Month: July 2010

Key Lime Pie

Key lime pie is my favorite dessert ever. Ever. Ever. I would choose key lime pie over any other treat (which is shocking, considering it doesn’t involve cheese and/or chocolate!).

This recipe is simple, delicious, and the crust is to-die-for.

Though I should note, I didn’t actually use key limes. They don’t sell them at my grocery store. I live in Wisconsin, not Florida! So I used regular limes instead….but will continue to call this key lime pie.

Yield: 8 slices of pie

Key Lime Pie

Key Lime Pie

Close your eyes and pretend you're in the Florida Keys with this delicious treat!

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

For the crust:

  • 18 whole graham crackers (the 4-section large pieces)
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup butter, melted

For the filling:

  • 1 Tablespoon (heaping) lime zest
  • ½ cups lime juice
  • 2 whole egg yolks
  • 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 350F.

    Make the crust:

    1. Crush crackers in a food processor or Ziploc bag. Pour them into a bowl and stir in sugar and melted butter. Press into a pie pan and bake for 5 minutes or until golden and set.

    2. Remove from oven and set aside to cool slightly.

    Make the filling:

    1. Mix lime zest, lime juice, and egg yolks in a mixing bowl.

    2. Add in condensed milk and mix on high until smooth and thick.

    3. Pour mixture into crust and bake for 15 minutes.

    4. Remove from oven, allow to cool, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour or more if possible, before serving.

Notes

Your yield will depend on how big or small you cut your pieces of pie.

Recipe credit: The Pioneer Woman

Black-Bottom Cupcakes

Oh oh oh so good. Cream cheese, in any form, is a good thing. Paired with chocolate? Even better.

Black-Bottom Cupcakes
Recipe sources: The Great Book of Chocolate & Smitten Kitchen
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For the filling:
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used mini chocolate chips)

For the cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
5 tablespoons natural unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1/3 cup unflavored vegetable oil
1 tablespoon white or cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Make the filling: Beat together the cream cheese, granulated sugar, and egg until smooth. Stir in the chopped chocolate pieces. Set aside.

Make the cupcakes:
1. Preheat to 350°F (175°C). Butter or line a 12-cup muffin tin.
2. In a medium bowl sift together the flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together the water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla.
3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients, stirring until just smooth. Stir any longer and you will over mix the batter and end up with less-than-tender cupcakes.
4. Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Spoon a few tablespoons of the filling into the center of each cupcake, dividing the filling evenly. This will fill the cups almost completely, which is fine.
5. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the tops are slightly golden brown and the cupcakes feel springy when gently pressed. These moist treats will keep well unrefrigerated for 2 to 3 days if stored in an airtight container.

Makes 12 cupcakes.

New York Subway Cupcakes

I’m leaving today for New York! I’ll be there for almost 2 weeks :) In celebration of my trip, I made New York Subway cupcakes. No fancy instructions here – the cupcakes are chocolate box mix with store-bought frosting. I bought colored fondant and used a circle cookie cutter to make the shapes. I also have a set of number and letter fondant cutters that I used.

I have a ton of blog posts scheduled for the coming weeks, so be sure to check back. Key lime pie, root beer cupcakes, and more!

Margarita Cupcakes

Let’s be honest. Everything is more fun if alcohol is involved. Baking is no different. Margaritas are my favorite summer drink (…and fall, winter, and spring drink) and these cupcakes are fantastic. And easy!

Margarita Cupcakes
Recipe source: recipegirl.com
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Cake:
9 ounces liquid Margarita mix (a little over a cup)
3 ounces tequila (a little less than 1/3 cup)
¾ ounce Grand Marnier (*I did not include this because I didn’t have any!)
1 box white cake mix
3 large egg whites
2 Tbs vegetable oil
1 Tbs lime zest

Lime Buttercream Icing:
2 sticks unsalted butter (1 cup), at room temperature
5 to 6 cups powdered sugar
2 Tbs fresh lime juice
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp grated lime zest
green food coloring, if desired

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two dozen cupcake tins with paper liners.
2. Whisk together margarita mix, tequila and Grand Marnier in a small bowl. Measure out 1¼ cups for the recipe; pour the rest on some ice and drink it while making the cupcakes.
3. In a large bowl, blend cake mix, egg whites, vegetable oil, lime zest and 1¼ cups of the margarita mix from step 1. Blend on low for about 30 seconds and then increase speed to medium and blend for two additional minutes. Batter will be slightly lumpy.
4. Spoon the batter into cupcake liners (about ¾ full). Bake for 20-25 min, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool for about 10 minutes in the pans, then remove them to a rack to cool completely.
5. Once cucpakes are completely cooled, prepare the icing. Place butter in a large bowl and beat with electric mixer until butter is fluffy. Add 5 cups of powdered sugar, salt, lime juce, and lime zest. Mix until thick and creamy. Add more powdered sugar until the frosting is of a good spreading (or piping) consistency. Mix in a tiny amount of green food coloring or gel paste if you’d like the frosting to have a green tint. Ice cupcakes in whatever manner you prefer… spreading or piping the frosting. Use small lime slices as garnish.

Yield: About 24

*These are best consumed the day they are made – but if you store them in an air-tight container, they will keep for a few days.

Blackberry Cobbler

One of the two million reasons I love summer is the abundance of fresh fruit. Everything is in season. Blackberries are one of my favorite fruits. Here’s a relatively simple recipe for a blackberry cobbler. If you can tolerate lactose (unlike me), I’d suggest serving it with ice cream.

Blackberry Cobbler
Recipe source: Cooking Light
Print Recipe

1 cup granulated sugar, divided
6 Tbs butter, softened
1 large egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup whole almonds, toasted
6 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1-1/3 cups)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 Tbs ice water
10 cups fresh blackberries (about 60 oz.)
3 Tbs cornstarch
1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
2 Tbs turbinado sugar

1. Place 1/3 cup granulated sugar and butter in a larger bowl; beat with a mixer until combined (about 1 minute). Add egg yolk, beating well. Stir in vanilla.
2. Place almonds in a food processor; pulse 10 times or until finely ground. (it took far more than 10 pulses for my food processor!) Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine nuts, flour, baking powder, and salt, stirring well with a whisk. Gradually add nut mixture to butter mixture, beating at low speed just until a soft dough forms, adding 3 Tbs of ice water, as necessary. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead lightly 6 times or until smooth. Divide dough into 2 equal portions; wrap each portion in plastic wrap. Chill 1 hour or until firm.
3. Preheat oven to 375F.
4. Combine the remaining 2/3 cup granulated sugar, blackberries, cornstarch, and lemon juice; toss gently. Arrange berry mixture in a 9×13″ glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray.
5. Unwrap dough. Roll each dough portion into a 9×13″ rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Cut one rectangle, crosswise, into (1-inch-wide) strips. Cut remaining rectangle, lengthwise, into (1-inch-wide) strips. Arrange strips in a lattice pattern over fruit mixture; sprinkle dough with turbinado sugar. Bake at 375F for 50 minutes or until golden. Let stand 10 minutes.

*Note: As you can see below, I’m not skilled in making pretty lattice patterns. If you aren’t either, don’t worry! Just layer the dough in some sort of cross pattern and it will be fine!

Mmmmm….