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Red Velvet Brownie Bites
I just noticed that I have been baking with a theme, RED, well I had no Valentine desserts to share until I started baking these. There are a lot of Holidays you really don't need to make a dessert for, but this is one that you can't ignore. I had pinned this on Pinterest a while ago and decided, this would be perfect for a party or any place you needed to share with a group; plus for a bonus it had my favorite ingredient in it CHOCOLATE!!!! These are easy to make, taste delicious and look so great on a platter!
Now if you have been following me, I wanted to share how my Cruise to the Caribbean was and show some pictures. We took a big family cruise on The Holland America, Nieuw Amsterdam to the Eastern Caribbean. This was my 2nd Cruise since being diagnosed with Celiacs, it was a good experience!!
This is the beautiful island of Turks and Caicos, the beach was GORGEOUS, white sands and warm turquoise waters! My idea of heaven!
The meals were excellent, try not to notice I had two Lobster tails! I had alerted the ship and staff to my food allergy when I booked us , then I made fast friends with our server and the Head Sui Chef on the Lido deck, so that if there was anything I questioned or needed they knew who I was, and took such EXCELLENT care of me!!
This beautiful landscape is on the lawn of El Moro Fort in Puerto Rico, this was amazing to visit! We have been to Puerto Rico twice, and I loved it just as much the second time if not more....it's a Vacation for the eyes and the people are so kind and welcoming!
The desserts on the ship are mostly pre-made by Kinnikinnick, their bread and pasta is also the same. I'm not a fan of pre-made desserts so, I tried one, then asked one night if they had any Flourless Chocolate Cakes, and low and behold this little beauty showed up at dinner the next night! YESSS...this was so wonderful!! So, I asked for it the next night and had 2, because I had been on Dessert rations( I put myself on) this was so good, I would have skipped dinner and just had the cake!
This is Half Moon Cay, Holland America's Private Island, they feed you there, it's awesome. They were very careful, not one time on the cruise did I ever get contaminated!! There was a Caribbean party one night late, and I was very sad that I would just get to sit and watch everyone eat, because I had missed dinner. They found me a great fish dinner, and my friend the Sui Chef saw me BEFORE the party and asked if he could get me some desserts from the back, it really made my night and made me feel included in the festivities!! My family was so jealous of me for once!
I hope this helps you to feel hopeful about venturing out, and traveling. Happy Baking, Natalie
Ingredients-
Adapted from, tasteandtellblog.com
-1 cup butter softened
-1 cup sugar
-1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
-1/2 cup cocoa(I use dark, so the red doesn't show up in the pic well)
-1/8 tsp salt
-1 TBS red food coloring
-1 TBS Buttermilk
-2 large eggs
-1 1/4 cups Pamela's Bread flour mix
Cream Cheese Frosting-
-4oz room temp Cream Cheese
-1/4 cup butter softened
-1 cup powdered sugar
-1/4 tsp vanilla
To make-bowl and big spoon
-put the butter in a sauce pot or a microwave safe bowl, I used the bowl, melt the butter(not boiling, just melted) then add the sugar and stir into the butter.
-Next add the vanilla, cocoa, salt, food coloring and buttermilk. stir them all together.
-Lastly add the eggs, then carefully fold in the flour, just make sure you have no flour left on the edges. It is a pretty thick batter.
Preheat the oven 350 degrees. Spray the pans with Pam spray. There are 2 options, either you can make mini sized or regular muffin sized. If you want to do Mini size, then use a 1TB measuring spoon, exactly. If you want a regular sized muffin pan, then use 2 TBS in the pan. They both bake for 13 min. Let them cool for a few minutes, then poke a small indent into the middle of them, so you can fill it with the Cream Cheese Frosting later.
Whichever size you do, they taste awesome but you get more if you do the mini's...I'm not exactly sure how many because I had to throw a bunch away in the trail and error period! I'm thinking 36.
These are a few of my favorite things this week! Family
My nephew's Jake and Matt and my niece Kortney
My little family, who aren't so little anymore!
Brayden and Brooklyn, the two biggest cheeses!
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Red Velvet Cookies
I was on a nightly Pinterest cruise, when I came across this recipe, I love cookies, and I thought how GREAT would this be for a child who has a School Valentine's Day party!? These fun cookies can be made the day before, wrapped up in cellophane and tied with a cute ribbon; then every little child will feel that their treat is just as good (if not better ) as the store bought treats all of the other children will be eating for the party!
I am always looking for desserts that make an impact, when I'm asked to bring a dessert. I have found, that I won over my nieces and nephew's, by having foods that look pretty, and fun to eat....the better it looks the less they care if it's GF or not, they just want to TRY it; once I get them trying things they will ask when I'm making my next dessert and they don't care what is in it, this is when I know I am doing something right!! I have made some really ugly but tasty desserts, the poor neighbors and family get them. My only GOAL is to make desserts that I hope people like, and to make baking easy and enjoyable for all of us again.
