If you ask me, oatmeal cookies are terribly underrated, losing favor to chocolate chip or simple sugar cookies. However, this classic oatmeal cookie recipe holds a special place in my heart.

These are actually my Nana’s favorite cookies, and she requests them all the time! I always love sending her treats, especially now that we aren’t able to visit as much. Sometimes, I send over a batch of frozen cookies that she can whip up whenever she wants, and other times, I send her a tin filled with fresh, soft oatmeal cookies right out of the oven.

Filled with big flavors from spices and molasses, these classic oatmeal cookies are loaded with oats and raisins. The batter actually comes together fairly quickly and is perfect to make ahead or freeze.

Why You’ll Love These Oatmeal Cookies

• Classic favorite. When I think of classic cookies, I think chocolate chip, peanut butter, and these oatmeal cookies! Filled with nostalgia and childhood memories, food with comfort just tastes a bit better.

• Super simple. Cookie recipes just don’t get any simpler than these easy oatmeal cookies. The ingredients are baking pantry staples, plus they take just half an hour to make.

• Easy storage. When properly stored in an airtight container, oatmeal cookies will last for up to 2 weeks. I always store my cookies at room temperature, not in the fridge, so they don’t dry out. You can also freeze the dough to make small batches later.

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Oatmeal Cookies

Oatmeal cookies are a quintessential classic dessert recipe. Filled with bold spices, rolled oats, and sweet raisins, this easy oatmeal cookie recipe will have you convinced you’ve traveled back in time.

Course Desserts

Cuisine American

Keyword Baking, Cookies

Cooking Method Baking

Skill intermediate

Prep Time 1 day day 1 hour hour 12 minutes minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Calories 425kcal

Ingredients

• 1 cups (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temp
• 1 cups brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp molasses
• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• .5 tsp kosher salt
• 2.5 cups old fashioned oats
• 1 cups raisins or dried cranberries
• 5 cups chopped pecans, optional

Instructions

• With a stand or hand mixer cream together the butter and brown sugar until mixture is light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add in the eggs on medium speed one at a time or until incorporated.
• Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add in vanilla extract and molasses until just combined.
• In a separate medium bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add dry mixture to the wet mixture and beat on medium speed or until dough is just combined. Add in the oats and raisins (and pecans if using) and mix together until dough is combined, do not over mix. Chill the dough for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 F. Using a cookie scoop or your hands roll out 2 tbsp balls of cookie dough and place evenly spread onto your cookie sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
• Leave cookies on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes once out of the oven to allow for residual cooking and to cool. Remove cookies and place on a cooling rack to finish cooling.

Nutrition

Serving: 2g | Calories: 425kcal | Carbohydrates: 57.5g | Protein: 7.3g | Fat: 18.7g | Saturated Fat: 10.4g | Cholesterol: 68mg | Sodium: 326mg | Fiber: 4.4g | Sugar: 20.9g

Tips & Tricks

• Chill the dough. Don’t forget the chill time! It makes for easy scooping and better cookies altogether. If you don’t have a cookie scoop, you can always use an ice cream scoop or a spoon.

• Careful not to overmix. I always fold in my ingredients when combining the cookie dough in order to avoid overmixing. If you overmix, you will lose air from the dough which will lead to less fluffy cookies.

• Choose your oats. Oatmeal cookies taste great with old-fashioned rolled oats and quick baking oats. Personally, I prefer rolled oats because I like the heartier, chewy texture that they create.

• Chewy cookies are the best cookies. Try leaving out the whites of the eggs and instead adding one more egg yolk to your batter. This should result in an extra chewy oatmeal cookie!

The post The Best, Chewiest Oatmeal Cookies appeared first on The Inspired Home.

How to Make a Strawberry Cheesecake

To get this recipe started, you’re going to make the crust, which to me is an important part of a good cheesecake because it needs to be buttery, crunchy and hold the cheesecake together. When you’re making a baked cheesecake, you’re going to want to use a springform pan that has removable bottoms and sides that are taken off once your cheesecake is done. This springform pan by Mrs. Anderson’s also has a nonstick coating for easy release.

After making sure the springform pan is lightly greased, press the dough on the bottom and an inch up the sides. Once it’s all set, bake it for 15 minutes.

The Cheesecake Filling

The most important part of the cheesecake right? Softened cream cheese and sugar are certainly essentials in this recipe, but I think the real hero is the addition of lemon juice and zest! Lemon juice balances out the flavors of the cheesecake. I used fresh lemons from my yard because I had an abundance left this season.

Once your cheesecake is done baking, you’ll need to let it cool down slowly. Leave the cake in the oven with the door propped open for an hour. The cheesecake will finish setting and your patience will pay off with a gorgeous crack-free top!

The Strawberry Glaze

First, you’re going to first want to give your strawberries a good bath. I love this 3-in-1 Berry Box. Not only is it a colander, but it’s also a serving bowl and it has a lid to keep it fresh in the fridge.

After the strawberries are rinsed, cut the strawberries and stir them together with sugar over medium heat. Cook until the mixture boils, becomes clear, and thickens. Remove from heat and let the glaze cool.

