Devil's Food Tea Cakes with Pinot Noir Frosting

Let's face it, this is just delicious.

Cake Ingredients:

1 box devil's food cake mix (plus ingredients called for on back)

1 cup melted chocolate

Frosting Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup red wine (I used Pinot Noir)

1 tsp red food coloring gel (optional)

Directions:

Mix cake with ingredients called for on the back (usually an egg and some oil!) and then add melted chocolate.  Bake cupcakes according to directions.  I used a teacup pan, which creates a space in the middle for filling, but you could also do these as regular cupcakes or any variation you can think of!

To make frosting, mix all of the ingredients until smooth.  I added red food coloring to make the frosting a bit brighter, but that's really up to you.  Enjoy!

Tips:  This should probably not be served to children, unless you live in France.

Nutty White & Dark Chocolate Bread Pudding

This is easy to make and you can add pretty much any type of nut, fruit or chocolate.  Especially chocolate!

Ingredients:
8 slices bread (I used challah as I'd recently made it)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup hazelnuts, chopped
1/2 cup almonds, sliced
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roughly chop or tear bread into bite sized pieces and place in an 8 x 8 baking pan. Drizzle melted butter over the bread.

In a medium bowl, combine eggs, cream, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Beat until well mixed. Pour over bread and allow to soak in for a few minutes.  Sprinkle with white chocolate, dark chocolate and stud with the nuts, pressing some of the chocolate and nuts down into the soft bread mixture.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 45 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Enjoy!

Tips: Pretty much any type of topping can be substituted here... but this was really good with a lot of chocolate and nuts!

Homemade Chorizo

I was so excited to try this recipe because I am obsessed with chorizo.  I was not disappointed by the results... it's delicious!

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 white onion, chopped

1 lb ground pork

5 tbsp ground guajillo chile pepper

1 tbsp Mexican oregano

1 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp coriander

3 tsp salt (or to taste)

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

3/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup lime juice

Directions:

In a large skillet, heat olive oil, then add garlic and onion.  Cook until softened and beginning to turn brown, about 10 minutes.  Add the pork and cook on high until slightly browned.

Add spices to the pork mixture, tasting as you go along - be sure to adjust this to your preferred level of spice.  I like it spicy so I just kept adding more of the chile pepper!  I tried to make this as close to real chorizo as possible - very spicy, tangy and flavorful!  Simple reduce the spices for a milder version.

Next, add the lime juice and vinegar and allow to cook until the liquid has reduced.  Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

This is great in tacos, with eggs or potatoes, or in any variety of Mexican delights (quesadillas, hmmm?)  It will last in the refrigerator for about a week, or can be frozen for later use.  Enjoy!

Tips: 

The original recipe called for using dehydrated guajillo chiles and toasting, then rehydrating them.  I happened to find ground guajillo chiles at the store, so I used that instead, but either way should work just fine.  After I made this, I saw another recipe for homemade chorizo that incorporated tequila, so I might try that next!

Chipotle Shrimp and Corn Enchiladas

I didn't used to like the flavor of chipotle peppers, I don't know why.  Now I'm obsessed with it.  It's particularly good as a spice or sauce with seafood.

Ingredients:

1 pound raw shelled and deveined shrimp

1 cup corn
1/4 cup lime juice

14 ounces chipotle salsa (usually found in 7 ounce cans)

8 ounces tomato sauce

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp Mexican oregano

1 tsp onion powder

Salt and pepper, to taste
12 corn tortillas

4 cups shredded cheddar or monterey jack cheese

1 avocado (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Defrost and remove shells from shrimp, if necessary. 

In a large bowl, mix chipotle salsa, tomato sauce, lime juice, garlic and spices.  Taste and add additional seasoning if necessary/desired.  This will be the flavor for the entire dish, so you do want it to have a bit of intensity.  In a smaller separate bowl, reserve about a cup of the sauce.

Drizzle a few tablespoons of the sauce into the bottom of an oven safe baking dish.  This recipe should make about enough for a 9 x 13 inch pan.

It is easiest to fold the corn tortillas if they are warm, so I suggest heating them in the microwave for about 30 seconds.  If they get cold during the assembly process, nuke them again.

Add shrimp and corn to the salsa mixture and stir to combine.  To assemble, take one tortilla and dip it into the reserved sauce.  Then spoon some cheddar cheese into the tortilla, top with the shrimp and corn mixture, and roll tightly.  Place seam side down in the baking dish.  Repeat this process until all of the tortillas have been used and the pan is full.  Pour remaining sauce over the top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the cheese is thoroughly melted and beginning to brown.  I like to serve this with salsa and sliced avocado on the side.  Enjoy!

Tips -  Personally, I like a lot of cheese in my enchiladas, so if this seems excessive or nutritionally reckless, feel free to override me!

