I live in Southern California, and yes it might be a little chilly at night sometimes, but for the most part it heats up during the day. It’s not uncommon for the heat to reach up to 85 degrees on any given day in February or March so the paleta making has started to take course. Plus my son is obsessed with paletas so it’s a great way to sneak fruit that he won’t normally eat into his diet. Here is my Melon Raspberry Paletas for you to enjoy when ever mother nature decides it’s going to be a hot day.

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It’s breakfast time again here at Presley’s Pantry.  I promise to stop with the breakfast posts for a little while after this one.  I use to dislike Oatmeal with a fierce passion.  I’ll just say it out loud… I LOVE OATMEAL now (click over to Babble for the whole story on my sudden love with oatmeal).  For my nearest and dearest who are snickering at that remark calling me a hypocrite through a whisper in their teeth, I have declared a change of heart.  Now when I open my eyes in the a.m. I can’t wait to get my hands on a bowl.  I’m still playing around with different combos of steel cut love, but here is one I have been quite pleased with lately.  Enjoy it!

Serves: 4

Ingredients for Cherry Hazelnut Farro Oatmeal:

• 5 – cups water
• 1 – Melissa’s Produce vanilla bean pod (split down the middle)
• 1 – cinnamon stick
• 1 – cup steel cut oatmeal
• 1/2 – cup Melissa’s Produce farro
• 1/3 – cup brown sugar
• 1/3 – cup Melissa’s Produce hazelnuts (chopped)
• 1/2 – cup Melissa’s Produce cherries (pitted and cut in half)
• 1 – cup milk or 1/2 & 1/2
• Cherry jam (optional)

1. In a pot over a medium flame add water, vanilla bean pod, and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil.
2. Add in oatmeal and farro, give it a good stir and bring to a boil.
3. Once oatmeal/farro are boiling, cover pot with a lid and lower the flame to a simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes.
4. Remove from flame and let sit for 5 minutes.
5. Serve hot in a bowl and garnish with brown sugar, hazelnuts, cherries, and milk. Add cherry jam if you like things extra sweet.
6. Enjoy.

Some things are sooooo good, they should only come in small bites.  It leaves you wanting more but gives you the opportunity to nibble on a delectable piece of sweetness and not have the guilt that goes along with eating a huge piece of dessert. These beyond heavenly cherry almond mini-cakes are in a category all their own, and could be enjoyed after dinner as a mini dessert or perfect for a classroom of children. ENJOY!!!!!!

Ingredients for Cherry Almond Mini-Cakes:

• 10 – tablespoons of butter
• 7 – ounces of almond paste
• 1 – cup sugar
• 1- cup flour
• 1/2 – teaspoon kosher salt
• 5 – egg whites
• 1 – teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 – teaspoon almond extract
• 32 – Melissa’s Produce cherries (pitted)
• 32 – mini cupcake holders

Directions:

1. In a small sauce pan over a low flame melt butter. Stir every so often until butter is slightly browned. Remove from heat and place to the side to cool for 15 minutes.
2. In a mixer add almond paste and mix on medium speed to break up paste for 5 minutes.
3. In a medium bowl add sugar, flour and salt and mix together. then add to the almond paste and continue to mix for 3 minutes. Until most of almond paste is incorporated. If you see that some pieces of almond paste are much bigger then others. Stop the mixer and break them up with your hands, by grinding your fingers together to form small grains of almond paste.
4. Then pour browned butter into almond paste flour mixture, and mix till combined.
5. Add in egg whites, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Mix on medium for 3 minutes. Then turn mixer off and let dough rest for 30 minutes.
6. Preheat the oven for 400 degrees fahrenheit. Line mini cupcake tins with paper liners and set to the side. Pit the cherries and set to the side.
7. Fill each paper liner with 1 tablespoon of almond paste batter, then stick a cherry in the middle of each cup. 
8. Bake for 14 minutes. Then remove from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes.
9. ENJOY!

Ever fall hopelessly head over heels in love with flan?  The type of love where you have tunnel vision, and all your surroundings just fade to black because all you could think about is your flan?  I had it bad, I was MAD…. as in madly smitten with the sweet and salty cajeta drenched chocolate flan that I had to do something grandiose as a gesture of my amor.  I made this video so lovers around the world could unite and  find themselves in the arms of a delicious flan!  HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

Ingredients for Salted Cajeta Chocolate Flan:

• Non- stick baking spray
• 1/2 – cup cajeta
• 1 – 7.6 ounce Nestle’s Media Crema
• 12 – ounce semisweet chocolate chips
• 5 – large eggs
• 4 – ounces of cream cheese (room temperature)
• 1 – 14 ounce can of  Nestle’s La Lechera Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 1 – 12 ounce can of evaporated milk
• 1 – tablespoon vanilla
• sea salt to taste

Directions:

