Funfetti Ice-Cream Cone Cupcakes

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Are ice-cream stand runs a part of your summer evenings? They sure are for us. We live close to a lake with beautiful walking paths. Normally, we walk the 4 mile path and sometimes at the end reward ourselves with ice-cream cones at the stand across from the park. Favorite treat! I shared this on Instagram recently.

I've wanted to make cupcakes in an ice-cream cone since it started warming up but I never found an occasion for it until my 12-year old niece was in town a few weekends ago for a softball tournament. She was staying with us and I figured we could make these together for her softball team and that's exactly what we ended up doing.

Despite being so excited to bake these, I did no research on how-to bake cupcakes in ice-cream cones and they were a technical nightmare I must admit. I made funfetti vanilla cupcake batter and baked them in mini ice-cream cones (mistake #1). I placed the cones in regular muffin pans (mistake #2) and they were very shaky and difficult to transfer in and out of the oven. Some of the cupcakes overflowed since the cones were so tiny and I had too much in there. I topped with whipped vanilla frosting and decorated with sprinkles.

In the end, I was very glad with how looked and the girls loved them. It was the best treat after a long weekend of softball games. The cake recipe is the same I used here and here and it is always a fluffy, moist vanilla cake and the confetti adds a crunchy layer as you bite into the cone. 

Even though I loved how these mini ice-cream cone cupcakes turned out, I learned a few lessons for the next time I make them (luckily you will learn from my mistakes):

• Use JUMBO ice-cream cones (unless you want mini cupcake cones)
• Bake in ice-cream cone cupcake pans like these from Kupcake Konz : they were made for this purpose and seems to be very easy for transportation too. A great tutorial here. (FYI: I was not paid for this...I just found them online and they seem like a great idea :) ).
• I found this cool trick that could have saved me some fallen cones. Simply wrap the cones with foil to hold the cones in place in the baking pans.
• Do not overfill or you will have an overflowing mess. 

Hope you will try these ice-cream cone cupcakes on your next summer get together! They are a fun project for kids as well :)

Bakin Friends: Caramel Pretzel Delights

It's time for another Bakin Friends reveal! Remember these marshmallow cookies? Bakin Friends connects a group of bakers who love sweets and each month we send each other baked goods with a secret ingredient.

This month's secret ingredient was CARAMEL and I received the most delicious chocolate caramel pretzel delights from Jenifer. The best snack bites ever.

Jenifer sent two packed zip-lock bags and one of them was gone within 2 hours. I kid you not. I totally forgot I had to take pictures, luckily there were a few left the next morning. They are so easy to make too. All you need to do is melt Rolo's on pretzels and top with pecans. A super easy, grab-to-go snack. I love it! And all you chocolate lovers out there will love it too.

I enjoyed them very much, Jenifer. Thank you!!


Caramel Pretzel Delights
Source: Jenifer Mathewson

Ingredients:
Bag of small pretzels
Bag of Rolo's
Pecan halves

Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place pretzels on sheet and top with a rolo. Bake 3-5 minutes or until rolo softens but not melted. Remove from oven and press each rolo with a pecan half, Cool in the refrigerator and enjoy!

If you would like to join Bakin Friends, contact Steph here.

Bobby Flay's Crunch Burger {Pass the Cook Book Club}

 

That's right, you read the title right. I am sharing a burger recipe. Sorry for the break in transmission of sweets. But it's time for another installment of Pass the Cook Book Club. If your remember I joined the group last month which was created and hosted by Kita of Pass the Sushi. Each month she selects three recipes from a cookbook and we all make one and reveal our selections on the same day. It's quite fun and encourages us all to dust off old cookbooks, discover new cookbooks and for me this month step out of my comfort zone.

  

This month's selection is Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries, and Shakes. A great selection and perfect for my current dinner menu of kebabs, burgers and simple salads. Mr J got very excited about the selections and it was hard for him to just pick one. Finally he settled on this Crunch Burger and since he was on vacation last week, he volunteered to make dinner. I think it's because he was very excited to try this one and of course I didn't object and just sat back and waited to take pictures and eat.

