugar cookies because of that. There was honestly a part of me that believed I would never make sugar cookies again in my life because of my bad experience with them. The fact that I made sugar cookies and that I am blogging about them is an expression of my healing process.

These sugar cookies I have nothing but good memories to associate with them. When I was in college my aunt sent me a box of sugar cookies every year on Valentine's Day. Can I just tell you what a blessing that was, for me a single girl to receive a package on Valentine's Day? It was a big deal to me. So Aunt Lynda, if you are reading this, know that your cookies ministered greatly to my heart and still continue to! Thank you!

A while back my mom asked if I had my aunt's recipe for sugar cookies and told me that it was in our family cookbook (yes, we have a family cookbook, be jealous). The other day, I had a hankering to make her sugar cookies, so here they are.

Sugar Cookies
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. almond extract
1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350*F. Cream together butter and powdered sugar.


Add egg and flavorings (I only used vanilla because I didn't have any almond on hand).


Add in flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt and mix well.


At this point you can chill the dough if you desire to roll it out and cut out cookies, or if you still haven't quite recovered your love of making sugar cookies to that point, you can just drop spoonfuls of cookie dough onto cookie sheets and bake for 8-10 minutes. I baked mine for 4 minutes and then rotated my cookie sheets and baked another 3-4 minutes.


As I bit into one of these little babies, I was already thinking of variations I could make on these, so expect some more sugar cookie goodness to be headed your way soon!

Salted Brownies (sans eggs)

I love sea salt in chocolate. It's just something about that salty-sweet flavor that appeals to my taste buds. I was looking for a brownie recipe without eggs one day, and I stumbled across this recipe for salted fudge brownies. It called for eggs, but it sounded so good I couldn't pass it up and decided just to substitute for the eggs. Here is my adapted version.

Salted Fudge Brownies
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
9 Tbsp. unsweetened applesauce
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. large flake sea salt + more for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350*F. Melt chocolate and butter in a saucepan over medium low heat, stirring often.

Remove from heat and add in cocoa powder and stir until smooth.


Add in brown sugar and stir until dissolved. You could also throw in a shake of cinnamon here.


Add in applesauce and vanilla and stir until combined.


Add in flour.


Pour batter into a greased 8x8 or 9x9 pan. I didn't have either of those, so I used what I did have. Then sprinkle with the sea salt and swirl in with a knife. Be careful to not get it too salty.


Bake for 30ish minutes or until the edges are set and the center is still a little soft. Don't over bake!


Enjoy! And they do crumble when you eat them right away when they are warm, in case you were wondering. They are best that way. ;)

just because. . .

. . .everyone deserves birthday cake (or pie or cookies or whatever their dessert of choice is). This is one of my personal beliefs. Life is meant to be celebrated, to be savored, to be enjoyed in every capacity to the fullest. Whenever possible, I like to make that happen for the people in my life. In a day and age of fast food and grocery store baked goods, I have an ability to cook and bake that is rare (especially among my age group), so I don't take it for granted, and I try to bless everyone in my life with my abilities whenever possible.

Chocolate cake is a staple, and I have a go to recipe that will please almost anyone, and it's vegan (shhhh, don't tell anyone I said that). I used to have a running competition with a friend that dessert could be delicious and healthy. I would make dessert and after a proclamation that it was indeed delicious, I would proclaim in return that it was also healthy. This cake is my ultimate achievement of delicious and healthy.

Chocolate Cake
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. sea salt
about 1 tsp. cinnamon
6 Tbsp. unsweetened applesauce
1 cup dark chocolate almond milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350*F. Line the bottoms of two 9-inch round cake pans with a paper towel and then grease the pans.

Stir together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Add in the applesauce, almond milk, oil and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer until mixed. Stir in the water. Pour evenly into the prepared pans.

I get paranoid about over baking, so I always start with a lesser amount of time and check and then add more time. My oven also cooks a little hot, so I start with 15 minutes and then add 5 minute increments. I think it takes about 20-25 minutes for this to bake. It is done when the middle of the cake springs back up when you lightly touch it.

Allow the cakes to cool completely and then remove from the pans and frost. This is where the cake stops being vegan, but just because of the frosting I choose to use. If you use a frosting without butter in it, then the cake will remain vegan.

Chocolate Frosting
1 stick butter
2/3 cup cocoa powder
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup dark chocolate almond milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Melt the butter and stir in the cocoa powder. Add the powdered sugar and almond milk alternately, beating well between each addition. Add vanilla and beat until smooth. I find that this usually makes just a little more frosting than I need, so I like to lick out the bowl when I'm finished, but you do whatever you feel like. ;)

And make this cake the next time someone tells you it's their birthday. They will thank you, trust me!

