3 Ingredient Pancakes.. So Quick & Easy!

This pancake recipe is probably the easiest and fastest one ever! It only uses three ingredients..a banana, cinnamon, and eggs. It makes three medium sized pancakes, so if you want to double or triple the recipe to feed a family you can. I made one batch for my mom this morning and she was so surprised that I didn't use any flour or sugar.  You can top it with what you normally eat pancakes with. My mom put pancake syrup on it. Mom said it was the best pancakes she's ever had. Yay! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 large ripe banana 
• 2 eggs
• Cinnamon to taste 

(I used about 1tablespoon of cinnamon)

Directions:

Mash the banana in a bowl. Add the two eggs and cinnamon. Mix together until fully incorporated. 

Butter a skillet and set the heat to medium. Ladle over a small scoop of batter into the skillet. 

Cook on one side for 2min. or until golden brown. Flip over and do the same to the other side until the pancake is fully cooked. 

3D Minion Cake (Despicable Me)

I was asked to make a minion cake for a customer's daughter's birthday party this Saturday. All I was told was to make sure I had the two eyed and one eyed minion somewhere on the cake. It's awesome when I'm given creative freedom on cakes, because I'm not stuck making traditional cakes. I love getting to run with different ideas. I've never made a 3D character cake before so it was really fun challenging myself this week. This cake was super exciting to make! The customer was really impressed with it & I'm so happy! 

The minion cake is chocolate with vanilla buttercream frosting. The cake in front of the minion is strawberry and vanilla buttercream frosting. All the decorations are made out of fondant.

Easiest Semifreddo Recipe

I love homemade ice cream! I haven't eaten store bought ice cream for a long time. When I make ice cream I typically use my ice cream churning machine. However, yesterday I didn't feel like taking out my massively heavy ice cream churner just to make a couple servings of ice cream. So I opted instead to make semifreddo! Semifreddo (italian for half cold) is basically another version of ice cream. It is has an airy frozen mousse like texture. It's definitely more creamy than regular ice cream. This version of semifreddo is different than the traditional semifreddo recipes, because this is a simpler way to make it, but same result. The condensed milk is a substitute for the egg that normally goes into semifreddo (which I think is a plus). Enjoy this super easy and delicious semifreddo recipe! 

Easy Semifreddo Recipe

Ingredients:

1 can (14oz.) sweetened condensed milk

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 1/3 cups cold heavy whipping cream

Directions:

In a medium bowl, stir the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract until completely mixed together. 

In another bowl using an electric mixer, whip the heavy cream on high until stiff peaks form (it should turn from liquid to looking like whipped cream from a can).

With a rubber spatula fold in the whipped cream into the condensed milk and vanilla extract mixture. Gently fold until fully combined. 

Place a long piece of saran wrap into a 4 1/2-by-8 1/2-inch loaf pan and have some hang over the side (for easy removal of semifreddo later). Pour the mixture into the loaf pan and freeze for six hours. You can freeze this covered for up to one week. 

Enjoy!

Banana Cake with Fluffy Cream Cheese Frosting

Banana Cake

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 medium ripe bananas)
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/14 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• *2/3 cup crushed pecans (optional)

Fluffy Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 14oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray two 8inch round pans with non-stick baking spray and dust with flour and shake out excess flour.

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in bowl. Set aside. In another bowl mash the bananas
and lemon juice together.

Whip the butter,  2 tbs. of oil, sugar and brown sugar with an electric mixer using a paddle attachment. After 5min. of whipping add in the rest of the oil. Blend in one egg at a time. Stir in the mashed bananas and vanilla to the mixture. Slowly add the flour mix into the mixture and alternate with the buttermilk until fully incorporated. *(If you want crushed pecans in the cake, mix it into the batter now)


Pour evenly into both cake pans. Bake for about 45min. or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting the cake. Store leftover cake in the refrigerator.

Frosting Directions:


With an electric mixer using the whisk attachment, whisk the heavy cream on high until it creates soft peaks (it should look like the whipped cream that comes from a can). Transfer the cream into another bowl.

Using the paddle attachment, mix together the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add in powdered sugar and vanilla. Turn off mixer & fold in half of the whipped cream until fully combined. Fold in the other half after. Frost cake!

Garnished with pecans. Enjoy!

Chivas del Guadalajara Jersey Cake

I made this cake to look like a Chivas soccer jersey. It's a chocolate 1/3 sheet cake with vanilla buttercream frosting. I carved the rectangle cake to look like shirt and cut up an 8in. round cake to make the sleeves.  All the decorations are made out of fondant. 

Donut Balls

I've been wanting donuts for so long! I can't remember the last time I had a donut. I knew the only way I was going to get it was if I made it myself. Normally it takes about four hours to make a batch of regular donuts, but I didn't have that kind of time this morning! This donut ball recipe is so simple and quick. It only took me half an hour to make a dozen. I don't mean to sound bias, but it's the best donut recipe ever! They came out crispy on the outside and so soft on the inside.  

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tbsp melted butter 
• 6 cups of vegetable oil (for frying)

Glaze:

• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup water (or as much as needed to make a runny consistency) 

Directions:

Heat oil in pot. The oil should reach 350 degrees F. (I used a cooking thermometer to be sure)

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In another bowl melt the butter. Mix in the milk and sugar. Then add the liquid ingredients to the flour ingredients. The dough will be sticky.

Using a cookie scoop, scoop out a ball of dough and with your hands  roll into a ball (do not press too hard on the dough..you want to keep it as fluffy as possible). Place the balls into the oil. 

