Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Caramel Pretzel Cookie

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This cookie was born because although I love a good peanut butter cookie , I find it well… a little boring. What’s better than peanut butter in a cookie? How about chocolate chips, caramel, and some pretzels? That’s. what’s. up!

A few months ago my boyfriend requested some peanut butter cookies. I hadn’t made them in years. In fact, I didn’t even have a recipe for them.  He reminded me that when he bought me my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer last Christmas that he had found a Peanut Butter cookie recipe in the user’s guide and suggested I try it.

So I did. Guess what? It was one of the worst…if not THE worst cookie I had ever baked. It was dry and tasted like a mouthful of sand.  I felt really bad and embarrassed to call myself a baker.

I promised I’d make it up to him and find the most awesome peanut butter cookie recipe there was (and add my own flair to it.) I did a lot of online blog and recipe researching and came across this peanut butter cookie recipe over at smitten kitchen

I could tell from the 300 and some comments that I  had read, that it was a winner.  So I set my sights on that recipe and set out to make it my own by using the base ingredients.

I adjusted the recipe to my liking by using Peter Pan Honey Roasted peanut butter, added about 1/4 to 1/3 more cup flour for a soft and chewy cookie, and cut out the sugar coating. I also substituted dark brown sugar instead of light brown sugar. Makes recipes richer and more flavorful. Then I added some chocolate chips. Cut up some Kraft caramels, and broke some thin pretzel sticks in the dough.

Can you say peanut butter cookie AWESOMENESS?  Check out the insides…

Soft and chewy. Salty, sweet, and gooey!  Just the way I like it.

Chocolate Strawberry Cake Done Two Ways

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I recently made both of these chocolate strawberry cakes. One for my daughter’s 18th birthday. The other for my friend who was ready to give birth to her second child and needed one last girls night out before she exploded.  Or maybe that was me who felt that way. Either way, this one cake was a hit done two ways.

 

Chocolate Strawberry Cake Done Two Ways
5.0 from 1 reviews
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Recipe type: Dessert
Author: Sherri at The Kitchen Prescription (dot) com
Prep time: 1 hour
Cook time: 50 mins
Total time: 1 hour 50 mins
Serves: 6-10
This is one great cake done two ways.
Ingredients
  • CHOCOLATE CAKE:
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 package Chocolate Jell-O Pudding
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa (Hershey’s )
  • 1 stick salted butter room temperature
  • 1 cup warm milk (microwave for 40 seconds)
  • 1 egg room temp (soak in warm water for a minute or two)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • STRAWBERRY FILLING:
  • 1 container ripe fresh strawberries
  • Baker’s Milk Chocolate Discs if you are making the chocolate covered strawberry cake
  • 1 jar strawberry preserves
  • FROSTING:
  • 2 Cans Duncan Hines Milk Chocolate canned frosting
  • Wilton pink sugar pearls
  • BUTTER CREAM FROSTING
  • 3 tablespoons room temperature butter
  • 2 teaspoons soft cream cheese
  • 2-3 cups confectioner’s sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon strawberry extract
  • 4-6 tablespoons heavy whipping cream (always use least amount of cream and add more if you feel frosting is too dry or stiff this requires practice to get it to your liking, consistency, and taste)
  • Wilton Rose Food Coloring gel/paste (I use toothpick to apply to frosting)
  • OTHER TOOLS NEEDED
  • Wilton 2D Large Drop Flower Tip
  • Wilton #5 Writing Tip
  • Wilton #22 Open Star Tip
  • Disposable piping bags
  • Small metal spatula
  • 9″ round cake pan
  • Large serrated knife
  • Patience (haha. A little TKP humor there)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 Degrees
  2. Spray one 9″ round cake pan with non stick spray and lightly dust with flour
  3. Mix butter in stand mixer or with hand mixer on med speed until it has a frosting like consistency
  4. Add dry ingredients
  5. Add wet ingredient and mix well until all lumps are out.
  6. Pour batter into cake pan. Should be 2/3 full
  7. Bake at 350 for about 40-50 minutes (the pudding mix will take this batter longer to bake so keep a close eye on it. Don’t over bake and do your toothpick test)
  8. Cool cake (I put mine in freezer for about 20 minutes)
  9. While cake is cooling make BUTTER CREAM FROSTING
  10. Whip butter and cream cheese in stand mixer (or with hand mixer in bow)
  11. Add a cup of confectioners sugar one at a time
  12. Add strawberry extract and a couple of tablespoons of whipping cream
  13. Mix
  14. You may not need all of the confectioners sugar or whipping cream. Just try to get a stiff but creamy consistency. Don’t be afraid to get those fingers in there and taste.
  15. Add a little rose gel to frosting and mix on low until mixed well and you have the color you desire
  16. Cover with plastic wrap so it doesn’t dry out.
  17. Slice cake in half with serrated knife
  18. Carefully lift off with the knife and spatula. Place aside for later use.
  19. Take enough Duncan Hines mild chocolate frosting out of the container to pipe a circle damn around the top edge of cake. Put in small bowl and add a few tables spoons confectioners sugars to stiffen up frosting.
  20. Mix with small flat metal spatula
  21. Put in piping bag with 2D tip and pipe a circle damn around outer edges of top (this will help hold in your filling so it doesn’t leak out of the sides)
  22. Spoon on jar of preserves in middle and spread
  23. Place a layer of sliced strawberries on top of preserves.
  24. Place cake top carefully back on top.
  25. Do a crumb icing and smooth as flat as possible with spatula
  26. Now you are ready for to decorate. (this is the fun part!)
 

