Tuxedo Strawberries

These are the ones I made for the wedding, they actually looked ok.

So I hate fruit in deserts.  It's like you are almost trying to get me to eat healthy.  I am not fooled by your chocolate and sugar covered fruit.  I know it's fruit and no way and I going to fall for it!  That being said, I have a few exceptions, but then again, I am a whole ball of confusing rules and they are not to be explained.  So just know that I know what I am talking about. Okay?

 So I have seen these strawberries many times, and I had never made them before.  I promised them to my friend when I was doing her wedding, and then I realized I had not made them.  And I sort of knew what I was doing, but not really.  I had the idea, and I had no time to look it up.  So I just did it and they turned out really well. Other than the fact I hate working with white chocolate, they were super easy.  And other than the fact that I never took any real pictures at the time, this is what you get.  I was at the store and the strawberries actually looked nice so I planed to do a whole tutorial about them.  Then I actually got to it and wanted to hurt someone. Lucky that Pork Chop and Hubby were at hockey.

I gave up after four, the chocolate was all crappy and I was tearing the green part out trying to dip them. So the rest were just covered in milk chocolate and I ate them, and got sick.  It must have been the fruit, it was too healthy and my tummy revolted.

  Firstly my stupid white chocolate was too thick and I was just not able to get a nice dip on,  in the end I got one half decent strawberry.  And that is all your getting. I did get a great comment from Tam and I am going to try her way one of these days, just not today.

So to start, you need clean, dry strawberries with the stems on.  Milk (or dark chocolate) and white chocolate.

This was the only one that half looked like a real good one.  I didn't even take a picture of the strawberry I piped on, no idea why, I may have been just ticked off with the whole thing.

  So I wash all my strawberries and lay them out on paper towel, rolling them into new dry paper towel a few times.  If they are wet it can ruin your chocolate.  So then you need to melt your white chocolate, this will be the "shirt" of your tuxedo.  So hold your strawberry by the stem and dip it as far as you can in the white chocolate, shake a little to get the extra off and place it on parchment paper to dry.  Now if you know what you are doing with white chocolate, this will be easy.  If you are like me, you will try and your stems will rip off, and you will have gloopy strawberries.  Even though you thinned it out with paraffin crystals and everything.  This will result in you giving up after four strawberries.  Just so you know.

  Anyway let those dry while you melt your milk  or dark chocolate.  I also envision someone doing an 80's version with baby blue chocolate. That so has to happen!!! Anyway, once your chocolate is melted you start double dipping your strawberries.  I think this will be the only time you can actually double dip without it being gross.

I took this picture to show you my cone making skills.  Which really are not skills since they are pre cut papers, I just roll them together.

  So holding the strawberry by the stem, dip it on an angle so you cover one side then the other, doing it so you have a v of white chocolate showing still.  I was going to get action shots, but by this time I just wanted to toss it all out the window.  So whatever.

  So once that is done you can decorate them.  There are a few ways to do this.  I took the fastest way, which should be no surprise to any of you.  I used a parchment paper cone and piped on the buttons and bow tie.  If you want you can use edible markers or even sprinkles.  How cute would two heart sprinkles be as a bow tie?  Anyway you can do whatever.

  Now when you are storing these you do not want to put them in the fridge.  They are best the day of, but if you have to keep them over night just box them up and leave in a cool environment.  If you put them in the fridge they will get condensation on them.  I usually just put mine in the fridge because no one else but me will be eating them.  Pork Chop just takes the chocolate off and eats the strawberry, which is crazy. What kid removes the good part and eats that fruit.  Only mine it seems.

 Anyway, they were at hit at the wedding, and I ate these ones only to make sure no one saw how bad they were.

Vanilla Chocolate Marble Sponge Bundt Cake

  So this is a short post, only because I don't feel like writing too much.  And because the pictures are not great. I also didn't get a finished picture.  You would have been so proud, I used fruit, in a dessert, and I ate it.  I know, it was a Christmas day miracle.  Of sorts.  

  Anyway, the in laws came over for the day, which is tradition.  And I made dessert.  I wanted to use my baby bunt pan, because nothing is cuter than a baby bunt cake, am I right?!  So I went on like to find a cake, I didn't want a heavy cake because my in laws don't like a sugar over load like I do.  

  I still don't know why I married into this family, it's just weird.  Although it does mean more cake for me, so it sort of works out.

See how cute this pan is?  I love warehouse sales, I paid $3 for it, brand new.

So, as usual google is my friend, I spent about 10 minutes looking for a recipe and found this.  It sounded easy and light so I got to work and even got all fancy and sliced strawberries and stuff.

Vanilla Chocolate Marble Sponge Bundt Cake

By Haniela

-5 eggs, serparated

-1/2 cup oil

- 1/2 cup lukewarm milk

-1 TBSP vanilla, I used vanilla bean paste

-2 TSP baking powder

-2 cups all purpose flour

-1/2 cup icing sugar

-1 1/2 cup icing sugar

-2 TBSPs cocoa powder

-pinch of salt

Pre heat oven to 385 ( I think I did 375 as my oven is hotter) prepare your bundt pan by greasing and flouring it, or spraying with baking spray.

