Strawberries and Cream Bars

If only you could see the dreamy picture of these in the latest issue of Everyday Food. My picture just doesn't do it justice. In the magazine these are absolutely dreamy looking. High and cloud-like. I knew these would be the way I would use the rest of my freshly-picked strawberries.

The base is just a strawberry puree that is treated like a granita- scraped with a fork, until slushy. The top is a meringue/whipped cream mixture that really does remind me of a cloud. Soft and smooth.

Everyone in my family liked these bars. The only problem I had was that they were impossible to cut into squares directly from the freezer. I had to let them sit for a couple of minutes and soften a bit, so I could cut them. The strawberry layer also gets really hard if you prepare them in advance. We ended up letting them soften a little bit and then mixing them together in our individual bowls.

Strawberries and Cream Bars
adapted from Everyday Food

2 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled, halved if large (6 cups)

1 1/2 cups sugar

coarse salt

7 large egg whites

2/3 cup cold heavy cream

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

In a blender, combine the strawberries, 3/4 cup sugar, and a pinch of salt. Puree until smooth. Pour into a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Transfer to freezer. Every 30 minutes, for 2 hours, scrape the fruit mixture with a fork until it’s thick and slushy. Smooth top with a rubber spatula.

In a large bowl, beat the egg whites on high until foamy. With mixer on medium, gradually add 3/4 cup sugar. Increase speed to high and beat until stiff, glossy peaks form, 3 minutes.

In another bowl, whip the cream and vanilla until you have stiff peaks. With a rubber spatula, gently fold the cream into the egg white mixture. Pour the cream mixture over the fruit mixture and smooth the top. Freeze until firm, about 4 hours (or covered, up to three days), before cutting into 12 squares.

Serves: 12

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

Some flavor combinations just cannot be beat. One of those combinations for me is Cookies & Cream. I can remember growing up that was always the milkshake flavor I would choose if we happen to have the treat of getting a milkshake. I also have memories of my dad crushing up a package of Oreos, and mixing them into softened vanilla ice cream. It was a special treat.

The funny part for me though, is that I don't like to eat Oreos plain. They are something that I only buy on special occasion, when used in a Cookies and Cream combination, for a special recipe. Like this ice cream, which I made last summer and we absolutely loved.

When it comes to Cookies and Cream- the more chunks of cookie the better. And the bigger the cookie chunks the better.
And you can't use fake brand cookies. It has to be Oreos.

So these cupcakes are perfect. They have the perfect amount of cookie chunks. They have the perfect white cake base. The frosting is perfect. It tastes just like the cream that is in the middle of an Oreo. The frosting and cupcake are the perfect match.
I made these to celebrate the end of my son's basketball season and we served them at the team dinner, after the last game. To make them even more festive and to incorporate more Oreos, I made basketball toppers out of candy coated Oreos. They turned out perfectly. The kids and parents were equally excited about consuming these delicious cupcakes.

Oh, and by the way, my blog is 3 years old today. YAY!

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes
Yield: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
24 Oreo halves, with cream filling attached
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 2/3 cup sugar
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup milk
20 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped (cut into quarters)

For the frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 sp. vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 tbsp. heavy cream

For garnish:
Oreo cookie crumbs
24 Oreo cookie halves

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line the wells of two cupcake pans with 24 paper liners. Place an Oreo halve in the bottom of each liner, cream side up. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir together with a fork to blend and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar and beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Blend in the egg whites one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, beat in half of the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Add the milk and beat just until combined, then mix in the remaining dry ingredients. Gently fold in the chopped Oreos with a rubber spatula until evenly incorporated, being careful not to over-mix.

Evenly divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 18-20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Blend in the vanilla extract. Beat in the confectioners’ sugar until incorporated and smooth, 1-2 minutes. Add the heavy cream to the bowl and beat on medium-low speed just until incorporated, then increase the speed to medium-high and whip for 4 minutes until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Frost the cooled cupcakes as desired. Sprinkle with Oreo crumbs and garnish with Oreo halves.

