Sweets

Boozy S’mores Milkshake

August 2, 2018 by Natalie 1 Comment

It’s currently about 100% humidity here which means life is really hard and HOT! Where’s the blender at? I’ve turned your favorite campfire treat into a delicious Boozy S’mores Milkshake.

I went camping every weekend as a kid with my family growing up. So campfires and s’mores have a special place in my heart. Although now that I’m an adult, I can definitely say I am not a camping kind of girl. Give me the beach or the desert or give me death! I guess I like sand. The weather feels like I’m living inside of a campfire though, so why not take a warm and gooey treat and turn it into something cold, sweet, and refreshing? Not entirely sure why I have never thought of such a brilliant idea before, but the results are heavenly and decadent.

Boozy S’mores Milkshake, serves 1-2

1 1/2 cups chocolate ice cream

1/2 cup vanilla ice cream

1 graham cracker sheet plus crushed graham crackers for rimming

2 toasted marshmallows plus more for garnish

1/2 cup whole milk

1 1/2 oz. Kerrygold Irish Cream

2 tbsp. chocolate syrup plus more for garnish

whipped cream for garnish (optional)

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. Rim your glass by dipping into honey and then into crushed graham crackers. Pour milkshake into the graham cracker rimmed glass and top with whipped cream, toasted marshmallows, and chocolate syrup. If the consistency of your milkshake is too thin, you can add more ice cream or a little ice to compensate.

I toasted my marshmallows with a kitchen torch but by all means, if you have a campfire, have at it! This Boozy S’more Milkshake is probably my new favorite dessert drink of the Summer. I have such a sweet tooth, or perhaps, every one of my teeth is a sweet tooth. I’ve totally cut back on sweets as I have gotten older but I make an exception every once in a while. The Kerrygold Irish Cream adds just the right amount of flavor and booziness but if you wanted to make this drink a little boozier — adding bourbon would be so delicious too! Soaking up the remainder of Summer even if it’s sticky and warm. Hopefully, this Boozy S’mores Milkshake will cool you down! xo

Blood Orange Negroni Tartlets

February 5, 2018 by Natalie Leave a Comment

Until February 14th everything will be Valentine’s Day themed because in my house we are not anti-Valentine’s Day! Any day about love, sweets, and pink is A-OK in my book. I’m celebrating this year with these Blood Orange Negroni Tartlets. Also, who doesn’t love a Negroni? Blood oranges? No. One.

I found an easy recipe for grapefruit tartlets on Pinterest from Sugar Coated Inspiration. So I adapted her recipe to make these Blood Orange Negroni Tartlets. These tarts are sweet, slightly tangy from the blood orange, bitter from the Campari, and have a natural dark pink hue from the Campari, sweet vermouth, and blood orange juice. Did I mention just a tad boozy too? You know much much I love taking my favorite classic cocktails and turning them into sweets!

Blood Orange Negroni Tartlets, makes 4 mini tarts

For the blood orange negroni curd:

1 1/2 cups blood orange juice

3/4 cup honey

3 tbsp. cornstarch

3 egg yolks, whisked

5 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. gin

1 tbsp. sweet vermouth

1 tbsp. Campari

For the crust:

2 sleeves of your preferred cookie for making the crusts (I used Milk & Honey tea cookies from Trader Joe’s)

6 tbsp. butter, melted

Start by making the crust. Pulse the cookies in a food processor or blender until they are fine crumbs. Then add the melted butter and stir the mixture until it resembles wet sand. Press and pack the mixture tightly into the bottom and sides of four mini tart pans. Bake the crusts at 350°F for 10 minutes or until they are a golden brown.

As the crusts cool, make the blood orange curd. Whisk your egg yolks in a bowl and set aside. In a saucepan whisk together the honey, cornstarch, and blood orange juice on medium heat until the mixture is thickened and slightly bubbly. Very slowly, stream in half of the hot blood orange mixture into the whisked egg yolks, whisking quickly, to temper the eggs. Return the egg mixture to the saucepan and cook for two minutes, stirring constantly, until the curd thickens. Remove the blood orange curd from the heat and whisk in the butter, one tablespoon at a time, until melted. Add a tablespoon each of gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari and stir until incorporated.

