Easter Cake!

Anyone who was at the Fam Easter celebration this year will know that I had a really hard time answering the question, "What kind of cake is that?" The reason Tipsy was stuttering? Not because I had a drink! This cake is so delicious and has so many key ingredients that I couldn't simmer it down to a brief title! Instead I replied, "Apricot Brandy, Almond Orange Cake with Apricot Brandy Jam, Apricot Grand Marnier Cream Frosting and Chocolate Ganache with Grand Marnier."

Is that a sentence? I don't think so! But this cake says enough for itself! I just loved it!

What says Spring more then some fruity boozey cake? To me, nothing! ;)

Ingredients:

3 eggs

1 cup sour cream (I skipped the sour cream and went for the fruit/booze! I substituted 1/4 cup apricot Brandy, 1/4 cup orange juice and 1/2 cup whole milk)

2 teaspoons vanilla

2.5 cup cake flour (sifted)

2/3 cups (unblanched) almonds (toast em' up and toss them in the food processor until finely ground)

.5 cup sugar

1/4 cup OJ

6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate (grate it up in the food processor separately from the almonds)

1.5 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons orange zest

1 cup butter

1/3 cup Grand Marnier ( I probably used about 3/4 cups...)

1/2 cup heavy cream


Chop up the almonds and broil them up in the oven...then toss into the food processor until finely ground.

Mix up the 1/4 cup OJ, vanilla, apricot brandy and eggs

Mix up all the dry ingredients with the orange zest.

Add the butter to the dry ingredients until well creamed-then add egg mixture in thirds and mix well between each addition.

This batter is sooooo yummy! I had to celebrate with a little voddie tonnie with my left over oranges!

Bake in (2) 9 inch round pans at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Once the cakes were done I used a toothpick to make holes all over...then brushed on a generous amount of orange juice and the Grand Marnier...you can't go wrong here!

Once the cakes were cool and the OJ & Grand Marnier was absorbed I filled the cake with Apricot Jam which I had heated up with some apricot brandy for extra flavor.

I whipped up some cream and added about a cup of Apricot Jam and some Grand Marnier for extra flavor. SO DECADENT!

Next, comes what I cannot live without...CHOCOLATE! Scald the cream on the stove and add the grated chocolate. Remove from the heat, stir until smooth and add some Grand Marnier to taste. It really just brings out the richness in the chocolate!

For decoration I wanted to add some Marzipan oranges. Just roll the color onto the Marzipan and then shape.

I added chocolate ganache to about half the cake so that there was something for everyone, scattered some grated almonds and then used the Marzipan pieces to complete the Spring look.

I couldn't wait to taste the final result, but it was worth it. So many fresh flavors happening...a perfect Spring inspired Easter dessert!

Cheers to boozey/fruity/chocolaty baked goods! This is just one of the reasons I love baking so much!

xoxo,

Tipsy

Magic Cookie Bars for a Cause

I love a good bake sale! Who doesn't and what better a cause then fighting cancer?





I was excited to join my team at the Ace Hotel in the Relay for Life this year.



You can still donate-just click here.


I decided on some sweet, simple and irresistible Magic Cookie Bars. I have been making these with my fam since I can remember and they always hit the spot!





You will need:


1.5 cup graham cracker crumbs


.5 cup butter (melted)


1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk


2 cups M & M's


1 1/3 cups flaked coconut


1 cup chopped pecans


...I added about 1 cup mini chocolate chips to make them extra chocolately and too good to pass up for all the relayers!





Smashing up the grahams is the most fun!











Mix the melted butter with the graham crumbs in the ziploc and then place in greased 9 x 13 inch pan. Spread evenly and press down to form the crust.





Then pour the condensed milk over the crust evenly.















Bring on the toppings! Just spread em' all out evenly and press down tightly!










Can I dig in now???? Nope, must bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes first.













The roasty toasty bars! YUMMMMMM!






I sliced and bagged them for sale. The theme of the relay this year was, "More Birthdays" so we sold the sweets as more Love, Smiles & Hope! I know these were a hit because the tray came back to me empty!

Cheers to baking for a good cause and bringing people together for one goal!

xoxo,

Tipsy

Tortilla Trade Off

In turn for the Family Apple Pie Recipe my sweet friend Luna promised me her family tortilla technique! I have to warn you that they has even less of a recipe then my Granny's "globs of lard" and splashes of this and that. So, if you want to learn you will probably have to ask Luna! I don't think I have quite the credentials after just one go at it!

Luna instructed me to fill a deep bowl with Tortilla Flour-La Pina to be the best.

