{Strawberry Cheesecake Parfaits}

Shrek: For your information, there's a lot more to ogres than people think.
Donkey: Example?
Shrek: Example... uh... ogres are like onions!
Donkey: They stink?
Shrek: Yes... No!
Donkey: Oh, they make you cry?
Shrek: No!
Donkey: Oh, you leave 'em out in the sun, they get all brown, start sproutin' little white hairs...
Shrek: NO! Layers. Onions have layers. Ogres have layers. Onions have layers. You get it? We both have layers.
Donkey: Oh, you both have LAYERS. Oh. You know, not everybody like onions. What about cake? Everybody loves cake!
Shrek: I don't care what everyone else likes! Ogres are not like cakes.
Donkey: You know what ELSE everybody likes? Parfaits! Have you ever met a person, you say, "Let's get some parfait," they say, "Hell no, I don't like no parfait"? Parfaits are delicious!
Shrek: NO! You dense, irritating, miniature beast of burden! Ogres are like onions! End of story! Bye-bye! See ya later.
Donkey: Parfait's gotta be the most delicious thing on the whole damn planet! 

 So, Shrek is one of my very favorite movies on all of planet earth. Also, Shrek 2, which is veerd since most sequels kinda, well, let's not mince words here, suck.

Donkey is one of my all time favorite characters. Eveeer.

copyright Dreamworks

I luff him. I cannot, cannot, cannot make a parfait without thinking of the above conversation. Ever. Ever. Donkey resides in my brain and randomly quotes things, like, "we took a magic potion, and now, we're SEXY!". Yes. Donkey. In my brain. Which can be entertaining, but probably annoying to those closest to me. Quoting Shrek & Harry Potter lines all day long. There's nothing wrong with that, right? I know.

I wanted to make a quick and easy dessert for hubs for Father's Day. Two of his favorite treats are Aunt Rosie's Strawberry Delight and Grammy's Strawberry Pie. So, what I did today was kinda combine the two.

Funny story. The Bean took hubs to the movies today to see Man of Steel for Father's Day. While they were gone, I made this. I was editing the pictures when hubs saw them.

Hubs: WHAT'S THAT?
Me: a dessert
Hubs: Is there more?
Me: I ate it all.
Hubs: Those pictures are at our house!
WHERE IS IT?
Me: It's GONE.
Hubs: runs to fridge and proceeds to gobble it down.

So, I guess it was A-OK, huh?

Hope you've had a wonderful day celebrating all the special men in your life!

Tina



Strawberry Cheesecake Parfait
serves 4 (photo above is a very large serving)

For the graham layer: 
3 full sheets of graham crackers
2 Tablespoons sugar

Add together in food processor and crush until very fine

For the cream cheese layer:
1- 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened (I used 1/3 less fat for a softer set)
1-2 Tablespoons milk
1/2 cup sugar

Starting with 1 Tablespoon milk, beat together cheese and sugar in mixer until well combined. Should be the consistency of pudding. If too thick, add the other tablespoon of milk.

For the strawberry gel layer:
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons corn starch
2 Tablespoons strawberry jello powder (mix)*

*store the rest in a ziploc baggie for making this again! 
 

On the stovetop, add all ingredients into a heavy saucepan. Stir together. Heat over medium heat. 

It will be kind of a milky red. Allow to boil, stirring constantly. As it begins to thicken, it will turn a clear, bright red. When thickened, remove from heat. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before assembling parfaits.

 

For the strawberry layer:

sliced strawberries

Assemble:

Graham cracker layer, cream cheese layer, gel layer, strawberries. Repeat. Top with whipped cream and sprinkles.

{ Nutella Spread & Nutella Cupcakes }

 Blame my friend Darla.

It's all her fault.

These recipes are a direct result of her doing.

You can't blame me, I don't even like Nutella.

Well, they are also a result of my failure, but we won't talk about that.

Alright, fine, we will. The other night, I had an event with my youth group. I decided to make Darla's recipe for Nutella Cream Pies. Then, I, uh... burnt them.

I know, I know, but people, I have failures in the kitchen too. O.F.T.E.N.

I still had more cookies to bake (which I did, which I DIDN'T burn), but it wouldn't be enough.

Then... Light Bulb.

And yes, I totally just typed that in Gru's voice.

I decided to just alter her filling recipe a bit and make.... Nutella Spread.

Here's what I did:

Nutella Spread

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup marshmallow fluff
3/4 cup Nutella

pinch of salt

Beat the butter until smooth, add in the sugar, then add the vanilla and marshmallow spread, along with the pinch of salt. Lastly, mix in the Nutella. Beat until whippy and smooth.

Serve with Graham Crackers, and cookies like Oreos & Vanilla Wafers. In the photo you'll also see some of the surviving Nutella cookies from Darla's recipe, which are delish- and remember folks, I don't even LIKE Nutella. They have a very light Hazelnut flavor, but a rich chocolatey one.

Now, fast forward two days, and I get a request from one of my Youth Grouppers for Nutella Cupcakes (I always bring treats on Sunday Nights). 

Nutella Cupcakes

I used a boxed chocolate cake mix and beat a 1/2 cup of Nutella right into the batter.