Source: slightly adapted from Annie's Eats, who adapted from Beantown Baker

Pink Lady Cake

This cake has been waiting for an appearance for over 3 months. It was the cake that my daughter chose for her birthday back in November, but because it was pink (due to strawberry puree) and that makes me think of Valentine's Day, I saved it until now.

My daughter was very specific about how she wanted her cake. It ended up being a 9*13-inch cake and a 6-inch round. I wasn't going to post this recipe originally, but the cake was so delicious that I changed my mind.
The cake has almost a velvet texture and the flavor is unbelievable. The strawberry puree makes the cake so delicious and the best part is that it isn't in a artificial way.

This would be a perfect sweet to share with someone/multiple someones' for V-day. It would also be perfect to share some other time, if you already have your dessert for this coming weekend planned. All I know is this cake is delicious, pink and fun to share with a crowd. I will definitely make it again when a pink cake is in demand.

The original recipe comes from Sky High, in which the cake is called Strawberry Butter cake, but the recipe I used I found on smitten kitchen. I used a cream cheese frosting that I was familiar with and that I knew would hold up to some decorating.



Recipe for Pink Lady Cake



Cream Cheese Frosting from Martha Stewart
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Beat butter and cream cheese with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add sugar, 1 cup at a time (scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally), and then vanilla; mix until smooth.

The frosting can be made up to 3 days in advance. Refrigerate until needed, then bring to room temp and beat until smooth before using.

Pumpkin Chiffon Cake

Here is a quick idea for a light dessert that would be perfect for your Thanksgiving celebration.
I saw this Pumpkin Chiffon Cake in Everyday with Rachael Ray Magazine
and since I had 10 egg whites in my freezer and also because I had been wanting to try a airy/light type of pumpkin cake, I made it right away.

This cake is easy to make- you simply whisk everything except the egg whites together in a large bowl. Then you whip the egg whites, like you would for angel food cake and fold them into the batter. I baked this cake in my angel food cake pan, which has special ridges for the resting upside down part.

We could hardly wait for the cake to rest, but once it had and we sprinkled it with powdered sugar- it was as good as gone.

Delightfully light and airy, but still full of pumpkin flavor and spices.
This is one I will make again and again. It was wonderful.


Recipe for Pumpkin Chiffon Cake

Angel Food Cake with Lime and Fresh Mango Sauce

For my brother's birthday cake, I wanted to make something fresh and light, since it was just the beginning of spring. We also had a busy day planned, so I had to choose a recipe that could be made in a few hours, without lots of different steps or fillings/frostings.

My brother loves mangoes and limes, and I had tons of egg whites in the freezer, so I decided to make an Angel Food Cake. I decided to flavor it with lime zest and then use the fresh mango sauce from Ellie Krieger's new book as the topping. I figured the lime and mango go well with ginger, so the cake and sauce would compliment the ginger ice cream.


Everyone loved the cake and the mango sauce. I thought the mango sauce overpowered the delicate cake a little bit and preferred the flavor of the cake plain, the next day. I doubled the mango sauce because I knew my brother would probably want to eat it plain. I decreased the amount of sugar in the sauce too, because our mangoes were really flavorful and sweet. I used some of the leftover sauce in a really fun muffin, but that will come later.

I don't know if you have ever made an angel food cake from scratch, but they are so delicious. One from a box mix or from the store just can't compare. I am definitely hooked.



Fresh Mango Sauce adapted from So Easy by Ellie Krieger
2 medium ripe mangoes, peeled, pitted and cut into chunks
2 Tbls fresh lime juice
1 Tbls sugar

In a blender or food processor, process half the mangoes with the lime juice and sugar. Dice the rest of the mangoes.
Serve with angel food cake.

