German Chocolate Cupcakes {Recipe}

I'm not usually a cake person.  Given the choice, I'd take a cookie or a piece of pie.  German Chocolate Cake is the one great exception.  I looooove it.  If I had to marry a food, this would be the one.
My mom always made this cake for our birthdays, which meant that between March and July I'd get to eat this 6 times. It was fantastic!
I recently discovered that my boss also loves German Chocolate Cake, so when her birthday came around, I decided I'd try my hand at making it... but since I didn't have round cake pans, I thought cupcakes would be a fun alternative.


To make German Chocolate Cupcakes, you'll start with the cakes, and while they're baking, move over and make the frosting.  So that's how I'll lay out the recipe.


For the cake, here's what you'll need:


1/2 cup Nestle Semisweet Morsels (or 4oz. of another sweet baking chocolate)
1/2 cup water
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter, softened
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (not self-rising)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk


Preheat the oven to 350.  Then heat chocolate and water in a saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently, until chocolate is completely melted. Set aside to cool.

Beat sugar and butter in a medium bowl with electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy.

Separate your eggs into two custard cups, you'll need both parts of the egg separately.

Then beat the yolks, one at a time, into sugar mixture.

Beat in chocolate and vanilla on low speed.

Mix flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl.  Beat flour mixture into sugar mixture alternatively with buttermilk on low speed, beating just until smooth after each addition.

Using clean beaters, beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff; fold gently into the batter.

Grease your muffin tins with butter, then spoon the batter into the pan.

To avoid any bubbles in the batter, which will make your cupcakes lopsided, hold the pan and each end and hit it against the counter a few times.  This will smooth out the batter.

Bake the cupcakes for 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes, then remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

Now to start on the Coconut Pecan Frosting (mmm my favorite part!!); here's what you'll need:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 cup evaporated milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 large egg yolks

1 1/3 cups flaked coconut

1 cup chopped pecans

Mix sugar, butter, milk, vanilla, and egg yolks in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thick.

Stir in coconut and pecans.

Cool about 30 minutes, beating occasionally with a spoon.

Once the frosting and cupcakes are completely cooled, grab a serrated knife and cut your cupcakes in half.

Then frost the bottom layer, add the top half of the cupcake, and frost the top as well.  

Sit down and enjoy your decadent hard work.

Mmm.... 

*This recipe can be found in the Betty Crocker's Cookbook.

Here is a copy-and-pasteable version of the recipe:

German Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Nestle Semisweet Morsels (or 4oz. of another sweet baking chocolate)

1/2 cup water

2 cups sugar

1 cup butter, softened

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (not self-rising)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat the oven to 350.  Then heat chocolate and water in a saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently, until chocolate is completely melted. Set aside to cool.

2. Beat sugar and butter in a medium bowl with electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy. Separate your eggs into two custard cups, you'll need both parts of the egg separately. Then beat the yolks, one at a time, into sugar mixture. Beat in chocolate and vanilla on low speed. Mix flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl.  Beat flour mixture into sugar mixture alternatively with buttermilk on low speed, beating just until smooth after each addition.

3. Using clean beaters, beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff; fold gently into the batter. Grease your muffin tins with butter, then spoon the batter into the pan. To avoid any bubbles in the batter making your cupcake lopsided, hold the pan and each end and hit it against the counter a few times.  This will smooth out the batter.

4. Bake the cupcakes for 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes, then remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

Coconut Pecan Frosting 

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 cup evaporated milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 large egg yolks

1 1/3 cups flaked coconut

1 cup chopped pecans

1. Mix sugar, butter, milk, vanilla, and egg yolks in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thick.

2. Stir in coconut and pecans. Cool about 30 minutes, beating occasionally with a spoon.

Once the frosting and cupcakes are completely cooled, grab a serrated knife and cut your cupcakes in half. Then frost the bottom layer, add the top half of the cupcake, and frost the top as well.  

Crock Pot Curried Chicken

I love my Crock Pot.  The idea of throwing a meal together before I leave for work and coming to home to a ready-made dinner is so very appealing.  I'm always on the hunt for good Crock Pot recipes, and I stumbled across this one on Real Simple's website.  If you haven't ever checked out the recipe section for this website, you should! They have some wonderful meal ideas, and they're all, well... real simple.


