My Sweet Cupcakes

Goodbye--and Hello!

2009-01-24T16:46:00.003-05:00

I just wanted to post here about my absence in recent months. I mean, since September.

During those months, I have been pursuing my secret dream-to open my own cupcake bakery.

And now-its reality! I am now in business baking cupcakes! I have rented commercial kitchen space to do all my baking in, and my office is from home. I offer free local delivery--and the freshest, most delish cupcakes you can possibly imagine! So I will sign off of this blog, but never fear! I am in the process of getting a blog up on my new site--so you will be seeing more of my creations in the VERY near future!! For now, you can catch up with me on Flickr or through my website. I will also be participating in Iron Cupcake: Earth every month--incentive to develop new flavors as well as network with other cupcakers around the world! So although not here, I will be around.

Ciao!

Omnivore's 100

2008-09-03T09:30:00.004-04:00

How the Omnivore's 100 Works:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.

2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.

3) ~~Cross out~~ any items that you would never consider eating.

4) Optional: Post a comment at Very Good Taste, linking to your results.

**Wowzers, I impress myself with my apparent cultural diversity!**

82/100 My Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison

2. Nettle tea

3. Huevos rancheros (yum!)

4. Steak tartare

5. Crocodile

6. Black pudding

7. Cheese fondue

8. Carp

9. Borscht

10. Baba ghanoush

11. Calamari

12. Pho

13. PB&J sandwich

14. Aloo gobi

15. Hot dog from a street cart

16. Epoisses

17. Black truffle

18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes

19. Steamed pork buns

20. Pistachio ice cream

21. Heirloom tomatoes

22. Fresh wild berries

23. Foie gras

24. Rice and beans

25. Brawn or head cheese

26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper

27. Dulce de leche

28. Oysters

29. Baklava

30. Bagna cauda

31. Wasabi peas

32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl

33. Salted lassi

34. Sauerkraut

35. Root beer float

36. Cognac with a fat cigar

37. Clotted Cream Tea

38. Vodka Jelly/Jell-O

39. Gumbo

40. Oxtail

41. Curried goat

42. Whole insects

43. Phaal

44. Goat's milk

45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth $120 or more

46. Fugu

47. Chicken tikka masala

48. Eel

49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut

50. Sea urchin

51. Prickly pear

52. Umeboshi

53. Abalone

54. Paneer

55. McDonalds Big Mac Meal

56. Spaetzle

57. Dirty gin martini

58. Beer above 8% ABV

59. Poutine

60. Carob chips

61. S’mores

62. Sweetbreads

63. kaolin

64. Currywurst

65. Durian

66. Frogs’ legs

67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake

68. Haggis

69. Fried plantain

70. Chitterlings or andouillette

71. Gazpacho

72. Caviar and blini

73. Louche absinthe

74. Gjetost or brunost--this is one of the most AMAZING cheeses I have ever tried, its so unique!

75. ~~Roadkill~~

76. Baijiu

77. Hostess Fruit Pie

78. Snail

79. Lapsang Souchong

80. Bellini

81. Tom Yum

82. Eggs Benedict

83. Pocky

84. 3 Michelin Star Tasting Menu

85. Kobe beef--I think I have tried this, but it was after alot of sake, and I can't exactly say for sure...

86. Hare

87. Goulash

88. Flowers

89. ~~Horse~~

90. Criollo chocolate

91. Spam

92. Soft shell crab

93. Rose harissa

94. Catfish

95. Mole poblano

96. Bagel and lox

97. Lobster Thermidor

98. Polenta

99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee

100. Snake

Please be sure to check out the contestants for Iron Cupcake: Earth and vote for which cupcake you Deem to Reign Supreme! (A vote for My Sweet Cupcakes guarantees you a year of good Karma, of course.)

Procrastinators Might Finish LAST...

2008-08-31T12:50:00.006-04:00

But, we do finish!!

This whole month was such a blur for me. I haven't been feeling all that great. My one big "hoorah" in the kitchen for Iron Cupcake was about all I had energy for. This past week, I am FINALLY snapping out of it. I am full of energy...ready to take on the world!

