Campfire Chic Bites

I created these for a Girl Scout bridging I have coming up this year. It didn't go quite as planned... How do you make these?

Easy!

Step 1: Screw up this recipe:

http://www.marthastewart.com/332838/chocolate-graham-cracker-cupcakes-with-t

Step 2:

Try to make cupcake balls and fail.

Step 3:

Put disaster on aluminum foil and add the word "chic" to the title to make it look like you meant to do that.

Playing along with Tackle It Tuesday with 5 Minutes for Mom .

Valentines Treat

This is what I threw together for our family Valentines Dinner:

Emergency cupcakes with leftover pastry cream. Drag a toothpick through the middle of the cream to make the heart and top with red sandy sugar. Simple. That's love:-)

Playing along with Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordful Wednesday on parenting By dummies:-)

Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

There is nothing wrong with that title:-)

It is definitely a happy Tackle It Tuesday with 5 Minutes for Mom !

Ladies' Night Cookies

Welcome new readers from Ladies' Night. I hope you enjoy looking around and if you see anything you like, email me at sewing@wi.rr.com for a custom order:-)

For my regular readers, I was asked to make these cookies for a Ladies' Night event last night. I just made sugar cookies, dipped them in chocolate and topped them with a chocolate transfer. Chocolate transfers are designs that are made in coco powder and put on acetate sheets. When you put them on melted chocolate and peel away the sheet, it transfers the design...hence the name:-) Anyway, here is what I came up with:

White Chocolate Floral

White Chocolate Purple Shells

White Chocolate Rose

Chocolate Lace

Chocolate Damask

White Chocolate Blue Lace

Happy Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordful Wednesday on parenting By dummies!

Birthday Cake

Happy Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordful Wednesday on SevEn cLoWn CirCus! Heck, I am even linking this up to Amy's Round Robin on Keeping Up with the Schultz Family on Friday.

We celebrated my oldest's 20th birthday last week and this is the cake I made:


This is a yellow cake with chocolate ganache filling and iced with chocolate buttercream. The cake is completed with marshmallow fondant and molding chocolate ribbon. It was delicious:-)

Tackling an Anti-Birthday Cake

It's time for Tackle It Tuesday with 5 Minutes for Mom . This weekend, I held a dinner party for a bunch of my friends who also turned 40 this year. To that regard, I thought it would be funny to make an Anti-Birthday cake:-) This is what I came up with:

I thought it was really appropriate for the ocassion:-)

Friday Foto Fun with Valentines Mistake Cake

It's time for Carrie's Friday Foto Fun! Here is that cake I was going to post a couple weeks ago:

Cute right? I think it is perfect for Valentines Day don't you? Yeah, well this little ditty gave me a workout. But the upside is you get to learn from my mistakes. Here are a list of errors you can avoid since I made them for you:

First mistake: I was trying to make the cake while caring for my ailing child.

Second mistake: I didn't level the cake off.

Third mistake: I didn't put it on a cake board.

Fourth mistake: I tried to fill a cake without making a damn around the edge.

By the way, this is a chocolate cake (out of a box) filled with raspberry jam (from a jar) iced with chocolate frosting (from a can) and garnished with melted white chocolate. So, if you heed the warnings above, you can throw this together on the fly too:-)

Friday Foto Fun with Girl Scout Cookies

It's time for Carrie's Friday Foto Fun!

Some of my readers may remember this cake from last year:

I am bringing it back to remind all of you that we are in the middle of Girl Scout Cookie season!!! If you haven't already, you will soon hear the call of the cookie from your neighborhood Girl Scout and it is important to answer the call.

As a Daisy Leader, I am here to tell you that by buying a box of cookies (of several boxes) from that little girl over the phone or at the door, you can help to change a girl's life! I am just starting off with these girls and some of them have little tiny voices. By participating in the Girl Scouts, girls learn important life skills. They learn to think for themselves, be leaders, give back to the community but the most important thing: They learn to stand in the center of who they are and speak up and say what they have to say. All from a cookie!

