Prepare your favorite chocolate cake mixture or recipe and put into prepared cupcake tins and prepare as directed.

Frost with butter cream frosting — mine does not actually include butter in the recipe but, I digress!

• 1 lb Crisco
• 2 lbs powered sugar
• 1/2 cup of water or milk (I use almond milk)
• 1/2 t vanilla extract
• 1/4 t lemon extract
• 1/4 t almond extract

I usually add my extracts to the milk so they get included evenly.

Beat Crisco until shiny and add powered sugar and milk alternatly.

Add shredded coconut to the frosting and mix well.

Frost the cupcakes, adding more coconut if necessary.  Drizzle with caramel and chocolate sauces.

Now to catch up on the rest of the months………..October, December, January…..I promise, I will post you!

In need of some comfort food? Look no further than homemade chicken pot pie. The yummy and golden homemade crust, the satisfying sauce filled with roast vegetables and chicken… it’s savoury and down right delicious. Give me chicken pot pie or give me death.

Chicken pot pie ready for the oven!

I used my new Le Creuset cocotte which I received for my birthday to make this heavenly dish. I had so much crust and filling remaining that I made a small rectangular pie and two mini pies as well. I ate pretty much the whole cocotte myself but shared the remaining pies. My hips thanked me for sharing.

Golden Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients

• 3 whole (6 split) chicken breasts, bone-in, skin-on
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 5 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 cups yellow onions, chopped (2 onions)
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup heavy cream (I used skim milk)
• 2 cups medium-diced carrots, blanched for 2 minutes
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas (2 cups)
• 1 1/2 cups frozen small whole onions
• 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley leaves

For the pastry:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening (I used some leftover foie gras fat – YUM!)
• 1/4 pound cold unsalted butter, diced
• 1/2 to 2/3 cup ice water
• 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
• Flaked sea salt and cracked black pepper

Directions

Pie pie pie! I love baking pies!

Homemade pastry

The whole process, from rolling out the bottom pastry, the scent of the fruit soaking in its own sweet sugary syrup, weaving the final strip of lattice top, the smell that wafts out of the oven and fills the house as the pie bakes and of course the ooohs and aaahs when a fresh homemade pie is set before its intended audience, that, my friends, is a simple pleasure.

Starting the lattice top

This pie was so lovely I ended up making two more within one week. It’s probably the best thing I’ve baked this summer.

Purple juice from Peach Blueberry Pie

Peach Blueberry Pie

Ingredients
Crust:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 8 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening
• 4 to 5 tablespoons ice-cold water

Filling:

• 3 to 3 1/2 pounds ripe peaches
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup (packed) light-brown sugar
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 large egg white, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 2 tablespoons heavy (whipping) cream

Preparation

1. Prepare the crust: Place the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor; pulse the machine on and off to combine. Add the butter and shortening; pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Gradually add the ice water, pulsing the machine on and off, until the dough holds together. Divide the dough in half and form into 2 disks; wrap in plastic and chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour, or overnight.

2. Butter a 9-inch Pyrex pie plate. Remove one disk of the dough from the refrigerator. Roll it out on a lightly floured surface to form a round, 1/8-inch thick and 2 inches larger than the pie plate. Work quickly so that the dough doesn’t become sticky. Using a spatula to help lift the dough, fold it loosely in half and then into quarters. Gently transfer it to the center of the pie plate. Open up the dough and press it lightly in the plate to fit. If the dough should tear, just press it lightly together. Trim the dough, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Place in the refrigerator to keep cold.

3. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. Remove the other disk of dough from the refrigerator and roll it out the same way; transfer to the baking sheet and cover with another sheet of waxed paper. Place in the refrigerator to keep cold.

4. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 425°F.

5. Prepare the filling. Using a paring knife, cut an “X” in the bottom of each peach. Drop the peaches into a pot of boiling water for 1 minute. Remove to a bowl. When they are cool enough to handle, slip off the skins. Cut the peaches into 3/4-inch slices and place in a large bowl. Toss with the lemon juice to prevent discoloring.

