Ghoulish Halloween Treats

I love how people go all out during Halloween, decorating their homes, with creative and out of the box costumes, and of course... Halloween treats! A couple of days ago, I started looking for Halloween inspirations for sweet treats, and I found amazing things! I don't have anything specific going on for Halloween yet, but I don't think we really need a reason to have fun with cupcakes or whatever you want to bake! I'm obsessed with the two pictures of the cupcakes above, and I'm definitely going to try and recreate the witch cupcake, it's genius! I looked for all types of ideas, simpler ones, like the meringue ghosts, classier options like the beautiful cupcakes with the little pumpkins on top, to more creepy ones, like the voodoo gingerbread cookies! Hope you find inspiration for your own ghoulish treats!

Let me know!

Xo,

Flor

Me encanta como la gente se goza Halloween, decorado sus casas, haciendo disfraces súper creativos, y pues claro... decorando sus postres. Hace unos días comencé a buscar inspiración de como decorar postres con motivos de Halloween, encontré maravillas. Hasta el momento no tengo nada específico planeado para este día, pero creo que no necesitamos una razón para gozarnos este día. Estoy obsesionada con la imagen y decoración de los cupcakes de arriba, definitivamente voy a tratar de recrear el de la bruja... está genial. Busqué todo tipo de inspiración, desde ideas más simples como los fantasmas de merengue, otras ideas más clásicas, como los cupcakes con la calabaza pequeña, a ideas más asustadiza, como las galletas de voodoo. ¡Espero que encuentren inspiración!

Me dejan saber que les parece.

Xo,

Flor

More classic and less crazy ideas! 

Images from Pinterest, Martha Stewart & Food Network

Coffee & Hazelnut Cake

This Coffee and Hazelnut Cake tastes like heaven! Super moist with just the right amount of buttercream to hazelnut ratio. I won't say it's super easy to make just because it's pretty time consuming, but if you have skinned hazelnuts then it's not so time consuming. You can swap the hazelnuts for some delicious macadamia nuts or go for something that you probably already have in your pantry, like some walnuts. This is a nice twist to the more usual chocolate or vanilla cakes, it's always nice to change things up! If you really like a lot of frosting on your cake or you're baking it for someone who does, you'd probably would like to double the frosting recipe, I personally love the look of just frosting the top and the center of the cake, it looks really effortless and homey, Hope you enjoy the recipe!

Let me know what you think!

Xo

Flor

Coffee & Hazelnut Cake

1 cup skinned hazelnuts

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons milk

2 tablespoons very strong brewed coffee, cooled

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter two 8x2" round cake pans, then line the bottom with parchment paper.

Spread the hazelnuts on a baking sheet. Bake for 5-1o minutes until lightly roasted, shaking sheet once and watching carefully to make sure they don't burn. Let cool. Finely chop 2/3 cup of the hazelnuts and set aside for the cake. Coarsely chop the remaining hazelnuts and reserve for the garnish.

Sift together flour and baking powder into a bowl and set aside. In an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar for about 5 minutes, until very light and fluffy.

Add eggs very slowly,with the electric mixer running, adding 1 tablespoon of flour during the process to prevent curdling. Using a large rubber spatula, fold in the remaining flour, finely chopped hazelnuts, milk, and coffee until well blended.

Spread evenly between the pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until cakes spring back to the touch or wooden toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool slightly in the pans. Turn out on wire racks and remove paper and let cool completely. 

Buttercream

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar

2 tablespoons very strong brewed coffee, cooled

Directions

Cream butter and sugar together for at least 5 minutes or until really light and airy, then add the coffee. Mix well. 

Spread half the buttercream on to the base of one cake, lay the other on top and finish with remaining buttercream. Sprinkle the coarsely chopped hazelnuts and voilá! 

Vanilla Pound Cake

Pound cakes are the perfect dessert for those warm days to come, really rich and buttery, but they still feel light when you eat them, so deceiving. This recipe is one that everyone should have, it's really simple to make and you can make so many variations from the same recipe. You can go with some fresher options like lemons, limes and oranges or some richer ones like chocolate, caramel or rum. The same stands for the glaze, you can go simple with the cake and twist it up with glaze, adding nuts or rose water and even just dusting some confectioner sugar. This pound cake recipe makes two cakes, so it's perfect for a party or a dinner between friends and it's so simple that it takes one stress away from party planning. I love decorating with fresh flowers, it's a perfect idea for spring and really easy. You can make the Glaze Recipe and use it for both cakes.  Hope you enjoy the post & try out the recipe!

Xo

Flor

Recipe:

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp

2 cups granulated sugar, divided

4 extra large eggs, room temp

3 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cup buttermilk, room temp

1 teaspoon pure vanilla

Directions

Preheat ove to 350 degrees F. Grease & flour 2 (8 1/2 by 4 1/2 by 2 1/2 inch) loaf pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper.

Cream butter & granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for about 5 mins, or until light & fluffily. With the mixer on medium speed, beat in the eggs, 1 at a time.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, & salt. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk and vanilla. Add the flour & buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning & ending with the flour. Divide the batter evenly between the pans, smooth the tops, & bake for 45 mins to 1 hr, until cake tester come out clean.

When the cakes are done, let them cool for 10 mins. Take them out of the pans, place them on a baking rack & allows the to cool completely. You can wrap them well & store in the refrigerator if not for immediate use.

Source: Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa)  

Glaze:

2 tablespoons melted butter 

1 cup confectioner sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

2 tablespoons milk (if needed)

Directions:

Combine the 2 tablespoons of melted butter, vanilla and confectioner sugar; if the result is too thick add milk. ( I suggest you add one and if it remains to thick add the second).

Very Lemony Crunch Cake

When I think about desserts on a lazy spring afternoon what comes to mind are light & fresh desserts, using fruits you just got at the market. When you try this lemon cake you'll understand what I mean by a light & fresh dessert. This cake is definitely for a lemon lover, but if you wish to tone it down you can use less lemon zest & juice. Originally I wanted to make Meringue frosting, but it was a rainy day so I knew the egg whites wouldn't rise, so I decided on the 7 Minute Frosting which is a great substitute for Meringue when you have a humid day. The difference between these 2 frosting is that the Meringue Frosting has an even lighter feel to it, the 7 Minute has a richer texture. I can envision this cake as the perfect dessert for a outdoor lunch. On what occasion would you use it?! Hope you liked the post!

Xo

Flor

Very Lemony Crunch Cake 
  Bake & Decorate by Fiona Cairns

For the Cake:                                                                    For the topping:
1 1/4 cups self-rising flour                                                 1/2 cup granulated sugar
a pinch of salt                                                                    juice of 1 large lemon
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened plus more for the pan
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
finely grated zest and juice of 1 large lemon

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
Lightly butter a 7'' springform pan and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper.

Sift the flour and salt into a bowl and set aside. Melt the butter in a small saucepan and set aside to cool slightly.
Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat the eggs and sugar together until very light and fluffy (about 5 mins). Blend in the melted butter; then very gently fold in the flour mixture and lemon zest.
Finally, slowly fold in the lemon juice.
Pour and spread the batter into the pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the cake springs back to the touch, or wooden toothpick comes out clean.

Meanwhile, make the crunch topping by simple mixing the sugar and lemon juice together. As soon as the cake comes out from the oven, pierce tiny holes all over it with a wooden toothpick and pour the lemon syrup evenly all over the surface.
Let cool completely in the pan. Remove the side of the pan and the side papers. 

7 Minute Frosting
Click on this link for the 7 Minute Frosting recipe.