Once the glaze and cheesecake are cooled, you can spoon the glaze over the cheesecake. Keep refrigerated until you’re ready to serve. Doesn’t that look delicious?! Sometimes homemade recipes take a little bit more time, but in the end, every delightful bite is worth it!

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Strawberry New York-Style Cheesecake

A yummy homemade strawberry cheesecake recipe that is perfect for any day or meal of the week!

Course Dessert

Keyword Desserts

Skill intermediate

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Calories 518kcal

Ingredients

• Crust:
• 1.5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• .5 cups sugar
• .25 tsp kosher salt
• 8 tbsp unsalted butter softened
• 1 large egg at room temperature
• Filling:
• 4 8-ounce packages of cream cheese at room temperature
• 1.75 cups sugar
• 3 tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
• zest of 1 lemon
• .25 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 5 large eggs at room temperature
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• .5 cups sour cream at room temperature
• Strawberry Glaze:
• 6 cups fresh or frozen strawberries, diced
• .5 cups sugar

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease an 8’’ springform pan.
• To make crust:
• Combine the flour, sugar, salt and butter in a mixer. Mix until crumbly. Then, add the egg and continue mixing until a soft dough forms.
• Press the dough into the bottom and an inch up the sides of the greased pan. Bake for 15 minutes, until your crust is light golden brown. Remove pan from the oven and cool to room temperature. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.
• To make the filling:
• Place the cream cheese in a mixer with a paddle. Add the sugar and flour, and mix at a low speed until there are no lumps in the mixture. To be sure that the cheese is not sticking, scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl at least twice during the process.
• Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and vanilla. Mix to combine. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping the mixing bowl between each egg. Mix until incorporated. Stir in the sour cream.
• Pour the filling over the crust and bake for 60 minutes, until the edges of the cake are set one inch in from the edge. The middle should jiggle when you nudge the pan; in fact, the cake will look underbaked.
• Prop open the oven door and let the cheesecake cool slowly for 1 hour. During this time the center will finish setting. Cooling the cake slowly will ensure a smooth and even texture inside and prevent the top from cracking. Once the cake has cooled for 1 hour, it can be refrigerated overnight, if needed.
• To make the glaze:
• Stir together the sugar and strawberries. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture boils becomes clear, and thickens.
• Remove from heat and let the mixture cool to room temperature. Spoon the mixture over the cooled cheesecake. Refrigerate the cake until you’re ready to serve.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 518kcal | Carbohydrates: 67.9g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 23.2g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 153mg | Sodium: 547mg | Fiber: 2.1g | Sugar: 51.8g

What will you be making for National Strawberry Day? Check out more recipes and tutorials at JustDestinyMag.com

Looking for more dessert recipes?

• No-Churn Cherry Garcia Copycat Ice Cream
• Classic Pound Cake with Fresh Summer Strawberries and Homemade Whipped Cream
• Classic Chocolate Cake with a Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

The post Strawberry New York-Style Cheesecake appeared first on The Inspired Home.

While it was hard at first, I take joy in finding and creating vegan recipes to enjoy! Many of my recipes typically start from the full protein version and then make substitutions, because why make it hard than it needs to be!

This winter season will be the first season I’ll be making substitutions and to be honest, I can’t wait! This year, I’m baking up a guilt-free version of my mom’s special chocolate pudding recipe to enjoy this holiday season! It’s a quick and easy dessert that will leave you wanting seconds!

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Vegan Chocolate Pudding

Try this simple, creamy vegan chocolate pudding the entire family will love.

Skill intermediate

Total Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Calories 1168kcal

Ingredients

• .75 cups coconut sugar
• .25 cups cocoa powder
• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 cups almond milk
• 2 cups heavy coconut cream

Instructions

• Place a glass mixing bowl in the freezer. (you will come back to this I promise)
• In a medium saucepan, whisk the sugar, cocoa and cornstarch together. Whisk in the almond milk over medium heat. Let the pudding simmer for about 3-5 minutes until the pudding starts to thicken. Once the pudding is thick, remove the pan from the heat and let it cool fully (couple hours).
• Remove the bowl from the freezer and pour the heavy coconut cream into the bowl. With a hand mixer, whip the heavy cream until soft peaks start to form. The mixture will slowly turn in to a whipped cream. Once done, cover and place in the refrigerator until the pudding has cooled.
• Now you can do one of two things here –
• 1. Once the pudding is completely cool, add about ¼ of the whipped cream to the pudding and fold the cream in. Repeat this step until all the cream has been folded into the mixture. This makes it more of a mousse like texture
• 2. OR, eat as is and use the coconut cream on the side to dip fruit and more in!

Nutrition

Serving: 575g | Calories: 1168kcal | Carbohydrates: 107.9g | Protein: 12.3g | Fat: 87.4g | Saturated Fat: 75.5g | Unsaturated Fat: 14.7g | Sodium: 219.3mg | Fiber: 10.8g | Sugar: 72.2g

The post This Simple Vegan Chocolate Pudding Will Be Your New Favorite Dessert appeared first on The Inspired Home.

