Corona Cupcakes

 

 

We made these cupcakes for Super Bowl and I'm thinking of recreating them for an upcoming Cinco de Mayo gathering.  You may substitute the Corona for Blue Moon beer and use orange juice and zest rather than lime.

 

Ingredients

 

1 box of Yellow Cake mix

1/2 cup Corona beer
3 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
2 Large Eggs
1 (8 oz) pkg. Cream Cheese
1 cup Confectioners Sugar

Zest of one Lime

Juice of 1 Lime

Directions

Combine cake mix, beer, oil, and eggs in a mixer.  Pour into greased cupcake liners and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 to 20 minutes or until done.  My oven is a little off and it always takes longer to bake things in it.

 

While the cupcakes are baking, mix softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, and juice until well incorporated.  Add zest at the end and stir just until mixed in. 

 

Frost cooled cupcakes with cream cheese icing and garnish with zest. 

Abita Beer + Chocolate = !

Abita Turbodog Espresso Brownies; a definite must try!

Peach Blueberry Upside Down Cake

Mrs. Crocker, you've done it again.  I'm in supreme bliss due in part to this Betty Crocker recipe I found online.    I'd purchased blueberries from my local grocery at a bargain and I was given two buckets of peaches that came from my Mom's trees; lucky me!  I thought for days about what to do with my bounty, jams or jellies, cobblers, crisps or crumbles?

While I sat, undecided, my peaches were ripening.  I admit, I almost waited too long.  Then I found this link for freezing fresh peaches, which is what I did, and bought myself more decision making time.

Alas, the skies parted (literally) and the rain came down...and I found myself in the mood for comfort food.  What's more comforting than an upside down cake?

So here we go-

Topping
2 Tbsp. Butter (I used unsalted butter)
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 Tbsp. orange peel (I skipped this ingredient)
2 cups frozen peach slices, thawed and patted dry
1/2 cup fresh blueberries, washed and patted dry

Cake
1 cup All Purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 egg whites or 1/3 cup egg whites from a  carton
2 Tbsp. applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup skim milk

Garnish
1/2 cup whipped topping (the recipe calls for frozen, but I make mine from freshly whipped heavy cream sweetened with powdered sugar)

• 1Heat oven to 350°F. Place 2 tablespoons butter in 9-inch round cake pan; heat in oven until butter is melted. Sprinkle brown sugar and orange peel over melted butter. Arrange peaches over top; sprinkle with blueberries.
• 2In small bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
• 3In medium bowl, beat 3 tablespoons butter and the granulated sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. Beat in egg whites, applesauce and vanilla until smooth. Alternately add flour mixture and milk in 2 additions. Spoon batter over fruit mixture in pan; spread evenly.
• 4Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes. Turn cake upside down onto heatproof serving plate. Serve warm with whipped topping.

Recipe courtesy of Betty Crocker

As you can see from my image, the cake doesn't rise much, but the taste is nice.  I may have to play with the recipe a bit further...possibly substitute the cake recipe I use for Pineapple Upside Down Cake which rises nicely.


Sharing at  & at A Slice of Southern's Southern Sundays

Recipes from Bon Temps, Louisiana- Burgers and Chocolate Cake

Some of you may have heard of Merlotte's Bar and Grill located in the made-up town of Bon Temps, LA.  If so, then you may have heard of Lafayette Reynolds; he's known for his burgers.  ; )

image source

Here's my attempt at Burgers Lafayette sauce...

Of course Merlotte's, Bon Temps, and Lafayette are all inventions of Charlaine Harris' Sookie-verse and I love Sookie-verse.  It's not enough that I'm completely enthralled with season 5 of HBO's True Blood which is based on Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse novels, I've also had the pleasure of delving even further into her fantasy by reading book 12 and, now, this book...  

Looka!  It includes a short story!!!

