Baking Away

I have come to realize I really do enjoy baking.  Mostly because I can come up with random ingredients/flavors I am craving and combine them into one tastey treat!  I normally get cravings for cupcakes, but last week I wanted some type of bar.  I knew I wanted to bake something that was something like a chocolate chip cookie, but with more chocolate, and a kick of another flavor.  I had this craving for a few days when finally it hit me the "kick of flavor" I wanted was rasberry.  Thus, I set off to bake Chocolate Rasberry Crumb Bars.  I hopped online and began searching for recipes to fit the bill.  Though there were several, each varying a bit, I found one that seemed just right.  The recipe I used is from a website called Very Best Baking  The best part about it, the recipe is insanely simple and requires very minimal ingredients! In no time I was pulling my yummy bars out of the oven.  Though they do taste good warm, I think they tasted best after they were allowed to cool completely. I loved them and will deifitely be making them again!

When I bought the ingredients for the crumb bars, I also picked up the things I need to make my favorite cupcakes. A few months back (shortly after making the banana cupcakes ) I was sitting around thinking of cupcakes (lol).  I was drinking a glass of my favorite wine, Saracco Moscato d'asti and imagined how delicious a cupcake would be with this wine in it (it's a very delicious dessert wine).  Then I though about dark chocolate covered strawberries and how much I love them.  So I decided then and there I needed to create a cupcake incorporating all of these to make my ultimate cupcake!  Ever since, I have made them every couple of months and each time they are just as amazing as the first time I tasted it.  I have dubbed them my "Vanilla Moscato Cupcakes w/ Dark Chocolate Ganache Filling and Strawberry Buttercream Frosting".  You can tatse the moscato as you bite into the extremely moist cupcake.  Then you are surprised by the splash of dark chocolate ganache (which I always use Godiva for) in the center.  It's topped of with a light strawberry buttercream frosting, which has slight chunks of strawberries in it. Ahhhhh so good!  So last night I went ahead and made them again.  I don't think I could ever get tired of these things!

 

 

 

The only thing that could make all my baking even better would be a KitchenAid stand mixer.  Once I get a new place that will definitely be a must for my new kitchen ha!