6. Add the blueberries, vanilla, brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar and the flour; toss well.

7. Lightly brush the bottom crust all over with the egg white; spoon in the filling and dot with the butter.

8. Cut the top crust into strips 3/4-inch wide and make a lattice cover over the filling. Trim the overhang to 1 inch. Moisten the edges of the crusts where they meet with a little water, then press them together lightly and turn them under. Crimp the edges decoratively.

9. Brush the lattice crust and the rim with the cream. Sprinkle the surface with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar.

10. Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375°F and bake until it is golden and the juices are bubbling, about 50 to 60 minutes. If the top is getting too brown, tent the pie with foil after about 30 minutes. Let the pie cool on a wire rack before serving.

I found this recipe on epicurious.com.

What’s more American than apple pie? Hopefully this lemon cheesecake topped with mixed berries will come close because it’s my red, white and blue project for July!

Lemon Cheesecake topped with Mixed Berries

I’m not a huge cheesecake fan however it seems pretty much everyone else in the world is so I’m often asked if I’ll make a cheesecake. The number of requests for cheesecake finally got to me and I caved. Never doing anything by half measures, I made two large cheesecakes for my co-workers and as usual, they were devoured in minutes flat.

Lemon Cheesecake topped with Mixed Berries

After the large version was complete and getting inspiration from the original recipe, the mini-pie-lover in me absolutely had to make a mini version too because I love to make mini treats!

Mini Lemon Cheesecake

Lemon Cheesecake (will yield one 9 or 10 inch cheesecake, or one 7 inch and 6 muffin size )

15 digestive biscuits (or use graham crackers, or a cookie of your choice)
1 stick of butter melted

3- 8 oz packs of cream cheese
8 oz Plain Greek yogurt
4 large eggs
juice of 4 meyer lemons (I used regular lemons)
grated zest of two lemons
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoon flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a food processor grind digestive biscuits to a fine crumb, then add melted butter to them and work it together.
Press mixture on the bottom of the pan and up the sides about half way up the pan.
Bake the crust for 12 minutes.

Its always best to start out with room temperature cream cheese, it just mixes better.
Whip your cream cheese and greek yogurt until it is smooth
add eggs one at a time blending in before adding another.
add lemon juice, zest, sugar, and flour. Continue mixing until batter is smooth.
Pour batter into prepared cheesecake pan and place on the middle rack of the oven and bake for about 45 minutes or until done in the center. The cheesecake may shake a bit in the middle but I like to pull mine out just as it starts to crack. If I wanted a perfect top I would have used a water bath.

If you made mini cheesecakes, they should only take about 25 minutes, keep an eye on them so they don’t over bake!

Allow cheesecake to cool completely before topping with blueberry mixture.

Blueberry or Mixed Berry Topping
3 cups of fresh or frozen blueberries (I used frozen mixed berries)
3/4 cup sugar
juice of two meyer lemons
1 tablespoon corn starch

In a small sauce pan add all your ingredients and bring to a boil for about 5 minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool, the mixture will thicken as it cools. Make sure both the cheesecake and the topping have cooled sufficently before topping your cheesecake, otherwise it will run off the sides.

The berries made a lot more juice than I thought they would, and I wanted the berries to really be prominent on the cake, so I used a slotted spoon to get all the berries saving the extra juice for the weekend when I made pancakes!!

Berry juice in little pots!

I first got the inkling to hollow out strawberries after I saw this Sprinkle Bakes post on flaming strawberries. I still have it bookmarked and have yet to find the opportunity to set some berries alight, stay tuned.

Next I came across this post from Mind Over Batter and the urge to take knife to strawberry became too strong to ignore. Off to the shop I went…

…and the battle commenced…

Strawberry vs Knife

I win!

Knife 1 - Strawberry 0

Here’s the recipe below but for great step-by-step photo instructions, I highly recommend a visit to Mind Over Batter.

Chocolate mousse stuffed strawberries

Ingredients
1 cup semi or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 ounces (half a stick) of butter
3 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons of kirsch or liqueur of choice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (8oz) heavy cream
2 lbs. of strawberries, cored from the bottom leaving the stems

Instructions
1. Place chocolate and butter in a medium bowl. Set the bowl over a
pan of simmering water stirring occasionally until melted.
Once melted, remove from heat and set aside to cool.

