HELLO THERE, CUPCAKE!

Posted in Cake by sallybr

For several months now I’ve been including cupcakes in my weekly box of donations. I try to vary the buttercream component and come up with different styles and colors each Friday. Because variety is the spice of life, right?

You can find my buttercream recipe with a click here. I used it for all cupcakes, except the Chocolate Cardamon with Espresso Icing.

RUSSIAN ICING TIPS

A long, long time ago I tried my hands at these funky looking icing tips, and promised that I would never touch them again. But trust Marlyn from @montrealconfections to make me change my mind. She had a nice video from years ago showing exactly how to use them, and I could not resist giving it a second chance (check it out here). She demonstrated two ways to using them, and I tried them both. First, the usual piping of flowers by dropping little blobs of two-color icing. If the consistency is just right, it works like a charm…

For these I used two color buttercream icing, half dyed pink, half left with no added color. The Russian tip was used to drop 6 tiny roses to the cupcake. A little buttercream dyed green added the final touch, which is of course optional.

This fun ruffled look is also given by a Russian ball-tip, piping and twisting the cake from one side to the other. Check Marlyn’s video to see exactly how it is done. The central portion is then filled with a drop flower as in the previous cake.

SIMPLE ROSES

Probably one of the simplest designs to pipe but with a nice visual effect, the 1M tip never disappoints. It looks nice when used with two tones of icing, but as you cam see below, it will work as a single color also.

The cupcakes above used a wonderful recipe from my friend Caroline, which you can find in her blog with a click here. Chocolate Cardamon Cupcake with Espresso Icing (OMG!). I added a little chocolate flower, made by painting tempered chocolate over a real leaf and then dusting with golden powder.

OPEN STAR TIP

For this look I used the Ateco 865 tip, but any open star should work. Just make a swirl starting from the center. It will give a more flat top that is nice coupled with any decorations you’d like. Above I used tempered chocolate painted on transfer sheets to add a design, and cut into small circles.

The same type of frosting will also go well with meringue sticks, in this case leftover from a cake of my recent past.

These cupcakes are Pink Lemonade flavor, and I used this recipe from Food Network (I made only half which was more than enough for 12 cupcakes).

SPRINGTIME FLOWERS

For the cupcakes above, I used either a petal tip or a Wilton tip #81, as shown in this video (around 19 minutes).

Petal tips such as 102, 103 or 104 can also make beautiful flowers by laying them more flat on the surface. I like the simple elegance of a fully white flower.

I hope you’ve found some inspiration in case you need to bake a batch of cupcakes to share with friends, family, or co-workers.

ONE YEAR AGO: Two Deliciously Refreshing Cucumber Salads

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4May2023

FIESTA BAKES FOR CINCO DE MAYO

Posted in Cake, Cookies, Desserts, macarons by sallybr

A small collection of goodies, all inspired by a Mexican fiesta… Cupcakes, Chocolate-Chipotle Cookies, Macarons (filled with Mexican chocolate ganache), and Chocolate-covered Oreos.

FIESTA CUPCAKES

Any vanilla cupcake recipe (or chocolate) will work. Refer to this post for the buttercream, which was divided in two unequal portions: a larger portion dyed pink, and a smaller portion dyed orange. Then, a petal tip like 102 was used to add the icing in layers, as shown below. Any combination of colors will work, this one seemed appropriate for the Cinco de Mayo theme.

CHOCOLATE-CHIPOTLE COOKIES

I am so smitten by these! Not at all complicated to put together, start with your favorite chocolate cookie recipe (mine is definitely this one), paint with Americolor white before baking to get the crackled effect. Then use Royal icing dyed with flesh tone or ivory to pipe a round for the face. Use any colors you want to make the wavy decorations. Once that sets, you can paint the face and hair, add the arms, and you are done. You can see the steps below.

They make for a real fun set, and will please those who prefer a modest amount of icing on their cookies.

Many colors will work, and I also made a batch with sugar cookies instead of chocolate, with a pink and orange skirt.

MEXICAN CHOCOLATE MACARONS

For these macs, I used my default French meringue method (recipe here), divided the batter into three portions, a large pink, a medium size yellow, and a smaller orange. Piped a circle of pink, went with yellow in the center, then orange to form three concentric circles. Baked the shells and decorated with Royal icing. The ganache was made with

4 oz semisweet chocolate
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp cinnamon
a pinch of cayenne pepper

Once the ganache cooled, I whipped it with a handheld mixer for a minute or so. You cannot go too long or the whole thing will turn grainy. You just want to incorporate some air into the ganache.

FIESTA CHOCOLATE COVERED OREOS

These are so much fun to make! I used chocolate transfer sheets cut to fit the inside of the mold, as described in this post. I love this colorful pattern, that would look good also on a white chocolate background.

HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO!

