After weeks of waiting for my Kitchen Aid 7-quart stand mixer (that I won at the Food Blog Forum) to arrive, I was finally greeted by an enormous box from Fedex last Monday when I got home from work. I'm not kidding you when I say this box is literally half my size. It took me a couple days to get around to actually opening it; I admit, I was a little intimidated. When I finally did get it unpacked, I headed straight to the kitchen to do some baking! Look at this beauty...
First up was a recipe I've been wanting to take a crack at for a while. I have never made cupcakes before, so I was eager to try my first batch. Thanks to this recipe from Skinnytaste for Pina Colada cupcakes, I can now say I have successfully baked delicious cupcakes. It's a really easy recipe, so it was perfect for my first endeavor. Next time, I'll tackle a recipe where you actually make the cake portion from scratch. This recipe simply called for boxed cake mix, canned crushed pineapple, cream cheese, coconut flakes, and sugar. I contemplated adding some coconut rum to the mixture for the cake, but wasn't sure how it would affect the texture so I didn't do it. Next time...Using the mixer made this one of my greatest baking experiences ever because I didn't have to mix anything by hand! I loved watching as the mixer swirled all of the ingredients together and formed the batter for the cupcakes, which tasted and smelled absolutely delicious.The frosting was even better to watch come together; the coconut flakes, sugar and cream cheese quickly combined to make the topping. It didn't have the same texture as normal cupcake frosting. in fact, I bet it would be a really good dip for fruit. The result was fantastic. Super-moist cupcakes topped with sweet and creamy coconutty goodness. My Bubby loved the treat, so much so that she wouldn't let me bring both trays of cupcakes to work! My co-workers were smitten with them as well. These are a great summer dessert for BBQs or dinner parties.
My next attempt was Cookies and Cream Cheesecake Brownies from Brown Eyed Baker. These were a bit more complicated than the Pina Colada cupcakes. But with my mixer, it was still easy as 1-2-3! Cocoa powder, cream cheese and Oreos are the shining stars in this recipe. I love love love Oreos in desserts — always have, always will. When I was a little girl, my favorite ice cream topping was crushed Oreos, whether at an ice cream parlor or at home. Whenever I visited my Bubby, she would crush the Oreos in a mini-food processor and pour the crumbles on top of chocolate ice cream. It's still one of my favorite ingredients when it comes to desserts, so when I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it. The cheesecake mixture is simply made from cream cheese, sugar and chopped up Oreos. This mixture is then spooned onto the brownie batter and swirled together. The brownies were a hit. Thanks to my mixer, there will be lots more desserts to come. Maybe I'll even attempt making my own bread! There are so many things you can do with this awesome kitchen appliance. I can't thank Kitchen Aid and the Food Blog Forum enough! This is easily one of the best things I've ever won in my life!
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