back to normal

I realized something this weekend. 

Something wonderful. 

For the first time in in three years, we are back to normal. 

Normal, meaning, 

together. 

As a family. All the time. 



The last two fall seasons Robby has been in school. When he wasn't in class, he was studying, working on group projects, or burying his nose in a giant and devastatingly boring book. Yes we were able to squeeze in

Breakfast Baked Potatoes

 

"Reach high, for stars lie hidden in your soul. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal."

 

- Pamela Vaull Starr

 

Eggs and potatoes, a match made in heaven! I eat them all the time, but never with one inside the other. A brilliant idea! When I saw this done by another blogger, Our Best Bites, I thought why isn't everyone everywhere doing this all the time!

 

 

Slice off the top of the potato

 

It's perfect. Protein, potatoes and eggs all in one easy to manage vessel. And a great use of leftover baked potatoes.

 

 

Scoop out the insides, not all of them, but most. Salt and pepper the insides and brush them with melted butter.

Fill your potatoes with everything you love to put in an omelet. Cheese, ham, bacon, spinach, tomatoes, chives, chili. I love me a chili omelet. So I made a ham and cheese potato, and a chili and cheese potato.

Fill them up with yummy stuff. I did a ham and cheese, and a chili and cheese. Anything you would put in an omelet or a quiche.

 

I think these would be great to serve at a brunch, with some muffins, and fruit.

 

Crack and egg on top and more salt and pepper

 

This is just an idea, not really a recipe, so go wild! Bake up some potatoes and fill them with all kinds of yummy stuff you like. Potatoes are cheap, and eggs are a good source of protein, so it's all good.

 

 

 

 

Vintage Minton Gold Teacup and Vintage Orange Pumpkin Cloth Napkins available at my Etsy Shop, House of Lucien.

 

 Breakfast Baked Potatoes

 

 

 

Adapted from Our Best Bites

 

Ingredients

baked potatoes, cooked and slightly cooled - if straight from the fridge, I'd warm them slightly to just warm, or room temperature

melted butter

salt and black pepper

Shredded cheese (cheddar, Gruyere, Fontina, pepper jack, or other of your choice)

eggs

additional fillings of your choice: sauteed vegetables, bacon or ham, chili, etc. or raw veggies like chives or chopped tomatoes

 

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, 180 degrees Celsius, Gas Mark 4.

Slice a layer off the top of each potato. Use a spoon to gently scoop out insides, leaving a thin layer of potato against the skin and avoiding puncturing the bottom. Reserve scooped potato for another use.

Brush inside of each potato with melted butter and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Sprinkle a layer of shredded cheese into each potato and add fillings as desired (vegetables, diced meat, etc.) Fill each potato about 1/2 full. Crack one egg into each potato. Sprinkle with a little more salt and pepper. Top with additional cheese and toppings if desired.

Place potatoes on a in an oven safe dish and cook for about 20 minutes, it could be as little as 15 minutes, or as many as 25 minutes or more. (The amount of time depends on how large your potato is, if it's warm or cold, etc.)  Egg whites should be set and yolks soft.

this and that

A peak at little bits of life over the past few weeks......



Piano Guys play at Red Butte Gardens (this song is my favorite)



Grilled swiss, apple and spinach with yogurt and fruit.



Cookbook shoot with Whitney. Blueberry Oatmeal Bars. yum.




Remember this house? It is impossible for me to drive by without stopping. 

Always hoping to see a ghost.




Still harvesting a few tomatoes here

Mulberry and Lime Jelly

 

 

 

This has been one of the best mulberry seasons ever!  Big juicy balls of sweet mulberry that squirt all over my clothes and stain my hands with a deep purple. I'm loving it. Everyday I proceed to go and pig out under the mulberry tree till I'm bursting. I feel the goodness. All those dark purple balls giving me loads of antioxidants and nutritional goodies.  I have to share them though. There's the bats, the birds, the possums and even the wallabies have been scrounging under the tree late afternoon.

 

 

 

The mulberry and lime jelly I've made this time round is flawless.  Swear to god. I think the best jelly I have ever made. And I've made a few.  I've given away a couple of jars to rave reviews. Comments such as;

•  'we can actually taste the fruit - it's so intense';
•  'the stuff you buy tastes like a lolly - this actually tastes like the good-old fashioned stuff';
•  'love the fact there is much less sugar than supermarket jam - the flavour of the fruit really comes through';
•  'I want more'.

 

Guess I don't need to add a thing.  Here's the recipe.

