Strawberry & Lime Jello Milkshake

Jello!.....

The super good wiggly stuff is not just for pre packaged lunch cups anymore, actually I was never really one for eating my Jello from a package.

 I am very proud to say that Jello was officially the very first thing I was allowed to cook on my very own! 

I ate so much of this stuff, well I ate half as much as I drank.

For some reason I loved to spoon drink my pre-wobbly Jello right after I added in the boiling hot water, seriously the hot sweet stuff was like soup for my soul.

If you haven't tried it like this, I do highly recommend.

I think that memories of my childhood romance with Jello sparked the idea for an official drinkable version. 

And when I finally had a sip,

it was everything that the 8 year old hot Jello sipping aficionada ever dreamed it could be! And since Jello comes in so many assortments the flavor and the flavor combos are endless!

The super bonus to this recipe, is that it can be made in 3 little pasitos (steps)


Vamos a la cocina!

                                             Ingredients

1 cup milk

1 pkg. (4-serving size) Jello, any flavor

 

( I used Strawberry, Lime Jello & Vanilla Jello Pudding)

1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened

for the strawberry shake you can cut up a few strawberries and blend them right in, a splash of vanilla never hurt either for the vanilla pudding shake!

 

                                                            Directions

 

Place milk and ice cream in blender. Add Jello. Blend 30 seconds.

 

Garnish your yummy milkshake with add-ons like; cherries, strawberries, whip cream & sprinkles!

The Ultimate Cake Nachos

So one of my absolute FAVORITE holidays is literally right around the corner!

 I adore it because it's the day that many of the Gringos (like me)

love everything about Mexican Food, Mexican music & Mexican culture. 

Every store have an overstock of piñatas, super grande margarita glasses & hard taco shells.

It's the one day that it's perfectly normal to ride in your car wearing a colorful sombrero fist pumping to Mariachi music ( this is jersey after all)

and I love it!

El Ultimo ( The Ultimate) Cake Nachos are absolutamente perfecto for a Cinco de Mayo party or a super cute addition as a dessert for a summer party or BBQ.

                                                   Ingredients

1 box of Dark Chocolate cake mix ( I used Duncan Hines)
your favorite buttercream or frosting like this one ( I never use can frosting, but it can be substituted)
1 bag of yellow Wilton chocolate melts
1 bag of white Wilton chocolate melts
1 bag of Swedish Fish or any red gummy candy
1 package of green sour licorice string
orange food coloring
piping bags
colorful bowl

                                                Vamos a la cocina! ( Directions)

A day or two before you bake your cake, you may want to prepare your chocolate tortilla
 chips.

For the tortilla chips

1. Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Take 1 Oreo cookies and crunch them until they are completely crushed in a plastic ziplock bag and set aside. Combine 1/2 bag of white chocolate with 1/2 bag of yellow chocolate in medium bowl.

2. Place bowl in microwave on 70% power heating for 35 second intervals, stiring well after each interval until completely melted.

3. Once chocolate is melted it's time to add in your crushed Oreos, you will only need about a couple of sprinkles of the cookie. ( the crushed cookies just serve as the black flecks seen in real tortilla chips)

4. Once you mix in your cookies, immediately place the chocolate in the piping bag and begin piping medium sized tortilla chips right onto your waxed paper.

5. Once all tortilla chips are piped, you can place them in the freezer and prepare cake, if your not baking cake that day the tortilla chips can easily be stored in the refrigerator or a cool place in your kitchen.

6. This is also a good time to chop your Swedish Fish and green licorice. I gave them a rough chop to resemble tomatoes and jalapeños and lettuce. Set them aside

For the Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, follow directions on box or cake recipe, you can either pour the batter in an 8 inch round cake pan or a jelly roll pan. I used the jelly roll pan because it was a shorter cook time and I seemed to get more cake out of it. ( I wanted my nachos to look like that had a lot of meat)

2. Once the cake is cooled, take a colorful bowl and crumble all of your cake it crumbs to resemble taco meat.

3. Take your buttercream and add a few drops of orange and yellow food coloring. ( I used about 3 orange drops and 5 yellow drops to achieve more of nacho cheese color). 

4. Place buttercream in the microwave for approx. 20 seconds until pourable. Once buttercream is colored you can either mix it directly into the cake crumbs or pour it all around. ( It all depends if you want to have a moister cake or not, the buttercream definitely soaks into the crumbs) If you are making the nachos with cheese, you need to add your chocolate tortilla chips first and pour the cheese on top of them and add a few jalapeño sprinkles.

5.If  you are going more for " El Ultimo" nachos, than it's time to add on heaping scoop of  plain white vanilla buttercream (sour cream) and sprinkle on your Swedish Fish & green licorice. You also use black licorice for olives, I am not a fan of black licorice or the smell so I didn't use it. Add your chocolate tortilla chips around the sides and in the middle to resemble "real nachos".

