Don't Cry Over Spilt Helado Cupcakes

Helado is the Spanish word for ice cream, creamy, sweet, melty ice cream.Winding on down, ......like an avalanche of snow descending to the bottom of an icy cold mountain then with an inevitable but shocking crash the cascade of white precipitation abruptly comes to an end.

 If my children could put into words the way it feels when the "free spirited fairytale" of summer meets the reality of back to school this is what they would say.

Although they do love school and reuniting with their friends, summer is a bittersweet celebration in which they wished lasted 4 months instead of 2. 

My chica numero 3 was with me one day when I spotted these ice cream cupcake cuties on the confessions of a cupcake queen blog.





She asked that I make them for everyone for her last day of summer camp. No Problemo.....anything to make the end of her summer a little bit sweeter. ♥

Ingredients

1 box of sugar cones
1 jar of sprinkles
1 bag of candy melts   I used chocolate and pink white chocolate
 donut holes- however many you need I like the dunkin donuts glaze because they are fatter and more like an ice cream scoop
 ice cream bowl cupcake wrappers ( Wilton) or you can use jumbo cupcake wrappers


Vanilla Cupcake Recipe - or you can always use a box mix

1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon fine salt

2 large eggs, room temperature

2/3 cup sugar

3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the muffin tin with cupcake liners.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.

In another medium bowl, beat the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer until light and foamy, about

2 minutes. While beating, gradually pour in the butter and then the vanilla.

While mixing slowly, add half the dry ingredients, then add all the milk, and follow with the rest of

the dry ingredients. Take care not to over mix the batter. Scoop the batter evenly into the cupcake

tins, using a ice cream scoop for better accuracy

Bake until a tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool

cupcakes on a rack in the tin for 10 minutes, then remove. Cool on the rack completely.

 

 

 

For the icing, you can use your favorite buttercream recipe or try this one

Putting All this Yumminess Together ♥
Cut your sugar cones and line a large baking sheet with wax paper.

Melt your candy melts/almond bark according to package directions. Spoon small puddles of melted candy on your wax paper (one per ice cream cone).

Using a fork or toothpick, dip donut holes completely in melted candy and place on top of the melted candy puddles.

Sprinkle with sprinkles and place a cone on top. Once all your ice cream cones are finished, place in the refrigerator to set

Once your ice cream cones are set, remove the cones and your cupcakes from the refrigerator. Spoon melted candy over your frosting, and immediately sprinkle with sprinkles.

 Place one of your “melted ice creams” on top and place back on the baking sheet. Once all your cupcakes are finished, place in the refrigerator to set.
                                    


Disfrutalo, Enjoy It !

 

 

 

 

Raspberry Rosita- Raspberry-Lemonade Corona

Corona-Rita.....have you heard of this? No. it's not the name of a new celebrity baby, but it should be on somebodies list of all things "exclusivo y delicioso". Now what's in this you ask? Well it's a traditional icy cold tequila spiked margarita with an entire frosty corona plunked right smack dab in the middle!

  Now let me tell you that I am NOT a beer drinker, not social, not casual, the one time beer crossed my lips it scarred me for life!.....Well until now, a couple of weeks ago a good friend and I spent the

afternoon en la playa ( beach), we made some time for cocktails on the boardwalk at the bar. He ordered a Corona-Rita while I stuck to my classic Rum & Coke, I was intrigued by what the waitress
sat in front of him and kept insisting that it was "delicous and I had to try it", "just a little sip" he urged. Well after forcing my hand and twisting my arm (OK, he only had to ask me like 3 times) but I

am a dramatic storyteller. Anyway with one sip I was amazed at how well the flavors mixed, I got the taste of sweet and tart from the margarita but the Corona gave it a little zing that fascinated me. How could it be so good, when it contained something that I despised so bad?! Okay so now that I was a believer in the Corona-Rita, I was interested to see if there were any other flavor combinations that would bring me equal felicidad. Once upon a time I remember seeing a recipe in one of my Rick Bayless books that contained champagne and margaritas, I figured I could just swap a few ingredients and make it my own.

