Tag Archives: dessert

Munchkins

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Is there anyone alive who hasn’t watched The Wizard of Oz at some point in their life? When I was a kid, it came on TV every year. So did Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory but we’re not talking about chocolate today. Though thinking of it is there a BAD time to talk about chocolate? Sorry. I got sidetracked. Imagine that. I loved that movie when I was a kid; still do actually. But I have to confess. The Lollipop Kids freaked me the hell out. I loved the Munchkins. I wanted one of my own. Hey, I was young! I wasn’t thinking they were people, I just thought they would look great lined up with my stuffed animals. But The Lollipop Kids? Really; they scared the poop out of me. I’m not sure why really. But they struck me then and now as something out of a kids nightmare.

What is it with small things that brings out the oohs and ahhhs in all of us though? Munchkins to line up with your stuffed animals, human babies (did I mention that I have six kids? I swear, I didn’t KNOW that they wouldn’t always be cute and tiny! No one told me about teenagers!), kittens (I want a kitty!!), puppies, even little foods. Something about small stuff turns most people, especially women (though my husband gives most women a run for their money when it comes to turning into goo over babies) into piles of genetic goo.

I have heard before that babies are small and cute to make us think twice about leaving them out for the wolves to get when they keep us up nights and I can’t disagree 😛 I figure the last time I got a full nights sleep was about 1985. If my husband had his way, I would continue remembering sleep fondly until I was too old to remember how to put a diaper on. We have ten between us and every time we go to the store, if he disappears, all I have to do is listen for the sound of cooing and I know it’s him, getting teary eyed and loving on somebodies baby. Personally, I think it’s cute but don’t tell him I said so.

Like I said though, even cute foods seem to bring out the awwws in most of us. I think that’s one reason cupcakes have been all the rage for the last couple of years. I know it’s not just that small and not too much to eat thing because if you eat the equivalent of half a 9 inch layer cake in cupcakes, it kills the not much to eat part. Or maybe that was just me. Never mind.

When I finished making today’s recipe, I called my husband and two teen boys into the kitchen as I cooed over the cute little cakes. They weren’t impressed with the size and looked at me as if they were thinking about calling the man with the little white coats. They just wanted to eat them. EAT THEM?!  But…but…but… they’re CUTE! I pointed and emphasized the cuteness. Zachie, my 14 year old just said “Uh huh. Can I have one now?” Heathen.

So go make these adorable little cakes. Just promise me that you”ll coo over them and call everybody into the kitchen to see them before you eat them. You might not want to line them up with your stuffed animals though. Damn, I want a munchkin.

LIMEADE POUND CAKE

These are exceptionally moist, very simple to make cakes. They are tender and have enough of a lime flavor and tartness to them that I didn’t even add my normal ton of Lime zest to them. You don’t even really need the glaze but I can’t think of any logical reason not to use it anyway 😀

  1. 1 box lemon cake mix
  2. 1 cup sour cream
  3. 1 12 ounce container frozen limeade, thawed and divided
  4. 4 ounces cream cheese, softened (use the rest on a bagel. Yes, one bagel. I like cream cheese. Make me happy.)
  5. 3 large eggs
  6. 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour (or use cooking spray) a 12 cup Bundt cake pan. Or, as I did, use mini cake pans and muffin tins. I got 8 mini cakes and six cupcakes from this.
  • Place the cake mix,  half the limeade, sour cream, cream cheese and eggs in a large bowl. Beat for one minute on low speed, then scrape the bowl. Continue beating on medium speed for about 2 minutes.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan or whatever pan you’re using.
  • Bake for 22 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  • Turn onto a wire rack and let cool thoroughly.
  • Mix 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar with limeade, a little at a time, until you get a glaze of spooning consistency. Spoon over the cake(s)
  • Eat four of them and then tell yourself that the calories don’t count because they are tiny. And cute. Awwwww….. look at them!!!