And boy was it AMAZING! This is a very juicy, flavorful and as the name implies, crunchy burger.  Thanks to the heaping layer of potato chips. Never thought of putting potato chips on my burger but after trying it, I'll say I won't go back to a regular burger anytime soon. The horseradish mustard mayo is the best part of this burger in my opinion. I know not everyone likes horseradish, but it's soft enough in the mayo to add a kick but not overpowering. It totally brings this burger to a whole other level. Mr J insists it's the best burger he has had in a long time and I completely agree with him (for once!).

If you are planning on making just one burger this summer, make it this one! You will not be disappointed. Just remember to toast your bun :)

Strawberry Mascarpone Tart

A beautiful 3-layered tart with a buttery crust and a creamy lemon mascarpone filling that is topped with fresh strawberries.

I accomplished two things this weekend; I woke up before 11am and made pie crust from scratch. 

I made my first trip of the season to our local farmer's market which in itself isn't a big deal. But see, I almost never leave my house before noon on the weekends. Unless if I really really have to or love someone dearly. My friends know this... you don't call or make plans with Z before noon (I know it wont last long, but I don't have kids yet and I plan to enjoy this luxury/laziness while I can). But I love the farmer's market and I really wanted some fresh fruits and vegetables so I ventured out and I am so happy I did. I got lots of strawberries (duh!), peaches, corn, peppers, tomatoes and plenty more. I'll be waking up for more farmer's market trips this summer to get some fresh produce and support our local farmers.

When deciding what to make with my strawberries, I thought of this tart I first saw by Kelly Bakes, a few months ago. The only problem about it was that, I don't do pies or tarts because I can't make pie crusts from scratch. I tried it once last fall and it was an epic fail so I stayed away from pies. But I realized it's about time I face my fear. And I was pleasantly surprised that this crust turned out perfectly (or I got lucky, but I'm going to go with the first here!). My second accomplishment of the weekend!

For the filling, I combined honey, lemon juice and lemon zest with mascarpone cheese which gives a very creamy filling that you can consume on its own. But don't, you have to fill your lovely golden buttery crust with it (isn't it just so beautiful?). It will be hard, trust me but once you can muster the will power to fill the crust, chill it for a few minutes, and prepare the strawberries. I simply mixed the strawberries with sugar and let it sit for 20 minutes to make it sweeter. In retrospect, I would not have mixed the strawberries in sugar at all. It made the strawberries slightly too soft for my liking and hard to handle so next time I will just layer the fresh sliced strawberries on the mascarpone layer. Plus, that would make for more beautiful pictures!

            (Clearly, I didn't chill for the recommended two hours before serving. I suggest you do!)

This pie is the perfect combination of my favorite summer flavors; strawberry and lemon, adding a tangy mascarpone layer to create the ultimate tart. It takes a few hours to make, mostly waiting time, but it is so worth the time and you will not be disappointed. It will amaze guests at any 4th of July gathering, so do try it! If you like, you could add some blueberries for a full red, white and blue effect.


Strawberry Mascarpone Tart
Inspired by Kelly Bakes. Crust adapted from here

Ingredients
For the Tart Crust:
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
3 tablespoons iced water
1 large egg yolk

For Filling:
2 cups mascarpone cheese1/3 cup honey (or up to 1/2 cup if you want it sweeter)
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 - 2 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced lengthwise
1 tablespoon sugar

Directions
For Tart Crust:
In a food processor, pulse together the flour, cornmeal, sugar and salt for 30 seconds to combine. Add in the cold butter cubes and process using on/off turns to cut in the butter until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Place the bowl in the fridge for a few minutes. Whisk together the ice water and egg yolk in a small bowl. Retrieve the butter and flour mixture from the fridge and add the egg and water mixture all at once. Pulse until moist clumps forms and the dough comes together.

Gather the dough into a ball and form into a disk on a lightly floured surface. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap for 1 hour. When you are ready to roll dough, let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. Unwrap dough and roll out on a floured surface. Roll to an 11-inch circle and gently transfer to a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough against the sides and edges and trim excess overhang. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line the crust with foil or parchment paper making sure you cover all sides. Fill the pan with pie weights, dried beans or coins. Bake crust for 15 minutes, roatte the pan and bake for another 15 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and bake for addition 5 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cool crust in pan completely.