Chocolate Covered Strawberry S and Circle pattern Cake Topped with chocolate covered strawberries.  (A quick tip: don’t wash your strawberries. Use a wet paper towel to wipe them off. Washing them makes them break down quicker.)

I used the #22 Open Star tip and just piped a drop star pattern around the bottom of the cake. Next I went around the top of the cake with the same tip and make the zig zag pattern. Who knew one little tip could produce so many cool patterns? Next, switch out tips (you can do this if you have a couple attachment and your tips are not too big. It won’t work for the Large 2D tip but you’re not using that one for this cake anyway.)

I also gave you the quick tip in the recipe box for holding in your filling so it doesn’t leak out the side of the cake. The last thing you want is a beautiful cake that is leaking it’s contents down the sides.

Once you are switched over to #5 writing tip, simply make an S pattern and then alternated with the circular pattern. Lastly, I topped off with the chocolate covered strawberries.

It was a hit with my daughter. She loved it.

Next we move to the Hydrangea rosette cake. One of my absolute favorite patterns to make. It brings so much class to any social event. People will think you spent hours creating this, but it’s the Wilton 2D tip that does all the work for you.

To pipe the hydrangea and rosette pattern, please refer to this previous blog here. Also, that blog will instruct you on the crumb icing layer we talked about in the recipe box above.

Use the milk chocolate icing as is to do the crumb icing. You want it to be soft and smooth so it will spread easily over the cake. Try to get as smooth a surface as possible. It doesn’t have to be perfect on this one as the decorations will cover the crumb layer.

Another quick tip: Have two 2D tips on hand if possible that way you won’t have to wash the tip before using with the chocolate frosting.

Fill a piping bag with the butter cream and pipe your rosettes around the cake.

Take, the rest of the milk chocolate icing and add confectioners sugar until you get a stiff but creamy consistency. You don’t want the icing so soft that it begins to melt in the bag from the warmth of your hand. It need a stiff consistency to hold its shape.

Fill a piping bag with chocolate frosting and pipe hydrangea pattern on top of cake. Every so often stop and apply your pink sugar pearls to center of the flowers with a pair of tweezers. If the cake begins to stiffen the pearls won’t take as well.

Once top is done begin on bottom of cake sides and move with rows of the pattern. Don’t forget to stop and add your pearls.  Or you can choose to leave them off.

Done. Now stand back and look at what you created! All by yourself!

Ready to box it up and take to that special event? This one’s headed to GNO (Girls Night Out.) What’s better than getting a homemade cake made with love? Eating it!

I invite you to come back and share a link or picture if you try one or both. I love seeing other readers’ creations.

Chicken Enchiladas

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“Hola! Como estas? “Muy bien gracias. Y tu?”  That’s about the extent of my Spanish speaking skills from 4 years of high school Spanish 20 some odd years ago. Seems a life time ago. Well, I may not be able to speak Spanish muy bien, (it’s more Spanglish) but, I can shovel in la comida like there’s no manana.

I absolutely love Mexican food. I mean REALLY LOVE it, as in… eat it every night! I about die waiting for Taco Tuesday night. My niece recently moved to South Florida to attend Law School, so Taco Tuesday has become a tradition for us. I’ll be sharing that recipe some time soon.

But today, I thought I would share my chicken enchilada recipe with you.  If you love Mexican as much as I do, I’m pretty sure you will love this recipe.

This is a great meal for prepping the night before, (especially if you are preparing a chicken dish) so you can come home from work and just pop it in the oven.  As always, you can put your own spin on it or tweak it to your likings. Such as adding beef, steak, or pork.