Strange Dreams

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Just could NOT get a good photo today. It's so gloomy out it's like shooting in a cave. 🙁

It’s funny how having kids makes you so aware of your own mortality. I think I’ve mentioned that I have six kids.  Yes, you read that right. Six. Five boys and one girl. Three are grown and married (in their twenties) and three (all boys) still live at home. They are Jordan, my sixteen year old, Zach, my 14 year old and Joshua my “omg what was I thinking having another child at my age” two year old. :-P. Josh is the one that makes me contemplate my own life more most of the time. His brothers have that effect some, especially Jordan, who I have mentioned before has a handful of major challenges he deals with wonderfully on a daily basis but not as much as my two year old terror. I find myself aware of every kink and every pain. There are times that every twinge becomes a harbinger of doom leaving me planning my estate and telling my husband what songs to play at my funeral (I never knew anyone could roll their eyes quite that much). It will of course be attended by 5000 grieving people. I’m not sure where they will come from since I’m rather shy in “real” life and am pretty sure I haven’t known 5000 people in all my 46 years. Maybe he can hire them? Or pull people off the street with the promise of cheap booze and free Doritos? I dunno. But that’s neither here nor there. They’ll be there. All 5000 of them… in our little house… probably with muddy feet, getting the carpet all dirty. Awww crap… I better plan for a carpet cleaner. Russ will never think of that.

Where was I? Doom… kids… mortality. Oh yeah; mortality. Seriously though,  you think differently when you have kids. Not saying it’s better or worse, just different. I wonder at times how old would my two year old would have to be to have concrete memories of me? Would he remember me reading him Dr. Seuss and being the “SNORT” in “Are You My Mother?” Would he smile when he smelled Lemon Vanilla cologne and not know it was because it reminded him of me? If I died today, would he remember our cuddle sessions in bed every morning after his daddy goes to work? Who would help Jordan and take care of him? Who would make sure Zach took out the garbage and stayed away from the computer when he was supposed to be doing chores? I also wonder what type of woman my husband would replace me with and if I can hunt her down now and let her know what a picky eater he is and how he has a tendency to…erhmmm… empty a room quickly at times. All I know is she’d better be 4’11” and weigh 300 pounds and not be able to cook. Just sayin’.

Introspection is annoying. It makes me write silly posts that have not a whit to do with cooking (though in defense the tag line of my blog DOES say “Cooking and life from a mom on the edge”. :-P.)  It comes into being from strange dreams where I wake up saying to myself “I’m going to die today”. Yeah, I know… freaky. Try being the one who woke up thinking it.

Ehhhhh, let’s eat.

TRIPLE STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE BARS

  • CRUST-
  1. 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  2. 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  3. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  4. 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
  • Filling-
  1. 2 8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened
  2. 1 1/2 cups sugar
  3. 1 10 jar strawberry preserves
  4. 3 large eggs
  5. 1/4 cup flour
  6. 1 lb  fresh strawberries, sliced
  7. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  8. 1/2 cup sour cream
  9. 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • Topping-
  1. Whipped cream or creme fraiche
  2. strawberry pie filling of strawberry dessert topping
  • Preheat oven to 350
  • line a 13×9 baking pan with foil. Grease with butter or spray with non stick cooking spray
  • In a large bowl, mix butter and powdered sugar for crust. Beat well. Add vanilla and eggs, again beating well. Slowly beat in the two cups flour, beating at medium speed until it is fully mixed and crumbly. Pat into the bottom of the foil lined pan.
  • Bake at 350 for ten minutes while you make the filling.
  • Beat cream cheese and sugar at high speed just until mixed. Beat in the strawberry preserves.  Add three eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add in the vanilla extract, sour cream, heavy cream and flour, beating just until mixed. Overbeating anything cheesecakey (yes, that too is now a word 😀 ) is one thing that makes the cracks in the top. Fold in the sliced strawberries.
  • Spread the filling mixture on top of the crust and put back in the oven. Bake at 350 for approximately 45 minutes or until it is just barely set in the middle. It can look somewhat shiny but shouldn’t be sloshy (don’t ya just love my directions? 😛 ). The residual heat will finish baking it.
  • Let cool for an hour on the counter then cover and refrigerate overnight. Trust me… it will be easier to cut if you do. If you want to serve it room temp, cut and plate it when cold then just let it sit out to come to temp.
  • Top with whipped cream or creme fraiche and strawberry topping.

