Mexican Chocolate Cake with Milk Chocolate Frosting

Mexican Chocolate Cake

Baked Bree

1 cup unsweetened cocoa

2 3/4 cups flour

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 1/2 Tablespoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (would go up to 1 teaspoon next time)

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups whole milk

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 Tablespoons vanilla

Put all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Mix together the wet ingredients.

Combine wet with dry. Place in two, greased 9-inch cake pans fitted with parchment paper on the bottom.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Let cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes and then turn them out to let them cool completely.

Creamy Milk Chocolate Frosting

New Best Recipe

1/2 cup heavy cream

Pinch of salt

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

10 ounces milk chocolate, chopped (I used chocolate chips)

1/2 cup (2 ounces) confectioners' sugar

8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces

Heat the cream, salt and corn syrup in a microwave-safe measuring cup on high until simmering, about 1 minute.

Place the chocolate in a food processor. With the machine running, gradually add the hot cream mixture through the feed tube; process 1 minute after the cream has been added. Stop the machine; add the confectioners' sugar and process to combine, about 30 seconds. With the machine running, add the butter through the feed tube, one piece at a time; process until incorporated and smooth, about 20 seconds longer.

Transfer the frosting to a medium bowl and cool, stirring frequently, until thick and spreadable, about 1 hour. I ended up sticking it in the refrigerator to harden up a bit.

*doesn't make much frosting. Ended up making a second chocolate frosting recipe for the filling and the top decorations.

Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies

Spice likes to joke with me that I am 7/8ths correct a lot of the time. And its true. Most notably this happens with lyrics. We will be singing along to something and Spice will stop and listen to what I am singing and just shake her head. I can't help it, though. I get so into the song that I neglect to figure out the words and just sing what I think they are. Now, other times I get some brilliant ideas that really get a 10 out of 10 rating. And this is one of those times.

With my recent whoopie pie pan addition to the kitchen, I am on a whoopie pie kick. And with fall rolling in, I thought carrot cake would be just the ticket. Add some orange cream cheese frosting, a little salted caramel sauce and some candied pecans and, gosh darn it, you have got a mighty delectable little dessert!

These were very fun to make and extremely pretty to look at once the caramel was drizzled on. I used the same caramel recipe from the salted caramel milkshakes and it was swoon-worthy!



Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies

Carrot Cake:
Adapted from Martha Stewart

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 pound large carrots, peeled
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 Tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons nonfat buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 Tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray whoopie pie pan with cooking spray.

Using the smallest holes (less than 1/4 inch in diameter) of a box grater, grate carrots, yielding 2 1/2 cups. Place carrots, eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, sugar, vegetable oil, and ginger in a large bowl; whisk until well combined.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Using a rubber spatula, fold the flour mixture into the carrot mixture until combined.

Place about 2 tablespoons of batter into each whoopie pie hole in the pan. Bake about 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes before removing the cakes from the pan. Wash pan and re-spray with cooking spray. Repeat until batter is finished.

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from Martha Stewart

3/4 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
12 ounces cream cheese (1 1/2 sticks), room temperature
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 Tablespoon freshly grated orange zest
1/2 Tablespoon freshly grated ginger
Pinch of salt

Place butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and beat on medium0high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add cream cheese, and beat until well combined and fluffy, about 2 minutes more. Add the remaining ingredients and beat 5 minutes more.

Salted Caramel Sauce
Food and Wine

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
3/4 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, water and corn syrup and bring to a boil. Using a wet pastry brush, wash down any crystals on the side of the pan. Boil over high heat until a deep amber caramel forms, about 6 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and carefully whisk in the cream, butter and salt. Let the caramel cool to room temperature.

Candied Pecans

1 cup pecan halves
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon olive oil

Heat sugar and oil in a large skillet over medium heat until sugar melts and starts to bubble. Mix in pecans and stir until nuts are toasted, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and spread in an even layer to cool completely.

To Assemble

Pipe frosting onto half of the flat sides of the cakes. Top with the other half after all frosted.

Drizzle caramel sauce over cakes and top with candied pecans.