Someday, being Gluten Free won't make us seem like Circus Freaks, and we won't have to give a giant explanation at every dinner party and restaurant, until then, I will keep baking and I hope you will too. Happy Baking, Natalie
Ingredients:
Adapted from- Eat Cake for Dinner
-1/2 cup butter
-1/3 cup +2 TBS sugar
-1/3 cup + 2 TBS brown sugar
-1 large egg
-1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
-1 TBS red food coloring (I use food gels)
-4 TBS Buttermilk
-1/3 cup cocoa
-1 1/2 tsp baking soda
-1/8 tsp salt
-1/2- 1cup white chocolate chips(depending on what you like, I did a 1/2, but next time I would do 1 cup)
-3 oz. room temperature cream cheese cut into chunks
-1 1/2 cups +2 TBS Pamela's Bread flour
Directions-
-Cream together the butter, sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy, then add vanilla and red food coloring
-Next add buttermilk, baking soda, salt and cocoa, mix them well and scrape down the sides
-Then add your egg, mix it in, then add the flour and make sure it is all mixed well, scrape the sides bottom.
-Lastly add the Vanilla chips, mix, then at the very end add the cream cheese chunks a piece or two at a time and mix lightly, then add more and repeat. (you want a little cream cheese to show)
Bake in a 375 degree oven, for 10-12 min, this makes about 28. Make sure and spray your pan with Pam, I found the cookies to have a nice crisp edge and a soft chewy middle. If you like a crispier cookie, bake for 12-13 minutes. They stayed fresh for 4 days in a sealed container, they didn't last any longer, they were eaten.
Here is my favorite thing this week, but actually always! I made these cookies, the same time as the Nutella Cheesecake! AUUHHH, this has not been good for my waist line, lets just say I helped eat both, and I couldn't give it away FAST enough!! I'll just keep working it off, so I can keep eating Dessert! :-)
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Red Velvet Cake
I
have done a little recipe adjustment since I first posted this, it's a
little less wet and more cakey. It tastes delicious, the texture was
great, it still isn't as tall as I would like, but I am sure I will
tweak it again trying. New recipe, just not new pictures!
This is my son's very favorite dessert EVER, anytime I ask what dessert I should make, this is what he asks for, always!!! He asked me to me to make it triple layer, so I did; however, I think I should have only made it double layer. My son and husband could eat the Cream Cheese frosting with a spoon, but I think less frosting and more cake. I fed a few neighbors and they loved it just the way it was, so when you make this cake, you can either do a 2 or 3 layer cake and it works out, but anyway you slice it looks pretty and makes a nice presentation!! Happy Baking, Natalie
Ingredients-
This recipe was slightly adapted from, What the Dog Ate.
-3 cups Pamela's Bread Flour
-6 TBS corn starch total- 2TBS into each one cup measure, then add the Pamela's Bread Flour onto the cornstarch to make 1cup of flour
-1 1/2 cups sugar
-2 tsp baking soda
-1 tsp baking powder
-5 TB Cocoa( I use half dark-half regular)
-1/2 tsp salt
-2 large eggs
-1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
-1 cup butter milk
-2 TB red food coloring( I use food gels, they are much brighter)
-1tsp pure vanilla extract
-NEVER USE VINEGAR- TRUST ME ON THIS****
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees, 2-9 inch pans.(the new recipe, use 2 pans, it's much thicker, I used a spatula sprayed with Pam to spread the batter, it made it much easier.) Spray them well with Pam. Bake them for and 32-35 min for 2, or until a toothpick comes out clean, except for the very tip. Let it cool completely, before you frost it.
-Combine the flour,sugar, cocoa,salt and soda, give it a stir for about 1 min. Next add the eggs, and the oil, mix until incorporated, scraped down the sides, then add the buttermilk and red food gel or coloring, mix well about 2 minutes and scrape the sides down. This is a nice smooth,thick batter, but, you will have to spread it a little in the pan to make it reach the edges.
Cream Cheese Frosting-
-12 oz. softened cream cheese
-1/2 cup plus 2 TB butter
-4 to 5 cups powdered sugar
-1 tsp pure vanilla extract
-4 to 6 TB heavy whipping cream ( you can use milk too, but if you use whipping cream, you will never go back!)
