Whistles and Food Art

There are so many experiences that I cherish from my childhood. Visiting my cousin's in Tulare,Ca during the summer. Riding bikes, chasing lizards, climbing trees, and waking up to the smell of fresh biscuits that I later smothered in my great aunt's homemade jelly.

Although I managed to knock cans over with my cousins slingshot I was never able to master the art of whistling. It seems like such a small thing, but I have always wanted to whistle. I have tried in vain most of my adult life to whistle. Foolishly pursing my lips together, moving my tongue to the perfect position only to blow soundless air every time.

Something amazing happened today however, I WHISTLED! I was so surprised by myself that I whistled for a full minute. I really needed to use the restroom and had been holding it for a while, because I was on a call (TMI, I know). When I was able to finally run to the bathroom and go, I let out a puff of air in relief. Turns out the secret to whistling all the years was holding my pee. LOL

In honor of accomplishing a personal childhood dream I give you some kid friendly food art fun! I look forward to being able to provide fun food art for my children in the future. But in the meantime I am lucky enough to have the greatest niece who just happens to be the cutest little taste tester around.

Banana Bear Toast

All you need is an Eggo waffle, a banana, smear of peanut butter, raisins, and a hungry 17 month old!

Grilled Cheese Chicks and Strawberries

I used a spring time cookie cutter from target for the chickens.

For more inspiration and food art fun check out Selena Kohng on Instagram @howaboutcookie

Thanks for visiting and enjoy the sweet things!
xo 

Churro Cupcakes with Dulce De Leche Filing

A few weeks ago we threw a party for one of our students assistants. She is graduating from college and has been working in our office for four years. We are so proud of her and truly wish her all the best!

She is very proud of her Mexican heritage and has mentioned on a few occasions her love for churros. Churros are FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC so I couldn't resist an opportunity to make cupcakes inspired by this cinnamon/sugar covered treat.

Check out the recipe and deliciousness below:

Churro Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Filling and Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting Makes 24 regular size cupcakes Ingredients 2 cups all purpose flour ½ cups cake flour 1 tablespoon baking powder ½ teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temp 1 ½ cups granulated sugar 4 large eggs, room temp 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 ¼ cup milk 1 can Dulce de Leche 1 . Preheat oven to 350f. 2. Line cupcake pans with 24 paper cupcake liners 3. In a large bowl, add both flours, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Whisk to combine. Set aside.  4. In a large bowl using electric hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (approx. 2 min). Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition and scraping down the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla extract. 5.  Gradually mix in the flour mixture and milk, alternating between the two until combined. (Start and end with the flour mixture) 6.  Divide the batter evenly between the lined cupcake pans filling each cup approx. 3/4 full. 7. Bake at 350f for approx. 20 minutes until the centers are set and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 8. Remove from the pan and place on a wire cooling rack to cool completely. 9. Once the cupcakes have cooled, take a wooden spoon and make a hole in the center of each cupcake. 10. Use a pastry bag with a round tip (or just cut the tip off of a plastic storage bag) and fill it with the Dulce de Leche filling. 11. Pipe the filling into each cupcake

Make the Frosting Ingredients: ½ cup of butter 8 oz cream cheese softened 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon cinnamon 3 cups powdered sugar 24 mini churros for decorating 1. With an electric mixer, cream the butter and cream cheese together until smooth and creamy 2. Mix in the vanilla extract and cinnamon 3. Gradually mix in the powdered sugar to achieve desired consistency. If frosting is too thick, add the milk. 4. Frost and decorate the cupcakes as desired.

Making the Mini Churros Ingredients: 1 wheat tortilla ½ cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon Vegetable or Canola Oil for frying 1. Combine cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl 2. Heat oil over medium-high heat 3. Cut shapes out of the tortilla using a mini cookie cutter 4. Fry each tortilla until golden brown 5. Remove from the oil and toss in the cinnamon sugar mixture 6. Place the churros on a plate to cool before garnishing the cupcakes

Recipe adapted from Live... Bake... Love...

Mini churros

The frosting was perfect!

 

 

Thanks for visiting and enjoy the sweet things!
xo

 

Blueberry Croissant Puff

My love for breakfast runs far and deep! It is by far my favorite meal of the day and I love it even more when I get to enjoy it with a mimosa for brunch.

I have been doing lots of experimenting with perfecting my baked French toast recipe. Baked French toast is simply THE BEST! It can be prepared the night before and enjoyed the morning of any holiday ( I recently made it for Mother's Day and last Christmas). Also it can be made in bulk which frees up the chef from being stuck in front of the stove flipping bread, and allows them to spend more time with family.

