Author: Mari Vasseur

Lemon Buttermilk Donuts with Honey Cream Cheese Icing

Posted on by Mari Vasseur

Lemon Buttermilk Donuts with Honey Cream Cheese Icing by Brownie Mischief

I was seriously happy when I started seeing donuts appearing at weddings, bridal showers and occasions other than work meetings. I’ve always felt those sweet, fluffy rings of dough had a higher calling. They had such potential! And honestly who doesn’t love donuts? They’re delicious, but they can also be beautiful. These Lemon Buttermilk Donuts could certainly win a beauty contest. They would make a gorgeous edition to any breakfast, brunch or dessert table. The fresh lemon zest and the earthy flavor of honey will bring springtime right into your kitchen.

Lemon Buttermilk Donuts with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting by Brownie Mischief

If you’re on the lookout for a Mother’s Day recipe, any mom will love these pretty, fragrant treats. This is a very easy recipe and the donuts bake up quickly, so you’ll have time to fix mom a cup of her favorite tea. If you don’t have a donut pan, and you’ve been reluctant to buy one, I can honestly say I love mine. It was very affordable and I’m pleased with the performance and ease of clean up with the pan I purchased. To find the donut pan click here.

In keeping with the springtime feel, I decorated my donuts with pesticide-free edible flowers. I used pansies, but if you’re unable to find them, you can substitute pesticide-free rose petals. I found these edible pansies at my local food market in the produce department, near the fresh herbs. You can also find edible flowers at farmers’ markets and online. For a list of edible flowers, click here.  Note:  The above pictured orange ranunculus flowers on the table are not edible.  

Lemon Buttermilk Donuts with Honey Cream Cheese Icing by Brownie Mischief

Lemon Buttermilk Donuts with Honey Cream Cheese Icing

Print Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 7 minutes
Total Time 27 minutes
Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

Lemon Buttermilk Donuts

  • 1 cup (113g) cake flour, sifted
  • ½ cup (100g) fine granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • â…“ cup (78ml) buttermilk
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, melted
  • Zest of 1 medium lemon

Honey Cream Cheese Icing

  • ¼ cup (85g) cream cheese, softened
  • 2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, softened
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 pinch fine sea salt
  • 1 cup (120g) powdered sugar, sifted
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 2 teaspoons milk

Finishing Touches

  • Pesticide-free edible flowers
  • Sugar pearls*
  • Nonpareils**

Instructions
 

Lemon Buttermilk Donuts

  • Preheat oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Spray the wells of a donut pan*** with non-stick cooking spray.
  • In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until well blended.
  • In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk the buttermilk, egg, melted butter, and lemon zest together until creamy and well combined. Add this mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until combined. Do not over mix.
  • Transfer the batter to a piping bag or plastic zip bag. Snip off the tip of the bag and pipe batter into the prepared donut pan, filling the wells 2/3 full.
  • Bake until a toothpick inserted into donuts comes out clean, about 7-8 minutes. Let cool in the pan for a couple of minutes, then remove the donuts to a cooling rack to cool completely.
  • Prepare Honey Cream Cheese Icing while the donuts are cooling. Dip the tops of the donuts into the icing and decorate as desired. Serve immediately.

Honey Cream Cheese Icing

  • In a medium-sized bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together, with an electric mixer at medium speed, until smooth and well blended. Do not over beat. Add the vanilla extract and salt. Mix until combined.
  • On low speed, gradually add powdered sugar and mix until incorporated. Add the honey and beat on medium speed until smooth. Add milk, a little at a time until the desired consistency is reached. Beat on low speed until smooth.
  • Lemon Buttermilk Donuts with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting by Brownie Mischief

Notes

*To find sugar pearls, click here. **To find nonpareils, click here. ***To find the donut pan, click here. 

Baby Bunny Coconut Cakes

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Baby Bunny Coconut Cakes

Spring is the time for blue skies, flowers blooming, bunnies scampering around and Easter celebrations. What better time to make cute Baby Bunny Coconut Cakes? I wanted to make them look like newborn bunnies curled up peacefully for a nap, so I decided to use a hemisphere pan.

When I was shopping around for hemisphere pans, also know as ball pans, I considered metal pans and silicone pans. In general, I prefer metal pans for baking cakes, but I decided on silicone, hoping to get more use out them. I plan on using them for frozen and refrigerated desserts as well. You can find hemisphere pans at kitchen stores, craft stores, baking supply stores and online. To find the pan I chose, click here.

