Lemon Cheesecake Recipe

When life gives you lemons… make lemonade? No; make lemon cheesecake! With this particular lemon cheesecake recipe, you actually don’t even need lemons… so I guess when God gives you lemon pudding… well, you know what to do!

The best part about this tasty lemon cheesecake is how deliciously simple and quick it is! It’s perfect for moms on the go or just plain people with packed schedules!

In hardly no time at all, you will have created (and be able to enjoy) such a decadent dessert like lemon cheesecake. Sat so long to that 3 hour chilling time… say hello to cheesecake in under an hour! [singlepic=127,320,240,,right]

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

Crust:
1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/2 cup butter; melted
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs

Filling:
8 ounces cream cheese
1 package instant lemon pudding
2 cups milk

Directions:

1) Mix sugar; crumbs, and oleo. Bake as for crumb crust. Mix cream cheese until smooth. Gradually blend in 1/2 cup milk until smooth and creamy.

2) Add remaining milk and pudding mix. Beat slowly with egg beater for 1 minute. Do not overbeat. Pour into cooled crust. Chill.

It’s so easy, hardly anyone could do it! I made this lemon cheesecake recipe countless times, especially when my schedule was busy or the days were so nice, I couldn’t bear to stay inside for TOO long!

For a fun variation, try mixing up a simple strawberry glaze for the top or if you’re particularly daring try adding some slicing strawberries to your cheesecake! With one easy addition, you have now created a strawberry-lemon cheesecake recipe of your very own. Without the strawberries, this cheesecake is just as good so go ahead, this lemon cheesecake recipe will take no time at all!

Buttercream Icing Recipe

Buttercream icing—perfect for decorating, icing… or just eating! A buttercream frosting will give a cake a smooth look, yet not turn as crusty as royal icing may.

In addition, buttercream icing is great tasting and super convenient. Did you know that you don’t need to refrigerate a cake topped with buttercream frosting? Why not? Well, buttercream icing has a strong amount of straight sugar in it which makes it impossible for bacteria to grow! Pretty neat, right? Read more

How Does It Measure Up?

Kitchen abbreviations! They’re everywhere, but does anyone really know what they all mean? Tsp? Tbsp? Oz? There’s just so many… who’s to get them all straight!

Well, I used to feel just the same way; that is until I realized that the confusion of kitchen abbreviations didn’t have to baffle me any longer. How’d I solve my problem? I made a cheat sheet, of course. It helps he so much and now I’ve found that I can help out other people with my fancy list.

It’s not so much that abbreviations are hard to decipher, as much as it’s that if it’s unfamiliar, you want to be 100% sure. In baking, a teaspoon and a tablespoon are very different!

In addition, measurements and equivalencies can be confusing! On a scale, how much is ½ a pound exactly? It’s hard to know. That’s why there a chart for equivalencies as well!

Here, have a look at my charts. Hopefully, it can help you out as much as it helped me!

Abbreviations[singlepic=124,320,240,,right]

Approx- approximate

Bu- bushel

C- cup

Doz- dozen

Fl- fluid

Gr- granulated

Hr- hour

Lb- pound

Liq- liquid

Min- minute

Mod- moderate

Oz- ounce or ounces

Pd- powder

Pk- peck

Pt- pint

Qt- quart

Sq- square

Sub- substitute

Tbs or T- tablespoon

Tsp- teaspoon

Equivalents:

1 oz- 1/8 cup

8 oz- 1 cup

dash or pinch (as much as can be held between fingertips)- less than 1/8 teaspoon

4 Tbs- 1/4 cup

5 Tbs+1 tsp- 1/3 cup

8 Tbs- 1/2 cup

4 cups- 1 quart (32 fl oz)

4 quarts- 1 gallon (128 fl oz)

4 pecks- 1 bushel

16 ounces (liquid or dry)- 1 pound

2 cups (liquid)- 1 pound

Metric Equivalents:

5 grams- 1 teaspoon

30 grams- 2 Tbs.

227 grams- 1/2 pound

1 kilogram- 2 1/5 pounds

Well, that’s all folks! Enjoy these abbreviations and conversions! ( I know I sure do…)

Shortbread Cookie Recipe

Shortbread cookies are one of the first developed types of cookies, dating back to as early as the 12th century. It is said to have evolved from the medieval biscuit bread, in fact!

