Tag Archives: best

First Down Oreo Pops!!!

Posted on September 12, 2014 by Ruthanne

These cute little football field Oreo pops are the perfect snack for your next tailgating party or Sunday afternoon of football!

These are just fun little football treats…and the world has far too few fun little football treats– there’s always room for more! These are made just like all of the other crazy Oreo pops on the Easybaked site. Dipped in green, piped in white and topped with a cute football sprinkle!

Here is how these fun little treats are made: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

One box of Double Stuff Oreos
One bag of Wilton’s candy melts in Green
One bag of Wilton’s candy melts in White
One jar of football sprinkles (I made my own, but there are some cute ones here)
24-30 lollipop sticks

DIRECTIONS: (Need a visual? Click here.)

Carefully twist apart all of the Oreo cookies
Using one of the lollipop sticks, make an indentation in the white filling of each cookie.
Melt the about 1/4 of the white Candy Melts in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring until completely melted and smooth.
Dip the end of one stick into the melted white chocolate, drizzle a little in the center of the cookie filling and then gently press it into the indentation made.
Place the top of the cookie back on and allow white chocolate to harden (20 minutes or so), cementing the cookie back together with a stick inside. (Freeze for 5-10 minutes to speed this process up)
Melt green candy melts in the same manner that you melted the white.
Holding the stick, lower the entire Oreo into the bowl of melted green chocolate, spooning it over the top and sides to cover it completely.
Allow the excess green chocolate to drain off and gently place covered Oreo on a piece of parchment paper to harden and cool completely
Melt another 1/4 of the white candy melts, as before, and spoon into a small zip top bag. Clip a tiny corner off and pipe lines and numbers on the top of each Oreo pop.
Place on a clean piece of parchment paper to cool, and immediately place a football sprinkle on top.
Allow pop to harden completely.
Remove from paper and serve- or place in a small treat bag, tied with a fun team ribbon.
Enjoy!

My thoughts: Cute on the outside, Oreo on the inside… perfect! Hope you get a chance to try these fun little football snacks!!!!! Enjoy! ~r

Other treats to make your football feasts happy:

4 Comments

Posted in Cookies and tagged best, chocolate, Cookie, dessert, football, football season, fun, idea, oreo, Oreo pop, recipe, snacks, sweet, tailgating party. Bookmark the permalink.

Cheesehead Cupcakes!

Posted on September 4, 2014 by Ruthanne

Cheesehead Cupcakes!!!!! These colorful Green Bay Packer CHEESEHEAD cupcakes are the perfect treat for game day!!! Make them in YOUR team colors and start the season off with some fun!

Today is the day!!!! NFL football season starts!!!! Tonight it’s the Packers vs. Seattle (GO PACK GO!!!!!!!), and I had to add some cheese on these fun little cupcakes to make them just perfect!

Wait— what’s inside? That’s what makes these so much fun!!!!!

A little splash of team color hidden in the middle. You can make these in any team colors you want- but if you make them for the Chicago Bears or the Detroit Lions you will need this tutorial here to make your cupcake toppers. 🙂

Here is how we made these: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

One boxed white cake mix (plus water, oil and eggs to make according to box)
Green and gold food color gels (or your team colors)
2 sticks (1 cup) of salted butter, softened
2 sticks (1 cup) of unsalted butter, softened
3 cups of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla (or any flavoring you’d like to add to your frosting)
1 bag of Wilton’s candy melts in yellow (if you want cheesehead toppers!!) You will also need little triangle chocolate molds for these.

DIRECTIONS:

Make cake mix as directed on box, and take about 1/4 of the batter and mix it with yellow food color gel.
Using a cake pop maker or a small mini muffin tin, make 24 small, baked balls of cake in yellow. (click here for pictures of how to make these cake balls)
Color remaining batter with green food color gel.
Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Spoon a little bit of green batter into 24 cupcake liners placed in muffin tins.
Place one cake ball in each cavity in the center of the green batter.

