Strawberry Oatmeal Smoothie

Oatmeal....in a smoothie? If I didn't have a Vitamix, I'd immediately dismiss it because I am afraid that there would be pieces. Luckily, I DO have a Vitamix, so I can blend EVERYTHING with no problem-o. (Don't be jealous, just go get one!)

I was nosing around Pinterest and came across a recipe I thought looked good, so I gave it a whirl. After following the recipe (sort of) I didn't care for it. I changed it up, which improved the end result, but still didn't make me fall in love. Below is the original vs. my variation.

Strawberries & Cream Smoothie

From The Kitchen Paper

1 C Frozen strawberries

1/2 C Vanilla yogurt

3/4 C Milk

1/2 C Uncooked oatmeal

1 tsp Vanilla

Strawberries & Cream Smoothie
My version

1 C Thawed strawberries
1/2 C Vanilla Greek yogurt
3/4 C Soymilk
1/2 C Old Fashioned Oats, uncooked
....then I added:
1 Frozen banana
2 Tsp  Agave nectar

Combine all ingredients in blender and process for 20-30 seconds, until smooth. Pour and serve! Smoothie is thiiiiiick, so if you have a thicker straw, use it!

A Peary Green Smoothie

I came home from work late tonight and was hungry, but didn't really want to eat something heavy. I threw some stuff into a blender and came up with this! It was light, but filling.





Peary Green Smoothie

1 1/2 C water

1 Pear (D'Anjou)
1 Apple (Fiji)
1 C Frozen Pineapple
1 1/2 - 2 C Spinach
1/2 C Ice cubes


Combine ingredients in blender, making sure ice is on top. Blend for 30-45 seconds, or until smooth. Enjoy!

Love your Peaches, Wanna shake your tree...

Finally - Peaches are available! I've been eye-balling this recipe forever. I love peach bellini, and when I saw a cupcake variation of one of my favorite drinks, I knew I HAD to do it. It was totally worth the wait. These cupcakes are probably in my top 5, they were so good. I'm never one to brag, but oh my goodness....they were tasty.

My biggest obstacle was locating some good champagne for these. I'm not a big wine or champagne drinker, so when I have no guidance on what kind to pick, I'm a bit lost. After staring at the shelves of bottles I decided on Barefoot Bubbly - Moscato Spumante.
I chose this one because I have discovered I really enjoy Moscato. It's nice and sweet, which I dig. Many wines are way to dry for my taste buds, but the Moscato is just right. Perhaps one day I'll learn how to drink wine, but for now, I'll stick with the sweet stuff.
Anyway, as I was saying, I didn't know what to buy, so I bought a bottle of the Barefoot.
It was perfect! This cupcake would be wonderful for a bridal shower, or even a wedding... 2 thumbs up!

Peach Bellini Cupcake
adapted from Sing for your Supper, and You'll get Breakfast

For the Cupcake:

1 c unsalted butter, room temperature
2 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla
6 egg whites
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3/4 c champagne
1/4 c Peach Schnapps
1 fresh, not quite ripe, peach, peeled & diced

For the Frosting:

1/2 c unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 c shortening
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 Tbsp water
1 tsp Peach Schnapps
1/4 c champagne
5 c confectioners' sugar
Wilton Golden Yellow icing color (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line your cupcake pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a glass measuring cup combine champagne and schnapps. Set this aside, too.
In your mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar together for about 1 minute at medium speed. Add vanilla, and beat for 1 more minute. Scrape down your bowl, then begin adding egg whites one at a time, allowing each white to incorporate completely. Once all whites are added, batter will look fluffy, almost like marshmallow fluff. Scrape down your bowl again, then set speed to low. Slowly add about 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by 1/2 of the champagne mixture. Repeat this, then add the last bit of flour mixture. Scrape down your bowl, then mix again at low speed for another 15 seconds, to ensure all is properly combined. Remove bowl from mixer, then stir in your diced peaches. I used a not quite ripe peach because I didn't want it to completely turn to mush in the baking process. The result was perfect peach pieces within the cupcake.

Once batter is ready to go, scoop enough batter to fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full. The batter will rise nicely, so no need to over-fill the pans. Bake these for 15-17 minuges, or until tops bounce back when touched. Cool cupcakes in pans for about 10 minute, then remove them to a wire rack to continue to cool. You should get about 28 cupcakes out of this batch.

While cupcakes continue to cool, prep your frosting. Cream butter, shortening, vanilla, schnapps, about 1/2 of your water, and a couple Tbsp champagne. (I started out with 1/4 c, but only used about 3 1/2 Tbsp in the end.)
Cream all these together, then slowly begin adding confectioners' sugar. If frosting is too stiff, add additional water or champagne, to taste. If you want, you can add some icing color. I added a bit of Golden Yellow, to give it a slight hint of orange/yellow...but not too much. I also wanted to make them sparkle, so I added a bit of yellow sugar.

Cherry Poppin' Cupcakes

This week was my birthday (Happy birthday to me!) I turned 30…eeek! Actually, it really wasn’t that big of a deal. I don’t feel 30 so I’m not having a mid-life crisis or anything. Anyway, since this was my birthday cupcake, I decided to bake with one of my favorite flavors: Cherry! I love cherry flavored anything, really. Cherry coke, cherry limeade, cherry slushies, cherry pie…I could go on and on, but I won’t. I’ve really been looking forward to this cupcake, and it was definitely worth the wait. Last time I made a cherry-ish cupcake I was unhappy with the lack of cherry flavor in the frosting, which made me a little nervous about this one. Surprisingly, this one turned out much better than my last cherry cupcake (Cherry Limeade) I don’t know why, so I guess I’ll have to go back and assess my previous recipe. Perhaps the cherry flavor was boosted by the actual cherry pieces in the cupcake, this time? Either way, they were delish. They were light and flavorful, and I think someone even described them as “dreamy”

That, my friends, is a compliment that I will TAKE!

I hope you enjoy these as much as I did!!

Cherry Chip Cupcakes

adapted from The Nonpareil Baker

For cupcakes:

2 c + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour, divided

1 Tbsp baking powder

¼ tsp kosher salt

¼ c milk

½ c maraschino cherry juice

2 tsp almond extract

½ c unsalted butter

1 ¼ c granulated sugar

10 oz maraschino cherries, finely chopped

4 egg whites

For frosting:

¾ c unsalted butter

3 ½ c confectioners’ sugar

¼ tsp salt

2-3 Tbsp maraschino cherry juice

Preheat oven to 340 degrees and prep your cupcake trays with liners.

Put egg whites in mixer bowl and beat at medium speed until foamy (about a minute) then increase speed to high and beat until stiff peaks form (about 3-4 minutes.) Pour your egg-cloud into a clean bowl, and set aside. Wash out your bowl.

Dump your cherries into a mini chopper, if you have one. If you don’t, I’d suggest using a food processor, rather than manually chopping these into little bits. Give them a few pulses and you’ll chop your cherries into nice itty-bitty pieces. If you have to do it manually, I'm sorry. Set these aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together your flour, salt, and baking powder. In large liquid measuring cup, combine your milk, cherry juice, and almond extract. Set aside.

Put your butter in your mixer bowl and beat for 1 minute at medium speed. Scrape the bowl down, then set to medium speed and begin adding your sugar, about ¼ c at a time. Beat for about 1 minute, until light and fluffy. Decrease mixer to low and slowly alternate adding your flour mixture and your liquid mixture, starting and ending with flour. Mix this only until thoroughly combined. Remove bowl from mixer, and scrape the bowl down.

Sprinkle your 2 Tbsp of flour over cherries, and mix until flour disappears. Stir cherries into batter. Grab your egg white cloud and plop in onto your batter. Your batter will be really thick, so CAREFULLY fold your cloud into the batter. I say carefully because if you over mix, your cloud will deflate, thus leaving your batter looking puny. If you’ve done it correctly, your batter will have grown. Growing is good!

Grab your trusty scooper and scoop batter about 2/3 full into your cups. Bake these for 20 minutes, or until they bounce back when the tops are touched. Cool cupcakes in pan for 5-7 minutes, then remove to cooling rack to cool completely.

While these cool, prep your frosting. Put butter, 2 Tbsp juice, and extract in mixer and beat until smooth. Slowly add confectioners’ sugar, about ¼ c at a time. Beat until smooth. Add more juice until frosting reaches your desired consistency, which for me resulted in a total of 3 Tbsp cherry juice.

Pipe or spread on your cupcakes, then garnish with a cherry.

Enjoy!!

Lemon Meringue, that makes you Merengue

One of my favorite flavors of pie is Lemon Meringue. I always associate it with my late grandfather, Solomon. His birthday was on January 1st, so every year, on his birthday, the family would get together and my aunt would make a couple of lemon meringue pies because it was his favorite, too. I've made a few lemon meringue pies in the past, but don't necessarily LOVE baking them. They are very time consuming, one dirties lots of dishes, and if not timed out perfectly, something will go wrong. With a house full of kids, I can't always dedicate 100% of my attention on something in the kitchen because the next thing I know, someone is fighting or crying over something and I have to go break it up! Anyway, this past weekend my family got together for a Father's Day thing and my aunt brought a lemon meringue pie! Talk about flash back. Since there was only 1 pie and lots of people, I didn't have an entire piece, I just swiped a few bites from my Abuela's plate. Needless to say, it was delicious, and it inspired this week's cupcake. This one's for you, Buelo!!

