Raspberry & Key Lime Sorbet

On a hot day I crave ice cream and slushy drinks to cool down.  When I checked the weather last night I decided to pull out the old Cuisinart.  The best turn results come when I store the bowl in the freezer overnight and make the mixture the day before also.  In this case; I made my sorbet very early this morning so that it can have enough time to chill by the time I got off of work.  

Recipe:

-1 1/2 cups water

-1 cup sugar

-1/8 teaspoon salt

-3 cups frozen raspberries (thawed)

-1/3 cup key lime juice and zest from the key limes

(If you don't want to squeeze the key limes you can also buy key lime juice-found in the same section as lemon juice)

Directions:

In a medium sauce pan bring sugar and water to a boil over medium heat.  Once sugar has dissolved; turn down heat to simmer and add in raspberries and salt.  Cook raspberries until softened. Usually within five minutes. Use an immersion blender,blend until raspberry mixture is smooth. Using a spatula strain half of the mix through a strainer or sieve to remove the seeds over a bowl. Then strain the second half. Mix in key lime juice and zest to bowl. Refrigerate mix minimum 3 hours to overnight.  

Remove bowl from the freezer and pour mixture into the ice cream maker and mix until thickened.  If you would like your sorbet thicker add mix to airtight container and freeze for a couple of hours.  Remove from freezer 10 minutes before serving.

To make this an adult sorbet you can add a shot of Patron Silver or Ciroc Redberry to the mix after adding in the key lime juice. Enjoy!!! and eat Responsibly....

#sweetandsavorytasting

#raspberrykeylimesorbet

#sorbet

BundtaMonth: (June) Key Lime Swirl

For the month of June the theme is Swirl.  I never attempted to make a swirl cake so therefore; this was my first time.  When I decided on my flavor I decided to bring out the flavor of one of my favorite pies which is Key Lime.  Not to mention I just bought all of the ingredients to make this delicious pie.  Instead of being a little greedy and making both desserts I decided to combine the flavors and make Key Lime the swirl part of this recipe. 

I utilized my new Tulip Bundt pan that I bought from the Wiltons Tent Sale. I was almost discouraged not to buy it because another customer said that her cakes never come out right and in pieces.  So, I took it as a challenge.  All else fails I would've made cake pops. 

My Basic Cake Recipe:

-2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
-2 cups sugar
-4 eggs at room temperature
-3 cups sifted all purpose flour sifted ( I use King Arthur Flour)
-3 teaspoons baking powder sifted
-1/2 teaspoon salt-1 cup whole milk 
-1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Key Lime Swirl:
-1 small box lime jello gelatin
-1/4 cup of fresh squeezed key lime juice
-zest from the key limes squeezed

Directions

Preheat oven 350 Degrees and spray bundt pan with nonstick baking spray

-Mix together butter and sugar until creamy and fluffy. 
-Add in eggs one at a time.
-In a large bowl sift flour, baking powder and salt.
-Add in flour and milk. Alternatively; starting with flour and ending with flour.
-Add in vanilla extract

Key Lime Swirl:

Spoon 1/3 of the cake batter and place in medium bowl. Fold in lime jello gelatin, key lime juice and the key lime zest.

In prepared bundt pan spoon in 1/3 of the plain cake batter; followed by the key lime swirl cake batter and ending in the plain cake batter. After all the cake batter has been spooned in take a spatula and swirl around the batter.

Bake cake for 55 to 60 minutes until toothpick comes out the center of the cake clean.

Let the cake cool for 10 minutes in the pan before turning on a rack to cool.

Glaze Recipe:
-2 tablespoons of butter melted
-1 cup coconut milk
-1/4 cup freshly squeezed Key Lime Juice
-key lime zest from the key limes squeezed to form the glaze juice
-2 cups of sifted confectioners sugar

In a medium bowl whisk all the ingredients together. Apply to cooled cake.

To make an adult version of this cake you can add 1/2 cup of Patron Silver to the cake batter and 1/4 cup to the glaze. 

ENJOY!!!

#sweetandsavorytasting

#bundtamonth

#keylime

#kingaurthorflour

Bundtamonth: Banana & Maraschino Cherry Bomb Bundt

For the month of April this month theme is CHERRY. The group had to incorporate a cook that had cherries or cherry taste or cherry products in it.  I was originally going to make a Cherry 7UP cake with a maraschino cream cheese glaze drizzled on top. Due to my aunt buying a box of bananas and giving me some I decided to make a cake to incorporate bananas.  I needed to make some smoothies and desserts this week to utilize these bananas before they went bad.

