small and simple things

life is crazy. the start of a school year (and all the activities that go along with it) + a new Lyme regimen + last minute cramming of summer fun = my head is spinning.....although I'm sure it won't be long before it comes completely unattached, which might actually be easier.posting will probably be sporadic the next few weeks, but just know--we are enjoying the sunshine and probably eating too

CUPCAKE LOVE GIVEAWAY ♥ WINNERS!!

I have always believed in giving back just as much as you receive.

One thing in my life that I have been rich with is love from friends and family. ♥

I have discovered in owning a new business, sharing and giving my cupcakes for the right cause is just as important as selling my cupcakes.

This last week I decided to give some cupcake love away. Just because.
Just because is a pretty good cause, right?

You can see the announcement for the giveaway here with all the cupcake rules & love given.

I drew the entered names at http://www.random.org/ and drum roll please................here are the winners!

Winner of 1 Dozen Cake Pops:

Congrats to Denise Szelagowski! 

Winner of Amanda Cupcake tee:

Congrats to Brittany A !

Please email me with your mailing addresses and I will send out your surprise packages in the mail!

Click here to email me.

Congrats to the winners, and love right back to all of you.

If I could send the whole world free cake pops, I would.

Maybe when I am a seriously rich & famous cupcake maven, (you know...like the Oprah of Cupcakes or Willy Wonka & his surprise chocolate bar!) that's how I'll find world peace. By randomly sending delicious parcels to your mailbox. ♥

Until then..spontaneous cupcake giveaways!

bedtime

we are having a really hard time going to sleep and getting up on time around here....we still have summer on the brain.

Peach Crumb Bars

The end is near.

The signals are mixed.  Around these parts, you could be fooled by the signs, but I feel very certain I am right... the end is near.
The end of amazing strawberries, peaches, blueberries, blackberries and such is coming.  Pretty much the only clear sign at this point is the calendar.  Because if I was going off the weather, you would think we are smack dab in the middle of it.
But we are not so run... don't walk.... to the grocery or farmer's market and get in on the freshness and flavor of fruit that can only be found in the summer.

Did I mention these are extremely easy?  Yep, run.

From my little kitchen to yours... Enjoy.

Oh, what do you know, we already have another desperate need for that fresh whipped cream.  This is truly the icing on the cake... the cherry on top... whatever you want to call something that finishes out a dish in a perfectly wonderful way.

Peach Crumb Bars
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen & Allrecipes.com
Recipe Notes
Even in peak season, peaches can be extremely hit or miss.  Depending on what kind of peaches you end up with, you might have to adjust a little bit.  Mine were great, but not overly juicy.  If you have really juicy peaches, you might want to add a tad bit more cornstarch.  When I first made these bars, we used really sweetened whip cream because the crust was not overly sweet.  Somehow, as the days went on, they got a little sweeter so we still put a dollop of cream on top, but I used less sugar.
Ingredients
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cold unsalted butter (2 sticks or 8 ounces)
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
Zest and juice of one lemon
4 heaping cups of chopped peaches
1/2 cup white sugar
6 teaspoons cornstarch

Freshly whipped cream for topping (click here)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Grease a 9×13 inch pan.

In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, and baking powder.  Mix in salt and lemon zest.  Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg.  Dough will be very crumbly and dry. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.

In another bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice.  Gently mix in the peaches. Spread the peach mixture evenly over the crust.  Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.  You might have a little crust left over.

Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly golden brown.   Cool completely before cutting into squares. Bars are easier to cut after being refrigerated.  Top each bar with a dollop of fresh whipped cream. 

Store in refrigerator in an airtight container for up to one week.

Makes 24 bars or 36 very small rectangles.

Cat In The Hat Cupcakes for Brady♥

I love a good excuse to go crazy with my cupcake-ing.

To wildly stack deliciousness on top of deliciousness with no regard to any rules of decorating.

I was really excited for this cupcake order because it was my chance to do just that.

Cat In The Hat Cupcakes for Brady's 5th birthday.

I made the hat out of a marshmallow.

Striped it with candy melts.

Set it on top of a round of licorice.

Then stacked the hat on top of 3 thick layers of red and white frosting.

When I delivered the cupcakes to Brady, I heard his dad tell him he was such a lucky boy ♥

I even topped it all off with a polka dot birthday candle. I used white candy melts as the glue to hold the candle high.  Can you imagine how excited the birthday boy will be when the candle is lit?

I used upside down heart shaped runts to add cat ears to some of the hats.

