Overnight Tiramisu

This overnight tiramisu cake is coffee packed, rich and creamy, with the pillowiest cake layer one can imagine!

Tiramisu is traditionally made with lady fingers lightly soaked in a rich espresso layered within an egg cream cut with a light marscapone whipped cream. I am not a fan of lady fingers, and find that I prefer a tiramusi with more texture and substance to it. That’s why my recipe uses a fluffy cake layer (similar to the one used in my Japanese Strawberry Shortcake) as opposed to lady fingers.

Overnight tiramisu is my solution to all my issues with the bittersweet dessert!

I mean, get a load of those layers!

Overnight Tiramisu

Make a cup of really strong coffee or two shots of espresso ( you may 2 double shots depending on how soaked you want your cake layers)

Cake

You’ll want to separate your egg yolks from the whites. When you do this, make sure none of your yolks leak into the whites. Any fat in the egg white will cause it to have trouble while whipping up.

Once the egg white reach a frothy state, begin to drizzle in the sugar while you keep whipping.

Whip until you reach medium to stiff peaks and the egg whites are white and glossy.

Mix together the egg yolks and vanilla extract.

Grab a spatula and fold half of the whipped egg whites into the egg yolk mixture. Once that is fully incorporated, add the remaining egg whites into the mixture and fold in.

You want to be gentle when you do this and mix as little as possible. We are relying on the fluffy egg whites to keep this cake soft, the more you mix the more you pull air out of the egg whites.

Next, add the flour, baking powder, and baking powder and gently fold. Finally, add the milk and oil.

This is what the consistency of the batter should look like. For more detailed photos along with your instructions, please refer to the cake section of my Japanese Strawberry Shortcake recipe.

Tiramisu Cake Batter

Bake in either a 8 inch square or 8 inch round pan at 320 for 18-22 mins.

Once the cake has cooled, split the cake in half horizontally.

cream

Make the cream in two stages: the egg cream, and the marscapone stabalized whipped cream.

Stage 1. Cook the egg yolks and sugar over a double boiler for 10 minutes, mix constantly so you don’t burn the egg yolks. Ten minutes is sufficient time to cook the yolks to food safety!

Stage 2. Whip heavy cream and sugar into a stiff peaked whipped cream. Mix the marscapone and fully incorporate.

Mix the two stages of creams together when the egg mixture is fully cooled.

Assembly

Trim the cake to fit the bowl you are using for assembly.

I used a bowl that’s around 8 inches across and 3 at least inches deep. Place a coffee-soaked layer of cake into the bowl, then add half the cream mixture. Add the final layer of cake and add the rest of the cream.
Smooth it out and dust cocoa powder on top!

Serve this tiramisu after letting it rest in the fridge overnight for all the flavor to mingle!

Overnight Tiramisu

This overnight tiramisu cake is coffee packed, rich and creamy, with the pillowiest cake layer one can imagine!
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 12

Equipment

  • 8 x 8 baking pan (round or square)

Ingredients

  • Espresso Shots or Strong Coffee

Cake

  • 3 Large Eggs
  • ½ Cup White Sugar
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste or Extract
  • Tbsp Vegetable Oil
  • ¾ tsp Baking Powder
  • ¾ Tbsp Whole Milk
  • cup plus 1 Tbsp of All Purpose Flour

Cream

  • 3 Egg Yolks
  • Cup White Sugar
  • 8 oz Marscapone
  • 1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
  • Cup White Sugar

Instructions

Cake

  • Preheat the oven to 320°.
  • Separate eggs whites and yolks (make sure you don't get any yolk in the white or the recipe won't work!)
  • Whip the egg whites and slowly drizzle the sugar into the whites until they reach a medium to stiff peak consistency.
  • Mix together the vanilla extract and egg yolks.
  • Fold in the egg whites into the yolks by folding half of the egg white mixture into the yolks, then fold the remaining the whites into egg mixture. Be gentle as you do this, you don't want to deflate the mixture.
  • Fold the all purpose flour and baking powder into the egg mixture gently.
  • Then mix in the vegetable oil and milk.
  • Line the 8 x 8 baking sheet with parchment paper and pour the batter in.
  • Bake for 14 – 16 minutes, the cake bakes very quickly but will still be a little soft and pale so take it to the 12 minute mark before you pull it from the oven. Let it take on a very pale golden color before you remove it.Let the cakes cool fully before you ice and stack them.

Cream

  • Cook the egg yolks and sugar over a double boiler for 10 minutes, mix constantly so you don't burn the egg yolks. Ten minutes is enough time to cook the yolks that they aren't raw when you eat them!
  • Whip the heavy cream and sugar into whipped cream and add the mascarpone and fully mix.
  • Once the egg yolk mixture is cool, mix it into the cream / mascarpone mixture.

Assembly

  • Refer to the end of the post above to see how to assemble!

Hotteok (Sweet Korean Stuffed Pancakes)

Hotteok is a Korean style sweet pancake that is stuffed with cinnamon sugar and walnuts! Made with a simple yeasted dough and can be stuffed with any flavor of your choosing!

Hotteok (Sweet Korean Stuffed Pancakes)

One variety of Korean ‘pancakes’ is Hotteok which is stuffed with a sweet, nutty filling. Another is called jeon a vegetable pancake we can explore later!

Hotteok (Sweet Korean Stuffed Pancakes) cooking

There are store bought dough mixes you can buy for hotteok if you want to use them, but it’s more likely that you’ll have instant yeast on hand than an Asian market near you that carries it.

The dough is really simple to make and requires little kneading. For those of you that have a stand mixer you can set them aside for the recipe! You’ll just need a large bowl and a wooden spoon!

Mix your flour, sugar, and salt together and add in the yeasted water and stir with the wooden spoon. It should look like this.

Dough, pre oil

Add the oil and mix properly. Roll the dough into a ball and place into greased bowl, cover with greased plastic wrap. Let set for an hour at room temperature while it rises. (it’s okay for the dough to be sticky)

Dough, post rise

Once the dough rises, it should look like this. Punch the air down and turn the dough out onto a floured work surface. (Add the 1/8 cup of flour I said to reserve in the recipe instructions)

Knead or fold that flour into the dough until the dough is smooth. Then cut the dough into four even pieces and roll those in to balls. Cover with the plastic wrap and set aside while you prepare the filling. Make sure you finely chop your walnuts and then measure out the required tablespoon.

Dough, with filling

Using your hands, flatten the balls to be a little larger than the size of your palm. Then press down the sides of the dough so the perimeter of the dough is thinner than the center. Then scoop the filling evenly between the four flattened dough balls.