My recipe is adapted from the recipe for Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake and Frosting.

mmm. . .hot chocolate

Photo courtesy of my lovely roommate KB

Tis the season for hot chocolate. The weather is colder and with Christmas approaching I find that this hot chocolate is becoming a staple in our house. I prefer sipping chocolate to regular hot chocolate, so this is my version. I also am not a huge fan of super sweet things, so this is not a super sweet hot cocoa either. Here's my version of hot chocolate. This makes about 2 servings, and the measurements are not exact, so make it to taste.

1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
2 heaping Tablespoons tapioca flour
sprinkle cinnamon
freshly ground nutmeg
1 cup water
2 cups half and half
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix the dry ingredients in a saucepan and add the water and 1 cup of half and half. Mix until combined. Then add the last cup of half and half and the vanilla. Continue stirring until the hot chocolate has thickened to the perfect thickness for your tastes. This will become pudding if you let it go long enough. Also it is really important to continuously stir it or else it won't thicken evenly.

Observations:

Freshly ground nutmeg is the only way to go. Don't use the ground nutmeg from a container. Find whole nutmeg and grate it. You will not regret it, I promise. This makes hot cocoa soooo much better.

For all my friends whose bodies don't agree with milk you can most certainly substitute almond milk for the half and half.

For those of you who enjoy a little something special in your hot chocolate you can add peppermint schnapps, southern comfort, rumchata, whiskey, brandy or other liquor of your choice. We most often drink ours with peppermint schnapps.

However you decide to alter your hot chocolate, I hope you will enjoy it. . .all winter long. Merry Christmas!!

P.S. The days are going to start getting longer now!! :)

Oatmeal Cookies

Oatmeal Cookies
1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
1 cup dark brown sugar
dash cinnamon
dash nutmeg
1 tsp. vanilla
3 ish Tbsp. unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup water
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
3 cups old fashioned oats
raisins
chopped dark chocolate

Cream together sugar and butter. Add applesauce, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and water. Mix well. Add baking soda, flour and oats. Mix in raisins and chopped dark chocolate. Bake at 350 degrees for 6 to 8 minutes. And enjoy. I also added some peanut butter to this latest batch. Enjoy!!

scottish whisky cake

My sweet baker friend (who is coming home at the end of this month. . .eeeeee!!!) posted this recipe a while ago, and I was looking for the perfect opportunity to try it out. I had a group of friends over for dinner on Sunday and decided that I wanted to give it a try. Here's my take on her recipe.

Scottish Whisky Cake
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups strongly brewed coffee
1/4 cup plus 3 tbsp. whiskey
1 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups dark brown sugar
6Tbsp. unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside. In a medium saucepan combine coffee, whiskey butter, cinnamon and cocoa powder. Heat over medium heat until butter is melted. Remove from heat and stir in sugar until dissolved. Pour into a large, heat resistant bowl. In a small bowl combine applesauce and vanilla. Stir into chocolate mixture. Then stir in flour mixture until just combined. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan and bake for 35-45 minutes. My oven runs hot so I baked it for about 30 minutes.

When the cake is almost done baking make the following whisky butter sauce.

Combine 1/4 cup whisky, 1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup butter, and 3/4 cup dark brown sugar in a saucepan and heat gently until sugar is dissolved.

When cake is done remove it from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minute. Poke holes in the cake using a toothpick and pour the whisky butter sauce over the cake slowly until it is all absorbed. Allow to cool and serve to happy people. This can be topped with whipped cream.

i'm part british

Yes, it's true. I am part British. I have known this for a long time in my person, but it was recently confirmed by a family member doing some research on our ancestry. How did I know that I'm part British? Well, I love all things British. Including shortbread. Yep, buttery, delicious goodness. Shortbread is simple and with only a few ingredients it is easy to make and easy to make so that my roomie can have it too. I have been craving shortbread for a while, so I decided to give it a try. I adapted my recipe from here.

Shortbread
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup oat four
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup white rice flour
1 cup butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg
1/3 cup toasted sliced almonds

Combine the flours in a bowl and set aside.


In a separate bowl cream together the butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, coconut sugar, vanilla, and salt.


At this point, I placed my sliced almonds in a 350* oven to toast for about 8 minutes, stirring at the 5 minute mark.


Then once the almonds have cooled a bit, stir them into the creamed butter mixture. Then add the flour and stir just until it is all combined. You don't want to over mix this or the shortbread will become tough not light and flaky like it's supposed to be.


Once it is all mixed up, wrap it in waxed paper and place in the fridge for an hour or so (or you can put it in the freezer if you are impatient like me). When you take it out, roll it out until it's about 1/4 inch thick and cut out cookies using a cookie cutter.


Bake at 350* for about 12 minutes, turning the pans at the 8 minute mark. I had mine in for about 13 minutes and they almost burnt, so be careful!!




And there you have it. . .the perfect snack to have with your afternoon tea. Lovely!! Now if I were just back in London. . .