Fill the tartlet crusts up to the top with warm blood orange negroni curd and chill in the fridge until set. Once set, garnish them with edible flowers. Enjoy your special Valentine’s Day treats!

These Blood Orange Negroni Tartlets exceeded my expectations. They are so delicious and on top of that were quite simple to make. I had never made curd before and it was such a breeze I can’t wait to experiment and make other flavors. The best part about the curd was there was some left over. You can make a larger batch of crust and use the rest of the curd to make two more tartlets or you can store it in a jar. I’ve been spreading my leftover blood orange negroni curd on toast and it is the best! I really hope you decide to make these because they are currently my favorite dessert to date. As always if you decide to please let me know how they turn out in the comments below. I can’t wait to make another batch of these! xo

Spiked Eggnog Cupcakes

December 22, 2017 by Natalie Leave a Comment

It wouldn’t be Christmas without some eggnog, right? I’ve whipped up these delicious Spiked Eggnog Cupcakes just in time to enjoy the perfect holiday treat. Of course, enjoying a glass will do but I love finding other ways to use it, particularly in baked goods. Last year I made these eggnog snickerdoodle cookies for my favorite Christmas Eve tradition: Adult Milk and Cookies. I’d really love to reshoot that post just because my photography and styling has improved but there wasn’t enough time this year. I couldn’t get the idea out of my head for making these Spiked Eggnog Cupcakes and I’m so happy I made them. They’re like a two for one cocktail and dessert!

Spiked Eggnog Cupcakes, makes 12 cupcakes

for the cupcakes:

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 cup spiced rum

1 cup eggnog

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup sugar

for the frosting:

2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

pinch of salt

pinch of nutmeg

2 1/2 tbsp. eggnog

1 tbsp. dark rum

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg and whisk to combine. In a bowl of an electric hand mixer, combine the rum, eggnog, vegetable oil, vinegar, and sugar. Beat on medium speed until well blended. Add in dry ingredients and mix on low speed until incorporated. Divide the batter between the cupcake liners and bake 22-24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, place the butter in the bowl of an electric hand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until smooth. Add in powdered sugar, salt, and nutmeg, and mix on medium-high speed until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the eggnog and whip on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add the rum and mix on low speed until incorporated. Add icing to a pastry bag and pipe on cupcakes. Garnish with grated cinnamon or nutmeg and a cinnamon stick if desired.

I’m really happy with how these Spiked Eggnog Cupcakes came out. I had to bring them to work because if I were to be left alone with these at home I would have eaten every single one of them. That’s how good they are! The cake was so soft and moist from the eggnog but not overly sweet. I love when cupcakes aren’t too sweet because that’s what the icing is for.

Adding spiced rum was the perfect addition to these cupcakes because it complimented all of the other baking spice flavors. You could also use bourbon is you prefer that over rum. Either way, these were delicious and are the ultimate Christmas treat. Serve them with a side of boozy eggnog and dessert is served. I hope your holiday is merry and bright everyone. Cheers and Merry Christmas! xo

Negroni Mini Cupcakes

June 8, 2017 by Natalie Leave a Comment

As Negroni Week continues, I thought I’d bring you another tasty treat. This time in cupcake form! I deconstructed the classic Negroni and made gin and sweet vermouth cupcakes with a Campari buttercream. I really have tons of fun thinking of ways I can turn cocktails into sweets and so far I’ve been pretty successful. They aren’t too complicated to make and if you’ve already been mixing up this cocktail at home, you’re halfway there with having all the ingredients. If you are anything like me, I usually have a full pantry, so I didn’t have to run out for much to whip these up just in time for hump day!…

Chocolate Stout Mini Cupcakes

March 11, 2017 by Natalie Leave a Comment

Have any of you ever had an Irish Car Bomb before? Admittedly, I am so terrible at taking bomb style shots. I’m awful at chugging, and frankly, I’m way too old to be pounding beers in under 10 seconds. This particular bomb shot needs to be taken at a speedy pace or else the stout and cream start curdling, and who wants that? GROSS! With that being said, I do truly appreciate the flavor profile the creator of the Irish Car Bomb was trying to accomplish, even if the name of the drink is offensive. Stout, cream, and some Irish whiskey is a winning combination, and that’s why I’ve created these Chocolate Stout Mini Cupcakes. No chugging required, I promise! Unless you want to. :)…