Springtime Cupcakes

In celebration of my last day of law school classes - ever - I decided to make cupcakes for my fellow classmates. I wanted to do something springy, so I decided on yellow cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting topped with the peppermint marshmallows described below. I’m happy to say, the final product was as tasty as I’d hoped!

I used the one-bowl yellow cake recipe from Apartment Therapy’s The Kitchn website, which I highly recommend. I will advise, though, that you don’t want to let the tops of these cupcakes turn brown. Make sure you pull the cupcakes out as soon as they’re done, but while they’re still light yellow on top. I think that the texture created by the browning doesn’t really work well on frosted cupcakes - it’s too crusty and crunchy and ends up making the tender cake underneath it fall apart when you bite into it. As long as you pull the cake out on time though, it’s really a wonderful recipe, and so easy! It can be found here: http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/diy-recipe/recipe-diy-yellow-cake-014637

Bald cupcakes in cute outfits:

Here’s my recipe for lemon cream cheese frosting. I kind of winged it when I made it, but I think this is a fairly close approximation; it will be enough to frost about 2 dozen cupcakes:

• 1 8-oz pkg cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup butter, softened (half a stick - though next time i would actually use the whole stick; i just ran out this time around)
• zest of half a large lemon (feel free to use more or less to taste)
• juice of half a large lemon (again, to taste)
• approx. 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted (if you’re not too lazy to sift - i usually am…)
• pinch or two of salt

1. Cream together butter and cream cheese.

2. Add salt, lemon juice, and zest, beat until blended and smooth.

3. Beat in powdered sugar - I usually do it about a cup at a time - until you’ve reached desired consistency. You may end up using significantly more or less, depending on your goal.

So when I made it, the frosting was a bit runny. But it sets up once it’s been refrigerated or even just after sitting out for a little while. If you don’t use it immediately after making it, make sure to stir it up until it has returned to its original consistency before you try spreading it. If you want a more solid frosting (easier to work with when decorating and piping), substitute butter-flavored shortening for half the butter that you plan to use. In fact, using more butter (I mentioned this in the ingredients list above) may actually fix this problem.

The Final Product!

My First Marshmallows!

Making marshmallows seems to be all the rage in the baking/dessert-making blogging community these days. Or perhaps just on the ones I happen to read? Whatever the case, I’ve been wanting to try my hand at it for quite awhile now, and I finally got around to it last week. It’s a pretty simple process, though it does take a good deal of time. But I really enjoyed it, and definitely plan to do it again soon

As a base, I used the recipe for basic vanilla marshmallows found here: http://www.browniepointsblog.com/2006/04/15/basic-vanilla-marshmallows/

To flavor them, I added about 4-5 drops of pure peppermint oil to the water/vanilla mixture before sprinkling the gelatin over it. I would recommend using all of the vanilla called for by the recipe; the flavored oil should be an addition, not a substitution. I also swirled green food coloring through them to make them a bit more festive, and rolled the sides in granulated vanilla sugar (instead of plain powdered sugar) to add a little crunch and extra flavor.

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for: the pictures!

Boiling the sugar syrup:

Very beginning of the whipping process; right after I added the syrup to the gelatin:

Midway through the whipping process (about 5 minutes in):

End of whipping process (about 10 minutes):

Freshly poured slab, smoothed with an oiled offset spatula:

Beginning the swirling process:

Swirling completed:

Slab flipped over and dusted with powdered sugar for cutting:

The biscuit cutter I used to make the rounds:

The cutting process:

Connect 4, anyone?

The final product!

Scones - Sweet and Savory

A friend of mine invited me over for brunch a couple of weeks ago, and I decided it would be a great opportunity to try out some scone recipes I’ve had my eye on. I made two types of scones: blueberry lemon with a buttery lemon glaze and cheddar rosemary. I used two different recipes for bases, and tweaked them a bit with the fillings and toppings that I used.