Lemon Meringue Pie Cupcake
Inspired by BH&G 150 Cupcakes
For the cupcakes:
4 eggs yolks
1/2 c unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 c milk
1/4 c purchased lemon curd
3/4 c granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
For the garnish/meringue:
4 egg whites
3-4 Tbsp purchased lemon curd
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
2/3 c granulated sugar
powdered sugar
Separate eggs. Let them sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Prep your cupcake pans with liners. You'll get about 15 out of this recipe. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl combine milk and 1/4 c lemon curd. Whisk until almost smooth. (You'll still have a few lumps of curd in there!)
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, beat butter for about 30 seconds, then add granulated sugar. Beat for about 1 minute at med-high speed, then reduce to medium and add yolks and vanilla. Beat to combine, then scrape down your bowl. Alternately add your flour mixture and your milk mixtures, starting & finishing with the flour. Beat at low until just combined. Remove from mixer and mix through a couple of times with spatula.
Scoop batter into prepared cupcake tray, filling about 2/3 full. Batter is pretty thick, so use an offset spatula to smooth out tops. Pop into oven and bake 15-17 minutes until just beginning to turn golden, and they spring back when you touch the tops.
While those bake, scoop about 3-4 Tbsp lemon curd into a pastry bag, snip the tip, and set aside. Wash out your mixer bowl REALLY well, then whip egg whites and cream of tartar together at medium speed, until soft peaks form. Increase speed to high, and gradually add granulated sugar, about 1 Tbsp at a time. Whip until stiff peaks form. You can put meringue into a parchment bag, or you can just dollop onto cupcake, your choice!
When cupcakes come out of oven, place them on a cooling rack, then pipe a small pile of curd onto each cupcake. I stuck the tip of the bag into the cupcake to get a little bit inside the cake. Once you do that, either dollop your meringue on top, or pipe it on top of the curd pile. Place the cupcakes back into the oven and bake for another 5-7 minutes, until meringue begins to brown on top. Remove from oven, an cool on rack for 5 minutes. Remove from pans and allow to cool for another 35-40 minutes. You can enjoy these now, or pop them into the fridge and chill until serving!

Banana-Rama

I was presented with a challenge late last week: A banana-nut cupcake. "You mean a muffin?" I asked. "No, a cupcake," I was told. "No, a muffin, right?" "No....a cupcake. That's part of the challenge."

Ugh....challenge, smallenge. I was nervous. My big concern: It would come out as a muffin. Needless to say, when going into this, the ever popular debate came up. What is the difference between a muffin and a cupcake? Normally people say "Muffins don't have frosting." Well, I disagree. I've seen frosted muffins before, as well as glazed ones. I think it has to do with the consistency, which goes along with what Google told us, which is that the mixing method is different. That, and you can prepare a recipe intended for a cake and get a successful cupcake out of it, and vice versa. On the contrary, if you take a muffin recipe and try to make a cake out of it, well, you won't be pleasantly surprised.

Well, I searched the internet and found many potential recipes, but they all illustrated a very muffin-like image of a cupcake. That is what I didn't want. Finally I found myself on Wilton's website and found something that I suspected would work. It produced a very dense cake, but I think that it is definitely still a cupcake (yay!) Once the cupcake was cooling on the rack I stared at them wondering what the heck I was going to top them with. Being as dense as they were, a whipped topping was not an option. I considered a cream-cheese based frosting, but frankly, I don't love cream cheese. Yes, I have made some frostings with it, but generally, if I can buttercream it, I do. In this case, I did. After calling my husband, freaking out about what to top it with, he suggested the recipe that you'll see below. I think it worked.  The combination was dense, banana-y, and delicious. This could be a breakfast cupcake, no doubt. Paired with a cup of coffee, you'd greet the morning with a smile.

