Weird and Wonderful Flavours: A sambo and a cake

I should really learn to stop promising things, because when it comes to anything bloggy I am utterly and completely useless. But here it is a bit late and I've combined it with my favourite wrap. Both are rather unconventional, but I assure you both are delicious, I'm munching on a wrap as I type this, om nom nom!

Thai Veggie Wraps

This is one of my all time favourite lunches, you can add meat if you like, but I think it's flavourful enough with just veggies and the seasonings. It's about as Thai as Guinness, but I needed a name - authentic it may not be - but delicious it is!

Powered up with some superfood goodness of nuts and avocados, this is a strangely weird but wonderful wrap. I love food with contrasting flavours and textures and this one ticks all the boxes. Sweet, savoury, smooth, crunchy and colourful there's something for everyone.

I find different cultures like different styles of sandwich. For instance Americans like to add cheese to everything (not just sandwiches for that matter) and if that floats your boat, go for it.  Here in Ireland sandwiches are often preferred toasted and this is actually delicious toasted as well, but because I don't like wilted rocket I add that after I toast it.  A great trick for toasting is to wrap your wraps up tightly in foil and get your iron out and pop it on full temp. Place it on the wrap packet for a few minutes, switch sides and do the same. Voila, toasted wrap! :) But I digress... onto this delicious madness!

Ingredients:

• 2 wraps of your choice
• 1 tbsp cream cheese
• 1/2 tsp thai curry paste
• 1 tbsp mago chutney
• 1 tomato, thinly sliced
• 1/2 avocado, thinly sliced
• 10 thin slices cucumber
• handful cashews
• few slices red onion
• salt and pepper, to taste

Spread the cream cheese on your wraps, then spread the thai curry paste and chutney on top, mixing the three as you spread.

Top with veggies and cashews, season, wrap up, toast (optional) and enjoy! 

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Grapefruit Cake
We ate it all before I took a picture of it, but think loaf cake. It's ridiculously moist and delicious and I would highly suggest doubling the recipe as you will want more. I made one to bring over to a friend of mine who was under the weather, when I got home I promptly made another one for us! It's an easy recipe and perfect when Aldi are selling grapefruits for 39c! I got this recipe from a friend of mine Bryony and I am so glad I did, I've adjusted slightly after baking it a few times. I suspect any citrus fruit would work just as well, but the grapefruit is so unique, it really surprises people!

Ingredients:

For the cake-

• 1.5 cups plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup natural yoghurt*
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tbsp grapefruit zest
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

For the syrup-

• 1/2 cup grapefruit juice
• 3 tbsp sugar

For the glaze-

• 1 cup icing sugar
• 2 tbsp grapefruit juice

Pre-heat oven to 180 and grease and flour a 2lb loaf tin.

Mix dry ingredients and set aside. Beat eggs together with yoghurt and zest and pour into dry ingredients to make a thick batter.  Stir in oil.

Bake for approximately 50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Allow to cool in tin for ten minutes.  Make syrup by heating grapefruit juice and sugar until sugar dissolves.  Using a skewer make some small holes in the cake and pour syrup on top.  Allow to cool completely.

Whisk icing sugar and remaining juice for glaze until smooth and pour over cake.

Vanilla Pavlova

Would you believe I've never made Pavlova?  I've always loved it but never actually made it.  I remember as a teenager going to my second cousins wedding and being delighted to hear that the wedding cake was a tower of pavlovas!  I thought it was genius and decided that day to do it for my wedding, but alas I got married in America and it was not an option.  This recipe turned out to be pretty simple, although all the whipping is time consuming and I cannot imagine doing it without a mixer of some kind.  It turned out just perfectly crunchy on the outside and marshmallow-y on the inside.  Top it with whatever fruit you have on hand. I was hoping to use passion fruit as well, but I couldn't get any yesterday.  Berries are particularly delicious.  This would also work very well with a mascarpone topping.

Ingredients: 

For the meringue:

• 5 egg whites, at room temperature
• 1.25 cups caster sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp white vinegar
• 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out
• 1.5 tbsp cornflour (corn starch)

For the topping:

• 1 carton of whipping cream
• 2-3 tbsp caster sugar to taste
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Fruit of your choice

Beat the eggs until stiff and slowly add in sugar.  Beat for 5-10 minutes until very stiff shiny peaks form.  Add vanilla, vinegar and vanilla beans and beat until all combined.  Fold in corn flour.

Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment.  Use a plate to trace a circle on the parchment.  Dump the meringue into the center of the circle and spread out to meet the edges.

Bake at 120C for 60-90 minutes to desired doneness. Allow to cool with oven door ajar.

