A major announcement and Red Velvet Cupcakes!

As of RIGHT NOW, Never Bashful with Butter- Ooh you tasty little things...

HAS MOVED!

Thats right folks.

I finally decided to get my own website!

I spent the entire week last week creating it, making banners, buttons, and archiving not only ALL of the old posts from this blog, but also archiving ALL of the old posts on A_Muffin_Story, my original food blog, so the archives actually include more posts than available here!

Don't you worry, I won't be deleting this blog just yet. I won't be updating it, however. If you want to catch all the new stories, photos, recipes and fun, you'll have to check out my NEW home-

Http://neverbashfulwithbutter.com
or

If you want to go straight to Ooh you tasty little things, the food blog-

Http://neverbashfulwithbutter.com/food

If you're one of the many people reading this via syndicated livejournal, this button is for you-


Click on it and you can add the new feed to your friendslist.

This was a major change that needed to happen. Photo resizing and general issues with blogger's updating format just frustrated me too much, PLUS this way, I can do things like create a page for downloadable recipe cards (a project I'm working on this month), so those of you who want to just print out the recipes can do so with a mouse click.

Anywho, Thats about it.

Oh, and you know you want to check out the new blog RIGHT NOW, because I just updated it.


...Or don't you like Red Velvet?

*smile*

-A.

RING RING RING RING RING- Banana phone... er, Banana chocolate pudding.

*EDIT*

I had it pointed out to me this morning that my vegan pudding recipe is the same as one posted on a PETA website. I was not aware of this, and insist it is purely an awkward coincidence. I’m sorry if this has offended anyone (as it has apparently offended this commenter, who accuses me of copying it) but I didn’t mean to cause any problems. Here is a link to the PETA website where the same recipe exists- *CLICKY*

I would, however, just like to make note that also on this “recipe” site, there is a “recipe” for vegan grilled cheese sandwiches. I hardly think that anyone who’s ever said they created a recipe for vegan grilled cheese should be accused of stealing it from this website. The truth is, the internet is a big place. With so few ingredients, someone is bound to have an identical recipe, somewhere.

Unfortunately, if you've ever had the *ahem* pleasure, of hearing the Banana phone song, you're probably wanting to kill me right now, because it's already gotten stuck in your head.

Sorry.

Anywho,
Rather than sit and discuss at length the social ramifications of this song... I'll talk about something else.

Bananas are seriously one of the best fruits on the planet, aren't they?

You can use them as a base for smoothies, fruit soups, ice cream, puddings, or you could just eat them by themselves.

You can use them as part of a dessert, or a savoury dish. They're just that delicious.

I have always loved bananas. I even nicknamed my little sister "Nanner Chunk"... Though there was a period of time there where she REALLY didn't like that nickname, at 14 years old (oh god I'm old), she's come around to where she appreciates her unique nickname.

For me, a really classic pairing for bananas, is chocolate.

Back when I was a kid, I had this totally awesome kids cookbook with all sorts of neato kid friendly recipes in it. This cookbook really was one of those things that really sparked my interest in cooking. It was called "Kids Cooking: A very slightly messy manual"

Inside the book, it had a recipe for "Frozen bananoids" which were frozen, peeled bananas on a stick, dipped in melted chocolate and then rolled in all sorts of things from M&M's to toasted coconut.

I LOVED THIS RECIPE.

Not only could I make it with very little effort or work (gimme a break, I had a hard time concentrating as a child) but who doesn't love a little fruit with their candy? Chocolate, Candy sprinkles and a little banana? Delicious.

...though really, I know one of the biggest reasons I loved this recipe was that there were little cartoon Penguins on the page around the recipe, and I love penguins. This recipe had the penguin seal of approval, and so it gained mine as well.

Truth be told, I don't think I made very many of the other recipes in the cookbook. My mom sort of didn't like me being in the kitchen because I had a tendency to make messes and either clean them up at the last second, or not clean them up at all.

So making brownies wasn't exactly something I did very often.

But she was totally cool with me freezing bananas. I don't think she really was very fond of me dipping them in chocolate, but I tried to keep that part as under wraps as possible. Sneaky frozen bananoids was the name of the game.

Anywho, since then, I've done a lot of banana/chocolate combos. Mostly banana and Nutella sandwiches (OH DEAR GOD YES), but also banana and melted chocolate, or banana and chocolate ice cream.

And of course, today's treat, Banana Chocolate pudding.