 

Mulberry and Lime Jelly

 

I ended up picking 1.720gms whole mulberries, stems in tact, mixed in with a few unripened mulberries for slightly improved pectin (mulberries have poor pectin levels);

4 green apples, unpeeled, uncored, unseeded, chopped

1 large lime or 2 small limes, roughly chopped

4 cups water

 

Place all the ingredients in a large cooking vessel with lid.  Bring to boil; reduce heat; simmer for one hour.

 

In a double muslin lined colander with bowl underneath to collect the liquid; ladel as much of the liquid into the centre of the cloth. When you've ladelled as much of the liquid without the fruit; its time to take a masher and squish the cooked fruit remaining in the pot.  Continue ladelling the squished fruit into the cloth; when complete do not press down or attempt to push through any further liquid. Allow it to drip through slowly at it's own pace. Best left overnight.

 

Next day, place the collected juice in a clean heavy based large pot. I ended up with:

 

2022mls of mulberry juice

 

Bring to boil; take off heat; add 3/4 quantity of sugar to this. I measured out a 500gm packet of jam setting sugar and 1kg ordinary caster sugar.  So in all 1.5kg sugar. Carefully pour the sugar into the centre of the juice; using a wooden spoon, return to a low heat and slowly stir the mixture till the sugar is totally dissolved. Remove spoon, increase heat to high, allow mixture to boil till a nice jelly is achieved. Make sure you collect the scum from the top and around the edges of the pot as it's boiling.

 

Allow to sit for a minute. Have your preprepared jars and lids nice and hot. Pour the jelly into the jars. Seal immediately. Your mulberry and lime jelly can be eaten once cooled. Refrigerate once opened.

 

just because

just because sometimes you need to giggle at an adorable baby.



my 6 month old niece. 



have a good day

The "Fun" In "Funfetti!" Cake Batter Cupcakes!

What can you think of that compares to eating cake batter?

If you think about it, your typical white cupcakes don't even taste like cake batter.

And there is always some special memory of a woman in your life involved with eating cake batter because she'll always lick the bowl with you while she's baking (whether it's your mom, grandma, BFF, or wifey).

I'll reveal a secret here.  (My favorite thing about baking cupcakes is sampling the batter.  I was born a rebellious spatula licking cake batter lover, even after all the warnings about salmonella. And I'm pretty healthy)!

What's even better than cake batter alone....

Sprinkles and Cake Batter!

Cake Batter=Fun

Sprinkles + Cake Batter=Funfetti! ♥

(I think I even just somehow managed to make math fun).

This cupcake goes out to you, my fellow cake batter lovers.

Yay!

Cupcakes that taste like cake batter.

The secret is really in the frosting more than anything else.  I poured half a bag of Pillsbury White Cake Mix in the frosting blend. It was that easy. You can do it too. Now my mind is running away with me because this adventure made me realize that the grocery store aisles could be *full* of things to mix in frosting. Oh my. 

There's a cheesecake filling inside of the cupcake that resembles the texture of cake batter. 

And sprinkles..of course!

The cool thing about this recipe.. is that you can make many things. Cupcakes, Cakes, Cake Pops.  

I even made this giant cupcake with a cupcake liner of sprinkles to celebrate a special birthday♥

This recipe is for more nostalgic moments in the kitchen.  

Please don't forget to add sparkles! ♥♥♥♥

Cake Batter Cupcakes Recipe:

(this one's easy, you will be a cake mix doctor)

1 Box Pillsbury or Duncan Hines Cake Mix

1 1/2 Cups of Buttermilk in place of water

4 Eggs

1 (4 oz) box of White Chocolate Pudding

1 tsp almond extract

1/3 Cup of Vegetable Oil

2 Cups of Multi-Colored Sprinkles

1.  Line your Cupcake Pans with 18 Cupcake Liners

2.  Preheat oven to 325.

3.  Using the paddle attachment on your mixer, whip white Cake Mix, Buttermilk, Pudding, Eggs, Almond Extract, and Vegetable Oil in Stand Mixer until fluffy (for about 2 minutes).  Make sure you scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula to blend all the yummy-ness together.

4.  Fold sprinkles into cake batter using rubber spatula ♥

Using an ice cream scoop, fill your cupcake liners about half full with batter.

Before putting your cupcakes in the oven, you'll want to make your 

Cheesecake/Cake batter-esque filling:

Ingredients:

8 oz Cream Cheese

1 egg

1/4 Cup Sugar

1/2 tsp Vanilla

Whip Cream Cheese, Egg Sugar, and Vanilla in a medium sized bowl until creamy.

