Ready to get baking....

Well, I just went to the store and got the stuff for the red velvet cheesecake swirl brownies...except cream cheese. TOTALLY forgot that minor detail.
It's cool. I'll need to get some to make buffalo chicken dip for tonight anyway. Super excited for that! Delicious.
I can't believe I was completely out of sugar. That's ludicrous! Looking back, I should have bought 20 pounds of sugar instead of just 10 so that my canister would actually be full, but oh well. I'm in the process of switching flour brands and types, so when my AP canister is empty I'll fill it up and aerate.
Have I mentioned how much I spent on sugar and flour today? Definitely over $20...which doesn't seem like that much, but it came out of our food budget.

Okay...upcoming recipes....
Red velvet cheesecake swirl brownies
Banana chip cupcakes with peanut butter frosting
Chocolate cupcakes with chocolate hazelnut frosting--different from the Nutella frosting I've made before
Pumpkin cupcakes with caramel frosting

Lazy weekend...

Well, it's Sunday and I haven't done anything in the past two days. I have been doing research on cupcake flavors today and drooling over photos on Foodspotting, but that's about it. Hah. I'm thinking about trying some very interesting flavors. I'm always up for suggestions though.

I made some garlic herb bread on Friday, but that's the only thing I baked all weekend. I didn't even think about blogging about it, so I didn't take pictures. I kind of made it up as I went along, but it tasted pretty good.

It's almost time to start testing Thanksgiving recipes. I still haven't narrowed down my desserts. Cupcakes and pie for sure...apple and pumpkin. I just can't decide which should be which. Apple pie and pumpkin cupcakes or caramel apple cupcakes and pumpkin pie...? Hmm. Tough decisions.
I need to start testing recipes to recreate my grandmother's sticky buns. Best. Buns. Ever. Now I'm craving them.

Snickerdoodles I

I love cinnamon. We just go together.
I made 8 dozen cookies a while ago for a pitch in at my husband's gym, but the snickerdoodles came out a little hard. I used the recipe from Sweet Chic. They tasted fine, but they weren't soft or chewy enough.

I immediately started brainstorming my own recipe...started writing it in my little bitty notebook with ideas and then what I call a recipe skeleton. I write down proportions or sometimes what I think the actual recipe should look like. I usually end up changing some things as I go along.

This was my first time making a cookie recipe of my own. They came out almost perfect. Snickerdoodles II will have an extra 1/4 teaspoon of salt in the dough and I will refrigerate the balls of dough for a while before baking them because they got a little flat.

They taste incredibly rich and buttery...from my two secret ingredients no doubt. They're already almost half gone and I haven't even given any to my neighbors.

I will be making some cinnamon spice buttercream and turning some into sandwich cookies later. I can't wait!

Apple pie...because this is America.

Anyone who has known me for most of my life knows that I've always loves baking. When I was in middle school I made a hybrid of two of my favorite apple pies. My grandmother's apple pie and a pie that my stepdad's sister made. I seem to have lost the recipe I made through the years, so I didn't make apple pie for over 8 years.
Ridiculous.

I set out to recreate my apple pie recipe, and I believe I have succeeded. I didn't think I'd be blotting about it, so I don't have many pictures, but I've been commissioned to make one for a neighbor, so I'll take more then.

Now...the components.
My grandmother made her own crust with shortening. I used a combination of shortening and butter...frozen. The crust was unbelievably flaky.
The filling was granny smith apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, vanilla sugar, flour, and lemon juice. I could have eaten the filling raw...and I did.
I used a crumble topping instead of more pie crust because I don't like too much crust on my apple pie.

It was so good...I could have eaten all of it in a day.
Okay, I ate almost half of it in a day.
My pie!

More pies to come...Thanksgiving is coming up!

Cupcakes galore!

Here are some pictures of cupcakes I've made recently.
Try not to drool.

I'm pretty much the worst...

