Peppermint "Mocha" Cake

This last weekend I made a cake for our family Christmas party. I wanted it to taste like a peppermint mocha from starbucks. The Mocha flavor got lost behind the peppermint...so it was more like a chocolate peppermint cake (which is still great!) This is a great ONE BOWL chocolate cake recipe...so easy, moist and best of all....tasty! I think next time I will make a mocha frosting. FIVE days until Christmas?!? I can't believe it! HAPPY BAKING!

Peppermint "Mocha" Cake

for the cake:

2 c flour

2 c sugar

3/4 c cocoa powder

2 t baking soda

1 t baking powder

pinch of salt

1 c milk

1/2 c canola oil (or vegetable)

1 t vanilla extract (I replaced this with 3/4 peppermint extract)

1 c hot, strongly brewed coffee

2 eggs

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa, b. powder, b. soda, and salt

Add the oil, milk, vanilla, coffee and eggs. Beat (or stir) very well. The batter will be pretty thin. Pour into two 9 inch greased pans (you can also just change baking times if you want to bake it in cupcakes, or one larger pan).

Bake at 325 for about 25 minutes...until the top springs back when you press it.

If you are going to frost this cake, you might want to freeze the layers first....it is very moist!

I used cream cheese icing with a little peppermint extract in it. Use the recipe HERE.

For the snowflakes and swirls, I piped melted chocolate onto wax paper. Once they hardened, I placed them on the freshly iced cake. It was a fun project!

Homemade Candies - Sea Salt Caramels & Reese's Cups

I have been baking up a storm this week! I don't have much time, but I wanted to post about these two homemade candy recipes. They are both WONDERFUL! The Sea Salt Caramel recipe can be found here from O Magazine. I will post the recipe to the Reese's cups below! Hope you enjoy them...have a great rest of the week!

Homemade Reese's Cups

Ingredients:

1/2 c peanut butter

a little less (scant) than 1/2 c powdered sugar

1 1/2 T Butter, softened

1/2 t vanilla

1 1/2 - 2 t salt, to taste (you want it to be salty...this is what makes a Reese's cup...that salty flavor of the PB and the sweet chocolate)

1 bag chocolate chips (i used a mix of Ghiradelli milk and semi-sweet)

Beat the pb, sugar, butter, vanilla and salt until creamy.

Melt your chocolate down (either using a double broiler or the microwave). Spoon a little of the chocolate into a foil cupcake liner. Roll about a teaspoon of the PB mixture into a ball and pat it down. Gently place the PB patty on top of the chocolate. Cover with more melted chocolate. Let these harden at Room temperature. Remove the foil wrapper and store in an airtight container.

Lemon No-Bake Cheesecake

Here is one of the recipes I used for my last catering job. I catered a lunch for a sweet woman's 80th birthday party. Her favorite flavors....lemon, peach and mango! So we had Peaches & Cream Cupcakes, Lemon Cheesecake, and Mango Tea. I searched for the perfect lemon cheesecake recipe. I wanted a light and airy cheesecake. Since I had to make 7 Cheesecakes, this recipe was perfect because it is no-bake (except for the crust). It looks pretty too...excuse the horrible picture quality. I didn't even get a chance to take great pictures of all the food. Hope you enjoy!

Lemon No-Bake Cheesecake

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

6 T Butter, melted

3 T Sugar

Lemon Curd:

1 egg plus 1 egg yolk

1/4 c sugar

pinch salt

2 T fresh lemon juice

1 T butter

1 T heavy cream

Filling:
1/3 c fresh lemon juice

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

3 blocks (24 oz) cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 t grated lemon zest

3/4 c sugar

Pinch of salt

1 1/4 c heavy cream

Instructions

Crust

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the 3 ingredients completely and press into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan. Bake for about 8 minutes until the crust is lightly golden brown. Cool.

Lemon Curd

Whisk the egg, yolk, sugar and salt together in a small sauce pan. Whisk in the lemon juice and cook over medium heat. Stir CONSTANTLY (you don't want the eggs to scramble), until the mixture is thick like pudding....about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the butter and cream. Put it in a bowl and refrigerate until needed.

Filling

Put the 1/3 c lemon juice in a small bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over the top and let it stand about 5 minutes. Microwave the mixture for 30 seconds and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, zest, sugar and salt until smooth and creamy. Slowly add the cream and beat until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Add the gelatin mixture and 1/4 c of the lemon curd you prepared earlier. Beat until smooth and airy, about 3 minutes. Pour into the cooled crust and smooth the top over.