I really thought I was going to give this months Daring Bakers Challenge a miss. Not because I didn't want to make them; I actually was REALLY excited to learn that we would be making ECLAIRS this month. Heaven! But as the days passed by, there was nothing happening in the kitchen.

Last night, dear friends of ours gave us a call. They were busy this weekend, going golfing. But I thought HEY! I can make the eclairs and give them to our friends! Its that kind of motivation I am after. I promised to have them delivered to them by noon today.

So this morning I got up, fed the kids, and then kicked my darling husband and the 2 wee ones outside so I had some time to myself in the kitchen. 9:15am.

This recipe courtesy of Pierre Hermé was pure HEAVEN to work with. It was my first time making a choux pastry. Now, while this might SOUND terrifying, trust me when I say it isn't! They came together beautifully. Of course, I had the whole month to watch the other DB'ers do their own eclairs, and I took the advice of altering the baking time for the pastry. I actually came across this post on 5 Types of Sugar and Other Treats while I was taking in my first coffee of the day and took her instructions for baking time and temperatures.

Needless to say, my shells came out PERFECT. Light and airy, they did not sink after cooling! I was so impressed with myself! I made the Pastry cream with vanilla bean instead of chocolate, and it was just amazing. Look at those vanilla flecks of goodness in there!

I used what chocolate I had in the house for the glaze; I ended up using some belgian dark and semisweet chocolate. It worked great. As I was cooling my glaze and preparing to top my eclairs, I noted the time: 11:30am. Only 2.25 hours to have a beautiful tray of home made eclairs?! Not bad!!!

Perfect choux pastry+amazing vanilla bean pastry cream+sinful chocolate glaze=died and gone to heaven people! I am so glad I was able to share these treats with my friends, otherwise my husband and I would have eaten them all ourselves!!

A big THANK YOU to this months hosts Meeta and Tony, this was a great challenge! Be sure to check out the Daring Bakers Blogroll for the 1000+ bakers from around the world who dare to step out of their comfort zones every month and create something new and wonderful!! I can't wait to see what September brings...

PS: And while you are here, please take a second to head over to the Iron Chef Poll for the August Cupcake Challenge (and vote for yours truly, that would be swell!)

Time to Vote!

2008-08-31T07:20:00.003-04:00

Ok peeps, its that time. All the Iron Cupcake Chili submissions are in, and our gracious host has put the cupcakes up for your review. Please take the time to check out all the AWESOME submissions and vote for which Cupcake you Deem to Reign Supreme!

Allez-Cupcake!

Twisted Thai Cupcake

2008-08-10T22:01:00.010-04:00

When I saw what the selected ingredient was for this months Iron Cupcake: Earth challenge, I was a bit intimidated, I admit. I a not one of those people who enjoy their spicy and sweet together. The prospect of desecrating anything Sacredly Chocolate with spicy chili's gives me the creeps. Just not my cup of tea.

That evening, my husband remarked, "Hey, you haven't made your Pad Thai in a while. I've really been craving that!".

Hmmm.

My husband and I love Viet-Thai food. I started thinking of my favorite flavors that go into some of the Thai dishes we enjoy. Coconut. Lime. Peanut. And those darling little chili peppers...

Just over a week later, and I haven't made Pad Thai for my man yet. But I did create this little salute to a cuisine I really enjoy.
The chili pepper most common in Thai cooking is known as the prik kii noo. On the "Spicy Hot Chili Pepper Scale", where Habanero and Scotch Bonnets would rate a 10 (the hottest), these Thai chilis would rate a 9. Thats really freakin hot folks. So the disclaimer is here. When you handle these peppers (or any other ones, for that matter), take care and wear protective gloves to avoid getting the hot stuff on your skin (which you could transfer to your eyes, nose, lips, or any 0ther area you might not want to get hot n spicy on). You might have some luck finding these little devils in your local supermarket. I, living in a rural area had a terrible time tracking them down locally. I used to live in a larger metropolitan area, and I would take weekly trips to our local Asian grocer (only a few blocks away) and have my pick of the most beautiful chilis, not to mention other wonderful foods fresh and prepackaged. If you have an Asian grocer near you, I highly recommend you check it out sometime, as a learning experience if nothing else. If you cannot find real Thai chilis, I am sure you could substitute any other fresh chili you prefer. Dried would even do in a pinch. Feel free to adjust the amount of peppers you use to suit your taste.

