Surprise desserts (aka peekaboo desserts) are a gorgeous way to celebrate anything, whether it's a birthday, new baby, or just a brand new day. You can pretty much hide anything you want inside: candy, a cool design, and even other desserts. To help inspire you, try one of these fun-filled desserts out for a special, photo-worthy occasion. Then get creative and try out your own ideas (and make sure to share them with us when you're done).
Cupcakes are special treats by themselves, so surprise-inside piñata cupcakes are extra special for birthdays and special occasions. You can customize these with any flavor of cupcake and any type of candy or chocolate treat you want to stuff them with.
My favorite finishing touch to any dish is a tuile. Small, elegant, and simple—even its name makes it sound delicate. Tuiles are garnishes that are malleable when directly removed from the oven and crisp up as they cool down. I love them because they complement both savory and sweet dishes and can add a nice alternative texture to creamy dishes. Read on to learn how to transform this warm, workable dough into a variety of crispy, light accents.
I love it when peaches are in season! It means it is cobbler time. This simple peach cobbler recipe will sure to impress your friends and family, it is super easy to make, and it is pretty darn cheap as well. Let's get baking!
Baking a cake is relatively easy... if you happen to have a cookbook or some boxed cake mix nearby. And though you can use the internet or your favorite cooking app, it can be nice to just cook without a recipe. That seems impossible with baking, which is such an exact science, but it's actually relatively easy.
Canned pumpkin is something I always stock up on and keep in my pantry, because it's endlessly useful when cooking or baking. Sweet, creamy, and mild, pumpkin can be folded into baked goods and savory dishes with ease.
People tend to skip toasting nuts in recipes or before adding them to salads because it seems time-consuming and the margin for error is high. However, skipping this step is a big mistake. Why? Because when you skip toasting your nuts (go ahead, you can laugh, we're all doing it), you sacrifice flavor and texture. And not just a little flavor, but a lot. Alton Brown recommends wok-frying peanuts before making your own nut butter for this very reason.
This is a delicious appetizer perfect for children's parties or any sort of ocean-themed event. Make pastry shells shaped like fish, and then fill them with a savory smoked salmon and potato filling. Brush with a bit of egg and then bake!
What makes this apple pie punk rock? It's probably the addition of pumpkin pie spice to the apples. In addition to the apples, you will also need: cinnamon, cloves and lemon juice for the filling. The crust recipe calls for flour, butter, baking powder and water - or you can buy premade if you want.
Forego the Bisquick! You can make healthy and nutritious pancakes easily from scratch. All you need is some flour, a little bit of sugar, baking powder, and a bit of salt. Then blend with an egg, cooking oil and some milk or buttermilk.
Valentine's Day is exactly two weeks away, which means it's prime time to start thinking about what sweets you'll be baking for your sweetheart and how you'll be presenting them.
Ever since Katy Perry's "California Gurls" single came out, we've never looked at popsicles and baked goods in the same way again. Pay tribute to the unadulterated version of these summertime staples by folding this origami chocolate popsicle. It's amazingly lifelike and is easy enough for even beginners to do.
Cake pops, popularized by bite sized goddess Bakerella, are a food fad that you should definitely sink your teeth into (literally), but to make sure your cake pops appear professional and uniform you have to consider your sizing.
This is a fun little how-to showing what happens when you put some baking soda and vinegar in a film canistar. Shake it up and see it blast off. Keep back though, or you'll stink like your homemade rocket fuel.
Now that Valentine's Day is on the horizon, it's time to start thinking about what treats you'll be baking, how you'll be packaging them, and what paper crafts you'll be glueing together for the big day.
Meyer lemons and lemon meringue pies are the staples of summer, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy the zesty sweetness of lemons year round if that's your thing! Check out this cake baking and decorating video to learn how to decorate delicious glazed lemon cupcakes.
What would Halloween be without its fair share of spooky goblins and wicked green witches! Get into the spooktacular mood of the macabre holiday by baking and decorating these evil green witch cupcakes with your kids.
If you're baking cupcakes for Christmas, don't just take the easy route and spatula on some canned frosting from the store! Make your cupcakes truly spectacular this holiday season by decorating them with fondant.
During Halloween, spookiness, ickiness, and delicious good fun combine to form one scary good time. And what better way to offer party guests a trick AND a treat than by baking and decorating this creepy mummy cake?
There's more than enough reason for folks to drink during the holidays. Crazy relatives, too much baking and shopping until you literally drop create lots of stress that one glass of martini usually tapers down.