And Waa-La! I think I have cracked the code for all the Senoritas out there who have sworn off beer.......add a little liquor and a sweet base some Corona and mix.  The taste is irresistible and just happened to be the perfect recipe for the I Heart Cooking Clubs  "beach bum" theme this week. I like to call it " Raspberry Rosita" Margarita's sweet and sassy baby cousin. 

It's a mix of tequila, raspberry lemonade concentrate, of course Corona and a pretty pink paper straw. A salted rim could bring another twist in the flavor of this drink but I decided to do with out, the strawberry is just there to look pretty.  The idea hit me before I could run to the store for raspberries, but the strawberry actually gave me inspiration for my next beer infused cocktail!  Disfrutalo, Enjoy It!

Adapted from-Rick Bayless' Champagne Margarita Recipe

Raspberry Rosita

The finely grated zest (colored rind only) from 1 lemon

  2 cups of raspberry lemonade concentrate,  ( I used Minute Maid found in the freezer section, thawed)
1 cup silver tequila (I like El Tesoro and Partida)
Superfine sugar, for added sweetness if needed
1 lemon, cut in half, for serving
Coarse (Kosher) salt, for serving
6 pack of Coronitas or Coronas
1 pint of raspberries
2 lemons

Directions

In a pitcher, combine the lemon zest, tequila and sugar if you are using it. Cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour).
Just before serving, strain the mixture to remove the zest, and pour enough salt into a saucer to cover the bottom. Rub a lemon half over the rim of each  glass and upend into the salt to crust it lightly. Pour about enough to fill half of the tequila mixture into each glass, fill the rest of the way with your Coronita drop in a few raspberries garnish with lemon, paper straw and hand to one of your lucky guests!

Shark Week- Shark Attack Shake

So you may or may not know this but it is Shark Week on discovery channel and they are celebrating 25 years of gut wrenching (no pun intended) videos and exciting programming on all things shark!

It's been about 10 years for me since my 5 yr old chica insisted that our nightly" mommy and me" television time be pure Shark TV.  Now I adore the beach, there is nothing more calming then laying

in the warm sand, feeling the rays of the sun on your skin and listening to the waves come racing towards the shore. But......I must admit that although I frequent the beach, my body is never....EVA

submerged in the water deeper than my calf muscles. Yes, I know you may say than I have never
really experienced all the beach has to offer. With that I can positively say I will never be offered the

opportunity to be blissfully soaking in the seashore, than seeing the smooth, silvery gleaming, fin of a 3,000 lb Great White Shark gliding my way! So instead of experiencing this horror, at least in my

mind I will stay on the sand with sunglasses on, slathered with sunblock drink in hand. Preferably one of these super easy to make Shark Attack Shakes.

All of the refreshing goodness that can be experienced at the beach, sans all the horrifying, blood curdling drama! You can thank me later!,  :)

Great White Shark Attack Shake ♥

Ingredients

4- cups quality vanilla ice cream

2- teaspoons vanilla extract

8- tablespoons sugar

2- cups milk, less for thicker milkshakes

2- drops of aqua blue food coloring

1- pacakage of gummy sharks

1- package of gummy fish

Directions

Using a blender or milkshake machine, blend all ingredients together until smooth.

Serve in tall glasses or small cocktail cup, add gummy sharks and gummy fish on a cockatil stick. Add a colorful bendy straw and Disfrutalo! Enjoy It!

Okay so where did the summer go?......Just yesterday I was tearing through my closet, cursing any piece of clothing that hit the edge of my wrists or even lightly touched my ankles. In reality it wasn't

yesterday it was 3 months ago, but it definitely seems like it was. Anyway with the days flying by it's inevitable that one of these days I'm going to crack my weary eyes open and come crashing into the

early dawn hours of the first day of school.  And with the preparation of the first day of school outfits, of course come the first day of school lunch.  Fortunately, I have been blessed with children

that aren't even a smidgen as picky as I was as a little chica. Yes, yes I am the child that can not eat crust on her bread, and can not stomach white milk, chocolate only please! And if I am made a peanut

butter and jelly sandwich, there must be equal parts jelly, equal parts peanut butter or I can not eat it! There will be none of the ooey gooey jelly running down my elbows, nor do I want to experience