Let me know if you try the recipe and what your favorite breakfast foods are in the comments.


Blueberry Croissant Puff

4 large croissants, cut up
1 cup of fresh or frozen blueberries
½ cup sugar
3 or 4 large eggs
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon

Brown Sugar Crumble
1 tbsp. butter, melted
⅓ cup brown sugar
¼ cup flour

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, milk, eggs, vanilla and cinnamon.
3. Pour mixture evenly over croissant pieces. (You may need to add more mixture if your croissant pieces are not fully covered). Let stand 20 minutes or refrigerate overnight.
4. In a small bowl, use a fork and mix together brown sugar, flour and butter until crumbly.
5. Sprinkle croissants with blueberries and brown sugar crumble.
6. Bake for 35 minutes or until set in center. If tops are getting too browned cover for last 10 minutes.

Adapted from Blueberry Croissant Puff, it originally appeared here.





I used frozen blueberries.







Three of us ate the whole thing!

Note: I usually buy the croissants a day or two ahead. They dry out a little and soak up the egg mixture better.

 

 

Thanks for visiting and enjoy the sweet things!
xo

 

National Chocolate Chip Day

Holidays are my absolute favorite! I love getting into the spirit of holidays, decorating and BAKING to celebrate. I am always making little gifts and treats to celebrate the holidays.


Google National Chocolate Chip Day!

So in honor of yesterday's glorious holiday National Chocolate Chip Day (totally not a made up thing, I promise) I give you the BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE OF ALL TIME!!!**

Check out these other blogs for more rave reviews: Tidy Mom,  For Me, For You (Kate provides lots of baking tips!)

Original Cookie Recipe Can be Found here: NY Times



Delicious coarse sea salt



Giant tub of cookie dough = AWESOME



 I used an ice-cream scoop to make the dough balls large enough. Also, I only had the patience to wait for the dough to chill for 9 hours (I was sleeping for 8 of those hours).




I am allowing the rest of the dough to chill for the full 36 hours for even better results.



Check out these beauties!



Cookie tower!

**I know you may be thinking, "No way! My Gam Gam makes the best cookies, she uses a sercret family recipe!" or maybe you said, "Nuh uh, my kids simply love Toll House cookies. There's nothing better."

Sorry to break it to you but the Toll House Recipe has nothing on these cookies! And these are definitely better than your grandmother's... sorry Gam Gam! :)

Thanks for visiting and enjoy the sweet things!
xo 

Chocolate Red Wine Cupcakes

Happy Monday!

This weekend we visit the winery in celebration of my husbands's birthday. Most of our family members had never been to a winery or wine tasting before. So naturally we, the "wine connoisseurs", had to show them a good time! :)

Everyone had a blast. All of the food I prepared was perfect for a nice warm afternoon in Temecula. I cannot wait for July because I want to do it all over again for my birthday. With more food and people of course.

My mom and I prepared some Chocolate Red Wine Cupcakes. The chocolate cake in this recipe is incredibly moist and has a true chocolate flavor. I used recipes from two different sources (links below) and made a few tweaks. Check out our version:



We used an inexpensive Shiraz.

 

Chocolate Cupcake
Original Recipe from De La Casa
Makes 24

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
100g dark chocolate (72%) broken into small pieces
½ cup boiling water
1cup & 1 tbsp butter, softened
1 ½ cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 ¼ cup all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
 ¼ tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
 ½ cup red wine 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.
2. In a medium heatproof bowl, combine cocoa powder and chocolate pieces, whisk in the boiling water until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is thoroughly combined.
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and granulated sugar. Beat in the eggs until well blended. Mix in flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix until just combined. Alternating, add the chocolate mixture and wine, mix until batter is smooth.
4. Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling them about halfway full. Bake for 18 minutes. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Red Wine Buttercream
Original Recipe from Teacher Chef 

1 cup Butter

1 cup vegetable shortening

6 cups powdered sugar

½ cup red wine reduction

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoon milk

Instructions

1. Cream the Butter & Shortening together for at least a minute or two.
2. Add about half of your sugar and cream some more for a delicious whipped light frosting. Then add your liquids and cream some more. Finally add the rest of your sugar a bit a time to get the perfect frosting consistency that you like (more or less as you need).
3. Pipe onto your cupcakes and enjoy!

 

 

 Spinach dip and bagel chips.

Bruschetta with toasted French bread and a balsamic drizzle.

 

 

 

Thanks for visiting and enjoy the sweet things!
xo