My next dilemma was whether or not to coat the pans before baking. From what I’ve read, many people seem to have trouble getting their baked goods out of silicone pans, even though the majority of these pans claim to be non-stick. I decided to experiment, trying three different ways. I coated some of the wells with grease and flour, some with only grease, and some were left uncoated. I found that when I inverted the pan, the cakes released effortlessly from the coated wells. The cakes in the uncoated wells took a slight amount of prodding and a bit of residue was left behind, but the cakes were in tact. All three ways seem to work fine, but I decided that, for my own peace of mind, I will grease all of the wells in the future.

Decorating these bunny cakes is fun and easy, so this would make a great project for the little ones. You can use the candies of your choice to make eyes and noses. I used white candy pearls for the noses and colored them pink with edible petal dust. I made sleepy eyes out of black fondant. Black fondant is difficult to make, so I always buy it. It’s available for purchase in small quantities. I used edible wafer paper to make the bunny ears, but fondant would also work. A little puff of cotton candy makes a sweet tail. So many possibilities! Whether you make Baby Bunny Coconut Cakes for Easter, a child’s birthday party, a baby shower or simply to celebrate spring.

Baby Bunny Coconut Cakes

 

Baby Bunny Coconut Cakes

by Mari Vasseur
Fluffy, moist mini hemisphere coconut cakes with coconut buttercream frosting, topped with shredded coconut.
Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Servings 12 mini cakes

Ingredients
  

Mini Coconut Cakes

  • 1 â…“ cups (165g) cake flour, sifted
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 4 tablespoons (57g) unsalted butter, softened
  • ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons (175g) sugar
  • 2 tablespoons (30ml) vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon natural coconut extract
  • 3 large large egg whites
  • ¾ cup (155ml) canned light coconut milk

Coconut Buttercream

  • ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 cups (240g) powdered sugar, sifted
  • ¼ teaspoon natural coconut extract
  • 1 pinch fine sea salt
  • 3 tablespoons (45ml) canned light coconut milk

Finishing Touches

  • 3 cups (240g) sweetened, shredded coconut
  • Candies such as Sixlets
  • Edible pink luster dust
  • Black fondant
  • Edible wafer paper or white fondant
  • Piping gel
  • Cotton candy or mini marshmallows

Instructions
 

Mini Coconut Cakes

  • Preheat the oven to 325ºF (165ºC). Grease 2 silicone 6-serving mini hemisphere pans. Place the pans on large baking sheet.
  • In a medium-sized bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt until well blended.
  • In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar and oil together with an electric mixer at medium speed, until pale and fluffy. Beat in the coconut extract. Gradually beat in egg whites, until the mixture is well combined, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl.
  • On low speed, beat in the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the coconut milk, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
  • Fill the hemisphere pan wells, 2/3 full with batter. Bake for 20-24 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of cakes comes out clean.
  • Place the silicone pans on a cooling rack to cool for 10 minutes. Invert the pans to remove mini cakes and place on cooling racks to cool completely.

Coconut Buttercream

  • In a large bowl, beat the the butter with an electric mixer on medium speed, until pale and fluffy.
  • On low speed, gradually add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth and well combined. Add the coconut extract and salt. Beat until combined. Add the coconut milk a little at a time until the desired consistency is reached. Continue beating at low speed until the buttercream is smooth.
  • Frost the domed tops of the mini cakes with a small offset spatula. Cover with shredded coconut, pressing lightly to adhere. Decorate as desired.

Finishing Touches

  • To make bunny ears, cut twenty-four 1 1/2-inch by 1-inch rectangles out of edible wafer paper. Cut each rectangle into a long football shape, flat at one end. Cut a 1/2-inch slit at the flat end. With a small paint brush, dab a bit of piping gel on one side of the slit. Overlap the cut ends of the slit and press together with your fingers. Let dry. Brush pink luster dust into the center of the ears. Skip this step if you are using floral wafer paper. Cut small slits into the bunny cakes and insert the ears.
    Baby Bunny Coconut Cakes Tutorial
  • To make sleepy eyes, roll out a bit of black fondant to 1/16-inch thickness. Cut circles using the small end of a #12 piping tip. Cut thin crescent shapes from the circles using the small end of the piping tip. For easier handling, let eyes dry for a few minutes. If the coconut on your bunny cakes is still moist and tacky, the eyes will stick. If not, brush them with a small bit of water or piping gel.
    Baby Bunny Coconut Cakes Tutorial
  • To make noses, use the candy of your choice, such as candy pearls or candy hearts. I used white candy pearls, brushed with edible pink luster dust.
  • To make tails, you can use cotton candy or mini marshmallows attached with a bit of buttercream. If using cotton candy, keep in mind that it melts when exposed to air, so it's best applied right before serving.

