Out of This World Cupcakes!

"Out of This World" Milky Way Cupcakes

Inspired by a recipe I found at a tempting blog site (this place makes me hungry every time I visit): Inside Bru Crew Life .

My friend was feeling down.
There was snow on the ground.
The temperatures outside were freezing!
I wanted to bake her something special, and I knew she loved chocolate.
But she needed something extra special.

Perhaps... a chocolate cupcake, topped with buttercream frosting mixed with melted Milky Way bars. Ohmy...Not to mention a chocolate ganache surprise inside of the cupcake.
Swirly whirly creamy buttery sweet frosting sparkles and beams under the light.
A Milky Way Candy Bar is the supermodel in this gorgeous cupcake creation.
I tweaked the recipe a bit to make it my own, added some sparkles..and woah.
It was one of the most amazing things I have eaten in my life!

If you want the original recipe..click on the link:  Inside Bru Crew Life .


Here are some tweaks that make this an Amanda Cupcake original.

For the Cupcakes:
*I added a teaspoon of Almond Extract to the chocolate cake batter.
*I melted about 15 caramel squares and added them to the chocolate cake batter.
*I melted a 4 oz chocolate baking square and added to the chocolate cake batter.

My entire kitchen smelled warm like chocolate caramel. Yum.

For the Frosting:
*I added butter flavoring extract. I do that with all of my frosting, it brings down the sweetness and enhances all of the rich flavoring in the buttercream frosting.
*I added my own decorative touch with different sized decorating tips!
*And of course...edible disco sparkles!!!!!!!!!!!

Gold sparkles coordinate very beautifully with caramel.

The Milky Way Supermodels:
I used whole milky way bars, and tore the candy bars apart at different angles.
This gave them an artistic gourmet cupcake look when I placed the Milky Way bars on top of the frosting swirls! 

The Chocolate Filling:
Unites all of the flavors and pleasurably surprises the tastebuds.
The cupcake wouldn't be the same without it!

The result:  Out of This World Cupcakes ♥

For my troubled friends who need a little pick-me-up:

Stressed is Desserts spelled backwards.

happy monday!

childhood = heart spotted rain boots 
on the wrong feet.

over the weekend...

.....we found out when you add a few baby beets to your winter veggie soup (beets + butternut squash+potatoes +turnips +carrots +collard greens + tomatoes+ homemade chicken stock + white beans+onion+LOTS of garlic + favorite herbs in any combo-rosemary, thyme, oregano, parsley, basil, anything goes).....it turns your soup purpley pink and it becomes a new kid favorite. 
We ate (brownie sunday)

Praise For Pikelets

I remember when the kids were little and I used to take exotic homemade cakes to school and watch the mothers around me gasp with their "oooohs" and "aaaaahs". I did feel clever. Insecure too. Validation was a big thing for me back then.  

When we had get togethers and everyone brought a cake or a plate to share, I hardly ate any of  my offering.  I always found myself drawn to the humble pikelet, which was generally tacked onto the edge of the table and usually neglected until everything else disappeared.  Crazy as it may seem, I used to marvel at the honest simplicity of a pikelet.  No showcasing, no attention, no praise for the plate with pikelets.  And yet to me, they were the yummiest thing on those tables.

I guess I must come clean and confess that I really couldn't make them.  I tried a few times, but after several dismal attempts, I decided to stick to the pancake and crepe.  For me, they were effortless.  So what did I do wrong when it came to making pikelets?

I suppose I felt they were meant to be quick and easy but I overcooked them every time.  I now see that I was actually very impatient.  Pikelets require a low heat, a cast iron or a heavy based pan, and "patience" to stand there until the bubbles come to the surface before they are flipped.  Easy - yes, quick - perhaps not really.

Glancing through my latest bargain book buy, many recipes have caught my eye.  "Gran's Kitchen" has a whole preserve section and I was going nuts absorbing all her valuable information.  I turned the page - pikelets. I quickly turned to the next recipe.  And then I turned back.  Hmmm. I read the recipe and noticed it didn't used bi carb of soda.   Every recipe I've seen for pikelets contains bi carb.  Anyhow, something signalled inside of me to "have a go".  I did.  And boy am I pleased that I did.  Mitch commented on how "yummy" they were simply with butter.  Honestly, he ate heaps.  

Here I sit, finally feeling unafraid of the little, old pikelet.  This recipe is a real winner.  I recommend it. Just one thing, I usually like to let my batter recipes sit for a while after beating, about half an hour. Covered with a cloth.  I do think they come out softer that way. 



Recipe found on page 52 in "Gran's Kitchen"



Happy pikelet making. Forget those fancy shmancy complicated recipes bombarding us at every turn. Rediscover the humble pikelet.  And feel good.



PS.  There is a line in this beautiful book that I want to share with you.  This past year has shown me how people can draw strength and support for one another by communicating, crying, laughing and ultimately eating home-made food together.


"The importance of jam and cream in bonding a community should not be underestimated".

Dulcie May Booker.

It's been a cold cold winter...

And looking at old photos of my California inspired cupcakes are helping me get through the freeze!
Yummy... warm...  shimmery... dreamy..little umbrellas in my drink.  ♥  I need a vacation!
Or maybe I'll just pre-heat the oven to 350, start baking, and warm up that way!

MadeOn winner!!!

Our winner of the Bee Silk 3-pack is SUMMER!!

Take yourself over to MadeOn right now and treat yourself to something yummy for your skin. 
Renee is the BEST and just sent me one of the Au Chocolat  lotion bars and I am in heaven!! I am so tempted to take a bite out of it:)  Go pick one up--your winter hands will thank you!

*if you are interested in sponsoring The Little Red House or hosting a

Lemon curd!

Nu är jag frisk igen och är redo att ta mig an alla kommande bakprojekt! Jag har samlat på mig så många idéer att jag inte vet var jag ska börja. Lemoncurd är iallafall en bra början, eftersom det är en bra bas i tårtor och många andra bakverk. Jag tycker också att det passar bra ihop med naturell yoghurt, vilket är ett bra alternativ om man är sugen på nåt sött men inte vill äta något som är alltför onyttigt.

Receptet räcker till en burk på ungefär 1/2 liter. Curden håller cirka 1 1/2-2 veckor i kylskåp, men går även utmärkt att frysa. Det bästa är att frysa ner i flera mindre burkar så att man ka ta upp vid behov, ta då ut burken i god tid och låt tina i kylen.




Lemon curd
•3 mellanstora ägg
•1,5 dl socker
•Saft och finrivet skal från 2 citroner
•50 gram smör

Vispa samman ägg, socker och citronjuice i en värmetålig skål och ställ över ett vattenbad med sjudande vatten. Rör hela tiden tills blandningen tjocknar (vid cirka 65-70 grader), vilket tar ungefär 10 minuter. Ta bort från värmen, skär smöret i tärningar och vispa ner i den varma blandningen tills smöret smält helt. Tillsätt citronskal och låt svalna. Häll över i en ren burk.






In English:
Now that I am feeling better I am up for all the baking projects ahead of me! Lately I have gathered so many ideas that I don't know where to start. I guess lemon curd is a great way to start, since it is a great base in cakes and many other delicious pastries. I also like to eat it with yoghurt ("plain" yoghurts like greek), which is a great alternative if you feel like something sweet yet relatively healthy.

This recipe yields roughly 0,5 liters and keeps for about 1 1/2-2 weeks in the fridge. You can also divide the curd into smaller containers and freeze for later use. Thaw the containers in the fridge.

Lemon curd
•3 eggs
•1,5 deciliters sugar
•Juice and zest from 2 lemons
•50 grams of butter

Put eggs, sugar and lemon juice in a heat proof bowl. Set mixing bowl over a pan of simmering water and mix by hand until the mixture becomes thick, which should take about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cut the butter into cubes. Whisk in butter and whisk until melted. Add the lemon zest and let cool. Pour into a clean, dry jar.

Easy Blueberry Cream Scones

" A man never stands as tall as when he kneels to help a child."

-Order of the Knights of Pythagoras

.

I just returned from my trip to California, where I met my new nephew. I just love babies, he was such a delight! Why do babies smell so good? I love newborn baby smell.

I went to visit my sister to meet the baby of course, but also to help her with the baby, to help around the house, and also help with the cooking. These scones were one of the baked goods I made. They are incredible.


They taste fantastic, they are quite light, flaky, tender, and quite delicious. My favorite thing about them is that you make them the night before, stick them in the freezer, and slice them and bake them up the next day. You could even only slice up a few, at a time, which means you could have a few fresh scones every day for breakfast with little effort.

