Category Archives: Dessert

Maraschino Cherry + Vanilla Cupcakes

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If you’ve been reading my blog for the past week or so, you know I went to D.C. over spring break.

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While there, we were hoping to see the famous D.C. cherry blossoms. We went during the National Cherry Blossom Festival after all. Well, the blossoms had not yet bloomed.

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It was okay, though. We still had a great time and seeing the blossoms is still on our list of things to do and see.

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We ate so much good food while in D.C. Sweets were consumed multiple times daily. I was not complaining about that at all.

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We visited a bakery in Georgetown called Baked and Wired. It had to be my favorite sweet place we went to all weekend. The selection of sweets was impressive. The atmosphere was cool. The location was amazing. It was an all-around lovable place.

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The cupcake I got? Out of this world. It was a special for the weekend — a cherry blossom cupcake.

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I took one bite and couldn’t help but just devour the rest (really fast). It was undeniably good. Sweet, fluffy and full of cherry flavor. It reminded me of cherry vanilla ice cream, which I just love. I knew I had to recreate that cupcake.

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I thought and thought and here is what I came up with.

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This cupcake is sweet. I did not make the cupcake part itself overly sweet because I knew the icing would make up for it. The vanilla bean studded batter is made even more fantastic by chopped up maraschino cherries. I love the texture they add to the cupcake.

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The buttercream icing is sweetened with maraschino cherry juice. It is sweet, smooth and delicious on top of this cupcake.

These were loved by my family, I hope that you love them too!

Makes 24 cupcakes

For the cupcake:
3 c. flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 sticks of butter, softened
1 1/2 c. white sugar
2 eggs
2 egg whites
1 cup milk (I used almond)
1/3 c. maraschino cherry juice
Seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean
1 1/2 cups chopped maraschino cherries

Preheat oven to 350*. Prepare your cupcake pan. Place cupcake liners in pan and lightly grease, if desired.

In a bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Use a whisk to stir. Set aside.

Pour milk and cherry juice into a bowl and add seeds from vanilla bean. Mix well, to incorporate vanilla bean. Set aside.

In another bowl, beat together butter and sugar. Beat very well, until light and smooth. Add eggs and egg whites, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Next, add a little bit of the flour mixture, mix and then add a little bit of the milk mixture. I added 1/2 cup each at a time and mixed between each addition. Repeat until all ingredients are combined. Gently stir in chopped maraschino cherries.

Scoop batter into muffin liners. Bake for 15-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

For the buttercream icing:
2 sticks of butter, softened
2 c. powdered sugar
6 T. maraschino cherry juice
2 T. milk

Add butter and sugar to a bowl. Mix with a handheld or stand mixer until well combined, soft and light. Add cherry juice and milk, slowly until you reach a consistency and sweetness that you like. I used 6 Tbsp. cherry juice and 2 Tbsp. milk total, but adjust according to your taste.

Once cupcakes are completely cool, top with buttercream.

Enjoy!

Chocolate + Wine Truffles

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This post is dedicated to my best friend.

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(A blurry phone photo of us from a couple of years ago)

She is a friend who, no matter how long it’s been since we have seen each other, when we’re together, we can talk for hours without realizing where the time has gone.

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She has been my best friend for 23 years! Yep, I have know Amanda since the day I was born (maybe 2 or 3 days after I was born?)

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Even though we now live far apart, our time spent together is so much fun! It’s so nice to have a friend like her.

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Why do I dedicate this post to her? Well, other than her being an all around amazing person and friend, I know that we share a great love of wine and chocolate!

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This recipe is so perfect!

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Literally, what could be better? A smooth ball of chocolate that has wine in it? Yes please!

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These truffles are chocolate-y, rich, smooth and have just the right punch of wine. The added sprinkles give a nice little crunch.

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One (or two) of these and a glass of wine = the perfect way to end a day! I promise that these will satisfy even the greatest chocolate craving.

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You can find the recipe here.

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Thank you How Sweet It Is for this recipe!

Enjoy!

Fresh Apple Bread Pudding

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I love dessert. I always have.

