Dorie Greenspan's Fresh Fruit Tart

I think I made this in September.  It turned out pretty good--my mom went out and got the fruit for me and the fruit was absolutely gorgeouss. A very easy, delicious recipe! The recipe can be found in Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours, which of course is my go-to recipe book for impressive desserts! Her recipes are always beautiful and delicious and easy to follow, although sometimes time-consuming (and definitely not low-cal...but this one wasn't so bad, I mean, the majority of the sugar was natural fruit-sugar!).

Key Lime Pie

I'm not even sure when I made this. I think it was late August--man, I'm behind on posting! And not really baking anything new, so I thought I'd share some of these delicious recipes I've made and never had the chance to share. Pretty sure this was delicious. I'd never made key lime pie before and was a little scared that it was undercooked at first--baked it a little longer than the directions, but in the end, so long as it's solid when you take it out of the oven, I think the key lime pie is baked.

Key Lime Pie

Recipe from Kitchen Runway

1¼ C graham cracker crumbs

¼ C sugar

5 Tbs melted butter

1 14oz can of condensed milk

1 whole egg

1 C lime juice (key lime juice can be used but keep in mind key limes are tarter and more bitter than regular limes.  You can cut the amount of juice down to ½ C for the recipe)

zest of 1 lime

Whipped Cream:

1 C heavy whipping cream

3-4 Tbs of powdered sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)

1 tsp vanilla

lime zest and lime slices

Preheat oven to 350° F.

In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter.  Press the mixture into a 9 inch pie or tart pan.  Place pie pan on a baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and let crust cool to room temperature.

In another bowl, whisk together condensed milk and egg until smooth.  Add lime juice and zest and whisk until combined and smooth.  Gently pour filling into cooled pie shell (on baking sheet) and bake on the middle rack for 15 to 18 minutes until center of pie has set.  Remove from oven and cool pie on rack and then chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours. Top with whipped cream and garnish with lime zest and slices.

Whipped Cream:

In a large, deep bowl, add heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla. Using an electric hand mixer whip the ingredients together on medium high speed for 7 to 8 minutes until it begins to hold stiff peaks.

Carmelized Orange and Arugula Flatbread

Did I ever share this recipe before? No, I don't think so. I had all the photos in a folder on my Desktop to make it hard for me to forget...but then I just got lazy. I made these MONTHS ago to surprise my mom, who loves the Carmelized Orange and Arugula Flatbread at one of her favorite restaurants. She said these were pretty darn close to the real thing!

Carmelized Orange and Arugula Flatbread
Recipe from Twin Tables


Pizza Dough (recipe below)
2 Navel oranges
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoon fresh black pepper, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups wild baby arugula
Large crystal sea salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Roll half of the pizza dough into a large oval, reserve remaining for another use.  Combine juice of one orange, olive oil, mustard, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a small bowl.  Whisk until well combined.  Brush dough with vinaigrette until moist.

Place brown sugar on a plate.  Very thinly slice the remaining orange.  Dip one side of each orange slice into sugar and place on prepared pizza dough.  Bake for 12 minutes or until crust is golden and bottom crispy.  Toss the arugula in remaining vinaigrette and pile atop pizza.  Sprinkle all with remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper and sea salt to taste.

Yield: 2 to 4 Servings

Pizza dough
2-3/4 to 3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 pkg active dry yeast or 2 1/4 tsp
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup warm water (120 degrees F to 130 degrees F)
1/2 Tbsp olive oil

In a large mixing bowl combine 1-1/4 cups of the flour, the yeast, and salt; add warm water and oil. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6 to 8 minutes total) . Divide dough into 2 pieces. Cover; let rest for 10 minutes. (After 10 minutes, wrap up one of the doughs and place in the freezer for a future use.)

Another actual update. MORE CUPCAKES!!

Now I remember why I took such a long break from baking.

Baking makes me fat.

I seriously cannot control myself.

But on a side note, look how cute!

These were for my birthday party last week. Dinosaur-themed yumminess.

Red velvet were the ones I made before, here.

The other ones are...dun-dun-dun...(besides magic)...

Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting

Recipe from Cooking Classy

2/3 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup boiling water

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil

1 3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 tsp salt

2 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 recipe Caramel Frosting, recipe follows

Salted Caramel Frosting:

1 cup salted butter, at room temperature

4 cups powdered sugar

3/4 cup Caramel Sauce, recipe follows (cooled completely)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp coarse sea salt, for sprinkling

Caramel Sauce:

1 1 /2 cups granulated sugar

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp water

6 Tbsp salted butter

1 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large heat proof mixing bowl, whisk together cocoa powder and baking soda. Carefully pour in boiling water and whisk until bubbling subsides and mixture is well blended, allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a separate large mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer set on low speed, blend together melted butter, vegetable oil, granulated sugar, vanilla and salt until well combined, about 30 seconds. Stir in eggs and eggs yolks, mixing just until combined after each addition. Blend in cocoa mixture then blend in heavy cream. Slowly mix in flour and blend until combined, while scraping down sides and bottom of bowl.

Divide batter among 24 paper lined muffin cups and bake in preheated oven until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 18 - 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool in muffin tin several minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool. Cool completely then frost with caramel frosting, drizzle with room temperature caramel sauce (I poured the caramel sauce in a small Ziploc bag and cut a very small tip off end to drizzle) and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Store in an airtight container.

For the salted caramel frosting:

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, whip butter on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 - 4 minutes. Add powdered sugar and blend on low speed until mixture comes together. Add caramel sauce and vanilla and whip on medium-high speed until light and fluffy about 2 minutes.

For the caramel sauce:

Gather all of your ingredients and have them nearby ready to add to the mixture as needed. In a heavy-bottomed 3 quart saucepan, heat sugar and water over moderately high heat whisking constantly to dissolve sugar. Once mixture reaches a boil, stop whisking and allow mixture to boil until it reaches a dark amber color, carefully swirling pan occasionally. Once mixture reaches a dark amber color, immediately add butter and whisk until butter has melted then immediately remove from heat. Wait 3 seconds then carefully pour in cream and immediately whisk to combine (it will bubble vigorously). Whisk until mixture is smooth. Allow caramel to cool several minutes then pour into a glass jar to cool completely and refrigerate.

Finally?!

Here's something I want y'all to take a look at:

MMM
UGH
OH GOD
So good.

Try it yourself!

Chocolate & Coconut Rum Cupcakes
Recipe from Half Baked Harvest


For the Cupcakes:
1 cup coconut flavored rum (ie Malibu)
1 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 large eggs
2/3 cup greek yogurt

For the Frosting:
1 cup butter, softened
4 1/2 – 4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup coconut rum
1 tablespoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, and line 2 standard cupcake pans with 24 liners.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, simmer coconut rum and butter. Slowly whisk cocoa powder into saucepan until mixture is creamy. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Meanwhile, whisk sugar, flour, salt and baking soda in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs and greek yogurt with an electric mixer. Slowly add coconut rum and cocoa mixture. Combine on low speed.

Slowly add flour and sugar mixture, combining on low speed until completely incorporated.

Fill baking cups three-fourths full. Bake for about 22 minutes. Cool.

To make the frosting cream butter until smooth. Gradually add powdered sugar, alternating with rum and vanilla, until desired consistency is reached. Feel free to add more or less sugar or liquid based on how thick you want your frosting.