Everything & anything.

Chocolate Cupcakes

2008-05-22T16:23:02Z

Chocolate Cupcakes
INGREDIENTS
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a muffin pan with paper or foil liners. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk; beat well. Fill the muffin cups 3/4 full.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Frost with your favorite frosting when cool.

Chocolate Fudge Buttercream
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup shortening
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup hot fudge topping
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
Cream together the butter or margarine with the shortening.

Sift the cocoa with the confectioners' sugar and add to the creamed mixture. Mix together adding 1 tablespoon at a time of milk to keep mixture smooth. Don't add more than 1/4 cup of milk.

Add the hot fudge topping and the vanilla extract. Blend until smooth and creamy.

White Cake w/Butterscotch Frosting

2008-04-22T22:16:37Z

This is what I do on my freetime.

I really wish I got a picture of the cake once it was cut, because it was definately the best looking cake I've baked so far. The layers were nice and lined up and it was just beautiful. The texture of this cake is remarkable. I doctored the buttercream frosting that was in my book, because I wasn't certain how the birthday boy would like the orange liquor taste, so instead I went wth butterscotch schnapps. There was a big problem prior to baking (because I dropped the bottle of alcohol) but after buying a second bottle, it was well worth it. While I would never ever drink the butterscotch schnapps alone, it made a great addition to the frosting.

Actually, the schnapps might taste really good in hot chocolate.
This recipe was from a book called Baking in America by Greg Patent.

I have that stick in the middle of the cake because it was being all slidey. But once the icing hardened I pulled it out and it all stayed together.

Ingredients:

CAKE:
3 cups sifted cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups sugar
8 large egg whites - 6 whites in one bowl, the remaining 2 in another
1 1/4 cups milk

BUTTERCREAM FROSTING:
6 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
2 cups unsalted butter, very soft
2 tbsp Grand Marnier *
1/8 tsp salt

* I replaced the Grand Marnier with the Butterscotch Schnapps and put in about 2 1/2 tbsp, because it tasted so good.

Directions:

1. For the cake, adjust an oven rack to the lower third position and preheat the oven to 350. Generously grease two 9-inch round cake pans. Line the bottoms with rounds of waxed paper or cooking parchment. Butter the paper and dustthe bottoms of the pans with flour. Tap out the excess and set aside.

2. Resift the cake flour ith the baking powder and salt; set aside.

3. In a large bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the vanilla and 1/4 cup of the sugar and beat for 1 minute. Beat in 1 1/4 more cups of the remainingsugar about 1/4 cup at a time, beating for 20 to 30 seconds after each addition. Scrape the bowl and beaters well, then beat for 5 minutes on medium-high speed. Add 2 of the egg wites and beat for 2 minutes.

4. On low speed, add the dry ingeredients in 4 additions, alternaing with the milk, beginning nd ending with the flour and beating after each addition only until smooth. The batter may look curdled.

5. In a large bowl, with clean beaters, beat the remaining 6 egg whites on mediu speed until they form very soft peaks that droop at their tips when the beaters are raised. Beat in the remaining 1/4 cup sugar 1 tablespoon at a time for about 10 seconds after each addition. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat briefly until the whites are thick and shiny like a mashmallow cream and form peaks with only slightly drooping points; do not overbeat.

6. Transfer about one fourth of the beaten whites to the cake batter with a large rubber spatula. Gently fold in the whites, using 6 or 7 broad strokes; do not be too thorough. Gently fold in the remaining whites in 3 additions, then continue foldig until no whits show. Carefully divide the batter between the two pans, handling as gently as possible. To level the batter, rotate the pans briskly on your countertop; the surfae of the batter may not be entirely smooth.

7. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the layers are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean; the layers will barely spring back with gently pressed in the centr. Cool in the pans on a rack for 5 minutes. Run a small sharp knife around the sides of the layers to release them, cover with racks, invert, and carefully lift off the pans and papers. Cool th layers upside down for 10 minutes, then cove them with other racks, invertt, and cool completely right side up.