Banana-nut cupcake with Cocoa Frosting
Inspired by Wilton

For the cupcake:
2 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3//4 c unsalted butter
1 1/2 c granulated sugar, room temperature
3/4 c banana, pureed (about 2 medium bananas)
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla
1 tsp black walnut extract
3/4 c sour cream
1/4 c walnuts, chopped into tiny pieces

For the frosting:
1/2 c shortening
1/2 c unsalted butter, softened
2-3 Tbsp water
3 c confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 tsp cocoa (I used E. Guittard, purchased at Sur La Table)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prep your cupcake pans. Combine flour, soda, and salt in a medium bowl, then set aside. In your mixer bowl, cream sugar and butter together, meanwhile, puree your banana into a liquid state, using a food processor or a blender. Add your eggs to the butter mixture, one at a time, then add extracts. Scrape down your bowl, then beat banana into mixture, until well incorporated. Alternate adding flour and sour cream into banana mixture, starting and finishing with flour. Mix until just incorporated, and turn off mixer. Do not over mix. Remove bowl from stand, then stir in your chopped walnuts. I chopped mine really small because I don't love nuts, nor did I want to take away from the moistness of the cupcake by making it crunchy.

Once walnuts are mixed in, scoop batter into prepared pan, filling about 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees for about 17 minutes, until tops spring back when touched. Cool them in the pan for about 10 minutes, then removed them to cooling rack to finish.

While these guys cool, prep your frosting. In a mixer bowl, mix butter, shortening, and 2 Tbsp water, until smooth. Mix in cocoa, then add confectioners' sugar, about 1/4 c at a time. Add more water, until desired consistency is reached.

Spread or pipe frosting onto cupcakes. To garnish, I put a handful of walnuts into my mini-prep and chopped them into big crumbs. I sprinkled about a pinch of them over frosting, then stuck a banana slice in the frosting. If you are going to use a banana slice as garnish, make sure that you add it RIGHT BEFORE serving, otherwise, the banana will get all brown and icky.

As previously mentioned, paired with a cup of coffee, this would create a delicious breakfast or snack any day!
Enjoy!!

Lemony Snack-it, A seriously fortunate event!

Previously mentioned, my husband received quite a few requests/recipe suggestions from his coworkers. One request that I'd gotten a few times was if I could make a diabetic-friendly cupcake. After all, individuals with diabetes love cupcakes, too...they normally just can't eat them.

Diabetes is a disease that is all too familiar in my family, as many of my great aunts & uncles have it. This past Thanksgiving I was asked to prepare a birthday cake for one of my uncles. It would be easy to just throw my usual birthday cake together, but my uncle has diabetes. I took it upon myself to see what I could put together for him that would be diabetes friendly. It's no fun to get a birthday cake that you can't eat. I came upon this recipe online and thought it looked delicious. The cake was super yum, so when a request for diabetic-friendly cupcakes came out, I flashed back to this cake. With a few minor tweaks, this turned out to be a big hit with diabetic & non-diabetic tasters. Fear not, even cupcakes with low sugar can be yummy!!

Lemon Velvet Cake
From Cooksrecipes.com

For the cake:
2 1/2 c cake flour
1 c SPLENDA Sugar Blend for Baking
2 1/2 tsp bakign powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c unsalted butter, softened
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 c milk
1/4 tsp lemon extract
1 tsp lemon zest

For the lemon filling:
2/3 c SPLENDA Sugar Blend for Baking
2 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
1 c water
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp lemon zest
1/4 c fresh lemon juice

For the frosting:
1 1/4 c whipping cream
2 tbsp SPLENDA Sugar Blend for Baking
1 tsp lemon zest
1/4 tsp lemon extract

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and prep your cupcake pans.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together your flour, SPLENDA, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter using a pastry cutter, until mixture is crumbly. If you don't have a pastry cutter, you can use a mixer at the lowest speed. Just be careful not to over mix...you just want crumbles.

Combine milk, eggs, lemon extract, and lemon zest in a medium sized bowl. Turn your mixer on, and add 1/3 of lemon mixture to your flour. Beat until smooth. Scrape down your bowl, then add another 1/3 of your lemon mixture to the mixer bowl. Beat for 30 seconds, then add the remaining lemon mixture to your mixer bowl.

Scoop batter into prepared cupcake pans and bake for 17 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Looks can be deceiving with this cupcake. When you take a peak into your oven, the cupcakes will look raw. They are a very pale color. Don't be fooled....check them. They are probably done, just pale. Remove them to a wire rack and cool in pan for about 10 min. Pop them out of pan, and cool completely.

While these cool, prepare your lemon filling.