I have extremely fond memories as a child baking cookies, buying specialty treats and chocolates, and arranging a few of each on tin round plates. We’d wrap the cookie trays up with clear wrapping plastic and tie them off with a bow and deliver them to teachers and neighbors.

It always felt so festive, and was just overall a ton of fun. It became a traditional that everyone looked forward to, even the gift receivers!

I wanted to create a fun mini version of this tradition, to make it more manageable for this crazy year that has turned everything on its head. I landed on homemade fudge, because it only requires 3 base ingredients, and can be customized using whatever treats you have on hand.

I’ve decided to make chocolate peanut butter fudge, my childhood favorite, but you could make anything you love! Rocky road, pecan, maple, you name it! Just add mix-ins or flavor a simple fudge using extracts.

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge

Enjoy this simple, 3 ingredient healthy fudge that is PERFECT for the holidays! Whether you want to have it for yourself or gifting it, it will be the tastiest dessert!

Course Dessert

Keyword Desserts, Gifts, Healthy, Holiday

Skill beginner

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 3 hours hours

Total Time 3 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Servings 28

Calories 315kcal

Ingredients

• 24.5 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 15 oz Reese’s peanut butter chips
• 28 oz sweetened condensed milk
• 8 tbsp salted butter, divided
• 1 tbsp milk, optional as needed

Instructions

• In a medium sized heavy bottom pot, melt chocolate chips, 1.5 jars (or 21 oz.) sweetened condensed milk, and 5 tablespoons butter. Stir with a wooden spoon constantly until melted.
• In a small sized heavy bottom pot, melt peanut butter chips, remaining .5 jar (or 7 oz.) sweetened condensed milk, and remaining 3 tablespoons butter. Stir with a wooden spoon constantly until melted.
• Switch to a whisk and whisk each mixture separately until bubbly and smooth. Add a splash of milk if needed to thin out any lumps. Cook down for about 3-5 minutes, or until the mixture gets thick and fudgy.
• Spray a Nordic Ware Embossed half-sheet pan with Baker’s Joy. Pour first the chocolate fudge, using a spatula to smooth and evenly distribute. Plop the melted peanut butter fudge into 6 quadrants. Use a skewer or chop stick to swirl the peanut butter fudge over top of the chocolate fudge.
• Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2-3 hours. Once it’s set, remove from the fridge and cut into 1” squares.
• Fill a Sophistiplate paper baking dish with fudge and wrap it closed using a bow and plastic or cellophane wrap. Drop off a bundle to friends, family, teachers, or neighbors and enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 315kcal | Carbohydrates: 38.2g | Protein: 5.2g | Fat: 15.9g | Saturated Fat: 8.5g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 181mg | Fiber: 0.8g | Sugar: 30.9g

Recipe Notes

Melting.

Use a heavy bottom pot to avoid burning the chocolate chips as they melt. Stir and whisk vigorously to help prevent burning, and to keep fudge silky smooth. Add a tiny bit of milk or more butter if needed to help thing and smooth the fudge as it melts.

Butter.

I call for salted butter in the recipe, but if you use unsalted, please add a pinch (1/4 tsp.) to each fudge mixture to help cut the sweetness.

Festive pan.

I used the Nordic ware embossed tree sheet pan to get a fun pattern. This is the easiest way to get some fun shapes on your fudge, but feel free to use a cookie press or pattern rolling pin.

Cooling.

Make sure the fudge has cooled completely in the center before cutting into it, to maintain the fudge’s form.

Dairy-Free alternative.

Feel free to use sweetened condensed coconut milk and dairy-free chips.

The post Chocolate Peanut Butter Holiday Fudge appeared first on The Inspired Home.

How to Make Candy Corn Cotton Candy

The first thing you’ll need is a cotton candy machine! Our friends at Nostalgia specialize in small appliances that give you that familiar comfort of favorite childhood foods with a retro spin!

You can get a cotton candy machine made for small home parties or something like this commercial-sized machine for larger families or get-togethers! Either way, the ingredients will be the same.

First, you’ll want to add color and flavor to regular sugar.

To make an intense yellow-colored cotton candy, you’ll want to add 5-7 drops of gel food coloring. Gel because it won’t make the sugar watery! Plus gel gives more intense color. I also added 2-3 drops of lemon extract flavoring to the yellow to give it some delicious flavor!

To make the orange cotton candy, I used red and yellow gel food coloring drops. 5-7 drops of yellow and 1-2 drops of red for the nice intense orange color. I also added vanilla extract to this mix!

For the white cotton candy, I used regular white sugar with no flavoring.

To mix each color I used a small chopper and gave it a few pulses until it was fully mixed. This is the best way to mix to get the flavor and color evenly mixed.

After that, I warmed up the machine for about 20 minutes so it was nice and hot! Then I added each color to the cotton candy machine and went to work! It comes together pretty fast once you get everything heated up! Just use the cotton candy stick it comes with and continues to swirl until it comes together.

Once we had all the colors mixed, we put them into bags and layered the orange, yellow, and white cotton candy and put them into bags!

These would so perfect for a small Halloween party you might throw this year with close friends and family!

