Category: Recipes

The Best Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Dark Chocolate Cake with the Best Chocolate Frosting

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This is the ultimate silky, smooth, deeply chocolate frosting. I developed this recipe mostly because I couldn’t find a chocolate frosting recipe that didn’t taste gritty and/or look speckled from the cocoa powder. Swiss meringue buttercream with melted chocolate added is one alternative. But, while it is smooth, silky and perfect for piping, it’s missing that deep chocolate richness. Another option is chocolate ganache. It looks rich and creamy in those viral videos, but it’s a little too rich and overpowering to use as frosting in my opinion.

I think this frosting is the one! It has the best of both worlds, velvety but not too rich. You’ll notice that this frosting contains maple syrup. The syrup gives it a very subtle maple flavor in the background, but mostly, it helps to make the frosting silky and gives it shine. You can adjust the sweetness level of the frosting by choosing the chocolate you prefer. I used bittersweet chocolate, which I think is just right. This recipe makes enough frosting to frost a 2-layer 6-inch cake. You can easily double the recipe for larger cakes.

 

The Best Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

by Mari Vasseur
Silky smooth chocolate frosting with an intense chocolate flavor
Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Servings 8 servings

Ingredients
  

  • ½ cup (148ml) pure maple syrup
  • 3 tablespoons (45ml) water
  • ¾ cup (67g) unsweetened Dutch process or dark cocoa powder, sifted
  • ½ teaspoon espresso powder optional
  • 8 ounces (113g) bittersweet 70-72%) or semisweet chocolate, chopped Not chocolate chips**
  • 1 ¼ cups (283g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup (113g) powdered sugar, sifted
  • ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt

Instructions
 

  • In a small saucepan over low heat, whisk together the maple syrup, water, cocoa powder, and espresso powder until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside to cool to room temperature.
  • Melt the chocolate in a medium-sized bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, making sure the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl. Stir gently until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside to cool to lukewarm.
  • In a large bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer at medium speed, until smooth and light in color. Add the powdered sugar and salt and continue beating until smooth and well blended.
  • Gradually add the cooled maple syrup mixture and beat on low speed until combined. Stir in the melted chocolate until well blended. Smooth out any air bubbles by stirring gently with a rubber spatula.

Notes

*To find my favorite Dutch process cocoa powder, click here.
**For the smoothest results, use chopped bar chocolate and make sure chocolate is completely melted.  Do not use chocolate chips. They contain an ingredient which prevents them from melting completely and may make your frosting lumpy.
 

Lemon Buttermilk Cakelets

Posted on by Mari Vasseur

Sending sunshine your way with these cute, delicious bite-size mini cakes. Lemon Buttermilk Cakelets are tender and moist with a burst of fresh lemon flavor. They’re easy to make and they bake up quickly. They make an adorable addition to a spring teatime, baby shower or summer picnic.

Lemon Buttermilk Cakelets

by Mari Vasseur
Soft, tender mini lemon cakes with lemon icing
Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Servings 24 cakelets

Ingredients
  

Lemon Simple Syrup

  • Juice of 1 medium lemon
  • ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
  • ½ teaspoon lemon zest

Cakelets

  • 1 ¼ cups (142g) cake flour, sifted
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
  • ½ cup (115ml) vegetable oil or neutral oil of your choice
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons lemon zest
  • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon pure lemon extract
  • ½ cup (118ml) buttermilk

Icing

  • 1 ½ cups (180g) powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1 tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter, melted
  • 3-4 tablespoons (45-60ml) fresh lemon juice

Instructions
 

Lemon Simple Syrup

  • Measure the juice of 1 lemon. Add enough water to equal 1/4 cup (89ml). In a small saucepan, simmer the lemon juice and water mixture with the sugar and lemon zest, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool, then strain out the lemon zest.

Cakelets

  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Grease and flour a 24-serving mini muffin pan* or use liners.
  • In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together until well blended.
  • In a large bowl, whisk the sugar, oil, eggs, lemon zest and extracts together until smooth and well blended. Mix in the flour mixture in 2 additions alternating with half of the buttermilk after each addition. Stir just until combined. Do not over mix.
  • Fill the muffin cups 2/3 full. (I used a portion scoop). Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 8-10 minutes. Be careful not to over bake to avoid drying out the cakes. Let the cakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove them from the pan and transfer them to a cooling rack. (Repeat with any remaining batter.)

