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Lemon Drop Pudding Cakes

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Lemon Drop Pudding Cake tantalizing the weary photographer with all it's deliciousness!

At last, the day is here to reveal the third star of my wintertime pudding trio…

Lemon Drop Pudding Cakes!  

These individual cakes provide a contrasting burst of sunshine in the middle of winter- or any other time of year- complete with a decadent pudding surprise inside.  

Easy. Light. Refreshing yet satisfying… perfect whenever your sweet tooth is calling your name:-)

Oh wait, I hear my name being called, gotta go!

Visit the other two wintertime pudding stars here: Mint Chocolate Pots de Creme & Maple Tapioca Pudding with Maple Walnut Brittle.

 

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Fluffy Lemon Drop Pudding Cake Batters heading into the oven…I can barely wait~ that batter is SO delish!

Recipe for Lemon Drop Pudding Cakes (Serves 8)

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup Zsweet sweetener, divided (or feel free to use all raw granulated sugar [1 cup total] in this recipe)
  • 1/2 cup raw granulated sugar, divided
  • 1/3 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour (or feel free to use regular AP flour)
  • 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 cup milk of choice (I use almond milk)
  • 2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest
  • 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons organic butter, melted
  • 2 large pastured egg yolks
  • 3 large pastured egg whites, at room temperature 
  • Powdered raw sugar for dusting (or feel free to whiz up xylitol or coconut sugar in a spice grinder for a healthy alternative)

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray eight, 4-6 ounce ovensafe custard cups with canola spray; place in a large deep roasting or baking dish. Turn a kettle of water on to boil for water bath.
  2. Whisk together 1/2 cup Zsweet & 1/2 sugar, then measure out 3/4 cup of the combined sweeteners.  Whisk 3/4 cup sweetener mixture, gluten-free flour and salt in a medium bowl. Make a well in the dry ingredients. Add milk, lemon zest, lemon juice, butter and egg yolks. Whisk until smooth.
  3. Beat egg whites in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining 1/4 cup sweetner mixture and continue beating until stiff and glossy. Fold the egg whites into the batter (it will be a thin, light batter and it’s fine if it’s a little lumpy as you don't want to combine so thoroughly as to deflate the eggwhites). Ladle the mixture among the prepared dishes placed in the roasting pan.
  4. Carefully pour enough boiling water to come almost halfway up the sides of the dishes. Carefully place the roasting pan in the oven.
  5. Bake pudding cakes until golden brown & the sides pull away slightly from the edges of the ramekins, 25 to 30 minutes.  Remove the dishes from the water bath & transfer to a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. 
  6. Dust each pudding cake with powdered sugar & ENJOY!

Recipe adapteded from eatingwell.com

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The last, creamy bite of sunshiny decadence… divine!

Dreamy Carrot-Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

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Dreamy Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

At StyleNectar I share only my favorite recipes with you- and these Dreamy Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting are no exception!  As with many of my recipes, you'll notice they're healthed up a bit-  yet they remain decadent as can be to the tastebuds!

Entertaining?  Dreamy Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting are perfect!  Whip these little darlings up the night before without sacraficing one iota of fresh, moistness.  The secret to  keeping them fresh?  Store them in an airtight container on the counter overnight, UNFROSTED.  Storing cupcakes in the fridge before serving is the quickest way to dry them out.  Mix the icing the night before also, stowing it covered in the fridge.  The next day, decorate your cakes with the icing in all of about 4 minutes and…  Ta da!  Moist, perfect cupcakes that taste as if made the hour before your guests arrived 🙂

Dreamy Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe (For 1 Dozen Dreams)

Cream Cheese Frosting:

  • 8 ounces 1/3 less fat cream cheese
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, SIFTED (don't skip sifting unless you like lumpy frosting!) 
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Using a hand held mixer, starting out on the lowest speed, combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar and lemon zest, until creamy and smooth.

Cupcakes:

  • 3/4 cup whole-wheat PASTRY flour (it's gotta be whole wheat PASTRY not reg whole wheat)
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 cup canola oil
  • 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup applesauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cups finely shredded carrots
  • 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons finely chopped, LIGHTLY TOASTED, walnuts; Separated
  1. Position oven rack in middle of oven. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a standard muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners.
  2. Sift together the first 6 ingredients (whole wheat pastry flour through nutmeg). In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, brown sugar and eggs until combined. Next add in the applesauce, vanilla and carrots. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir gently with a spatula until just combined. Fold in 1/4 cup of the chopped walnuts.
  3. Using a large ice-cream scoop, divide the batter evenly amongst the muffin cups. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  4. Frost the cooled cupcakes and sprinkle with the remaining 3 tablespoons chopped walnuts.  Once the cupcakes are frosted they should be stored in the refrigerator.  

Make Ahead Note: To make cupcakes the night before, bake and cool cupcakes completely.  Then store UNFROSTED cakes in an airtight container on the counter overnight.  Stow the frosting, separately, in the refrigerator.  Frost the cupcakes the next day for perfectly moist, fresh cupcakes!

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Dreamy Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Vanishing Blueberry Ginger White Chocolate Cookies

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Vanishing Blueberry Ginger White Chocolate Cookies


This is one of those recipes I've made so many times I've got it memorized by heart!  They're ALWAYS a huge hit! 

(Even the time during a power outage when I accidentally used corn starch instead of baking soda & they baked up into little rocks!  My guests were walking away with napkins full of them saying things like, "Oh no, I LOVE really crunchy cookies…" I just thought to myself – thank goodness!)  

In all seriousness though, Dried Blueberry Ginger White Chocolate Chunk Cookies are easy-peasy to make and take no time at all.  However, consider yourself warned; you'll forever be receiving requests for these after you've made them just once!


Recipe for Blueberry Ginger White Chocolate Cookies

 (Makes 2 Dozen)

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup wheat germ
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 large egg
  • 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup canola oil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup thick, old fashioned oats (NOT instant!)
  • 2 ounces best quality white chocolate, chopped (I like Green & Black's)
  • 1/3 cup dried blueberries (Not the tiny wild kind, they need to be the larger traditional size for the right mouth feel- I buy mine from www.Oh Nuts.com)
  • 1/4 cup Crystalized Ginger, evenly chopped (I buy the kind that comes in 1/2" cubes & quarter the cubes into aproximately 1/4" cubed pieces)

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
  2. Whisk the flour, wheat germ, baking soda, salt and ground ginger together in a medium bowl.  
  3. Whisk egg, brown sugar, oil and vanilla in a larger bowl.  
  4. Gently add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients using a spatula stirring until combined.  
  5. Add oats, chocolate, blueberries and crystallized ginger; stirring just till combined. 
  6. Arrange dough in rounded tablespoonfuls onto 2 ungreased cookie sheets (12 balls per sheet).  
  7. Bake until puffed and golden around the edges, approximately 8 (softer cookies) to 10 (crispier cookies) minutes.
  8. I'd tell you to allow them to cool for a couple minutes on the cookie sheets then transfer to wire racks to cool completely…but by this point everyone will have convened to the kitchen and be eating them HOT! Right out of the oven!

Adapted from recipe created by Anna Ginsberg

How many hours did your cookies last?  Do share!

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Vanishing Blueberry Ginger White Chocolate Cookies ~ this batch of FOUR DOZEN was gone in a weekend!