Blueberry Cup Cakes

I had made banana cup cakes before, and I wondered if altering the recipe by switching out the fruit would work.  I used the same recipe from this post but with blueberries.

Combine butter and shortening on high speed.

Mix in sugar and vanilla.

Eggs.

Mix in mashed blueberries.

And then mix in all the dry alternatively with butter milk.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes.

Let cool.

Apply cream cheese frosting.

They might not have been the prettiest cupcakes I've made, but these tasted so good, and were much appreciated by the birthday boy they were intended for.

Enjoy!

Bread Pudding

I love bread pudding.  It's a decadent comfort food, and I've had my fair share of it.  I have never made it before, so I decided to look up a few recipes and make one up on the fly.

I combined 5 eggs

with 1 cup of brown sugar

1 cup of whole milk

and 2 cups half and half.

Whisk together.

Next I whisked in 1 tsp of cinnamon

and 1  tsp of nutmeg, fresh nutmeg.

Now for the bread.  I go to the Troy Farmer's Market every Saturday, and there's a bread vendor that sells some of the best bread and pastries I have eaten.  I bought a very special loaf just for this recipe, a lemon cranberry bread.  So sweet, and tart, I personally like to toast it up with butter.

I cut it up into chunks and put it into my custard mix.

After a few stirs I let it sit for 30 minutes at room temperature stirring it so the bread soaks up the goodness.

Pour into a baking dish and bake for 45 min at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, or until the center is set.

This is gorgeous, and it smelled heavenly.

Orange Sherbet

Some people prefer a lower calorie option when partaking in a frozen treat.  I decided to try my hand at making orange sherbet.  Unlike sorbet, sherbet has milk in it.

I used my food processor for this recipe to combine 2 cups of orange juice plus 1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 cup of sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp orange zest

and 1 tsp vanilla extract.

Spin it up until the sugar is disolved.

Transfer to a bowl and whisk in 1 1/2 cups of cold whole milk.

Cover and chill for an hour.

Once it's chilled, break out the ice cream machine and churn for 50 minutes.

It turned out a little chunky, but I was able to smooth it out a bit when I transfered it to the container.

After tasting it I feel I put too much vanilla in the mixture.  Next time I'll use less, but it is still a refreshing and tasty treat.

Enjoy!

Vanilla

This is something we're used to seeing in baked goods and desserts.  Usually added as an extra flavoring component, meant to enhance cookies, cakes or even chocolate desserts.  I wanted to make something that showcased this bean, and I decided to make ice cream.  It's been so hot, and I really wanted to have a sweet cool relief from the heat.

The vanilla bean, isn't really a bean at all.  It's the seed pod of an orchid.  It's dried prior to distribution hence the look and cost.  The recipe I used is by Alton Brown, and can be found here.

Combine 2 cups half and half

with 1 cup heave cream

1 cup minus 2 Tbsp white sugar

and 1 vanilla bean split with the innards out.  Mine was a bit dry so it cracked apart.

Stir on and off until the mixture comes to a simmer.

Let it cool then store an cover in the fridge over night.

Bust out your ice cream machine.

Pour in the cream mixture and churn for about an hour.

Once frozen and tasty transfer into a clean container with a top and place in the freezer for a few hours and then it's ready to serve!

The weather was so hot this week, this was a sweet relief!  Enjoy!