Christmas Cupcakes

Super simple, just wanted to make some cupcakes to take to work that were Christmas-y. Plus I love using food coloring (ask my mom - I used to make awfully colored pancakes as a kid, you're welcome for helping with brunch) and seem to always have a lot of holiday sprinkles in stock.

Trader Joe's cocoa powder provided the recipe for this one, and then I just made basic frosting to go with. I think I did a basic butter and powdered sugar frosting, but must have added a bit of milk and vanilla to have the consistency (less stiff). But potentially that's just an effect of my proportions and/or food coloring.

Trader Joe's "The Greatest and Easiest Chocolate Cake"
3 1/3 cup flour
1 1/3 cup cocoa
3 cups sugar
1 tbsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
12 oz butter
3 cups buttermilk (I likely used regular milk)
5 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease and flour two 9" round baking pans or line cupcake cups with liners

Place all ingredients in electric mixer bowl and beat on high speed for 3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl once during mixing. Pour into prepared pans or cupcake cups [I like to pour into a measuring cup with spout to make this easier to use a measuring cup to scoop and pour - mostly for neatness sake].  Bake cakes for about 55 min or cupcakes for 20-25 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool before frosting; otherwise, they will make the frosting melty and make a mess.


[I usually don't use all the frosting, so perhaps use half the recipe for starters]

2 sticks butter, at room temperature
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons whole milk

In a large bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter, confectioners’ sugar, and salt. Beat on low speed until combined, about 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula, then increase speed to medium high and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Stop mixer, add the vanilla and milk, then continue beating 3 minutes on medium high on a stand mixer, or 5 minutes on a handheld mixer.

upside-down cherry cornmeal cake

Cherries were really cheap the other day at the store, so I bought a lot. I ate most of them, but then I went out of town. When I came back, they were not fully bad but not really that appetizing. As I hate to waste food, I've started deciding that anything that isn't fully bad should just be baked. If that's wrong, I don't want to be right because I get delicious, soft, fruit goodness out of this policy. I looked on SK for cherry recipes, and I went for this one because I had most of the ingredients.

Throughout her post, SK talked about how many things she did wrong because she did it at the last minute and was in a hurry. Well for some completely arbitrary reason, I decided I wanted to make this before a shift at the restaurant, so I was in a hurry and, of course, made a wealth of other mistakes. As a result, it didn't come out perfectly, but because I took half of it to work, most of it got eaten very quickly, and that always assuages my guilt about wasting food. And it wasn't bad. I definitely liked cooking the cherries down first and baking the whole thing in my cast iron, so it was a fun recipe to make.

[I made a half-batch because I didn't have that many cherries, and even so I had a pretty thick layer of cake on top once it baked and rose]

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
1/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
3 cups whole pitted fresh Bing cherries or other dark sweet cherries (about 21 ounces whole unpitted cherries)
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal (preferably stone-ground medium grind)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, separated
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole milk
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 350°F. Combine 1/4 cup butter with brown sugar and vinegar in 10- to 11-inch ovenproof skillet with 2-inch-high sides. Stir over medium heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Increase heat to high; add cherries and bring to boil. Remove from heat.

Whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat 1/2 cup butter in large bowl. Add sugar; beat until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with milk in 2 additions each, beating just until blended and occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites in another medium bowl until foamy. Add cream of tartar and beat until whites are stiff but not dry. Using rubber spatula, fold 1/4 of whites into batter to lighten slightly. Fold in remaining whites in 3 additions (batter will be thick). Spoon batter over cherries in skillet, then spread evenly with offset spatula to cover cherries.

Bake cake until top is golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool in skillet on rack 5 minutes. Run spatula around edges of cake to loosen. Place large serving platter upside down atop skillet. Using pot holders or oven mitts, firmly hold platter and skillet together and invert. Leave skillet atop cake 5 minutes. Remove skillet. If necessary, rearrange any cherries that may have become dislodged. Let cake cool at least 45 minutes. Cut cake into wedges and serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

Chocolate Mayo Cake

I wanted to make some cupcakes and cake to take to my friend's slip n slide party (it was AWESOME! a blow-up rental slip n slide, like a bouncy house), and I found this recipe in my Joy of Cooking. I didn't have any milk, and this was one of the few recipes that didn't need it. Oddly enough, it used mayonnaise. I hadn't heard of that in desserts before, but when I told a friend, he said that he'd heard of mayo in cakes and stuff before, so I guess it's more of a thing than I realized.

We hosted Good Times Fest at Galaxy Cafe last weekend, and I was manning the cookie decorating booth, which was really fun. We ended up with a lot of leftover icing and sprinkles, so I took them home and decorated the cake and took some supplies for people to decorate their own cupcakes at the party.