Icing

  • In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, melted butter and 3 tablespoons of lemon juice. Add additional lemon juice as needed to achieve the desired consistency. Whisk until smooth. Spoon the icing over the cooled cakes.

Notes

*To find the mini muffin pan I used, click here.
Keyword cake, cupcakes, lemon

by

Blueberry Skillet Cornbread

Posted on by Mari Vasseur

This is a sweet, fluffy blueberry cornbread that my family loves. It’s heavenly served with honey and butter. I love baking it in a cast iron skillet because of the delicious crust that forms from the steady high heat conducted with cast iron. If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, you can use an 8-inch round cake pan instead. To find the 8-inch cast iron skillet I used, click here.

The texture of this cornbread is more like a quick bread than a cake and my family has always called it cornbread. When I posted this recipe previously, I called it a skillet cornmeal cake because I was trying to shy away from the cornbread police who inevitably show up when I post sweet cornbread recipes. These enforcers of non existent cornbread laws no longer intimidate me because I’ve done my cornbread research. There are different regions who make cornbread in many different ways. Various groups of people in the United States argue over whether or not cornbread should contain sugar. Historically, some people had to add sugar to cornbread because of the lower quality cornmeal they had access to. But the first cornbread was made long before that in ancient Mexico. People then and now use the ingredients available to them to create food that tastes good to them. So by any name, it’s all good.

 

Blueberry Skillet Cornbread

by Mari Vasseur
Sweet cornbread with blueberries baked in a cast iron skillet.
Print Recipe
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ¼ cups (about 177-198g) blueberries, divided
  • 1 ¼ cups (159g) all purpose flour, sifted, plus one teaspoon for the blueberries
  • ⅔ cup (132g) sugar
  • ¼ cup (35g) cornmeal
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • ¾ cup (170g) sour cream
  • ¼ cup (1 7/8 oz or 55ml) vegetable oil or neutral oil of your choice
  • 2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, melted

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Grease an 8-inch cast iron skillet.*
  • Set aside 1/4 cup of blueberries. In a small bowl, toss the remaining 1 cup of blueberries with 1 teaspoon of flour.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cornmeal, baking powder and salt until well blended.
  • In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream, oil and melted butter until creamy and well combined. Add the egg mixture to flour mixture and stir just until combined. A few small lumps are okay. Gently mix one cup of blueberries into the batter.
  • Transfer the batter to prepared skillet. Top with the reserved 1/4 cup of blueberries.
  • Bake until top looks golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 35-45 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes.

Notes

*To find the skillet I used, click here.
If you don't have a cast iron skillet, you can use and 8-inch round cake pan.
Keyword blueberry, cornbread

Dark Chocolate Strawberry Marble Cookies

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Dark Chocolate Strawberry Marble Cookies

To the indecisive German baker who invented marble cake, I thank you! Marble cake, sampler platters and tasting flights are the perfect solution for those times when you just can’t decide. Let’s take one more decision off the table. No longer will we have to decide between chocolate and strawberry cookies. These marble cookies are the best of both worlds. Chocolate and strawberry are opposites in many ways, but complement each other so well. After all, who doesn’t love chocolate covered strawberries?

The dark chocolate cocoa powder gives these cookies a deep chocolate flavor. Freeze dried strawberries provide the sweet strawberry flavor and color. I crushed the strawberries with a mini food processor, but you can also use a mortar and pestle, a clean spice grinder or a sturdy plastic bag and a rolling pin. When you crush the 1 1/2 cups of freeze dried strawberries called for in the recipe, you’ll end up with about 1/3 cup of strawberry powder. To find freeze dried strawberries, click here.

This recipe makes about eighteen cookies but you can also make nine large cookies. Follow the instructions in parentheses for large cookies.

