Wedding Cake, Teddy Bear Edition

This week's wedding cake practice came in the form of a Carmel Cake with a Carmel Whipped Cream Frosting. Obviously this would not actually be practical for a REAL wedding cake because of the Whipped Cream Frosting but I didn't want to make two white cakes in one week. And can I tell you, this cake was superb. The flavor of the caramel was subtle but having the cool, light taste of the whipped cream made it great. As my boss said "You need to find a way to make the frosting firmer, but if you make this for the wedding, you will have a reputation." She didn't mention what kind of reputation and I didn't ask.

I also had a leftover teddy bear from my learning-how-to-sculpt-teddy-bears-that-don't-collapse-on-themselves night, so I put it on top of the cake as a sort of Valentine's Decoration, I guess, because what is more cliche than a teddy bear with red hearts for V-Day? I also had a little too much batter, so I made cupcakes to give to my favorite food critics. Happy upcoming V-Day everyone!

Caramel Cake
From Shuna Fish Lydon

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Ingredients:
10 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 c. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/3 c. Caramel Syrup (see recipe below)
2 eggs, at room temperature
Splash vanilla extract
2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 c. milk, at room temperature

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Preheat oven to 350F. Butter one tall (2 – 2.5 inch deep) 9-inch cake pan.In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth. Add sugar and salt & cream until light and fluffy.
Slowly pour room temperature caramel syrup into bowl. Scrape down bowl and increase speed. Add eggs/vanilla extract a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down bowl again, beat mixture until light and uniform.
Sift flour and baking powder. Turn mixer to lowest speed, and add one third of the dry ingredients. When incorporated, add half of the milk, a little at a time. Add another third of the dry ingredients, then the other half of the milk and finish with the dry ingredients. {This is called the dry, wet, dry, wet, dry method in cake making. It is often employed when there is a high proportion of liquid in the batter.}
Take off mixer and by hand, use a spatula to do a few last folds, making sure batter is uniform. Turn batter into prepared cake pan.
Place cake pan on cookie sheet or 1/2 sheet pan. Set first timer for 30 minutes, rotate pan and set timer for another 15-20 minutes. Your own oven will set the pace. Bake until sides pull away from the pan and skewer inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool cake completely before icing it. Cake will keep for three days outside of the refrigerator.

*As a random side note, learning how to sculpt things is a good idea - it helped me at a recent retreat when we played Pictionary with clay. My team didn't win, but I did get someone to guess "light" by sculpting a light bulb.

Oreo, Oh Yum!

One of my coworkers got engaged recently, and since we are friends, I made her these Oreo cupcakes to celebrate her engagement. I can't think of a better way to celebrate an engagement than Oreo cupcakes. Unfortunately, I did not bring enough for the entire office, so even though I gave her about a half dozen, most were consumed by my other co-workers, which leads to the moral of today's story: if you are going to bring cupcakes to work, you should probably bring enough for everyone. Either that or hide them so other people don't know there are cupcakes in the office.
I didn't use the chocolate cake recipe posted below, I used my old reliable. but the recipe looks like a good one, maybe I will give it a try the next time I make chocolate cake, although I have heard it is rather dense, and I do like my cake to be light and fluffy. But the frosting was amazing - who wouldn't love Oreo combined with whipped cream? Oreo Cupcakes

From Anne's Eats

Ingredients:

For the cake:

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

12 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups buttermilk, at room temperature

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For the frosting:

1 3/4 cups plus 2 tbsp. whipping cream

3 tbsp. powdered sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

6 tbsp. Oreo cookie crumbs

For garnish:

24 Oreo cookie halves

Directions:To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth. Gradually add the brown sugar and continue beating until fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix just until all the dry ingredients have been incorporated, being careful not to overmix.
Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes. Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature.
To prepare the frosting, in the clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium-high speed until the whipped cream holds stiff peaks. Gently fold in the cookie crumbs with a spatula.
Scoop the mixture into a pastry bag and pipe frosting decoratively on top of the cupcakes. Garnish with Oreo cookie halves.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Frosting

Merry Christmas! December is definitely a peppermint month and I have been waiting to try this recipe for a while and I have ended up so far making three batches of these. EC likes them a lot, he says the cupcake part is like a cookie version of Oreo cookies and the peppermint frosting combined with crushed candy canes is a nice refreshing topping.