Beat together the cream cheese and butter
until creamy, then add vanilla, and salt. Next add powdered sugar and
mix together, add milk if it gets too thick. Beat well. I put a layer
of frosting in the middle of the cakes, and then tops and sides. If you
want it to look really clean and nice, put wax paper underneath the
cake, then pull it out when you are done and it will look like Martha
Stewart did it( I learned the tip from her). I make this recipe, it
makes a lot, if I don't use it all I put it in a sealed container in the
freezer and get it out for the next time I need to frost something, it
works great when your in a hurry. I hope you enjoy this
recipe, let me know what you think. Natalie
Now if you look carefully at this cake, you will see how the cake is a little SKINNY, and the frosting is a little THICK.....but to each their own! I vote 2 layers, my son votes 3, so make it however you like!! :)
I have now made this cake 4 different times, and never had a time where it has bubbled over the edges. I use regular pans, nothing fancy. I know everyone bakes with THEIR favorite flour, ovens are different too. I don't have a convection oven either, so sometimes it's a little tweaking I realize even for all of you. I'm trying my best, and I hope you understand I only put up recipes that I have had success with more then once. Thanks, Natalie
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Red Velvet Trifle
I was struggling with what to say today, so I put the whole recipe on before I even started this. I have been to several family gatherings lately, which don't get me wrong, I love being with mine and my husbands family; but, it sure is tough when everything revolves around food. I hate to whine, but dang I would like to have more then fruit, meat and an occasional salad to eat at these fun gatherings, and I don't always want to pack myself a whole meal, and explain to everyone who DOESN'T know what having to be Gluten Free is. I just want to walk into a Restaurant, Party, Convenience Store, Neighbors house or go on a vacation and not worry about having to pack my whole stinking house. I want to be able to travel and have everyone know exactly what GF is, and how to assist us. I'm done whining, I am fixing my issue with NASTY GF Desserts, now I have to figure out a way to make the traveling easier for us too. So sorry about the rant, I hope I'm not the only person who ever has these issues. Enjoy the Trifle it's Delicious, Natalie
Ingredients:
Recipe slightly adapted from Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body
-Gluten free Red Velvet Cake mix (Gluten- Free Heaven carries this, she is on the web or call 801-717-8423) They are Fantastic!
- Or you can use another cake mix of your choice and use your food coloring to make it
Red Velvet. You need a 9x13 inch cake or 2 9x9 inch round cakes to make this. Or, if you feel Super ambitious, make your own!!
Ganache-
-1 cup half and half (or I used whipping cream, that is what I had on hand)
-2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
I have done this in the microwave and on the stove and they both turn out just beautifully! If you do it on the stove, put the chocolate and the cream together, turn it on medium heat, let the chocolate start to melt and stir it all together until it is all smooth and creamy. It takes about 7-8 minutes, when it is cooled to room temperature then it is ready to be drizzled on the cake. (if you are in a rush, put it in the fridge for a few minutes)
Creamy Goodness:
-12 oz. Cream Cheese ( room temperature)
- 1 12 oz. container of Cool Whip
-1/3 cup sugar
Mix the sugar and the cream cheese together, with a hand mixer or big mixer until they are smooth and creamy. When you have mixed it well, then add the Cool Whip, and blend it in slowly until it is all fluffly!!!
-Now that everything is made we are ready to ASSEMBLE! You can do this how ever you like, I had my 16 year old daughter help me, so I let her do the cake part however she wanted to, hence the CRUMBLED cake, ( I was thinking chunks) she thought it would look really cool crumbled, so we got a "Cool Crumbled Trifle". It all tastes the same so chop it up in chunks or crumbles, it doesn't matter, I just wanted her to help. ( if you have teenagers, you understand this!)
 |
| Terrible picture! |
Assembly-
-Cake
-Creamy Goodness
-Ganache
Do this in thirds, when you put on the creamy goodness smooth it over the whole thing, then drizzle the Ganache. On the very last layer end with Creamy goodness, and sprinkle with Cocoa just to finish it off.
It's not my most beautiful dessert,
but it tastes really great!
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Red Velvet Cake Balls
Oh my gosh, what can I say about Cake Balls, I LOVE them!! Here are a couple of reasons why: they are pop-able, they freeze, so I can have treats for a month, they are portable, my 16 year old can and WILL make them!!! (she doesn't cook!) portion control, they look soooo FANCY when you take them to places. You can dress up the outside and make it look festive for any Holiday. I personally love having cake balls in my freezer, instant treat and chocolate to boot. My favorite, and my families is still The Nutella Cake Balls, but these are a pretty Stinking good, they only lasted a week! I really hope you like them, no one will EVER know they are GF, so don't tell until they are GONE! Natalie
Ingredients:
-1 Gluten Free Betty Crocker, Devils Food (chocolate) cake mix
-1cube melted butter (not bubbly,just barely)
-1 cup buttermilk
-3 large eggs
-red food coloring(I use food gels, they do richer better colors, I think, especially for frostings)
-1 cube of cream cheese
-1/4 powdered sugar
-white chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate, or whatever you want to dip with. I used the Wilton white candy coating this time, just to see how it would work, I personally DID NOT like it, it was way too sweet. I like regular chocolate, I won't be using it again.
-Crisco, which you use a teaspoon at a time to thin down the chocolate.
Cooking directions-
Use a 9x13 pan, sprayed with Pam, Bake for 25-27 min, check with a toothpick. Cool the cake completely, then crumble the cake up. Use a room temperature cream cheese brick ,and the powdered sugar and combine them with a big spoon (I use my hands) and the cake crumbles, and combine them together until it all is all stuck together. It's a little messy, but kinda fun! Then roll those babies into balls, between 30-40. Place them on a sprayed pan, then into the freezer for at least 2 hrs or over night.(put the toothpicks in before you freeze them). If you don't have time to dip them soon, put them in a freezer bag and do it at your leisure.
Dipping, I just put the chocolate into a microwave safe bowl, heating 30 seconds at a time. Thick chocolate is hard to dip, so I always end up using some Crisco, to thin it down. My tip is to put toothpicks in the top of the cake balls, before you freeze them, then while they are frozen, use it to hold onto while you dip!