I've never read Ms. Harris' short stories so this was a first and I really liked it, but the best part of the companion was the inclusion of recipes.  I love books with recipes.  My favorite authors have been from the South and cooking has found its way into their books:  Mary Kay Andrews, Fannie Flagg, & Michael Lee West have all done it (included the recipes of foods mentioned in their novels) so I'm glad to see Arkansas native Charlaine Harris jump on the band wagon.  What better way to bring the book experience to life than by touching on our senses through food?!

Tonight, I made not only Lafayette's burgers, but Mrs. Bellefleur's prize-winning chocolate cake.

I think my husband is adding this to his favorites list; the icing is sooo good!

Of course, Mrs. Bellefleur's cake recipe was top secret in the books so I'm not going to give it away here.  You'll have to read the "Companion" to find out for yourself.  There are many fun recipes included in it.  I have it in mind to try the Country Porch Lemonade and the Mardi Gras Corn Salad.  You should check out the book, too, if you're interested in trying any of the recipes, AND if these recipes are  not enough for you, you will be pleased to know a True Blood cookbook complete with images from the series will be coming out this fall, I hear.  Sounds like a perfect Christmas gift.  (Hubs- this is a hint.  Wink, wink!)

For a sneak peak, here's the recipe for Burgers Lafayette Sauce

Ingredients

1 medium onion, chopped

1/4 stick margarine (I used unsalted butter)

1/4 cup vinegar (I used Sherry vinegar since the recipe didn't specify)

1/2 cup water

1/2 tsp. salt

Dash cayenne

2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 cup ketchup

Directions

Saute the onion in the butter or margarine.  Add all of the other ingredients.  Simmer for about 20 minutes.  Place the cooked hamburgers or leftover roast in the skillet and steep for at least 10 minutes.  Place the meat on a bun and put a spoonful of extra sauce on top.  Makes enough for about 4 hamburgers.  **Our burgers were on the small side so I was able to place six burgers in the sauce.

Recipe courtesy Charlaine Harris

Dumb Dora Coffee Cake

I've wanted to make a Dumb Dora Coffee Cake for some time.  With a name like Dumb Dora, I just had to see what it was all about.  Names like "dumb Dora" and "lazy Susan" crack me up and I wonder how such names ever came about.  If I were a Dora or a Susan, I'd be highly offended. ; )

Well, this coffee cake was very tasty and so easy to make that even this dummy didn't mess it up.

If you'd like to have a recipe on hand to serve guests in a pinch, this is it.  The cake is easy to put together and the ingredient list is composed of your kitchen basics so you're sure to have the fixings on hand.

Here's what you'll need...
2 cups All Purpose Flour
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 scant tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup soft butter (1 stick)
2 slightly beaten eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit.  Grease and flour two 8-inch pie pans or one 10 in. like I did.  I use Baker's spray that has the flour combined in the nonstick spray.

In a mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt; work in the stick of butter with a fork or pastry cutter until crumbly (I use my hands to cut in the butter).  Remove 3/4 cup of crumb mixture for topping.

In a separate bowl, mix milk, eggs, and vanilla.  Pour liquid into dry ingredients and stir until all is combined.  The batter will be somewhat lumpy...no need to beat with a mixer.  Pour batter into prepared pan(s) and top with crumble topping.  Place in oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Optional:  May cover cake batter with thinly sliced apples or peaches before sprinkling with crumb topping or may sprinkle cinnamon over crumb topping.

I had a few peaches from our tree and from the farmer's market so I peeled those and sliced them thinly to place on top of the batter.  I went hog wild and sprinkled cinnamon on top of the crumb topping, too, before popping the cake in the oven.  Hey, who said I can't be daring?!

I found this recipe courtesy of Sue McCarty in my Corpus Christi Republican Women's Club recipe book from 1984.  


