I think that Kik-Kats are kind of underrated. They're not usually the first thing people think of when you say candy bar but I realized it's the perfect mix of chocolate and crunch and good consistency for a frosting. I've also had requests for red velvet cake and instead of the normal cheesecake frosting I mixed it up with some crumbled kit-kats. Simple, but delicious.
I've done red velvet before - for Valentine's Day, how cliche! - and I wanted to mix it up. I did before by adding chopped up white chocolate and chocolate chips to the frosting and white chocolate chips in the batter but anyone can make a red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting. My creativity escaped and I've been thinking about what I can make with Kit-Kats and this was perfect. I LOOOVVEE Red Velvet and balancing it out with a buttery frosting with the milk chocolate from the Kit-Kats balanced it out pretty well.
I've got quite the knack for turning candy into cupcakes. Any more ideas??
Here's a take on a couple of the best candies around; peanut butter cups and Reese's Pieces. I've always made chocolate chip cookies with Reese cups in the middle but now I've turned it into a cupcake. And I couldn't just put any old frosting on top, had to add some crunch and compliment it with it's hard shelled crunchy counterpart.
I put them in a ziplock and crumpled them up a bit, not too much so they'd still be crunchy and added them to my normal butter, powdered sugar and vanilla frosting and it's pretty epic. But before all of that, we can't forget about the hidden treasure that is the peanut butter cup in the center of the cupcake.
Too much? No such thing. Right out of the oven they were good and still gooey but even better after a night in the refrigerator. I've always put chocolate in the refrigerator - taking after my father who does the same - and the fridge helps hold everything together.
And there you have it, death by peanut butter. The Reese's Pieces on top balance out the rich chocolate in the center while still keeping it in the same candy family and it's perfect for a late night sweet tooth.
S'mores are the best part of a bonfire but when you don't have the resources for a bonfire, what better way to recreate the tasty treat as a cupcake that you can bring anywhere? And how about an upgrade? Instead of Hershey chocolate bars, try Nutella.
Just use your favorite cake recipe and in the center of each cupcake put a couple mini marshmallows and a spoonful of Nutella before baking.
As for the graham crackers? Crumble up a bunch and toss them into the frosting as it's mixing and it provides the perfect sweet cinnamon crunch. Sprinkle a little cinnamon on top and voila! Portable, anywhere s'mores.
I thought I hit a jackpot with these babies but making the impossible possible, I struck even more gold with caramel pretzel cupcakes. Not only that, I got to use my favorite gadget in the world to make the frosting.
I give you, the Kitchen Aid Mixer.
Yes, I've fallen in love with an appliance. If you bake, you understand. Not only that, the frosting could not have been easier to make. All it is is butter, powdered sugar and chopped up pretzels. The pretzel frosting pretty much makes the cupcake. Not only that, but I put a Werther's caramel chew in the middle of each one.
I didn't get the gooey-consistency center like I expected but it turned out even better. It created a caramel coating on the bottom of the cupcake that had just enough candy crunch but not enough to where you feel like your teeth are going to fall out.
And for the grand finale...
They went over pretty well, to say the least and I will be making them again. Perfect combo of sweet and salty and I'm kind of proud of myself for whipping this up on just a hunch and a trip to Aldi.
I was sifting through some old Facebook photos from college and found a gem.
I went to an art school for a reason. I'm not one for math and science but I still had to take those classes. In order to get out of getting frustrated and going in to detail on science projects, I turned them into cake.
I give you the "Hurricake." Complete with headless gingerbread men.
If there's one thing that my "Natural Disasters" class taught me is that when in doubt, make food for a final project. It always goes over well. People (by people I mean professors) tend to forget that you don't know what you're talking about and are blinded by your baked goods.
We had to show the five stages of a hurricane so I went out and found gingerbread man cookies, sprinkles, tree sprinkles and I think at one point I even threw a Matchbox car in there for some drama.
I couldn't tell you now the in depth descriptions in each category of a hurricane, but maybe you can from the cake carnage I created?
Category 1:
Category 2: I'm assuming the roof of the gingerbread house came off while the gingerbread man was sleeping.
