Buttermilk Wafffles with Strawberry Topping

 My kids love having breakfast for dinner.  They think it is so much fun.   A few weeks ago I found this recipe for Buttermilk Waffles with a fresh strawberry topping in Shape Magazine and I ripped it out because I really wanted to try it.  It comes from Ellie Krieger, whom I absolutely love, because her recipes are healthy and they always turn out to be very delicious.  Plus, she uses mostly low-fat buttermilk instead of a ton of oil or butter, which is something I do all the time when I make quick breads or muffins.  I also really liked that she only used honey to sweeten the waffles as well as the topping. 

I made the topping a few days in advance when I was cutting up strawberries for something else and I am glad I did because I think it tasted great chilled.   I doubled the recipe for the waffles, so that I could freeze some for a quick breakfast option on school days and I was really glad that I did that too. These were yummy and the sauce was perfect with the waffles.


Buttermilk Waffles with Strawberry Topping

by Ellie Krieger via Shape Magazine

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup whole-wheat flour

2 Tablespoons toasted wheat germ

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk

1 Tablespoon canola oil

1 tablespoon honey

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Strawberry Topping, recipe follows

confectioners' sugar, optional

 Preheat a waffle iron.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour through salt). In another medium bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk, oil, honey and vanilla.

 Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing only enough to combine them. The batter will be somewhat lumpy.

Coat the waffle iron with cooking spray.  Ladle enough batter to cover 3/4's of the surface, close lid, and cook for 3 minutes or until golden brown.  Repeat with remaining batter.  Serve topped with strawberry mixture and an optional dusting of powdered sugar.

Strawberry Topping:
16 ounces strawberries, fresh or frozen (unsweetened, thawed)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons maple syrup

  In a medium saucepan over a low flame, stir together strawberries, lemon juice, maple syrup, and bring to a gentle boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes, until the liquid has thickened slightly.  Flavor with additional maple syrup if desired.  Remove from heat and set aside.

 

Strawberry Lemonade Bars

Strawberries are in season down in our neighboring state and they have been absolutely perfect and delicious the past couple weeks. We had some friends over for dinner and I decided a dessert with some sort of strawberry twist would be appropriate. I had 6 lemons that looked like they wouldn't last much longer, so I decided on these bars. They are a combination of a classic lemon bar with the added flavor of pureed strawberries.

My kids and our guests really liked these bars. I tried a small slice and thought they were very good. Not too sweet, lemony and the perfect way to end fun dinner.

Here is the recipe for Strawberry Lemonade Bars

Homemade Whole Wheat Strawberry Pop Tarts

Pop Tarts. I remember using some of my own money when I was a kid to buy a pack of Frosted Strawberry Pop Tarts. My mom never, ever bought them and it was a treat to eat those things right out of the package.
I have seen a ton of recipes floating around for Homemade Pop Tarts. I decided to make some when I realized I had some leftover whole wheat dough in the freezer from this crostada. I had just enough dough to make 3 or 4 pop tarts. I decided to make a strawberry filling because for some reason, frosted strawberry poptarts are the most iconic to me.

The filling was great and so was the dough, but the icing was way too sweet. All of my kids thought it was just too much, although the texture of the icing was perfect.

These breakfast/dessert treats won't make an appearance very often in the kitchen, but it was a fun thing to try. Oh and if you live nearby- Happy first day of school!!

Here is the recipe for Perfect Whole Wheat Pie Crust from the Cheeky Kitchen

Here is the recipe for the Fresh Strawberry Filling and Glaze
* We all thought the glaze was too sweet. The consistency was perfect but it was just too much

"Cooking School"- French Toast, 2 ways

Either one of these versions would make a great breakfast on a holiday morning like today.

Let me explain the "Cooking School" in the title.

It all started when we made these Bunny Buns ( the recipe is at the bottom of that post- it's really just a fancy way of twisting orange rolls). My daughter decided that she wanted to have a weekly "Cooking School" where she picked something and we made it together. Please forgive the formality of the title, but that is just what she said. I am by no means qualified in any way to call it that or teach, but it is what we are going with. :D

I decided that since summer was upon us, that this would be a great way to spend some time together in the kitchen.