In keeping in the spirit of the holidays, we found a Santa hat and bell cat collar at the dollar store and decided that Petey needed to again be subject to public humiliation at our expense. He was really good about it though, but he was really worried about being on the table, since usually when he gets on the table we squirt him with water. But he calmed down after a bit and I gave him some milk afterwards and he was all around a good sport about it.

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Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Frosting

From Cooking Light

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Ingredients
Cupcakes:
1 cup packed brown sugar
6 tablespoons butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 5 1/2 ounces)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

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Peppermint Frosting:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup (4 ounces) tub-style light cream cheese
1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract
16 hard peppermint candies, finely crushed (about 1/3 cup)
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Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
To prepare cupcakes, place brown sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed 2 minutes or until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Stir in vanilla extract.
Spoon batter into 18 muffin cups lined with paper liners. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes or until cupcakes spring back when touched lightly in the center. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.
To prepare frosting, combine powdered sugar, cream cheese, and peppermint extract in a bowl, stirring until smooth. Spread about 4 teaspoons frosting on each cupcake; sprinkle evenly with candies.

Red Velvet Cake

Merry Christmas! Yesterday EC and I were invited by our friends to go and cut down a Christmas Tree. We went and it was so much fun! I have never cut down my own Christmas Tree before, it was slightly an adventure. We still had to pick one out, so we tromped around for a while and picked out a cute little Christmas tree. We got it home and it was slightly too tall for our apartment, so I had to trim it a little to get the star to fit. And then I was going to hang the Christmas ornaments on it that I bought the day after Christmas last year, so I opened up the box, and there were no ornament hooks in with the ornaments. I think that is slightly silly. Who sells ornaments without the hooks? So now I have to wait until tomorrow to go and buy hooks. But we got the lights on and the star, and it looks nice, except lights keep burning out, which then causes half of the strand of lights to go out. Oh the joys of having your own grown up Christmas tree.

I have officially started making Christmas goodies! Today I made Red Velvet Cupcakes, very festive. We sent some with EC as he went out Home Teaching which was slightly worrisome, since I have never tried them before and it is fast Sunday so I had to send them out without a taste test. But I have since tried one and it is A-OK. So here is the recipe!

Red Velvet Cake

Adapted from Mrs. Wilkes’ Boardinghouse Cookbook: Recipes and Recollections from Her Savannah Table by Selma Wilkes

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

1 tsp white vinegar

2 1/2 cups cake flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 to 3 TBSP cocoa powder

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla

5/8 ounce bottle red food coloring

Preheat the oven to 350F. Cream the eggs, sugar, oil and vinegar. Sift the cake flour, baking soda, and cocoa together. Add the flour mixture to the creamed ingredients while beating. Slowly add the buttermilk. While still beating, add the vanilla and the food coloring. Pour into three 8-inch layer pans and bake for about 25 minutes. Press lightly;if the layers are spongy, then the cake is done. Frost the cooled layers, assemble and frost the top and sides. Serves 12 to 14.

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Velvet Cake Frosting

1(8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter

1 (1 pound) box confectioners sugar

1 cup chopped pecans

1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine the cream cheese and butter and melt over very low heat. Add the sugar, pecans and vanilla and mix well. If the frosting becomes too thick, add a little milk. Frost one 8-inch or 9-inch layer cake.

Mini Cupcakes

The problem with it only being EC, Petey, and I is that whenever I make a cake, there is always WAY too much for the three of us, especially since Petey only likes dairy, not cake. So when I had to make my final cake for class, I still had way too much batter, so I made mini cupcakes, because I believe most things are cute in miniature form: cats, cakes, cupcakes, dogs, children, etc. But then I was left with the dilemma of what to do with these cupcakes.

Luckily for me, "rent" was due at work - which means I give a baked good to my coworker and she takes care of a plant for me, this is the only way that I can get a plant to stay alive - and one of my other coworkers was especially helpful in a stressful situation at work, so I took these little guys to work with me and gave them to two well deserving people.