8. For the buttercream, in a large bowl, beat the egg yolks with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until very thick, about 5 minutes. Combine the sugar and corn syrup in a small heavy saucepan, set the pan over medium-high heat, and stir constantly with a heatproof rubber spatula until the mixture comes to a full rolling boil. Immediately scrap;e the mixture into a measuring cup. Pour a dollop of the hot sugar mixture into the yoks and beat on high speed for a few seconds. Stop the macine, add another dollop, and beat it in. Repeat until all the syrup has been added, then beat until the mixture cools to room temprature.

9. On medium speed, add the soft butter about 2 tablespoons at a time, beating after each addition until thoroughly incorporated. The buttercream will be very soft at first, then it will begin to hold its shape ad be thick enough to spread. Scrape the bowl and beaters well and beat in the Grand Marnier and salt.

10. Trim any crusty edges from the layers. To frost the cake, place one layer upside down on a place and spread with about 1 cup of the buttercream. Place the second layer right side up on the first layer and frost the sides and top with the remaining buttercream. Let stand until the frosting is set. To serve, rinse a sharp knife in hot water and shake off excess water before making each cut. Refrigerate leftovers. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Homemade Hostess Cupcakes

2008-02-17T07:42:51Z

I'm not the best baker alive, but I really enjoy experimenting with new recipes. I had the urge to bake today and with the suggestion of my mom I found a recipe for homemade Hostess cupcakes. They're not bad, but given that my pastry bag is at my other house and my mom coudln't find hers, getting the cream in the center of the cupcakes wasn't the easy thing and was kind of messy. But I did my best!

They're really chocolatey and really tastey.

Recipe from foodandwine.com
So this makes 12 cupcakes.

ingredients
CUPCAKES
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons cake flour
1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
2 large eggs, separated
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons water

FILLING
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup Marshmallow Fluff
1 1/2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon heavy cream

FROSTING
1/4 cup heavy cream
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

directions
MAKE THE CUPCAKES: Preheat the oven to 350°. Spray a 12-cup nonstick muffin pan with vegetable oil spray. In a medium bowl, sift the flour and cocoa with the baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks with the canola oil, 1/2 cup of the sugar and the water. Beat in the dry ingredients at low speed until smooth.

In a clean bowl, using clean beaters, beat the egg whites at high speed until soft peaks form. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and beat until stiff and glossy. Beat one-fourth of the whites into the batter, then fold in the remaining whites until no streaks remain. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, filling them halfway. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the cupcakes are springy when touched. Let the cupcakes cool for 5 minutes, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

MAKE THE FILLING: In a medium bowl, beat the butter with the confectioners' sugar, Marshmallow Fluff and 1 1/2 tablespoons of the heavy cream at medium speed until fluffy. Transfer all but 1/2 cup of the filling to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch plain round tip. Beat the remaining 1 teaspoon of cream into the remaining 1/2 cup of filling and reserve.

Line a large baking sheet with wax paper. Insert the tip of the pastry bag about 1/2 inch deep into the bottom of each cupcake; squeeze lightly to fill with cream. Set the cupcakes on the sheet.

MAKE THE FROSTING: Heat the cream in a small saucepan until steaming. Add the chocolate and let stand for 5 minutes. Add the butter and stir until smooth. Spread the top of each cupcake with the frosting. Spoon the reserved filling into a pastry bag fitted with a very small plain tip and pipe decorative swirls on each cupcake. Refrigerate the cupcakes for at least 10 minutes to set the frosting.

Also, I'm kind of intrigued that bakebakebake on livejournal has monthly baking challenges. Maybe people in this community would be interested in baking/cooking challenges? How they do it is the mod over there makes a theme for the month and people bake things according to that theme and take pictures of it and include the recipes. At the end of the month the community votes on which creation was the best.

Just a suggestion for something this community could do!

yumm @ 2008-02-16T12:53:00

2008-02-16T17:54:43Z

This week is my school vacation and I think it's the same for others too, so where's everybody going?

I'm going to NYC! :)

yumm @ 2008-02-14T11:55:00

2008-02-14T16:56:45Z

Friends only!