Keep an eye on the temperature and make sure it stays at 350. When one side get golden and crispy flip over to the other side until the entire ball is all golden and crispy. 

Place finished balls onto a pile of paper towels to drain. Make the glaze while the balls are still hot. mix the powdered sugar, vanilla and water until it's smooth and runny (you may need less or more water so just eye ball how much water you use).

Move the donuts onto a rack or plate and spoon the glaze over the balls. (I had a lot of glaze left over so you won't be using all of it on one batch)
                                                                                                          

The donut balls are best served right away while warm and crispy.

Glow-In-The-Dark Cake

Here is the cake I made for a neon glow-in-the-dark party. It's cool, because the splatters and fondant will actually glow in the dark under a black light (which is what my customer plans to do). The splatter of colors is made out of watered down royal icing. All the decorations are made out of fondant. The cake is a half sheet & the flavor is chocolate with vanilla buttercream frosting. 

This was one of the funnest cakes I've made so far.. especially since this was the first one I didn't go solo on. My boyfriend helped me roll the fondant and splatter the colors on the cake. After it looked like we had a paint war.

Easy Soft Pretzels (Salted & Cinnamon Sugar)!

Soft Pretzels (cinnamon sugar & salted)

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 cup of warm water

1 packet of dry active yeast (I use Fleischmann's® Active Dry Yeast)

1 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon granulated sugar

4 cups all purpose flour

1 large egg

& course sea salt for sprinkling

or 

3 Teaspoons of butter, melted

1/3 cup of white granulated sugar, mixed with

1 Tablespoon of cinnamon 

*Icing Dip (for cinnamon sugar pretzels) 

2 cups powdered sugar 

2 tablespoons of water

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray cookie sheet with non-stick baking spray or line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. (I used non-stick baking spray)

Mix yeast with the warm water until dissolved. Add in salt and sugar. Slowly add in the flour one cup at a time until it turns into a dough. When the dough is no longer sticky and bounces back with the touch of a finger then it is ready for kneading. 

Put the dough on your floured surface and knead for 8mins. Shape into a ball. With a knife cut dough into 1/3 cup sizes. Roll the dough into a ball and roll into a long rope (about 20inches long).

Connect the ends of the rope together to create a circle. Twist the ends together and pull the twist towards yourself to create the pretzel shape and press down. (I'm bad at explaining how to create the classic pretzel shape so you may want to look up a tutorial on Google or YouTube)

In a bowl beat the egg ( I used a 9inch pie pan). Dip both sides of the pretzel into the egg wash and then place pretzel on baking sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt OR instead of salt drizzle butter over pretzels and sprinkle with the cinnamon and sugar mix. 

Bake for 10min. Make sure they don't burn. Let cool & serve at room temperature. Pretzels can be stored in an air tight container. Enjoy! 

*For the cinnamon and sugar pretzels: Mix the powdered sugar and water together in a bowl until smooth. You can either drizzle it over the pretzels or keep in bowl as a dip (keeping it as a dip for the pretzels is a better idea). 

Quick & Easy Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Quick & Easy Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients:

Rolls

• 2 & 3/4 cups of all purpose flour
• 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 package (equivalent of 2 and 1/4 tsp) dry active yeast
• 1/4 cup whole milk 
• 1/2 water
• 3 Tablespoons of butter
• 1 large egg

Filling

• 3 Tablespoons softened butter
• 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons of ground cinnamon 
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

Glaze

• 1 and 1/2 cup of powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 2 Tablespoons of whole milk

One batch makes about 12 cinnamon rolls

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees F.

Save 1/2 cup of the flour and set aside for later. Mix together the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl until evenly incorporated.

Place the milk, water and butter in a microwave safe bowl and heat until butter is melted and the mixture is hot to touch. 

Sir the butter mixture and the flour mixture together and add in the egg. Use enough of the saved flour to make the dough soft & elastic (I only used half of the saved flour). You will know that the dough is ready when it has an elastic consistency and retracts from the bowl. 

Lightly flour your surface and knead the dough for about eight minuets. Roll into a ball. Lightly grease a bowl with cooking spray and let the dough sit in it for about 10minuets. 

Roll out the dough into a 14 X 8inch rectangle. Spread the softened butter onto the dough. Mix the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle it all over the dough.

Roll the dough into a tight log. Cut even pieces. Place pieces into lightly greased 9in. round pans. I used two pans & I would recommend only putting six rolls in each, because they expand a lot while rising and baking.
(Ignore the lines on the dough in my picture..those are the marks I used to measure my pieces before i cut it)

Turn off the pre-heated oven. Lightly cover the top of the pan with aluminum foil and place in oven for 60mins. to let the dough rise. The dough should double in size. 

Next, heat oven to 375 degrees and bake for 15min. uncovered and 10min. covered with foil (this is so the top doesn't burn while the bottom of the dough finishes baking). 

Mix the glaze ingredients together and pour over warm cinnamon rolls. Serve immediately! They taste best when warm & fresh out of the oven.

Enjoy!

*If you plan on making the dough ahead of time and baking it later: after the dough rises keep it at room temperature until you are ready to bake it. Do not refrigerate the dough & do not freeze the dough.

Fourth Of July Baking!

Happy Independents Day! 

For the Fourth of July I made these cakes for my family.

I made a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting and garnished with raspberries & blueberries. 

A vanilla American flag cake with buttercream frosting.

Also, red, white, and blue vanilla cupcakes frosted with buttercream and decorated with patriotic sprinkles.