Tuxedo Strawberry Cake

A friend of mine asked me to do a small wedding cake for her brother and his partner. They wanted a black and white theme, and the only stipulation was to include tuxedo strawberries. I was thrilled at the idea! I had actually never made tuxedo strawberries before, so I was really excited to have an excuse to make them. Here is the finished cake!

I had a few extra strawberries so I had to keep making them. They were so easy and so fun!

Since I already had the strawberries out and the chocolate melted I tried a bride and groom pair too. I think the tuxedo ones are my favorite though!

Congrats to the happy couple! I'm honored to have been able to contribute to your day!

Rhubarb, Pineapple, Raspberry Pie

Recently my parents came to visit. While helping me with my gardens, my stepdad, Gary, mentioned my rhubarb was ready to be picked. I actually only have rhubarb because it was here when we moved into the house. Gary mentioned that rhubarb would make a great pie. A few days later, I was standing in front of the refrigerator, staring at it with the door open, like your mother always yells at you not to do, trying to figure out something to eat. Thats when I decided to make a pie.  I picked the rhubarb and got everything together.  But just rhubarb?  Nah! I grabbed a container of raspberries and a can of pineapple chunks too. Let me tell you, this was one delicious pie. I wanted to eat the whole thing by myself, but I saved a few slices for my boyfriend, David. Unfortunately, my parents had already gone back to Wisconsin....sorry Gary. 

Rhubarb, Pineapple, Raspberry Pie

Makes one 9.5 inch pie

Ingredients:

4 cups chopped rhubarb

1 quart raspberries

1/2 can pineapple chunks, drained (the big can, or 1 whole small can)

1 1/3 cup sugar

6 tbsp flour

1 tbsp butter

1 double pie crust (I made mine from scratch using this Martha Stewart recipe)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Roll your first pie crust over the pie plate.

3. Combine rhubarb, raspberries, pineaple, sugar, and flour in a bowl.  Mix well, coating all of the fruit.

4. Pour fruit mixture into pie and spread out evenly.

5. Cut butter into small chunks and place on top of fruit mixture.

6. Cover mixture with second pie crust.  I rolled my dough over the pie and cut the scraps and center pieces with a small cookie cutter.  I used the cut scraps to create a decorative edge.

7. Place pie on bottom rack in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.

8. Reduce oven temperature to 350, and continue baking for 40-45 minutes, until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling. 

This pie is excellent warm or cold.

(PS, Im also in loooooove with instagram, here's a pic I took during the process!)

Top 11 of 2011

As the year closes, lets revisit some of the highlights from 2011!

1. The completion of my Party Challenge.

I completed 1 party every month until I turned 30. This came to completion at the end of January 2011.

2. Grapefruit Cake

This became my favorite cake of the year! I made this so many times, and its just as delicious every time!

3. Our Valentine's Day Table and Red Rosette Cake

4. Happy Birday Cookies

5. Champagne Wishes and Strawberry Dreams Cupcakes

6.  A Royal Affair

7. Designer Inspired Frosted Glass Mirrors

8. How to Clean Graffiti

9. Burberry Inspired Puppy Party

10. Wonderfall Wine Tasting

11. The Reindeer Run

2011 has been a great year! Thank you so much for following along on my blogging journey!
May you have a blessed new year! Happy 2012!

Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies

Remember yesterday's mouth watering apple cider caramels? Well you're going to need a batch for today's recipe!

Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies

(Adapted from Scrambled Henfruit)

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Butter, softened

1/2 Cup Sugar

1/4 Teaspoon Salt

5 packets of Alpine Spiced Cider Instant Original Drink Mix (look for it with the hot cocoa mixes)

1 Egg

1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder

1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

1.5 Cups Flour

24 Apple Cider Caramels, you can also use plain Kraft Caramels if you would prefer.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Don't skip this step please! You want the parchment paper.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon.

In your mixer, beat butter, sugar, salt, and the 5 packages of apple cider mix.  Beat until light and fluffy.

Add in egg.

Add in vanilla.

Gradually add flour mixture.  Mix until just combined.

Refrigerate dough for about an hour.  Don't skip this step. The dough will be messy to work with otherwise.

Once cooled, form dough into 1 inch balls. Flatten the ball slightly in your hand.  Place a caramel in the center of the flattened dough and wrap dough around it completely.

Place balls 2 inches apart on the cookie sheets.  Bake for 12-14 minutes, until very very lightly browned.

Slide the parchment paper onto a cooling rack. Allow them to cool about 10 minutes, then gently twist off parchment and flip over to finish cooling.

Maybe its just me, but about half of my cookies burst open and did not look pretty. I'll tell you what, pretty ain't everything honey. Those ugly burst open cookies still tasted amazing.  So don't get discouraged if you end up with fugly cookies. Just sit back and enjoy.
Yield: 24 cookies

Apple Cider Caramels

Salted caramels are totally worth the hype. Apple Cider Caramels are the next big thing. These babies are amazing!! When you make a batch, make sure to set some aside.  If you must, lock them up, or have someone you trust hide them from you. Whatever you need to do to keep from eating the whole batch.  You will want some for tomorrow's recipe.

Apple Cider Caramels

(Recipe from Our Best Bites via Blondie Cakes)

Ingredients:

2 Cups Apple Cider

1 Cup Heavy Cream, divided

1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

1/4 Teaspoon Allspice

1.5 Cup Sugar

1/3 Cup Light Corn Syrup

1/2 Cup Butter, Cubed

Directions:

Spray an 8x8 pan with cooking spray.  Place a piece of wax paper on the bottom, and up the sides of your pan.  Spray again with cooking spray. 

Pour cider into a medium saucepan. Bring to boil. Boil on high until it is reduced until about 1/3 cup. Approximately 20 minutes. 

In a small bowl, combine 2/3 cup cream, cinnamon, allspice and reduced apple cider. Set aside.

In a large saucepan, combine sugar, 1/3 cup cream and enough water to the 1/2 cup line on the measuring cup. Add in the corn syrup.  Cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves and the temperature reaches 234 on a candy thermometer. 

Remove from heat, and slowly whisk in cream mixture. 

Add cubed butter and stir until everything is incorporated.

Return the pan to stove. Cooking on low heat, stir frequently until the temperature reaches 248 degrees.

Remove from heat and pour into prepared pan. Let mixture cool completely at room temperature.  You can speed up the cooling process by placing pan in the fridge. However, allow it to sit at room temperature for at least 10 minutes before trying to cut and eat.

Cut cooled caramel into logs, squares, whatever shape you desire, and wrap in wax paper.

Store in an air tight container for up to 2 weeks, if you can keep away from it that long! It lasted 48 hours in my house!

Don't forget, come back tomorrow for another yummy apple recipe, and you'll want some of these caramels for it!!

Slow Cooker Baked Apples

Oh yes, its apple season! This week I'll be posting some deeelicious apple recipes. To kick it off, some easy peasy slow cooker baked apples!

Slow Cooker Baked Apples
(Adapted from Skinny Chef)

Ingredients:
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Pecans
2 Tablespoons Butter, softened
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
4-6 Honey Crisp Apples
1/2 Cup Apple Cider

Directions:
Core apples and place in crock pot. In a food processor place brown sugar, pecans, butter and cinnamon. Pulse a few times to blend mixture together.  Fill the cored apples with pecan mixture. Pour apple cider over apples. Cover and cook on high heat for 2.5-3 hours, until the apples are soft.  Serve warm with a side of vanilla ice cream.