Sponge Cake for your Diet

The temperature is heating up in California and ladies are getting bikini ready for the summer. If you are putting yourself on a diet you may be inclined to not eat desert after your meal. But there are options with lower calories than regular sweets. For example, I made a sponge cake using no oil or butter. Doesn't that sound healthy already?

This sponge cake uses boiling water to replace the butter or oil in a traditional recipe. Since you are leaving the butter or oil out, you may feel less guilty dressing it up with strawberries and whip cream. :)

Sponge Cake with no Oil or Butter
recipe adapted from Joy of Cooking
1 cup sifted cake flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup boiling water
1 tsp grated lemon or orange zest
1 tbs fresh lemon or orange juice
1 tsp vanilla
3 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift together cake flour, baking powder and salt, set aside.

Beat egg yolks at medium speed until thickened. Gradually beat in sugar, then beat 3 minutes longer. Beat in water, orange or lemon zest, orange or lemon juice and vanilla extract.

At low speed gradually beat in the sifted ingredients.

Using clean beaters in a medium bowl, beat egg whites adding cream of tartar until soft but not dry.

Fold one quarter of the whites into the batter, then fold in the remaining whites.

Scrape the batter into the pan and spread evenly. Bake until the top springs back when lightly pressed and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes.

I cut small round cakes, top them with strawberry slides, whipped cream and top with another cake.

Chewy Lemon Cookies

I've been receiving lemons from several friends lately. The lemon farmers must be doing great. Lemon desserts are one of my favorite types. The lemons give a freshness taste to the dessert.

I made chewy lemon cookies from a recipe from a fellow blogger. These cookies are covered in powder sugar once they are out of the oven. I tried one without the powder sugar, and one after to taste the difference. The powder sugar makes it better. If you like your lemonade sweet, don't skip the powder sugar.


Chewy Lemon Snowdrops
from sophistimom.com
(makes about 24)
1 3/4 all purpose flour
pinch of salt
1 stick of butter (8 tablespoons)
zest of 2 lemons
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons lemon juice
about 1 cup powder sugar for coating

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk flour and salt together. Set aside.

In an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, mix butter, lemon juice, zest and honey until smooth.


Combine lemon juice and baking soda. With the mixer on low speed, add lemon juice and flour mixture. Scrape down sides and mix with a spatula to make sure all ingredients are evenly distributed.


Roll cookie dough into 1 inch diameter and bake 10-15 minutes. (Mine were done in 12) Let cool for a few minutes and toss into powder sugar while cookies are still warm. The powder sugar seems to stick to the cookies better while they are warm.


And enjoy some fresh chewy lemon cookies!

Easter Basket Cupcakes

Many families get together on Easter to decorate eggs. Once decorated, they hide the eggs and have the children find them. But once you place them on the dirt, I'm not too sure I'd like to eat them. I have another idea to get everyone together, decorate, and eat your creation!

These are Easter baskets made from cupcakes. Easy, and you may involve all of your family members.

These are the supplies you'll need:

Cupcake

Edible Easter Grass

Frosting

Candy eggs

Candy bunnies, chicks, ducks

Sour Punch Straws

First, bake cupcakes and let them cool. Once they are cool frost them with your frosting of choice. I made some vanilla cupcakes with buttercream frosting.


Cut Edible Easter grass and place on top of cupcakes.

Add the Sour Punch Straws as the basket handles.

Add Easter egg candies and your basket topper candies.

Kids can have fun putting these cupcakes together and followed by the favorite part, eat them!

Breakfast Oatmeal Cookies

Oatmeal cookies are thought to be healthy breakfast treats because they include oats. They are so easily turned into unhealthy just by adding another ingredient.

When you think of breakfast, and greasy, does bacon come to mind? Well, bacon is added to these Bacon, Oatmeal and Raisin Cookies. This is not your average sweet oatmeal cookie. The bacon adds a little saltiness and smoky flavor, which pairs great with a cup of coffee.