... I couldn't pass up the chance to make a vegan version of it. Ever since last year when I really found that chocolate and tofu were really a tasty combo, I've played around with it, adding different things... and after much trial and error, I've created a really delicious Vegan pudding.


Vegan Chocolate Banana Pudding recipe-

1 banana
2 cups silken (soft) tofu
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup sugar

Process in a blender or food processor until smooth. Chill for at least one hour before serving. Top with Dried Banana Chips.

Its also super easy to make, which is awesome.

So I made myself a tasty little nostalgic snack, that, while not quite as rich as a chocolate dipped frozen banana, still tastes really good.

-A.

Mini chocolate tortes- AKA what I would have made for Valentines day.

There are very few times where I will pass up the chance to make baked goods.

Especially for a holiday, and especially for my husband.
This year, however, the alien flu got me, and I was so sick on Valentines day, I passed out on the couch and when I did come to, I was barely able to enjoy the special dinner that my wonderful husband had prepared for the two of us.

So since I wasn't up to it on the 14th, Tonight I made my husband and I a special dessert.

Mini chocolate tortes filled with cocoa cream cheese, with a little drizzle of chocolate syrup, a dollop of whipped cream and a strawberry.


They were super simple to make, and really pretty tasty.

Also, they're mini, so if you're like me, and when faced with a whole chocolate cake, you feel the urge to shove the entire thing in your mouth, swallow, and smile as though no one noticed your little diet indiscretion, its handy for portion control. *smile*
I am super stoked about how huge and pretty this latest batch of strawberries at the supermarket. They're still not as tasty as Oregon strawberries, but they'll do until summertime.

I used THIS recipe for Chocolate cake (note, I did not use the glaze or peppermint filling recipes)

Instead of using round cake pans, I used 2 half sheet jelly roll pans that I buttered and floured. Only pour in about half an inch of cake batter, then bake at 350 for about 5 minutes. Check with a toothpick to make sure its done, allow to fully cool before cutting. (This recipe yielded about 10 mini tortes. I haven't assembled all of them, but I plan on making them half sized, 2 layers instead of 3+ heart topper, and having my husband bring them to work on Monday.)

The chocolate cream cheese filling is simple, but will make enough to fill quite a few mini tortes, or fill a large cake. It freezes well, and if kept in an airtight container, will keep for a few months in the freezer.

You'll need-

1 8oz package of cream cheese
1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Tablespoons butter, softened
1 lb powdered sugar
About 1/2 cup whipping cream

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and cream cheese until fluffy.
Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Add the powdered sugar while the mixer is on low speed. Add cocoa powder.
At this point, the mixture will be crumbly. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Add the whipping cream, slowly, while the mixer is on low speed. As the mixture begins to gather together and form a mass, turn up the speed to medium. You may need a little more or a little less whipping cream to achieve this. If you do not have whipping cream, you can use milk, but you'll need a lot less of it, and the filling will not be as fluffy. Still tasty though. *smile*

Once it starts looking like a creamy batch of lightly chocolate flavoured filling, scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to be sure there are no chunks of cream cheese that are not mixed in. Beat on medium high or high for about a minute or so, until fluffy. Spoon into ziploc bags and chill until ready to use.

To assemble the tortes, just use a 3inch round cookie cutter to cut layers of cake, and pipe a little of the filling between each layer. Plate with chocolate syrup, whipped cream and a strawberry, and there you go!

If you don't have a cookie cutter, just cut squares with a sharp knife. Or you can use a different shape cookie cutter if you like! have fun with it!

In the meantime- More photos!



If you missed the link above, I really do recommend reading my true story of how I ate an entire German cake as a small child. Heh. Its good reading!

-A.

I swear I'm still alive.

Hey there everyone.

It has occurred to me that I should probably leave a little note on here explaining why I haven't updated in about 20 days now. No, I'm not dead, and although I've been having some issues with things lately, I haven't "quit" the blogging business.

I've just been really sick lately. I suffered through the first half of it, posting a couple times, but the flu hit me pretty hard after my last food post on here, and I really haven't been off the couch much since, let alone making anything in the kitchen.

I'm feeling much better this week. I still sound like death warmed over, and the coughing has started to lessen. Right now my biggest problem is that I sucked on too many cough drops, and burnt my tongue on them! I seriously can't taste anything right now. Hence, I haven't been doing much in the way of culinary creativity.

I promise I'll start posting again soon. I just need this time to get all the way better before I start making food again. Thank you to those of you who have expressed concern. I appreciate it.

