Mini Vanilla Cupcakes for Two

This is one of those recipe that tastes really really good but isn't exactly healthy... at all.

Don't you close the page yet though, all you health contious readers. There is one good-for-you thing about this recipe: portion control.

If you follow all the measurements listed below, you'll end up with only 2 servings. That means that, even if you gobble up everything this recipe yields, you won't have to feel too guilty about it.

Which is good, because everyone have those times when they truly need something unhealthy tasting.  Those days when some good ol' comfort food is the only thing that will cheer you up.

Cravings like that are nothing to be ashamed of.  We all have them at some point.  As a matter of fact, I had one the day I whipped up these cupcakes.

Lucky for me, they were just what I needed to end it.

Mini Vanilla Cupcakes for Two - originial recipe can be found here

• 1 egg white
• 2 tbsp sugar (you can probably get away with less, but I haven't tried)
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• rounded 1/4 tsp baking powder
• pinch salt
• 1 1/2 tbsp milk of choice

Preheat oven to 350F.  In a small bowl, whisk together egg white and sugar until combined.  Add in vanilla extract and butter, and sir to mix in.  Add flour, baking powder, and salt.  Stir again until smooth.  Slowly pour in milk and stir to incorporate.  Divide batter between 7 or 8 mini cupcake liners (normal size cupcake liners will also work) and bake for 5-10 minutes, or until cake has set completely. If frosting, let cool completely before doing so.

So there you have it, the perfect treat to turn a bad day into a good day.  Or a good one even better! 

These fluffy and buttery cupcakes are deliciously sinful and prevent you from over-eating.  A good deal?  I'd definitely say so.

(picture)

Enjoy them!

Revisited Recipe of the Day:

Strawberry Cake

Mini Carrot Cake

Carrot Cake is my new favorite.

To be honest, I didn't even know I liked it until a couple months ago while shopping at Costco.

I had been prowling thought the aisles, looking for something that I remember as being important, when I stumbled upon a cake samples table. Never one to give up free desserts, I quickly selected one of the neatly displayed cups and hurriedly pushed my cart away to find that oh so important item which I have now forgotten.

It wasn't until I actually looked down to eat the cake that I noticed that it was not your average chocolate or vanilla. Instead, it was orange, and therefore, carrot cake. Though a bit disappointed not to have a cake flavor I particularly enjoyed, I still ate the small bit of cake.

It tasted good. So good, in fact, that I had to hunt down a recipe online as soon as I got home so I could make more.

Mini Carrot Cake

(makes one single serving cake)

• 3 tbsp flour
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• A pinch salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/6 tsp ginger
• A pinch cloves
• 1 tbsp applesauce (or oil)
• 3 tbsp milk (I used almond)
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup shredded carrots

Combine dry ingredients in one bowl.  In another bowl mix together wet ingredients. Add the shredded carrots to the wet ingredient bowl.  Then, gradully mix the dry ingredients into the wet ones until combined.  Pour batter into a ramekin or mug (I used a mug) and microwave for 2 minutes.  If cake is still gooey, microwave for 20 seconds longer, or until the cake is fully baked.

This is how I satisfied my newly found carrot cake craving. With a single serving cake I could make in the microwave.

It was just what I was looking for.

As soon as I took a bite, the carrot cake loving monster in my belly was silenced. It's good to know that if that crazy monster ever returns, It will only take a couple minutes to, yet again, put it to sleep.

Lemon Blueberry Muffins

I love blueberries.

Fresh blueberries, frozen blueberries, dried blueberries.

As a kid I would devour them.  The blueberries in the fridge would be gone before anyone even knew they were there, the bags of dried blueberries emptied quickly, and the frozen blueberries hidden in the freezer turned by lips purple day after day.

But none of that even compared to when we had blueberry muffins.  No, those things disappeared in a matter of minutes, that's how much I loved them

Actually, that's how much I still love them.

Blueberry muffins remain one of my favorite ever treats.  Whether it's a jumbo sized one for breakfast, or a petite little bite for dessert, I will never turn my nose up to a cake with blueberries.  Never.

Lemon Blueberry Muffins - inspiration comes from here
(makes around 18 cupcake sized muffins)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 lemons worth of lemon zest
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup frozen or fresh blueberries (You can add more or less depending on how much fruit you want; I used more)

Preheat oven to 350F.  Mix together flour, baking powder, and salt in one bowl.  In another bowl, whisk together yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla.  Then, slowly add the flour mixture to the yogurt one.  Fold the vegetable oil into the batter until well incorporated (it'll look a bit weird at first, just keep mixing).  Mix in blueberries and then quickly pour batter into lined cupcake pans so that nothing turns purple.  Bake for around 15 minutes or until the cupcakes turn golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean (except for possibly some blueberry goo, which is fine).  Let cupcakes cool before eating.

I swear, blueberry muffins never get old.  This recipe just adds a bit of a twist to your basic one by adding a refreshing lemon zing.

And I have to say, these muffins disappeared just as quickly as, if not faster than, the ones from my childhood.  And that, my friends, is very hard to do.