Flourless Raspberry-Chocolate Mini-Cupcakes
I baked Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes for Kathy’s birthday picnic that we are holding tomorrow. I guess Kathy has stopped eating wheat, so this was perfect for her. I saw a recipe online for adding a raspberry in the middle of it before you bake them and thought it might be a nice surprise in the middle. But they didn’t turn out that well, berries took up too much room in the mini-cupcake size and turned out mushy. They tasted OK but i also put in some raspberry extract with proved to be too strong. Oh well, it was fun to try something new.
Here is the recipe i ended up using, which was a modification of a few i found on the internet:
6 oz bittersweet chocolate, broken into pieces
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon raspberry extract
24 raspberries
Position rack in middle of oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 24-cup mini-muffin pan with paper or foil liners.
Heat chocolate and butter in microwave on medium power until melted. Stir to combine.
In medium bowl, mix sugar and cocoa. Add eggs and whisk until combined. Whisk in chocolate mixture.
Scoop batter into muffin cups, press 1 raspberry halfway into each, and place pan on baking sheet. Bake about 15 minutes, turning front to back halfway through. Cool on rack and serve.
I decided to topp them with white chocolate drizzle for eye candy effect, since alone they looked kinda drab. The centers fell in the middle because that is what flourless cakes do!
Happppy Biwthday Katty!!!
Schipper Design+ team collaboratively-fabulous birthday idea! Create desktop greeting for birthday boss woman Kathy using all the design skillz in our repertoire. Voila! Such a masterpiece, no?
We celebrated Kathy with a mini-cheesecake and will hold an official birthday picnic this Friday.
Fajita Time
Here’s our fajita dinner with beans, chips and salsa on the side (and Butters). Though we have a 2-person dining table, we always eat at the coffee table. It’s hard to eat there because of the height of the table – Jeff and I always end up dropping food when it makes the long voyage from our plate to our mouth. But we never have to worry about making sure the floor gets cleaned up. Butters stakes our a spot underneath and swoops down to pick up any piece that fall to his level.
Home Inspection
Home inspections were done this morning. Overall, not too bad besides what we already know about the sun room foundation and termite infestation. The leaks that we have witnessed in the living room and master bedroom apparently are just old stains, and the leaks have since been repaired. Good news is that the inspector thinks there is a good 10 more years left in the roof. Bad news is all 3 sinks in the bathrooms need to be replaced because they are rusted through and there are some other issues. This photo represents how the sun room was built out on the deck, and the deck itself looks like it has seen better days. But according to the inspector apprentice, they have seen “worse” and only some floorboards are lose and edging is coming off on one area. Our full report from the inspector was over 40 pages long and included photos. It was great to learn more about the 37 year old house. We’re eager to put in our request for repairs and move forward with buying it — even though there are these issues we think (and hope) they can be resolved.
California Roll
For dinner tonight, i made myself a California Roll. Jeff had some leftovers, so I was free to enjoy my sushi without having to worry subjecting him to the seaweeds. I actually had all the ingredients on hand – which, like, has never happened. I have always wanted to test out trying to make them the “real” inside out way, but every time i end up making sushi it is for a potluck or something and i don’t want to mess it up so i just do it the safe way with seaweed on the outside. So tonight i tried it and it went not as bad as i thought it would, though, i noticed you have to be precise on where you put your seaweed on the mat, since you CANNOT shift it around after you flop over the rice. So, more experience is necessary but glad to know i CAN do it. Kind of.
No Doubt Concert
Tonight was the No Doubt concert at the Shoreline Amphitheater. It must have been a sold out crowd, just look at the lawn! Paramore opened for them – they sounded great, and i loved watching the teeny boppers go bounce up and down and scream for them. Gwen sounded awesome, and of course, looked great too, even though i could hardly see her since i’m only 5’1″ and also i need new glasses to see the jumbo tron!
Charlie and Katie got tickets earlier this week and saved a spot for us on the lawn while we fought traffic on the way in. Took us over an hour i think to get from the freeway exit to a parking spot. We were supposed to meet my friend Lisa there but she hurt her foot and was busy moving out of her apartment so she couldn’t come. I brought sandwiches for Jeff and I so we wouldn’t have to wait inline for a 10 dollar hot dog. It was a memorable night and glad i could see No Doubt in concert. Brought back memories from 1996 Tragic Kingdom CD! One of the first CDs i remember buying.
Not the greatest photo, but kinda cool. I couldn’t get a decent one of Gwen since we were so far away and my camera is not meant for telephotoing!
Silver Dollar Plant
Kathy pointed out that there was a silver dollar plant growing outside our office. The branches on the left is what comes from the plant. You take the leaf part between your thumb and index fingers and slide off the outer layers and seeds to reveal a thin silver leaf – shown on the right. Very pretty like something you might purchase at a home decor store except for it was growing right outside in the ground.
Pest Inspection on House
After receiving the pest inspection report from the seller, we decided to meet back at the house today to take a look at the inspector noted as problems. Mainly, it became evident that the sun room is not built on an adequate foundation.. though that doesn’t really have to do too much with “pests” it was still revealed in the report. It is actually built up on the deck with pier and posts. Another big issue is the eaves, rafter tails, and fascia are in need of some replacement, and also the attic has evidence of active infestation which would need fumigation to exterminate. Not good news really, so we are a little bummed but will forge on and see what can be done.
I Draw Pictures All Day
Worked on a web site for a global medical software development company today. Trying to draw up a flow diagram of how the application works. I don’t quite think this drawing is there yet, but it’s a start. We’ll see what the French lady thinks.
Corn on the Cob
I <3 summer! Time for some grillin’ and chillin’ and fresh corn the cob! Not to mention yummy melons and nectarines. For dinner tonight along with this corn, we had some grilled chicken legs with BBQ sauce and Honey Mustard sauce. We also cooked up some Stove Top stuffing with extra celery, carrots and onions added. I tried to snap a photo of the steam coming off from the corn, but didn’t quit get it… oh well, i remember it being there!