Memories Are Made Of….Candy

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Back when I was a kid when the dinosaurs still roamed the earth and we all wore Saber Tooth Tiger skins for clothing I used to love to go to the store and buy candy. Lots and lots of candy. It was fairly inexpensive then (we are so NOT getting into the “it’s all relative because people made less money” theory) and there were varieties that are either extinct (like those Saber Tooth Tigers) now or very difficult to find unless one wants to spend 3k online for a 5 ounce box of candy. One of the ones that I loved then and still adore that has made a comeback in recent years is Lemonheads. Little yellow balls of sugar that had a wonderful sweet tart flavor. Not like what they call sour candy today where if you eat it, you literally burn off your taste buds. I prefer to save my taste bud burning for curry thank you very much.

There was a method for eating Lemonheads. You had to nibble off the sour waxy outside coating and then suck on the little sugar ball inside until it was gone. My husband of course, who also has fond memories of Lemonheads, didn’t do this. He needs to be flogged. With a Fifth Avenue bar (which was my dads favorite and which he would eat 6 in a row of even after being diagnosed with Diabetes lol) or a Nerd Rope. I’m pretty sure he broke multiple laws when he just tossed them in his mouth and chewed. But then this is the same man who is shameful enough to eat a Ho-Ho by… *GASP*… biting into it, not eating off all of the outside coating, unrolling it, licking off the filling then eating the cake. I have said before, I love him in spite of his obvious flaws, but he makes it hard at times like that.

That sweet tart flavor of Lemonheads is always something I am trying to recreate but not in candy form because I am old (see Saber Tooth Tiger reference above) and my poor aged teeth can’t handle it. I will get into a “take care of your teeth” lecture at a later date. I originally got this recipe from a Yahoo group back in 2003. I’ve seen it many places since then claiming to be theirs, but rest assured, it isn’t. This has been around for quite awhile.  But being me, I had to change it. I said once that I think there is a chromosome that lets one follow recipes (or rules in general) and I am missing it.  I think it turned out awesome and the taste is reminiscent of those much loved candies. So here you go. Enjoy. But promise me that you’ll go floss after you eat half a pan of these.

Creamy Lemon Crumb Squares

  1. 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
  2. 1/2 teaspoon salt
  3. 1 teaspoon baking powder
  4. 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
  5. 1 cup brown sugar
  6. 1 cup oats
  7. 2 cans sweetened condensed milk
  8. 1/2 cup lemon juice
  9. 1/2 cup lime juice
  10. zest of one lemon
  11. zest of one lime
  12. 1 teaspoon of lemon extract
  • Preheat oven to 350
  • Mix butter and sugar until well combined.
  • Mix together flour, salt and baking powder
  • Add oats and flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture.
  • Press half of the crumbs (it actually took me a bit more because I used a 13×9 inch pan) onto the bottom of a 13×9 inch pan.
  • Mix together the sweetened condensed milk, lemon and lime juices, lemon and lime zest and lemon extract. Spread onto the oatmeal crust. Sprinkle the reserved crumbs evenly over the lemon filling.
  • Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for about 30 minutes then cut into squares but don’t take them out of the pan yet. They will dissolve into a pile of goo. Trust me. 😛 Put them in the fridge overnight THEN take them out of the pan. They will come out very easily if you do that.
  • Eat half a dozen. Floss. Eat more. Get out the Anbesol.