I baked them all at once, then wrapped up what we didn't eat in the first day, individually, placed them in a ziplock bag, and defrosted them on the counter when I wanted one.

I made them with frozen blueberries, because I like them and my sister had them in her freezer, but you could also use any dried fruit, like raisins, or currants, or dried cranberries, etc.
.

Easy Blueberry Cream Scones

adapted from this recipe from The Culinary Institute of America

.

Ingredients

.

3 cups all purpose flour

1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar (depending on how sweet you want them, I used 3/4 cup)

2 Tablespoons baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups heavy cream-don't substitute, (there is no butter here, so this is where the fat comes from)

1 cup blueberries-if you are using frozen there is no need to defrost them-or substitute any dried fruit of you preference

zest from one lemon-optional

2 Tablespoons milk-for brushing the tops

2 Tablespoons coarse sugar, if you don't have coarse sugar use regular granulated sugar

.

Directions

.

Keep in mind this recipe needs to be made the night before you need them.

.

Get a cake pan ready, or tart pan. I used a tart pan with a removable bottom, just because it was handy, 10 inches in size, preferably, but 9 inches or even 8 would work, they would just be a little taller, and possibly need a touch more baking time.

.

Cut two parchment paper rounds the size of the pan, if your pan is 10 inches, then you would need two 10 inch parchment rounds.

.

Use one to line your pan. Reserve the other one for later.

.

Place all of the dry ingredients, (the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt) in a large bowl. Whisk it all to blend it well. Add the blueberries and zest, (if using.) And stir.

.

Make a well in the center of the mixture. Pour in the cream and stir just until blended. Be gentle. Don't over mix this or your scones will be heavy.

.

Pour this mixture in the prepared lined pan. It will be quite wet. Don't worry, it will freeze solid.

On top of the mixture place the other parchment round and place in the freezer overnight. Or 10 hours, till frozen solid.

.

The next morning, take the scones out of the freezer and place on the counter. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease them.

.

Turn the scones out of the pan onto a cutting board and remove the parchment paper. Slice them using a sharp knife into 10 equal size wedges. I cut them in half first, then cut 5 slices from each. If you don't want to bake them all now, you can wrap the ones you aren't going to bake in saran wrap then freeze to bake another day.

.

Brush the tops of the scones with milk and dip or sprinkle them in the sugar. Place them on the prepared baking sheets and bake them for 30-40 minutes until golden and fully cooked on the inside. Cool them on the baking sheets for a few minutes then transfer to cooling racks. Serve warm or at room temperature.

.

Serve the day they are made, or freeze them, individually wrapped in saran wrap them placed in a ziplock bag.

headlines

A few things going on around here:
Don't forget the MadeOn giveaway ends tonight!! Enter HERE

The first official cookbook shoot was as success!! We've planned out our next few weeks, and I've been having the best time digging through thrift stores for awesome props.

I'm now taking new sponsors for the month of February! 
(look to your left) 
If you have a product/blog/service/awesome-thing that

indulge me.

These last three weeks of our journey to healthy eating have been so fun!
We've talked about becoming aware of our eating habits, fast food addictions (mine), and quick meal ideas so we don't have to eat nachos every day (me again).
I feel like we've learned a lot--yes WE!
I am LOVING all your comments and suggestions that go along with the posts! Thank you.
Today we're going to talk about

winter wednesday

thanks everyone for all the fun birthday messages!!! I felt the cyber love all day--I wish we could all have one giant party!

Today's winter tip is something that I've been keeping to myself for a while.....but the time has come to share the news. 
The super duper exciting, screamed-when-I-found-out, delicious news. 
So far, this winter is flying by for me.....not dragging out like in past

Cakes!

Till råga på allt så har jag nu också gått och blivit sjuk, så jag har fortfarande inte fått baka! Jag är lite orolig för hur det ska gå med bakningen, särskilt macarons, nu när jag har gasugn. Någon som har erfarenhet av gasugnar?

I väntan på nästa inlägg så tänkte jag dela med mig av bilder på några av de tårtor jag gjorde under 2010. Vilka gillar ni bäst?


In English:
In addition to everything that's happened lately I've now gotten sick too, so I still haven't been able to bake! I'm a little worried about what it is going to be like to bake in a gas oven, especially macarons. Does anyone have any experience with gas ovens?

