This recipe was inspired by the unfortunate shenanigans of Arnold Schwarzenegger. In times like these one can only say zip it up buttercup. Actually I could have said a lot worse but I wanted to keep it clean! Somebody has to! Enjoy this yummy vanilla butter cupcake with a hint of lemon and a lovely buttercream icing to top it off!

INGREDIENTS 1 cup butter, softened (I used unsalted)
2 cups granulated sugar

3 eggs (I used large)
2 tsp. clear vanilla
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
zest from 1 lemon
½ cup greek yogurt (I used President’s Choice greek yogurt)



2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cake flour
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking powder
1 ½ tsp. baking soda

1 cup milk (I used 1%)



Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cupcake tins (makes 22-24 cupcakes)
Mix together the butter and sugar until light & fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time mixing in between. Add the vanilla, lemon juice and zest; mix. Add the yogurt and mix until combined. Set aside.



In a separate bowl whisk or sift together the flour, cake flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Add the dry mixture and milk to the butter mixture. Alternating between the dry mixture and milk; stir well.
Fill the cupcake tins about 2/3 full. Bake in the preheated oven for 22-24 minutes until lightly golden brown and when a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out with only a couple crumbs attached. Let cool on cooling racks



BUTTER CREAM ICING

1 cup butter, softened
5 tbsp. light cream
1 tsp. clear vanilla
5 cups app. icing sugar (confectioners sugar)

In a medium sized bowl using you hand mixer; mix together the butter and vanilla. Add a tbsp of the cream; mix. Add a cup of the icing sugar; mix. Continue alternating the consistency should be light and creamy.
Ice & decorate cupcakes … Enjoy!

4 cups Barbara's Peanut Butter & Chocolate Puffins
4 cups of wheat squares ie. Shreddies
3 cups pretzel sticks
2 cups peanuts
1 cup candy coated chocolate pieces ie. Smarties / M&M's

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup honey
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a 9x13 baking dish combine the Puffins, pretzels, peanuts and wheat squares.

In a medium saucepan over med/high heat bring the butter, honey, and sugar to a boil. Continue boiling for app. 5 minutes until the mixture thickens up;stir often. Pour the hot mixture over the ingredients in the baking dish. Carefully stir to coat everything.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes stirring every 10-15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool. Add the cup of Smarties or M&M's and store in an air-tight container in a cool dry place. You may need to break apart pieces as it cools or when cool. I prefer clumps so I like to break it up when it's quite cool but still manageable. Anyone that has tried this recipe made me take it away from them because quote "I could eat this all day long!" ... end quote.

I needed to get crafty this past week-end. I was at a birthday party where "gasp" the birthday boy does not eat sweets. I repeat he does not eat sweets. I know what you are thinking why would someone voluntarily do this to themselves. I have absolutely no idea. What I do know is I love birthday cakes as much for myself as I do for the birthday boy/girl. SO it was time to get cracking and figure out how to keep us both happy for his big day!

May I introduce you to the Mashed Potato Sundae. Wonderful glorious mashed potatoes with gravy and garnished with cherry tomatoes, bacon crumble and chopped green onions.

The birthday boy enjoyed his sundae and I enjoyed the sparklers!

Now what will top this for next year?!?!

Just over a couple of months ago I won something fabulous. I won a lifestyle makeover with Sweat Equity Magazine. What is a lifestyle makeover? Well it’s a 3-month makeover with fitness training, yoga and advice from a nutritionist. Plus a lot of fabulous gift cards for vitamins, workout clothes etc …



This is exactly what the doctor ordered! When I changed careers and self-published my cookbook 2 yrs ago (in Canada) I like every small business owner focused solely on my business and growing it. Unfortunately this left little time to cook meals, less time to workout and even less time to go on a date. SO not only was I gaining weight I was losing focus and running out of steam.
I was the Happy Baker taste tester and needed to sample the recipes for my book for upcoming TV shows, magazines etc that amounted to a lot! … As a baker I would sample my recipes over the years (of course I’m not an idiot!) but when my cookbook took off I probably baked more in the last 3 years more than I have my whole life. SO a chocolate chip here and there was really adding up.

I started gaining weight in areas I didn’t even know I had. My love handles and back fat became besties. It was time to make a change. When your fat pants no longer become your fat pants but your regular ones you know you have to do something!

