Red Velvet Brownies with White Chocolate Buttercream

I found these(on Smells Like Home) and they looked wonderful....eh....I love the icing.  I  love anything white chocolate, just not chocolate.  I am not a fan of the brownies.  I am not a red velvet fan anyway but i like the cake much better.  I gave them away and the families enjoyed them!  I will use the buttercream on a lot in the future.  It was mild and creamy. Tony just told me that they would have been better with cream cheese frosting....what does he know?? :)

Recipe~
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 oz red food coloring (this is one small bottle)
2 tsp  vanilla extract, divided
1/2 cup  unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups  flour
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter and flour an 8x8 baking pan.

In a small bowl, slowly stir together the cocoa powder, food coloring, and 1 tsp vanilla into a thick paste until not lumps of cocoa remain. Set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition, then stir in the remaining 1 tsp of vanilla.  With the mixer off, add in the cocoa mixture, then turn the mixer to medium and beat the two mixtures together until they are one uniform color.  Slowly add in the flour and salt and mix on medium-low speed, just until combined.  Do not overmix.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir up the batter with a rubber spatula once or twice just to ensure all of the flour has incorporated from the sides of the bowl and there isn’t anything stuck on the bottom of the bowl.  You want the red to be the same throughout the whole cake.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the brownies.  Allow brownies to completely cool in the pan on a baking rack, about 45-60 minutes.  Frost brownies in the pan, cut into 12 bars, and serve, or remove the entire batch from the pan to a cutting board, cut into 12 bars, frost, and serve.

Frosting~

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 oz good-quality white chocolate, melted 
1 – 2 tbsp heavy cream

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until soft and fluffy then beat in the vanilla.  With the mixer on low speed, slowly add in powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time; allow the sugar to mix in before adding the next 1/2 cup. Once all of the sugar has been added, beat on medium speed for 30 seconds and scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Add in the melted white chocolate and beat on medium speed until incorporated.  With the mixer on low, add in heavy cream 1 tbsp at a time and beat at medium speed until the frosting has reached your desired consistency. Enjoy!

Blueberry Cream Cake

I love blueberries! These were big, juicy and busting with flavor! This cake is a morning cake, I would say as it is dense and very rich. I will be making it again for sure!

~Recipe~
2 cups flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 teaspoon fresh grated lemon rind
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cardamom
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 1/2 cups blueberries

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9 inch  bundt pan.  Combine the flour, sugars, baking powder, lemon rind a spices in a large bowl.  Mix with an electric mixer on low speed.  Add eggs and mix on low.  Add the cream and  increase to high speed and mix until light, about 2 minutes.  Fold in the blueberries carefully. Put in the bundt pan and bake until toothpick comes clean out of the center.  50-55 minutes.  Col in pan for 5 minutes and transfer to wire rack to cool completely.  Dust with powdered sugar.  Enjoy~

Cupcakes Galore

Here is a sample of the sweet treats I made for a great friends little girl Ava's birthday party.  Princess Ava turned 4 and we had 4 flavors and 4 dozen cupcakes! They were a hit! The flavors were chocolate chip, strawberry, vanilla and chocolate. The kids and adults ate them! YUM!

Cupcakes are so much fun! I am having a blast working at a cupcake shop! They are easy treats to make and throw anything in them and pile rich and creamy frosting on the top! Who doesn't love cupcakes?

Brownie Goody Bars

WOW!! This is  an easy and YUMMY recipe! I got it from the Betty Crocker site.  I recommend signing up for the emails with recipes.  I use a lot of them and if I don't use the exact recipe I et ideas!

1 box of Betty Crocker brownie mix**I used my favorite brownie recipe**
1 cup vanilla frosting from Betty Crocker
1/2 cup salted peanuts**I used honey roasted because that is what I had on hand** chopped
2 cups Rice Krispies
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 1/3 cup chocolate chips**It calls for semi sweet...I used  milk**

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease bottom only of a 9 inch square pan.  Make and bake brownies according to directions on box. Cool completely.  Frost with the frosting and sprinkle with the peanuts.  Chill in the refrigerator while making topping.  Put cereal in a bowl and set aside.  Melt the chocolate chips and peanut butter and toss with the cereal until coated.  Spread over the brownies and chill 1 hour or until set.  YUM!! Enjoy~

Banana Cream Pie

Yum! Britt was here for a few days and her favorite is banana pudding, so we made a pie! It was easy and very good.

~Recipe~
1 cup cold m ilk
1 package instant vanilla pudding
1/2 tsp vanilla extract(I used a bit more)
1 carton cool whip
1 graham cracker crust(You can use vanilla wafer or a regular crust as well)
3 medium firm bananas, sliced
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 heaping tsp powdered sugar
additional bananas and chocolate for garnish if you choose

In a large bowl beat the milk and pudding mixture on low speed for 2 minutes, beat in vanilla.  Fold in Cool Whip.  Pour 1 1/3 cups of the pudding mix into a pie crust.  Layer with the bananas and the the rest of the pudding.  Whip the cream and powdered sugar until thick and fluffy. Spread on top of the pie.  Garnish with additional banana and chocolate.  Refrigerate until serving.  Best the day it is made! Enjoy~

Strawberry Mojito

I had a blackberry mojito at a dinner and decided I needed to try to  make it.  I had strawberries so that is what I used. I need to mess around with it, but it was refreshing.

~Recipe~

white sugar for the rim of the glass

2 large limes, quartered

1/2 bunch of mint leaves

7 strawberries

1 cup white sugar

1 cup white rum

2 cups club soda

8 cups ice cubes

Pour 1/4-1/2 inch sugar into a shallow plate.  Run 1 of the lime quarters around each glass and dip glass rim into sugar.  Set aside.

Squeeze all of the limes into a sturdy glass pitcher.  Toss the juiced limes into the pitcher with the mint leaves, strawberries and 1 cup of sugar.  Crush it all together to release juices and oil from mint.  Stir in the rum and club soda until the sugar is completely dissolved.  Pour into sugared glasses over ice cubes to serve! Enjoy~

Ricotta with Balsamic Berries

This sounded refreshing and like a good idea...Tony thinks the cheese should stay in lasagna.  I liked it.  I used raspberries along with the blackberries and strawberries.  The raspberries were a terrible addition.  But the blackberries and strawberries were awesome!!

~Recipe~
Boil 1 cup balsamic vinegar, 2 Tbsp honey and a sprig of mint in a small saucepan until thick and syrupy, about 10 minutes. Cool the syrup slightly and drizzle over the ricotta and berries.  Easy and something very different! Enjoy~