To seal and roll the dough, bring four points of the dough together and pinch shut. Then bring the rest of the dough together and roll between your palms.

Place the hotteok balls aside and heat up some neutral oil on a pan. You just want a thin layer of oil on the pan. We are very shallow frying these. Make sure the oil is hot and shimmering before you place the hotteok in there. Place the hotteok in the pan (the oil should sizzle) depending on the size of the pan you may only be able to fit one or two in there. Be sure to leave space for when you flatten them.

Cook the hotteok for about a minute to a minute and a half, or until the dough is a crispy golden brown.

Hotteok, cooking

Once you flip the hotteok, grab a  flat spatula, a burger flipper, or something like that as well as a heavy handled spoon. Place the flat spatula on the dough and use the wooden handle to push on the spatula to flatten the dough. It should be flat like a disc.

Then cook for another minute to minute and half. Flip one more time and cook until the rest of the dough is golden brown. Place the finished hotteok on a bed of paper towels to absorb any grease.

Enjoy the hotteok warm! But be careful not to burn yourself, the filling can be very hot.

Hotteok (Sweet Korean Stuffed Pancakes)

If you enjoy these sweet Korean stuffed pancakes, you can enjoy Hotteok with any type of filling! A friend of mine suggested using pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds! You can also do nutella or mozzarella cheese.

Hotteok (Sweet Korean Stuffed Pancakes)

Hotteok is a Korean style sweet pancake that is stuffed with cinnamon sugar and walnuts! Made with a simple yeasted dough and can be stuffed with any flavor of your choosing!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Rising Time1 hour
Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: Asian, Korean
Servings: 4 Hotteok
Calories: 180kcal

Ingredients

Dough

  • ½ Cup Water Lukewarm (95°-110°F)
  • ½ tsp Instant Yeast
  • Cup All Purpose Flour plus ⅛ for flouring surface and kneading
  • ½ Tbsp Sugar
  • tsp Kosher Salt
  • ½ Tbsp Vegetable Oil

Filling

  • ¼ Cup Dark Brown Sugar
  • ½ tsp Cinnamon
  • 1 Tbsp Walnut, Finely Chopped
  • Vegetable Oil for cooking

Instructions

  • Mix together the water and yeast. Set aside while you prep the other ingredients.
  • In a large bowl, mix together the flour, white granulated sugar, and kosher salt.
  • Add the yeast water to the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon.
  • Add the vegetable oil to the dough and mix properly. It will be sticky but keep mixing!
  • Roll the dough into a ball and place into a greased bowl and cover with cling wrap.
  • Place the dough aside in a warm/room temperature room for an hour as it rises.
  • Once the dough has risen for an hour, punch the gases out of it and roll onto a floured work surface (use the ⅛ cup of flour for this).
  • Knead the flour into the dough until fully incorporated and the dough feels smooth. It's okay for it to be sticky.
  • Cut the dough into four equal sized lumps and cover with the cling wrap you used earlier. Set aside while you mix the filling and chop the nuts.
  • Finely chop the walnuts and then measure out a tablespoon of them. Mix with the cinnamon and dark brown sugar.
  • Flatten each of the dough balls slightly in the palm of your hands and then evenly add the stuffing between the four dough pieces.
  • Refer to the photos above on how to seal the dough balls. Set them aside.
  • Depending on the size of your pans, use enough vegetable oil to thinly cover the bottom of whatever pan you're using. It can be cast iron, enameled cast iron, nonstick, etc. Let it heat up until shimmering.
  • Place one or two of your dough balls in the pan (the pan should sizzle). Make sure there's enough room in the pan for the balls to expand as you flatten them.
  • Let the balls cook for about a minute to a minute and a half or until the dough is golden, crispy brown.
  • Flip the dough and take a flat spatula, a burger flipper, or something like that as well as a heavy handled spoon. Place the flat spatula on the dough and use the wooden handle to push on the spatula to flatten the dough. It should be flat like a disc.
  • Cook the hotteok for another minute to minute and half, or until its golden crispy brown.
  • Flip the hotteok one more time and let the rest of it cook before removing from the pan and placing on some paper towels.
  • Enjoy warm! If you want to make ahead and reheat, you can heat them up on a pan or in a toaster oven!

Yellow Butter Cake & Chocolate Fudge Frosting

A yellow butter cake – with a twist that keeps it soft! Includes a delicious chocolate fudge frosting recipe. Perfect for any birthday, party, or special occasion!

Yellow Butter Cake & Chocolate Fudge Frosting

Few combinations are better than Yellow Butter Cake & Chocolate Fudge Frosting! The thing is, and I think I’ve mentioned it in a different recipe, that I don’t actually prefer to make butter cakes. My favorite cakes are usually oil based, or more oil than butter. But butter cakes are all the rage and I do occasionally like to enjoy them. So here’s my take on an improved Yellow Butter Cake & a Chocolate Fudge Frosting recipe.

Cake and layers

When it comes to making cakes and frostings you’ll often hear or read that you should “cream” one or several ingredients together. The creaming process allows for more air and fluffiness in your cake. In this recipe, you will be using a reverse creaming method. This will ensure tenderness and evenness to the crumb of your cake.

To reverse cream, you want to mix all of your dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt) in a large bowl. Mix your buttermilk, eggs, egg yolk, extract, and oil into a medium bowl and set aside.

In the bowl with the dry ingredients, add in your room temperature butter a few tablespoons at a time and mix thoroughly before adding more. The final mixture should look like wet sand. Add the liquid in two halves. Add the batter to your cake pans and bake. This recipe will bake either 3 6 inch pans or 2 8 inch pans.

Reverse Cream Batter

The chocolate fudge frosting recipe is half buttercream and half room temperature ganache. It’s silky and just sweet enough with a rich chocolate flavor.

Frosting

Make each and whip together for the final fudge frosting! Use some milk to adjust the consistency of your frosting. I made mine a little thicker, with less milk because I needed to cake to sit through a 40 minute Texas summer car ride!

Layer cake

Frost and stack your cake once the cake layers cool fully.

Add sprinkles or any decorations to spruce up the cake!