-A.

Let me get this straight, you want a baby on your Mardi Gras cake?

Mardi gras is Tuesday February 5th this year!

It was one of my very first work days at this particular bakery in town, and a customer asked if we sold king cakes. Considering myself a big fan of the baked good, I was totally surprised that there was a form of cake that I hadn't heard of before, so when she said "king cake" I had no idea what she was talking about. I asked the customer for a description, but it didn't sound like she had much of an idea either, saying instead that it was a request made by someone else, and she was just shopping.

At first, no one on my shift even KNEW what a King cake was. A few of my co-workers thought maybe it was "king sized" meaning it was just a really large cake, and another one thought maybe it was like a grooms cake. After a few hours, we just forgot about it and moved on.

I don't think I ever thought about a king cake for another year or so... That was when Hurricane Katrina hit.

I remember hearing about hurricane Katrina, and just feeling powerless. I didn't know anyone from any of the areas affected by hurricane Katrina, but still. I donated to the charities, I led a fundraiser at my work. Luckily no one I knew was affected, but we all just felt so bad for those who were.

About three months after Katrina came and went, I gained two new coworkers. Sisters that relocated from Louisiana.

Meeting them, you'd never have known what they had just gone through. These were some of the most beautiful, kind, energetic and exciting women to be around. They perked up our little bakery and made everyone excited to go to work every day.

In the two years since I started working there, we'd gained another co-worker, who I didnd't know was from Louisiana as well. The three of them became fast friends, and when they planned a Mardi Gras party, and I was lucky enough to be invited.

When I asked what I could bring, in addition to the "bring some booze" suggestion (in your early 20's its to be expected) They asked if I could bring some cupcakes, or a dessert or something. I remember one of the sisters said "I'm making the king cake, so don't worry about that." and I just laughed it off, kind of embarrassed since she said it like it was something so commonplace.

I wasn't sure if they wanted me to just bring something from the bakery or if they meant for me to make it at home, and being a cake decorator I was kind of used to taking cake decorating orders, so I asked them "how would you like me to decorate the cake" and they said "with lots of green and gold and purple, and maybe put like a cutout of a baby on it or something."

Now, I was confused.

"Let me get this straight, you want a baby on your Mardi Gras cake?"

The oldest of the sisters, the one who mentioned that she'd be making the king cake, she got a good laugh at that one. I was so confused though. "Why a BABY?"

"You know, like the baby tucked into the king cake?" she said, as though I had only suffered a momentary lapse of reason, and at any moment I'd pop back and say "Oh, thats right. I don't know where my head was."

But that didn't happen.

They both began a very animated explanation, complete with hand gestures and diagrams scrawled on the back of a very long receipt one of them had tucked in their purse, of what a king cake is, and why having a baby on a Mardi Gras cake makes perfect sense.

A king cake is a round brioche filled with a cinnamon, sugar, and pecan mixture, drizzled with a thin icing and sprinkled with sugar sprinkles in gold, green and purple. After baking, it is tradition to tuck a little plastic baby into part of the cake, and whoever finds the baby in their piece is King!

Apparently, the baby is symbolic of the baby Jesus, and the king cake is shaped like a Kings crown. The colours of the sugar even have meaning- Purple for Justice, Gold for Power, and Green for Faith.

A kings cake is traditionally eaten anywhere between Epiphany (three kings day) on January 6th, and Mardi Gras. Its a tradition kept by people all over the world, but in the US, really is only common in Louisiana and the surrounding states.

King Cake

For the Brioche:

1 Envelope Active Dry Yeast
2 Tbsp Warm Water (115 degree F)
1 tsp Iodized Salt
2 Tbsp Granulated Sugar
1/4 Cup Milk
2 tsp Orange Zest, minced
2 Cups Flour, sifted
1 tsp Cinnamon
2 Eggs, beaten
1 1/4 sticks cold butter, cut into cubes

1 Egg beaten and 2 Tbsp water, for the egg wash
purple, green and yellow sugar sprinkles
1 plastic baby trinket

Dissolve the yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, let stand until frothy.
Dissolve the salt, sugar, orange zest and milk in a small bowl. When dissolved combine the milk mixture with the yeast mixture. Mix the cinnamon with the flour.
With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, then gradually add the flour, until all is incorporated. Knead on low speed for 10 minutes, or until a smooth elastic dough is formed. A little more flour may be necessary. With the motor running, incorporate the butter into the dough, a little at a time but rather quickly so that it doesn’t heat up and melt.
Turn the dough into an oiled bowl, loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour in a warm spot.
When the dough has doubled in bulk punch it down, cover and place in the refrigerator overnight.