ONE YEAR AGO: Thai-Meatballs Over Wilted Bok-Choy

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5Apr2023

SPRINGTIME CUPCAKES

Posted in Cake by sallybr

Spring is taking its time to show up, we even had a light snow the other day, but apparently now things are headed in the correct direction (knock on wood). These cupcakes celebrate the season. You can use any recipe you like for the cake component. I went with a very basic vanilla concoction. The frosting is your humble American buttercream. Honestly, I don’t see the need to go through the extra work of a Swiss buttercream to cover cupcakes. It crusts well, so transporting the cakes (which matters a lot to me) is not a problem. They also stand well to sitting at room temperature for an hour or more.

The basic formula is simply 1X amount of butter + 2X amount of powdered sugar. Change the starting weight of butter according to how many cupcakes and how many colors you’ll need, as you will see in the individual cupcakes after the recipe.

BASIC BUTTERCREAM FOR CUPCAKES
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

226g butter, unsalted, softened
452g powdered sugar
pinch of salt
Vanilla extract, about 1 tsp or more to taste
a couple or more tablespoons of milk (to adjust consistency)

Place the softened butter in the bowl of a KitchenAid type mixer with the paddle attachment, add the pinch of salt, and whip at high speed for about 7 minutes. It needs to be really soft and lighter. Stop the mixer. Eyeball the amount of powdered sugar, add 1/3 and mix at low speed at first, once the sugar is starting to get incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high.

Add the second portion of the sugar, and incorporate the same way. Add the final portion, start at low speed, clean the sides of the bowl well with a spatula, add the vanilla and increase the speed slowly all the way to high. Whip it until very smooth. Add milk to desired consistency. If desired, add any flavoring ingredients, about 1/4 cup (Nutella, jam, teaspoon of emulsions). If working with different colors, divide the buttercream into small bowls and dye each one with food gel color.

Fill piping bags fitted with the icing tips of your choice. Ice fully cooled cupcakes.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

LUCK OF THE IRISH CUPCAKES

For 12 cupcakes my starting point was 150g butter + 300g powdered sugar, plus 1/4 cup Nutella as flavoring.
I used 1M tip to make rosettes, and gilded the lily with sprinkles and a fondant clover.

HYDRANGEA CUPCAKES

For these cupcakes, I made buttercream with 200g butter + 400g powdered sugar. Divided in three portions and dyed them very very lightly with pink, lavender, and blue. The colors were spread as bands over plastic, and a little sausage was formed, then dropped in an icing bag with the1M tip. To make the flowers, I piped small blobs all over anda second layer going up towards the center.

RUFFLED FLOWER CUPCAKE

These cupcakes were made together with the last one (multiple colors) so for the full batch (12 cupcakes) I used the recipe as published (226g butter). I was playing with several colors and did not want to run out of any of them. A more experienced baker might get by with a smaller amount of icing to start with.

This flower was made with the petal tip 104, laying very flat on the surface of the cake, in two rows to give more lift and volume. Sprinkles added just because. You could make a center with buttercream dots in a contrasting color, if you prefer.

MULTICOLOR FLORAL CUPCAKES

I divided the buttercream in four batches and dyed them pink (toned down with a touch of brown), purple, green and yellow. Four tips were used. Wilton 1M for purple, closed star for flower (Wilton 2D), petal tip for green (Wilton 104), and a small open star for the yellow (Wilton 18).

Inspiration to decorate these cupcakes came from this video available on youtube.

Cupcakes are so much fun to decorate….
ALMOST as much as cookies!

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18Dec2022

NINE BAKES, WITH LOVE

Posted in Cake, Cookies by sallybr

Time to spread some food blog love around… Today I share nine bakes that are perfect for the season and come from sites I closely follow. All recipes can be retrieved with a visit to the original post, which you will find below the pictures.

BAKE #1
HELEN FLETCHER’S PUMPKIN CAKE DONUTS

(for recipe, click here)

I know I repeat myself, but you simply cannot go wrong with Helen’s recipes. This one goes to my Personal Hall of Fame. Taste and texture could not be better. Her detailed instructions make it a breeze to make. I assume it is still ok to post pumpkin recipes, after all – according to the calendar – it is still Fall (cough, cough). Donuts get a streusel topping and need nothing but a dusting with powdered sugar to shine!

BAKE #2
CELIA’S FUDGE BROWNIES

(for recipe, click here)

Celia used to be a very active food blogger, but although she is not posting often, her recipes are still on the site and each one is a gem. If you like to learn about chocolate tempering, make sure to visit her blog and read one of her posts on the subject. These brownies received two thumbs up from the Resident Brownie Critic. Need I say more? Make them!

BAKE #3
KAREN’S DEVIL’S FOOD THUMBPRINT COOKIES

(for recipe, click here)

Amazing recipe, it is almost like having a little bite-size brownie with jam on top. Simple to make, they will make your holiday table shine, and your guests very happy!

BAKE #4
CARO’S CHOCOLATE CARDAMON CUPCAKES

(for the recipe, click here)

Aren’t those super elegant? I fell in love when Caro first shared the recipe, and could not wait to bake a batch. Cardamon and chocolate go surprisingly well together, so consider making them too… Sprinkles added just because…. sprinkles make life better!

BAKE #5
CARO’S RASPBERRY JAM AND COCONUT SPONGE SQUARES

(for the recipe, click here)

These are delicious, you cannot beat the texture of the cake… and the jam plus coconut topping is perfection. I know that some people don’t care for shredded coconut, but if your group of guests is ok with it, make sure to feature it in your holiday get-together.

BAKE #6
AMISHA’S DATE AND NUT CHOCOLATE BARS

(for recipe, click here)

Super festive, the list of ingredients is long, but it is a reasonably simple recipe to put together. It has all the flavors I adore, including a light hint of rose, that goes well with all the other flavors. You can use ruby chocolate or add pink fat soluble dye to regular white chocolate for the marbling. Check out her blog post, the instructions are very detailed. Gold leaf is optional, but if you happen to have some, it is the perfect concoction to make them shine. Literally.

BAKE #7
LINDSAY’S STUFFED CHERRY AMARETTI COOKIES

(for the recipe, click here)

These are simply amazing! I made them three times, they were originally all going for my weekly donation box, but one batch made it to my beloved husband’s golfing buddies, and they got a lot of praise… Once you bite into the cookie, the soft almond crumb gives room to the sharp cherry inside, and you are forced to close your eyes and dream. Seriously good.

BAKE #8
LINDSAY’S VEGAN AMARETTI COOKIES

(for the recipe, click here)

Another recipe from Lindsay’s blog, Love and Olive Oil. When it comes to “veganizing” a baking recipe, nothing beats macarons and amaretti type cookies, as all you need is remove the egg whites and use aquafaba instead. That is the magical ingredient, that works exactly the same, no loss of flavor, no unpleasant changes in texture. Of course, you could stick a cherry inside those too if you feel like it!

BAKE #9

HEATHER’S PEANUT BUTTER CUP COOKIES

(for the recipe, click here)

Aren’t those the most adorable little bites of heaven? If you are a lover of peanut butter, these are for you! I love Heather’s cookbooks, and her blog is always a source of inspiration, so make sure to bookmark and visit. I had to change the recipe a bit because our grocery store did not have peanut butter chips, so I used candy melts for the drizzle instead. Other than that, I followed her recipe to a T.

So there you have it, nine recipes from sites I love, as this is the season to spread love and gratitude around… I hope you can find something that inspire you to grab that bag of flour, those eggs, pull the mixer out to play, and get busy baking!

ONE YEAR AGO: Asian-Style Chicken Meatballs

TWO YEARS AGO: Cookies for the Holidays, SPRINGERLE

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THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: New York Deli Rye

22Nov2022

VANILLA MINI-CAKES WITH HONEY PEARS

Posted in Cake by sallybr

The cake batter for these cupcakes is very simple to make, the only other step needed is preparing the pear topping, but if you want to make your life real easy, you can do that the day before and keep it in the fridge. They don’t need anything but a light shower with powdered sugar.

VANILLA MINI-CAKES WITH HONEY PEARS
(adapted from several sources)

for the pear topping:
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
4 Anjou pears, peeled, cored, cut in small cubes
1/3 cup (65g) golden brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey

for the cakes:
3/4 cup (185g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (200g) sugar
4 large (200g) eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 + 1/3 cups (160g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

powdered sugar

Melt butter in a large non-stick skillet, add the pears and sauté for 5 minutes, until tender. Add brown sugar and honey, cook until pears are evenly coated, about a minute or so. Transfer to a small bowl, cover and put in the fridge until needed.

Heat oven to 350°F. Coat 8 mini-cake pans with non-stick spray. Beat butter and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating constantly. Add the vanilla. Which the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl, and sift that mixture into the butter/egg, mixing gently until combined.

Divide the batter among cups, filling a little more than half-full. Spoon 1 to 2 tablespoons of the pear mixture on top of the batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean, about 25 minutes. Let rest 15 minutes before un-molding. Right before serving, add a little powdered sugar on top with a sieve.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: For the cakes, I used one of my favorite pans, which I bought a long time ago on eBay. I have not been able to find a source to get it in the US, but you can see it here. It is the same pan I’ve used for mini Victoria cakes (flash back post here). It bakes like a dream, and since the bottom is loose, you can push the cakes out easily. I love the look of the mini-cakes, they get perfectly straight edges. If you don’t have a similar pan, use a regular cupcake pan. Maybe the number and size of your cakes will be different but it will work.