While waiting for a new blogpost, I thought I'd share some pictures of cakes I made last year. Which ones are your favourites?

today.

28.twenty eight. two-eight. 30 minus 2. yikes.

New Sponsor and Giveaway: MadeOn Natural Skin Care

I am so excited to introduce our newest sponsor to you--MadeOn, who makes all natural (we're talking THREE ingredients!) hard lotion bars, lip balm, hair butter, and all natural baby product. 
My favorite is the Bee Silk Hard Lotion Bars--they are exactly what they sound like.....a BAR of lotion (only coconut oil, shea butter, and beeswax), that come in the cutest little tin, and feel so nice on

sunday supper

-roasted chicken (very simple with onion, lemon, and rosemary)-wilted chard-roasted root vegetable gratin
celery root, rutabaga. 
both in season. 
both delicious (my kids DEVOURED this dish)
Roasted Root Vegetable GratinJen's recipe from last weeks cooking class

-6 lbs root vegetables (any combo of potatoes, fennel, celery root, rutabagas)-3TBS butter-a few sprigs of sage, leaves only, roughly

A cupcake football field!

You can eat your favorite players.
And the footballs are almonds!

The Chicago Bears

vs.

The Green Bay Packers

I have always had a hard time following football...
I have to say I've always been the clumsy artsy type.
But it was really fun...bringing the spirit of the game
alive for today's game in the form of cupcakes! 

We're gonna party like it's your birthday..

Or at least indulge in gooey sparkly dreamy cinnamon roll cupcakes on your birthday.



Happy Birthday to one of my favorite women, Andra.

You are just like a sister to me.

I added the sparkles for you.

Did you notice that the sparkles light up and change color in the sun?

And the hot pink leopard print cupcake liners were inspired by you too.

No ordinary cinnamon roll cupcake.

For a one-of-a-kind woman.

Every ounce of this cinnamon roll cupcake was dedicated to the celebration of your birth 31 years ago!

I just ate one..warmed up in the microwave.

It was so delish that I didn't even feel guilty about it.

So thank you for being you.

♥

dates. peanuts. cocoa. salt.

and that's it.
I first had a certain natural food bar last year, packed in a pre-race goodie bag.
It was amazing. It tasted great, and only had a couple of ingredients. It was perfect natural race fuel--and it wasn't a dreaded Power Bar....I was in love. 
But come to find out.....that little thing was expensive (considering what it was), so I forgot about it. 
And then I saw Jen's post, where she

it's about time

At 18 I skipped away to college, excited for the adventure that awaited me.
A good education. A social life.
I'd grown up in a small town (ok, I didn't even live in a town--I lived in a field), and spent the last few years doing all the same things with all the same people, and I was ready for something new.
Spread my wings and fly, as the greeting cards would say.
While living the college life

winter wednesday....bonus round

This bread is awesome. I just had to share the recipe (adapted by Orangette found via Summer) the only thing I changed was the molasses to honey.
Oatmeal Sandwich Bread
w/peach jam from summertime

1 package (2 ¼ tsp.) active dry yeast3 Tbsp. honey2 ½ cups whole wheat flour2 cups bread flour1 cup rolled oats4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly2 ¼ tsp. table salt, or to taste
Grease

Cherry blossom cookies!

Den senaste veckan har jag haft fullt upp med att packa och flytta. Detta betyder att jag inte haft någon tid alls att baka, vilket är otroligt tråkigt. Jag bor alltså numer i Malmö, utan alla mina bakgrejer! Jag äger inte ens ett paket socker! På fredag ska jag åka tillbaka och hämta alla mina saker så att jag kan baka igen. Under tiden får ni nöja er med några kakor som jag gjorde före jul!





In English:
I've been so busy packing and moving the last couple of weeks that I haven't had any time to bake. I now live in Malmö, but without all my baking stuff. I don't even own a pack of sugar! On Friday I'll go back to get my things so I will be able to bake again. In the meantime you'll just have to settle for these cookies!

winter wednesday

ssshhhhhh.......listen.
It's silent as I type this.
I hear my Littles softly breathing while sweet dreaming, and Charly is snoring by the back door. 
The house is warm, and smells of bread.
Winter is quiet. Still. 
It begs you to stand back and just watch. 
Take little tiny moments and turn them into something bigger. 
I had bread cooling on the counter, and moved it to the table so I could clean

tooth talk

When you first hold that tiny little bundle of beautiful baby in your arms, it is implied that someday he will have to grow up. No one actually tells you he will grow up.....but you've had experience with larger, older, and much dirtier children, so you assume that they were once upon a time little smell-good-bundles as well.
But you think you are the exception. Your little bundle is special,

Fairy Meringues and Mushroom Magic


The other day my sometimes broody, sometimes bubbly twenty year old came home in a very bubbly mood. I thought to myself; where is she off to this time? Who's party? Who's meeting? Which club? Who's place? The answer turned out to be, no one's and nowhere.

