Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

Happy spring!

I was inspired by the warm weather and sunshine to make something with a lemon flavor. These cupcakes have a meringue topping and lemon cake with lemon curd filling. I really liked them, especially the lemon curd, which sounds like a gross word, but is actually very good! And in this case, the lemon curd added a nice kick of flavor to the cupcakes.

I used a regular lemon cake box mix for the cupcakes and baked them as directed on the box.

For the lemon curd, apparently you can buy it at the store, but I didn’t find it so I just decided to make it myself. It’s fairly simple. I used this recipe.

Once the cupcakes were cooled, I cut out a middle bit of cake and spooned some curd in the middle, then placed the cake piece back on top.

For the meringue, I beat 4 egg whites on high speed until fluffy, and then gradually added 6 tablespoons of sugar, still beating on high until stiff and fluffy. I then piped the meringue onto the cupcakes with a standard tip and style.

Then I put the cupcakes back into the oven at 375 degrees and baked for about 5 minutes until the meringue turned golden brown on the edges.

This was the first time I made meringue and I was really excited about it because it automatically makes the cupcakes look more fancy, but it’s really not that hard to make. And when they turned golden brown, it was like roasting marshmallows – which who doesn’t love?

Let me know if you know of any other good lemon recipes! Warm weather is definitely the perfect time for anything lemon.

Enjoy xx

DIY: Hot Sauce

I think most women will agree, men are hard to buy gifts for. I never know what to get them because it seems like they don’t need anything, or whatever they want is so practical and boring that I don’t want to buy it for them.

This Christmas I think I managed to get the perfect gift for my brother (which is kind of unfortunate because I don’t know how I’ll top it next year!) courtesy of my favorite company Darby Smart. I knew my brother would never make these hot sauces himself, so I decided to tackle it on my own.

I was a bit nervous about this because I’m not a fan of very spicy foods, but my brother loves the heat, so I didn’t know if I would be able to make it hot enough. Plus, the directions they give you are very loose – they make suggestions, but not with any specific measurements, of what ingredients to use. But like most things, when you’re apprehensive at the start, it just makes it that much more satisfying when you successfully complete the task!

The kit included six glass bottles, dried peppers, spices, and vinegar. I provided the other fresh ingredients.

I loosely followed the suggested recipes that came with the kit, and I tried to make a range of mild, medium, and hot with different flavors. Darby Smart provided a free PDF of the labels to print and use, which I was able to customize with a name. My favorites are Caribbean because it has fruity flavors like pineapple and mango, and the garden chipotle which has a kick but is toned down by the cilantro and pinch of garlic.

Making these would probably be a fun couple or group activity. Taste testing and trying different ideas is always a fun way to bond. Or it’s a great gift for someone who loves to cook or eat with spice, like my brother. He seemed to really enjoy it, which made me happy.

Let me know of any other unique gift ideas you’ve given or seen for the men in your life – I’d love to know more!

Enjoy xx

Pink Champagne Cake Pops

Happy New Year!

On New Year’s Eve, I made the last minute decision to bring cake pops to the party I was going to. I searched Pinterest for some cutesy-New-Yearsy ideas, and found these adorable pink champagne cake pops. But since I was in a time crunch, I needed a simpler recipe. I found this recipe which uses boxed cake mix with a few additions (including champagne), and then I added store-bought icing to make the cake pop balls. All the sprinkles and decorations I already had, but you can get them at any crafting, baking or grocery store.

Overall, the cake pops were a hit. Everyone loved the presentation and the taste was good too. I didn’t really taste the champagne, but they were certainly very sweet. I think these would be great for a wedding shower or bachelorette party too, not just New Years! And you could dye the cake any color you’d like.

Enjoy xx

Apple Cider Owl Cupcakes

WHOO wants a cupcake?! I recently got a new cupcake book, The Cupcake Bible, and I am obsessed with it. There are so many great recipes and decorating ideas in it. I decided to make the apple cider recipe and decorate them like owls to continue the autumn theme.

Cupcake Ingredients:

1 package of spice cake mix

1 1/4 cups apple cider

1/3 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs

2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts, plus additional for garnish (optional)

Owl Ingredients:

1 package of Oreos (doubled stuffed would be easiest)

M&M’s – three per cupcake for eyes and beak

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Beat cake mix, apple cider, oil and eggs in medium bowl with electric mixer at low speed until well blended; beat at medium speed for two minutes. Stir in chopped walnuts if you’d like. (I’m not a fan of nuts so I left them out and the cupcakes were still delicious)

3. Bake 20 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minute. Remove to wire racks and cool completely.

4. I used powdered sugar and butter dyed brown for my frosting, but you could use any kind you’d like. I wasn’t sure how chocolate would taste with apple cider so that’s why I dyed it instead.

5. Separate the Oreos for the eyes, place them onto a freshly iced cupcake. Place an M&M on each Oreo in whatever color you’d like – I used blue and green to represent eyes. Place a sideways M&M in the middle of the cupcake under the eyes in orange or yellow for the beak.

I made mine into owls because I was taking them to a party and I thought it was cute. Obviously you don’t have to do this and you could ice your cupcakes any way you’d like.