Use a cookie dough scoop to scoop this on top of the cake batter in cupcake liners.

Bake your cupcakes at 325 for appx 18-22 minutes. When your cupcakes are baked, the "cheesecake" portion might look unfinished. This is supposed to stay soft, to resemble cake batter!

The Cake Batter Flavor is in the Frosting! ! ! ! !

7 oz Marshmallow Fluff

2 Cups of Unsalted Butter

1/2 Package of White Cake Mix

1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

2-3 Cups of Powdered Sugar

Optional: 2-3 Tablespoons of Heavy Whipping Cream

Using the paddle attachment, whip Marshmallow Fluff and Butter together (both at room temperature) in a stand mixer.  Next add White Cake Mix and Vanilla Extract.  Gradually add Powdered Sugar until frosting is the thickness desired. (Less Powdered Sugar=light and dreamy fluffy frosting.  More Powdered Sugar=thick stiff frosting good for piping details)

Tip:   If you add too much powdered sugar and want a fluffy, lighter frosting.you  use the heavy whipping cream in your frosting recipe.

mixed bean and bacon soup

Well. Fall is officially here.....and it's not messing around. 

Leaves are slowly falling and temperatures are dropping. We are pulling out jackets and fuzzy socks and rain boots. 

And of course......eating more soup.





Mixed Bean and Bacon Soup

serves four



1 small onion, diced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

2 carrots, sliced

2 1/2 cups prepared beans (about 1 cup of dry beans after

a star valley fall

We grabbed our backpacks and jackets on friday and headed over the mountain and across the plains to visit sister in Star Valley, Wyoming. We usually visit a couple times a year--but this was my first trip there in the fall and I just fell in love. If I thought I could survive the winters......we just might have stayed.



a morning drive

a dark and cloudy fall morning. brisk air, a light

over the weekend....

over the weekend we skipped over the border to wyoming to play with cousins and let the cool fall breeze blow through our hair......



...more to come....

Easy Cream Biscuits and Chocolate Gravy

"To be a champ, you have to believe in yourself when nobody else will."

 

-Sugar Ray Robinson
1921-1989, Professional Boxer

So I love biscuits. I even made biscuits and gravy (and eggs) on vacation in Oregon recently in our room that had a small kitchen. That's sounds crazy to some people to cook on vacation, but our room was right on the river with a porch to sit outside. So who wants to leave and drive 15 minutes each way to a mediocre breakfast, (I did some research about restaurants in the area, and it was slim pickins) when I'm perfectly capable of making something yummy myself in the room?

Mix the flour and sugar

 

To make biscuits and gravy on vacation, you just need a few things: Bisquick, milk, sausage, butter for buttering them if you wish, (and to cook the eggs), and eggs on the side. If you grew up with your mom using Bisquick, then you know you can make drop biscuits by only adding milk to the mix. Mix together milk and Bisquick, and drop them on a baking sheet and voila! You have biscuits. To make sausage gravy, you cook up your sausage, add a few tablespoons of Bisquick, and add milk and you have sausage gravy. (By the way, both of those recipes are right on the back of the box.)

 

The biscuits, are decent, they are good, not bad. The gravy is fantastic.

 

Add the cream and mix (Seriously it's that easy)

 

But here's the point. (Finally.) Instead of buying Bisquick for vacation biscuits, you can buy self rising flour, and cream instead of milk, and have these Cream Biscuits!!! Which are fabulous!! They are light as a feather, and delicate, and really delicious. With the exact same amount of work.

 

Isn't that amazing?

 

Form a rectangle that is 1/2 inch thick, (I just wanted to get this done, so it's not perfect.)

There is also a tablespoon of sugar in these, but you should have packets of sugar in the room for your coffee.

You don't even need a biscuit cutter because you can just cut them into squares. And seriously, you can have biscuits in the oven in just a few minutes, I'm not kidding you.

Put them on a Silpat, or parchment, and bake (yeah, not really perfect squares, but who cares.)

When I made these, I was craving bread and sugar, it was that kind of day. But I didn't want to work for it. So I made these and I didn't, (well hardly any work.)

 I had seen over the years Southern people posting recipes about chocolate gravy and biscuits, and how their grandmother would make it for them. How it's something they grew up eating. Whenever I read these stories I wish I was from the South.



While they are cooking (10 minutes ish) make the chocolate gravy, it will be done by the time they come out of the oven.