Sharing @ Slice of Southern's Southern Sunday, Rattlebridge Farm's Foodie Friday, and 

Peachy Peach Pie from The Southern Lady Cooks

I love finding recipes on blogs (I love sharing them, too).  I don't know how many times I'd see something I wanted to make, but would forget what website I saw it on when I went to actually make it.  Pintrest has helped alleviate that problem for me, when I actually remember to pin a recipe.  I'd seen a recipe for "Peachy Peach Pie" from a fellow blogger, for example, but realized I hadn't pinned it so had to got to an old fashioned search approach...scrolling every blog I follow 'til I found it.  Lucky for me, I found it; unfortunately I added several blogs to my reader so my list was longer than ever.  Well, the search was worth it.  At The Southern Lady Cooks blog I finally found what I was looking for.  Without further ado, here's Judy's recipe for Peachy Peach Pie...

1 (9 inch) pie shell (I used a Pillsbury frozen pie crust)

2 cans sliced peaches (a 29 ounce can and a 15.25 ounce can), drained **I accidentally bought 2-21 oz. cans of peach pie filling and the pie was still yummy.

2 eggs

1/3 cup white sugar **I used 1/4 cup sugar since the peach pie filling was sweet

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Topping

25 vanilla wafers, crushed or enough wafers to make one cup fine crumbs (I put them in a ziploc bag and crush with rolling pin)

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup butter or margarine, cut in small pieces **I totally forgot to add the butter, but the topping was still great.

3/4 to 1 cup walnut pieces **I used pecan pieces since that's what I had on hand.

Cook the pie crust in a preheated 450 degree oven for five minutes. (Do not prick the bottom of the crust)  Beat eggs, lemon juice and sugar with a mixer until well mixed.  Fold in peaches and vanilla,  mix with a spoon.   Pour peaches in pie shell.

Mix wafer crumbs, flour, nutmeg and sugar together.  Sprinkle over pie.  Cut up butter in pieces and put on top of crumbs.  Sprinkle walnuts over pie.  Bake in preheated 375 degree oven 40 to 45 minutes.  Makes one pie. Enjoy!

Be sure to hop onto Judy's blog and tell her thank you for creating such a divine pie!

Thanks for visiting.  Have a great weekend.

The Kitchen Witch

Simple Honey Cakes

I haven't had much time for baking these days, what with the semester wrapping up, state examinations, Bebe's 2nd birthday party coming to a head, and just your general all out weariness.  Yet, despite all the commotion, I've had a craving for all things honey related.

My latest fascination was sparked by a most recent read, The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd, not a new novel, but a wonderfully crafted one.

I've been combing the web for "honey cakes," the results of which have not been promising.  Don't get me wrong.  Many of the recipes sound divine, but I had something specific in mind, something pure, easy, simple.

What I found was fussy, chocolaty, spicy, fruity even so I gave it a rest.  Then, when I found the house all to myself, I tried again.  This time I searched "The Secret Life of Bees inspired recipes," and bingo!  I found just what I was looking for, mostly.

I didn't have all of the ingredients, but as is my nature, I made do.  The recipe was a snap to put together and the baking time was less than an hour.  Voila, honey cakes!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup local honey
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup vanilla or plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  In a mixing bowl, beat together oil, brown sugar, honey, vanilla, and one egg.  I used my stand mixer so while that was going I sifted my dry ingredients into a medium size mixing bowl.  I alternately combined the dry ingredients and yogurt until it was all fully incorporated.  Don't over mix these ingredients.  

Spray paper lined cupcake tins with baker's spray (flour + oil combo) and spoon mixture in each cup.  I got one dozen cupcakes.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

While cupcakes are baking, heat butter, honey, and brown sugar together until sugar is completely dissolved.  This only took a few minutes, maybe five at most.  When cupcakes come out of the oven, poke holes across the tops and spoon honey butter mixture over tops of cupcakes.  The mixture should completely absorb.  

You may top with frosting, but I didn't.  The cupcakes are so sweet, and you really get the honey flavor.  No coffee, chocolate, or spice flavors mucking up the perfect taste of honey.

I hope you enjoy.  They're great when warm and would be great with tea or coffee.

Recipe found at http://butterybooks.com/bookclubpartyideas/the-secret-life-of-bees-sue-monk-kidd/.  I tweaked the recipe slightly, for my tastes, but look at all the other book inspired foods they paired with the honey cakes.  Yum!