Carefully spoon more green batter over the top of each yellow cake ball, filling each cup only 2/3 to 3/4 full (be careful to not over-fill. That is easy to do when you are focused on covering up that cake ball!)
Bake at 350F degrees for 15-18 minutes.
Allow cupcakes to cool completely.
Make frosting by placing butters, powdered sugar and vanilla in a large bowl and beating on high for 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy.
Divide frosting in half and color one half gold and the other half green. Place each color in a zip top bag that has been fitted with a decorating tip.
Pipe yellow icing on 1st followed by green and top with a bit of cheese!!!!!

To make little cheese head cupcake toppers:

Yes, that is a tire pressure gauge…..

Melt yellow candy melts in a microwave-safe bowl, in the microwave, in 30-second increments, stirring in between.
Put candy melts into a sturdy zip top bag, clip a corner and pipe into triangle candy molds.
Tap on counter to remove bubbles, and place in the freezer for 5 minutes, or until completely hardened.
Turn mold upside down and tap on counter to remove chocolate.
Repeat this process.
Allow the triangle chocolates to return to room temperature, and use whatever you find handy to put “holes” in your cheese. I used a (cleaned in hot soapy water) tire pressure gauge for mine. Let’s hear it for problem solving in the kitchen!!!!!!

My thoughts: These are just plain fun. I recommend using a cake pop maker for the center circles. It really does take less time and it makes the most adorably round little cake balls. Plus you can make a Polka-Dot cake with it too!!! I hope you get a chance to celebrate your team with these fun and colorful cupcakes!!! IT’S FOOTBALL SEASON!!!!!!

Other fun cupcake recipes you might enjoy:

6 Comments

Posted in Cupcakes and tagged Aaron Rodgers, baking, best, buttercream frosting, cake mix, candy, candy molds, Cheesehead, cupcakes, dessert, football, fun, Green Bay Packers, idea, NFL, party, recipe, unique. Bookmark the permalink.

Butterscotch Ice Cream Towers

Posted on August 1, 2014 by Ruthanne

These beautiful, stacked desserts have layers of ice cream sandwich and a creamy butterscotch filling. Topped with melted chocolate, they make a fun and elegant summer dessert!

I’ve been craving ice cream sandwiches. These little desserts were a combination of that craving and an extra box of butterscotch pudding in my cupboard. I love how they turned out! They require some hands-on time and an overnight in the freezer, so they aren’t a last minute idea- but I think the extra time is worth it!! The end result is pretty and SO yummy! Here’s the recipe:

INGREDIENTS: (printable recipe here)

One box of 12 ice cream sandwiches
1 (3.4 oz) package of Jell-O Instant Butterscotch pudding mix
1 1/2 cups of cold milk
1 tub of Cool Whip topping
1 cup of chocolate chips
6 tablespoons of butter

DIRECTIONS:

Make butterscotch filling first, and freeze overnight
In a large bowl, beat together milk and pudding mix on high for 3 to 4 minutes until thick.
Fold in 1/2 of the container of Cool Whip topping
Put parchment paper in a small (I used a 9×9 square) pan, and spread pudding mixture evenly into container.
Freeze overnight.
To assemble, use a fluted square (I used a 2″ inch square) cookie cutter to cut ice cream sandwiches. I got 2 squares from each sandwich. Return to freezer after cutting.

Remove pudding mixture from freezer, lift out of pan using edges of parchment paper, and lay on a clean counter.
Cut squares using the same cookie cutter (dip in warm water between cuts, if it becomes sticky), return to freezer as you cut them.
Assemble no more than one or 2 hours before serving, and keep frozen.
Melt chocolate chips and butter together in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until melted and smooth.
Place an ice cream sandwich square on a plate, top with butterscotch filling square, top with a second ice cream sandwich square.
Drizzle with melted chocolate (and I added a few butterscotch chips).
Return to freezer and keep frozen until serving.

My thoughts: These are the most spectacular dessert to serve (you should have heard the oohhh’s and ahhh’s!), and the most awkward dessert to eat. The kids figured out that you need to just pick these up and eat them with your fingers! I allowed mine to melt just a touch, and then it was perfect with a fork! The flavors are so yummy! Butterscotch and chocolate? Yes, please!!!! Enjoy! ~r

Other yummy frozen treats:

7 Comments

Posted in Frozen desserts and tagged best, butterscotch, chocolate, cool whip, creative, dessert, fancy, frozen, ice cream, ice cream sandwich, pudding, recipe, summer, treat. Bookmark the permalink.

