Glee! Star-Berry Cupcakes

For tonight's season finale (*tear*), I chose to present Rachel's cupcake. I am always sad when the show goes on break or the season ends, but this time I am also excited, as I will have all summer to dream up awesome Gleecakes (thanks, Kelsey!) for the rest of the gang, including Finn, Quinn, Puck, Santana, Brittany, Artie, Sam, Sue, Mr. Schue... maybe even a (crazy)Gleecake for Terri?

Rachel is an exceedingly driven member of the student body at McKinley High. She wants nothing more in life than to be a star (well, aside from gaining the affections of Finn). She lets nothing stop in her way of getting as much exposure as possible - from always speaking her mind on any Glee club matter, to securing television commercials for the group, to demanding solos in competition.

Rachel is consistently reminding us that stars are her signature icon, so incorporating stars into her cupcake was a given! As Rachel would most surely attest that she is naturally uber talented, I chose a starfruit, with it's natural star shape, to adorn sparkly buttercream topped cupcakes. However, I also couldn't resist hiding a star inside the cupcake because, really, how much fun is this?!

Rachel's Star-Berry Cupcake combines vanilla cake with a surprise strawberry star baked inside, topped with strawberry swiss meringue buttercream, silver pearl dust, and sliced starfruit.

Star-Berry Cupcakes

Source: Vanilla cake reworded from Confections of a Foodie Bride, Strawberry cake slightly adapted from Good Things Catered (inactive blog), Buttercream slightly adapted from The Culinary Life/Garrett McCord and Beantown Baker/epicurious,
Yield: about 12 cupcakes
Total time: 4 hours 10 minutes, including 2 hours inactive time

 

Ingredients

For the strawberry cake:

• 1 1/4 cups cake flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 1/2 tablespoons buttermilk, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped strawberries
• 1/4 cup freeze dried raspberries, ground fine (optional, for coloring; can use red food coloring instead, if desired)

For the vanilla cake:

• 1 1/2 cups cake flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cubed and softened to room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 large eggs (beat the third egg in a small bowl, use half)
• 1/2 cup, plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For the buttercream and decoration:

• 4 ounces egg whites (from a carton is fine)
• 6 ounces sugar
• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room
  temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2-4tablespoonspureed strawberries
• 1 starfruit, sliced thin
• silver pearl dust

Instructions

For the strawberry cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare one 9" or 8" round cake pan by spraying with baking spray. Sift flour, salt, and baking soda in medium bowl. In bowl of mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and mix until combined. Add buttermilk, oil and vanilla until combined. Add flour mixture and stir until just combined. Stir in chopped strawberries and ground freeze dried raspberries (or food coloring, to desired shade of pink/red).
2. Pour batter into cake pan. Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan and continue to cook on wire rack until thoroughly cooled.
3. Wrap well in plastic wrap, and freeze for at least 2 hours to prepare cake for cutting. Once frozen, use a small star cookie or fondant cutter to make star shaped pieces of cake. Use immediately or store, well wrapped, in freezer until you are ready to continue with the cupcakes.

For the cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line one muffin/cupcake baking pan with 12 cupcake liners. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Place butter in the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat for 3 minutes on medium-high speed until the butter is light and creamy in color. Stop and scrape the bowl. Cream the butter for an additional 60 seconds.
3. Add the sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, beating 1 minute after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl before each addition. Add the eggs one at a time. Reduce the mixer speed. Stir vanilla into the buttermilk. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk. Mix just until incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix for 15 seconds longer.
4. Add roughly 2 tablespoonds of batter to each cupcake liner. Place one frozen strawberry cake star in the batter, standing up and all facing the same way. (Remember which way stars are placed, so that decoration added to the top of the cupcakes at the end can signal which way to cut/eat the cake to reveal the star.) Continue to add vanilla batter to each cupcake liner, making sure to cover the stars.

5. Center the pan onto the lower third of the oven and let bake 15-18 minutes. (A skewer test won't work here, since it would go into the pre-baked star cake.)
6. Let cool completely in the pans. While baking and cooling, prepare buttercream. Frost cupcakes with buttercream, sprinkle with pearl dust, and top with sliced starfruit.