I entered the contest on Sweat Equity’s website explaining to them why I was the best candidate for the job and thankfully they agreed. I get to work with some of Toronto’s top-notch experts! Lucky me!


Getting into it in the beginning was tough there was St. Paddy’s Day and I needed to create recipes & of course sample so one day I had Guinness Cake for breakfast! Once on track your body does go through a serious detox and gets rid of the demons lord only knows I needed it. I think my body went through an exorcism actually. All the yoga, training and eating proper meals really shocked my system.

The meals are probably the toughest part about a healthier lifestyle. As a baker I really don’t enjoy cooking. Especially as a single gal it seems kinda boring to cook for one. Unlike my baking that I can take to friends and colleagues and share. My nutritionist informed me that cans of soup and frozen meals are not good food choices … who knew? I now cook meals and freeze some i.e. homemade soup for those days I just don’t have time to cook. I received some fabulous protein shake recipes that don’t take too long to make and are a great quick meal.

After two months my love handles and back fat are becoming distant cousins. My fat pants are finally a little baggy and my back has not felt this strong and pain free in years. I still have a month left I can’t wait to fit into my skinny jeans again (although they may be out of style now).



I will never give up my beloved cupcake, or chocolate or caramel or chocolate. I just need to not replace meals for frozen cookie dough! I know I need to make time for myself and do simple things like stretching after a long day you can do that anywhere. A strong body equals a strong mind equals a strong heart. The stronger I am the better person I Am. Not only do I deserve it but so do the people around me!

Spring has finally sprung (I think). Not only are the colours getting brighter outside but also in our baking! The pink lemonade glaze on this cake is so pretty … almost too pretty to eat. This recipe was inspired by the Redpath baking video I did with Heather Habgood of Creative Bug . She won a contest and received a fabulous gift basket and a chance to share her recipe via YouTube. We baked her Pink Lemonade Cake.

I thought if you can put pink lemonade in a cake then you can put it in a cheesecake as well. This mini cheesecake has a sour cream layer and a fabulous pink lemonade glaze. Not only is a great recipe for Mother’s Day but why not for prom!? The title of my cheesecake recipe is obviously inspired by one of my fav 80’s movie “Pretty in Pink”. Any chance I can to talk about a John Hughes Movie I will. Molly Ringwald this recipe is for you. Thank you for wearing pink even though you were a ginger. You helped break down barriers and made it acceptable for me to wear one of my favourite colours!



PRETTY IN PINK LEMONADE CHEESECAKES

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cupcake tins. Makes 24 mini cheesecakes.

BASE:
1/3 cup butter
2 tbsp. brown sugar
app. 2 cups graham crumbs

In a microwave safe dish add the butter and brown sugar. Melt in the microwave app. 20 seconds; stir to combine. Gradually add the graham crumbs until the texture is crumble yet sticky enough to pack down. Place 1 heaping tbsp in the bottom of each liner; pack down. Bake for 5 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove and set aside.

CHEESECAKE:

3 packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 sugar
1/3 cup pink lemonade concentrate, thawed
3 eggs
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt

In a mixing bowl cream the cream cheese with the back of a wooden spoon or on the low speed of your mixer. Add the sugar, cornstarch, pink lemonade, salt and vanilla; mix until smooth on low speed (couple of minutes). Add the eggs stir or mix on low speed until combined (fine lumps are ok). DO not over mix.

Spoon overtop of the base. Fill cupcake liners about 2/3’s full. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until just set.



SOUR CREAM LAYER:

1 ½ cups sour cream, full fat
1/8 cup pink lemonade concentrate
1 tbsp. instant dissolving sugar
zest of 1 lemon

In a small bowl combine all the ingredients. When the cheesecakes are set remove from the oven and spoon the sour cream mixture on top. About 1 heaping tbsp. Place back in the oven and continue to bake for another 10 minutes. Remove and let cool for about an hour. Place in an airtight container in the fridge. Let set in the fridge at least 2 hours before serving.



PINK LEMONADE GLAZE:
In a small saucepan add 4 tsp. of cornstarch the remaining pink lemonade concentrate and the juice of 1 lemon; whisk together until smooth. Bring to a gentle boil stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat let sit for 2 minutes; stir. Let cool cover and store in the fridge until ready to serve.

I made these cheesecakes for Easter and they got rave reviews most of my fam damily came back for seconds (that’s always a good sign). They keep for 4 days in the fridge.
Happy Spring & Happy Mother’s Day!