Miracle Sore Throat Cure

Tis the season for cold and flu! As wonderful and magical as winter time is, I could really do without the sniffles and other sickly symptoms that come along with it. For the past few days I've had what I assume is a severe cold. It started with a horrible sore throat, you know the kind. When you feel like you just swallowed a bucket of sand followed by some crushed glass. Sore throats are the worst. I tried drinking hot beverages and taking cough syrup and cough drops, all to no avail. So of course my next plan of action was to turn to Pinterest! (Who needs doctors when you have Pinterest?!) Of course when I searched "sore throat" I found about 31,268 home remedies for sore throats. I chose a homemade drink consisting of lemon juice, honey, apple cider vinegar and cinnamon. It sounded yummy and all of the ingredients have healing properties, so I figured it was worth a try. I modified the recipe a little from the original and ended up with a pretty tasty drink that worked WONDERS on my throat. Without further ado, I give you my Miracle Sore Throat Cure. 

The original recipe I found called for 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons honey, 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar and a dash of cinnamon mixed with hot water. It didn't say how much water to use, so I decided instead of just hot water I would make a cup of my favorite tea and mix the ingredients with that. I used 2/3 cup hot water and a STASH Chai Spice Black Tea bag for the tea (but you can use any flavor you like). Once the tea was ready I stirred in all the ingredients, using 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar instead of 2. Just from the smell of the concoction I decided it probably wouldn't taste too great as it was, so I added a few spoonfuls of sugar. You can add how ever many you like, depending on how sweet you want it to be. Finally, I took the plunge and tried a sip. It was actually quite tasty and it warmed me up and soothed my throat immediately! I'm telling you people, by the time I finished the entire cup my sore throat was COMPLETELY GONE and IT DIDN'T COME BACK! It was amazing. I am absolutely in love with this drink and I will definitely be drinking it whenever I get sick. The best part is if you drink it a few times a day it will help shorten your cold because of the healing/antibacterial properties of the ingredients. So next time you get sick, give this awesome drink a try and let me know how it works for you! xoxo, Jessica.

Miracle Sore Throat Cure:

• 2/3 cup hot water (for tea)
• 1 tea bag (Any flavor you like. I used STASH Chai Spice Black Tea.)
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• dash of cinnamon
• sugar to taste

Brew your tea, then stir in the rest of the ingredients. Drink up and be amazed/relieved when your sore throat disappears! Drink 2-5 times daily to help shorten a cold. 

Red Velvet Fudge

OK, I'm just gonna warn you all now... I have a slight obsession with fudge. So you'll probably be seeing a lot of it on this blog! Hopefully you won't mind though because fudge is DELICIOUS and so easy to make (for the most part)! The fudge I'm sharing with you today is my Red Velvet Cake Fudge. Yes, you read that right and yes, it is AMAZING. It literally tastes just like Red Velvet cake - in fudge form. How could you go wrong with that?!

As you can see this is a two-layer fudge. You have the Red Velvet Cake layer on the bottom and the Cream Cheese Frosting layer on top. Are you drooling yet? I know I am... so without further ado, here's what you need for this recipe:

For the Red Velvet Cake Fudge:

• 4 tbsp butter
• 3 cups white chocolate chips
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz.)
• 2 cups dry red velvet cake mix
• 1/2 cup marshmallow cream

For the Cream Cheese Frosting Fudge:

• 1 cup canned cream cheese frosting
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 2 tbsp marshmallow cream

Method:

Line a 9x13 pan with tin foil and set aside. In a large sauce pan combine butter, 3 cups white chocolate chips and the can of sweetened condensed milk. Stir over low heat until melted and smooth. Stir in the dry cake mix a little at a time until thoroughly combined. Stir in the marshmallow cream, stirring constantly to keep the fudge from sticking to the pan. Pour into the tin foil lined pan and put in the fridge.

In another sauce pan, melt the 1 cup of white chocolate chips over low heat. Once the chips are melted, stir in the frosting and marshmallow cream. Pour over the Red Velvet layer and smooth out. Chill for at least one hour before cutting. 

To conclude this post I'm gonna let you in on a little secret: this recipe works with ANY cake/frosting flavor combination! Such as Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting (which I've made and let me tell you it's to die for)! Let your imagination run wild with this one! Happy baking! xoxo, Jessica. ♥

Chocolate Peppermint Fudge

Alright I'm just gonna cut right to the chase with this one! Here's the recipe for my homemade Chocolate Peppermint Fudge! It's a two layer fudge that is delicious and SO easy to make! Happy baking! xoxo, Jessica.

For the Chocolate Fudge

• 3 cups canned chocolate frosting
• 3 cups chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp marshmallow cream

For the Peppermint Fudge

• 1 cup canned peppermint frosting (I used Duncan Hines Frosting Creations)
• 1 cup peppermint chips (or white chocolate chips)
• 1/4 cup marshmallow cream
• 2-3 crushed candy canes

Method:

Before you start making your fudge, crush your candy canes and set them aside. Line a baking pan with tin foil. In a large sauce pan melt the chocolate chips, then stir in the chocolate frosting and marshmallow cream. Stir until all ingredients are combined. Pour into your lined baking pan and smooth out to make an even layer. Put the pan in the fridge to cool while you make the peppermint fudge. 

