JuBella.com – Get Your Creative Dose

Who doesn’t love Ina Garten aka Barefoot Contessa! She’s such a gem and I can always count on her recipes, especially when it comes to desserts! In this video she’s making Profiteroles, which are basically pastry dough balls filled with cream and even sometimes ice cream that’s drizzled with chocolate or caramel or a raspberry sauce! Yum!

PS: I also love how Ina’s always feeding her husband! he’s always so cheerful to eat. I guess I would be too if I were married to Ina! I am always begging…ahem, I mean asking my husband to taste test my experimental recipes (hey, who else is going to give e proper feedback..the seven year old?)….sometimes good, and sometimes bad, but he’s a trooper for playing along.

Hi Guys! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Ours was pretty good. We finally got our downstairs painting completed..woo hoo!

Ok, on to other news. You know, it’s quite funny, we really do not celebrate most holidays traditionally, but I must say that the artist in me cannot help but to be attracted to holiday colors and packaging and décor. I mean really, how can one not have the slightest urge to make something sweet and heart shaped, or dye eggs even if you do not celebrate Easter, etc.? So, let us just say that we tend to bake around what I have affectionately coined as “Love Day”, as we do often, yet we use the ready available red white and pink and a dash of chocolate. I mean, if we baked and crafted with such colors and said I love you on any other day, does that make one less celebratory of the original holiday? Who knows, but what I do know is that I whipped up some pretty yummy red velvet cake pops this weekend! I was rather lazy and did not bake the cake from scratch..totally boxed it up this time around. I would love to make some carrot cake pops or maybe some chocolate ones dipped in ganache…yum! While dipping them some of them fell of the stick(tip: do not make them too big & make sure your chocolate is not too cool.)…but no worries..I just covered them in chocolate and decorated them to look like little chocolates. I also used a heart shaped cookie cutter and poured the melted candy chips over it to make make mini heart shaped cakes!

These little cake gems are so easy to make and can offer the creative imagination so many sweet ideas when it comes to decorating them. Above is a video that pretty much sums up the cake pop process. The first time that I ever heard of a cake pop was through Bakerella…Isn’t she amazing! Anyhow, I hope this video inspires you; and if you have kids then they are going to love them and you for making them, whether it’s “Love Day”/ “Valentines Day” or not! They would make the perfect little treat for a kids birthday party don’t you think?

Oh Sweet Friday! Wow, is it just me or did this week totally fly by!

Sometimes when you are enthralled in tasks and deadlines the minutes just tic-toc away and either you look back and say, wow, I got a lot accomplished this week, or you feel like a total failure because nothing on your honey-do list is checked off. This weekend I hope you all catch a moment to slow down a bit from the weekly rush.

So, It’s a Sweet Friday, and I have a lovely little treat for you all. Check out this recipe for “Chocolate & White Chocolate Biscotti“…YUM! I can’t wait to try this one myself. I love biscotti with or without tea and coffee. So head on over to The Picky Cook for the full recipe with photos!

Don’t we all just love the work of Amy Atlas! I think she has one of my dream jobs…to be surrounded by delectable and beautiful desserts all day! Here are a few dessert tables that she recently created for Brides Magazine. You can see larger and behind the scene photos on her Blog.

Photos by: Andrew McCaul

Cupcakes are sweet, intimate, colorful, decorative, hand held little desserts that makes any child…young or young at heart smile with every bite. So what better way to wrap up the week with a lovely cupcake recipe to entice your weekends with! Today’s “Sweet Friday” pick is for “Vegan Coconut Cupcakes” via “Bake Cupcakes”. Isn’t this photo adorable. I think cupcakes love to be photographed. They sit there so elegantly and content…just click the link for the recipe!

I also wanted to thank you all for your continuous support with each and every visit you make to JuBella; even when I seemed to disappear on my sporadic hiatus adventures. Things have been super busy around the abode and baby boy should arrive next month! Because I know that things will be quite hectic with having baby girl (10 months), homeschooling our son (6yrs. old), and a newborn due to arrive, I decided to downsize my blogosphere and bring more categories here to JuBella! I hope you all enjoy all of the topics. I have plenty of ideas rolling around in my head to share and feel free to e-mail me should you want to contribute any content or ideas for the given topics.

Ok, try not to overdose on all the creativity and and I hope you all have a wonderful creative weekend, and maybe even a cupcake! Oh, and if you are a facebook user, don’t forget to Become a Fan of JuBella for updates, giveaways, and creative links!

Oh yum! Not too long ago I made a pretty delightful apple pie and then my husband requested pear cobbler! I thought that I would not like this dessert, but I must say that it is a close run to apple pie and the rum and raisins are so good mixed in. You do not have to cut these up into squares. You can simply spoon it out like any other cobbler. I just thought they were cute cut and could be wrapped in some cute napkins or decorative paper if serving at a party or office gathering.

