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Shamrock Parfaits…the unplanned dessert.

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Ruthanne

These lovely layered St. Patty’s Day treats were supposed to be a cake…but ended up even better!

I am in the middle of the Navajo Nation without a Bundt cake pan. That is how this tale begins. I am almost 3 hours from a store that sells Bundt pans. In my mind, I wanted to make a lovely bundt cake full of swirls of various shades of green, topped with melted Key Lime frosting. SO- I did what any enterprising blogging girl would do- I ordered a pan on ebay, with free shipping. It took a week, but once I got it I was ready to go! I divided my cake mix into 4 parts and colored each part an increasingly darker shade of green and swirled the colors together in the pan. After it baked, I tipped it out on a cake rack and…..

Sadness.

I let the disaster cool and re-thought my recipe. I brought my favorite little Weck jars with me, and I had some heavy cream to whip… how about parfaits!!

Here’s the recipe: (printable version)

INGREDIENTS: (makes 10-12 small parfaits)

One boxed white cake mix (Plus water, oil and eggs to make according to box)
Green food coloring gel
One tub of Pillsbury Key Lime Frosting
2 cups heavy whipping cream
3 Tablespoons of powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Make cake according to boxed mix, adding green food color to make batter green (you can make several shades of green if you want, but you don’t have to).
Bake as directed in any cake pan you want (lol!)
Allow cake to cool completely.
Put heavy cream and powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat on high until cream is whipped and light, holding stiff peaks.
Take the lid and foil wrap off the tub of frosting, and heat in the microwave for 20-30 seconds. Stir until it is a nice smooth liquid.
Assemble your parfaits by spooning a bit of frosting into each glass, followed by a bit of crumbled cake, followed by a dollop of whipped cream. Repeat these layers until you are at the top.
End with a swirl of whipped cream and some sprinkles.
Enjoy!

My thoughts: These ended up being the yummiest dessert! I had a family over to visit that night and they gobbled up every last bit of it and loved it. That key lime frosting is the BOMB! Yum! Anyway, thanks for joining me on my latest Navajo kitchen adventure! Happy St. Patricks Day!! ~rUsually I give you another four recipes related to this one. But today I leave you with one. These are seriously some of the best cupcakes I’ve ever made, and they are perfect for St. Patrick’s Day….just click on the photo and you’ll be magically transported to the yummy recipe. I present: Bailey’s Irish Cream Cupcakes….Enjoy!!!! ~r

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Posted in Cakes, Miscellaneous and tagged baking disaster, best, bundt, cake, dessert, green, key lime, key lime frosting, new, parfaits, Pillsbury Key lime frosting, recipe, sprinkles, St. Patricks Day, unique, whipped cream. Bookmark the permalink.

Lime Soda Cupcakes!

Posted on March 8, 2014 by Ruthanne

Sweet lime cupcakes topped with a swirl of marshmallow buttercream.
A perfect flavor combination!

A while back, I shared with you an impossibly difficult (but amazingly yummy!) candy recipe from my friend Gail. It was a recipe for Opera Creams passed down to her from her grandmother. We spent the entire day together, candy making. For lunch we ran up to a little soda fountain from the 50s that is still in business. (Arnolds Drive In, for you folks that live near Indiana) They have burgers and fries— and yummy soda fountain drinks. Gail recommended the “Ole Green River” and I got the most wonderful lime phosphate topped with marshmallow cream. It was beautiful and as that marshmallow dissolved into the drink…? Unbelievably good. Here’s my Instagram record of it:

I’m not sure what brought it to mind the other day, but I decided to use those flavors to create a cupcake version of that yummy Ole Green River. I think they turned out great. Nice and green for St. Patricks Day!!!

Here’s the recipe: (printable version)

INGREDIENTS (makes 24 cupcakes)

One boxed white cake mix, plus oil, water and eggs to make according to box.
One small packet of Lime Jell-O.
4 sticks of salted butter (at room temperature)
2 teaspoons of clear vanilla
3 cups of powdered sugar
2 jars (7 oz. each) of Jet-puffed marshmallow creme
White food coloring (optional- only if you want that bright white marshmallow color.)
Sprinkles and decorations as desired.

DIRECTIONS:

Make cake mix according to box, but add Jell-O along with other ingredients.
Divide batter evenly into 24 cupcake liners in muffin tins.
Bake according to box, a toothpick inserted into the center of one should come out clean.
Allow cupcakes to cool while you prepare frosting.
Combine (room temperature) butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat on low until combined.
Beat on high for several minutes until light and fluffy.
(optional) add white food coloring at this point, to whiten up all that butter- I did not have any, so you can see my icing is more of an ivory color.
Add marshmallow creme to frosting and beat until completely incorporated.
Spoon frosting into a large zip top bag that has been fitted with a decorating tip, and pipe frosting over cupcakes.
Decorate as desired (paper straws are fun!!!!!!)
Enjoy!

My thoughts: I really loved these flavors together. Marshmallow and lime. So yummy. The cupcakes are very moist because of the Jell-O, so take care unwrapping them, they are a little more likely to fall apart than other cupcakes. I experimented with the marshmallow butter cream, just adding the fluff to my usual buttercream recipe, and I thought it was fabulous. The marshmallow flavor was not lost! I hope you enjoy these little treats, and if you’re ever near a soda shop that has lime phosphates on the menu, ask for one with marshmallow cream on the top! Enjoy! ~r