Notes

*Do not substitute all-purpose flour. For best results, weigh your dry ingredients.
**For best results, use natural coconut extract. Imitation coconut flavorings may give your baked goods an unpleasant flavor.
***If your coconut milk is separated when you open the can, simply place it in a blender to emulsify it before using.
To find the hemisphere pan I used, click here.
To find white edible wafer paper,  click here. Floral wafer paper can be found on Etsy.
To find black fondant, click here.
 

Unicorn Rainbow Milkshake

Posted on by Mari Vasseur

Unicorn Rainbow Milkshake by Brownie Mischief

I’ve been dying to try one of those over-the-top milkshakes that have been catching my eye on social media for some time now. Also known as freakshakes, some magnificently indulgent ones can be found in Australia, the UK and New York City. It’s certainly on my bucket list to go meet up with one of those glorious creations in person and dig in! In the meantime, I decided to concoct my humble version here at home, in honor of National Unicorn Day. Yup, unicorns have their own day! Whoever invented celebrating national days, I thank you. It gives me a great excuse to indulge in a delicious treat…not that I need an excuse.

There are so many versions of unicorn milkshakes out there and I love every one of them! In fact, anything that’s unicorn related sets my heart aflutter. The current unicorn craze won’t seem to go away and, as you can imagine, that is just fine by me! One of the cutest unicorn things I’ve seen is my adorable cousin Nicole, scooting around in her fluffy unicorn slippers. Unicorn slippers are a must while drinking a Unicorn Rainbow Milkshake!

To make the Unicorn Rainbow Milkshake, you’ll need:

  • Unicorn Horn Cookie (Recipe below.)
  • Fondant Rainbow Topper (Click here for instructions.)
  • 3 ounces (about 1/2 cup) candy melts in the color of your choice
  • vegetable shortening, melted (about 1 tablespoon)
  • piping bag or squeeze bottle
  • tall glass (24 ounce)
  • rainbow sprinkles
  • 8 ounces vanilla ice cream
  • 1/3 cup milk (any kind)
  • 6 ounces rainbow sherbet
  • cotton candy
  • whipped cream
  • edible gold star glitter (Click here to find glitter.)

Place candy melts in a microwave safe container. Heat in the microwave for 1 minute at 50% power. Stir. Heat in the microwave for 10 second intervals until melted and smooth. If your melted candy melts are too thick, stir in melted shortening a teaspoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. Transfer the melted candy melts to a disposable piping bag or a squeeze bottle. (Alternately, you can use a plastic zip bag.) Place your glass on a rimmed plate or baking sheet. Snip off the tip of the piping bag and drizzle the melted candy along the rim of the glass. Immediately sprinkle on the rainbow sprinkles, before the melted candy sets.

Combine vanilla ice cream and milk in a blender and blend until smooth. Place 3 scoops of rainbow sherbet into your glass. Pour vanilla milkshake over the sherbet scoops in your glass. Top with cotton candy, whipped cream, a Unicorn Horn Cookie, a Fondant Rainbow Topper and a sprinkle of edible gold star glitter. Put on your unicorn slippers and enjoy your unicorn milkshake!