For the mascarpone filling:
Beat together the mascarpone and honey until creamy (You don't need an electric mixer for this, but if you do have one, beat on medium-low speed). Add lemon juice, zest and vanilla extract and beat until combined. The mixture will be creamy and glossy.

Once the crust is completely cooled, spread the mascarpone filling into the tart shell. Spread evenly. Chill while you prepare the strawberries.

Mix the strawberry and sugar in a large bowl and set aside for 20 minutes.

Top the mascarpone filling with the sliced strawberries. Arrange in a circular pattern. Chill for at least an hour, up to two hours, before serving.
 
Store any leftovers refrigerated.

Enjoy!

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Before we get to these amazing salted caramel chocolate chip cookie bars, I have a housekeeping item to address. At the end of last week,  I received a few emails from readers that were unable to access the recipe for these strawberry lemonade cupcakes. After several Google searches, I found out that internet explorer users sometimes can't see text after page breaks in blogger. So it's been a long frustrating weekend of emailing back and forth with my website designer (who is the best ever!) and it seems as if the issue has been resolved after re-installing my template. However, if you are still having trouble getting to any recipe, please let me know or consider using another browser. Thank you!!

But enough of my woes, let's talk about these salted caramel chocolate chip cookie bars. Or ooey-gooey bars of goodness as I call them. The softest chocolate chip cookie is sandwiched with melted salted caramel that oozes out of every side. Goodness!

They are also very easy to make. Simply make the best chocolate chip cookie dough, spread half at the bottom of an 8'x 8' baking pan, pour lots of caramel on, sprinkle with some sea salt and top with the rest of the cookie dough. Easy enough right? The soft cookies and warm caramel make this a delicious treat with the perfect combination of sweet and salty. You need to try it and if you love chocolate and caramel, you will LOVE this!

Chocolate Chip Salted Caramel Cookie Bars

Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod

Ingredients:
2 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 large egg yolk, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups chocolate chips
6 ounces caramel candy squares, unwrapped
3 tablespoons heavy cream
Sea salt, for sprinkling over caramel and bars

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 8' X 8' baking pan with parchment paper (or foil) leaving overhang. Spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda.
3. In the bowl of your stand mixer (or medium bowl), beat the melted butter and sugars together until combined. Add in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and beat until smooth. Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix on low, just until combined about 1 minute. Then stir in the chocolate chips for additional one minute.
4. Combine the caramels and heavy cream in a medium microwave safe bowl and melt in a microwave. Stir every 30 seconds until caramels are melted. This will take about 2 minutes, depending on your microwave.
5. Add half of the cookie dough to the prepared pan. Press gently and smooth the top with a spatula. Drizzle/pour the hot caramel sauce over the cookie dough and sprinkle with sea salt. Using a small cookie scoop or a tablespoon, drop spoonfuls of cookie dough over the caramel. Spread the dough with a spatula until the caramel is covered. Sprinkle again with sea salt.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top of the bars are light golden brown and the edges start to pull away from the pan. Cool bars on a wire rack to room temperature. Cut bars into squares and serve.

Enjoy!!!

Bridal Shower Recap

Hey guys! As promised here are some pictures to recap the bridal shower this past weekend. To start with I am sorry for the sub-par photos...the table was in the darkest part of the room.

It all started a few months ago when my friend (&MOH) asked me to make 60 cupcakes for her sister's bridal shower. It was nerve racking and humbling at the same time because I have never done anything more than 24 cupcakes. Of course I said yes because the bride is like a sister to me and now I am a bridesmaid in the wedding!! As you can see I went beyond just cupcakes. I had a vision of setting up a dessert table and that's exactly what I did. I loved how it turned out!! What do you think?

The MOH decided on a wine-themed shower and since the bride's favorite color is purple, we went with it. I made chocolate red wine cupcakes (coming soon) to go with the theme. In addition, I made a batch of fluffy vanilla cupcakes with whipped vanilla frosting (recipe here). 