If you've never eaten chocolate gravy, it's like a thinner version of chocolate pudding. I got my recipe from who else? The Southern queen herself, Paula Deen. I read in the comments, people so happy to have the recipe since they ate it as a child. They said, "You must put butter on the biscuit first before pouring on the gravy." Say no more. I not going to fight with tradition.

Right out of the oven

If you can't get your mind around chocolate gravy and biscuits, just think of it this way. Other cultures have eaten bread and chocolate for years. The French have chocolate croissants. I also read that a popular after school snack in France is slices of a baguette with some dark chocolate on top. A chocolate sandwich. The Southern and the French sure know how to eat.

 

Easy Cream Biscuits and Chocolate Gravy

Both recipes adapted by ones from Paula Deen. Paula's Cream Biscuits, Paula's Chocolate Gravy.

Ingredients for Cream Biscuits

 2 cups (200 g.) self-rising flour, plus more for dusting (or if you only have regular flour, mix in 2 tsp. baking powder and 3/4 tsp. salt into the same amount of all purpose flour)

 

1 tablespoon sugar

 

1 1/2 cups (355 ml.) heavy whipping cream - don't substitute. You need to fat from the cream since there is no other fat (butter or shortening) in this recipe

 

 

Directions for Biscuits

 

Preheat oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit, 240 degrees Celsius, Gas Mark 9.

 

Mix together the flour and the sugar with a whisk. Add the cream and stir with a spoon until the dough comes together. Pat out the dough on a floured surface into a rectangle that is 1/2 inch thick. Cut into 12 squares and place on the Silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheet.

 

While they are baking make the Chocolate Gravy, below.

 

Bake for about 10 - 12 minutes. Until they are done inside, and are slightly browned.

 

Serve with chocolate gravy if you wish, recipe below.

 

 

Chocolate Gravy Ingredients

 

3 Tablespoons butter

 

2/3 cup (115 g.) sugar

 

2-3 Tablespoons flour ( Paula's recipe calls for 2, but next time I make this I will use 3 because I want mine a little thicker.)

 

1/3 cup (28 g.) cocoa powder

 

2 cups (473 ml) whole milk

 

 

Directions for making chocolate gravy

 

In a saucepan on medium high heat, place butter. When butter melts, add sugar, flour and cocoa and stir. Slowly pour in the milk, whisking to remove lumps. Stir constantly until it becomes thick. Be careful, (don't walk away) it can scorch easily. When it's thick remove it from the heat and serve by pouring it over buttered biscuits.

 

a beautiful mess

peaches. 

red and orange and yellow.

plump. juicy. perfect.

peeling

pitting

slicing

mashing

mixing

ladling (and all in our pajamas!)

sticky drippy golden mess.

beautiful,

mess.




notes

I use the low sugar/no sugar pectin and make freezer jam.

last time I made jam (here) I used honey, this time I had planned on it but found we were running low on honey (I like to plan ahead like

lost on lone peak

yes. you heard that right. 

LOST. 



alternate titles to this post include, but are not limited to:

The Time I Almost Made it on the 5:00 News

A Big Fat Piece of Humble Pie

How to Feel Like an Idiot

9-1-1, What is Your Emergency

Anyone Have a Map?

The Longest Post Ever, in the History of Blogging



and so on and so forth. 





the mountain that bested me, with tiny people on top



It

Twenty Two Today.

MADE WITH LOVE FROM MUM

Loving the cake making mode I'm in right now.

 

It should be outstanding - I know how much you love lemon Nicka! 

 

This lemon butter cream cake has been brushed with cointreau liqueur, filled with tangy home-made lemon butter and freshly whipped cream inside a home-made, free-range egg whisked sponge cake. The cake has been iced and decorated with home-made vanilla buttercream which has been lightly tinted in lemon yellow. Freshly picked fragrant scented jasmine flowers are nestling in the centre.

 

Enjoy Nicka - 22 today!
 

 

 

 

On cake, cupcakes and a lack of sleep

När man har tusentals bilder på sin dator så händer det lätt att vissa bilder faller i glömska. Det gjorde dessa. De här tårtorna bakade jag i april när Aftonbladet skulle komma och hälsa på. Det var väldigt trevligt att få besök hemma för en gångs skull, eftersom det oftast är jag som åker iväg till Stockholm (vilket ju är förståeligt).