Once cool, whip cream with vanilla and sugar and spread on top of meringue.  Decorate with fruit and serve immediately!

Enjoy after a lovely BBQ with some sangria, as pictured right! ;)

Key Lime Pie

Key lime pie is the easiest pie ever, I always feel like a total cheat when people go on about how good it is, it's my husband's favourite and I don't think he will be too impressed when there's none left for him tonight!

This is a standard recipe that is in most cookbooks, I add lime zest for added tang and because I can't get graham crackers in Ireland I use a pack of Lincoln biscuits. Easy peasy and done in no time.  It's much better chilled, so bake the night before if you can!

Ingredients:

• 1 pack lincoln biscuits (shortbread will work too)
• 3-4 tbsp melted butter
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup (4 fl. oz.) fresh squeezed lime juice
• zest of two limes
• Whipped cream to garnish
• Lime wedges, to garnish

Pre-heat oven to 175C / 325 F

Use a food processor to blitz the biscuits into crumbs (a bag and rolling pin will also work). Add the melted butter and press into a pie dish.  Bake for 15 minutes.

Lightly beat the egg yolks and add the condensed milk, lime juice and lime zest.  Whisk until combined, it will thicken.

When crust is done, allow to cool for a minute or two and pour in the filling.  Bake for fifteen minutes.  Remove and allow to come to room temperature.  It will get more solid as it cools.  Refrigerate for 6-8 hours or overnight.

Whip cream and spread on top, garnish with lime wedges and additional lime zest if wanted.

Sweet Baby Carrot Cake

I love heady textured carrot cake as much as any other person but sometimes the occasion calls for something more feminine and elegant. Enter the sweet baby carrot cake!

This cake (a Paula Deen recipe I believe, copied it down from a magazine years ago) is originally made with jars of baby food carrot purée but I just puréed half a pound of boiled carrots. Baked in layers with a lusciously light cream cheese frosting the cake turns out delicate and moist and stays tasty for days. Perfect for a baby shower or just having the girls round for coffee. People who don't normally like carrot cake (aka my kids) adore this cake.

It's very simple too I just dump everything in the food processor that I puréed the carrots in, easy peasy and no mess!

Ingredients:

For the cake-

• 2 cups plain flour


• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 cups sugar
• 1.5 cups vegetable oil
• 8 oz puréed boiled carrots
• 4 large free range eggs
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Cream cheese frosting (follows)
• Pecans to garnish, if desired.

Preheat oven to 170C/325F.

Butter and flour three 9 inch round cake pans.

Beat together or food process all ingredients.

Divide evenly between the three pans.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool for five minutes or so in pans and then turn out onto a cooling rack. Do not frost until fully cooled.

Frost liberally the top of the first cake and place the second layer on top. Repeat with the third layer.  Put an extremely thin layer over the sides and top of the cake, paper thin, this is known as the crumb coat and will prevent crumbs from getting in your frosting.  Allow this to set for 30 minutes or so, popping in the fridge to speed up the process if you would like.

Once the crumb coat is set frost top and sides liberally with an offset spatula and decorate as desired.

For the Frosting-

• 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 oz / 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1lb of icing/powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Beat cream cheese and butter together and slowly add powdered sugar.  Add vanilla and beat until smooth and creamy and there's no trace of graininess from the sugar.

Messy Tasty Kiddy Fun: Making Truffles

"I'm bored" and "I'm hungry" seem to be favourite sentences around here of late.  I decided to tackle both problems when the girls had some friends over.  I let them make truffles. Pretty gourmet for kids, but this easy recipe is so simple that it's perfect for kids to have some fun with. You can play around with flavourings too adding orange or raspberry extract for fruity versions and you can definitely experiment with toppings. I asked if they wanted coconut but got a resounding "ewwwww!"  For adult versions you could add some grand marnier.



Easy Cream Cheese Truffles

• 8 oz full fat cream cheese
• 12oz dark chocolate, melted
• 3 cups icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Cocoa, icing sugar, sprinkles, coconut etc to decorate

Beat the cream cheese with a spatula until softened. Add in sugar and vanilla and beat until combined.  Stir in chocolate, it should start to thicken right away.  Once combined, refrigerate for 20 minutes to an hour.

Use a teaspoon and scoop out a spoonful of truffle mixture and roll into a ball in your hand.  Roll in topping of choice, eat immediately or refrigerate until serving. Enjoy!

Clementine Creamsicle Cupcakes

Came up with this glorious cupcake recipe yesterday, they taste just like an orange creamsicle.  I baked them for a birthday party and they went down a treat, especially when I told the kids they didn't have to eat the orange on top! ;)  These would be perfect for a baby shower or christening, they're really light and delicate. 