Pear Rum & Raisin Cobbler Squares

For The Filling
4 – 5 pears, diced
¾ C. Brown Sugar
2 T. All Purpose Flour
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1 T. plus 1 tsp. Rum Extract
½ tsp. Vanilla
¼ C. Raisins
1 T. Butter, unsalted

For The Crust
2 C. Flour
½ tsp. Salt
¼ C. Sugar
2 Sticks of Unsalted Butter, cold
1 Egg
2 T. Cold Water

Directions for Filling: Pour your raisins into a small bowl. Add 1 T. of your rum extract and 1 T. Butter and warm up in your microwave for 30 seconds. Set aside. In a medium sauce pan, stir in and simmer your pears, brown sugar, cinnamon, remaining 1tsp. Of rum extract, vanilla, 2 T. flour, and raisin mixture until thick and bubbly. Set aside to let cool a bit.

Directions for Crust: Combine flour, sugar, and salt. Add in your cold butter, and using your hands combine your flour and butter until you achieve small crumbles. Now add your egg and water. Combine until dough sticks together and forms a ball. Add more flour or water if necessary. Shape your dough into 2 large disk and wrap each separately in sawran wrap. Chill for at least 30 minutes to an hour. Remove dough from refrigerator and roll out first disk to fit the size of a 13 x 9 inch pan. Now spoon your pear and raisin mixture on top, roll out the remaining disk and cut into thick strips to make a lattice design for the top of your cobbler. Be sure to put strips along the edges as well to create a nice closure. Bake on 350 degrees until crust is a light and golden.

Let cool COMPLETELY before cutting into squares. Serve warm with vanilla or rum raisin ice cream.

So, what do you get when you combine 3 slices of honey wheat bread, 2 tablespoons of sugar, vanilla almond milk, and a handful of blueberries? You get the most comforting, quick, and easy dessert ever! I consider bread pudding the “poor womans’ dessert…lol, because you really don’t need much to make them and they are beyond delicious. Especially when served warm with ice cream or tea! Don’t you just love how the blueberries pop…such a sweet dessert it is!

I have been working on concocting recipes for chocolate cake for quite some time now. My last try was a three layer chocolate cake topped with chocolate ganache. The icing turned out wonderful, but I was so not pleased with the density and richness of the cocoa. So, I thought that I would give another try to my chocolate cake journeys. This time I made what I call a “Chocolate Sundae Fudge Cake”, and I am quite happy with the results.

This cake is beyond rich and decadent and is overflowing with warm fudgy goodness. I layered the batter with store bought hot fudge from the fridge (smuckers) and chopped pecans, but you can definitely make your own fudge sauce. Just be sure it is completely cooled before layering it into your batter. The key to this cake is to be patient and let it cool off for a good hour, but as you can see, patience is a virtue and I cut into it well before an hour was up. Waiting for it to cool will give you less of a gooey cut, but either way you are sure to enjoy this sweet treat! Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whip cream!

Chocolate Sundae Fudge Cake

Ingredients
1 C. Semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 C. Milk
2 1/2 C. All Purpose Flour
1 Heaping tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
6 T. Dutch Cocoa
1 tsp. Molasses
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
3 C. Sugar
2 Sticks Unsalted butter
3 Eggs
1/4 C. Vanilla Yogurt
1 C. Buttermilk
1/2 C. Water
2 T. Vegetable Oil
Hot Fudge sauce – cold
Chopped Pecans
Confectioners Sugar – optional for garnishing

Directions: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour your bundt pan. Set aside. In a saucepan slowly melt your chocolate chips and your milk. Set aside to cool. In a large bowl, sift together your flour, baking powder, cocoa, and salt. Using your mixer, cream together your butter and sugar. Gradually mix in your eggs one at a time. Now add your molasses, vanilla, melted chocolate, and your yogurt.

Alternately add in your flour mixture and your butter milk and water. Next mix in your vegetable oil.

Now take some of your batter and spread it evenly. Now take small dallops of your fudge sauce and dallop it in the center all the way around and top with a hand-full of pecans. Layer on top of the more of your batter, dallop fudge sauce along the center and again top with pecans. Pour another layer of batter on top and repeat with fudge sauce, this time leaving off the pecans. Be sure to leave about an inch or two to allow for rising. Note: You will have batter left over.

Bake for 45 minutes. Let cool for about 15 minutes before turning onto cake stand. let cool for at least an hour or overnight. Dust with confectioners sugar. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whip cream!

The news and images that have been circulating around the web and on television has painted such a sad picture for the victims oh Haiti’s shattering 7.0 earthquake. It has left me with many emotions of “I wish I could show my love”…nevertheless..I came up with the idea to prepare a Sunday dinner in honor of Haiti and for dessert I was inspired to fix a Haitian Cake, which is enhanced with milk and cinnamon sticks.

