Dessert First

FIRST: Could you please head over to this website (http://www.pomwonderful.com/cupcakecontest/) and vote for my Pink Velvet POM Cupcake & I would love if you’d spread the word via your blog, Facebook, etc!

 

I wish I could send you all cupcakes at this point! I so appreciated and enjoyed reading through all of your thoughtful comments and I am equally excited that all of you will be following along! :-) And speaking of cupcakes, here are two new flavor additions to the menu.

Another cupcake to be added to the Candy Bar line…

Reeses Peanut Butter Cupcakes
Chocolicious Peanut Butter Swirl Cake
Topped with 1 Layer of Whipped Chocolate Frosting
& 1 Layer of Whipped Peanut Butter Frosting
Garnished with a Mini Peanut Butter Cup

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And another addition to the Girl Scout Cookie  line…

Samoas Cupcake
Coconut Graham Cracker Bottom below our Chocolicious Cake
Topped with a Whipped Coconut Frosting
Garnished with a drizzle of both Caramel and Chocolate and finished with half a Samoa Cookie

So hopefully today you brought your sweet tooth, because it’s a recap on my cooking class (if you missed recaps of my other classes, see them here and here) that I taught this past Friday called Dessert First. The description in the community catalog stated:

“Dessert first might not always be appropriate, but in this class it's required. Learn to make semi-homemade desserts that look like they've taken hours to prepare.  Cheesecake, trifles, and more.  This class is guaranteed to be sweet!”

I look forward to my classes more and more each month because each time the attendance gets bigger and bigger. I am already starting to plan next fall’s class line-up!

So like the description stated, this class was all about the sweet stuff. I tried my best to pick out recipes that I thought would be new to people and please a variety of taste palates. After all my researching, it was a success—no one had tried the recipes before, and everyone loved them once they did! So take a few minutes and attend my “virtual” Dessert First class!

--Class Intros--

--Giving away prizes; a free 1/2 dozen of my Cupcakes —

--Explaining the first recipe, Peanut Butter Cup Trifle--

--Assembling in progress--

--The finished dessert--

Peanut Butter Cup Trifle

Ingredients:

·         9x13 pan of brownies, cut into 1 inch pieces

·         5.1 oz instant vanilla pudding

·         3 cups milk

·         ½ cup creamy peanut butter

·         2 tsp vanilla

·         8 oz container thawed whipped topping, divided

·         14 peanut butter cups, crumbled (Not the minis)

·         10 mini peanut butter cups to garnish (cut in half)

Directions:

·         Combine pudding and milk. Beat for 2 minutes.

·         Add peanut butter and vanilla, beat until smooth. Gently fold in 2 cups whipped topping.

·         In a trifle dish, layer ½ the brownies, ½ the crumbled peanut butter cups, ½ the pudding mixture. Repeat.

·          Top with cool whip and peanut butter cups.

·         Chill until serving.

                                           Serves: 12-15 (Varies)

--Explaining the versatility of  phyllo tarts--

Warm Mini Apple Pies

Ingredients:

·         1 peeled, cored and finely chopped Granny Smith apple

·         1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

·         2 tablespoons raisins

·         1/4 cup brown sugar

·         3 tablespoons butter

·         1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

·         15 Mini Phyllo Shells (1 box)

·         1/4 cup thawed whipped topping, for garnish

 

Directions:

·         In a medium skillet, sauté apples, walnuts, raisins, brown sugar and butter over low heat until apples are tender, stirring frequently.

·         Remove from heat and stir in cinnamon.

·         Cool slightly and spoon 1 tablespoon of apple mixture into each phyllo Shell. Garnish with whipped topping. Serve immediately.