Chicken Enchiladas
4.0 from 1 reviews
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Recipe type: Main
Author: Sherri @ The Kitchen Prescription (dot) com
Prep time: 30 mins
Cook time: 25 mins
Total time: 55 mins
Serves: 4
You can use your favorite meat (or veggies if you are vegan) like chicken, steak, beef, or pork.
Ingredients
  • CHICKEN ENCHILADAS:
  • 4 skinless boneless thin chicken breasts
  • 4-5 large flour tortilla wraps
  • 1 small red onion
  • 1 jar queso dip
  • 1 jar salsa
  • 1 can of Old El Paso enchilada sauce
  • 1 jar Ortega mild (or medium) taco sauce
  • 1 bag shredded Mexican blend or cheddar cheese
  • 1 box of Rice A Roni Chicken flavor
  • Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. In small sauce pan open enchilada sauce and pour in about half of your taco sauce and heat on low.
  2. Dice half the red onion and toss in sauce to simmer
  3. Cook chicken flavor Rice A Roni according to box directions
  4. In another small sauce pan add 3 spoonfuls (large tablespoon) of queso dip and 1 1/2 spoonfuls of salsa.
  5. Heat on low heat. Stir occasionally.
  6. Sear chicken breasts (salt and pepper to taste) on George Foreman grill, outdoor grille or skillet (grill) pan. Don’t cook all the way through as you don’t want you chicken to become dry.
  7. Slice and place in a frying pan on low heat
  8. add more onions in pan if desired
  9. Pour on queso and salsa mixture over chicken and coat well on low heat. If needed add more queso and salsa.
  10. Spoon chicken and cheese mixture into middle of a flour tortilla
  11. Spoon on some rice
  12. Add some shredded cheese and fold over ends and roll tortilla
  13. Place bottom side down in large glass dish
  14. Either cover and place in fridge till next day if prepping overnight. You can just heat up your enchilada sauce the next day don’t bother prepping it if not using the same night. Otherwise, preheat oven to 350 degrees
  15. Pour desired amount of enchilada sauce over enchiladas and top with cheese.
  16. Cover with tin foil and bake 20 to 25 minutes on 350 degrees. Just enough to heat through.

Plate and serve. You can garnish with raw onions, as I like them, or olives, and sour cream. To make them extra fattening!

Me gusta cocinar enchiladas! (I like to cook enchildas.) See you even learned a little Spanish today!

Banana Bread

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When life hands you over ripened bananas, make banana bread. Can’t you just smell it? No? Come a little closer.  Careful. It’s hot.

Okay, obviously you can’t actually smell it, but trust me, it smelled amazing.  This was tonight’s product of over ripened bananas sitting on my counter. I picked them up to toss them out, and heard that old adage run through my head. “Waste not, want not.”

So out came the flour, eggs, and bread pan.  This is such a simple  delicious recipe and most often times, everyone has the ingredients on hand in the pantry or kitchen.

Here’s my quick and easy recipe for Banana Bread. I literally whipped this up after work this evening.

Banana Bread
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Recipe type: Dessert Bread
Author: Sherri @ The Kitchen Prescription dot com
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 45 mins
Total time: 55 mins
Serves: 8-12
You can use nuts or berries. Whatever you have on hand. Tonight, I was without nuts and berries.
Ingredients
  • BANANA BREAD:
  • 3 Over ripened bananas
  • 1/4 cup butter ( I use salted butter)
  • 2 Cups flours
  • 1 Cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 egg
  • Pinch of salt
  • 5 Tablespoons milk
  • Nuts and berries optional
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Spray non stick pan with Pam (or if you’re lazy like me and hate to wash pans, line with tinfoil and spray. No muss. No fuss.)
  3. Peel and break up bananas into quarters in a mixing bowl
  4. Mash up bananas with a fork
  5. Stir in room temperature butter
  6. Add rest of dry ingredients
  7. Add rest of wet ingredients and mix well.
  8. Add optional nuts or berries
  9. If too dry add a little more milk but it should be a doughy/wet consistency
  10. Spoon into bread pan
  11. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or when toothpick comes out clean

I just remembered I had some left over strawberries in the fridge which would have been amazing baked into this.  I’ll have to try it next time. It will be a nice delicious breakfast because now I will slice the berries up over the bread in the morning.

Do you prefer your banana bread with or without out nuts? Berries or no berries? Do tell.

Homemade Meatballs and Sauce

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Mangia! Mangia! That’s Italian for “get your grub on!” What’s more Italian than meatballs and sauce? When my kids were little Sunday was usually a consistent pasta day with meatballs and sauce.  It was our time to sit down to a family dinner and savor the day before the crazy week began again.

Now that they are grown it’s not something I make as often. Although you couldn’t tell by my waistline.  The smell wafting through the house brings me back to the days the kids were little and elicits fond memories.