 

 

Enjoy xx

Healthy Green Smoothies

Earlier in the summer I got a Magic Bullet because I decided I wanted to try to be healthier. I love fruit but I’m always less inclined to eat it when I have to wash it and cut it up, or whatever. What I love about smoothies is that you can literally throw anything in there and it will almost always taste good. Plus you’re getting so many vitamins and nutrients with half the effort.

I wasn’t sure where to begin besides adding fruit, so I found this website: simplegreensmoothies.com. And they have all kinds of information about how to make a good smoothie, plus how to do a cleanse and other recipes. I found this info-graphic particularly helpful, so I hope you do too:

Courtesy of simplegreensmoothies.com

Because I have a Magic Bullet and it’s a bit smaller than a standard blender, I like to take their advice and mix up my liquids and greens together first just to make sure it’s all blended, then I add the fruit. If you have a larger blender, I’m sure you could throw everything in at once and it’ll mix up just fine.

One of my favorite recipes is something I call “Very Berry Cherry,” because it is very berry flavored, which I love. It’s blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and cherry-flavored Greek yogurt with coconut water and spinach.

I like using yogurt as part of my base in a smoothie because it fills me up longer and adds more nutrients. And the spinach gives me an extra boost of energy that lasts almost all day. I sometimes substitute kale for spinach, but kale has a stronger, bitter flavor so I use it with strong-flavored fruits that will overpower that.

Try drinking a smoothie in the morning for breakfast and see what a difference in mood and energy you may have that day! Let me know what your favorite smoothie combinations are.

Enjoy xx

Rustic Strawberry Tart

I got this recipe from Woman’s Day’s June 2, 2009 issue. More accurately, my mom found it and forced me to make it for her! (: As you can tell from the date, it’s kind of old, but I’ve made it every summer and it’s always a fam favorite (see what I did there?), so I thought I’d share it with you!

Pastry Dough Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 1/4 cupes flour

1 Tbsp confectioners’ sugar

1/4 tsp salt

3-4 Tbsp ice water

Filling Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds strawberries, hulled

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp granulated sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch

1 tsp grated lemon zest

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

2 tsp cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1. To make the pastry dough, place butter pieces in the freezer for 20 minutes or until semi-frozen. In a food processor, pulse flour, confectioner’s sugar and salt until blended. Add frozen butter, pulse about 15 times or until mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs. I had to pulse a few more than 15 times, which is fine!

2. Sprinkle 3 Tbsp ice water over mixture and pulse until dough just comes together. (I had to use more than 3 Tbsp of water, which is also fine.) With floured hands, gather the dough into a ball, flatten into a disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 30 minutes.

3. Flour a sheet of parchment paper, roll out dough into a 12-inch round. Slide the paper with the dough onto a baking sheet and refrigerate while preparing the filling. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

4. For the filling, halve 1/2 pound of the strawberries (choose ones similar in size) and put them aside. Quarter the remaining 1 pound of strawberries lengthwise.

5. In a medium bowl, mix 1/4 cup sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest and nutmeg until blended. Add the quartered strawberries and butter, and toss to coat.

6. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Pile the berry mixture in an even mound in the center of the dough with about 2 inches of dough around the edge. Gently lift the unfilled dough edges up and onto the filling. Brush dough with egg, sprinkle with remaining 2 Tbsp of sugar.

7. Bake 40 minutes or until crust is golden and filling is juicy. Remove from oven, slide parchment onto a cooking rack. Let cool 15 minutes. Arrange remaining halved strawberries cut side down on top of cooked filling. Lightly brush berries with red currant glaze.

Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream for a fun added bonus!

Let me know what you think or if you make this recipe!

Enjoy xx

Strawberry Cream Cheese Cupcakes

I got the recipe for these cupcakes from Anna Saccone Joly so it’s not my own, but they’re so good I had to share.

They’re pretty easy to make and it’s a great summer recipe because of the strawberry flavor.

Cupcake Ingredients:

2 1/3 cups plain flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/4 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2/3 cup milk

2 tablespoons & 1 teaspoon strawberry jam

3 oz cream cheese, cut into 24 cubes

The computer is so I can watch Anna’s video and get the directions (:

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

2-3 teaspoons milk

4 cups powdered sugar

1. Mix together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt)
2. Cream the butter with an electric mixer.
3. Add the sugar a little at a time, mixing for about two minutes.
4. Then add the eggs one at a time, mixing well in between each.
5. Add the vanilla extract.
6. Alternately beat in the dry mixture and milk.
7. Spoon into cupcake papers, about 2/3 full.
8. Press a cream cheese cube into each cupcake pot.
9. Spoon about 1/4 teaspoon of jam into each cupcake pot. Add a little water to the jam if it’s too thick.
10. For the frosting, add all ingredients to the electric mixer bowl and blend together on low speed with the whisk attachment for about 5 minutes, or as long as necessary to get a creamy texture.

I decided to pipe the icing with a star-tip icing bag, but you can apply the icing however you’d like. I also added a slice of fresh strawberry for a bit of garnish, and it helps emphasize the strawberry flavor in the cupcake. (Plus you can trick yourself into thinking they’re healthy because they have fruit on them!)

My Tip: If I make these again, I would leave out the cream cheese squares in the middle and just add the strawberry jam. There’s already cream cheese in the icing and adding it to the cupcakes makes the taste too overpowering, at least to me. Plus it cuts down on the calories, which doesn’t hurt!

If you make these, let me know what you think. I’d love to see what you do differently (or similarly!).