While I love cupcakes, I don't think I have ever tried an icing-sugar based frosting that I really really liked. I adapted my moms 'Great Frosting' recipe for this cupcake. If you haven't made this type of frosting before, you are seriously missing out. the original, or my Twisted version below, are out of this world and not overly sweet.

While the inspirations were many, this creation is all my own. I am actually pretty pleased with myself!

Without further adieu, I bring you my August contribution to the Iron Cupcake: Earth challenge...

(Hey, its better than calling it the Peanut-Coconut-Thai Chili-Cupcake-with Coconut-Lime Sugar-Frosting-and-Candied-Chili-Garnish. I think.)

The Verdict:

(For the faint of heart: remove the candied chili. For the brave-eat it. But remember this little guy is HOT!)

When you bite into this cupcake you get this wonderful, peanutty, rich cupcake with a decadent coconut frosting, punched with the essence of lime. The chili didn't hit me (or any of my testers for that matter) until after you swallow the first mouthful. An aftertaste, you could say. Kinda like being peppered in the back of your throat. It was not over the top, just very interesting in a quirky cupcake kinda way. I loved it because it let you enjoy all the flavors in this cupcake without being overshadowed by the heat factor. If you love spicy, this recipe could support being upped in the Chili quotient. I think even 4 chilis wouldn't be out of line.

I sent the 10 remaining cupcakes with my husband to work this morning. He just called me to tell me they're all gone now. He got emails from around the office praising this cupcake (some ate the chili, and some didn't hehe).

Would I make this again? YES. I admit it, I was wrong. There is a place for spicy and sweet to live together in harmony. Who knew my nirvana was in Thailand?

Ok, and now down to business.

This is my contribution to Iron Cupcake: Earth. If you haven't heard of it, get with the program!
I have seen a few other IC:E cupcakes posted already, but I expect in the next two weeks the blogging world will be inundated with spicy sweet treats. If you don't create, you still play a vital role in this endeavor. YOU VOTE. Mark your calendars, folks! On August 31, 2008, all the participants will be posted at No One Puts Cupcake In a Corner and you'll be able to vote for your favorite creation. Voting will close on September 4th, 2008.

While it would be self-serving of me to say "Vote for ME!" (because there are REALLY great prizes to be won, from the likes of Cakespy, Jessie Steele Aprons, Cupcake Courier, and Taste of Home) what I really want you do do, is just vote, period! Show your support for this great group in its debut month. I am sure there will be a TON of great recipes posted, and maybe one will tickle your fancy enough to try yourself!

(And I still haven't made my husband Pad Thai. Maybe this week.)

Allez-Cupcake!

I am a Bad, Bad Blogger

2008-08-06T09:34:00.006-04:00

Oh, its been a crazy week.

Ok, every week is crazy here. My husband works shifts. My 2 stepkids were here (13 and 11 years old) and I have 2 little ones, almost-2 and almost-4. I am no domestic goddess, I do what chores I can. But dinner is made (pretty much) every day. I even manage to do quite a bit of baking (usually when the little ones go to sleep-thank goodness they have a really early bedtime (and they like it that way!).

So this weekend, I made the following blog-worthy foodstuffs:

a FANTASTIC potato salad. I was actually inspired to create my own after reading the current kerfuffle over using a Cooks Illustrated recipe. I actually hate potato salad, so the fact that I am in love with this one I created (which is nothing like the one linked here) is something remarkable. As is the fact my husband and the brood of kids enjoyed it as well.

I have made it twice this week (its that good) but I haven't taken any pictures.