I realize this isn't your traditional take on a themed cupcake order..  this was my interpretation.  Dr. Seuss has always been an inspiration to me. I kind of always wondered how I could use his genius to express myself. I thought it would be through writing. But instead .. through a cupcake.

I would like to believe that Dr. Seuss would be proud.

And then there was my favorite part. The Things. Thing 1 & Thing 2... I made them out of marshmallow pops. I added wild blue sparkly hair with buttercream frosting, stuck them on a stick, and then stuck the stick inside of the cupcake!

"Here to Play."

I just love the hair. I had so much fun with this part.  Again..it gave me a chance to embrace my wild side.

I am Lol-ing. I just can't help myself.

This is what the "Things" look like as marshmallow pops. The best thing is that you can eat them either way.  On the cupcake.. or right off the stick.

 “Look at me! Look at me! Look at me NOW!

It is fun to have fun But you have to know how.

 I can hold up the cup And the milk and the cake!

I can hold up these books! And the fish on a rake!

I can hold the toy ship And a little toy man!

And look! With my tail I can hold a red fan!

I can fan with the fan As I hop on the ball!

But that is not all. Oh, no. That is not all...”

Just like the game "Fun In The Box" in the book...

I added some fun to the inside of the cupcakes. The cupcakes are Peanut Butter. I filled the inside with peanut butter frosting and strawberry jelly! Tastes just like a PB&J Sandwich

..and who (young or old) hasn't eaten a PB&J sandwich while reading Dr. Seuss?

Happy 5th Birthday, Brady!



sun ripened

tigerlily, green zebra, sungold, pineapple

first of first

sigh.it all goes by so quickly, doesn't it?last year

Fresh Whipped Cream

It's Tuesday.

You look like you could use a magic trick.  Nothin spices up a Tuesday like a little magic.

And I bet you this might be the tastiest magic trick you've ever seen. You also need this right now because it's the best {and easiest} dessert for this time of the year.  All you need is a little fresh whipped cream to make a bowl of fresh summer berries seem like a refreshing and fancy dessert.

And no, canned whip cream does not even come close to what this tastes like.  Sorry, but no.

Mr. Hungry was a little floored when he saw me whisk this up out of what he thought was liquid cream that only seemed to be useful for his coffee.

You just need a few dollops for small batches of berries so grab a whisk and this will be ready in minutes.

For bigger jobs, you might want to pull out the hand mixer or you could be whisking for quite awhile.

Summer berries are still at their prime so go ahead and put this at the top of your to do list before berries go back to being expensive and out of season.  Seriously... hurry.

From my little kitchen to yours... Enjoy.

Recipe Notes
The exact way you make this will depend on what you are making it for.  With fruit, I like to add a pretty good amount of sugar to make it sweet.  If you are adding a dollop to a pie or cake, you might want to only add a little bit of sugar because you already have so much sweetness.
If you are trying this for the first time, start with very little cream.  Watch how the process works and then add more.  If you are making more than one cup of cream, I would probably use a hand mixer (unless you have lots of time to whisk).
* Regular sugar or powdered sugar will work.  If you have powdered, use it.  If you don't, you do not need to buy any.  The only different is that you  need to add the regular sugar early in the process so that it has time dissolve into the cream.  Powdered sugar is preferable because after whipping, you can add more at the end to get to the exact sweetness you would like.
** A little vanilla goes a long way, but once again, the exact amount will depend on what you are making.  I always add a dash, but if I am putting cream on something that would be great with a vanilla flavor I add a little bit more.

What you need...
Heavy Whipping Cream
*Powdered Sugar or regular sugar
**Vanilla (optional)
Large bowl
Whisk

1.  Start with cold cream in a large bowl.  The colder the cream, the easier and faster it will whip.  Having a large bowl will also help quite a bit.

2.  Time to start whipping.  Make wide strokes with a whisk, changing direction every so often.  This will help get air into the cream faster.  Bubbles will start to form.

3.  Now it's time put some muscle into it.
Exercising and making dessert at the same time?  This is just the best.
When the cream starts to thicken, add sugar and vanilla (if using).

Tip:  A good rule of thumb is two teaspoons of sugar for every cup of cream.  Adjust sweetness according to tasate.  Optional:  Add about a teaspoon of vanilla per cup of cream

And before you know it, you will have peaks that look like this.

Done! Seriously, we are done.  What was that, like 1 minute worth of work?  And you have great looking arms.

Ah, I love magic.


Keep in the refrigerator and serve within an hour of making.