Cake Ingredients
-2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
-2 cups sugar
-4 eggs at room temperature
-3 cups sifted all purpose flour sifted ( I use King Arthur Flour)
-3 teaspoons baking powder sifted
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1 cup whole milk
-1 box banana cream pudding
-1 tablespoon banana extract
-3 ripe bananas smashed
-1/2 cup maraschino cherries chopped

Directions

Preheat oven 350 Degrees and spray bundt pan with nonstick baking spray

-Mix together butter and sugar until creamy and fluffy.
-Add in eggs one at a time.
-In a large bowl sift flour, baking powder and salt.
-Add in flour and milk. Alternatively; starting with flour and ending with flour.
-Mix in banana extract and banana pudding until combined.
-Fold in smashed bananas and maraschino cherries.
-Spoon mixture in prepared bundt pan and smooth out.
-Bake in even for 60 minutes or until toothpick clean from center of the cake.
-Remove cake from pan after 10 minutes and place on cooling rack on top of parchment paper to cool the  remainder of the time.

Maraschino Cherry Glaze
-2 cups sifted powder sugar
-4 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice
-2 tablespoons melted butter

Combine all ingredients and poor over cooled cake. Enjoy...

#bundtamonth
#sweetandsavorytasting
#cherry
#banana
#maraschinocherry
#cookinwithlove

Been Busy...But Still Busy in the Kitchen

I spend my days at work busy on the computer.  Then the kids come home with numerous things for me to do either for them or with them.  Not to mention all the things that I have to get done for myself whether its inside or outside of the house. I have also been doing a lot research on the computer to expand my horizons. By the end of the day I am tired and my eyes are drained. So, by the time all of this is done...who wants to get back on the computer. Not Me.

What I have done for this post is added the pictures of some of the meals and desserts that I have prepared during these times.  Hopefully, by the time the kids get out of school my blogging will be back on track.

Old School Butter Cookies with a New School Twist

Chicken Tenders dipped in Honey BBQ Sauce

Meyer Lemon & Strawberry Tart

Meyer Lemons are a cross between a lemon and an orange.

Homemade Italian Sausage Pizza with Mozzarella Cheese Balls

Pineapple and Rum Bundt with Cream of Coconut Glaze

Crunchy Peanut Butter Muffins

Miami Vice Bundt Cake

Half Strawberry & Half Pina Colada with Rum

Donut Rounds

Half Powder Sugar Glaze and Half Meyer Lemon Glaze

Pancake Cupcakes with Bacon Garnish

I love breakfast...This was fun.

Deep Dish Fudge Brownies

Served with a side of Sweet Red Wine. This is a good combination to end the day right. I don't know of a woman who would disagree.

Brandy Mango Cheesecake

I didn't get a chance to taste this one...but I heard it was a hit.

Thanks to all my followers who read my post and keeping up with my Sweet & Savory Tastings.

#brandymangocheesecake
#deepdishfudgebrownies
#pancakecupcakes
#donutrounds
#miamivicebundt
#peanutbuttermuffins
#pineapplerumbundt
#homemadepizza
#meyerlemonstrawberrytart
#chickentenders
#buttercookies

Meyer Lemon Bundt with Meyer Lemon Glaze

I once read that if your favorite ingredients isn't available in the store you would need to find a back up plan. I have heard about King Arthur Flour but never that to use it.  So over the weekend I decided to give it a try before I baked a cake for someone else. I was very happy with the results.  Now I have two main stars in the home for baking cakes.  For the first try I wanted to use on of King Arthur Flour recipes from their website. I decided to use the Lemon Bliss Cake Recipe.  But, unfortunately I didn't have regular lemons in the house so I substituted the lemons for Meyer Lemons.

King Arthur Flour Recipe: Lemon Bliss Cake

Cake Recipe:
-1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
-2 cups of sugar
-1 teaspoon of salt
-4 large eggs
-2 teaspoons of baking powder
-3 cups of King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
-1 cup of milk
-Finely grated rind of 2 Meyer Lemons

Glaze:
-1/3 cup freshly squeezed Meyer Lemon juice
-3/4 cup of sugar

Cake Directions:

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Spray bundt pan with non-sticking bake spray.

-Beat together, butter, sugar, and salt until combined and fluffy.
-Add eggs one at time making sure to beat well after each egg.
-Add baking powder.
-Alternatively add flour and milk.  Starting with flour and ending in flour.  Stir in grated Meyer Lemon rind.
-Spoon batter into the bundt pan smoothing out with a spatula.

Bake cake for 55 to 60 minutes until toothpick comes out the center of the cake clean.

Let the cake cool for 10 minutes in the pan before turning on a rack to cool.

Glaze Directions:

-Stir together the lemon juice and sugar.
-While the cake is still warm poke holes in the cake with a tooth pick.
-Brush on glaze while the cake is still warm.
-Allow the cake to cool before serving.

Yes..I couldn't resist myself...I had to add some confectioners sugar on top.

