Allergy Free Wacky Cupcakes

My boys attend a school with a nut-free policy so finding nut-free foods is just something we do. I send them appropriate foods and thank my lucky stars that we don’t have to deal with such severe allergies in our own home. When my nephew was diagnosed with multiple food allergies, I realized just how fortunate we were. His allergies included nuts, dairy, eggs, bananas, and barley. I couldn’t even wrap my mind around what someone with so many allergies would even eat! My sister was a trooper. She cut out all of these foods so that she could continue to breastfeed him.

When Adam started writing down the friends he wanted to attend his birthday party last weekend, he reminded me that R is allergic to nuts and T is allergic to dairy and eggs. Both friends RSVP’d as attending and I immediately called my sister to get a recipe for the cake. The recipe is unlike anything I have ever made before and Adam worried that it would taste terrible (as I poured the balsamic vinegar into the batter).

Although T brought her own food, I felt relieved knowing that all of the food I had prepared was allergy friendly. Better safe than sorry, right? I was just as relieved that the cupcakes tasted like cupcakes! 

Allergy Free Wacky Cupcakes

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

5 tablespoons oil (*I used olive oil)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup water

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners.

Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix thoroughly. Mix wet ingredients in a separate bowl and stir to combine. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until smooth (do not beat).

Pour into lined muffin cups and bake for 20 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean). Cool for 5 minutes before removing from the muffin tin.

Top these with an allergy-free icing if desired. I mixed up some vegetable shortening, icing sugar, cocoa, and rice milk for the icing.

Recipe adapted from Kids With Food Allergies.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake

Last week I made the decision to cut sugar out of my diet. Completely. Which also meant giving up coffee because coffee without sugar is just not my thing. I had a headache for 3 straight days and finally, a week later, I feel good. I really put off posting this cheesecake because I was struggling with the sugar addiction. I craved the cheesecake for weeks after it was gone and, if I had another one, I could probably eat the whole thing in one sitting.

I made this as my birthday cake and the week leading up to my birthday I was searching for the perfect peanut butter chocolate cheesecake. This was definitely it. As mentioned in previous posts, my favourite cheesecake bakery has amazing peanut butter chocolate cheesecake…. but this recipe totally blows theirs out of the water!

Be warned, if you are a sugar addict, this will NOT help the addiction.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake

Ingredients

2 cups Oreo crumbs

2 tablespoons butter, melted

4x 8 ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature

5 eggs, room temperature

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup whipping cream

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 bag mini peanut butter cups

Topping:

1/2 cup peanut butter

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

3/4 cup heavy cream

15-20 mini peanut butter cups (saved from the cheesecake ingredients)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. Stir together Oreo crumbs and 2 tablespoons melted butter. Press into the bottom of a 9″ springform pan and bake for 15 minutes. Cool.

Beat cream cheese with a mixer until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well between each. Add sugar, peanut butter, and cream; mix thoroughly. Stir in vanilla. Pour half of the mixture into the cooled crust, layer with 2 cups of mini peanut butter cups, then top with remaining cheesecake mixture.

Bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. The sides of the cheesecake should be set but the middle will be a little jiggly. (it should not be runny) Cool slightly then put it into the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. 

Chop up the chocolate and melt it in a double boiler (or microwave). Cool slightly then add all but 1 tablespoon of cream. Stir and then pour over the cool cheesecake (while still in the springform pan). Refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

Place peanut butter and 1 tablespoon of whipping cream in a bowl and microwave until it’s a runny consistency. Either place the mixture in a piping bag or using a spoon, top the cheesecake with a peanut butter swirl. Before the swirl sets, surround the outer edge of the cheesecake with the remaining mini peanut butter cups. 

Recipe adapted from Baking With Ramen.

Panna Cotta & Florentine Cookies ~ February Daring Bakers’ Challenge

The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.

One evening, a few days into our trip to Germany, we had supper at Burg Schnellenberg in Attendorn. There was a group of us Canadians with a German fellow to brought us to the castle. Over supper I asked about why I couldn’t seem to find any ‘German’ food. You know, bratwursts and sauerkraut,… We were eating a lot of French and Italian food in Germany. It was as strange as eating Italian food in Mexico! Our German friend told us that what most people consider to be German foods are actually Polish. 