Frozen Butterfinger Pie

For this recipe, you don't even have to cook anything.  That's right!  Just mix it together, freeze it and voila!  A great summer dessert.

Ingredients:
Chocolate crust (the crumbly store bought kind!)
8 oz cream cheese, softened
7 oz sweetened condensed milk (1/2 can)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup powdered sugar
8 oz container of Cool Whip, thawed
10 fun size or 4 full size Butterfinger candy bars, chopped

Directions:
Start by unwrapping candy and chopping into bite sized pieces. Reserve, separating about 1/4 cup of the candy for the top of the pie.

Then, using a hand or electric mixer, beat cream cheese, condensed milk, peanut butter, and powdered sugar until smooth and completely combined. Fold in whipped topping and chopped Butterfinger.

Spread the mixture into the pie crust.   Garnish with reserved candy.  Cover and freeze until firm, about an hour. Serve frozen.   Enjoy!

Strawberry Daiquiri Jello Shots

This is a little time consuming but I think the presentation is well worth it... they are adorable!

Ingredients:
1 pint strawberries (get the biggest ones you can find!)
1 box strawberry jello
1 cup dark rum
1 cup water
1/4 cup white sugar
2 -3 limes (sliced into teeny tiny triangles!)

Directions:
Slice a thin sliver off the bottom of each strawberry so that they will stand upright.  Be very careful not to take too much off. Since the strawberries are porous, they will leak very easily, causing the jello to drizzle out while you are waiting for it to set. Trust me, I learned my lesson on this one!

Cut off the top of each strawberry and using a small spoon or knife, hollow out a cavity in the top.   Again, don't go too deep or you run the risk of the delicious rum mixture running out the bottom.

Boil the water in a small pan, then add the jello and whisk until is dissolves. Pour in the rum and stir to combine.   Let cook for about 2 more minutes, then remove from heat and cool.

Once the jello mixture is lukewarm, pour it into the strawberries and chill until set (a few hours or overnight). I found the easiest way to keep them upright was by using an ice cube tray.

When ready to serve, roll strawberries in sugar and garnish with limes. Cheers!

Sunny Side Up Bacon Cupcakes

How could I resist making these?

I saw this on another blog - That's So Michelle  I've modified the recipe a bit, but the idea is essentially the same!

Yield:  About 18 cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 box white cake mix
3 egg whites
9 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 cup water 

Egg (Cream Cheese Frosting):

16 ounces (2 pkg) cream cheese (room temperature)

2 cups powdered sugar 

Yolk (Maple Frosting)

8 ounces cream cheese (room temperature)

1 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons maple extract
2 teaspoons orange food coloring

Salt and Pepper:
Chocolate and White Sugar Sprinkles

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl or electric mixer, combine cake mix, egg whites, water, oil and maple syrup.  Meanwhile, fry bacon until crisp and drain on paper towels.  Chop into small bits, then mix the bacon into the batter.  Fill cupcake liners or pan with the batter about 3/4 full.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until set.

To make the frosting, simply mix ingredients with a whisk or electric mixture to desired consistency.  For the maple frosting, be sure to use enough food coloring to make the yolk bright and pretty!

When the cupcakes are done, remove from the oven and allow to cool.  Now for the fun part!  Using a spatula or knife, spread white frosting smoothly over the top.  For the egg yolk, I used a small melon baller to measure out the shape and size, then patted it down with the back of it.  Piping this on with a decorating bag would have probably been easier... I just didn't think of it at the time!

Finally, "season' the egg with the salt (sugar sprinkles) and pepper (chocolate sprinkles) and serve!  Enjoy!

Tips:  This will probably make more frosting than you need.  But, good news... you can freeze the leftovers and use in another recipe... this maple frosting is delicious on spice cake!

Strawberry Butter

I saw this recipe in a magazine and it sounded delicious.  It lives up to the hype!  I think this would go nicely with so many things... on bread, french toast, piped into cupcakes or pastries, with scones, etc.  I am also considering using it as a filling for a summery cake!

Of course I also put some in a Babycakes jar because I'm obsessed with making products for my food truck, so I apologize in advance if that seems capitalistic!  Did I just make up a new word?!

Yield:  About 25 servings

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh strawberries, cored

1 pound salted butter, room temperature

1 8 ounce package cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor until a thick, creamy consistency is achieved.  The butter will become more rigid in the refrigerator when chilled, so it won't seem like butter just yet.

Taste the butter and adjust flavorings if necessary - I'm not a perfectionist when it comes to measuring, so I basically just added more powdered sugar until it was sweet enough, and a bit more butter to get the proper consistency.  The measurements above are pretty similar to what I used, but you may want it more sour, more sweet, etc, so that is up to the cook!

This can be refrigerated for about a week, and frozen for later use.  Enjoy!