S'mores Whoopie Pies

I read an article awhile back (I can't even remember where it was from) that said whoopie pies are going to be the new cupcake. The argument is that everything people love about cupcakes (its portability and blend of cake and frosting to name a few), holds true for whoopie pies as well! And I LOVE me a good whoopie pie!

These are much more elegant than your average frosting sandwhiched between two cakey-cookies whoopie pie. It is made with a specialty pan that my dorky self picked up at Williams Sonoma. The "cookies" are made with a chocolate cake recipe, which would make it very difficult to do this without the specialty pan, although I'm sure you could use any cookie recipe and get great results!



I got to play around with our kitchen torch to brown the marshmallow filling, which always makes for a fun time in the kitchen. And when it is put together, the cake is topped with chocolate ganache and crumbled graham crackers.

This is definitely a whoopie pie that you will need a plate to eat, but you will certainly not be sorry! YUM!



S'mores Whoopie Pies
From My Baking Addiction

1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup boiling water

4 egg whites
1 cup of sugar
¼ teaspoon of cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

5 ounces of semisweet chocolate
½ cup heavy cream

graham cracker crumbs for garnish

For the cake:

Heat oven to 320 F. Spray your whoopee pie pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add egg, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour 1 ½ tablespoons of batter into each well of the whoopie pie pan.

Bake 8-10 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan then invert the pan and allow the whoopies to cool completely on wire racks.

Wash and dry the pan and re-spray with non-stick cooking spray and repeat with the remaining batter. You will end up with 36 whoopie cakes that once sandwiched will yield 18 whoopie pies.

Once your whoopies are cool, prepare the marshmallow frosting.

For the frosting:

Place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set over a saucepan with simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and whites are warm to the touch, 3 to 4 minutes.

Transfer bowl to electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat, starting on low speed, gradually increasing to high, until stiff, glossy peaks form, 5 to 7 minutes. Add vanilla, and mix until combined.

For the topping:

Place the chocolate into a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil, watching very carefully because if it boils for a few seconds, it will boil out of the pot. When the cream has come to a boil, pour over the chopped chocolate, and allow to sit for a few minutes. Whisk until smooth.

Assembly:

Pipe filling on the flat sides of half the cakes (18 of them).

Use a kitchen torch to lightly toast the marshmallow frosting. Top each with one of the remaining cakes; flat side down.

Place a spoonful of ganache on top of each whoopee pie and spread in a circular pattern; garnish with graham cracker crumbs and allow the ganache to set up.

Chocolate Cake Cupcakes with Pink Frosting

I killed two birds with one stone with these cupcakes. On one hand, I needed to get rid of the leftover frosting from Uncle Seth's Pink Cookies, and I FINALLY got to make Pioneer Woman's Chocolate Sheet Cake (in cupcake form, of course)!

These guys were dangerously delicious. I brought some to work in a tupperware and when I set them out in the kitchen, they'd kind of mushed together from the journey on the train. By the time I went to the bathroom and came back, however, they were all gone, so apparently they were still super good!

The chocolate cake is. um. well. to die for. It is very similar to a devil's food cake, with the same chocolate flavor. This is definitely not a dark chocolate kind of cake. But, boy! Could I just eat the whole thing or what?! And of course the frosting complimented the chocolate perfectly. Although I think ANYTHING would complement this cake. Sheesh!

I omitted the pecans, but still made the chocolate frosting. THEN I topped with my leftover pink frosting and a few pink sprinkles.



PW's Chocolate Sheet Cake Cupcakes
From the Pioneer Woman (if you don't already have her cookbook, you should immediately buy it. It's been my favorite reading material since March)

2 cups Flour

2 cups Sugar

¼ teaspoons Salt

4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa

2 sticks Butter

1 cup Boiling Water

½ cups Buttermilk

2 whole Beaten Eggs

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1-¾ stick Butter

4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa

6 Tablespoons Milk

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1 pound (minus 1/2 Cup) Powdered Sugar

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt.

In a saucepan, melt butter. Add cocoa. Stir together.
Add boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.

In a measuring cup, pour the buttermilk and add beaten eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into a muffin pan and bake at 350-degrees for 18-20 minutes.

