Fleur De Sel Caramel Cupcakes {Salted Caramel Cupcakes}

 

Ingredients:

Cupcake Batter:

½ cup butter

¾ cup sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 ½ cups white flour

½ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

2/3 cup cold milk

Cinnamon swirl:

1 tbsp. cinnamon

1 tbsp. brown sugar

½ tbsp. butter

 

Frosting:

3 cups confectioners sugar (sifted)

1 cup butter

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tbsp. whipping cream

¼ cup fleur de sel caramel sauce (+ ½ cup for drizzling)

 

 

Directions for cupcakes: 

-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

-In a large mixing bowl mix soft butter and sugar until blended and creamy. Add eggs and beat until incorporated.

-Add vanilla

-Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl and add to the butter mixture. Then add and stir in milk.

-In a small separate bowl mix the cinnamon, brown sugar and butter together. This will be sprinkled in between layers of cupcake batter when pouring it into the cupcake pan.

 

Directions for frosting:

-With an electric mixer, whisk together sugar and butter.

-Mix for 3 minutes or until creamy.

-Add vanilla and cream and whisk for an additional minute.

-Add more cream if needed to reach your ideal consistency.

-Mix in ¼ cup of fleur de sel caramel sauce.

-Save the rest of the caramel sauce for drizzling

 

 

All pictures by A Bit Of Bees Knees

Salmon with Raspberry Sauce and Toasted Pecans

Ingredients:
4 salmon fillets
1 1/2 cups pecans (toasted and chopped)
2 cups of raspberries
1/2 sugar
1/4 cup lemon

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 400 degrees
-Toast pecans on a lined baking sheet in oven for 15 minutes. Chop when pecans have cooled.
-Place salmon fillets scale side down on an foil lined and oiled baking sheet. Set aside.
-Puree raspberries, sugar and lemon in a blender until smooth. Pour sauce through a mesh strainer and into a saucepan. Simmer and stir until sugar it dissolved.
-Pour raspberry sauce over the salmon fillets and top with pecans
-Place salmon in the preheated oven and bake until the salmon is almost opaque in the center and flakes easily, about 10-15 minutes.

Cappuccino Gelato With A Shot of Espresso

 {A scoop of Haagen-Dazs Cappuccino Gelato for each of you}  

 {pour some fresh hot espresso over ice}

 {pour a shot of cold espresso over the gelato}

{Heaven}

Seared Ahi Tuna with Crispy Panko

 

 

My Grandpa went fishing the other day a caught a huge tuna! We were lucky enough to reap the reward! Thanks for sharing Grandpa. Here's what Dan and I decided to do with it...

What you'll need:
{Serves two}

8oz tuna steak
6 tbsp. soy sauce
2 cloves garlic {pressed}
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 cup Panko
2 tbsp. olive oil {for frying}

Directions:
-Cut 8oz piece of raw tuna in half
-Put Panko crumbs into a medium sized bowl {set aside}
-Mix the soy sauce, pressed garlic and sesame oil in a medium sized bowl
-Dip each 4oz tuna steak into the soy sauce mixture and then roll them in the Panko crumbs
-Place each tuna steak into a frying pan with olive oil
-Fry each side of the tuna until the Panko is golden brown
-Cut the tuna into bite site pieces -- center should be pink

Enjoy!

Backyard Shed Before & After

Dan and I have been renting a little one bedroom house during our first year of marriage. We absolutely love the place, but it has needed some TLC here and there. We asked our landlord if we could  touch-up a few things around the property...like this here shed. Not to shabby huh? I think we did a good job! A little paint and masking tape can do magical things.

 

Guava Grapefruit Summer Cocktail

 

What you'll need:

 

1 cup guava juice

1/2 cup grapefruit juice

1/4 cup Perrier sparkling water

1 shot vodka

grapefruit wedges and peel

ice

 

Directions: mix all ingredients together and pour over ice

{Serves:1}

 

 

DIY Leather Tassel { For Your Keychain & Key Ring}

 

 

I've been wanting to make one of these for a long time. I have seen them in shops around town and really wanted to get one, but there was no way I would justify paying $25 to $30 for a tassel! So I decided to make one myself. I think I ended up paying about $3 for some soft pebbled leather at a fabric store and the rest of the supplies were already at home. Yay! I am so excited to share this with you! P.S. It's so much easier to find my keys now -- no more digging in my purse!

 

 

Things you'll need:

 

*key ring

*12 x 4 inch strip of leather

*razor blade or an x-acto knife

*fabric glue

*1 rubber band

 

 

{Cut off a small strip of leather and fold it over the key ring. Glue the inside together}

 {Make 24 - 1/2 inch wide cuts down the length of the leather strip. Leave 1 inch uncut at the top}

 

 

{Roll the leather strip around the leather piece from #1. Glue the inside of the roll as you go} 

 {Wrap a band around the top and let it dry}

 

 

 

Pictures: A Bit of Bees Knees