Recipe for Classic Angel Food Cake
* I used the orange variation listed down below the recipe but change it to lime by added the zest of 2 limes to the batter

TWD- Cafe Volcano Cookies

This week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe is Cafe Volcano Cookies. These cookies were chosen by MacDuff and you can find the recipe by going to her blog, The Lonely Sidecar.

What is a Cafe Volcano Cookie? Well, that is a really good question. I guess it is a nut mixture/meringue, although when I was making these I really believed they would not turn into anything edible.
This is the easiest cookie ever.
You toast some nuts. I used sliced almonds and chopped pecans.
Once those are toasted you combine them in a saucepan with egg whites and sugar. And in my case cinnamon, because I don't drink or use coffee and so there is no espresso powder in my house and there never will be.
You let the ingredients get warm and then you drop that syrupy/nutty/sugary mixture onto a baking sheet covered with parchment.

At this point, I figured I had done something wrong because it looked like I was just dropping blobs of wet nuts on my baking sheet. Which is what I was doing.
But, I had followed the recipe, so I popped them in the oven and waited for some miracle.

They did puff a little and turned into a cookie shape, so I figured that must be what they were supposed to look like.
I tried a piece of one and they tasted like spiced nuts.
I sent these along with the other Christmas goodies I made in the mail to my family members in different states.
One of my sisters said these were one of the best cookies of the bunch.

Go check out the TWD Blogroll to see what other bakers thought of this weeks recipe!

B-day stuff: Chocolate Cake with Whipped Frosting and brunch from The Pink Princess Book

Here is my little Ry-Bear. She turned 5 on October 25th. She loves the carousel, animals and dinosaurs, but sometimes has a thing for pink and princesses, too.
When we discussed her b-day cake, her first choice involved pink and princess, but she quickly changed her mind to dinosaurs and green frosting. I asked her multiple times and the dinosaur/green frosting combo was the winner.
She wanted to decorate it, so I let her put the little plastic dinos on top and then all the kids help throw the dinosaur eggs (candy-coated chocolate covered sunflower seeds) on top. Kind of relaxing to let the kids do all the work.
I had no problem getting rid of the extra frosting. The recipe for cake and frosting are below. Nothing too spectacular, but good enough for a birthday.
For her birthday brunch, the birthday girl flipped through the pages of Pink Princess Cookbook and chose a menu. The kids helped me prepare all of the food for our brunch.

I was not planning on taking pictures of this brunch, but my mom and husband both protested when I told them I was just going to have a relaxing time with no pics. They insisted. So, I grabbed the camera when everything was on the table (not the usual place for taking pics of food in my house) and I tried to get a decent shot of the brunch. Bear with me on these :-)
Ry chose Mini-Marshmallow Smoothies to start us off. I adapted the recipe from the book and placed 1 sliced banana, 1 cup sliced strawberries, 1/2 cup frozen blueberries, 1 cup vanilla yogurt, and 1 1/2 cups skim milk in the blender. I blended it well, then poured it into glasses and added the colored mini-marshmallows. (The adults enjoyed smoothies w/out marshmallows).
Next up
Blackberry Biscuits
1 can large-size refrigerator biscuits
1 cup canned blackberry pie filling
1 tsp ground cinnamon mixed w/ 1/4 cup sugar

Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray. Slice or divide each biscuit in half. Press one half in the bottom of 8 of the muffin cups, covering bottom completely. Leave 4 of the muffin cups empty.
Spoon 1 Tbls pie filling on top of each biscuit half.
Cover pie filling w/ remaining biscuits halves.
Sprinkle tops w/ cinnamon-sugar mixture. I used decorating sugar too
Bake for 15 minutes.
Serve warm.
Fairy Tale Fondue
3/4 cup heavy cream
12 oz white chocolate, chopped
1 tsp vanilla

Heat the cream in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until hot, about 2-3 minutes.
When hot, add the chocolate and stir until it is just melted and smooth. Stir in vanilla.
Serve with your choice or fresh strawberries, banana slices, pound cake, pretzels, grapes, etc. for dipping
This was Ry's fave thing to help make for the brunch.

