Neapolitan Cupcakes

I wanted to make something a little out of the ordinary for a friend’s bake sale. Google surfing lead me to the Busty Baker's blog. Her photos of this appealing cupcake combination completely convinced me I had to try it. I tried to duplicate the fancy little icing swirls but, alas, I cannot pipe icing. I promise I will not stop trying though.... and that’s a big promise coming from me. I am the type of person who, if I am not immediately good at something, will give up.

Yes, she is a big baby that way...

 Thank you ,Sue, for your valuable input.

 

You are most welcome.

 At any rate, these are a really cool combination of flavours. Chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry! Remember Neapolitan ice cream? Of course you do. Remember how delicious it was? Of course you do. Remember how you used to try and beat your sister to serving it so you could steal all of the strawberry ice cream so she couldn’t get any? Of course....wait....maybe that was just me....

 

You were a big jerk sometimes.

 He he he.... Savour the small victories I always say.

Anyway, you probably want to try these pretty little things yourself. I definitely recommend trying it. Check out the Busty Baker’s blog for some incredible photos and to see how much cuter they look with the fancy frosting swirls. (*Sigh* )

 

NEAPOLITAN CUPCAKES

Vanilla Cupcakes

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

pinch salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup buttermilk

 Chocolate Cupcakes

Follow instructions for Vanilla Cupcakes above, but reduce flour to 1 1/4 cups, and add 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder. Whisk into dry ingredients. I also used regular milk instead of buttermilk just to give a bit more of a variation.

*You will want to prepare both mixes at once so that one batter doesn’t have to sit too long while you prepare the other. *

 Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare 2 standard 12-cup muffin pans with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; add vanilla, and mix until combined. On low speed, beat in half the flour mixture, followed by milk; end with remaining flour mixture. Mix just until incorporated (do not over mix).

 

Fill muffin cups with a large spoonful of each batter, side by side. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 15 - 20 mins. Cool cupcakes in pan, 5 mins; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Strawberry Buttercream

 

Ingredients

2 cups icing sugar

3/4 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup strawberry puree

1/2 tsp strawberry extract

8-12 fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced, for decoration

 Directions

In a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter until it is light and fluffy. Add strawberry puree, strawberry extract until well combined. Add sugar, a half cup at a time, and beat until frosting comes together and is light and fluffy, 5 to 7 miutes. Spread or pipe frosting over cooled cupcakes. Top each with a sliced strawberry. I didn’t have the strawberry extract and it still tastes deliciously strawberry-y

If you are going to be all fancy and pipe lovely swirls then this will only make enough to frost about 2/3 of the 2 dozen cupcakes. You will probably have to make a batch and a half to frost them all. I simply spread it on top and this was more than enough to do all 24.

Once I have learned how to pipe frosting into all those cute little swirls and shapes then I will be making these again! (Okay, I will be making them again before that) They taste soooo good!



Baked Egg Rolls

Who doesn't love egg rolls?
They are usually deep fried, which only adds to the deliciousness. These are baked so it cuts the fat but still keeps the crispiness. Sue (who I think has chinese food flowing in her veins) is the genius behind this particular recipe. I did help with the wrapping and taste testing though.

Baked Egg Rolls

Ingredients

4 cups shredded, cooked pork

2 cups shredded cabbage

1 large carrot, shredded

1/2 medium onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

6 water chestnuts, finely chopped

3 Tbsp Hoisin Sauce

salt and pepper to taste

8 X 8 inch Egg Roll Wrappers

Directions

In a large fry pan, stir fry all ingredients (except wrappers) together. Scrape into bowl and let cool.

When filling is cool (or at least room temp), preheat oven to 400. Take a single egg roll wrapper and place it on the diagonal in front of you. Using water or egg, brush around outside of wrapper - this helps it to stick together better. Place 2 - 3 heaping tablespoons of filling on wrapper as per photo below.

Roll up from bottom corner, tucking in sides as you go. Place on parchment paper lined cookie tray. Spray tops with cooking spray. This is important - if you don't spray them they don't get that lovely golden brown color.

Bake at 400 for 15 minutes then gently flip over and bake another 5 minutes. Egg roll should be golden brown and feel crispy if you touch it.

I was surprised at how easy these were to do. It took us about 2 egg rolls each to get the rolling technique down. You have to be careful you don't put too much filling or the egg roll will split.
Don't get me wrong - they are still totally edible, they just won't look as pretty if they split.
If in doubt, use less. (Wow, it's not very often I say that!)

Egg rolls are another one of those foods that can be totally customized to your preferences. I definitely recommend using the water chestnuts though - they add a really nice crunch.