Mini S’mores Pies

Posted on July 18, 2014 by Ruthanne

Rich dark chocolate pie in a graham crust, topped with marshmallow meringue. S’mores with a new, fun look!

Everyone loves these flavors together.

Don’t they?

It just occurred to me that someone might hate s’mores.

Ok, well I don’t personally know anyone who doesn’t just adore this flavor combination. I LOVE them, and crave them, and sometimes cheat by making them in the microwave when it’s snowing and a campfire is out of the question!

These little pies capture the flavor of a s’more, but add a rich chocolate flavor that is incredibly delicious, and can’t be had with just 2 squares of Hershey’s chocolate. Or four squares… sometimes I use four. Don’t tell.

Here’s how these simple little treats are made: (printable version)

INGREDIENTS: (makes 12 mini pies)

12 pre-made mini graham cracker crusts.
1 cup of Ghirardelli Bittersweet chocolate chips (melted)
1 cup of Ghirardelli Semi-sweet chocolate chips (melted)
8 eggs (divided)
5 Tablespoons of heavy whipping cream
2 Tablespoons of vanilla
2 cups of granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Divide eggs, keeping ALL of the 8 egg whites and only 5 of the yolks.
Place the melted chocolate, 5 egg YOLKS, whipping cream and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and stir until well combined.
Evenly divide among all twelve mini pie crusts.
Bake (I put them all on a baking sheet) for 14-16 minutes, until the middle of each pie is set.
Make meringue while these bake, by adding all of the 8 egg WHITES, sugar and cream of tartar together in a medium heat-proof bowl that will sit on the top of a sauce pan of boiling water without touching the water. (I had to experiment a bit to find a good fit.)
Bring water to a boil in the saucepan and set the bowl on top.
Whisk ingredients together for about 3-4 minutes. Sugar will be dissolved and egg whites should be heated to 145F degrees.
Remove bowl from top of sauce pan and beat on low until the mixture thickens a little, then beat on high for about 10 minutes. The meringue will become the most beautiful, white, glossy mixture. It should form stiff peaks before you stop beating it.
Spoon all that wonderful marshmallow yumminess into a bag fitted with a decorating tip.
Once mini pies are removed from the oven, let them cool completely.
Pipe marshmallow meringue on the top of each pie and toast it with a kitchen torch.
Add a few graham cracker crumbs if you want, and enjoy!!!!

My thoughts: These are delicious. You can see from my pictures that I didn’t beat my meringue as long as I should have. The are not the tall swirls of happiness I wanted them to be…. it was only my second time making meringue though, so I guess I won’t beat myself up too much. My 1st time was perfect. If you want to see how fluffy it SHOULD be, click here. I LOVE this meringue. When you read the instructions you might think it is too hard to make- but once you do it, you will realize that it isn’t hard at all. Just a lot of time with a mixer in your hands. I hope you get a chance to try this recipe out! Enjoy! ~r

We like our chocolate and marshmallow here at easybaked… here are other recipes that feature that yummy combo:

13 Comments

Posted in Candy, Pies and tagged baking, best, chocolate, cream, desert, easy dessert, graham crackers, marshmallow, mini dessert, pie, recipe, s'mores, summer, sweets. Bookmark the permalink.

Hole in One Cupcakes!!

Posted on June 6, 2014 by Ruthanne

What do you get if you cut a hole in a cupcake and fill it with a Lindt white chocolate truffle? A perfect Father’s Day treat!!!

These are guaranteed to make any golf-loving Father smile on his special day! This one’s for you dad! I can’t wait to see you in 2 weeks and go “golfing” (aka losing cute golf balls in ponds).

How is such incredible cuteness created, you ask? EASY! Make a chocolate cupcake, cut a hole in the top, and pop a Lindt white chocolate truffle inside!

How fun and easy is that? Here are the details (Printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

One boxed chocolate cake mix (plus oil, water and eggs to make according to package)
One tub of white frosting
One container (about 1 cup) of green sugar sprinkles
24 Lindt White chocolate Truffles (I got 2 (5.1oz) bags that each had 12 truffles)

DIRECTIONS:

Make cake according to package and divide evenly into 24 cupcake liners placed in muffin tins.
Bake according to package.
Use a cupcake corer or a small knife (use a corer to get that perfectly round cut!) to cut a hole in the center of each cupcake.
Use a knife to carefully frost the top of each cupcake around the hole.
Press top of frosted cupcake into green sugar to coat it.
Place a truffle into “hole”.