While cake is baking, make the icing. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat. Add the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Stir together. Pour over the warm cake.

Uncle Seth's Pink Cookies

The Pink Cookie. If you are not from the Seattle area, you are going, "huh, what's with the pink cookie? And who's Uncle Seth?"

I am here to enlighten you about a delicious little cookie that you will find everywhere in Seattle called Uncle Seth's Pink Cookie. They are a soft shortbread-like cookie base with a very sweet and airy pink frosting, made extra large, about 4 inches across. I remember eating these after school when I was little, when I went to the mall and at the gym where I swam growing up.

I saw a post from LadyJayPee at Eating, etc. about her version of the Pink Cookie and got a huuuuge hankering to try my hand at it! Although I haven't had one of these cookies in a long time, I thought I could remember well enough to do a bangarang immitation. I found a lovely post at Cakespy about the cookies and went ahead and tried a shortbread with powdered sugar and a light buttercream frosting, both from allrecipes.

I thought this was a pretty close copycat. I thought the frosting was just about spot-on, very light and extremely sweet! The cookie was pretty close, but still no dice. The shortbread wasn't quite soft enough compared to Uncle Seth's and when I sent them across the country to my parents, they reportedly fell apart. Next time I may try it with a sugar cookie recipe.

Please enlighten me with suggestions if you have them!



Uncle Seth's Pink Cookies, an attempt

Shortbread
Adapted from allrecipes

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 375 degreees F.

Whip butter with an electric mixer until fluffy. Stir in the confectioners' sugar, constartch and flour. Beat on low for one minute, then on high for 3 to 4 minutes. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface and cut with a round, 4-inch cookie cutter. Place several inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 10-13 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Buttercream Frosting
Adapted from allrecipes

1 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup cream cheese, at room temperature
8 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup heavy whipping cream

In a mixing bowl, cream shortening, butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Add sugar and continue creaming until well blended.

Add salt, vanilla and 6 ounces whipping cream. Blend on low speed until moistened. Add additional 2 ounces whipping cream if necessary. Beat at high speed until frosting is fluffy.

Snickerdoodle Blondies with Cinnamon Penuche Frosting

These are one of my favorite cookie bars. I've made them before and they were gobbled up before you could say "Bob's your uncle" (name that movie)!

Bananie asked me to make something for her to take to class and all I got from her about what she wanted was:

"Something snickerdoodle-like. With cinnamon and sugar. And some kind of frosting. Snickerdoodle frosting. And easy to carry."

Hmm.

After I got that out of her, I immediately thought of the Snickerdoodle bars and figured I could add some cinnamon to a frosting recipe and just make it a Snickerdoodle party.

These were every bit as good as I remembered them! The bars have such a unique texture, and are literally like an actual snickerdoodle cookie. The penuche frosting was great as well, but EXTREMELY sweet. It hardened over the bars, causing it to flake off as you ate it, where it proceeded to melt in your mouth. Yum.  I've posted the Snickerdoodle bar recipe before here and below you will find the Cinnamon Penuche Frosting.



Cinnamon Penuche Frosting
From Cupcake Project

1/2 C butter

1 C brown sugar, packed

1/4 C milk

1 T ground cinnamon

1 1/2 C sifted confectioners' sugar

In a saucepan, melt 1/2 C butter. Add the brown sugar. Bring to a boil and lower heat to medium low and continue to boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the milk and cinnamon and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

Cool to lukewarm.

Gradually add sifted confectioners' sugar. Beat until thick enough to spread. If too thick, add a little hot water. Let cool completely before frosting bars.

Butterfly Cupcakes

I have some pretty awesome friends. Not only are they just generally awesome, but they support my fanatic and insatiable need to bake. Spice will cook me dinner when I'm too busy making cookies, other friends come over to my apartment frequently so that I can use my oven, Kitchen Aid and cookie cutters and then an awesome friend and supporter got me "Hello, Cupcake!". This book is amazing. I'm not kidding you. I can't wait to try my hand at more creations from this book. They are all super duper adorable and have step by step instructions. 

