Happy Easter!

For Easter this year, I wanted to get a bit more creative then last year, where I used pre-made cupcake toppers. I saw the idea for this year's cupcakes on Pinterest, but I can't find it anywhere now, and very uncharacteristic of me, I didn't pin it to my cupcake board.

The idea is for green buttercream frosting to look like grass, then toasted coconut nests, holding jellybean eggs. Cute right? This kind of arts & crafts moment makes me wish I had kids already! (Note the sneaky kitty in the background.)

I used a new vanilla cupcake recipe, from Glorious Treats and it came out very tasty, and the cake itself a bit spongy. I winged it with the buttercream; butter, cream cheese, vanilla extract, coconut oil, confectioner's sugar.

Blackberry Lemon Cupcakes!

I first saw these cupcakes on Pinterest, courtesy of the lovely blog Tide and Thyme. I loved the idea of a cupcake with fresh lemon and blackberries, perfect for springtime, and pretty pastels too!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

In honor of all things Irish, this year I made Guiness chocolate cupcakes with Bailey's cream cheese frosting. Recipe courtesy of Annie's Eats. Any dark stout complements chocolate so perfectly in a cupcake, and I was just as happy with the flavor of these as I was back on Halloween, when I made Pumpkin Ale Cupcakes. Yum!

Chai Spice Latte Cupcakes!

Another fabulous recipe from Gimme Some Oven, these Chai Latte cupcakes had been on my radar from some time, also thanks to Pinterest. I was intrigued about making chai cupcakes without using chai teabags; instead the recipe calls for the baker to mix her own chai spice mix. I loved this extra element! I did not have cardamom on hand, so I substituted (a little less) allspice. I also added some Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur to the chai spiced buttercream for a little kick. I garnished with half a cinnamon stick for style. Fab!

Potato Quiche!

This is probably the 10th quiche posting on my blog, as quiche is one of my favorite things to make. You can customize your recipe to include whatever is on hand, both in pantry and fridge. It is fun to make, and interesting, as you probably will not have the same exact quiche each time.

This particular past Sunday, I had some extra red potatoes on hand, so I peeled, sliced, and roasted them. I mixed up a variety of cheeses to make the quiche filling, including diced slices of Munster, ricotta, shredded cheddar, heavy cream, cream cheese, and Parmesan. I was lazy and did not want to make a crust, so I just filled my tartlet pans with the cheesy mixture, and then topped with the roasted potato rounds. Yum!

Honey Beer Bread!

When I saw a recipe for golden, soft honey beer bread on Pinterest, my curiosity was instantly piqued. When I realized the recipe was coming from Gimme Some Oven, I bookmarked it to make, like ASAP. The ingredient list is short and sweet, and probably means you do not need to make a trip to the grocery store. The only beer my boyfriend had in our fridge was Guinness, so I went with it. Amazingly, the dark beer and light honey combined to make a very flavorful, fluffy loaf. I was blown away by the simplicity - 5 ingredients, no kneading, total time from start to finish was less than an hour. I highly recommend this for any carb lover out there! I would like to experiment with a lighter beer next time, maybe a pale ale, as the dark Guinness resulted in a slightly bitter aftertaste (which my family still seemed to enjoy).