Chocolate Covered Strawberry Puppy Chow

Not only did I not tell you what I got for my birthday but I forgot to tell you one major change. I dyed my hair! I rarely do anything with my hair -- cut or color. I usually follow the same pattern: don't cut my hair for about 2 years, get annoyed with how long and heavy my hair gets and chop it off :) But this time, I was craving something different. I have been seeing this ombre hairstyle floating around and it caught my eye. But being of a darker skin tone -- the bleached blonde ombre was just not something that would look good on  me and would be too drastic of a change.

After doing a little research I found a picture of someone who did a black to dark brown ombre. It looked really cute and like something that would fit me well. I love it! I read a lot about this look being high maintenance but so far it's been great. I do think it looks nicer with curled hair, so I try to do that more often (in fact I just bought my first curling wand). I know some people curl their hair with a hair straightner but it just does not work for me....I find the curling wand really easy to use and it make much nicer curls and waves!

On to the last puppy chow recipe of my Day 4 Valentine's Day countdown :) Since I had some strawberry cake mix left from the Strawberry Puppy Chow, I decided to make a similar version of puppy chow. All I kept thinking about was the dark chocolate covered strawberry cake balls I made. And voila -- there you have it -- chocolate covered strawberry puppy chow! These were different from the dark chocolate covered strawberry cake balls, which had a subtle hint of strawberry. Instead the puppy chow had a strong flavor of strawberry with a subtle hint of chocolate. I think this puppy chow would look really cute if mixed half-and-half with the Strawberry Puppy Chow.

CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRY PUPPY CHOW

Slightly adapted from from Your Cup of Cake 

INGREDIENTS

5 c. Rice Chex cereal
1 c. chocolate chips

1 c. strawberry cake mix
1/4 c. powdered sugar
Valentine's M&Ms

DIRECTIONS

In a large tupperware (or mixing bowl with lid) measure out 5 c. of Rice Chex cereal. In a separate bowl, sift and then whisk together strawberry cake mix and powdered sugar -- set aside.

Microwave chocolate chips until melted, be careful not to burn the chocolate. If the microwave just does not work for you, you can try a double broiler.

Pour chocolate over Rice Chex cereal. Then using a spatula fold the chocolate into the Rice Chex cereal, until well coated. Dump strawberry-powdered sugar into the tupperware and seal with lid (alternatively you can use a large ziplock freezer bag -- which is easier for clean up). SHAKE....put on some music...dance with it...but SHAKE IT LIKE A SALT SHAKER ;) Just keep shaking....

Once Rice Chex cereal is well coated in strawberry-powdered sugar mix, dump onto large cookie sheet and let cool. Mix in Valentine's M&Ms and serve :)

Enjoy,
Chika

Strawberry Puppy Chow

I realized that in all my recapping of my birthday, I did not tell you all what I got! And, being just a tad materialistic...that has got to be one of my favorite parts of my birthday! You know, those things you would never get yourself regularly because it just doesn't fit into your budget or seems just a little to much to justify in your head? But on your birthday, it is justified....hahah...and as you open it, that feeling of excitement you get? You know, that feeling when you were turning 5 and your parents threw you a huge party. And all you could see was that chocolate cake and huge pile of presents....THAT FEELING :) Maybe that's why I love my birthday so much and probably why my loved ones go all out for me....because I act like a 5-year old on my birthday and not a rational 20-something year old ;) Who needs rational?

This year for my birthday instead of asking for baking and cooking supplies. I know right!?! What was I thinking?! I wanted to "up my game" on another facet of my life. My girly, grown up side. I wanted to get make up...hahah. My mom never wore make up and so my sister and I were self-taught. And we know the basics....foundation, powder, eye shadow, eyeliner, mascara and chapstick. But we did not use make brushes, beauty blenders, primers, concealers, correctors, etc...and I thought it was about time. Well, my sister thought it was because people always see my like a little kid (I wish...)....it's actually because for once in my life, I am feeling my age! I look in the mirror and see those gosh awful bags under my eyes...the puffiness....WHAT?!?! NOOOOOoooOOOOO

So, I wanted to learn the art of make up. Not the extreme kind where you can't even recognize me but where I look nice, for everyday and going out. Where the make-up is photogenic in pictures! And that is what  splurged on....fancy, name brand make up: Urban Decay (including the original Naked Palette), Lorac, Tarte, beauty blender....you name it, I got it. And Paulina splurged and got me fancy Sigma brushes for my birthday so I can learn to put on make up the right way ;) Stephanie splurged and got me these two adorable tops and one pair of gorgeous earrings. I swear, without them, I would look like a hot mess. I've been watching make-up tutorials on YouTube (but man can those girls freakin' talk....shhhhhhh) and playing around a bit to figure it all out. Paulina is going to Facetime and "teach me."

