Mocha Muscle Builder

January 10, 2012

I like to make this shake on a Saturday, after a workout. I usually still have coffee left over from my Saturday morning breakfast, so it’s a great opportunity to use up the left over coffee.

Serves 2

1 cup milk

1/3 cup brewed coffee
1 tablespoon natural creamy peanut butter
1 banana
1 scoop chocolate whey protein powder
Ice cubes

Place all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.

Here is an oldie but a goodie! I found this recipe awhile back in my Oxygen magazine the April 2010 issue. This was one of my first, if not the first protein shake I made once I started working out. I have many protein shake recipes, but I keep coming back to this one. It's a favorite so I decided to share it with you.

SERVES 1

1 banana
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
8 ounces low-fat milk
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
A few ice cubes if desired

Blend all ingredients in a blender.

The Victorian Farmhouse (My Gingerbread House)

December 11, 2011

This year was our second year at work to have a Gingerbread House Contest! I was hoping we would have more participants this year than last years. We only had 3 houses come in. This year we only had two!!! Including mine. Last year I had this big idea that just didn't work out. I learned a lot from the first year I did one. Last year when my plan didn't work I had just said I am not going to do one and that was that. Well, I just couldn't give up so I put another one up in maybe 3 days, just so I would have something to bring in. It won one of the two categories last year but it still didn't display any of my skills. So this year as soon as the email came out about the Holiday schedule at work, I got right to work on this years gingerbread house. I started in October.

First, I searched for a template. I found nothing I liked. Just the same old boring online templates. So I started searching for books to see if there were any out there. I found The Gingerbread Architect in my local library. The book had many different styles of homes to choose from and it included templates. I loved the Victorian Farmhouse. I knew when I saw it, that was what I wanted to do this year.

The Gingerbread Architect had several homes I wanted to try so I went ahead and purchased this book.

The back of my house.

I had my husband help me on the templates. In the book they have the measurements they should be. So I got some graph paper and had my husband draw up the templates to size. That probably took about 2 hours. It would have taken me days if I had to do it. He is a lot better at numbers than I am.

The side of my house.

Once the templates were all done. I started making the dough. I made the dough way in advance. I learned from last year to start as early as possible. And that's exactly what I did. I tossed the dough in the freezer until it was time to make the gingerbread house pieces.

I decorated all the outside pieces before putting them together. I didn't do that last year and found that it was definitely easier to do any decorating you can do before putting the house together. I did the siding with Royal Icing. I wish my work was cleaner but I don't think it's too bad it kind of gives it that old house siding look. So I was pretty happy with it. I just need some practice on keeping my hand steady.

The veranda.

I was lucky to get this veranda up. All the candy canes I got kept braking in my hands! These 3 survived somehow. My front and back doors were made with Satin Ice (fondant) and Tylose powder. Tylose powder makes it dry hard and fast. It basically turns it into gumpaste.And the door handles are silver dragees.

The Christmas lights are chocolate covered sunflower seeds with a candy shell. I tried to put these "lights" up quickly because the longer it took the more of these sunflower seeds I would eat.

I love my snowman. He took me just a few minutes to make. The snow is shredded coconut. I did process it to make it more fine. I then added some edible glitter but you can't really see it in the picture.

The Christmas trees were made of fondant/tylose powder mixture, and then piped with leaves all around. This was pretty easy but really hurt my hands.

I love my fat little Santa. I watched this tutorial on how to make him.

I learned how to make these little guys from watching this tutorial.

Some of the windows were made with isomalt and some were made with melted lemon drops. I would have preferred all isomalt windows, but it was my first time using the stuff and I quickly learned I would need a lot more. But the shipping cost was too much and I was running out of time so I improvised and just melted some candy for the others. I do like the isomalt better. It gives the windows a frosty look and isn't sticky like the melted candy windows are.

I made the roof shingles out of fondant/tylose mix. I used my exacto knife for texture. This probably took the longest of all the decorating. It took about 6 hours just to do the roof.

The picket fences were made with royal icing.

If you have any questions please feel free to ask.

Nutella Cookies

November 22, 2011

YUM YUM!!! Are the words that come to mind when I think of these cookies. I found this recipe in a magazine called Cuisine At Home the December 2011 issue.