It was my Grandpa's 84th birthday on Monday, and I brought desserts. Notice the 's' there. The first reason I did that (my extended family lives 2 hrs away from us, so its a bit of a travel for us, let alone any goodies I make) is that my family has been really into buying ice cream cakes. Not only is that a sacrilige to cakes--there is nothing cake-like about it, except the shape--but it tastes terrible. That processed soft-serve, the bits of chocolate crumble reminiscent of scrapings off a bakery floor, and I can't even put words to that stuff they decorate the top with. So I told my family-I WILL MAKE A CAKE. Thankfully no arguments ensued.

Last month when I saw my Grandpa, the first thing he asked me was "Where is the cherry pie?" Well let me tell you, my Grandpa has never requested a dessert from me. So if he wants cherry pie, he gets cherry pie. So the travelling desserts entailed his birthday cake and 2 fresh sour cherry pies. One for company, and one for him to enjoy on his own.

I didn't take any pictures of my finished desserts, and I didn't bring my camera to the celebration.

I have also become quite enamored with no-knead bread. More specifically, the magic that is Artisan Breads in Five Minutes a Day. While making the basic bread loaf itself is amazing, I love it as a pizza crust. Especially on the barbeque. I've made this at least a half-dozen times in the past month.

And yep, you guessed it. I have no pictures to document it.

I don't know how to force myself to take pictures. The camera is in the kitchen. The batteries are charged. I think what stops me is that we are under serious renovations right now, and my 1950's kitchen that looked groovy when we bought this place is now my nemesis. There is nowhere to take a good picture, there is no good lighting, and it annoys the heck outta me.

Fingers crossed, I should have my own Barbie Dream Kitchen before Christmas (oh lord, please before Christmas. I am going crazy here!). Until then, I promise to try to take pictures, no matter if it is framed by custom-made baby-blue 1950's kitchen cupboards. Just excuse the clutter-I have a 2' length of counter space to work on.

There's a New Cupcake Competition In Town!

2008-08-02T07:53:00.007-04:00

CALLING ALL ADVENTUROUS BAKERS AND CUPCAKE CREATORS!

You've seen it with subtitles. You've seen it with Bobby and Mario. You might have even seen it in Milwaukee.

Now, there's a new kid in town. Are you ready for it?

On the first of every month, a 'secret ingredient' will be posted for all Iron Cupcake'rs to ponder over, and come up with the most creative and delicious cupcake incorporating that ingredient! August is the inaugural month. This months secret ingredient: Chili!! I am mulling my idea over in my head and getting ready to create it soon. I can't wait!

If you think you are up to the challenge and having some fun, why not join in? This is open to everyone-from around the world!

If the thought of an excuse to bake isn't enough, I should tell you that there will be MONTHLY PRIZES for the winner. And they are AWESOME. Augusts prize is worth over $100 already. It includes great items like The Cupcake Courier , an apron by Jessie Steele , CAKESPY stuff, and a brand new publication by Taste of Home . Is that awesome or what?

Ok, so now that you wanna join in, here's what you have to do:

To join, all they have to do is email IronCupcakeEarth AT wi.rr.com with the following information to join.

Name
City, State, Country
Blog Address
Flickr Name
Referral: MySweetCupcakes (thats me, folks!!)

So there ya have it. Looking forward to seeing you all there.

Allez-Cupcake!

Daring Bakers July Challenge: Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream

2008-07-30T00:01:00.001-04:00

Wow. Where has this month gone? My posting (or lack thereof) may make it seem that I haven't been baking this month; on the contrary! I have been baking, but had a couple things I didn't like (and I tend to get a bit cranky when things aren't as perfect as I'd like) and a few others I have neglected to take pictures of...and then a few more projects that are still sitting in my camera, waiting to be downloaded.

What can I say? Its summer. Its hot. I *still* don't have air conditioning. Tomorrow it's being installed though! Ugh.

I was so excited when I joined the Daring Bakers last month, and I was wriggling with excitement to find out what the challenge was. I was not disappointed by this months host pick.

