Strawberry Cupcakes

You will need:
1 box of white cake mix(I like Betty Crocker)
1 3 ounce package of strawberry flavor gelatin(jello)
1/4 cup of good quality cake flour(I use the Queen Guinevere brand by King Arthur flour)
1 16 ounce package of frozen strawberries in syrup or sugar, thawed, and then pureed
6 extra large egg whites at room temperature
1/2 tsp of cream of tartar
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
1/4 cup of water
pinch of salt
cupcake liners and muffin tins

For the cream cheese frosting:
8 ounces of softened cream cheese
4 ounces of SALTED and softened butter(take it out the night before)
1/4 cup of room temperature, seedless raspberry preserves.
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1 cup of powdered sugar
Pink gel food coloring
Ateco piping tips in #825 and #829
cake decorating piping bags

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, add in your white cake mix, strawberry gelatin, cake flour, pinch of salt and mix until combined. Add in your pureed strawberries, water, and vegetable oil into the dry mixture, and using a handheld mixer, beat until smooth(I missed a few steps in the video but it's written down correctly here)! :) Scrape down the bowl a few times to get a smooth consistency but be careful not to over mix.

In a separate mixing bowl, add your room temperature egg whites plus cream of tartar and whip until stiff peaks(be careful not to over whip your egg whites)! Next, carefully fold in your fluffy egg whites(a little at a time), into your strawberry cake mixture, until all of it is fully incorporated. Using an ice cream scoop, fill your cupcake liners until 3/4 full. Bake for about 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Immediately, remove cupcakes from pan and place them on a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

To make the frosting: In a large mixing bowl, add in your cream cheese, salted butter, powdered sugar, seedless raspberry preserves, and vanilla extract, and beat until smooth. Add in a touch of gel, pink food coloring(more or less depending on how dark you want it) and continue to beat until smooth again. Frost your cupcakes and then garnish however way you please!

Baked bbq chicken buns

Ah, yes...the long awaited baked bbq buns tutorial! And it only took me, what...4 months to post! LOL. I really am sorry for the delay, but I'm glad I didn't post the original recipe because this one is GOLDEN. I changed the recipe a few times because I always felt like something was missing. I also loved the fact that with the final recipe, I used the same dough used for my cinnamon rolls(w/the addition of an extra teaspoon of dough enhancer). Don't skip out on the dough enhancer...it gives the dough the softness and elasticity needed to help you mold your dough into round balls without tearing through it. Don't be discouraged when shaping your buns...it can be very frustrating at first--but if you follow my recipe and technique shown, I'm sure you'll all be experts in no time!!

-Sav

Watch the video below to learn how to make the dough first!



For the filling you will need:
2 thighs or more from a leftover cooked rotisserie chicken(I like the ones from Costco).
2 T of finely chopped shallot
1 1/2 - 2 T of red roast pork seasoning mix
2/3 cup of water
2 T of oyster sauce
1/2 T of apple cider vinegar
2 T of hoisen sauce
1 T of ketchup
1/4 tsp of black pepper
1/2 T of cornstarch mixed with 1/2 T of water
peanut oil
parchment paper
large baking sheet
spray bottle filled with water
1 extra large egg yolk mixed w/ 1 T of water

Take your leftover chicken and give it a nice chop on your cutting board. You don't want any large pieces because it will make it harder for you to fill. Place in a bowl and set aside.

Mix your water, red roast pork seasoning mix, oyster sauce, apple cider vinegar, hoisen sauce, ketchup, and black pepper in small bowl. Set aside.

Mix your cornstarch with 1/2 T of water and set aside.

Add some peanut oil into a hot pan(on medium-medium heat) and add in your chopped shallots. Once translucent, add in your marinade. Let it come to a quick rolling boil and then pour in your cornstarch mixture. Let that thicken up your sauce and then remove from heat and pour over your chopped chicken. Stir to combine and once cooled down, cover and refrigerate OVERNIGHT!

How to fill and form your buns:

Before you begin, make sure you have your large baking sheet topped with parchment paper. Don't forget to lightly spritz it with some water.

After your dough has gone through the first rise(assuming that you've gotten the recipe from my cinnamon roll tutorial) remove the saran wrap from the bowl and dump your dough onto a clean work surface. Immediately, roll your dough up into a log. Cut the log into 12 equal pieces.

Take one piece of dough(keep the others under a dish towel to avoid them drying out)and using a rolling pin, flatten it out one or two times and then continue by flattening out the edges ONLY, creating a circle. You want to leave more dough in the middle so that when you pinch to seal your buns, your filling will end up in the middle because as your pinching to seal--you're also pushing down that filling to the bottom(which will later become the top). This will also prevent any filling from breaking through the buns.

Place 1 T of filling in the middle(you can add a little bit more at a time once you get the hang of shaping and sealing them). Pick up your dough just as you would a taco and then bring up the other two remaining sides as well to join the middle and pinch to seal. Don't spend too much time pinching. Turn the dough over, place on your work surface, and give it a few quick spins to seal, and place on parchment paper. Continue with the remaining dough.

Once all filled, cover with a waste basket liner(or large dish towel) and allow to rise for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, brush the tops with an egg glaze(make sure you get the sides too) and lightly spray the tops with water. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes, ROTATING ONCE FOR EVEN BROWNING. Serve immediately!! YUMMY!! :)

If you're new at making these, you will probably have a few(or a lot) of buns with not that much filling. What the hay, sometimes I don't put enough filling...but in that case, just warm up your filling, cut your baked buns in half, and fill them with more filling AFTER they've come out the oven! PROBLEM SOLVED! Of course, when you're serving these to guests, you probably want to make sure you've got the technique down first, because there is nothing like seeing a hungry person biting into a baked bun and seeing absolutely NO FILLING IN THE MIDDLE! They kind of get this "WTF" type of expression going on! Haha.

Apple puff pastry

Are you a mom who works full time, has 4 kids running around your house(one holding scissors) and is dying for something just a little bit sweeter in your life while not having the time?? Look no further, cause your solution is right here!! This is such an easy and delicious dessert using the frozen puff pastry that can be found in most grocery stores. All you need is some honey, honey and whipped cream for the topping and you're all set!!

You will need:

1 sheet of frozen puff pastry(thaw according to directions on package) -this will make 4 apple pastries

1 golden delicious apple thinly sliced or chopped(it's delicious w/ a bosc pear too)

some melted butter

cinnamon

brown sugar

honey

fresh whipped cream(or store bought)

powdered sugar

Preheat Oven to 400 degrees

Thinly slice your peeled apple and set aside.

Place your thawed puff pastry on a lightly floured surface. Add a small amount of flour onto your puff pastry and rolling pin and gently roll out most of the cracks while slightly expanding the dough. Work quickly cause the longer you work the dough the tougher it may become.

Take a pizza slicer and cut into 4 large equal squares.

Put some melted butter on each square to give the brown sugar something to stick to. Take a fork and gently prick all over the dough.

Sprinkle on some brown sugar and cinnamon.

Place your apple slices in the middle of each square. I do two stacks but you can add more if you please. The more slices you add, the longer it will take to bake. Brush some melted butter on the apple slices and fold over each corner of the puff pastry over the apples and take some more butter to seal.

Place pastries on a piece of parchment paper over a baking sheet and bake for 18-20 minutes.

Place on platter or serving dish and drizzle on some honey while it's hot. Put some freshly whipped cream on each pastry(or store bought) and finish it off with a dusting of powdered sugar. YUMMY!!

Watch my tutorial and see how easy this recipe is!!