Add a dollop to a bowl of mixed berries, perhaps a freshly sliced peach, or maybe on top of a piece of pie or chocolate cake.  But that means you cannot sit there and eat the whole bowl.  But no one's watching... maybe just the first batch... no one has to know.

Cupcake Giveaway Love ♥

This is my 101st or 101th (I kind of like the 101th even if it isn't gramatically correct) post here on my blog.
And to celebrate, I am hostessing a cupcake giveaway!

One Lucky winner will win this lovely Amanda Cupcake tee that I recently designed ♥

Another lucky winner will win 1 dozen cake pops ♥ I don't think you understand. Once you eat a cake pop, you will become addicted. I have ravaged, hungry people who come stalking my cake pops from faraway places!  This is your chance to win a dozen!

The Recipe to Win some Cupcake Love:

1.  Post some love on this blog. Tell me what you love about Amanda Cupcake. You will be entered.

2.  Refer a friend to my blog, and make sure they post a comment saying who referred them. You both will be entered in the contest. 

The more people you refer, and the more cupcake love that is shared, the more times you will be entered in the drawing. 

The contest will end Monday August 29th, and this is when I will announce the winner-right here on my blog!

♥

Good Luck my lovely cupcake friends! This is a 101"th" mission to spread the cupcake love (yes yes I know it should be this is my 101st mission..)

double chocolate ice cream with peanut butter swirls

I feel like this ice cream should come with a warning. 

It's allllooooooootttt.

Not a lot of ice cream--I bet you look at it and think, "hey! that's not enough!"

But a lot to handle. 


So so so chocolaty and creamy and the richest of rich.
With perfect little tidbits of salty peanut butter in-between.


I was eating it, slowly, almost drowning in it's goodness, and contemplating.....

could

back to school feast

a menu hand picked by them
pizza. utah peaches. yes specifically utah peaches. when I brought them home they both asked where they came from......there really is a difference people.izze.ice cream cones.
grilled pizza 1:pestomozzarellagarden tomatoesprosciutto  
grilled pizza 2:smashed garden tomatoes (for sauce)pepperoni (you can find nitrate free pepperoni at whole foods)mozzarellabasil

Blackberry cupcakes

Scroll down for English recipe and text!

Jag vill tacka så hemskt mycket för alla fina kommentarer och allt stöd från er. Det känns otroligt kul att höra att ni är så många som längtar efter boken!
Tänkte bara lägga upp ett blogginlägg så ni vet att jag inte är helt borta! Jag finns fortfarande här men har inte mycket tid för att blogga.

Häromdagen var jag och min vän Emma ute och plockade mängder med björnbär. Det var välbehövligt eftersom jag knappt är ute nuförtiden. Just nu spenderar jag den största delen av min tid (förutom på jobbet) i köket, bakom kameran eller framför datorn. Man blir lite trött i ögonen och huvudet om man säger så.

Förresten har jag sagt att jag har en ny kamera? Det har jag iallafall! En Canon eos 5D mark II för att vara exakt. Vilken kamera! Bästa köpet någonsin.

Hursomhelst, nästa gång jag gör det här receptet kommer jag nog göra det med hallon istället, eller kanske blåbär för jag inbillar mig att det skulle ge mer smak. Björnbär smakar ju inte jättemycket enligt mig. Tanken var att jag skulle göra en cream cheese frosting med björnbär, men den skar sig så jag gav upp och slängde den i soporna. Istället gjorde jag swiss meringue buttercream. Smbc gör mig aldrig besviken!

Klicka på bilderna för att förstora dem











In English:
I just want to thank you all for being so nice and supportive. I'm happy to hear so many of you are looking forward to the book!

I thought I'd better post something here to let you know I'm not completely gone! I'm still here, but I barely have time to bake for the blog.

The other day my friend Emma and I went out to pick some blackberries. We ended up picking a lot. I badly needed to get out since I spend most of my time in the kitchen (note: NOT making healthy food.. oh, how I crave salt), behind the camera or in front of the computer. My eyes are tired to say the least. And my head for that matter.

By the way, did I tell you I got a new camera? Well, I do! A Canon eos 5d mark II to be precise. Best buy ever!

Anyway, next time I make this recipe I will be using raspberries or blueberries because I imagine that will give them more taste. First I made cream cheese frosting, but it curdled so I threw it in the garbage. Instead I made some swiss meringue buttercream. It never lets me down!



