Mozzerella and Tomato Focaccia

I love homemade bread but unfortunately I don't make it very often, like maybe only once or twice a year! Another food blog I follow, see here, makes a lot of homemade bread (she's where I got the yummy Pretzel Bread). Kathleen now sells her homemade creations and every time I see picture of those delightful carbs I cannot stop thinking about them and craving fresh homemade bread!!

I love focaccia bread so this mozzarella and tomato bread was on the top of my list. I think it looks like a pizza but it's so much more hearty and filling! This is perfect for winter time and will go great with some warm winter soup.

Mozzarella and Tomato Focaccia Bread
(adapted from Allrecipes.com)

• 1 Tbsp honey
• 2 cups warm water
• 1 Tbsp active dry yeast
• 1 Tbsp kosher salt
• 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1 Tbsp fresh chopped basil
• 5 cups all-purpose flour, or as needed
• 3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Topping

• 1 Tbsp fresh chopped rosemary
• 1 Tbsp fresh chopped basil
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 2 small-medium tomato
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Dissolve honey in the warm water in a large bowl, then sprinkle yeast over the top. Let stand for 5 minutes until the yeast softens and begins to foam. Stir in 1 tablespoon of salt, 1 tablespoon olive oil, onions, and 5 cups of flour until the dough comes together. Knead on a well floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 20 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 415 degrees F 
3. Place dough onto oiled 9x13in baking pan, and flatten to cover the whole pan evenly. Use the tips of your fingers to make indentations all over the dough spaced about 1 inch apart. Drizzle the focaccia with 3 tablespoons olive oil, then sprinkle rosemary, basil's, Parmesan cheese, tomato, mozzarella cheese, and remaining 1 tablespoon of kosher salt over the top. Let rise for 10 minutes
4. Bake in preheated oven 20 minutes until golden brown.

Blueberry basil Cheesecake Cupcakes Oh My!

Yup, that's right blueberry AND basil cheesecake in a cupcake form! That's what I thought too. But these are surprisingly SOOOOOO good!! I made them last week for a "going away potluck" party at work. This recipe made 48 cupcakes!! With knowing that, I still didn't cut it in half, which I debated doing since I wasn't sure how they were going to taste, and I'm so glad I didn't! Because they are DELICIOUS! I took just over half the batch to work and left with only a hand full. I got rave reviews from everyone at work. I believe my manager ate 3 and one of my co-workers ate 4!! You can taste the basil but it blends in nicely with blueberry and cream cheese. Definitely will make these again!

Blueberry Basil Cheesecake Cupcakes Ingredients:

The Cake

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup graham crackers, ground in a food processor
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1.5 cup regular sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 4 eggs, room temperature
• 8 oz. sour cream, room temperature
• 1 Tbsp vanilla
  

Blueberry Basil Filling

• 1 can of Blueberry Pie filling
• 1 Tbsp ground basil
  

Cream Cheese Filling

• 16 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 Tbsp vanilla
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  

Blueberry Basil Whipped Topping

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 4 Tbsp powdered sugar
• 4 Tbsp Blueberry Basil Filling
  

For the Blueberry Basil Filling: Purée the blueberry pie filling and ground basil in a food processor. Set aside.

For the cake: Combine flour, salt, baking soda, and ground graham crackers in a large bowl and stir with a wire whisk until combined. Set aside. Cream both sugars and butter with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time to the creamed mixture, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture to the wet ingredients in three additions, alternating with the sour cream in two additions and ending with the flour mixture. Mix well with each addition. Add vanilla and mix well. Set aside.

For the cream cheese filling: In another bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the cream cheese filling and mix until thoroughly combined.

For the Blueberry Basil Whipped Topping (You can make this while the cupcakes are cooling): Beat whipping cream and powdered sugar in a chilled mixing bowl until stiff peaks form. Add Blueberry Basil Filling until combined. And throw in some extra ground basil if you want the taste stronger.

Assembly: Fill each baking cup about halfway. Spread a spoonful of the blueberry basil filling on top. Spoon some of the cream cheese filling on the top of that so that they are filled about 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-18 minutes. Cool. Top with Blueberry Basil Whipped Topping and whole blueberries, if desired.

Note: You can keep some untopped cupcakes refrigerated. Then, heat them up a little and add the cold blueberry basil whipped topping when ready to eat.

Naked Cupcakes

Deliciously topped cupcakes :)

Ready to be eaten cupcakes!