When I took these babies out of the oven I had to try one, (so did my husband) and WOW they were so ooey and gooey. My husband and I absolutely loved these. The next day I took most of them to work with me to give to my co-workers. I wondered if they were still as delicious as they were right out of the oven. But to my surprise they turned crispy! I am not a fan of crispy cookies, but I kept taking more bites out of this delicious but crispy cookie. I said wow the flavor in this cookie is incredible so much that I don't even mind the crispy texture of the cookie. I still think fresh out of the oven is the best time to munch on cookies, but they can't stay warm forever. I have to say this is my first favorite crispy cookie. I can see myself making these for years to come! Enjoy!!!

"For chewy centers and crisp edges, remove the cookies from the oven when the centers look underdone

Nutella Cookies

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Ingredients

WHISK

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp table salt

BEAT

1 stick unsalted butter, softened (8 Tbsp)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup Nutella
1 tsp vanilla extract
Finely chopped hazelnuts

Instructions

Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl; set aside.
Beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium speed, 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating to fully incorporate before adding the next. Add Nutella and vanilla; beat until combined. Add flour mixture; mix just until combined. Chill dough 4 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Scoop dough with a #30 scoop (scant 3 Tbsp); roll in hazelnuts. Bake cookies, six at a time, until edges are set, about 15 minutes. Let cookies cool on baking sheets.

Double Chocolate Delight

October 24, 2011

I am getting ready for my gingerbread house contest this year so I am cleaning out my craft room/baking room to make some space for all the gingerbread house pieces. I have quite a few boxed cake mixes in my craft/baking room so I am trying some new boxed cake recipes to get rid of them. I found this recipe in Duncan Hines Cake Mix Magic 2. The finished cake was delicious and so easy to make. Enjoy!

"This delicious cake is very rich, very moist and very chocolatey. It may not last long but if it does, it keeps very well."

Double Chocolate Delight

Yield: 12

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Ingredients

Preheat oven to 350 F
10 inch Bundt pan, greased and floured
1 package 18.25 oz white cake mix
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

In a large mixer bowl, combine cake mix, sugar, cocoa, eggs, sour cream and oil. Beat on low speed for 1 minute to blend, then on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 25 minutes in pan on wire rack, then remove from pan and cool completely on rack.

Notes

TIPS: Always sift cocoa before using. It clumps during storage and the lumps don't come out, even during beating.If you really want to overdose on chocolate, a chocolate drizzle makes a nice finish.VARIATION: Replace semi-sweet chips with milk chocolate chips.

Banana Loaf Cake

October 23, 2011

I was so excited to see a dessert book by Nick Malgieri called Perfect Light Desserts in my local library. I checked it out and couldn't wait to try out some of the recipes. The first one I tried was this one for Banana Loaf Cake. I had over ripe bananas on hand so it was a perfect choice.

I try to eat as healthy as I possibly can by eating clean foods. But I love baking so it's hard not to indulge sometimes. All the recipes in Perfect Light Desserts are all under 300 calories per serving. Hope you enjoy and happy baking!!!

Banana Loaf Cake

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Ingredients

2 1/2 cups bleached all-purpose flour (spoon flour into dry-measure cup and level off)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 large egg whites
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 5 large, very ripe bananas, mashed, then measured)
One 9x5x3-inch loaf pan, sprayed with vegetable cooking spray and the sprayed surface coated with fine, dry bread crumbs.
2 1/2 cups bleached all-purpose flour (spoon flour into dry-measure cup)

Instructions

Set a rack in the middle level of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites to break them up, then whisk in the granulated sugar and the brown sugar.
Whisk in the butter and vanilla, followed by the mashed bananas.
Sift the flour mixture over the banana mixture and thoroughly fold it in.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
Bake the cake for about 55 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center emerges clean.
Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then unmold it and cool completely on a rack.

Notes

SERVING: This cake is excellent unadorned, or it can be spread with a little-low fat cream cheese.STORAGE: Keep the cake wrapped in plastic at room temperature after it has cooled; For longer storage, double-wrap and freeze for up to a month. Defrost and bring to room temperature before serving.