For the buttercream:

1. Add egg whites and sugar to a heat-safe bowl. Place bowl over a pot of simmering water and whisk lightly until the muixture reaches 140 degrees F and the sugar is dissolved.
2. Pour hot whites into a room-temperature bowl and whip with a wire whip until double in volume on medium-high speed. When the mixer stops, the meringue should not move around in the bowl. Meanwhile cut up butter into 2-inch pieces. (The butter should be slightly moist on the outside but cold inside.)
3. On your mixer, remove the whip and attach the paddle. Add half the butter into the bowl immediately and pulsate the mixer several times until the meringue has covered the butter completely. To pulsate the mixer, turn it on and off in a jerky motion. This forces the butter on the top to the bottom of the bowl. Add the balance of the butter and pulsate mixer several times. Slowly increase the mixer's speed, starting with the lowest speed and increase the speed every 10 seconds until you reach a medium-high speed.
4. Continue beating until the mixture begins to look light and fluffy. Stop the mixer and scrape the bowl. Reduce speed to low. Add vanilla and 2 tablespoonds of strawberry puree and continue to beat on low speed for 45 seconds. Then beat on medium-high speed for an additional 45 to 60 seconds. Add additional puree, if necessary, to acheive desired color and taste. If frosting gets too soft, powdered sugar can be added to help stiffen it back up.
   Note: Leftover buttercream can be placed in plastic containers with lids and kept in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost completely (several hours) and rewhip before using. Storage: Store the icing in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.

Glee! Gingered Bow Cupcakes

Emma is one of my favorite characters on Glee, so I was very excited to make her cupcake this weekend. On the outside, Emma is a reserved, polished, sweetheart of a guidance counselor with a little spunk to go along with her firery red hair. Inside, she wrestles with more complex issues - a battle with OCD and a longing to be loved by the one man who stole her heart.

I knew from the start that her cake would be carrot cake, but with her recent proclamation of Gingerhood, a little kick from some ground ginger was definitely in order! The ginger also helps add a level of complexity to the flavor of the cake, to play off Emma's internal struggles. In keeping with Emma's polished exterior, I topped the cake with a tribute to her signature bow blouses and throwback hairstyle - a white fondant bow with curled tails.

Emma's cupcake combines gingered carrot cake with a delicate cream cheese frosting, topped with a signature bow!

Gingered Bow Cupcakes

Source: Slightly adapted from Baking Illustrated

Yield: about 24 cupcakes

Total time: 45 minutes

 

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (12 1/2 ounces)
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoons table salt
• 1 pound medium carrots (6 to 7), peeled
• 1 1/2 cups evaporated cane juice (10 1/2 ounces)
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
• 4 eggs (large)
• 1 1/2 cups safflower oil
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened but still cool
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened but still cool
• 1 tablespoon orange juice
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar (4 1/2 ounces)
• fondant, for decorations

Instructions

1. Wash all bowls, pans, utensils, and equipment in hot, soapy water. Dry thoroughly.
2. Wash all carrots thoroughly to ensure they are free of pesticides.
3. Day dream about Will Schuester.
4. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 muffin pans with sterilized cupcake wrappers.
5. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and salt in medium bowl; set aside.
6. In food processor fitted with large shredding disk, shred carrots (you should have about 3 cups); transfer carrots to bowl and set aside. Wash food processor components thoroughly with hot, soapy water, then dry pieces and fit bowl with metal blade. Process granulated and brown sugars and eggs until frothy and thoroughly combined, about 20 seconds. With machine running, add oil through feed tube in steady stream. Process until mixture is light in color and well emulsified, about 20 seconds longer. Scrape mixture into large bowl.
7. Realize you are alone and break down in tears, singing "All By Myself."
   
8. Pull yourself together.
   
9. Stir in carrots and dry ingredients until incorporated and no streaks of flour remain. Full cupcake wrappers 2/3 of the way and until toothpick or skewer inserted into center comes out clean, about 16-20 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking time.
   
10. Cool cupcakes to room temperature in pan on wire rack. When ready to frost, prepare icing. Try not to pass out while working with cream cheese and butter. Process cream cheese, butter, orange juice, and vanilla in clean food processor workbowl until combined, about 10 seconds, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Add powdered sugar and process until smooth, about 10 seconds. Frost cupcakes and top with fondant bow. Have a cupcake to make yourself feel better.
11. Resume day dreaming about Will Schuester.
    