Seriously.
I'm a terrible blog owner. Whenever my life gets busy I tend to forget about them.
I realize its been a very long time since I've updated, but I've still been baking.
A lot.

I've been working on developing my own recipes lately which is another reason why I haven't been posting them. My dream is to own a bakery, so it doesn't make much sense to post the recipes. I will happily post photos and posts about my baking endeavors though.

My life has been pretty crazy lately. I recently quit my job and moved to Mississippi. My husband joined the Air Force which has been a blessing because it allows me to focus on my baking instead of working 40 hours a week and being a full time mom while also trying to create my own recipe repertoire.

That's what I've been doing. I've been beefing up my arsenal with lots of standard recipes that can be modified to create other recipes. I've also been doing the same thing with my non baked goods. I've perfected my meat sauce finally! I focused on breads for a while and came up with a delicious honey wheat recipe that tastes like heaven. I would like to perfect a couple of other breads as well. Foccacia, pizza dough, and recreating my grandmother's stick rolls are in my future.

What's my main goal?
Macaroons.
Oh, yes. Probably my favorite thing...ever.
I plan on teaching myself how to make them this winter when it's slightly less humid here. It's going to be incredibly frustrating, I'm sure. Oh well. Totally worth it.

I'm going to be taking some classes soon including a chocolate class and an icing flowers class.
I would like to learn how to make caramels and truffles to give as holiday gifts. I need to send some care packages home.

Well...that's about all I can think to type. I'm going to post some pictures of cupcakes I've made recently in another post as well as a post about making my first cookie recipe.

Cupcake Filled Weekend/Filled Cupcakes?

I've been a terrible blog owner.
I made two batches of cupcakes on Sunday, and didn't blog about either!

We celebrated Christmas with my mom on Sunday b/c she had surgery in December.
I decided to surprise her with some cupcakes!

Now, I still had some of the blueberry jam left from the blueberry buttercream.  Being...frugal...I decided to use it up.  No Jew jokes, please.  I spend a fortune on baked goods that I just give away.  Cut me some slack for being cheap.
Anyway, I decided to make a blueberry pudding filling--yum!

I didn't really want to spend a whole bunch of time developing a new recipe, so I just changed the recipe from the vanilla bean cupcakes to almond extract.  I used all cow's milk and added an extra 1/4 c. of flour.
You can scroll down for the recipe.  I don't really feel like copying/pasting.  I'm lazy.

Anyway, I only took one picture because...I suck.
It's not even a good picture.

 

Now, this blueberry business.  It's really quite simple.  I took blueberry pudding mix, 1 2/3 c. milk, about 1/4 c. of the blueberry mixture, and 1/4 tsp of almond extract.  I whipped it up for a few minutes, and I stuck it in the refrigerator.
VOILA!  Instant blueberry goodness.  I filled with a Bismarck tip again.  Super easy.  "Stick and stuff".  That sounds horrible.
At any rate, I made a super simple buttercream--I don't usually use real recipes for American buttercream.  It's butter and confectioner's sugar.  How hard can it be?  Vanilla bean, almond extract, and milk too.
So yea...I took them to my mom's house, and they were inhaled.  I took 12 cupcakes total, and didn't bring any home.

The best part of this cupcake filled weekend?  Besides the blueberry goodness?
My mom got me one of those mini cupcake makers!  She also got me some Paula Dean cupcake mixes, liners, and a sushi set.  Baller!
I have been wanting to buy one of these little things for a while now.  Cupcakes in 5 minutes?  Sign me up!

Usually, I don't use cake mixes.  It's not that I'm against them on principle.  I just have so many recipes that I already want to try out.  Why wouldn't I spend an extra 5-10 minutes making it from scratch?
Buuuut, it gave me an excuse to make chocolate cakes for everyone who loves them.
In case you can't tell...I don't really dig the chocolate.  Horrible Jew.  I KNOW!
Don't get me wrong, I can get down on some M&M's when I'm really in the mood for them. 
I just...I'm more of a fruit and vanilla girl.  Can you tell?
I'm sure you can.

