Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes

Hello Blogosphere! So I have a lot to celebrate this month, first it has officially been 1 year (& a few days) since the launch of Rhinestoned Adventures! Yippie! 

Many thanks to my 'SuperFans' & frequent visitors for stopping by.

Secondly it's my birthday month... when is my birthday you ask? 

Well lets just say it's Leslie Knope's favorite holiday. 

That's right my birthday is on Galentines Day!

So Happy Galentines Day to all my lady friends, & Happy Birthday to me! 

& while Leslie may prefer to celebrate with waffles, I prefer to celebrate with cupcakes. 

Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes to be exact.

So I made some Devils Food cupcakes. 

( 2 cups all purpose flour, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking powder, 2 tsp baking soda, 3/4 cup unsweetened coca powder, 2 cups sugar, 1 cup vegetable oil, 1 cup milk, 1 cup hot coffee or hot water, 2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla - blend together and bake for 19 minutes at 350 degrees) 

Or make these cupcakes 'semi-homemade' by purchasing a devils food box cake mix ;)

While you let your cupcakes cool separate the cherries from 1 can of cherry pie filling.

(be sure to save the extra filling for later)

When the cupcakes have cooled, take a small paring knife or an apple corer & remove the center of the cupcake. (Try not to remove the entire center so you still have the base of the cupcake.)

Then take a single cherry & place it inside the core of the cupcake.

For the filling, I use a play on ganache, but instead of using heavy cream I use the cherry pie filling.

Start by taking 1 cup white chocolate morsels & microwave at 70% for 1 minute & stir. If morsels are not melted, microwave again in 10 second increments until melted. Then stir in 3-4 tablespoons of cherry pie filling. Microwave again for 15 seconds to fully combine. Then fill the remainder of the cupcake core with the white chocolate cherry mix. 

For the frosting combine 4 tbs of butter, 4 cups confectioner's sugar (sifted), 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract & 6 ounces of cream cheese with a electric mixer at a high speed for 2 minutes

Or just grab a can of cream cheese frosting when you pick up that box cake mix. ;)

Then take the remainder of the cherry pie filling and combine it with the cream cheese frosting. Cover & place it in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to let it set up.

Then place your frosting in a pipping bag, (or a zip lock bag with a tip cut off) & swirl onto the cupcake.

& last but not least, top with a cherry & enjoy!

For more on Leslie Knope & Galentines Day tune into Parks & Recreation on NBC

(For those wondering, I use re-usable silicone baking cups for my cupcakes. I think they are an excellent investment & actually help your cupcakes remain moist & delicious!)

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Fat Tuesday. No Bake Ice Cream Cake

Mmm Fat Tuesday, a day for forgetting about that new years resolution and cutting loose on that diet. In undergrad 'Fat Tuesday' was celebrated every Tuesday by eating 'real people food' ('real people food' mostly provided via casserole from my mom-thanks ma!) with my roommates then followed by dollar drafts at our local watering hole. 

So to celebrate I'm going to show you how to make an easy treat. We will be making a cake (not a 'king cake', maybe next year) but if baking is not your thing, not to worry, this is a quick and easy way to make a tasty treat with avoiding the oven entirely! 

What you need:

2 boxes of small ice cream sandwiches,  1 Jar of Hot Fudge Topping, 1 Jar of Carmel Pecan Topping, 1/2 pint of heavy cream, 3-5 table spoons of confectionery sugar, (Vanilla extract- optional) 5-6 cookies, electric hand mixer, 2 cookie sheets lined with wax paper, metal or glass mixing bowl, large dish for serving, spatula

• Start by clearing out some room in your freezer, you going to want to be able to fit two cookie sheets in it at the same time. Place your mixing bowl with electric mixer beaters in the freezer as well.

• When your ready begin start unwrapping the ice cream sandwiches from their paper wrappings. (Hint: Use scissors to speed up the process you don't want the ice cream to have enough time to melt) Place Ice cream sandwiches onto the cookie sheet and put them back into the freezer immediately. 

•  Warm up your Fudge & Carmel Toppings in the microwave (follow instructions on label) & with a spoon drizzle on top of ice cream, & return ice cream to freezer. 

• Pull out your mixing bowl & beaters from the freezer, they should be nice and cold. This will help keep your heavy cream at the right temperature & consistency for whipping. 