Next, add some water and some lard. Like I said, I really have no idea on the quantity. I guess the value of this post is the story, not the recipe.

Knead it up until all the moisture is absorbed...

...you can see the Mr. getting the shrimp cleaned in the back... Go hubs!

The dough should be slightly sticky, but you should be able to roll it into about 1.5 inch balls.

Let the dough sit for awhile. We started up the shrimp and the margaritas while it sat for about 15 minutes.

We sliced up some colorful peppers and simmered them down with tomatoes, garlic and some chicken bouillon for extra flavor.

SO DELICIOUS and colorful!

Next, we started slapping out the tortillas. This technique took me a few tries before I got the rhythm down. I definitely couldn't get the tortillas as thin as Luna could, but I will have to get more practice!

Then we tossed them onto a super hot pan and pushed down any air pockets with a paper towel. Once there are little brown bubbles on one side -flip it!

The gorgeous delicious meal with some refried beans and queso fresco.

Thanks Luna! I had so much fun and I can't wait for our Peach Cobbler/Tamale trade off!

Cheers to sharing delicious family traditions and learning something new.

xoxo,

Tipsy

Chocolate Birthday Truffles

After soooo many cupcakes and cakes over the holidays and the recent family birthdays, I was ready for a different sweet treat for my birthday.



How can you make cookies & cookie dough better??? Cover them in chocolate of course!



I had received some Oreo Cookies Truffles from a friend at Christmas and I had to have more. They are so easy to make!



Just toss a regular size package of Oreos in a blender or food processor until they are crumbles....everything good in the blender, of course! I went with the Oreos with chocolate filling for extra chocolatey chocolate truffles.











Next, just toss in an 8 oz. package of softened cream cheese and blend together.






Roll the dough into balls (it's ok if they aren't perfect because you can roll them into better balls once they are chilled) and put in the fridge for at least an hour.









I also looked to my dear Paula Deen for some inspiration and that sweet lady never lets me down-Cookie Dough Truffles! Are you kidding me??? How can you beat that!


1/2 cup softened butte

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 (14 oz.) can of sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups flower

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

(I skipped the 1 cup chopped pecans, but the recipe does call for that-I wanted more chocolate instead!)

1.5 pounds chocolate candy coating (melted)





First, beat the butter and brown sugar until fluffy (just like regular cookies.)

Add condensed milk and vanilla and beat until combined.








Gradually add the flower and lastly the chocolate chips (and pecans if you included them.)



It looks and tastes just like cookie dough! I wanted to just eat this stuff up!







Again, roll into balls-this one needs to be in the fridge for at least 2 hours. This batter is waaaay stickier then the Oreo dough.

Once the dough is chilled melt up that chocolate! For both recipes I used a total of 2 pounds of chocolate. You can buy chocolate candy coating in almost any grocery store baking aisle.

Use toothpicks to dip the chilled doughs in the chocolate and place on a baking sheet-definitely use some parchment paper if you have some. Clean up would have been such a nightmare without it. CHOCOLATE EVERYWHERE! :)

I used some Oreo crumbs and m & m's for the garnish on the Oreo Truffles

The Cookie Dough Truffles were not as easy to make pretty, so I mixed up some frosting to cover up the cookie dough that didn't get completely coated.

The real mess. YIKES!

SOOOO YUMMY!

The final look....you won't believe how delicious these un-baked good are! They will definitely be a tradition in my house now...and I already have friends wanting to order some more!

Cheers to birthdays with good friends and LOTS OF SUGAR!

Cheers,

Tipsy

Love & Colors

For Valentine's Day I just had to pull out the old DeYoung cook book for some sweet sugar cookie love!

It is a family recipe...shhhh! So, I thought I would just share the colorful frosting that I mixed up with my dear friend Michelle instead of all the Dutch details!!

Rolling out and cookie cutting the dough...

Crispy baked cookies and all the colorful frosting!

I asked the Hubs to make one for me and look what he came up with! I LOVED IT! :)

My cookies for my Valentine! So cheesy, but I love it! If you can't be cheesy on Valentine's Day after a few mimosas, when can you be?

AND!!!!!! My new official Tipsy Baking mascot! We adopted her Valentine's weekend and she loved watching me make cookies/eating up any little crumb that I dropped-my little girl, Tipsy! She has three legs, so she doesn't really need a drink for an excuse to be tipsy...literally, she tips over! LOL! I just love her and have to share a cute pic of her!

Cheers to the hubs being creative, adopting a new little love and celebrating love with some fun colors and sweet treats!

xoxo,

Tipsy