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Angel Food Cupcakes with Vanilla Blueberry Sauce

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When I make desserts, I get a little crazy. Good kind of crazy. My creativity runs wild and before I know it, I’ve swirled blueberries inside angel food cake and topped it with vanilla icing and ….yes, more vanilla blueberry sauce. Total decadence.

My Angel Food Cupcakes with Vanilla Blueberry Sauce is an recipe idea that came to me during a daydream. I thought, “How can I combine light and airy cake with decadent blueberries?”

So when the boyfriend (who doesn’t eat desserts – uh, what the heck?) was away, I made a mess of the kitchen and started preparing the Vanilla Blueberry Sauce so it could cool before baking the angel food cake. Wanting to swirl the sauce through the cake batter, I knew the sauce couldn’t be added to the batter while the berries were warm.

Now, don’t be fooled. When I’m making a dessert on a work night, it’s a semi-homemade one. I simply used Betty Crocker’s Angel Food Cake box mix by combining 1 1/4 cups water with the dry mix and then added a few tablespoons of cooled Vanilla Blueberry Sauce to the cake mix. Then, I used a wooden skewer to pull the sauce throw the cake mix until swirls appeared. Using a ice cream scoop, I portioned wet cake mix into paper line cupcake baking pans.

If you fill the cupcake liners all the way to the top with the swirled batter, expect them to rise over the edge when you bake. Only fill the cupcake wells about 3/4 full.

Bake the angel food cupcakes at 350 degrees for 11 minutes (or until a toothpick pulls clean from their centers.) I prefer to remove the paper liners from the cupcakes prior to decorating and servings. Allow the cupcakes to completely cool before icing them with store-bought vanilla icing. Drizzle with more Vanilla Blueberry Sauce and top with a couple of fresh blueberries and garnish with a fresh sprig of mint.

Look at light beautiful glory! You might need a fork, but I just ate mine over the sink and let the oozy blueberry sauce drip down my arm. That’s my style.
Do you see that bottom swirl layer too?

This dessert would be a good one to make with kids and allow them to decorate their own cupcakes with the sauce and berries. You never know. Maybe they’ll even try the mint!

I grew that mint!

What dessert do you daydream about? Tell me in the comments below! I may just need to do a little recipe research on it.

12-14 small cupcakes

Angel Food Cupcakes with Vanilla Blueberry Sauce

Pillowy soft angel food cupcakes are the perfect platform for homemade vanilla blueberry sauce.

30 minPrep Time

11 minCook Time

40 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

  • Vanilla Blueberry Sauce Ingredients:
  • 1 cup fresh blueberries
  • 1/4 c. water
  • 1/4 c. sugar
  • 1 T. lemon juice
  • 1 T. cornstarch
  • 1 T. cold water
  • 1 T. vanilla extract
  • pinch lemon zest
  • Angel Food Cake: (Make according to box directions)

Instructions

  1. Combine the first 4 ingredients in a small saucepan and stir gently over medium heat. Do not allow it to boil.
  2. Meanwhile, stir together the cornstarch and cold water in a small ramekin.
  3. Add the cornstarch slurry to the blueberry mixture stirring slowly while it thickens.
  4. Stir for about 3 minutes.
  5. Remove from heat.
  6. Add vanilla and lemon zest.
  7. Pour into a small glass bowl and leave uncovered in the refrigerator to cool until used in the cake mix.
  8. Once cooled, add 2-3 tablespoons of the vanilla blueberry sauce into the already prepared wet angel food cake mix.
  9. Using a wooden skewer, pull the vanilla blueberry sauce through the cake batter until large swirls form.
  10. Using a ice cream scoop or large spoon, portion the finished cake mix into paper lined cupcake pans.
  11. Bake cupcakes at 350 degrees for 11 minutes.
  12. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before topping with vanilla icing and blueberry sauce.
  13. Garnish with more (fresh) berries and a sprig of mint.
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https://onedelightfullife.com/angel-food-cupcakes-vanilla-blueberry-sauce/

Nutrition

Calories

430 cal

Fat

6 g

Carbs

93 g

Protein

10 g
Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

How to Make Basic Barbecue Sauce

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One condiment this Kansas girl is never without is barbecue sauce. Well, except that one time when the ribs were ready and yep, I was out of the liquid gold. Not one to run to the store for only one condiment, I decided to make my own sauce.

Since it’s summer I tend to use quite quite a bit more barbecue sauce on burgers, ribs, and even inside lettuce wraps. So, in case you’re like me, here’s How to Make Basic Barbecue Sauce when the bottle stuff just won’t do or you’re out of it. This recipe is ketchup based and is more of a Kansas City barbecue sauce.

Barbecue is a staple food group when you live in Kansas. We smoked this rack of ribs on our Traeger Tailgater low and slow adding barbecue sauce at the end of cooking.

Once you’ve combined all of the barbecue sauce ingredients using a whisk in a saucepan, turn the pan to low heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. Be sure to stir often. Remove the pan from the burner and allow to cool before pouring the barbecue sauce into a Bell jar and sealing it. Your sauce will keep for about two weeks in the refrigerator.