Yellow Butter Cake with Chocolate Fudge Frosting

Yellow Butter Cake with Chocolate Fudge Frosting

A yellow butter cake – with a twist! Includes a delicious chocolate fudge frosting recipe. Perfect for any birthday, party, or special occasion!
Prep Time25 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 12 -16 people
Calories: 350kcal

Equipment

  • 3, 6-inch round cake pans or 2, 8-inch round cake pans

Ingredients

Yellow Butter Cake

  • 1⅓ Cup All Purpose Flour
  • 1 Cup Sugar
  • tsp Baking Powder
  • tsp Kosher Salt
  • ½ Cup Unsalted Butter, room temp, cubed
  • 1 Cup Buttermilk
  • 2 Eggs, large
  • 1 Egg Yolk
  • tsp Vanilla Extract, or bean paste
  • ¼ Cup Vegetable Oil

Chocolate Fudge Frosting

  • ¼ Cup Unsalted Butter, softened
  • ¼+⅛ Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
  • Tbsp Milk maybe more or less
  • Cup Powdered Sugar maybe more or less
  • tsp Kosher Salt
  • ½ tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 4 ounces Semi Sweet Chocolate
  • 4 ounces Heavy Cream

Instructions

Yellow Butter Cake

  • Preheat oven to 350°. Line baking pans with parchment and nonstick spray
  • In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
  • In a separate bowl, thoroughly whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, egg yolks, vanilla extract, and vegetable oil.
  • In the bowl with the dry ingredients, toss in the butter a few cubes at a time while beating thoroughly. Once all the butter is incorporated it should look like damp sand.
  • Gradually add in the liquid until the batter is fluffy and fully incorporated.
  • Split the batter evenly between your baking tins. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean.
  • Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan and let cool fully before frosting.

Chocolate Fudge Frosting

  • Warm the heavy cream until medium heat and pour over roughly chopped semi sweet chocolate. Let sit for a while and then mix until glossy. This is the process of making chocolate ganache. Let cool in the fridge.
  • Beat the softened butter until fluffy.
  • Add in the cocoa powder, half of the powdered sugar, and kosher salt and mix until fully combined.
  • Add in half of the milk, the vanilla extract and the rest of the powdered sugar and beat until fluffy.
  • Once the ganache is cool, add it into the frosting and beat until fully combined.
  • At this stage, add more powdered sugar or milk depending on the consistency of frosting you want.
  • Frost the cake to your desired thickness and enjoy!
  • I recommend letting the cake sit with the frosting for at least an hour before serving.

Japanese Strawberry Shortcake

Japanese Strawberry Shortcake is a perfect mix between the classic American strawberry shortcake and angel food cake. Paired with fresh strawberries and light and fluffy homemade whipped cream! Best served 24 hours after assembly!

Japanese Strawberry Shortcake is my favorite go-to party cake. It’s a crowd pleaser, especially among adult crowds.

(this cake recipe is being posted on my birthday because it’s one of my more favorite cakes in the entire world!!)

It’s best served after being set overnight, as the cream, cake, and fruits get a good time to mix flavors.

The recipe doesn’t require anything special as far as ingredients go. It’s all about the technique!

Cake

You’ll want to separate your egg yolks from the whites. When you do this, make sure none of your yolks leak into the whites. Any fat in the egg white will cause it to have trouble while whipping up.

Once the egg white reach a frothy state, begin to drizzle in the sugar while you keep whipping.

Whip until you reach medium to stiff peaks and the egg whites are white and glossy.

Mix together the egg yolks and vanilla extract.

Grab a spatula and fold half of the whipped egg whites into the egg yolk mixture. Once that is fully incorporated, add the remaining egg whites into the mixture and fold in.

You want to be gentle when you do this and mix as little as possible. We are relying on the fluffy egg whites to keep this cake soft, the more you mix the more you pull air out of the egg whites.

Next, add the flour, baking powder, and baking powder and gently fold. Finally, add the milk and oil.

At this stage, you have two options. You can bake the cake in two even layers, or three. I would recommend three layers in an 8 x 8 in square pan. But 2 layers on a 8×8 works as well.

Bake at 320 for 14 mins and cool fully before you assemble.

Whipped Cream

This is a rather simple, straight forward homemade whipped cream recipe! All you’ll need is sugar, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt.

Whip the heavy cream and slowly add the sugar. Once you get to the 3 tbsp stage, taste the cream and see how much sweeter you want it to be. I prefer 5 tbsp. Add the vanilla extract and a pinch of salt and mix well.

Assembly

Take your first layer of the cake (you can level your cakes if you want to / they didn’t rise evenly) and add a layer of the cream. Add 1/2 of the strawberries and add more cream to cover the berries. You should have used 1/3 of the cream.

Repeat the same assembly for the next layer using the remaining strawberries and another 1/3 of the cream!

Spread the remaining cream (reserve a small bit to fill in any gaps) on the top layer of the cake. At this stage your cake will look like this.

Trim about 1 cm off of the sides of the cake to expose the cross section of strawberries. Use any leftover cream to fill any gaps.

Save your trimmings and any extra cream! It’s still good to eat!

Cover and store in the fridge overnight for the flavors to fully develop! Always serve your Japanese Strawberry shortcake cold / chilled.

Japanese Strawberry Shortcake

Japanese Strawberry Shortcake

Japanese Strawberry Shortcake is a perfect mix between the classic American strawberry shortcake and angel food cake. Paired with fresh strawberries and light and fluffy homemade whipped cream! Best served 24 hours after assembly!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time14 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Japanese
Servings: 10 – 12 slices
Calories: 215kcal

Equipment

  • 8 x 8 Baking Pan (one is fine but two is preferable)

Ingredients

  • 1 Lbs Fresh Whole Strawberries

Cake

  • 4 Large Eggs
  • Cup White Sugar
  • tsp Vanilla Extract or Vanilla Bean Paste
  • 2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
  • 1 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1 Tbsp Milk
  • ¾ Cup All Purpose Flour

Whipped Cream

  • 2 Cups Heavy Cream
  • tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 3-5 Tbsp White Sugar
  • Pinch Kosher Salt

Instructions

Cake

  • Preheat the oven to 320°.
  • Separate eggs whites and yolks (make sure you don't get any yolk in the white or the recipe won't work!)
  • Whip the egg whites and slowly drizzle the sugar into the whites until they reach a medium to stiff peak consistency.
  • Mix together the vanilla extract and egg yolks.
  • Fold in the egg whites into the yolks by folding half of the egg white mixture into the yolks, then fold the remaining the whites into egg mixture. Be gentle as you do this, you don't want to deflate the mixture.
  • Fold the all purpose flour and baking powder into the egg mixture gently.
  • Then mix in the vegetable oil and milk.
  • Line the 8 x 8 baking sheet with parchment paper and pour 1/3 of the batter into each of the trays.
  • This is a 3 layer cake, I had to bake the cake three times but the process will speed up if you have two of the 8 x 8 sheets. You want 1/3 of the batter in each go in the oven.
  • Bake for 14 – 16 minutes, the cake bakes very quickly but will still be a little soft and pale so take it to the 12 minute mark before you pull it from the oven. Let it take on a very pale golden color before you remove it.
  • Let the cakes cool fully before you ice and stack them.