Little Ladybugs
12 seedless red grapes
12 toothpicks
12 whole strawberries w/ stems
1 package mini chocolate chips

Place a grape on a toothpick, sliding it all the way to the end of the stick. This is the ladybugs head.
Place a strawberry on the toothpick, stem end first, and slide it down to touch the grape. This is the body.
Lay the ladybug down and carefully push the pointed ends of several chocolate chips into the strawberry to make the spots.
Raspberry Tea Sandwiches
8 slices white bread
1/2 cup soft spread cream cheese
1 Tbls raspberry preserves
1 pint fresh raspberries

Cut bread into desired shapes with a cookie cutter. In a bowl combine cream cheese and raspberry preserves. Spread a thin layer of the mixture on each bread cut-out and place raspberries on top.

Classic Cucumber Sandwiches
1 English cucumber, sliced
8 slices whole wheat bread
2 Tbls softened butter
salt and pepper
cherry tomatoes for garnish

Cut crust off bread and cut into shapes with cookie cutter.
Spread butter on each cut-out. Lay cucumber slices on top.
Season with salt and pepper.
Garnish with cherry tomatoes


The whole brunch was really fun to prepare and even more fun to share. It was a great birthday!

Recipe for Chocolate Cake

Recipe for Whipped Frosting

The Barefoot Contessa's Black and White Angel Food Cake

Do you remember when I said I had 15 egg whites in the freezer?
Well, I don't anymore and these pictures are the proof.

I have been wanting to make a angel food cake for awhile now, but haven't ever been able to accumulate enough egg whites-whose yolks were being used, to make a full-sized one.

Thanks to the lime curd, multiple ice creams and so on, I finally had enough egg whites and a reason to make the cake.

I was providing the desserts for a church gathering( I ended up making 7 desserts) and most of the treats I made were smaller, individual sized items, but I really thought this was a great time to make the angel food cake.
I don't really ever watch tv, but somehow I happened upon the food network and an episode of the Barefoot Contessa was playing. She was making this angel food cake. She made it look so easy and also said something about how angel food cake needs a little sprucing up and after watching her grate the semi-sweet chocolate and add it to the batter- I completely believed her.
Plain old angel food cake was not going to do.
I needed to make her cake with the tiny shreds of semi-sweet chocolate in the batter and the decadent ganache on top.
I didn't really have time to get a great photo of this, but it turned out absolutely perfect. I was kinda scared because the day I made this it was raining cats and dogs and I was paranoid that somehow that was going to make my cake deflate or ruin the texture, but it was perfect.
I also like that she has you measure out the amount of egg whites, instead of using an exact number.
This recipe was easy and so delicious. I thought the ganache on top was the perfect way to finish it off.
So, if you have 11 or 12 egg whites in the fridge or freezer, here is a way to put them to good use.
I actually can't wait until I have that many to use again, because this cake is delicious!


Recipe for Black and White Angel Food Cake

Video of The Barefoot Contessa making Black and White Angel Food Cake

One Year Ago-Brown Sugar- Pecan Shortbread

twd-Chocolate Souffle

I have never made chocolate souffle. Well, until the other night, I hadn't ever made chocolate souffle.
Susan of She's Becoming DoughMessTic chose Chocolate Souffle for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe. You can find the recipe on her blog. If you haven't checked out her blog, take some time to check out the amazing cakes, cookies and other things that she has created! That girl has got talent!

I debated about making this one, but I don't know why. When Nancy shared her measurements with me for making 1/4 of the recipe, I decided to go ahead and whip it up.

I had a couple of friends coming over and I heard my friends husband in the background on the phone asking if I could make something (meaning dessert, of course). I decided this was my chance to make the souffle and have people to eat it.

I used skim milk and 2 egg whites, instead of measuring out my egg white and semi-sweet chocolate because that is all I had.