While there are many kinds of barbecue sauce varieties from Carolina style vinegar based to Kansas City style tomato based, I prefer the later on everything from smoked pulled pork and ribs to cheddar cheeseburgers. I’ve also included the links to a few of my recipes that use can this sauce. You might enjoy: Grilled Blooming Onion with Barbecue Sauce , Barbecue Chicken Spring Rolls, and Ultimate Summer Hot Dog Toppings List. 

Making your own sauce is incredibly simple and takes very little time. Give it a try! Do you have a summer grill recipe that you love to sauce up? Share it in the comments section below.

Ingredients

  • 2 c. ketchup
  • 3 T. dark brown sugar
  • 3 T. cider vinegar
  • 2 T worcestershire
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper

Instructions

  1. Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan.
  2. Stir the ingredients well on a low simmer until fully incorporated.
  3. Simmer for about 15 minutes stirring often.
  4. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
  5. Pour sauce into glass jar and seal with a lid.
  6. Refrigerate jarred sauce.

Notes

You can also use smoked paprika instead of regular paprika. Want a more Memphis style sauce, add more vinegar and molasses for sweetener.

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https://onedelightfullife.com/how-to-make-basic-barbecue-sauce/

Dutch Oven Bolognese Sauce

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This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for information. 

Bolognese, or ragu, is a meaty tomato based pasta sauce that can be served on your preferred pasta. Often created with beef and some kind of sausage, it typically includes a tomato paste, chopped vegetables, and a liquid such as broth and/or wine.

When I began to make Cooking Light’s 2014 recipe for Beefy Bolognese over Penne Pasta, I quickly realized that I was out of red wine. The horror! So, I substituted more chicken stock in its place. Instead of using ground beef, I used ground turkey. The addition of chopped center cut bacon completed the meaty trilogy. Incorporating finely chopped onion, carrot, celery, tomatoes, and garlic elevated the flavors and was a sneaky way to include more vegetables into our dinner entree.

I think you’ll enjoy my Dutch Oven Bolognese Sauce, a healthier, alcohol-free version of the Cooking Light recipe. Thick in consistency, it can be layered on top of freshly cooked pasta or nestled between lasagne noodles. The longer it simmers on the stove, the better it tastes at dinner time.

Top with shredded parmesan (optional) and more flat leaf parsley.

I like to organize my ingredients before starting the cooking process so I diced all vegetables and opened cans and jars before turning on the stovetop. This kind of preparation makes cooking much easier and enjoyable. You don’t feel rushed in a panic when preparing multi-step recipes like this one.

I chopped the raw bacon into small pieces before adding them to a medium-high dutch oven pot.

After cooking the bacon for about five minutes or until it reaches the crispness you prefer, add the ground turkey and Italian sausage. Cook six minutes or until brown. You will have to continually stir it to get it to crumble and cook evenly.

The Italian sausage leaves just enough grease in the pan once browned to cook the vegetables in the following steps but not enough grease to ruin the recipe.

After the meat has cooked thoroughly, remove it from the pan and set aside. Immediately add in the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic to saute for about five minutes.

Chopped your vegetables so that they are all the same size to guarantee that they cook evenly.

Add tomato paste and sauté while mixing one minute. Add stock and bring to a boil. Cook one minute, scraping the pot to loosen any browned bits.

Make sure to stir frequently.

Return the beef mixture to the pot and stir in the chopped tomatoes, pepper and salt. Cover and reduce heat to low and cook one hour. Make sure to stir the sauce several times to prevent it from sticking to the pot. Then, cook pasta according to package directions. Once the hour has expired, spoon the bolognese on top of your pasta of choice. Garnish with shredded parmesan and flat leaf parsley.

4 cups

Dutch Oven Bolognese Sauce

An even lighter version of Cooking Light's meat bolognese sauce. The perfect slow simmer Sunday dinner!

30 minPrep Time

1 hr, 30 Cook Time

2 hrTotal Time

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Ingredients

  • 3 chopped center-cut bacon slices
  • 8 oz lean ground turkey
  • 4 oz ground Italian sausage
  • 1 1/2 c finely chopped onion
  • 1/2 c finely chopped carrot
  • 1 T. minced garlic
  • 1/4 c unsalted tomato paste
  • 1/2 c unsalted chicken stock
  • 1/3 c. dry red wine (I used more chicken stock)
  • 1 (14.5oz) can unsalted diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 8 oz. pasta
  • chopped fresh flat leaf parsley (optional)
  • 1 T. shredded parmasen (optional)

Instructions

  1. Place bacon in a Dutch oven or deep pot with a lid over medium-high heat.
  2. Saute 5 minutes until crisp.
  3. Add ground turkey and ground sausage to pan and cook 6 minutes or until browned.
  4. Stir until it crumbles.
  5. Remove meat mixture from pan.
  6. Add onion, carrot, celery, and garlic; saute 1 minute.
  7. Add stock and bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.
  8. Return meat mixture to pot; stir in tomatoes, pepper, and salt.
  9. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook 1 hour, stirring several times.
  10. Cook pasta according to box directions. Serve bolognese on top of pasta and top with optional parmesan and chopped parsley.
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https://onedelightfullife.com/dutch-oven-bolognese-sauce/

Nutrition

Calories

1957 cal

Fat

61 g

Carbs

121 g

Protein

94 g
Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

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