Unicorn Horn Cookie by Brownie Mischief

Unicorn Horn Cookies

Sugar cookies shaped like unicorn horns.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 11 hours 30 minutes
Course Dessert
Servings 14 cookies (*see note)

Ingredients
  

  • 1 â…“ cups (5.75 ounces) all purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspooon fine sea salt
  • ½ cup (4 ounce stick) unsalted butter, softened
  • ½ cup (2.25 ounces) powdered sugar
  • 1 egg yolk, room temperature
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon almond extract
  • 14 4.5-inch skewers or 6-inch lollipop sticks **optional, depending on use
  • 1 can edible gold spray ***I used Wilton Gold Color Mist

Instructions
 

  • In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
  • Add the egg yolk and extracts. Beat at medium speed until combined.
  • Gradually add the flour mixture, beating at low speed just until combined. Do not over mix.
  • Cover dough with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
  • Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  • Form dough into tablespoon size balls. (I used a tablespoon cookie scoop to make them uniform in size.) Form each ball of dough into a log, tapering at one end.
    Unicorn Horn Cookie Tutorial
  • Twist two logs together to form a horn shape. Repeat with remaining logs. Insert skewers or lollipop sticks, if using. Place about 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets.
  • Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 350ºF. Bake until golden brown, about 13-15 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool.
    Unicorn Horn Cookies Tutorial
  • When cookies have cooled completely, place them on a parchment paper lined work surface. (You can use the same pieces of parchment paper that you baked them on.) If you are using lollipop sticks, you may want to cover the sticks with plastic wrap to keep them clean. Spray with edible gold spray. Let dry. Apply an additional coat of edible gold spray, if desired.

Notes

*This recipe makes about 14 unicorn horn cookies, but if you only need a few, you can roll out the remaining dough and use your favorite cookie cutter to make cookies. The baking time will be a bit less. You can also make as many unicorn horns as you need and freeze the remaining dough for later use.
**To make toppers as shown, use wooden skewers. To make cookie pops, use lollipop sticks.
***Click here to find Wilton Gold Color Mist
Keyword drinks, milkshake

Mini Chocolate Hand Pies for Pi Day

Posted on by Mari Vasseur

Mini Chocolate Hand Pies by Brownie Mischief

Pi Day is a day to celebrate mathematics, or more specifically, the ratio of a circle’s circumference to it’s diameter. While I do appreciate math for it’s precision, I also feel a bit annoyed at math for making my brain hurt! Ok, I’m sorry math. I forgive you. I do need you! How would I bake without you? So today I will celebrate math (and also my love for puns) with these tender, fudgy mini hand pies!

Mini Chocolate Hand Pies by Brownie Mischief

Since pi is all about circles, I used a 2 3/4-inch circle cutter to make round pies, but you can cut them into any shape you like. You could cut larger circles, fold them in half and call them empanadas. Rectangles are very popular with Pop Tart fans and you don’t need a special cutter, but a ruler would be helpful. I think squares would be cute, too! Whatever your shape of choice, math is always there to help!

I used a stencil to add some powdered sugar polka dots to my mini pies. I may have gone a little overboard with my circles, but who’s going to stop me? I think they look pretty cute, but If you don’t have a stencil, a sprinkle or two of powdered sugar will do just fine! Alternately, you could drizzle them with some melted white chocolate. I had a bit of white chocolate on hand, so I can confidently say, that version is yummy too!

Mini Chocolate Hand Pies

by Mari Vasseur
Mini chocolate pies with fudgy filling and a tender chocolate crust.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 10 minutes
Course Dessert
Servings 10

Ingredients
  

Crust

  • 1 â…› cup (142g) all purpose flour, sifted plus more for your work surface
  • 3 tablespoons (17g) unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tablespoon (12g) granulated sugar
  • â…› teaspoon fine sea salt
  • â…› teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ cup (113g) cold, unsalted butter, cubed
  • 3 ounces (85g) cold cream cheese, cubed
  • 3 tablespoons (45ml) cold water, divided
  • ½ of 1 whisked egg

Filling

  • ½ cup (85g) bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate chips *see notes
  • â…“ cup (107ml) sweetened condensed milk

Finishing Touches

  • 2 tablespoons (15g) powdered sugar optional
  • OR 2 tablespoons (22g) melted white chocolate optional

Instructions
 

Crust

  • In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, salt and baking powder until well blended.
  • Use a pastry cutter or your fingertips to work the butter and cream cheese into the flour mixture until it resembles pea-sized crumbs.
  • Add 2 tablespoons (30ml) of the cold water to the mixture. Stir gently just until the dough comes together.
  • Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Fold the dough over onto itself a couple of times. Form the dough into a disk. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour.

