Cannoli Cupcakes

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“Leave the gun, take the cannoli” – such time treasured advice. I love cannoli, but they can be a mess to make as well as incredibly time consuming. So, when I saw these cupcakes in Theresa Guidice’s cookbook, I knew I wanted to try them. A fun twist on the classic Italian dessert, these cupcakes are filled with a light cannoli cream, then frosted with a delicious cocoa whipped cream frosting.

I was a little hesitant about the cupcake batter, where I’d not used yogurt in a cupcake recipe before, but they turned out great. A little bit of a denser texture than my usual vanilla cupcake recipe, but that was good, because it needs to hold up to the cannoli filling. These are adorable, and different, and everyone enjoyed them. If you’re missing the crunch from the shell, try garnishing with some broken up sugar cone pieces. Or, take the more traditional route and top with mini chocolate chips.

Cannoli Cupcakes

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup low-fat yogurt
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup ricotta impastata*
1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1-2/3 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips for decoration (optional)

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Put paper liners in a standard 12-cup muffin pan. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar together for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.

With the mixer on low, add the eggs one at a time, followed by the yogurt and vanilla – scraping the sides of bowl as necessary. Add in the dry ingredients and mix on medium speed for 1 minute.

Divide the batter evenly among the cups. Bake until the cupcakes are golden brown and a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to a wire cooling rack and let cool completely.

For the cannoli cream: In a mixing bowl, whisk together the ricotta, confectioner’s sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla until smooth. Stir in the 1/4-cup mini chocolate chips. Transfer to a quart-sized resealable plastic bag. Using scissors, snip off 1/2-inch from a closed corner of the bag. You will use the plastic bag as a pastry bag to fill the cupcakes.

Using a small knife, cut a deep, inverted cone out of the center of each cupcake. Set cones aside. Use the plastic bag to fill the cupcakes with the cream. Use a knife to smooth the top of the filling flush with the cupcake.

To make the cocoa whipped cream: In a chilled medium bowl, combine the heavy cream, confectioner’s sugar and cocoa powder and beat with an electric mixer on high speed until the cream forms stiff peaks.

Snip 1/2-inch from a closed corner of a gallon-sized resealable plastic bag. Insert a large star tip (such as Ateco 825) in the bag and poke it through the snipped end. Transfer the cocoa cream to the bag. Pipe swirls of cocoa whipped cream over each cupcake. Sprinkle each with about a teaspoon of mini chocolate chips. Refrigerate, uncovered, until ready to serve.

* Ricotta impastata is an Italia cheese found in specialty shops. It’s dryer and lighter than traditional ricotta. Of course, I couldn’t find it – so I let a 15 oz container of whole milk ricotta set in a cheesecloth lined strainer overnight to reduce the liquid content. Then, I pureed it in the food processor for about 3 minutes to whip to make it lighter. Worked like a charm!

Souce: adapted from Fabulicious! by Teresa Giudice

Peach Cobbler

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Peach cobbler was always my favorite dessert as a little girl, and my mom makes a great one. I’ve made her version too many times to count, but it uses Bisquick – and I really wanted a to come up with a homemade recipe for the cobbler portion. I tried a couple of different recipes, but they were too puffy and biscuit-like for my taste. I like my cobbler to ooze into the fruit and bake, almost making for a bread pudding type consistency. When I stumbled over this version and tried it, I knew I had found a winner.

With the all the oppressive dry heat we had during July, peaches are about coming to an end here in Maryland. But, I’m hoping to take one more trip to my local orchard for a peck or two before they’re gone for good. Aside from prepping the peaches, this comes together in minutes. Who doesn’t love that kind of dessert? More time to spend outside having fun!

Peach Cobbler

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar, divided
1 tablespoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 cup milk
4 cups fresh peach slices (about 5 peaches)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Ground cinnamon

Melt butter in a 13- x 9-inch baking dish.

Combine flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt; add milk, stirring just until dry ingredients are combined. Pour batter over butter (do not stir). Bring remaining 1 cup sugar, peach slices, and lemon juice to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly; pour over batter (do not stir). Sprinkle with cinnamon, if desired.

Bake at 375° for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Serve cobbler warm or cool.

Source: Southern Living, June 1997 via MyRecipes

Carrot Cupcakes

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While we’ve been enjoying every minute of summer thus far, I can’t help but look forward to the arrival of Fall. It’s my favorite season for sure – nothing makes a hot cup of coffee better than a crisp, cool Autumn morning. I made these carrot cupcakes for a friends birthday, it’s a recipe I’ve gone to time and time again, but just never managed to share with you guys.

