Tag Archives: Bake

Chocolate Angel Food Cupcakes (70 calories per cupcake!)

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These cupcakes are a good thing.

Chocolate Angel Food Cupcakes | Beautiful Disasters

They’re a very good thing. Like they couldn’t have come at a better time-bikini season!! (<–Yikes)

Chocolate Angel Food Cupcakes | Beautiful Disasters

I’m not sure how it is even possible to have 70 calories in a cupcake but it happened..Unintentionally. I am actually a huge lover of angel food cake. I had never had chocolate angel food cake before, so I decided to give it a whirl. A whirl in cupcake form of course!

Chocolate Angel Food Cupcakes | Beautiful Disasters

Because I made these into cupcakes, they obviously were begging for frosting, so that was a teeny dilemma I was having. I didn’t want to make a buttercream because I thought that might be too sweet (Yes, “too sweet” is possible for me) and I really am not much of a fan of cream cheese frosting, so I decided to go with my family’s favorite-whipped cream frosting

Chocolate Angel Food Cupcakes | Beautiful Disasters

These cupcakes do deflate a little after a minute or two out of the oven. Be sure to fill the cupcakes with batter about 3/4 full, for the full experience!

Chocolate Angel Food Cupcakes | Beautiful Disasters

Chocolate Angel Food Cupcakes

(Makes 15-17 cupcakes)

6 egg whites

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup cake flour (or all purpose flour whisked with 1 teaspoon corn starch)

3/4 cup white sugar

2 Tablespoons cocoa powder

pinch of salt

  1. Preheat oven to 350˚F and line muffin tins with cupcake liners
  2. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, allow the 6 eggs whites to sit (covered with plastic wrap) for about 30 minutes to come to room temperature. Meanwhile, sift 1/4 cup and 2 Tablespoons of white sugar, the cake flour, the cocoa powder, and the salt. Set aside.
  3. Once egg whites are at room temperature, beat using the whisk attachment until frothy. Mix in cream of tartar. Beat with whisk attachment until soft peaks form, gradually add in remaining 1/4 cup and 2 Tablespoons of white sugar, 1 Tablespoon at a time. Beat until shiny and stiff peaks form. Beat in te vanilla extract.
  4. Sift the flour mixture over the egg whites, one quater at a time. Fold after each addition using a rubber spatula. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into each cupcake liner. Bake in preheated oven for 15-17 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire rack.

Chocolate Angel Food Cupcakes | Beautiful Disasters

Chocolate Angel Food Cupcakes | Beautiful Disasters

Random Fact of the Day: he chances of making two holes-in-one in a round of golf are one in 67 million.

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Coconut Blondies

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Life is good.

Coconut Blondies | Beautiful Disasters

I finished all my AP tests last Friday. We are a few breaths away from summer. Charles Ramsey’s heroic actions and great humor got me through AP testing week last week. And I have some delicious coconut blondies to share with you all.

Coconut Blondies | Beautiful Disasters

Maybe I am getting a little coconut-happy lately, but I kind of like it. Coconut signifies summer and tropical things to me, so being land-locked, coconut is one of those ingredients that has grown on me.

Coconut Blondies | Beautiful Disasters

I hope you all have a great day full of smiles, sunshine, and most of all, some coconut blondies.

Coconut Blondies

1/2 cup coconut oil (room temperature)

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon coconut extract

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons whole wheat flour (all-purpose is fine, too!)

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut

1/4 cup chopped walnuts (or desired nuts)

1/4 cup chocolate chips

  1. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Spray an 8 x 8-inch baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, cream together coconut oil and brown sugar unti completely combined. Mix in eggs until incorporated. Add in extracts. Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt. Finally fold in coconut.
  3. Spread dough into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle chocolate chips over the top and slightly press into the top of the spread dough. Bake in preheated oven for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. Let cool and cut into bars. Store leftovers in sealed container or cover with plastic wrap.

Random Fact of the Day: The blesbok, a South African antelope, is almost the same color as grapejuice.

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Banana Crumb Cake

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Over this past week I have realized how much I truly appreciate my family.  I love my parents with all my heart but, as I have gotten older, I have grown to be increasingly thankful for my brother and sister.