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And I’m not too picky, either. I will say though, that I’m partial to homemade. When someone makes something from scratch,  I just know I will love it.

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I got a desire to make dessert one day over my spring break while at Greg’s.

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I wanted something hearty, but not loaded with butter and sugar. I wanted the dessert to use simple ingredients and be pretty simple to make.

I came up with this bread pudding.

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I bought three raisin walnut rolls from a local bakery, combined them with a sliced fresh apple and let it all soak in a cinnamon vanilla custard.

This bread pudding uses all real ingredients. Not much added. There isn’t a ton of sugar. It’s simple. And it’s really delicious.

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Topped with fresh apple butter, this simple dessert was just what I was looking for!

Method:

Start with:

2 c. cubed cinnamon raisin bread (I used three medium cinnamon raisin rolls)
1 medium apple, sliced thin

Grease a medium loaf pan with butter. Place a layer of cubed bread on the bottom, then a layer of sliced apples. Continue until ingredients are gone.

Next:

2 eggs
1 egg yolk

Vigorously whisk eggs and egg yolk in a bowl. Set aside.

1.5 c. whole milk
1/3 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. apple butter

Place milk and sugar in a medium pot over medium heat. Stir, until sugar dissolves, and let come to a simmer. Once the mixture simmers, remove from heat. Add vanilla extract and stir.

Temper the whisked eggs with a small amount of the milk mixture — making sure to add only a small amount of milk, slowly, so that the eggs do not cook. Continue to slowly add and whisk the rest of the milk mixture into the eggs.

Pour the milk mixture over the layered bread and apples. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350*. Bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and spread 2 Tbsp. apple butter on top. Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, or until firm and golden brown.

Enjoy!

Roasted Banana Bread + Maple Buttercream Mini Cupcakes

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I’ve got a little treat for your Friday.

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And, I know these cupcakes have a long name.

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They can’t just be banana cupcakes because roasting the bananas take these to a different place than non-roasted bananas would. And, they can’t just be roasted banana cupcakes because they kind of remind me of banana bread. A little. In a good, delicious way.

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The maple buttercream is delicious. I want you to try it soo bad!

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And I made mine mini. Because they are cute, and pop-able. And yes, eating three at once is okay. Because they are mini!

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Now, if you desire a true cakey cupcake, these may not be for you. BUT they are so delicious and worth a try if you’re a little scared. They are moist and a little dense, packed with flavor — incredible. The combination of roasted bananas + maple buttercream = wow. So, so good.

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Also, don’t be intimidated by the ingredient/step list. I have it broken down into sections, so it looks more complicated than it really is.

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I think you are really going to enjoy these!

Method

Banana Cupcakes:

To begin:

Place 24 mini cupcake liners into two mini cupcake pans. Grease liners.

Start with:

2 bananas

Preheat oven to 400*. Cut bananas in half, lengthwise, and place on a baking sheet. Roast in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until soft and skin is black. Set aside and let cool completely. Reduce oven heat to 350*.

Next:

1 c. cake flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

Place all four ingredients in a mixing bowl. Stir well with a whisk.

Then:

1/3 c. milk (I used almond)
2 cooled, roasted bananas (from above)
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix together in a bowl.

5 Tbsp. butter, softened
1/2 c. white sugar
1 egg, at room temperature, beaten

Beat butter and sugar in a bowl until smooth. Add half the egg to the butter/sugar mixture. Beat until just combined. Add half of the banana mixture to the butter/sugar. Beat until just combined. Add remaining egg and banana mixture and mix until combined. Add to dry ingredients and, using a wooden spoon, mix until just combined.

Fill the muffin liners with batter, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake in 350* oven for 8-12 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Maple Buttercream

1 stick unsalted butter, very soft
3/4 c. powdered sugar
1.5 tsp. pure maple syrup
Small dash of salt

Beat butter until soft, fluffy and completely smooth. Add powdered sugar and beat well. Add maple syrup and salt and mix until combined.

Pipe buttercream onto cupcakes.

*Notes
-This made 24 mini cupcakes for me.
– Decorate cupcakes with sprinkles, chopped pecans or even sliced bananas!

Enjoy!