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Candy Corn Cotton Candy

Channel your inner child and combine two favorites – cotton candy that looks just like candy corn!

Course Dessert

Skill intermediate

Total Time 5 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Calories 381kcal

Ingredients

• 3 cups White Sugar
• Red and Yellow Gel Food Coloring
• 1 tbsp Lemon Extract
• 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract

Instructions

• Place one cup of sugar into three different bowls.
• In the first bowl make the yellow color. 5-7 of yellow and 1 tablespoon of lemon extra. Mix in a small blender/chopper.
• In the second bowl make the orange color. Use 5-7 drops of yellow and 1-2 drops of red food coloring and 1 tablespoon of vanilla. Mix in a small blender/chopper.
• Leave the last bowl as is.
• Use each color in a warm cotton candy machine. Once finished layer each color in small bags to make a candy corn!

Nutrition

Serving: 6g | Calories: 381kcal | Carbohydrates: 100g | Sugar: 100g

The post This Homemade Candy Corn Cotton Candy Is Such a Cute Halloween Idea appeared first on The Inspired Home.

I love fresh berries! I have been guilty from time to time at buying WAY too many pints of strawberries from our local Farmers Market, anyone else?! Since berries often have a quick produce life I’m always looking for easy ways to integrate them into pantry staple recipes.

I love this strawberry crumble muffin recipe because I almost ALWAYS have all the recipe ingredients and I just add in whatever berries I have left from the week. They come together in 15 minutes or less and are perfect for a weekend treat.

Ingredients for Strawberry Crumble Muffins

• all-purpose flour
• sugar
• oats
• cinnamon
• salt
• butter, melted
• baking powder
• egg
• almond milk
• strawberries

Tips for Strawberries!

When it comes to berries my three favorite gadgets are my bramble berry basket, strawberry huller, and strawberry slicer.

I have always had a hard time keeping berries fresh until I found this berry basket. The air is able to circulate from underneath for optimum freshness and you can wash the berries right in this basket.

For prepping berries, I never let my strawberry huller and slicer get too far from me. They make prep time a breeze.

How to Make Strawberry Crumble Muffins

1. Preheat the oven to 375F. Line muffin tin with muffin liners and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, oats, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl. Add melted butter and blend with a fork. The mixture should be sandy and not creamy. Set aside for topping with muffins.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 cups flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt and set aside.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together egg, milk, and melted butter. Add in the flour mixture to the wet mixture and gently mix together until just combined. Be careful not to over mix. Lumps are okay.
5. Sprinkle remaining 2 tbsp of flour over strawberries and gently toss together. Gently add strawberries to the batter and scoop batter into the muffin pan, filling each cup about 2/3 full. Top muffins with 1-2 tbsp of crumble mixture.
6. Bake muffins for 20-25 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

Variations for Muffins

Can I use a different berry? Yes, totally! I recommend trying out different berries that are at their peak season. This batter is the perfect all-purpose recipe for swapping in blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and more!

Add nuts? Heck yes! Give your muffin an extra crunch bite with chopped pecans or walnuts.

Top with a glaze: For an easy glaze whisk together 1 cup of powdered sugar with a teaspoon or two of lemon juice or milk until glaze consistency forms and drizzle over muffins tops.

Best Way to Store Muffins?

I let the muffins cool on a cooling rack until they are no longer warm and completely come to room temperature. Line a large Ziploc bag or a large Tupperware with paper towels and place muffins evenly into the container. The paper towel will help soak up excess moisture and keep the fresh/from drying out. Leave the muffins at room temperature, and will last 2-4 days of optimum freshness.

If you love these strawberry crumble muffins, try these other recipes:

• Morning Glory Muffins
• Healthy Vegan Zucchini Muffins
• Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
• Cookie Butter French Toast Casserole

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Strawberry Crumble Muffins

These sweet strawberry crumble muffins are perfect for summer. Tender muffins filled with sweet and juicy strawberries in every bite. Everyone knows the muffin top is the best part and these don’t disappoint. Topped with a crisp oat crumble topping for a buttery crunch.

Skill beginner

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Calories 282kcal

Ingredients

• 2.5 cups all-purpose flour (+ 2 tbsp for dusting the strawberries)
• 0.83 cups sugar
• 0.25 cups oats
• 3 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 0.5 cups butter, melted
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 large egg
• 1 cups almond milk
• 1 cups strawberries, diced + more for topping

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line muffin tin with muffin liners and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, mix ½ cup flour, ⅓ cup sugar, oats, 1 tsp cinnamon, and ½ tsp salt in a small bowl. Add ¼ cup melted butter and blend with a fork. The mixture should be sandy and not creamy. Set aside for topping with muffins.
• In another medium bowl whisk together 2 cups flour, baking powder, 2 tsp cinnamon, and ½ tsp salt and set aside.
• In a large bowl whisk together egg, milk, and ¼ cup melted butter. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and gently mix together until just combined, be careful not to over mix. Lumps are okay.
• Sprinkle remaining 2 tbsp flour over strawberries and gently toss together. Gently add strawberries to the batter and scoop batter into the muffin pan, filling each cup about ⅔ full. Top muffins with 1-2 tbsp of crumble mixture.
• Bake muffins for 20-25 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

Nutrition

Serving: 12g | Calories: 282kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 259mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 15g

The post Strawberry Crumble Muffins appeared first on The Inspired Home.

