Mini Lime Cupcakes

I always love when a holiday rolls around because that means some themed baking is going to happen in my house. With St. Patty’s in a few days, I asked Noah what we should bake and he said cupcakes….so cupakes it is!

I have had this recipe pinned for quite awhile and have been waiting for the perfect recipe to bake up these little guys. I love that they are lime instead of the traditional mint or pistachio flavored cupcakes I came across for St. Patrick’s Day. I also love that they are itty bitty for easier portion control…unless you feel like you have to eat all the ugly ones since you don’t want your husband’s new co-workers to question your baking abilities….yeah, that totally didn’t happen.

Noah calls these cupcakes green tiny little baby ones. I think that kid is pretty funny. You know why else he’s funny? He is a typical boy so clothing is sometimes optional, even when cooking. I decided if he ever has a food blog it should be named “The Naked Chef” and my mom thought the tagline could be “Don’t burn your business” or “No pants, no problem.” That’s how he rolls, see.

Sorry for the tangent, he just cracks me up. I think the socks totally make the outfit.

The cake had a light lime flavor but man did the frosting pack an amazing lime zing. They were just perfect for the springtime that we are all dreaming about. It’s actually supposed to be in the 60′s today but then get chilly again this weekend.

Just wait and see what awesome cupcakes I found for Easter, you might just die.

Hope you all have a happy and safe St. Patty’s!

Mini Lime Cupcakes
recipe from A Farm Girl Dabbles

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
5 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
2 Tbsp. finely grated lime peel
Green food coloring (I always use gel food coloring because it’s more vibrant)
1-1/2 cups buttermilk

for the frosting*:
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 Tbsp. finely grated lime peel
1/2 tsp. vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, beat butter until smooth.  Add sugar and beat to blend. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, then the lime juice, lime peel, and food coloring. Batter may look curdled, but that’s just fine. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, in 3 additions. Spoon batter into liners, about 2/3 full. Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean. This took about 12 minutes for me, but it will depend on the size of your tins, so pay close attention to your baking time. Cool 10 minutes and remove from pan. Cool completely before adding frosting. This recipe yielded 86 mini’s for me but once again, it will depend on the size of your muffin tin.

3. For the frosting: beat all ingredients in medium bowl until smooth.  With a medium-large plain round tip, pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes, or simply spread it on with a knife.  Sprinkle a bit of fresh lime zest over tops, if desired.

*The frosting only made enough to frost about 2/3 of my mini’s. I would recommend making a recipe and a half if you have a tiny mini muffin tin (the silicone ones seem to be bigger so if that is what you are using you should be fine with the original amount).

Sweet Potato Pie Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting

So do you all follow How Sweet It Is? If you don’t, you must follow the link know because she is amazing and quite hilarious. The recipes she dreams up are spectacular and this is one of them!

I only recently became a fan of sweet potatoes and now I’ve kind of become obsessed. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately since I certainly don’t need 12 of these in my house), Joel hasn’t jumped on my sweet potato band wagon yet so I’ve had these bookmarked for awhile waiting for the perfect opportunity to make them for someone else. When we were invited to a friends house recently to watch the Husker game I knew the time had come. And brought my cupcake holder home empty!

The cupcakes themselves were warm and spicy with a nice crunchy texture from the graham cracker crust. The marshmallow frosting was really, really sweet. I’m not a big fan of frosting in the first place so it was a bit much for me but the frosting lovers reported that it was yummy. The caramel drizzle of course adds more sugary goodness. The pecans added another layer of crunchy texture which I really enjoyed (but they are optional so do as you please).

These cupcakes would be a perfect update to the regular ‘ole sweet potato pie that usually graces the Thanksgiving buffet.

Sweet Potato Pie Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting
recipe from How Sweet It Is
makes 12 cupcakes

Graham crust:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 teaspoon sugar

Cupcakes:
1 1/3 cups loosely packed brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
6 ounces cooked, mashed sweet potato
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake tin with liners. In a small bowl, mix melted butter, sugar and graham cracker crumbs until moist, then press about 1/2-1 tablespoon of crumbs into the bottom of each liner.

