Cupcakes will always be one of my most favorite things to make, ever. Individual cakes? Come on. How can you not love your own little cake with icing and all? What about a Cherry Coke Cupcake? And how about let’s make it chocolate too! I think that sounds like a fantastic combination. This cupcake ended up quite cherry-y. A lot more than I had planned, but it was quite tasty. One I will definitely make again.

It wasn’t until I set out to make these cupcakes that I realized how hard it was to find Cherry Coke these days. I used to drink it a lot in high school and it was pretty easy to find. I had to settle on Wild Cherry Pepsi to make these, so they may come out a bit different for those who are actually able to find Cherry Coke. Oh and just a little secret, I also used DIET Pepsi Wild Cherry. This made these a little better on the calorie side. You know me, always making things a bit healthier. I also used egg white substitute instead of plain old egg whites, but feel free to use real egg whites.

The frosting on these babies is a very fluffy cherry frosting with BIG taste. I really enjoyed using something other than your everyday buttercream. Sometimes that can be so heavy.

Made with mainly egg whites, boiled and then whipped, this frosting was very easy to pipe onto the cupcakes and made for a very pretty color! It was fantastic. I’ll be using it again.

You most definitely don’t have to make yours as diet as I did. After all, you’re already making cupcakes. It’s just in my nature to get my food as low in calories as possible. Any little shortcuts that I can make without sacrificing taste makes me happy!

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Has it been one of those weeks? It’s Friday, so I hereby declare that it will get better. And to celebrate Friday in all it’s glory, I think that you need a nice and chocolately piece of cake. How about it? It’s almost impossible to refrain from eating chocolate cake if it’s in my house. This is the exact reason that I just don’t make it often! You start with a really small piece trying to be good. Next thing you know, you’ve eaten the entire cake in a matter of two days and you feel horrible. At least that’s how it goes around here. Either that or I’m having to fight my husband away from the cake every 5 minutes.

But sometimes you just need a good, gooey, yummy piece of chocolate cake to satisfy that sweet tooth or to make your day (or late night) a little better. What if I told you that you could have your cake, and eat it too? Eat it and really enjoy it without guilt and without having to look at an entire cake sitting around afterwards. Yeah, that’s my kinda cake. Enter Chocolate Cake in a Mug! This clever little invention has been around for years, but somehow I missed the boat and am just now hearing about it. Two servings of chocolatey, gooey, delicious, indulgent chocolate cake in a matter of minutes without guilt and without a cake staring at you the next day. Sign me up!

After trying out a variety of recipes (it’s research you know, so I tried a LOT of them), I found one that I think is the best! There are a bunch of different recipes for cake in a mug, many of which just didn’t do it for me. With this one, from beginning to end you know the best way to get this cake to come out perfect each time. I made it as healthy as possible and you can’t even tell. Top it with a little powdered sugar or whipped topping and you have yourself a SWEET treat at any hour. No really, you can even eat this as a midnight snack. I give you permission. This has become a favorite snack of mine and my husband’s.

Using your widest and biggest mug, start out by melting 3 tbsp of chocolate chips into a tbsp of butter. I used Fat Free I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter and it worked well! Mix that together well and add in 2 tbsp light or reduced fat sour cream (or substitute applesauce) and then 3 tbsp of skim milk. Then mix in 1 egg or egg substitute and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. It’s recommended that you use a fork and I agree that this makes it easier!

It’s going to look kinda like this once you’ve gotten all of that mixed together. Kinda runny because it’s missing the sugar and flour!

And finally, mix in 3 tbsp splenda and 4 tbsp flour. I used cake flour for a fluffier texture, but of course you can use what you have on hand.

In the microwave, it tends to rise up like this. Don’t worry, I haven’t had one escape from my mug yet.

How easy was that?

Recipe courtesy of Urban Domestic Diva

Now, take your cake and go watch Hot in Cleveland!

