Vanilla cupcakes with fresh raspberry icing! Yum!

Vanilla cupcakes with fresh raspberry icing! Yum!

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buttercream, cupcakes, dessert, food photography, food styling, NaBloPoMo, pink, raspberry, recipe, sweet, vanilla

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Sometimes, you just need something sweet and you'll do whatever you need to to get that sweet fix! That was the case last Sunday. I didn't want ot go to the store for something full of preservatives or packaged. So, I pulled out recipe box and got to work on vanilla cupcakes and a fresh, raspberry icing to top it off:) The recipe will be at the bottom....

So, I'm struggling still to post on a daily basis. I don't know if it's the cold weather or what, but when I get home at night I just wanna snuggle under my blanket and watch TV and eat goldfish crackers. Right outta the bag. Pizza flavored. Ugh...I know, so horrible. But they are my new downfall and I just can't help myself. I know I talked last time about catching up with posts this weekend...and I really do have every intention of doing that! I just need to get to Saturday;) So, forgive me if you pop over at night, looking for a post and don't see it right away. I've been put under a hex by my blanket and some goldfish;)

Vanilla Cupcakes with Fresh Raspberry Icing - Recipe

 

Ingredients Cupcakes:

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup milk

3/4 cup vegetable oil

2 and 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla
Seeds from 1 vanilla bean, optional.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Beat together eggs and sugar until slightly thickened, about 1 minute.  Add flour, milk, oil, baking powder and vanilla and beat for another minute.  Pour batter into lined cupcake tins, filling each tin 2/3 full.  Bake for 20 minutes for a standard cupcake, 25 minutes for a jumbo cupcake (or use a cake-tester).

Cool completely before filling or frosting.

Ingredients Icing - via Southern Living:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup fresh raspberries

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 (16-oz.) package powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Beat first 4 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.

2. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating at low speed until blended and smooth after each addition.

Note: Be sure to wash and thoroughly dry raspberries before adding to frosting.

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Monday, Monday....

Monday, Monday....

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banana bread, Bread, chocolate chips, food photography, food styling, monday, NaBloPoMo, raspberry, recipe

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Monday. Yeah...you know. That day. Why does Monday get such a bad rap? Probably because it's not Saturday or Sunday!!! We work, work, work so hard for 5 days and then we get a little relief over the weekend, then !!BAM!! it's Monday all over again. One of my goals in 2015 is to make Mondays much more tolerable and not so rooted in the clichéd "Ohhhh God, it's Monday."

But you know what makes Monday just a little bit better???! Chocolate chip & raspberry banana bread! Yes, you read that right! Mmmmm.....so delicious! Now, I can't take credit for this recipe. It's from Sally's Baking Addiction and I think it will be a new addiction in my life now. The ingredients are perfect together. Toast up a piece in the morning with a little spread of butter and your coffee....nothing tastes better on these now cold Autumn mornings. Enjoy!!

Recipe via Sally's Baking Addiction:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature


• 3/4 cup (150g) light brown sugar (or dark brown sugar)


• 2 large eggs, room temperature preferred


• 1/3 cup (80g) Greek yogurt*


• 2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 large very ripe bananas)


• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract


• 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour


• 1 teaspoon baking soda


• 1/4 teaspoon salt


• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon


• 3/4 cup (135g) dark chocolate chips (or semi-sweet)


• 1 cup (150g) halved raspberries, tossed in 1 Tablespoon (8g) all-purpose flour to prevent sinking*

 

Directions:

Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position and preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Lightly spray a 9x5 loaf pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.

Using a hand-held or stand mixer, cream together the butter and brown sugar on medium speed, about 3 minutes. On medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the yogurt, mashed bananas and vanilla on medium speed for 1 minute. Remove the bowl from the mixer if using a stand mixer. Set aside.

In a large bowl, toss the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together until combined. Using a large spoon or rubber spatula, slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Slowly stir everything together until no more flour pockets remain. Do not overmix. Gently fold in the raspberries and chocolate chips.

Spoon the batter into the prepared baking pan - sprinkle with a few additional chocolate chips if desired. Bake for 60-65 minutes, loosely covering the bread with aluminum foil at the 30 minute mark. This will prevent the top and sides from getting too brown. A toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf will come out clean when the bread is done. Remove from the oven and allow the bread to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before slicing.

Banana bread tastes best on day 2 after the flavors have settled together. Unfrosted banana bread freezes well, up to 2 months.

*Either Greek or regular (non-Greek) yogurt are fine. Plain, vanilla, or honey flavored preferred. Low-fat or non-fat are OK.

*I prefer using fresh raspberries because I find using frozen tints the banana bread pink, no matter how gently you fold them in. The bread also takes longer to bake when using frozen berries due to their added moisture.

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Achoo!!!

Achoo!!!

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bacon, Bread, breakfast for dinner, cinnamon rolls, food photography, food styling, NaBloPoMo, recipe

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Well it's day 4 and I'm still at it. Except today I'm feeling pretty awful so I'm surprised I pulled this one off. The above pictures are of tonight's dinner. Not at all ashamed to say that! Sometimes being an adult has it's advantages in that you can make poor choices and enjoy the shit out of them:)

If anyone else out there is suffering from sinus and allergy issues, I feel your pain:/ Hoping the sudafed and Flonase start to help soon!! Meanwhile, I cooked up some bacon, unrolled my cinnamon rolls, added the bacon and rolled them back up then cooked till they were golden brown. DEEEEEEE-lish!

Have a fabulous rest of the week! See you tomorrow....

Jenn

 

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