So, first things first. We made a pretty major purchase. We bought all new appliances for our kitchen. As much as I bake I've been jonesing for double ovens for many years. We finally decided to make the move and go for it. We settled on a GE Cafe w/Convection. It is BEAUTIFUL. Let's just say that I've been having loads of fun playing with it. This oven runs a bit different from what I'm used to, so I've been trying different types of my favorite recipes to see if I need to tweak times and such. What this means for all of you is more recipes and pics to post. My husband has also had some fun photographing the kitchen and our new toys. I'll be sure to share some of those shots at the end of today's blog. Now...onto our recipes!
As our title states there is a little bit of everything today. One of my very best friends in the world had a 5th birthday party for her girlie girl daughter. Pink and princessy and all of the things I love but do not get to enjoy as the mother of two beautiful boys. So I jumped at the chance to make pretty pink cupcakes for this beautiful little girl. With the help of my husband we created a sparkly cupcake tower with white and pink chocolate tiaras. Take a peek at some of the photos.
The cupcakes were strawberry with strawberry buttercream and chocolate with vanilla buttercream. I've blogged about both cupcake recipes in prior blogs. They are Sweetapolita's recipes. I must give props to my husband for the chocolate work. That was all him. Needless to say our pretty princess loved them and we couldn't have been happier.
Now onto two of my favorite sweet treats. The first being lemon brownies. They are even better than the standard lemon bars. It's interesting that this recipe is referred to as a "brownie". The bars are actually somewhere between a lemon cake and a brownie. They are the perfect combination of sweet and tart with tons of fresh lemon zest in both the brownie and the icing. For those of you that love lemon feel free to add as much zest to the recipe as you'd like. I added quite a bit. Fair warning. These bars are addictive. So addictive that I consumed two-thirds of the pan myself and managed to gain two pounds at a time that I was trying to lose ten. I'm not going to lie...they were worth it. Here are a few pics and the recipe.
Lemon Brownies
makes about 25-30 brownies
Ingredients
Zest from 2-3 lemons
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 room temperature eggs
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (that's 2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
For the glaze
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Zest from 1 lemon
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving a slight overhang along the edges. Lightly butter the foil.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the lemon zest and granulated sugar. Use your fingertips to rub the lemon zest into the sugar until moist and fragrant; Set aside.
In separate, small bowl, combine the eggs, almond extract, and lemon juice. Whisk to combine; Set aside.
Add the flour, salt, and melted butter to the lemon/sugar mixture. Whisk until well combined. Add the egg mixture and mix until smooth.
Spread the batter into prepared pan.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the center is set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a cooling rack. Cool completely before adding the glaze.
For the glaze: In a medium-size bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Whisk until smooth.
Pour the glaze over the cooled brownies (if needed, use a small off-set spatula to spread it around the entire pan).
Use the foil overhang to remove the brownies from the pan. Cut into squares or rectangles.
Recipe adapted from Sweet Anna's
makes about 25-30 brownies
Ingredients
Zest from 2-3 lemons
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 room temperature eggs
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (that's 2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
For the glaze
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Zest from 1 lemon
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving a slight overhang along the edges. Lightly butter the foil.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the lemon zest and granulated sugar. Use your fingertips to rub the lemon zest into the sugar until moist and fragrant; Set aside.
In separate, small bowl, combine the eggs, almond extract, and lemon juice. Whisk to combine; Set aside.
Add the flour, salt, and melted butter to the lemon/sugar mixture. Whisk until well combined. Add the egg mixture and mix until smooth.
Spread the batter into prepared pan.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the center is set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a cooling rack. Cool completely before adding the glaze.
For the glaze: In a medium-size bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Whisk until smooth.
Pour the glaze over the cooled brownies (if needed, use a small off-set spatula to spread it around the entire pan).
Use the foil overhang to remove the brownies from the pan. Cut into squares or rectangles.
Recipe adapted from Sweet Anna's
Finally, carrot cake. Yes, I realize that Easter has come and gone and I'm so sorry to not have posted this one sooner. I tried a few recipes and takes on this one before tweaking Sweetapolita's Hawaiian Carrot Cake, turning it into a more traditional carrot cake. This cake is a perfect balance of sweet and spicy with the best whipped cream cheese buttercream frosting. Rosie's recipe included pineapple in the cake as well as coconut in the cake and frosting. My changes included removing the pineapple from the cake and replacing it with 1/2 cup of sweetened applesauce. I've also removed the coconut from the frosting and kept it as a vanilla cream cheese frosting with the added butter and whipped it until it was incredibly light and fluffy. I also added toasted chopped walnuts to the sides of the cake.
http://sweetapolita.com/2011/04/hawaiian-carrot-cake-with-coconut-icing/
Last, but certainly not least..pics of our kitchen with our new appliances. I'm enjoying every second of trying recipes in this new oven...old and new. Thanks so much for sticking with me and checking on the blog. I love this journey we are all on together. May you have happy Adventures in the Kitchen!
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