Showing posts with label fourth of july desserts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fourth of july desserts. Show all posts

Red White and Blueberry Upside Down Cupcakes

Moist and simple, but with a fresh twist! An upside down cupcake is quick but has a very special twist! White cake mixed with red food coloring and a blueberry layer make a unique treat for the Fourth of July (or when the US was still in the World Cup....sad!). As seen on Photograzing. 
Red White and Blueberry Upside Down Cupcakes recipe from cherryteacakes.com
red white and blueberry upside down cupcake
Watching the World Cup has been so intense. Between  BAD calls in the Germany vs. England game or the two goals scored back to back within minutes by Argentina I had been biting my nails! I made these cupcakes for a US game watching party...its a shame that the results were not equally good. The cupcakes were lovely, the soccer scores were not. I think the US was far too dependent on Donovan...but I'm a baker, not a sports analyst. I know food...and is it me or did the Ghana team uniforms look like like a McDonald's commercial circa 1987. Everytime I saw a close up of the red and yellow uniforms I just couldn't help but wonder if they wanted fries with that goal.

I'm not going to pretend these are a fancy cupcake. They were the product of 45 minutes of time between a camping trip and game time. I confess, I used a mix again. If you're looking to color cakes red (the most daunting color) I recommend using Wilton's No Taste Red and lots of it! I split the mix in half and added more than a teaspoon of the dye. It's a tough color to reach. For some reason red dye's just don't behave the same as the rest. If you are looking for blue dye, Wilton also makes a very nice Royal Blue, which is a perfect USA blue instead of the bright blues you'll tend to get with other dyes.

Hopefully your cupcakes turn out just as well...though you might have to use the blueberry upside down cupcakes to cheer on Brazil instead.
Red White and Blueberry Upside Down Cupcakes recipe from cherryteacakes.com
red white and blue cupcakes
Red White and Blueberry Upside Down Cupcakes

1/3 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 white cake mix
1 cup blueberries
water, oil and eggs according to cake mix instructions
Wilton White Dye
Wilton Red No Taste Dye

Preheat oven to 325.

Line two cupcakes tins with liners.

Melt the butter in a small pan over medium low heat. Add sugar and continue to cook for five minutes.

Mix cake mix. Add water. Mix. Add Oil. Mix. Add egg whites one at a time, mixing after each addition.

Split the cake batter in two. Add White dye to one half and red dye to the other half. (The white dye does make a  noticeable difference).

Divide the butter and sugar mixture between the cupcake liners. Add about 7 or 8 blueberries to each cupcake liner. Spoon the white cake batter over the blueberries. Top with red cake batter.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Allow to cool for five minutes before attempting to invert.

Enjoys!



Red, White and Blue Raspberry Candy Bars

red white and blue candy bar recipe from cherryteacakes.com
How cute is that? Imagine the shock and awe on your friends and families faces when they bite into a seemingly normal looking candy bar and BAM! It's red white and blue!

I confess the red and white stripes won't be the easiest thing you've ever done. I actually rolled my cookie dough through my pasta maker....and cookie dough is just slighly too soft for that to really go perfectly. You might be better off just doing three stripes and hand rolling...it's a toss up.

One of the keys to success for this recipe is white food dye. I'm not a food dye person, I'd prefer not to use food dyes ever, but, if you want a true white stripe....you just gotta add some chemically white goodness. Where to buy it? I find mine in the cake decorating aisle at Michael's crafts. It's not in with the other food dye though, so look around. If you find glycerin you're on the right path, if you hit fondant rollers you've strayed too far. Besides, how do you make red stripes and blue nougat without food dye? It's worth the chemicals for the cute factor....but only for holidays when all your regular dietary rules are already off. *wink*

The nougat you can flavor in any way you like. I chose rhaspberry but it can easily be vanilla, lemon, rum, mint, almond (oooh that would be lovely), etc.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and if you need a couple other red, white or blue recipes here are my others:
”orange
Berries n’ Cream Pavlova
”orange
Red White & Blueberry
”orange
Rhubarb Berry Crumbles
”orange
Strawberry Donuts
”orange
Cherry 'n' Chip Ice Cream
”orange
Strawberry Basil Ice Cream





















So if you're ready  to jump into making some red, white and blue raspberry candy bars let's get this happening!

Red White and Blue Raspberry Candy Bars

for the nougat:
2 cups sugar
2/3 cup corn syrup
½ cup water
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla
red food coloring
white food coloring

for the striped cookie base:
½ cup + 6 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
3 cups + 3 Tbsp All Purpose Flour
1 cup Confectioners Sugar
1 Large Egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp raspberry extract
blue food coloring

for the chocolate coating:
Dark chocolate

Begin by making the nougat. Put the sugar, syrup, and water into a small sauce pan and put over a medium heat. Stir until the sugar is melted.

Turn heat to high and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 248°, or until it forms a firm ball when dropped into cold water. While the syrup is cooking, beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks.

