Working for the Money

My cupcakes' reputation has gotten around, and I just finished my first paid baking job! Our daycare provider's niece is having a baby shower this weekend and asked me to make two dozen cupcakes for the kids who will be attending. She's having a baby girl, so I got to use pink sprinkles and pink frosting. I made red velvet with cream cheese frosting and vanilla bean with vanilla bean buttercream. (Both of the recipes are from My Baking Addiction.) I had a couple extra of the vanilla bean cupcakes, so I dropped them off to several of my neighbors. While I was taking the dog out, my neighbor brought a cupcake to her son who was playing basketball in the backyard. I heard him say, "Wow - this is amazing!" YES!

Cafe Mocha Cupcakes

On the way to work on the Friday before we were to leave for vacation, my hubby got a flat tire. He had meetings scheduled all day and didn't know when he'd have a chance to get his tire replaced. His boss offered to take the car and get it fixed so my hubby could attend his meetings. As a thank you, I baked some Cafe Mocha Cupcakes from My Baking Addiction. The cake has good flavor, and I love, love, love the mocha buttercream. I garnished them with chocolate-covered coffee beans that I got from the bulk candy bins at Wegmans. I think they'd be tasty with a cup of coffee or a glass of milk.

Cafe Mocha Cupcakes

For the Cupcakes
Ingredients
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk, shaken
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee
1 ½ teaspoon instant espresso granules

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tins with paper liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined.
3. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. Add the 1 ½ teaspoons of espresso granules to the cup of hot coffee and stir to combine. With mixer still on low, add in the coffee/espresso mixture and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
4. Using a large scoop (about 3 tablespoons), distribute the batter into the prepared muffin tins.
4. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then remove them onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

For the frosting
Ingredients
3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
pinch of fine grain sea salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 pounds confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1 tablespoon instant espresso granules dissolved in 1 tablespoon warm water
3-6 tablespoons heavy cream or milk

Directions
1. In a large bowl, sift together the confectioners’ sugar and cocoa powder; set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter until fluffy. Slowly add in confectioner’s sugar/cocoa powder mixture, and continue creaming until well blended.
2. Add salt, vanilla, 2 tablespoons heavy cream or milk and espresso/water. Blend on low speed until moistened. Add an additional 1 to 3 tablespoons of heavy cream or milk until you reach the desired consistency. Beat at high speed until frosting is smooth and fluffy.

Yield 24 cupcakes

Eggs for Dinner

I tend to blog about desserts, but today I have a dinner recipe. I made a Summer Squash, Bacon, and Mozzarella Quiche. YUM! It consists of simple and inexpensive ingredients. It did take awhile to make, but there is a lot of inactive time in the process. Most of the time was spent waiting for the dough for the crust to chill. It could definitely be made ahead of time, so it could work for company or a weeknight meal. This is a Cooking Light recipe, so it's probably healthier than the average quiche recipe. You can get the recipe here at Cooking Light's website.

Milk's Best Friend

I love just about anything with Oreo in it. Oreo milkshakes are one of my favorite treats. They're also good plain with a glass of milk. Today, it's Oreos and cake. I made a one bowl chocolate cake and an Oreo buttercream frosting. There was a bunch of frosting left over, but the cake recipe makes a rather small cake. I used two 8-inch round pans.

I broke up some Oreos to put between the two layers (on top of the frosting) and decorated the top with halved Oreos. Looking forward to enjoying some with a glass of milk after dinner!

It was a hit with the younger crowd!

One Bowl Chocolate Cake (from Lick the Bowl Good)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 8 or 9-inch pans. Line the bottoms with parchment or waxed paper, butter the paper.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large mixing bowl. Use a wire whisk to blend the dry ingredients thoroughly.

Add the oil and 1/2 cup of the water to the dry ingredients. Add another 1/2 cup water, eggs and the vanilla; again whisk until smooth. Divide the batter between the two prepared pans.