Her first request- French Toast.

French Toast is not something that I make often. I guess because I usually feel like it doesn't come out quite right.
Well folks- "Cooking School" has cured the problem. I decided that we would make French Toast 2 ways- the traditional way and the baked way.

I searched for a basic French Toast recipe and found one by Alton Brown that fit the bill. It had a few extra steps that I have never seen before, but I have watched an episode or two of Good Eats, so I knew that if anyone had perfected a technique, scientifically, it was him. He uses half & half in the custard mixture and has you let the bread drip over a wire rack before you cook it, but I think what gives his French Toast the perfect texture and taste is the last step. He has you warm the oven and the french toast goes into the hot oven for 5 minutes, which puffs it up and makes it turn out restaurant style. We topped our french toast with a homemade strawberry sauce and strawberry whipped cream.

Baked french toast is just a slightly healthier version of bread pudding, in my opinion. I have made it a few times in the past. This recipe is basic and very good. We loved it.

Of course we didn't make these 2 recipes in the same day, but it was a lot of fun.

My daughter decided that the next series in our "Cooking School" should be salad, because these were a little on the rich side!


Here is the recipe for French Toast from Alton Brown
* We used real maple syrup instead of honey
* We used challah and topped it with a homemade strawberry sauce & strawberry whipped cream
* We only used 2 Tablespoons of butter to cook the french toast in our electric skillet in 2 batches

Here is the recipe for Baked French Toast with Blueberries from Giada de Laurentiis
* We used sourdough bread

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

Strawberry Cake

Last week we made one last trip to the local strawberry-picking farm. I went once when my Mom was here visiting, but my 6-year old missed it and she didn't let me forget that she wanted a chance to pick strawberries too.
The strawberries were about on their last leg out there. Very ripe and I knew they weren't going to last in the fridge for more than 24 hours.
That is where this cake came to the rescue. I needed something quick to take to someone and this was the perfect thing. Super simple to mix together the cake, the strawberries are dotted on top and it bakes up like a charm.
My daughter and I had to sneak a little slice and boy was it delicious. Just like strawberry shortcake, but actually way better and in cake form. I whipped up some strawberry whipped cream to top it.

My hubby ate the leftovers for breakfast the next day and loved it.

Here is the recipe for Strawberry Cake from Martha Stewart

Cooking Ligh Virtual Supper Club- Strawberry-Avocado Salsa

Roz chose our theme this month- Spring is Berry-licious Season, for the Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club. Each of us chose a recipe that highlighted some kind of berry and we came up with a delicious menu. Check it out below-

Roz - Pork Medallions with Spicy Pomegranate-Blueberry Reduction

Sandi - Raspberry Asparagus Medley

Mary Ann - Strawberry-Avocado Salsa

Jamie - Balsamic Strawberry Topping

Jerry -Raspberry Daiquiris

Val - Mesclun with Berries and Sweet Spiced Almonds

I don't know why I am drawn to wierd salsa combinations, but this strawberry and avocado salsa just seemed so interesting to me that I had to try it. I made it when my parents were here visiting, after my dad bought a large bag of avocados. I made it on a night when we were having tacos for dinner. We tried it with some tortilla chips and it was really good. Even though I forgot to add the sugar! My mother and I added some to top off our tacos and it was a really great addition. I was actually glad that I accidentally left out the sugar because it made the salsa seem savory, with just the right amount of sweetness from the strawberries.

I noticed that a very similar recipe was in the May issue of Cooking Light, but was paired with Cinnamon Tortilla Chips. I am going to have to make it and compare the two.

Make sure you go and see how the rest of the menu turned out!