2. In a large bowl, whisk egg and sugar together until combined and no lumps remain. Add in vanilla extract and butter, then whisk in sweet potato. Add in flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg, then add in milk and stir until combined and smooth. Drop about 1/4 cup of batter on top of each graham cracker crust. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until cupcakes are set and spring back at the touch. Let cool completely before frosting.

Marshmallow Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff
3 cups of powdered sugar
1-2 tsp. milk, if needed

Beat butter in the bowl of electric mixer until creamy. Add in fluff and beat for 2-3 minutes, then add in vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, add in powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until fully incorporated. Once all the sugar has been added, beat on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes. If mixture if too runny, add a bit more sugar. If it’s too thick, add a bit of milk one teaspoon at a time. Frost cupcakes and drizzle with caramel sauce and chopped pecans.

Applesauce Spice Cake with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

If you are a regular follower of my blog, you will already know that my little man turned two recently. We had a big yellow party for him the weekend before his birthday but I still couldn’t bear the thought of him not having another little celebration on his big day. I made chocolate cupcakes and lemonade cupcakes for his party so I wanted to go a different route for his birthday. My mom and I brainstormed and finally came up with applesauce spice cake. Some of his favorite snacks include applesauce and raisins so I thought it would be a fitting cake for the man of the hour.

I searched around the internet and actually had a hard time finding an applesauce spice cake recipe that sounded just right. Many of them had cocoa powder in this which just sounded a bit odd to me. I wanted a true cinnamon, clove-y cake and I found it via 52 Cupcakes. The recipe was originally for cupcakes but I wanted Noah to have a cake so I baked up some of the batter in my awesome Wilton Mini Tasty-Fill Cake Pans then I baked the remaining batter in an 8×8 pan.

The cake was super dense and moist as a spice cake should be in my opinion! And the brown sugar cream cheese frosting was incredible. It’s unbelievable so three simple ingredients can combine into such deliciousness!

And I of course had to include some photos of Noah tearing it up!

Applesauce Spice Cake with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting
recipe from Martha Stewart via 52 Cupcakes

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups unsweetened apple sauce
raisins, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Spray 8×8 and mini pans liberally with non-stick spray.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. On a low speed, add applesauce and then the flour mixture, beating until just combined.

4. Fill mini pans 3/4 full with batter. Pour remaining batter in the prepared 8×8 pan. The mini cakes took about 12-15 minutes and the 8×8 took about 20-25 minutes (my oven tends to cook quicker than a lot of recipes so it may take longer than this). Once cooled, frost with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting (see below). You could fill the cakes with something but I just skipped it since it was going to be torn apart. Sprinkle frosted cakes with raisins.

Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup packed light-brown sugar

In the clean bowl of electric mixer, mix cream cheese with 1 stick butter and 1 cup light brown sugar on medium speed until smooth. Spread cream-cheese frosting on cupcakes. Cupcakes can be refrigerated in airtight containers up to 2 days.

Chocolate Mayo Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

As you know, Joel and I aren’t chocolate fans but our little man is quite crazy about it. Because of this little fact, I knew he had to have chocolate cupcakes for his birthday party (I also made lemonade ones to fit into the yellow theme and to make us happy). Once he saw them he was wildly saying “cucake” over and over again. He has just a bit of a sweet tooth, don’t you think?

Once it was time, we lit candles and sang happy birthday. I wish you all could have seen the look on his face. He seemed very worried and concerned over why 30 people were staring at him and singing. He really was quite freaked out. But then the cupcake was plopped down in front of him and he went into a chocolate daze.

He blew out the candles all on his own then picked up the cupcake, looked at it…

and stuck his face in the frosting.

He tested the frosting for awhile…

then decided to stick the cupcake wrapper on his head as his hat (he has an obession with hats too).

He never actually tried the cake so I made sure that it didn’t go to waste and it was one of the best chocolate cakes that I have ever eaten. Just because I don’t care for chocolate cake doesn’t mean I don’t eat it…I keep trying it to see if it grows on me. And this cake is more than ok in my book. It was incredibly moist and had a light texture for a chocolate cake, due to the mayo. I know mayo sounds weird but trust me, it’s good!

