I had a fabulous time at the 2nd annual Taste of Huron Event in Huron County, Ontario. I was asked to be a guest judge for the Recipe Challenge competition where chefs had to use Turkey products and were given only 20 bucks to shop at the local Farmers Market for fresh ingredients. Judging was based on ease of preparation for at home cooks, use of Farmers Market ingredients, tastiness and presentation. The winner was Terry head chef from .Thyme on 21 in Goderich Ontario.
I also taught a baking class. We had a blast making cupcakes and mini cheesecakes. Thanks to everyone for supporting this award winning event. There are still a couple events left! Tonight is the Plowing Match and this week-end is the Zurich Bean Festival. For more details visit Taste Of Huron Website.

Hey Everyone here is the link to my trailer for my new web series The Happy Baker on Food Network.ca ... coming this fall!!

Food Network Canada Trailer

So this peach pie got rave reviews from everyone and apparently is quite addictive. If you have a party to go to and need to impress people this pie is for you! It was inspired by the end of my Situation Relationship. It was good while it lasted and then just crumbled away. At least I got a great pie recipe out of it:) I hope you enjoy.

1 package of box pie crust (prepare as directed) or use a frozen deep dish pie crust

FILLING:
8-10 peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced (10 for a deep dish pie plate)
3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2- 3 tbsp. cornstarch (3 for deep dish)
½ tsp. almond extract
pinch of nutmeg

CARAMEL SAUCE:
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
¼ butter
¼ whipping cream

CRUMBLE TOPPING:
½ cup ground almonds
¾ cup quick cooking rolled oats
¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
¼ butter, softened
2 tbsp. flour
pinch of nutmeg

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Prepare crust and place in a pie plate trim excess and crimp edges (preferably deep dish pie plate).
Combine the sliced peaches and lemon juice; stir to coat peaches. Set aside.
In a small heavy bottom saucepan over medium heat bring the ¼ cup butter, ½ cup brown sugar and whipping cream to a gentle boil: stirring constantly. Continue boiling until mixture thickens and becomes more caramel like. Remove from heat continue to stir for a minute; set aside to cool slightly.
Combine the ground almonds, oats, flour, nutmeg and remaining butter and brown sugar in a medium sized bowl. Using a fork blend all the ingredients together until they are thoroughly mixed and the texture is crumbly. Set aside.
Drain the lemon juice from the peaches. Add the almond extract, cornstarch and nutmeg; mix well. Place into pie crust. Pour caramel sauce over top of peaches. Evenly sprinkle crumble topping over caramel sauce and peaches.
Place pie in the bottom rack of the oven. Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees and then change temperature to 350 degrees. Loosely cover the top with foil as too not brown the crumble too much. Continue baking for 45 minutes. Let cool and set completely and enjoy. Best eaten within a couple days.

Hola mi amigas y amigos
Super excited to inform you I have a new web series on Food Network Canada. Yahhh. I can't wait to share the videos with everyone and the many many out takes. I hope I made good TV for you and I hope you enjoy a few recipes from my book as well as some new ones inspired by my latest dating shenanigans.
A big thank you to my producer Reni and my fab camera/editor dude Dave. Thanks for making me look good.
The series will launch sometime in the fall. I will keep you posted on the exact date. Muchas Gracias. src="/blog/upload/t/h/thehappybakerchick.com/a0b5491773d83c7b866308346d9d3ed1.j pg" target="_new" alt="food1">

This is a fabulous cupcake recipe for the summer. I bought fresh strawberries from a farm back home. Washed and then froze them. I find frozen strawberries are best as they add a little more liquid and blend easily. These cupcakes have been a real crowd pleaser. I hope you enjoy my recipe!
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 cup self-rising pastry flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup of frozen (thawed) pureed strawberries
1/2 cup of Strawberry Cream Liqueur ie Tequila Rose
1/4 cup milk
With a hand mixer beat sugar and butter together for a couple of minutes until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is a pale yellow.
In a separate bowl sift together the flours and baking soda.
Add the eggs and vanilla to the butter mixture; mix well.
Stir in the milk, pureed strawberries and Strawberry Cream Liqueur.
Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet mixture, blending as you go.
Spoon batter into lined cupcake tins; fill to about 3/4 full.
Bake for 18-20 minutes. Makes app. 16 cupcakes.
let cool and ice cupcakes with Strawberry Icing
STRAWBERRY ICING
1/2 cup butter, softened
app. 2-2 1/2 cups icing sugar
1/8 cup pureed strawberries
2 tbsp. Strawberry Cream Liqueur
Blend together butter, and strawberries.
Gradually add icing sugar and liqueur alternating as you go until you get a smooth creamy texture
Ice cupcakes and enjoy!