Sift together the flour and baking powder and set aside.  In another bowl whip the egg whites with the salt, once soft peaks form, slowly add the 1/2 cup icing sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Set aside.  Beat egg yolks with remaining icing sugar until pale, about 5 minutes.  Add the vanilla and mix, then add the milk slowly all while mixing until well blended. With mixer on low add oil and mix until just incorporated.

Alternate between the egg whites and flour and fold them in in 3 additions.  Then take about 3 cups of batter out and fold in the cocoa powder.  Pour vanilla batter into your pan and then add the chocolate and use a skewer to swirl it all.  Depending on the size of your pan the time to cook will vary.  Bake until a tooth pick inserted into the cake comes out clean.  Also do not open the oven while it is baking as it could fall.  Once baked, cool completely.     

The batter was very runny, but the egg made it just right.

 So to serve this I sliced up some fresh strawberries and mixed in some raspberries.  I did this ahead of time and just left them in a covered bowl in the fridge until we were ready.  Then I whipped some real whipped cream, I added some vanilla bean paste and sugar.  And it was really good actually.  But I am still against fruit in my stuff, I have rules people.

This is the chocolate batter, that looks like poop.  I seem to have a lot of poop like looking stuff on my blog.  That is weird.

And the vanilla batter, which tasted really good before it was baked, just in case you wanted to know.

 So that was my Christmas day dessert, and it was better than the yule log.  Only because it was way lighter. Which again, is wrong, I usually love the over the top chocolate and sugar, but after the huge meal we had, this was just right.

Apple Nachos

Yeah I know, not the nicest picture, but you know what, I am at peace with my crappy picture taking abilities.  Sort of.

  When I saw this on Shugary Sweets I knew I had to make it.  Why, well I don't know.  I mean I am truly against any kind of fruit in a desert, no matter how much sugar you put in there, you know there is fruit.  So I pinned it and just sort of forgot about it.

  Then I had plans to have my sister over.  We were going to order take out and watch a movie with Pork Chop.  So  I wanted a desert but really didn't want to make anything.  I had a craving for something though. So this is where I went, I went with fruit. As a desert.  And I am sort of ashamed to type that out.  Please forgive me.  It's actually really good, which I am really happy about.

This is all I used, I could have added sprinkles or something, but I forgot.

  So what Shugary Sweets did was actually an involved process, and by involved I mean she actually did her own sauce and such.  I am way too lazy for that.  I just hit up the ice cream isle and grabbed a few things.

  I got chocolate sauce, because that is classic.  I was going to get caramel but wanted something richer, I mean we had fruit to cover.  So I got dulce de leche.  It's good, trust me.  Then I got marshmallow fluff, I have never actually eaten that stuff before. But for the sake of my sister I was willing to try it.  And apples, you need apples, or else you are just making a sugary soup, which come to think of it, would not be a bad thing.

This is a great thing to have if you eat apples a lot, as it is I is another one of those things I had to have and use once in a while.

  Anyway I got granny smith apples as they are really sort of tart, and I figure that would allow me to put more sugar on it.  It's a scientific fact that you can eat the same amount of fruit and sugar, and there are no calories in the sugar.  Look it up, I swear.

  Okay so what I did was made my sister and I each our own plate.  Only because I don't like to share, and we would make less of a mess on ourselves this way.  Also I tried to get Pork Chop in on this, but he was not having any of it.  He likes apples, but only when we don't have them in the house.  He was all " I want green ice cream!"  And I was all " I don't have that!"  And he was all "Your the worst mom ever!"  But he said it with his eyes, which is way worse than really saying it.  So he ate popcorn and was fine.

See how easy?

Then into a bath of water and lemon juice, and slice them in half  so they are more nacho like.

  So I used my apple cutter thingy.  I got it a while back from pampered chef after seeing someone else I know with it.  I washed my apples then used the tool to cut them.  I left the skin on the apple because that is where all the healthy stuff is.  According to my mom anyway, and I might as well let her be right about one thing.

  I also got a bowl with cold water, and added some lemon juice, about 1/4 cup to about 2 cups water I guess.  Who knows really, I just eye ball things.  Then I took each apple slice and cut it in half to make it thinner.  Then I put them in the bowl of lemon water and sort of tossed them.  Then I laid then out on a plate all pretty like and we were ready to go.

I first put them on a smaller plate, but there was so much so I did this, way less chance of making a mess.

 Now if you want to be really fancy you could have chopped nuts or chocolate chips or something, but you all know I didn't do that, so I won't even pretend that I did.

  I tried the marshmallow fluff and it was just like my home made marshmallows, before they dry out.  So I could be really fancy and do this with fresh ones, but you all know I won't right?

And the money shot, it tasted way better than it looked.

  So it was really good, and I cannot believe how full I got off of one apple, I couldn't even finish it all.  My sister said it was good, and that I could write that on the blog.  So there you go, we both liked it.  And it was mostly fruit.  Maybe we are getting sick, who knows.  I just know I need more chocolate soon, no more of this fruit stuff.

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