 

--Prepping the next dessert--

--Cherry Cheesecake Cookie Cups--

Cherry Cheesecake Cookie Cups

Ingredients:

·         1 pkg. (16.5 oz.) Refrigerated Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

·         2 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, room temperature

·         1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk

·         2 large eggs

·         2 teaspoons vanilla extract

·         1 can (21 oz.) cherry pie filling

Directions:

·         Preheat oven to 325° F. Paper-line 24 muffin cups. Place one piece of cookie dough in each muffin cup.

·         Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until cookie has spread to edge of cup.

·         Beat cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, eggs and vanilla extract in medium bowl until smooth. Pour about 3 tablespoons cream cheese mixture over each cookie in cup.

·         Bake for additional 15 to 18 minutes or until set. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Top each with level tablespoon of pie filling. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

--Saving the best dessert for last!--

--Mini Molten Chocolate Cakes with a scoop of vanilla ice cream--

Mini Molten Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

·         4 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate

·         1/2 cup  butter

·         1 cup powdered sugar

·         2 whole  eggs

·         2 egg yolks

·         6 Tbsp.  flour

·         Ice cream for serving, if desired

 

Directions:

·         Heat oven to 425°F.

·         Butter 4 small custard cups; place on baking sheet.

·         Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1 min. or until butter is melted; whisk until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar.

·          Add whole eggs and egg yolks; mix well. Stir in flour. Spoon into prepared cups.

·         Bake 13 to 14 min. or until sides of desserts are firm but centers are still soft. Let stand 1 min. then carefully run small spatula or knife around cakes to loosen; invert into dessert plates. Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream.

What dessert would you want to try first?

A Sweet Surprise

I rarely refrain from posting anything food related in my life on my blog, but today’s sweet surprise has been 4 months in the making and I haven’t squealed even just a little—if you follow on Facebook, you may already know. It’s been hard not to tell everyone, especially because my readers are my biggest fan, but in all actuality, this sweet surprise has been consuming so much of my time that it’s taken away from blogging a bit, which is why I only get to posting about once a week now vs. 3 times a week in previous months. I know you are all such a great community & your “virtual” support/suggestions will be extremely appreciated!

I would like to introduce you to my new adventure…..

In a nutshell—I’ve been holed up in my kitchen for the past four months learning all the necessary cupcake skills. I’ve mixed, I’ve tasted, I’ve developed, and, oh my have I eaten. But during this time I developed such a passion for these tiny sweet treats. Seeing how happy they make people when I would deliver a batch “just because”, made me think that I could do it everyday with the bonus of making some extra money as well. So I started word-of-mouth advertising, which works great. It was keeping me busy with anywhere from 2-3 orders a week ranging from 1 dozen to 100 cupcakes for all types of occasions. To see my cupcakes be a part of someone’s event, and make it a tad bit sweeter was all the further push I needed to take the next step!

You guessed it, a cupcake shop. I’ve been working with different departments of Minnesota including the Small Business Development Center, financial advisors, and realtor agencies. To say it’s as easy as pie a cupcake would be a lie, and I’ve just begun to scratch the surface. Plans, papers, and figuring are definitely not my niche. It will be much more exciting to bake, decorate, and see my dream become a reality.

The competition in my city for cupcakes is nonexistent. Plus my city is a premier vacation location during all seasons, so as we find more and more on industry statistics, the probability of this business being huge is a realistic possibility.

I am planning on sharing this journey cupcake by cupcake and dedicating one post per week to the birth of this future business.  Currently we are at the step of finding a place that’s suitable for what I am looking for. I am anticipating this process to take 2-3 weeks, so in the meanwhile regular blogging will continue and new cupcake menu additions will be added. I am also going to set up a special tab on the side bar of my blog so you can check out all things cupcake whenever you’d like!

I’d love for you to check out my temporary webpage here:

http://www.wix.com/casaundraleigh/ccc

Technically I can’t “launch” the site as its’ own domain until the business is completely certified.

“Love doesn’t make the world go round

—cupcakes do!” –Cupcake Wars

What is your reaction to my surprise?

Will you be interested in following as I embark upon this new journey?