Place a flag in each cupcake- you can print these on heavy paper and use double-sided tape to secure them to toothpicks. Here are 2 files- Happy Father’s Day, and Blank (write your own message) flags.

Click on a picture to be taken to the printable pdf:

My thoughts: I’ve used a cupcake corer on so many cupcakes to add fillings, and the last time I did it, this idea popped into my head! I wasn’t sure how it would turn out, but as soon as I coated my 1st cupcake in that green sugar I knew it would be perfect! Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there- especially mine!!!!

Want another reason to get a cupcake corer? Here’s four……..

15 Comments

Posted in Cupcakes and tagged baking, best, chocolate, creative, creative cupcakes, cupcake flags, cupcake ideas, cupcakes, cupcakes for dad, dessert, DIY, Father's Day, food, free printable, golf, Golf cupcakes, hole in one, Lindt truffles, recipe, white chocolate. Bookmark the permalink.

BBQ Cupcakes!!!

Posted on May 31, 2014 by Ruthanne

These chocolate cupcakes are topped with all the fixings for a grill out! A perfect treat for Father’s Day or even a tailgate party (and as a Packer fan, I have lots of experience with those fun events!!!)

My dad is the best at grilling things. Some of my favorite times are our family cookouts with dad at the grill. I guess that’s why I smiled when I saw these on Pinterest the other day. There are a ton of variations on these- they are all over the web. There are steaks and burgers made out of caramels and candy bars. There are shish-kabobs made out of Dots candy and Starburst. I even saw goldfish crackers on the “grill”! LOVE IT!

I stayed with Hot Tamales as little hot dogs, and they make me smile. These are easy and fun, fun, FUN!!

Want to know how to make them? Here’s the recipe: (printable version)

INGREDIENTS:

1 box of Hot Tamales candies (if you hate cinnamon, you can use Mike&Ikes candy, but you’ll have to pick out the cherry ones).
Black gel food coloring
1 cake mix (plus water, oil and eggs needed to make it according to the package)
1 tub of chocolate frosting
Red sugar crystals

DIRECTIONS:

Make cake mix according to package and divide into 24 cupcake liners placed in muffin tins.
Bake according to package, remove from oven and cool completely.
While cake is baking, use a toothpick and black food color gel to draw grill lines on the hot tamales. I placed them on a paper towel to dry, so they wouldn’t roll.
Take about 1/3 of frosting out of tub, place it in a separate bowl, and add black food coloring gel to make the frosting black. Place this frosting into a small zip-top bag fitted with a small round decorating tip.
Once cupcakes have cooled, use a knife to frost a thin, smooth layer of the chocolate icing onto each cupcake.
Sprinkle a little red sugar in the middle of the cupcake frosting.
Pipe black frosting on in even lines to make the grill.
Set Hot Tamales on the “grill” top.
Enjoy!

My thoughts: These are SO easy to put together. Adding other grill items would increase your time commitment, but with just hotdogs, these went together fast! Of course, you can use your own favorite cupcake recipe and frosting recipe with these if you don’t want to go pre-made. I was in a hurry this week, with lots of things on my plate: BIG NEWS coming soon! So excited to tell you all what I’ve been up to! In the meantime, make yourself (and your dad!) some little cupcake grills! Enjoy!!!! ~r

Peanut Butter Fudge Brownies

Posted on May 23, 2014 by Ruthanne

These aren’t your average brownie- they are full of creamy peanut butter filling and topped with a layer of fudge! Unbelievably delicious!

Peanut butter and chocolate are a timeless combination. These brownies have the perfect blend between the two, and they cut into beautifully layered bars that are fun to serve at any occasion! These are a variation on a brownie recipe that my mom makes all the time with mint filling. This brownie recipe has appeared on Easybaked many times, and in many forms:

But adding peanut butter? Oh my goodness….. a definite show-stopper!