For the topping:
You can use a teaspoon and dollop the remaining curd on top of the cheesecake, or you can use a ziploc bag with the end snipped off to create lines. Drag a knife through the curd to create your desired effect.

Refrigerate for at least 6 hours. Enjoy!

Cranberry Orange Quick Bread

Here is a quick post for you! This week is out of control as I will be catering for 100+ people on Saturday...so this is probably my only post for now. Hope everyone is doing well...I'll be back with some cookie recipes next week!

Cranberry Orange Quick Bread

Ingredients:

2 c flour

1 c sugar

1 1/2 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

dash of cinnamon

1 egg

3/4 c. orange juice

grated peel of 1 orange

2 T melted butter

2 T hot water

1 c fresh cranberries

1/2 c walnuts (optional)

raw sugar for sprinkling

Directions:

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg and add the orange juice, peel, butter and hot water. Add to the flour mixture, stirring just until combined. Fold in cranberries and nuts. Spoon into a greased loaf pan, 3 mini loaf pans, or muffin tins. The batter will be thick! Sprinkle raw sugar on top. Bake at 325 degrees for 60 minutes (45 for minis and 20-25 for muffins) or until toothpick comes out clean.

Candy Cane Oreo Truffles

Here is a quick and easy recipe that is super tasty! I'm sure most of you know how to make Oreo balls. Right now oreo has a candy cane version out...SUPER YUMMY! If you can't find these oreos...just throw some crushed peppermint in with regular oreos. These are always a favorite...and so festive with crushed peppermint on top!

Candy Cane Oreo Truffles

1 package Candy Cane Oreos, crushed

1/2 block Cream Cheese, softened (you use less because there aren't as many oreos in the package)

Choice of Chocolate for coating

Blend the two ingredients together...roll into little balls...freeze!

When the oreo balls are frozen, dip them into melted chocolate and sprinkle some crushed peppermint on top.

Enjoy!

Mini Peanut Butter Blossoms

Little bites!

Here is an all time favorite cookie recipe....Peanut Butter Blossoms. I saw the little mini kisses on sale in the baking aisle, and couldn't resist making some mini blossoms! This is a recipe for cookies made with butter, NOT shortening. I try to avoid shortening...it really grosses me out. Hope y'all had a wonderful Thanksgiving...it's time for Christmas baking to begin!

Peanut Butter Blossoms

Ingredients:

1/2 c sugar

1/2 c brown sugar

1/2 c butter

1/2 c peanut butter

1 egg

1 t vanilla extract

1/4 t salt

1 3/4 c flour

1 t baking soda

1/4 c sugar (for rolling)

48 kisses (or about half a bag of miniature kisses)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375.

Combine sugars, butter and peanut butter in a large bowl and mix until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla. Mix until well combined. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet. Mix until well combined.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls (or about half that size for the mini's!). Roll the balls in sugar and place onto cookie sheets.

Bake 8-10 minutes (7-8 for mini's) until the edges are cracked and they are lightly golden brown. Press the kiss in the middle, and cool completely on racks.

Enjoy!

Coconut-Blueberry-Lemon Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Coconut-Blueberry-Lemon Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting....what a mouthful! This is a light and summery cake with lots of wonderful flavors that really compliment one another. While making our anniversary cake, I found I was missing ingredients for the cake I was going to originally make. I went to the pantry, fridge and freezer and came up with this..

Coconut-Blueberry-Lemon Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Instructions

Your favorite Lemon Cake box mix or recipe
3/4 c Shredded Coconut

Mix the cake mix as instructed and add the shredded coconut. Bake in desired pan and cool.

Filling:
2 cups blueberries (if frozen, thawed)

1/3 c sugar

3 T cornstarch

1 t lemon juice

1/4 c water

Heat, stir and smash the blueberries until the mixture boils and thickens. Cool completely before using. You can also skip this step and buy jarred preserves.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Use the recipe posted here

Put it all together! If you are frosting a cake, you will want to freeze the cake layers before assembling. This is the step I skipped, which is the reason my cake is so ugly. :O)

I wanted a mini cake...so I baked mine in a 8x11 dish, and used the leftover batter for cupcakes. You can customize this any way you would like! I left the coconut out of the cupcakes, and they were very good!