Lightly whisk your egg yolks in a medium sized bowl. Set aside. Prep your lemon zest, lemon juice,and butter, then set aside. Combine your SPLENDA, cornstarch, and water in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, making sure to whisk constantly. When mixture begins to thicken up, add about 1/4 of it to your egg yolks, whisking like crazy to prevent your yolks from cooking. Once tempered, add yolk mixture to saucepan and whisk constantly. Bring to a boil, then allow to boil for 1 min, never ceasing to whisk. Remove from heat and stir in your zest, juice, and butter. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on surface of custard and set aside to cool. By placing the plastic on the surface of the custard, you will prevent a yucky film from developing on surface.

If your cupcakes are cool, grab your nifty cupcake corer. I got mine a couple of years ago from Sur La Table and it is WONDERFUL. It's a handy little tool that isn't too expensive, and it ensures you have plenty of filling in your cupcakes.

Core your cupcakes. When your custard has cooled, fill with desired amount of filling. It's delicious, so don't be skimpy! Once your cupcakes are filled, prep your frosting.

In a mixer bowl, using your whisk attachment, whip whipping cream until foamy. Slowly add SPLENDA, followed by zest and extract. Beat until medium peaks form. You don't want them too soft, or frosting will not be pipe-able, but you don't want them too stiff, either. A medium peak will do.

Pipe your cupcakes, then garnish with a lemon slice, if you'd like.

Enjoy!!

Pineapple Express...

My husband has been bombarded with cupcake ideas for the past couple of weeks. One of the big requests has been for pineapple upside-down cupcakes. I am not a huge fan of having fruit baked into my cake. My mom used to make one of those mandarin orange cakes...you know - the kind where every bite has one of those little mandarin oranges in it...the one that doesn't taste all the way done because it's juicey with mandarin orange juice? Yeah...gross. I think it's the texture that bothers me. The area around the fruit is always a little off for my liking. Perhaps that is why I wasn't 100% on baking these little guys. I was concerned that the texture would be weird. That, and they're pineapple upside-down cupcakes! How am I going to serve these without people being covered with cupcake by the time they are done? Isn't the point of a cupcake the fact that you don't have to use a fork to eat it? Eat an run....eat and run. It should be about ease of consumption, right?

Well, turns out, if your cake is dense enough, it's not overly soppy around the fruit, AND you can eat it with your fingers. SCORE! This is one of my fave's thus far....as well as one of the fave's of my tasters.  I hope that all who attempt the recipe enjoy it as much as we did.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cupcake
Inspired by America's Test Kitchen - Family Baking Cookbook

For the batter: 
12 tbsp unsalted better, softened
3/4 c packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 lbs peeled & cored fresh pineapple - cut to your liking (I used 1 entire medium sized pineapple)
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 large egg white, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c whole milk, room temperature

For the whipped topping:
1 c heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp confectioners' sugar

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place 4 tbsp butter in butter warmer (or very small saucepan) and melt over low heat. Once melted, turn off heat, but leave on burner. Add brown sugar and stir until incorporated.
Do you have one of those little ice cream scoops - the kind that measure about 1 tbsp of batter? If so, that is perfect! Scoop about 1 tbsp of the brown sugar mixture in each of your ungreased muffin cups. Don't worry - the cupcake will pop out, even though the pan is ungreased. I promise.

Once you've filled your muffin tray, arrange your pineapples how you'd like. Press them down into the brown sugar mixture, and set your pan aside.

In a medium bowl combine your flour, baking powder, and salt. In your mixer bowl, cream granulated sugar and butter together until light & fluffy - about 4 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to medium and add your eggs and egg whites in, one at a time. Beat in vanilla.

Reduce your mixer speed to low and beat in 1/3 of the flour mixture. Add half of the milk, then repeat process, ending with flour. Beat last portion of flour into mixture, but make sure you don't over beat. Just beat until incorporated.

Grab your trusty ice cream scoop and scoop the batter into your muffin cups. Your tins should be 3/4 full. Batter will be very thick, so take a spatula and smooth out the tops.

Bake cupcakes for 17 minutes, or until they bounce back when touched in the center. Let them cool in 10 minutes, no more, no less. Letting them sit in the pan for 10 minutes is just enough time that when you go to remove them from the pan they will come out easily. Once the 10 minutes have passed, put a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper on top of your cupcake pan, then flip it over. Let them chill there for a minute or two. The cupcakes will release on their own - LIKE MAGIC!!

While cupcakes cool on sheet, prep your whipped topping. Add your whipping cream and vanilla to mixer bowl fitted with a whisk attachment. Whip until stiff soft peaks begin to form. With mixer still going, slowly sprinkle confectioners' sugar into whipped mixture. Continue whipping until stiff peaks form, making sure not to over-whip.

Dollup your whipped cream onto cupcake, then top with a cherry. Ta-da! Delicious and beautiful!!