Whipped Cream

  • Whip the heavy cream and slowly add sugar in until the cream takes on a thick consistency. Taste the cream once you get to the 3 tbsp make and add more if you want some.
  • Add the vanilla extract and a pinch of salt and set aside while the cakes cool and you prep your strawberries.

Assembly

  • Rinse and thoroughly dry your strawberries. Cut the tops off and slice the regular sized ones in half and the large ones into quarters. Reserve few of your best looking strawberries for the top but don't cut them.
  • The cream needs to be split evenly between 3 sections, so be mindful as you frost the cake. The strawberries will be split between two.
  • Place down one layer of the cake and spread some of the cream on cake. Add half of the strawberries and spread more of the cream on top of the strawberries. Spread the cream to the edge of the cake. You should have used 1/2 of the cut strawberries and 1/3 of the cream.
  • Add the second layer of cake and repeat the above step.
  • Add the final layer of the cake and spread the remaining cream on the cake. You don't need to spread any cream on the side of the cake as we will be trimming the edges.
  • Once the top layer of cream is applied, trim about 1 cm of the cake off on each side so you can see perfect layers and cross sections of the cake on all four sides.
  • (Save the trimmings and enjoy them with any of the leftover cream!)
  • Place the remaining whole strawberries on the top of the cake and serve the next day. Don't use cut strawberries on the top because they will leak juices and mess up the cream.
  • This cake is best served after sitting and soaking for 24 hours!

2 Bite S’mores Cups

Made with puff pastry, ganache, and marshmallows. These 2 Bite S’mores Cups have the perfect balance between semi sweet chocolate and browned and baked marshmallows. Can be made before a party and served crunchy and gooey!

Top Level 2 Bite S'mores Cups

S’mores are one of my most favorite desserts in the whole world. But I don’t always have access to a charcoal grill or a fire pit! I wanted to make a way I could eat s’mores more regularly and maybe even up the flavor of the treat. Enter 2 Bite S’mores Cups.

The recipe utilizes puff pastry and homemade chocolate ganache.

There’s a simple order to making this recipe, you want to make the ganache while the pastry sheets are thawing and then prep the pastry sheets while the ganache is resting.

Take the puff pastry out of the freezer and set aside to thaw. Chop the chocolate into small pieces and put into a bowl (if using a chocolate bar) or place the chocolate chips in a bowl. In a small saucepan warm up the heavy cream to a low simmer. Let it warm up thoroughly but don’t let it boil. Take off the heat and pour over the chocolate. Let the mixture rest before you stir.

chocolate ganache
cream resting over the ganache

Cut the puff pastry into 3 x 3 squares and then flatten them out with either the palm of your hand or with a rolling pin. Spray mini cup cake tins with non stick spray and line each cup with the pastry pieces.

puff pastry 2 bite s'mores cups

Refrigerate your pastry cups while you finish the ganache. The ganache will start off chunky but with constant stirring, it will become silky and smooth. Don’t give up!

silky ganache

Put the ganache aside and bake the puff pastry in a 400 degree preheated oven for 14 – 15 minutes.

baked pastry

They’re going to puff up and lose a bit of their cup shape.

Use a 1 tbsp measuring cup to squish down the pastry so it retains its cup shape.

Fill the pastry with about 2 to 3 teaspoons of the ganache. From here there are few options. You can either use full size marshmallows or cut them in half. Or, you can use mini marshmallows. For these photos, I made some with full size marshmallows and some with them cut in half.

Full size marshmallows
half marshmallows

Whether or not you do full or half size, they’re going to puff like crazy as they bake. They only need to be in the 400 degree oven for about 3 minutes.

As soon as they come out of the oven they’re going to sink as they cool.

The photo below shows how the full size and half size look after cooling.

2 Bite S'mores Cups

Use a butter knife or offset spatula to help you remove the cups after they cool. It will be a little tricky and sticky but the cooking spray will help.

2 Bite S'mores Cups

2 Bite S’mores Cups can be made a day ahead of time and can be stored in an airtight container after fully cooling. They may need to be toasted right before eating if they pastry is a little soggy. Enjoy!

2 Bite S’mores Cups

Made with puff pastry, ganache, and marshmallows. These 2 Bite S'mores Cups have the perfect balance between semi sweet chocolate and browned and baked marshmallows. Can be made before a party and served crunchy and gooey!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 24 Cups
Calories: 125kcal

Equipment

  • mini cup cake tins

Ingredients

Chocolate Ganache

  • 4 ounces Semi Sweet Baking Chocolate bar or chips
  • 4 ounces Heavy Cream

S'mores Cups

  • 2 Sheets Puff Pastry
  • 24 Marshmallows regular sized, or a bag of mini marshmallows

Instructions

Chocolate Ganache

  • Heat up the heavy cream in a small sauce pan until warmed.
  • Pour the warm heavy cream over a bowl of chopped semi sweet chocolate or chips. Let sit for a few minutes.
  • After a few minutes, stir the mixture. It will go from a chunky thick mixture to a glossy silky mixture. Set aside while you prepare the puff pastry.

2 Bite S'mores Cup

  • Preheat the oven to 400°.
  • Unwrap the thawed puff pastry and cut 3 x 3 inch squares. Flatten the puff pastry with your hands or with a rolling pin. You'll want 24 of these squares.
  • Spray the mini cupcake tins with a non stick spray (this is very important) and don't wipe the spray off of the flat top of the pans.
  • Place each square of the puff pastry in a mini cupcake slot and tuck into the slot. It's okay for the edges of the pastry to stick out.
  • If you have two tins, place the first one in the fridge while you prep the second one. If you have one tin, place in the fridge for 10 minutes after it's prepped.
  • After they chill, bake the pastry cups for 15 minutes at 400°.
  • Remove them from the oven and let them cool in the pan for a few minutes.
  • Take a tablespoon measurer and squish down the center of the pastry. Be gentle, you don't want to break or crush the pastry.
  • Fill each cup with about 2 tespoons of the chocolate ganace.
  • If you want an overflowing, gooey s'mores cup then place one whole marshmallow standing on top of the ganache. You can cut the marshmallow in half if you want. (or use a spoonful of minimarshmallows)
  • Bake in the 400° oven for about 3 minutes. The marshmallow will rise a lot and then fall as they cool.
  • Let cool for at least 5 minutes before you try to remove them from the tins.
  • Take a butter knife of small offset spatula to help you scoop the cups out of tin. Be gentle!
  • Storage: place in an airtight container and enjoy within a day or two of baking. Refrigerate if you want to store longer and toast before you eat.
  • If you happen to have any ganache left over you can store it in the freezer until next use!

Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

These Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are soft and delicious. Enhanced with maple syrup and cinnamon, these are sure to be the best oatmeal cookies you’ll make.

Top Level Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. These cookies are rather divisive, people either loathe or love them. And then there’s a small portion of people who love the oatmeal portion but despise the raisin portion. That’s my best friend, she’s a fan of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (recipe in the works!).

Cookie Ingredients

This cookie recipe is upgraded with the use of maple syrup and cinnamon. You won’t overtly taste either of these ingredients but they’ll enhance the taste of the raisins!

The recipe is pretty simple!

Wet ingredients prior to maple syrup.

Grab a whisk, a hand mixer, or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and cream the butter, egg, white sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract together.

The mixture will take on a pale brown color and be a little fluffy. Add the maple syrup and mix thoroughly again.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt. Stir these ingredients thoroughly before you incorporate it into the wet ingredients.

When you start mixing the dry into the wet, swap to a spatula. It’ll be a lot easier and it’ll prevent you from overworking the dough. Mix the dry ingredients in two parts so it’s easier to mix.

Mixture pre raisin and oatmeal

Mix in the raisins and the oats and chill the dough.

Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Dough

Have you ever made a cookie dough that’s really really sticky and soft? It’s probably for two reasons and the solution is the same for both issues. You refrigerate it!

The first issue is that the dough is too warm. When you’re mixing the dough together, the butter tends to soften a little too much. As you refrigerate the dough, the butter will begin to restructure.

The second issue is that the flour hasn’t had enough time to hydrate. As it chills, the flour will absorb some of the moisture in the dough and it’ll feel less sticky.

Plus, refrigerating the dough will make it easier to shape and roll!

Rolled Chewy Oatmeal Raining Cookies

The dough balls should be 1.5 ounces or around or a little larger than the size of a golf ball. You’ll get about 18 of them. Preheat the oven while you’re rolling the dough and bake at 350 for 12 minutes!

Baked Cookies

The cookies above were baked for 14 minutes and look great but are a touch over baked. 12 minutes is the ideal amount for these Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, they’ll look a little soft but they’ll set as they cool.

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Cookies

Check out my Chocolate Chunk Cookie Recipe!

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Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

These Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are soft and delicious. Enhanced with maple syrup and cinnamon, these are sure to be the best oatmeal cookies you'll make.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time12 minutes
Chilling Time30 minutes
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Servings: 18 cookies
Calories: 128kcal

Ingredients

  • ½ Cup Unsalted butter, softened (1 full stick)
  • ¼ Cup White Sugar
  • ½ Cup Light Brown Sugar
  • 1 Tbsp Maple Syrup
  • 1 Large Egg
  • ½ tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1 Cup All – Purpose Flour
  • ½ tsp Cinnamon
  • ½ tsp Baking Powder
  • ½ tsp Baking Soda
  • ½ tsp Kosher Salt
  • Cup Old Fashioned Oats
  • ½ Cup Raisins

Instructions

  • Cream together the butter, egg, white sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract. The mixture will take on a pale brown color.
  • Mix the maple syrup into the egg and sugar mixture.
  • In separate bowl, mix together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt.
  • Fold in the flour mixture with a spatula until just incorporated. You don't want to overmix it.
  • Stir in the oats and raisins.
  • Chill the dough for 30 minutes. This will make it easier to scoop and roll the dough as well as prevent the cookies from spreading too much.
  • After the dough has chilled, roll the dough into 1.5 ounce balls (a little larger than golf ball sized – you'll get about 18) Preheat the oven to 350° while you do this.
  • Place the balls on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, I was able to fit 9 of them on the tray.
  • Bake for 12 minutes. The cookies will look a little soft but will set as they cool. Baking for 14 minutes may result in some tough cookies.

Moist Pumpkin Spice Bread

A classic, generations old, old fashioned recipe for pumpkin bread! Super Moist Pumpkin Spice Bread is just as its name says: soft, sweet, and perfectly seasoned!

2 Bite S’mores Cups

Made with puff pastry, ganache, and marshmallows. These 2 Bite S’mores Cups have the perfect balance between semi sweet chocolate and browned and baked marshmallows. Can be made before a party and served crunchy and gooey!

Extreme Fudge Brownies

Cocoa-ey, chewy, soft, and a little salty! Extreme Fudge Brownies are the best homemade brownies ever. Enjoy with milk or a scoop of icecream!

Glazed Lemon Pound Cake

Lemon Pound Cake is the best solution for citrus lovers! There’s lemon in every component of this recipe, it’s in the cake and in the glaze. Comes with a mixed berry compote to top the cake! (Starbucks Copycat!)

Glazed Lemon Pound Cake

Not only do I love Glazed Lemon Pound Cake on a normal occasion, but this recipe holds a dear place in my heart. I was testing this recipe the week that I was admitted into law school, so I consider it my congratulatory cake!

The first time I made it, it was a horrific mess. The cake rose too much and collapsed and it was soapy and coarse. It was also as hard as a rock. But I redeemed it, and I think this is one of my best recipes yet.

Glazed Lemon Pound Cake

Dare I say it, I think this is a pretty good copy cat to the Starbucks Lemon Pound Cake.

For the Lemon Pound Cake

It’s really important for this cake that all of your ingredients are room temperature. This will ensure that the cake rises and sets properly.

lemon pound cake ingredients

In your main mixing bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients and stir thoroughly, for at least 30 seconds. This step is very important!

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla extract, and buttermilk. Don’t whisk too hard, only until the yolks are properly incorporated. If you whisk too hard, you’ll incorporate too much air into the mixture which will affect how the cake rises.

cake without glaze

In a smaller bowl, set aside the fresh lemon juice and lemon zest. Take the time to squeeze the lemons by hand and zest your lemons. Don’t zest past the pale yellow color of the lemons, the white part is very bitter! You’ll need about 6 – 8 lemons for this recipe!

liquid ingredients

Cut the butter into smaller, tablespoon size pieces and place it in your main mixing bowl with the dry ingredients. On a low speed, incorporate the butter into the dry ingredients. It’ll end up looking like a lightly damp sand mixture.

Add half of the liquid mixture and mix lightly. It will be a thick batter. Add the final half of the mixture and mix on medium speed for 1 minute. Don’t mix it too high, it’ll also add too much air into the cake. Add in the lemon mixture and stir slowly until fully incorporated.

