running with tweezers

having your cake and boozing it, too

"I can't wait until you get over this healthy food phase of yours...and start blogging about things like bacon fried in duck fat covered in chocolate again."

Those words were uttered to me in an IM last week by a friend and reader of this blog. The words "healthy food phase" came across loud and clear - I could hear the hiss of those three little words all the way over the Internet. I get it. Sheesh!

Yes... I do tend to focus on healthier things here on the 'ol blog. My natural tendencies and cravings lean towards veggies - along with cheese and bread but that's not important here.  Especially when cooking for one, I tend to do simple dishes, salads and easy pasta dishes.

That having been said, every once in a while, I get the hankering for something sweet. While I think the whole cupcake thing is a little overdone at this point, I do make a mean one. I have seen friends of mine eat six or eight in one sitting. In the car. Right after I hand them the box. My specialty is chocolate cake with a whipped, airy vanilla frosting. They're pretty spectacular, if I do say so myself.

For Top Chef Wednesday this past week, a group of us got together to cook and watch the show. The theme? Belated Cinco de Mayo. It was the perfect occasion to surprise the group with cupcakes, something I hadn't done in a long time . I wish I could take the credit for this one...but I can't. I blended two different recipes together to make the cakes - a vegan cake recipe and a decadent cream cheese frosting to top it.  The light cake had nice tangy taste...but for me, the cake is really just the vehicle for the frosting and this recipe did not disappoint - creamy, rich and not too sweet. 

Margarita Cupcakes - recipe originally found here:

1/4 cup lime juice
1 1/2 tsp lime zest (1 lime)
1 cup soy milk (plain or vanilla)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp tequila
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

- Preheat oven to 350F. Fill a 12-cup muffin tin with liners.
In a large bowl, mix together lime juice, lime zest, soy milk, oil , tequila, vanilla and sugar.
In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add to lime mixture and stir until just combined. Divide evenly into muffin tins.
Bake for 20-24 minutes, until a tester comes out clean and the cakes spring back when lightly pressed.
Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Key Lime Cream Cheese Frosting - Makes about 3 cups icing - recipe originally found here:

•     8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
•     1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
•     2 tablespoons key lime juice
•     1 teaspoon key lime zest or lemon zest
•     4-5 cups confectioner's sugar

-In large bowl, cream butter, cream cheese, juice and zest with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add 4 cups confectioner's sugar, one cup at a time; continue beating until light and fluffy. If icing is too thin add additional confectioner's sugar 1 tablespoon at a time

tropical tiramisu

I am so not a chocolate eater. I think we've been over this before. I am a total sucker for fruity and cakey desserts. Creme brulee, too. Key Lime Pie...and...oh goodness...pineapple upside down cake. Drool.

The upcoming RootSource Challenge - hosted by CookThink - was to use pineapple in your recipe. Rather than try to use it in some sort of rice dish - or in the typical upside down dessert - I wanted to do something a little different. This just so happened to coincide with a shoot that I was working on for a client. There were some recipes that they were developing to post on their website lying around - I never talk about clients on this blog...but when you're there, you're family, ok?

The recipe for Pineapple Tiramisu caught my eye. Talk about a dream dessert - all of the creamy, custardy, Mascarpone-y goodness of tiramisu with a blast of fruit flavor! I was sold.  It is everything I had hoped it would be - creamy and sweet but not overly so...and punctuated by juicy pineapple taste and texture.

I changed the recipe up my making them in individual spring-form pans - 4 small pans will be filled by this recipe. This also helped in keeping its shape. If you don't care about that, make it in a trifle bowl or individual dishes. I also soaked the ladyfingers in an equal mixture of Malibu Pineapple Rum and pineapple juice. Instead of covering the top of my forms with the berries, I wanted to show off the ring on the top. So, instead, I garnished with a few blackberries and powdered sugar. Any mixture of fruit to garnish - as well as mint or basil - would be tasty and beautiful. When making this recipe, beat the crap out of the eggs. Seriously. Until clear, at least. You will regret it if you don't. I also recommend refrigerating this for longer than an hour - several hours to overnight would be best.

Pineapple Tiramisu - recipe originally found here - serves 4

• ½ cup pasteurized egg yolks
• 1 lb Mascarpone cheese
• 6 tbsp sugar
• 1 pineapple
• 1 box of lady fingers
• 4 strawberries, cut half
• ¼ pint wild berries

-  WHISK egg yolks and 4 tbsp sugar together in a mixing bowl. When the color turns clear, add mascarpone cheese and stir until consistency is smooth.

   -  REMOVE skin from pineapple with a large knife. Cut in half and remove core. Cut a 1 inch slice from the bottom. Place in a food processor with 2 tbsp sugar. Pulse until fruit is finely chopped and has released juice.
   -  DRAIN contents into a strainer and preserve juice. Discard chopped pineapple in strainer.
   -  CUT remaining pineapple into 1 inch slices.

LAYERING THE TIRAMISU:

   - SOAK 10 lady fingers in pineapple juice until liquid is absorbed. Do not allow them to sit too long.
   -  PLACE a layer of lady fingers in a round mold. Cover lady fingers with slices of pineapple.
   - ADD a thick layer of mascarpone cream. Repeat process.
   - GARNISH by alternating lady finders, remaining pineapple slices, sliced strawberries and wild berries.
   - REFRIGERATE for a minimum of 1 hour before serving.