1 Cake and 200 Cupcakes!

 What a busy year this has been! I hadn't realized how long it had been since I last posted on the blog! This spring and summer have been amazing! We haven't had rain in a few weeks, so I've been watching my garden flourish. I've spent much of my summer outdoors, working in the sunshine and tending to my garden. My family has been enjoying the fruits of my labor with fresh snow peas, beets, zucchini, and fresh herbs! My tomatoes are beginning to ripen and everything is on track for an amazing harvest.

Last weekend, I also had the joy of witnessing two dear friend renew their wedding vows. After 10 years of marriage, they made the decision to say I do to each other again. What a blessing they are in my life, and a true inspiration. For the celebration, my sister in law, Kristine, and I teamed up to make nearly 200 cupcakes - 1/2 chocolate and 1/2 vanilla bean, both topped with a vanilla buttercream piped to look like a rose blossom. We chose 4 colors based on the colors of the ceremony - pale pink, fuchsia, coral, and lavender. We knocked them out in a day, but it was rather labor intensive! My sister in law is also pregnant, so I'm sure she was even more sore than I was after that day. Here are a few pictures of the final cupcakes, displayed at the ceremony.

The display table, before the cake was placed

 

 

 

 





 



 On the side, I managed to put together a small cake as a surprise for the bride and groom. I made a 4 layer milk chocolate cake, brushed with a Kahlua simple syrup, filled with a rich chocolate ganache, and topped with a vanilla buttercream.  I tinted the icing to a warm champagne color, then piped white icing in a whimsical paisley design. To finish the base, I wrapped a rusty colored burlap ribbon, and tucked a crocheted lace ribbon under the edge. The lovely cake topper was put together by my friend and sister of the bride, Aubrey. She did an amazing job on it! After the cake topper was placed, I scattered individual hydrangea blossoms around the base and top of the cake. Here is the finished cake!

The completed cake!

 

Coconut Syrup

For those of you that have been to Hawaii, you have probably had coconut syrup to top your waffles and pancakes. For those of you that haven't, you've missed out! While I have never been to Hawaii, I do know people that have and they brought back a bottle of this fabulous nectar. I love this syrup, but found that the ingredients contained soybean oil, much to my dismay... So I set about creating my own recipe to mimic it. I can say it is pretty tasty!
Here is my recipe...

Coconut Syrup

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/8 teaspoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons Creamed Coconut (or more to taste)
pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Sitr, while bringing just to a boil to dissolve sugar. Cool, then serve over waffles, pancakes, ice cream, or dessert of your choice! Makes about 1.5 cups
Please note that I used CREAMED COCONUT, not Cream OF coconut.
Also, if you use extra virgin coconut oil, you can just whisk it in after you remove the syrup from the heat, since it has a higher risk of burning.
After making, store in the refrigerator. If syrup is too thick, simply rewarm!

Coconut Syrup

I hope you enjoy! Those of you that have been to Hawaii and had the actual syrup, I would LOVE to hear your feedback! Well, I'd love to hear feedback from everyone!

Bailey's Chocolate Cheesecake Mousse

Well, it was requested for me to share the recipe for the dessert I made for my little family's New Year's Day meal. I was looking for a rich dessert that was easy to make, but still rich and decadent. This fit the bill! It took very little time to put together, but looked like I had spent quite a bit of time on it! The texture was a cross between a mousse and a cheesecake, the flavor rich with Bailey's, chocolate, and cheesecake. And best of all, it's a no-bake dessert! Here is the recipe...

Bailey's Chocolate Cheesecake Mousse

4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
5 tablespoons Bailey's Irish Cream
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (semi-sweet chocolate morsels may be used too)
1 Tablespoon butter
1 cup heavy cream, whipped to firm peaks

Melt Chocolate, butter, and 1 tablespoon Bailey's over a double boiler. Set aside. Combine the cream cheese and sugar, beat to combine. Slowly add in 4 tablespoons of Bailey's and stir until smooth and creamy.
Slowly combine the chocolate mixture with the cream cheese mixture - it will thicken quickly! Stir in 1/4 of the whipped cream, then fold in the remaining until combined. Spoon into serving dishes and top with chocolate curls (use a vegetable peeler on the side of a chocolate bar). Makes 6 servings.

Enjoy!

Bailey's Chocolate Cheesecake Mousse

I wish you all a joyous 2012, and I look forward to sharing more tips, recipes and fun with all of my readers!

Maple Bars

Come the fall, I tend to crave comfort foods. Homemade maple bars are definitely on that list! I make mine with a slightly sweet yeast dough that I deep fry. I top it with a creamy frosting made almost entirely from real maple syrup.

First off, here is the dough recipe... It is based loosely on a recipe from my childhood called Monkey Bread.

