Showing posts with label graham crackers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label graham crackers. Show all posts

Monday, August 31, 2009

Bakeover with Danger Kitten


Cheese Crackers
Originally uploaded by Cup O'Cake Designs
Life has been hectic for me this summer, I know I've mentioned that before. I've been very careful to leave time for baking because if I go too long without it, I start to feel like I'll never pick it back up again.

About a week ago, my husband made plans to attend a Beer Festival with Danger Kitten's husband, Brewfus. Danger Kitten & I had zero desire to attend said festival, but I thought a bakeover would be a great idea. I'd been wanting to get together with her for a while now that she's moved back to the state, but hadn't had the opportunity.

While the boys went off to taste who knows how many Belgian Ales, we baked our little hearts out. And it was fantastic.

I made Cheese Crackers, two ways. First I made them as called for in the recipe- with two cups of Cheddar Cheese. However, I love a little spice to my cheese, so for my second batch I used a Chipotle Cheese.

In the future, I think I'll roll the dough much thinner, because I prefer a crispy cracker. These were delicious, but a little soft for my tastes. The Chipotle crackers were addictive, and the Cheddar crackers were quite yummy as well.

Danger Kitten baked Black Bottom Cupcakes and Raspberry Lemon Thumbprints. I didn't have a chance to eat either fresh out of the oven- but they were both delicious. I had a hard time keeping myself from eating too much of the cookie dough. The addition of lemon (juice & zest) made them the perfect summer afternoon treat.

We also had our friend Linda along. She baked some wonderful peanut butter chocolate brownies. Mmm.

I had so much fun doing this, that I'm hoping we can make it a monthly event.

Looking to get out of a baking rut? Looking for an excuse to try out a recipe you keep putting off? Find some friends and host a bakeover. I promise you'll have fun.

You can see more pictures (mostly "in progress" shots) at my flickr.

Monday, April 27, 2009

S'more Birthday Cupcakes, Please


Fired Up
Originally uploaded by Cup O'Cake Designs
My husband's birthday was this weekend. I'd been bugging him for quite some time about what he thought he might like to have. He suggested possibly the Peanut Butter Chocolate cupcakes I made for the wedding tasting, but I wanted to try something different.

I was going through my copy of Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World and calling out ideas to him when I came upon their recipe for S'mores cupcakes. Perfect! He's been a vegetarian for almost a year and hasn't eaten any marshmallows in that time (since they contain gelatin which is an animal product).

Taking a closer look at the recipe I discovered that they called for their Vegan Vanilla Buttercream. I love that frosting (in fact, it's my new go-to for Vanilla Buttercream), but my Husband does not. Not to mention the fact that I wanted something that was at least vaguely marshmallow-y. Otherwise? How is this like a s'more at all?

I had originally planned to make Vegan marshmallows, but got completely overwhelmed by a number of other things in life (though I do plan to make them at a later date). So I had to search for something else. Marshmallow fluff!

Believe it or not Marshmallow fluff does not have any animal products in it. I used the same recipe for 7 minute marshmallow fluff frosting that I used a while back for the Orange Creamsicle cupcakes. Now, please take note: this is not vegan frosting, it contains two egg whites. My husband does eat eggs, so it wasn't an issue for us.

The cupcakes turned out great. They weren't exactly what popped in my mind when I thought about them, because I'd expected a chocolate cake. These were a molasses cake, which made them extremely moist.

The frosting was super messy. But, what good s'more isn't?

We had a cast party for the play my husband is currently in on the evening of his birthday. The woman who is playing his wife in the show had her birthday the following day. What better way for the two of them to celebrate with their own special cupcakes.

You can see pictures of the whole group of cupcakes on my flickr.