2. Combine the yolks, sugar, liqueur of choice and vanilla extract
in the bowl of an electric mixer, or a medium sized bowl. Place the
bowl over a pot of simmering water and whisk until very warm and
thickened. Once thickened, remove from heat, place in electric
mixer and whip until cold and very thick. If you don’t have an
electric mixer, just bust out a whip and give it some arm action.
Set aside.

3. In a bowl of an electric mixer or using a hand mixer or hand whip,
beat 1 cup of heavy cream until it holds stiff peaks. Set aside.

4. Working quickly, add the melted chocolate to the thickened yolk
mixture and fold thoroughly. Add the heavy cream to the
yolk/chocolate mixture and fold quickly, but gently until no white
streaks remain. Place in the freezer to chill for 15-20 minutes.

5. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a star tip with chocolate mousse.
Pipe chocolate mousse into each cored strawberry.

Last Christmas I received alphabet cookie cutters from my work Secret Santa. To be honest, they weren’t so much cookie cutters but rather a play dough set for children. Either way, it was a perfect gift and I eagerly awaited the first opportunity to make some cookies.

Ages 3 - 8 years...

I’d love to say I iced the cookies blue for our May project but it wouldn’t be entirely honest. The fact of the matter is our company logo is blue but hey, two birds, one stone…

Blue alphabet cookies

For those that follow me on Facebook, you know I had a bit of a hard time with this one – I just could not get the tower to stand up.

The base is made from chocolate cupcakes that I frosted into a field with different color flowers.

Attempt # 1 - cake and cupcakes topped with an ice cream cone

Well that only lasted so long….even after I braced it – it still fell over

 

Tried rice krispie treats next (kinda looks a little phallic) - but it fell apart

No matter how long I tried to chill it, the top would not stay together.

 

I finally went back to my first idea of using solid chocolate – I have a mold  of a light house that I used for my sister-in-laws wedding cake.

 

I had a bit of trouble with this because it was a warm day and just as I finished loading everything into the car, I realized that I locked the keys in the house.

 

After being rescued by Gene’s husband (mine was at work), I noticed that the chocolate tower was starting to melt.  We fixed that and now we were off to the birthday party.

 

All done!Happy Birthday Anna!

 

As for September, we are going to start with the pictures:

The beginning - tools, cookies, gold and green frosting & cupcakes!

Fudge Stripe Cookies make the flower centers

• Bake your favorite cake mix according to the directions on the box
• Use green liners for your cupcakes (or any color you have available!)
• Bake as directed then cool
• Put a layer of green (or white) frosting on the cupcakes
• Put the cookie stripe down in the center – you can also use Oreos or mini Oreos if you want to have more than one blossom on the cupcake
• Pipe a few green leaves on to the cupcake then fill in with gold leaves
• Complete the cupcakes with a few ladybugs made from red M&Ms

Design adapted from Hello, Cupcake.  This is an awesome book if you love to decorate cakes!!

• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup oil (grape seed, coconut, olive)
• 1/2 cup agave

1. Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl
2. Add the wet ingredients and blend well
3. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-22 minutes

Frosting

• 1 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup oil (grape seed, coconut, olive)
• 2 tablespoons agave
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Melt chocolate and oil over low heat
2. Stir in agave and vanilla
3. Freeze for 15 minutes
4. whip until thick and fluffy

So these are not exactly red, white and blue – but they do have red, white and blue sprinkles on them!!!!

Happy Birthday to Me!

• 1 package of Oreos
• 1 block of cream cheese
• white candy coating or white chocolate
• food coloring – optional

1. Crush Oreos and place in mixer bowl
2. Add in block of cream cheese and mix until combined
3. Roll or scoop into smalls balls and place on wax paper covered cookie sheet
4. Place Oreo balls in to fridge until chocolate is melted
5. Put the chocolate of choice in a double boiler and melt (this is where I added the coloring to make them pink!)
6. Coat the Oreo balls with the chocolate and put back in the fridge until hardened.

When the chocolate is wet you can roll them in nuts, coconut or any sort of sprinkles.

This is a great no-bake dessert for the summer time! 

Oh So Pink!