Delicious Desserts

Just a little update first, then to the good stuff!  The doctor we all dislike finally gave in and gave me a prescription for metformin.  Its been a little tricky getting used to it, but I will figure it out.  Just like I had read, a common side effect was feeling shaky because my sugar levels get too low.  So I just have to figure out what is good to eat and have snacks on hand.
Now to Delicious Desserts!
On our anniversary I decided to celebrate with 'something delicious' (this is Nick's term for dessert).  Our wedding cake had Bavarian cream filling with buttercream frosting.  So I chose to make it special for this special day and I made Wedding Cake Cupcakes with Bavarian Cream Filling and Swiss Buttercream Frosting.  I found three separate recipes and concocted my own cupcake and they turned out pretty fabulous.  I don't know that they necessarily taste like wedding cake, but good enough for a non-professional baker!

Wedding Cake Cupcakes
        1 (18.25 ounce) box white cake mix
         1 cup all-purpose flour
         1 cup granulated white sugar
         3/4 teaspoon salt
         1 1/3 cups water
         2 Tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
         1 teaspoon vanilla extract
         1 cup sour cream
         4 large egg whites
Preheat oven to 325.  Place cupcake liners in cupcake pan (or grease it like I do, no liners) In a large bowl, whisk together cake mix, flour, sugar and salt.  Add remaining ingredients and beat with hand mixer for 2 minutes, or until well blended.  Fill cupcake tins about 3/4 full. Bake about 18 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Bavarian Cream Filling
          8 oz cream cheese, softened (make sure it is definitely softened)
          2 (3.5 oz) instant pudding mix (I used vanilla)
          3/4 cup milk
          12 oz Cool Whip, thawed
Mix together cream cheese and dry pudding mix.  Slowly beat in milk.  Fold in Cool Whip.  Place in pastry bag to pipe into cupcakes.  When the cupcakes were warm, just out of the oven, I shoved the pastry bag into the center of each cupcake and squeezed the Bavarian cream bag.  The sides of the cupcake grew.  When I do this again I think I will actually try to tear out the center of the cupcake then fill the hole with Bavarian cream.  We really like a lot of creamy filling.

Swiss Buttercream Frosting
        1 cup of sugar
         4 large egg whites
         26 tbsp butter, softened (3 sticks plus 2 tbsp) WHOA RIGHT!!!
         1 tsp vanilla extract
Whisk egg whites and sugar together in a big metal bowl over a pot of simmering water. Whisk occasionally until you can’t feel the sugar granules when you rub the mixture between your fingers.
Transfer mixture into the mixer and whip until it turns white and about doubles in size.
(Here’s a tip: when you transfer to the mixer, make sure you wipe the condensation off the bottom of the bowl so that no water gets into the egg whites. This can keep them from whipping up properly.)
Add the vanilla.
Finally, add the butter a stick at a time and whip, whip, whip.
You will have to WHIP for a long time, like 10-15 minutes, until it looks like thick, buttercream frosting.  You will think its not working then suddenly...Poof....you have delicious frosting! Frost cupcakes once they are completely cool.

All I can say is yummy! 

 

On Easter I met Mom at church, then she and Dad came out to the house for Easter dinner.  Nick smoked a ham, Mom and I made the sides and dessert and Dad ate.
We had a really great day and food was delicious, as usual.
I made a really simple dessert that everyone loved.  Just 2 ingredients!

Pineapple Angel Food Cake
Take a box of Angel Food Cake mix , and combine it with a 20 ounce can of crushed pineapple in its own juice. Once its all mixed up, simply pour it into a 9 x 13 baking dish and bake it at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  It tastes so good....and if you eat without frosting its low calorie!  (FYI we had frosting.)

                              It may not look yummy, but I promise it is so good.