 

Dark Chocolate Strawberry Marble Cookies

by Mari Vasseur
Dark chocolate & strawberry marbled sugar cookies
Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Servings 18 cookies

Ingredients
  

  • 2 ¼ cups (284g) all purpose flour, sifted
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 cup (227g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
  • ½ cup (100g) packed brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ cups (35g) freeze-dried strawberries, finely crushed to a powder (1 1/2 cups before crushing)
  • ⅓ cup (28g) dark unsweetened cocoa powder

Instructions
 

  • In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt until well blended.
  • In a large bowl, beat the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar, with an electric mixer at medium speed, until pale and fluffy.
  • Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract in three separate additions, making sure each addition is incorporated before adding the next. On low speed, mix in flour mixture just until combined.
  • Divide the dough in half. Leave half of dough in the bowl and place the other half in a separate bowl.
  • Add the freeze dried strawberries to half of the dough and mix just until combined. Add the cocoa powder to the other half of the dough and mix just until combined.
  • Roll the dough into 1 1/2 teaspoon size balls. (For large cookies, roll the dough into tablespoon size balls.) To form the cookies, place two chocolate dough balls and two strawberry dough balls in your hand in a checkerboard pattern. Roll into a ball. Repeat with the remaining dough balls and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  • Place the dough balls about two inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes, until cookies are set and edges are golden. (For large cookies, bake 14-15 minutes.) Transfer to cooling rack. (For large cookies, cool on cookie sheet one minute, then transfer to cooling rack.
Keyword chocolate, cookies, marble, strawberry

Raspberry White Chocolate Scones

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Raspberry White Chocolate Scones

A good scone has a way of making you feel elegant, especially if you pronounce it ‘skon’ instead of ‘skōne’. I went to a lovely tea recently where scones were served, along with an array of dainty tea sandwiches and desserts. The scones were round with pink sugar sprinkled on top. Pretty pink food is always so promising. Unfortunately, the scones were hard, dry and bland. No amount of clotted cream slathered on them could help. There’s nothing elegant about a dry, hard bite of a scone that you have to struggle to choke down. Scones should be dense and slightly dry and crumbly, but there’s no reason we can’t make them more delicious. It’s fun to add fruit, chocolate, herbs, nuts or whatever you like to make them more delightful. These Raspberry White Chocolate Scones are tender and buttery with bursts of flavor from the fresh raspberries and white chocolate. I added pink sparkling sugar for texture and, of course, to make them look pretty!

 

Raspberry White Chocolate Scones

by Mari Vasseur
Tender scones with fresh raspberries and white chocolate, topped with crunchy sparkling sugar.
Print Recipe
Course Breakfast, Brunch
Servings 8 scones

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ¾ cups (226g) all purpose flour, sifted
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 7 tablespoons (100g) cold, unsalted butter, cubed
  • ½ cup (118 ml) cold heavy cream plus extra for the tops of the scones
  • ¼ cup (57g) cold sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup (128g) white chocolate chips or chunks Not chopped white chocolate
  • ¾ cup (113g) fresh or frozen raspberries
  • Pink or white coarse sparkling sugar

Instructions
 

  • Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together until well combined. Work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips or with a pastry blender until pea size pieces form.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, sour cream and vanilla until well blended. Stir the cream mixture into the flour mixture until a shaggy dough forms. Gently fold in the white chocolate chips and raspberries.
  • Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Form the dough into a 1-inch thick round, about 6 1/2 inches in diameter. Cut the dough into 8 wedges.
  • Place scones 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Chill the scones in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Brush the tops of the scones with heavy cream. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.
  • Bake until the edges look golden brown, about 20-24 minutes. Transfer the scones to a cooling rack.

Notes

*To find pink sparkling sugar, click here.  
This recipe was updated on 3/23/2023.
Keyword raspberry white chocolate, scones

Strawberry Sugar Hearts

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
strawberry sugar hearts
To watch the Strawberry Sugar Hearts video, click here.