I love Cherry Garcia because it reminds me of my dad and honestly nothing beats a delicious ice cream with fruit and dark chocolate. I love how dark chocolate chunks take on a sweet flavor and almost chewy and chalky texture when frozen.

The sweet and bitter flavors of this ice cream paired with creamy, crunchy textures are a can’t-beat for this summer heat. Add some flaked salt as a garnish and you have yourself an elevated Ben & Jerry’s to belly up to with some Netflix and red wine.

I decided to add this awesome egg waffle bowl from Nordic Ware because who doesn’t love a little extra fun with their ice cream?

I used the Nordic Ware Egg Waffle pan and waffle bowl recipe and let them dry out a little in the oven to crisp up in their bowls. Leave them soft and you’ll have a delicious crepe-like experience. Either way, you can’t lose.

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No-Churn Cherry Garcia Copycat Ice Cream

This no-churn Cherry Garcia ice cream is the ultimate Ben & Jerry’s copycat. It can be made using a traditional egg yolk ice cream base if you have the equipment and preference. BUT, my no-churn version has you set up to whip together 4 ingredients in 10 minutes with the utmost ease.

Keyword Desserts, Ice cream and frozen desserts

Skill beginner

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Total Time 1 hour hour 49 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Calories 433kcal

Ingredients

• 16 oz heavy whipping cream (1 pint)
• 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
• 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
• 1 cups hulled and chopped Bing cherries
• 0.5 cups (1 bar) dark baking chocolate bar (72% cacao)

Instructions

• In a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the pint of whipping cream on high speed for about 3-5 minutes, or until stiff peaks form. Add in the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla bean paste and mix on a medium speed until fully incorporated.
• Pour the mixture into a loaf pan and cover. Freeze for 10 minutes and use a spatula to gently fold in the chocolate and cherries. Cover again and freeze for at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Serve over waffle bowls and enjoy!!

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 433kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Cholesterol: 99mg | Sodium: 86mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 29g

Recipe Notes

No-churn. This method is much easier than traditional ice cream and absolutely delicious. It takes two ingredients as the base but can be jazzed up to suit your style with whatever flavors you desire. I add vanilla bean paste to give this ice cream a classic speckled vanilla base.

Cherries. I love to use fresh summer cherries, but if all you can find is dried I suggest reconstituting them in warm water and draining completely before adding. If you find frozen or canned, just drain before adding because you don’t want ice crystals forming.

Par-freeze. I ask you to cool the ice cream base in the freezer for 10 minutes before mixing in the cherries and chocolate. I ask you to do this because these two toppings are particularly heavy and can sink to the bottom of the mixture.

They can absolutely be added in one fell swoop without a par-freeze, just use caution when gently folding the toppings in to make sure they suspend evenly. If they don’t, just pop it into the freezer and give it a gently stir after it is solidified a tiny bit to evenly distribute.

The post No-Churn Cherry Garcia Copycat Ice Cream appeared first on The Inspired Home.

The best part of this classic cake is that its recipe’s ingredient proportions are right there in the title. Yep, that’s right, a pound of each ingredient makes for a pound cake! In fact, it weighs more than a pound because of this.

I’m offering up my classic pound cake recipe with strawberries and whipped cream because, well, it’s a classic! If you pick your own berries in the summer, I suggest you leave them raw and enjoy the flavorful sun-kissed flavors.

If you’re using them slightly out of season or from another region (aka California) feel free to make a macerated strawberry sauce or topping to bring out the flavor. Looking for more recipe tips? Be sure to see all my notes below.

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Classic Pound Cake with Fresh Strawberries & Homemade Whipped Cream

This classic pound cake is a must-have summer cake for your recipe book. It pairs well with every luscious fruit (hello, strawberries!) that the summertime produces, plus it’s an easy cake to whip up. Top with fresh, homemade whipped cream and you’ve got yourself the perfect dessert.

Course Desserts

Cuisine American

Keyword Cakes and cupcakes, Desserts, Fruit, Summer

Skill intermediate

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Servings 15

Calories 721kcal

Ingredients

• 1 lb cultured and salted butter, softened (2 cups)
• 1 lb sugar (2 cups + 1 tbsp)
• 9 eggs (5 whole eggs + 4 egg yolks)
• 3 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 1 lb cake flour, or sifted all-purpose flour
• pinch of salt
• 1 lb stawberries
• 32 oz heavy whipping cream (1 quart)
• 2 tbsp confectioner’s sugar