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

• 1/2 cup  (4oz)  butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, sliced in half, beans scraped
• 1 tbsp orange zest
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup (6 fl oz) cream
• 1/4 cup orange juice, fresh squeezed
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups plain flour
• ½ tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• Vanilla buttercream mixed with 1tbsp orange zest
• Clementine segments to garnish
• Orange zest to garnish

Preheat oven to 180C/350F.  Prepare a cupcake tin with liners.

Cream butter and sugar until light in colour in large. Add in eggs, vanilla bean and orange zest. Mix orange juice and cream into the bowl.

Sift flour with the other dry ingredients and slowly add into the liquid ingredients, mixing well.

Spoon into cupcake liners, filling about 3/4 of the way up. This should yield about 16 cupcakes. 

Bake for 20 minutes until puffed up and golden brown.  Allow to cool before frosting.

Decorate with vanilla frosting and clementine segments, sprinkling with some orange zest if desired.

Beautiful French Macarons

I have always loved macarons - even just to look at.  They are so sweet and cute that it almost grieves you to eat them.  I tried to make them a few years back and ended up getting into a vicious fight with my silpat and haven't tried again in years.

Hubby knows I just love these little delights and decided he would make me some for Valentine's Day.  Valentine's came and went without the romantic dinner I'd planned to make and without any macarons, but that's quite all right considering I got a new car instead!  We ended up making these together yesterday and thanks to his patience and my kitchen savy they turned out perfectly.  I made a quick vanilla bean buttercream to fill them and we added raspberry jam to some as well.  They were truly sublime.  This is a fairly easy recipe from Martha Stewart that for me worked much better than any I've tried in the past using sugar syrups.  I highly recommend giving it a go for any special events.  I will definitely be making baby blue ones when this little bundle arrives!

• 1 cup icing sugar
• 3/4 cup ground almonds
• 2 large egg whites, old and room temperature
• Pinch of cream of tartar
• 1/4 cup caster sugar

Pulse icing sugar and almonds in a food processor until combined. Sift mixture twice.

Preheat oven to 190C/375F degrees.

Whisk whites with a mixer on medium speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar, and whisk until soft peaks form.

Reduce speed to low, then add superfine sugar. Increase speed to high, and whisk until stiff peaks form, about 8 minutes.

Sift flour mixture over whites, and fold until mixture is smooth and shiny.  It took us about 40 folds.

Transfer batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain round tip, and pipe 3/4-inch rounds 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets, dragging pastry tip to the side of rounds rather than forming peaks.

Tap bottom of each sheet on work surface to release trapped air. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 160C/325F degrees. Bake 1 sheet at a time, rotating halfway through, until macarons are crisp and firm, about 10 minutes. After each batch, increase oven temperature again, heat for 5 minutes, then reduce as before.


Let macarons cool on sheets for 2 to 3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. (If macarons stick, spray water underneath parchment on hot sheet. The steam will help release macarons.)

Sandwich 2 same-size macarons with 1 teaspoon filling. Serve immediately, or stack between layers of parchment, wrap in plastic, and freeze for up to 3 months.

Linking up with: Transformation Thursday, Hooking Up with HoH, Strut Your Stuff, Making it with Allie, Catch A Glimpse Thursday, It's a Keeper Thursday, Full Plate Thursday, Sweet Treats Thursday

Orange Pound Cake

My organic box arrived this week loaded with oranges.  It is Seville season after all and people all over Europe are making marmalade.  Well, I hate marmalade and I'm not particularly fond of oranges on their own, so I had to come up with some way to use them.  This is a fabulous pound cake that is melt-in-your-mouth buttery orangey goodness.  The syrup ensures it stays moist and I do believe it tastes better the next day.  I will definitely make this again and add a tiny bit of orange extract to the batter next time.  If you're looking for a lovely fruity cake to cheer someone up, this has got to be a hit!


Ingredients:

• ½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 ½ cups granulated sugar, divided
• 4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup grated orange zest (6 oranges)
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ¾ cup freshly squeezed orange juice, divided
• ¾ cup buttermilk, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350F / 180C. Grease and flour two 8 ½ x 4 ½ x 2 ½ – inch loaf pans.

Cream the butter and 2 cups of the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then add the orange zest.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, combine ¼ cup of the orange juice, the buttermilk, and vanilla.

Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour.

Divide the batter evenly between the pans, smooth the tops, and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until a cake tester comes out clean.