The frosting was velvety smooth and had a wonderfully rich chocolate flavor without being too much. I had never made a sour cream frosting but I definitely will be whipping it up more often in the future.

When the cake was combined with the chocolate frosting it was a bit too rich for me but I’m sure most would love the double chocolate hit. I personally think the cake would pair wonderfully with Whipped Vanilla Bean Frosting. And the chocolate frosting would be great on a yellow cake to add some intense richness.

Chocolate Mayo Cake
recipe from Bon Appetit

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate  (do not exceed 61% cacao), chopped
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 3/4 cups boiling  water
2 3/4 cups all purpose  flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking  soda
1/4 teaspoon baking  powder
1 cup sugar
1 cup (packed) dark brown  sugar
1 1/3 cups mayonnaise (do not  use reduced-fat or fat-free)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla  extract

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 20 muffin cups with liners. Combine chopped chocolate and cocoa powder  in medium metal bowl. Add 1 3/4 cups boiling water  and whisk until chocolate is  melted and mixture is smooth.

2. Sift flour, baking soda, and baking powder into another medium  bowl. Using electric mixer, beat both sugars and mayonnaise in large bowl until  well blended, 2 to 3 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating until well blended  after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture in 4 additions  alternately with chocolate mixture in 3 additions, beating until blended after each addition and occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full.

3. Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean,  15-25 minutes. Cool cupcakes in pan for 5 minutes then remove to wire rack. One cooled pipe or spread chocolate frosting on top (recipe follows).

Chocolate Frosting
recipe from Annie Eats

9.5 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
6 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
4 tbsp. unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
2/3 cup plus 1 tbsp. sour cream

1. To make the frosting, melt the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl set over a pot of simmering water.  Set aside to cool until just barely warm.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.  Gradually mix in the confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder and salt.  Beat in the melted and cooled chocolate and then the sour cream.  Continue beating until the mixture is smooth and well blended.  Frost cupcakes immediately before the chocolate hardens and the frosting sets.

Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes

Chocolate, beer and cupcakes? I’m sure many of you are thinking it couldn’t get any better. I wasn’t sure at first since you all know I don’t really like chocolate cake and am not a beer drinker. Well, I am glad I tried them out because they were quite delicious.

You can definitely taste the beer in the batter which surprised me since the Blue Moon Cupcakes I made last month didn’t leave a boozy flavor behind after baking. Probably because Guinness is such a deep, strong flavored stout. I couldn’t find dark chocolate cocoa so I just used regular but I can imagine they would be even more amazing with the dark chocolate. Cause if I’m eating chocolate I always pick dark. The vanilla bean whipped frosting was light, fluffy and really complimented the unique flavor of the cake.

This is the perfect cupcake for St. Patrick’s Day since they are made with Irish beer and all. I kept the decor simple since I made them for a friend’s housewarming party but they would be so fun dressed up with some St. Patty’s cupcake picks or course green sugar.

Want another reason to eat these? They are good for you. Yep, you heard me right. Studies claim Guinness is good for your heart because of the antioxidants in it (like in some fruits and veggies). Drink a beer or eat a cupcake instead of your fruits and veggies. Maybe you shouldn’t take advice from me….it’s questionable.

And this is what happens when you have a not so steady setup….a mass cupcake suicide. I lost 5, so sad.

Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes
recipe from Sweetapolita

1 1/2 cups (12 fluid ounces) stout or dark beer (I used Guinness)
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1  cup sifted King Arthur Double-Dutch Dark Cocoa or Dutch-process cocoa
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2/3 cup sour cream, at room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cupcake tin with liners (I got 32 cupcakes out of the batter).

2. Place the stout and butter in a large, heavy saucepan and heat on medium heat until the butter melts, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from the heat, and whisk in the sifted cocoa powder until smooth. Pour into a large heatproof measuring cup or bowl and let cool.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (flat beater), mix the eggs and sour cream on medium speed (I use #4 on KitchenAid) until well combined, about 3 minutes.