Glee! Blackberry Blackbird Cupcakes

Welcome to the second installment of Glee cupcakes!  I was so excited to discover that it would be a 90 minute episode tonight, that I couldn't wait to get started on the next cupcake.  I seemed to hit it right on the money last week - a diva cupcake for Mercedes paired with an episode with her being a true diva (puppies, anyone?). Seeing the previews for tonight's episode made my pick for this week easy - Kurt!



 One of my favorite performances from Kurt is the recent Blackbird, sung after the death of Pavarotti (the Warbler's canary mascot), and that became the inspiration for Kurt's Glee cupcake. I used my favorite vanilla bean cake recipe for the cake, because I knew they bake up with a flat top that would be perfect for the design I had in mind.

Kurt's Blackberry Blackbird Cupcake combines vanilla bean cake, blackberry filling, and lime swiss meringue buttercream. A nest of candied lime peel holds a fresh blackberry on top of a beautiful rose of buttercream.

Blackberry Blackbird Cupcakes

Source: Cake reworded from Confections of a Foodie Bride,
Buttercream slightly adapted from The Culinary Life/Garrett McCord and Beantown Baker/epicurious,
Candied lime peel reworded from Martha Stewart
 
Yield: about 16 cupcakes
Total time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 1 1/2 cups cake flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cubed and softened to room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 large eggs (beat the third egg in a small bowl, use half)
• 1/2 cup, plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup blackberry jam
• 16 fresh blackberries, rinsed and dried

For the buttercream:

• 8 ounces egg whites (from a carton is fine)
• 12 ounces sugar
• 1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• juice of one lime

For the candied lime peel:

• 1 lime
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup water
• superfine sugar, for coating

Instructions

For the cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line two muffin/cupcake baking pans with 16 cupcake liners. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Place butter in the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment. Split and scrape the vanilla pod into the butter, discard pod (or reserve for another use). Beat for 3 minutes on medium-high speed until the butter is light and creamy in color. Stop and scrape the bowl. Cream the butter for an additional 60 seconds.
3. Add the sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, beating 1 minute after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl before each addition. Add the eggs one at a time. Reduce the mixer speed. Stir vanilla into the buttermilk. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk. Mix just until incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix for 15 seconds longer.
4. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans. Lift up and drop each pan onto the counter top a couple of times to burst any air bubbles and allowing the batter to settle. Center the pans onto the lower third of the oven and let bake 15-18 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs attached.
5. Let cool completely in the pans. While baking and cooling, prepare buttercream and candied lime peel.

For the buttercream:

1. Add egg whites and sugar to a heat-safe bowl. Place bowl over a pot of simmering water and whisk lightly until the muixture reaches 140 degrees F and the sugar is dissolved.
2. Pour hot whites into a room-temperature bowl and whip with a wire whip until double in volume on medium-high speed. When the mixer stops, the meringue should not move around in the bowl. Meanwhile cut up butter into 2-inch pieces. (The butter should be slightly moist on the outside but cold inside.)
3. On your mixer, remove the whip and attach the paddle. Add half the butter into the bowl immediately and pulsate the mixer several times until the meringue has covered the butter completely. To pulsate the mixer, turn it on and off in a jerky motion. This forces the butter on the top to the bottom of the bowl. Add the balance of the butter and pulsate mixer several times. Slowly increase the mixer's speed, starting with the lowest speed and increase the speed every 10 seconds until you reach a medium-high speed.
4. Continue beating until the mixture begins to look light and fluffy. Stop the mixer and scrape the bowl. Reduce speed to low. Add vanilla and lime and continue to beat on low speed for 45 seconds. Then beat on medium-high speed for an additional 45 to 60 seconds.
   Leftover buttercream can be placed in plastic containers with lids and kept in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost completely (several hours) and rewhip before using. Storage: Store the icing in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.