Filling

  • In a small microwavable bowl, melt the chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk together in the microwave. Heat for 10-15 second bursts, stirring until smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Assembly

  • Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and remaining 1 tablespoon (15ml) water.
  • On lightly floured surface, roll the dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut out 20 rounds with a 2 3/4-inch circle cutter (or cut into desired shapes of your choice).
  • Place 10 dough rounds about 1 inch apart onto the prepared baking sheet. Top each with 1 tablespoon of filling.
    Mini Chocolate Hand Pies
  • With a small pastry brush or your finger, brush the egg mixture around the perimeter of each of the filled dough circles.
  • Top each with the 10 remaining dough circles. Crimp the edges together with a fork. Brush the pies with the remaining egg mixture.
    Mini Chocolate Hand Pies
  • Bake until the crust is crisp and browned, about 15-20 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack. Sprinkle the cooled pies with powdered sugar or drizzle with melted white chocolate.
  • Mini Chocolate Hand Pies

Notes

*The chocolate chips you use depends on personal preference. Bittersweet chocolate chips give a more intense chocolate flavor, while semi-sweet chocolate chips yield a slightly sweeter finished product.
To find my favorite circle cutters click here.                                                                                  To find the polka-dot stencil click here.

Marshmallow Love

Posted on by Mari Vasseur

 

Marshmallow Cake by Brownie Mischief

Dear marshmallows, why are you so sweet and fluffy? I shall call you squishy and you shall be mine! Yes, it’s true, I’m a bit crazy about marshmallows. This post is nothing short of a marshmallow fest! First, my daughter and I made some Sparkly Marshmallow Hearts that are super fun and easy to make. I literally want to put them on everything! How cute do they look on this mini cake? They also make adorable cupcake toppers! To view the Sparkly Marshmallow Hearts tutorial click here.

We also had some fun with Puffy Poles. In case you’re not marshmallow savvy, Puffy Poles are marshmallows that look like chubby barber poles. They’re very popular on dessert tables and candy buffets. We used pink ones, which have a subtle strawberry flavor. We applied them to the pictured 4-inch diameter by 2 1/4 inch tall strawberry cake, which was crumb coated with a thin layer of vanilla buttercream. We used buttercream to adhere them to the sides of the cake. To find Puffy Poles click here.

Marshmallow Cake by Brownie Mischief

Next, I made some Billowy Sky Blue Marshmallow Frosting to share with you. One of the things you’re going to love about this frosting, besides being yummy, is it’s natural beauty. You can simply spoon it on, no piping or fancy tricks necessary. Everything it touches becomes an ethereal cloud of deliciousness! The recipe is below.

Billowy Sky Blue Marshmallow Frosting

Fluffy, glossy, sweet marshmallow frosting.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Dessert
Servings 3 cups

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ½ cup (10.5 ounces) ultra fine sugar *see notes below
  • ½ cup egg whites (3-4 large)
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon almond extract
  • Americolor Sky Blue gel food coloring (or any color of your choice)

Instructions
 

  • In a large heatproof bowl, whisk together sugar, egg whites, water and cream of tartar until frothy.
  • Place bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, making sure the water isn't touching the bottom of the bowl. Whisk mixture until temperature reaches 160° and sugar is completely dissolved.
  • Remove bowl from heat. Add extracts. Beat mixture with the whisk attachment of an electric mixer on high speed until stiff and glossy.
  • Add a small amount of food color with a toothpick and mix on low speed. Continue adding food color, a little at a time, until desired shade is reached. Use a clean toothpick for each addition.

Notes

*It's important to dissolve all of the sugar when making this frosting. Ultra fine sugar dissolves easier, but if you are unable to find it, you can use regular granulated sugar.

Chocolate Lovers’ Valentine Cake for Two

Posted on by Mari Vasseur

Chocolate Lovers' Valentine Drip Cake for Two

My relationship with Valentine’s Day has transformed over the years. When I was a child, I joyfully skipped home from school with my bounty of tiny Valentine cards, candy hearts and a cupcake someone’s mother baked. As I grew older, I was hot and cold towards Valentine’s Day, depending on the state of my love life at the time. After having kids, Valentine’s Day became about red construction paper, doily hearts and glue sticks. I happily cleaned up sprinkles and kissed chubby, frosting-stained cheeks. Now I think of Valentine’s Day as simply a day to celebrate love. I embrace Valentine’s Day and all the hearts, roses and chocolates that go with it! Show your loved ones that you love them on Valentine’s Day, but more importantly, show them throughout the year, by loving, respecting and accepting them for who they are every day.