A traditional shortbread cookie recipe is made of one part sugar, two parts butter, and three parts flour. As you can see, this recipe follows that formula nearly exactly, which makes it great for people who have never baked shortbread cookies before. Read more

Easy Peanut Butter Fudge

In the 1800’s, kitchens were busy with bread and soups and such. No one had cookies or brownies or popsicles. How shocked are you to think that they did have fudge though!

Like many other good culinary inventions, fudge way an accident. While stories tend to be inconsistent, the basic tale claims that fudge was created from a failed batch of caramels. Thank goodness someone wasn’t making the caramels correctly or else we may still have no fudge today!

In the old days, fudge was called “Divinity” because it tasted “simply divine”. It wasn’t until the 1900’s that Divinity took on a new look—the look of white chocolate fudge… my favorite!

Now-a-days we can enjoy many different flavors of fudge, from chocolate, to mint, to fruit-filled—you’re only limited by your imagination! Enjoy this tasty (and easy) peanut butter fudge recipe for a new twist on an old favorite. [singlepic=122,320,240,,right]

Ingredients:

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 stick margarine
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1) Mix sugar, milk, margarine and salt in a saucepan. Boil, stirring frequently, until it forms a soft ball in cold water.

2) Remove from stove and add peanut butter and vanilla. Beat until creamy and pour into buttered 9×9 pan. Let cool before cutting.

*If you want chocolate peanut butter fudge, add 1 heaping teaspoons of cocoa to the top four ingredient before cooking.

Yum-o. I love peanut butter and this delicious fudge recipe is a great way to enjoy one of my favorite flavors. Although I do love peanut butter I also love chocolate (as I’m sure you know!) To turn this fudge recipe into chocolate peanut butter fudge, add one teaspoon of cocoa to the other ingredients. It’s a great way to sweeten up any day… peanut butter fudge!

Chocolate Ganache Glaze

The icing on the cake is the finishing touch. It’s the final addition, the presentation. A good icing can make or break a tasty cake. Don’t be caught with a “not-so-delicious” icing. Go with what works and then reap the benefits.

One thing that definitely does work is my recipe for a chocolate ganache glaze. One word—wow. This chocolate ganache glaze is a fun and different way to frost nearly any cake! Don’t be limited by what Betty Crocker says. Make your own rules… and your own icing! With this chocolate ganache recipe, it won’t even be hard. [singlepic=121,320,240,,right]

Yield: Enough to cover 9” double layer cake or 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 4 oz. semisweet, bittersweet or milk chocolate, chopped fine
• 4 oz. heavy cream

Directions:

1) Place chopped chocolate pieces in a bowl.

2) In a saucepan, heat cream to simmering. Pour simmering cream over chopped chocolate and stir until smooth.

3) Let sit until it cools to room temperature. Use a ladle to pour ganache over cake cupcakes.

See, now wasn’t that simple. This easy chocolate ganache recipe is so fast, hardly has any ingredients at all! One word of caution; beware. This isn’t frosting you’re dealing with. Be sure not to flip a big dollop on because it (obviously) will go sliding right off your cake. Be careful and your reward will be great… a tasty chocolate ganache glaze to cover any fantastic cake!

Oreo Dirt Cake Recipe

“Look! There are worms in my cake!”

On any other occasion, this really wouldn’t be taken as a compliment, but with this tasty dirt cake… it’s just the opposite.

This recipe for Oreo dirt cake is so easy and perfect for the kids. In fact, they can even help out because this cake is completely no bake! Read more

How to Make Chocolate Covered Strawberries

It’s a food with elegance, yet simplicity; its chocolate covered strawberries. Chocolate covered strawberries are a great way to make a statement without breaking the bank or the clock!

You can really experiment a lot with chocolate covered strawberries.

Try changing up the type of chocolate, maybe rolling it in nuts or drawing things like little tuxedos on the berries.

Let’s go ahead and get started because these chocolate covered strawberries are going to be delicious! [singlepic=119,320,240,,right]

Ingredients:

• 2 pt. strawberries
• 1 lg. bag semi-sweet chocolate morsels
• 1/4 c. Crisco (lard not oil)

Directions:

1) Wash and dry strawberries. Melt chocolate and Crisco in double boiler. Dip strawberries in hot chocolate and put on tray covered with wax paper or Saran Wrap. Refrigerate until chocolate is hard.
Assuming all parties are of age, try adding 1/4 to 1/2 cup of brandy, cognac or other liquor. This gives a little zest to your classic chocolate covered strawberries.

For help with dipping try my 3-step method.