While the cakes bake, cook the remaining ½ cup of granulated sugar with the remaining ½ cup orange juice in a small saucepan over low heat until the sugar dissolves. When the cakes are done, let them cool for 10 minutes. Spoon the orange syrup over the cakes and allow the cakes to cool completely.

Source: Barefoot Contessa

Snickerdoodles

Snickerdoodles are a wonderfully simple American sugar cookie - a lovely little afternoon snack.  Incredibly easy to put together and the kids love to get involved and do the rolling.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 3/4 cups flour
• 2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp baking / bread soda
• 1/4 tsp salt

For the topping:

• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F/180C.  

Cream sugar and butter, beat in eggs.  Whisk dry ingredients together and beat into butter mixture.  Beat on low speed until combined. 

Mix cinnamon and sugar together in a small bowl.  Roll dough into one inch balls and roll in the cinnamon and sugar mixture.  

Bake for 8-10 minutes until golden brown. 

Cinnamon and Sugar Cake Doughnuts

Well with two healthy recipes in a row, I had to throw something out there that whilst delicious, is incredibly sinful!  I made these for New Years Day breakfast and they were a huge hit.  My oil was a tiny bit hot, but we were too impatient, hence the darker colours here.  This is a fabulous recipe that unlike yeast doughnuts, does not require any proving time.  You could easily ice these with a light icing sugar glaze as well.

• 3 cups white flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
• 1 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• oil for frying

To coat:

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon 
• 1/2 cup sugar

In a large bowl, stir together dry ingredients.

Make a well in the centre and pour in the milk, egg, butter, and vanilla. Stir until well blended. Allow to rest while oil heats up. 

Pour oil into  heavy duty pot to about 4 inches depth.

Heat the oil to approximately 190 C 

On a floured counter, roll the dough out to about 1/2 an inch in thickness. Use a doughnut cutter or glass (I used a bottle cap for the hole) to cut out the doughnuts.

Fry doughnuts in hot oil until golden brown, turning once. Drain on paper towels.

Combine the cinnamon and sugar in a bowl and place warm doughnuts in it, turn to coat.

Enjoy warm or cool!

Decadent Chocolate Mousse

This is a quick and easy recipe that doesn't involve egg separating and tempering.  It makes a rich and decadent mousse that can be adjusted to your taste.  If you're on a low carb diet and like dark chocolate, just leave out the sugar for a luxurious treat.  If you prefer a milkier chocolate, use a lower cocoa percentage.  I wrote this recipe down when I was in college and I think it was from the back of a cooking chocolate bar, but I can't for the life of me remember which brand.  I like it because I don't need to whisk egg whites or temper yolks and it creates just as luxurious a mousse.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 10 oz dark chocolate 
• 1/4 cup espresso, hot
• 4 eggs
• 2-3 tbs sugar
• 2 cups heavy cream

Melt dark chocolate over a double boiler and remove from heat.  Stir in coffee and allow to cool.

Beat eggs with sugar until fluffy, thickened and pale yellow, about 5-7 minutes.

Stir eggs into chocolate mixture.

Whip cream to stiff peaks and fold into mousse.  Spoon into glasses or ramekins and chill for 2-3 hours.  Serve as is or with some crème fraiche and red berries. 

Apple Crumble Bars

I was fortunate enough to be given about 20 kilos of apples last month and they have kept me busy experimenting with various apple recipes that I will be posting over the next few weeks.  This is a really simple and absolutely delicious recipe that really pleased all the tastes, even my non-fruit eater.  I served it when some friends were over for coffee and it went down a bomb.  You could easily use other fruit like peaches, apricots or berries, making this a year round treat as well.  Perfect served with some good vanilla ice-cream or a rich custard.

 

Ingredients:

• 
  
  3 cups  flour


• 
  
  1 cup sugar


• 1 tsp baking powder


• 
  
  ¼ tsp salt


• 
  
  1 cup (8 oz) butter, cold


• 
  
  1 egg, lightly beaten


• 
  
  5 cups sliced apples


• 
  
  2 tbsp lemon juice


• 
  
  ½ cup flour


• 
  
  1 cup sugar


• 
  
  ¼ tsp salt


• 
  
  ½ tsp cinnamon


• 
  
  ¼ tsp nutmeg


• 
  
  
  

  ¼ tsp mixed spice

  
  

 

Preheat the oven to 190C /375 F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together.

Use a pastry cutter or two knives to cut in the butter, and then the egg. The dough will be crumbly. Pat half of the dough into the pan, pressing down to coat the bottom. Place the pan and the remaining  dough in the fridge while you make the filling.

Place theapples in a large bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice. Add the flour, sugar, salt, and spice and mix gently.