6. That's it!......All done a dessert that's not even hard, super cute and all dressed up for a
Fiesta!

Churros & Chocolate Donut Holes

If there is one thing I know about myself is that I heart sweets....... in all forms!

The dulce tenderness of a shiny round glazed doughnuts,

soft & fluffy chocolate chip cookies spiked with sweet chunks of chocolate chips,

a huge hunk of deep dark chocolate cake with smooth & creamy chocolate icing so thick it's practically cemented to the cake!

As much as I try to control my "sweet boca (mouth), yes I said mouth, instead of  "sweet tooth" because my addiction to yummy surpasses just my little old tooth!) 

My need for sweet is a desire I can't tame, and right now the thoughts of cinnamon & sugar have been sprinkling mis dias! 

And since mi amor is to share all my sugar-coated dreams with you, I present you with another way to love a Churro!

P.S...remember that Churro Funnel Cake recipe that I just posted, remember when I promised you another recipe for that extra Churro Dough?....Well here it is!

                                                                             
Ingredients

Churro Dough

1 cinnamon stick

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into cubes

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup flour

4 eggs

vegetable oil, for frying

 

 

Churro Topping & Chocolate Stuffing

 

2 cups granulated sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

 

 

Vamos a la cocina! ( remember you can use this recipe or a boxed mix like this one.

 

 Directions

1.For the churro dough: Heat 2 inches oil to 350 degrees F in a wide 3 1/2 to 4-quart heavy pot over high heat. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine 1 cup water and the cinnamon stick and bring to a boil. Discard the cinnamon stick. Add the butter, sugar and salt and stir until the sugar dissolves and the butter melts.

2.Turn off the heat. Using a wooden spoon, quickly stir in the flour until it is well combined and a shiny dough forms. Return the pan to medium-heat and cook the dough, stirring, until it starts to pull away from the sides of pan, about 2 minutes.

3.Transfer the dough to a medium bowl and let cool, about 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, stirring vigorously after each addition, until the egg is completely incorporated (the dough will be sticky.)

4. Pull of 1-inch pieces of dough and stuff them with the chocolate chips. I used about 6-7 chips and was able to cover them completely in dough. It's important that the chocolate chips be completely covered or they will ooze out as soon as they touch the grease. Fry the churro donuts, 6 at a time, turning occasionally, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

For the cinnamon sugar topping: Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl.
Roll the churro donuts in cinnamon-sugar while they are still hot. It's best to eat them immediately while the chocolate stuffing is still nice and warm.

Grab a great big glass of cold leche and Disfrutalo! ( Enjoy It)

 

Sweet Churro Funnel Cake

Funnel Cake & Churros in my opinion ( or at least in my brainchild) go together like Peanut Butter & Jelly.

They are both enjoyed during outdoor events , the sugary sweet smell of each one wafting in the air are ridiculous!

The instant the sweet smell hit's your nose you have one desire......to find the Señor or Señorita selling them and get one into your belly instantamente! 

Well guess what? 

With this recipe there is no need to hop in your car, or leave your warm casa at all.

There will be no need to pay super loca carnival or amusement park prices to feed your need for hot crispy bites of sugary goodness.

Nope!

I have provided you the recipe for everything you need to become your very own in house professional funnel cake infused Churro maker!

Seriously, these are so good that your familia and amigos will insist that you purchase a food truck name it "ChurroTastic"! And take all your sugary magic on the road!

                                                                     Ingredients
adapted from Paula Deen's recipe

 

2 cups milk

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) melted butter

Powdered Sugar & Cinnamon mixed, for sugar sprinkle

1 box of Tres Estrellas- Churro Mix

 

P.S, You will only need to use about 1/2 cup of the Churro Mix, but muy pronto(very soon) I will be posting a new recipe to use up all that leftover mix! 

 

Vamos a La Cocina!

                                                                     Directions

 

1. Prepare Tres Estrellas Churro Mix and set aside;

 

2. Now for the funnel cake,combine milk, egg, vanilla in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, and sugar and gradually add to wet ingredients.

 

3.Beat with a mixer until a smooth batter forms. Fold in melted butter. Add in 1/2 cup premade Churro batter, mix until well incorporated. Pour batter into a funnel or squeeze bottle while using your index finger to stop the flow of the batter.

 

4.Bring the funnel over the hot oil and release your finger to start a stream of batter while moving the funnel in a circular motion to create circular swirls, I actually tried to make mine into the letter "C" for Churro. Go slowly to make sure that you don't break the flow of the batter. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes until golden brown and slightly puffed. Sprinkle with cinnamon infused powdered sugar.

 

 

Mexican Coke Chocolate Cake

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Orange was always my go to flavor when I was a little pequenita (girl), my world was filled with orange flavored Everything!