Dress up the traditional pumpkin pie by turning it into a delicious spiced pumpkin cheesecake! You'll need your favorite cookie crust, a springform pan, cream cheese, sugar, eggs, butter, canned pumpkin and your favorite pumpkin spices - like cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice.
Halo Reach is newest edition to come out from the "Halo" series, featuring really cool advanced CGI and super fast attack vehicles called ghosts. These cars look almost like gigantic beetles, with a pod-like midsection and two wings on the side.
Is your silverware or silver jewelry showing too much tarnish? You can remove the tarnish easily by using a baking soda toothpaste. This tutorial demonstrates how you can use just a dab of toothpaste, a soft cloth and some rinse water.
Birthdays can be made even more special if you bake and decorate the birthday cake yourself. While we would never turn down a cookies'n'cream ice cream cake, chowing down on a cake made by a loved one is a much more cherished experience.
Funfetti cakes are a common site at children's birthday parties, but most of the busy parents who make those happen go with the boxed cake mix version. It's really not too hard to make from scratch for extra flavor! Watch this video to find out how.
Baking a cake is usually too much of a nuisance if you just want to eat some cake, but it need not be. Watch this video to learn how you can make an easy personal sized chocolate cake in the microwave in 5 minutes.
Chocolate coin cookies are one of the many delicious traditional foods associated with Hanukkah. This video will teach you how to back these tasty kosher desserts for your next Hanukkah party or just because they taste really, really dang good.
Barbecue chicken is an amazing main course for any meal, especially when you make your own BBQ sauce with it! All you need is your oven and some time and you can make a delicious, cheap meal very quickly! In this video you'll learn how she bakes the chicken, bastes them and makes her own barbecue sauce.
The perfect recipe to use if you want to make a soft layered cake. Forget about mixes that use preservatives or artificial coloring - this cake is the real deal, and even calls for actual shortening in the recipe. Now all you need is the frosting!
If you're planning on making a fire and don't have a big fire extinguisher laying around, you may think that you're all out of options. But if you've got a water bottle, some baking soda, vinegar, dish soap and a little water you're all set to go! This video shows you how to create a short term, home made fire extinguisher and also demonstrates its effectiveness.
Learn how to frost a cake with fondant frosting! Actually, it's not really frosting, it's more like applying or covering or coating a cake with fondant. This kind of frosting is the kind most typical of wedding cakes and specialty cakes. You can find fondant frosting at cake decoration shops all around and even at some crafts stores. This frosting adds an element of elegance to any cake!
It's the holiday season, which means that more likely than not your kitchen will soon be rife with the sweet, nostalgic wafts of cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar cookies, and gingerbread. If you're going to be baking this holiday season, why not amp up your Christmas cookies by learning how to decorate them from a pro?
The sweet potato is a healthy, versatile ingredient that you can use in many ways. In this video, you'll learn a variety of ways you can cook sweet potatoes, from baking to grilling. You'll also get some great suggestions on topping the sweet potatoes for added flavor.
Learn how to construct a tin-foil tent to prevent your polymer-clay sculptures from burning as they bake. While this tutorial is best suited for those with some familiarity of polymer clay sculpture, novice sculpters should be able to follow along given a little effort. For specifics, including step-by-step instructions, and to get started protecting your own PC creations, watch this video guide.
In this tutorial, learn how to make scrumptious pork tenderloin in your own oven. This loin is marinated in a spicy mustard paste and has an incredibly savory taste. Your host, Alex Guarnaschelli, will walk you through the entire process from A to Z. Enjoy!
In this tutorial, learn how to make one of Betty's favorite desserts of all time: Butterscotch Meringue Pie. This recipe is quite simple and absolutely delicious and if you choose not to make the pie crust, it can also serve as a great pudding! Follow along with Betty and serve up this special dessert for your family.
In this tutorial, learn how to make a sausage furtada - or over baked omelet - that is a delicious part of a healthy breakfast.
Can't get enough of gazing at awe at your Christmas tree? Formulate tiny edible replicas by baking cupcakes and then decorating them with buttercream icing that recalls evergreen sprigs.
We're betting that after baking this spaghetti and meatballs cupcake you'll accidentally bite into it expecting savory meat, spices, and palate-warming spaghetti.
Clay isn't just for baking into flimsy pots and dishes and the source of Color Me Mine's untampered physical power. In may cases, clay, like painting or drawing, can be molded into as many guises as the imagination will take you.