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare a bundt pan with non-stick spray. In a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, whip the butter for 5 minutes until fluffy and light in color.
• Mix in sugar and cream together for about 3 minutes. Slow down the speed a bit and add the eggs, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean paste. Mix until completely incorporated, and the batter appears to be slightly curdled. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl as necessary.
• Add the flour mixed with a heavy pinch of salt, a third at a time, letting the mixer run constantly on slow speed, until just incorporated. Scrape down the bottom of the bowl and mix once more.
• Scoop the very thick batter into the prepared bundt pan, smoothing the top at the end. Bake for 30 minutes, rotate and test. Bake an additional 20-30 minutes or until a large skewer comes out clean from the center of the cake. Careful to not overcook.
• Let the cake cool slightly before inverting over a grate to cool fully. While the cake cools, prepare the strawberries and whipped cream.
• To prepare the whipped cream, use a whipping cream tool like pictured here, or some sort of electric mixer to whip air into the cream and confectioner’s sugar. Stop once stiff peaks form, being careful not to over-whip. Add an optional dash of salt and vanilla extract if you prefer a more flavorful whipped cream.
• Top cooled pound cake with prepared strawberries and whipped cream, enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 721kcal | Carbohydrates: 61g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 51g | Saturated Fat: 31g | Cholesterol: 263mg | Sodium: 222mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 35g

Recipe Notes

Batter. This cake batter should be extra dense and uses a mixture of egg yolks and whole eggs to balance the thickness. I love the flavor that cultured butter provides, however, if this is harder to come by, feel free to use regular salted butter.

If you only have unsalted on hand, add an extra teaspoon of salt to the batter with the flour. I love the speckles of vanilla bean paste, but again if you don’t have it just simply increase the vanilla extract to 1 tablespoon.

Measuring flour. I’m putting this note in its own category because this is super important. If you are not using a scale to measure a pound of flour, which I highly recommend you do, then it’s important to know how to properly measure flour.

To measure using a dry cup only, make sure to first scoop the flour out of the container using a scoop or large spoon. Dump each scoop into the measuring cup without packing it down. Once the cup is full, use a knife’s edge to scrape off the peak of flour to create a level cup. Avoid packing the flour in and with this method you can get extremely close to an accurate flour measurement. Inaccurate flour measurements can result in dry, dense, and relatively unappetizing end products.

Whipped Cream. The tool I’m using here, the Betsy Bossi whipped cream maker, is awesome! It’s so much fun to hand turn the whipped cream, plus it comes together in a pinch and is really each to serve with the gadget’s decorative tip.

This would be really fun with kids! If you are not using this piece of equipment, go ahead and use a standing mixer with the whisk attachment, or a hand mixer. Feel free to jazz up the whipped cream by adding a dash of vanilla extract and a pinch of salt in addition to the confectioner’s sugar called for in the recipe.

Bundt pan vs. loaf pan. Feel free to use whichever pan you prefer, however, note that this is a very dense batter and a bundt pan helps cook it evenly and thoroughly without getting the edges too brown.

Cook time. There is a delicate balance for a pound cake because it can easily go too far and get too dry, or look totally done on the outside and remain slightly undercooked in the center.

Make sure to use a long skewer or testing stick to get to the center of the cake during cooking. Also, I can’t recommend using an oven thermometer to keep an eye on the oven temperature enough. Whether or not you have one is always my first question when I’m helping people troubleshoot.

The post Classic Pound Cake with Fresh Summer Strawberries and Homemade Whipped Cream appeared first on The Inspired Home.

This recipe has traveled with me since culinary school, where my final project group created a green tea cake as the final dessert to our Friday Night Dinner.

I attended The Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts, where all cooking and baking was vegan, hence the vegan nature of this recipe. If, however, you prefer to bake with dairy or honey I have suggested swaps below.

If you love matcha, you’ll love this recipe. Happy baking!

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Vegan Matcha Mini Cakes

These mini cakes are super cute, just unique enough, and totally easy to pull together in no time! If you love matcha, you’ll love this recipe.

Course Desserts

Cuisine American

Keyword Cakes and cupcakes, Desserts, Sweet treats

Diet VeganDiet

Cooking Method Baking

Skill intermediate

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Calories 343kcal

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp green tea powder (plus more for garnish)
• 1 tsp chlorophyll powder
• 2 cups almond milk
• 1 cups light agave nectar
• .5 cups canola oil
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• confectioner’s sugar for garnish

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 F. Using Baker’s Joy cooking spray, carefully coat each rib of the mini bundtlette pans.
• In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, green tea powder, and chlorophyll. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together almond milk, agave nectar, canola oil, and apple cider vinegar.
• Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture. Whisk until just combined. Don’t over mix.
• Using a 3 tablespoon-sized cookie scoop, scoop batter two and a half times into each bundtlette. Slam against the counter to force any extra air bubbles to the top.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with a few crumbs clinging to it.
• Cool the cakes for about 5 minutes before turning out to cool fully.
• To garnish and serve, top with vegan matcha royal icing by combining 3:1 confectioner’s sugar to matcha, thinned out with hot water and whisked until thick but pourable consistency is achieved. Alternatively, garnish with powdered sugar sifted through a fine-mesh strainer, or topped with a dollop of freshly whipped coconut cream with a touch of vanilla extract.

Nutrition

Serving: 12g | Calories: 343kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 6.5g | Fat: 18.9g | Saturated Fat: 9.2g | Sodium: 203mg | Fiber: 4.1g | Sugar: 14.1g

Recipe Notes

Sifting.