I made a batch of vanilla almond sugar cookies from Bake at 350 which I attempted to decorate. Clearly, cookie decorating is not one of my strong fortes but I loved how they turned out. It was also a fun activity to do with the MOH (who decorated the two cookies with "Tia" and was very proud of her creations). 

 

And finally I wanted a centerpiece, so I made a confetti cake (recipe coming soon) designed simply with dots. I made it for the groom because they always seem to be left out of the bridal shower celebrations but this way he had something too. 

For the decorations, I wanted a banner backdrop and a cake bunt. I found a simple tutorial that was very easy and planned on using it. But because I am a procrastinator, I waited till last minute and I didn't have time to make the bunt, banner and bake/decorate. So the hubby volunteered to make them the day before. I steered him towards this tutorial and he did a great job!! He is the best helper EVER.

In the end, I loved how everything came together. The table looked just as I had envisioned and most importantly the 'client' and bride loved it!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Red, White and Blue Cake

Happy Monday!! I am recovering from a very long and fun weekend. But I'll share with you details of the bridal shower later in the week. For now, here is one of my stress-baking cakes from last week. Did I tell you that I am a stress baker? Whenever, I get overwhelmed with things, I pull up a recipe I have not made before or attempt an idea in my head and just go to town in the kitchen. Always helps calm my nerves.

This is an easy Red, White and Blue cake for the upcoming July 4th weekend celebrations. It's not too early to start planning. I got the idea for this cake when I saw the sprinkles at the check out counter of my grocery store. They always place the most mundane items along the check out, don't they? I had to sneak it into the cart before Mr J could see otherwise I would have received his favorite remark "you have a million other sprinkles you don't even use". Just like the speeches I get when I fall in love with yet another pair of shoes! Oh well, he saw them when we were unpacking the groceries and it was too late. Did I mention I have a shopping problem too?? Hmmmm, this is becoming a confessional so let's focus on the cake. 

I baked the cake just so I could decorate it with the sprinkles so I went with a simple vanilla butter cake with whipped vanilla bean frosting. It's a great recipe for a moist fluffy cake and I loved how it complemented the creamy vanilla bean frosting. I also made a batch of blue vanilla macarons to top the cake for a little extra touch and I wasn't sure how they would look on top of a cake. But I love how they add some character to this simple cake. 

For an upcoming July 4th weekend event, I would probably bake a more summer-y cake flavor like this lemon cake or strawberry lemonade cake though and keep the decorations the same. I love these sprinkles...can you see the cute little stars? My favorite.

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

I have no words to describe these strawberry lemonade cupcakes. Not just because they leave you speechless and wanting for more after the first bite (which they totally do!), but because I am brain-dead (and coming from a neuroscientist-in-training this is inaccurate, but I will let it fly today because I am that exhausted).

I had two big presentations earlier this week and I spent the past week and a half just reading and reading and reading and juggling married life, family, friends and blogging with that just left me exhausted. Of course at some points my brain was resisting the urge to work leading to some serious procrastination like giant cookie bake-offs (I'll share soon), mall excursions in search of cute tea cups that were never procured and baking these perfect summer strawberry lemonade cupcakes (among other stress induced goodies) but with no time to blog about them.

Using up the rest of the strawberries from this cake, I made a light and airy lemon cake filled with fresh strawberry bites and I topped the cupcakes with fluffy whipped strawberry lemon buttercream. It is the perfect balance between sweet and tangy (I believe strawberry and lemons were made just for each other!).

These are now on top of my favorite cupcake list and will be making them again as the months get warmer. I suggest you find a friend with a pool and bring these cupcake as a bribe, along with some fresh strawberry lemonade for the perfect hot summer day pool party (ahemmm, Laura).

I am off to bake about 80 cupcakes, decorate cookies and a cake for my first bridal shower dessert table this Saturday! Because I am a procrastinator genius, I left everything to last minute. Wish me luck! I'll share the results (hopefully successful) with you next week.

Hope you all have a great weekend!!

