Strawberry Shortcake Muffins

10-20-12

  Life's been busy, my in-laws were over the other night and we went to Ikea with them. It was nice to see them and spend time together. I've only tried three new recipes in the last few days. My favorite by far was a really delicious shortcake, I've had the link for a long time now and was so excited to finally get to try it. My hubby was a real sweetheart and helped me out, as it was a more labor intensive recipe, and I don't have four hands yet. :-P

 
Strawberry Shortcake Muffins
Yield: 1 dozen

2-1/2 cups Almond Flour
3/4   tsp  Baking Soda
1/4   tsp  Salt
2/3   cup  Honey
1/3   cup  Coconut Oil, melted
4    large Eggs, room temperature
1     Tbsp Lemon Juice
2     tsp  Vanilla Extract
1/2   tsp  Lemon Zest
1/2   cup  Strawberries, finely chopped
Frosting:
2          Egg Whites
1/3   cup  Honey
1/4   tsp  Lemon Juice
1-1/2 Tbsp Strawberry puree

Preheat Oven to 325^F.
1)  Combine honey, oil, eggs, lemon juice, vanilla, and lemon zest in the blender. Puree on medium speed for 20 seconds or until frothy or smooth.
2)  Add dry ingredients and blend on high for 30-45 seconds. The batter should be very smooth and contain NO lumps. If needed, scrape down the sides with spatula and blend again for a few seconds until all dry ingredients are incorporated.
3)  Gently fold the chopped strawberries in by hand. Divide the batter evenly into lined or greased muffin pan, filling about 3/4 full.
4)  Bake for 16-18 minutes, until a toothpick can be inserted into the middle and comes out clean. 
5)  Let the cupcakes cool completely on the counter or wire rack.
Frosting:
Begin making frosting after cupcakes have cooled completely.
1)  Bring your honey to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
2)  Meanwhile, beat the egg whites and lemon juice until frothy and you can just begin to see trail marks from your beaters. When you lift out the beaters, you should see the soft peaks.
3)  With the beaters running, slowly pour in the boiling honey in a steady stream. Continue beating for 6-8 minutes, until the meringue is cool to the touch.
4)  Gently fold in the strawberry puree, spread onto cupcakes with a knife. Serve Immediately. (keeps in fridge, on cupcakes, for 24hrs)

Original Recipe Link:  http://www.againstallgrain.com/2012/08/27/strawberry-shortcake-cupcakes/                  

Apple Cake Mistake

10-4-12

  I'm back and ready to give an account of my first "conversion" recipe. I made a Plum Cake for my client the other day and wanted to see if I might be able to alter the recipe to comply with my diet. The original recipe had said that you could use other fruits in place of plums. I only had apples on hand, so I made apple cake. :-)
  The results of my cake were not what I expected. The cake ended up rather bland, but the sliced apples on top are what made it delicious. After discussing what I found in my alterations with a few people, I decided that I'll need to make another cake to work out the kinks. The next time I make it, I'm planning to add some vanilla extract. Until then I'll post below with the Original and Converted cake recipes. 
  On another note, when I arrived home from work today my husband and his two younger brothers were making another batch of Sorbet, this time it is Peach flavored. They used the same recipe as before, with the strawberries, only they substituted the strawberries with five large peaches. The taste is very delicious once again, however, we found that the textures are altogether different. The peach sorbet is light tasting and fluffy in texture, while the strawberry sorbet was bold and a definite sorbet texture. I'm very proud of the guys and their talents at making delectable frozen desserts. 

God Bless!
Kittydid

Apple Cake (SCD)
  1       Egg
  1   tsp Lemon Juice
  2  Tbsp Butter, melted
 1/4  cup Honey
1-1/2 cup Almond Flour
 1/8  tsp Cinnamon
 1/8  tsp Baking Soda
 1/8  tsp Salt
  2 small Apples, peeled & sliced
 1/4  cup Cinnamon-Honey mix 

1)  Beat egg until lemon-colored.
2)  Add lemon, butter, and honey; mix well.
3)  Sift dry ingredients together and add to egg mixture.
4)  Press batter into greased 8"x8" pan. (If batter is too stiff, add a bit of water--but it works w/o adding any.)
5)  Arrange fruit on batter and drizzle evenly with Cinna-Hony mix.
6)  Bake for 40 min. at 350F.

*note: next time I'm going to add 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract. Will write update when I do, with how it turns out.

Original Plum Cake Recipe
 1       Egg
1/2 tsp  Lemon Extract
 2 Tbsp  Butter, melted
1/8 tsp  Cinnamon
3/4 cup  Flour
2/3 cup  Sugar
1/2 tsp  Baking Powder
1/8 tsp  Salt
Fresh-or-Frozen Italian Prune/Plum halves
1/4 cup  Cinnamon-Sugar mix

1)  Beat egg until lemon-colored.
2)  Add lemon extract and butter, mix well.
3)  Sift dry ingredients together and add to egg mixture.
4)  Press batter into greased 8"x8" pan. (If batter is too stiff, add a bit of milk--bit it works w/o adding any.)
5)  Arrange fruit, cut-side up, on batter. Sprinkle with Cinna-Sugar mix.
6)  Bake for 40 min. at 350F.

The Men's Test Kitchen

10-2-12

  Last night the guys (my husband and his younger brothers) decided that they wanted to make some homemade ice cream. So I spent much of the night searching for a recipe they could make with the food on hand and something I could also enjoy eating with them. This search led me to this Pinterest page. I found many delicious recipes, but settled on a Strawberry Sorbet (recipe at bottom of post).

  I'm super proud of the guys for learning to use the Ice Cream Machine for the first time and making the Sorbet all on their own. It is very yummy and something we will definitely be making again.

  My first "conversion" recipe is currently in the oven, so I'll be posting again when it is done and we have tasted it (later tonight or tomorrow).

God Bless!

Kittydid

Strawberry Sorbet

2-3 lbs  Strawberries (I used frozen strawberries)

1    cup Water

1    cup Honey

1/4 cup Lemon Juice

1)  Combine the honey and water in a saucepan and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes to create a sweet syrup. Cool the syrup.

2)  Place the cleaned strawberries in a blender or food processor, and blend until the strawberries are pureed. (I added the other ingredients also to puree the strawberries easier)

3)  Combine the pureed strawberries, lemon juice, and the syrup, and blend well.

4)  Cool in the refrigerator for an hour.

5)  Add the mixture to an ice cream maker to make the sorbet.

6)  It will be somewhat soft, but completely delicious, or you can place it in the freezer for storage.

Original Recipe Link: http://comfybelly.com/2009/05/all-natural-strawberry-sorbet/#.UGtf9cXAETB