For the savory scones, I used Ina Garten’s Cheddar and Dill scones as a base. I really don’t like dill though, so I replaced it with fresh rosemary. Ina’s recipe can be found here:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_119789,00.html

My scones didn’t look quite as puffy as hers, but I still thought they looked pretty. :-)

For the sweet scones, I used Alton Brown’s basic recipe to start with. Recipe can be found here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_147,00.html

Instead of dried fruit, I used frozen blueberries from Trader Joe’s. I also used more than just a “handful” of the fruit; then again, my handfuls are smaller than most. I just tossed in enough blueberries until the dough looked ‘berried’ enough. I also added the zest of one medium lemon to the cream/egg mixture before adding it to the batter.

For the glaze, I combined about 1/4 cup of melted butter, a couple of tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, and enough powdered sugar to get the consistency I wanted - probably about a cup and a half or so. I also threw in about 1/4 cup of granulated sugar to add a bit of texture to the glaze, but of course, that’s totally optional.

l made the mistake of trying to thin it out with a little milk, which I’m guessing reacted w/ the lemon juice and made for a slightly grainy texture. Luckily I didn’t add enough milk to do any real damage, but will definitely remember not to use any milk or cream next time around.

So which recipe won the day? Alton’s, hands down. His scones were delicious and moist and soft - practically melted in my mouth! - but still substantial and bread-like enough to be considered scones. I’m sure glazing them w/ melted butter and lemon juice helped a bit, but I could tell that even naked, these scones would have been fabulous. Meanwhile, Ina’s scones were a bit on the dry side. I reheated one in the microwave and that did help some, but overall I would say that her recipe just did not deliver. I did like the cheddar/rosemary combination, and will definitely be using that in the future.

Ina’s method of using the paddle attachment on the Kitchenaid mixer to “cut in” the butter was very useful. Also, I think it’s worth noting that Ina’s dough was a lot easier to work with; Alton’s was sticky and messy, while Ina’s rolled and cut beautifully. But I’d rather have sticky hands and yummy scones than the alternative, so I declare Alton the winner in this round.

Valentine's Dessert Party

My girlfriends and I were toying with the idea of throwing a cheesy little Valentine’s Day party - you know, girls only, construction-paper hearts, pink balloons, the works. After we giggled at how cute that idea was, we decided to actually throw a girls-only V-day party, but to class it up a bit. So we organized a lovely evening of candlelight and desserts, complete with heart-shaped cakes and chocolate covered strawberries. Good times and sugar comas were had by all - especially the three of us who got to do all of the baking and making!

The Menu:

Chocolate Heartcakes with Espresso Buttercream Filling and a Caramel Drizzle

Vanilla Bean Heartcakes with a Fresh Strawberry and Vanilla Buttercream Filling

Vanilla Bean Heartcakes with a Raspberry Buttercream Filling

Spiced Oreo Truffles (with Cinnamon and Cayenne)
Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Strawberry Lime Punch
Spinach Artichoke Dip

Shots of the full spread:

I’ll share the various recipes and techniques in a series of individual entries instead of stuffing them all into this one. I figure it’ll be easier on the readers that way - it’ll definitely be easier on the writer, that’s for sure!

On Waxed Paper

Sometimes, I come across a product in my kitchen, and I think to myself, "surely this has more uses for it than just the one or two that I bought it for…right?"

Waxed paper is definitely one of those products. It’s pretty much ubiquitous in kitchens of all varieties, from the busiest professional kitchen to the tiniest of home kitchens. I figured there must be more to it than a good way to keep my cakes from sticking to their pans - and boy was I right! Check out this link for a long list of the many uses of this super-product: http://www.cookingvillage.com/cv/kw/tiptionary_results/0,1755,sLang%3Dus&sLet%3DW&iSCat%3D545,00.html

But remember, waxed paper WILL smoke and burn if used simply as a baking sheet; its uses in the oven are limited to those that protect it from direct exposure to the heat of the oven. So don’t try to bake your next batch of cookies on it!