Be sure to stop by Carole's Chatter for tons of great links!

Strawberry Rhubarb and Strawberry Blueberry Jam

Strawberry Rhubarb on top, Strawberry Blueberry on the bottom

I like making jam (I also enjoying eating it – surprised?). The process isn’t that hard but it does take planning and preparedness. Making jam makes me feel like some king of evil super genius scientist working in a laboratory. You know, all that stirring and staring at bubbling pots of things with little glass jars lined up on the counter.

Sue and I are a great canning team! Working together the process goes very smoothly and quickly. She stirs, I pour, she fills, I grab lids. If you are working solo it is not too bad either, it’s just that it is a lot more fun when there is someone helping.

We decided to do strawberry jam this week because I am on a bit of a strawberry kick of late. They were also on sale at the grocery store so it worked out well! By changing the recipe a smidge we got two completely different jams that both have really nice color and flavour.

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Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

Ingredients

2 cups crushed strawberries

2 cups chopped rhubarb

1 box Certo pectin crystals

5 1/2 cups granulated sugar

Directions

Measure all ingredients out ahead of time as you won't have time once you get started.

In a large saucepan, stir together strawberries and rhubarb, and Certo pectin crystals. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Add all the sugar. Return to a hard boil for 1 minute.

(While you wait you can tent your fingers together and raise one eyebrow while – with your best maniacal laugh – say, “Bwah ha ha! Yes, yes, everything is coming together nicely. My plan will soon be complete.”)

Remove from heat. Stir and skim for 5 minutes. Pour into hot, sterilized jars to 1/4 inch from rim. Cover with warm lids and screw rings on tightly.

 

Strawberry Blueberry Jam

Ingredients

4 cups crushed strawberries

1 cup lightly crushed blueberries

1 box Certo pectin crystals

6 cups granulated sugar

Directions

Exactly as listed above for the Strawberry Rhubarb Jam.

I am a beginner when it comes to canning but I am learning. There is a fancy schmancy fruit cocktail recipe I am dying to try (just need to convince Sue to help me). I hope to work my way up to pressure canning and do meats of some kind (Sue has already told me she won't be helping me with the pressure canning - she has issues with canned meat). There are so many really cool recipes out there. Feel free to share your favourites !!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

If you are one of those people that don’t like to sample the cookie dough whilst making cookies then you probably will not enjoy this recipe as much as you should. Sue is one of those people. She’s all about the savory!
*Sigh*
I really don’t understand how we can be twins with sooooo little in common.

In any case, these are a little fussy to make but look so pretty and taste so yummy that they are worth the effort.
Two more plusses to this recipe – (1) it is no bake so a good choice when you don’t want to turn your oven on and (2) it does not contain eggs so you don’t have to worry about the whole “raw egg” thing like you do when eating actual cookie dough.

F.Y.I. – they ship very well. My boyfriend lives across the country and these are his favourites. I have shipped them several times and they always arrive in good shape.


Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 cups flour

1 can (14oz) Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup mini choc chips OR mini M&M baking pieces

1/2 cup chopped nuts (Walnuts or Pecans)

8 oz chocolate

Directions

In bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add flour, condensed milk and vanilla. Mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts.

Shape into 1-in balls, place loosely on waxed paper or plastic wrap lined baking sheets. Loosely cover and refrigerate until firm. (about 1 - 2 hrs)

Melt chocolate over low heat (or place in microwave safe cup and microwave in 20 second intervals, stirring between each interval, until smooth). Dip balls in chocolate or drizzle balls with chocolate. Place in refrigerator again until chocolate is firm.

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One of the cool things about this recipe is that you can shape the dough into different forms before dipping. I made them at Easter and shaped them into eggs and decorated them with different sprinkles, on Valentine’s Day I shaped them into hearts and used red melting wafers, and for St. Patrick’s Day I used a shamrock cookie cutter as a form and dipped them into green melting wafers. I’m thinking about stars or ornament shapes for Christmas.....

Update: Just wanted to add another photo - truffles with milk chocolate and white chocolate. Just another way to decorate them :)

S'more Pops

Sue and I found these monster sized marshmallows a little while ago and have been wondering what to make with them. They were too cool to just melt down for Rice Krispie Squares or some other such treat. We wanted to show how huge they were!!

S'more recipes are big right now. If you look on the internet for S'more recipes there is a bazillion. S'more cookies, S'more bars, S'more cake, S'more pie, S'more cupcakes.....I think you see where I am going with this.

We came up with this S'more “recipe”. (I put "recipe" in quotations because I don't know if this actually qualifies as a recipe or just assembling 3 ingredients.... you decide!) This is a nice treat for the kids (or for you) that you can make in 2 seconds. Okay, maybe not actually 2 seconds but you see the point I’m trying to make. It’s fast. You can let the kids help out too!