Here is the recipe for Strawberry-Avocado Salsa from Cooking Light
* I forgot to add the sugar, but I thought it tasted great that way

Strawberry Sorbet

When I was a child, we would go to my grandparents house on the weekends. The first thing we would do on Saturday morning was head out to the garden to pick the produce.
I remember going out before the sun was all the way up and hoping that my job would be picking strawberries. They were close to the ground, so it was easy to kneel and go through the strawberry plants and find all the red, ripe berries. It was so much better than having to go into the raspberry patch! Most of the time, we got to pick both. There isn't much better than a fresh picked strawberry. Juicy, flavorful and delicious.

Strawberries are coming into season and we have been consuming quite a few of these yummy berries. My kids can easily eat a pound or two in an afternoon, so when I buy strawberries, I know they won't last very long.

I wanted to make this simple sorbet to bring out the beautiful color and flavor of strawberries right now. It was really simple to make, just a few steps involved. I made a few substitutions, mostly because I happened to be out of lemons. Next time I would reduce the sugar by about 1/4 or 1/3 cup- this time I reduced it by a couple of tablespoons. I prefer fruit desserts to be less sweet and more about the natural flavor of the fruit.

This makes me excited about spring!

Strawberry Sorbet
Ingredients:
1 lb. fresh strawberries, rinsed and hulled
3/4 cup sugar (I used a little less than this)
1 tsp. kirsch (optional) (I didn't use this)
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice (I used lime juice)
Pinch of salt

Directions:
Slice the strawberries and toss them in a medium bowl with the sugar and kirsch, if using, stirring until the sugar begins to dissolve (I just sliced my strawberries right into the food processor, so I wouldn't have to move them). Cover and let stand for 1 hour, stirring every so often.

Puree the strawberries and their liquid with the lemon juice and salt in a blender or food processor until smooth. Press the mixture through a strainer to remove the seeds if you wish.
(I skipped this step because I prefer to leave the seeds and pulp in these types of things. They don't bother me)

Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Source: The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz, seen on Annie's Eats

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.

Easy Melon Sorbet and Watermelon-Strawberry Slush

I love summer. The heat doesn't bother me that much and I would definitely rather be hot than cold. I know there are many people out there who completely disagree with me and I happen to be married to one of them.
Anyway, the weather here in Georgia seems to have taken a turn for the hotter, which goes hand in hand with more humidity. The past week has been pretty sticky and hot.

This type of weather means that cold refreshment is absolutely necessary.

I saw this recipe/idea for Easy Melon Sorbet and the picture looked so refreshing that I went out and bought a canteloupe, a honeydew melon and a watermelon.

It turns out, it really was that easy. Not that making sorbet it difficult, but this one doesn't even include a simple syrup, so there are only a few steps.

I cut up my melons, froze them in a ziploc bag and then pureed them, the following day. I had to add a Tablespoon or 2 of water to each batch of melon, to help smooth it out, but my melons were so sweet and tasty that I didn't add any sugar to them.
We loved this easy frozen melon treat. I actually finished it of last night and it was so delicious.

The other little drink came about when I had some watermelon cubes and we wanted a frosty/slushy drink, so I decided to combine the watermelon with some frozen strawberries I had on hand and it turned out really delicious.

Easy and refreshing!



Easy Melon Sorbet from Martha Stewart Living
Enjoy this frozen fruit dessert without a lot of bother or even an ice-cream maker. All you need are a few fresh melons and a food processor.
First, cube a melon and freeze it in a food-storage bag.
When you're ready to make sorbet, place frozen melon in the food processor, and puree.
You may need to add water to smooth. Add sugar to taste, and puree again.
Serve immediately, or store in the freezer in an airtight container up to 2 weeks.

Watermelon-Strawberry Slush by Mary Ann
4-5 cups watermelon cubes
2 cups frozen strawberries (or more, until slushy consistency is achieved)

Place watermelon cubes and frozen strawberries in the food processor or blender and process until blended and slushy. Pour into glasses and serve.
(I guess you could add sugar, but it tasted great without any)

Not really TWD but the word shortcake is involved-- Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

I feel kinda bad about not making this weeks TWD recipe, because it was chosen by one of my favorite bloggers ever- Cathy, who blogs over at The Tortefeasor. (You can find the recipe over on her blog- My apologies to you Cathy!). Even if you aren't interested in the recipe you should go read her blog. She is funny and entertaining and I love her blog.