Thanks...#KingArthurFlour
#sweetandsavorytasting
#MeyerLemonBundt
#MeyerLemonGlaze

Pancakes and Bacon Cupcakes with Maple Whip Cream Frosting

I spotted this recipe over the past week on one of the social media websites that I follow. I am a person who absolutely loves breakfast and sweets.  So when I spotted this recipe I had the best of both worlds.  You mean to tell me that I can have pancakes made up like a cupcake with frosting on top.  I followed this recipe exactly except I switched up the frosting. The Dollhouse Bake Shoppe recipe called for maple buttercream frosting and I used a maple whip cream frosting recipe. The last thing I did differently was I used the jumbo sized cupcake liners so my yield was 6 cupcakes instead of 12.  

Recipe adapted from Dollhouse Bake Shoppe Blog: Pancakes Breakfast Recipe

Buttermilk Pancakes Recipe:

-1 cup Original Bisquick® pancake mix

-1/3 cup white sugar

-1 teaspoon baking powder

-1/2 cup buttermilk at room temperature

-1 egg at room temperature

-2 tablespoons of melted unsalted butter

-1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

-1/2 cup mix-in; chocolate chips, blueberries, nuts, chopped bacon, etc. (optional)

Maple Buttercream Recipe:

-2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened

-3 to 4 cups of sifted powdered sugar

-2 to 4 tablespoons heavy whipping cream (sub half and half or milk if necessary)

-1/2 teaspoons maple extract OR about 3 tablespoons of  pure maple syrup

-1/4 teaspoon salt 

-Bacon and maple syrup for garnish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pan with liners.

Combine dry ingredients; pancake mix, sugar and baking powder in a medium bowl.  Whisk in buttermilk, egg, butter and vanilla in a measuring cup.  combine the wet ingredients with the dry mix and whisk until just Incorporated.  Fold in pancake mix-ins if desired.  Add the batter to the cupcake liners filling them 2/3 way full.  Bake 13-16 minutes or until toothpick clean.

Buttercream Frosting: Beat butter with an electric mixer until smooth on medium speed. Slowly add powdered sugar until incorporated and creamy.  Add maple and cream.  Beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes until light and fluffy.  Add more powder sugar or mil until desired consistency is reached. 

Sweet and Savory Tastings Blog: Maple Whip Cream Frosting

Once the cupcakes come out the oven let cool then add the frosting and garnish. 

Add a side of eggs and breakfast is complete.  Enjoy...

#sweetandsavorytasting
#pancakesandbaconcupcake
#maplewhipcream
#dollhousebakeshoppe

Pillsbury Meyer Lemon & Strawberry Tart

I get this yearly calendar from Pillsbury every year.  For the month of March the recipe is Meyer Lemon & Strawberry Tart.  This recipe looked delicious. Therefore; I ordered some Meyer lemons from the Lemon Ladies Orchard out of Emerald Hills, CA. I followed the directions step by step except for the topping. Instead of adding 3 cups of fresh sliced strawberries on top I softened it first by cooking it. This is a nice recipe. Meyer lemons add a nice sweet/tart taste to the recipe.

Recipe as directed from Pillsbury.

Crust:
1 Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust, softened as directed on box

Meyer Lemon Filling:
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups water
3 egg yolks, beaten
1 tablespoon grated Meyer lemon peel
1/3 cup Meyer lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter or margarine (I used unsalted butter)

Topping:
3 cups fresh strawberries, sliced

Link to Recipe:
Pillsbury Meyer Lemon & Strawberry Tart

I sliced 3 cups of strawberries, 2 tablespoons of Meyer lemon juice, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, and 1 tablespoon of sugar in a pan and cooked on medium low heat until the strawberries started to soften.


1) Heat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake pie crust as direct on box for One-Crust Baked Shell, using 9 inch tart pan with removable bottom or 9 in glass pie plate. Cool on cooling rack 15 minutes.

2) In a 2 quart saucepan, mix sugar, cornstarch and flour. Gradually stir in water, stirring until smooth. Heat to boiling over medium heat; cook and stir 1 minute longer. Remove from heat. Quickly stir about 1/2 cup hot mixture into beaten egg yolks; mix well. Gradually stir egg mixture back into hot mixture. Stir in lemon peel and lemon juice.  Cook over medium heat about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.  Add butter; stir until melted.  Let stand 10 minutes.

3) Carefully pour hot lemon filling in crust. Cool 2 hours; top with strawberry slices. Refrigerate until serving time. Remove side of pan. Cover and refrigerate any remaining tart.

Optional Toppings:
Mint
Whip Cream
Confectioners Sugar

Lemon Ladies Orchard:
www.lemonladies.com
650-363-1600

#pillsbury
#lemonladiesorchard
#meyerlemons
#sweetandsavorytasting