For the candied lime peel:

1. Peel lime with peeler from top to bottom. Using a sharp knife, carefully remove any thick white pith from lime peel. Cut peel into thin strips.
2. Bring a medium pot filled with water to a boil over high heat. Prepare an ice-water bath. Add lime peel to boiling water and cook for 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer lime peel to ice-water bath to cool. Repeat process.
3. Heat sugar and 1 cup water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until sugar is dissolved. Drain lime peel and add to saucepan; cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer lime peel to a wire rack set over parchment paper to drain. Toss with superfine sugar to coat. Store candied lime peel in an airtight container up to 3 days.

Assembly

1. Prepare cupcakes for filling with the cone method: Using a small, sharp knife, cut a cone out of the center of each cupcake. Fill the cupcake with a rounded teaspoon of blackberry jam. Remove the tip of the cone (to leave room for the filling) and replace the top to the cupcake. Cake is a terrible thing to waste, so be sure to enjoy all those little pieces you cut off!
2. To make rose design, fit a pastry bag with a large star tip, such as Wilton # 1M. Fill bag with buttercream, and pipe onto cucpcake in a circular motion, starting in the center of the cupcake and moving outward.
3. Top with fresh blackberry and pieces of candied lime peel.

Glee! Choco-Diva Cupcakes

I was in the mood to bake cupcakes over the weekend, but found myself without a cause. Certainly one should be able to make cupcakes just for the heck of it, but I thought for a moment about what I could celebrate with cupcakes, and quickly thought of Glee! My favorite show returns with new episodes this week, after a hiatus during the month of March. I love everything about this show - the music, the satire, the one-liners, the drama, and most of all, the insane talent.  Fellow Gleek Krystal suggested I make some Glee themed cupcakes, and got me started with a few great suggestions!

I had already planned to make chocolate cupcakes, so Krystal's suggestion of a choco-diva cupcake for Mercedes jumped out at me. Mercedes is a sassy and confident member of the glee club, with the desire to be in the limelight and the talent to back it up. Befitting of her large personality, I created an over the top cupcake with definite style and intense flavors.


The Mercedes Choco-Diva Cupcake combines coconut chocolate cake, coconut cream filling, and almond buttercream, with caramel and chocolate ganache drizzled on top. For extra flair, the frosting is piped in a ruffled design, inspired by Cook like a Champion.
 

Note: I am on a dairy-free diet for the time being, so I made the vegan chocolate cupcakes below (the perfectly domed tops at Oh She Glows convinced me I need to try her recipe - and it did not dissappoint!), but you can use your favorite chocolate cake recipe.

Choco-Diva Cupcakes

Source: Cake and Frosting adapted from Oh She Glows, Coconut Cream filling adapted from here, Caramel and Chocolate Ganache Glaze adapted from Baking: From My Home To Yours
Yield: 12 cupcakes
Total time: 2 hours, 30 minutes (make the caramel first to cut down on idle time!)

 

 

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

• 1 cup non-dairy milk, (regular milk is fine if you aren't sensitive to dairy or following a vegan diet)
• 1 cup evaporated cane juice
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, divided

For the frosting:

• 1/2 cup Earth Balance buttery stick or equivalent, at room temperature
• 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 3 tablespoons non-dairy milk, (regular milk is fine if you aren't sensitive to dairy)

For the filling:

• 1 can coconut milk (do not use light milk)
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons evaporated cane juice, or sugar

For the caramel:

• 1/2 cup evaporated cane juice, or sugar
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon agave nectar, or light corn syrup
• 1/4 cup reserved coconut cream (from filling)
• 1 teaspoon Earth Balance buttery stick or equivalent, at room temperature

For the chocolate ganache glaze:

• 2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup reserved coconut cream (from filling)
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 tablespoon evaporated cane juice, or sugar

Instructions

One Day Ahead: Identify which end of the can of coconut milk you'll open with the can opener, and place it that-side-down in the refrigerator. It's best to chill it at least 24 hours, as this will allow the cream to separate and rise to the top.

For the cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. With an electric or stand mixer, beat together the non-dairy milk, oil, sugar, apple cider vinegar, vanilla, almond extract in a large bowl. Beat on medium speed for one to two minutes.
2. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing until all the clumps are gone. Stir in coconut, reserving 2 tablespoons.
3. Pour batter into prepare pan (it will be thin), about 2/3 full for each. Sprinkle tops of each with reserved shredded coconut (they will self-toast in the oven and add another great dimension to these cupcakes!).
4. Bake for 22 minutes at 350 degrees F, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool completely in the pan.