Sharing at:

 Slice of Southern blog.

Homemade Hummingbird Bundt Cake

• 
  
•      The other day I made an easy hummingbird cake and it was tasty, but I'd still never made one from scratch so here's my mother and I's attempt at Southern Living's Hummingbird Bundt Cake.  This recipe is quite a contrast to the easy version I made before.  This recipe is more dense, almost a banana bread consistency.  It was great, just different.  We served this on Easter Sunday alongside a pork roast, broccoli rice casserole, macaroni & potato salads, vegetable crudite, and banana pudding.
• 
  
• Cake Batter
• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten 
• 1 3/4 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 4 large)
• 1 (8-oz.) can crushed pineapple (do not drain)
• 3/4 cup canola oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Glaze
• 4 ounces cream cheese, cubed and softened
• 2 cups sifted powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 to 2 Tbsp. milk
• 1. 1. Prepare Cake Batter: Preheat oven to 350°. Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through.
  2. 2. Stir together flour and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl; stir in eggs and next 4 ingredients, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Sprinkle 1 cup toasted pecans into a greased and floured 14-cup Bundt pan. Spoon batter over pecans.
  3. 3. Bake at 350° for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack, and cool completely (about 2 hours).
  4. 4. Prepare Glaze: Process cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and 1 Tbsp. milk in a food processor until well blended. Add remaining 1 Tbsp. milk, 1 tsp. at a time, processing until smooth. Immediately pour glaze over cooled cake, and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup toasted pecans.

Easy Hummingbird Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

We recently celebrated Hubby's birthday.  I decided to try out a hummingbird cake since I'd never made one and what I realized is that there's myriad ways to make it and a host of similar cakes that go by names such as Ambrosia cake, Mandarin Orange cake aka Pig Pickin' or Cotton Pickin' cake, Banana & Pineapple Cake, and my favorite moniker, "Better than Sex Cake."  Once you start down that search path on the web, you'll fast realize the similarities between these cakes.  Some are doctored up cake mixes and others are from scratch.  I made an "easy" box mix option with homemade cream cheese icing.  All versions are truly Southern treats and, in true Southern fashion, slap-your-Momma-sweet.  Enjoy~


Here's what you will need...


Ingredients
1 (18 1/4 oz) boxed white or yellow cake mix (DO NOT get the kind with pudding in it) 
1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple in juice , undrained
2 medium bananas, mashed (I only had one banana since mystery mouths ate up the rest)
10 maraschino cherries, chopped
2 teaspoons maraschino cherry juice
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon (I forgot to add this part, but didn't miss it)
(I added two eggs since I was short a banana.  If it hurt things, I'm couldn't tell)
1 recipe for cream cheese frosting

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.  


Mix all ingredients in a large mixing bowl until well combined.  Divide mixture equally between 2 greased 9" round cake pans.  


Bake on both pans on middle oven rack for approximately 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes then remove cakes from pans and let cool completely on wax paper lined wire racks.  


Place one cake on a plate and frost with cream cheese frosting, taking care to make it heavier on top.  Place the remaining cake on top of the frosted cake to create a layer cake.  Frost the top layer so it blends with the bottom layer.  NOTE: If the cakes are not flat on the top, use a long knife to cut the "baking bump" off so they are flat BEFORE you frost them. It will give them a more uniform appearance.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 block cream cheese, softened

1/2 stick butter, softened

2 cups confectioners sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Beat cream cheese and butter 'til well combined.  Add sugar one cup at a time.  Add vanilla at the end and mix thoroughly until fluffy.


Sharing @ Designs by Gollum.

Salted Caramel Mug Cake

I'm fairly new to the Pintrest craze and I've book marked several recipes I've yet to try.  Last night I tried not one, but two "pinned" recipes.  Yea me!  Let's begin with dessert; shall we?! ; )

I'll admit, I was skeptical about how a microwaved cake would turn out, but I was so pleased.  

Here's the cake after 30 seconds, still much like batter.

