Banana Bread for Kids!

Good Morning! This morning I made some Banana Bread Muffins just for Greta. They are the healthiest muffins ever! And delicious, too! Give them a try sometime.

Ingredients:

3/4 c whole wheat flour

1/2 c all-purpose flour

1 c oats, ground

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

Whisk together above ingredients in large bowl & set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together:

2 eggs

1/4 c brown sugar

1/3 c applesauce

2 TB canola oil

1 tsp vanilla

3 ripe bananas, mashed

Then add the wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix gently until just combined. Spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray and fill 2/3 full. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Makes 12

Strawberry Cupcakes for Greta Mae's 1st Birthday

Our sweet Greta Mae turned one on December 19th & we had a strawberry themed sledding party for her. A lot of her little friends came over & we had a great time sledding & eating Strawberry Cupcakes! The original ("Strawberry Tea Cakes") recipe came from "125 cookies to bake, nibble & savor" by Elinor Klivuns. But I changed it, of course :) here is what I did:

Ingredients:

1 (16 oz) package of fresh strawberries, diced & tossed with 2 Tb of sugar

1 1/3 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3 large egg whites

1 c sugar

1/2 c canola oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 c sour cream

preheat oven to 350. line baking muffin tins with cupcake papers & spray with a non-stick spray. In a food processor, process the strawberry-sugar mixture until coarsely chopped.

set aside.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt, set aside.

Put the egg whites & sugar in a large bowl with electric mixer, mix on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Decrease speed to low & mix in the oil, vanilla and almond extract until the oil is incorporated. Rub any lumps out of the baking soda & gently mix the baking soda into the sour cream. Alternately stir (into the wet mixture in mixing bowl) the flour mixture & the sour cream mixture, starting and ending with the flour. just until incorporated. Gently fold in the strawberries.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full and bake for about 17 minutes

(turning once, halfway through baking time)

For frosting, I used the cream cheese frosting from the "lemon wedding cake" recipe on this blog. I filled a piping bag and piped stars on top of each cupcake. Then sprinkled with jimmies. I ordered a Do-It-Yourself "Strawberry Picnic" digital file from Dimpleprints on Etsy. The strawberry cupcake toppers are from there.

I think it was a"berry" cute strawberry cupcake party for a "berry" sweet one year old gal.

Lemon Wedding Cake

On December 14th we heard the great news that 2 of our friends, Joe & Anika, were getting married the following day! That's right, the very next day! On December 15th they tied the knot & I just had to present them with a wedding cake. Afterall, you can't have a surprise wedding without a surprise cake!

I used a recipe from Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten, with a few changes, of course.

It turned out to be delicious and I will definitely be making it again!

the original recipe can be found here:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/lemon-cake-recipe/index.html

As I stated, I made a few changes to the recipe. Here is what I did:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided
• 4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• zest of 3 lemons
• 3 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, divided
• 3/4 cup whole milk + juice of 1 lemon (to substitute for buttermilk)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• Cream the butter and 2 cups granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, and the lemon zest.

  Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, combine 1/4 cup lemon juice, the milk (with juice of 1 lemon) and vanilla. Add the flour and milk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour.

  Divide the batter evenly between the pans, smooth the tops, and bake at 350.

  Cakes are done when tops bounce back when pushed & no jiggling when wiggled. I am sorry I do not remember how long the baking took ;) check the cakes after 20 minutes and rotate. check again periodically until done.

  Frosting:

  16 oz cream cheese

  1 stick of salted butter, room temp

  1 tsp vanilla

  6-8 cups of powdered sugar

  combine cream cheese & butter in mixer. Add vanilla and mix until combined.

  Slowly add powdered sugar until you reach the desired consistency.

  To make this layer cake I made the recipe twice. I baked two 8 inch round pans and two 6 inch round pans. I line the pans with parchment and spray with a non-stick spray. After baking, I let the cakes cool and then cut the rounded tops off of the cakes to make them flat on top. I spread a bit of cream cheese frosting on the serving platter and placed the first 8 inch round cake upside down on the platter. The frosting underneath the cake helps the cake stay in place. I then frosted the top of the first layer & placed the second 8 inch round cake on top of it. I frosted the top of that cake and placed gently the first 6 inch cake upside down in the center of the cakes. Frosted the top & placed the 4th and final cake on top. I then frosted the top of that cake and worked my way down the sides. I then used a piping bag with no tip, just the round opening to pipe dots around the edges of the cake. I had cut a beautiful bloom from a hydrangea and placed it on top of the cake, and also placed a leaf from the same plant along the bottom edge for decoration.

  A simple, but beautiful & quick "surprise" wedding cake!