Gooey Mocha Frappe Cupcakes!

Three letters for you coffee lovers out there: OMG

Haha! I know one thing, these guys are YUMMY!! 

Opening a box of these babies smells just like walking into Starbucks!! 

And the best part is that they are filled with yummy, gooey chocolate ganache!

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

(Depending on how pressed for time you are, you can either use Devil's Food boxed cake for this, or you can use an extra yummy chocolate cake recipe which I'll list below. I adapted this one from FoodNetwork.com  :) 

•  1/4 pound unsalted, at room temperature.
•  1 cup sugar 
• 4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 16 fluid ounces chocolate syrup 
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons ground coffee

For the frosting:

• 1 cup butter, softened 
• 3 teaspoons ground coffee, or espresso 
• 1 pinch salt
• 2/3 cup milk
• 3+ cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

For the ganache:

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 8oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

For the cupcakes:

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer using the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time. Mix in the chocolate, vanilla and coffee. Add the flour and mix until just combined. (Don't overbeat, or the cupcakes will be tough.) 

Using an icecream scoop, fill your cupcake liners just a little over halfway. 

Bake at 325°F for 25-30 min. 

For the frosting:

If you're using instant coffee, mash it in a bowl with the bottom of a spoon until it becomes powdery. 

Beat butter until smooth. Mix in vanilla and coffee. Beat in confectioners' sugar and milk alternating until desired consistency is reached.

For the ganache:

Pour all 8oz of the chocolate chips into a med bowl. Heat heavy cream in a small saucepan over med heat. Bring just to a boil (be careful not to boil over) and pour boiled cream over your chocolate. Whisk mixture until smooth. 

Once your cupcakes have cooled, hollow out the centers using an icing tip. Fill cupcakes with slightly cooled ganache using a piping bag. The last step is to ice with the YUMMY frosting!! 

Peanut Butter Banana Skinny Wrap!

Calories: 270

Since I have dropped about 40 pounds, people ask me all the time how I did it. Let's be honest, there really isn't any way around it. Yes I am at the gym 6 days a week, but eating healthy is just as important. 

So I decided to share one of my most favorite healthy things to eat. I eat one of these almost every day for lunch! They are so quick to make and if you use the right amount of ingredients they are also low in calories and packed with nutrition. Just be sure to use a whole wheat tortilla because the fiber will make sure that you feel full so that you aren't tempted to eat more. :)

Ingredients:

2 tsp natural creamy peanut butter 

1/2 banana (sliced)

1 whole wheat tortilla


Enjoy!!

Buffalo Chicken Dip!

Since football season is here, I figured it would be a good time to share one of my favorite game-time recipes. This stuff has been one of my favorite foods for a LONG time. The cool thing is, this stuff tastes good on anything from chips, to crackers, sandwiches and even celery!  

I also listed the SKINNY version of this recipe below this one. ENJOY! 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups cooked and shredded chicken or 1 (12 ounce) can chunk chicken, drained

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup Ranch dressing

1/2 cup Buffalo wing sauce (such as Frank's Red Hot)

3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Instructions:

Heat oven to 350°F. Place cream cheese in baking dish, and stir until smooth.

Mix in your ranch dressing and wing sauce with cream cheese. 

Next break up the chicken and stir into mixture.

Sprinkle shredded cheese on top of your dip and BAKE for 30 min. 

SKINNY Buffalo Chicken Dip Ingredients:

4 oz fat free cream cheese (softened)

1 cup fat free sour cream

1/2 cup buffalo wing sauce 

1 1/2 cups cooked and shredded chicken or 1 (12 ounce) can chunk chicken, drained

Serve with celery or crackers. 

Yummy & Healthy Mixed Berry Banana Smoothie!

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love to stay healthy. So I decided to share

 my smoothie recipe that I have been using for awhile now. It's super yummy and so good for you! 

The great thing about this smoothie is that it's also very filling so you can use it as a meal replacement too. Or you can easily turn this into a delicious protein shake by adding 2 scoops of vanilla protein powder. I do it all the time and I love it!

If you like your smoothies with a bit more tart to it like I do, you can add some extra strawberries or raspberries. And if you like your smoothies a little more on the frozen side, be sure to use all frozen fruit and you can always add some ice cubes too!

1 cup Light Apple Juice

1/4 cup frozen or fresh strawberries

1/2 cup frozen or fresh raspberries and blueberries

 1 banana (or you could just use 1/2)

1 tablespoon Fat Free Greek Yogurt

Directions: Blend all ingredients together in a blender on low speed until smooth. 