At this stage, the cake will take on a pale yellow color, it will be more yellow once it bakes and on camera, but there i1s the optional choice to add a touch of lemon coloring.

If you do this, use gel coloring and only a small toothpicks worth. Mix this in with a spatula.

lemon coloring

Lightly grease with butter and tap sugar into the bundt pan. This recipe serves 1 bundt pan or two standard loaf pans. The baking time will be around the same. Between 55 – 70 minutes. The large time variation tends to occur in large batches and varies oven to oven.

At the 55 minute mark and every few minutes after that, begin to check your cake with a cake tester. A toothpick or tester should come out clean when it is done.

finished lemon cake

Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack and letting cool fully. This can take up to an hour. Mine needed about 45 minutes.

cake on wire rack

For the Lemon Glaze

compote and lemon glaze for Glazed Lemon Pound Cake

No Lemon Pound Cake is complete without a Lemon Glaze!

Glazed Lemon Pound Cake

The glaze is very simple! All you need is about 3.5 cups of powdered sugar and definitely 1/3 cup of lemon juice.

Start with the full amount of lemon juice and then add .5 cup of powdered sugar at a time. Mix thoroughly before adding more. Depending on your preferred consistency, you may want less or more than 3.5 cups powdered sugar.

FOr The Mixed Berry Compote

Lemon Glaze and Compote

This mixed berry compote is totally optional for the Glazed Lemon Pound Cake. The cake with its glaze is perfect on its own.

Ingredients for compote

All you have to do is throw everything into a saucepan and let it cook.

Cooking Compote for Glazed Lemon Pound Cake

Assembly

Once the cake is fully cooled you can drizzle and spread the lemon glaze over it. Be patient with this and do it increments.

Glazed Lemon Pound Cake

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Compote on Cake

Glazed Lemon Pound Cake

Lemon Pound Cake is the best solution for citrus lovers! There's lemon in every component of this recipe, it's in the cake and in the glaze. Comes with a mixed berry compote to top the cake! (Starbucks Copycat!)
Prep Time25 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 5 minutes
Cooling45 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 16
Calories: 250kcal

Equipment

  • 1 10 inch Bundt Pan or 2 Standard Loaf Tins
  • Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment or Hand Mixer

Ingredients

Lemon Pound Cake

  • Cups All Purpose Flour
  • Cups White Sugar
  • ½ tsp Kosher Salt
  • ½ tsp Baking Powder
  • 1 Cup Buttermilk no substitutes!
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 4 Eggs
  • 1 Cup Softened Unsalted Butter 2 sticks or 16 Tbsp
  • 4 Tbsp Lemon Juice
  • 2 Tbsp Lemon Zest

Lemon Glaze

  • 3.5 Cups Powdered Sugar
  • Cups Lemon Juice

Mixed Berry Compote

  • 1 Cup Blueberries preferably frozen, fresh is ok
  • ½ Cup Chopped Strawberries preferably frozen, fresh is ok
  • 2 Tbsp White Sugar
  • 2 Tbsp Water
  • 1 tsp Lemon Juice

Instructions

Lemon Pound Cake

  • Preheat oven to 325°. Grease and tap sugar into a 10 inch bundt pan or 2 standard size loaf tins.
  • Measure out flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a mixing bowl. Stir thoroughly, about 30 seconds. Low speed setting.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, vanilla extract, and buttermilk. Whisk only to incorporate the eggs but don't beat too hard or you will add unnecessary air into the mixture. Set aside
  • Juice lemons for 4 Tbsp, about 3 Lemons. Zest lemons for 2 Tbsp, about 6 lemons. You can put the juice and zest in the same bowl, set aside.
  • Cut the butter into smaller pieces and place into large mixing bowl with the dry ingredients.
  • Cream the butter and the dry ingredients until well incorporated. It will look like lightly damp sand. This is the only time you should use a higher speed setting.
  • Add half the egg and buttermilk mixture and mix well. Low speed setting.
  • Add the final half of the egg mixture and mix well. Low speed setting.
  • Add the lemon juice and zest and mix well. Low speed setting.
  • Pour batter into the bundt pan or evenly between to two loaf tins and bake.
  • Cakes will need about 65 minutes in the oven but check regularly at the 55 minute mark.
  • Once the cake is out of the oven, run a blunt knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the cake. Let it cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before turning it out onto a cooling rack. Allow it to cool for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Lemon Glaze

  • In a bowl with all the lemon juice, whisk in the powdered sugar in ½ cup increments.
  • Depending on your prefered consistency, you may want more or less. I used about 3.5 cups of powdered sugar.

Mixed Berry Compote

  • In a small saucepan, place the water, lemon juice, sugar, blueberries, and strawberries.
  • Cook until the berries soften and the juices cook down. A simmer to low boil should be enough.

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Chewy Maple Clove Cookies

Chewy, soft not too sweet with a good all spice-esque flavor! Maple Clove Cookies are super simple and sure to curb your sweet craving with just around 100 calories!

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Moist Pumpkin Spice Bread

A classic, generations old, old fashioned recipe for pumpkin bread! Super Moist Pumpkin Spice Bread is just as its name says: soft, sweet, and perfectly seasoned!

super moist pumpkin spice bread

OK – I’m just going to say it. I used to be anti pumpkin everything. Anti pumpkin lattes, anti pumpkin bread, and definitely anti pumpkin pie. (I know, I know – that might anger some of you).
But ever since I met my husband, pumpkin has started to grow on me and it’s because of Super Moist Pumpkin Spice Bread!

Super Moist Pumpkin Spice Bread

Well, kind of! My husband likes pumpkin bread but used to only eat box mix. That’s fine, not really an issue since I never had a recipe for pumpkin bread.

That is until I was digging through a recipe book my husband’s mom gave me and voila! A pumpkin spice bread recipe. And it’s his great grandmother’s recipe no less!

This recipe is super easy and super tasty!

It’s important to make sure your ground spices are always the freshest they can be. If not, they lose flavor and potency. If you think you might not use all of your spices before they reach that point, I urge you all to buy the smaller containers of spices.

pumpkin spice dry and wet separated

Generally, it’s best to make sure your ingredients are room temperature, even your eggs. This helps your pastries get fluffier! (There are some instances where a recipe may call for cold ingredients, it’s best to follow what’s specified in the recipe).

super moist pumpkin spice bread mixed

When you buy your canned pumpkin, make sure there isn’t any added sugar and that you’re getting 100% pure pumpkin. Above all else, I am a Libby’s fan. It is by far the BEST puree, the most flavorful, and with the most vibrant colors.

vibrant orange color

Next, line your loaf tins as the picture below shows and you’ll make your life so much easier when it comes to removing the bread from the pans after they bake.