For the frosting:

1. In a mixing bowl, beat Earth Balance (or equivalent) with an electric or stand mixer for 2-3 minutes. Add milk, vanilla, and salt and beat and additional minute.
2. Slowly add the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Beat until fully combined, then another 5 minutes more. Add additional milk, a little at a time, if necessary to reach desired consistency.

For the filling:

1. Open can of refrigerated coconut milk. Pour off the clear/milky coconut water (it will be on the top if you chilled the can open-side-down). This can be saved for smoothies or added to juice.
2. Scoop the cream out of the can and into a small bowl (about 1 1/2 cups).
3. Combine 1 cup of coconut cream, vanilla and cane juice in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Refrigerate until you are ready to assemble the cupcakes.

For the caramel:

1. Add cane juice, water and agave nectar in a small heavy bottomed saucepan and stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, without stirring. Let boil until a nice amber color is acheived, about 5-10 minutes. It's easiest to check the color of the sugar by dropping a small amount on a white plate.
2. Once at the desired color, remove the pan from the heat, and stand back to add the coconut cream and butter (it will spatter). Stir the caramel to calm it down, then pour into a heatsafe bowl.
3. Let caramel cool for one hour before topping cupcakes.

For the chocolate ganache glaze:

1. Add the chocolate to a medium heatsafe bowl.
2. Add the coconut cream, water and cane juice to a small saucepan and stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
3. Pour cream mixture over chocolate, and let sit for 30 seconds.
4. Using a whisk or spatula, slowly stir the chocolate/cream mixture with slow, concentric circles starting in the center. Stir until all the chocolate is melted and smooth.

Assembly! (thought you'd never get here, eh?)

1. Prepare to fill the cupcakes - the cone method works best here. Using a small, sharp knife, cut a cone out of the center of each cupcake. Fill the cupcake with coconut cream. Remove the tip of the cone (to leave room for the filling) and replace the top to the cupcake. Cake is a terrible thing to waste, so be sure to enjoy all those little pieces you cut off!
2. To apply the ruffled frosting, fill a pastry bag fitted with a leaf tip (such a Wilton #104) with buttercream. I find that placing the cupcake on a small piece of foil makes it easy to turn while applying frosting. With the fat end of the tip facing out, pipe a circle of frosting around the edge of the cupcake, using a back and forth, overlapping motion. Fill in the center of the frosting ring to leave an even layer for the next level of frosting. Complete the second layer using the same back and forth overlapping motion, with a slightly smaller circle. Again, fill in the center so it is one even layer of frosting. Complete one more circle, smaller yet, for the third layer. Move the tip and and down, while turning the cupcake, to make a crown of frosting on top.
3. Using a large spoon, drizzle caramel and chocolate ganache glaze over the cupcakes.

Vanilla Bean Cake

In 2007 after we moved to the Chicago area, I started a job that allowed me a 4 day work week. I jumped at the chance to have that schedule, since I had a long commute and it meant saving wear and tear on my car, and making a dent in the gas bill. However, when you combine 3 day weekends + a husband with a demanding job + not being close to family or friends... you get a whole lot of free time.

I dove into cooking, then blogging, then cooking groups like TWD and BB. I filled my weekends with trying new recipes and new techniques, hoping to find favorites that I could someday share with someone other than my husband.

Last year we moved back to the east coast, little more than an hour from where I grew up. When it was time to plan our son's baptism, I knew right away that I wanted to make the cake. This is what I'd been working towards - years of building experience in the kitchen, so I could share the fruits of that labor with family and friends!

For this cake, I pulled from some old favorites, tried new recipes, and built my first stacked cake! I was really happy with how it came out, considering how rushed I was putting it together.  The top section is a 6-inch, triple layer cake made with Beatty's Chocolate Cake (water instead of coffee, though) and chocolate mousse filling.  The bottom was a 9-inch, triple layer cake made with vanilla bean cake and raspberry filling.  I also made Swiss Meringue Buttercream for the first time for this cake, and loved it!  I'll be posting that recipe once I work out some kinks that I had with it.

This vanilla bean cake recipe was perfect. Fluffy, moist cake with great vanilla flavor - I couldn't get enough!  This is definitely my new favorite white cake recipe.  I made 1.5 times the below recipe to have enough for three 9-inch layers. 