ENJOY! 

5 Must-Haves for Frizz-Free Hair!

Dealing with extremely dry, frizzy hair used to be a part of my daily routine. My hair is naturally curly which means if I don't put the right products in it, I would be walking around the world with a massive ball of frizz on my head.

 Even if you don't have curly hair, all the heat and chemicals from dying our hair can still leave it frizzy and frustrating to deal with. It took me a really long time to discover all of these products and tips that keep my hair frizz-free and now I don't know how I ever lived without them!

1.) Choose a good conditioner. If you have dry or frizzy hair like myself, chances are you have been through many different conditioners trying to find one that will help you. Well I finally found it! Dove's Intense Damage Therapy Conditioner works wonders AND it's completely affordable! 

2.) Chi Silk Infusion. Everyone that I know that has ever used this product, has never been able to stop using it. :) After towel-drying your hair, all it takes is a dime-size amount of this stuff throughout your hair and you will notice an immediate difference! It will leave your hair feeling super silky and it smells great too! 

3.) Garnier Fructis Smoothing Milk. Nothing sucks more than spending all that time doing your hair, only to walk outside and have it go frizzy on you. Humidity doesn't stand a chance with this stuff. I usually apply a quarter size amount of this right after the Chi Silk Infusion while my hair is still wet. This is going to make sure that your hair is smooth and stays smooth. :)

4.) Mousse! Most people are afraid of putting mousse in their hair because they don't want to end up with hardened hair that looks like it's still wet long after it has dried. I can't blame them! The trick is finding the right mousse, and not using too much of it.

(Not that kind of moose!)

 Even if your hair already pretty smooth, adding mousse not only helps maintain frizz and control, but it's also going to add texture to your hair which you need to hold any styles like curling or even straightening.

My favorite mousse is the Dove Damage Therapy Curl & Sculpt. You usually get the best results by applying this while your hair is still damp.

5.) Heat Protectors!! We all know how much damage we are doing to our hair with our curling iron, flat irons, and hairdryers. But who can live without them right? That's why there are heat protectors that we can put in our hair prior to using heat to prevent damage! So we can have our cake and eat it too. :)

The most popular and affordable heat protector is this baby right here! Tresemme Heat Tamer Spray.

So these are my 5 must-haves for my super frizzy hair. Anyone else have any good product suggestions for curly or frizzy hair? :)

High Five For Friday! (Top 5 Most Awesome Things)

High Five For Friday!

 I linked up with Lauren at From My Grey Desk  today to share my top 5 most awesome things of the week! 

Here They Are!

1.) For a lover of scarfs like myself, this video is the perfect place to learn some super neat ways to wear them! This video is #1 on my awesome list for this week.

2.) Three letters! E.L.F. That's right! E.L.F. cosmetics! Right now my favorite product from the fabulous Eyes Lips Face is their eyeshadow primer. It's so much more affordable than Urban Decay's famous Primer Potion and it works great! Seriously I can even sleep with my eyeshadow on (although you should never sleep with your makeup on) and wake up with it still in place after using this stuff!

www.eyeslipsface.com

3.) Navy blue nail polish! I love accessories, but I usually keep my nail polish pretty simple. With black nail polish being the new trend I discovered that substituting navy blue for black allows you to keep the look, without the drama. I love it!

4.) I was really disappointed this week when I discovered that my Michael's 40% off coupon had expired before I got a chance to use it. But then I discovered that Michael's has an app that has coupons on it! No more sticking coupons to my fridge for me! #4 on my list of awesome things this week is the Michael's App!

5.) Last but most certainly not least of my 5 most awesome things of this week is "Youtube Bachelorette" Carlie Butler! As the sister of internet celebrity Shaycarl, Carlie started her own version of a bachelorette show on Youtube in search of her perfect Valentine's Day date! I can't wait to find out who she picks!

Valentine's Day Cupcakes!

If you know me, you know how much I enjoy making gourmet cupcakes. So while I was in the Valentine's Day mood, I decided to make cupcakes in addition to the cookies. :) These guys are red velvet with a yummy strawberry filling and topped with cream cheese frosting. Can you say "nomnomnom...?" To make the decorations I just colored some fondant red, cut out some red hearts and let them dry for about a day before putting them on my cupcakes.

Another idea is to add strawberry cream cheese frosting instead of filling the cupcakes.

Oh! What's that? It looks like my cupcakes get a definite thumbs up from my little guy!

Sincerely, 

-Cake Eater