I knew I didn't have much time to get a photo before they fell and I got a couple of shots before that happened. I don't really know anything about souffles, so I don't know why mine cracked on top. I did watch them in the oven and they got nice and puffy, but I am sure if you look at the Tuesday's with Dorie Blogroll you will see plenty of souffles that look pretty and perfect.

I didn't get to taste this one. I made 2 individual souffles in 8-oz ramekins and my friend and her hubby each ate one. They really liked it and said it tasted like a brownie. The ramekins were empty, so I guess it was good!



One Year Ago-Weekend Brunch- Monkey Bread Minis, Canteloupe Peach Salad with Honey-Lime Drizzle, Scrambled Eggs with Fresh Thyme, and Berry Smoothie

TWD- Perfect Party Cake

(Photos updated July 2009)
Dorie's Perfect Party Cake. It is what it says.
I made this for my brother's birthday last summer

Last year I made it with blueberry preserves and added a layer of fresh bluberries and sweetened whipped cream in the middle.

I made it for Father's Day last weekend, but I can't download any of my pictures yet, since my computer is not set up. I will update this post with pictures in a couple weeks when I am able to get my pictures downloaded.

This week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe, Perfect Party Cake, was chosen by Carol of mix, mix, stir, stir,.
It was also done by the Daring Bakers last year in March, so you have probably seen some version of it. You can find the recipe on Carol's blog, from the post I did last year, or on just about any other food blog out there. I promise.
I made it again because my sister-in-law wanted a white cake with raspberry filling for our Father's Day dessert.
The cake is flawless. I haven't had trouble with it and I always use buttermilk, which goes well with the lemon flavor.
This time I used a different frosting because the original frosting is too loaded with butter for me and last summer when I made it, none of us really cared for the frosting.
This time around, I used this basic Vanilla Buttercream from Southern Living. I also made up my own raspberry filling and everyone really loved the results. Go check out the TWD Blogroll to see the other party cakes!

Coming Soon- An Olive Garden pasta recipe

Lemon Angel Food Cupcakes

A couple of weeks ago a saw these Lemon Angel Food Cupcakes on Maria's blog, Two Peas and Their Pod. You should go and check out her post, the pictures are beautiful! I just happened to have 5 egg whites in the fridge (again) and it was the first day that was actually warm, the kids were playing outside with friends and I thought this would be the perfect afternoon treat.
The recipe came together really quickly and I was reminded how much I really like angel food cake. I haven't had it for awhile and I decided that I am going to try out some other angel food cake recipes, but it will probably have to wait until our cross country move that is happening next weekend.
The kids loved these- of course! They are light, airy, lemony and delicious.
The lemon drizzle was the perfect way to top them off, although they would have been delicious plain too. Maria used her leftovers for a beautiful trifle, which I would have loved to do too, but we didn't have any leftover!


I also had to include the link for this delicious recipe I made a couple of days ago- I didn't take any pictures (lazy, I know), but I wished I had because it was really good.
Spice-Baked Sea Bass and Red Lentils


Lemon Angel Food Cupcakes from Two Peas and Their Pod, who saw the recipe on Culinary Adventures of a New Wife, originally on Baking Bites
3/4 cup superfine sugar, divided
1/2 cup sifted cake flour
5 large egg whites, room temperature
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
zest of one lemon

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
2. In a small bowl, sift together cake flour and 1/4 cup superfine sugar.
3. In a large bowl, beat room-temperature egg whites until foamy, then add in cream of tartar and salt. Gradually add in the remaining 1/2 cup of superfine sugar while the mixer is on high speed, beating the egg whites to soft peaks. Add in the vanilla and lemon zest.
4. Fold in flour mixture, adding it in two or three additions.
5. Divide evenly into prepared muffin tins. Fill them pretty full.
6. Bake for 16-18 minutes, until golden brown. The tops will spring back when lightly touched.
7. Cool on a wire rack.
Lemon Icing Drizzle
Confectioner's Sugar
Fresh lemon juice
Combine confectioners sugar with lemon juice. Whisk until smooth. Drizzle on top of cooled cupcakes.
Makes 12 cupcakes.

