Monthly Archives: August 2009

Brown Sugar & Honey Cupcake. Day 18.

Day 18, Honey & Brown Sugar “beehive” Cupcakes
These are okay, it’s another cupcake that reminds me of coffee cake/breakfast muffins. I have realized I don’t like frosting that has anything to do with marshmallow, this recipe called for marshmallow frosting and although I think it turned out the way it should have, I just don’t like it. The taste is nice but the consistency is blech.
From “Indulgence Cupcakes” A Fine Selection of Sweet Treats by Christabel Martin.

Ingredients for cakes:
3/4 c plus 1 tbsp unsalted butter soft
1 c soft brown sugar
3 eggs
1/3 c warm honey
2 1/4 c self rising flour sifted
Preheat 350. Beat butter and sugar with beaters until light and creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beat after each. Fold in warm honey and flour until combined. Divide mixture evenly and bake 18-20 minutes. Cool on rack.

Ingredients for frosting:
3 egg whites
1 1/2 c sugar
2 tsp light corn syrup
pinch of cream of tartar
1 tsp vanilla
yellow food coloring
Combine egg whites, sugar, corn syrup, cream of tartar, and 3 1/2 oz water in a heat proof bowl (I used my double boiler). Beat 5 minutes with electric beaters til it’s light and fluffy. Remove from heat, add vanilla and beat 4 or 5 min until stiff peaks form. Add coloring beating til combined.
(she stuck little wrapped chocolate bees on top. I don’t have those)
I let the girls eat these for breakfast. :)

Pina Colada Cupcake. Day 17.

Day 17 is Pina Colada

and I’m not just saying this…it’s UNfreakingBelievable. If you like coconut, you will die. The cake is soft, fluffy, coconut heaven and the frosting and toasted coconut are absolutely amazing on top.
From Cupcake Galore, Gail Wagman.
ingredients and directions for cakes:
2 c all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt (add another pinch in egg whites)
egg whites
1 stick butter unsalted
1 1/4 c sugar
2 eggs separated
1/2 c pineapple juice
1/4 c rum (we used light coconut rum)
1/2 cup shredded coconut
-preheat 350
-mix flour, baking powder, salt and set aside
-cream butter and sugar til light and fluffy. add egg yolks one at a time mixing well after each. Alternately beat in flour mixture and liquid (I mixed the rum and juice in a bowl) until smooth. Stir in coconut. Beat egg whites with the pinch of salt until stiff and fold into the mixture.
-spoon batter into papers, fill 2/3 and smooth tops. Bake about 20 min (my oven was 18)
-cool on a rack.
The icing ingredients and directions:
2 egg whites
pinch of salt
2 c powdered sugar
1/2 cup shredded coconut
-beat egg whites with the pinch of salt until stiff. Add sugar by the tablespoons beating continually. Fold in coconut.
Finished with toasted coconut on top.

Debbie picked these out and helped me and we are an awesome team!

(and very bloated from eating it all)

Excessive Cupcakes Issues.

I’ve received three gifts over the course of the month:
From my Aunt-

From my Mother-

From…myself.

Mini Vanilla & Raspberry filled Cupcake (petit four wannabe)

Day 16, Mini Vanilla Cupcakes, Raspberry filled, dipped in Chocolate.
Longest cupcake title ever.
I made way too much ganache yesterday, so I decided to make mini cupcakes and dip them like petit fours.

The cupcake is a basic vanilla cupcake and I used THIS recipe.

I used a small melon baller and removed the tops, then filled them with
Hero organic raspberry jam.

Then dipped them in the ganache. A fork was the best way to do it without causing the cupcake to fall apart.

Set on wax paper to cool.

Piped a swirl of ganache on top and added sprinkles.

Yum!

Chocolate Coffee Cupcake- Cafe Chocolat

Day 15, Chocolate Coffee Cupcake

- well, take 2.

The cakes to the right are chocolate and coffee flavored cake with semisweet ganache.

THIS recipe worked great. Of course it’s Martha. I did everything the same except I swapped out the vanilla for 1 1/2 tsp of coffee extract.

Makes 12

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoon coffee extract

1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper liners.

Into a medium bowl, sift together cocoa, flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each, then beat in extract. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with sour cream and beginning and ending with flour.

Pour batter into cups, filling each 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.

Cool in pan 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosted with chocolate ganache.

The idea was, for Julia Child‘s birthday I would take one of her recipes and turn it into a cupcake. Her chocolate mousse “Mousseline au Chocolat” sounded good (coffee, chocolate, orange) but I didn’t have an orange to zest so I figured I would just do her regular chocolate mousse .

The FLOP.

I found this recipe, it was just an old fashion chocolate cupcake…and then I overlooked where she, too, made an error. And then I made the same error and was REALLY pissed.

So I failed.

And succeeded the second time, Brinn really didn’t mind trying it again…

I think Julia Child may have approved of these.

I didn’t get this up in time yesterday, sorry, we decided to take the kids to the Irish festival, Bob’s grandparents got in from Texas, we went out to dinner and well…that’s that.