Category Archives: Desserts

Classic Chocolate Frosting

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Julie • 14 Comments

classic chocolate frosting

As a baker, you don’t tend to hear a lot of complaints about cupcakes. What’s to complain about? Hi, I made you a tiny individualized cake! The only thing I sometimes hear – and agree with – is that the frosting is too sweet. There seems to be a bit of a rock and a hard place with frosting – you’re either doing a super-buttery Swiss or Italian meringue buttercream (which can be finicky and which some people don’t find sweet enough) or a classic American buttercream (butter + powdered sugar). That’s the too sweet one. Honestly, I love all frostings, but I don’t begrudge people who don’t love a big pile of American buttercream.

One of those people is my boyfriend. He’s very into the “classics,” but he lives with an adventurous cook and food blogger. So for every cheese pizza, he puts up with about ten of my experiments. Granted, I think most people, including him, would say that’s a good problem to have, but for his birthday he gets to pick his own full “classic” menu – and capping off this one was chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting, which was the perfect chance for me to make my absolute favorite chocolate frosting. I can’t believe I haven’t shared it on here yet – I actually went back through my archives to make sure I hadn’t.

… [click for recipe and more]

Filed Under: Desserts

Healthy Homemade Shamrock Shake

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Julie • 7 Comments

healthy homemade shamrock shake

I’ve never been part of the national annual frenzy over Shamrock Shakes. Peppermint and McDonald’s are both pretty low on the list of things I actively seek out. But I’ve been insanely into smoothies lately (I just got a new blender, I don’t think I’ve chewed anything in like a week) and we’re still approaching St. Patrick’s Day, so all the things should be green. And drinkable. Also, I’m trying really, really hard to come around on peppermint, so this was good motivation to keep giving it the old college try.

This is really more of a smoothie-type drink than a thick shake, but the flavor is great (and just right, according to a Shamrock Shake devotee I tested the recipe on). Just a little bit sweet from vanilla yogurt, agave, and banana, with a cool minty kick from pure peppermint extract mellowed by creamy almond milk. Oh, and why is it green? Because of spinach. Which you cannot taste AT ALL. My hand to God. You’re getting a solid serving of veggies and you won’t even know it. Which also makes it great for kids, if you omit the protein powder.

Also, since this is not even really a “recipe” so much as a “pile of stuff dumped in a blender,” it’s infinitely adaptable. Want a thicker, more shake-like consistency? Use vanilla frozen yogurt or ice cream instead of the yogurt and ice. Not into protein powder? Just leave it out. It’s good any which way you spin it. I’ve had this for breakfast two days in a row and I don’t even like peppermint. And as an added bonus, this version has half the calories, twice the protein, less than half the carbs, and less than 1/5 the fat of a legit Shamrock Shake – with zero artificial colors or flavors. So skip the McD’s run and give this a whirl. In your blender. See what I did there? Yeah, yeah, I know. … [click for recipe and more]

Filed Under: Breakfast, Desserts, Quick & Easy, Snacks

Chocolate Guinness, Whiskey, and Bailey’s Cupcakes

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Julie • 3 Comments

guinness and bailey's cupcakes

Well, St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner (again?!), so we’ll be doing some boozing and chewing in honor of the Irish this week. Fun part about this particular recipe? You can do both at the same time. These cupcakes are based on a popular drink that I have never indulged in because a) I hate the name, and b) I do not chug. I have been routinely mocked at bars for sipping on a regular-sized shot for upwards of thirty minutes, many times even eliciting a sarcastic round of applause for finally finishing it off. In what world am I going to willingly order something that’s going to turn into an undrinkable curdled mess within seconds? If I wanted an undrinkable curdled mess I’d just hit up the two-month-old heavy cream sitting in the back of my fridge that I keep forgetting to throw out.

… [click for recipe and more]

Filed Under: Desserts

S’mores Cupcakes

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Julie • 7 Comments

s'mores cupcakes

First of all, thanks to everyone who filled out the survey in the previous entry. I’ve gotten some great feedback and I’m going to keep collecting for another week or so to see what else trickles in. If you missed it before, feel free to pop on back one entry and give your input on what you do and don’t like about the blog and what you’d like to see in the future.

You guys, I am TIRED of winter. This one has just felt especially ucky and bleak and it’s got me yearning for summertime like you wouldn’t believe (please remind me that I said this in August when it’s a trillion degrees and I’m whining about how disgusting and sticky it is). Summer always makes me think of s’mores, which I can’t have because stupid marshmallows have stupid gelatin. And who wants to sit around a fire in the middle of summer, anyway?

… [click for recipe and more]

Filed Under: Desserts

Banana Bread

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Julie • 1 Comment

banana bread muffins

Banana bread is the food of the procrastinator. It’s the very essence of not being wasteful with what you were too remiss to use in its prime, of making something out of what would otherwise be garbage. That’s why, as someone who chose her place of higher education based on who was still accepting applications in mid-April, it’s one of my favorites. There aren’t many foods where, after you forget they’re still there and they’ve gone brown and kind of slimy and horrible looking, you can still a) use them and b) make them even better than their original form.

I don’t know where this recipe came from…well, I do (my mom), but she thinks it’s Joy of Cooking. The banana bread recipe in my copy and the ones that come up when I google “joy of cooking banana bread” don’t match up ingredient-wise, so I can’t source this other than to say it’s not mine, and I know it’s old school because I copied it off an index card and the original instructions said to bake in a “moderate” oven which forced me to frantically call my mother to ask what the hell a “moderate” oven was (socially liberal but fiscally conservative? Voted for Joe Lieberman?).

Regardless of this banana bread’s middle-leaning proclivities, it’s pretty much a no-fail endeavor. Until recently, I’ve always baked it as a loaf, but now I prefer it in muffin form for its increased giftability (I am currently playing the role of Wells Fargo wagon to the rotating band of misfits that are continually moving into/out of my building). Either way, it’s always delicious, and makes a perfect breakfast, snack, or gift.

… [click for recipe and more]

Filed Under: Breads, Breakfast, Desserts