Category 3: Now his arm fell off.
Category 4: You've lost your head and now the house is flooding.
Category 5: Let's jus stay I don't want to be in that house.
I must give myself some credit for creativity, making the hurricane out of funfetti representing whatever a hurricane destroys and scoops up in it's path.
And all the gingerbread man sprinkles to show death. Kind of sick once you look back on it. But hey, had to pass a class and I like cake!
Mixing up Evil, circa 2007. Complete with Starbucks apron and espresso wall art, still in existence. Special thanks to my roommates for putting up with this.
I can't believe it's been a week already since Thanksgiving, and that I didn't post about the baby pies! That's right, I was on dessert duty (yea, pull my arm) and of course pumpkin pie is always the dessert for Thanksgiving. I didn't want to make just any pumpkin pie though, especially with such high expectations from my nephews. So I took to my favorite baking pan and made baby pumpkin pies!
The process may seem real tedious and time consuming but it is so worth it. Not only are they adorable, but they're super easy to eat and it actually baked a lot quicker than just one normal pie. Divvying up a round pie crust into squares was probably the most challenging part of the entire process. The baking was simple, crank the heat to 425 for 15 minutes, back down to 350 for another 15 or until a fork comes out of the middle clean. Don't worry about the holes, just cover it in cool whip. :)
They're just too darn cute and super easy to eat! No silverware necessary, just how I like it.
Now that all that has passed, It's time to think about Christmas baking and I'm really trying to get into the Christmas spirit but I think I need a little more oomph. To help I bounced around Target for a bit and found these beauties courtesy of Wilton..
I've already begun to experiment and have already learned that less batter is more, as the gingerbread men tend to come out looking like overweight middle-aged men with beer bellies because muffins tend to rise... Still delish though, especially if you can avoid freeze-dried blueberries.
Going to enter the cookie realm next I think, I have my decorating supplies handy to slap the Christmas spirit into me if I have to, and plenty of gingerbread cupcake recipes to follow.
Okay maybe not thaaat bad but Mondays are usually baking days which brings the pumpkin bars I've been talking about. It's not too late for pumpkin, it IS still fall! No skipping Thanksgiving.
Crunchy, cookie-esque bars complete with pumpkin and complimenting flavors like nutmeg and cinnamon. Not to mention the cream cheese frosting I made with little dashes of cloves and cinnamon, giving it that chai-like flavor.
Of course I didn't stop there. Couldn't decide if I wanted to make cookies or brownies, sooo I combined them!
Chocolate chip brownie meets chocolate chip cookie. What's even better is eating them warm with vanilla ice cream on top. Or just eating them warm with your favorite cup of coffee (again, Verona's cocoa flavor notes go perfectly with all the chocolate madness going on) or a hot chocolate. Just feels right now that it's snowing in November.
In preparation for that I picked up stuff to make gingerbread cakes. Still think it's too early to tackle that, I'm not a fan of skipping holidays. But, speaking of gingerbread and spices, what the end of Thanksgiving means is the return of Christmas Blend to Starbucks! Also known as Holiday Blend (yes, they really are the SAME thing)
Starbucks has managed to throw you for even another loop by creating Christmas Blend Espresso roast.
What's the difference?
Well first, people automatically assume that espresso roast can only be used for espresso machines and espresso beverages. Nope! It's just a stronger roasted coffee that yes, is used in espresso machines but can be made in your coffee pot at home.
Back to the Christmas Blend. The normal blend is sweet, spicy and herbal and will go perfectly with all your gingerbread and nutmeg treats.
The Christmas espresso roast is basically the same thing, but has a little more kick. Not in caffeine, but in flavor. Remember, the darker the roast the LESS caffeine there is.
It's deeper and darker with that the help of the rich espresso roast but still holds the spicy and sweet and a smooth-like carmel feel to it.
Getting waaay ahead of myself. Even though Starbucks already has the red cups, it's only fair to let Thanksgiving Blend finish it's course.