This is quite the cake. Plan to spend an evening getting the basic ingredients together (making pralines, praline paste, sugar syrup, cake layers) and then get up the next morning and tackle the swiss meringue buttercream and putting the whole thing together. Sure, you could do it all in one day, but save yourself the stress and spread it out a bit. Your sanity will thank you!

I am pleased to say this recipe presented no problems for me. The only substitutions I made from the original recipe is that I didn't use an apricot glaze to crumb coat the cake; instead, I simply did a crumb coat in the praline buttercream. My tipple of choice for the cake was Captain Morgan Dark Rum, and it held up wonderfully. All the flavors meshed together in perfect harmony.

The only faux pas I encountered was that I was a bit eager to complete the cake and I poured my ganache a bit too soon; it was a bit on the warm-side and did not give me as thick of a coat as I would have liked. Nevertheless, I think it looked great. Everyone who tried the cake--from my parents all the way down to my almost-2 year old--LOVED it. My husband has asked me to try to re-create it in cupcake form, he liked it that much! And while I did as well, that will have to be a winter project...its just too darn hot in the summer to muck about without air conditioning.

I am so pleased to have made this cake. It encompassed so many techniques! I learned so much. Please see Mele Cotte's blog for the recipe with full instructions. Try this recipe sometime-you won't be disappointed !

Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes, Two Ways

2008-07-08T21:40:00.005-04:00

Heh, these pics have been waiting since July 1st to make it to the blog. Its been a BUSY week! I am kinda glad I didn't do it on time; its so stinkin' hot here right now, and we are still without central air conditioning for at least 2 more weeks (waah!!) so I am not in the mood to crank up the oven to add to the heat and humidity I am already dealing with. Wow, I just rationalized my procrastination.

Anyway...

On Canada Day (yeah, same day as my daughter's final soccer game ) our dearest friends were having their annual Canada Day party. Everything was chaos for us though-party in the afternoon, rush off to my daughters game, then DH had to go to work night shift...alot of running around and not much relaxing unfortunately. But anyway where was I? Oh yeah. For our friends Canada Day bash, I volunteered to make cupcakes (of course!!) 4 dozen was the suggested number, and I gave them quite an assortment: Some Peanut Butter Cupcakes, Some chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting ( I didn't get a pic, but they were sooo cute, with little chocolate Teddy Grahms poking out of the top!), and the star of the show was Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes.

I slightly modified a recipe from Sprinkles Cupcakes to create these cupcakes. I made this recipe about a month ago (but didn't blog it, duh) and found the cupcakes to be very light, so I wanted to try using whole eggs instead of the whites suggested. I found it added just a touch of richness to the batter; just what I wanted. These have HUGE strawberry flavor without being overly sweet. I found Sprinkles frosting to be too sweet for my tastes, so instead I used my Great Frosting recipe and simply added 1/4 cup of strawberry puree (described below) to it.

I had some extra frosting, and some extra chocolate cupcakes, so I thought what the heck? Chocolate and Strawberry? Why not!

Terrible lighting, but the shot below was an afterthought, when I was bringing the cupcakes back inside to pack away for taking to the party. Aren't they a cute couple?

Strawberry Cupcakes (Adapted from a recipe by Sprinkles Cupcakes)
Makes 2 dozen

1 1/2 cup whole fresh or frozen strawberries, thawed
3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 cup whole milk, room temperature
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2x 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside.

2. Using a food processor or an immersion blender (my favorite), process strawberries until pureed. Strain thru a fine sieve to remove seeds. Reserve 2/3 cup of the puree for in the cupcakes; save the rest for your frosting.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a small bowl, mix together milk, vanilla, and 2/3 cup of strawberry puree; set aside.

4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add eggs, one at a time, until just blended.

5. With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the milk mixture; mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended.

6. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Transfer muffin tins to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 20 minutes. Transfer muffin tins to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in tin before icing.

Soccer Mom Makes Soccer Cupcakes!

2008-07-05T23:13:00.004-04:00

My darling little girl is growing up. 3.5 years old, and she played her first season of soccer this year. The coach told her she is the fastest runner on the team. Unfortunately, she was more concerned with hugging the girls on the team than play. But thats fine. Its the whole "get out there and get involved" part we were more concerned with.