Do not forget to sift the dry ingredients together. Not only will this help you achieve a lighter crumb, but it will also help to smooth out any lumps in the batter so you don’t run the risk of over-mixing. This can be done with a fine-mesh strainer. The strainer can also be used to sprinkle with powdered sugar after baking!

Dairy Alternatives.

I’ve made this cake with whole milk in place of almond milk, and any dairy alternative milk would work (like say Oat milk). Another option is to use buttermilk and omit the apple cider vinegar.

Agave.

If you prefer to use honey in place of agave, by all means. Replace using the same quantity. Just remember it will no longer be vegan.

Chlorophyll.

If you have a hard time finding chlorophyll powder, try to use a superfood green powder that contains primarily chlorophyll and wheat grass. It’s okay if it has kale powder and other greens, just be sure it’s not flavored with something or you’ll totally alter the final taste.

Bake Time.

I’ve noticed that a bake time adjustment of just 5 minutes can turn the green exterior into a brown exterior. It will not change the flavor if that’s what’s necessary to cook the cakes fully. Depending on which I’ve achieved, I will garnish differently. If it’s a nice, bright green cake I will garnish with powdered sugar. If it’s a bit brown, I’ll garnish with my vegan matcha royal icing.

Vegan Matcha Royal Icing.

If you decide to garnish with Matcha Royal Icing, follow a 3:1 (powdered sugar to matcha powder) ratio. Whisk the two together with hot water until a thick, glossy icing is formed. Luckily, royal icing can be easily adjusted and I usually just eyeball the ratio until my preferred taste, texture, and color is achieved. Play around until you get it where you want it.

The post Vegan Matcha Mini Cakes appeared first on The Inspired Home.

I’ve made pretty much every mistake in the book; from over-mixing to adding too much salt, and everything in between. I’ve burnt cakes, I’ve served them undercooked. I’ve messed up measurements and tried to be a bit too creative. I’ve done it all, so trust me when I say, if you follow my recipe as it’s written below, you are going to have the most bomb cake ever.

Now, I was a little apprehensive to share a recipe that used a somewhat advanced of a technique as Swiss meringue buttercream. But it truly is a superior frosting, and I think it can be fun to explore techniques that further our understanding of cooking and baking.

It can be fun when we challenge ourselves, and then it becomes about so much more than just the delicious end-results. It becomes about mastering something intimidating and feeling proud of yourself for doing it.

But just to be sure that I don’t throw you off, I’ve written a few notes to encourage your cake making process, and improve your experience:

Recipe Notes

Weight measurements.

I call for grams in this recipe instead of cups because it’s the most accurate way to bake. If you use this method you’ll end up with a wonderful cake. Plus, you can measure everything into the same few bowls, zeroing out the scale each time you add something new. Hello, fewer dishes to clean!

We’ve linked up a scale for you to purchase, and I highly recommend you do if you want to take baking seriously, and make your life easier. If you don’t have a scale and don’t want one, you can google cup conversions. Just make sure you type in the ingredient along with the measurement into google, this way it gives you the accurate finished conversion.

Curdled Milk.

There are a few ways to get this:

1. Follow the instructions below, using vinegar to curdle regular whole milk.
2. Use buttermilk and increase the volume so that in a liquid measuring cup it reads roughly 1.5 cups or about 350g.
3. Leave 355g of milk out and covered for at least 2 days. All three will work the same, just be mindful of potential changes in volume/weight due to evaporation from the removal of vinegar.

Sugar.

This cake is designed to be more of a dark chocolate, light crumb cake with a very subtle sweetness. If you prefer a sweeter cake, go ahead and increase the sugar measurement to 600g.

Sifting.

I call for cake flour AND ask you to sift it and the cocoa powder. That’s because this easy step will make the world of a difference in lightness of your final crumb. Do this every time you bake, I promise you’ll be happy. Use a fine-mesh strainer/sieve or a trigger flour sifter. Either option is totally fine.

Layering.

In the photos I posted here, I used 9” cake rounds to create 4 layers. This is the largest size I would recommend. If you prefer a taller cake with more layers, you could use as small as 3 6” cake pans.

Feel free to create as many thin layers as you prefer, and use the slicing tool (shown above) for perfectly even slices. This cake would be awesome as a sheet cake, too! I would say a 9×9” square would give you a nice height.

Double Boiler.

Heating the egg whites and sugar in the SMBC may seem intimidating if you’ve never done it before, but if you have a candy thermometer, a pyrex mixing bowl, and a small saucepot, you can absolutely do it!

Create a double boiler by filling the small saucepot with about ¬º water. Heat over medium heat and place a pyrex glass bowl over the top. Practice first by melting just the chocolate by stirring occasionally until it’s melted. Set it aside, and using a new bowl, follow this same method to create the meringue.

The only difference is that instead of melting chips into liquid form — which is a visual cue to know when it’s done — we need a thermometer to measure the temperature for us. This is a slow process, and sometimes I need to add more water to the pot before it reaches 160 degrees. Stir frequently, but don’t drive yourself crazy. Walk away if it seems like it’s never coming up to temp.

Vanilla Bean Paste.

