Apple Fritters

I was super excited for summer to start. 

I often dream of Funnel cake and beautiful warm days and always look forward to a local fair or carnival so I can indulge in the things I only allow myself to indulge in during this glorious season.

While looking for a recipe for funnel cake, I came across this recipe for Apple Fritters
On the blog Jocooks.com

The photos on the site looked amazing and the instructions simple enough, so I gave it a whirl..... Well, I think I ate more frying these bad boys up that anyone else in the house. 

They are delicious!!! Simple to make and delicious!!!!
They have such a nice texture to them, inside and out and the apple just adds such a nice sweetness. 

And you can't go wrong with having fruit in your dessert, right?????

Recipe for Apple Fritters:

Recipe can also be found here: http://www.jocooks.com/other/sweets/apple-fritters/

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp butter
• 3/4 cup milk
• 3-4 medium apples, peeled, cored and cut into small pieces
• canola oil for frying
• powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

Instructions:

1. Heat a couple inches of canola oil over medium heat.
2. In a large bowl mix all the dry ingredients. In another small bowl, whisk the butter, eggs, milk and vanilla extract together. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir using a wooden spoon. Add apples and stir so that everything is well incorporated.
3. Drop teaspoons of the batter into the hot oil and fry until golden brown on each side. Repeat with remaining batter.
4. Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm.

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"Louisiana" Cake

Last weekend was Labor Day weekend. It's the time of the year to visit my mom and feed on an array of wonderful food. She cooks for an army with only a handful of people coming over. 

Being the baker that I am, I always offer to bring desserts. It's also my secret way of trying out new recipes on my mom, my sister, my brother-in-law, my uncle and any other friends that stop by to visit her. 

She is the best person to try new recipes on because she can be brutally honest. At first, I would be heart-broken by some of her critiques, but now I welcome her critiques. I know that she wants me to make something that everyone can enjoy. 

I'm not sure if it's sympathy pregnancy, but the goodies that Kristan has been making on her blog have looked OUT OF THIS WORLD. She is currently 29 weeks pregnant and, as always, is creating amazing things that anyone can make. 

You need to totally check out her blog at : http://www.confessionsofacookbookqueen.com/

On Aug 26th, I was so happy to wake up to a blog post about the "Cake Doctor" and a totally delicious cake that Kristan made. She called it "Honeybun Cake". So I decided that this was the winner of the "Which Dessert to Take to Mama's House" contest happening in my brain. 

Firstly, I was so excited to know that someone else loves the Cake Doctor as much as I do. In my many, many moves from one place to another, I lost my recipe book and have been meaning to pick up a replacement ever since. It's puts a nice twist on cake mixes that make them extra special.

Here is the cake I made:

For the full recipe and blog post, Click Here -  Honeybun Cake

My husband, the official Taste Tester, tasted the piece I used for the photo shoot and LOVED it....

But the true test was my mom and the other 'critics'. Well.....

They LOVED it and said it reminded them of the "Louisiana Crunch Cake" produced by Entenmann's. That was one of the best compliments ever And was totally by accident... So, I have renamed the cake the "Louisiana" Cake....

When the day was done, there was only 2 small pieces left that lasted only until the next day in my home. 

Thanks Kristan for the wonderful recipe. You made all of our tummies happy, even my Mama!!!! 

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Summer Get Together Dessert Table

I have to admit that as soon as I hear the words "Summer Get Together", a ton of recipes start immediately running through my head. I love that summer desserts incorporate so much fruit and are usually light and Oh... So.... Tasty.... 


For this Summer Get Together, I made a desserts for the 25-30 guests attending, that would offer a little something for everyone. From cupcakes to cookies and Berry Shortcake and Snack Cake, I think it came out great.  


***My daughter actually set the table up for me. I think she has a great future in table design. Don't you agree? She did a great job!!!!!

On the table are the following items:
Click on the item name to go directly to the page with the recipe.


- Mojito Cupcakes inspired by a recipe from Brown Eyed Baker
- Chewy Lemon Sugar Cookies inspired by a recipe by My Baking Addiction
- Blueberry snack cake with toasted pecan topping inspired by a recipe by Food52
- Berry Shortcakes in a plastic goblet


Thank you to Brown Eyed Baker, My Baking Addiction and Food52 for the wonderful recipes!!! They were a big hit! 

I was told that everyone loved all the desserts and were happy with the variety offered. Thanks again, N, for entrusting me to make desserts and special treats for your Summer Get Together!!!!

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Baby Shower Desserts and Table

My sister and brother in law are having a second baby and I was so thrilled when my sister asked if I would make some special desserts for her upcoming 'Baby Sprinkle'. 

Planning started and with the wonders of modern technology, I was able to make my first attempt at a Dessert Table confidently. I was secretly up some nights worried about cupcakes and cake plates, but, shhhh, that'll be our little secret. 

From left to right: Pina Colada Cupcakes, Brownies, Vanilla Cake, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Vanilla Sugar Cookies, Carrot Cake Cupcakes, Oatmeal Raisin Cookies and Chocolate Dipped Pretzels. 

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Banana Bread

Have I previously mentioned how much my family... Ahem, oldest son loves bananas????

I was privileged enough to have had a few left over, again, and I made a very delicious, very moist 

Banana Bread

with them before my son ate them. Lol... 

I had made one before that I liked, but I was interested in trying another recipe. I began my search with a great website called, 

"My Baking Addiction" 

www.mybakingaddiction.com

and, of course, found one there that caught my attention. 

On a side note: Don't you just love the name of her site??? I wish I would have thought of it first...

The bread was so delicious that it was almost all gone before I was able to take pictures of it. 

For the full recipe: Click Here

We literally ate it morning, noon, and night. 

Warning: this recipe makes a lot of banana bread and it filled a whole 9x13 rectangle pan. It was perfect for my Family of Eight. We enjoyed it down to the crumbs and hope that you enjoy it too.

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ChocoFlan!

As a mommy, of a blended family, with 6 beautiful children, it can sometimes be challenging to think of new things to cook and new desserts to make during our "Kids Weekends".

This year, we were fortunate enough to have our 'kids weekend' fall on May 5th (Cinco de Mayo), so I planned their favorite dinner with a few surprises...

We had Taco Night with all the fixings and Yellow veggie rice

and

ChocFlan for Dessert
and
Virgin Pina Coladas for drinks!!!!

Thanks to a great segment on "The Chew" earlier that week, I was able to replicate a delicious and interesting dessert for myself, my hubby and the kiddies. 

For the full recipe and the video segment from the show, CLICK HERE!

Firstly, we boiled a can on condensed milk, for 3 hours, in order to make a caramel syrup. 

We then poured the syrup into greased Ramekins

Then the chocolate cake batter

And the flan mixer over that

(Sorry, no picture of that step)

The finished product was Delicious!!!

It's a little spongy, gooey and Oh So Good!

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