Banana Chocolate Cupcakes

So today is my friend Mike's 22nd birthday (little baby, aww) and since he doesn't get the opportunity to have much of my baked goods, for whatever reason, I made cupcakes especially for the occasion. I gave him two choices and he decided to go with Banana Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting. I found the recipe on Tidy Mom but I used my own recipe for the frosting because, to be honest, I haven't been able to master the whole egg white thing and it frustrates me completely.

Banana Chocolate Cupcakes:
1 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/8 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana
1/2 cup warm water
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pan with cupcake liners. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt until combined. In another bowl, mix egg, banana, water, milk, canola oil and vanilla extract until completely mixed. Whisk together wet and dry ingredients.

Scoop batter into cupcake liners until 3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes and cool completely.

Peanut Butter Buttercream:
1 1/3 cups creamy peanut butter
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

Cream peanut butter and butter in a bowl with an electric mixer on high speed. Once mixed, add the sugar on low speed until combined and then mix on high until fluffy and smooth. Put frosting in pastry bag and frost cupcakes immediately.

I topped these delicious treats with a mini Nutter Butter cookie (my favorite cookie as a child) and they are absolutely picture perfect. I can't wait to give him these tonight when we celebrate his birthday with everyone. My boyfriend wanted one last night, but I told him he'd have to wait until Mike gets one!

Caramel Apple Cheesecake

One of my favorite desserts has to be any kind of cheesecake, but unfortunately as of 2 years ago, I became lactose intolerant and cannot indulge. This makes me a very sad panda, but that doesn't mean that no one else I know can't have some cheesecake made by me! So for Mothers Day, I chose to try out a recipe that I had found on The Girl Who Ate Everything which combines three things that everyone should love: Cheesecake, Apples, and Caramel... Mmm!

Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 sticks butter (softened)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar until mixed. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two forks until mixture is crumbly. Press evenly into a 9" x 13" baking pan lined with heavy duty foil. Bake 15 minutes or until light golden brown.

Cheesecake Filling:

3 packages cream cheese (8oz)
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tsps vanilla extract

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add eggs, 1 at a time, and then vanilla. Pour over warm crust.

Apple Mixture:

3 Granny Smith apples (peeled, cored, and finely chopped)
2 tbs sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

In a small bowl, stir chopped apples, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg until mixed evenly. Spoon over cream cheese filling.

Streusel Topping:

1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1 stick butter (softened)

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients together. (If you're okay with getting a little messy, you can use your hands so the butter is evenly mixed in.) Sprinkle evenly over apple mixture. Bake for 40 minutes or until filling is set. Drizzle with caramel sauce and let cool.

These Caramel Apple Cheesecake bars were absolutely amazing! Even though I'm lactose intolerant, I stole a small bite and almost melted into a cheesecake-induced coma... My friend even rode her bike (she thought it would help burn the calories of the cheesecake) to my house to pick some up! And I brought a "dessert delivery" over to my boyfriend's house while he was studying for finals... He appreciated the sweet break completely!

Peanut Butter Truffle Brownies

My boyfriend decided that he was going to cook dinner for me on Saturday, and so I thought I'd make a dessert that he would love to bring over. Now he absolutely loved the Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes that I had made a few weeks ago, so I wanted to definitely bake something with peanut butter involved. I found this amazing recipe for Peanut Butter Truffle Brownies while perusing The Girl Who Ate Everything and thought they would be absolutely perfect. It called for just a melted chocolate & butter topping but I thought I'd go a step further and put a Chambord chocolate ganache topping instead. Mmm.

Fudge Brownie:

1 stick butter (melted)
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips/peanut butter chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease pan with cooking spray or shortening. In large mixing bowl, blend butter, sugar and vanilla. Add eggs and beat well. In a small bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Gradually blend dry ingredients into wet mixture until well combined. Stir in chocolate and peanut butter chips. Spread batter in 13" x 9" pan and bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool completely.

Peanut Butter Truffle Filling:

1/2 cup butter (softened)
3/4 cup peanut butter
2 cups confectioners sugar
2 tsps milk

In medium bowl, mix filling ingredients together with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Spread mixture evenly over cooled brownie.

Chambord Chocolate Ganache:

12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
1 cup heavy cream
6 tbsp Chambord liqueur (or to taste)

Place chocolate and Chambord into a medium to large bowl. Heat heavy cream on stove on medium heat until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and immediately pour over chocolate and Chambord mixture. Stir constantly until mixture is mixed and glossy. Allow ganache to cool a little so it thickens a little before pouring on top of brownie/truffle. Pour and spread evenly over peanut butter truffle filling and put in refrigerator to set.

If you choose to, you can sprinkle or if you're obsessive like me, you can decorate the top of the brownie with the leftover chocolate and peanut butter chips after 10 minutes. Once the ganache sets completely, cut, serve, and enjoy!

After dinner, we took these out and they were absolutely decadent. These brownies contain everything that I love in a dessert... Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Chambord! I must say that I am in LOVE with how these babies turned out!