Long time no see

I have had a truly busy year on my hands. It has been both joyful and trying, but the wonderful thing about busy years is that they bring with them growth and change. My husband and I are expecting our first child in August, I have successfully survived a large transition at my workplace, and I have become an aunt. Thankfully, during this time I have still been able to find opportunities to bake and decorate. I am making this a picture heavy post as most of these projects were focused more on the decorating rather than trying new recipes for the cakes.

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Mint Julep Cupcakes

I love to try new and unusual recipes in the kitchen, but I particularly love a task that allows me to tweak and customize techniques to achieve a specific flavor combination. These cupcakes were made for a coworker of mine, a native Kentuckian and fan of the derby. We started discussing them in March after the success of the Irish Car Bomb cupcakes. I accepted the challenge, and the mint julep cupcake was born. 

I took the relatively same approach with these cupcakes as I did with the Irish Car Bomb cupcakes- cake, alcohol-infused filling, alcohol flavored frosting. They turned out quite tasty with just the right kick to keep them off limits to those under the age of twenty-one.  

I began by researching other versions of this cupcake treat. They all involved using a great deal of alcohol in the batter which caused me some concern. I was primarily thinking about the consistency and texture of the cake. I wanted to perfume the cake with alcoholic flavor rather than making it mushy or more on the beverage side than the dessert side. Ultimately, I decided to use my ultra-tasty, hugely reliable vanilla cupcake recipe and tweak it just a bit. 

I began the actual construction of these cupcakes by culling the necessary ingredients. I knew I absolutely needed bourbon, and I wanted an alcohol to flavor the frosting. I ended up trying creme de menthe. My coworker was kind enough to provide me with the appropriate bourbon necessary to achieve a true Kentucky mint julep flavor. I had an opportunity to sample just a bit, and I must say it was strong stuff. I could actually taste it lingering in the burst of warm air when I opened the oven to check on the first batch. For the filing, we discussed the different bases and decided that a white chocolate would be best to achieve the sweet flavor of a mint julep. 

Mint Julep Cupcakes

Makes about 24 cupcakes 

1 3/4 c. cake flour

1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour

2 c. sugar

1 tbs. baking powder

3/4 tbs. salt

1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened and cut into tablespoons

4 large eggs at room temperature 

3/4 c. whole milk

1/4 c. 100 proof bourbon

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 325 and line a standard muffin pan with your favorite cupcake liners. I went for a Kentucky blue suitable for the occasion. 

In the bowl of your mixer, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix until they are combined. Add the softened butter a few tablespoons at a time. Mix on medium low until the butter is incorporated and the pieces of butter are no larger than a peanut. I try to get mine looking like the consistency of a crumbly crust ready to be pressed into the pie plate. 

In a large measuring cup, a 2 cup Pyrex works well, whisk together milk, bourbon, eggs, and vanilla. If you want to up the bourbon flavor, substitute more bourbon for milk. I would not go more than half a cup as you need to milk to keep the cupcakes the right consistency. Make sure you are using whole milk for this recipe as the fat content is important to achieving a successful cupcake. 

Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients in three parts, mixing on medium after each addition. Mix until all ingredients are thoroughly incorporated, but do not over mix because it can affect the texture of the cupcakes. 

Fill your liners to about 2/3 full. Bake for 17-20 minutes. Test cupcakes with a cake tester after removing them from the oven to ensure they are done. Place the cupcakes on a wire rack to cool completely before filing and frosting. 

Bourbon White Chocolate Ganache

12 oz. white chocolate chips

2/3 c. heavy cream

2 tbs. unsalted butter at room temperature

3 tbs. bourbon (or more if you really want to taste it)

Heat the cream in the microwave until simmering, about a minute and ten seconds. Pour in the white chocolate chips, shaking bowl slightly to ensure that all of the chips are covered in hot cream. Let this sit for about one minute. Stir in the butter and bourbon. Continue stirring the mixture until all ingredients are thoroughly incorporated. You don't want the mixture to appear curdled or chunky. 

Do not be afraid if the mixture appears a bit soupy. I kept mine in the refrigerator overnight, and it was still a bit runny. The trick is to achieve a consistency slightly thiner than a pudding. This will ensure that it does not soak into your cupcakes, but still has a pleasantly smooth feel similar to a well prepared adult beverage. Definitely make this ahead of time, so if it does not have the proper consistency, you have time to let it chill for several hours in the fridge. 

Creme de Menthe Frosting

1 c. unsalted butter at room temperature

2 lbs. confectioners sugar

4-5 tbs. creme de menthe

Beat the butter in the bowl of your mixer until smooth and creamy. Begin adding the sugar in small portions, beating between each addition. Add the creme de menthe. Beat until the frosting is smooth and creamy, achieving the proper consistency for piping. 