Vanilla Bean Cake

Source: Reworded from Confections of a Foodie Bride
Yield: Two 8 or 9-inch cake layers
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 cups cake flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
• 1 cup unsalted butter, cubed and softened to room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 5 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter and line two 8-inch or 9-inch baking pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Place butter in the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment. Split and scrape the vanilla pod into the butter, discard pod (or reserve for another use). Beat for 3 minutes on medium-high speed until the butter is light and creamy in color. Stop and scrape the bowl. Cream the butter for an additional 60 seconds.
3. Add the sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, beating 1 minute after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl before each addition. Add the eggs one at a time. Reduce the mixer speed. Stir vanilla into the buttermilk. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk. Mix just until incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix for 15 seconds longer.
4. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with an off-set spatula. Lift up the pan with the batter, and let it drop onto the counter top a couple of times to burst any air bubbles and allowing the batter to settle. Center the pans onto the lower third of the oven and let bake 45 to 50 minutes or until the cake is lightly brown on top and comes away from the sides of the pan and a skewer inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs attached.  I found that 45 minutes was too long for my cake and ended up overbaking them a bit, so check early. 
5. Let cool completely in the pans before removing the cakes and frosting.

Marshmallow Fondant

These were my first roses, so be gentle. ;-)
Here are the instrucions I used for making marshmallow fondant. I found it to be easy, fun to work with, and delicious!

Marshmallow Fondant
Source: Peggy's Baking Corner

• 16 ounces white mini-marshmallows (use a good quality brand)
• 2 to 5 tablespoons water 
• 2 pounds icing sugar (recommended: C&H Cane Powdered Sugar)
• 1/2 cup Crisco shortening, in a small bowl

Melt marshmallows and 2 tablespoons of water in a microwave or double boiler: Put the bowl in the microwave and heat for 30 second intervals, stirring in between until marshmallow is just melted (usually about 2 1/2 minutes total).

Place 3/4 of the powdered sugar on the top of the melted marshmallow mix. Now grease your hands GENEROUSLY (palms, backs, and in between fingers), then heavily grease the counter you will be using and dump the bowl of marshmallow/sugar mixture in the middle. (I think I misinterpreted here and added 3/4 cup sugar, rather than 3/4 of the sugar.  I just kept adding it and eventually got to something workable, so it's definitely forgiving).



Start kneading like you would bread dough. You will immediately see why you have greased your hands.  Add the rest of the powdered sugar and knead some more. Re-grease your hands and counter when the fondant starts sticking. If the mix is tearing easily, it is to dry, so add water (about 1/2 tablespoon at a time and then knead it in). It usually takes about 8 minutes to get a firm smooth elastic ball so that it will stretch without tearing when you apply it to the cake.  It is best if you can let it sit, double wrapped, overnight (but you can use it right if there are no tiny bits of dry powdered sugar).  If you do see them, you will need to knead and maybe add a few more drops of water.



Prepare the fondant icing for storing by coating it with a good layer of Crisco shortening, wrap in a plastic-type wrap product and then put it in a re-sealable or Ziploc bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible. Marshmallow fondant icing will hold very well in the refrigerator for weeks.

To make the decorations for the cake, I first colored the fondant by separating it in to smaller balls, and adding small amounts of Wilton food coloring.  After kneading the dough, the color becomes incorporate and uniform throughout the fondant.



Then I selected cutting implements to make the sized circles that I wanted.  I don't have an array of circular cookie cutters, but I found a shot glass, my 1M tip, and another smaller tip worked just fine! I rolled out each color on a silpat with a plain wooden rolling pin, and for me no additional powdered sugar or cornstarch was necessary. If your dough is sticking, either of those will help. I simply cut the fondant like cookie dough, and pulled up the scraps for re-rolling and repeating the process.



Afterwards, I let the circles air dry on parchment paper on a baking sheet, covered lightly with plastic wrap until I was ready to decorate the cake. The pieces will stiffen as they dry, so if you want them to hold a different shape on the cake (such as draping them over the side), that shape should be set before the fondant dries.

For the leaves, I used a leaf cutter and pressed into the fondant with a toothpick to make the veins.  I made the roses following this method.