Berättade jag att mina cupcakes var med på tv häromdagen? Det var de iallafall. I Nyhetsmorgon för att vara mer exakt. Jag lyckades åtminstone ta några halvbra bilder till Instagram. Att dokumentera var liksom inte riktigt det jag valde att lägga fokus på. Natten före nyhetsmorgon lyckades jag sova hela 10 minuter. 10 minuter!Jag har aldrig problem med att sova. Aldrig! Jag säger alltid att det som räddar mig från att bli ett nervöst vrak är att jag kan sova och äta oavsett vad som händer. Den dagen/natten lyckades jag inte göra något av det! Att gå upp kl 5 på morgonen (fortfarande natt ett par timmar till för mig) hjälpte inte heller, men i slutändan var det helt klart värt att förlora en natts sömn.
Om ni vill titta på en trött tjej som dekorerar cupcakes i live-tv kan ni kolla på TV4 Play, här!


In English:
When you go through thousands of pictures on your computer, you sometimes find pictures you have completely forgotten about. I took these back in April when Swedish magazine Aftonbladet came to my house to do an interview with me.
 
Oh, and did I tell you my cupcakes were on national TV? Well, they were! These (instagram shots) are the best shots I managed to take. I can tell you I wasn't focused on taking pictures that day. The night before I managed to get 10 minutes of sleep. 10 minutes people!
I never ever have trouble sleeping. I could probably fall asleep right now if I wanted to. I always say that my ability to sleep and to eat no matter what is what keeps me from becoming a nervous wreck. But that night I could do neither! Waking up at 5 am didn't help either, but it was so much fun when I finally got to the studio. Well worth losing one night's sleep (but did it really have to be that night?).
If you want to watch it, you can see it on TV4 Play, right here. (and yes, I know I mess up a little bit, but it's a live show..)
I promise to translate recipes into English asap! 











 My cupcakes in the TV4 studio

Preparing cupcakes..

 .. a lot of them!


Recept följer..

Chokladtårta med mascarponefrosting

Chokladbotten

2 1/2 dl mjölk

200 gram smör

½ tsk vaniljpulver

1 ½ dl mörkt muscovadosocker

1 ½ dl strösocker

2 dl kakao

2 stora ägg

1 ½ dl filmjölk

4 ½ dl mjöl

1 ½ tsk bikarbonat

1. Värm ugnen till 175 C.
2. Smörj och mjöla två bakformar, cirka 15 cm i diameter.
3. Värm mjölk i en kastrull, tillsätt smör och värm tills smöret har smält.
4. Tillsätt kakao, vaniljpulver, muscovadosocker och strösocker och blanda ordentligt.
5. Vispa äggen till en fluffig smet, tillsätt filmjölk och blanda ordentligt.
6. Blanda mjöl och bikarbonat.
7. Blanda ner äggsmeten i sockersmeten och tillsätt sedan mjölblandningen.
8. Fördela jämnt mellan bakformarna och grädda cirka 40 minuter. Låt svalna.

Mascarponefrosting

250 gram mascarponeost

2-2 1/2 dl florsocker

3 dl vispgrädde

1. Blanda mascarpone och florsocker i en skål
2. Vispa grädden hårt och rör ner den i mascarponeblandningen.

Sätta ihop tårtan:

1. Dela bottnarna till fyra tunnare bottnar.
2. Lägg den första tårtbottnen på ett tårtfat. Bred ut ett jämnt lager mascarponefrosting. Lägg sedan på nästa och upprepa tills du använt alla bottnar.
3. Dekorera med en girland eller vimpel.

Rosa limetårta med cream cheesefrosting och kokos

Limebotten

3 stora ägg

3 dl strösocker

1 dl mjölk

½ tsk vaniljpulver

3 dl vetemjöl

2 tsk bakpulver

Rivet skal från 1 lime

1. Värm ugnen till 175 C.
2. Klä en form, 15 cm i diameter med en hög krage i bakplåtspapper som går några centimeter över kanten.
3. Vispa ägg och socker ljust och poröst, i cirka fem minuter.
4. Värm mjölken något tillsammans med vaniljpulvret och blanda det med äggblandningen.
5. Blanda mjöl och bakpulver i en skål och sikta sedan ner det i smeten.
6. Tillsätt rivet limeskal och rosa pastafärg och blanda till en jämn smet.
7. Häll smeten i bakformen. Grädda i 50-55 minuter.

Cream cheesefrosting

100 gram rumsvarmt smör

300 gram philadelphiaost

3–3 ½ dl florsocker

1 tsk vaniljsocker

1. Vispa smöret vitt. Tillsätt philadelphiaosten och vispa till en jämn tjock smet.
2. Tillsätt florsocker och vaniljsocker och vispa ännu mer. Låt stå i kylen en stund om frostingen är för lös.