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

(Adapted from Martha Stewart Cakes)

Yield: 3-4 dozen cupcakes

Ingredients:

3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon plus ¾ teaspoon baking powder

¾ teaspoon salt

1 ½  cups unsalted butter (2 ½ sticks), room temperature

2 ½ cups sugar

5 large eggs, room temperature

Zest of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon lemon extract

1 ¼ cups buttermilk, room temperature

½  cup fresh strawberry, hulled and diced finely

Directions:

1.     Preheat oven to 350^oC. Line muffin tins with cupcake wrappers

2.     Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.

3.     Combine buttermilk, vanilla extract and lemon extract. Set aside

4.     In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

5.     Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down side of bowl as necessary. Mix in zest.

6.     With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with 2 batches of buttermilk mixture and beginning and ending with flour. Mix well to combine after each addition and scrape sides of bowl as needed. Fold in the strawberries by hand using a rubber spatula. 

7.     Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling 2/3 to the top.

8.     Bake until golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean. About 20-25 minutes  

9.     Transfer pans to wire racks and let cool in pans for 2 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pans and cool completely on wire racks.

Strawberry Lemon Swiss Meringue Buttercream

(Adapted from Martha Stewart)

1 ½ cups sugar

6 large egg whites, room temperature

2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Juice of 1 lemon

½ cup fresh strawberry puree

1. Whisk together sugar and egg whites in a heatproof mixing bowl set over (not in] a pan of simmering water. Whisk until warm and sugar is dissolved (mixture should feel completely smooth when rubbed between your fingers), 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

2. With an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk egg white mixture 5 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high, and whisk until stiff, glossy peaks form and meringue has cooled (test by feeling bottom of bowl), about 6 minutes.

3. Reduce speed to medium. Add butter, one piece at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and lemon juice.  Mix the strawberry puree into the buttercream until combined.

4. Best if used immediately or store airtight in refrigerator for up to a week.

Notes:

- Cupcake liners from Bake it Pretty

- I enjoyed these cupcakes with a fresh batch of strawberry lemonade, found here (minus the mint).

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

It's June already. Can you believe it? Where has 2013 gone?? Are you ready for the summer? I have several trips planned for the upcoming months, including first-time trips to Atlantic City and Boston! I am also in a wedding this August and it's my first time being a bridesmaid! I am pretty excited about it :). Although after 'torturing' my 8 bridesmaids for my recent wedding, I am a little scared lol. Next weekend is the bridal shower and I am doing a dessert table with a surprise theme. Stay tuned for that excitement!!

In line with the warming weather, I made these lemon poppy seed muffins to add some zest to my breakfast. They are quick and easy to whip up with a whole lot of flavor.  Each muffin is fluffy, a little crunchy and plenty lemon-y and will satisfy your lemon craving at any time of the day.

Dark Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Buttercream

 

Dark chocolate strawberry cake. That is summer-y right? I promised you I will eventually get into summer after starting off the season with macarons. Strawberries are my favorite berries... right in front of raspberries :) So when they are in season, I always have at least a pound of fresh strawberries around to add to anything from salads to frosting.

This cake starts with a very moist "one-bowl" chocolate cake that's then topped with my favorite vanilla swiss meringue buttercream with fresh strawberry puree. You can find the cake recipe here on Sweetapolita. I used two 8-inch round pans instead of three 6-inch pans that she suggests. Other than that, I followed her recipe closely. I used semi-sweet chocolate for the glaze and just drizzled it randomly on top of the cake. I wanted the chocolate cake to be the star so I went easy on the glaze ( by all means, go crazy!). 

This is a great cake for chocolate lovers because the dark chocolate cake is (for lack of a better word) oh-so chocolate-y and the light, fluffy strawberry buttercream spruces up an already decadent chocolate cake. I made it memorial day weekend for a special out-of-town chocolate lover who was very happy with it.

I hope you will try it. It would make for a great birthday cake as well. It may not be as summer-y as the next cupcakes I just made to share with you next week, but I think having fresh strawberries in the frosting definitely puts this chocolate cake in the season.

What are some of your favorite summer desserts??