Then, I made a Nutella Marshmallow Buttercream

Nutella Buttercream
Recipe by Tina @ Sugar Bean Bakers*

2 sticks of butter- softened

4 cups of powdered sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla

2-3 tablespoons heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup of Nutella
1/2 cup marshmallow fluff

2 squares of unsweetened chocolate,
melted, and cooled to room temperature 

First make the buttercream, by beating the butter for 3 minutes. Then slowly add in the sugar and salt. Splash in the vanilla and heavy cream and beat for about a minute, then add the marshmallow fluff. Add in the chocolate and the Nutella and beat. If it's too thick, add in a bit more heavy cream, one tablespoon at a time. Beat unti light and fluffy.

*Adapted from  Darla's Perfect Vanilla Buttercream 

Swirl on to cupcakes & top with sanding sugar. I used pure cane sugar on these.

I actually liked these cupcakes as well. The hazelnut is light here, as well. You can totally taste it, but it's not overpowering. Our youth minister really liked them. I'm not sure how many he ate, but I know it was more than 2!

One of the kids said they tasted like fudge, and hey, that's never a bad thing!

Either of these recipes would be excellent for the upcoming holidays. Great for parties and get togethers.

So, failure sometime equals success. You just never know, do ya!

Tina

{ S'more Cupcakes }

Newsflash:

It's fall. 

Fall around here includes a whole lotta bonfires and weenie roasts.

You know what goes hand in hand with weenie roasts?

S'mores. Of course.

Fall is my favorite season. It's sadly short, but for a while we are treated to firey bright trees in shades of yellow, orange, red, and brown against a backdrop of a bright blue sky dotted with puffy white clouds. I know Ohio isn't the atypical amazing fall color state. Those are the New England states. However, if it's been a reasonably wet summer, come fall we are treated to gorgeousness.

And the sunsets... well, the sunsets are just amazing.

I love the pumpkin picking

And the carving.

Please note this is the Bean's prize winner from our Youth Group carving contest.

It's a little concerning, no?

And Thanksgiving. Man oh man, I love Thanksgiving.

Last year's Thanksgiving table. Decorated and sat by the Bean.

Basically, you see, I do love this little thing called Fall & all that comes with it.

Including, of course, S'mores!

S'more cupcakes are kinda like a portable s'more, you see.

Chocolate cake, drizzled with a chocolate glaze, topped with a marshmallow buttercream, and sprinkled with graham cracker crumbs and Hershey Bar bits.

Interested?

Let's do this thing!

Start with some chocolate cuppies. You can use a box, or this is a great recipe!

S'mores Cupcakes

Cupcakes:

24 Chocolate Cupcakes, baked and cooled

2 Graham Crackers

2 Tablespoons Sugar

1-2 Hershey bars

Chocolate Glaze:

4 Tablespoons of Butter

3 Tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa

1/2 Cup Confectioners Sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla

2-3 Tablespoons HOT water

Marshmallow Buttercream*:

 2 Sticks (1 cup) of Butter (softened)

2 Cups Powdered Sugar

2-3 Tablespoons Heavy Cream or Milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1- 7 oz container of Marshmallow Fluff

 1/4 teaspoon of salt

First, lets cut up some Hershey Bars

Ideally, you'll have 2 bars of Hershey & be able to sprinkle a bit more on the top than I did.

SOMEONE, must have been a sneaker and eaten my other. SOMEONE who is nearly 6 foot tall, 

red-headed, and nicknamed Bean....

Chop the Hershey Bars up into little squares & sit aside.

Add 2 graham crackers and 2 Tablespoons of sugar in a zippered baggie.

Then crush, making sure not all is powder fine. You'll want larger pieces as well.

Sit this aside too.

Now, make your chocolate glaze.

Melt the butter in the microwave, then add the 3 Tablespoons of cocoa. Mix well, add in your 1/2 cup of Powdered Sugar & 2 Tablespoons of Hot Water & 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Whisk until glossy. If too thick, add the 3rd Tablespoon of Hot Water.

Drizzle over cupcakes. You can also dip your cupcake into the glaze, twisting a little as your take it out to get rid of excess chocolate.

Please ignore the fact that I'm glazing the very edge of the cupcake. It's hard to drizzle  

and take photos at the same time.

Let the glaze set up while you make your Marshmallow Buttercream.

In a mixer, add the 2 Sticks of Butter. Beat for about a minute. Then add the 2 cups of powdered sugar in a little at a time. Next, beat in your Vanilla & Marshmallow Cream. Now add your milk/heavy cream 1 Tablespoon at a time. If thin enough, stop there. If not, add more.

This is not a firm buttercream, keep that in mind. It's a softset & kind of a little sticky.

Top each cupcake with a nice sided dollop of the frosting. You don't need to cover the whole cupcake. 

After that, sprinkle with the graham cracker mix & add on a few piece of Hershey Bar for each.

Donzo!

A tasty alternative to real s'mores, no bonfire necessary.

Happy Fall, y'all!

Tina

*My Marshmallow Buttercream is adapted from this Vanilla Buttercream Recipe