I’ve always been enamored by sugar cubes. You can’t help but feel fancy dropping a lump of sugar or two into your teacup. Flavored sugar formed into cute shapes is so fancy, I may faint. Someone please get the smelling salts! Pardon me while I google “what exactly are smelling salts?” In the mean time please enjoy these sweet, dainty, positively precious Strawberry Sugar Hearts. Pop them into tea, lattes, lemonade, cocktails or sparkling water.

These cuties are fragrant, delicious and easy to make. The most tedious part is filling the molds. Make sure to fill them completely and press firmly for the most defined shape. It’s also important to use enough water. Think of building a sand castle at the beach. You want enough water to dampen the sugar, but not turn it to slush. I live in a dry climate so I used 3 teaspoons, but you may need less depending on your climate.

Feel free to use the freeze dried fruit of your choice. Most grocery stores carry freeze dried fruit and you can always find it online. The most interesting one I saw was an apple-cherry combination. I might try that next!

 

Strawberry Sugar Hearts

Print Recipe
Servings 1 batch 1/2" sugar hearts

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup freeze-dried strawberries or raspberries
  • 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
  • 2-3 teaspoons water

Instructions
 

  • Process thenfreeze-dried strawberries in a small food processor or a clean spice grinder until a powdered consistency is reached.
  • Pass the powdered strawberries through a sieve to strain out the seeds.
  • In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the powdered strawberries and sugar.
  • Add water, one teaspoon at a time, until the mixture is the consistency of wet sand. Your climate will effect how much water is needed.
  • Press the mixture firmly into silicone heart molds* or any shape silicone molds of your choice. Brush off any excess sugar.
  • Let dry, uncovered, at least 24 hours. Remove sugar hearts from molds and store in a covered container.

Notes

*To find the silicone heart molds I used, click here

Chocolate Peanut Butter Tarts

Posted on by Mari Vasseur

Does anyone else remember those old peanut butter cup commercials where two people on the street would collide and a chocolate bar would miraculously end up inside of a jar of peanut butter? Then the person carrying the open jar of peanut butter would say, “Hey you got chocolate in my peanut butter!” and they would suddenly discover it’s a delicious combination. The real question is, why was anyone walking around outside with an open jar of peanut butter? I miss those silly commercials.

If you love chocolate and peanut butter together, you’ll absolutely love these tarts. The creamy peanut butter filling and the silky chocolate ganache topping are perfect together. The chocolate cookie crust adds a nice crunch. I used heart shaped tart pans to make the tarts a little more special for Valentine’s Day. To find the tart pans I used, click here. You can also use round tart pans if you prefer.

 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Tarts

Mari Vasseur
Personal peanut butter tarts with chocolate cookie crusts and chocolate ganache topping
Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Servings 4 tarts

Ingredients
  

Crust

  • 14 chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed including filling
  • 2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, melted

Filling

  • ½ cup (128g) creamy peanut butter, room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, softened
  • ½ cup (60g) powdered sugar, sifted
  • 2 tablespoons (30ml) heavy cream, room temperature
  • ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 Pinch fine sea salt

Topping

  • 3 ounces (85g) bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons (88ml) heavy cream
  • Chopped peanuts optional
  • Mini peanut butter cups optional

Instructions
 

Crust

  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF. (180ºC). Place four 4-inch tart pans with removable bottoms* on a baking sheet.
  • In a medium-sized bowl, mix the crushed sandwich cookies with the melted butter until well combined. Press the crumb mixture into the tart pans.
  • Bake for 8 minutes. Let cool completely.

Filling

  • In a medium-sized bowl, beat the peanut butter and softened butter until smooth. Add the remaining filling ingredients and beat until smooth and well blended.
  • Fill the cooled tart shells with the filling. Refrigerate the tarts until set, at least 2 hours.

Topping

  • Place the chopped chocolate in a small bowl.
  • In a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream over medium-low heat just until bubbles form around the edges. Do not boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Let sit two minutes then stir until smooth.
  • Spoon over the peanut butter filling. Add toppings if desired. Refrigerate until chocolate is set. Carefully remove tarts from pans.

Notes

To find the tart pans I used, click here.
Keyword chocolate peanut butter, tarts

Lavender White Chocolate Scones

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Lavender white chocolate scone
Click here to watch the video of Lavender White Chocolate Scones

These lovely Lavender White Chocolate Scones are soft and tender on the inside with crisp golden exteriors. The pretty, lilac coarse sugar gives them a subtle crunch. The sweet, melted white chocolate is the perfect contrast to the fragrant, earthy notes from the lavender.

Now, let’s talk a little bit about lavender. I used one teaspoon of lavender in these scones, which I think is the perfect amount to give a hint of lavender, without tasting too floral. You can adjust the amount to your preference. Just taste the cream before adding it to the scones. You can use any culinary lavender in this recipe. English lavender is usually used for culinary purposes. Spanish and French varieties tend to be too strong. People are enchanted by lavender because of its beauty and soothing scent. A little touch of lavender makes these scones magical.


 

Lavender White Chocolate Scones

by Mari Vasseur
Tender, soft heart-shaped scones with crisp, golden edges topped with coarse sugar
Print Recipe
Course Breakfast, Brunch
Servings 9 scones

Ingredients
  

  • ¾ cup (177ml) heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon culinary lavender *
  • 1 ¾ cups (223g) all purpose flour, sifted
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 7 tablespoons (99g) cold, unsalted butter, cubed
  • ¼ cup (57g) cold sour cream
  • 1 cup (170g) white chocolate chunks or chips (not chopped white chocolate)
  • Lavender or lilac coarse sparkling sugar**

Instructions
 

  • In a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream and lavender over medium heat, just until bubbles form around the edges. Turn the heat to low and simmer gently for 1 minute. Strain the lavender cream into a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.
  • Heat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt until well blended. Work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips or with a pastry blender until pea size chunks form.
  • Whisk together 1/2 cup (118ml) of the chilled lavender cream with the sour cream. Stir this mixture into the flour mixture until a shaggy dough is formed. If your dough seems too dry, add 1-2 more teaspoons of heavy cream. Fold in the white chocolate chunks.
  • Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Fold the dough over onto itself a couple of times. Do not overwork the dough! Pat or roll the dough into an 8-inch round, about 3/4 inch thick. I used 2 3/4-inch heart biscuit cutter*** to cut out 9 scones.
  • Place the scones about 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheet. Brush the scones with the remaining cream. Sprinkle with sparkling sugar. Bake until golden, about 15-17 minutes.

Notes

*To find culinary lavender click here
** To find the sparkling sugar I used click here
***To find the heart shape biscuit cutter I used click here
Keyword lavender white chocolate, scones

The Nutcracker Land of Sweets Cupcakes

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Nutcracker Land of Sweets Cupcakes

The tradition of enjoying the Nutcracker Ballet at Christmastime has been in my family for over 20 years. The Nutcracker Land of Sweets is a magical theme that has me mesmerized. Gingerbread, candy canes, gumdrops and billowy clouds of pink frosting are what dreams are made of. And that’s exactly what these dreamy cupcakes are made of. The cupcake flavor is a subtle spice cake. The recipe is adapted from a Martha Stewart cake recipe I made last summer. The original cake was paired with blackberry jam, but I knew plum jam would be perfect for these cupcakes. I topped them with a mildly sweet, fluffy Swiss meringue buttercream.

Part of the fun of making these cupcakes began at the store as I collected the sweets to decorate the cupcakes. Another perk of the job is taste testing the candy. I discovered that purple spice drops are licorice flavored and red spice drops are cinnamon. Who knew?

You might also like my Nutcracker Land of Sweets inspired candy bark. It’s a delightful holiday bark I designed that is often imitated. To view it, click here.

