Key Lime Cupcakes

This was another option for my nephews blessing. I've never tried them before, saw the cute little key limes in the store and bought them.

Look at these cute little guys, hard to turn down.

Here's the batter all ready to go. I used some lime juice, four eggs, a yellow cake mix with the pudding, some water, and vegetable oil. I also added a few drops of green and yellow food coloring. Just to help with the appeal.

All lined up ready to be filled.

The cupcakes all filled and some of them have their tops on.

Here the little guys are some being ready to be juiced and some already juiced.

The filling was a little different and I have to say it wasn't my favorite. I added some green food coloring to it as well.

This is the frosting. Note this is not a low fat recipe.

Here it is with the powder sugar mixed in, I also added some lime juice to it.

Ingredients:
Cupcakes (adpated from Cupcakes! from the Cake Mix Doctor)
2 tablespoons key lime juice
4 eggs
1 yellow cake mix with pudding
1 1/4 cups water
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Combine ingredients and fill cupcake pan 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Filling (from Hoosier Homemade)
1 4 oz. vanilla pudding
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup key lime juice
4 drops green food coloring
1/2 cup powder sugar

Combine vanilla pudding, milk, lime juice, and food coloring. Add powder sugar. Cut a hole in the cupcakes and fill it with the filling then place the tops of the cupcakes back on.

Frosting:
1 8 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lime juice
3 1/2 cups powder sugar

Mix cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and lime juice. Add the powder sugar and mix together.

Apricot Streuselkuchen

It was my mom's birthday a week ago and I decided to break out of the cupcake mold and try something a little different. We have two apricot trees and so I have apricots coming out of my . . . well everywhere. I decided on a German streusselkuchen. I have never made anything German that I'm aware of but my brother lived there for a few years and said their desserts were fantastic so I thought why not. I got the recipe from The German Kitchen that deals only with German food.

This is the sugar, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg for the pie filling.

Here are the six cups of apricots and the dry mixture all together.

I got out one of my spring form pans, love these.

I started making the dough by mixing the flour sugar, vanilla extract, baking powder, and salt.

I added the eggs and the 14 tablespoons of butter. Yeah, that's a lot of butter. No wonder it tasted so amazing.

Here's where I ran into some trouble. I read the instructions and then I proceeded to forget them. I blame kids. I forgot to save 1/3 for the topping so I threw it all into my pan and proceeded to stretch it out. Then when I was all the way done I remembered the 1/3 and had to take some out. Learn from my mistake and take that extra 1/3 out.

The filling looking fantastic and sassy, can food be sassy? I think so.

I took the extra 1/3 and tore chunks off and dropped it on the filling. Not sure if that's what you're supposed to do but why not. I also folded over the dough.

Here it is all done. Now the dough was great but the filling, unfortunately I didn't add near enough sugar and it ended up sour. How sour you ask, so sour I couldn't eat it. We gave it to my 16 month old and she made that sour face, priceless. My parents were troupers and made it through the whole thing. Next time I'll try peaches.

Ingredients:
Filling:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
6 cups apricot
2 tsp. lemon juice

Mix the dry ingredients together. Mix the apricots and lemon juice together. Toss the dry ingredients with the apricots gently together.

Streuselkuchen:
3 1/3 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
14 tablespoons butter

Mix dry ingredients. Add the eggs and butter, mix together with your hands.

Take 2/3 of dough and spread out on a 9 inch spring form pan going up 1 inch on the sides. Make sure dough has no wholes.

Spoon fruit filling onto dough. leave 1/4-1/2 inch from the top of the dough.

Put the other 1/3 of the dough on top. Bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes.

S'more Tarts

Today is National S'more Day! My husband had a coworker come up to him and ask him where the s'more cupcakes were. I guess he assumed I would send some in. Instead of making s'more cupcakes I stummbled upon s'more tarts when looking at Amy Atlas' blog. She had so many cute ideas but the one that looked, easy and fast was the s'more tarts. You can get the recipe here. So while I made these I munched on marshmallows and chocolate and enjoyed myself.

The lady who made these threw a pampered chef party and so everything they use in the recipe is from pampered chef. Since I don't have much from pampered chef I had to use what I had on hand.