Here’s the recipe: (printable version)

INGREDIENTS

Brownie:

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup milk

Peanut butter filling:

5 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup of creamy peanut butter

Fudge topping:

One bag (12 oz) of chocolate chips
12 Tablespoons of butter (do not substitute margarine here!)

DIRECTIONS:

Brownie:

Preheat oven to 350.
Cream butter and sugar together.
Beat in eggs, cocoa, vanilla and salt.
Add flour and milk (alternating them and mixing well in between)
Pour batter into a jellyroll pan (12 1/2 x 17 1/2 x 1″) that has been sprayed with non-stick spray.
Bake at 350F degrees for 8-10 minutes.
Cool.

Peanut butter filling:

Combine softened butter with peanut butter, mixing on low until completely smooth.
Add powdered sugar, mixing until combined.
Add a little water to make filling a thick, but spreadable consistency.
Spread over cooled brownies.

Fudge topping:

Melt chocolate chips and butter together in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between until completely melted and smooth.
Pour over peanut butter filling and use a spoon to push topping over entire top of brownies.
Decorate with sprinkles or by drizzling a little white chocolate on top.
Refrigerate for several hours.
Cut brownies when the top layer is firm, but not hard. Your knife should go through it easily without cracking it. If your top has chilled too long, simply let it sit at room temp for a little while until it softens up.
Store these in a large air-tight container, in layers separated with parchment paper or wax paper to avoid sticking.
These can be frozen really well (I like to eat them frozen, in fact!)

My thoughts: This brownie recipe is so versatile and fun. Really, there are so many possibilities! I love the addition of a peanut butter layer- they are so pretty and mmmm…so good! Do you want to make a design on the top of yours like I did? There’s a step-by-step example from when I 1st posted this recipe in mint. You can see it here. I hope you get a chance to try at least ONE of the easybaked variations on this brownie recipe. I guarantee you will be back to experiment with your own flavor combinations! Enjoy!! ~r

What? You like peanut butter? So do we!!!! Try one of these other yummy recipes:

12 Comments

Posted in Brownies and tagged baking, best, brownies, chocolate, food, fudge, layered bars, peanut butter, recipe, recipes you can freeze. Bookmark the permalink.

Caramel Pecan Marshmallow Pops

Posted on May 15, 2014 by Ruthanne

Big marshmallows covered in creamy caramel and chocolate are dipped in pecans to make an incredibly decadent treat!

These are unbelievably good. I was visiting my friend Andreya in San Diego last weekend and we passed a store while window shopping in La Jolla that had all sorts of dipped marshmallows. I started craving them and had to try this. These are like yummy caramel apples- but with a soft marshmallow inside, instead of an apple. If you are looking for a really unique treat that is easy to put together, this is your recipe!!! I couldn’t believe how easy and yummy these were.

Here’s the recipe: (printable version)

INGREDIENTS:

2 bags of jumbo marshmallows (24 marshmallows)
24 lollipop sticks
32 Kraft caramels, unwrapped
1 (14 oz) can of sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup of butter
1 bag of dark chocolate Wilton’s candy melts
2 cups of chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS:

Set marshmallows out on parchment paper and stick one lollipop stick into the flat side of each one.
In a medium saucepan, melt together caramels, butter and sweetened condensed milk, stirring constantly, until completely smooth (takes about 5 minutes)
Pour caramel mixture into a bowl.
Using stick, carefully dip each marshmallow into caramel, coating it to the top. Gently tap stick against side of bowl to remove excess caramel and then slide bottom of marshmallow along bowl’s edge to remove most of caramel. (It is ok if you remove it down to the marshmallow- the chocolate will cover this up!
Place upright on a sheet of parchment paper and cool.
Place chocolate candy melts into a bowl, and melt them in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until completely melted and smooth.
Lay a fresh sheet of parchment paper out before beginning next step.
Place pecans in a small bowl.
Gently peel a marshmallow away from the parchment paper. This is a little tricky, as it will still be a bit gooey. I held the stick, lifted, and peeled the paper away from the marshmallow.
Dip bottom of marshmallow into melted chocolate and slide bottom along edge of bowl to remove excess.
Dip bottom of coated marshmallow into pecans and set on fresh parchment paper to harden.