Roll the dough out to a 6 x 18 inch rectangle. Spread the Pecan filling (recipe below) out in the middle of the rectangle along the whole length, leaving about 1 1/2 inch on each side. Fold the length of the dough over the filling and roll up tightly, leaving the seam side down. Turn the roll into a circle, seam side down and put one end inside of the other to hide the seam, and seal the circle. Place the cake on a baking sheet and let rise, loosely covered with plastic wrap, for 45 minutes or until doubled in bulk.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Before baking, brush the entire king cake with the egg wash.
Place the king cake into the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

When the cake cools, tuck the baby trinket into the cake through the bottom. Drizzle the top of the cake with the icing and sprinkle with the coloured sugar in stripes.

Place on a large round serving plate and decorate with Mardi Gras beads, doubloons and whatever else that you like.

For the Pecan filling:

1 Cup Pecan pieces
1/4 cup butter
2/3 Cup Brown Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Ground Allspice

Melt the butter and combine all of the ingredients together.

For the glaze

1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar
just enough lemon juice to form a thin icing suitable for drizzling (a tablespoon or so)

Combine the sugar and lemon juice. Whisk until no lumps remain.

Anyways, in the end I sort of understood why putting a baby on the cake would make sense. I ended up making cupcakes for the party and I put little plastic babies on them. It worked out quite nicely. I also had my first taste of king cake that night, and I thought then what I thought now... Boy, does this taste like a bear claw!

Wait, what's that?

YOU FOUND THE BABY!

So, you've got all weekend to make yourself a delicious King cake, tuck a little plastic baby inside it, and celebrate Mardi Gras in traditional New Orleans style! I know its cliche, but I gotta say it-

Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler!

-A.

Non c'è megghiu sarsa di la fami. Hunger, it is the best sauce.

And necessity.. it is the mother of invention.

First, I'd like to say thank you to everyone who wished me well over the past week while I was sick. I spent a week away from my kitchen, but it was a much needed respite.

But the kitchen called! And in more ways than just a shout. A week away from the fridge means strange things start piling up, and strange things start.. well, you know what happens when you leave things in the fridge too long.

Needless to say, I had a stockpile of ricotta that was screaming to get used. Rather than go and buy all new stuff, I decided to go ahead and use the pantry staples for this recipe. Its cold outside, can you blame me for not wanting to go to the store?

And what does one make when they have too much ricotta and a very big sweet tooth?

Sicilian cheesecake.

Its just like regular cheesecake, only completely different. *smile*
Just like the language. So close to Italian, yet so completely different.

Not that I know for personal experience. I'm not Italian or Sicilian. I'm not Greek.. I'm in no way Mediterranean at all, actually, not even by heritage. My family is Irish and German for the most part, although there may be a little sprinkling of Italian in there, since my mom does have beautiful olive toned skin.

..but you wouldn't know that looking at me. I'm pasty white, cant catch a tan to save my life. I freckle. I have reddish brown hair. I have green eyes.

Still, I have dreams of living on the Mediterranean sea. I see myself dressed in a loose white cap sleeve dress, ballet flats with my hair loose, flowing in the sea breeze. Maybe I'd tuck it behind my ears, or maybe I'd tie it back with a bright red ribbon. I'd ride my Vespa through the towns, delighting in the sounds of the tires against the cobblestone streets.

I'd smile at the people walking along the street. Perhaps an elderly woman with a cane and specticles, wearing a dark coloured sweater over her brightly coloured and festively patterned dress would walk into view and smile back at me. Perhaps an elderly man would tip his hat.

I'd see lovers speaking their special language by fountains, followed by tourists who eagerly snap their photos as souvenirs of such a magical place.

Of course it goes without saying, I would stop at one of the many open air markets and marvel at such glorious goods. Fresh artesian breads, buffalo mozzarella, all the fruits and veggies and meats and just so many delicious offerings. Stopping into a small bakery, tucked between the cannoli and tiramisu, perhaps I'd find one of these-

And I'd buy it, and subsequently eat the whole thing.

...I have a feeling that if I did in fact live anywhere near Italy, after a few trips to "the local bakery" I'd have to trade in my Vespa for a Hoveround, and my cute little cap sleeve dress for something more like a muumuu.