Now, no cake mix is ever going to be as good as homemade, but I can try, right?  I added a teaspoon of vanilla and about a tablespoon of peanut butter.
Oh yea, I said peanut butter.
Peanut butter frosting too.
The mini cupcakes turned out AMAZING!

 

Peanut butter frosting time!
Probably one of my favorites.  Peanut butter anything is good in my book.
Let's see...I kind of just eyeballed it, and it turned out a little dry.  It kind of works with the cakes though.

Peanut butter frosting
5 Tbs butter
1 c. peanut butter
3-4 c confectioner's sugar
cream

Cream the butter and peanut butter.
Alternate sugar and cream until you reach the desired consistency.
Whip until it is as fluffy as a peanut butter cloud.

Mmmm.

 

 I brought these to work, and they were gobbled up.

Apparently Paula Dean does cake mix right!
The mini cupcakes came out very fluffy, but the regular cupcakes I made looked a little...weird.  I haven't tried them to see what the texture is like.  They just don't look as...fluffy and delicious.

Okay, more yummy pictures, and I'm getting in my La-Z-Boy.

 

 

What's next?  I've had a hankering for red velvet lately, but I'm kind of thinking I should try something...different.
Perhaps I should stray from the cupcake liners altogether?
Put down the muffin pan?
Abandon my habits for a week or two?

Okay, me NOT making cupcakes is a pretty lofty goal.
Maybe I'll just got out liners, and go for pineapple upside down cupcakes?
Maybe a more savory fare?
I welcome your suggestions as always.

A big thank you to the people who read this.  I know it must be terribly difficult to read this, and not get to partake in the deliciousness, so if you would like some nums...let me know.
I always take requests.  I just can't promise that your request won't get eaten.

Meringue fail.

I made meringues last night because I've been craving them. I was so anxious that instead of finding my grandma's recipe for coconut apricot meringues...I just found a recipe online. Bad move. I overcooked them too. Double bad.
I didn't even bother getting out my camera because I hated them.
I'll try again next week, but for now...here are some photos from my first completely mobile post.

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Lemon Curd Filling & Blueberry Lemon Buttercream

A big thank you to Dave for inspiring me this week.  I know you thought I should have been resting, but it's better this way.  Now I have sweets. 

So...I'm still sick. 
Luckily, these can be made in stages.  I made the lemon curd 2 days ago, and I made the blueberry mixture for the frosting last night.  Both went in the refrigerator until I was ready to make the cupcakes after work.

Last week I made Vanilla Almond cupcakes that were originally vegan cakes.  I used butter instead, but kept the rest the same.  I loved the texture of the almond meal, but I didn't think the light texture would hold up with a filling.  I ended up altering her recipe--pretty dramatically--to better suit my needs.  The only thing I kept the same was the amount of some of the ingredients.  I used butter to give the cakes more structure, but added a tablespoon of oil to keep them moist.  I knew that wouldn't be enough, so I added an egg.  My coconut milk had gotten kind of thick b/c it was in the refrigerator, so I thinned it out by making some of the "wet" real milk.  Generally speaking, I like to avoid milk b/c I'm lactose intolerant.
Butter clearly doesn't affect me the same way.
Have you seen how much I use?
Finally, these are vanilla cupcakes, so I used all vanilla extract instead of almond.

They didn't puff up as much as last time, but I think that was partially b/c I didn't beat them all that much.
Still...I think they look pretty good!

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes

This made 15 cupcakes for me.  Weird, I know.