1. Spray a 12 cup budnt pan with non stick spray.
2. Pour cajeta evenly into bundt pan. Set to the side.
3. In a medium sauce pan over a medium flame add Media Crema and chocolate chips and stir until completely melted and smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 15 minutes.
4. Add eggs, cream cheese, La Lechera, evaporated milk, and vanilla to a blender. Blend till smooth.  Then add in the chocolate mixture and blend till combined.
5.  Pour flan mixture over the cajeta filled bundt pan.
6. Cover the bundt pan with a piece of aluminum foil and place inside a large pyrex baking dish.  Pour hot water into the pyrex baking dish to fill up half way.
7. Then place the baking dish into the oven and bake for 1 hour.
8. Once out of the oven, remove from water bath and uncover to allow cooling.  Run a small knife around the edge to ensure it from sticking.
9. Let the flan rest for two hours then flip it over onto a plate.  Slowly lift pan up away from plate.
10. Place in the fridge for 5 hours or overnight.
11. Sprinkle top with sea salt right before serving.
12. ENJOY!

Thank you with my entire heart and gratitude to my most awesome crew! I sincerely love you guys big.

Directors:  Mando Lopez and James Ford

Director of Photography:  Tony Molina

Producer:  Lacey Reilly

 Editor:  James Ford

Set Design:  Mando Lopez

On-set morale booster: Kristen Warren

Sound:  Adriana Sanchez

Equipment: Paul Hopkins

Opening Music: Anger Bros

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Nestle, the recipe and opinions are completely my own. 

It’s not everyday that I can say my recipes are in a new free EBOOK. Nor is it everyday that I get to celebrate CHOCOLATE with two of my dearest friends who love Chocolate as much as I do. Partners in chocolate obsession: Ericka Sanchez from Nibbles and Feasts, and Vianney Rodriguez from Sweet Life. Each one of us contributed 3 recipes (mine are pictured above) find all 9 delicious chocolate recipes here!   HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!!!!!!

Everyone is juicing these days, and I get it, it’s the new year and people are looking to be healthy and conscious of their vitamin consumption.  The other day after having a ginger- carrot-apple juice, I looked at the empty container and thought that these flavors would taste perfect in a cake.  Also, I could get my son to eat them and I could act like I’m thriving by eating a vitamin filled cake.  I added coconut and pecans to the equation and a “healthy” cake was born!

Enjoy!

Ingredients for Ginger Carrot Apple Cakes:

•  2 – cups sugar
• 3 – eggs
• 1 1/2 – cups vegetable oil
• 1/4 – cup carrot juice
• 1 – tablespoon ginger paste (or finely minced ginger)
• 1 – tablespoon vanilla
• 3 – cups flour
• 1 – teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 – teaspoon salt
• 1 – tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 2 – cups apple (peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces)
• 1 – cup shredded coconut
• 1 1/4 – cups grated carrot
• 1 – cup chopped pecans

Sauce:

• 1 – stick butter
• 1 1/4 – cups sugar
• 3/4 – cup buttermilk
• 3/4 – teaspoon baking soda

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Spray a 2 cup capacity each mini bundt pan with a non stick baking spray. Set to the side.
3. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, eggs, oil, carrot juice, ginger, and vanilla. Mix for 5 minutes until smooth.
4. Then add in flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon mix well.
5. Fold apples, coconut, carrots and pecans into batter. Mix until combined.
6. Pour 1 1/2 cups of  batter into each prepared bundt pan and bake until a tester comes out clean, about 45 to 50 minutes.
7. About 10 minutes before the cake is done, make the sauce: Melt the butter in a small pot, stir in the sugar, buttermilk, and baking soda, and bring to a good rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute.
8. Pour the sauce over the hot cake in the pan as soon as you remove it from the oven. 
9. Let stand 1 hour, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.
10. ENJOY!

A friend of mine said these cupcakes should be Illegal.  I made them last minute to take to a belated birthday dinner for a small group of people.  I put them on a blue plate since blue and brown are one of my favorite color combos, it reminds me of the Buster Brown shoe logo, kinda old fashioned.  My first bite in I waited for an over abundance of sugar, but was quickly excited that the brownie was just the right amount of sweet and the oreo balanced it out to perfection.

I realized these cupcakes were dangerous and luscious and I secretly hoped that everyone wouldn’t eat them up so I could have them all.  They did though….

CURSES!

Ingredients for Oreo Nutella Brownie Cupcakes:

• 1/4 stick butter
• 1 – cup sugar
• 3 – eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 – 13 ounce jar of Nutella
• 1 – cup flour
• 16 – oreo cookies

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
In a mixer add butter and sugar and mix till creamy for about 5 minutes.

Add in eggs and vanilla, and mix till frothy.  About 4 minutes.

Add in Nutella and mix until smooth.

Add in flour and mix till smooth.  Now to start filling the cups.  Add one tablespoon of brownie mixture to the bottom of each cupcake liner.

Top with an Oreo cookie.

Top oreo cookie with another tablespoon of brownie mixture.  Push batter to the edge of cup so it could encase oreo cookie completely.

Place in the oven for 20 minutes.  Enjoy warm or at room temperature.

Makes 16 cupcakes.