Sweets for the Sweet

Strawberry Sweet Treat

Enjoy the Flavor of Summer Anytime

 

 

 

I've been on a mission to develop something sweet and satisfying. This first flavor will really rev up the fresh flavors of the upcoming seasons! It is a bit time consuming, but the outcome is, oh so very, worth every bite! Hope you enjoy! Please share the link. :-)

 

Buttercream Frosted Strawberry Cake
with Hibiscus Honey Cream

Ingredients

FOR STRAWBERRY CAKE

2 cups granulated white sugar

3 ounces strawberry gelatin, package

8.8 ounces salted butter

4 medium eggs

3 cups shifted cake flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup whole milk

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup fresh strawberry puree

FOR HIBISCUS HONEY CREAM

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

3 tablespoons raw honey

1/2 cup dried hibiscus Flower

FOR BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

3 cups powdered sugar

1 cup unsalted butter, room temp

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 tablespoons whole milk

 

For Strawberry Cake

Preheat Oven to 350. Prepare 2 9 in cake pans. In a large bowl cream sugar, gelatin and butter until fluffy. Add in eggs, fully incorporating after each addition. Mix flour and baking powder. Add to butter mixture alternatively with milk. Finally, add puree and mix thoroughly. Divide mix into both pans and bake for 25-35 minutes (my oven took 34 minutes) Allow cake to cool for 10-15 minutes in pan before removing to wire cooling rack.

For Hibiscus Honey Cream

While cake is cooking, bring heavy cream and honey to a boil. Remove from heat. Add hibiscus to cream mixture, cover, allow to steep for 20 minutes. Strain out hibiscus flowers and allow cream to completely cool in refrigerator.

For Buttercream Frosting

Beat together on powdered sugar and butter. Add in vanilla and mix well. Last, add in milk a little at a time until a nice fluffy consistency is reached. You may not need all the milk. Do Not Frost Cake Until it is Fully Cooled.

To Build Cake

Place first layer of cake on serving dish. Use 1/2 frosting to make a nice middle layer of frosting. Place second layer of cake and frost only the top of cake. Drizzle cooled cream over the cake.

 

 

First Up...Baked Biscotti Custard

Taking a bow to my favorite dessert, tiramisu, I mixed things up...A Lot! This revamped version of the dessert is delish.
My opinion though...Not over the top delish, but yummers worthy. Try it out, however! I think you'll like it.


Baked Biscotti Custard

8 Almond Biscotti Biscuits
3/4 Cup Sheridon's Coffee and Cream Liquor
1/4 Cup Amarula Liquor
8 oz mascarpone cheese, room temp
3 Medium Eggs, separated
4 Tbsp white sugar
To taste - Sweetened Condensed Milk and Coco Powder


Preheat Oven to 375.
Place biscotti in a single layer in a small pan, combine liquors and pour over biscotti. Set aside.
Place mascarpone into a medium mixing bowl and stir until creamy.
Separate eggs into two small bowls. Into the yolks add 2 tbsp. of sugar and mix with fork until creamy. Add to the mascarpone cheese.
Into the whites add sugar and beat with electric mixer until peaks form. Add to mascarpone cheese mixture and blend well. Set aside.
Set the liquor soaked biscotti into the bottom of a bread pan (silicone is preferred for easy removal). Pour the cheese mixture over the top. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes, or until light golden brown on top.
Cool slightly and turn out onto a serving platter. Cut into bars, drizzle with sweetened condensed milk and shake coco powder on the top.

DESSERTS!!!!!  CHOCOLATE!!!!! SWEETS!!!!!!

Just Bring it Already

 

Ok, seriously. How many times have you been eating ordinary food only to think..."This is boring, bring on the goo stuff, already!" For me, it's about 3 times a day. Seriously. Why eat anything else? I mean we can survive on dessert alone, so let's just do it!

I do have to admit, I would get bored with sweets, too. But, I have really been contemplating baking recently, a lot.

 

I'm ready to do this yummy-sweet thing!

I am pretty sure I want to start with something OVER-THE-TOP delish! Jasmine or Green Tea or Lavender or Rose...I don't know what it will be, but it's going to be great!

 

 

 

 

 



Last night I had my cousin over for dinner. It had been about 20 years since I had last seen her. I just love how a good meal and a dinner table can put to rest any uneasiness. I love my family and I very much enjoyed reminiscing and catching up!
I made a wonderful Chicken Picatta, but it was a tad bit too lemon-y. But, that isn't what I wanted to tell you guys about today. Instead I wanted to share my love of bread!
BREAD...the awful, delicious, fattening (butwhogivesa), fluffy bread! If you have a good recipe and thing bread machines are the devil...stop reading now!
My problem with bread machines was finding a simple recipe that was actually soft like store bought bread. The next solution was a box mixed...How in the world can anyone justify spending $3+ on a box of bread machine mix, when you can buy a loaf - already made - for around the same cost? For me, getting a bread machine was for helping me save money, not spend the same.
The next problem was that the recipes others posted online always made very tough bread, or the recipe was too confusing. I like food to be delicious, but first and foremost, easy! if it isn't easy, who is going to make it?
So, after reading dozens of recipes and trying dozens more I finally came up with a simple, but wonderfully soft bread machine recipe. You simply must try!