lock jaw eating a sandwich that is cemented with too much peanut butter!  So although the cabbage patch fairies from my younger years have now bestowed me with well adjusted, well mannered, easy

going "eat whatever mommy packs them" chicas. I still feel like Plain Jane lunches for them just won't do, so every year I search for new and intriguing lunch box recipes so that I can pack them

delicious meals that are" ahem, ah no pun intended......"outside of the box".......okay, okay...pun was intended, hehehehe! ( yup, I'm corny like that).  My mini chocolatina's all love rice krispy treats, so

much so that I stock pile them when there on sale, but one thing I do know is that they love chocolate just a little bit more. These little treats are a perfect mix of cinnamon, caramel marshmallows and

their favorite chocolatey cereal comingled in one little square....actually more like a rectangle. Whichever shape, these are a perfectly unconventional treat and a sweet way to show your chica's or

chico's lunch some back to school lovin!...Well really, these are so good I'm sure they would work for anything that needs lovin! ♥

Mexican-Caramel Krispy Treats

Ingredients

6 tbsp butter (use real butter)
1 10 oz bag kraft caramel marshmallows
1 tbsp of Mexican canela or cinnamon1 box cocoa pebbles cereal 13oz

 

Directions

Melt butter over med low heat add marshmallows remove from heat. Let marshmallows melt into butter, make sure marshmallows are completely melted, add cocoa pebbles cereal and tbsp of canela

 

or cinnamon. Stir until compleatly incorperated. Spread into 9x13 cake pan sprayed with cooking spray. Cool in fridge. Cut into four inch squares.

 

Makes about 15 servings.

Oh My Pie! Mexican Apple & Whoppie Pies

So recently I was contacted by a woman who was a judge in a baking contest that I entered a few years ago.

The cake I entered was what I called " La Ice Cream Dream" it was a Mexican Chocolate cake draped in bubble gum pink marshmallow fondant, on top of the cake was a giant ice cream bowl molded from rice krispy treats which had a rainbow of ice cream flavors in it. Orange Sherbert, Strawberry Shortcake, Vanilla Bean and Chocolate Mint. 

There was also great big chocolate/vanilla ice cream sandwich on the side that was the size of a hunk, surrounded by a colorful rainbow of fondant sprinkles ( hmmm...I always wondered how big a hunk really was?)

If I had it my way it would be a choice between the size of LL Cool J and Channing Tatum! hahahaha!.....my daughter would cringe at this joke and say in a sarcastic voice that is purely reserved for teenage girls..."Not funny Mom!......Not funny!( at same time insert eye roll).

Anyway as whimsy and adorable I thought my cake was, sadly it didn't win, a simple sea green cake with white chocolate molded starfish around the sides won. I spent many hours dreaming up a cute little cake that would impress the judges and be prize winning, in hind sight all I really had to do was think green and mold some chocolate!

 If you can't tell me and some of the other contestants were questioning the reasoning behind the judges choice. Nothing against keeping it simple, but there were a lot of beautiful work done by many of the entrants  that just didn't seem to be considered.

Of course when one of the judges called me and asked if I would like to donate a few sweets for the church bake sale,that was raising money for missionary workers helping less fortunate families in Bolivia, it was all love! 

I wasn't sure how it happened but I ended making two kinds of pies, Whoppie and Apple. The Whoopie Pies were Mexican Chocolate, Fiesta (van-cake, rainbow sprinkles), Chocolate Chip and Plain' ol Whoppie!

I also made little mini hand pies that were filled with Mexican cinnamon apples, infused with dulce de leche.  Okay so P.S Mexican Apple Pie is so teasing my tongue with so many flavor at one time........the tangy, sweet, tart taste was like having a little Mariachi Band playing in my mouth. 

This pie now has a special place on my list of favorite things! Soooo Good !♥

Jalapeno-Chocolate Glazed Donuts

So I joined a cooking club last week and it really is a lot of fun, flipping through the cookbooks of the chef of the moment  trying to find a recipe you want to recreate and giving it your own spin.  It actually feeds many of my addictions all at once!