I have a couple of projects going on with my kids that involve cooking/baking this summer and I just couldn't fit the TWD baking into our schedule. Plus, I am trying not to bake more than once or twice a week (unless it is for someone else) just for the basic health of our family.

I made these cookies last month when we went to pick strawberries and hadn't posted the recipe yet, so I decided they would be an okay substitute since they are shortcake, in a way.

I had so many fresh strawberries that I didn't know what to do with all of them. I found this recipe and it looked like an interesting twist on shortcake.
The cookies are made like a biscuit or scone, with the butter being cut into the dry ingredients and then the cream being added to bring it all together.

I used a little bit more chopped strawberries than called for and it made a really wet dough. The cookies still worked though, they just aren't as pretty as Martha's. oh well.



Recipe for Strawberry-Shortcake Cookies
* I used half & half instead of cream, since I had that on hand.

Strawberry Mango Oatmeal Almond Muffins

It has been almost 2 months since my family came to visit from Utah, but I still have some of the recipes that I made when they were here to post.

My brother was begging me to make him muffins one morning and kept on coming up with all these crazy ingredient combinations.
I can't remember all of them but he wanted something like this: berry-oat-mango-applesauce-whole wheat-banana-nut muffins.

I remembered that we had leftover mango sauce from his birthday, so I decided to incorporate that into the muffins. Somehow I found a muffin recipe that included strawberries and a few other things and started messing around with it. I added the mango sauce, some whole wheat flour, oats, almonds- you name it and it was probably added to the batter.

The good news is that these muffins turned out tasting great. My brother was very pleased. Healthy tasting, not too sweet, but still with a great flavor and texture.

I wish he was here today so I could bake him more muffins. Nothing beats a teenage boy when you have baked goods to get rid of.

Strawberry Mango Oatmeal Almond Muffins heavily adapted from Cooks.com

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup quick oats

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 large egg

1 egg white

2 Tablespoons canola oil

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup chopped fresh strawberries

1 cup mango puree (I used the leftover mango sauce from this recipe)

1 Tbls granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

sliced almonds

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Grease and flour a 12-cup muffin tin or line with paper liners.
2. In bowl, combine flours, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt; make a well in center and set aside.
3. In separate bowl, beat together buttermilk, egg, and egg white. Add canola oil, vanilla, and almond extract and beat well. Stir buttermilk mixture, strawberries and mango puree into well in flour mixture, just until moistened.
4. Fill prepared muffin tin 3/4 full. Combine sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over muffins. Sprinkle sliced almonds over top and lightly press them into the batter.
5. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until muffins test done. Cool in pan on wire rack.

TWD- Quick Classic Berry Tart and last week's Burnt Sugar Ice Cream

This week's TWD recipe, Quick Classic Berry Tart, was chosen by Cristine- who blogs over at Cooking with Cristine. You can find the recipe on her blog.
When I saw this pick my first thought was - Easy. Wierd, how Dorie's book has completely transformed me into a baker who thinks making pastry cream and a tart crust is a piece of cake. We have done it so many times with TWD that it is easy.

I took my girls to a local farm to pick strawberries, so I knew that strawberries would make an appearance on our tarts. I also found blackberries & blueberries on sale, so we had all three.
I decided to make mini tarts and give them away. I made 1/3 recipe of the pastry cream, using a combination of skim milk and half&half (I didn't have any whole milk) and the whole tart dough recipe. I made 3 mini tarts- pressed the dough into the pans and then pressed the rest of the dough into a larger tart pan. I put them all in the freezer. The next day, I baked the mini tart shells, filled them with cream and decorated them with berries. I used Simply Fruit (raspberry & blackberry) as the glaze on my tarts. The amount of pastry cream I made filled the 3 mini tarts perfectly.

I took one to my neighbor across the street who gives me fresh eggs from his chickens- since I used his eggs. And the other 2 to my in-laws.

Of course all those who tasted the tarts raved about their deliciousness. Who thought anything else would happen?