In a large sauce pan melt your peppermint (or white chocolate) chips, then stir in the peppermint frosting and marshmallow cream. Stir until all ingredients are combined. Pour into the baking pan on top of the chocolate fudge and smooth out to make and even layer. Sprinkle the crushed candy cane on top and very gently press into the fudge. Put the fudge back in the fridge for about an hour. Cut and enjoy! 

Devil's Food Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Ganache and Vanilla Buttercream Icing

Alright, I know I've been horrible and haven't posted anything since my first post... But honestly that's because there was nothing to post about! I haven't done a dang thing lately besides work, relax and eat lots of yummy food on Thanksgiving! Today I finally made myself get back in gear and DO something! I've recently started attending online culinary school (which I am SO excited about!) and I just did my first assignment today. The assignment was to make buttercream icing and chocolate ganache, so I figured why not put those on cupcakes?! So, without further ado, here is the recipe for my Devil's Food Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Ganache and Vanilla Buttercream Icing. 

For the cupcakes I just used boxed Devil's Food cake mix (I know, shame on me. But I was too lazy to make it from scratch). I whisked the dry mix before adding the other ingredients to get all the clumps out. Whisking the mix made such a huge difference in the final product! The cupcakes came out so light, airy, fluffy and delicious!

While the cupcakes were in the oven I started on the buttercream icing.

For this recipe you need powdered sugar (sifted), butter (at room temperature), vanilla extract and heavy cream. The dish in the background is just a cleaning solution that I had to have in the pictures for school, just ignore that. 

To start off with, put the room temperature butter in the bowl you'll be mixing everything in. Then stir in the sifted powdered sugar little by little, making sure to scrape the sides and mix the ingredients well. The recipe that I got from my school assignment only called for 12 oz of powdered sugar, but as you'll see in the next photo, the icing came out pretty thin. So I added more powdered sugar to thicken it.

Once you've used all the powdered sugar you can add the vanilla extract and heavy cream. (See what I mean about it being thin?) I added the extra powdered sugar after I mixed in the vanilla and heavy cream. 

This was the final product after I added the extra powdered sugar. It came out VERY thick, but that's how I like my frosting. Plus, it was going on top of ganache so I wanted to make sure it would hold up well. Once I was done with the icing I set it aside and started on the chocolate ganache.

For the ganache you'll need dark chocolate chips (at least 54%), heavy cream and butter. 

First you need to bring the heavy cream to a boil.

Once the heavy cream comes to a boil, pour it over the chocolate chips and stir until well blended and smooth. 

Then, add the butter and stir until it's all melted in and mixture is smooth. That's it! Now just let it cool (you can put it in the fridge for a few minutes if you want it to cool faster). 

Once the ganache is cooled down enough, give it a quick stir then start dipping your cooled cupcakes. Just dip the tops of the cupcakes right into the bowl of ganache, give it a little swirl and voila! Let the ganache sit on the cupcakes for a few minutes so it can firm up a little bit. Then add your buttercream icing!

I used a piping bag with a decorating tip to make them look nice, but you can always just spread the icing on with a spoon or knife if you're not feeling that ambitious. 

So there you have it! Devil's Food Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Ganache and Vanilla Buttercream Icing. Let me tell you, these little babies are DIVINE (if I do say so myself). The best part is, you can make the icing into any flavor you want by substituting the vanilla extract with a different flavor extract (like peppermint for example. Perfect for the holidays!). If any of you decide to try this recipe please let me know how it turns out for you! Happy Baking! XOXO, Jessica.

Devil's Food Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Ganache and Vanilla Buttercream Icing Recipe:

For the Cake:

• 1 box Devil's food cake mix
• ingredients on back of box

For the Vanilla Buttercream:

• 32 oz powdered sugar, sifted*
• 8 oz (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 oz heavy cream

* Using this much sugar makes a VERY thick frosting. If you don't want it to be so thick, just add sugar little by little until you are happy with the consistency. 

For the Ganache:

• 3.5 oz heavy cream
• 5.5 oz dark chocolate (at least 54%) chips
• 1 tbsp butter

Method:

Pre-heat your oven to the specified temperature on the cake mix box. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray. Follow the instructions for the cake mix (make sure to whisk the dry mix before you add the other ingredients. This aerates the mix and gets rid of the clumps.) Pour the mix into the muffin tin and bake for the amount of time specified on the box.

While the cupcakes are in the oven start on the buttercream icing. Put the room temperature butter in a large mixing bowl. Add the powdered sugar little by little, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl so everything gets incorporated. Once all the powdered sugar has been used (or you've reached your desired consistency) you can add the vanilla extract and heavy cream. Stir until all ingredients are well blended. Set the icing aside and start on your ganache.

In a small sauce pan, bring your heavy cream to a boil on the stove. Once the cream comes to a boil, pour it over the chocolate chips. Stir until the chocolate chips are completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Then add the butter and stir until well blended. Let cool.

Once your cupcakes and ganache are completely cooled, dip and swirl the tops of the cupcakes in the ganache. Let them sit for a few minutes to give the ganache a chance to firm up. Then pipe your buttercream icing onto the cupcakes. Voila! You now have beautifully delicious cupcakes that are sure to please!