1. Pick
After washing the berry, gather the stem and leaves in a three-finger grasp.

2. Dip
Dip the strawberry straight into the chocolate and then roll it around, still holding the stem.

3. Twist
Remove the strawberry from the chocolate and give it a whip-twist. This is what I call the move where as your lifting the strawberry out, flick your wrist a little bit as your twist the strawberry so that the stem is on the bottom and you’re holding it upwards. The twist cuts off any chance of a chocolate drop and gives your strawberry a little flair.

Of course this is just my method. Trying different dipping methods will give different looks. Some people like the strawberry tuxedo too. This is done simple by dipping the berry in white chocolate (for a dark chocolate suit) first.

Let this harden and then angle the berry to about a 30 degree angle when you dip the dark chocolate on both sides, depending on how wide you want the lapels to be. Pipe some dark chocolate on later, after the chocolate has hardened to add the bowtie. It’s such a cute way to dress up an everyday food. Enjoy a batch of chocolate covered strawberries for yourself!

Devil's Food Cake: Cupcake Recipe

It’s hard to get that picky eater to suck down a couple carrots, but offer up a devil’s food cake cupcake and the full stomach suddenly has “just enough room”.

I know that trick. No… I’ve done that trick.

With this devil food cake recipe, you won’t have to worry about being unhealthy. While, there is still sugar and such, you may find that this chocolate cake isn’t too much of a diet-buster.

Using unsweetened cocoa powder, low-fat yogurt and wheat flour, are all great ways to make this devil’s food cake a little less of a guilty pleasure so go ahead… have two cupcakes instead of just one. [singlepic=118,320,240,,right]

Yield: Two 9-inch or three 8-inch rounds, 16 servings each,
2 dozen cupcakes or one 9 x 13-inch sheet cake, 24 servings

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks, 6 ounces) unsalted butter
• 1 cup (7-1/2 ounces) packed light or dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup (5-1/4 ounces) superfine or granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 cups (5 ounces) whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 cup (4-1/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (3 ounces) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup (8 ounces) plain low-fat or whole-milk yogurt
• 3/4 cup (6 ounces) water

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour the pan or pans of your choice or line with parchment paper. For cupcakes, lightly grease two muffin tins or line with papers and coat the papers with non-stick spray.

2) Cream together the butter, sugars and salt in a large mixing bowl till fluffy and light, at least five minutes. Stop to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl at least once during that time. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, cocoa and baking soda. If lumps remain, sift or strain the mixture.

3) Add the eggs to the butter mixture one at a time, beating well (at least a full minute) after each addition, and stopping to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl before adding the next egg. Mix in the vanilla. Add half the flour mixture and mix until evenly combined. Add the yogurt and water, and mix again. Add the remaining flour, mix, and stop to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl once more, to make sure the batter is evenly moistened. Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s).

4) Bake the cakes; 30-35 for layered cakes and 35-40 for a sheet cake… even less for cupcakes! The cake is done when it begins to pull away from the side of the pan, and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool for 15 minutes before removing from the pan. Place on a rack to cool completely before frosting.

These tasty devil’s food cupcakes are great for parties, or any other occasion really. For a frosting, I love to top these delicious cupcakes with a smooth cream cheese frosting. For an added twist, try torting your cupcakes. (That means to put a dollop of cream cheese frosting in the middle of your cupcake!) No matter how you ice it, this devil’s food cake recipe is devilishly delicious!

Silpat Baking Mat

The Silpat baking mat has been around for a couple years now. Have you heard of it? Well let me tell you a little bit about it!

Basically, the Silpat baking mat is a new way to bake without the hassle of foods sticking. You know what I mean.

It’s your favorite cookie recipe. You can already smell them in the oven and then the timer goes off. You take the cookies from the oven and get ready to try one, still steaming from the heat. [singlepic=117,320,240,,right]

Suddenly, your worst nightmare is true! Your cookies have stuck to the pan because you forgot to put on your non-stick cooking spray, aluminum foil or parchment paper. Common mistakes, but either way your cookies are ruined.

With the Silpat baking mat, you will never have to spray another pan as long as you bake! The mat is 11 ¾ x 8 ¼ inches so it fits most standard baking sheets. In addition, this mat has a naturally non-stick texture which can withstand temperatures from -40 up to over 480 degrees! That means that not only can bake with this mat, but you can also chill foods like chocolate molds or ice cream sandwiches.

These convenient little sheets were developed from a cooking company in France called Demarle. They were invented in 1982 and it’s very possible that the first of all the Silpats to be used are still in kitchens today. These heavy-duty mats can be used over 2,000 times! You better get to baking… your Silpat is waiting!