Blackberry cupcakes

225 g sugar
100 g butter, softened
2 large eggs
300 g all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3 1/2 dl (350 ml) blackberries
2 tbsp milk
1/2 vanilla bean

Preheat oven to 175 C (350 F). Whip butter and sugar until white and fluffy. Add eggs and beat another 2-3 minutes. Mix flour and baking soda in another bowl. Set aside. Mash blackberries and add them and flour in additions to the butter mixture. Scrape vanilla seeds out of bean and mix until batter is smooth. Divide evenly between 12 cupcake cases and bake for about 20 minutes (check after 17).



Vanilla buttercream
Recipe available here

Blackberry sauce

100 g blackberries
1 tbsp sugar (add to taste)

Put blackberries and sugar in a saucepan. Mash berries and let come to a boil. Strain to get rid of seeds (optional). Let cool. Spoon over frosted cupcakes.

artsy fartsy

The house needed some art. color. The kids needed a project.I needed something bright and happy to remind me of them when they leave me for school in a few days (how can they do that to me??!!)So it was decided. They would paint. I asked them to paint me some flowers, and I am so happy with the results....all you  need is canvas, craft paints, creative little hands.....and VWALLA! new art!

Watermelon Margaritas

Big brothers are great.

Early in life? Not so much.

They steal your gameboy.  They lock you out of their room when they are shooting sweet music videos with the home camcorder (I just wanted to be a background dancer).  They make up fake rules when they are teaching you how to play ping pong. They leave your joint bathroom a nasty mess.

Later in life?  Fantastic.

They pick you up from the airport.  They give you advice about boys.  They share new music with you.  They marry someone great so you can have the sister you never had.   They understand your teen problems because they have the same crazy parents you do.  They have kids so you can have the greatest nephew ever.

And most importantly, they might introduce you to the best summer drink ever created.

Watermelon margaritas.  Ah, I feel refreshed just talking about them.  They take one of the best fruits of the summer and add a boozy kick for a refreshingly wonderful cocktail.


They are the perfect cocktail to serve when friends come in town.  Thanks for visiting Linds!

Cheers to big brothers.  Love you, Shua.

From my little kitchen to yours... Enjoy.

Watermelon Margaritas
Adapted from Emeril Lagasse
Recipe Notes
There are a few steps of prep work to this recipe so I've broken it up into three parts.  Steps you need to make ahead, steps you can make ahead, and steps for when you are ready to have these.   But make sure you freeze the watermelon at 3 hours ahead of time.
Ingredients

2 teaspoon lime zest

1 cup water

1  cup sugar

1 seedless watermelon 

8 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 cup premium 100 percent agave tequila

2 tablespoons orange-flavored liqueur (recommended: Grand Marnier or triple sec)

1 cup ice
lime wedges for garnish

Step by Step
Must be made at least 3 hours ahead of time...
Cut up watermelon into 1 to 2 inch chunks. Spread out in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Freeze for at least 3 hours until frozen through.  If you only have room for one baking sheet and you have more watermelon than allowed, place a piece of parchment paper on top of watermelon chunks and add another layer (see picture below).

Can be made ahead of time...

In a medium saucepan, combine the lime zest, water, and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat. Cool to room temperature (Keep in a covered container in the refrigerator until ready to use.)

Chill margarita glasses in the freezer for 30 minutes. 

When ready to make margaritas...

In a blender, combine 5 cups of frozen watermelon, 8 tablespoons of the cooled lime syrup with the lime juice, tequila, orange-flavored liqueur, and ice. Blend until smooth.  

Makes 4 drinks.

My solution for not being able to fit two trays of watermelon in my freezer... 

a layer of parchment paper. 

we painted before lunch

the whole enchilada

My tomatillo plant is going crazy!!I need to share this "recipe".ha. You know I am terrible at taking the time to write down recipes.....so if you like to wing it, here's one to try.
Fire Roasted Enchilada Sauce:-a few large handfuls of tomatillos....4-5 cups, unwrapped.-1 small onion-2 poblano peppers-1 jalapeno pepper (seeds removed)-3 garlic cloves
Throw all ingredients onto your grill,

joy

pure. summer. joy.

a weekend fort

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Icebox Pie

Two words make me weak at the knees when used in the same sentence.

Peanut Butter & Chocolate.  

I should not be left alone with large amounts of anything that contains these two ingredients.  The fact that this particular combo takes peanut butter and turns it into a smooth thick peanut buttery sugary whipped custard topped with drizzled chocolate and crunchy peanuts, and not to mention that it is nestled in a graham cracker crust, is breathtaking. 

Are you ready for the best part?