Sicilian Cheesecake

Shortbread pastry *recipe following this one*
3 cups ricotta cheese (1-1/2 lbs.)
1/3 cup sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 tablespoon almond extract
1/4 cup chopped dried fruit (optional) I just threw in a handful of finely chopped dried apricots.
confectioner's sugar

Steps
Preheat oven to 375° F.

Line a deep, 9-inch pie pan with rolled pie pastry.

Force the ricotta through a fine sieve. Mix in the sugar and the almond extract.

Mix the egg yolks one at a time into the ricotta, add the dried fruit, and blend well. In a separate container beat the egg whites until fluffy and stiff, then mix them into the ricotta. Fold together well.

Pour this filling into the prepared (unbaked) pie shell.

Bake in a preheated 375° F. oven for 45 minutes, or until set (for me, this ended up being about an hour). Turn off the oven, open the door, and let the pie cool in the oven for about 20 minutes. Allow to fully cool on a cooling rack before refrigerating over night.

Spread the top with your choice of fruit preserves. I used a low sugar apricot preserve. It only took about a quarter cup to cover the top. dust with powdered sugar and slice to serve.

Shortbread pastry

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter
Milk (if needed)

Toss together the flour and sugar. Cut the butter into cubes, and working with one half first, pinch the butter into the flour/sugar mixture as you would for any pie crust. After breaking down the first half of the butter into what looks like corn meal, add the second half of the butter. This should bring the mixture together. If you find that the mixture is still crumbly, add cold milk by the tablespoon until the dough gathers into a ball, but isn't sticky.

You'll use about half of the dough for your Sicilian cheesecake, and you can keep the second half in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can roll out the second half and make it into shortbread cookies. Just bake at 350 for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown.

A few things of note about this cheesecake.

It has quite a different texture than typical cheesecake. Ricotta is more granular than cream cheese, so.. the cheesecake retains much of that textural difference. I must say though, it is still quite creamy, and the flavour is so smooth and light. Also, unlike typical cheesecake, this cake is lighter and fluffier, and no where near as dense. I didn't feel laid out after taking a few bites.

Another thing, this cheesecake isn't NEARLY as sweet as typical cheesecake. I added the preserves on top because it was almost disturbingly UN-sweet. This is definitely something you could make for someone who isn't a fan of sweets, but still would like a dessert. A little dark chocolate sauce, and you're set.

Also, the top of the cake will crack. This is fine. When the cake cools, the top of the cake will shrink more than the base, so the sides of the cake will sort of angle inward. Thats normal too. The preserves and the powdered sugar cover all of those sins, so don't worry about appearances.
I'm actually pretty impressed with this cheesecake. Its not something you'd want to make if you wanted a regular cheesecake, but rather something you'd make if you wanted something a little different.

If you want a regular cheesecake, may I recommend this recipe- The best cheesecake on the planet- because I made it last year, and I've made it a few times since, and it really is the best cheesecake recipe on the planet.

This one is pretty darn good too though!

-A.

Hmph.. Sorry about the lack of posts this week!

But I've been one sick muffin lately.

I'm starting to feel a little better, so hopefully I'll be back in posting shape by early next week! Just wanted to let ya'll know I'm still here, just coughing and sneezing a bit too much to be in the kitchen.

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!
I'll keep my germs to myself, don't worry.

-A.

When life hands you lemons, make lemonade cupcakes.. wait, those aren't lemons.

So, apparently when I thought I was getting lemons, I was really getting Sweet limes.

For appearance sake, they did look like lemons when I first got them, but after sitting in the fridge for a few days, they started turning green in spots, which seemed sort of strange, since, at least in my experience, when things ripen, they tend to turn MORE yellow, not more green (unless they're molding, but these definitely weren't molding). Some of the limes were still a spring green kind of colour, but most of them darkened slightly, and were just a few shades more yellow than a regular lime, only they're bigger.


Anyways, These cupcakes were originally intended to be Pink Lemonade cupcakes, but they ended up being Cherry Limeade cupcakes, which is just fine by me, since I happen to be a bigger fan of limes myself, and being a big lime fan, I always have a couple extra cans of limeade in the freezer.

I also just so happened to have a jar of Maraschino cherries in my fridge left over from the NYE drink-fest.

Anyways, so I thought these cupcakes were pretty cute, so I took a ton of unnecessary photos of them.