 

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S’more Pops

Ingredients

Marshmallows

Melting wafers or chocolate chips

Graham cracker crumbs
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Directions

Place marshmallow onto craft stick (Lollipop stick), pushing stick halfway into marshmallow to ensure it won’t fall off.

Place chocolate in a microwave safe coffee cup, melt at 20 second intervals – stirring after each 20 seconds, until smooth. Be careful not to overheat.

Pour graham cracker crumbs into a shallow dish or onto a plate with sloping sides.

Holding the skewered marshmallow by the stick, dip halfway into melted chocolate. Carefully shake off excess chocolate back into cup. Roll dipped marshmallow in the graham crumbs.

Let sit for a few minutes to firm up (or pop into fridge for a minute). Enjoy!
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You can make this much more decadent by using homemade marshmallows and dark chocolate but, it is still a delicious treat this way!

Quick and easy and tasty....3 things we love in a treat, especially for the kids.

Our Trip To Disneyland

 This is me (Sue) and my gang heading out on our big adventure. My husband, Rob, and I decided to surprise our daughter, Kenzie, and 2/3 of our nephews, Nick and Jord, with a trip to Disneyland. Not surprisingly we ate our way throughout Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm. Here is some of the photos we took along the way.

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 $3.25 for this rice krispie square with candy. So not worth it. One of the very few disappointments.

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 Clam chowder bread bowl from New Orleans Square. Everyone (except me - I don't like clams) loved it.

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 Chocolate cake with mousse filling. It was okay but not our favorite by any means. Also from New Orleans Square. 

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 Another New Orleans Square dish. Mickey Mouse Beignets. Sooooo worth it! These were worth every penny of the million dollars we spent on them. 

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 I cannot say enough about the Smoked Turkey leg from the carts found throughout Disneyland Park. I am not one to buy meat from a cart vendor (Jo says I have issues), but this was my favorite thing to eat in Disneyland. 

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 See...we ate it all......I'm thinking of going back just for another turkey leg!

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 From T.G.I.F.'s across from Knott's Berry Farm. Jord's meal of mashed potatos, steak & shrimp. Another hit!

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 Nick's T.G.I.F meal. Beef wrap with french fries. Delicious!! (With all the choices in all the restaurants, Nick always seemed to choose wraps!)

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 My T.G.I.F. Southwest Wedge Salad. For how simple it was, it was amazingly good. The zippy dressing was just spicy enough for me!

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 The OC Dog from Pink's in Knott's Berry Farm. A stretch hot dog, guacamole, American and Swiss cheese, fajita mix, jalepeno slices, topped with tortilla chips. Whew! Quite a mouthful. Jord's pick - a huge success.

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 Kenzie with her dad's bucket of Mrs. Knott's Famous Fried Chicken. Good stuff!!

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 Another Pink's hot dog. The Scottie Dog - stretch dog, yummy BBQ sauce, topped with onion rings. I don't normally like hot dogs but would seriously consider murder to get another one of these.

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 Rob's pick from Pink's. Polish Pastrami - Polish sausage, pastrami, and Swiss cheese. Rob gave it 2 thumbs up.

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 The giant pickle! The kids, Jordan especially, couldn't get enough of these bad boys. I found, oddly enough, that these helped to quench your thirst in the hot California sun. Funny story - you may notice the toothbrushes in the photo. Yes, they are children's toothbrushes and, even though the kids are teenagers, they fought over who was going to use the Wolverine toothbrush vs. the Hulk toothbrush.

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 BBQ wings from Molly's, down the street from our hotel. This was the first meal we ate in California and it certainly set the bar pretty high for future meals. 

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 Loaded Nachos. Excellent guacamole. Also from Molly's.

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 Best banana split EVER. A perfect way to end our first meal. 

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 Kenzie's spicy jambalaya pasta from The Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney. The Rainforest Cafe has a fantastic ambience and so many wonderful food choices. One of our favorite restaurants there. 

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 My lettuce wraps. I loved the pickled salad that came with it. Really two people could have shared this. (I didn't share though..it was mine...all mine...)

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 Kenzie's burger - loaded with bacon, onion rings, cheese, and pickles. We do love our pickles!!

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Nick and Jord sharing the 1,000th giant pickle of the trip.

I have been to Disneyland several times and this was one of the best trips. We had so much fun bringing the boys with us. I definitely will remember this trip for the rest of my life - and not just for the incredible food. Although....I am not about to forget the food either. (Smoked Turkey Leg - Siiiiiiiigh)