Fourteen Valentines Desserts!

Maybe you're hosting a party for valentines day, or maybe you're staying in alone. Either way, your taste buds deserve a sweet treat for the special day, right?

 Here are 14 recipes to help you switch things up for the holiday, and to have some fun along the way.

Bars:
1. Chewy Cocoa Brownies (pictured above)
2. Chewy Peanut Butter Bars (pictured below)
3. Chocolate Rice Crispy Bars (a favorite of my family for years)







Cakes:
4. Crockpot Chocolate Lava Cake
5. German Chocolate Cake
6. Heavenly Angel Food Cake (pictured above)
7. Simple Ice Cream Cake





Candies:
8. Angel Food Candy
9. Coconut Joys
10. Foolproof Fudge
11. Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites (pictured above)





Cookies:
12. Brownie Biscotti (pictured above)
13. Dark Chocolate Chip Comfort Cookies (these are amazing! Too bad I no long eat peanut butter or gluten.)

Misc. 
14. Homemade Eclairs 


Have a great Valentines day, and make sure to enjoy some treats with your loved ones!

-Bethany

Recipe: German Chocolate Cake

German Chocolate Cake
1/2 cup boiling water
4 ounces sweet cooking German chocolate
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter
4 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk, or 1 tablespoon vinegar and enough milk to make 1 cup. Let sit for 5 minutes before adding to batter
4 egg whites , stiffly beaten

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
   Beat egg whites until stiff.
2. In a bowl, pour boiling water on chocolate, stirring until chocolate is melted; cool. Mix sugar and butter in large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs yolk, one at a time. Beat in chocolate and vanilla on low speed.
   Mix flour, baking soda and salt together.
3. Mix in dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk, beating after each addition until batter is smooth. Fold in egg whites. Pour into 3 greased 8 inch round cake pans.
4. Bake 35-40 minutes.

   
   

   Recipe found HERE.

   Find my cupcake version of the recipe HERE.

   
   

   
   

   Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect; it means you decided to look beyond the imperfections.
   
   
   -Bethany

Truck Birthday Cake

 My 2 year old nephew's birthday party was a few weeks ago. My sister wanted to make him a truck cake since he LOVES trucks and cars, so drawing inspiration from this cake and this cake,  together we made something in between.

Of course the first thing he noticed about the cake was the candy corn... he loves it, too. :)

Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.

-Bethany

Easter Egg Cake Balls

Not quite comparable to Bakerella's, but they were fun to make (especially with my sisters help. Thanks Emily!)

Directions:
Make cake balls.
Roll cake/frosting mixture into egg shapes, freeze for about half an hour. Melt candy melts. Coat eggs. Decorate eggs. And you are done!


Happiness is time spent with those you love.

--Bethany

Linking up to Sweets for a Saturday.

Recipe: Raspberry Coffee Cake

I love cake. 

I love raspberries.

So I thought, why not make a raspberry cake?

Oh yum. It is so good.

Raspberry Coffee Cake

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 6 tablespoons applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg 
• 1 large egg white 
• 1 cup low-fat buttermilk*
• 1 1/2 cup berries (I used frozen raspberries)
• 
  
• Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups and level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Stir together with a whisk.Place sugar and applesauce in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add vanilla, egg, and egg white. Beat well. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture, whisking after each addition. Spoon half of the batter into a greased, 9-inch round baking pan. Sprinkle evenly with 3/4 cup berries. Spoon remaining batter over the blueberries and sprinkle evenly with remaining 3/4 cup blueberries.  Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack then remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack. Drizzle with a light lemon frosting, if desired. Since this cake is super moist, if adding frosting I would suggest refrigerating it.
• Recipe adapted from the one found HERE.

"What's the use of worrying?

It never was worth while,

So pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag,

And smile, smile, smile."

-George Asaf

--Bethany


Linking up to Sweets for a Saturday. 

Recipe: Crockpot Chocolate Lava Cake

Find the recipe HERE.

 "Happiness is a conscious choice, not an automatic response."
- Mildred Barthel

--Bethany

Recipe: No Bake Cheesecake

Who doesn't love a good cheesecake? 

This recipe is really easy to make, especially if you would use Cool Whip instead of whipped cream. Simple, no bake, but so rich, creamy and delicious!

Classic No Bake Cheesecake

2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened 

1/4 cup sugar 

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 

1 teaspoon lemon juice 

1 cup heavy whipping cream (can substitute 1 8oz tub Cool Whip)

 Beat the cream cheese until smooth, then slowly add the sugar and vanilla. In a clean chilled bowl, beat the whipping cream until soft peaks form. Slowly beat the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. Spoon filling onto crust. Chill for 4-6 hours before serving.

I made an "Oreo" (actually generic sandwich cookie) crust by removing the frosting, then crushing the cookies to make about 1 1/2 cup crumbs, then add 1/3 cup butter. Mixed and pressed into pan. I decorated the top by placing a cookie cutter gently on top of the spread cheesecake, then pouring the crumbs into the center of the heart, careful not to slop any outside that area, and spread them to the edges of the cutter, then removed the cookie cutter.

Recipe found via Pinterest, find original recipe HERE.

"Remember happiness doesn't depend upon who you are or what you have; it depends solely on what you think."
Dale Carnegie 

--Bethany 

Mario Bros. Cake and Cupcakes

For my brother's birthday my sister and I made these Mario Bros. cupcakes and Yoshi cake. It was my first experience using foundant, and I have to say that it is really fun! I still have half a package of it in my fridge... I'll have to think of something else to make with the rest...

"Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen."

-Mark Twain

--Bethany

Recipe: Cake pops

Thus far I have only made Cake Pops twice... but I look forward to making them many more times in the future... they are so fun to make, cute to look at and delicious!

I don't know how I forgot to take a picture of them once we made them into balls... but I did. Oops.

Cake Pops
1 box cake mix
1 16 oz. can frosting
Pretzel sticks
Dipping Chocolate


Bake cake mix according to directions. When cooled, cut into sections then crumble into a large bowl. Add frosting and mix. Shape into balls and stick pretzel sticks into them. Place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and freeze until firm. Melt chocolate and dip.

Find Bakerella's directions for making these HERE. And be sure to check out all of her other adorable pops, too!

I am posting this today in honor of Cake Pop day.



"Stop searching. Happiness is right next to you."
Anonymous 

--Bethany