If your heart beats for a chocolate lover, then this Valentine cake for two will have them swooning. It’s small in size, but grand in chocolate indulgence. It has three layers of moist chocolate cake, rich, white chocolate buttercream and a silky chocolate glaze. As if that isn’t enough, I loaded the top with chocolate candy! Some of the candy is store bought and some I made with candy melts and chocolate molds. Click here to find the cherub mold. Click here to find the heart mold.

Chocolate Lovers' Valentine Drip Cake for Two

I hope you share this Valentine cake with someone you love! However you celebrate the day and whoever you love, have a happy one!

Chocolate Lovers' Valentine Cake for Two

A mini chocolate cake with white chocolate buttercream, topped with chocolate glaze and chocolate Valentine candy. Perfect for sharing!
Print Recipe
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Course Dessert
Servings 2

Ingredients
  

Chocolate Cake for Two

  • â…” cup (3 ounces) all purpose flour
  • â…“ cup (1 ounce) unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ plus â…› teaspoons salt
  • ¾ cup (5.25 ounces) sugar
  • 1 small egg
  • â…“ cup buttermilk
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup hot coffee

White Chocolate Buttercream

  • 6 ounces white chocolate, chopped
  • 1 ½ sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • pinch salt
  • â…” cup (3 ounces) powdered sugar, sifted

Chocolate Drip Glaze

  • 3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon corn syrup or honey

Cake Decorating Supplies

  • cake board
  • piping bag
  • chocolate sprinkles
  • assorted chocolate candy

Instructions
 

Chocolate Cake for Two

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease & flour three 4-inch cake pans. *See note below.
  • Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl. Add sugar and stir to combine.
  • Combine egg, buttermilk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract in a small bowl. Whisk lightly to combine.
  • Add egg mixture to dry ingredients and mix on low speed with a handheld electric mixer, until combined. Stop mixer. Scrape sides of bowl with spatula. Turn mixer up to medium speed and beat for 1 minute.
  • Add hot coffee and stir until incorporated.
  • Pour batter into prepared cake pans, dividing batter evenly between the pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
  • Cool cakes in pans 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool.

White Chocolate Buttercream

  • Melt white chocolate in a double boiler over gently simmering water. (Alternately, you can melt the white chocolate in the microwave. In a small microwaveable bowl, heat the white chocolate for 30 seconds, then stir. Heat again for 10 second intervals, stirring until melted, being very careful not to overheat it.)
  • Set white chocolate aside to cool until lukewarm and still soft.
  • In a medium bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and creamy.
  • Add vanilla extract, salt and melted white chocolate. Beat at low speed until combined. Stop mixer. Scrape sides of bowl with spatula.
  • Add powdered sugar. Beat at low speed, until powdered sugar is combined. Beat at medium speed until buttercream is smooth, stopping to scrape the bowl occasionally. Keep covered at room temperature until ready to use.

Cake Assembly

  • When cakes have cooled completely, trim the cake layers to 1-inch tall.
  • Attach one of the layers to a cake board with some of the white chocolate buttercream. Apply 1/4-inch thick layer of buttercream to the top of the cake layer, followed by the second cake layer, another 1/4-inch thick layer of buttercream, then the final cake layer.
  • Apply a crumb coat (thin layer) of buttercream to the cake. Chill the cake in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
  • Frost the cake with the remaining buttercream. Apply chocolate sprinkles to the bottom edge of the cake.
  • Melt chocolate drip glaze ingredients together in a double boiler over gently simmering water. Let cool slightly.
  • Spoon chocolate glaze into a piping bag. Snip off the end of the bag with kitchen scissors. Drizzle chocolate glaze along the edges of the perimeter of the cake, then fill in the middle. Smooth top with a small offset spatula.
  • Top cake with assorted chocolate candy. If desired, you can stack some of the candy and adhere them with melted chocolate to give some variation in height.

Notes

*Click here to find 4-inch cake pans.

Sparkling Sweetheart Palmiers

Posted on by Mari Vasseur

Sparkling Sweetheart Palmier Cookies

Crisp, delicate French palmiers, also known as elephant ears, are the perfect ladylike pastries to enjoy with hot cocoa, tea or coffee. There’s certainly no shortage of palmier recipes out there, but if you’re in the mood for simplicity, this is the recipe for you! This version is very easy to make and only requires two ingredients. Puff pastry dough and sparkling sugar, that’s it! Pretty stress-free, right? Since Valentine’s Day is coming soon, I formed the palmiers into hearts, rather than the traditional palm shape. I used some pale pink sparkling sugar that I had on hand, but feel free to use any color you like.