I still remember the first time I attempted my home made sauce at the tender age of 21.  I didn’t have the internet or google to find me an easy recipe to whip up. I got on the horn and called up my sister-in-law. She gave me the basics and over the years I perfected it to my own unique taste.

Everyone has their own secret ingredient that makes their sauce unique. Mine is cream cheese and brown sugar.  It gives the sauce a creamy sweet taste.  I’ve been adding it to my sauce since my 23 year old was a baby.

I hope you enjoy my family meatballs and sauce recipe as much as my family does.

Homemade Meatballs and Sauce
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Recipe type: Main
Author: Sherri @ The Kitchen Prescription dot com
Prep time: 45 mins
Cook time: 3 hours
Total time: 3 hours 45 mins
Serves: 4 to 8
I’m sharing my family secret sauce.I also add some hot sausage to flavor the sauce with a spicy kick. Mangia! Mangia!
Ingredients
  • MEATBALLS/SAUSAGE:
  • 1 lb of ground beef 80/20 (you can mix pork for a leaner meatball)
  • 1 small chopped red onion
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan and ramano cheese
  • 1/4 cup Progresso Italian bread crumbs (I usually just eyeball mine so I’m giving you an estimate)
  • 1/4 cup of Panko bread crumbs
  • 1 teaspoon garlic (use fresh if you want also you can use more or less of any of the ingredients)
  • Italian seasoning
  • sea salt
  • pepper
  • oregano
  • pinch of garlic salt
  • Splash of garlic milk
  • 3 HOT SAUSAGE LINKS: (cooked separately to flavor sauce)
  • 1/4 teaspoon chopped garlic
  • drizzle of oil oil
  • pinch sea salt
  • pinch of pepper
  • tablespoon small chopped red onion
  • SAUCE:
  • 1 large can of Dei Fratelli Sauce (add 1/2 can of water after emptied into pan)
  • 1 large can of Dei Fratelli Puree
  • 1 small can tomato paste (smallest can available)
  • 1 small chopped red onion
  • Sea Salt
  • Pepper
  • Italian Seasoning
  • Oregano
  • approximately 1 cup of parmesan cheese
  • 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
  • 2 small spoonfuls soft cream cheese
  • 2 to 4 tablespoons brown sugar (add to you get your desired sweetness)
Instructions
  1. MEATBALLS:
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  3. prepare cookie sheet with tin foil
  4. put all meatball ingredients in a mixing bowl
  5. mix all ingredients with freshly washed hands of course
  6. roll meatballs and place on cookie sheet
  7. bake at 350 for about 12 to 15 minutes
  8. SAUSAGE:
  9. Preheat a med side frying pan on med flame on stove
  10. Drizzle pan with oil oil
  11. Slice sausage diagonally into about 4 pieces and add to pan
  12. add onion, garlic, and seasonings.
  13. Cook until just about done (will finish cooking in sauce)
  14. Add your tomato paste to pan to marry all the flavors and cook on high for about 2 minutes stirring constantly
  15. SAUCE PREPARATIONS:
  16. Stove on med heat
  17. Pour the contents of you sausage and tomato paste into a large deep sauce pan
  18. Add onions and garlic
  19. Add can of tomato sauce and tomato puree and
  20. Add 1/2 can of water
  21. Stir the sauce and mix together
  22. Add all your seasonings and taste (it’s better to add less initially and then add more if you need it)
  23. Add Parmesan cheese
  24. Add cream cheese
  25. Add brown sugar
  26. you can add a small carrot to soak up the acidity of the sauce too. It’s an old Italian trick my sister in law taught me.
  27. Stir all your ingredients and make sure all lumps are out and and cheeses are melted.
  28. When meatballs are done drain off any grease and add to sauce.
  29. Cover sauce and simmer for at least 2 to 3 hours. I let mine simmer almost 4 and stir every so often.
  30. Serve over top your favorite pasta

What’s your secret sauce ingredient?

Who’s Up for Solving this Fruit and Cheese Mystery?

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The Rubik’s Fruit Cube. Have you seen it?

More importantly, can you solve it? It’s beautiful!  It’s a watermelon, kiwi, and feta cheese appetizer. I’ve been been pulling my hair out trying to google where this originated. I ran into it on a facebook page that had a link that someone found on Pinterest and from there the mystery began.

I found a Rubik’s Cubewich, but you have to buy the book to find out how to make the sandwich. Fatlottagood that does me. Who could eat that sandwich anyway? I mean, take one bite into that thing and you’ll have a lapwich.

Anyone want to take a stab at where this came from and what gadget would cube your fruit and cheese so it’s all uniform? How do you think it stays together?  If I assembled this masterpiece, I’m not sure I’d even let anyone touch it. I could easily see someone going to grab a piece and me screaming,  “No, don’t eat that! It’s a centerpiece!” Like Meg Ryan yelling at Tom Hanks in You’ve Got Mail.  “What is that? What are you doing?  That caviar is a garnish!”

http://youtu.be/qoQxxSj5P4Q[/youtube]

Seriously, I wish I could find at least one Food blog or Foodie out there that attempted this and gave away the secret.  I’m up for the challenge.  Any other takers? Anyone? I’ll let you know how it turns out. To be continued…

Update: Here is my version of the Rubik’s Fruit Cube.

The colors aren’t as vibrant.

Overall, I am pleased with how it came out. It can be replicated. How did I do it you ask? Well, you’ll have to figure that out on your own. After all, you’re supposed to solve a Rubik’s cube.

Just kidding. I’ll be nice and share how I replicated this. I purchased the square fondant cutters at Michaels and used the smallest cube cutter in the pack.

It was the perfect gadget!

Rubik’s Fruit Cube
Print
Recipe type: Appetizer
Author: Sherri @ TheKitchenPrescriptiondotcom
Prep time: 25 mins
Total time: 25 mins
Serves: 2
Perfect light summer appetizer and centerpiece.
Ingredients
  • 1 pound of watermelon
  • 2 kiwi
  • Small block of feta cheese
  • Spearmint Sprigs
Instructions
  1. Cube the fruit and cheese
  2. Alternate the fruit and cheese pieces
  3. I broke off toothpicks and placed them down the center to hold the cubes in place
  4. Garnish with spearmint sprigs

Remember earlier when I said I wouldn’t let anyone eat it? That part is true because after I was done photographing it, it was gone in 2.3 seconds by yours truly. It was DEElicious! Light and refreshing.

 

Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes

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These orange creme filled cupcakes brought back memories of me as a child chasing down the ice cream truck to get an Orange Creamsicle. Ohhhh, the nostalgia of ripping open the wrapper on a hot summer day and biting into the cool creamy vanilla ice cream center.  It was a conflict between taking my time to savor the sweetness and beat the heat before it melted in my hands.

I still hear the ice cream truck going by our street sometimes, but I haven’t chased one down in years. Maybe I should add that to my bucket list :) It’s always good to have child like tendencies even as an adult.  There is a little kid in us hiding somewhere, and I like to coax mine out every so often.

I think I accomplished that when I bit into one of these last night.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm it was so delicious and instantly brought back those familiar memories of Ohio summers.  No school, no worries. Days filled with endless swimming and only keeping an eye on the clock for the ice cream man and the music blaring out of the megaphone on the top of the truck.

Here’s what you need to recreate this wonderful summer memory.

Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes
5.0 from 2 reviews
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Recipe type: Dessert
Author: Sherri @ The Kitchen Prescription
Serves: 12
These will take you back to the days of chasing the ice cream truck down the street. Recipe Makes 12 cupcakes
Ingredients
  • Cake Ingredients:
  • 1 stick unsalted butter (room temperature)
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 3 eggs (room temperature)
  • 1 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 small container orange creme yogurt (keeps cupcakes moist)
  • 1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (can use 100% store bought juice if desired)
  • 1 whole orange zest
  • small amount of orange gel paste (can mix together red and yellow or use regular food coloring)
  • Whipped Creme Filling (so easy it’s scary)
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 tablespoon sugar (or confectioners sugar)
  • Orange Butter Creme Frosting:
  • 6 tablespoons butter (salted)
  • 2 teaspoon light soft cream cheese (optional)
  • 2 lbs confectioners sugar
  • 1/2 orange zest
  • I whole squeezed fresh orange juice about 4-6 tablespoons (or 100% store bought orange juice)
  • red and yellow gel paste coloring
Instructions
  1. Cake Directions:
  2. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
  3. In stand mixer with flat paddle cream together butter and sugar.
  4. Replace flat paddle with whisk attachment
  5. Add eggs one at a time and whisk well on med speed.
  6. Add flour, baking power, salt, and orange juice
  7. Add remaining ingredients (yogurt and orange zest)
  8. Mix on high until all lumps are out and you have a pancake batter like consistency.
  9. Fill a large gallon Zip-loc bag with batter.
  10. Snip off small corner tip and fill 12 cupcake liners 2/3 full
  11. Bake until toothpick comes out clean or cupcakes spring back to finger touch (be careful don’t burn those fingers!)
  12. Cool completely (I like to put mine in the freezer. They will take about 10 minutes to cool.)
  13. Whipped Creme Filling
  14. Make sure your mixer and whisk are ice cold (Place them in freezer for about 5 minutes)
  15. Use very cold whipping cream (this ensures the best results)
  16. Mix whipping cream on slow speed and increase to medium, then high once it starts getting thick.
  17. Just before it reaches peaks stop mixing
  18. Add vanilla and sugar
  19. Mix until peaks form on whisk. Careful not to over mix.
  20. Now fill cupcake centers with whipped creme. (I used a disposable piping bag and a Wilton long tip but to get the most amount of creme filling in the center, I recommend cutting out center with a parring knife at a 45 degree angle. Fill and replace top of cupcake.)
  21. Orange Cream Cheese Butter Cream Frosting:
  22. Cream butter and cream cheese (cream cheese can be an optional ingredient.)
  23. Add about 1 lb confectioner’s sugar
  24. Zest about half the orange into mixing bowl
  25. Cut orange in half and squeeze into bowl
  26. Mix on slow, to medium, to hight speed until smooth.
  27. Keep adding confectioner’s sugar until you get a smooth and stiff frosting.
  28. Divide frostings equally in two mixing bowls or plastic containers.
  29. To one bowl add some equal amounts (toothpicks work great for this) of red and yellow food coloring gel/paste (this will make a beautiful orange color.) Mix well.
  30. Add to the other bowl of frosting a toothpick full of yellow coloring gel/paste. Mix well
  31. If you need to add a little more sugar to stiffen up your frosting it’s okay to do. Just mix well with a knife or spatula.
  32. Use a disposable piping bag and a Wilton 2D large drop flower tip.
  33. Fill bag on one side with orange frosting and other half of bag with yellow frosting. Twist bag and if needed squeeze out some of the frosting until both yellow and orange come out of tip.
  34. Start in middle of cupcake holding tip at a 90 degree angle (straight up.) Squeeze a little pressure and then go in a counter clockwise direction (inside to outside) until the entire cupcake is covered.