Now, I know that it is new year resolution season, but these cookies freeze very easily. So, you can tuck them away and bring them out for snacks at school, in the middle of summer by the pool or for any ocassion for celebrating. And, if that weren't enough, the Girl Scout website has more recipe ideas for you:-)

So, no excuses!! Answer the call of the cookie. It will help a girl in your life to be her best and you will feel great doing it!

Tackling Extreme Chocolate Cupcakes

It's time for Tackle It Tuesday with 5 Minutes for Mom . I had another Iron Cupcake: Milwaukee Challenge. This month we competed for the best Extreme Chocolate cupcake. My entry was Not Your Mama's Sundae Cupcake. Here is what they looked like:

This ia an ode to Bi-Rite Creamery's Sam's Sundae in San Franscio. It hosts a white chocolate "bowl" with chocolate cake "ice cream scoops", chocolate mousse "topping", olive oil "sauce" and coarse salt " jimmies". Yummo!!

Tackling Fashion Cupcakes

It's time for Tackle It Tuesday with 5 Minutes for Mom and Cupcake Tuesday at Hoosier Homemade. This weekend, I competed in Project Cupcake: The Ultimate Fashion Themed Cupcake Challenge. The competition was presented by Iron Cupcake: Milwaukee and Goldi's Shoe Parlor and it was much girlie fun! It was just the best way to spend a Saturday afternoon with me hanging with my cupcake girls:-) Awesome time!

Anyway, my cupcake was Leather and Lace Cupcake:

It's kind of hard to see it in this picture but these are chocolate cupcakes with white buttercream enrobed (pardon the pun) in candy clay which is embossed to look like leather and lace...hence the name:-)

Update: James Conway took this shot from the event:

© James Conway Photography, 2009.

Tackling Vegan Cupcakes

It's time for Tackle It Tuesday with 5 Minutes for Mom . I tackled cupcakes for the Iron Cupcake: Milwaukee Vegan/Glutten-Free Challenge.

I chose to go vegan and my entry was a Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Cupcake with Vegan Chocolate frosting. I presented it as a bushel basket full of zucchinis coming straight from the farm to the farmers market.

And....I won the grand prize from the sponsor, Beans and Barley. I got a HUGE reusable shopping bag and a mug. Yeah me! I also got one a Taste of Home Cupcake Cookbook in the raffle. Double Yeah! Good night for me:-)

Tackling Wine Cupcakes

It's time for Tackle It Tuesday with 5 Minutes for Mom .

I tackled another Iron Cupcake: Milwaukee Challenge . This time, the ingredient was wine. Remember these from Wednesday? I used those to garnish these:

" Wine on the Vine Cupcake Pops"

I took a page from Bakerella and made my submission into cupcake pops. These are Pinot Noir chocolate cupcakes mixed with Pinot Noir buttercream dipped in white chocolate. I built the pops around a styrofoam form to make them into a bunch of grapes. I thought it was a pretty cool idea. What do you think?

Friday's Foto Fun with Eclair Cheesecake

It's time for Carrie's Friday Foto Fun:-) And I am up to my old tricks again.

This little beauty that I made for a dinner party last week may not be pretty but it was really good!! It was inspired by a dessert that I always order at a local restaurant called Maxims. It is a brilliant creation of a layer of cheesecake, topped with a layer of chocolate cake, filled and frosted with chocolate buttercream, glazed with chocolate ganache and garnished with a mini eclair. What's not to like right? Would you like the recipe? Ok:-)



Eclair Cheesecake

Ingredients:
For Cheesecake Layer:
1-1/4 cups vanilla wafers, crushed
1/4 cup butter, melted
3-8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tbls vanilla
1-1/2 cups sour cream

For Chocolate Cake Layer:
1 Devil's Food Cake box mix and all ingredients it requires

For the Chocolate Buttercream Frosting:

1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup cocoa or three 1 oz. unsweetened chocolate squares, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
3-4 tablespoons milk

For Ganache:
8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tbls unsalted butter

For Whipping Cream for Assembly of the Cake:
1/4 cup whipping cream
2 tbls powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
1. In a small mixing bowl, combine wafer crumbs and butter and stir well. Press crumb mixture into bottom and 1 inch up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Chill.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, melted chocolate and vanilla until smooth. Fold in sour cream. Pour mixture into crumb crust.