On Canada Day, it was her teams last game. Snatching up any excuse to make some cupcakes, I decided to make a batch of these cute soccer-themed cupcakes for her team.

For the cake, I used my very favorite chocolate cake recipe. Its simple, uses ingredients that are in your cupboards, is SUPER fast to make, and tastes fantastic. Dense, moist and chocolatey. There are no eggs in this recipe, which is another bonus! These dome up nicely.

I topped these with the frosting I grew up on. Economical, and again uses common ingredients. Not too sweet, and very much like whipped cream. Checking around on Google, I see it has some different names--Wedding Cake Frosting, Gravy Frosting (which sounds horrible, I know)...but in my mom's recipe file, this card is titled Great Frosting. And it is.

Dreamy Peanut Butter Cupcakes

2008-06-29T22:01:00.006-04:00

One weekend, 2 challenges complete. Yay Me!

I am very new to the blogging world, and I have to say I love the concept of these challenges! It really makes a person try new things, and with a deadline no less (Procrastinators of the world, unite!).

Peanut butter is a favorite in this household. Growing up, the only sandwich I would take to school was Skippy Peanut Butter (crunchy) with home made grape jelly. I kid you not. Any other type of peanut butter, any other jam, and I wouldn't eat it. This was in the days before the no-nut bans in schools. It makes me cry to think of what I will be giving my daughter in the fall when she starts school. No peanut butter? Eek! Good thing I discovered Biggie a few months ago, I know she will have enough great ideas and tricks to get me along. But Thats Another Story For Another Day. Back to the topic at hand: Peanut butter!

When I saw this challenge, I knew I wanted to create something peanut butter that wasn't heavy. Light, and Peanut Butter, together? Yeah I know. Might be asking alot. But since recently I had given Alton Brown's Chiffon Cupcakes a go, I decided to work with that concept--a light, fluffy cupcake. For the frosting, I couldn't resist doing a PB take on Mousseline Buttercream.

These came out absolutely Heavenly. The cake is very soft and light, moist yet not dense. The peanut butter flavor comes through brilliantly, but it isn't overpowering (which is what I was looking for). The buttercream...well...I wish I had made a double batch! I couldn't get enough of it. Texture like a silky soft pillow, not too sweet, and with a flavor that very much reminded me of Reese's Pieces. I drizzled a little bit of honey on top for the picture, but I think I will hold off on the honey next time. I love the flavor of the peanut butter on its own, with nothing else to distract from it.

And in case you were wondering--I did indeed use Skippy Peanut butter, but smooth, so there were no crunchy bits in the cake/frosting to distract from the dreamy pillowy-soft peanut butter goodness I was striving for.

Mmm...Canada

2008-06-28T14:56:00.002-04:00

When I saw the call out from DG to create a Canadian sweet dish, I looked over at my darling husband and asked him: What do you think is a Canadian Dessert? His answer, with less than a seconds think-time: Butter Tarts!

I turned to the Queen of Canadian FoodTV, Anna Olsen and flipped through my copy of her book, Sugar. She had a fabulous recipe--complete with a mix of maple syrup/brown sugar/corn syrup. Lovely currants tucked inside. But, it wasn't quite what I was looking for.

My family has a butter tart recipe, and sure, its good. But this project inspired me to look for something more.

DH has an Aunt who makes the most amazing Butter Tarts. I am going to have to see if I can shimmy my way into her Good Books to get the recipe. In the meantime, I had to keep searching.

Butter Tarts have been a part of Canadiana for a very long time. I thought to myself--what did the old recipes look like? Through the magic of Google, I quickly learned that the act of writing a recipe down didn't happen all that often "way back when". The earliest in-print Canadian version that has been found (as of February 2008) appeared in a cookbook produced by the Royal Victoria Hospital’s Woman’s Auxiliary in Barrie in 1900, attributed to one Mrs. Malcolm MacLeod.”