Bacon, Oatmeal, and Raisin Cookies

recipe from bon appetite

Ingredients

8 oz sliced bacon, cut into 1/4 inch squares

2 1/4 cups cake flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup old-fashioned oats
2/3 cup raisins

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until deep golden brown and crisp. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels.

Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using an electric mixer, beat sugars and butter in a large bowl, occasionally scrapping down sides, until well blended, 2-3 minutes.

Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Add vanilla; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, 4-5 minutes.

Mix in dry ingredients.

Fold bacon, oats, and raisins into batter and stir until evenly incorporated.

Chill for about 15 minutes so the batter isn't as sticky. Using a cookie scoop, form dough into balls and place on prepared sheets spaced at least 3" apart. Chill dough for 1 hour or cover and chill overnight. Arrange racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 375 degrees.

Bake cookies, rotating pans halfway through, until edges are light golden brown and centers are still slightly soft. (The instructions say 20-22 minutes, but with my oven, 19 minutes was too much.) Let cool on baking sheets for 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.

When life gives you lemons, make lemon custard pie

Last Thursday I attended Fresno's Food Expo. It featured produce, food products and beverages from the central valley. It's amazing at how many things come from the valley: fruits, vegetables, cheese, milk, tortillas, beef, and wine. I came home with Buddy's Farm Fresh Lemons from Trinity Fruit Sales.

I went back to my Taste of Home pie recipe cards and found a Lemon Custard pie recipe. I used two lemons from the pouch of lemons. The pie lemon taste is not very strong; it is sweet enjoyable.

Lemon Custard Pie

unbaked pie shell

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon butter, softened

2 eggs, separated

1 cup milk

3 tablespoons flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 teaspoons lemon zest

whipped cream, lemon and mint, optional

Beast sugar and butter until well blended.

Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each.

Add the milk, flour and salt; mix well.

Stir in lemon juice and zest; set aside.

In a clean bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form; gently fold into lemon mixture.

Pour into pie shell. Bake at 325 degrees 45 minutes to an hour or until lightly browned and a knife inserted the center comes out clean.

Cool. Garnish. Enjoy!

Eat my...Chocolate Pie

The Help has been receiving much recognition. As of last week, I hadn't seen it. The night before the Oscar's I made it a movie night to watch The Help. Then I understood the popularity of this movie. A story about respect, dreams, friendships and...food. I was cheering for The Help throughout the awards show. Unfortunately, they didn't win best movie but congrats to Octavia Spencer for Best Supporting Actress. My favorite part of the movie was when Minny told Hilly "Eat my shit," as Hilly ate her pie. As soon as that scene happened, I knew what my next blog post was about...Chocolate Pie!

The chocolate pie recipe is from my Taste of Home recipe cards. The Chocolate Silk Pie is a baked pie crust, creamy chocolate pudding, and a layer of whipped cream. I skipped on the thick layer of whipped cream. In my opinion, I thought just a dollop of whipped cream was sufficient.

Chocolate Pie

1 unbaked pastry shell (9 inches) (I made my own from my Cake Boss book)

1 jar (7oz) marshmallow creme

1 cup (6 oz) semisweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup butter, cubed

2 oz unsweetened chocolate

2 tablespoons strong brewed coffee

1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped

Optional

Whipping Cream

Chocolate curls

1. Line unpricked pastry shell with a double thickness of heavy-duty foil. Bake at 450 degrees for 8 minutes. Remove foil; bake 5 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack.

2. Meanwhile, in a heavy saucepan, combine the marshmallow creme, chocolate chips, butter, unsweetened chocolate and coffee; cook and stir over low heat until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Cool. Fold in whipped cream; pour into crust.

3. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving. Garnish with whipped cream and chocolate curls if desired.

After watching The Help, I was also inspired in making these sugar cookies with royal icing decoration. Hope you like them!