Bake the cake layers for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes; then invert onto cooling rack. Remove the paper liners and let cool completely before frosting.

Makes 2- 8 or 9-inch layers or 1 9x13 cake.

Oreo Buttercream Frosting (from My Baking Addiction)

Ingredients
1 stick salted butter – room temperature
1 stick unsalted butter – room temperature
1 cup shortening
1 tablespoon Clear Vanilla extract
2 pounds confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar, 10x)
4-6 tablespoons very cold milk
8 crushed Oreo cookies with the cream removed before crushing

Directions
Cream the butter and shortening in the bowl of an electric or stand mixer. Add the clear vanilla extract and combine well. Begin adding in the sugar and mixing thoroughly after each addition. After all of the sugar has been added and mixed thoroughly, begin adding the very cold milk… one tablespoon at a time, combining very well after each addition (mixer on medium-high to high speed) until you reach the desired consistency. Fold in the Oreo cookie crumbs. Frost cake as desired.

Cake Slice Bakers June Cake: Fresh Strawberry Cake with Chocolate Chips

I haven't baked a cake for Cake Slice Bakers since March. I had my wrist surgery April 1st, so I wasn't able to bake for a month or so. May was a hectic month. I finished teaching for the school year and started my doctoral program the same day! Most of the baking I've done in the past month has been purposeful - for my sister's baby shower, dinner at a friend's house, etc. It's nice to be baking something for leisure again.

I baked this cake with my daughter. She loves helping in the kitchen. The Easter Bunny brought her some of her own tools - a whisk and spatula. While she loves stirring and dumping things into the bowl, I think her favorite part of baking is licking the bowl and beaters.

My husband got me a Le Creuset stone baking pan for Christmas. This is the first time I've used it for baking. It's pretty enough to serve from it. I made one substitution in the recipe. The recipe calls for white chocolate chips. My husband and I are not fans of white chocolate, and I happened to have an open bag of milk chocolate chips that needed to be used up, so I used those in the cake. I figured it'd be like a chocolate-covered strawberry cake.

The cake came out a really nice golden color. It was moist and light and had a nice crunch on the edges. I am so glad that I used chocolate chips. I ate the first piece when it was still warm, and the chocolate chips were melty and delicious. I think it would be good with some vanilla or strawberry ice cream or whipped cream.

Fresh Strawberry Cake with White Chocolate Chips
Makes one 8 inch square cake
(Recipe from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman)

Ingredients
1 egg
1 egg yolk
½ cup sour cream
½ tsp grated lemon zest
2 tsp vanilla extract
1½ cups all purpose flour
1½ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
6 tbsp (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
8 ounces strawberries, stemmed and sliced
1 cup white chocolate chips or chunks

Method
Heat the oven to 350F. Grease an 8 inch square baking pan and dust it with flour, knocking out the excess.

Combine the egg, egg yolk, sour cream, lemon zest and vanilla in a large measuring jug and beat lightly. Combined 1¼ cups of flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.

Combine the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream with an electric whisk on medium high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides when necessary.

With the mixer on medium low speed, pour the egg mixture into the bowl in a slow stream, stopping the mixer once or twice to scrape down the bowl.

Turn the mixer to low speed and add the flour mixture, ½ cup at a time. After the last addition mix for 30 seconds on medium speed.

Combine the strawberries and remaining ¼ cup flour in a medium bowl and toss to coat. Fold the flour covered berries along with the chocolate chips into the batter using a spatula.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake the cake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean, 45-50 minutes. Let the cake cool ion the pan for about 5 minutes, invert it onto a wire rack and then turn it right side up to cool completely.

Cut into squares and serve.

Berry Good

I haven't done much baking since my surgery on April 1st, and the itch to make some cupcakes had really kicked in. I was inspired by a recipe from Annie's Eats, one of the blogs I follow, for Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes. I love the combination of blueberries and lemons. They marry so well and create a harmonious balance of sweet and tart. These cupcakes have a delicate white cake flavored with fresh lemon zest and juice. The cake is dotted with fresh blueberries, although I'm sure you could use frozen if fresh aren't available. The cream cheese frosting is also flavored with the lemon zest and juice. I will definitely make these cupcakes again - they're the perfect cupcake for warmer weather.