After looking through the book for awhile, marveling at each cupcake in turn, I decided on butterflies for Spring. First, I made chocolate cupcakes from the book, which I did not care for. They were too dry, so I won't even post the recipe. But any cupcake will work, really.

For the butterflies, you will need to following:
2 cups dark cocoa melting wafers
2 cups orange candy melting wafers
3 tablespoons white nonpareils
3/4 cup dark chocolate frosting
Vanilla frosting
72 brown candy-coated chocolates such as M&Ms 

I made a batch of vanilla buttercream and dyed it orange before piping it onto each cupcake. You can also just spread the frosting on. 


Draw butterfly wings and antennae on paper with a dark marker to use as a template. I used the template in the book, but I'm sure you can trace wings online as well. Place template behind wax paper.

Place 1 cup each of the dark cocoa and orange candy melting wafers into separate ziploc bags. Do not seal the bags. Microwave for 10 seconds to soften. Massage the wafers in the bags, return to the microwave, and repeat the process until the candy is smooth, about 1 minute total. Press out the excess air and seal the bags.

Snip a 1/16-inch corner from each bag. Working on one wing at a time and using the melted dark cocoa, outline the template on wax paper. Go over the outline several times to thicken. Fill in with the orange melted candy. Tap the pan slightly to flatten. Using a round toothpick, pull the dark cocoa into the orange to create a wing design. While the candy is still wet, sprinkle the upper portion of the dark cocoa outline with the white nonpareils. 

 
Repeat with the remaining melted candy, melting additional wafers as needed. Reheat the candy in the microwave for several seconds if it becomes too thick. Place the cookie sheets in the refrigerator until set, about 5 minutes. Follow the same procedure to make the antennae, using the melted dark cocoa.


Make some chocolate frosting. I used the one in the book, which I will post at the end, but any chocolate frosting will do! Spoon frosting into a ziplock bag, press out the excess air, seal and set aside. I used  pastry bag, instead. 

Remove the wings from the refrigerator and carefully peel from the wax paper. Place 2 brown chocolate candies, 1/2 inch apart, on top of the cupcakes to form supports for the wings. Press the inside edge of a pair of wings into the frosting about 1/4 inch apart, allowing the wings to lean on the chocolate candies. Gently press the antennae into the frosting at the head of the butterfly. 



Snip a 1/8-inch corner from the bag with the chocolate frosting. Starting at the antennae, pipe 4 or 5 bead of frosting down the length of the body, drawing the frosting into a small point of the last bead. 


Chocolate Frosting
From Hello, Cupcake! 

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
2 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder,
1 box (16 ounces) confectioners' sugar
1/3-1/2 cup milk

Combine the butter and the chocolate in a small saucepan. Melt oven medium heat, stirring constantly. Add the cocoa powder and stir until smooth. Transfer the chocolate mixture to a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer.

Add the confectioners' sugar alternately with the milk, adding more milk, if necessary, to thin, and beat until fluffy.

*If you are using this frosting for the butterfly cupcakes, I would recommend halving the recipe as it makes about 2 1/2 cups.

Mocha Brownies

These brownies are saving my life right now. Allow me to explain: I had surgery on my foot last week. Wait! Don't freak out (I think I did enough of that for everyone)! But it was planned and hopefully I will be dancing again soon. I made these brownies before the surgery and now that I am recovering on the couch, with my "toes above my nose", I look forward every day to eating one of these splendid morsels of awesome-ness after I eat dinner.

The brownies themselves are super chocolatey and definitely on the fudge end of the spectrum. I am usually not a "frosting on my brownies" type of person, but I listened to The Pioneer Woman (as I always try to) and smothered a healthy layer of mocha frosting on top. 



One bite was pure heaven! I have kept them in the refrigerator to keep the frosting a little bit harder. The coffee flavor of the frosting with the fudge brownie....WOO! Out of control! Thanks, Pioneer Woman, for giving me 5 extra brownie-pounds since I can't work out right now. Love, Sugar.



Mocha Brownies from The Pioneer Woman's Cookbook

Four 1-ounce squares unsweetened chocolate

1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

11/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, softened

5 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 to 3/4 cup brewed coffee, cooled to room temperature

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease a 9 inch square pan. 