Slowly pour the hot syrup into the beaten whites of eggs. Beat the mixture constantly while pouring the syrup into the whites, and keep beating until the candy
begins to stiffen. Add vanilla. Add blue food coloring.

Turn the candy onto a buttered slab or platter. Allow to cool.

While the nougat is cooling, make the cookie dough.

Cream together the butter (I do not allow butter to soften), sugar and any flavorings you’re using. Beat until just becoming creamy in texture. Beat in the egg until well combined, make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the sifted flour and mix on low until a non sticky dough forms. Divide the dough into 3 pieces. Mix red food coloring into two pieces and white food coloring into the remaining third.

Roll out each portion between parchment paper to a thickness of about 2 mm. Refrigerate for a minimum of 30mins.

Once chilled, peel off parchment, and stack the layers. Place dough on a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough into a 3x.75 inch bars. Pierce each cookie four or five times with a chopstick or the base of a thermometer. Arrange shapes on parchment lined baking sheets and refrigerate for another 30mins to an hour.

Re-roll scraps and follow the above process until all scraps are used up.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake until golden around the edges, about 8-15mins depending on the size of the cookies.

Leave to cool on cooling racks.

Cut the nougat into the same shapes as the candy bars, and stack on top.

Place two thirds of the chocolate in a double boiler. Melt slowly to 107 degrees. Remove from heat and stir until it reaches 110 degrees. Add in remaining third of chocolate and stir to combine until the mixture reaches 90-93 degrees. Use immediately.

Place a candy bar on a fork and proceed to spoon the tempered chocolate over it, covering completely. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper. Set completed candy bar on the sheet. Repeat with the remaining candy bars. Set the cookie sheet in the refrigerator to set the chocolate.

Eat and enjoy!

Cherry Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Here goes the last of my red white and blue desserts for the year! If you love Cherries Garcia, you're going to LOVE the cherry almond ice cream! It's a pretty decent replica. Sweet and creamy with chunks of bing cherries and chocolate!  As seen on Photograzing!
cherry chocolate chip ice cream 
What a week! DC and the the Fourth of July....I'd love to tell you its awesome, but for those of us who live here it's a little hard to keep our routine amongst the miles and miles of tourists. Being in the US Capitol for the biggest day of American patriotism can be scary. Three hour long lines at the metro, crowded streets and strict security....oh such a joy for those of us who live here and think of the National Mall as a running track.

So, if you can't beat them...join them!!! This weekend I'm heading to the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival, the Capitol Fourth Concert, and of course the fireworks on the National Mall. I'm very excited to count the fanny packs along the way. I'm not sure how they managed to survive all these years, but fanny packs are alive and well amongst DC tourists. 

I hope you have a wonderful Fourth of July weekend! Enjoy the fireworks and BBQs! 
cherry chocolate chip ice cream
Cherry Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

¼ cup semisweet chocolate chunks
½ cup fresh bing cherries, halved and pitted
2 large eggs
¾ cups sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups whipping cream
1 cup whole milk

In a stand mixer combine the eggs and sugar. Beat for one minute until light and fluffy. Gently mix in the cream and milk. Do not whip!

Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

About two minutes before it is done, add in the chocolate chunks. (I actually used a chocolate toasted almond bar!)

If you prefer pink ice cream, also add in the cherries. I wanted white ice cream, so I withheld them and added them in layers when packaging the finished product.

Pour ice cream into a suitable container (layered with cherries if preferred) and freeze until hardened fully.

Enjoy! Happy Fourth to the USA! 


Berries N' Cream Pavlova

Continuing in my parade of red white and blue desserts in preparation for the Fourth of July I've made a patriotic pavlova!  The fluffy meringue is a wonderfully light summer dessert. The marshmallow consistency can be accented by any fruits or toppings you like! I love berries and cream! As seen on Photograzing and and part Cook and Tell. 


berries and cream pavlova
With Independence Day coming up I thought I'd do a little mini series of red, white and blue desserts! I started out with the cherry pie and now this gorgeous pavlova! 


It's been a bit of a long week. Thankfully my intern is now working half days instead of one day a week! It makes such a difference to have the extra helping hand. I've been backed up on some reports to do and now I have actually been able to get on in a day! I was even able to get off for the weekend a little early and get in some Friday afternoon baking! Interns are wonderful. 





Berries N' Cream Pavlova

3 egg whites
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1 cup whipped cream
1 pint blueberries
1 pint raspberries

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

Put egg whites in a stand mixer. Mix until they hold soft peaks. While the mixer is still running on a medium speed, add in the sugar one tablespoon at a time. Add in the cornstarch. Beat until the meringue holds very stiff peaks. 

Spread the meringue in a circle onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. I prefer to either fill a spring form pan and then remove it, or trace a circle on the underside of the parchment paper.

Bake for roughly one hour, or until the outside is dry, and a pale cream color. Turn the oven off, leave the door slightly ajar and allow the meringue to cool completely.

The cooled meringue can be stored in an airtight container for a few days.

To serve garnish with whipped cream and berries. Serve within 3-6 hours of garnishing. 

Enjoy!