3. Wrap bottom and sides of the springform pan in foil and put it in a roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with boiling water until it is half-way up the springform pan. Bake the cheesecake in the water bath for 1 hour and 10 minutes at 325. Turn off the oven and let cheesecake stand in the oven for 30 minutes with the oven door ajar. Remove and cool on wire rack. Cover and chill for at least 8 hours.

4. Bake Cake per the directions on the box.

5. In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add cocoa and vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use. For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use.

6. For the ganache, place chocolate in a medium heat-safe mixing bowl. Heat cream and butter over medium heat then, bring to boil. Immediately pour cream over chocolate and mix until the chocolate is melted. Let stand for 5 minutes.

7. To assemble, frost cheesecake with the chocolate buttercream icing. Top with the chocolate cake. Frost the cake with the buttercream. Chill for 30 minutes.

8. For the glaze, place the fully chilled cake on a wire rack over a baking sheet. To cover cake, pour the ganache into the center of the cake. Working quickly, spread with a spatula over the sides of the cake to create an even coating of ganache.

9. To garnish, make the whipping cream. Chill a small bowl and your beaters. Put the cream, powdered sugar and vanilla in the bowl and whip until stiff. Fill a pastry bag with a star tip and pipe 14 stars on top of the ganache frosted cake. Chill for 5 minutes to set. Serve and enjoy:-)

Serves 14

Tackling Coffee Cupcakes

It's time for Tackle It Tuesday with 5 Minutes for Mom .

I tackled another Iron Cupcake: Milwaukee Challenge . This time, the ingredient was coffee and my submission was Mocha Ganache Cupcakes.

These are chocolate cupcakes with a mocha ganache glaze. I made the mocha ganache by steeping the coffee right in heavy cream. Then, I took the hot cream to make the ganache. Oh my...they had a really, really strong coffee flavor!! But, that was the jist:-)

Friday's Foto Fun with Valentines

It's time for Carrie's Friday Foto Fun:-) This week, I am sharing the special Valentine's Day treat that I made for my family.

Aren't these cute little heart brownies? They couldn't be easier!

I love how Semi-Homemade these are. Here are my tools:

I just made brownies right out of a box. I cut them with bread tube (but you can use any heart-shaped cutter you have at home). Then, I used the cake stencils and powder sugar in a shaker to make the designs on top. Here is a closer look:

Susie's Oh My Gosh Ganache Chocolate Cheesecake

Here my next entry in my Christmas Menu : Susie's Oh My Gosh Ganache Chocolate Cheesecake.

I have been making this cheesecake for Christmas for over 10 years and it is always a hit. That's the "Oh My Gosh" part.


The ganache part is the glaze and the truffles on top.



And the chocolate cheesecake is the cake inside:-)

Ingredients:

For Cake:

1-1/4 cups chocolate wafers, crushed

1/4 cup butter, melted

8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted

3-8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 tbls vanilla

1-1/2 cups sour cream

For Ganache:

8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

2 tbls unsalted butter

For Whipping Cream for Assembly of the Cake:

1/4 cup whipping cream

2 tbls powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. In a small mixing bowl, combine chocolate wafer crumbs and butter and stir well. Press crumb mixture into bottom and 1 inch up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Chill.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, melted chocolate and vanilla until smooth. Fold in sour cream. Pour mixture into crumb crust.

3. Wrap bottom and sides of the springform pan in foil and put it in a roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with boiling water until it is half-way up the springform pan. Bake the cheesecake in the water bath for 1 hour and 10 minutes at 325. Turn off the oven and let cheesecake stand in the oven for 30 minutes with the oven door ajar. Remove and cool on wire rack. Cover and chill for at least 8 hours.

4. For the ganache, place chocolate in a medium heat-safe mixing bowl. Heat cream and butter over medium heat then, bring to boil. Immediately pour cream over chocolate and mix until the chocolate is melted. Let stand for 5 minutes.