Be sure to sample your frosting. If you find that the mint flavor is not powerful enough, add more alcohol or a half teaspoon of mint extract. 

Assembling the Cupcakes

To assemble the finished product, begin by cutting the centers out of your cupcakes. I like to use a sharp knife and cut in a cone shape. This makes a lovely, symmetrical circle and fun cake cones that you can munch on while you are decorating your cupcakes. 

Fill a pastry bag with the white chocolate ganache and pipe enough filling into each cupcake to reach the top of the cake. Do not be afraid to overfill your cupcakes. It just means more deliciousness for the person who eats the overfilled one. 

Fill another pastry bag fitted with Wilton tip 1m. Pipe the frosting in a circular swirl pattern, making sure to cover the filling completely. 

Fill free to garnish the finished product with fresh mint leaves or caster sugar. 

I loved the way these cupcakes turned out. They were a great melding of flavors. I liked that I could taste each of the components and that the textures worked well together. These cupcakes were an adventure that I would love to take again. My next foray into the adult beverage themed cupcake will probably be white Russian inspired in honor of my lovely husband. I will, of course, post pictures and how-tos when I tackle this challenge. 

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Brown and Blue Baby Shower Cupcakes

There is nothing more joyful than celebrating a new life. I made these baby shower cupcakes for one of my coworkers who is expecting a son. The blue and brown combination is quite popular for little boy nurseries at the moment, and I was excited to get a chance to try my hand at putting together a simple treat that reflects that trend.

I used a basic vanilla cake recipe and folded fresh blueberries into the batter. The fresh fruit lent a light note to the fluffy sweetness of the vanilla cake. I chose to use fresh blueberries rather than frozen to avoid the purple color that frozen berries would have inevitably brought to the batter. I also believe the integrity of the fresh berry is much greater than that of a frozen one, making the cake void of any mushy berry pockets that are often found in mass-produced blueberry baked goods. The berries also made the cupcakes rather pretty in their white liners. They took on a polka-dotted appearance. If you look carefully at the cupcake in the lower right corner, you can see one of the blueberries peeking out from under the frosting.

The simple decoration on the cupcake is made from marshmallow fondant, tinted blue and brown. My coworker specifically requested no chocolate in the decorative elements. I felt that using a fondant would be better than attempting to color frosting a deep brown hue without the benefit of cocoa powder.

You'll notice that the cupcakes appear to be wearing skirts. I have started double wrapping the cupcakes I make for special occasions. I do this because many times a printed liner will lose its vibrancy when going through the baking process, and I want my cupcakes to have a polished look that is appropriate for the occasion. I want to try using some sort of ribbon or seal to keep the additional liner from fanning out so much. I will post comments and pictures when I get an opportunity to try this technique.

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High Hat Cupcakes

You may notice that I am calling them high hat cupcakes rather than hi-hat cupcakes. This is simply because the English teacher in me refuses to cut corners. I made two batches of these cupcakes for Easter gatherings this past weekend. This was my first attempt at mastering this impressive form. I think I pulled off an okay final product. It was by no means the beautifully smooth mountain of swirly chocolate and frosting Martha Stewart boasts on her website, but it certainly tasted delicious. I definitely learned a thing or two that I will apply when I revisit these cupcakes in hopes that they will look just as lovely as Martha's someday.

For the cupcake, I used Martha Stewart's One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes recipe. It's a pretty simple recipe, and the cupcakes turn out moist and tasty, baking up with nice round tops.

For the first layer of frosting, I used a basic buttercream that I dressed up with some strawberry preserves and a touch of pink gel coloring to give it that Easter egg glow. I cut the tip off of a disposable pastry bag and swirled the frosting into tall peaks. I then gave the frosting time to set. If you have room, place the frosted cupcakes in the refrigerator to cool before you dip them.

For the chocolate coating on the frosting I melted one twelve ounce bag of Nestle Toll House White Morsels in a Pyrex measuring cup.  It took about two minutes total to achieve the consistency I needed for coating the cupcakes. There was a recipe for chocolate dipped strawberries on the back of the bag. I followed the instructions for the coating, adding a bit of vegetable shortening to the melted chips to keep them shiny.

I then took my chilled cupcakes and dipped them in the melted chocolate. I was initially worried that the sheer amount of frosting piled so very high on these cupcakes would not work well in a fully inverted position. How wrong I was. The frosting adhered to the cupcakes beautifully and even survived the dipping into the hot chocolate with ease. I quickly learned that if I wanted my coating to appear smooth, I would have to keep the cupcake upside down long enough for the excess chocolate to drip off back into the measuring cup.