Blah blah.... ;) On to my second  Valentine's puppy chow recipe. The hubby (because remember he's a weirdo) is not a fan of red velvet. He says "it's not bad, there's just nothing special." ::shock face:: I wanted to make a puppy chow recipe that he would like. So I decided to make a strawberry puppy chow! Plus it's pink...one of the the two ultimate Valentine's Day color.s He really liked it #score.

STRAWBERRY PUPPY CHOW 

Recipe inspired by Life, Love, & Sugar

INGREDIENTS

5 c. Rice Chex cereal
1 c. white chocolate chips
1 1/2 c. strawberry cake mix
Valentine's M&Ms

DIRECTIONS

In a large tupperware (or mixing bowl with lid) measure out 5 c. of Rice Chex cereal. In a separate bowl, sift strawberry cake mix -- set aside.

Microwave chocolate chips until melted, be careful not to burn the chocolate. If the microwave just does not work for you, you can try a double broiler.

Pour chocolate over Rice Chex cereal. Then using a spatula fold the chocolate into the Rice Chex cereal, until well coated. Dump sifted, strawberry cake mix into the tupperware and seal with lid (alternatively you can use a large ziplock freezer bag -- which is easier for clean up). SHAKE....put on some music...dance with it...but SHAKE IT LIKE A SALT SHAKER ;) Just keep shaking....

Once Rice Chex cereal is well coated in strawberry cake mix, dump onto large cookie sheet and let cool. Mix in Valentine's M&Ms and serve :)

Enjoy,
Chika

Dark Chocolate-Strawberry Cake Balls

Keeping with my promise, I wanted to recap my birthday week. The first day that the hubby and I landed, we went to a birthday-sushi dinner! Of course, I would get sushi! Sushi in California is just a whole other level compared to sushi from Texas. So whenever I go, I like to get my fill. We actually had to have dinner the night before my actual birthday, because the hubby had a conference to attend -- which began on my birthday. I forgave him, only because he took me to Cali with him :) I had such a fun dinner. My family always puts a BIG smile on my face. My niece especially. She is old enough now to understand selfies and photobombing -- so there was a request made that we do one of each. I even did a selfie with my parents, because they are cute like that!

For the past couple years, for my birthday, instead of a cake, I have requested a pizookie platter. I love BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse Pizookie! And I always get it half double chocolate and half chocolate chip cookie. And like a good family, they each take a picture with me in front of my "cake." I thought I would spare you from the corniness since I probably already overloaded on you with dinner. Although it was a pizookie platter, it was eaten up that evening-- just like a true dessert family would do. I really had such an awesome night filled with lots of laughs and love for my family-birthday dinner. It just reminded me, even more, how much I miss them!

So, it is now Day 2 of my countdown to love....Valentine's Day! I wanted to make desserts that just exuded Valentine's. You know what is everywhere around Valentine's day? Chocolate covered strawberries! I love chocolate covered strawberries. That pseudo feeling of being healthy because your eating strawberries with that little kid inside of you smiling because you know its a dessert...I mean its COVERED in chocolate! Well, I wanted to make cake balls. Because, if I can toot my own horn....TOOT....I think I make amazing cake balls. I think they look good and taste good. Which says a lot because I have seen some "professional bakeries" that make cake balls which have chocolate pooled at the bottom ::yuck::. So, I decided to make a twist on the chocolate covered strawberry by doing a cake ball version. The hubby described it has a dark chocolate cake ball with a subtle hint of strawberry!

DARK CHOCOLATE STRAWBERRY CAKE BALLS 

A For the Love of Dessert Original Recipe

INGREDIENTS

Preheat oven to 350F degrees

FOR CAKE
1 box of dark chocolate cake mix (I use Duncan Hines)
3 eggs
1 c. of water
1/3 c. of vegetable oil

16 oz. container of Pillsbury strawberry frosting
8 oz. of candymelts or chocolate bark
1-2 tsp. vegetable oil
Valentine's Sprinkles

DIRECTIONS

Making the Cake balls (pops):

Make cake according to package instructions. Let cake cool completely (I usually cool over night). Once cooled, cut the edges off the cake (as well as top and bottom layers of the cake--the crusty part). In a large bowl using a food processor or your hands, crumble the cake into fine bits (I use my hands). Add slightly less than 1/2 of the strawberry frosting. Mix well. If too dry add a tablespoon of frosting at a time. You do not want it too moist because the cake ball will fall apart.  

Roll into 1 1/2 inch round balls. Place in refrigerator until chilled, at least 30 minutes.

Dipping the cake balls (pops):
In the meantime, melt either chocolate bark or candy melt according to package directions. This is my secret, once the chocolate is melted I stir in the vegetable oil. This makes the chocolate have a smoother and shinier coating :)

Now, I am going to tell you how I get perfectly dipped cake balls but if you have your own method that works-- you are more than welcome to do it that way -- this is just whats worked best for me.  

