Jalapeno Popper Pastry Pinwheels

Just in case you have some last minute party plans pop up unexpectedly, you'll want to keep this recipe handy. I came up with this at the very last minute possible, when I needed to bring an appetizer to a BBQ. These disappeared FAST. This is a very quick & easy recipe, and the finished product is sure to please. Plus, you get to be the one that shows up at the party with "Jalapeno Popper Pastry Pinwheels". That sounds way more exciting than "I brought the green bean casserole", in my humble opinion.

Jalapeno Popper Pastry Pinwheels...with tequila!

Pin It 

Plus, it has tequila - and I find that always to be a selling point. The tequila adds just enough moisture so that the cream cheese yields and everything mixes together well, but due to the alcohol content, this extra moisture will evaporate pretty quickly in the oven. It will leave behind some tequila flavor, but it won't make your filling so runny that it melts and dribbles out of your beautiful little pastry rolls, and all over your oven. The salt provides all the seasoning you need (simple is good, in this case). If you're concerned about these being too spicey, you could use green chiles instead of jalapenos, or half-and-half.

Strawberry Daiquiri Cake

Ah, Spring...A time for renewal and new beginnings.  I have always loved Fall, but Spring holds a very close second for me.  I love how my backyard metamorphoses beginning, oh, around the first of February.  My flowers and trees seem to bloom in sync with one another, providing me some new bloom with the each passing month.  This month, it's my red bud tree, tulips and roses.  

Ah, Spring...

Spring also means the beginning of strawberry season in Northern California.  Starting very soon, the local farmer's markets will have the first crops of strawberries.  We're very lucky in the Sacramento area to have a great selection of farmer's markets and local strawberry stands.  Nothing seems to say Spring to me like a great dessert made with strawberries.

And, although this cake uses frozen strawberries for the puree base (you could use fresh, of course), the flavor is spot-on and nicely sweet.  I opted for using the rose frosting pattern for this cake, as I've done for my pistachio and orange almond cakes.  Actually, it's a very easy pattern with great show appeal.  Nicely ties into the roses blooming in my back yard, too.  I love that...

I hope you're enjoying your Spring, wherever that may be...Even in those cooler climates where flowers are just coming up.  

And, just think, you can wear all your white shoes now! *wink* 

Pin It

Whiskey Fig Cupcakes

Truly inspired by a fab artisan cocktail creation by Jason Poole at the Pour House in Sacramento.  If you've been reading BIWB for a while, you may remember our first trip to Pour House.  That's when we sampled for the very first time, Tullamore D.E.W. with Tim Herlihy the brand's ambassador.  

We were so impressed with the offerings that we returned a few months later for Girls' Night.  Our second visit included sampling the bar and dinner menus as well as a few more classic cocktail creations.  Jason describes their approach as "quick craft" where top quality ingredients are used to create unique and fully flavored cocktails. 

My first cocktail of choice: the Whiskey Fig.  Duh.  One sip: I was "in".  

Photograph courtesy of Sacramento Magazine.

Next I tried a drink with ginger and whiskey...Sold yet again.  I would have sampled more, but it was a school night.  Wait, no, I had work the next day...That's right...Work.  

I knew that once I had the time I would be creating a BIWB treat to showcase Jason's creation of whiskey and fig preserves.  Lucky for me, I had a good amount of Tullamore on hand as well as some fig preserves from my coworker.  Score!

These cupcakes are moist.  No, really, they are moist.  They have a great spiced fig flavor with warm caramel from the Tullamore.  On top, a nice sweet finish with the honey whiskey fig buttercream.  And, as the true baker that I've become, I marveled at the rise of these lovelies.  Please check out the pics showing how much these babies topped the pan...Truly a thing to behold.

They say that whiskey is enjoyed by more and more women today.  I can attest to that as a fact...I'm not just baking with this stuff.  No ma'am.  I'm also enjoying a cocktail (or two)!  

Pin It