Baby Shower Recipes

I forgot to post all of the recipes I used at Heather's Baby Shower so here they are...Enjoy!

Chicken Salad (from Allrecipes.com):

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken
4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1 (8 ounce) can sliced water chestnuts,
drained and chopped
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
1 cup halved green grapes ( I left the grapes out)
3/4 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
2 teaspoons finely minced onion
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 dash Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1.
Combine chicken, bacon, water chestnuts, celery and grapes in large bowl; set aside. In another bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients; add to salad and toss to coat. Chill until serving.

Devil's Food Cupcakes with Ganache Frosting and Center

(From bakespace.com)

***I made these before with the Ganache centers...but for the shower I omitted the center. I whipped the ganache with the whisk attachment on my mixer until it was light and fluffy..perfect for frosting. These turn out perfectly round each time and are so moist...love love love them.

INGREDIENTS
Servings: 12
GANACHE:
13 ounces heavy cream
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate (you can also use semi sweet..I tried both and like the semi better...I also use chocolate chips for the chocolate.

DEVIL'S FOOD CUPCAKE BATTER:
1/3 c cocoa

1 c boiling water
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 c mayonnaise

2 c sifted cake flour

1 c sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS
Ganache: In a sauce pan bring your cream to a light boil.
Then pour in the chocolate chips and start stirring immediately. Keep going until you have a smooth mixture. At first this will seem like it's not working as the chocolate hasn't begun to mix with the cream. Then, in second it will start to form. Just give it time.
When you are done you are supposed to pour the chocolate through a sieve if you have one.Turn off your burner and set aside to cool. Don't be tempted to taste throughout the cooling process as you're not supposed to touch the ganache until it sets.
Put ganache in fridge until you're ready to use.

TIP from Bakespace.com: I usually wait until the very last minute to make these - when I need them in a few hours and I forget that the ganache has to sit over night in the fridge OR do what I do and let it sit enough to cool the pan and then put it in the freezer for about an hour or so (keep checking to make sure it's not frozen. It will be perfect.
If you're making these in a hurry, start making the batter. If not, make the batter when you're ready to start baking your cupcakes.

Cake Batter: Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
Line cupcake tray with cupcake papers
Whisk together water and cocoa. Set aside and let completely cool. (you can put this in the fridge too)
When cocoa mixture is cool, whisk in the mayonnaise and vanilla until smooth.
Meanwhile, combine dry ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer and mix on low until combined.
Once mixed, increase speed to medium and beat in cocoa mixture for one minute.

Pour batter into a measuring cup with a spout and fill each cupcake 1/4 the way full.
Now take out your ganache and with a spoon make a small ganache ball and set one ball in the center of each cupcake.
Continue to fill each cupcake until it's 3/4 the way full to prevent spilling batter. ***Note-if you are not going to make the Ganache centers...just fill them a little under 3/4 way.***
Check to make sure your oven is at 375 and bake for 15-20 minutes until cupcakes are set. Poke with a toothpick to confirm they are done. The toothpick should slide out smoothly without any cake on it.
Once completely cooled (make sure you cool the cupcakes or your ganache will melt) frost with the rest of your ganache frosting. You should have extra ganache left over - about a cup.

Raspberry Lemon Cupcakes

(From mybaking addiction.com)

Raspberry Lemon Cupcakes
adapted from Dorie Greenspan makes approximately 24 cupcakes
For the Cake

2 1/4 cups cake flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

4large egg whites

1 1/2 cups sugar

lemon zest from two lemons

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon pure lemon extract

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare cupcake tins by using liners or spray with non-stick cooking spray
To Make The Cake:1. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.2. Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.3. Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter and, working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light. Beat in the extracts, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs, beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients. Finally, give the batter a good 2-minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated. Place the batter into the cupcake tins.4. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until the cupcakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean.Cool on wire rack.

For the Raspberry Buttercream

Ingredients1/2 cup raspberries (blended into a puree and pushed through a fine mesh sieve to remove seeds)

1 stick salted butter – room temperature (I used another stick of unsalted instead of the salted)

1 stick unsalted butter – room temperature
1/2 cup shortening*

1 tablespoon clear vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon of raspberry extract*

1 1/2 pounds confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar, 10x)

2-4 tablespoons very cold milk (add until you reach desired consistency)

Directions1. Cream the butter and shortening in the bowl of an electric or stand mixer. Add extracts and raspberry puree and combine well.2. Begin adding in the sugar and mixing thoroughly after each addition. After all of the sugar has been added and mixed thoroughly, begin adding the very cold milk… one tablespoon at a time, combining very well after each addition (mixer on medium-high to high speed) until you reach the desired consistency.

Notes:*If you don’t have raspberry extract, simply add a little bit more raspberry puree until you reach your preferred level of raspberry flavor. If you add more puree, cut back on the milk.*If you do not like to use shortening, simply sub in butter. The frosting will not be as structurally sound, but will taste just as delicious.