...Ok, also, I got a new camera late last week (long story involving crows en masse a set of slippery stairs and my cute, sweet and slightly equilibrium challenged husband) so I've been trying to get used to it by taking tons and tons of photos of stuff.

...But come on, they're cupcakes. Its not like you really mind looking at photos of them. *smile*

Cherry Limeade Cupcakes***:
This recipe should make about 24 cupcakes

3 cups cake flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp limeade concentrate
3 eggs
3/4 cup plain yogurt (you can use milk, but I think the yogurt adds a nice TANG! to the flavour.)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mix together the flour, salt, baking soda and powder and set aside. In a medium sized bowl, cream the butter until smooth then add the sugar and cream together. Once the butter and sugar are creamed add in the limeade concentrate. Mix in one egg at a time. Add in flour mixture 1/3 at a time. When flour is thoroughly mixed, mix in the yogurt. Batter will be slightly lumpy, but should be smooth kind of like pancake batter. Divide the batter evenly into lined muffin tins and bake for about 15-20 minutes. Allow to cool.

Once the cupcakes have cooled, poke a few (5ish) holes in the top of the cupcake, not quite to the bottom of the cake. Mix together the remainder of the limeade concentrate (about 3/4 cup) with about 1/2 cup powdered sugar (You can add more or less, depending on how tart you would like your cupcakes to be I like tart, so I went with about 1/4 cup.) Whisk the mixture well, so there aren't any lumps. Pour about a tablespoon of the syrup over the holes in the cupcake, slowly, so that the syrup absorbs into the cake. You can add more if you like, just go back over the cupcakes a second time if there is any syrup left.

For the icing I made a standard buttercream, but I used the maraschino cherry juice in place of the milk and vanilla extract. I added a little extra food colouring to the icing to make it even more pink, but you can make it with just the juice and it is still a delightfully pale pink colour.

Keep the cupcakes refrigerated, if only to enhance the flavour. They can be left at room temperature for a day or two once iced, if kept in an airtight container, but I wouldn't suggest leaving them out any longer. They taste best cold!

I decorated my cupcakes with some white sprinkles, a slice of lime, a maraschino cherry half and a plastic drinking straw, since they are drink inspired.

*** If you want to make what I originally set out to make (Pink lemonade cupcakes rather than Cherry Limeade cupcakes) just substitute lemonade concentrate (or even pink lemonade concentrate if you wish) where I used limeade concentrate, and for the icing, follow the original recipe and use either lemon extract or strawberry extract in place of the vanilla extract.


Oh, and a tip about icing-

If you want really smooth icing, first, make sure your icing is just slightly below room temperature. Warm icing usually turns oozey, and cold icing is usually too hard. After you've finished icing your cupcakes, put them in the fridge for about half an hour.

Get a mug of very hot water. Take your cupcakes out of the fridge and working quickly, dip your icing knife into the hot water, remove it, shake it off and very lightly go over the icing again with the knife, pressing with gentle, long, flat strokes from the center of the knife.

Be careful doing this with darker coloured icing, as they tend to streak, and if you have too much water on the knife when you use it, the water will absorb the colour of the icing and drip, leaving a lighter shade underneath it. It may take a little practice, and you might have to perfect your "shake" a bit, but you'll get to the point where there is just enough water to keep the blade from sticking to the icing, and not so much as to drip all around the cupcake.

If you do notice that there is too much water on your cupcake after you've smoothed it out, get yourself a paper towel and lightly touch the edge of the paper towel to the wet spot, and it will absorb the extra water.

I've noticed over the years that a lot of people ice cakes with the edge of a knife rather than the center of the knife. Its always best to hold the knife flat and press from the center. Using the edge will just create a scraped, straggly edge and form bubbles in the icing (especially if you're icing a cake rather than a cupcake.)

But really, the water trick works. Back when I worked in a bakery and iced wedding cakes, that was our little trick for making the icing perfectly smooth.

Enjoy!
-A.

Oh, and don't worry, I'll be making some non-cupcake recipes shortly, I just haven't been feeling so well lately, and cupcakes are.. well.. They're easy and fun and pretty.

Next week I think I'm going to try making my own version of eclairs and possibly some more "fun with phyllo"...

Ok, so there will definitely be more fun with Phyllo. I love that stuff. Also, fun with puff pastry, though it just doesn't have quite the same ring to it that "fun with Phyllo" does. hehe..

I'll daydream about Tropical climates, you make some caramel apple pie cupcakes, and the robots? They'll learn to use forks.