Once these are hardened up, you can serve them up on a pretty plate, or wrap them in cello bags to use as gifts or favors.
If you aren’t serving them right away, be sure to cover them so the marshmallows don’t harden up.

My thoughts: These are a recipe I will make again. I had fun putting them together and everyone who tried them asked me to make them again. Easy. Yummy. Beautiful. My kind of recipe! Enjoy!! ~r

Other unique recipes you might enjoy:

15 Comments

Posted in Candy and tagged baking, best, caramel, chocolate, creative desserts, dessert, dipped marshmallows, fun, lollipop sticks, marshmallow, pecans, pops, recipe, unique. Bookmark the permalink.

Flower Pot Cupcakes

Posted on May 7, 2014 by Ruthanne

These cheery garden cupcakes have delicious raspberry cream filling
and fun flowers made of M& Ms!!!

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!!! This bit of cheer goes out especially to my mom this week. I’m so far from home this year, that we will have to celebrate from a distance.

Aren’t these the cutest cupcakes ever? I cannot take credit for the M&M flower idea, it was an idea I originally saw on a cute blog called Sara’s Shoebox. She was copying the idea from a cookbook called “What’s New Cupcake“. I do not own this cook book, but it is a sequel to one of my favorites, “Hello, Cupcake!”, by the same author. In any case, Sara made hers with mini Oreos and I simply could not get mine to work with those..? SO, I had seen marshmallows in pink lemonade flavor (who can walk by THAT without picking up a bag?) and I decided to use them instead. They were a tiny bit too small, so I am going to recommend that you use full-size marshmallows for these. I had to fiddle around with them awhile to get them to all stick. I’m positive they will be easier on a full-size marshmallow!!

The cupcakes are an original though- I used a pink velvet cake mix, but you can use any flavor you like! I filled them with a yummy raspberry cream and topped them with scoops of butter cream and either coconut or Oreos (um…I had a few of those left over from the flower attempt!) Are you ready for a recipe for these??? Here you go: (printable version)

INGREDIENTS:

One boxed cake mix (in any flavor, with oil, water and eggs to make according to box)
One packet of Dream Whip
1 cup of heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup of berry jelly or jam
2 sticks of salted butter (at room temp)
2 sticks of unsalted butter (at room temp)
3 cups of powdered sugar
2 teaspoons of vanilla
2 cups of shredded coconut (died green with food coloring) -OR- 2 cups of crushed Oreo Cookies
24 pretzel sticks
Pastel M&Ms
12 marshmallows
1/2 cup of white Wilton’s candy melts

DIRECTIONS:

Flowers: I recommend making these ahead and storing them covered until you make your cupcakes. They aren’t hard to make, but a little time consuming.

Take 12 marshmallows and cut them in half with clean kitchen scissors. Lay them on the counter with the cut side up to keep them from sticking to things.
Take a pretzel stick and wiggle it up into the side of each marshmallow.
Melt candy melts in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between until completely melted and smooth.
The technique that worked best for me here was to lay my M&Ms out in a flower pattern (minus the center) on parchment paper, cover the sticky side of the marshmallow with candy melts and lay it (candy melt side down) on the flower until it dries. Then I used a little of the candy melts to stick my center on. Here’s some photos.

Just let those cute little flowers dry, and you are all set to make your cupcakes!

Cupcakes:

Make cake mix according to box and divide batter among 24 cupcake liners in muffin tins.
Bake according to box, remove from oven and cool completely.
Make filling by putting Dream whip powder and whipping cream in a bowl. Mix on high until stiff peaks form.
Add jam or jelly and beat until well combined. Place filling in a large zip top bag and keep refrigerated until use.
Core cooled cupcakes with a small knife or a cupcake corer. I HIGHLY recommend the corer- it is super cheap and will save you time!
Cut a corner off the filling bag and squeeze filling into each cupcake.
Place top of “core” that was removed back on top of cupcake.

Make buttercream frosting by beating butters, powdered sugar and vanilla together in a large bowl on high until it is light and fluffy and smooth.
Use a scoop to place a mound of frosting on each cupcake.
Turn cupcake upside down in either coconut or crushed Oreo to coat the frosting.
Now pop a cute flower in, and you have an adorable treat for all sorts of occasions!!