The best part of this whole story is that Germany is where I tried my first panna cotta. We had ordered 2 desserts from room service and I still can’t recall what the other one was. But I can still taste the panna cotta. For some reason, I still haven’t tried making a panna cotta so when it came up as February’s Daring Bakers’ Challenge, I was all over it! It became ‘the’ Valentine’s dessert and I am not ashamed to say that I ate mine, I ate the rest of Anya’s, and I ate the rest of Gavin’s…and I would have eaten another after that!

Unfortunately, I had forgotten all about the 2nd part of the Daring Baker’s Challenge (the florentine cookies) until this evening! I made them quickly while supper was being gobbled up by the hungry crew and then I ate 3 of them before taking the picture. They were like caramel crisps with chocolate in the middle! I’m so pleased that I took the time to make them!

Recipe Source: Panna Cotta, Florentine Cookies, Strawberry Gelee (as follows) by Mallory.

Strawberry Gelee

Ingredients

1 cup chopped strawberries

3 tablespoons water

1/4 cup white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons unflavoured powdered gelatin

Directions

Sprinkle gelatin evenly over water. Place strawberries and sugar in a small saucepan and simmer until the sugar has dissolved. Mix the gelatin/water into the strawberries and stir until gelatin is dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Layer between panna cotta or distribute on top of panna cotta. Chill before serving.

Root Beer Float Cupcakes

10 years ago I became a mother to a feisty little 8 pound 6 ounce baby boy. It seems like yesterday that I was in shock that they would release us from the hospital with this baby. We had NO idea what we were doing and they let us leave!!! 

His double digit birthday has arrived and he is not a little boy anymore. He’s tall and has more muscles than I do, thanks to his 12 hour a week gymnastics training. He still doesn’t hesitate to give me a kiss or hug when I ask. With every birthday the urge to rewind time comes over me. Soon he will be a teenager and then an adult and then, maybe, he will be a parent himself. 

For today, he is 10. We will celebrate his birthday out of town with an NHL hockey game and waterslides tomorrow! We are bringing along root beer float cupcakes that I made last night and, before they go to the game, we’ll let him blow out 10 candles. TEN! 

Root Beer Float Cupcakes

Ingredients

1 package white cake mix (prepared according to package directions)

1-3 teaspoons root beer flavouring

2 containers vanilla icing

Directions

Prepare the white cake mix according to package directions. Add 1-2 teaspoons of root beer flavouring to the batter and mix well. Pour into a lined cupcake pan. Bake as per the directions on the box, until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cupcakes come out clean. Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pan, remove from pan, and cool completely on a wire rack.

While the cupcakes are cooling, remove 1 cup of icing from the container into a small bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of root beer flavouring and mix completely. 

To frost the cupcakes: Pipe vanilla icing into the middle of the cupcakes. Pipe small root beer icing ‘bubbles’ around the vanilla icing. Stick a straw into the middle before serving.

 Recipe inspired by Created by Diane.

Cranberry Bread Pudding

Filed under the “Give Me A Freaking Break”….

The baby is sick. Again. He was sick 2 weeks ago. He was sick 2 weeks before that. We had a completely sleepless night with him as he just couldn’t settle. At one point we considered bringing him to the hospital because his breathing was just ‘off’. He woke up at 8:30 still exhausted and lethargic. Luckily, he did perk up a little and he sounds a lot better but he just wants to be snuggled.

Tending to a sick baby has taken my full attention away from the other kids and one of them took advantage of the opportunity to colour all over the bathroom with a Sharpie marker. We have made so much progress on our renovations but the tiny terror keeps setting us back.

Bread pudding is a great way to use up stale bread/buns. Our house smelled divine while the pudding baked and the kids were surprised to discover that the pudding was made from the leftover buns! The icing is optional but why wouldn’t you put it on??? 

Cranberry Bread Pudding

Ingredients

Bread Pudding:

2 cups whole milk

1/4 cup butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

3 eggs

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups bread, torn into small pieces (I used stale dinner rolls)

1/2 cup craisins (or dried unsweetened cranberries)

Sauce:

1 cup whole milk

2 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon flour

Directions

For Bread Pudding:

Preheat oven to 350°. In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, heat milk just until a film forms over the top. Stir in butter until melted. Cool to lukewarm.

Combine brown sugar, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. Beat at medium speed for 1 minute. Slowly add to milk mixture while whisking.

Place bread cubes into a lightly greased casserole. Sprinkle with craisins. Pour milk/egg mixture evenly over the top. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until set.

For Sauce:

While the pudding is baking, mix all of the sauce ingredients together in a small pot and boil for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly. Set aside for 5 minutes and then pour over pudding. Serve the pudding warm.