The white chocolate, as it dried, turned out looking almost opalescent because it was just barely translucent, allowing some of the pink to show through. I tried coating one cupcake twice to make the chocolate appear more robust. This was a bit too much heat for my initial layer of frosting, and the lovely piled high design melted into more of a large, smooth hill. While this cupcake did turn a nice, opaque white, it did not have the swirl pattern indicative of a high hat cupcake. When I make these again, I will allow the cupcakes to fully cool in the fridge before attempting to dip them again.

The final product made a pretty centerpiece at our Easter meals. The chocolate cake was a delightful complement to the buttery frosting and the smooth white chocolate. The chocolate coating had just the right amount of firmness to make the texture combinations divine. I should have taken a picture of them cut open, but we ate them faster than we could photograph them.

For my next high hat experiment, I plan to use a butterscotch coating paired with banana cream frosting and a vanilla cupcake.

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Yummy Fondant 101

I like to use fondant because it gives any cake a polished look. Unfortunately, traditional fondants can be offensive to the taste buds. My cake philosophy is that if it is not edible, it's cheating. I don't want to think about accidentally swallowing a mouthful of styrofoam or plastic. If they could make it edible hundreds of years ago, I should be able to do it too with a palatable result. Enter marshmallow fondant, the yummy alternative to the lightly sugared plastic taste of store-bought fondants. Marshmallow fondant has the taste and consistency of a condensed Peep. It is versatile, takes color easily, and can be flavored using different extracts.

I found this recipe while perusing the internet for a fondant to use on my sister's wedding cake. I wanted something that was easy, cost effective, and pleasant to eat. I was skeptical at first because adding sugar to marshmallows in my mind equals a big sticky mess. When making this, you will, indeed, get sticky, but it will balance out in the end, I promise. The key is to keep the faith and keep kneading.

Marshmallow Fondant
2 lbs. confectioner's sugar
1 lb. high quality mini marshmallows
2-5 tbs. water
Vegetable shortening

Before you begin, thoroughly clean your counter top or work surface. You will be rolling out your fondant on this surface, so make sure it's clean and debris free. Spread a thin layer of vegetable shortening on your work surface to prevent the marshmallows from sticking.

Place your marshmallows along with 2 tbs water in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for about thirty seconds. Remove bowl from microwave, be careful as the bowl could be very hot. Stir marshmallow mixture. If you notice that the marshmallows are not entirely melted, place the bowl back in the microwave and repeat. Mine usually take about two passes in the microwave until they are fully melted. Be sure you are stirring between microwavings.

Once your marshmallows are melted, pour about a third of the confectioners sugar into the center of the bowl. Carefully dump the marshmallows and sugar onto your prepared work surface. At this point you should thoroughly grease your hands and forearms to ensure that you do not end up wearing your fondant. (I forgot to do this once, and most of the fondant ended up on me rather than on the cake.)   Don't grease your hands before you dump your mixture because you risk losing control of the bowl.

Begin kneading the marshmallow and sugar mixture. Once the initial third of the sugar is incorporated, add another third. Continue kneading. You will have marshmallow all over your hands, but rest assured, if you greased your hands, it will come off. If you notice the fondant tearing or it feels dry, add a tablespoon of water. Continue kneading, adding the final third of the sugar. You may regrease your hands whenever you feel the fondant sticking.

After all of the sugar is kneaded into the marshmallows, you should have something that looks like white playdough. To store your fondant, rub the fondant in a thin layer of vegetable shortening and wrap several times in plastic wrap. Place the wrapped fondant in a sealable plastic bag, forcing the air out before you seal it. This will keep in the refrigerator for several weeks.

To color your fondant, use a small amount of gel coloring and knead it into the dough. If the color is too dark, knead in some white fondant to tone it down. When you're kneading in color, remember that it will stain your hands, so wear gloves if you don't want dyed hands. I usually go without gloves. I call the look baker's hands. 

I find that marshmallow fondant is easier to work with after it has had a chance to rest a bit. I usually make mine the night before I plan to use it to give it time to cool and firm up. If you must use the fondant immediately, work with it in parts while allowing the remaining wrapped fondant to cool in the fridge.

Air will dry out the fondant, so make sure that when you are working with it, you take care to keep the portions you are not using sealed in air-tight bags. I will tint portions and keep them in separate bags until I need them.

When you roll out the fondant, make sure to prepare your work surface with cornstarch or powdered sugar. This will ensure that your fondant does not stick to the surface. You can work with it much like cookie dough or even playdough. If you feel the fondant getting rough or dry, a little vegetable shortening will liven it up a bit. Don't use too much, however, or it will take on a sheen that will not fade.