Banana Crumb Cake | Beautiful Disasters

This past weekend was the last weekend I was able to visit my sister at college (the same college that I will be attending next year). She is graduating in just a couple short weeks and even though I have already visited her twice by myself for “fun visits” (without parents), I wanted to squeeze in one more visit before we both graduate and I head off to the University of Illinois. Brooke is always a great host, she always lets me borrow whatever clothes I want, and  we hardly ever argue anymore like how we did when we were younger. She’s my best friend in the world, who I know I will always be able to trust.  I am super thankful to have a sister. My mom always says, “Friends come and go, but sisters are forever”, and that is certainly something I believe in full-heartedly.

Banana Crumb Cake | Beautiful Disasters

Now that I have gushed over my sister, Brooke, I think it is time to rave about my big brother, Jack.  Let me start out by saying that my brother was not the most organized guy when he was a teenager.  Birthday presents from him usually went something like him driving me over to Borders and me picking out some books, or maybe a gift card of a place I picked out. Teenagers are busy (as I know very well of right now in my life) and birthday presents often seem silly or too much effort to try and be creative.

Banana Crumb Cake | Beautiful Disasters

Fast-forward to present day and now my brother is Mr. Organized with birthday gifts.  It was my mom’s birthday recently and even though he lives across the country in LA, HE bought the present for my mom (which I still need to pay him back for) and had it sent to a local Best Buy, where all I had to do was drive over and pick it up!

When I got home from my visit at U of I with my sister this weekend my mom told me that my Jack had a surprise for me. I was kind of like ok…what kind of joke is this going to be?  The surprise? These gorgeous BCBG earrings that he bought for me to wear to my prom. Yes, feel free to cry everyone. I mean..what?!  I was not expecting that one at all!! Anyways, I owe a big ‘ol THANK YOU to Jack and Brooke for being rockstar siblings. Love you both with all my heart!

Banana Crumb Cake | Beautiful Disasters

On to banana crumb cake!  I am super pumped to share this recipe with you all. Oh my gosh…so good! The night I made it, my dad ate probably about 1/4 of the 13″ x 9″ pan!!! I KNEW he would like this one, as he is the banana king and loves basically anything associated with bananas (food-wise).

However, this was actually a request from my mom, so I guess I am just trying to make the whole family happy with this post today. Must be that I am getting close to high school graduation and starting to feel sentimental and stuff… yikes.

Banana Crumb Cake

(Makes one 13″x9″ cake)

3 bananas, ripened

2 cups white sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup milk (I used skim)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

CRUMB TOPPING:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup brown sugar

  1. Preheat oven to 350˚F and spray a 13″x9″ baking pan with cooking spray, set aside.
  2. Using a mixer, beat bananas and sugar until liquidy and combined. Mix in butter, eggs, and vanilla extract. Add in flours, baking soda, and salt. Mix in milk until thoroughly combined.
  3. In a smaller separate bowl, mix together crumble toppings with hands or fork until crumbly.
  4. Pour half the batter into the bottom of the prepared baking dish, sprinkle half the crumb mixture on top, pour remaining batter over top, add final layer of remaining crumb mixture. Bake in preheated oven for about 45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out mostly clean. Let cool and enjoy! Cover leftovers in container or with plastic wrap.

Banana Crumb Cake | Beautiful Disasters

Random Fact of the Day: There are more than 1,000 chemicals in a cup of coffee. Of these, only 26 have been tested, and half caused cancer in rats.

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Choco-Mint [Cake Mix] Bars

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Weeeirdest thing ever has been happening to me quite frequently lately…

Choco-Mint Bars | Beautiful Disasters

Ever since I have stopped eating meat (about 3 months ago), I have been having the craziest dreams(/nightmares).

Choco-Mint Bars | Beautiful Disasters

It’s usually pretty short, but basically the way it goes is this: I eat meat without thinking about it or remembering that I gave up meat, I FREAK out, start crying, ask about surgery to remove the meat, cry some more and just freak out in general.

Choco-Mint Bars | Beautiful Disasters

Then I wake up, and it always feels like the dream was so real. I’ll be like “Did that really just happen? Did I really do that? WHY would I freak out about eating a little meat?” especially because I really don’t care that much if I eat a little meat, especially when I don’t want to be an inconvenience to others during meals that are outside of my control.

Choco-Mint Bars | Beautiful Disasters

At a pasta dinner for soccer, the sauce was of course a meat sauce, so I pretty much tried to make the best of it and just avoid the sauce as much as I could but those little things certainly aren’t worth creating a fuss over. Thankfully all my little meat-eating tantrums have been dreams.