Nutrition Information:

Serving Size: 34
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 275Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 9mgSodium: 228mgCarbohydrates: 56gFiber: 2gProtein: 5g

Fried Caramelized Bananas with Ice Cream

October 17, 2011

I found this recipe a couple of years ago in the book Simply Mexican by Lourdes Castro. You will never want to go back to using that jared ice cream topping again. This recipe is simple and oh so good!!!

Fried Caramelized Bananas with Ice Cream

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Ingredients

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 bananas, peeled and halved lengthwise
1/4 cup pecans, chopped
1 pint vanilla ice cream

Instructions

MAKE THE CARAMEL: Place a non stick skillet over medium high heat and add the brown sugar and butter. Allow both to melt and mix well using a heat proof spatula.

FRY THE BANANAS: When the caramel is hot and bubbly, add the bananas, cut side down, along with pecans. Allow the bananas to cook for about 3 minutes before turning them over. The cut side should have a deep golden brown color and slightly crispy texture. (Depending on the ripeness of the banana, they may break. Don't worry they still will be delicious.)

Cook for another 2 minutes, using a spoon to drizzle the caramel sauce over the bananas to keep infusing them with caramel flavor.

SERVE: Place the bananas on a serving dish or platter, top with scoops of ice cream, and drizzle the caramel sauce and nuts over it.

The Elizabeth

August 14, 2011

A few weeks ago my mother got married and she asked me to make her cake. So here it is!

I wasn't sure what I was going to do at first as far as the design. My mom just gave me several ideas and I decided I would design her cake after her champagne classes. A few days later she gave me the cake topper and the champagne glass idea was scrapped. It would not match the cake topper she gave me so I decided to design the cake after her cake topper. I looked and looked online for some designs but couldn't find anything I liked. So I took it upon myself to create the design. And I couldn't have been happier. I really loved the way it turned out.

I didn't really have any trouble with this cake. The only thing I noticed was I need more practice on frosting square cakes but that's about it. I am happy to say every cake I do gets a little easier.

I made White Almond Amaretto cake with Raspberry filling and Vanilla Buttercream. I really enjoyed it and so did the bride.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake

March 12, 2011

I made this for my brother-in-laws Birthday. His favorite cake is Strawberry. I don't have a good homemade strawberry cake recipe so I decided to use the WASC recipe and use a Strawberry cake mix. I substituted half of the water for Strawberry liquor and added 10 ounces thawed strawberries chopped and mixed in to the batter. I loved it!

I paired the cake with my most requested chocolate frosting. Whipped Chocolate Ganache. It tasted just like a chocolate covered strawberry. I loved it. Next time I'll be sure to dump the strawberries on top in chocolate to finish it off.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake

Yield: 40

No Ratings

Ingredients

2 (18 ounce) boxes Strawberry cake mix
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/3 cups water
1 1/3 cups Strawberry liquor
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons real vanilla extract
2 teaspoons strawberry extract
2 cups sour cream
6 large eggs
10 ounces thawed strawberries

Instructions

Place all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir together with a wire whisk.
Add the remaining ingredients and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
Pour into greased and floured cake pans, filling each pan a little over half full.
Lightly tap cake pans on counter to bring air bubbles to top.
Bake in preheated 325 F oven until cake tests done.
Baking time varies according to the size and depth of pans being used.

My 30th Birthday Cake

February 20, 2011

I had so many different idea on what to do for my Birthday cake this year. I normally don't do them for myself, but since it was the big 30 I just had to do something. I had decided to design it after my online Birthday invitation but I just wasn't feeling it and decided at last minute to change the decorations.

I wasn't as prepared for this as I should have been. The weeks prior I was just so busy that I wasn't able to devote a lot of time on it.

For the cake topper I decided on some candles and some gumpaste/fondant spirals coming out from the top. My original design was going to be a champagne bottle with fizz shooting out. But the gumpaste bottle was too big and just wasn't going to give me the look I wanted on the cake. So with the spirals and candles on top I just decided to do a confetti cake and just make it look like a party was going on on the cake. Once it came time to put my gumpaste/fondant spirals on they just broke as I stuck them into the cake. I only let them dry 2-3 days so that's my fault. I think it's usually supposed to dry about a week. Like I said before I was just not prepared as I should have been. So now I was stuck without a topper! Frustrated I was almost about to give up. (But that's just not me.) Now with a bunch of holes on top of the cake I also had to figure out something to cover those nasty holes. I thought fondant roses but that just doesn't match the theme of the cake. It usually helps me to take a few minutes and gather my thoughts and get my creative juices flowing. So as I sat in my cake room looking around for something to put on top of this cake that goes with the theme, I see my multi-colored pipe cleaners. LOL. I thought well I can bend those and make swirls out of those and they are the right colors so I gave that a try. Then I stuck some black feathers I had left over from another cake topper I made and stuck those in to hide as much of the ugly holes on top of the cake. It worked well. In the end I liked the pipe cleaners idea better since I could actually move them and bend them how I wanted.