Recipe adapted from Moms Who Think.

Vanilla Custard Tarts with Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Happy Valentine’s Day…. a few days late… I had this post all ready to go on the day of love but I got tied up in other things. That seems to be the story of my life lately.

I had the opportunity to take Adam to his weekly basketball game by myself. No other kids..just him and I. It was strange to have so many empty seats in the van and even more strange when we were getting ready to leave and I didn’t have to corral a bunch of kids. It also gave him the opportunity to talk a little more openly about an issue he was having at school.

Adam enjoys basketball and he’s definitely built for the sport…lean and lanky. He was 22 inches long when he was born (the longest of all of my babies) with ridiculously long fingers and toes. Everyone said he would be a great piano player, but he wasn’t all that fond of having to practice piano. Getting to watch him play basketball was wonderful and I think he is a great little player…even if he was the smallest one on the court.

I found some pasta frolla in the freezer from November’s Daring Bakers’ Challenge and decided to whip up a quick dessert. I think the novelty of the chocolate dipped strawberries was the best part for the kids. As mentioned a couple of times, they like things dipped in chocolate.

Vanilla Custard Tarts

Ingredients

12 pre-baked pasta frolla tart shells

1 1/4 cups milk

1/2 vanilla beans, split lengthwise

3 large egg yolks

1/4 cup white sugar

1/8 cup flour

scant 3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 to 1 cup whipped cream

12 chocolate dipped strawberries

Directions

Pre-bake the pasta frolla tart shells until golden brown (10-12 minutes). Cool completely.

In a medium sized bowl, mix sugar and egg yolks together with a wooden spoon. Sift the flour and cornstarch together and then add to the egg mixture. Mix until you get a smooth paste and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a medium sized saucepan, combine the milk and split vanilla bean over medium heat until boiling. Remove from the heat and slowly add to egg mixture, whisking constantly. Remove vanilla bean, scrape out seeds, and add the seeds into the mixture. 

Place the egg mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat until boiling, whisking constantly. When it boils, whisk for another 30-60 seconds, until it becomes very thick.

Remove from heat and let it cool slightly, 10-15 minutes, before pouring evenly into the 12 tart shells. Refrigerate with a layer of plastic wrap directly on the custard to prevent a skin from forming. Before serving, top with whipped cream and a chocolate dipped strawberry.

Recipe adapted from Joy of Baking.

Oatmeal Crispies

I have a bit of a dilemma. Logan takes frozen flatbreads to gym 3 nights a week and it didn’t occur to me until today to check the label. I was shocked and annoyed to discover that they contain 1100 mg of sodium. More than 40% of the daily intake of an adult. Except, he’s not even 10! There is no way that I can keep sending these with him.

Now..my dilemma…The flatbreads were easy and fast. I struggle for time during the day so whatever I make him needs to be relatively fast and easy. All of our supper leftovers go into the kids’ lunches so that is out. Some ideas I have include buying a case of chicken breasts, seasoning them, and then freezing them individually. That way I can pull one out at a time, cook it up, and toss it with some pasta. Or make a batch of homemade pita bread and put the chicken in there with some cheese. 

My goal for next year, when Gavin starts school full time, is that my kids stop eating all packaged food. I’m finding myself more and more frustrated by the stuff that’s being put into foods aimed towards children. The one pre-packaged food that my children eat regularly is granola bars and I am finally ready to make those disappear from our grocery list!

Oatmeal Crispies

Ingredients

1 cup butter

1 tablespoon corn syrup

2 cups rolled oats

1 cup flour

1 cup coconut

1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 9×9″ baking pan with foil and grease well with butter.

Mix the flour, oatmeal, and coconut in a bowl. In a small pot, melt the butter and then add the corn syrup and brown sugar. When the mixture begins bubbling add the baking soda, stir through, and remove from heat. Pour the butter mixture into the oatmeal mixture and stir together.

Pour into prepared baking pan and, using the back of a spoon, gently press the mixture to even it out. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn the oven down to 325° and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely before slicing.

Recipe from Drizzle and Dip.

Dark Chocolate Cranberry Almond Cups

I’m feeling a little blue today. My best friend’s year of maternity leave is up and today is her first day back at work. For the past few months, we have talked every morning and we got together at least once a week. When we moved here in 1999, she was the first friend I made and we went through a period where we didn’t really talk. Not because we had fought but because our lives were in completely different places. It’s been wonderful having babies 2 1/2 months apart and watching them grow together.

