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

Thinking Outside the Box

I went to the store to purchase a box to put a cupcake in.  Cupcake boxes are normally sold in a set of three to four.  I only had one cupcake to specially box up as a gift.  I was getting ready to purchase the regular cupcake boxes but something told me to keep looking.  As I wandered down each of the aisles I came across these take out boxes.  They were so cute.  It was big enough to fit a cupcake and tall enough that the frosting wouldn't get messed up during travel. The top comes down and closes up. It is the same type of box that Chinese food comes in. It worked and was durable.

#cupcakebox #takeoutcontainer

#Bundtamonth Miami Vice Bundt with Cream of Coconut Glaze and Toasted Coconuts

For the month of March the theme is Tropical for #bundtamonth.  When I think of the tropics; I can imagine myself sitting in a lawn chair along side the beach or at the pool with my sunglasses on, a big sunhat and a drink in my hand.  On one of my first tropical trips I was introduced to a specialty drink called the Miami Vice.  This drink was so pretty.  It had my two favorite drinks (at that time) in one combined.  It is a combination of Pina Colada and a Strawberry Daiquiri.

Cake Recipe:

-2 sticks of unsalted room temperature butter
-2 cups of sugar
-3 cups of sifted cake flour
-4 eggs room temperature
-1 cup milk
-3 teaspoons baking powder sifted
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Spray bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray.

-Cream butter in a large bowl until smooth.
-Add sugar until creamy and fluffy.
-Sift together in a large bowl cake flour, baking powder and salt.
-Alternatively add flour mixture and milk to the creamed butter. Starting with flour and ending with flour.
-Add in vanilla extract.

Miami Vice Mix Recipe:

Strawberry Daiquiri Mix Recipe:
-5 to 6 strawberries
-2 tablespoons lemon juice

-In a small pot add strawberries and lemon juice.  Cook strawberries until softened.
-With an immersion blender or food processor; process strawberries until the consistency of puree has been reached.
-Set aside.

Pina Colada Mix Recipe:
-1/2 cup canned pineapple tidbits drained
-3/4 cup of cream of coconut (shake well before measuring)

***In two separate bowl separate the cake batter evenly***

-In one bowl fold in the strawberry puree and 1/2 box of strawberry jello.


-In the other bowl fold in the pineapple mix.

Simultaneously add both cake mixes to the bundt pan.  Putting strawberry on one side and pineapple on the other.

Bake in the oven approximately 45-60 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool in the pan for ten minutes before turning out the pan.

Cream of Coconut Glaze Recipe:

-1 cup of sifted confectioners sugar

-1/2 cup cream of coconut

-3 tablespoons pineapple juice

-Whisk all together and apply to cooled cake.

Toasted coconut instructions: In a large pan add 1/2 cup of coconuts on medium heat.  The coconuts will start toasting quickly.  Stir to ensure even consistency.  This process can also be done in the oven on 325 degrees. After the cake is glazed add the coconuts accordingly.  

Optional: 

Add strawberries around the bottom of the cake for garnish.

Add rum to the cake for the adult version of the cake. No more than 1/2 cup.

Add rum to the glaze to make it an even more adult pleasing experience.  Amount varies. Depending on how thick/thin you would like your glaze. 

.My Recipe Magic .