5. Add the cooled cocoa mixture, and mix on medium speed (I use #4 on KitchenAid)  until combined, about 1 minute.

6. Add the dry ingredients slowly and combine on low-speed (I use #2 on KitchenAid) until blended, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom of bowl, and then mix for another minute.

7. Scoop batter into prepared cupcake tins. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes clean, about 15-20 minutes.

8. Let cupcakes cool on wire racks for about 10 minutes, remove from cupcake pan and cool completely on wire rack. Frost cupcakes.

Whipped Vanilla Bean Frosting

3 sticks + 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and cut into cubes
3 cups sifted  confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 vanilla bean, scraped
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip butter for 8 minutes on medium speed (I use “4″ on my KitchenAid). Butter will become very pale & creamy.

2. Add remaining ingredients and mix on low speed for 1 minute, then on medium speed for 6 minutes. Frosting will be very light, creamy, and fluffy.

3. Best used right away.

Recipe linked to Mangia Monday, Totally Tasty Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, These Chicks Cooked, What I Whipped Up Wednesday, Cast Party Wednesday, Full Plate Thursday and Fusion Friday.

Blue Moon Cupcakes

I’ve been an a huge cupcake kick lately. I made 3 different kinds of cupcakes in just a couple weeks (mind you they were for events but still it’s a bit excessive). They are just so fun and tasty and make a big impact with not much effort. When I saw these Blue Moon Cupcakes at one of my favorite blogs, Erica Sweet Tooth, I knew they would be perfect for our Super Bowl party last month. And they were a really big hit with everyone.

The cake was light and airy with a great hint of citrus. I couldn’t taste the beer in the cake but that was more than fine with me since I don’t like beer. I took Erica’s advice and poked holes in the cupcakes and brushed them with beer. I still didn’t taste it all that much but it made the tops moist and delicious.

The frosting was amazing to say the least. I added even more orange zest than the recipe called for because I love the fresh flavor of orange and I knew it would be so tasty with the cream cheese. I’m not one of those people that love frosting so much they eat it with a spoon but this frosting….it could have happened. I will be keeping this frosting as a favorite recipe for cream cheese frosting (with or without the zest).

These are perfect for any get together, you have to give them a try!

Blue Moon Cupcakes
recipe from Erica Sweet Tooth

3/4 cups butter, at room temperature
1-3/4 cup sugar
2-1/2 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp orange zest
1 cup Blue Moon beer, plus more for brushing on tops
1/4 cup milk
Orange wedges and sanding sugar for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line 24 muffin tins with cupcake liners.

2. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.

4. Add eggs, beating after each addition then add the vanilla and zest.

5. Combine milk and beer and alternatively add this mixture and the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture with the mixer on low speed, starting and ending with the flour.

6. Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake for 18 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean.

7. When cupcakes are done, poke holes in the tops of the cupcakes with toothpicks and brush some beer on each while still warm.

For the citrus cream cheese frosting:
12 oz cream cheese, cold
6 tbsp butter, at room temperature
1 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tsp orange zest
4 cups powdered sugar

1. Cream together the cream cheese and butter in an electric mixer until smooth and creamy, about 2-3 minutes.

2. Add the citrus juice and zest and gradually add the powdered sugar until well-combined.  Beat until smooth for about 2 minutes.

3. Load frosting in a piping bag fit with a large star tip and pipe cupcake tops once cooled.

Recipe yields 24 cupcakes.

Recipe linked to Mangia Monday, Totally Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Cast Party Wednesday, What I Whipped Up Wednesday, Full Plate Thursday, Fusion Friday and Sweets for a Saturday.

Chocolate Cake with Mint Chocolate Chip Frosting {Crazy Cooking Challenge}

When Tina from Mom’s Crazy Cooking informed us that this month’s challenge was chocolate cake, I was a tad concerned. This will be shocking and slightly disheartening to many of you but I am not a chocolate cake fan. Please hold back your judgement, disgust and gasps. It’s just too rich for me. But I didn’t want to miss out on the fun so I decided to bite the bullet and see if I could find a chocolate cake that we would truly enjoy. I thought the frosting could really make a difference for us so I went for one that I knew we would love.