These are the pans I used.

Here the graham crackers are with the powder sugar and butter. I thought it was a lot of butter. If I make it again I'd add a few more graham crackers or cut out a little butter.

Here they are all mixed up.

I put them in the pans but I have to say I put too much in. Ended up being too graham crackery.

Here they are all cooked.

I didn't have the chocolate bars, I don't buy them for the one reason that they don't last in my house. I will eat them all. I used chocolate chips instead, I should have thrown a couple more in there.

Here they are with the half marshmallow's on top.

All done! Happy S'more Day, may it be sticky and sweet!

Grilled Pizza

When it's hot outside and hot inside (no air conditioning), the last thing I really want to do is make pizza in the oven. Pizza is one of our favorite foods so it's hard to go all summer without any. Our solution, grill the pizza.

You can buy pizza dough or you can make it. I make mine in mine in a bread maker that's all I have, (hint to the husband that I'd like a Bosch)

Here the dough is all ready to go.

It's important to get all your toppings ready to go before you start your dough. You'll need to be watching your dough while it cooks so you don't burn it. Our favorite pizza is BBQ pineapple chicken but I was feeling adventurous so I decided to make one we've never had before, I'm not sure of the name but it had onions, peppers, tomatoes (all fresh from my garden), bacon, chicken, and ranch. It was really yummy, I'm going to have to make that again.

Here everything is ready to go. Before I got to this point I went out and cleaned my grill. I started the grill got it hot and then sprayed it so the dough wouldn't stick.

I put the dough on the grill and waited for the bottom to be done and then flipped it.

Here are both pizza's ready for the cheese. I put the BBQ sauce and ranch on after all the other toppings. You wouldn't think it makes a difference but trust me, it does.

Here it is with the cheese!

Here they are all done and ready to be eaten. I hope you give pizza on the grill a try, it's fantastic.

Ingredients for the dough:
2 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup lukewarm water
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons yeast

Mix well. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes. Put on pizza pan, prick surface with fork. Bake at 500 degrees for 10 minutes.

Raspberry Cupcakes

I wanted to make some raspberry cupcakes since I have so many. I came up with this little number.

I doctored up a french vanilla cake mix.

Here's the filling, fresh raspberries, yummy.

The cupcakes all lined up read to be filled.

I cut a whole out of the cupcake and filled it with the raspberry filling.

I put the top back on and frosted it with some chocolate buttercream.

Ingredients:
1 french vanilla cake mix
1/2 cup yogurt
1 cup milk
3 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix all ingredients together and mix. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Cupcakes are done when they spring back after being touched.

Frosting:
Chocolate buttercream frosting

Filling:
2 cups raspberry
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/3 cup powder sugar

Mix all ingredients together and put in cupcakes.

Better than sex?

I decided to turn the popular cake into a cupcake. But this dessert always raises the question, is it better than sex? The name clearly says it is. I'll leave it up to you to decide.

I started off with a doctored devil's food cake mix.

Some yogurt that I needed to use. You could use sour cream.

I added water and vanilla to this mix.

Here it is all mixed up.

For the goodness that goes over the cupcake I used a can of sweetened condensed milk and 3/4 cup of caramel. I could have used the whole bottle of the caramel. I put them in a bowl together put them in the microwave for 30 seconds and mixed them up. Then I tried not to grab a cup and start chugging.

Instead of using a toothpick I used a shish kabob stick. Bigger whole, more deliciousness inside.

Here's where you can learn from my mistake. I took the cupcake and tried spooning it over the top, hoping it would soak in and it did except the cupcake was messy. Caramel and sweetened condensed milk everywhere. This is where I learned from my mistake. I took out my piping bag and piped in the liquid. A lot easier than spooning it over top. I put some of the caramel/sweetened condensed milk on top of the cake so the toffy bar would stick.

I tried to put as many on top as I could.

I took a tub of cool whip and piped it on top.

Ingredients:
1 devil's food cake mix
1 cup yogurt
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

1 can 14 oz condensed milk
3/4 cup caramel (ice cream topping)

Microwave for 30 seconds and pipe into cupcakes

1 tub cool whip for frosting