chocolate and strawberry creme . . . Valentine S'mores

Our kids love PEEPS. Who doesn't, I guess? 

I grew up enjoying the simple bird PEEPS that appeared in stores just before Easter. Do you remember them, too?  

Over the years, I've enjoyed watching them transform from the simple, cute birds to include various shapes and flavors. My mind whirls with ideas when I see them make their debut around the holidays.

So when I saw these adorable PEEP hearts in the market over the weekend, I felt inspired to make Chocolate Strawberry Creme S'mores with my little ones. We had so much fun! 

 

Ingredients

.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .

package of Strawberry Creme PEEPS

Chocolate bar 

(Since I planned on eating them too, I bought GOOD chocolate!)

Chocolate graham crackers

Preparation

.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .

Preheat oven to BROIL

Assemble S'mores

Place S'mores on a cookie sheet and broil on a high shelf for 1-2 minutes, or until golden brown

Crack your oven door so that you can watch them!

Enjoy!

The dark chocolate and chocolate graham cracker make this S'more special and unique . . . but it's the Strawberry Creme PEEPS that make this fun dessert extra special with its creamy heart topping that pops with hints of strawberry candy. We loved them! 

I can't wait to see what kind of PEEPS we find in stores this Spring!

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Simply Suzannes at Home 

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mini angel food cakes

Angel food cake reminds me of my dad.

It was his favorite cake ~ of all time. 

My mom baked him an angel food cake from scratch, at least once a month. She made a simple glaze for it too . . . powdered sugar and cream, I think.  

It's about that time of year when my family and I gather over a big meal at Buca di Beppo's to share in one another's company, laughter, and to remember my dad . . . all over yummy food and amazing desserts! 

With every passing year, I plan an activity, or share a dessert, that reminds us of our dad.

His favorite candy was See's Divinity. I thought I would tackle the candy-making challenge last year, and made home-made divinity . . . and packaged the candy for each of my siblings and our mom.  It was a hit!

So when I found these adorable MINI angel food cake pans a few months ago, I thought it would be neat to bake mini angel food cakes in honor of my dad for this year's memory celebration.  
    

 

My mom didn't stray much from recipes, so I thought I would bake these lightly sweet cakes with a twist. My dad loved coconut . . .  so I added coconut water to the recipe . . . and sprinkled coconut on them as well.  
  

I'm a traditionalist when it comes to baking desserts from scratch. 

BUT . . . I was told that BOXED angel food mix produces a slightly sweeter cake ~ compared to a cake made from scratch. 

If you've ever had angel food cake, then you know that it's texture is ever so soft ~ like clouds ~ and is mildly sweet. Some would say that it needs to be sweeter. If that's your preference, then preparing the box mix is for YOU.

I made both . . . one from a BOX mix . . . and one from scratch (Paula Deen's recipe). I thought both were good. There's something special about making it from scratch . . . it just makes me smile; but for ease . . . the box mix is just fine.

In honor of my dad, I will make mini angel food cakes for my siblings and mom . . . from scratch. 

For those looking for a quick and easy recipe, then I recommend the one below.

And if you can't find coconut water at your local market, then follow the directions on the box . . . and add 1 teaspoon of coconut extract.

For fun, I attached a polka dot flower sticker to a paper straw . . . and nestled it into the cake! So pretty!

 Ingredients

Cake

1 (16-ounce) box angel food cake mix

2/3 cup coconut water

Marshmallow Frosting

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

2 egg whites

1/4 cup marshmallow cream

1/2 cup coconut flakes, for decorating 

Preparation

For the cake 
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Beat together the cake mix with coconut water. Fill 2 (6-count) mini angel food can pans halfway with batter. Bake until puffed, golden brown, and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 12 to 15 minutes. Invert the pans onto wire cooling racks and cool completely before removing from the pans.

for the frosting

Bring 2 cups water to a simmer in a medium saucepan.

In a large glass bowl that will fit over the saucepan  combine 1/4 cup water, sugar, corn syrup, cream of tartar, and egg whites. Place on top of the saucepan and beat for 7 minutes using an electric hand mixer. The frosting will be smooth, shiny, and form peaks when the mixer is lifted from the bowl. Remove from the heat and slowly beat in the marshmallow cream.

Frost each cake with the icing and sprinkle with coconut flakes.
To make colored coconut flakes, add 2 drops of food coloring to 2 cups of coconut flakes and stir until coconut flakes have smoothly and completely changed color.

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Simply Suzannes at Home

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