Dekoration

100 gram kokosflingor

Färska obesprutade rosor

Sätta ihop tårtan:

1. Dela bottnen i tre delar. Lägg den första bottnen på ett tårtfat och bred ut ett jämnt lager cream cheesefrosting över den. Upprepa tills alla bottenlager är använda.
2. Bred ut ett jämnt lager cream cheesefrosting över hela tårtan.
3. Strö kokosflingor över hela tårtan.
4. Dekorera med färska rosor.

Bärcupcakes med citronsmörkräm

12 st

Bärcupcakes
100 gram rumsvarmt smör
2 ½ dl strösocker

2 tsk vaniljextrakt
2 stora ägg

3 3/4 dl mjöl
1 ½ tsk bakpulver
2 dl mjölk
150 gram blandade bär, t.ex. blåbär och hallon

1. 1. Värm ugnen till 175 C. Klä en muffinsplåt med 12 muffinsformar.
   2. Vispa rumsvarmt smör och socker ljust och krämigt i en skål. Tillsätt äggen och vispa tills smeten är fluffig. Blanda i vaniljextrakt.
   3. Blanda mjöl och bakpulver i en skål och blanda sedan ner dem i smeten. Tillsätt mjölken och vispa till en jämn smet. Rör försiktigt ner bären.
   4. Fyll formarna till ca 3/4. Grädda ca 25 minuter. Låt svalna.

Citronsmörkräm

200 gram rumsvarmt smör

2 – 2 1/2 dl florsocker

2-3 msk vispgrädde

Rivet skal från 1 citron

Några droppar citronsaft

1. Vispa smöret vitt och tillsätt sedan florsocker, vispgrädde, citronskal och citronsaft. Vispa tills frostingen är krämig och fluffig.
2. Spritsa frostingen på cupcakesen med hjälp av en spristpåse med stjärntyll.

cookie season

COOKIES!



I figured as long as we went and kicked off soup season yesterday, let's get started with cookie season as well.



A favorite afternoon around here is one spent with the oven on, windows open, and tiny hands sneaking a taste of cookie dough every time I turn my back.



I recently bought some dried coconut pieces to add to trail mix, and soon decided they were just begging to go in

Pumpkin Pie Pop Tart Cupcakes

I've been reminiscing about my past summer. (All the weddings my cupcakes have attended)!!!  And I plan on continuing with that.♥  But I also have to live in the present moment.

Can I just say I am so stoked and most importantly...grateful?!

This is me beaming in the reflection of my new shiny double convection oven at the Amanda Cupcake Mansion. ♥ It even says "PRO" on it. (The pressure's on now)!

 

As of Friday morning (September 14th) my little cupcake estate was approved by the health department. This is my new kitchen.

 

My "fairy godmother" and I had a toast over Cupcake Wine and cupcakes to celebrate!

 

I even have a view to the outside world while I make cupcakes for you♥

 

This was moving day.  I used to store my entire kitchen under the basement stairs of Cronie's in Waupaca, using crates as makeshift shelves in the basement.  You ask how I stay thin making delicious cupcakes?  Here's your answer. I ran up and down the stairs to get my supplies, all night long.   (FYI, there is glitter foreverly imprinted in the wood of the stairs. I left my mark at Cronie's).

 

And..believe it or not..I made thousands of cupcakes out of this pretty historical single rack oven out of the Cronies kitchen. (I'll never ever forget where I started).  The secret to making sure my cupcakes were baked evenly with this oven?  Making sure the temp was turned down to 250 degrees and rotating the cupcake pans every so often.

 

Now you see why I was smiling in the reflection of my new oven.  With a few tear droplets coming out of my eyes too ♥ It was a *moment* in my time here as Amanda Cupcake.

 

Ok. So you want to know where the cupcakes are.

Here are some that I made right before my move:

Pumpkin Pie Pop Tart Cupcakes

to celebrate fall.

They are cupcakes that taste just like pumpkin pie..with pumpkin pie pop tarts baked inside!

 

I cut up pumpkin pie pop tarts into little squares. The pop tarts are popping out of the pumpkin colored cupcake..just like they pop out of the toaster!  The sprinkles I added look like they are falling off of the pop-tart. ♥

 

This is what the pumpkin pie pop tarts look like baked inside of a cupcake. Baking a pop tart inside of a cupcake is easy, and after they are baked inside of the cupcake they taste like little pies! 