I had the pleasure of creating 13 new recipes for an upcoming show called Fresh Life. This is their second season and I was the dessert edition to the show. All recipes involve liqueur or spirits (poor me) ... lol it was great to get crafty in the kitchen and come up with some fabulous recipes. Thanks to the producers Marty & Kaaveh and the wonderful crew. Check out my facebook group for more photos Happy Baker Facebook Page. The show will launch someday in the fall ... ill keep y'all posted!

So I'm on day three of a cleanse/detox. My friend has given some great advice and it's time to recharge my engine. I consider this an oil change for the body...but not having caffeine... my beloved coffee is the toughest thing I have ever done! And what is even tougher is making mocha cupcakes while you can't even drink coffee. Mi Vida Loca! I'm gearing up for an upcoming TV shoot and my kitchen is full of yummy baked goods and I can't even lick the spoon...UGH. If I can do this I can do anything!

Starting this week I am doing the baking segments for a TV show all about cooking with alcohol. The baking segment is new for this season and my producer said I didn't have to bake every recipe with it. Maybe he thought it would be difficult for me and I told him "No...no...I prefer to. No problem!".
Thanks to Corby Distilleries LTD. for supplying the bottles! Corby Website. Details to follow about the TV show and some fun behind the scene photos.

Well I had a lovely dinner last night with one of my childhood friend's, her husband & kids. Her daughter Maleah is one of my biggest fans :-) and she demonstrated that with some crayons. Thanks Maleah!!

So my 29th B-Day (6th year in a row) was yesterday. Which is one of the best days to have a B- Day in Canada because it's Canada's Day. There are always fireworks, beer tents and free concerts what else could you ask for !? I celebrated with some family & friends at a concert in the Toronto beaches listening to a concert by my fav band as a kid ... Glass Tiger ... don't judge me:) They were announcing something over the speakers but because at this point I had a few mojitos aka vitamin water I was not paying attention. They dragged me to the main booth at the concert and prompted me to show my idea...weird....anywho it was for a contest the first person to come up and prove it was their B-Day won a prize pack. Yah ... it was full of baking & cooking supplies coincidence ... I think not! It also including a book by the first cookbook author I chatted with for guidance when I first started writing my cookbook. Sweeeet.

Creating recipe for upcoming TV segments ... details to follow soon!

Thanks so much Harlequin for making my visit amazing! We had an fantastic turnout and the book was well received...we even ran out of books. YAH! Can't wait for The Happy Baker's release date in October across the U.S.A.

For Everyone who loves Gingerbread and Dark Chocolate this recipe is for you! Add some spice in your life with this yummy cookie!!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

Pinch of Nutmeg

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup molasses

2 eggs

1 cup of dark chocolate chunks (at least 50% I used 70%) you can cut up a dark chocolate bar or I used Ghirardelli chocolate discs that I picked up from the Lindt outlet store.

Mix together the butter and sugar until light & fluffy. Stir in the eggs and molasses until combined. In a separate bowl sift together all of the dry ingredients. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the molasses mixture until just combined. Stir in chocolate chunks. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and flatten slightly on a lined cookie sheet. Place the cookies about 2 inches apart. Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. Let cool on a cooling rack and enjoy! Store cookies in an airtight container.

Check out my new video & recipe on CityLine ... City TV's Frozen Strawberry Cheesecake Recipe

People have been asking where is your Tiger Woods inspired recipe ... Alright People here it is: .... "Indiscretion Surprise, Almond Sugar Cookies" ... You take your typical brown sugar cookie but throw a little something extra into the mix. It looks all nice and perfect on the outside but has some crazy secrets on the inside ... 1 cup butter, softened ... 1 1/4 cups brown sugar, packed ... 2 eggs ... 1 tsp. vanilla ... 1 tsp. salt ... 1 tsp. baking soda ... 3 1/2 cups flour ... 4 Caramilk chocolate bars, broken into squares ... slivered almonds for garnish ... Preheat oven to 350* ... With a hand mixer mix together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; mix until combined ... Stir in flour, baking soda and salt.; combine thoroughly ... Take one square of the Caramilk bar and form a small amount of dough around the caramilk ... concealing it ... Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and press to flatten. Un- baked cookie should be just over an inch in diameter ... Garnish with a few slivered almonds and press lightly into dough ... Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes; until golden brown. Let cool and enjoy!!