*Gives you the “mom look”* Have you flossed yet?

Red Velvet Cupcakes

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Since I still have no oven *sobs piteously and falls to the floor whining and kicking* I am posting a recipe that I have on food.com. The following is my link there if you’d like to see my page and my recipes:

Janet’s page on food.com

This is for red velvet cupcakes. I normally find the frosting on red velvet cake or cupcakes cloyingly sweet but not on these. These are the favorite of one of my daughters in law. If she and my son come to visit and I haven’t made these, there are violent threats and temper tantrums 😛

RED VELVET CUPCAKES

  1. 1 (18 ounce) box red velvet cake mix
  2. 1 4 ounce box instant chocolate pudding
  3. 1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
  4. 4 cups powdered sugar
  5. 1/2 cup (one stick) unsalted butter, softened
  6. 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
  7. 1 cup whipped cream (can use cool whip or homemade whipped cream. I tihnk we all know by now which I choose 😛 )
  • Prepare cake mix as directed on box, adding in the box of chocolate pudding mix and 1 tsp of the vanilla extract.
  • Beat well for at least 2 minutes. Batter will be thick
  • Fill a touch over half full muffin tins that have been well greased or lined with muffin/cupcake liners; don’t fill too high as they rise considerably.
  • Cook according to directions on box of cake. When done, cool on wire rack.
  • While the cupcakes are cooking, make the frosting. Do your best to NOT follow my lead and eat half the frosting before the cupcakes are even cooled. Oh what the heck; go ahead. You can always make more 😀
  • Using a mixer, beat cream cheese, remaining tsp of vanilla and butter in large bowl until well blended; gradually beat in powdered sugar.
  • Beat in whipped topping (or whipped cream) and continue beating until frosting is thick and creamy looking, giving it enough time for the powdered sugar to break down and dissolve or you will have grainy frosting.
  • If too thick, add a little bit of milk or cream. Add just a bit at time. You can always add more but if you add too much, you end up with glaze not frosting and believe me, you don’t want to ruin this frosting.

  • When cupcakes are cool, spread or pipe the frosting on the cupcakes. Then do as I normally suggest; grab a few and go hide in the closet with a flashlight and a good book. Enjoy. 🙂

The Proof Is In The Pudding…Or Something Like That

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What the heck does that MEAN anyway? It’s one of those saying that everyone has heard but only Etymologists understand. There are so many weird sayings that have been passed on down through the ages. Where the heck did “A little bird told me” come from? I can’t count how many times someone would tattle on me when I was a kid (and I have no idea why. I was an angel- an ANGEL I tell you!) and my mother would tell me that a little bird told her I had done whatever it was I was about to get in trouble for. I…WANT…THAT…DARN…BIRD! I have a frying pan ready for him. Gossiping little piece of feathers got me in more trouble when I was young.

Other sayings make far too much sense. Like ” A fool and his money are soon parted”. We won’t delve too deeply into that one. But…ummm… take my advice. Stay away from Amazon when you’re tired and bored.

Or “A penny for your thoughts”. Am I the only one who thinks that with the state of the economy, that penny is just not cutting it? Offer me a thousand dollars and we’ll talk.

What about “A word to the wise is sufficient”? So if I come up to someone and say ” Monkey” they will know exactly what to do with that sage advice?

Ok, I’m rambling now. Maybe I should be “A (wo)man of few words” and just get to the food huh?

Well, since I still have no oven cause the landlord hasn’t called back, I made chocolate pudding. Deep dark rich and creamy chocolate pudding. Pudding so good you’ll weep. Pudding so creamy…

I’m rambling again aren’t I? Sigh. Here ya go. Deep dark chocolate pudding with a Strawberry sauce.