Once chocolate has melted, take the cake balls and while holding the top half, dip the bottom half into the chocolate, then dip a cake pop stick into the chocolate (about 1/2 inch) and push into the center of the cake ball until about, no more, than half way through. Let cool. This will make it much easier to dip the rest of the cake ball. Otherwise I have found that the cake balls get stuck in the  chocolate or falls off the stick.

Once cooled, dip the top of the cake balls and a little part of the bottom, that was already coated into the chocolate. Shake off excess chocolate. Garnish with sprinkles (while chocolate is still wet). Allow to cool by sticking into flower foam. Once dried, holding the cake ball with one hand, gently twist the cake pop stick with your other hand and pull out. If you would like cake pops- leave on stick. 

Also see: No Bake Cake Batter Truffles for "My Little Cupcake" method. 

Enjoy,
Chika

Strawberry, Mascarpone Layer Cake

Yesterday was the hubby's birthday! He turned the big 2- ;) I cannot tell you his real age, can I? Because then of course, you would know my age (or at least a ball park). He is the love of my life (call it newlywed bliss :) and I wish him nothing but another year of health, happiness, love, sweet memories and lots and lots of laughter! Oh and of course....lots of time with Ninja and I :) I took the hubby to dinner at a really nice restaurant nearby that I've been to and really liked but that the hubby had not been too. We both had seafood- the hubby had Ahi Tuna and I had Red Snapper ...mmm....mmmm...good!  And I found this adorable card that was meant to be--with cute little shar pei on it! Of course I had to get it! Though i wish the puppies had a black coat.

For dessert, although I am sure buying a cake would probably be prettier and much, much easier. I was definitely in a mindset that I would be a "good" wife and make it for him. Really, I just needed more practice on my cake making.

I realized I have not made too many cakes, because they are just too hard for me! And I have the awful trait, where I only like to do things that I am good at-- and making cakes is not one of them :/ They end up taking me forever and I create a huge mess! And the whole time, I am frustrated! Hahah...aren't I so convincing in why you should make a cake ;) Last year, the hubby's birthday cake, was the first cake that I ever made, and then I made a cake for Angie's birthday late that month-- both of which I did not feel came out that great, aesthetically. But I did really like how my Chocolate Fudge Cake, that I made for my Blog's first birthday, turned out. Granted it was chocolate- so I am sure I was biased. So, I was long overdue on more cake making practice.

Of course the hubby requested a cake that was not chocolate. And I joke, that whenever I make a cake that is not chocolate, you know it's true love :) This year, instead of Lemon Cake, he wanted a strawberry inspired cake-- that was the only hint he gave me.  I know! So annoying! I searched and searched for a perfect recipe. I could not just settle on one recipe-- so this cake is a mix of different recipes I found. I wanted to try a creative recipe, especially for the frosting, because the hubby loves trying different things and I wanted to surprise him with something he was not expecting...and it worked! He really enjoyed it and then took some to work for his co-workers to enjoy as well.

He still has quite a bit of cake left and has made the very adult decision to eat cake for breakfast until he finishes :) That is why I married him- a man that appreciates cake for breakfast is a keeper!

This is definitely a more complicated recipe, but well worth it :)

 

 

STRAWBERRY, MASCARPONE LAYER CAKE

Cake slightly adapted from Just a Pinch

Mascarpone frosting slightly adapted from Baked Bree

INGREDIENTS

Preheat Oven to 325F Degrees

FOR THE CAKE
1 box of white cake mix, sifted
1 c. cake flour, sifted
1 c. sugar
1 1/3 c. whole milk
1 c. sour cream
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 egg whites

FOR THE FILLING
1 1/2 c. heavy whipping cream
2 cartons of strawberries (or 1 large carton)

FOR THE FROSTING
12 oz. of mascarpone cheese (1 1/2 containers)
2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. powdered sugar, sifted
2 c. heavy whipping cream

Optional: Graham Cracker Crumbs
 

DIRECTIONS

For the Cake:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with paddle attachment, whisk together cake mix, flour and sugar. Then add in milk, sour cream, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. Scrape down sides and mix again until well incorporated. Finally add in egg whites.

Grease 2-8 inch round pans. Divide batter equally among 2 pans. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the top of the cakes are slightly golden brown and inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow the cake to slightly cool. Then turn them out and let cool completely.

If cake is not completely flat, use either a cake leveler or knife, to make cake completely even.

For the Filling:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip heavy whipping cream, on high speed until stiff peaks form. Set aside in refrigerator.

Using half a carton- hull strawberries and slice lengthwise. Set aside.