Sparkling Sweetheart Palmier Cookies

These palmier cookies are as delicious as they are lovely. Wouldn’t they be the perfect addition to a bridal or baby shower sweets table? I also envision them as a simple, but elegant Valentine’s Day breakfast or a sweet, homemade Valentine’s Day gift wrapped in tissue paper and ribbon. Most people love receiving sweet treats, I know I do! (Hint…hint…Hubby if you’re reading this!) I hope this simple recipe provides you with a bit of inspiration. I’ll be sharing more heart-shaped inspiration in the days ahead, so stop by again soon!

Sparkling Sweetheart Palmier Cookies

Sparkling Sweetheart Palmiers

by Mari Vasseur
Sweet, crisp, flaky puff pastry cookies.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course Dessert
Servings 28 palmiers

Ingredients
  

  • 1 1 lb. (454g) package (two sheets) frozen puff pastry, thawed
  • ½ cup (100g) sparkling sugar, divided

Instructions
 

  • Sprinkle 2 tablespoons (25g) of sparkling sugar on your work surface. Place 1 puff pastry sheet on the sugared surface. Sprinkle evenly with 2 tablespoons (25g)of sparkling sugar. Roll gently with a rolling pin, pressing the sugar into the dough.
    Sparkling Sweetheart Palmier Tutorial
  • Roll the short ends of the puff pastry sheet in towards the center, jelly roll style, leaving a 1-inch gap in the center. Repeat the steps with the remaining puff pastry sheet. Transfer the puff pastry rolls to a tray. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 400°F (205ºC). Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Slice each roll into 1/2-inch slices. Place the slices 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets, cut side down, forming into heart shapes. Sprinkle any remaining sparkling sugar over the hearts.
    Sparkling Sweetheart Palmiers Tutorial
  • Bake until 15-17 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool before serving.

Notes

Palmiers are best served the day they are made. Store in an airtight container for up to a few days.

Rainbow Marble Mini Cake with a Unicorn Cookie Topper

Posted on by Mari Vasseur

Rainbow Marble Mini Cake with Unicorn Cookie Topper by Brownie Mischief

Here we are! We’ve landed safely in 2017. That year that we left behind was a bumpy ride. Glad that’s over! I’m so hopeful about the New Year that I’m sprinkling good wishes around like confetti! Let’s forget all of our problems today and skip around amongst the unicorns and rainbows!

I’ve been experimenting with marbleized fondant lately, so, based on my current mood, I inevitably ended up with rainbow marble fondant. It looked so pretty on my little four inch cake, but it was screaming for a unicorn. By the way, did you know a group of unicorns is called a blessing? I made a batch, I mean a blessing, of Unicorn Cookie Cake Toppers using a small unicorn cookie cutter. They’re decorated with fondant, which is yummier than royal icing and doesn’t require any special skills. There’s no piping involved. (Phew!) These unicorn cookies are so cute and angelic, I imagine they would prance around in the clouds. If only I had some cotton candy for my unicorn to prance around on! Then, magically, I stumbled upon some cotton candy at my local discount store. Thanks Universe!

This colorful little cake will certainly brighten anyone’s day! It would be perfect for a birthday or to give to a special person “just because”. Thanks for spending a few minutes here in my happy place. Wishing you a blessing of unicorns in 2017!

 

*A note about working with cotton candy:  Apply cotton candy to your cake right before serving. When cotton candy is exposed to air, it will start to shrivel after an hour or so. If you don’t have cotton candy, a fluffy dollop of whipped buttercream would also be pretty!

To view Unicorn Cookie Cake Toppers instructions click here.

To view Rainbow Marble Fondant instructions click here.