I made these with the intention of giving her some to bring along with her for her first day back at work. I may have the ulterior motive of having her think about me so fondly that she decides to quit her job to spend her days having coffee with me. Yep…I’m going to miss her and her little man.

Dark Chocolate Cranberry Almond Cups

Ingredients

6 ounces dark chocolate, chopped

1 cup toasted almonds, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped

Directions

Line a mini muffin tin with liners. Mix together almonds and cranberries in a medium sized bowl.

On the top of a double boiler, melt dark chocolate 3/4 of the way. Remove from heat and continue to stir until the chocolate has melted completely. Pour melted chocolate over almonds and cranberries and stir to combine. Scoop into mini muffin cups and refrigerate to set the chocolate. 

Recipe from Fallon’s Cucina.

Cake Box Cookies

Have I mentioned lately how much I love my husband?? I’ve been in a bit of a photography slump…I really want to take great pictures but I only had the lens that came with my camera (18-55mm). I started looking into new lenses and I was torn between a 50mm lens or a 55-250mm zoom lens. The low aperature and price had me sold on the 50mm but I started imagining all of the things I could do with the zoom lens. As my husband walked out the door (to bring boy #2 to a birthday party), I mentioned he was more than welcome to pick up a lens for me.

And he did! My first food picture with the new lens was these cookies and I have to say, I’m kind of in love. With my husband AND the lens. Plus the cookies were good…I should probably mention that since this IS a food blog and all… If you notice that the recipe is nearly identical to Nana’s Freaking Good Cookies, well..that’s because they are. New name, though, since trying to explain why they are called ‘Nana’s Freaking Good Cookies’ is long and sometimes uncomfortable. 

Cake Box Cookies

Makes 3 dozen

Ingredients

1 chocolate cake mix

1/2 cup melted butter

1 cup Rice Krispies

1 egg

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, stir together all of the ingredients. Roll dough into 36 balls and flatten slightly with a fork. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

Truffles

**This post is brought to you from my hometown! My younger sister had her first baby on December 20th and we decided in the middle of last week to hop a plane to come see them! So, I flew with the 5 kids on New Year’s Eve. It’s been a very busy and exhausting couple of days but after seeing my beautiful nephew, it’s been absolutely worth it.**

Last year I made cupcakes for the teachers. While delicious, I found myself up until midnight the night before we brought them to the teachers…icing cupcakes. I decided not to do THAT to myself again so this year I thought I would simplify.

Truffles…easy enough. Make the ganache, roll into balls, dip into chocolate. I had 6 Christmas flavours picked out months in advance, ordered the boxes, and had my week of truffle making laid out. I bought a ridiculous amount of chocolate. I was set.

My first batch of white chocolate ganache didn’t set. My dark chocolate caramel ganache was too firm. By the 3rd day of truffle making, I had pain in my elbow from scooping, my feet were sore, and I succumbed to the cold the kids had been sick with. At that moment I realized that my ‘simple’ gift had become an elaborate ordeal…but I finished them and felt so proud to deliver them. Each teacher received 3 of each truffle…white chocolate, milk chocolate candy cane, hot chocolate, gingerbread, egg nog, and dark chocolate caramel.

Perhaps next year I will figure out something simple. But this year I had a bunch of very happy teachers. And that is what keeps me making the teacher gifts instead of buying them.

Milk Chocolate Candy Cane Truffles

Makes approximately 36 truffles

Ingredients

2 cups heavy cream

1 pounds good quality milk chocolate (I used Lindt), chopped

2 teaspoons mint extract

milk chocolate for dipping

1 crushed candy cane

Directions

In a small pot, bring heavy cream to a boil over medium-low heat. Put chopped chocolate into a large bowl and pour hot cream over the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted. Add mint extract and stir. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, until ganache is set.

Using a 1″ scoop (or a tablespoon), scoop ganache onto parchment paper. Have an ice pack handy to cool your hands and quickly roll ganache into balls with the palms of your hands. Refrigerate the ganache balls while you prepare the chocolate to dip.

In a double boiler (or bowl set over a pot of boiling water), melt milk chocolate about 3/4 of the way. Remove from heat and continue to stir while the chocolate melts fully. Working fast, dip the ganache into the chocolate, shake to get excess chocolate off, and place onto parchment paper. Top each truffle immediately with a sprinkle of crushed candy canes. Return all of the dipped truffles to the refrigerator to set the chocolate.

Truffles keep up to a week in the refrigerator….if they last that long…