Here's the cake after 2 minutes, this cooked it all the way through.

 Salted Caramel Mug Cake

 {makes 1 mug cake}
4 tablespoons all purpose flour
4 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg – beaten
3 tablespoons skim milk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 salted caramels

What to do: 
1. Into a small bowl add: flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, salt, egg, milk, and vegetable oil. Mix to combine.

2. Pour mixture into a regular sized coffee mug. Drop caramels into center of mixture one at a time.

3. Microwave on high for one minute and 30 seconds. If needed {if cake batter is still gooey}, microwave on high for up to an additional 30 seconds.


Here's my take on the time for cooking, it will depend on your microwave.  A minute and a half (three 30 second intervals) gave just the right consistency for us, not cooked solid, but with just the right amount of gooey-ness.  We topped ours with whipped cream, but that's optional, of course. 


This was so quick and easy.  I was like a kid on Christmas morning waiting to open the first present when I sunk my spoon into the cup...smiles all around.

**ALSO, if you want a good chuckle visit the link regarding recipe and read the comments.  This alone made discovery of the recipe worth it.


Sharing at  designsbygollum.

Lemon Lavender Scones

If you follow Michael Lee West's blog, Designsbygollum, or if you've read some of her books, you may know that she's a fan of scones, and, well, all her scone-talk has got me craving them.  Scones are new-ish to me, but I'm glad that I discovered them.  The first time I ever had a scone was when I was in culinary school and made a batch for class.  I made cranberry orange scones, a classic flavor combo, and they turned out fine, but I wasn't in love.  It wasn't until I had a blueberry scone, some years later, that I understood what all the fuss was about.

Now, this recipe calls for clotted cream and that's another anomaly to me, but one I'm sure I'll work into our breakfast routine soon enough.  I mean, if a girl can love Devonshire cream, what's not to love about clotted cream? ; )

Here's a recipe I found, today, for Lemon Lavender Scones.

Since I didn't make the clotted cream, I added a dollop of lemon curd.  I do love lemon curd.  If you are looking for a lemon curd recipe, of sorts, you should check out this blog.  I'm eyeing this recipe and hopefully I'll get around to making it soon.

For the scones:

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar + 1 tsp
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
• 2 tsp finely chopped dried lavender, divided
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, chilled
• ½ cup nonfat yogurt (I used low-fat with great result)
• ½ cup buttermilk   + 1 tbsp

• ¾ cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Make the scones:

Center an oven rack and preheat the oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat. Place this baking sheet onto another one to protect the bottom of the scones from overbrowning (it’s not totally necessary but I like to do so). Set aside.

Sift the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda into a medium bowl. Add the 1/3 cup of the sugar, lemon zest and 1 ½ tsp of the dried lavender. Mix to combine.

Cut the chilled butter into ½-inch pieces and drop into the bowl of dry ingredients. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut the butter into the mixture until it is evenly distributed and no large pieces of butter are visible. Combine the yogurt and ½ cup of the buttermilk in a glass measuring cup, whisk. Add to the dry ingredient and stir with a fork until the dough comes together.

Coat your hands with some flour and pull the dough from the bowl onto a floured surface. Knead the dough lightly, folding and flattening it several times. Pat the dough into a 6-inch circle, approximately 1 inch thick. Transfer the dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Brush the top with the remaining 1 tbsp of the buttermilk, sprinkle the remaining 1 tsp of the sugar over the top.Using a blunt side of a large knife score the circle into 8 wedges without cutting all the way through.

Bake the scones for about 23-25 minutes, until golden brown. Cool the scones on the baking sheet on a rack for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the remaining lavender,powdered sugar, and lemon juice. Stir until smooth.

Transfer the scones onto a cutting board and cut into wedges using the scored lines as a guide. Place the scones on the rack set over the baking sheet. Drizzle the icing over slightly warm scones.

Serve with a generous dollop of the clotted cream and fresh berries of your choice.

Recipe courtesy of  Vera at Baking Obsession