Hope you enjoy these as much as I did.

 

Pink Lemonade Hydrangea Rose Cake and Cupcake Tutorial

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Hydrangea Rose cake and matching cupcakes.  Flavor you ask? Pink Lemonade with Raspberry preserves filling and pink lemonade butter cream frosting.

Update: 07/17/11. Finally, I’m posting the tutorial on the cake and cupcakes. I had this almost typed and posted once, and it disappeared into oblivion when I went to post it and I lost everything. I just didn’t have the strength to re-type it again that same day.  Sorry for the delay.

South Florida is a really great place to live. It’s literally paradise. Though, I have to admit that I miss the Mid West and gardening in the spring and summer. It’s just not the same here. A whole different region and zone for gardening.

I used to live for spring when I could get out into my yard and start nurturing my rose bushes and hydrangeas. It was my passion. In the summer, when the roses and hydrangeas were in full bloom, I would bring the flowers in and arrange them in a vase and place them atop my fireplace mantle. I could stare at them all day. *sigh*

I love them so much in fact, these two flowers were the wedding bouquet I chose for my second marriage, unfortunately the marriage didn’t last as long as my love for these flowers.

  It was a blessing in disguise really, but that’s not what this post is about. It’s about my inspiration for this Pink Lemonade Hydrangea Cake with matching cupcakes.

I regularly scan Youtube videos on cake and icing techniques and ran into this instructional video on piping hyrdrangeas on cupcakes. I knew I had to try it as soon as I saw a cupcake could easily become one of my favorite flowers.  And it is so easy. It really is. The secret is all in the piping tip you use (Wilton 2D large drop flower tip.)  A monkey could do it. Not that I’m calling you a monkey.

I adapted this Pink Lemonade recipe from A Little Loveliness. I decided also to fill mine with raspberry preserves and make them even more delectable.  I used one cake box and yielded one 9 inch round cake and 8 cupcakes.