After lots of searching, I came across this chocolate cake made by Aimee at Shugary Sweets and I knew I had found it! After reading that the frosting tasted like mint chocolate chip ice cream I thought I might die. That’s my favorite flavor so it had to find out for myself…and she is totally right. The frosting was amazing and so was the chocolate cake. The coffee in the cake batter really enhanced the richness of the chocolate.

Although I don’t make layered cakes too often, I have learned a few tips when it comes to icing them. The first is to place strips of wax paper under the first cake layer on the cake stand/plate so that you don’t get any frosting on it. After frosting the cake, all you have to do is pull out the wax paper and you have a perfectly clean cake stand.

Another tip I have learned is placing the top cake layer upside down so that the bottom of the cake will be the top of the cake. This provides a nice, flat surface on the top of the cake to frost.

I passed along some of the cake to friends and also got rave reviews from them so you definitely need to give this a try!

Make sure to check out Aimee’s other amazing eats and treats here…umm, Pumpkin Pound Cake with Caramel Walnut Sauce? Sign me up!

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Chocolate Cake with Mint Chocolate Chip Frosting
recipe from Shugary Sweets

FOR THE CAKE:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup flour
9 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup brewed coffee, cooled
1/2 cup milk

FOR THE FROSTING:

1 cup butter, softened
8 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
1/2 cup milk plus 2 Tbsp
11 oz dark chocolate chunks (62%cacao) or mini chocolate chips
1/8 tsp green food coloring gel

FOR THE GANACHE:

3/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
1/4 tsp peppermint extract

1. In medium bowl, sift cocoa with flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside. In measuring cup, mix coffee and milk together. Set aside.

2. In mixer, beat butter and sugar for about 5 minutes until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time. Slowly add in dry ingredients alternating with the coffee/milk blend (about 3 additions of each).

3. Pour cake batter into two prepared pans (two 9inch cake pans lined with parchment paper and then greased and floured). Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes. Remove and allow to cool about 10 minutes before removing from pans. Cool completely before frosting.

4. For frosting, in food processor, pulse dark chocolate until small bits (not powder)! Set aside.

5. In mixer, beat butter, powdered sugar and milk (slowly add the milk, you may not need it all) for 3-5 minutes, until smooth and creamy. Add in extract and food coloring gel. Mix until fully blended. Add more milk if necessary to desired consistency. Fold in chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips.

6. Frost first layer of cake, then top it with second layer. Completely frost sides and top of cake.

7. For the ganache, heat 3/4 cup heavy cream in saucepan. Bring just to a boil and remove from heat. Place chocolate chips in a bowl then slowly add in hot cream and extract. Stir until smooth and completely combined. Allow ganache to cool then pour over chocolate cake.

Recipe linked to Mangia Monday, Tasty Tuesday, Totally Tasty Tuesday and These Chicks Cooked.

Super Bowl Menu

We are hosting the Super Bowl this year for the second year in a row and I am totally ordering pizza for the second year in a row. It’s easy and makes my life less stressful. But of course I can’t just have pizza. I could never have at least one homemade thing at a gathering…it’s just not my style. Sooo, in addition to the pizza I am going to prepare some dips and desserts for our guests. I’m pretty darn excited about them so I thought that I would share them with you now in case you want to try them for the big game. I will feature them in the future if they are a hit among the crowd.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Mexican Cheesy Corn Dip from Piece, Love and Cooking

Caramel Peanut Butter Dip for Apples

Dessert is a toss up right now…either mini fruit pizza’s or Blue Moon cupakes…ooooor both. I just can’t decide. Blue Moon cupcakes would be perfect for the game but mini fruit pizza’s would be so cute and fun.

Blue Moon Cupcakes from Erica Sweet Tooth

Mini Fruit Pizza’s (store bought or prepared sugar cookies with frosting…if I make these I’m going to frost the cookies then set out the fruit so everybody can create their own using the fruit they prefer)

Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls

Joel absolutely loves Cinnabon but sadly we don’t have them around these parts. So that means whenever we are waiting at an airport or cruising a mall in a new city the hunt is on for Cinnabon (my hunt is for Chick-a-Fila but that’s a whole other story for another time). So when I came across this copycat recipe I knew it was a must try. And I am so glad that we did because they were the best and easiest cinnamon rolls I have ever made.