 

Step by Step:

1.  Cut your untoasted pop tarts up into little squares using a serrated knife. 

2.  Scoop a small amount of batter into the bottom of a cupcake liner and place the pop tart square on top of the batter. 

3.  So the pop tart square is a surprise..I hide it by pouring more pumpkin pie batter over the top of the pop tart!

 

 

Now the recipe for the cupcakes so you can try this at home:

 

Pumpkin Pie Pop Tart Cupcakes ♥

 

Ingredients:

1 box white cake mix
1 (14oz) can of Pumpkin Pie Filling
1 (4oz) box of vanilla pudding (or you can experiment and try other fun flavors like cheesecake, white chocolate, etc).
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup of vegetable oil
1 1/4 cup buttermilk or milk
3 eggs
Box of Pumpkin Pie pop tarts

My main ingredients in everything I bake:
Patience, Sparkles, and LOVE.

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Prepare cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
3. Pour your cake mix and pudding powder in stand mixer, whisk until combined.
4.  Gradually add remaining ingredients and mix on medium-high for 2 minutes, making sure to scrape down the bowl to incorporate all the ingredients.
5.  Pour batter into tins.
6.  You can place a piece of pop tart in each before baking if desired. Bake for about 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into cupcake comes out clean.
7.Once cooled, top with frosting and poptart.

 

♥

 

 

Tip for the pumpkin pie pop tart cupcakes:  Because there is so much delicious heavy pumpkin action going on inside of the cupcake batter, the pumpkin pie cupcakes are dense & don't rise very high.  You can fill the cupcake liners almost 3/4 full.

 

 

♥

 

Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 oz of Cream Cheese

8 oz unsalted butter

3-5 Tablespoons Heavy Whipping Cream

1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract

3-4 Cups Powdered Sugar

 

1.  In a large bowl, whip your Cream Cheese & Butter together until creamy.

2.  Add Vanilla Extract and Heavy Whipping Cream.

3.  Gradually add Powdered sugar.  For a more "fluffy dreamy" frosting swirl, use about 2-3 Cups Powdered Sugar.   For a stiffer frosting consistency (good for piping texture), use 3-4 Cups Powdered Sugar.

soup season

It's here!

Soup Season.

cooler evenings. 

darker skies.

a big pot bubbling on the stove. 

bowls of steamy goodness,

crusty bread for dipping.

soup season.



Soup is so easy right now--between our garden goods and our farmer's market finds we always have something good to throw in to the pot. 

This recipe is easy and can be adjusted to whatever vegetables you happen to have on hand. 

The Ultimate Caramel Apple Pizza

 

 

"Reach high, for stars lie hidden in your soul. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal."

 

 -Pamela Vaull Starr

 

 

 

It's officially Autumn, next week.  So bring on the fall foods! Even if it is 80 degrees outside.

 

 

If you have an apple corer, it comes in handy for slicing apples

 

I love apples. We have apple trees, and could even use a few more. I love to make apple jam and apple butter with my bounty. It's just a wonderful time that I am reminded of natures abundance.

  

 

 

Since I love finding new ways to use the fall fruit, when I saw the recipe for Candied Apple Pizza from Guy Fieri in this months Better Homes and Gardens, I knew I wanted to  make my own version of it.

 

I sauteed the apples, but I don't recommend it, when I make this again, I will use them raw.

What is so great is that this pizza dough recipe makes 2 balls of dough, so you can use the second portion to make a savory pizza and have a good old fashioned pizza night!

Mascarpone, down.

Or you could double the recipe and make 2 apple pizzas, (or one apple pizza, and freeze the other one) and use a double portion to make a big ole fat thick crust pizza like we did. Wow, was that good.

 Apples, down.

I love making my own pizza dough because I think it just tastes better. Plus we like to really over do it on the cheese, and when making your own, you have control in that department.

 

Streusel, down.

 

Speaking of over doing it, I call this the Ultimate Caramel Apple Pizza because I just piled on the yummy. First there is a layer of mascarpone cheese. Then a layer of tart apples, then comes the nutty streusel to bring some crunch and cinnamon and brown sugar flavor. Drizzled on top is salted caramel, and to top it off, a white chocolate drizzle, since I love a caramel apple dipped in white chocolate.

 

Caramel, down.

This pizza is so delicious, I had to stop myself from eating the whole thing in one sitting. (Well, maybe not the whole thing, but almost.)