Usually it has to be closer to winter for hot chocolate to be on my mind, but hot chocolate in cake form is a different story. And not just any hot chocolate; tuxedo hot chocolate. I'm not a big fan of real rich and dark chocolate so I found a happy medium by adding white chocolate chips to the batter along with mini marshmallows.
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Too sweet? No way. This chocolate cake is very different from any other chocolate cake and honestly, with it's smooth and soft texture it does taste like a good cup of hot chocolate. The marshmallows and the white chocolate collaborate nicely especially with the light and fluffy marshmallow frosting.
Speaking of really good tuxedos, ready for some new James Bond this weekend? Grab a cupcake and take a look back at Casino Royale before Skyfall hits the theaters: Just Hit Play Also take a look at the not-as-good Qauntum of Solace
Since I was up all hours of the night baking, this is my situation:
Iced Venti sub lemonade Cool Lime Refresher.. aka liquid speed. Why? It's made with caffeine extract. They take caffeine out of un-roasted arabica beans and un-roasted beans have a ton of caffeine!
Still trying to find something to pair it with, obviously in the lime variety, key lime bars?? A new twist on the lemon square? Although I don't think I can touch the lemon square idea.. not after experiencing Aunt Donna's lemon squares - I'm usually not a fan of the tart lemon thing but my boyfriend's aunt uses some sort of magic on the baked goodness underneath that powdered sugar.
Anyway, until I figure that out, the refresher just wasn't cuttin' it. Welcome to the caffeine drawer:
While I was able to stock up on my Cafe Verona, which usually wakes me up, I needed an extra caffeinated smack in the face.
Don't worry, I still love that gorgeous espresso machine and the cafe I set up in my kitchen..
But I'm not so sure I can bring this to the office.
But, now that I have my stash back - including Pumpkin Spice Via - in the on-deck circle (or square for this place) is a pumpkin bar with cream cheese frosting and hot chocolate cakes with yes, marshmallow frosting. Perfect with Verona. ;) Maybe I'll tackle lemon squares, but it'll take a lot of convincing.
Say hello to my new favorite toy! Well, maybe at least until I join the Keurig frenzy.
Coffee's the perfect pairing for anything baked but the right coffee is always key. Being a barista for, yes, eight years, I tend to be pretty picky in this department.
Obviously, pumpkin syrup in any coffee goes with anything pumpkin but if you're a not-so-fancy coffee drinker and a chocolate lover, I have to admit Starbucks' Cafe Verona is the way to go. Even as a barista I wasn't a huge coffee drinker but this full-bodied, multi-region blend with a touch of Italian Roast is perfect.
It's a blend of of Latin American and Asia/Pacific coffees and a touch of Italian Roast for depth. The rich, well-balanced flavor, cocoa texture and slight roasted sweetness pairs well with your favorite fudge brownie or chocolate chip cookie.
Some say Starbucks' coffee is too strong, and this drives me up a wall. Coffee is only as strong as you make it. The coffee beans at Starbucks come from the same place in the world as similar blends of beans at Dunkin Donuts, Intelligentsia, Lavazza, etc. It's all how they're prepared. Starbucks' grind-to-water ratio may be a little higher which is why some people don't like it; you can actually taste the coffee. They make it so you can catch those flavor notes, tell which part of the country their from with their acidity and pair it with things while it's not clogged up with extra cream and sugar.
Another fun coffee myth; The darker the roast the stronger it is. Stronger in flavor? Yes. Caffeine? Nope. The roasting process takes out the caffeine so if you think you're being gutsy by choosing Thanksgiving Blend over Pike Place this week at Starbucks, think again.
Okay one more fun coffee myth; Espresso has way more caffeine than brewed coffee. Nope. Two shots of espresso (give or take four ounces) has less caffeine than a 12 ounce cup of coffee. Why you ask? Espresso is shot out at about 20 seconds per 2/4 ounces depending on if you pull single or double, while brewed coffee does exactly that; brew. It takes about four minutes for a regular cup of coffee so the coffee grounds have more time to soak. Weird, huh? Did I lose ya? Probably way more than you wanted to know about coffee but something to think about next time you set that coffee pot for the morning.