It just so happens that this recipe can make you one big pie and four baby pies. 

Discovering a recipe like this is the equivalent of what I can only imagine some people feel when the get to the top of Mt. Everest.  Yep, that epic.

Here are a few of my favorites about this dish:
1.  I hate taking a dessert to someone when you haven't tasted it yourself and as far as I know,  it is still  socially unacceptable to deliver 9/10 of a pie to someone.

2.  Mr. Hungry gets irritable when I bake and he doesn't get a good portion of the goods.

3.  This pie in particular happens to the be the bees knees because both the mama crust and baby crusts came straight from the grocery.

Who's ready to jump on the bandwagon and make this pie?  I mean come on, it will change your life.  Let's do this.

From my little kitchen to yours... Enjoy.

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Icebox Pie
{loosely} Adapted from Bon Appetit
Recipe Notes
You have got three options for what this pie will yield.  You can have one 6 oz. pie and four mini pies (this is what I did),  you can have one extra large pie or at least twelve mini pies.  You can't go wrong, but just know you might use a few more peanuts or a little less chocolate so use the toppings to your taste.  Graham cracker crusts both small and large are sold at most all grocery stored on the baking aisle.  If you cannot find them or just cannot find anything else to do with your time besides making a graham cracker crust, grab a box of graham cracker crumbs and use the recipe on the back.  But store bought works great for this recipe. You should definitely use a fresh vanilla bean for best results, but you can replace with two teaspoons of vanilla extract if you must.
Ingredients
Graham cracker crust (see recipe notes)
8 large egg yolks
12 Tbsp. sugar, divided
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise (click here for details on using a vanilla bean)
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 Tbsp. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. kosher or sea salt
For the Topping
2 oz. bittersweet chocolate (no more than 61% cacao), chopped
2 1/2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/2 cup roasted, salted peanuts
Step by Step
Mix yolks and 6 Tbsp. sugar in a medium size bowl using a handheld mixer.  Beat at high speed until ribbons form, stopping once to scrape down side of bowl, about two minutes.  Combine milk and remaining 6 Tbsp. sugar in a large saucepan; scrape in seeds from vanilla bean and add bean.  Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar.  Remove bean.  With mixer running, gradually add hot milk mixture to yolk.  Pour mixture back into saucepan.  Clean bowl.  Whisking constantly, bring to a boil over medium heat.  Remove pan from heat; whisk vigorously for one minute.  Return custard to mixing bowl; beat on high speed until cool, about 4 minutes.  Mix in butter one Tbsp. at a time.  Add peanut butter, powdered sugar, and salt; beat to blend.  Scrape filling into graham cracker crust and smooth top.  Chill until set, 2-3 hours.

While pie is cooling stir chocolate and butter in a medium size glass bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water until melted and smooth.  Remove pie from refrigerator.  Drizzle the chocolate over the top in a thick layer.  Sprinkle with roasted peanuts and add more chocolate if desired.

a special saturday announcement!

work in progress....At any given moment during the week, my computer screen can look like this.....not a bad view, right? As many of you know, for the past few months I have been photographing a cookbook for the talented Whitney Ingram. We are making great progress, and are very pleased with how things are moving along and pieces are coming together.
I cannot WAIT for you to get your hands on a

How To: Use a Fresh Vanilla Bean

When I first started cooking a few years ago, I would never consider making anything with an exotic ingredient such as a vanilla bean ( I also didn't make anything with chicken unless you were grilling a boneless, skinless chicken breast).  This was on my way too fussy ingredient list.  And then I actually found out how expensive they are and vanilla beans got added to my I'm too cheap to buy that list as well.  

Well, the stars seemed to align when I was in a cooking class and realized that there is nothing in the whole wild world that will replace the taste of a fresh vanilla bean.  I don't care if you have vanilla extract from the Himalayas.  Followed by the fact that I found out Costco sells vanilla beans in bulk.  I think I got 8 for about $10.  This is an outrageously good deal.  

If you don't go to Costco, you can find them at most upscale grocery stores and it's worth splurging for a really special dessert. 

I haven't thrown out my vanilla extract.  It still has plenty of uses, but creams and custards deserve the good stuff. Here are your two easy steps to getting to the good stuff. 

Using a very sharp knife... 

... from top to bottom. 

Using the back of that sharp knife...

That stuff that looks like dirt is the good stuff. 


Before you toss the pod, check and make sure your recipe does not use it.  Some call for simmering the pod with a custard before you discard it.

Check back {very soon} for a way to put this bad boy to good use.