Maple Bar Dough
1 cup warm milk
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons yeast
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup melted butter
3 eggs
5-6 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2-3 quarts of mild oil, for deep frying
(peanut, canola, soybean, coconut, safflower - just make sure you are not using extra virgin, as it will likely burn)

"Bloom" (fancy word for dissolve and let it do it's thing) the yeast in the warmed milk (110 degrees). I usually allow this to sit for a good 10 minutes. Add the sugar, oil, and 2 1/2 cups of flour, and the salt. Beat well to combine, then add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add enough flour to form a smooth dough. I use my stand mixer to knead the dough, but you can do it on a lightly floured surface too. Place into a lightly oiled bowl and allow to raise in a draft free, warm place until doubled in size. Once it's raised, gently push to deflate the dough. Roll the dough out to about 1/2 - 3/4" thick, then cut into rectangles, about 3" by 4". I prefer to go smaller, then I don't feel so guilty eating them!  Allow to rest for about 10 minutes. Heat oil in a large, deep sauce pan. Make sure your pan is deep enough to only fill it 2/3 full of oil, so you don't risk overflowing the pan. Oil should be fairly hot, about 350 - 375 degrees. Drop a few dough squares at a time into hot oil. These will cook quick, so make sure you watch them. Cook about 1 minute one each side. If you aren't sure how long to cook them, just cook 1 to start with, then taste for doneness. Fry all the bars in batches, allow to cool, then frost with Maple Syrup Icing. The dough may also be divided and frozen, or baked up into a number of other items, such as dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls, or other sweet bread applications.

Fresh-made Maple Bars

And to top these off, a fantastic REAL Maple Syrup Icing. Why use maple flavoring when you can use the real stuff?

Maple Syrup Icing

1 cup of maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon milk

Bring the maple syrup and milk to a boil, and boil about 4 minutes. Pour mixture into a bowl and whip with an electric mixer until mixture is light colored and thickened. If icing gets too thick, just add a little more maple syrup. This icing will dry out as it sits and thicken dramatically, so try to use the icing soon after it's made. Remember, this is fairly sweet, so you don't need much on the maple bars.

Maple Bars

Fresh Blackberry Cheesecake with Zesty Lemon Curd

So, the inspirations for this dessert came from the luscious blackberries dripping off the vine in my backyard and from some lemons I needed to use up! I also came across a dessert photography contest that I have entered this dessert in – I hope I am chosen as a finalist!

To make two of the elements in this dessert, I needed some seedless blackberry puree. To do this, I used my sauce maker! Sauce makers are so versatile, and much easier than forcing berries through a strainer. (If you are interested in what a one looks like, or if you would like to purchase one, check out the Amazon.com widget to the right. I also use this for making applesauce and tomato sauce.) The blackberry puree was used in both the cheesecake and the blackberry sauce used to garnish the plate.

For the lemon elements, I used zest in shortbread crust. I made a lemon curd to go on the plate as well, as an acidic element to cut through some of the richness as well as add a brighter color. Here is how I made the Zesty Lemon Curd:

Zesty Lemon Curd

1 Tablespoon arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 4 large lemons)

Zest of 2 lemons

1 tablespoon Limoncello (optional)

½ cup butter

4 eggs, beaten.

1 teaspoon vanilla

First, stir together the arrowroot and sugar. Add the lemon juice, zest, and limoncello. Add the butter, cut into a few pieces and place over medium heat. Cook and stir mixture until it’s bubbly and thickened. In a medium bowl, beat eggs. Whisk in ½ of the hot lemon mixture, then return the mixture to the rest of the lemon mixture remaining in the pan. Whisking, cook for about 2 minutes. Mixture will be fairly thick. Remove from heat, add vanilla, and pour into a shallow container. Press plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd, except for a small corner to allow steam to escape. Chill until cool.

This lemon curd is great, not only as an element to my cheesecake dish, but in many other dishes! For a quick dessert, spread the curd into a baked pie shell, top with whipped cream and fresh fruit. Or, fold in a stabilized whipped cream (cream whipped with some gelatin) to some of the curd and pile in a pie shell. Use as a filling for a cake, a topping for waffles, or in Swedish pancakes. Such a versatile ingredient!

To make the sugared blackberries, simply dip your finger into some sticky syrup, such as agave, honey, or corn syrup. Lightly dab the surface of the blackberry, just enough to make it sticky, but not so much that it is dripping. Roll in granulated sugar immediately. Don't make them too far in advance, as they will turn juicy and sticky.

I will keep you all updated if I make finalist for this contest. If I do, I’ll be hitting you all up for votes!

Below is the photo I entered!

Banana Cupcakes with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

In honor of Cupcake Day, I decided to make Banana Cupcakes. Better late than never, right? In my defense, my bananas weren't ripe....
This morning, I created a banana cupcake recipe that is awesome! My parents came by today and were able to sample them - and the cupcakes and frosting received high ratings! The frosting turned out a little softer than I would have liked, but I am hoping it firms up a bit after some time to chill.

Here are my 4 tips for a perfect butter-based cake or cupcake:

#1 DON'T overmix or your cake will be tough

#2 Make them by hand - you will tire out before you can overmix them!

#3 Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature before mixing

#4 No peeking in the oven while the cupcakes bake - it lets too much heat out

 Ever since I started making butter-based cakes by hand, using only a whisk, spatula, or wooden spoon, I have never had a cake fall or come out too heavy. As a bonus, you burn a few calories making it!

Here is the finished cupcake!