These cupcakes have taught me that I need to buy purple food coloring because my red and blue don't mix very nicely.

Marbled Cake

From MarthaStewart.com

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pans
1 3/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising), plus more for dusting
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup milk, room temperature
1/3 cup heavy cream, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup best-quality unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup boiling water
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder, for mocha layers

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter pans; line with parchment paper. Butter lining; dust with flour, tapping out excess. Set aside. Sift together cake flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
Combine milk and cream in a small bowl; set aside. Cream butter and sugar on medium speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time; mix well after each addition. Mix in vanilla. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the milk mixture and beginning and ending with flour.
Combine cocoa and the boiling water in a medium bowl; for mocha cake, add espresso powder. Stir in 1 cup cake batter.
Fill prepared pans with spoonfuls of vanilla and chocolate batter to form a checkerboard pattern. Run the tip of a paring knife or a wooden skewer through batter in a figure-eight motion to make swirls. Bake until tops are golden, and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Let cakes cool completely in pans on wire racks.

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

So, awhile ago I was talking with my BFF and she mentioned that she kinda missed the pink on my blog background (this was right after EC helped me give my blog a face lift). So I thought to myself, I should make her something pink, in remembrance of the background.So then we were talking earlier this week and I told her I would make cupcakes in her honor. She then told me that I should send them to her, so a conversation ensued about if mailing cupcakes would actually be possible or if they would just show up all smooshy and man handled. Well, I mailed them this morning, so I guess we will see in 2-3 business days how mailing cupcakes actually turns out.

These little gems are different. I wouldn't exactly call them sweet, but I wouldn't exactly call them not sweet either. They are pink lemonade cupcakes, so they have the tangy, lemonade taste, but not too tangy. I can't really describe them, so in order for you to get the full effect, you either need to make them or guilt me into making/mailing them for/to you. They are pretty good tasting, but as EC says, they aren't something you can sit down and eat 4 of at once (although I NEVER eat 4 cupcakes at once, NEVER). They didn't raise very high in the oven, which is possibly why you are supposed to fill the cupcake liners so full. I think they would be cute as mini cupcakes and was going to make some out of the leftover batter, but there was only enough for 12 regular sized cupcakes.

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

From Cast Sugar

Ingredients:
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
Pinch salt
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. vegetable oil
2 egg whites
1/3 c. thawed frozen Pink Lemonade Concentrate
1/4 c. buttermilk
2 or more drops red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin pan with liners.
In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, egg whites and lemonade concentrate. Alternately whisk in flour mixture and buttermilk, making three additions of flour mixture and two of buttermilk, beating until just smooth. Add just enough food coloring to turn the batter a light shade of pink.
Scoop batter into liners (fill about three-fourths full). Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack. Top cooled cupcakes with frosting (see below).

Lemonade Buttercream:

3 c. + 3 Tbsp. confectioner’s sugar
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
1/8 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. pink lemonade concentrate
Red food coloring

Add the butter, confectioner’s sugar, salt, lemon juice, and a few drops of food coloring to the stand mixer and mix on low using the paddle attachment until combined. Turn the speed to med-high until the buttercream is fluffy and uniformly pink. Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes.

You're such a Square!

On Monday I swore to EC that I wasn't going to make any more desserts this week because we still have cookies in the house. Then, it turned out two people at my work had birthdays this week and we were celebrating them today. Since I have become the unofficial birthday treat maker, I had to make something, I couldn't let them be birthday treat-less. This is a stressful job for me, since I don't know exactly what types of desserts people like and I would feel awful if I showed up with something that they detested or were allergic too. So after some sleuthing by me and my coworker, we landed on white and chocolate cake. Boring. I know. So, in an effort to spice things up, I made the cupcakes square!

Cupcakes taste so much better in square form, everyone agrees.

I used WAY too many recipes on these little buggers to post them all, so here is the recipe for the vanilla cake, vanilla frosting, chocolate cake, and chocolate frosting. They were a success, and I renewed my vow to not make anymore desserts this week.
And then I found out it was our Office Manager's birthday this week too. Sigh.