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
4 oz unsweetened baking chocolate, chopped
3 large eggs
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 1/3 cups water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and baking powder in a bowl. Separately, melt the chocolate [I put some water in a pot and then set the chocolate in a pyrex bowl so that it balances on the rim of the pot (as shown), double-boiler style].

Beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla at medium high speed, about 3 minutes. Mix the melted chocolate with the mayonnaise. Beat chocolate/mayo mixture into the wet batter. On low speed, add in flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the water. Beat until smooth and pour into prepared pans or cupcake tins.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20-40 minutes, depending on whether you make cupcakes or a cake. Let cool and ice. 

dad's strawberry shortcake

Ah, a childhood favorite. My dad made this a lot while I was in middle and high school, and it is one of my all time comfort foods. When I was in Morocco, I went on a trip to London and saw a box of bisquick in the store. I bought it and brought it to Casablanca with me, and Eryn and I loved making strawberry shortcake as a special treat. It is super simple and yummy and just makes me so darn happy. I always serve it with milk and sugar sprinkled on top, but to each his own.

*recipe from the box of bisquick


3 tablespoons white sugar
2 1/3 cups Bisquick baking mix
1/2 cup whole milk [or whatever kind you like]
3 tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 425 F. Combine dry ingredients. Mix in milk and melted butter. Shape into individual shortcakes. The flatter, the more cooked through they will be once they are golden brown. Cook 10-12 minutes.

coconut cupcakes

I saw this coconut cake recipe in my Ina Garten book, barefoot contessa at home, and I wanted to try it out. Of course, I made it into cupcakes, what else? I also used unsweetened instead of sweetened coconut because that was all I could find. It seemed to work fine, but I guess I don't have much to compare it to. I'm sure sweetened would be better, though.

I made 1/2 the cake recipe for my 12 cupcakes and 1/2 the icing recipe, but it should have been 1/3 the icing recipe because I still had a lot leftover. But who can't find uses for cream cheese frosting? Not I.

cake/cupcakes [original recipe makes 2 layer cakes, 1/2 recipe makes 12 cupcakes]
3 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
2 cups sugar
6 extra large eggs, at room temperature
1.5 tsp vanilla extract
1.5 tsp almond extract [I didn't have this so I just used vanilla]
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup milk
4 oz sweetened shredded coconut

frosting [original recipe is for a 2 layer cake, 1/3 recipe decorates 12 cupcakes]
1 pound cream cheese at room temperature
2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract [again, I just used vanilla]
1 pound confectioner's sugar [I used 2 cups]
6 oz sweetened shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. For cakes, grease pans and line with parchment paper. For cupcakes, put in cupcake liners.

With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar for 3-5 minutes until light yellow and fluffy.

Add eggs one at a time, scraping down bowl during mixing. The mixture may look curdled; don't be concerned.

In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With mixer on low, alternate adding dry ingredients and milk in increments to batter. Mix until just combined. Fold in coconut.

Pour batter evenly into pans and smooth top with a knife. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes [less for cupcakes] until tester comes out clean. Cook on baking rack for 30 minutes and then turn it over to finish cooling.

For frosting, combine cream cheese, butter, and extracts on low speed in a mixer. Add the confectioner's sugar and mix until just smooth (don't whip).

Nutritional Information for cake [for 1/24 of original recipe or 1 cupcake]
258 calories
14g total fat
30g total carbs
4g protein

Nutritional Information for frosting [for 1/36 of original recipe or 1 cupcake icing]
122 calories
8g total fat
13g total carbs
1g protein

lemon mint cake

I was watching the Food Network at the gym the other day and saw Giada making this cake. It looked pretty simple, and I'm a growing fan of souffles, so I decided to try it out. I got a bit frustrated because my mixer didn't really manage to beat the egg whites to the appropriate level of stiffness, but I think the cake turned out pretty well even though it wasn't perfect. The flavors were interesting, but it was really good with the simple syrup over it. Even the boys liked it, and they all sort of balked at the lemon mint combination.

 Exhibit A: my not so stiff egg whites. Sigh.

Cake:
3 eggs, separated, at room temperature
1 cup sugar, divided
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
8 mint sprigs, leaves chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 cup all-purpose flour

Syrup: [this will make much more than you need for the cake, but as Giada mentions on the show, you can use it for cocktails and other desserts]
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest

Fresh mint sprigs, for garnish


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour an 8-inch round cake pan.

For the cake: In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Add 1/2 cup sugar and beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks.

In a separate large bowl, beat the vegetable oil, the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and salt. Add the egg yolks 1 at a time. Add the chopped mint, lemon juice and lemon zest. Add the flour and mix until just combined. Set aside.