White Bread for Bread Machine

1 teaspoon dry active yeast
3 tablespoons white, granulated sugar
1 cup hot water
3 cups white, all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Plug the bread machine on and set to light crust, ultra fast, 1.5lbs. DO NOT START.
Add yeast, sugar and water to the bread machine, stir slightly. Allow to sit for 6-12 minutes. This will get very foamy.
Add the flour and salt, then the oil. Press start.
Remove from machine as soon as it is finished. Allow to sit in pan for 10 minutes before removing to a cooling rack. Allow to cool before cutting.

NOTE: While the initial mixing is happing I like to scrape the sides to be sure all is well incorporated. Once nothing is sticking to the sides any longer, I leave it alone.

VARIATION:
Italian
Add 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning to the yeast/sugar/water mixture.
Add 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic and 3/4 cup shredded parmesan after the oil.

Onion Bread
Add 1/2 packet of onion dip mix and 2 teaspoons dried dill when adding flour.


I love to hear other Add Ins, if you have a suggestion let me know! Share your results.

Enjoy!

Wow...Dinner tonight was just amazing!

I made this wonderful Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta

It was really out of this world. Bursting with flavor and super quick and easy! Now, I should warn you...I make up a lot of my recipes and I don't tend to follow any in particular so writing them isn't always super easy. If you have zero kitchen skills, you probably won't be able to make my stuff. But a fat chick who likes to eat is bound to have, at the very least, basic cooking skills...right!?

Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta

2.5 tbsp. butter, unsalted, divided
1 pound thin cut skinless boneless chicken breast
1 box pasta
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1.5 cups extra heavy whipping cream (DO NOT SUB)
large dash of salt
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup shaved parmesan cheese

1. In large stainless skillet melt 1 tbsp. butter over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and add chicken. Cook until nearly done.
2. Meanwhile boil water for noodles and cook noodles. Drain and place in serving bowl. Also, zest the lemon and then cut in half and juice. Set aside.
3. Once chicken is nearly done, remove from pan, slice, and return to pan with additional 1/2 tbsp. of butter. Sear to finish  cooking, add chicken to the top of noodles.
4. In the same pan add the last tbsp. of butter and scrape the chicken drippings up. Add whipping cream and bring to barely a bubble. Add large dash salt and garlic. Combine well and add the lemon zest and juice all at once. It will start to thicken immediately, so be sure to keep mixing well.
5. Add in cheese and cook for just a minute or until cheese is melted. Pour over noodles. Sauce will thicken as it cools.
6. If desired, add in some Italian parsley or Basil (pictured).

Enjoy!

That BBQ Pulled Chicken didn't turn out so good. I wanted to like it, but the sauce was really thin. I ended up draining the meat and using a bottle of bbq sauce to make it good. My son loved it! He thought it was the best ever. I, did not. So...I'm not going to bother sharing the recipe.

Tonight, however...Wow! Dinner was fantastic. It was gone before I could even snap a pic, so you'll have to rust me that it presents nicely, too!

Chicken, Bacon and Onion Tart

1/2  package frozen puff pastry sheets
6 smoked bacon slices

1 red onion, sliced (don't separate)   

3 extra large eggs

3/4 cup heavy cream

Couple dashes kosher salt

Couple dashes black pepper

Large handful freshly shredded Colby or Medium Sharp Cheddar  

1/2 pound cooked chicken breast cutlet  

1 cup coarsely chopped green onions

1 cup shaved Parmesan cheese (+or- to your taste)   

 

 

1. Preheat oven to 400. Remove 1sheet of puff pastry and set out to thaw. Return remaining to freezer. 

2. Cook bacon until crisp. Meanwhile, place full onion slices on baking sheet and place in oven to cook until needed.

3. Beat eggs, cream, salt and pepper.

4. Place the pastry dough in a pie pan, the squared edges will hang off - that is good.

5. Sprinkle half the bacon into the crust and cover with Colby. Cover cheese with 1/2 of the cooked red onion. Add chicken, being sure to evenly disperse filling. Add remaining red onion and green onion.

6. Pour in cream mixture. Fold over the squared edges and sprinkle parmesan cheese and

the remaining bacon over top.

7. Bake at 400 for 45 minutes.

 

This was served with a spring mix salad with Blue Cheese, apples and a vinaigrette.

Hope someone else tries this...share a photo!

 

I did make that 3 ingredient Pulled Pork and it was delish!

Here's what you'll need:
3ish pounds of pork roast (I used pork cuts made for carnitas)
1 bottle BBQ sauce, whatever kind you like
1 can cola

Place all items in the crock pot. Cook on low for 8 hours. Remove meat, discard fat and shred with 2 forks.
Add about 4 ladle-fulls of the sauce to the shredded meat. Serve on hamburger buns. YUMM


This fat chick and her family went on a 4 day cruise from Long Beach to Ensenada with a stop in Catalina. I have some marvelous food while on the ship! Tonight I am not going try any of the menu items from the ship but I am going to make up another BBQ sandwich!

Tonight I think I'll make pulled BBQ chicken.

In my crock pot I have the following:
4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 can manwich
1 teaspoon liquid smoked
1 can root beer

I'll let you know how it goes!