Ingredients:

1 c. AP flour
1/4 c. almond meal
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c. sugar
1/3 c. softened butter
1 large egg
1 Tbs oil
3/4 c. coconut milk
1/4 c. whole milk
1/2 vanilla bean (seeds only)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

In a large bowl, sift the flour, almond meal, baking powder, baking soda, & salt.
In a medium bowl, beat the butter until it is light and fluffy.  Beat egg in.  Add oil, coconut milk, milk, vanilla bean seeds, and vanilla extract.
Make a well in the dry ingredients, and pour in the wet ingredients.  Beat until smooth.
Fill cupcake liners w/ 1/4 c. of batter or 2/3 full.
Bake 20-22 minutes.

I used Alton Brown's lemon curd recipe because he's my favorite.

Like I said, I made it a couple days ahead of time.  It will keep in the refrigerator for a week.
I used a piping bag and a Bismarck tip to fill them. 
So maybe I got a little happy with the filling....

It's going to be covered with frosting anyway....
Blueberry Buttercream

Ingredients:
2 c. frozen blueberries
1/2 c. vanilla sugar
1/2 c. butter, softened
3+ c. confectioners sugar (I used 4 b/c my kitchen was really hot.)
1/2 vanilla bean (seeds only)
1 lemon--zest and juice (I only needed the juice of one lemon b/c mine were HUGE!)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method:
Put frozen blueberries & vanilla sugar in a medium nonstick sauce pan.
Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat & simmer for 20-30 minutes.
Allow blueberry mixture to cool before pureeing in food chopper/processor.
Set aside.
Beat butter for 1-2 minutes until light & fluffy.
Add 1 c. of confections sugar & beat until smooth.
Beat in blueberry mixture--I didn't use all of it, lemon zest, and juice of 1/2 of a lemon.  Beat for 1-2 minutes.
Add 2 more cups of confectioners sugar.  Beat for 2 more minutes.
Finish with vanilla extract and more lemon juice if needed. 
More confectioners sugar can be added for a thicker texture.

I piped the frosting on with my usual--Wilton 1M open star.

There is a slight texture from the fruit, but you don't really notice it when you're eating it on the cupcake.

The color turned out great.

Now for the most important part...opening them up and eating them!
The texture was still pretty soft.  Very moist, but it didn't stick to the liner a whole bunch or fall apart. 

I could not believe how...amazing these were!  Seriously.  That first bite just...melted in my mouth.
It was amazing.  I'm definitely proud of myself!

Not bad for being sick, eh?

By the way, I used Wilton liners.  The periwinkle polka dot liners were slightly smaller than the standard cups, but they still worked fine. 
I also used a new scoop this week.  I haven't decided if I liked the amount of batter it produced or not.

Cupcakes in the time of mono and general sickness

I have Mono. It's pretty apparent now. Last week I was able to bake some serious goodness because I was roid raging pretty hard on the meds my doctor gave me. After having two fevers yesterday, my doctor decided that I needed another week on the steroids...and an antibiotic. Sigh.
The show must go on though!
Before work yesterday, I made a delicious lemon curd from scratch. I've been eating it on everything...and by itself. Don't tell.
After leaving work due to a fever and feeling like death, I continued to sit around the house.
When that got boring, I decided to make the blueberry jelly stuff that's going to be in my frosting this week. I even brought a chair into the kitchen.
I'm still being productive!
My point? The frosting is half done, and the filling is done. Now I just need to find the energy to make some cupcakes!

Blueberry muffin fail.

Imagine waking up to the smell of homemade blueberry muffins and bacon frying on the stove....
My husband's life does not suck.
Let me just say that.

I woke up extremely late today with a craving for eggs benedict, but we didn't have English muffins, and I didn't really feel like poaching eggs.  Sigh.
What's a girl to do?
While perusing brunch ideas online I decided to make my daughter's favorite because she really deserves it.
She's not spoiled or anything...she's just my main cupcake/frosting taster.  It's a hard job.

I went on a blueberry muffin rampage.  I found a recipe online, and decided to edit it a bit.
Apparently I didn't edit it enough.  They were extremely dry even though I added more milk than the recipe called for, a 1/4 tsp of almond extract, and substituted vanilla sugar for the sugar.  They definitely needed more butter, but at least the flavor was on point.
This is the recipe I used, but I wouldn't recommend it.
If for some reason you DO want to use it, I would use at least another 1/4 c. of butter, more sugar, and maybe another egg.
Actually, just use a different recipe.  Hah.