 

White chocolate, down.

 

 Make your family happy by whipping up a pizza for dinner with their favorite toppings and this Ultimate Caramel Apple Pizza for dessert! I think they will love you for it, mine sure did.

Right out of the oven, gooey goodness.

This is the savory thick crust pizza I made with a full recipe of dough, double the amount that is called for in the apple pizza.

The Ultimate Caramel Apple Pizza

adapted from Guy Fieri's Candied Apple Pizza in Better Homes and Gardens Magazine

To make it easier on yourself you can purchase a ball of pizza dough, (Trader Joe's sell them for a dollar-ish), and you can buy premade caramel, if you do, buy one of quality, and add a little salt if you wish to make it salted caramel.

To make a savory pizza, make the dough as instructed, top with sauce and your favorite toppings and bake at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20-22 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and crust is browned.

This dough recipe makes enough for 2 thin (or regular) crusts. Use the second half to make a savory pizza to have a pizza night. I doubled the recipe below and made a thick crust pizza by using a full recipe of dough, (or both halves.) And then I used half of the other portion to make this apple pizza, and froze the other portion.


Ingredients

For the Pizza Dough

This dough recipe makes enough for 2 apple pizzas.

Also note the pizza dough has a rising time of an hour and a half, so keep that in mind when planning.

2 1/2 cups (250 g.) flour

1 tsp. salt

1 Tablespoon Active Dry Yeast (or 2 packets)

2 tsp. sugar

2 Tablespoons of olive oil, plus more to grease bowls

1 cup (8 oz) (237 ml.) water, warm to the touch


For Pizza Topping

2-3 tart apples, sliced thin

1 cup, 8 oz. (226 g.) mascarpone cheese

2 Tablespoons powdered sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

about 1 cup (8 oz.) (237 ml.) Caramel Sauce - either homemade, I used the caramel recipe from my Vanilla Cinnamon Poached Pears with Spiced Caramel Recipe, or good quality store bought


For the streusel

3 Tablespoons flour

1/3 cup (60 g.) packed brown sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

3 Tablespoons butter

1/2 cup (90 g.) chopped pecans or another type of nut

1  cup (200 g.) good quality white chocolate chips, melted according to package directions OR use good quality white chocolate, chopped - optional


Directions

Start by making dough.

Stand Mixer directions: Dissolve the sugar in warm water in the bowl of the stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Let stand for 10 minutes till foamy. Add olive oil and salt to the yeast mixture then use the dough hook to mix in the flour. Mix until the dough comes together, add more flour as needed to allow the machine to knead the dough until smooth. (At this point I needed to add more flour to make the dough come into a ball.) When it's come together and not too sticky, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead 2 minutes more, the dough should not be sticky at this point.


By Hand: Dissolve the sugar in warm water in a large bowl and sprinkle yeast on top, let stand 10 minutes until foamy. Stir in the flour, add more if needed, it shouldn't be sticky, and knead the dough on a floured surface for about 5 minutes, until the dough is springy and not sticky.

Place the dough in an oiled bowl and turn to coat surface, cover bowl with a clean towel or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place till it's doubled, about an hour.

Turn dough onto a floured surface again. divide in half and form into 2 smooth tight balls. Place each ball in its own bowl and let rise, covered for a second rise for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, in a small bowl mix the mascarpone cheese with the vanilla and the powdered sugar, set aside.

In a large bowl place the sliced apples with the lemon juice and toss to coat.

Make the streusel. In a medium bowl combine brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter until crumbly. Stir in pecans.

When ready to use, press one ball of the dough with fingers to flatten as much as possible. Drape dough over hands, stretching to desired size and thickness. (Mine was about a 12 inch pizza) Place dough on floured pizza peel or cutting board (I just prepared my pizza directly on my pizza stone.) The other ball of dough can be used for a savory pizza, or another sweet pizza, or you can wrap it well and freeze it.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, 230 degrees Celsius, Gas Mark 8.

Parbake the pizza crust by cooking it in the preheated oven for about 6-8 minutes with no browning. When done, set aside to cool a bit. When the pizza crust has cooled, spread the mascarpone mixture evenly onto the crust. Top with thinly sliced apples, then top with streusel, then caramel. Melt the white chocolate chips according to package directions, (or alternately, use chopped white chocolate and sprinkle it on the top.) Drizzle the melted white chocolate onto the top (if using.)

Bake on a pizza stone or on a baking sheet for about 10-12 minutes, until the crust is lightly brown and everything has melted nicely.