This was exactly what I was after. Simple. The basics. Where it all started. I was squirming in my chair I was so excited.

I whipped up a batch Friday night. I skipped the currants, because my family doesn't like them. Figuring it was too late to take a picture (my pictures up to this point *suck*, I admit) I decided to allow my babies to rest overnight before I set them up for the photo shoot.

By the time I was finished my first cup of coffee, DH, the kids and I had finished all of the dozen the recipe made. The second batch is in the oven right now, and I will photograph the results before anyone can get their hands on them this time!

Don't get me wrong here. I am all for decadence, moving forward, exploring. But sometimes, its nice to see where we came from, to understand where we are going to go.

Butter Tarts (recipe as found on simcoe.com )

This recipe described as “filling for tarts,” originally appeared in a cookbook produced by the Royal Victoria Hospital’s Woman’s Auxiliary in Barrie in 1900. It was attributed to Mrs. Malcolm (Mary) MacLeod.

The recipe has been updated for use in a modern kitchen. The type of sugar wasn’t indicated so I used brown.

FILLING:
2 cups boiling water
1 cup currants
1 cup brown sugar.
1 / 2 cup salted butter, softened
2 large eggs, slightly beaten

PASTRY:
12 tart-sized pastry shells

PREPARATION: Place pastry shells on cookie sheet, or line 12 muffins cups with prepared pastry.
Place currents in medium-sized bowl and cover with boiling water. Allow to stand five to 10 minutes. Drain currants, discard water, and place currants back in the same bowl. Whisk in brown sugar and butter, and combine well. Blend in eggs.

Spoon filling into tart shells until three-quarters full (make sure currants in the liquidity mixture are evenly distributed in each shell).

Bake in bottom third of 400F oven for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until filling is puffed and bubbly and pastry is golden. Let stand on rack for 1 minute. Immediately run flat metal spatula around tarts to loosen (this will help prevent sticking). After five minutes, carefully slide spatula under tarts and transfer to rack to cool. Makes 12.

The recipe I use for pastry:

2c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1tsp sugar
1 c Crisco shortening
1 egg, lightly beaten
1Tbsp white vinegar
2Tbsp water

Combine flour, salt sugar in bowl. cut cold crisco into 1tb pieces and blend with flour mixture until resembles size of peas. beat egg, vinegar and water together, and add to flour/shortening, stirring just to combine. Divide in half. Lightly dust with flour and roll out to 1/8" thickness. Cut with circle cutter to fit baking tin...or roll portion into your top/bottom crusts for a full pie.

I couldn't help it, did a Meme!

2008-06-26T22:00:00.003-04:00

Its too hot to bake here right now (we won't have central air conditioning installed here for a couple more weeks, boo!) so I killed some time--ok a lot of time--tonight doing up a flickr meme.

1. Krista Huot - "Vanite", 2. OoOOo, 3. Local Heroes, 4. yawn, 5. To Win a Knife Fight, You Must Be Willing to Be Stabbed, 6. Why, Yes...I Do Have Shoes To Match, 7. Montmartre on a cloudy day HDR, 8. My Yummy Heart.., 9. pink lady 2, 10. What's Left Of The Night, 11. Childhood Truths II, 12. Miššión ÅççömþÏíšheD

If anyone comes across this and wants to do one themselves, here's the rules:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

The Questions:

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name

If you waste some time doing one of these up, please leave me a link to your blog so I can check it out!

Chocolate and Vanilla Cupcake

2008-06-23T18:38:00.011-04:00

Like every other Cupcaker out there (I assume I am not the only one with a titch of OCD when it comes to my baking) I am trying to find The Perfect Plain Old Vanilla Cupcake. Same goes for Chocolate, but thats a whole 'nother post for another day. Its gonna be a lot of yummy experiments-but thats why they say getting there is half the fun, right?

I turned to the Real Hero of Kitchen Stadium for my first blogged attempt. Alton Brown did a wonderful ep about cupcakes, and I went to Foodtv to dig up his Vanilla Chiffon cupcake recipe.