The aroma of the warm milk and cinnamon alone made me think of homemade chai, so I decided to add a little bit more spices to the mix: cloves, cardamom, ginger, etc. A warm cup of chai is a match made in heaven for this cake, hence the name that I have given it: “Haitian Tea Cake”. I hope you all try this recipe and let me know what you think, Thanks to Haiti for such a wonderful sweet inspiration during such a sour time, and feel free to add more spice if you like, just be sure to balance out the brown sugar in the milk if you do! Enjoy!

Haitian Tea Cake
1 1/4 C. Milk
1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. Ground Cardamom
1/2 tsp. Ginger
1 Bay Leaf
Dash of Nutmeg
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
2 tsp. Rum Extract
3 Whole Cloves
2 Cinnamon Sticks
1 T. Light Brown Sugar
2 Sticks Unsalted Butter
3 C. Sugar
1/3 C. Sour Cream
5 Eggs
3 C. Flour
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Salt

Directions: Butter and flour your cake pan and set aside. In a small saucepan, slowly simmer on low your: milk, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. cardamom, ginger, bay leaf, nutmeg extracts, cloves, and brown sugar for about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat and discard your bay leaf, cloves, and cinnamon sticks. Pour your spiced milk into a cup, preferably something with a spout to make pouring easier/less messy(I used my glass measuring cup.)

Now sift together your: flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp. cardamom in a large bowl and set aside. Now cream your sugar and butter until fluffy. Add your eggs one at a time. Now add your flour and milk, alternating between the two, ending with flour. Mix together and then mix in your sour cream.

Pour your batter into your greased cake pan and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 45 to 55 minutes OR until firm in the center and golden brown. Let cool. Serve warm with a cup of chai tea or vanilla ice cream!

These cookies via Martha Stewart are perfect. They are rich and a bit chewy, but in a very good way!

I have my own recipe for cookies such as these, but I am working on perfecting it, so in the meantime here is how Martha makes hers:

Martha’s Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Makes about 3 dozen

1 C. All Purpose Flour
1/2 C. Unsweetened Dutch-process Cocoa Powder
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Salt
8oz. Semi-Sweet Chocolate(4oz. coarsely chopped ounces cut into 1/4 inch chunks, you can use semi-sweet chocolate chips for this as well)
1 Stick Unsalted Butter (8 Tbsp.)
1 1/2 C. Sugar
2 Large Eggs
1 tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract

Directions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. Melt coarsely chopped chocolate with the butter in a small heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water.

Transfer chocolate mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add sugar, eggs, and vanilla; mix on medium speed until combined. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture. Fold in chocolate chunks/chips.

Scoop batter using a 1 1/2 inch ice cream scoop; place 2 inches apart on parchment lined baking sheets/non stick cookie sheet. Bake until cookies are flat and surfaces begin to crack, about 15 minutes. Transfer on parchment to wire racks. Let cool 5 minutes. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

This is the perfect summer treat! I really enjoyed this sorbet. It was lite and delicious!

Raspberry Mango Sorbet
2 Ripe Mangoes, peeled and diced
2 C. Frozen Raspberries, un-thawed
6oz. Plain Nonfat Yogurt
1 C. Sugar

Directions: Blend all of your ingredients together in your blender. Pour into your ice cream maker and churn for about 20 minutes then pour sorbet into an air tight container. let freeze for several hours or better yet overnight.

If you do not have an ice cream maker, simply pour into an air tight container and freeze until hardened or overnight.

Hi everybody! Hoping your week is off to a great beginning! I know that for me that Mondays can be a bit of a drag. In fact, there are many days when I want to enjoy something sweet after dinner, yet I do not have the energy to bake anything. So I though I would start a section called “Sweet & Easy”, which will consist of very simple items that you can buy from the grocery store and turn into a delightful and elegant dessert. First up is a simple fruit & granola parfait. I made this one last night using: low-fat vanilla yogurt, fresh blue berries & diced strawberries(which I sprinkled with a bit of sugar, as the blueberries can be a little tart.), crushed Nature Valley granola bars, whip cream, and a mint leaf to garnish. Simply layer your yogurt, granola and fruit and then top it off with whip cream, a bit of fruit and your mint leaf. It’s so good and dare I say…good for you. You can try this with pound cake, crushed ginger snaps, or even lady fingers..the sky is the limit when it comes to parfaits! I am cannot wait to try a decadent chocolate parfait of some sort next time!

These have become my new favorite cookie. They are so buttery and light and goes oh so well with a nice cold glass of almond milk! Cooking them for about 10 minutes results in a nice semi-soft cookie, but if you prefer a crunchy cookie, simply let them bake for a good 11-12 minutes.