Do any of you watch that show? It’s my favorite!

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We had a fantastic weekend. Max and I went on our first date in about 10 months. Wow. I had forgotten how much I really enjoy adult conversation. Although, I also had forgotten how hard it is to not talk about our girls too. Hooray for uninterrupted conversations! My mother and step dad came for visit and I got to cook for them. My mom always cooks for me, so it’s nice to return the favor sometimes.

Here’s a recipe that I like making almost as much as I love eating.

Named for the fact that it’s light and airy, angel food cake was definitely named well.  I’ve always had a thing for it because  it just seems healthier than most other cakes. It in fact is! And there are only about a million different ways to make an angel food cake. Of course, you could start with a box mix and whip one up in no time. But who wants to do that when you can make your very own from scratch that taste waaaaay better? For years I’ve been purchasing angel food cakes at the store only to find out that the labor I was avoiding wasn’t so bad after all.

I do believe that an angel must have invented this cake, because it truly is heavenly! Budum chhh. 🙂

The main ingredient that creates its fluffy and white texture is the egg whites. Just be sure to have them at room temperature when you begin to whip them. Along with some cream of tartar, these babies will form peaks like the Grand Tetons. Next comes the shug-ah slowly added in by tablespoons.

My recipe is for Orange Angel Food Cake and the orange-y taste comes straight from the zested orange. No artificial extracts or flavors. Slowly fold in the flour and that’s it!

The result is a very incredible ever-so-slighty orange angel food cake that everyone will love. But believe me, they won’t need convincing. It’s just that good. And YOU will feel special for creating something so yummy that not even a store can beat. If you don’t like the taste of orange, you can always leave out the orange zest.

There is also a recipe there for a fruit compote to serve with this. I’ve made that along with this cake before and it’s yummy.

Recipe courtesy of Fitness Magazine.

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I’m so glad that you stumbled upon (or got dragged over here from Saving with Amy, I hear she’s pushy) this totally cool and delicious new blog, Pennywise Cook! This is a completely new venture for myself as I’ve spent the last 2.6 years sharing deals and coupons with folks. I still plan on doing so, but I also have another love and it’s time that I come clean with you. I’m a closet foodie. Yes it’s true and I’m not ashamed. I certainly don’t claim to be a professional or culinary genius. But I am a true southern girl that loves good food and telling others about it!

I’ve had my ups and downs with food. There were times when all I did was make hamburger helper and macaroni and cheese when my husband and I first got married. While my hubby would be just fine with that, we now have kiddos and it’s time to be healthy and teach our children to try new things. Whether that is actually accomplished is another story, but this is my journey to try! When I met my husband, he wouldn’t even eat mexican *gasp!* food. I know, what a weirdo huh? 🙂 I begged him one year for my birthday to go eat mexican and all it took was ONE bite for him to like it. Then I realized, one reason that most people (including the hubby) don’t like some foods is because they have never tried it! Textures and smells can be off putting, but with the proper presentation (and sneakiness), you can get people to try new things and actually like them!

You may know me from my other blog, Saving with Amy. Yep, I’m a frugal girl too! Actually, I’m probably one of the cheapest people you’ll meet. However, I love to save where I can so that I can spend in others! I love to shop and it wears my husband out. What girl doesn’t? Aside from sharing frugal and delicious meals, I also try to make them as healthy as possible. I splurge sometimes, but you’ll catch me making my meals as healthy as possible at all times.

My goal for this blog is to share with you recipes that I love, that I come across, and that I’ve tried. I’ll take my own pictures so you can see how the recipes “really” come out when made by an amateur like myself. My husband thinks I’m nuts because I love taking pictures of my food. I don’t think he knows that it’s only going to get worse. Shhh, we won’t tell him though.

So WELCOME and please give me your feedback, recipe ideas, or just say hi! I’m excited for what might come of this blog and getting to know you as we share our love of food.

Learn more about Amy on the About Me page.

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