A few weeks ago I was asked to make nine dozen cupcakes for an office party where Joe works. I knew it was going to be a challenge, especially since I had little time to prepare. I thought a variety of cupcakes would work best and went to work looking through recipes. When I found this muffin posted on “A Bountiful Kitchen” I knew it would be a big hit. The muffin was so moist inside topped with a crunchy walnut streusel. And the contrast of the salty maple glaze gives your taste buds a real treat. They were so addicting I had to make another batch.
Yesterday was Cameron’s birthday! He’s off on an adventure for a few days rock climbing, which is what he lives for. So I’m planning a belated birthday bash serving an angel food cake with a lemon curd filling, fresh berries and whipped cream. There’s nothing like a home made angel food cake, it’s so light and delicious. And while the cake takes only egg whites, the curd uses only the yolks. So even if you don’t use the curd right away, this is the best time to make it as it can be frozen and used later. The lemon curd and fresh berries really do belong together. So if you want to whip up something special for your loved ones, this would definitely make their day! Happy Birthday Cam!
April is here and finally feeling like the beginnings of Spring. I just spent a week in NM which looks and feels much more like Spring than we do here in the Midwest. The trees were leafing and some areas were already in full bloom. The latter part of the week was filled with warm sunshine which always lifts my spirits. And time spent with my sister in Albuquerque was the icing on the cake. She took me thrifting and out to lunch where we sat outside of “Sarafins Chile Hut” on Central sharing a combination plate of Chile Rellenos, Beef Enchiladas and Tacos with Sopapillas and Honey. I’m here to tell you there’s nothing better than spending a day with your sister and eating real New Mexican food! It’s going to take me a few days to get back in in sync and try out some new recipes but in the meantime here’s the last of the trio of cupcakes. A carrot cupcake with a cream cheese center and and topped with a cream cheese frosting. It’s pretty to eat and perfect for Spring.
Here’s a classic Rum Cake that I fell in love with at first bite. My sister Kat made it years ago and I have never forgotten how much I loved it! She gave me the recipe and I’ve finally gotten around to making it. Boy is this cake good! It’s so moist because of the glaze that’s absorbed into the cake. Kat used Bicardi Silver which is milder in flavor but what I had on hand was Jamaican rum and it gave the cake a much stronger flavor so take that into consideration.
Posted at 8:04 am by NativeNM, on February 26, 2013
You might remember a few weeks ago I made a trio of cupcakes. The first cupcake was a Lemon Cupcake which was fresh and citrusy. These dark chocolate cupcakes comes straight from the blog “Brown Eyed Baker“. They are rich and chocolaty with the density of a brownie and topped with a luscious peanut butter cream frosting. Of course I thought these would go over well because who doesn’t like chocolate and peanut butter. Need I say more!
Posted at 8:34 am by NativeNM, on February 5, 2013
Recently I made a variety of cupcakes for Joe to share at work. One of the choices was this citrusy lemon cupcake which was my personal favorite. I just love the fresh citrus of lemon that shines through this tiny cake. The cupcake was very moist and the lemon cream cheese frosting tasted like a smooth lemon cream. I mixed a little sugar and lemon zest together to make a pretty crystallized topping. I found this recipe on a beautiful blog post by “My Baking Addiction” but scaled it down to make an even dozen cupcakes.
Posted at 10:58 am by NativeNM, on December 28, 2012
We’re celebrating birthdays this week. For those who have birthdays around Christmas, birthdays can sometimes get overlooked. So I try to do something special for my guys so they feel celebrated. Of course Josh wants Reese’s Cheesecake every year. He’s big on traditions and sticking with them. I decided to make Mini Cheesecakes so that I could make something special for Joe and Josh could continue to have his Reese’s cheesecake too.
Posted at 8:45 am by NativeNM, on October 26, 2012
I’ve been in a mood for muffins so in the spirit of October with pumpkins and ghouls I decided to take a popular recipe for Pumpkin Crunch Cake and turn them into muffins. I would describe it as a pumpkin custard bottom with a crunchy cake and walnut topping. My husbands mother Joan originally made this cake and it was scrumptious. It’s made with a yellow cake mix but I didn’t have a box on hand so I made my own with a little help from Suzanne McMinn’s blog “Chickens in the Road“.
Posted at 9:07 am by NativeNM, on September 4, 2012
I came across a recipe the other day called “Lemon Olive Oil Cake” and I had this recollection of Kat mentioning that I should try a recipe for olive oil cake. Well, it must have gone out of my head until I saw this recipe. Sometimes I see a recipe and just have to make it but the only problem was that I had no lemons. However, I had just bought a big bag of limes and figured they would work just as well since they are both citrus. I love anything lime and this cake didn’t disappoint. The cake was moist and citrusy tart with just enough sweetness to satisfy my craving.
Here’s a heads up for those of you with kids, you love them, you teach them, you send them off into the world, but sometimes they come back. As in my case with my oldest son Josh who spent his first year away from home while going to college. He’s back for a few weeks until he has a new place lined up and in the meantime he’s showing me a few things he’s incorporated into his daily life. He’s become quite the breakfast maker, getting up early to make a big breakfast to start his day. Well, I’m impressed, this kid of mine actually did listen to a thing or two I taught him about food and nutrition. “So what can I pick up for you at the grocery store” I asked him He rattled off several things he wanted including lots of bananas. So I picked up 2 big bunches of bananas and guess what, they turned ripe in a hurry and he didn’t eat them like he thought he would. So what to do with all those ripe bananas, well . . . make muffins, that’s what I do. And in the fridge I remembered some semi sweet chocolate bars and chocolate chips that I had leftover from another recipe so I decided to throw them into the mix too.