Pink Lemonade Hydrangea Rose Cake and Cupcakes
Print
Recipe type: Dessert
Author: Sherri @ TheKitchenPrescriptiondotcom
Prep time: 3 hours 30 mins
Cook time: 12 mins
Total time: 3 hours 42 mins
Serves: 16
Wow your guests at your next entertaining event with this lovely cake and cupcakes combination.
Ingredients
  • CAKE AND CUPCAKE INGREDIENTS:
  • 1 box Duncan Hines white cake mix
  • Ingredients cake mix calls for
  • 3 tablespoons Country Time Pink Lemonade Sweetened Drink Mix
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
  • pinch of salt
  • FILLING:
  • 1-2 Jars of Raspberry preserves (depending on how much or little you desire)
  • BUTTER CREAM FROSTING INGREDIENTS:
  • 10 Tablespoons salted butter room temperature
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons soft light cream cheese
  • 2-3 pounds confectioners sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 4-6 tablespoons Country Time Pink Lemonade concentrate (thawed)
  • 1 tablespoon heaving whipping cream
  • 2 teaspoons lemon zest
  • OTHER ITEMS YOU WILL NEED:
  • White sugar pearls (can be purchased at Michaels in the baking section)
  • Pink sugar pearls
  • Wilton Rose gel/paste coloring (keeps from thinning out your butter cream)
  • Icing Whitener (I always have this on hand as the butter and cream cheese tend to make the color off white, which is ok for this this cake.)
  • Wilton Sky Blue and Lemon Yellow gel/paste coloring
Instructions
  1. CAKE AND CUPCAKE PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS:
  2. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
  3. add pink lemonade sweetened drink mix
  4. add lemon zest
  5. add pinch of salt
  6. mix with stand mixer or hand mixer
  7. Pour batter into 9 inch greased and lightly floured non stick cake pan
  8. Bake until a toothpick come out clean
  9. BUTTER CREAM FROSTING INSTRUCTIONS:
  10. Cream butter and cream cheese until smooth
  11. add about 3/4 lbs of confectioners sugar
  12. add whipping cream
  13. add 2 tablespoons of thawed pink lemonade concentrate
  14. add lemon zest
  15. mix and keep adding confectioners sugar a little at a time incorporating the rest of the pink lemonade concentrate.
  16. If frosting is too runny add more confectioners sugar
  17. If too stiff add more pink lemonade concentrate
  18. Now take some of the frosting in a separate container or bowl and mix in the rose gel coloring until you get the rose color you desire
  19. Don’t mix the cake color frosting until after you do your crumb coat (see below)
  20. Once that is done then mix a very tiny bit of the sky blue and a touch of yellow gel/paste and whitener to get that hint of yellow green hydrangea color
  21. Its best to mix the color separately until you get the color you desire then add to frosting.

 

Once you have your cake and cupcakes baked and cooled, it’s time to have some fun. Let’s focus on the cupcakes first. Take a disposable piping bag and the Wilton long filling tip and fill the bag with the raspberry preserves. Fill the centers with the preserves like so.

Take some of your pink icing and fill a disposable piping bag, attach a Wilton 2D large drop flower tip and fill bag with the butter cream frosting.  Hold bag at a slight angle. Start around the outside of the cupcake and work your way into the middle, just like the video above demonstrates.

After every couple of cupcakes or so, place your pink sugar pearls in the middle of the flower with a pair of tweezers. Doing this early allows the pearls to take before the frosting starts to stiffen and dry.

Next, it’s time to decorate the cake. Take a serated long knife and cut the cake carefully in half. I used the knife and a flat spatula to lift the top of the cake off. Use the pink frosting bag and go around the edges of the cake with the frosting to make a damn to hold the preserves in.

Fill the middle with preserves. I used the long tip and then spread out the preserves with a butter knife.

Replace the top of the cake. Don’t trim off the top of the cake, as you want the rounded top to create the round shape of a hydrangea.

It’s time to do an icing crumb coat, and place your rosettes on the cake.  Pick where you want to place them and use the same pink frosting and tip that you used for piping the hydrangea. Here’s a great tutorial for piping rosettes.

Now you’re ready to start piping the hydrangea technique. I started on the top of the cake.

Stop every so often be sure to add your off white sugar pearls to the center of your flowers. Once the top is done I piped around the bottom of the cake where it meets the cake stand. I did two rows of hydrangeas on the side.

That’s it. Start showcasing your masterpiece.

Your guests will be in awe of your creation at your next entertaining event.

I’d love to see your cake or cupcakes or both. Please come back and leave a link or picture.

Rose Cake

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I was asked to make a cake for a co-worker’s birthday.  I let her choose the flavor and then went to work on the rest.  I wanted to try out a new technique I had recently seen and thought I could pull off even though I’d never made one before.

My experience with cake decorating isn’t exactly up to par. I’m actually a little better at cupcakes, but I love learning new ideas and practicing. This was my daughter’s birthday cake I decorated last year. So sorry Maria!Tasted great, but I learned that adding a layer of fresh sliced strawberries between the layers wasn’t such a brilliant idea. Check out the moat around the dish. The strawberries around the cake kept sliding too, so I had to secure them with toothpicks! Trial and error, that’s usually my learning method.

Lately, I’ve been tooling around in the kitchen with my left over icing and practicing piping techniques on plastic lids or Pillsbury sugar cookies as my canvas. What? I can’t very well eat plastic lids. Here’s my hydrangea technique I’ll be showcasing soon. Hydrangea cupcakes! How pretty will those be?