Deep Dark Chocolate Pudding With Strawberry Couli

  1. 1 16 oz container frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed
  2. 1 1/2 cups sugar (can be subbed with splenda)
  3. 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted to break up the lumps)
  4. 1/3 cup cornstarch
  5. 1/2 teaspoon salt
  6. 1/2 teaspoon instant coffee powder (doesn’t add flavor so much as depth and can be omitted if desired)
  7. 4 cups whole milk
  8. 1 cup heavy cream
  9. 1 cup chocolate chips (can use milk or semi sweet. Milk makes for a milder pudding; semi sweet makes a strong deep chocolate flavor)
  10. 3 teaspoons vanilla extract

Strawberry Couli

  • To make the couli couldn’t be simpler- Dump your container of strawberries, syrup and all, into a blender or the bowl of a food processor. Blend or process until it is a nice puree; maybe 5 seconds. You can either use it as is or slowly whisk 2 tablespoons of cornstarch into it and heat until it is boiling and thickened, then let cool. Either way works.

Chocolate Pudding

  • In a fairly large saucepan or pot, whisk together the cocoa, sugar, salt and cornstarch. Try to break up any little lumps.
  • Slowly whisk in the milk. If you pour it all in at once, you’ll have a time getting all the lumps out. Do it a bit at a time.
  • Over medium heat, stirring constantly (go to a wooden spoon now), heat until the mixture is gently boiling and thickened.
  • Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate chips and vanilla. Let it sit for about 5 minutes then stir to combine the now melted chips with the pudding mixture. Pour into a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Chill for at least 2 hours.
  • When pudding is chilled, whip the one cup of heavy cream. Fold the cream into the pudding mixture until thoroughly combined.
  • Spoon a large spoonful of the strawberry couli onto the bottom of your serving bowls. Add chocolate pudding on top of this and then top with more whipped cream (I used chocolate whipped cream because…well… cause I could.) and more couli. This makes five “Oh my God; you expect me to eat all of that?!” sized servings or 10 normal ones. The recipe can be easily halved.
  • You can make this pudding up to the point of chilling and then eat as is or with the sauce without folding in the heavy cream but be warned; without the addition of the cream, it is a very heavy dense creamy pudding. The addition of the whipped cream in it lightens it up (as contrary as that may sound lol)

Hmm; methinks I need to get new dishwasher detergent if the water spots on that glass are any indication 😛

 

 

This Is Not Your Grandmas Bread Pudding

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I have had a love/hate relationship with bread pudding for years now. I used to think I hated it because the ones I had tried were dry nasty overly sweet things with hardened raisins. But something about the idea of bread pudding continued to appeal to me so I kept looking for a good one. When I worked at a hotel many moons ago, the restaurant there had an awesome one. It was the stereotypical raisin filled kind but it was moist and not too sweet and smothered in a creamy caramel sauce. Eating that one over a decade ago sent me on a quest for good bread puddings.

For a while they were the “it” dessert. Not so much anymore. They were pushed out by cupcakes and now by the current trend, Macarons.But I still like creating new flavors every now and then. I had planned on making a white chocolate/cherry bread pudding until I realized that the 2 cans of cherries I was going to use expired in 2009. Erhmmmm… I might wanna check those things more often huh? So I decided on White Chocolate/ Apricot. This is moist, very rich and the Apricots, white chocolate and hint of Cinnamon go together very well. Warning- this is NOT cheap to make but on the up side, it is also easily cut in half if, unlike me, you’re not feeding teenage boys and one grown man (I don’t count my toddler since I am still mean to him about his intake of sweets :-P). You can serve this with or without the caramel sauce; it’s pretty darn tasty either way if I do say so myself 🙂 Also, this gives the words “this is not diet food” a new meaning.