Strawberry cake with Chocolate Mousse Filling

A recent baby shower for a friend gave me another chance to bake a cake. I always try to do something different and after some mulling around, I decided on strawberry cake with chocolate mousse filling.



I also decided that this cake would be my first leap into fondant. I planned on icing the cake with regular buttercream, but I wanted the decorations to be in fondant. I found a recipe for marshmallow fondant and had a blast working with it! More on that tomorrow.

 

The strawberry cake part didn't turn out quite as I'd planned, as the cake looked more like a whole wheat cake than a strawberry cake! Thankfully, the strawberry flavor came through ever so delicately. The chocolate mousse filling was truly fantastic, and I was definitely excited that I had a little bit left over to save for dessert another night.



Strawberry Cake with Chocolate Mousse Filling
Source: Slightly adapted from Good Things Catered, here and here

For the cake, I modified Angie's Strawberry Cupcake recipe to use pureed strawberries since mine were frozen and I didn't think they would work well, chopped. I also baked it in two 9" round pans rather than in cupcake form. For the mousse, I cut the recipe in half.

For the cake:

• 2 1/2 cups cake flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cup sugar (or a little less)
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup pureed strawberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare two 9" or 8" round cake pans by spraying with baking spray.  Sift flour, salt, and baking soda in medium bowl.  In bowl of mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time until combined.  Add buttermilk, oil and vanilla until combined.  Add flour mixture and stir until just combined.  Stir in pureed strawberries.

Divide batter between two cake pans.  Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Cool cake in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes.  Remove cake from pans and continue to cook on wire rack until thoroughly cooled. 

For the mousse:

• 4 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 cups heavy cream, divided
• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 egg yolks
• 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 pinch salt

Directions:
In large double boiler, add chocolate, 2 tablespoons cream and butter.  Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally until melted.  Let cool for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium sauce pan over medium heat, add egg yolks, sugar and 2 tablespoons cream. Whisk to combine over heat, stirring well, until mixture reached 160 degrees, about 2 minutes.  Remove saucepan from heat, add chocolate mixture and set in saucepan in ice.  Stir mixture until cooled, about 7-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in bowl of stand mixer, whip remaining 3/4 cup of cream until just forming stiff peaks.  Fold whipped cream into chocolate mixture.  If not filling cake right away, place into bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place into fridge overnight.

To assemble the cake, place one layer on serving platter, and pipe a border of icing around the edge of the top surface of the cake (to build a well for holding in the mousse).   Generously top bottom layer with chocolate mousse.  Apply top layer of cake, then frost cake as desired. 

Merry Christmas!

I made some simple wreath sugar cookies to celebrate the holiday. A leaf tip with green royal icing made a perfect wreath! I hope everyone has a great holiday season!

Think Pink Sugar Cookies

Last year, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, I sent some close friends and family “Kick Cancer’s Bum” cookies.  They were a big hit and I decided to send cookies again this year (since I sadly could not mail the delicious cheesecakes!).  I kept it simple this time by flooding the cookies with white, thinned royal icing, then following with a piping bag filled with pink, thinned royal icing in the shape of the ribbon. 

I’ve been making this sugar cookie recipe for well over a year and love it.  Fantastic flavor and they bake up like a dream! 

The Most Fabulous Sugar Cookies
Source: As seen on Good Things Catered, by Ashlee

• 1 1/2 c. butter
• 1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
• 1/2 c. powdered sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 1 Tbsp lemon zest
• 5 c. flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• Powdered sugar, for rolling

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cream butter and sugars in a mixer for 5 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly.
Add vanilla, almond, and lemon zest.
Sift in flour, baking powder, and salt a little at a time.
Do not over mix, this process should take about one minute.
Chill dough for up to a week in the fridge, or roll out and cut right away.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and bake cookies for 7-8 minutes, or until golden brown on the bottom.
Wait until cookies are cooled before icing.

BB: Beatty's Chocolate Cake

This week for Barefoot Bloggers we had the second of two cakes. I made this earlier in the month for a party to honor a friend who is getting married. Since she loves chocolate and this cake was on my To Do list for the month, I thought it would be a great fit for this special occasion.

