Lovin' From the Oven

Bakerella Cupcake Pop Bouquet

by 15 Comments










A friend of mine at school asked me if I could bake something for his girlfriend’s sister’s birthday. He basically left it up to me and let me make whatever I wanted since he trusted my taste. Ahh, the beauty of boys getting girls gifts… they always let the girls figure it out for them! Nevertheless, I was excited because I had another reason to make Bakerella’s cupcake pops once again!

This time, instead of making a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting, I made a devil’s chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting. The result? I think these were better than the red velvet, if I do say so myself. The only thing missing was that I didn’t have the mini m&m’s to top them all off. I used a styrofoam base to stick all the lollipops in and to keep them from tipping over (you can find these bases at a crafts store in the planting section). I made the cupcake pops just like before, but stuck a lollipop stick through them once they hardened and were completely dry. If the chocolate was too thick to poke the stick through, I used the tip of a knife to carve out a tiny hole so that the stick would go in easier.

I haven’t been able to bake this weekend because of my wisdom teeth surgery, but I lucked out and only had 2 wisdom teeth instead of the usual 4 (both of mine were on the bottom)! The operation was definitely not as terrible as I thought it would be since they knocked me out. The last thing I remember was the doctor telling me, “You’re probably freaking out and wondering ‘Why haven’t I passed out yet?'” The next thing I knew, I was waking up and the procedure was done. Amazing how that works. I’ve been living off of tomato bisque, mashed potatoes, yogurt, ice cream, and macaroni and cheese for the past couple of days. Man, what I would do for a chili cheeseburger! I’m seriously craving some REAL food. Thank goodness I have a nice boyfriend who’s about to pick me up some creme brulee and caramel flan (my favorite desserts of all time) right now. :]

My family & friends have been amazing since I’ve basically been stuck in bed all weekend and I just want to say thank you! I even woke up from my nap today to find this from my boyfriend’s mom & grandma:

…a “feel better” bouquet (sorry for the crappy picture quality, it was taken on my phone)! How sweet is that?! They’re so precious. I’m recovering quite quickly compared to my friends’ horror stories about their experiences with wisdom teeth pulling, and I should be up and about in no time. Thanks for all your concerns and words of advice! :]

Nutty, Chocolaty, Swirly Sour Cream Bundt Cake

by 9 Comments



I know, I know.. another recipe from Dorie?! I just couldn’t help it. Her book is too good, how can you resist? I’ve always been intrigued of baking with sour cream… it always produces the moistest cakes! I would have never thought of using sour cream in baking; it just seems so contradictory. But who am I kidding, with all these bacon related desserts popping up, I’m really beginning to second guess myself.

This recipe was perfect (except that I pulled it out of the pan a little bit early and the top fell apart, hence no picture of the complete product). It was light, fluffy, moist, and flavorful. I loved how the sugar mixture hardened a bit and had a bit of a crunch. The nuts were a nice touch, but I would probably leave them out next time because I’m not that big of a fan of nuts. I would probably leave the chocolate pieces out, too, because I’m a simple kinda girl. It would actually taste like the cinnamon crumb coffee cake from Starbucks. Delish!

Now you must be wondering, “where’s the recipe”?! I’m sorry to say that I’m not posting this recipe because I’ve already posted one from her, and I really think you should buy her book! This recipe is found on page 182 of Baking: From my Home to Yours. Trust me, it’s really worth it. If there’s only one book you buy this year, make it this one!

I’ll be out for the next couple days since I’m getting my wisdom teeth pulled out tomorrow at 11AM. 🙁 I’m actually kind of nervous about being knocked out, since I have never been knocked out in my entire life. Any words of advice? My meals for the next couple of days will consist of yogurt and smoothies. Wonderful!

Chocolate Cupcakes & a Giveaway!

by 310 Comments







When I’m in the mood for chocolate, I’m in the mood of chocolate.. lots and lots of it. A little piece from a candy bar won’t satisfy my craving. I need a mound of it, something that’s over the top chocolate-y. I was thinking of some of the most decadent chocolate treats to make for myself (chocolate mousse, pudding, flour-less chocolate cake, fudge, brownies, etc), when I just happened to turn my box of Hershey’s cocoa over. What did I find? Hershey’s “perfectly chocolate” chocolate cake with “perfectly chocolate” chocolate frosting. With a name like that, I knew I was sold. I mean, what other dessert has chocolate 4 times in the title?

I have nothing but great memories of Hershey’s. I was lucky enough to go to Hershey’s Chocolate World in Pennsylvania when I was younger with my family and see how chocolate was made. I still have a souvenir from there– a picture of my entire family on the ride that teaches you the entire chocolate making process. I remember being so appalled and in complete awe of the amount of chocolate in the factory, while wanting to take a bite out of everything. I’d definitely recommend a trip there, if you haven’t already, for all the chocolate fiends like me! :]

I followed the recipe exactly as stated, adding a bit more cocoa into both batters. The result? A perfectly chocolate chocolate cake. Moist, sweet, and chocolate-y, without a sense of empowerment from any of the flavors. Everything blended perfectly together. I dusted half the cupcakes with powdered sugar and left the other half as is. The cupcakes were so beautiful that I couldn’t help but post a million pictures of them. Enjoy!
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 3/4 cups AP flour
  • 3/4 cup HERSHEY’s cocoa
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup boiling water
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease & flour 2 9-inch round baking pans or line muffin cups with bake cups.
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on med speed for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter onto prepared pans.
3. Bake 30-35 minutes if doing 9-inch round pans, 22-25 minutes for cupcakes until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans/cups to wire racks and cool completely.
  • 1/2 cup or 1 stick butter
  • 2/3 cup HERSHEY’s cocoa
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
Melt butter, stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. Makes about 2 cups of frosting.
Hooray for my 100th post on Lovin’ From the Oven! Thank you so much everyone for following along. You guys are the very reason why I’m still blogging today! To show my appreciation, I’ll be doing my very first giveaway! I’ll be giving away A Year of Cookie Cutters from Crate & Barrel!
Photobucket
If you recall, I own this set myself and LOVE it! I used the cutters in my previous post to make no fail sugar cookies. I love it so much that one lucky winner will be able to get your own, BRAND NEW set! It comes with 12 different cookie cutters, one for each month. The cookie cutters are adorably packaged in its own cookie container. It doesn’t get any better than that!
All you have to do to enter in my giveaway is leave a comment, saying anything you’d like… a random comment, a question, a thought… on this post with a way for me to contact you by Saturday, March 14th, 11:59PM Pacific time. I’ll choose the winner by using random.org. Good luck!
You can find more details about this gift (or if you just want to buy it for yourself) on Crate & Barrel’s site HERE

Categories