Red Velvet Cheese{Cup}Cake

my friend Mary made the most delicious cup cakes and promised to share the recipe with me, so that i could share it with you.  i have to go ahead and say that these are hands down the best cup cakes i have ever had.  she had so great tips for a perfectly cooked cupcake, and the best part....no frosting. delicious!

ingredients:

filling:

2 packages (8oz each) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp pure vanilla

1 tsp lemon juice

24 hersey's kisses (set aside)

batter:

1 box duncan hines red velvet cake mix

1 1/4 cup water

1/3 veggie oil

3 large eggs

step 1:

preheat oven to 350ºF. 

place paper baking cups into 24 tin muffin cups.

(tip: this way you don't need to use a muffin pan. 

you can just stand them up on a cookie sheet. this helps with 

cooking time and not having to bake separate batches.)

step 2:

make the filling - place cream cheese, sugar, eggs, 

vanilla, and lemon juice in a medium bowl. 

beat with an electric mixer on medium speed, 

until smooth and creamy (approx 2 minutes). set aside.

step 3:

make batter - prepare cake mix as described on box

 using the water, oil and eggs. 

fill each muffing cup about 2/3 full with batter. 

step 4:

drop unwrapped kisses into each cupcake. 

then drop about 2 tbsps of cream cheese filling 

into the center of the batter, covering the chocolate.

step 5:

bake in center of oven 22 - 25 minutes 

or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 

cool 5 minutes, remove from pan. place on a wire rack, 

cool completely. store covered in refrigerator. 

garnish after refrigeration with powdered sugar if desired.

tip:

bake for the lowest time possible or until you start to smell the cupcakes. remove from oven but let cool on the pan, for atleast 10 minutes. the cupcakes will continue to cook in the tins.

banana bread bites

as i am sure that you well know by know bananas are my favorite baking ingredient. maybe it's because i love them so much, or maybe it's because we buy so many of them. i am very particular about the color of my bananas (i like them still kinda green) so the second they start to turn i toss them into the freezer to be used for a later baking project.

this banana baking experiment came to me when i wanted to some how combine my love of banana bread and my love of  chocolate. normally i just put chocolate chips in my bread, but this time i wanted to vamp it up a bit. i wanted a bit of a candy bar effect. so after baking the bread, i cut it into little mini candy bar sized pieces. then dipped each piece in chocolate almond bark. 

these little guys are just so delicious! the combinations of the dense moist bread and the crunch of the chocolate....yum! i think that next time i am going to try a thin set chocolate so that i can cover the entire bar....maybe i can figure out a way to add carmel too....yum. 

mango turnovers...mmm

i have had these mangos for a while now and they were ripe and ready to go. i wasn't sure what i was going to do with them and then it hit me.... mango turnovers. they were delicious! here's how i did it:

ingredients:

2 ripe mangos

1 sheet of puff pastry

1 tbs. sugar

1/2 cup cream cheese

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1 egg

1. in a small bowl mix shredded coconut and cream cheese together, set aside.

2. in a separate bowl mix diced mangos and sugar. roughly stir together and let sit refrigerated for atleast an hour.

3. cut pastry into 4 squares and fill with equal parts cream cheese mixture and mangos. fold and press edges with a fork. cover the turnover with an egg wash and garnish with more coconuts and sugar.

4. follow the baking instructions for the puff pastry. enjoy.