My amor for baking, my need to be creative and my infatuation for picture taking.  It's my own little therapy that I get to attend each and every week, but I have to be honest I was a little hesitant for this

weeks challenge, it called for using something green. Any food, Any fruit, Anything as long as it was green, now I know what your saying there is no challenge in that. The foods that fit in that category

can go to infinity: green apples, kiwis, grapes, limes and even honey dew melons.  But honestly when
I found out what the challenge of the week was I only had one green thing in mind!.......Jalapenos!

Yea... I know of all things, but jalapenos were on my mind and if I was going to add an entry it had to be with jalapenos.  I know that jalapenos really don't fit the mold when it comes to dessert making,

but once before I had dreams of a cupcake swirled with guava butter cream infused with jalapenos. When I tell you it was one of the most delicious cupcakes ever tasted, it is no lie. A friend of mine

loved them so much that she says she has dreams of a cupcake tower full of them and made a vow that the day she walks down the aisle I will make her dream come true! ♥ OK so back to

green, since then I've had other ideas for a unique dessert with jalapenos, what is it you ask? Drum roll please.....dah.dah,dah,dah.dahhhh! DONUTS! Yes, donuts almost as loco as cupcakes but I think

this one went a little further. So I decided to break out my mini donut maker and give it a whirl, I decided that I would use a vanilla cake base, then dip the tops in a semi-sweet chocolate glaze and top

them them with spicy jalapenos. Okay so it sounded good in theory ( well at least to me, lol) and even better in my head, but I'm not sure my taste buds agreed. The donut was delicioso and the chocolate

glaze was dulce, but the jalapenos were MUY, MUY CALIENTE! Yeah , Hola!!!, Jalapenos are well known for their heat, but I think they were a little overwhelming for the donut and the chocolate. 

Sniff, sniff, sniff, I have to admit I was a little sad when I didn't reach the heights of culinary success with my notion that jalapenos one day will be replacing the cherry in the dessert world.  But I still am

not giving up, I promised myself I will try again.....maybe this time with a pure chocolate donut.... I don't know I have to think, but if any one has the courage to give this recipe a try, or an idea for me let me know. 
Until then Viva El Jalapeno ♥

Recipe Adapted from Bella Cucina Mini-Donut Maker

Ingredients

1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 egg
1/2 cup milkoo1/2 tsp vanilla
4 Tbsp cooking oil
 

Directions

Stir dry ingredients, then add the egg, milk, and vanilla. Beat 1 minute. Add oil, beat 1 minute more. Don't overbeat.  Cook according to donut machine instructions.

Each donut uses about 3/4 Tbsp batter. Makes 28-35 mini donuts

For the glaze,

1/2 cup of heavy cream
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or any chip you desire

Directions
Pour the heavy cream in to  microwave bowl, heat for about 2 minutes until the cream boils. As soon as heavy cream is removed from microwave, stir in the chocolate chips until completely melted. One at a time dip donuts in the glaze, dip twice for a thicker glaze. Garnish with chocolate sprinkles and jalapenos.

Buttermilk Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pancakes

I am whole-heartedly convinced that if you stuff ANYTHING with chocolate chip cookie dough it will taste absolutamente delicioso! ....And these pancakes are no exception, once I made the pancake

batter I sprinkled it with an ample amount of cookie dough

chunks that there would be no doubt I could taste cookie

dough in every sweet bite. I was just about to swirl these bad

boys into the hot buttery griddle,

 but I felt like something this yummy deserved a fiesta.........well at least some fiesta decorations. So I went to the cabinet and found my most colorful sprinkles and watched them fall

into the batter like sugar coated candies in a pinata. No hay palabras for how soft, fluffy and sweet these pancakes were, every bite of cookie dough gave my mouth a sweet creamy pop!

Buttermilk Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Recipe.

Ingredients

1 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
1 1/8 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup of chocolate chip cookie dough

1/2 cup or amount you desire, colorful sprinkles

Directions

Preheat and lightly grease a large skillet or electric griddle.

Mix the flour, salt, and baking soda together in a bowl. Add the egg, buttermilk, and butter; stir

together lightly, but keep it lumpy.

The batter should look thick, spongy, and puffy. Mix in your chocolate chip cookie dough and your fiesta sprinkles.

Drop 1/3 cup of the batter onto the cooking surface, Cook until lightly-browned on each side, 1 to 2 minutes per side.