Lots of shredded carrot (seriously, you’ll think “this much?”)and chopped walnuts are mixed in to a tender spice cake, for a taste that will definitely have you wanting more of cooler temperatures. For the garnish, I made candied carrot curls. Though they were a little bit time consuming, they were a totally awesome garnish that tasted great. Jon and I were munching on the leftovers all night.

Not that we’ve met a cupcake we didn’t like, everyone seemed to enjoy these more than usual. I had about 6 left after getting the birthday boy his order, and waited until the next day to take a photo. When I came downstairs with the plate of cupcakes, it was if a hoard of locusts had descended upon me. Crumbs, on a spinning plate, I tell ya. Enjoy these, guys!

Carrot Cupcakes

3 Cups peeled, grated carrots, ends removed (about 1 lb.)
2 Cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
4 large eggs
2 Cups granulated white sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 Cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts

For the frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese
4 ounces butter
3 3/4 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

For the carrot curls:
1 large carrot (preferably fat) or 2 medium
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 325°. Line muffin tins with paper cupcake cups. Peel carrots, chop off ends, and grate finely, which is easiest using a food processor. Sift flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and baking powder together, set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs until well blended. Add sugar, oil, buttermilk, carrots, and vanilla, mix well at medium speed. Add flour mixture and nuts. Blend on low speed until just mixed, spoon into cupcake cups, about 3/4 full. Bake in preheated oven for about 22 minutes, until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.

For the garnish,  Peel layers from carrot lengthwise on one side with peeler until you begin to get wide slices. Peel wide strips, reserving them, until you get about 20 (there will be a few extra). Bring water and sugar to a boil in a small heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Add wide carrot strips and simmer, uncovered, 15 minutes. Strain through a sieve into a bowl, discarding syrup. Let stand 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 225°F with rack at middle position. Line a large baking sheet with nonstick liner, then arrange candied carrot slices flat in 1 layer on sheet. Bake until dry but still flexible, about 20 minutes. Wind carrot strips, 1 at a time, around end of handle of a wooden spoon in a loose spiral, then slip off each curl and return, seam sides down, to lined baking sheet to dry for a couple of hours and using as garnish.

For the frosting, cream the butter, cheese and salt in a stand mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add the sugar until incorporated, then add the vanilla.

Ice cupcakes with frosting as desired, garnishing with carrot curls and chopped walnuts, if desired.

Source: cupcakes adapted from Penzeys, candied carrot curls adapted from Epicurious

Lemon Berry Bars

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Berries. Summer. The two words are synonymous with each other! I was so happy to find a pick-your-own blueberry patch in Salisbury, MD (Garden of Eden Orchards for all you locals folks) – which is about 30 minutes north of me. The boys and I went the week before last, and we had so much fun filling up our pail with blueberries. Hoping to get back up there this week to pick some berries for freezing!

These bars had been on my radar to make since they popped up on one of my favorite sites earlier in the month in a recipe roundup for the 4th of July. A sweet/tart lemon bar, studded with gorgeous raspberries? Sign me up! When I went to make them, some of my raspberries were not at their most pristine condition – so, I tossed in some blueberries to fill the holes left behind by the less desirable raspberries that I had to chunk.

These were super-duper easy, a quick bake time – which is wonderful in this “hotter than the hinges of Hell” weather we’ve been having. And, aren’t they pretty? I really do love bars for dessert. It’s more of an indulgence than a cookie, but lighter than a cake. Take advantage of the gorgeous summer berries while they are in season!

Lemon Berry Bars

For the crust:
1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
6 tablespoons salted butter, melted
¼ cup sugar
zest of one lemon

For the filling:
2 large egg yolks
1-14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
½ cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
1/2 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line 8×8 inch baking dish with aluminum foil. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, sugar, and lemon zest until moist. Press crumbs into the bottom of the prepared dish. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow the crust to cool to room temperature.

Once cooledl, whisk the egg yolks and condensed milk in a large bowl until combined. Whisk in the lemon juice and lemon zest, until mixture begins to thicken slightly. Carefully fold in the berries. Pour the filling over the graham cracker crust. Bake for 15 minutes, or until just set.

Cool to room temperature, remove from pan, and then chill for at least a few hours before slicing. For a quicker set, stick into the freezer for about 30 minutes. Cut into bars and serve. Bars can be kept in refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Source: adapted from Live Love Pasta; originally from Two Peas In Their Pod