Orange tic tacs were dispensed every hour on the hour to deal with stressful play dates, orange starburst papers lined my bedroom floor.

I'm pretty sure that orange Kool-Aid pumped through my veins for most of my preteen years ( I drank the stuff faithfully almost everyday!) 

As the years have gone on, my constant need for drinkable sugar has become a little more refined.  I'm so much more of a pure agua girl now, it's my go to drink of choice for almost every meal......except pizza. 

When I'm having a hot slice of ooey, gooey cheesy pizza I find myself yearning for a great big cold glass of ice filled Coca-Cola.

For what seems like forever I was completely satisfied with the American standard basic Coca-Cola , until I found out about Mexican Coke.

Oh yes, indeed there is such a thing, and it's so Rico y Delicoso!  That's Spanish for Super Awesome! 

It's packaged and Hecho en Mexico ( made in Mexico) with pure cane sugar, none of that corn syrupy sickening sweet stuff that they pump into American soft drinks. 

All I know is that if you can find it, try it.  You'll never want to go back to artificial sugar in your soda ever again.

After drinking and obsessing over Mexican Coke for a long time. I figured that anything that good on it's own, had to be nothing less than increible ( incredible) swirled & infused into a rich chocolate cake. 

And oh yes, the results was an ooey, gooey super moist chocolate cake, that made it pretty clear, that Mexican Coke has super awesome affects on almost everything it touches!

                                                 
                                                                   Ingredients
 
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butter
3 tablespoons baking cocoa
1 cup Mexican Coke
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
 
Mexican Coke Icing
 
1/2 cup butter

2 to 3 tablespoons baking cocoa

6 tablespoons Mexican Coke
3-1/4 cups powdered sugar
 
                               Vamos a La Cocina!  Directions
In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar and baking soda; set aside.

 

In a saucepan, bring butter, cocoa and cola to a boil; stir into dry ingredients. Stir in buttermilk, eggs, vanilla ; mix well. 

 

For the Mexican Coke Icing
 
Combine butter, cocoa and Mexican Coke in a saucepan; bring to a

boil.

 

Remove from heat; stir in powdered sugar and mix well.

Spread over hot cake. 

When the cake cools you can also place on some plump cherries and whip cream. For some more love on top!

       
 
                                            
 

El Happy Payaso- Clown Cupcakes

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Everybody loves a clown.....right!? 

Or maybe not?

Maybe only if they are the friendly balloon animal twirling, colorful ball juggling type. The kind with fluffy orange hair and a round red shiny nose. 

Not the kind with a creepy over exaggerated half friendly half sly grin, and huge floppy black shoes.

The kind that chases you all around the fiesta trying to entice you to smell his pretty white flower, only to happily spray you with a cold stream of water right in your unsuspecting face.

Without a doubt these cupcake clowns are the warm-hearted loving kind, after all they have hair made of cotton candy, a bubble gum nose and curls made of rainbow colored popcorn.

I like to think that these clowns come from a magical circus where all clowns are made of sugar and have smiles as bright as sunshine!......

And there is nothing scary about that!

These cupcakes are actually super easy to whip together and lots of fun to create. You can give them all different shades of "hair" and various expressions and smiles.

Any of your favorite cupcake or frosting recipe will do, If you are making these for a birthday party it would be super cute to make. This recipe from the Baked Bree blog sounds really yummy.

Oh and btw, just in case you didn't know El Payaso- is the Spanish word for clown, it's actually a fun word to say and it always makes me smile!

                                                                     Ingredients

Cupcakes & Frosting

 For the "Happy Payasos" you will need the following :
rainbow gumballs
black licorice - I used Haribo Black Licore Wheels
gummy worms
popcorn & dye to color popcorn ( you can find the instructions here)
cotton candy
duff's cake graffiti spray

                                                                    Directions
1. Prepare your cupcakes & frosting following the recipe from above, or one of your liking

2. Cut your black licorice into 1 inch pieces, if you are making 12 cupcakes than you will need 48 1 inch pieces ( this is a nice job for the chicos) and set aside

3. Frost your cupcakes using a icing spatula or knife, being sure to cover the whole cupcake with icing.

4. Next, spray the icing with your pink cake graffiti spray on both sides of the cupcakes, to resemble rosy pink cheeks.

5. Place  the licorice eyes on your cupcake, placing them on like two X's,  you can also use one piece and place them in a straight line like slit eyes. ( The fun thing about these cupcakes are that they are so customizable.)

6.  Now you can place on your gummy worm smile, stick your cotton candy hair on either sides of the cupcakes and sprinkle on your colored popcorn hair.

7. The final finish is placing on the colorful gumball nose.....and VOILA! You have
" El Happy Payaso"...the cutest clown in town!