Coconut Rum Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I have been a busy, busy girl lately! On top of being a wife, mother and domestic goddess (and oh yeah, pregnant!) I'm also a graphic designer. This summer has found me loaded with jobs. Baking has been pushed aside for more pressing chores like wedding invitations for excited brides. But the hormones haven't stopped making me crave baked goods so I've had to become stealthy in the kitchen. It's all about fast and easy these days... but also tasty!

I bought a pineapple on sale with the idea that my girls would gobble up it's juicy goodness, but I was sadly mistaken. They did eat some, but at the rate they were going it would have been mush before they finished it. So I needed to use it and FAST. I would have eaten it as is but the heartburn would have killed me! So I thought back to my childhood (ahhhh nostalgia) and remembered fondly my grandma's pineapple upside down cake. It was sweet and moist and so delish.

I'm still craving coconut, and pineapple and coconut go so perfectly together. Just thinking about it made my mind wander to tropical drinks by the pool... wait, tropical drinks... coconut rum! Yes! A little rum in the cake, even when pregnant (because the little bit of alcohol would be negligible after baking and spread throughout an entire cake), would be awesome thought I. And I made it so.

This cake is super easy and tastes like a vacation in your mouth! Using a boxed cake mix cuts wayyyy down on prep time so this cake is perfect for last minute BBQs or satisfying pregnant lady cravings!

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Coconut Rum Pineapple Upside Down Cake

1 vanilla cake mix
eggs
oil
water
1/4 c. coconut rum
2 tbsp butter
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 c. pineapple, diced (if using canned, drain & discard the juice)
1/2 c. coconut, toasted

Instructions:

1. Prepare your cake mix as per your brand's instructions substituting 1/4 c. of rum for 1/4 c. of the water.
2. Dot the butter around the bottom of a 8" x 8" pan and sprinkle with the brown sugar.
3. Spread the pineapple over the brown sugar & butter in an even layer.
4. Cover with the cake batter and bake at 350˚F for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
5. Allow to cool for 10 minutes and then place a plate or platter over top the cake pan and invert to release the cake.
6. Sprinkle with the toasted coconut and serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

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enjoy!

Chocolate Coffee Cupcakes with Bailey's Buttercream Frosting

My good friend Michelle sent me an email the other day. That's not out of the ordinary at all, except for the fact that it was a recipe. Michelle is not really known for emailing out recipes (pictures of her fun nights out, and more recently of her expanding belly yes, but not recipes). So immediately I knew it HAD to be good!

OH. MY. GOD. The name alone had me drooling. Chocolate. Coffee. Bailey's Irish Cream Liqueur. Hello? Even my husband, who hates cake of any kind, was intrigued. He asked me to make these when he was on night shift this weekend so he could take them into work to help keep the guys awake. He's so funny.

These cupcakes taste like your favourite coffee blend. They taste like a chilly winter's night by the fire. They taste like... heaven. Give'em a try and tell me I'm lying!


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Chocolate Coffee Cupcakes with Bailey's Buttercream Frosting

cupcakes:

1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 c buttermilk, room temperature
3 heaping tbsp cocoa
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup coffee, hot
1 c sugar
1 c flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla

frosting:

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
4 c icing sugar
1/4 c Bailey's Irish Cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp milk
2 tbsp coffee, cooled

Instructions:

1. In a small bowl, dissolves the baking soda in the buttermilk.
2. In a small saucepan, melt the butter slowly over low heat and add the cocoa. Mix until combined and smooth.
3. Remove from the heat and add the coffee to the cocoa/butter mixture and stir.
4. In a seperate bowl sift together the flour, sugar and salt.
5. While slowly mixing add the cocoa mixture and egg to the flour mixture.
6. Next add the buttermilk and vanilla and continue to beat until smooth.
7. Bake at 350˚F for 20 minutes or until cupcakes spring back when touched.
8. Cream together the butter and icing sugar for the frosting.
9. Add the Bailey's, vanilla, milk and coffee and whip until combined and smooth.
10. Frost tops of cooled cupcakes and decorate with chocolate shavings, chocolate covered espresso beans or enjoy all on their own!

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Look at how moist these babies are!

enjoy,

Minty Mocha Latte

I love a little "Christmas cheer" in my mug around the holidays. The warmth spreading through me helps take the edge off, and warms me up as I'm perpetually cold from November until May! A friend of mine, the always delightful Jennifer Pershick, or as she's more commonly known on twitter, @Artsy_Jenny, has been raving for at least a week now about Bailey's new Mint flavoured liqueur, so when I stopped in at the LCBO today I grabbed a wee bottle to see what all the fuss was about. At the cash they had a bucket filled with bottles of a new flavour of Kalhua... Mocha! I had to have one of those too.

I raced home and started mixing and pouring and stirring and brewing. What I am now sipping on is divine! I had to share. I'm kind of guessing at the quantities of each element cause I don't measure booze... ever... I just pour until something inside says "that's probably enough". :)

Minty Mocha Latte

1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. brewed coffee, your fave will do
2 tbsp hot chocolate powder, I use Tim Horton's cause I love it!
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 oz. Mocha Kahlua
1 oz Mint Chocolate Bailey's
Whipped Cream
Chocolate Syrup

Instructions:

1. Brew your coffee to your desired strength.
2. Scald the milk in a pan over medium heat and add the vanilla and hot chocolate powder.
3. Pour the liqueurs into a mug and add the hot chocolate mixture and coffee.
4. Garnish with whipped cream and chocolate syrup.
5. Sit down, put your feet up, admire the lights on your Christmas tree and enjoy!