To make the brownie batter, place the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30-second increments, being careful not to let it burn. Set it aside to cool slightly.

In a medium mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs.

With the mixer on low speed, drizzle in the melted chocolate. Add the vanilla extract and mix.

Add the flour to the bowl and mix just until combined; do not over mix.

Pour the batter into the baking pan. Spread it to even out the surface. Bake at 325°F for 45 to 50 minutes, until the center is no longer soft. Set the brownies aside to cool completely before icing.

To make the icing, in a large mixing bowl, combine the butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and vanilla. Mix until slightly combined, then add 1/2 cup of the coffee.

Whip until the icing is the desired consistency. If the icing is overly thick, add 1/4 cup more coffee. It should be very light and fluffy.

Ice the cooled brownies, spreading the icing on thick. Refrigerate until the icing is firm, then slice the brownies into squares.

Cherry Coke Cupcakes

We threw a bachelorette party for my dear friend Rebecca (who's wedding I am in and making these cookies for) this past weekend. We started at our apartment, opening gifts, eating food and hanging out. We were headed to the Awesome 80's Prom downtown so our theme for the night, other than the bride to be, was 80s.

Now, 80s attire was easy. Spice and I got out the lace, the converse and the bangles, and had no problem crimping our hair. Slightly more difficult was the menu. What kind of food, praytell, is considered 80s?? We settled for ordering Dominos, Spice made a layer dip and I made these Cherry Coke Cupcakes. Of course, no one except us really cared that we stuck to the theme, but we sure did!



Neither of us could get over how good the cupcakes were. They were very soft and moist and the cherry flavor was perfect with the chocolate. The whipped cream and cherry on top were simply perfect as well. Although I'm not a soda person, I could barely tell there was any coke in these. I doubled the recipe and made mostly extra large cupcakes with just a few regular sized ones.

We all had an awesome time at the 80's prom and wouldn't you believe it, Screech from Saved By The Bell happened to be there. He must've wanted to celebrate Rebecca being single for a little while longer!



Cherry Coke Cupcakes from Annie's Eats

3 cups all-purpose flour
6 tbsp. cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cup sugar
16 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cup Coca-Cola
1/2 tsp. maraschino cherry juice
4 tsp. vanilla extract
Maraschino cherries, stemless

For the glaze (optional):
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tbsp. Coca-Cola

For topping:
2/3 cup heavy cream
3-4 tbsp. powdered sugar
Maraschino cherries

Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line  a muffin pan with foil or paper liners.  In a medium bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.  Stir together and set aside.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the sugar and butter.  Mix on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.   Mix in the egg until incorporated.   In a bowl or large measuring cup, combine the buttermilk, Coke, maraschino cherry juice, and vanilla extract; stir to combine.  (This mixture may look disgusting and/or curdled – it’s okay!)

Mix the dry ingredients into the butter-sugar mixture on low speed, alternately with the liquid ingredients, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing just until incorporated.  Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners.  Drop 4 or 5 stemless maraschino cherries into each cupcake well and push them down into the batter.  Bake for about 18 minutes (or about 24 for extra large cupcakes), or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the pan 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the optional glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar and Coke in a small bowl and whisk until smooth.  Spoon or drizzle a small amount of the top of each cupcake.  Allow to set.

To make the whipped cream topping, add the heavy cream to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Begin whipping on medium speed, slowly adding the confectioners’ sugar and gradually increasing the speed to high as the cream holds soft peaks.  Whip until the cream holds stiff peaks, being careful not to overbeat.  Spoon or pipe the whipped cream on top of the cupcakes and top each with a maraschino cherry.

Carrot Cake

Annie Bananie asked me to make her mom a birthday cake a few weeks ago. Of course I obliged. Her favorite cake was carrot cake, so after some research, I used a Martha recipe from John Barricelli. Unfortunately I can't comment on the cake because I didn't have any, but I did get great reviews from Bananie's family! 

Carrot Cake

Martha 

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup pecan halves

1 pound large carrots, peeled

3 large eggs

1/3 cup nonfat buttermilk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups sugar

2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter two 8-by-2-inch round cake pans. Dust with flour, and tap out any excess. Set aside. Spread pecans in a single layer on an ungreased baking pan, and toast in oven until lightly golden, about 7 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand until completely cool. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees. Finely chop pecans and set aside.

Using the smallest hold of a box grater, grate carrots. Place carrots, eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, sugar and ginger in a large bowl; mix until well combined.

Into a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Using a rubber spatula, fold the flour mixture into the carrot mixture until combined. Fold in the butter and toasted pecans.

Divide cake batter between the two cake pans, and bake until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Remove pans from oven, and transfer to a wire rack to cool, about 15 minutes. Turn cakes out onto rack; let stand until completely cool. Frost and decorate as desired.

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

Martha

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

3 8-oz bars cream cheese, room temperature

3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest

2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger

Pinch of salt

Place butter in bowl of electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add cream cheese and beat until well combined and fluffy. Add sugar, orange zest, ginger and salt and beat for 5 minutes.

Funfetti Cupcakes

Recently, Spice and I discovered some things about ourselves that the other didn't know. I discovered that her eyes are green (I totally thought they were brown), her favorite color is orange and she LOVES funfetti cake! Who knew?!

I found a recipe so she could bake herself some. It was just a Martha recipe and we added colored sprinkles. I really liked the cake, it was very moist and had a good vanilla flavor to it. I liked the frosting, but I think it could have used some work. Spice got a lot of comments that it was too sweet and although that wasn't true for me (who are we kidding here?), I did agree that it was definitely on the overly sweet side.

I had a little trouble with the fact that these didn't have any chocolate on them/in them/around them...but once I got over that, they were delicious!

Billy's Vanilla, Vanilla Cupcakes
Martha Stewart

1 3/4 cup cake flour
1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch cubes
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Colored sprinkles

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flours, sugar, baking powder and salt; mix on low speed until combined. Add butter, mixing until just coated with flour.

In a large glass measuring cup, whisk together eggs, milk and vanilla. With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients in 3 parts, scraping down sides of bowl before each addition; beat until ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. Fold in colored sprinkles.

Divide batter evenly among liners, filling about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 17 to 20 minutes.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat process with remaining batter. Once cupcakes have cooled, use a small offset spatula to frost tops of each cupcake.

Billy's Vanilla Buttercream
Martha Stewart

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
6-8 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. With mixer on low speed, add 6 cups of sugar, milk and vanilla; mix until light and fluffy. If necessary, gradually add remaining 2 cups of sugar to reach desired consistency.

Chocolate and Vanilla Frosting For Sale

Yeah, those are big, ginormous tubs of frosting....

But guess what?! I made my first food related sale this week! Annie Bananie is determined to help me sell some of my baked goods and has been telling everyone she meets that her roommate bakes. Very sweet of her.

So one of her friends asked if I could make her frosting like the Magnolia Bakery's. Duh! She paid me to make her two tubs of frosting....how awesome is that?!

I've made the vanilla frosting before here, Magnolia's actual recipe. And I used Wilton's recipe for Chocolate Buttercream, which also tasted exactly like Magnolia's. I'm just cool like that.

Chocolate Buttercream Icing
Wilton

1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners' sugar
3-4 tablespoons milk

In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add cocoa and vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

You know when you think you don't like something and then someone tricks you into eating it and you find out that you, in fact, love it?

My best friend growing up doesn't like chocolate, but her favorite kind of cupcake is red velvet. I have yet to tell her it is a mild chocolate cupcake dyed red.

When Annie Bananie first moved in, she told me she hated cream cheese frosting. Being the good friend/roommate I am, I tried to use buttercream frostings where I could. Example A. Of course, I couldn't help myself (mostly because I'm not a huge fan of buttercream) and made some cream cheese frosting for these bad boys. Needless to say, Annie Bananie tried one when I had them out on the counter and I get a text saying how much she likes them and the frosting! Um...excuse me. It's cream cheese frosting, Goofball! I am now convinced she really does like cream cheese frosting because she also really enjoyed this cinnamon cream cheese. Maybe I just wont tell her when I use cream cheese!

I made these cupcakes for the Halloween party. They were super duper soft, and very flavorful, probably since I overdosed on the spices a bit, but in a good way, I promise! I really had to fart around with the cinnamon frosting because I wanted to get the right texture to pipe it on to the cupcakes. I really liked the end result and it matched perfectly with the cake!


Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes
Williams Sonoma

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (I probably used about 3)
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I probably used about 1/2 a teaspoon)
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (I probably used about 1/2 a teaspoon)
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon salt
1 15-oz can pumpkin puree
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup canola oil
4 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tins with cupcakes liners and spray with cooking spray.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt.

In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, granulated sugar, brown sugar and oil. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking after each addition.

Add the flour mixture in three additions, stirring with a large wooden spoon until just combined.

Fill the muffin tins about 3/4 full. Bake until the cupcakes are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes, then remove the cupcakes from the tins and let cool completely before frosting.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
4 cups (approximately) powdered sugar

Mix cream cheese and butter until creamy. Add the vanilla and cinnamon while mixing. Slowly add the powdered sugar until you have the consistency you want.

Baked Brownies

Before I get to the brownies, this past weekend I took an adventure to a baking specialty store. I had never been to one and boy, was I excited when I got there! I went here and found some decorating supplies for Butthead's rehearsal desserts. Not to mention I also got some chocolate, but you could have guessed that, I'm sure. It was like Disneyland in there, though! It was really hard not to buy out the store, which probably wouldn't have worked out anyways because I wouldn't have enough money!

Onward! Since I wasn't a huge fan of the other brownies I made, I tried some others out last night in preparation for Butthead's rehearsal dinner. These were definitely a keeper. Much fudgier and gooeier, just like I like em!

They turned out simply ginormous, though! The recipe called for an 8 inch baking dish but I used a 9 by 13 so I doubled it. For the real thang, I am covering the brownies with a raspberry cheesecake swirl, so I am definitely going to put the original recipe in the 9 by 13 baking dish and cut down the cooking time a little!

I also tried out a chocolate cream cheese frosting to put on top of the red velvet cupcakes. Um. This frosting was to die for. Spice and my friend Kali both wanted to stick their heads in the bowl of icing before I had even frosted the brownies! Silly! Luckily, I got the brownies frosted, and I definitely give super kudos (yet again) to Martha!

So Good Brownies
MyRecipes

4 (1-oz) unsweetened chocolate baking squares
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease an 8 inch pan (or a 9 by 13 inch one).

Microwave chocolate squares and butter in a large microwave-safe bowl at HIGH 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or until melted and smooth, stirring at 30-second intervals. Whisk in granulated and brown sugars. Add eggs, 1 at a time, whisking just until blended after each addition. Whisk in flour, vanilla, and salt.

Pour mixture into prepared pan.

Bake at 350° for 40 to 44 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
Martha Stewart

12 oz semi-sweet chocolate
24 oz. cream cheese
1 cup confectioners' sugar

Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring until smooth. Let stand until just warm, 10 to 15 minutes.

Put cream cheese and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Mix in melted chocolate until combined. Use immediately.

Coffin Brownies

When will I get over my awe of Martha's genius creativity? Probably never. Look how cute these brownies are! I made them for the same Twilight party as the Vampire Cookies. PS: Have you started reading Twilight, yet? I think it is time. Seriously.

These coffins were so cute! Well, not cute, really, because coffins aren't cute, but they definitely fit the purpose for the party! I wasn't a huge fan of the actual brownie...I thought it was too salty or something. But they definitely cut and decorated well! Plus I got lots of compliments. That's always a good thing.

I changed the recipe a little because I didn't want almonds in my brownies, couldn't find marzipan, didn't have fleur-de-lis, and wanted to use a 13 by 9 inch pan.

Speaking of geniuses, I also used Alton Brown's recipe for Royal Icing. Martha + Alton = Overwhelming Geniusosity, or something.

Coffin Brownies
Adapted from the Brilliant Martha Stewart

1 cup plus 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour2 teaspoons salt
16 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup unsweetened dutch-process cocoa powder
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
Royal Icing

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9 by 13 inch pan.