The Nutcracker Land of Sweets Cupcakes

Spice cupcakes filled with plum jam, topped with fluffy pink frosting, gingerbread men and Christmas candy, and dusted with sugar snow
Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Servings 12 cupcakes

Ingredients
  

Spice cupcakes

  • ¾ cups (3 1/4 ounces) all purpose flour, sifted
  • ¾ cups (3 ounces) cake flour, sifted
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • small pinch ground cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ½ cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
  • ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons (6 1/8 ounces) fine granulated sugar or regular granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large egg white
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
  • ⅔ cup whole milk
  • ¾ cup plum jam I used red plum jam

Pink Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  • 4 large egg whites
  • 1 ⅓ cups (9 3/8 ounces) fine granulated sugar or regular granulated sugar
  • 1 ½ cups (12 ounces) softened, unsalted butter, cubed
  • 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract or pure vanilla etract
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 2 drops pink gel food color I used Americolor deep pink

Decorations

  • small gingerbread cookies
  • mini candy canes
  • assorted candies such as spice drops, gumdrops, peppermints,
  • sprinkles or sugar pearls
  • powdered sugar

Instructions
 

Spice Cupcakes

  • Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 12 serving muffin pan with disposable baking cups. (I used silver foil liners.)
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, spices and salt. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
  • Add egg, egg white, and vanilla, one at a time, mixing until well combined.
  • Add flour mixture in two additions, alternating with milk. Mix until combined.
  • Divide batter evenly into wells of prepared muffin pan, filling about 2/3 full.
  • Bake until light golden and toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 16-18 minutes.
  • Let cool in muffin pan for 5 minutes. Gently transfer cupcakes to cooling rack to cool completely.
  • Core the center of each cupcake, removing a 3/4-inch deep circle. Fill with jam and replace the circle top.
  • Frost cupcakes with pink Swiss meringue buttercream. Decorate with cookies and candies. Lightly sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Pink Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercreamgue Buttercream

  • Combine egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl. Set over a pan of gently simmering water.
  • Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and temperature of 160ºF is reached.
  • Transfer mixture to the bowl of a stand mixture with a whisk attachment. Whisk on low speed, gradually increasing to medium-high speed. Whisk until glossy, stiff peaks form and mixture reaches room temperature.
  • Turn mixer to medium-low speed. Add butter, a few pieces at a time, allowing the butter to fully incorporate each time before adding more.
  • Switch to paddle attachment. On low speed, mix in vanilla, salt and food color. Continue mixing on low speed for a few minutes until smooth.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart Spice Cake
Keyword cupcakes

Raspberry Sauce

Posted on by Mari Vasseur

Homemade raspberry sauce is a delicious addition to desserts, drinks or pancakes & waffles. This recipe works with fresh or frozen raspberries.

Raspberry Sauce

Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Servings 1 cup

Ingredients
  

  • 3 cups (12 oz or 340g) fresh or frozen raspberries
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1/4-1/3 cup (50-66g) sugar depending on the sweetness of your raspberries

Instructions
 

  • Purée the raspberries with the lemon juice in a blender or food processor. Pass the purée through a fine mesh sieve* to remove the seeds.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the water and cornstarch.**
  • In a small saucepan, heat the raspberry purée with the sugar and cornstarch slurry to a boil over medium heat. Turn the heat down to low and simmer until slightly thickened, about 2-3 minutes.

Notes

*To find a fine mesh sieve, click here.
**To find a mini whisk for whisking small amounts, click here.
Keyword raspberry, sauce

Maple Pecan Brownies

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
maple pecan brownies

Pecan pie was my mom’s favorite, but she didn’t bake pies, so I always used to bake her one for Thanksgiving. One year, I made a chocolate version. It was delicious, but let’s just say it wasn’t user friendly. It was gooey and hard to serve. Over the years, it eventually morphed into these Maple Pecan Brownies. The brownie version is still delicious, rich and gooey with toasty pecans, but much more user friendly.

Enjoying Maple Pecan Brownies with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee is a must. Thinking of it brings back memories. I can practically smell my dad brewing the coffee to go with these brownies.