Now one mistake I did was when I torted the layers I didn't but the damn of icing close enough to the edges and that made the corners droop. I was not happy with myself on that and I think that's the only thing I hate on this cake. But you live and you learn and next time I will know. Every cake is an experience!

The flavor of the cake is Pink Champagne with Buttercream and Strawberry Filling. The size is a 6 inch square and an 8 inch square. They were about 6 inches high on each layer.

Thanks for looking.

Super Bowl Cupcakes The Packers vs the Steelers

February 6, 2011

I made these to celebrate the Super Bowl teams this year. There is no real loyalty to either side but the house is rooting for the Packers this year. My husband chose them since "the Steelers have been to the Super Bowl too many times".

The Packers cupcake flavor is Chocolate Guinness, and the Steelers is Root Beer Float. The Root Beer Float cupcake has a Root Beer glaze on top. When the cupcakes were warm I poked about 4-5 holes on top so the glaze would fall all through the inside of the cupcake to give it a little more of the root beer flavor. I did the same for the Chocolate Guinness cupcake, but used a Guinness glaze. I LOVED this Guinness cupcake. I can't even describe the flavor. It's unlike any other flavor cake I have ever had. You'll just have to try it! While I liked the Root Beer Float cupcake, I thought it had a flour like taste. So it just needs some tweaking. But the Chocolate Guinness cupcake was AWESOME. Keep an eye out for the recipe.

The Packers gold color I made from a piece of premade Yellow Wilton fondant and mixed with white Satin Ice and mixed more coloring in it. It was a mix of Americolor Gold and Wilton Yellow and I think I did a touch of Wilton Orange to get the Packers gold color. I thought it turned out perfect. 🙂

For the Packers dark green color, I used the premade Wilton fondant in Green and mixed a small amount of Wilton Black. I was happy with the colors.

I used a "G" cutter from Makin's and gave it a gentle tug to make it more of an oval shape. I didn't have an oval cutter for the emblem so I just used a circle cutter and gave it a gentle tug and shaped it into an oval.

For the Steelers cupcakes I used black and white Satin Ice. For the stars I used premade Wilton Blue, Red and the leftover Packers gold color. I used a pastry tip to cut circles in the different colors, then used the same pastry tip and cut the corners of the circles and there you have the little Steeler's stars.

I ordered some edible ink pens which were scheduled to be delivered on Friday. Well the freeze happened and I still don't have my order so I had to make do with what I had. I had some leftover buttercream and I used a lot of black to color it and mixed in some piping gel. And that's what I used for the "Steelers" piping on the cupcake.

Mocha Pudding

January 14, 2011

I loved this chocolate pudding. I found it in Oxygen magazine in the January 2011 issue. This is a great alternative to the box pudding mix.

"Cocoa has high in anti-inflammatory flavonoids and fiber, which helps block fat absorption. Not only that, but chocolate has been shown to be an effective mood booster!"

Mocha Pudding

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Ingredients

1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoons arrowroot flour
2 cups skim milk
1/4 cup raw honey
2 tablespoons brewed coffee (the stronger the better)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

In a medium pan, whisk together cocoa and flour. Stir in milk and honey. Bring to a boil over medium heat and stir for about 8 minutes until mixture thickens.
Remove pan from heat and stir in coffee and vanilla. Let cool to room temperature before serving. If you have time, chill in the fridge for several hours.

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BEAT

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Nutrition Information:

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Instructions

MAKE THE CARAMEL: Place a non stick skillet over medium high heat and add the brown sugar and butter. Allow both to melt and mix well using a heat proof spatula.

SERVE: Place the bananas on a serving dish or platter, top with scoops of ice cream, and drizzle the caramel sauce and nuts over it.

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