This is a beautiful addition if you’re making vanilla swiss meringue buttercream. But for the chocolate version, if you don’t have it in your pantry already, and don’t want to spend the money to buy it (although I highly encourage you do!), switch it with an equal measurement vanilla extract.

Frosting.

This recipe calls for just the right amount of frosting for an offset spatula to coat the whole cake and its layers. If you like a heavily frosted cake, or plan on piping designs or playing with color/texture, I recommend you double the frosting batch.

Frosting Layers.

Feel free to use extra ingredients like blackberry jam in between each layer to add some fun flavor variation and yummy surprise. Get creative!

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Classic Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Create the perfect chocolate cake! We tried to make this recipe as foolproof as possible so you can have the most bomb chocolate cake ever!

Course Desserts

Keyword Cakes and cupcakes, Chocolate, Desserts

Skill intermediate

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings 10

Calories 1028kcal

Ingredients

• 450 g cake flour
• 550 g granulated sugar
• 130 g special dark cocoa powder
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 2.25 tsp baking soda
• 2.25 tsp salt
• 345 g whole milk, room temperature
• 1.5 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 155 g canola or vegetable oil
• 360 g boiling water
• 400 g dark chocolate chips (at least 70% or higher)
• 180 g egg whites (best to buy a small carton rather than separate your own)
• 350 g granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
• .25 tsp salt
• 450 g butter, cubed and at room temperature

Instructions

• In a liquid measuring cup, mix milk and vinegar and set aside. Best to leave all room temperature ingredients out overnight, so that they have time to reach temperature. The milk is ready when it’s curdled. If you’re ready to begin baking, now is the time to turn on the oven to 350 degrees, and start the kettle for boiling water.
• Using a large bowl, sift cake flour and cocoa powder, then add into the sifted ingredients the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Use a whisk to combine thoroughly, scraping the bottom of the bowl to make sure you don’t miss any.
• In a medium bowl mix curdled milk, eggs, and canola oil.
• Pour wet ingredients into dry and use a wooden spoon to mix until everything is incorporated. Consistency should be like thick brownie batter.
• Using a whisk, slowly mix boiling water into batter. Whisk carefully until the water is incorporated, then whisk vigorously for about 15 seconds until the batter is nice and smooth. The texture should be very runny.
• Use extra room temperature butter to carefully coat 3 cake tins, then line with parchment cake pan liners. Evenly pour the batter into each pan, roughly 700g each.
• Bake all three on the same oven tray, staggered as best as you can, until cooked through. This will take roughly 30-40 minutes depending on the size of the pans. Test the cakes by inserting a toothpick into the center of each cake. The toothpick should come out clean.
• Set on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes, then lift the cakes out of the tins, and continue to cool until they reach room temperature. At least an hour, and more if you have it. After they reach room temperature, you could wrap them tightly in plastic and freeze until you’re ready to frost, or go ahead and begin frosting.
• While the cakes cool, begin the buttercream frosting. In a double boiler, melt chocolate and set aside.
• Using the same pot with water, heat the sugar and the egg whites, stirring frequently, until they reach 160 degrees. Use a candy thermometer and be patient. This process will take a few minutes, and may require more water into the double boiler pot. I find the slowest increase in temperature is from 150 until it reaches a temperature of 160.
• Once the egg whites and sugar come to temperature, transfer to a stand mixer equipped with the whisk attachment. Beat the mixture on high speed until stiff peaks form, about 5-7 minutes. To test, lift the mixer arm out of the bowl, the meringue should be bright white and a long strand of merengue should just about connect the lifted whisk and the bowl.
• Add in vanilla bean paste and salt. Mix to combine.
• Set the mixer back to high speed and drop the butter in, one cube at a time letting each cube disappear into the mixture before adding the next, until fully incorporated. The texture may look curdled halfway through, keep adding and it will come together. If it hasn’t by the time you’ve finished slowly adding the butter, beat on high for a few more minutes.
• Switch to the paddle attachment and pour in the cooled melted chocolate. Mix on medium speed until fully incorporated and smooth in texture.
• Begin layering and frosting the cake. Cut the tops off the cake, and depending on the size cake pan you used, slice the cake into two layers. Place a small blob of frosting onto the cake plate, and begin layering. Using about 1 cup of frosting per layer. Use an offset spatula to frost, and if you have time, create a crumb layer – or a lightly frosted cake with visible cake spots peeking through – to catch all the loose crumbs.
• Frost the final coat using a large offset spatula, then switch to a small offset spatula to fill in any bare spots and to frost as close to the plate as you can get. Here you could pipe on a design, or get creative with how you want the frosting to look. If you prefer a heavily frosted cake or want to pipe a lot of frosting, double the amount of SMBC you make.
• Decorate with frozen berries, florals, or a dusting of cocoa, and enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 1028kcal | Carbohydrates: 135.7g | Protein: 12.6g | Fat: 55.5g | Saturated Fat: 26.7g | Cholesterol: 130mg | Sodium: 1122mg | Fiber: 5.6g | Sugar: 95.8g

The post Classic Chocolate Cake with a Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream appeared first on The Inspired Home.