Irish Coffee Cupcakes

All things green have been showing up in stores. Seems like every year people would like to be Irish on Saint Patrick's Day. We drink green beer, and Irish coffee to try to blend in with the true Irish. But really we are just being consumed by the holidays.

Let's face it; it's fun to be consumed by all these holidays. It's an excuse to have a party or bake a special dessert. I made an excuse to bake these Irish Coffee cupcakes for St. Patrick's Day. It is a coffee cupcake with a Bailey's Irish Cream buttercream. If you like Irish coffee, you will enjoy these cupcakes.

Irish Coffee Cupcakes

Coffee Cupcakes Ingredients - makes 12 cupcakes

1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons instant coffee crystals1 cup flour1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Boil water. Mix with vanilla and 2 tablespoons of instant coffee crystals. I used 4 packets of single serve coffee.

2. In a mixing bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.3. Add the egg, buttermilk and vegetable oil; mix to blend.4. Mix in the coffee mixture to the batter.5. Using an ice cream scooper, scoop batter into cupcake liners. Bake 18-20 minutes.Bailey's Irish Cream Buttercream

2 cups butter

3 cups powder sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons Bailey's Irish Cream

Cream the butter in a mixer with the paddle attachment. Slowly add powder sugar and mix on low speed until blended. Mix in Bailey's. You can add more if you wish; if it becomes too soggy, add more sugar.

I used a Wilton 1M tip to frost the cupcakes and decorated with a fondant clover.
Enjoy!

Cookies n' Cream Rice Crispy Treats

Growing up, my mom often made rice crispy treats. It is a great quick treat on a weekday. She would make them in a pan, and flip them over into a plate when done. We'd have a round rice crispy treat covering an entire plate. My favorite way to eat is when it is just done and still warm. Grab a piece and pull it off to see the marshmallow stretch like cheese.

I've been thinking of how to step up this treat. I've seen Oreos added into desserts such as ice cream, frosting, pies...Oreos are great to add to these treats. The chocolate cookie blends well with the cereal crunch and the cream filling with the marshmallows.

Directions

3 cups chocolate cream filled cookies, broken into small pieces

1/4 cup butter

10oz mini marshmallows

3 1/2 cups Rice Crispy cereal

Melt 1/2 cup butter in a pan at low heat.

Pour marshmallows into the pan and continue folding until all marshmallows have melted.

Remove pan from heat. Blend cookies and cereal into the marshmallows to coat evenly.

Line a casserole dish with parchment paper to avoid treats sticking to the dish. Spread mixture into the dish.

Wait about 15 minutes so that it is slightly cool. Cut into squares and enjoy the chocolate creamy gooeyness!

Valentine's Day Pancakes with a Sweet Message

Do you have the final details ready for your sweetheart tomorrow? If you need another breakfast idea, I have the perfect detail. Let your Valentine know how you feel through pancakes! These pancakes are heart shaped and include a special message.

First, prepare pancake batter either from scratch or by following mix instructions for six to seven pancakes. The consistency we need is somewhat thick, not runny. If you pour into a pan it should keep its shape.

Pour about 1/4 of the batter into a squeeze bottle.
To the remaining batter, add 1 1/2 tablespoons of water. Mix and add red food coloring. Mix until incorporated. Pour into a squeeze bottle.

Heat a pan to low heat and spray with nonstick butter spray.

Take the non-colored batter and write your message. The message needs to be written backwards, so that when you turn the pancake it will read correctly. We do this so that the pancake looks smooth and the message is not on the "bubbly" side of the pancake. (Yes, I did the XOXO as OXOX when I flip it over, this is where I learned.)

Quickly take the colored batter and draw a heart around the message, fill in any letters (like the inside of B, e, o), and fill in the heart.
Once the pancake no longer looks runny, flip over and finish cooking.
Wake up your Valentine with a nice breakfast with a message. :)