• Pour your container of heavy cream into the bowl & begin whipping at medium/high speed.
• Spoon in your desired amount of confectionery sugar. Taste in between spoonfuls until you've reached desired sweetness. 

• Add in small dash of vanilla extract for flavor. and continue whipping. you will begin to see some lines beginning to form, but keep whipping. 

• When your cream begins to look like thick fluffy clouds you are ready to stop. It should be thick enough to hold onto the beaters when you take it out.  Place in the refrigerator. 

• Using a food processor blend up some cookie crumbs( I used an oreo cookie but removed the cream filling)
• You can also use a large sandwich bag and a rolling pin to get the same results.

•  Pull one set of ice cream sandwiches from the freezer, & with your spatula line the bottom of your serving dish. (Hint: If your sandwiches are good and stuck, run the spatula under some hot water & quickly dry. This will help remove the sticky topping from the wax paper)

• With half of your whipped cream spread a layer on top of you sandwiches. 

• Sprinkle a layer of cookie crumbs on top of your whipped cream.

•  Add the next layer of ice cream sandwiches & repeat the last two steps. 

• Then you're done! Place into freezer until you're ready to serve! Happy Fat Tuesday!

Not celebrating with a large party? You can still make this desert for 1-2 people just use 4 ice cream sandwiches, replace that whipped cream for a tub of cool whip, & repeat the steps on a smaller plate! 

Have a sweet tooth but want to cut calories? Try these easy steps to have your cake and eat it too. 

replace your regular ice cream sandwiches with  Skinny Cow Ice cream sandwiches 

Instead of whipped cream go for Cool Whip Light or Sugar Free. 

Look for a sugar free fudge or cookie. 

You can even make your own mock ice cream sandwiches using Honey Maid Low Fat  Chocolate graham crackers, & Cool Whip Light.

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Soup or Bowl?.... Strawberries!

Forget, "Are you ready for some football!" How about "Are you ready for half-time?" No?.. It's cool I've got you covered! 2 weeks ago I made these cupcakes for the playoffs, this week I decided to make Football inspired Chocolate Covered Strawberries. 

What you need:

Strawberries, Chocolate Chips (milk, semi-sweet, white), Kabob Skewers, Butter, Small Pot, A metal bowl that can balance on top of pot, Large Spoon, Vegetable Oil, Shoe Box, Scissors, A piping bag with a small detailing tip, microwave save bowl.

 Start by washing your berries in water, then set berries out on a towel to dry for about 10 minutes

While your berries dry, start cutting small slits into your shoe box, you want to put a 2" gap between each hole.

Put a small amount of water into your pot and turn the setting on LOW you don't want your water to boil. Place the bowl on top of the pot, make sure your bowl does NOT touch the water.

In your bowl add together 1 bag of milk chocolate chips, 1/2 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips, 2 Tbs. of Butter, and a dash of Vegetable Oil. Keep a constant stir going and wait till your chocolate begins to melt. If you chocolate seems to be too think or stiffens up, remove from heat and add more Oil, then return to heat when it becomes smooth. 

When Chocolate becomes smooth and glossy, place your Kabob skewers into the stems of your strawberries, Dip the tip of your strawberries into the warm chocolate and remove slowly. Be patient as there will be excess that will need to drip off. 

Slide your Kabob Skewers into the pre cut holes on your shoe box, this allows your strawberries to dry evenly. (TIP start placing from the center out!)

While you let your berries dry start by prepping the white chocolate. Take a piping bag and place a 3cm Round Tip at the bottom. Fold the sides of the bag down so its easier to fill with the warm chocolate.

If you want to use the pot method again you can, but because I wasn't making a lot of white chocolate I just put about 1 cup of chips into a microwave save bowl. Add in some Vegetable Oil (White Chocolate doesn't really need any butter to break it down) Microwave for 30 seconds stopping at 10 seconds increments to stir. 

Fill your piping bag up with the warm chocolate. Place your berries on a surface that you can turn, and start by making a small circle at the top. 

Pick a side and Draw a straight line down. Then Make three "stitches" across the line. Start by making a dot on one side and bringing it over. If you have a lot of dripping, just bring the bag back towards the center line to double up. 

Finish by drawing a large circle where the milk chocolate ends. Place on wax paper on to dry. Store in a semi Air Tight container in the refrigerator until ready to serve!

Happy Game Day!

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