Christmas Caramel Cupcakes 

You’ll find this yummy cupcake mentioned in A CHRISTMAS CANDY KILLING, the first book in the Killer Chocolate Mysteries. This cupcake is the perfect blend of chocolate and caramel and will melt in your mouth. The caramel sauce can be a tiny bit finicky to make, but so worth it. It’s definitely worth an arm wrestle!

Chocolate Cupcakes: 

Now, I’ll be honest, I usually use a cake mix. But every once in a while I’ll make them from scratch. So if you’re so inclined, here’s a yummy recipe. 

1 cup flour 

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder 

½ teaspoon baking soda 

½ teaspoon baking powder 

1/8 teaspoon salt 

½ cup unsalted butter, softened 

1 cup sugar 

2 large eggs 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1 cup buttermilk 

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line a muffin tin with muffin liners. 
2. In a medium size bowl sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  
3. In a separate bowl, with a hand mixer or using a stand mixer (use the paddle attachment), cream together the butter, sugar on high speed for a few minutes, until the mixture is pale and fluffy. 
4. Add the eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk and mix again until well blended. 
5. Using a spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. Don’t over mix. 
6. Divide the batter equally between 12 large muffin liners. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. When done, remove from oven and set aside to cool for 10 minutes then place on wire rack. 

Caramel Sauce: 

1 cup granulated sugar 

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut in pieces 

½ cup heavy cream (whipping cream in Canada) 

½ teaspoon salt 

1. Heat sugar in a medium heavy-duty saucepan (try not to use non-stick) over medium heat. Stir constantly using a rubber spatula (heat resistant), or wooden spoon. Clumps will form and eventually melt into a thick, amber-colored liquid. Continue to stir. This may take a while. Be careful not to burn it. 
2. When sugar is completely melted, immediately stir in butter until melted and combined. Stir continuously while the butter melts and mixes with the sugar. Caution: the caramel will bubble vigorously when butter is added.  
3. Once butter has melted and combined with caramelized sugar, slowly, stir in the heavy cream. Since the cream is colder than the caramel mixture, it will vigorously bubble when added. Continue to stir throughout. 
4. When the sauce is the right consistency, remove from heat and stir in the salt. Allow to cool slightly before using. Caramel will thicken as it cools. 

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting 

1 ½ cup unsalted butter, softened 

5-6 cups powdered icing sugar 

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 

4 tsp vanilla 

2-3 tablespoons milk 

1. In a large bowl, beat butter until light and fluffy. 
2. Add powdered sugar and cocoa and mix again until well combined.  
3. Add vanilla and mix. 
4. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time, and beat on high speed until right consistency. 

Assemble the Christmas Caramel Cupcakes: 

1. Using a knife or a cupcake corer, cut out a small hole in the middle of each cupcake. 
2. Fill with 1 – 1 ½ teaspoon of the caramel into the cupcake holes. 
3. Top the cupcakes with frosting. I use Wilton’s #1M open star tip. 
4. Spoon a teaspoon of caramel over the top of the frosting. 
5. Serve. 

Lemonade is the quintessential summer beverage. For those hot summer days try a refreshing glass of one of these variations on the drink. Unless you have a juicer or other handy gadget be prepared for a sore wrist, but I promise it’s worth it!

If you’ve got some raspberries in the fridge that are a bit past their prime put them in the blender to become raspberry lemonade, my favorite. The waning strawberries can also be turned into a new creation, coconut strawberry lemonade, a definite winner. The possibilities are endless, I was going to try watermelon and never got around to it. Try it and let me know how it turned out.

Strawberry Lemonade

6-7 lemons

1lb strawberries

3/4 cup sugar

Approximately 6 cups water

Remove juice from lemons and pour into a large pitcher. Cut tops off strawberries and wash, then put into a blender (if you don’t have a Vitamix type blender that pulverizes the seeds, you may want to strain the strawberry puree to remove any larger seeds) with sugar, lemon juice, and water as required to taste. Personally, I prefer a tart lemonade, if you like it sweeter, add a bit more sugar. Chill and enjoy!

Tip: Add 1/2 to 3/4 can of coconut cream to recipe if you want to turn it into Coconut Strawberry Lemonade. (Coconut milk won’t work, not enough coconut flavor: I tried it.)

This is a super easy, adaptable recipe for potato salad. And I am definitely all about easy, not me personally, get your mind out of the gutter. I’m talking about cooking here. Unless I need pictures for my social media channels, I don’t cook much outside of Christmas and Thanksgiving. That may be a slight exaggeration, but I’m sure my husband would say, not much of an exaggeration. Now baking is a little different, I do bake more frequently as I am cursed with a sweet tooth. A discerning sweet tooth though, no mass-produced, boxed pastries allowed.

In case you don’t know me, my ancestry is German. Both my parents are from Germany though they met in Canada via a personal ad, but that’s another story. So, I grew up eating a fairly European diet. I didn’t know what Kraft dinner was until I was sixteen. True story.

My mom made potato salad for us year round, but mainly in the summer.  She usually paired it with one of three things: European wieners, they are a bit different from your typical hot dog, breaded pork chops, served cold, and fried chicken, also served cold. These were her go to meals for road trips and picnics, as well as her make ahead meals for our, May through September, weekends at our trailer in Muskoka.

When my mom made the potato salad, she would use large whole potatoes with skin on. She would boil them until they were done, but not overdone. Then, while hot, she would peel the skin off the potatoes. I don’t know how she did it. When I tried that method I had to use dishcloths and oven mitts to hold on to those potatoes because they burned my fingers. I can still feel the pain in my memories if I close my eyes. So, now I use baby potatoes and cut them in half and leave the skin on (more nutritious, and so much easier). I slice them up further once they’ve been cooked and drained.

Quantities in the recipe are obviously dependent on how much potato salad you need. And much comes down to taste. Each batch is different. My husband isn’t keen on onion, so I don’t put much in, though I think it tastes better with more onion (and I add some to my portions.) I adjust the number of eggs and pickles to suit my taste. My mom and I don’t skimp on mayonnaise. Potato salad should be creamy. When I’m looking to reduce my carbs, I use cauliflower instead of potatoes. I’ve also been known to add things like sliced radishes and celery. I also like cumin and curry, so I’ve been known to add those as well. Make it your own.

German Potato Salad Recipe

5-6 cups of baby potatoes, skin on, cut in half OR regular potatoes cut in quarters OR if you like burned fingers, do it my mom’s way

5-6 hard boiled eggs, sliced

3 large dill pickles, diced

¼ cup red onion, diced

Pickle juice, to taste (at least ¼ cup)

Mayonnaise, to taste (start with ½ cup)

Dill (fresh or dried, to taste)

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Method:

1.     Boil your potatoes in salted water with a pat of butter. They are done when they are tender but not too soft. Drain. Cut up potatoes to a bit larger than bite size. Place in large bowl.

2.     Boil your eggs until hard centers. Take shells off and slice right into the bowl.

3.     Add your diced onion, pickle juice, mayonnaise, dill, salt, and pepper.

4.     Mix. Taste. Adjust the ingredients in step 3 as needed.

That’s it! Easy.

I’d love to see your version. Post it on Facebook or Instagram and tag me. Happy cooking.