Archive for May, 2012
Fairest of Them All Cupcakes (Black Forest Cupcakes)
“Once upon a time in midwinter, when the snowflakes were falling like feathers from heaven, a queen sat sewing at her window, which had a frame of black ebony wood. As she sewed she looked up at the snow and pricked her finger with her needle. Three drops of blood fell into the snow. The red on the white looked so beautiful that she thought to herself, “If only I had a child as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as the wood in this frame. Soon afterward she had a little daughter who was as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as ebony wood, and therefore they called her Little Snow-White.” – Little Snow-White by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
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Poisoned Caramel Apple Bites
Ah, the poisoned apple.
The downfall of the naive, beautiful maidens of the world. Well, Snow White does end up with a prince for her troubles, plus a bonus “happily ever after.” Can’t beat that.
I wanted to make my own poisonous apples, without the tricky/lethal poison part. So, how about apples “poisoned” with vanilla vodka instead? Less dangerous, unless you eat tons of them and attempt to operate heavy machinery. Just say no to poisoned apples. What – they didn’t warn you about poisoned apples in D.A.R.E?
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Snow White Week
I like fairy tales.
Not just the Disney-fied ones (I like them too), but I especially enjoy the dark, edgy feel of the original tales, even though they can seem a little harsh:
What is you favorite fairy tale?
Find Snow White inspired treats here.
Home Sweet Home: Virginia Cookies
We’re home!
Even though we had an incredible time, we are so happy to be home. Nothing beats the attention of three love-starved kitties and sleeping in our own bed. Now it’s time for massive amounts of laundry and trying to sort through all of the pictures I took. Oh, and for “home sweet home” Virginia cookies too!
I don’t have any step-by-step pictures of these, but they are super simple. I had a Virginia cutter (but, of course, use your own home state!). I outlined and flooded them with some of the electric colors from AmeriColor. Piped on a little red heart and a sweet saying and you’re done! I didn’t even write the words with a food writer first – that would explain the “chicken scrawl” effect!
It makes them look more…homemade, right? Right? Right.
Stay tuned for a new theme week announced on Monday! Any plans for the weekend?
Æblekage (Danish Apple Cake)
Well, our cruise has ended where it began – in lovely Copenhagen. We have a long trip home, so I’ll leave you with this yummy Æblekage, which literally means “apple cake,” but it is more of a crumble. I was concerned that it wouldn’t be sweet enough, but it is very yummy without all of that extra sugar. And, if you can, use hazelnuts – TRUST ME. Unless you are allergic. Then definitely don’t.
Æblekage
From Eating In Denmark, originally from Alt for Damerne (a Danish magazine)
Serves 4
- 4 granny smith apples
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup roasted hazelnuts
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
1. Peel, core, and thinly slice the apples.
2. Put apples in a medium saucepan. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon white sugar over the top and mix gently. Add 3-4 tablespoons of water into the pot. Cook, covered, over low heat for 20-25 minutes, or until apples are tender, not mushy. Remove from heat and cool completely.
3. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in the 1/2 cup sugar until incorporated. Add in the oatmeal and hazelnuts and stir constantly until everything turns a golden brown. It may turn quickly, so watch it carefully! Remove from heat and cool for 10 minutes.
4. In a small-medium serving dish, add half of the apples, then follow with the oatmeal mixture. Repeat. Beat whipped cream in a medium bowl for a couple minutes until stiff. Spread on top of the Æblekage and dig in!
Kladdkaka (Swedish Chocolate Cake)
Today we’re in Stockholm, Sweden! We have a short day, so we’re taking the ship’s tour to the Vasa Museum and then putting around the city. So excited!
I was going to make Swedish pancakes for you guys, but then I found a recipe for Kladdkaka, a rich, buttery, gooey chocolate cake. No contest. It’s like a brownie cake – so decadent! And, easy to boot.
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Russian Onion Dome Cookies
We’re in St. Petersburg today! We have two extremely busy days ahead of us, trying to cram in as much as we can of this incredible city. I can’t wait to show you the pictures!
One of things I am most excited to see is The Church of Our Savior on the Spilled Blood. I mean, look at it:
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Rote Grütze
Today we’re in Warnemünde!
Image from cruisecritic.com
It’s a little seaside resort town in Northern Germany. Many people went straight to Berlin, but didn’t want to spend most of the day on a train, so we decided to explore the area instead. We are glad we did!
In honor of Warnemünde, I made Rote Grütze, a red berry “pudding.” It reminds me more of a compote, but it is still very yummy on its own – and would be awesome on pancakes! A lovely way to use up some red summer fruits.
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Updates & Popular Themes
And, we’re off!
My husband and I flew to Denmark yesterday to embark on our much anticipated Baltic cruise! I think we’re both in agreement that we need this vacation and I can’t believe it is finally here. I’ll post updates when I can (most likely through Facebook), but I have already pre-scheduled several blog posts for you to enjoy while I’m away. I’ll be slow to approve comments, so please bear with me!
Stay tuned for a new blog post on Monday, but today I wanted to recap some of the popular themes that I’ve done in the past couple months. During the last Sweetstakes, some people requested themes that I had already done and I realized that it wasn’t easy to find my old posts. I’ll try to change things around to improve the visibility of the themes. In the meantime, you can go to the “Desserts by Theme” section in the main menu.
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Black Lotus Cupcakes
You see, there is this Magic card:
I think I may have actual had one at one time (though, I could be totally wrong about that, but it looks very familiar to me). Apparently, it is one of the most valuable cards and is banned and/or restricted in tournament. In other words, it is the bomb diggity. And, I have made a habit of turning the bomb diggity into sugary greatness. I give you an Asian-inspired cupcake with plum and ginger, with a marshamallow black lotus blossom and a fondant center. The cake is more dense than I am used to, but in a nice, hearty way. The flavors are really lovely!
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