My thoughts: These brought smiles to so many faces! I often share my blog creations with various families and organizations here on the Navajo Nation. These went to the Easter party at the Senior Citizen Center here. I got many hugs and thank yous (Ahéhee’) from the recipients. I also got to watch almost 100 seniors literally running to a huge Easter egg hunt! So fun!!!

On a recipe note: These are little time consuming, but so worth the effort! I made my flowers ahead and I was glad I did. I really hope you enjoy these!

And to the best mom ever: a bouquet of M&M flowers! I love you!!!! ~r

Other recipe ideas for Mother’s day:

11 Comments

Posted in Candy, Cupcakes and tagged best, chocolate, coconut, cupcakes, dessert, food, fun, M&Ms, mothers day, oreo, pretzels, recipe, spring. Bookmark the permalink.

Tres Leches Layer Cake

Posted on May 2, 2014 by Ruthanne

This traditional sponge cake is soaked in a vanilla 3-milk sauce and layered with dulce de leche. Topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit, it is a light and refreshing dessert.

It’s nearly Cinco de Mayo time! I first tried Tres Leches cake in Mexico. I had taken a group from our church down to a tiny village in Sinaloa. We had spent the week building, painting, doing electrical work and laying cement. It was my birthday while I was there, and some of the ladies from the church made me a HUGE tres leches cake. It was DELICIOUS! When I asked for the recipe, they all looked at me funny and said- it’s tres leches cake..? (like everyone knows how to make that!!!)

Since then, I’ve tried this cake at other places in Mexico and in the states. I’ve noticed that there are two kinds: The firm, sweet and moist kind, and the dripping with milk kind. I really don’t like the dripping with milk kind…that consistency is really gross to me- and cake should never be gross!

I researched lots of recipes, and discovered that there are two varieties: a butter based sponge cake and an egg based sponge cake. The egg based one is the one I liked. It soaks up all that yummy sauce and stays firm, while the other just sits in a puddle of sauce…YUCK!

All of that said, this is an egg based recipe that I found on a lovely blog called Pati’s Mexican Table. My research paid off- this was a FABULOUS cake! Here’s the recipe: (printable version)

INGREDIENTS

Cake

9 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour

Vanilla Sauce:

1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk (I used La Lechera brand)
1 (12oz) can evaporated milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Topping/filling

2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
fresh fruit for garnish
1 (13.4 oz) can of La Lechera Dulce de Leche (or make your own here)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 360F degrees and spray two 8 or 9 inch cake pans with non-stick spray. Cut a circle out of parchment paper to place in the bottom of each pan to help these cakes come out of the pan cleanly.
Divide eggs into 2 bowls. Put the egg whites into a large mixing bowl and the yolks into a medium bowl.
Beat the egg whites on medium-high until they form soft peaks. Add sugar and beat on high until they form stiff peaks (this will take 4-5 minutes, depending on your mixer).
Beat the egg yolks on high for 5 to 6 minutes until they increase in volume and turn a creamy yellow.
Beat the vanilla into the egg yolks until combined.
Add the yolks to the whites and use a spatula or large spoon to gently fold them together.
Add flour and gently mix until completely combined.
Divide batter evenly between the 2 pans and bake for 20-25 minutes. The tops should be golden and when a toothpick is inserted in the center, it should come out clean.
Cool completely, run a small knife around the edges and tip cakes over on a plate. Remove parchment paper.
Make sauce by combining the 3 milks (condensed, evaporated and cream) together with the vanilla.
Poke (lots!) of holes in the top of each cake with a fork and carefully pour sauce over the top, dividing it evenly between the 2 cakes.
Place one cake on a serving plate, spread dulce de leche caramel over the top, stack second cake on top.
Make frosting by beating together the whipping cream and powdered sugar, until stiff peaks form.
Frost cake and serve with fresh fruit. Refrigerate until serving.

My thoughts: I was so pleased with how yummy this cake was. The sponge cake is very firm and easy to work with, even when it’s soaked with sauce. You can make this in a 9×13 inch pan too- I just wanted the tall layer cake look~ and that caramel in the middle? Oh my… take a look at my pictures- it partially soaks in to that bottom layer and gives it a rich caramel flavor. I think you all are going to love this cake!! I hope you get a chance to try it!!! Enjoy!!!! ~r

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