It baked up perfect--light, spongy, just the right amount of sweetness...but its just meh. No thrills, no real flavor. It made up 24 cupcakes, and I left 10 un-iced. Funnily enough, we had Strawberry Shortcake that night for dessert, and the un-iced sponges were FANTASTIC as a base in lieu of those drab MaryAnn shells or a hunk of Angel Food cake (neither of which we had, anyway). So I won't put Alton's cuppie on the shelf just yet. If I decide to make my own shortcake shells again, I know who to turn to.

These were frosted with Wilton's standard Chocolate Buttercream recipe. I really detest ANY frosting with icing sugar, but thought I would give it a go. And honestly, its made me re-evaluate the whole icing sugar thing. It was chocolatey, not tooooo sweet, and mighty tasty!

Chiffon Cupcakes (by Alton Brown, as found on FoodTV.com)
Makes 24 Cupcakes

5 1/4 ounces cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
5 large eggs, separated
6 ounces sugar, divided
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Place paper liners into 2 (12-cup) muffin tins and set aside. If you prefer, set 12 ovenproof coffee mugs on a half sheet pan and set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Place the egg yolks and 5 ounces of the sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk on high for 2 minutes or until the mixture becomes pale yellow and 'ribbons' when lifted. Add the water, vegetable oil and vanilla and whisk to combine. Add the dry ingredients and whisk just to combine. Transfer the batter to a mixing bowl while you whisk the egg whites.

Place the egg whites and cream of tartar into a clean bowl and whisk on high using the whisk attachment, until it becomes foamy. Decrease the speed to low and gradually add the remaining ounce of sugar. Increase speed to high and continue whisking until stiff peaks form, approximately 2 minutes.

Transfer 1/3 of the egg whites to the batter and whisk until well combined. Add the remaining egg whites and fold in gently. Transfer batter into prepared muffin tins or coffee mugs, evenly dividing the batter between the cups. Place both muffin tins on the middle rack of the oven or, if using mugs, place all of them on a half sheet pan and set on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake for 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean or the cupcakes reach an internal temperature of 205 to 210 degrees F. Remove from the oven to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate Buttercream Icing (from Cupcakefun.com)
Makes about 3 cups icing.

* 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
* 3/4 cup cocoa or three 1 oz. unsweetened chocolate squares, melted
* 1 teaspoon Clear Vanilla Extract
* 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approx 1 lb.)
* 3-4 tablespoons milk
* Light corn syrup**

1. In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer until light and fluffy.
2. Add cocoa and vanilla; mix well.
3. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry.
4. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.
5. **Add 3-4 tablespoons light corn syrup per recipe to thin for icing cake, if desired.

Keep icing covered with a damp cloth until ready to use.

Fathers Day Treat

2008-06-16T20:40:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was Fathers Day, and even though we were going to relatives' for dinner and dessert was covered (they bought an ice cream cake, ick), I wanted to use the excuse to try out a new recipe.

Seeing how it was his day after all, I decided to make my DH's fave dessert...Pecan Pie--but in Cupcake form!

Yay, my first CUPCAKE post!

2008-06-15T22:00:00.001-04:00

Hi everyone! I am new to blogging, but not new to cupcakes-and all other matter of treats and edibles, to be precise :P I am a long-time blog reader, but only now feel like my own life has settled enough--that doesn't mean it *is* settled, just a little less hectic more often than it used to be--and I want to share my experiments, flops and successes with you all!

A bit about me: Canadian (southern Ontario), 30-something (eep), on marriage #2, with 2 stepkids in their teens, and 2 wee ones of my own. I am a SAHM.. and while I love it, some days its enough to drive me bonkers. The only thing that holds me together on those days are the fantasies of losing myself in my baking when I get the chance =) Its been more frequent lately...the chance to bake, I mean!... and that has been my own personal cue to get on the bandwagon and start posting.

While you will undoubtedly see lots of cupcakes here, I won't hold back my pies, pastries and other assorted yummies. On top of the sweet stuff, I am a lean, mean, cooking machine-so you might see some examples of that here as well.