 

That, ladies and gentlemen is what I lovingly call a muffin toppy muffin.

More to...love, right?
I know, it's massive!

So...it's around 11:30 when my husband stumbles out of our room.  He smells the air and says something like, "Man, what are you MAKING in there?"
Yea, I'm an awesome wife.
Homemade blueberry muffins, fried bacon, and scrambled eggs cooked in bacon grease.

Have I mentioned that I'm the worst Jew ever?

Muffins passed the husband and baby test, but I was less than impressed.
Wish me better luck with my next blueberry adventure!
Thanks to Dave for the suggestion, by the way.

Flavor of the week?
Some sort of vanilla cupcake with a lemon curd filling and blueberry Swiss meringue.
Om nom nom.

Recipe of the Week! Vanilla Almond Cupcakes with Blackberry Buttercream

The flavor of the week was vanilla/almond.  Looking back, I should have just said almond b/c these cupcakes pack a mean almond punch!
I used Love and Olive Oil's recipe.  I've been reading her blog for a while now, and I found this recipe last year.  I had been meaning to try it out with my friend Chelsie, but we never got around to it.
This was a relatively simple recipe.  The actual cupcakes are vegan, but I used butter instead of coconut oil.  I have 7 pounds of it in my refrigerator.  Sue me.
So now...be prepared to revel in the glory of the BEST cupcakes I've ever tasted....

 

The taste of almond is the most powerful flavor in the cupcakes.  I got my almond extract from Penzeys Spices, and it's pretty strong stuff.

I thought the buttercream turned out kind of wet, so I'll probably use more powdered sugar next time. 
The texture is AMAZING!  They kind of fall apart because they're so light.

All in all, these were...the best cupcakes I've ever had.  I can't seem to find words to describe them.
My only complaint was how SWEET they are.  I will probably add a little bit of lemon zest to the frosting next time b/c between the almond and the vanilla...they were just ridiculously sweet.

What should I make next week?

Coconut Cupcakes w/ Cocoa-nut French Silk Frosting

Any one who knows me knows that I have been incredibly sick over the last week.  Some of the medicine I'm on makes it hard to sleep, so what do I do when I wake up at 4 am?
Bake a batch of cupcakes!

I stole the recipe for the cakes from Honest Fare, but used standard cups instead of mini.  I got 23.5 cupcakes out of the batter.

The cakes came out sweet and a little spongey.  The texture was amazing--I ate the "runt" immediately while still warm.  The taste of the butter is very apparent, and there's an underlying sweetness of coconut, but it's not overpowering.

I adapted my classic French Silk Frosting to be a Cocoa-nut French Silk.
I used
1 1/2 sticks of butter--softened
3 c. powdered sugar
cocoa powder to taste--I used 2 t
1/2-1 t vanilla
3 T coconut milk--room temperature
shredded coconut to taste--I used 1/4 c.

Cream the butter and 2 c. of the sugar--2-3 minutes.
Add vanilla and coconut milk and beat for another 2 minutes.
Slowly add in the cocoa powder, tasting as you go.  You don't want the cocoa flavor to overpower the frosting.  Beat for 1 minute.
Add remaining sugar and beat for 2 minutes.
Beat in coconut to taste and desired texture.
Garnish with cocoa snow* and more coconut.

*Cocoa snow is cocoa powder and powdered sugar.  No big deal!  Hah.

And...here you go!

The end product was sweet, but none of the flavors were overpowering the others.  The cake was very spongey, like I said, so it contrasted with the very light frosting.  I might make the frosting without any coconut in it next time b/c apparently my daughter hates it.  Hah.
You can't win them all.  Who gets cupcakes for breakfast anyway?