Maple Pecan Brownies

Rich, gooey brownies topped with pecan pie filling
Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Servings 16 brownies

Ingredients
  

Brownies

  • ¾ cup (6 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar
  • ¾ cup (5 1/4 ounces) brown sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup (2 1/4 ounces) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted preferably Dutch process cocoa
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 ¼ cups (5 5/8 ounces) flour

Pecan Topping

  • ¼ cup pure maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) unsalted butter, melted
  • ½ cup (3 1/2 ounces) brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon maple extract
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups (7 ounces) pecan halves or pieces

Instructions
 

Brownies

  • Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, overlapping the sides an inch or two. Spray parchment paper with nonstick cooking spray.
  • In a large bowl, stir together melted butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until well combined.
  • Mix in eggs and vanilla, one at a time, until well combined.
  • Mix in cocoa powder, baking soda and salt until well combined.
  • Stir in flour just until combined.
  • Spread batter into prepared baking pan. Bake just until top is set, about 25 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, prepare pecan topping.
  • When brownie top is set, remove from oven. Gently pour pecan topping around the outer perimeter of brownies, to avoid making brownies sink in the middle. Evenly distribute the pecan topping over the top gently with a spoon.
  • Return the brownies to the oven and continue baking until the topping is set, about 20-25 minutes. Brownies will stop jiggling and topping will look deep golden brown. Toothpick inserted inside will have a few moist crumbs on it. (If your topping starts to brown too much on the edges before the inside is done, apply aluminum foil around the edges as you would with a pie.)
  • Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting, about 2- 2 1/2 hours.
  • Cut into squares, wiping knife between cuts.

Pecan Topping

  • In a medium bowl, stir together maple syrup, butter, brown sugar, egg, maple extract and salt until well combined.
  • Stir in pecans until well coated with maple syrup mixture.
  • Set aside until brownies are partially baked.
Keyword brownies, chocolate, maple pecan

Apple Spice Cookies with Brown Butter Icing

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Apple Spice Cookies with Brown Butter Icing

These Apple Spice Cookies were one of my most popular cookies last fall so I decided to bring them back a little early this year. The combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla in this cookie dough will remind you of cinnamon rolls and apple pie and inspire you look forward to fall.

The apples in this recipe are cooked briefly on the stovetop to bring out the flavor and create the perfect texture. Dropping raw apple chunks into cookie dough or cake batter is usually not a good idea. If you’ve ever baked an apple pie, you know that apples release liquid as they cook and that liquid will end up in your baked cookies, creating soggy spots. So definitely don’t skip this step!

These gorgeous, golden brown cookies are perfectly delicious on their own, but extra credit goes to the Brown Butter Icing for taking them over the top!

apple spice cookies with brown butter icing

Make sure to head over to Instagram to watch the video of these Apple Spice Cookies being created: Click here

Apple Spice Cookies with Brown Butter Icing

Spice cookies with fresh apples and brown butter icing
Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Servings 12 cookies

Ingredients
  

Cooked Apples

  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 cup (4 oz or 113g) chopped apples (1/4-inch pieces) I used one large Granny Smith apple
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Apple Spice Cookie Dough

  • 1 ½ cups (6 3/4 oz or 191g) all purpose flour, sifted
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ½ cup (4 oz 113g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup (7 oz or 200g) packed brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • ½ teaspooon pure vanilla extract

Brown Butter Icing

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • ½ cup (2 oz or 57g) powdered sugar, sifted
  • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • pinch fine sea salt
  • 1-2 tablespoons whole milk

Instructions
 

Cooked Apples

  • Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add apples, sugar and cinnamon to the skillet.
  • Cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples are tender, about 4-5 minutes.
  • Remove from heat and let cool completely. Drain any excess liquid from the cooled apples.

Apple Spice Cookies

  • Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy.
  • Beat in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract, one at a time, until well combined
  • Stir in the flour mixture, just until combined.
  • Fold the the cooled apples into the cookie dough.
  • Divide the dough into 12 equal golf ball size portions and place them 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
  • Bake until golden brown, about 11-13 minutes. Let cool 1 minute on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Brown Butter Icing

  • In a small saucepan, cook the butter over medium heat until golden brown and fragrant. When brown specks start to form in the bottom of the pan, remove from heat.
  • Immediately transfer the browned butter to a small bowl. Whisk in the the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, salt and 1 tablespoon milk. Add more milk as needed to reach desired consistency.
  • Drizzle the icing over the cooled cookies.

Notes

NOTE:  If your cookies spread too much when baking, refrigerate dough for 30 minutes, then bake as directed.
Keyword cookies, holiday, thanksgiving