Crumb Crusts Demystified

for years now i have been trying to figure out how to make a good graham cracker crust. i have always followed the instructions to a T, yet every time the result was a hard, nearly uncuttable crust. at last, after much diligent searching online, i have discovered the secret! every recipe i’ve used has called for melted butter to be combined with whatever crumbs i may be using (graham cracker, gingersnap, nilla wafer, etc.) the melted butter is the culprit! the trick is to use softened, room temperature butter and combine THAT with the crumbs…the result is a perfectly crumbly yet firm crust that is fork cuttable but sturdy enough to support your filling of choice!

i’ve already tested this out on a chocolate pudding pie (recipe to be posted soon) and the results were exactly what i had hoped for. hooray!

A Note on Thickeners

cornstarch, apparently, is not a very dependable thickener. according to my research, its thickening effect is somewhat fragile, and if used improperly the result can actually be to thin out the soup/sauce/whatever in question. as you may or may not know, in order to activate its thickening power, cornstarch needs to be brought to a boil. however, after it has started to do its work, overstirring can break up the thickened network that the cornstarch has created, releasing excess liquid and actually thinning the substance! boo.
flour is a much less volatile thickener; however, it adds a more noticeable taste to your dish, so i would also recommend using it sparingly. if you do decide to use it, create a roux by mixing it with some sort of fat (butter, grease, even milk can work) and cook it for awhile to get rid of some of that raw flour taste. it’ll change color as it cooks (alton brown does a great special on gravies around thanksgiving time that explains rouxes in detail – keep an eye out for it!) after you’ve cooked it to the desired level, stir it into your sauce/soup. (this is my trick for particularly fussy alfredo sauces – i know it’s cheating, but it works like a charm!)for more on how cornstarch works, see http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/icooks/10-06-03.html

Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes Gone Awry!

so, one of the best ways that i’ve found to come up with new recipes is to combine older tried and true ones. whenever i come home for spring break i try and take advantage of our huge gorgeous kitchen as much as possible…and that is what i did. i decided to attempt to create a recipe for strawberry cheesecake cupcakes. the idea was to take my basic white cake recipe and fill them with a combination of my cheesecake filling recipe (already successfully used in many a chocolate cupcake) and strawberry filling recipe (already successfully used to fill my mom’s birthday cake.)

unfortunately, i got a little too excited and did not exercise the usual level of care that i would – and should – when combining recipes. instead of thickening the strawberry sauce into a filling-like consistency, or draining the excess liquid, i left it in its original runny form and simply mixed it with the cheesecake filling. the result? a yummy, but soupy, strawberry cream cheese concoction that, when baked, formed a sort of creamy layer in the middle of my cupcakes (sort of like cupcake sandwiches) instead of the cheesecake-textured center i was looking for. they were still pretty good, but not at all what i had intended. whoops.

lesson learned: when combining recipes, don’t forget science!

Holiday Cookie Extravaganza '07

This year, I started what I hope will become an annual tradition. I baked cookies - a LOT of cookies - and sent them to friends and family all over the country. Now, I realize that this is not a particularly novel idea. However, when you consider the fact that my family have never been big on gifts, holidays, or traditions, and that I’m the first one in the family to ever do anything remotely like this, you’ll hopefully understand why this was so exciting for me.

I made 8 different kinds of cookies!

1. Peppermint Whoopie Pies

2. Mazurkas (Fruit & Walnut Shortbread Bars)


3. Blondies (I didn’t take any pictures of these :-()

4. Caramel Apple Rugelach


5. Spiced Peach Rugelach

6. Half-Moon Sammies (before I dipped them in dark chocolate - see box below for completed product)



7. Snickerdoodle “Candycanes”


8. Giant Triple Thumbprints


And I even had fun putting together the gift boxes! I bought basic paper boxes and ribbons from Michael’s, and used double-stick tape to decorate the boxes. For the larger boxes, I found some great wine boxes (also at Michael’s) and used ribbon to dress up the tops a bit. Behold: