Amaretto Apple Streusel Cupcakes

I found this recipe in last October's issue of Cooking Light. It was a reader submitted recipe from Lorraine Fina Stevenski from Clearwater, FL. The concept of adding amaretto was so intriguing to me that I couldn't wait to try it. There's a brownie recipe I love, which uses boxed brownie mix, then you add amaretto to it. They're still the best brownies I've ever had. But alas, I finally just got around to making it. I tend to do that, save recipes for forever before getting around to trying them. But in last week's scouring of cookbooks and whatnot to find new ideas for dinner, I happened upon this dog-eared page.



It's a shame it took me so long to get around to this recipe because good GOD are these things good! I wasn't expecting to love them as much as I do. I'm not generally a fan of add-ins to my cupcakes. I just like a mouthful of cake without any funny stuff. But because the apples are so finely chopped in this recipe, the apple just sort of becomes one with the cake. The result - a beautifully structured, moist, tender, PERFECT cupcake. My camera is having trouble capturing just how perfect these cupcakes are, but here's the best it could do:



I'm sending you directly to the source for this recipe since I only made a few minor changes (I used 1% milk instead of 2%, I didn't have almonds for the streusel, and I just skipped the glaze part because I just wanted to get to eating them). In the end, all I have to say is that you HAVE to try this recipe. If you don't, you will die an incomplete existence. :)

Peanut Butter Tandy Cakes

Do you have Tastykake near you? If you don't, you're missing out. They're a bakery business based out of Philadelphia. I think they pretty much only distribute to the Tri-State area. One of my favorite Tastykake treats are the Peanut Butter Tandy Cakes. A couple of years ago I was introduced to the homemade variety. HOLY COW were these things good. I was addicted. They're so FRESH. Way better than the mass produced variety. But I think that's true with almost anything homemade.



I made my best friend get the recipe from her mom's best friend. I went and bought a jelly roll pan because I have to follow the rules. And I've made more than a dozen batches of these things for various occassions over the last year. This Christmas was the first time I brought them to my family's annual Christmas Eve party. And people were basically fighting over who was taking how many home (admittedly, I was one of those people).



So if you ever need a cake fix, chocolate fix, peanut butter fix, or all 3, then you need to try this recipe! You can find varying recipes on the internet with basically the same ingredients. I've had success with these ingredients and steps:



4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp oil (canola or vegetable)
1 cup milk
2 cups flour
scant 1 tsp baking powder
1 to 1- 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
1 bag milk chocolate chips



1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, vanilla and oil. Stir in the milk until incorporated.
4. Stir the flour mixture into the batter until blended in.
5. Grease and flour a 10 x 15 jelly roll pan. Pour batter into pan and transfer to preheated oven.
6. Bake for 20-30 minutes, depending on your oven (Mine have taken 23 minutes, other times 28 minutes), until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
7. While the cake is hot, plop on spoonfuls of the peanut butter and spread gently. This can be assisted by placing the cake with peanut butter on it into the turned off oven for a short minute. Spread the peanut butter all the way to the edges. Transfer to fridge to set.
8. When the peanut butter is set, melt your chocolate chips on the microwave for 2 minutes at high power, stirring at 30 second intervals. Pour melted chocolate over the cake and spread to the edges. Transfer to fridge to set.
TIP: When the chocolate has set up some, it is a good idea to score the chocolate where you will be making the slices so that the chocolate doesn't crack.

Just be sure that when you cut these up to serve that you set some aside for yourself to enjoy later!

Seriously Moist Chocolate Cake

This is my go-t0, most favoritest chocolate cake recipe. I found it on the internet eons ago and can't find it again to give credit.

It was my sister's 26th birthday yesterday and mom was having us over for a really nice dinner so naturally I offered to make and bring the cake. I asked my sister what kind of cake she wanted - chocolate. I asked her what kind of icing she wanted - rainbow chip. You got it Sis!

I've never in my life had a slice of chocolate cake as moist as this. I urge you to try this recipe the next time you need a chocolate cake. Seriously, you cannot go wrong.

SERIOUSLY MOIST CHOCOLATE CAKE

Source: the vast world wide web

2 cups sugar

1 cup oil (I use canola oil)

2 eggs

1 cup milk (I only ever buy 1%)

1 cup HOT coffee

2 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cups cocoa powder (I use Penzey's Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder)

2 cups cake flour (when I've substituted all-purpose flour, my cake always sank in the middle)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup sour cream

-----

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. Grease and flour your cake pan(s) (2 round, or 1 sheet).

3. Add all dry ingredients (except sugar) to a bowl and whisk to combine.

4. In mixer, add sugar and oil and mix to combine.

5. Add eggs one at a time until incorporated.

6. Slowly add milk, coffee and vanilla extract.

7. Add dry ingredients in increments with mixer on low speed.

8. Add sour cream and stir to combine.

9. Pour into cake pans and transfer to oven.

10. Bake for 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Again - try this recipe the next time you need a chocolate cake - you'll never try another!

White Cupcakes

Yesterday I had a random craving for a really nice cupcake. I remembered coming across Bridget's blog, The Way The Cookie Crumbles, and she did a comparison between 3 recipes for white cake. I was so inspired, not only by her pictures, but because I was able to see the inside of the cupcakes side by side. I'm weird and there are certain types of cupcakes that I like over others, so I thought it was neat to be able to pick which recipe I wanted to try based on what the inside of the cupcake should look like. I chose Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake recipe.

I adapted Dorie's recipe by excluding the lemon zest and using vanilla extract in place of lemon extract (because I really don't like citrus undertones in my cakes) and I followed the directions I found on Bridget's blog to a T. I filled the cupcake tin and popped it into the oven, ensuring that the temperature was correct on my oven thermometer. I set the time for 18 minutes and hoped for the best. You see, the last 3 times I tried to make cupcakes from scratch, they all sank!

I was pleasantly surprised, and ecstatic, when I checked the cupcakes when the timer went off, they were all perfectly puffed up. I stuck my cake tester in, prayed it wouldn't deflate the cupcakes, and it didn't! Then, I took the cupcakes out of the oven, again nervous that the change from oven temp to room temp would cause them to deflate. And after a few minutes I checked on them again - and they were still perfectly risen! A success in itself :)

So then, I set out to make my own chocolate frosting, something I'd never done before. I had a debate with my friend, Dana, who balked when I told her I was just going to buy some Betty Crocker icing. I explained that I didn't want to deal with the hassle of melting chocolate. She politely informed me that Domino sugar has a recipe for chocolate buttercream which she uses, and adds cocoa powder to instead of adding melted chocolate to. I couldn't disappoint her.

So here's what I came up with for the frosting, which, by the way, turned out super awesome:

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

3 3/4 cups (450 grams) powdered sugar

3-5 Tbsp whole milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

5-7 Tbsp cocoa powder

Basically I just creamed the butter, sugar, vanilla and 3 Tbsp of milk together. Then I added the cocoa powder 1 Tbsp at a time until I achieved the desired chocolatey flavor. Then I just added another 2 Tbsp of milk to bring the frosting to the right consistency. And then I iced away!

I found the interior of the cupcakes to be really soft and tender, almost reminiscent of an angel food cake, but the edges were a little too chewy for my liking. However, the chocolate frosting was awesome and I don't think I'll be buying Betty Crocker ever again :)

Sprinkles Cupcakes

For my birthday (back in April) my WC Sis, Lindsey, sent me the cutest birthday package: a Sprinkles cupcake mix kit, rainbow sanding sugars, the cutest little cupcake cake tester, a beautiful dish towel with all of my favorite colors, and some personalized note cards. I'm so lucky to have been paired up with such an awesome Sis who quickly became my friend. What's even greater is that she's only located 1 big city and a train ride away. We've been fortunate enough to be able to meet up in person twice already, and we always have such a great time together, and for these things I am so thankful. It's so easy to form friendships and bonds with people over the internet. There's a certain anonymity that makes it easy to be yourself. But when you're able to carry those friendships over into real life so easily, it's special.



Anywho, back to my amazing and thoughtful birthday gift that I got like 6 months ago. The Sprinkles cupcake kit has been sitting on a shelf since then, just waiting for me to find the right opportunity to whip them up. I attribute the hold-off on not having butter in the house, or not wanting baked goods around. But last night at 11:00 pm I was home, bored and lonely while the hubs was working. I called him up and whined about how bored I was. One thing I tend to do when I'm bored is bake, so he helped me decide to bake up these cupcakes.



They were really simple to make, the baking time was spot on, and they came out of the oven looking like gorgeous golden mounds of awesomeness. I can't tell you when was the last time I made a successful batch of cupcakes. After finally buying an oven thermometer though, I attribute my many many failed attempts to improper oven temperature. I can certainly tell you how disappointing it is to pull out a tray of deflated cupcakes - I could go on for hours on the topic. But I was so happy that I didn't fail these cupcakes.



I decided to use store-bought icing - it's so much cheaper than making your own. And in these tough economic times, that's what I'm aiming for! (Oy vey, I can feel the agida creeping up - moving on!) Also, I just happened to buy some piping supplies for a breast cancer benefit I'm involved in for a friend and decided to test out my skills with these cupcakes since I'd never piped a piping of icing in my life! I have to admit, it was crazy-fun! I'm going to be piping whenever I get the chance! If I could manage having crazy amounts of cake and buttercream around the house, I might actually go take the Wilton cake decorating class - but really, that's the last thing I need.



The verdict: Now, I've never had an actual Sprinkles cupcake so I can't compare to the real life version, but I thought the texture and density of these cupcakes was perfect. I enjoy a fluffy, dense but not chewy cupcake. Seriously, if I could make cupcakes from scratch and achieve this texture I would be baking cupcakes a whole lot more frequently. I found it to be similar to America's Test Kitchen fluffy yellow cake, but not as dry. Like I said - PERFECT. But the taste seemed a little off. It could be because they sat on a shelf in my house for so long, but I did feel that the flavor in these were lacking. Was it so bad that I've decided not to shovel a few more cupcakes down the hatch? Certainly not. The hubs and I will be enjoying the few that are left after a little mishap in my kitchen whilst photographing these gorgeous kaleidoscopical gems. I thought I loved sanding sugars as much as any one person could - but after receiving the rainbow kind, oh my goodness, my love has grown.




Thanks again, SO MUCH for my birthday present Linds!! I'll light a candle in honor of our half-birthdays!

What's up, doc?

Ever since I came across this recipe about 4 years ago, it's been a must-have for Easter dinner every single year. If you're looking for a new carrot cake recipe to try, I highly recommend you try this one! It's so moist and has the perfect density. The only change I make is I exclude the nuts entirely, and I prefer it baked in a 9x13 cake pan (which takes about 35-45 minutes).

GIGI'S CARROT CAKE
Source: Emeril Lagasse - Food Network

3 sticks, plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup chopped toasted pecans

Pecan Cream Cheese Icing:
8 ounces cream cheese
1 stick unsalted butter
1 (1-pound) box confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup chopped toasted pecans
-----
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Butter 3 (9-inch) cake pans with 1 tablespoon of the butter and set aside.
In a large bowl, cream the butter with an electric mixer.
Add the sugar, and beat.
In a medium bowl or on a piece of parchment, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt, and mix well.
Add the dry ingredients, alternating with the eggs, beating well after the addition of each.
Add the vanilla extract and mix.
Add the carrots and beat on medium speed until well incorporated, about 2 minutes.
Fold in the nuts.
Divide between the 3 cake pans and bake until set and a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let rest in the cake pans for 10 minutes.
Invert onto wire racks, remove from the pans, and let cool.

For the Frosting:
In a large bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy.
Add the sugar gradually, beating constantly.
Add the vanilla and pecans.

When the cake is cool, place 1 cake layer on a cake plate or stand. Spread the top with cream cheese frosting and top with a second and third cake layer, spreading the icing between each layer. Spread the icing around the sides of the cake and let harden slightly before serving.

I iced it!

Yeah, I love that colored sugar - I can never get enough of it on my cake. A little difficult to see in my awful kitchen lighting, but I used pink for Valentine's Day :)

FINALLY!!!!!