I'm not sure if it is entirely truthful to call these "Caramel Apple Pie" cupcakes.


Yes, there is pastry involved. Yes, they are cupcakes. And yes, they are filled with a cooked apples and cinnamon filling, and topped with apples and caramel.

...But they could also be called "Manzana pastel Tres Leches cupcakes con dulce de leche*" (Apple pie three milk cupcake with dulce de leche) Because they're actually filled with a tres leches filling of sweetened condensed milk, heavy cream and evaporated milk, mixed with diced granny smith apples, brown sugar, cinnamon and butter.

Also, there is just something to be said about a dessert whose name is spoken in another language. Saying the name in English, you'd expect to find them at a county fair or at a backyard picnic, and although there is nothing wrong with that... saying their name in Spanish... it could be a romantic dessert you indulge in while vacationing on la playa in Puerto Rico*.

I'm all for daydreamy desserts, so why not. Its been so cold here in the Seattle area, that my husband worked from home yesterday and this morning, because the slight incline from the road to our apartment turned into THE ICY MOUNTAIN OF DOOM overnight on Monday night, and although things outside have thawed a bit, its still REALLY COLD. I really wouldn't mind a nice tropical climate right about now.... *daydreams*

*half an hour later*
Oh. Um.. Anyways-

They taste like caramel apple pie, but with a soft texture, cuz *duh* cake. They're moist and apple filled and topped with a piece of butter pastry which adds that familiar crunch that you get when you eat a regular apple pie slice. Trust me. They're amazing, and I'm not just saying that because I made them, or because I've recently decided to cut back on sweets, and therefore this was the first "sweet" I've had in a little over a week.

Nope. They really are delicious.

Anyways, so to make this, I used the Magnolia Bakery vanilla cupcake recipe, because I like that it is a pretty dense cake, and it absorbs the moisture from the filling really well, which is important, since the filling is pretty liquidy, except for the apple pieces.

You'll want to make the cupcakes the day before you plan to serve them.

Here is the Magnolia vanilla cupcake recipe-

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 2 (1/2 cup-12 capacity) muffin tins with cupcake papers.

In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

Cool the cupcakes in tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

After allowing the cupcakes to cool, I used the cone and scoop method to hollow out a space in the center of the cupcake so to have enough room for the filling. Just use a sharp pointed knife to cut an inverted cone (think ice cream cone) into the center of the cupcake from the top, and remove the cone, cut off the point of the cone, and use a spoon to sort of scoop out some of the inside of the cupcake. You don't want to remove too much cake, but just a little.

Then I filled each of the cupcakes with this filling that I made while they were baking-

Apple cinnamon three milks filling-

2 medium granny smith apples
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
scant 1/4 cup evaporated milk
scant 1/4 cup heavy cream
2 Tablespoons brown sugar

A little while before you plan to fill the cupcakes (you should probably do this while the cupcakes are baking) mix together the sweetened condensed milk, the evaporated milk and the heavy cream. You can do this in any bowl, just mix them together with a spoon and set aside.

Peel, core and chop the apples into small pieces (remember that you're using them to fill cupcakes, so.. probably no bigger than your pinkie fingernail) and swish them around in a bowl with the lemon juice so they retain their tartness and don't brown too quickly.

Using a medium sized saute pan with high sides, melt the butter over medium heat. Once the butter starts to brown a little, pour in the apple chunks. Sweat the apple chunks, not allowing them to brown, just soften a little. Turn the temperature down if you need to, to prevent overbrowning. Once the apples chunks have softened, and a lot of their moisture has been wicked out, add the brown sugar, cinnamon and allspice to the apples on the stove. Stir to combine. The liquid in the pan may begin to caramelize a little. Pour in the three milks mixture and stir. Be careful not to overfill the pan (you can do this in a saucepan, but I didn't want to make another dish to wash) and allow the liquid to reduce and thicken until it is the consistancy of a thin pancake batter. The mixture will have darkened slightly, but will be more beige than brown. Remove from heat and allow to cool before using.


I used about a tablespoon of the filling for each cupcake, but you may use more or less depending on the size of the hole in the cupcake. Use the spoon to press the filling down into the cupcake, since there is a lot of space between apple chunks, and the moisture will be absorbed into the cake, leaving holes if you do not compact them. Replace the top of the cupcake and press down again. You will probably have extra filling left over, just store it in the fridge for up to a week. You can make some extra pastry rounds and use it as a topping for those, or you could just make more cupcakes to fill it with! hehe..