5. Place the fully chilled cake on a wire rack over a baking sheet. Using a cake spatula, cover the sides and the top of the cake with about 4 tablespoons of the ganache to create a crumb coat. Chill. To cover cake, pour the remaining ganache into the center of the cake. Working quickly, spread with a spatula over the sides of the cake to create an even coating of ganache.

6. To make the truffles, strain the left over ganache. Then, spread it out in a line layer on a baking sheet that is lined with parchment paper. Chill 30 minutes. Scrap off balls of the layer with a melon baller to form 14 truffles. Chill for 30 minutes to set the balls. Dip each ball in powered sugar.

7. To assemble, make the whipping cream. Chill a small bowl and your beaters. Put the cream, powdered sugar and vanilla in the bowl and whip until stiff. Fill a pastry bag with a star tip and pipe 14 stars on top of the ganache frosted cake. Place one truffle on top of each star. Chill for 5 minutes to set. Serve and enjoy:-)

Serves 14

Tackling Kid's Cookie Day

Update: By popular demand, I have included the "recipes" below each cookie. Enjoy:-)
Do you think I can get away with a Wordful Wednesday on SevEn cLoWn CirCus for this one too? Let's see:-)

It's time for Tackle It Tuesday with 5 Minutes for Mom .

Last week, I told you about our annual Ewing Family Cookie Day and I even showed you how much we made . Well, creativity runs in the family and you can't leave the kids out at Christmas time. So, this weekend we had Kid's Cookie Day.

Here is what 7 kids and 3 adults did in 3 hours in 1 kitchen:

Peanut Mice:-) My 4-year old made these!!

These are just peanut butter cookie dough with chocolate chip eyes, M&M noses, peanut ears and pretzel tails.

Bacon and Eggs
Two pretzel sticks, a glob of white chocolate and a yellow M&M make this treat:-)

Hamburgers
These burgers are made with vanilla wafers for the bun, thin mint meat and colored frosting for the lettuce and ketchup.

Chocolate Spoons
This was my niece's concoction. These are just plastic spoons dipped in chocolate and decorated.

Three Women, Six Hours and a Kitchen

It's time for another Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom or Wordful Wednesday on SevEn cLoWn CirCus:-)

Annual Ewing Family Cookie Day

(This was only a third of what three women did in six hours:-)

Ewing Family Cookie Day Cookies

Yesterday, we had our annual Ewing Family Cookie Day. Every year, my MiL and SiL get together and bake Christmas cookies...ALL DAY! It's a great time and we make enough cookies to fill a bakery.

These cookies are an important part of my Christmas Menu . And as such, I am posting my favorite recipe from Cookie Day:

Susie's Homemade Caramel Bars

I made a triple batch but the recipe is for a single one:-)

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
2 cups pecans, chopped
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
2 tsps vanilla
20 vanilla caramels
2 tbls milk
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter until it looks like cornmeal. Press into 13x9x2-inch pan. Bake for 15 minutes.

2. Sprinkle pecans over the crust. Combine sweentend condensed milk and vanilla and pour over the pecans. Bake 25 minutes more. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, combine the caramels and milk in a small saucepan. Melt over medium-low heat. Pour mixture over the baked filling. Sprinkle the chocolate on top. Cool completely.

4. For easing cutting, freeze for 30 minutes. Cut into 48 bars and enjoy:-)

Tackling Cereal Cupcakes

My Tackle It Tuesday involved lots of baking...Again! I competed in the Iron Cupcake: Milwaukee bake-off. The last time I finished fourth but this time, the theme was Cereal. The idea was to create a cupcake that featured your favorite breakfast cereal. So, I worked the weekend and I think I found it.

May I present:

Reese's Peanutbutter Cereal Cupcakes

These chocolate cereal bowls are peanutbutter cupcakes filled with white chocolate "milk" for the Reese's Peanutbutter Cereal.

Oh, by the way....

I won!!! Check it out:

So, can I Tempt Your Tummy this Tuesday ?