Slowly add 1/2 of the egg white mixture into the oil mixture. Using a rubber spatula, carefully fold in the remaining egg white mixture. Spread the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a cutting board and allow to cool before slicing.

For the syrup: In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, water, lemon juice, and lemon zest over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the sugar has dissolved, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, Remove the pan from the heat and allow the syrup to cool, about 20 minutes.

To serve, spoon some of the syrup onto each small plate or shallow bowl and lay a slice of cake on top. Drizzle the cake with additional syrup and garnish with a small sprig of mint

Nutritional information (for 1/12 of cake with syrup)
177 calories
6g total fat
31g carbs
3g protein

Davis strawberry cake

My little sister is turning 22 today! How did we get so old? I mean, I recognize that we are not old, but we both are officially adults, and it is strange. For her birthday, she requested that I make this cake that her best friend's mom made them in high school. So the mom sent it to her and she passed it along to me. It isn't the kind of thing I would normally make since it uses cake mix as an ingredient and I prefer to make everything from scratch, but it is for the birthday girl. I looked up a whipped cream cheese frosting recipe from allrecipes. She also requested that it not be done as cupcakes, which we all know is how I like to do things, so again, birthday girl got her way. It was a pretty tasty cake, I will say. I'm still not totally sold on using mixes vs. homemade (it wasn't really that many less steps not to add my own baking powder, salt, flour, etc), but it did taste good. I didn't even get a bite of one of the strawberry chunks, so I'm curious how that played out.

Happy Birthday boo! I love you! I'm so glad we live in the same city again and can hang out (even if it is a crazy, last-minute trip to go schlep your babysitting kids around together)


Strawberry Cake

1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix
1 (3 ounce) package strawberry flavored gelatin
2/3 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 ounces frozen strawberries
1/2 cup buttermilk
Directions

Thaw and drain the frozen strawberries.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease on 9x13 inch cake pan.
Combine the white cake mix, strawberry gelatin, oil, eggs, flour, thawed strawberries, and buttermilk and mix until just combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 25 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Frosting

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened [I used the 1/3 less fat version]

1 cup white sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar salt and vanilla until smooth. In a small bowl, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Fold into the cream cheese mixture.

*To ice the cake, I put it in the fridge for about 20 minutes to help firm it up. I have heard and experienced that a colder cake takes icing better, so I try to budget that into my schedule.
**I also had a good amount of icing left over that I didn't use, but had I baked the cake in two layers as I had planned on doing, the remaining would have been needed to ice between the layers.

Nutritional information (for 1/14 of cake only)
269 calories
13g total fat
34g carbs
4g protein

Nutritional information (for 1/14 of frosting only)
207 calories
15g total fat
17g carbs
1g protein

plum cake

I bought some plums from the store the other day, and while I like eating them raw, I thought I would see what recipes were out there. Of course SK came through with a delicious looking cake recipe that I decided to try. I made half the recipe as I was making it mostly for myself to have over the next few days. It was really easy to make, even though I didn't have a mixer to use. I got really used to having one in Bulgaria and using it all the time, but I just alternated between a wooden spoon, whisk, and rubber spatula and got the job done well enough for my standards. Luckily, I think my sister is going to let hers sleep at my house, so I won't be mixerless for long. Phew!

*as mentioned above, I made a 1/2 recipe and left out the orange zest as I didn't have any oranges or lemons on hand

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Scant 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/3 cup flavorless oil, such as canola or safflower
Grated zest of 1 orange
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
8 purple or red plums (or even Italian prune plums, when they are in season), halved and pitted

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan, dust the inside with flour, tap out the excess and put the pan on a baking sheet. [I used a round pyrex for my smaller recipe.]

Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon together.

Working with a mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until it’s soft and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the sugar and beat for another 3 minutes, then add the eggs, one at a time, and beat for a minute after each egg goes in. Still working on medium speed, beat in the oil, zest and vanilla; the batter will look smooth and creamy, almost satiny. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are incorporated. [As mentioned, I didn't have a mixer on hand, so I just used a wooden spoon at first with soft butter, then used a whisk once I added in the eggs and used a rubber spatula to help my whisk work.]

Run a spatula around the bowl and under the batter, just to make sure there are no dry spots, then scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Arrange the plums cut side up in the batter, jiggling the plums a tad just so they settle comfortably into the batter.

Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes, or until the top is honey brown and puffed around the plums and a thin knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a rack and cool for 15 minutes during which time the plum juices will seep back into the cake then run a knife around the sides of the pan and unmold the cake. Invert and cool right side up.

You can wrap the cake and keep it at room temperature for up to 2 days, during which time it will get softer and moister.