I use a variety of cookie cutters and stamps to achieve the shapes and look of my fondant pieces. You can also hand sculpt a great deal from fondant. One word of caution, because of it's doughy consistency, don't try to make your fondant figures too large, or they won't hold their shape.  I discovered this while making the ducky baby shower cake.

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Sesame Street Cupcakes

I made two batches of these cupcakes for birthday parties. They were a whole lot of fun to make but rather labor intensive. After about six hours, these cupcakes turned into a labor of love. I was listening to my local top 40 radio station as I was working on them, and I now feel I have a firm grasp of the hits of the moment. I can even sing along to some without flubbing the lyrics.

I used Billy's Vanilla Cupcakes for the base and frosted them with a cream cheese butter cream blend. The embellishments are made of marshmallow fondant, colored and sculpted to resemble the appropriate facial features.

When I was planning these cupcakes, I was concerned about achieving the vibrant colors of the Sesame Street characters. I didn't want the frosting to have any sort of artificial, food coloring taste to it, so I had to be thoughtful about how I was going to get the colors just right. I did my research on the different gel colors out there and decided that Wilton was the way to go. I decided to make the frosting a day in advance to give it time to develop in the fridge. Frosting will darken in color if you allow it to sit for about twenty-four hours.

I used a half butter, half cream cheese blend for the frosting. I chose to use a partial cream cheese base so that the frosting would hold the vibrant Sesame Street colors and appear shiny after it set. I parceled out the frosting into four batches and mixed the colors, adding a bit of gel color at a time until the color was the right vibrancy. For the Elmo red, I used Wilton's No Taste Red gel coloring which I would recommend for any deep red frosting. Regular reds tend to leave an aftertaste, and you have to use a great deal of color to get a vibrant red. 

The fondant embellishments can be made several days in advance and stored in the fridge. One batch of marshmallow fondant is more than enough to create the parts needed to assemble these cupcakes. I prefer marshmallow fondant to the store-bought alternatives simply because it tastes so much better.

I will post the marshmallow fondant recipe this week for those of you wanting to try it out. It is an amazingly simple recipe but requires that you either have a dough hook attachment on your mixer or are willing to get a bit messy. I like to do the messy option because I can judge the consistency of my end product better than if I were using my mixer to blend it all together.

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Baby Shower Cupcakes

I wanted to share these cupcakes with all of you because, I must say, I am pretty darn proud of them. I spent the day working on these cupcakes for a baby shower. The order was a bit last minute, but I was not thwarted as several forces in the universe seemed to be conspiring to turn this into an excellent opportunity to try new techniques and patronize new retail establishments. This day seemed to unfold like a whimsical adventure. I felt as if I were a character in The Alchemist,an excellent read if you are looking for something short, poignant, and philosophical.

The first turn of good fortune these cupcakes brought with them was a trip to the newly opened Hobby Lobby in my local shopping area. If you have never experienced the joy that is Hobby Lobby, locate one right away and make haste to this retail establishment. I've been reading up on a fondant stamping technique that uses clear stamps, and Hobby Lobby had just what I needed. They also carry a variety of super groovy cupcake liners that I was dying to buy, but I must pace myself if I do not want to wallow in debt at the tender age of thirty. I also had the pleasure of checking out in a lane run by an adorable pregnant woman who was unusually pleasant early on a Saturday morning.

I also stopped by Cook's Corner, the store that was closed due to an unexpected power outage when I was gathering my supplies for the St. Patrick's Day cupcakes and the only dark cloud in my otherwise sunny day. While they have an interesting selection of toys for aspiring chefs, I do not plan on going back there. The clerk ignored me when I approached the counter to check out and, after finally helping me, did not get off the phone or speak to me at all.

From Cook's Corner, I made my way to the grocery store to gather my ingredients. There were several sales going on; almost everything I needed was a featured item this week. When I went up to the self-check-out lane, the automated coupon printer started spitting out coupons on many items on my grocery list. This coupled with the Hobby Lobby experience led me to believe that the universe really wanted me to make these cupcakes after all.

Baking and assembling the cupcakes took a great deal of time, but it was well worth it. I was able to get my fondant made and start rolling out the toppers before the cupcakes were finished baking. This saved me time on the decorating end.

I used a basic chocolate cupcake recipe and topped the cakes with a maple butter cream frosting. On top of the frosting I placed a stamped circle of fondant topped with a pink fondant star stamped with the word "Baby."

I hope that the expectant mother enjoys her cupcakes. I wish her joy and peace during this exciting time.

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