Heads up, 7Up.

So we all know I love to bake. Recently, though, I decided I wanted to try baking bread, but I wanted to start off small and work my way up. So I was thumbing through one of my cookbooks and came across a recipe for 7Up Bread. I thought it looked pretty simple, seeing as it only has three ingredients. How could I possibly mess up three ingredients? Well, by not baking it thoroughly. But it was still edible and it was still really good! It didn’t last very long (as we had guests over for dinner that night). Here’s how you do it:

3 Cups of Self-Rising Flour

3 Tablespoons of Sugar

1 Can of 7Up.

Mix it all together… it’ll be all frothy like so to begin with.

But then it’ll be something like this. And super sticky. Whoda thunk it?

Form it into a loaf as best you can, ha!

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Or longer. I should have baked mine longer. Do it till you’re comfortable but don’t blame me if it messes up somehow.

Eat up. It’s good. Seriously. And tell me if you try it!!

Three Cheers for Cheerwine Cake!

UPDATE: We had the cake last night. Was it absolutely fantastic?





Oh yeah. It really, really was. So rich. Like, extremely rich. Next time, I think I will do Vanilla Extract instead of Almond, though.

_________________________________________________

Do you like Cheerwine? {Note: it has nothing to do with alcohol; we don't drink alcohol in our family} If you like Cheerwine, you'll be interested to know that there is a Cheerwine cake. Don't worry about Googling {or swagbuck'ing - as I tend to do} the recipe - I have it right here for you!



You'll need:
1 box devil's food cake
1 cup Cheerwine soft drink
1 tsp. almond extract

Mix as directed on box {with eggs and oil} but use Cheerwine instead of water. Add almond extract. Bake as directed on box.

And don't forget to grease your pan. {Like someone I know did...}





There's also a Cheerwine frosting recipe, which I made and did not like, so instead I used good old Betty Crocker icing.

Let's just take a break to note this: I hate baking cakes. I love cupcakes. I hate cakes. I hate even more putting frosting on cakes. Perhaps I just need to do it more so I'll like it more... ahh, well... anyway...



This is my first time ever actually "decorating" a cake.



Can you tell?





We haven't eaten it yet! I'll tell you how it turns out.

Nun's Puffs

I got bored yesterday and decided that I would bake something. This is possibly a bad habit to get into. Baking when bored. Especially as most of what I bake probably aren't the best things to eat when you're trying to lose weight or shape up. Anyway, I pulled out my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and found a really simple and easy recipe. Would you like to know how to make this?:



yum. It's called "Nun's Puffs".

And here's what you'll need:

1/2 Cup Butter
1 Cup milk
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs
1 tablespoon sugar
Honey (optional)

And here's what you do:

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Generously grease twelve 2 1/2-in muffin cups, including the edge and around the top of each cup (I used Baking Pam); set aside. In a medium saucepan, melt butter; add milk. Bring to boiling. Add flour all at once, stirring vigorously. Cook and stir until mixture forms a ball that does not separate. Remove from heat; cool for 5 minutes.



2. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 1 minute with a wooden spoon after each addition or until smooth. Divide dough evenly among prepared muffin cups, filling cups about two-thirds full; sprinkle with sugar.



3. Bake about 30 minutes or until golden brown and puffy. Remove from pan. Serve immediately. If desired, serve with honey.



And you bet that honey was desired. Well, for Hubby's. We ran out of honey so I put syrup on mine and it was fantastic. You can just see the honey dripping off of that puff... oh yes, I went there.

Mine turned out tasting rather eggy, so I think these would be absolutely glorious for breakfast.



Mmmmm....

Perfect Chocolate Cupcakes, without the eggs!

When we found out that Benjamin had egg allergies, I was very concerned about how I was going to let him have a typical birthday party and allow him to have his own cake (cupcake) to enjoy. I knew that people did have recipes without eggs in them and with substitutes such as applesauce or bananas. But I really didn't want to use those ingredients, and I didn't know where to start. That is, until a good friend sent me a cookbook for my birthday: Bakin' Without Eggs. The perfect cupcake recipe was therein, and now I am going to share it with you! Aren't you excited?!



Perfect Chocolate Cupcakes

Cake Batter Ingredients
1 2/3 Cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 cup sour cream or no-fat sour cream (I just used regular)
1/2 cup oil or apple juice (I used oil)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup club soda

Frosting Ingredients
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup margarine, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk



1. Preheat oven to 350*F. Lightly butter 12-cup (4-ounce) muffin pan. (I used cupcake cups)
2. To prepare cake: In a large bowl, with a handheld electric mixer set on medium speed, beat flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, sour cream, oil or apple juice, vanilla, and club soda for 3 minutes or until completely mixed.
3. In prepared pan, fill 12 muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on wire rack approximately 20 minutes before removing from pan.
4. To prepare frosting: Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat together confectioners' sugar, cocoa, margarine, vanilla, and milk with a handheld electric mixer set on medium speed for 3 minutes or until creamy. Frost cupcakes.



Notes: Extra frosting will keep in refrigerator up to 2 weeks; This cupcake will also freeze well, and the frosting is perfect!

The book says that it will make up to 12 cupcakes, but we were able to get 23 out of this recipe! And they were very, very good!



Enjoy!