Coca-Cola Cupcakes

Although I like cupcakes, I never really jumped on the whole cupcake craze bandwagon. To be honest, I can't even remember the last time I even made some. The thing is, they are so easy to make and they make a pretty fun dessert, so I'm not sure why I don't make them more often.

I'm not sure how I originally saw this recipe but it looked pretty good and after looking at a few others I decided to give it a go. I was intrigued to see what effect both in flavor and texture that the coke would have on the cupcakes. The flavor was definitely present but not overly so. There's only a small amount of chocolate in these and I think if I made them again I would increase it even more, although that might make mask the coke flavor a little more. They were super moist and I think with a little more chocolate they would be just about perfect.

Lime and Blackberry Italian Meringue Pie

One of the things I miss most about Seattle summers is being able to walk into our backyard or along any street and pick bucketfuls of the most beautiful blackberries you have ever seen. My memories of the scratches received while digging through the branches have faded somewhat but I can vividly remember the cobblers, pies and jams that we made each year. Now I have to hope Costco gets a good batch of decent berries and then pay an arm and a leg for a little container of them. For that reason I really don't use them much for anything.

Meringue Coffee Cake

I mentioned earlier this month that I had joined the Daring Cooks when I created the Papas Rellenos. Well there's a second side of the kitchen that's called the Daring Bakers and I also joined that group! That means I've got two chances a month to try something new and challenging.

The March 2011 Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria’s Collection and Jamie of Life’s a Feast. Ria and Jamie challenged The Daring Bakers to bake a yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake.