Saturday, November 24, 2012

Ombre Cake with Dark Chocolate Buttercream Frosting



We're celebrating the Mollidays! For Molly's birthday, I made a pink ombre cake with dark chocolate buttercream frosting. Mom and I had to go  to the store to get 2 more cake pans so I'd have enough to bake all 4 layers at once. After mixing up 1 box of yellow cake mix, I poured the batter into 4 cups and added 1 drop of red food coloring to one, 3 drops to the next, and a about 8 drops to the last one. In retrospect, I should have added more than 1 drop to the first layer, as it turned out to be too pale.

Dark Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients:
3.5 cups confectioner's sugar
1.5 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
12 tbs unsalted butter
10 tbs milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbs corn syrup

Combine sugar and cocoa powder in a bowl. In another bowl, cream together the butter and 1/2 cup of the cocoa mixture. Alternate stirring in milk and cocoa. Keep beating until it comes to the desired frosting consistency. Stir in the vanilla extract and corn syrup.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Baked Sweet Potatoes with Spinach and Bacon


"Healthy" Sweet Potato Skins
Ingredients:
2 medium sweet potatoes
1 tsp EVOO
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bag baby spinach
2 scallions, thinly sliced
2 slices turkey bacon (I used 4 slices regular - not so healthy!)
4 oz low-fat cream chese
1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp vegetable oil
2 tbs grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Bake sweet potatoes on a baking sheet for 45 min or until fork-tender.

2. While potatoes cook, heat EVOO in a deep saute pan and cook onion 2-3 min until soft. Add garlic and cook 1 more min.

3. Add the whole bag of spinach and scallions, cover and cook 3-4 min, until spinach is wilted.

4. In another sauce pan, cook the bacon until crisp and transfer to a plate with paper towels until cooled. Chop into small pieces. *Note: I cooked the bacon in the microwave.

5. Let the potatoes cool 5 min. Carefully slice them in half and scoop insides into a bowl. Add cream cheese, buttermilk, s+p. Mash together.

6. Brush the outside of each skin with veggie oil. Fill each shell with filling and sprinkle with cheese. Cook 15-20 min until golden brown and crispy. Top with bacon bits.

Source: Cook Yourself Thin