This bread, like banana bread, is best eaten fully cooled. Remove the bread from the tins after a few minutes to speed up the cooling process.

cooled super moist pumpkin spice bread

Enjoy your Super Moist Pumpkin Spice Bread on its own or with my Cinnamon Whipped Cream!

pumpkin spice bread

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Moist Pumpkin Spice Bread

A classic, generations old, old – fashioned recipe for pumpkin bread! This Super Moist Pumpkin Spice Bread is just as its name says, it's soft, sweet, and perfectly seasoned!
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Servings: 20 Slices
Calories: 230kcal

Equipment

  • 2 Standard Size Loaf Tins (approx 8½ in by 4½ in)

Ingredients

  • ¾ Cup Vegetable Oil
  • ½ Cup Water
  • 15 oz Canned Pumpkin Puree (1 15 oz can or 1½ cup)
  • 3 Large Eggs
  • Cups All Purpose Flour
  • Cups White Sugar
  • tsp Baking Soda
  • 1 tsp Kosher Salt
  • tsp Ground Cinnamon
  • tsp Ground Ginger
  • tsp Ground Nutmeg
  • tsp Vanilla Extract

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease and line two standard size loaf tins with parchment paper.
  • In a large bowl mix together the sugar, flour, baking soda, kosher salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.
  • In a second bowl mix together the vegetable oil, water, canned pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla extract.
  • Create a well in the first bowl and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix well.
  • Pour batter evenly between the two loaf tins and bake for about 60 minutes.
  • Every oven is different so check the bread every 5 minutes starting at the 55 minute mark. This bread could even take 65 minutes to bake.
  • You'll know the bread is done when a toothpick placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Overnight Tiramisu

This overnight tiramisu cake is coffee packed, rich and creamy, with the pillowiest cake layer one can imagine!

Hotteok (Sweet Korean Stuffed Pancakes)

Hotteok is a Korean style sweet pancake that is stuffed with cinnamon sugar and walnuts! Made with a simple yeasted dough and can be stuffed with any flavor of your choosing!

Chewy Maple Clove Cookies

Chewy, soft not too sweet with a good all spice-esque flavor! Maple Clove Cookies are super simple and sure to curb your sweet craving with just around 100 calories!

Ultimate Chocolate Cake

This Ultimate Chocolate Cake is incredibly simple to make but tastes just as good as ones made by pros. Includes a chocolate buttercream recipe that perfectly compliments the cake.

ULTIMATE CHOCOLATE CAKE!!! This recipe is my most requested recipe. It’s requested for birthday parties, for grad parties, and even just for plain ol’ family get-togethers.

I know my cousins are waiting for quarantine to lift so I can drop off some slices of cake for them all. I love eating this cake with coffee, tea, or even warmed with a scoop of ice cream on top.

Cake Tips!

I’m the kind of person that will sneak a bite of the cake every time I walk by it. It’s a dangerous game, to be honest. Whether you like sneaking bites like me or you like heaping, generous servings you’ll love this cake all the same.

As with many baking and pastry recipes, a lot of chocolate cake recipes are rather similar. But the technique matters are this recipe will have some tips that will ensure a moist cake.

These tricks apply for those of you that are using a hand mixer or a stand mixer. If you don’t have either of those you can use a hand whisk but it’s definitely helpful to have either one of the electrical equipment.

Prep your cake tins with parchment paper lining the bottom and grease the sides with oil or a spray. Mix all the dry ingredients first and stir them until they’re fully incorporated. Add the oil, eggs, and vanilla extract before the milk and water.

You definitely want to use simmering water. Here’s why: it’ll bloom your cocoa powder. For those of you that make drip coffee, it’s a similar concept. The hot water will hydrate the cocoa powder better than room temperature and cause it to bloom before you bake it, which basically means it activates and enhances the chocolate flavor.

You also definitely want to use warm milk that has had the Tablespoon of instant coffee mixed in. The instant coffee flavor will not be noticeable at all, it just lends a hand in further enhancing the flavor of chocolate in the cake.

Using oil rather than butter, simmering water, and milk coffee all contribute to what makes this an Ultimate Chocolate Cake!

If you don’t have a round cake pan, that is okay! I wouldn’t use a spring form pan as this cake batter is really liquidy and it tends to leak (I have experienced this disaster before). But you can opt into using two 8 inch square pans. Or if you have only one round or one square pan you can decrease the recipe by half or bake the cake layers one at a time! I also wouldn’t use a rectangle pan as the cake will rise to much in the center and not enough on the size, thus overcooking it.

The cake will dome as it rises, but that’s okay. If you want you can level the cake with a serrated knife so it’s easier to stack and ice with the buttercream. But you can also leave it unleveled and ice each layer separately. If you trip the tops off, save the extra bits to eat as a snack with your tea or coffee!

Buttercream Tips!

Make sure your butter is truly softened, the best way is to take the butter out either the night before or right before you start making the cake. It just all depends on the temperate of your house and where you live.

Cream the butter thoroughly! This means to just beat it with the whisk for a minute or more. It should look like the photo above!

For the next few steps, it’s best to alternate pouring small amount of the milk, small amounts of the powdered sugar, and small amounts of the cocoa powder and mix thoroughly before you add more. This will ensure a smooth buttercream and that the whole process is less messy!

Decorating Tips!

If you’re stacking the cake, I would recommend using between 3/4 Cup and 1 Cup of the buttercream inbetween the two layers. That should leave you with enough buttercream to ice the outside of the cake. I would also recommend placing the cakes cut side down (if you level the cake) this will help the cake crumbs not fall apart while you’re spreading the icing.

This next step is totally optional, but you can choose to do a crumb coat once the layers are stacked. This means that you want to use a tiny amount of the buttercream to add a thin layer on the top and the sides of the cake and pop it in the fridge for ten to fifteen minutes. This will lock any crumbs into the cake so your buttercream doesn’t become crumbly. It’s not always necessary but it’s a simple step if you choose to do so.

Finally, evenly spread the rest of the buttercream on the top and sides of the cake and serve!

This Ultimate Chocolate Cake is best served the day after it is assembled, it allows for the cake layers to suck up some of the flavor and moisture from the buttercream and stay really hydrated!