Go check out the other beautiful tarts that my fellow TWDer's made this week!
Since I had the eggs out and was making a mess in the kitchen anyway, I decided to mix up the custard for the Burnt Sugar Ice Cream that was chosen by Becky last week. It was the most fun I have ever had making ice cream. Watching the caramel seize into a big blob when you add the cold milk/cream (I used 1 cup of skim milk & 1 cup of half&half instead of 2 cups whole milk) and then having it come together into a smooth mixture was so fun to experience. Everyone raved about it last week and rightfully so- It is one of the best ice creams I have ever tasted. My husband was amazed by the silky texture and delicious taste.
The recipe is HERE. If you need more encouragement to make it, check out the links from all the TWD members who made it.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Ice Cream and my mom's Rhubarb Cake

Okay, I know someone is going to argue with me on this next one, but it is absolutely the truth- I have the best Mom that has ever lived on this planet. Hands down. No competition.
Sorry folks, it is just a fact.

My mom is amazing. She is awesome. She is nice. She is my best friend. Sometimes I wish she could raise my kids because she would probably do a better job of it.
She listens, she cares, she is soft-spoken and she is my hero. I can only hope that I will turn out as great as she is.

I feel lucky that she always made healthy food for us to eat. I remember when she weaned us down to skim milk. We ate lots of fresh vegetables and fruits, whole grains, a little meat/poultry and minimal sweets.
I feel so blessed to have grown up eating this way because I really think it has made a difference in my own family's way of eating.
We were lucky to live close to my grandparents who had a huge garden and my dad had one too, so we always had tons of fresh things to eat. We canned them too, so they would last all year.

Rhubarb was one of the items we grew up eating. I remember this cake and when I bought rhubarb and was debating what to make with it, the final thing I thought about was this cake. I was also very curious about the Strawberry-Rhubarb Ice Cream in Cooking Light Magazine, so we made both.
First, the ice cream. It was really, really good. I was surprised because sometimes lower fat ice creams don't taste great, but this one used egg yolks and actually was made with a custard, so I knew it would probably turn out yummy. It did. I used cran-raspberry juice instead of wine to cook down my rhubarb (a suggestion included in the recipe) and my girls helped me make all the different parts.
I made the cake that afternoon and we invited some friends over to play, with this being our little treat. It was enjoyed by everyone. The little bit of ice cream that survived, was devoured by my girls the next morning for breakfast. (Fruit + dairy + eggs =Breakfast. Right?)

The cake originally called for shortening, but I don't use that, so I have adapted it to use butter instead. It is more like a coffee cake or upside down cake than anything else and sometimes the cinnamon-y topping sinks to the bottom. It is so delicious. I think it might be passed down from my grandma, but just call it my mom's cake because she always made it for us. You should give it a try- you won't be sorry. I promise.

Happy Mother's Day!


My mom's Rhubarb Cake
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup +2 Tbls buttermilk
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups chopped rhubarb
Topping:
2 Tbls butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 or 11x7-inch pyrex/glass pan with baking spray (with flour).
Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.
Cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl, until fluffy and well combined. Add the egg and vanilla. Mix well.
Add half of the flour mixture and beat until combined. Add half the buttermilk and beat until combined. Add remaining flour and then remaining buttermilk. Gently fold in the chopped rhubarb.
Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.
Combine topping ingredients in a small bowl with your fingers, until mixed. Sprinkle evenly over the batter.
Bake the cake for 40-45 minutes, until the top is golden and the middle is cooked through.
Serve immediately or let cool and serve later.
This cake is good the next day too.


Recipe for Strawberry-Rhubarb Ice Cream from May 2010 Cooking Light
*Note- I did not strain the strawberry-rhubarb puree before I stirred it into the custard
and I used cran-raspberry juice instead of the wine

Fruit Bruschetta

So, are you tired of hearing about the food we enjoyed on my brother's birthday?
I hope not, because this is a really yummy one.