White Chocolate & Apricot Bread Pudding

  1. 1 1/2 1lb loaves Kings Hawaiian bread, bottom crust cut off and discarded (or eaten 😀 ) and the bread cubed
  2. 3 1/2 cups heavy cream
  3. 1 cup milk
  4. 5 large eggs
  5. 1 lb white chocolate
  6. 1/2 cup sugar
  7. 2 15 oz cans Apricots in heavy syrup, drained (but reserve 1/2 cup of the juice)
  8. 1/2 cup Apricot Preserves
  9. 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  10. 1 teaspoon almond extract
  11. 2 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon

Caramel Sauce

  1. 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  2. 1 cup dark brown sugar
  3. 1 cup heavy cream
  4. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • In a medium bowl, mix your white chocolate and 1/2 cup of the heavy cream. Microwave on high in 30 second increments, stirring after each 30 seconds, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, beat the five eggs. Add the remaining cream and one cup milk; beat until well mixed. Mix in the vanilla & almond extracts,  1/4 cup sugar, reserved syrup from the apricots, the apricots, the preserves, the cinnamon and the white chocolate mixture.
  • Take your cubed bread and add it a handful at a time to the custard mixture, pushing down each handful into the custard before adding the next. When you have it all in there, make sure all the bread is covered and let it sit for an hour or so. This gives the bread time to soak up the custard, which makes a moister pudding.
  • While it soaks, preheat your oven to 325 degrees F
  • When ready, put the pudding mix into a well buttered 3 quart casserole dish (I use a rectangular pyrex; seems to cook it best) and cook until firm and golden brown about 70 minutes. You want to be able to stick a knife in the middle and not come out with liquid on it.

For the caramel sauce (If using)-

  1. Melt your butter in a small saucepan
  2. Add the brown sugar and stir until it’s blended.
  3. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla and stir until well combined.
  4. Eat straight from the spoon or actually use it on the bread pudding. Your choice. 😀

Tasty Doesn’t Have To Take Hours

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Neither does it have to be expensive. Sure, it can be and some extremely tasty desserts can cost a bit to make but then are the times that you want something that tastes expensive but you don’t have the time to fuss. Or you have a two year old who wants you to hold his hands while he runs in circles around you… for an hour. Or maybe you forgot the time and the promise you made to make dessert. Not that I’ve ever done that… but I’m sure it’s happened to someone…somewhere *innocent look*

When any of the above happen and your world is no longer spinning and the nausea has passed if the reason was of the two year old variety, this dessert is a great one to try. I had some Mascarpone cheese I had been wanting to use and after seeing a post made by one of my favorite bloggers-

SweetsTiramisuFrenchToast

 

she got me inspired to make up a quick dessert using the Mascarpone. She’s a good one for that. 🙂

So here it is. I hope you enjoy.

Mascarpone Mousse And Raspberry Parfait

  1. 8 ounce container mascarpone cheese, softened
  2. 8 ounce package cream cheese , softened
  3. 1/2 cup sour cream
  4. 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar, divided
  5. 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  6. 1 teaspoon almond extract
  7. 2 cups heavy cream
  8. 2 20 ounce cans raspberry pie filling
  • In a medium bowl, whip the heavy cream and 1/4 cup of the powdered sugar on low speed until the sugar is incorporated. You could do it on high speed but if you do, I want pictures because you will be covered in powdered sugar hehe. When the sugar is mixed in, turn the speed up to high and continue beating until stiff peaks form, about 3 to 5 minutes. Set aside while you make the mousse.
  • In a large bowl, beat together the Mascarpone, cream cheese and sour cream. When thoroughly mixed, add 1 1/2 cups of the powdered sugar. On low speed, beat until sugar is incorporated, then turn the speed up to high and beat for 2 minutes.  Stir in a large spoonful (about 1/4 cup or so) of the whipped cream to lighten up the mousse mixture.
  • Fold in the rest of the whipped cream until there are no streaks of cream left.
  • Eat this by the spoonful and don’t save any for anyone else
  • Layer the mousse mixture in pretty glass bowls with the raspberry filling, ending with a dollop of the mousse on top.. Alternately, you could layer it in a huge glass bowl if you’re serving this to a large group.

I guess they didn't like it. There are still a few smears left in the dish.