Coming Tomorrow- Buttermilk Donuts

Spaghetti Squash and Quinoa Bake

First of all, let me ask- How do you like my new look? I absolutely love it!
I have been wanting to change the look of my blog for awhile now, to make it more personal, but wasn't sure how to go about it. Then I saw a couple of really cute designs- Aggie's Kitchen got a lift, Engineer Baker got a new look, and I also noticed Clumbsy Cookie was looking spiffy. We all owe it to Hannah Craner over at Craner Design Studio .
Hannah is great to work with and super talented, as you can see. I sent her an email and she responded almost immediately. She envisioned exactly what I wanted and was finished within 2 weeks. The first draft that she sent me was so good (here it is), that I said I love it! And I do! So, if your blog needs a facelift or a little spice, contact Hannah and I am sure you will be pleased with her work. I know I am more than pleased.
Now on to the food. This might just be one of the tastiest things I have ever eaten. Alexa's blog, Artsy-Foodie is wonderful. I want to live at her house because everything she creates look so fabulously wonderful. I seriously want to make everything I see over there. Since I now know that I like winter squash of all types (Thank you Butternut Squash Risotto, I am forever in your debt), I couldn't resist trying her Spaghetti Squash and Quinoa Bake. A recent trip to the health food store meant I had a supply of quinoa and well, everything else is readily available. The only problem is the sun. It goes down too early and my pictures just don't do this dish justice! Go check out Alexa's POST, so you can see why I was so drawn to make this beautiful dinner. I used mostly red quinoa, and had so much fun cooking my spaghetti squash.
For instructions on how to cook the squash go HERE. I personally had fun poking my squash all over with a long skewer. The best thing about this bake is how wonderfully the flavors meld together. I loved it! The dill was the perfect herb to just top the whole thing off.
I am definitely going to be making this one again!

Spaghetti Squash and Quinoa Bake from Alexa of Artsy-Foodie
(serves 8) or 4 if you like it as much as we did!
4 cups of cooked spaghetti squash (1 large)
16oz lowfat cottage cheese
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoon mild pepper, chopped fine ( I used a jalepeno, seeded and membranes removed)
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups cooked quinoa (for instructions on how to cook quinoa go Here)
1/2 cup egg whites
4 large eggs, beaten
1 cup shredded cheese (mexican blend)
2 teaspoon dry dill
Preheat oven 375F
Pre-oil a deep ceramic baking dish (large lasagna dish).
Heat the oil in a pan over medium flame. Add the pepper and onion. Saute, stirring often, until caramelized (about 10-15 minutes).
Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl. Transfer to the pre-oiled dish and bake for 1 hour 20 minutes or until the bake is set and the top is golden. If you would like to reduce the cooking time to an hour, use two deep pie dishes instead of the large lasagna dish.

Up next- Pecan-Topped Pumpkin Bread

Merry Mini Meringues

A simple little cookie for M day! I used Watermelon and Melon Fusion flavored jello to spinkle on top.

Merry Mini Meringues from all-recipes, submitted by Jello
INGREDIENTS:
4 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 cup sugar
1 pkg. (4 serving size) JELL-O
Brand Lime Flavor Gelatin
1 pkg. (4 serving size) JELL-O
Brand Gelatin, any red flavor
DIRECTIONS:
1.
Preheat oven to 225 degrees F. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in small bowl with electric mixer on high speed 5 minutes or until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, 1 Tbsp. at a time, beating on high speed until stiff peaks form.
2.
Drop tablespoonfuls of the egg white mixture onto baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Sprinkle each meringue lightly with dry gelatin powders.
3.
Bake 50 minutes. Turn oven off. Prop oven door open slightly; let meringues stand in oven for 1 hour or until completely cooled.