I decided to make my brother a special birthday breakfast and had seen a couple of great ideas that I wanted to try.
My brother loves bread, cereal, muffins, and oats. He could live on those items. He eats a lot of bread. and cereal. and oats. And not just at breakfast time. When we lived in Utah, he would often come home from school and eat a bowl of cereal with a couple pieces of bread.

Anyway, he also loves yogurt.
So, when I saw this idea of fruit bruschetta- a toasted baguette with a little butter and cinnamon sugar, topped with delicious mixed fruit and drizzled with yogurt- I knew this was the breakfast I was going to make him.

I saw a couple of different version's and decided to use the one I saw on Annie's Eats. She used a combination of pineapple, kiwi, strawberries, and bananas. I added some lemon zest to the fruit mixture just to up the flavor a little bit.
I also used a whole wheat baguette. Usually I don't ever put butter on toast, but I figured a little bit for this special breakfast would be okay. I melted the butter before hand and then used a pastry brush to just get a dab on the toasted bread slices.

This was a delicious twist on bruschetta and breakfast. A little time consuming, but completely worth it. It would be great for brunch or Mother's Day or even a mid-day snack. Yummy, yummy, yummy.

The birthday boy was very happy.
I added lemon zest to the fruit
Recipe for Fruit Bruschetta on Annie's Eats

Recipe for Fruit Bruschetta on The Way the Cookie Crumbles

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Whipped Cream

Sometimes I feel like there are way too many treats on my blog! But, I love to bake, so whenever I get the opportunity to make something for a dinner or event- I bake away. Just know that my family is not eating all of the sweet things featured here. We are sharing with the world!

So, with that being said- recently we had an event at church and I was in charge of the dessert.
Strawberries were just coming into season and I decided to give Martha Stewart's strawberry cupcakes a whirl.
Since it was going to be only women at this event, I decided to make mini cupcakes. That way, everyone could try one and not feel the least bit guilty about it.

This recipe makes a ton of batter. I got 70 mini cupcakes and made a dozen normal size cupcakes to give away. So, be warned!
(I didn't get a picture of the minis- those are regular cupcakes up there)

I frosted them with whipped cream that I flavored with pureed strawberries and it went perfectly with this delicate, delicious cupcake.

Many of the women at this event told me that these were the best cupcakes they had ever eaten. That has to mean something.

I saved one of the normal-sized cupcakes for my family that was coming into town the next night and they said the same thing.


Strawberry Cupcakes
adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

makes 40-44 cupcakes

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cake flour (not self rising)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large whole eggs, plus 1 egg white
1 cup milk
2 cups finely chopped strawberries, plus more for garnish


Preheat the oven to 350F. Line standard muffin tins with paper lines.

Sift together the flours, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Put butter, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer. Cream on medium-high until pale and fluffy. Add the whole eggs and egg white, one at a time, beating until each is fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Change the speed to low, add the flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the milk. Beat until well combined. Fold in the chopped strawberries by hand.

Fill each paper liner with batter 3/4 full. Bake, rotating the pans half way through, until golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, 20 - 30 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool for 15 minutes, then turn cupcakes out onto rack to let cool completely.

Strawberry Whipped Cream by Mary Ann
For the whipped cream, I used 2 cups of cream.
I coarsely chopped strawberries, about 1 1/2 cups and then pureed them in the food processor.
Whipped the cream to soft peaks, then added vanilla, powdered sugar (to taste) and whipped the cream to stiff peaks. I folded the strawberry puree in at the end.

Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

Happy Easter!

I made these cupcakes recently because strawberries are in season and strawberry shortcake is such a fun way to enjoy strawberries for dessert.
My husband loves it and this just upped the fun factor by making it a cute cupcake.

My kids helped me mix the cupcakes up and stir together the strawberries.
I added some lemon zest to the strawberry mixture and it really just added a nice, extra zesty layer of flavor.

I think the cupcakes would have been a little dry on their own, but they were absolutely perfect for soaking up the strawberry juice.

Hubs and kids loved this dessert, which made it a winner for me too.
Plus, with such delicious strawberries right now, it makes this a quick and easy treat.

Recipe for Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

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