National Ice Cream Day

Well apparently it is National Ice Cream Day here in the US of A and why not? Middle of summer, we are going through a heat wave from hell from coast to coast. I mean, seriously, I am in Washington State currently and I am dealing with 105+ temps....NOT NATURAL!

But what better time than to celebrate Ice Cream? Honestly I cannot think of one but hey then comes the flip side. I don't want to make ice cream anything right now. Problem with being an artist on some level. If you aren't in the mood it ain't gonna happen. So sat and tried to figure out something to do that was ice cream related even if not ice cream itself and then it hit me!

Baked goods! Yeah, yeah, I was just whining about a heave way and now I am going to bake. heck yeah! Why god gave us the wonderful AC! So yesterday I went and popped out 2 ice cream inspired treats. Butter Pecan Cake as well as a Peanut Caramel Cupcake done to look like little sundaes. ^_^

Now, If you want to try the Butter Pecan Cake, you really ought to! (And here comes something new.) Drum roll! Surreal Confections Kitchen Tested Recipes! That's right, I am going to start posting links back to original recipes I have found online and tried in my own kitchen. Fail or succeed I will be posting about them here and what happened so you can decide if you want to try it yourself!

You can follow the new board on Pinterest here - https://pinterest.com/jenng79/tested-recipes/
Some are already there, more will come! These will be both sweet and savory tests, so enjoy them as much as I do!

Now for the first of these is the Butter Pecan Cake. I found this recipe on Pinterest and just had to try it out today. I am so glad I did, it turned out perfect!!!

http://laurassweetspot.com/2012/05/09/toasted-butter-pecan-cake/ <--Go here and try the recipe yourself!

Now I did not want make a huge 9 inch round since my family has a stock pile of goodies right now, so I halved the recipe. It was the perfect amount for 6 inch round pans, two of them. Halved the icing as well, used 3/4 of it on this and saved the rest for another kitchen tested idea - Cream Cheese Danish. Recipe can be found on my Pinterest Kitchen Tested Board.


Now, I also made something else -

These are Peanut Butter Caramel Cupcakes and they are done up to look like a little sundae. Wonderful thing about these? They taste just like a Payday!!!! Now they were inspired by someone else but I had to make some changes for my family. Original Recipe - Payday Cupcakes

Wanna know how to make these? Well here you go!!!! My take on it

Cake Recipe:

• 8 Ounces Cream Cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter, softened
• 3 Cups Granulated Sugar
• 3 Cups All Purpose Flour
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 Teaspoon Butter Extract
• 2 Teaspoon Caramel Flavoring
• 12 ounces salted peanuts

1. Preheat oven to 325F
2. Line muffin pans with baking cups or spray down with non stick baking spray.
3. In a large bowl combine cream cheese and butter until just smooth.
4. Add in granulated sugar until well combined.
5. Add in flour all at once, mix until combined.
6. Add in extracts and flavorings, mix well.
7. Fold in peanuts.
8. Pour equal portions into baking cups, 2/3 the way up.
9. Bake 20-25 minutes for regular size, 30-40 for large, 1 hour for bundt cake pans. (Or until toothpick clean.)
10. Pull out of oven and allow to cool. (Start on your frosting now.)

Caramel Butter Cream:

• 1 Cup Unsalted butter
• 2 1/4 Cup Packed Light Brown Sugar
• 2/3 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
• 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
• 4-6 Cups Sifted Powder Sugar

1. In a sauce pan over medium heat, melt your butter.
2. Add in the brown sugar and heavy cream.
3. Mix until brown sugar is well dissolved, stir constantly as to keep from burning. This will take 5-10 minutes. Do not try to rush this step.
4. Remove from heat, add vanilla, mix well.
5. Allow to cool fully.
6. Pour 3 Cups of the powdered sugar into a large mixing bowl.
7. Add in 95% of the caramel sauce, reserve 5% of drizzling later.
8. Mix until smooth. If too runny, add more powder sugar until desired consistency. 
9. Bag it and pipe on top of your cupcake. ^_^ Or spread onto your bundt cake. (I recommend leaving it runnier if you are going the bundt cake route to make it easier to spread.)
10. Drizzle remaining caramel sauce over top of your cupcakes.
11. If you wish, add extra peanuts as a garnish and stick a straw in the side for a cute presentation!

Enjoy!!!!

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Fall is here

With the temperatures dropping quickly around the US, there is one thing that is certain...Fall is here. For some it hit us months ago when the first cold snap hit, for others it is just now settling in. The leaves are falling from the trees and people are having to grab a coat as they run out the door in the mornings. Depending on where you are you might just need that hat and gloves as well, or even need to let the car warm up in the mornings. I know a few of you are having to deal with the snow already, it looks to be a crazy end of year for all those around. More so than normal!

Halloween has come and gone, leaving us with tons of candy to help fuel those days out raking the leaves and preparing for Thanksgiving. It is only a couple weeks away but families and friends are already sending out invites and dividing up who will be cooking what this year. Are you bringing your grandmothers cranberry sauce? Who is taking care of the pumpkin pie! Does anyone know how long to cook a 20lb turkey! And the list goes on and on.

Sadly, for us out here, we are far away from our friends and family this holiday season. The Hubby and I are used to him working on Thanksgiving but then having one heck of a gathering later on for all our friends. We end up cooking for days straight and having everyone over to just stuff their faces.

Honestly, I don't know if we know how to cook for just us, LOL. But we are gonna try! Looks like this year the hubby might actually be off for Thanksgiving! YAY! Though I do wish we had all our friends around us like we have had in the past. Holidays just aren't the same without the crew flopped on our couch eating everything they can and then some......I really miss it.

Anywho, here is the first batch of Fall Cookies! Nothing spectacular or spritacious! But I do love them. They look all warm and inviting. There will be many more cookies to come for fall and Thanksgiving before I start on the ~insert holiday here~ cookies, LOL. (Yes I am still refusing to say that word till Black Friday.)

See you later!

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