However, this cake was a rush order and I didn’t have much time for practicing. It was now or never.  I do a lot of researching cake techniques on the internet and combine several ideas and always try to tweak it in my own way. The inspiration came from i am baker Tutorial, (hers is absolutely gorgeous by the way) as well as researching Youtube videos on rose decorating techniques.

I used this recipe for the cake and cream cheese icing ,which is my own. I didn’t add the blueberries to the cake batter, and I also used only a container and 1 tablespoon of cream cheese and added more confectioner’s sugar to stiffen up the icing.

After baking my two 9 inch round cakes I let them cool completely. Next,  I leveled the bottom layer mound with a knife(serated is usually recommended.) I’d never done this before. I usually just stack them and slap the icing on as you just witnessed first hand.

I probably could have leveled this a tad more, next time will be better. There are numerous Youtube video tutorials out there for doing this or just go to the expert i am baker. Next, I did a crumb layer of icing. Ice the bottom layer first with a straight metal spatula.

Now place the top layer on with bottom side up. You’ll get less crumbs doing this.

Okay, the glass of wine isn’t part of the icing process, but I like to relax a little when trying out a new cake technique.  Is that a smiley face on top of my cake? Haha “cake happens!”  I swear that was not staged. Finish your crumb layer and place in fridge or freezer for 10 (in freezer)to 20 minutes (in fridge) to set the icing.

Once dry, it’s recommended to finish your icing layer and get as smooth a layer on the top and sides as even as you can. If some crumbs do show through who cares. It’s getting covered with some fabulous roses. I was anxious to get to the fun part. Truth be told, I was too excited to wait for the crumb layer to dry and didn’t put it in the fridge to set. Hey, I didn’t say I followed directions well.

While I was making the icing I added a whitener that I picked up at Michaels Craft Store to get some of the yellow out of the frosting that is caused by the butter and vanilla extract. Then, I set some frosting aside and mixed in a rose paste to get the pink color I wanted.  I filled two Wilton disposable piping bags and used a 1M tip for each. This is a great starter set and has the 1M open star tip inside. (By the way, I get no compensation for recommending these links or products. I just think they are great products and resources.)

Next, I began on the side of the cake and held my tip even to wrist and elbow (straight out) and applied pressure for just a moment then went counter clockwise continuing around the center point. In other words, you work from inside out. This is a great video for the rose technique. My cake was a little high and I contemplated doing two rows of smaller roses, but in the end just went with one, although I had to loop around my starting point three times. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect. Mine wasn’t either.

In fact, I spread my roses out too far from each other and had to fill in spaces with a drop flower using the same tip. Then I added sugar pearls in the middle of the drop flowers to give it another textured feature. Don’t stress. It’s cake. Trust me, people will still eat it with a few mistakes. Besides, the more you practice the better you will become.

Then I decorated the top of the cake and started on the outside edges and worked my way  around to the middle then filled in the area with smaller roses.  I’m hoping to get all my roses uniform next time. It’s by no means perfect, but this didn’t take away from the cake. I’d like to think cakes are a bit like humans, they are better with a few flaws. It gives them uniqueness and character.

Do you think you would ever try this? I’d be curious to see others as well. “Sharing is caring, caring is sharing.” :)

What About Walgreens and a $50 Walgreens Brand Gift Card

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This post brought to you by Walgreens. All opinions are 100% mine.

Allergy season is in full swing here in South Florida, and if that wasn’t punishment enough I’ve inherited my mom’s watery eyes. Thanks mom! Luckily, Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Products are just a corner’s walk away.  I can find the allergy relief I need there.

This is a life-saver.  Not only does Wal-itin clear up my watery eyes, it calms down my allergy symptoms without making me drowsy. I’m pretty certain last time I checked, I’m supposed to be working at my desk and not sleeping.

Best of all, my pocket book is jumping for joy at the price. A bottle of 30 tabs is only $14.99. That’s a $10.00 savings compared to the leading name brand.  And who doesn’t love saving money in today’s economy? What’s that? I can’t hear you.

Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Products are a great value, allowing families and individuals to save money without sacrificing quality or trust. With the rising cost of health care, saving money on over-the-counter medications can really benefit a family’s budget.

In addition to being an exceptional value, Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Products are Walgreens pharmacist recommended. As a Registered Nurse of 18 years I feel confident telling you, most contain the same active ingredients as other national brands and have a 100% satisfaction guarantee.  That’s like putting money back in your pocket if you aren’t satisfied.

Please visit http://www.walgreens.com/walgr… to learn more about Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Products.  Don’t forget to choose your favorite Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Product and enter to win a $50.00 Walgreens Brand gift card.  Visit giveaways for participating blogs on how to enter and for Official Rules and Regulations.

Check out the Walgreens Way to Well Fund™ for more information on free preventative testing in your community. Why? Because Walgreens cares.

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