As I started making the cake, I was pleased to see it was one of the easy recipes... combine dry ingredients in one bowl, wet in the other, them mix together. To me, nothing is worse than having to add each ingredient one at a time to a whirring stand mixer. I love easy. At the end, as I added the coffee, I realize that this was quite similar to my favorite chocolate cake recipe, Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake (which I used here for S'mores Cupcakes). A quick look at the two recipes shows that they are nearly identical! Slight variations in baking soda, baking powder, vanilla extract and the use of hot coffee or hot water are all that separate these two recipes.

I made 1.5 times the original recipe because I have 9 inch cake pans and hate having flat cakes. I divided the batter between those two pans, but it proved to be too much batter as the cake rise quite a bit. Mine collapsed a little in the center, so I should have reserved some of that batter for cupcakes.

Ultimately, I loved the lift that these cakes had, but love the ease of using regular milk and water in the Hershey's recipe. I'll probably tweak the two recipes together the next time I need chocolate cake. Both recipes make truly fantastic, moist, rich, chocolatey cake. The frosting was very easy to work with, spread smoothly (even with my poor decorating skills) and was a good amount of chocolate and sweet.

I topped the cake with lazy chocolate covered strawberries and white chocolate shavings. Everyone loved it!

Beatty’s Chocolate Cake
Source: Barefoot Contessa at Home on pages 165-166
Chosen by Mary of Passionate Perseverance

• Butter, for greasing the pans
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cups good cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup buttermilk, shaken
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 2 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.

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. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake.


Chocolate Frosting:

• 6 ounces good semisweet chocolate (recommended: Callebaut)
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1 tablespoon instant coffee powder

Chop the chocolate and place it in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until just melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and continue beating for 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to low, gradually add the confectioners' sugar, then beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy. Dissolve the coffee powder in 2 teaspoons of the hottest tap water. On low speed, add the chocolate and coffee to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Don't whip! Spread immediately on the cooled cake.

Flower Cake Pops

I knew I was going to have another opportunity make treats for a party, so a few weeks ago when I made the organic lemon cake, I made two layers, wrapped them well, and stuck them in the freezer. I had cake pops on my mind for those layers. I have made cake bites before, but with all the amazingly cute things Bakerella has been doing with cake pops, I wanted to try my hand at those.


I decided to start with something simple and do flowers*. I picked up the mini romance Wilton set of cookie cutters, and used the petal flower and tulip shapes. I decided to make two flavors, lemon cake with strawberry frosting, and german chocolate cake with coconut pecan frosting. They were both absolutely delicious! To aid in telling them apart, all the chocolate flowers were purple and the lemon/strawberry ones were orange.


Here, in pictures, is how I chose to form them. After crumbling the cake and mixing with the frosting, I pressed the cake/frosting mixture into a jelly roll pan. The pan went into the freezer for about 20 minutes to set the cake. Then I used the mini cookie cutters as if I were making... cookies. :-) I pressed it into the cake, lifted it away with a spatula, then used the end of the spatula to gently apply pressure to the cake to unmold the flower. These got packed up in an airtight container, and put back in the freezer until I was ready to dip them (which for me was a few days later). To complete them, melt candy melts in the microwave or over a double boiler. Press a stick into the frozen molded flower, and then dip into the melted candy. Use a toothpick to help clear off excess, if desired. Sprinkle with colored sugar immediately, then set in styrofoam block to set. (There are no pictures of the dipping process because, gosh, it is messy!) I ended up getting 50-60 pops out of the cake mix, and was able to dip about 40 of them per 14 ounce bag of candy melts.






*I later discovered, flowers are not simple. It is no fun dipping cake pops when you care about the shape of the final product. Such a pain!!

Strawberry Lemon Cake Pops
~two 8" or 9" rounds, or one 9x13 pan of lemon cake (store bought or homemade)
~16 ounces, about 2 cups, of strawberry frosting (store bought or homemade)

German Chocolate Cake Pops
~one 9x13 pan of german chocolate cake (store bought or homemade)
~16 ounces, about 2 cups, of coconut pecan frosting (store bought or homemade)

Other items:
~sticks
~colored candy melts
~colored sprinkles
~shortening (for thinning candy melts, if too thick for dipping)
~mini cookie cutters in flower shapes
~patience. Lots of patience.