Bake Up Summer Sweets Contest

Nicole — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 21:42:55 +0000

Summer is just around the corner, and we are excited about the sweet treats that are perfect for our favorite season. Share your favorite summer sweets recipe for a chance to win a KitchenAid Mixer ! Emily Schuman, Beso’s Style Director, will select the winner and bake up the winning recipe. The grand prize winner will be featured on the Beso Blog in June. If the baker in you needs the best mixer on the market, enter now and share your winning recipe with us! Entry ends May 31, 2010.

Strawberry Mirengue Buttercream Frosting

Makes 5 cups

4 large egg whites
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into tablespoons
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) strawberry jam, pureed in a food processor

Directions

1. In the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer set over a saucepan of simmering water, combine egg whites and sugar. Cook, whisking constantly, until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm to the touch (about 160 degrees).

2. Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat the egg-white mixture on high speed until it holds stiff (but not dry) peaks. Continue beating until the mixture is fluffy and cooled, about 6 minutes.

3. Switch to the paddle attachment. With mixer on medium-low speed, add butter several tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. (If frosting appears to separate after all the butter has been added, beat on medium-high speed until smooth again, 3 to 5 minutes more.) Beat in vanilla. Beat on Lowest speed to eliminate any air bubbles, about 2 minutes. Stir in strawberry jam with a rubber spatula until frosting is smooth. Frost cupcakes and top with your favorite summer fruit.

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Submit your recipe on the blog.

Contest Rules

My favorite summer dessert resolves around fresh ingredients. I have so many wonderful memories that involve picking berries and incorporating them into a sweet dessert and these vanilla cupcakes with a strawberry meringue buttercream frosting certainly top my list. See my recipe below for strawberry meringue buttercream frosting. It’s best paired with fresh berries and white cake.

See more of Emily’s favorite products for living with style.

Kitchen Mixers

Top Chef — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 12:55:46 +0000

Lately, I’ve been shopping commercial-quality countertop kitchen mixers looking for an unbeatable deal. In fact, every time I use my hand held mixer to whip something up, I usually mumble something under my breath about how I haven’t found one yet.

I really like the look of the classic KitchenAid countertop mixers,like the one above. As with other high-end models, there are so many attachments available for KitchenAid mixers, that they really are more than a mixer. For example, this model comes with a wire whip, a flat beater, and a dough hook, but you can also purchase a grain mill, a food grinder, a pasta maker, a roto-slicer…and the list goes on an on.

The classic KitchenAid countertop mixer runs around $400, and the attachments I’ve priced run between $50 and $100 each. You could easily end up with a sizeable investment in one of these mixers, especially if you purchased a few attachments. But, for those who cook a lot, perhaps the one-time purchase of something that will do the work of many small appliances, and that will last for decades is more sensible than going through several cheaper models.

Cooking and Blogging » KitchenAid mixer

Bake Up Summer Sweets Contest

Strawberry Mirengue Buttercream Frosting

Stock your kitchen with baking tools from all of your favorite stores

Kitchen Mixers