Ginger Snaps
makes about 3 dozen
adapted from Paula Deen
3/4 C. Butter or margarine
1 C. Sugar, plus more for rolling
1 Large Egg
1/4 C. Molasses
2 C. Sifted All Purpose Flour
2 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1 tsp. Ground Ginger
1 tsp. Allspice
1/2 tsp. Salt

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats(I used foil and nonstick spray..you could also use a nonstick cookie sheet. using an electric mixer, on low speed, cream the butter and sugar until thoroughly combined. Add the egg an molasses and beat until completely incorporated. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and salt then add to the mixture. Stir until combined. Roll dough into small balls and roll them into your sugar(be sure that balls of dough are SMALL).

Place 1/2 an inch apart on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. You can make these crispy by baking a tad bit longer. Let cool.

So the hubby recently bought me this ice cream maker and boy was I elated. I must say though that I have not indulged in experimenting with different recipes as I had imagined before my purchase. Nevertheless I have made several batches of vanilla and banana ice cream as well as some fantastic raspberry sorbet. So when you have homemade ice cream, the airy ice cream cones that you can purchase from the market just do not do your frozen treat justice! The answer was clear, I NEEDED to make my own cones, so off to google I went and after many clicks, I decided to go with this recipe via Joy of Baking.

I pretty much followed the directions, however the batter, which is very much like making a crepe cooks very fast(trust me I learned after several no goes). So, I simply poured the batter in the skillet as suggested and let it cook on low heat for just a few seconds and then I placed it in a 350 degree oven for a few seconds. Then I took the skillet out and flipped the crepe/cone and placed the skillet back on the stove top(which should still be on low heat)to let the other side brown.

I removed the skillet from the heat and molded the crepe into a cone shape. be sure you pinch the bottom of your cone so that it sticks together or else your ice cream will drip through. This definitely takes skill to master and after making these I think that I could appreciate an ice cream cone maker. Embarrassed to say, I actually tried wrapping the crepe around a paper cone…needless to say it stuck to the paper as it was cooling and ended up in the trash. So just taking your time and shaping your cone, pinching at the bottom turns out great. Once cooled they are ready to be filled your favorite ice cream, sorbet, yogurt, or gelatto!

They taste spectacular..nothing like the pre-packaged cones you get out of your local market. I definitely suggest you try making your own ice cream cones at least once in your life!

Note: make sure your pan is non stick or that it is generously coated with a non stick spray. Cooking on low will prevent burning.

I fixed this cake over the holidays and it was so rich, moist, and comforting, especially with the brown sugar icing and a warm cup of spiced tea to go along with it! It’s super easy. I am still working on it’s perfection, but this recipe was a hit! I especially love it with homemade vanilla ice cream, and I am sure you could turn these into scrumptious cupcakes as well! Yum!

Sweet Potato Pound Cake with Brown Sugar & Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients
1 ½ C. All Purpose Flour
1 ½ C. Bread Flour
½ tsp. Baking Powder
½ tsp. Baking Soda
½ tsp. Salt
2 Sticks of Unsalted Butter – room temperature
3 C. Sugar
1 ½ C. Cooked Sweet Potatoes – cooled & diced large
1/3 C. Brown Sugar
½ C. Buttermilk
3 Eggs – beaten
¼ tsp. Orange extract
¼ tsp. Almond Extract
¼ tsp. Vanilla Extract

Directions: Gently mix in your brown sugar into your potatoes. Set aside. In a large bowl, sift together your flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Using an electric mixer or a hand held mixer, cream together your 3 cups of granulated sugar, butter, sweet potatoes, buttermilk, and eggs. Gradually add in your dry mixture. Lightly mix in your extracts. Butter and flour your cake pan generously. Pour your batter in and bake on 350 degrees for 50 – 60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Turn out onto your cooling rack, bottom side up and let cool.

For The Frosting
8oz. Cream Cheese – room temperature
1 Stick of Unsalted Butter
2 T. Sour Cream
¼ tsp. Vanilla
¼ C. brown Sugar
½ tsp. Cinnamon
3 T. Milk
3 C. Confectioners Sugar
Chopped pecans for garnish – optional
Allspice for garnish – optional

Directions: Simply cream all ingredients together EXCEPT your pecans and allspice. Place your icing into a pastry bag or a sandwich bag and clip the ends to make a small hole…big enough for your icing to come through. You may want to start off small and test it on a paper towel to get the size you want. Do not make your hole to big. Drizzle some icing on top of your cake. Sprinkle pecans on top. Drizzle more icing on top of your pecans and dust with a sprinkle of allspice. Serve with hot coffee, spiced tea, or vanilla or butter pecan ice cream!