The David Beckham of Espresso Caramel Bars

Credit for this post's title is all due to Jes, see her comment below. I just had to change it when she said what she did and that comment pretty much made my day!
I am going to turn your taste buds up and get your mouths watering and stomach rumbling today. I saw this recipe a few weeks ago and just had to make it, and today I have for you espresso caramel bars. Can you say yummy and I want it now! Get ready for this awesomeness you will soon feast your eyes upon.

For this recipe, first gather together your ingredients.

For the graham cracker layer, you need 12 whole graham crackers(cinnamon if you can find them) (this will equal to 2 cups worth of crumbs), 1/4 cup sugar, 1 1/2 sticks melted butter.

For the caramel layer, you will need 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, room temperature, 1 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon water. 

For the chocolate ganache layer, you will need 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1 3/4 teaspoons instant espresso powder, 1 teaspoon smoked sea salt(optional).

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. This recipe calls for a spring form pan and line the bottom of the pan with parchment pan and grease the paper with either cooking spray or butter.

In a bowl combine the graham cracker crumbs and the white sugar. 

Add in the melted butter and mix until thoroughly combined. 

Pour all of the graham cracker crumb mixture into the spring form pan and press down the crumbs. Put the spring form pan on a baking sheet and pop it in the oven.

Bake the graham cracker crumb layer in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Once the graham cracker crumbs are baked pull the pan out of the oven. 

Make the caramel layer starting with a heavy bottomed pan, add the butter, the heavy cream, brown sugar and water. 

Stir the ingredients until it is smooth and the butter is completely melted. Allow the mixture to come to a boil but don't stir and when it reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. Once the caramel has reached 240 degrees(about 5-7 minutes cooking time), pour the caramel over the baked graham cracker crust. 

Set the bars aside for 20 minutes to cool, then place the bars into the freezer for 10 minutes so the caramel freezes.

In a double boiler add the chocolate chips and cream. 

Melt the chocolate completely then add in the espresso powder and stir the chocolate to incorporate the powder. 

Remove the bars from the freezer and pour the chocolate layer over the caramel layer and smooth it out with a spatula. If you are using the smoked sea salt, sprinkle it over the chocolate layer. 

Refrigerate the bars for at least an hour before you eat them, as hard as it may be, wait that full hour.

After the hour you will want the bars to return to room temperature so I hate to say it but I am going to make you wait for another 30 minutes before you can finally eat the bars. Ok the grand finale, remove the bars from the spring form pan, slice them, serve, eat and enjoy!

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Bird Nest Cupcakes for Easter

Remember yesterday when I said come back tomorrow for a cute Easter dessert? Well here it is!

You better believe I wouldn't let Easter come and go without an Easter dessert you could make for your Easter brunch or lunch. I saw this cute cupcake on Pinterest of course and couldn't pass it up. I am using the much-raved about Cadbury mini chocolate eggs from yesterday's post but you could use whatever egg-looking Easter candy you like. These cupcakes are simple, really simple.

First, gather together your ingredients. I don't follow the directions on the back of the funfetti cake mix, I add in different ingredients, which takes away from the cake mix taste. However, do follow the directions for what temperature to set your oven to and the cooking time.

Ok back to the ingredients. 1 box of funfetti cake mix, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup milk, 1 cup sour cream and 1/3 oil. For the buttercream, 1/2 cup room temperature butter, 2 cups powdered sugar, 6 teaspoons heavy cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
Also shredded coconut and egg-shaped candy, whether chocolate eggs or even jelly beans.

In your mixing bowl, add in the cake mix, the eggs, milk, sour cream and oil. Mix all the ingredients until they are fully combined.

Put cupcake liners in your cupcake tin and fill the liners 2/3 full of cupcake mix.

Bake the cupcakes for approximately 15-18 minutes. When the cupcakes are cooked, pull them out and let them cool.

Don't turn the oven off when you pull the cupcakes out you need to toast the shredded coconut. Spread a thin layer of shredded coconut on a baking sheet, pop the sheet into the oven for 7-10 minutes, stirring every few minutes to evenly toast the coconut.

When the coconut is a golden tan, take it out of the oven. Now you can turn the oven off. Set the shredded coconut aside until you start decorating the cupcakes.

Make the buttercream frosting.
Cream the butter, then add in the powdered sugar and mix the two ingredients together. Add in the vanilla then the heavy whipping cream.

Whip all the ingredients together then spread a layer of buttercream on the top of the cupcakes.

Flip the cupcake over into a pile of the toasted shredded coconut and coat the top of the buttercream with a layer of shredded coconut.

Put two or three of the chocolate eggs or jelly beans in the middle to represent eggs in a nest.
Then serve, eat and enjoy!

See, I told you a dessert using one of my favorite Easter candies!

Pink Lemonade Bars

*enter my giveaway for a $25 gift card to sneakpeeq by clicking in this link  http://bit.ly/AjpwQX. That is all you have to do, how easy is that. Oh you have to be a follower too.
I know everyone loves lemon bars, those delicious bars of a shortbread bottom layer filled with a gooey lemon topping. I have found a recipe to amp up the lemon bar or maybe even rival it,the pink lemonade bar! I bit into these bars and all I said was wow, there was just something about these bars that make me want to eat a whole pan to myself but I won't... unless these bars have negative calories in that case I will. Drop everything you have planned tonight and make these bars because you will thank me later. Or maybe if you aren't interested, maybe the pink color alone will convince you to make these for Valentine's Day.  On to the recipe!First, gather together your ingredients.You need 9 tablespoons of butter softened,  1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour, 1 3/4 cup white granulated sugar, 3 egg whites, 1 egg, 2/3 cup lemon juice (freshly squeezed is better trust me), 2 tablespoons lemon zest, 1-2 cups raspberries (defrosted), 1 tablespoon confectioner's sugar.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a square pan, line it with parchment paper, if not butter the bottom and side of your pan. In your mixing bowl, combine the 9 tablespoons of butter, 1/4 cup sugar and 1 cup of flour. I liked to cream my butter first then add in the sugar and flour.

Mix until all the ingredients are completely incorporated. Then take the dough out and press it in the bottom of your pan. 

 

Bake this in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until a sun-kissed tan color, or oven-kissed I guess would be appropriate. Clean out your mixing bowl because you will it again for the lemon filling. In your mixing bowl, add the egg whites and egg, the rest of the sugar, the remaining amount of flour, the lemon juice, lemon zest. 

 

 Mix all these ingredients together and then in a sieve over the bowl, add the raspberry juice. Press the raspberries down to extract all the juice completely. 

 

 Then mix these ingredients together. 

 

Pour the filling over the cooled bottom layer and bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes, make sure the filling is set when you take it out. 

 Cool down the bars and sprinkle powdered sugar over the top layer, then cut into squares, serve, eat and enjoy!