Sorry for the less-than-stellar picture - I took it on my camera phone.

Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes
(From Annie's Eats)

Yield: about 16 cupcakes
Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
¾ cup plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour, divided
¾ cup cake flour
1½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. lemon juice
½ cup plus 2 tbsp. milk, at room temperature
1 cup fresh blueberries

For the frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese
5 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
Zest of 1 large lemon

Additional fresh blueberries, for garnish

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the ¾ cup all-purpose flour, the cake flour, baking powder and salt; whisk together and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter, sugar and lemon zest. Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and lemon juice. With the mixer on low speed, mix in half of the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Blend in the milk. Mix in the remaining dry ingredients, beating just until incorporated.

In a small bowl, toss the blueberries with the remaining 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour. Using a spatula gently fold the berries into the cake batter. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared liners, filling each about ¾ full. Bake 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pans 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Mix in the lemon juice and lemon zest. Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar until totally incorporated, increase the speed and then beat until smooth. Frost cooled cupcakes as desired. (I used a large, unlabeled star tip to frost these cupcakes.) Garnish with fresh blueberries.

Source: cupcake adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes, frosting adapted from Confections of a Foodie Bride

Catching Up

I haven't posted in over two months. I feel like I've been sick for most of that time. At the end of February I had a stomach flu. The first couple weeks of March, I had a bad cold and laryngitis. By the time I got over that, it was time for my wrist surgery. About a week after the surgery, I came down with a sinus infection. I then got pink eye and bronchitis. So, after all of this sick time, I'm finally on the mend and trying to get caught up with life, baking and blogging included. Here is what I need to cover:

#1: For Valentine's Day, I asked my husband for new canisters for my baking supplies. I got a bunch of Oxo containers with pop-top airtight lids. Love, love, love them! I also got a label maker and have been able to organize and label my baking cabinet. Since taking this picture, I actually moved all of my baking stuff to a larger cabinet and also got some clear, plastic shoe boxes to hold all of the extraneous baking stuff: sprinkles, candies, chocolate chips, nuts, piping bags and tips, etc. I just love how much easier baking is with a well-organized cabinet!

#2: March Cake Slice Bakers
The March cake for CSB was a chocolate pound cake. I thought this was one of the better cakes from the book Cake Keeper Cakes. The cake had a nice crust, was moist and had a great chocolate flavor without being too sweet.

#3: My mom came for dinner in March. I made Beef Bourguignon and homemade bread. For dessert, I made a chocolate sour cream bundt cake. It's a recipe I saw on one of my favorite blogs, Lick the Bowl Good. The cake was a bit of work - chocolate to chop, ganache to make - but it was well worth the effort. I took the leftovers into work, and my co-workers raved about it. This is definitely a rich cake, and I strongly recommend serving it a la mode or with a glass of milk.
#4: We're getting a puppy! After years of begging and persuading, I have finally gotten my husband to agree on getting a dog. After a lot of research, we decided on a bichpoo (Bichon Frise/Toy Poodle mix). They are very smart and great family dogs because they love people, kids, and other animals. They don't shed and only grow to about 12 pounds at the most. Our puppy, Dewey, was born on March 30th. We'll be able to get him at the end of May. Here's a picture of our little baby! You can't tell in this picture, but he has white on his paws, belly, chest, and chin.
#5: In February, I applied for the doctoral program in Adult Education at Penn State. I found out last week that I was accepted! I will be taking my first class this summer and will be in the full swing of the program in the fall. I'm really excited to have this opportunity, and I'm sure I'll be even more excited in four years when I get to walk across the stage as a doctor!
I think that about covers it...the last two months in a nutshell. With the school year winding down, I'm hoping to have a little more free time to do some baking and blogging.