Here's what you'll need:


1 6oz. can tomato paste
4 cloves of garlic, chopped (or about 2 tsp. minced garlic)
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger (I used powdered instead)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 medium onion, chopped
3/4 cup water
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 10)
salt and pepper
1 and 1/2 cups basmati rice
1/2 cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt
2 scallions, thinly sliced


In your Crock Pot, whisk together the tomato paste, garlic, curry powder, ginger, cumin, and 3/4 cup of water. Add the onion and stir to combine. Place the chicken on top and season with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
Cover and cook until the chicken is tender, on low for 7 to 8 hours, or on high for 3 to 4 hours.
Twenty minutes before serving, cook the rice according to the package directions.
Just before serving, add the yogurt and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the chicken and stir to combine. Serve with the rice and sprinkle with the scallions.

There you have it! Come home to a yummy dinner waiting for you.


As always, let me know if you try this recipe, and what you thought. Happy cooking!

Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken

Ok. First of all, I just want to say that I realize this isn't a very pretty picture.  I took it with my iPhone and the sour cream is blobby... but friends... this recipe is SOOOO good! And healthy, AND easy, which is always a plus when it comes to cooking.

I got this recipe from a girl I used to work with.  I put it on my phone, and then forgot about it for a couple months.  I finally remembered it when Jenn was here visiting, and once I tried it, I put it on the "keep" list of recipes.  

So here's what you need:

1 1/2 lbs chicken breast

8 oz diced tomatoes with green chilis

15 oz can of black beans (don't drain!)

8 oz frozen corn (half bag)

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

14 oz chicken broth (fat free)

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper to taste

Here's how you make it:

Dump everything in the Crock Pot and cook on low for 10 hours, or on high for 6 hours. Before serving, shred chicken in the Crock Pot.

Easy right?  You can either eat this as a soup the way it is, or you can put it into taco shells with grated cheese, avocado slices, and sour cream on top (see picture).  There you have it, an easy, yummy, healthy dinner!

iHeart Pumpkins {Cream Cheese Muffins}

It finally feels like Fall outside! I am just loving this cool weather, and think that it warrants another recipe post.  I actually made these muffins a few weeks ago, but have been so busy with family in town (yay!) and modeling for Lukas and Suzy Van Dyke's workshop (yay again!) amongst other things, that I'm just now getting to put this up.  


This recipe was inspired by Starbuck's Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins, which I look forward to every year.  Here's what you'll need:

{Muffins}
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves
4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups pure pumpkin (Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin)
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
Chopped pumpkin seeds or walnuts/ pecans (optional)


{Cream Cheese Filling}
8 oz. cream cheese
2 Tbs. powdered sugar
1 Tbs. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla


Preheat the oven to 350°
In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla, and put in the fridge while you mix together other ingredients.


In a separate bowl, mix together the rest of the ingredients.

Spoon batter into a muffin tin, filling each cup about 1/2 full.

Take your cream cheese mixture out of the fridge, and spoon out about 3 tsp. worth of filling, and place on top of the batter.  Then push the filling about halfway down into the muffin.

I didn't push my filling down far enough on this batch... but you get the idea.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean from the muffin (don't touch the cream cheese). Let cool in pans for about 5 minutes, then remove and let cool completely.

Serve with coffee and enjoy!

Let me know if you try the recipe, and what you think!

iHeart Pumpkins {Pancakes}

Anyone who knows me, knows that I'm nearly obsessed with anything pumpkin.  When the end of summer rolls around, I start dreaming of the crisp weather, scarves, boots, and pumpkin... anything.  Pumpkin pancakes, Starbucks Pumpkin Spice lattes, pumpkin cream cheese muffins, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pies, carving pumpkins.... I think you probably get the idea. 


Now that it's the "pumpkin season," I've decided to make some of my favorite pumpkin recipes, and to share them here with you!


The first recipe I made was inspired by my breakfast date with Amanda a few weeks ago.  We tried a new place called The Griddle Cafe off of Sunset Blvd.  There were pumpkin pancakes on the menu, so naturally I ordered them.  One word: AMAZING.  It was like dessert for breakfast, and the pancakes were massive, I swear they weighed like 7 pounds.


So, last week I searched the interweb for a recipe that resembled that of The Griddle Cafe.  I came across a blog called Holly Baby (www.hollybaby.com) where they had the actual recipe.  Saturday morning Andrew and I made the pancakes together, and wow they were good!