After I filled the cupcakes, I iced them with an almond buttercream. Feel free to use Vanilla or whatever other flavour you feel would go well with caramel, apple, cinnamon and vanilla.

Almond Buttercream:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
6 to 8 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons almond extract

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and almond. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

After I iced the cupcakes, I put them in the refrigerator overnight. This is kind of an important step, as it allows the moisture from the filling to fully absorb into the cupcake and it allows the flavours to co-mingle enough to where each bite of the cupcake tastes just like the others, rather than having a disjointed feel and flavour. Also, a cold cupcake is a delicious cupcake.

The next day (or about 8 hours later) I made some butter pastry rounds using my *blue ribbon apple pie crust recipe* only after I rolled out the dough I cut rounds out with a 3inch cookie cutter, laid them out on a non-stick cookie sheet and poked holes in the top with a fork before baking at 350F for about 10 minutes. (Note- You can use the extra pastry rounds as sandwich cookies with the apple mixture as filling. Just use a fork and strain off the extra liquid from the apples.)

The final part of this cupcake comes in the form of Dulce de leche, or caramel sauce. Feel free to use either. You can make the *caramel sauce* or the *Dulce de leche* yourself, or you can use a store bought version.

To assemble, I just put the pastry round on top of the iced cupcake, tucked a few apple slices under the edge of the pastry round, and drizzled about a teaspoon of the caramel on top of the whole thing. Wait until the last minute to do the assembling, since the caramel will be oozy, and the apple will brown if you leave it out for too long before serving.

Anyways..

So after I took a little bite of one of the cupcakes, I walked away for a moment to upload my photos to my computer, when I turned around and saw this-

Apparently Rodney decided to teach the new robot on the block how to eat a cupcake.

I don't speak their language, but from what I could discern, The new robot prefers using a fork. I guess this new robot is slightly more civilized...


...Or perhaps its just that he has opposable thumbs and articulated fingers.

Yeah, that's probably it.

-A.

*I do not speak Spanish fluently, so my translation is probably off. My apologies.

Easy like Sunday morning...

Some things come easier than others.

Breakfast this morning, for example, was one of those things. I don't have any particular recipes to share that go along with this post, I just felt like spreading the love, and fanning the flames of desire that we all feel for a nice, full, hot and delicious breakfast.


I woke up fairly early today, snuck out of bed, careful not to wake my husband.

I didn't even have to change out of my Pajamas! I love that about breakfast at home.

After a quick spruce-up of the kitchen, I set to making some French toast, fried eggs (scrambled, for my husband) sausage links and bacon- The thick sliced kind. I feel I should share with you one of my favourite breakfast making tips, even though you've probably already heard it.

Instead of making your bacon in a skillet, bake it in the oven!

Lay the strips out flat on a non-stick baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit until the bacon looks almost done, then flip them over and bake until they start to foam a little. It takes only like 20 minutes to make perfectly crisp, evenly done, FLAT bacon, and the only mess you have to clean is the non-stick baking sheet, rather than having to clean up the whole stove top and the skillet if you pan fry the bacon.

Either way, there is no arguing, bacon is DELICIOUS. hehe..

I had some little mini croissants, so we had those on the side with strawberry jam (I smuggled this jar out from a hotel we had room service in) and we drank some fruit juice and milk.

Eating breakfast always makes me feel like I'm a kid again. My family always ate breakfast together on Sundays, though we would usually have homemade waffles or pancakes, which were my dad's specialty.

French toast WAS the first thing I ever learned to make in the kitchen though, so I've become quite the expert at making it, not that its very hard to make or anything. hehe.. Now that things are finally becoming more normal (5 months since relocating, not bad.) I'll finally start sharing some more breakfast recipes. Until recently, breakfast on the weekends was more like Eggos and poptarts. Not the most nutritious or healthy of breakfasts, and not really even very tasty, either.

Nope, no more toaster strudel for us. We're in the dead of winter, and there's no better weekend recharge than a nice big tasty breakfast, so there are plenty more in store this season. Don't you worry.

And now to enrich and relax you on this glorious Sunday, I present to you the timeless vocals (not to mention fresh face) of Lionel Richie-

-A.

P.S. If you're into breakfasts- be sure to check out one of my favourite food blogs (which I am lucky enough to be able to contribute to.) The Breakfast Blogger.