Choco-Mint Bars | Beautiful Disasters

On a totally unrelated note..You may have noticed these pictures of these delicious bars. Oh yeashhh they are delish. One of my favorite flavor combos (chocolate and mint) and then the cake mix I used already have marshmallow bits in it, so I was just like SCOREEE. This recipe is super versatile, so feel free to use whatever cake mix you want and what add-ins you like!

Choco-Mint [Cake Mix] Bars

1 (13.75 oz.) Chocolate* Cake Mix (This size is usually labeled as “Cupcake Mix”)**See note at bottom!***

2 eggs

5 Tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 cup Mint Andes baking bits (Or chopped up Andes candies)

  1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Spray a 8″x8″ or 9″x9″ baking pan with cooking spray.
  2. In a large bowl, mix dry cake mix, eggs, and melted butter together until combined.  Add in the mint Andes bits until evenly distributed. Pour batter into prepared baking pan.
  3. Bake in preheated oven for 16-18 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Let cool in pan for about 5-10 minutes, then slice and enjoy! Cover bars with plastic wrap or store in sealed container when not eating.

*You may notice the white little specks in my bars, the cake mix I used had marshmallow bits already included in it, so that is what those are!

***Note: If you can only find a regular sized 18.25 oz. cake mix, that is fine, just prepare the batter the same. You may need to add a few more Tablespoons of water or milk to make the batter a spreadable consistency. Pour the batter into a 13″ x 9″ baking pan and bake at 350˚F for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Choco-Mint Bars | Beautiful Disasters

Random Fact of the Day: 40% of women have hurled footwear at a man. Any readers out there guilty of this??

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Apple Crumb Cake

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Times have certainly changed. Even within the past 5 years, it is crazy how much the whole “searching-for-a-college-roommate process” has changed. My brother and sister both did totally random roommates, people they had never met before, maybe seen their facebook profiles, but literally know basically nothing about them.

Apple Crumb Cake | Beautiful Disasters

Me…well, I’m a little different. No, I am not choosing one of my good friends to be my roommate, but I’m too scared to go the totally-stranger-roommate route. It isn’t even that I’m really scared I’ll end up with a complete psycho, my fear is almost that they might not like me. It would be harder for me to live with someone who doesn’t like me, rather than live with someone who doesn’t particularly lift my skirt.

Apple Crumb Cake | Beautiful Disasters

Is that totally, completely insane?

Apple Crumb Cake | Beautiful Disasters

I’ve been talking to several girls about rooming together for next year, I almost feel like I’m cheating on them for talking to so many people! But, I figure that even if I don’t room with them, it’s a good idea to get to know potential hangout buddies for the next year, or at least the first couple week to get my feet wet.

Apple Crumb Cake | Beautiful Disasters

Talking to girls about rooming together sort of feels like on-line dating. I can’t exactly say I’ve ever done on-line dating before, but it’s what I imagine it would be like! We post little bios of ourselves on the University facebook page, trying to make ourselves sound as marketable as possible, and it just feels a little fake. Buuuut, some girls have actually asked me to meet with them in person. AH! So scary, but I know it’s the smart thing to do, to actually get to know them and find out if they really are psychopaths. I did meet with one (who was my top choice) and we ended up REALLY hitting it off and talked for like 2 HOURS! Can you imagine that? Two people that have never met before just meeting up and chatting it up for a couple hours…I’m so excited for next year!!

Anyhoo, I hardly remember this apple crumb cake because it was literally gone in less than 24 hours. Yeah, it was that good. The grated apple gives a subtle hint of apple and adds a nice hint of apple-touch to the fluffy cake. The crumb topping: to. die. for.

Apple Crumb Cake

(Makes 1- 8 x 8 inch cake)

FOR CAKE:

1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 medium-large apple, peeled, cored, and grated

FOR CRUMB TOPPING:

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon allspice

2 1/2 Tablespoons melted butter

  1. Preheat oven to 350˚ F. Spray an 8×8 inch baking pan with cooking spray or grease with butter/oil.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, and ground nutmeg. Mix in eggs, oil, and vanilla extract. Fold in grated apple. Spread batter evenly into the bottom of the baking pan and set aside.
  3. In a medium-small bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the crumb topping except the butter. Once combined, slowly add butter and mix up with hands to create crumb texture. Sprinkle crumb mixture evenly over batter spread in pan.
  4. Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out mostly clean. Let cool on wire rack for about 15-20 minutes, slice and serve! Cover with plastic wrap when not eating.

Apple Crumb Cake | Beautiful Disasters

Random Fact of the Day: Rubber is one of the ingredients in bubble gum.

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