She's been working very hard saving her money.  Working two jobs to put her pennies together, she dearly wants to go travelling in Europe.  Especially England.  This year.
 

Phone in hand, computer on lap,
asleep

When she isn't working, she's busy catching up with her friends. I get exhausted watching her.  In her room, get dressed, go to work, come home, no time for dinner, get dressed, off again: to work-do's, friends place's, photo shoot drives, coffee's late at night listening to the pain of recent break-ups, planning and dreaming of ambitions, partying, etc.  Late at home back again, tired, hit the computer, facebook, fall asleep in bed.  Day after day.  We hardly see her. We hardly talk to her. We do try. She is the one with "little" time.

One day recently she arrives, with a shopping bag and a big smile on her face.  What do you have there Nicka?  A present for someone's birthday, clothes or food for a party, alcohol?  None of the above.

Our Nicka, who I always used to see as my little girl who believes in fairies, was carrying a bag from the craft shop.  Inside she had the material required to put together these little characters. She eagerly began cutting, sewing, stuffing and crafting. The phone was running hot, but Nicka said "no" to everyone.  She was having a quiet night in with her family and her project.



Mushroom Magic


I was delighted to see her enthusiasm and her intensity toward creating these little blighters.  They turned out. They even turned out better than the pictures on the template.  I watched Hubby, as he watched Nicka working.  A warm smile crossed his face.  I watched Mitch as he intently examined the little fellas.  He's a harsh critic old Mitch.  To get his nod of approval, would crack us up. Laughing I mean.  It's like waiting on tenterhooks, while Simon-what's-his-name from "Idol" delivers his verdict.



Fox in the Fern


In a quiet moment, I said to Nicka "awww, I'm so happy to see my little girl is still there. Deep down inside, innocent and still believing in fairies."   Stitching "Racoon", she tossed her magnificent mane up in the air, looked at me with those big,brown, almond eyes and replied "well of course I do mummy".



Roaming Racoon

 
 Excuse me. I must check my oven.  A little birdie told me that fairies love to eat sweet, light as a feather meringues. Sprinkled with angel dust. I had better get a move on then.  It seems the fairies have been there the whole time.  I simply chose to stop seeing them.
 

My Meringue Mushroom

Meringues

2 egg whites, must be room temperature
110gm caster sugar
a pinch of cream of tartar

In a clean glass or ceramic bowl, whisk the egg whites with the cream of tartar and half the sugar. This will take about five minutes.  Or till the mixture is thick and glossy.

Add the remaining sugar; beat for a further minute; no longer.  Pipe into shapes onto a metal baking sheet lined with baking paper; no need to grease the paper.  I filled my big tray with snowy, white creations. Such fun.

The baking part is critical.  My oven  manual recommends baking meringues at 75 degrees celcius.  My oven is a bit on the warm side; for instance my pavlova will come out a coffee colour if I bake it at 130 degrees.  So I knock it back about 20 degrees. For the meringues I baked mine at 60 degrees for, get ready, four hours. Yep. Four hours.

Look, if you're having a day at home, and your timer is reliable then it's an extremely easy thing to do.  I pace myself with my timer and set it hourly. That way I don't forget about them!  You can cool them in the oven, but I found it didn't really matter. Mine remained beautifully white and crisp on the outside, powdery inside with a slight chewy centre.  For my liking; perfect. 

I actually had the egg whites leftover after using the egg yolks in my vanilla slice.  This recipe will be my next post.  If you can't find an immediate use for the egg whites, they are fine kept in the fridge for a couple of days, or freeze for three months.

Our weather is very humid and steamy up here, given all the recent rain.  Deadly weather for meringues as they will get sticky on the outside.  By the end of my photo shoot, they were sticky, especially with the crystal glitter on top. Oh well. I'm sure the fairies won't mind.  Isn't that right Nicka?