Then, place one carton of strawberries in the bowl of  a food processor and pulse until the sauce appears to be like a "chunky applesauce." Using a strainer, push the strawberry puree through- to get rid of excess water. Fold strained strawberry puree (i.e., puree minus the water) into the whipped cream. The whipped topping will become a pink color when puree is well incorporated. Then fold in sliced strawberries.

Keep in refrigerator until assembling cake. Reserve 1/2 carton of strawberries for decorating.

For the Frosting:
In a medium bowl, whisk together mascarpone cheese, vanilla and powdered sugar with a spatula until well blended and smooth. Then, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip heavy whipping cream, on high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in whipped cream into the cheese mixture.

Assembling the Cake:
Place one 8-inch round cake on serving plate (on a cake turn table, preferred). Then using a large (1M) circle tip, pipe a border around the top (edge) of the cake (i.e., creating a wall). Make another border on top of the already piped border. You want a tall border to prevent the filling from spilling out. Within this border, place a large, heaping scoop of strawberry filling (you may not use all of the filling). Using  a spatula, spread the strawberry filling over the top of the cake.

Gently place the second 8-inch round cake directly on top of filling, slightly pressing down and making sure the second layer of cake is perfectly aligned with the second. Cover cake with mascarpone frosting. Decorate as desired using the remaining frosting and strawberries.

Optional: After frosting the cake, but before decorating-- I chose to cover the side of the cake with graham cracker crumbs. I accomplished this by having a handful of graham cracker crumbs and pushing them against the side of the cake, very gently.

Enjoy,
Chika

Strawberry Muffins

It must be hectic when I drop off the planet and stop blogging for two whole weeks....queue music for ::LAME:: :) But I am back! After going to Boston for Spring Break, there was just so much work to catch up on, that I ended up working constantly to finish it and I may be working off just an hour of sleep. I am happy to say, though, that I am kinda, sorta catching up. Okay--maybe I should say--feel like I am not drowning anymore ;) And so I decided to start cooking and baking again. I would like to say that my life has been interesting and fill you in on all the wonderful things that has happened over the past two weeks, but sadly, that is not the case. My life is pretty much the same-- still truckin' along in graduate school, excited and eager for the semester to finish.

I do have to say that I hope you all had a wonderful Easter holiday (if you celebrate it). So more insight into my life I guess. My mother-in-law died about 4 months after the hubby and I had gotten engaged (about 3 weeks before I started graduate school). She was so many wonderful things you guys, I cannot tell you how much I loved this women and miss her so. Well, one thing she used to do is make a Easter basket for all of her children, and then a joint hubby and me basket for when I came along-- even though we were all grown up! I loved it! Well, since she passed away, I like to keep up some of her traditions, both to bring a smile to the hubby's face and to just keep traditions that remind me of her. So this year, I decided to make and surprise the hubby with an Easter "man basket." I think he really loved it! 

Let's move on to the important stuff: FOOD. Well, it has been quite some time since I last made the hubby some breakfast. Since it is strawberry season, I have been buying strawberries at the grocery store and eating them up (#sogood, #lovestrawberries). I decided that for the hubby's breakfast, I wanted to make him fresh strawberry muffins. I think they came out perfect and they smelled so good! They were so fragrant they filled up our little apartment with the fresh smell of strawberries. I just know the hubby is going to LOVE them! I included almonds in them too since I had some left over from my Almond-Date Muffins, and the hubby loves almonds but you can easily go without them. I also may have added way more strawberry than the original recipe--but you can't go wrong with that! (I put the amount I added on the recipe below) These are a great way to get ready for the Summer!

Oh and can I say: I've missed posting! It's nice to be back :) 

STRAWBERRY MUFFINS

Adapted from Wendy's Food Files

INGREDIENTS

Preheat Oven to 400F Degrees

2 1/3 c. of flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 stick of butter, melted
1 c. of sugar
1 egg, room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. milk 
2 1/2 c. of chopped strawberries
1/2 c. of almond slivers (optional)
Cinnamon-Sugar blend for garnish

DIRECTIONS

In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking soda and sugar. Set aside. In a large measuring cup or small bowl, mix together milk, egg, vanilla extract and melted butter. Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and combine--folding batter rather than stirring. Continue folding batter, until all dry ingredients are incorporated (i.e., you do not see any flour any more and instead see only batter). The folding by hand rather than mixer-- will prevent over-mixing. Finally mix in chopped strawberries and almond slivers- again folding the ingredients in rather than stirring.

Line muffin pan with liners or coat with cooking spray. Then evenly divide batter among 10 muffins wells-- I use an ice cream scoop for quick and easy filling (a cupcake batter dispenser will not work so well because the strawberries and almonds create a chunky batter that will clog the cupcake batter dispenser). Sprinkle Cinnamon-Sugar blend over muffin batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown and inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Makes 10 jumbo muffins or 12 large muffins. 

Enjoy,
Chika