I've ruined so many baked goods these last few months. With the demise of so many cookies and cakes I was bound to be successful one of these times - so the desire to succeed never left. Earlier this week, one of the fabulous Nesties on the What's Cooking board posted the recipe for America's Test Kitchen fluffy yellow cake. I was immediately drawn to this recipe for a few reasons. 1. I've become a huge fan of the ATK recipes because they always work out for me. 2. My husband loves plain old yellow cake. 3. I still had to have a little success with my baking this week!!

And so it was meant to be, and I'm so proud to say that this cake did not fall flat on me! Which is what usually happens when I bake cake/cupcakes anymore.

I was so ecstatic that I had to post the pictures of this gorgeous yellow cake before I even iced it. I'm 100% confident that it's going to taste amazing, too!

I baked it in a 9x13 pan for transporting ease as I'll be taking this cake into work with me tomorrow - and it took a perfect 35 minutes to bake up.

FLUFFY YELLOW CAKE

Source: America's Test Kitchen

Nonstick cooking spray can be used for greasing the pans (proceed with flouring as directed).

Bring all ingredients to room temperature before beginning.

Makes two 9-inch cake layers.

2 1/2 cups cake flour , plus extra for dusting pans

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon table salt

1 3/4 cups sugar (12 1/4 ounces)

10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly

1 cup buttermilk , room temperature

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

6 large egg yolks , room temperature

3 large egg whites , room temperature

-----

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9-inch-wide by 2-inch-high round cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper. Grease paper rounds, dust pans with flour, and knock out excess. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and 1 1/2 cups sugar together in large bowl. In 4-cup liquid measuring cup or medium bowl, whisk together melted butter, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and yolks.

2. In clean bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat egg whites at medium-high speed until foamy, about 30 seconds. With machine running, gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar; continue to beat until stiff peaks just form, 30 to 60 seconds (whites should hold peak but mixture should appear moist). Transfer to bowl and set aside.

3. Add flour mixture to now-empty mixing bowl fitted with whisk attachment. With mixer running at low speed, gradually pour in butter mixture and mix until almost incorporated (a few streaks of dry flour will remain), about 15 seconds. Stop mixer and scrape whisk and sides of bowl. Return mixer to medium-low speed and beat until smooth and fully incorporated, 10 to 15 seconds.

4. Using rubber spatula, stir 1/3 of whites into batter to lighten, then add remaining whites and gently fold into batter until no white streaks remain. Divide batter evenly between prepared cake pans. Lightly tap pans against counter 2 or 3 times to dislodge any large air bubbles.

5. Bake until cake layers begin to pull away from sides of pans and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 22 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Loosen cakes from sides of pans with small knife, then invert onto greased wire rack and peel off parchment. Invert cakes again and cool completely on rack, about 1 1/2 hours.

3 Bananas

I had 3 very ripe bananas. What better to make than a batch of moist banana muffins? Nothing I could think of! So banana muffins it was. I'm sure I found this recipe somewhere on the internet several years ago, because back then, that's how I found all of my recipes. But that was before the days of blogging so I have no idea where it's source is. But anyway, here's my recipe, which is for a standard banana bread, but I halved it based on the amount of mashed banana I had and got 8 perfect sized muffins out of it. For integrity's sake, I'll post the banana bread recipe in it's whole form.

BANANA BANANA BREAD

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten

2 1/3 cups mashed banana

-----

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Stir together dry ingredients.

3. Cream together butter and sugar.

4. Stir in eggs and bananas.

5. Stir wet mixture into dry mixture just to moisten.

6. Pour into 2 8x4 inch loaf pans

7. Bake 60-65 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Note: As muffins, they took 20 minutes to bake.

First try... not too bad!

So a few weeks ago my husband and I traveled to Newport, RI. While we were there we stayed at the Hyatt on Goat Island. Our first night there we had a not so great dinner in the hotel restaurant, but I insisted on having dessert anyway. We opted on sharing the Boston Cream Cake. Oh my God, if this wasn't the most fabulous cake ever... a perfect sponge cake, cream filling, topped with chocolate ganache and creme anglaise. We had another piece the following night. We immediately knew I had to try to recreate this cake when we got home.

