cupcakes and tom foolery

i've been having so much fun with cupcakes this week. for my girl's 6th birthday, i made a swarm of monarch butterflies. they are actually much easier than they look. i melted dark cocoa melting chips and orange melting chips, piped them out onto parchment paper using ziploc bags, swirled them a bit with a bamboo skewer (or toothpick, but i used what i had on hand), then added white non pareils.  the idea comes directly from the cupcake book du jour hello, cupcake by karen tack and alan richardson.  in case you didn't know, you must own this book! the most fun and creative cupcakes i have ever seen. they're fairly simple even though they can be somewhat labor-intensive, but making a few of these fantastic creations are a surefire way to secure rockstar mom status. 

the t.v. dinners are also from the hello, cupcake book. a friend of mine, sarah, owns her own cupcake business and she is a total pro at whipping these out. check out her website here. sarah helped out with our activity at church and showed all the girls how to make these for april fool's day. they were a total hit -- that sarah is one amazing gal, not to mention being way too much fun. 

i'm thinking my next cupcake venture needs to be panda bears... i'll let you know how they turn out.

cake, part 2

so, the chocolate cake. it was pretty good, if i can toot my own horn. i wanted it to have the flavor of mexican hot chocolate (one of my favorite treats in the world), so i experimented a bit. first i tried melting a couple abuelita tablets to substitute for the cocoa powder and water mixture from the recipe. this was a bust as the chocolate was way too gritty. so instead i stayed true to the recipe and added 2 teaspoons of freshly ground mexican cinnamon. i also boiled a couple cinnamon sticks in the water. you can find mexican cinnamon down the "latin foods" aisle at the grocery store. all of the spices are sold in packets. i don't like to get the cinnamon that's already ground; you get so much more flavor from the sticks. and yes, there is a difference between regular cinnamon sticks and the mexican cinnamon sticks; the mexican cinnamon is softer and little more papery, not to mention the flavor being completely different. i ground the sticks in my magic bullet. can i just tell you that i love that thing? i bought it at costco and it works so well, especially for the price. then i sifted the cinnamon a bit --  you need to do this to pick out the tiny "sticks" (when you do this, you'll see what i mean). 

between the layers of cake, i used marshmallow creme as the filling. still going for that hot chocolate flavor, ya see? it was very yummy, just know that it will run a bit when it is cut, but it won't make the cake soggy. for the frosting, i added about 2 teaspoons (you'll really just have to add to taste) of mexican cinnamon to my chocolate buttercream. i also used mexican vanilla in both the cake and the frosting. so there you go, a mexican hot chocolate cake. seriously delicious. 

and here's the quick chocolate buttercream recipe, in case you need one:

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

6 cups confectioners' sugar

6 T milk (plus more, if needed)

2 t vanilla extract

1/4 t salt

1 cup dark chocolate chips, melted and cooled to room temp

beat together butter, sugar, milk, vanilla and salt with flat paddle attachment*. scrape down sides of the bowl; continue mixing for a couple more minutes. add in chocolate and mix until combined. add more milk if frosting is too dry. 

*i like to use the whisk attachment to make my frosting really light and fluffy, rather than rich and dense. it's personal preference, however. and it depends on the cake. 

does alcohol really burn off?

i was discussing this question with a friend on saturday. we've both heard conflicting information, so i thought i would research it a bit to find the answer. so, to answer jana's question: 

check out ochef.com

for alcohol substitutions, check here.

this site also has quite a bit of really useful information. i refer to it often. 

whenever you substitute alcohol in a recipe, however, i would be careful. it will absolutely change the flavor of your finished product. so i wouldn't try it out when you're throwing a dinner party or anything. good luck, and happy cooking! 

mmm... cake.

i'm baking up a chocolate cake for my friend's birthday. i always love an excuse to bake a cake. i just love the whole process. the preparation, the measuring, the way my house smells, and of course the satisfaction of the finished product. there's nothing like the feeling of looking at a beautiful, frosted, from-scratch cake just waiting to be enjoyed by those you love. i tweaked my favorite recipe a bit -- if it turns out, i'll share my secrets. if not, i'll hang my head in shame... either way, the original recipe is the best chocolate cake i've ever tried. it's moist and rich, just perfect. and it really doesn't need frosting, just a dollop of whipped cream is enough. but you better believe i'm gonna be frosting it today... 'cause birthdays are like that. 

i'll have a cake update on the next post. 

p.s. i have this cake pan, and i seriously get giddy when it releases perfectly. i almost don't want to cut into it. almost. 

picture via williams-sonoma

fruit pizza

i finally talked to my long lost friend jeannie today. one of the sweetest, most tender-hearted moms i know. she's holding her applesauce chocolate-chip cookie recipe hostage for my fruit pizza recipe. so per her request, here's my recipe for fruit pizza (yummy, yummy). 

crust: 

1/2 c. butter

1/2 c. sugar

1 egg

1 1/3 c. flour

1 t. cream of tartar

1/2 t. baking soda

cream butter and sugar. mix in egg, then add dry ingredients. press into a greased half sheet pan. bake at 350 for 10 minutes. let cool. 

topping:

8 oz. cream cheese

1/4 c. sugar

2 T pineapple juice

mix together and spread over cooled crust. top with any fruit, but i like to have a variety of colors and place them in rows: blueberries, kiwis, raspberries, strawberries, mandarin oranges, bananas (only if you're eating it quickly or they will get squishy and brown), pineapple, mangoes, etc. 

glaze:

3/4 c. pineapple juice

1 T cornstarch

cook in a small saucepan until clear. drizzle over fruit. chill pizza for at least 3 hours before serving. 

miss you, jeannie! enjoy the fruit pizza -- now hand over that cookie recipe! 

sugar cookies

love these sugar cookies.  nice and soft, with a good vanilla flavor (i use 2 teaspoons of mexican vanilla instead of 1 1/2). we made some for valentine's day and topped them with buttercream frosting. royal icing is so pretty, but buttercream tastes so much better and if you thin it out just a bit you can have a nice smooth finish. top them with sprinkles or sanding sugar if you're having a hard time smoothing out the frosting, it will hide imperfections. if you're not a big sugar cookie baker, here are a couple of tips: 

 1. roll out your dough between layers of plastic wrap. this prevents having to use extra flour and making your cookies tough. it's also much easier to clean up. 

2. i always bake my cookies (all kinds) on parchment paper. it keeps them from sticking and then you don't have to wash your cookie sheets. parchment paper is one of those kitchen items that not everyone uses, but everyone should. 

3. to get bright, vibrantly colored frosting, always use gel colors. along with great color, they won't thin out the frosting like food coloring drops. you can find these at walmart or michael's down that great baking isle. i bought a box with eight colors and it's all i need. this will cost about $10, so wait for that 40% coupon!

4. while you're down that baking isle, get a small metal spatula for icing your cookies (about $4). don't use a butter knife; you really can't get the same results. 

Buttercream frosting

1 stick butter, softened

1 lb. powdered sugar (3  3/4 cups)

1/4 c. milk (plus more to thin) 

1 t. vanilla

mix together with whisk attachment. add more milk as needed.