By now, you all know my debacle with doughs and pastry crusts. Well, this dough rolled out like a dream. Yep, that’s right…a dream. From now on, I will always use this dough recipe for sweet breakfast rolls of all kinds (mmm, now I’m dreaming of caramel rolls and orange rolls).

They were tender, gooey, cinnamon-y, sweet and sticky. Everything you hope for in a cinnamon roll. I think the addition of chopped pecans to the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture would be to die for and I think I will try that next time on half of the rolls (picky Joel doesn’t like nuts). You just have to try these. They melt in your mouth and stick in your brain…I’m still dreaming about them and I made them weeks ago!

Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls
recipe from food.com

1 (1/4 ounce) package dry yeast
1 cup warm milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup margarine
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
4 cups flour

FILLING:
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/3 cup margarine , softened

ICING:
8 tablespoons margarine
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt

1. For the rolls, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl.

2. Add sugar, margarine salt, eggs, and flour, mix well (I used my Kitchen Aid for this step).

3. Knead the dough into a large ball, using your hands dusted lightly with flour.

4. Put in a bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size (I rose mine in the oven after preheating the oven to 400F and then turning it off).

5. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface, until it is approx 21 inches long by 16 inches wide.

6. It should be approx 1/4 thick.

7. To make filling, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.

8. Spread the softened margarine over the surface of the dough, then sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon evenly over the surface.


9. Working carefully, from the long edge, roll the dough down to the bottom edge.

10. Cut the dough into 1 3/4 inch slices, and place in a lightly greased baking pan. Rise rolls again until about doubled in size (I placed them in the oven again and let them rise for about 30 minutes).

11. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown.

12. While the rolls are baking combine the icing ingredients.

13. Beat well with an electric mixer until fluffy. Spread over hot cinnamon rolls.

Classic Southern Dessert Series: Cherry Coke Cake

I’ve been wanting to make this cake forever. Anyone who knows me knows that I am slightly addicted to Cherry Coke. When I was in high school I was on the newspaper staff. We spent a many a night at school late working on our publication and I always had this delicious beverage in hand. If I didn’t, people were concerned. Even my wedding pictures included a Cherry Coke bottle (and it totally wasn’t staged)! I am not usually a lick the beater kind of girl but this cake batter totally changed me. I licked it clean and I’m not afraid to admit it. I didn’t save any for Joel and I don’t feel bad about it. I don’t even care for chocolate cake but the Cherry Coke gave it such a light, airy, bubbly texture that I just couldn’t resist. Amazing. I couldn’t taste the Cherry Coke in the finished product but it was extremely moist and airy due to the carbonation. I couldn’t get it out of the pan in one piece because of the moistness (is that a word?). And the crunch of the toasted pecans totally makes this cake. It was a huge win in our house and it marked off another item in my Top 100 list.

Cherry Coke Cake
recipe slightly* adapted from Classic Southern Desserts by Southern Living

1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup Cherry Coke
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup butter, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
Cherry Coke Frosting

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Arrange chopped nuts in a single layer in a shallow pan. Bake 8 to 9 minutes or until toasted and fragrant.
2. Combine cola and buttermilk.
3. Beat butter at low speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until blended. Add eggs and vanilla; beat at low speed just until blended.
4. Combine flour, cocoa and baking soda. Add to butter mixture alternately with cola mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in marshmallows. Pour batter into a greased and floured 13×9-inch pan.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven; cool 10 minutes.
6. Pour Cherry Coke Frosting over warm cake; sprinkle with toasted pecans.

Cherry Coke Frosting

1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup cherry coke
3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa
1 (16-oz.) package powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

Bring first 3 ingredients to a boil in a large saucepn over medium heat, stirring until butter melted. Remove from heat; whisk in sugar and vanilla. Use immediately.

*Original recipe called for regular Coke.Recipe linked to What I Whipped Up Wednesday, Cast Party Wednesdsay, Full Plate Thursday, Sweet Treats Thursday, Friday Food, Fusion Fridays and Sweets for a Saturday.