Ingredients:
2 cups of your favorite dry pancake mix
3 Tbsp dark-brown sugar
2 1/2 tsp pumpkin-pie spice
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup canned pure pumpkin puree (for an easier option ~ use 1 cup of Libby Pumpkin Pie filling, which is already seasoned. Omit the pumpkin pie spice and vanilla if choosing this option)
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 Tbsp vegetable oil, plus more for the griddle.

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the pancake mix, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice. In another large bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, vanilla extract, and oil. Add the pumpkin mixture to the dry ingredients and stir to combine.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or large frying pan on medium high. Pour the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Cook the pancakes until bubbles form in the batter and the edges begin to brown. Then flip them and cook until the other sides are lightly browned.

Top with whipped cream and powdered sugar.

Happy cooking! Let me know if you try the recipe :)  Stay tuned for the next pumpkin recipe: Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins...

iHeart Strawberries

Strawberries are one of my favorite foods.  I’m always so happy when summer rolls around and they are on sale at the grocery store.  Even better is when you are able to get freshly picked berries out of the garden.  We had a small strawberry patch in our backyard when I was younger.  I have fond memories of running around and playing in the yard, then popping over to the patch to see if any were ripe.  In my opinion, there isn’t much better flavor in the world than a sun ripened strawberry picked right off the plant. 

Up in Boise, a lot of farmer’s stands go up in the summer to sell extra fruit, and we would often get these huge flats of strawberries.  That meant that mom would make strawberry shortcake and jam, and we would have lots of berries to snack on.  Yum.

Besides being pretty fruit (I love love that deep beautiful red), strawberries are very nutritious (which is a good quality in something that I can sit down and eat a whole lot of, am I right?).   They are high in fiber, low in calories, and one cup of strawberries has 136% of your daily vitamin C.  They also contain manganese, which is an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant agent.  Because they are so packed with vitamins, strawberries are not only good for consumption, but for cosmetic purposes as well!  Did you know that placing the leaves of a strawberry on acne will help the swelling and redness go down by reducing the acidity of the affected area?  It’s true!  Strawberries also contain salicylic acid, which helps to slough of dead skin cells and refine pores.  They also contain powerful anti-aging properties and soften skin.  And you can make an all-natural facemask at home!  The two simplest versions are:

Version #1

5 medium strawberries, mashed

3 tablespoons of raw honey

Mix together and spread over face with clean hands.  Leave on for 10-15 minutes, then wipe off with a warm cloth. 

Version #2

5 medium strawberries, mashed

1 teaspoon raw honey

1 tablespoon plain yogurt

Mix together and spread over face with clean hands.  Leave on for 10-15 minutes, then wipe off with a warm cloth. 

(p.s. this is also a fantastic breakfast, if you forgo the mashing and chop the strawberries instead and add a lot more yogurt. Mix the plain yogurt {greek yogurt is my favorite} with a spoonful of honey then mix in the chopped strawberries with a little granola.  Delicious, and so good for you!)

Tadaaa. Easy right?

Ok. Back to strawberries as food.  One of my all-time favorite recipes is for strawberry muffins.  They are just sooooo good!  Andrew requests these all the time; he loves them too J

What you’ll need:

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

2 cups flour

2 tsps baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 cups chopped strawberries

3 tsps sugar (preferably raw sugar)

Preheat oven to 400°

Cut Strawberries into small pieces.

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and mix well.

If you forget to leave out your stick of butter to soften, microwave for about 10 seconds.

Creamed butter and sugar

Nice and smooth once you mix in the egg

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. 

Then, add flour mixture and milk alternately to butter/sugar mixture.  

When finished mixing, the batter should be pretty thick

Add vanilla and gently fold in the strawberries.

Spoon the batter into muffin pan, then sprinkle each muffin with a little raw sugar.

If you don't have one already, go get a large muffin pan!  They're fantastic!

Just a sprinkling of the raw sugar

Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Let the muffins cool for a few minutes before removing from the pan, they tend to fall apart if you try to take them out too soon.

Delightful Saturday morning breakfast. Serve with coffee!

*Note: all these pictures were taken with my iPhone

So there you have it! Let me know if you try this recipe... or if you have any favorite recipe that use strawberries!