 

Cocoa Meringue Brownies

Posted on by Mari Vasseur

One of my favorite things to top desserts with are meringue cookies. They’re as light as air and they look so pretty and whimsical! The color and flavor combinations are endless, so you can really have some fun getting creative. I decided to whip some up, especially for placing on top of my favorite brownies. They take even the most humble brownies to a new level. You can use your favorite brownie recipe or even a boxed brownie mix. I won’t judge! I like to make the meringues a day or two ahead since they take quite a while to bake in the oven. While they bake, a subtle chocolate scent will waft through your kitchen, reminding you of the smell of hot cocoa. They even taste like hot cocoa! You can make your brownies a few hours ahead or the night before. I cut mine into rounds with a 2 1/2-inch cutter. I cut 12 rounds of this size from a 13 x 9-inch batch of brownies. Right before serving, spoon some thick, glossy chocolate ganache on the brownies, then top them with your pretty meringues! To make these little bits of chocolate heaven, you’ll need:

  • 1 batch Cocoa Meringues (recipe below)
  • 1 batch of your favorite brownies
  • 1 batch chocolate ganache (see notes)

Cocoa Meringues

Pretty, light and crispy treats that taste like hot cocoa!
Print Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Total Time 4 hours 30 minutes
Course Dessert
Servings 1 batch

Ingredients
  

  • 4 large egg whites, room temperature
  • â…› teaspoon cream of tartar
  • â…› teaspoon fine sea salt
  • â…“ cup (67g) fine granulated sugar
  • ½ cup (60g) powdered sugar
  • ¼ cup (25g) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
  • Brown gel food coloring *optional

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 200ºF (95ºC). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Sift together the powdered sugar and cocoa powder in a medium-sized bowl and whisk until well blended.
  • Place the egg whites in a large bowl. Whip the egg whites with the whip attachment of an electric mixer, at medium speed, until foamy.
  • Add the cream of tartar and salt to the egg whites. Whip at medium-high speed until soft peaks form.
  • Gradually add the granulated sugar and continue whipping, at medium-high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form.
  • Stop the mixer. Sprinkle the powdered sugar and cocoa mixture over the egg whites and whip at low speed until incorporated, about 10 seconds.
  • *This step is optional. Place a large, disposable pastry bag, fitted with a round piping tip, into a tall drinking glass. (I used a Wilton tip #12.) Fold the top third of the bag over the glass, forming a cuff. Using a small, clean paintbrush, paint thin, vertical stripes of food coloring on the inside of the bag, from the piping tip to the edge of the fold.
  • Spoon the egg white mixture into the pastry bag. Pipe small kisses, 1 inch apart, onto the prepared baking sheets. (I made mine about 3/4-inch to 1-inch in diameter. If you'd like larger kisses, use a larger size piping tip.)
  • Bake for 1 1/2 hours. Turn off the oven and leave the meringues in oven to cool and continue drying out for an additional 2 hours. Store tightly covered at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Notes

To make the chocolate ganache, I used a ratio of two parts semi-sweet chocolate to one part heavy cream. (Weighing the ingredients will give you the most accurate ratio.) Place 8 ounces. (227g) of chopped semi-sweet chocolate into a medium bowl. Heat 1/2 cup (4 oz/ 118ml) of heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring the cream just to a boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate, making sure to cover it completely. Let sit for 2 minutes, then stir gently until smooth.

Easy Caramel Sauce

Posted on by Mari Vasseur

Easy Caramel Sauce

Print Recipe
Course Dessert

Ingredients
  

  • 15 soft caramel candies I used Werther's
  • 3 tablespoons (45ml) heavy cream
  • â…› teaspoon fine sea salt or too taste

Instructions
 

  • Combine the caramel candies and the heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir gently until melted and smooth. Stir in the salt.
Keyword caramel sauce, condiments

Homemade Caramel Sauce

Posted on by Mari Vasseur

Homemade Caramel Sauce

Print Recipe
Course Dessert

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
  • â…› teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, cubed
  • ½ cup (118ml) heavy whipping cream, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt or to taste

Instructions
 

  • In a medium-size stainless steel saucepan, stir the sugar and cream of tartar together with 2 tablespoons (30ml) of water. Turn the heat on to medium and cook, without stirring, until the mixture melts. Swirl the pan gently to move the sugar around to prevent hot spots as it cooks. When the sugar is melted and has turned deep golden, turn off the heat and whisk in the butter. The butter will bubble. Keep whisking until melted, smooth and well combined. Gradually whisk in the heavy cream until smooth. Pass the caramel through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Stir in the vanilla and salt. The sauce will thicken as it cools.

Notes

Store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to a couple of weeks.
Keyword caramel sauce, condiments