Spread the apple mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble the remaining dough over the apple layer.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Parties: Foodie Fridays, Sweet Tooth Friday, Sweets this Week, I'm Lovin It, Inspiration Friday, Foodie Friday, Fat Camp Friday and Friday Favourites

 

 

The Best Chocolate Cupcakes

I mean that title. I've made a lot of cupcakes in my day and this recipe is by far the most wonderful. Cupcakes are all the rage in Ireland at the moment and despite looking beautiful and having tasty frosting, the underlying cake is generally dry, flat and bland. I've lived here long enough to learn never to use Irish or English cupcake or cookie recipes, they're just not the same. So this is a good ole Yankee recipe that requires a little bit of corn syrup. I know you can get it at Fallon and Byrne in Dublin, so I suspect regional specialty shops would be able to acquire it as well. If you need to substitute I would use half the quantity of golden syrup.

Anyway... enough jabbering... let's make some cupcakes!

Cupcake Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups flour
• 1 cup cocoa
• 1.25 tsp baking soda
• 1.25 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup hot coffee
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Frosting Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 3 tbsp light corn syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup cocoa
• 1 lb icing sugar
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Sprinkles, chocolate, eggs, to decorate (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 150C/325F.  Line two 12 cupcake tins with cupcake liners.

Whisk dry ingredients together.  Add wet ingredients and beat with a mixer until batter is smooth.  Spoon batter into prepared pans and bake for approximately thirty minutes. They should be nicely risen and a toothpick should come out clean.

Meanwhile, prepare the frosting.

Cream the butter, vanilla and corn syrup.  Slowly add in the cocoa and sugar and beat at a high speed until fully combined. Add cream and beat until smooth and fluffy.

Once cupcakes are cool, frost them liberally and decorate as desired. Yum!



Link Parties: Sunday Showcase, Sweet Indulgences Sunday

Sublime Strawberry Shortcake

I had an absolute abundance of strawberries last weekend and ended up making 13 jars of jam, 4 bottles of strawberry syrup and a couple of jars of Indian spiced strawberry chutney.  It was great fun.  Of course we had a good few strawberries leftover that needed to be enjoyed as well.  What better way to enjoy strawberries than with a light and fluffy vanilla shortcake and luscious vanilla whipped cream?

Strawberry shortcake with strawberry coulis and vanilla cream

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 6 tbsp butter
• 3/4 cup cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 egg yolks, beaten
• 1 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 tbsp sugar

To serve:

• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups hulled strawberries

Pre-heat oven to 375F/190C.

Combine the flour, 1/3 cup sugar and baking powder, lifting it high to aerate.  Crumble in the butter with your fingers until it resembles small breadcrumbs. Add in the egg yolks, cream and vanilla extract and mix until it forms a ball.  

Roll out the dough to 3/4 inches thick on a floured surface.  Shape into a circle. Slice the circle in half twice then split those halves so you have eight segments.

Brush each segment with melted butter and sprinkle with the sugar.  Bake for about 15 minutes until they're beginning to brown and are firm-ish.

To serve, whip the cream to desired consistency adding vanilla and sugar towards the end.  Serve 1/4 cup strawberries, a dollop of cream with one shortcake. The perfect summer treat!

Parties: Sweet Tooth Friday, Sweets this Week, Foodie Friday, I'm Lovin It Friday, Friday Favourites, Fantastic Friday, Fun with Food Friday,

Guilt-free Chocolate Cupcakes

Somewhere someone decided to make cakes with diet coke and I laughed.  I prefer my cakes baked from scratch with the finest butter and vanilla, but alas Weight Watchers does not like butter... not in the way I like butter!

I had read about Diet Coke cake for some time and indeed my own best friend is a die-hard convert, but I've long resisted the temptation.  That is until I had a major chocolate craving today.  I hauled my ass to the grocery store and got a 2L and a cake mix and whipped up some cupcakes.  Himself was an even bigger skeptic, but declared them delicious and not in need of icing.  High praise from someone who likes to laugh at all diet-y food.  The kids of course devoured them and at a mere two points each, I can have one without feeling at all guilty.  This is not so much a recipe as it is a guide, but I cannot recommend this enough!  We have some birthdays coming up, so I will be experimenting with low-fat icing in the meantime, but at least I know that I have a delicious standby for the cake part!

Diet Coke Cake

• 1 box Devil's Food Cake Mix
• 10 fl. ox Diet Coke

Mix the coke and cake mix until thoroughly combined.  Bake according to package directions (will depend on whether you make cupcakes, layers or sheet cake.

WW Points: 2 per cupcake (makes 20) or 40 per recipe.