And so this weekend I attempted the cake. I found some recipes online for each component of the cake.

We both decided, although the cake was still delicious, we need a "spongier" cake. Also, I don't think I'll be using real vanilla beans again. They're expensive! Ok, anyway, here are the recipes I did use.


SPONGE CAKE
Source: http://www.joyofbaking.com/

6 large eggs
2/3 cup plus 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup plus 4 Tbsp all-purpose flour
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Butter and line 2-8 inch round cake pans and line with parchment paper.
3. In electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the eggs and sugar on high speed for about 5 minutes, or until they are thick, fluffy and light colored (when you slowly raise the beaters the batter will fall back into the bowl in a slow ribbon). At this point, beat in the vanilla extract. Sift 1/2 of the flour over the batter and gently fold through with a rubber spatula or whisk. Sift the remaining flour over the batter and fold in. Whisk about 1/2 of the batter into the melted buter (to lighten it) and then gently fold the butter mixture back into the rest of the batter.
4. Pour immediately into the prepared pans and bake for 25 minutes or until springy to the touch.
5. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Run a spatula or sharp knife around the inside of the pan and then invert the cake onto a wire rack. Remove parchment paper.
6. With a serrated knife slice the cakes horizontally.
7. Assemble with pastry cream between layers.


PASTRY CREAM
Source: http://www.williamssonoma.com/

9 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
Large pinch of salt
4 Tbsp cornstarch
1 vanilla bean
2 1/2 cups milk

1. Whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and salt. Then whisk in the cornstarch. Set aside.
2. Using a small, sharp knife, cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds.
3. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan over med-high heat, combine the vanilla bean, seeds and milk. Cook until bubbles appear around the edges. Remove from heat and slowly pour the milk mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly.
4. Return mixture to the saucepan and set over med-low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is as thick as mayonnaise, 5-7 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and strain the pastry cream into a clean bowl, discarding the vanilla bean.
6. Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pastry cream. Let cool completely, then refrigerate until ready to use.


CHOCOLATE GANACHE
Source: http://www.joyofbaking.com/

8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsp unsalted butter

1. Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized stainless steel bowl. Set aside.
2. Heat the cream and butter in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil.
3. Immediately pour the cream over the chocolate. Allow to stand for 5 minutes.
4. Stir with a whisk until smooth.
5. To cover cake, pour the ganache into the center of the cake. Working quickly, spread with a spatula, using big strokes to push the ganache over the sides of the cake to create an even coating of ganache. Cover any bare spots with leftover ganache.

*Note: If covering a cake that is to be refrigerated, make sure the cake is cold before covering with the ganache to ensure that the ganache does not dull when stored in the refrigerator.


CREME ANGLAISE
Source: http://www.joyofbaking.com/

2 cups light cream or half & half (12-18% buttefat)
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
5 large egg yolks

1. Have a fine medium sized strainer and bowl ready near the stove.
2. In a stainless steel bowl stir together, using a wooden spoon, the sugar and egg yolks until well blended (do not let this mixture sit too long or a film will develop on the yolks).
3. In a small saucepan heat the cream and vanilla bean (if using) just to the boiling point. Remove from heat and whisk a few tablespoons of the cream into the yolk mixture. Then gradually add the remaining cream, whisking constantly.
4. Pour this mixture into a medium sized saucepan and over medium heat, gently heat the mixture to just below the boiling point (170-175 degrees). You will notice that steam will begin to appear and the mixture will be slightly thicker than heavy cream. Do not boil or the eggs will curdle. Check to see if it is the right consistency by holding a wooden spoon sideways that is covered with the custard and run your finger along the back of the spoon. If the streak remains without the cream running down through the streak, it is ready.
5. Immediately remove from the heat and pour through the strainer, scraping up any thickened cream that settled on the bottom of the pan. Remove the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into the sauce. Stir until the seeds separate (If you are using vanilla extract instead of the vanilla bean, add it to the cream now).

Can be refrigerated covered with plastic wrap for a couple of days.

*Note: If sauce was overheated and curdling occurs, pour instantly into a blender and process until smooth before straining. If necessary, add a little heavy cream to the mixture before blending.