Ultimate Chocolate Cake

This Ultimate Chocolate Cake is incredibly simple to make but tastes just as good as ones made by pros. Includes a chocolate buttercream recipe that perfectly compliments the cake. This cake is best served the day after it is assembled, it allows for the cake layers to suck up some of the flavor and moisture from the buttercream and stay really hydrated!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Assembly15 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 16 Slices
Calories: 315kcal

Equipment

  • Two 8 or 9 inch Round Cake Pans
  • Parchment Paper
  • Stand Mixer (optional)
  • Hand Mixer (if not using a stand mixer)

Ingredients

Ultimate Chocolate Cake

  • 1 ½ Cup All Purpose Flour
  • 1 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
  • 1 ¾ Cup White Granulated Sugar
  • tsp Baking Soda
  • tsp Baking Powder
  • 1 tsp Kosher Salt
  • 3 Large Eggs
  • ½ Cup Vegetable Oil
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1 Cup Warm to Hot Milk (2 % or Whole Milk)
  • 1 Tbsp Instant Coffee
  • ¾ Cup Simmering Water

Chocolate Buttercream

  • ½ Cup Unsalted Butter, softened
  • ¾ Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
  • 2-3 Tbsp Milk (2% or Whole)
  • Cups Powdered Sugar
  • ¼ tsp Kosher Salt
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°. Line bottom of cake pans with parchment paper and lightly grease with cooking spray or oil.

Ultimate Chocolate Cake

  • Stir together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. If you're using a stand mixer use the whisk attachment and stir for 30 seconds on the lowest setting.
  • Bring ¾ cup of water to a simmer and warm 1 cup of milk to be hot enough for the instant coffee to dissolve.
  • Mix the eggs, vanilla extract, and vegetable oil into the dry mixture and stir lightly until combined.
  • Pour in the instant coffee – milk mixture into the batter and mix lightly until combined.
  • While mixing the batter, slowly stream the hot water into the batter.
    At this stage the batter will be incredibly liquidy but it should be like that!
  • Evenly divide the batter among the two cake pans and bake for 27 – 30 minutes. A toothpick should come out clean from the center of the cake when ready.
  • Allow cakes to cool in the pans for at least 10 – 15 minutes before taking out. While the cakes are cooling completely, prepare the buttercream.

Chocolate Buttercream

  • On either a standmixer with a paddle attachment or a hand mixer. Place cream the ½ cup of butter thoroughly until light and fluffy. (refer to photo above) ( creaming means to whip the butter to incorporate air)
  • Add ¾ cup of cocoa powder and whisk thoroughly. You should mix for about a minute.
  • Add the vanilla extract, salt, 1 Tbsp of milk, and ½ cup of powdered sugar and cream thoroughly for about a minute.
  • Add 1 Tbsp of milk and another ½ Cup of powdered sugar and continue to cream thoroughly.
  • Add 1 more cup of powdered sugar and cream for close to two minutes.
  • At this stage, you can taste the buttercream to see if it's as soft and sweet as you like. If it isn't soft or smooth enough add more milk at ½ Tbsp increments. If it isn't sweet enough you can add more powdered sugar at ¼ cup increments.

Assembly

  • Please refer to the assembly portion of blog writeup for detailed instructions on assembling and decorating the cake. Enjoy!

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Baked Cinnamon Apple Cups

All the flavor of a pie without all the effort, in a single serving package! Serve baked cinnamon apple cups with ice cream, whipped cream, or caramel!

I love apple pie, but pies are a time-consuming process. This baked cinnamon apple cups recipe is a great alternative to an apple pie, it is simple but has all the same flavor.

It can also be eaten the same way, plain, warm, topped with ice cream, and more!

I am a strong supporter of granny smith apples, truthfully I don’t actually like apples unless it is a granny smith.

As far as baking goes, I think granny smith apples are the best option. They are crunchy, sweet, tart, and hold their shape and form even after being baked!

When you’re cutting the apples (after peeling them) make sure you cut them into cubes rather than slices.

Brown sugar is best for the filling as it gives you a sweet, sticky caramel taste that compliments that tart apples and cinnamon.

Apples tend to weep liquid once you cut them and mix them with sugar. This is why you want to let the apples soak in the sugar to let it weep liquid before you put it in the cups.
Phyllo dough can get soggy quickly if you don’t weep the apples. This is also why you want to parbake the Phyllo dough (partially bake it so it cooks all the way through) before you add the filling to it.
Once you parbake and add the filling, sprinkling some raw cane sugar onto the cups before you place them back into the oven will help the cups have a nice crispy top.

If you choose to make a caramel sauce to enjoy with your baked cinnamon apple cups, you should reserve the sugar, cinnamon liquid that weeped out of the apples when they were resting.

Combine the leftover liquid and more light brown sugar in a small saucepan over a medium low flame. Bring the sugar mixture to a slow simmer and allow it to bubble a bit to thicken. Turn the flame off before it bubble for more than a minute and let cool for a minute before immediately drizzling it over the cups.

Enjoy the cups alone or with caramel, ice cream, or whipped cream!

If you want to reheat these, lightly bake them in a toaster oven or your regular oven until the dough is crispy again.

Baked Cinnamon Apple Cups

All the flavor of an apple pie without all the effort! Ready in a single serving package. Serve with ice cream, whipped cream, or a caramel sauce!
Prep Time25 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 6 Cups
Calories: 205kcal

Equipment

  • Standard Cupcake Tin

Ingredients

  • 1 Package Phyllo Dough
  • 2 Tbsp Melted Butter, unsalted
  • 1 lbs Granny Smith Apples, peeled and diced
  • ¼ Cup Light Brown Sugar
  • 1 Tbsp Cinnamon
  • 3 Tbsp Raw Cane Sugar

Optional Caramel Sauce

  • ¼ Cup Light Brown Sugar

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°
  • Let phyllo sheets thaw enough that they can be rolled out but not so soft that they stick together.
  • Mix diced apples, ¼ cup light brown sugar, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Set aside for at least 30 minutes.
  • Cut the sheets into four quadrants.
  • Each square should be brushed lightly with butter before placed into the tin. Each cup should have ten layers of dough that are individually brushed.
  • Bake the dough for ten minutes. Remove from oven but leave the dough in the cupcake pan.
  • Now that the dough has baked, evenly fill the cups with the apple mixture. Be sure not to use any of the liquid that has seeped out of the apples. This will make the cups soggy.
  • Sprinkle some raw cane sugar on the filled cups.
  • Bake the cups for another 15 minutes.
  • Remove cups from oven and use a butter knife or offset spatula to help you remove them from the tin.

Optional Caramel Sauce

  • Mix the leftover sugary, cinnamon liquid from the bowl holding the apples with another ¼ cup of light brown sugar in a small sauce pan and reduce over medium to low heat.
  • Allow the sugar syrup to simmer lightly until it thickens, about 5 minutes.
  • Drizzle over the cups and enjoy!