Combine flour and salt in a small bowl. Set aside. Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Sift in cocoa powder and whisk to combine. Let cool 3 minutes before whisking in the eggs and vanilla, followed by the sugars and flour mixture. Stir until just combined.

Bake about 30 minutes. Let cool before cutting. Martha gives you a coffin stencil you can use, but I just drew my own. When brownies are completely cool, use a sharp knife to cut around the stencil.

Royal Icing
From Alton Brown

3 ounces pasteurized egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners' sugar

In large bowl of stand mixer combine the egg whites and vanilla and beat until frothy. Add confectioners' sugar gradually and mix on low speed until sugar is incorporated and mixture is shiny. Turn speed up to high and beat until mixture forms stiff, glossy peaks. This should take approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Add food coloring, if desired. For immediate use, transfer icing to pastry bag or heavy duty storage bag and pipe as desired.

Sugar Cookie Bars

Happy 4th of July! (or I guess Happy 3rd of July as I am posting this a day early). I made some sugar cookies and decorated them red, white and blue for the occasion. Actually, I got some new decorating tools and wanted to try them out. Guilty.

These turned out delicious, though. Not as delicious as the recent Snickerdoodle Blondies, but still good. I used a 9 by 13 inch baking dish and they turned out HUGE! And rich, especially with the Magnolia frosting I used. I wanted to shove all of them in my mouth, so I had to send them with Spice to work so others could partake!

Sugar Cookie Bars

from stylishcuisine.com

1 cup unsaled butter, at room temperature

2 cups granulated sugar

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

5 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Cream butter and sugar together. Add the eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla and mix well.

Combine flour, salt and baking soda in a separate bowl. Stir to combine.

Add dry ingredients to wet and mix until just combined. Spread into greased baking sheet (I used a 9 by 13, but the original recipe calls for a 13 by 18).

Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Cool completely and then frost.

Magnolia's Vanilla Buttercream Icing

From Stylishcuisine.com

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

6 to 8 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Beat butter until fluffy. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then themilk and vanilla. Beat until smooth and creamy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, one cup at a time, beating well after each addition, until icing is thick. You may not need to add all the sugar. Add a few drops of food coloring if you so desire!

Red Velvet Cupcakes a la Martha

Happy Birthday to Lisa! Well, not quite yet, actually. But we did celebrate it last night since Lisa will be in Seattle for the actual day. One of Lisa's friends works at Martha Stewart and is a great cook. So, she took care of all the rest of the food which left dessert for me! Per usual.

Lisa is not a sweets person. She hates chocolate and really never craves anything sugary. She does, however, like red velvet cake. Don't tell her there is cocoa powder in it! Anyways, I used a Martha recipe for these red velvet cupcakes, that turned out great! I think the ones I made first were a bit better, but who doesn't love a red velvet cupcake of one kind or another, especially one with a butt-ton of frosting on it?!

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Martha Stewart

2 1/2 cups cake flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon red gel-paste food color
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.

Whisk together the cake flour, cocoa and salt.

In a separate bowl, combine the sugar and oil. Add eggs, one at a time, followed by the food coloring and vanilla.

Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture in slow batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk.

Stir the baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl and add to batter, mixing well.

Divide batter among muffin cups and bake about 20 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting
Martha Stewart

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
4 cups confectioners' sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat butter and cream cheese together until fluffy. Add sugar and then vanilla, mixing until smooth. Spread over cupcakes and finish with red sprinkles if you so desire =)

Happy Birthday, Cupcakes and Sexy Polar Bears, Oh My!

My friend Liz's birthday party was Saturday night, so, as per usual, shenanigans ensued. For blog purposes, shenanigans consisted of some crazy-good red velvet cupcakes for my favorite posse, also known as the Sexy Polar Bears. Yeah, we're that cool! To top off the coolness, I brought these cupcakes to our favorite margarita-spot that sits outside on a plaza in Midtown. What is better than friends, cupcakes and margaritas?!

On another note, I really don't get the whole insanity surrounding red velvet cake. In essence, it is just cake with red food coloring. If I played by these rules, I could just dye cake green and call it green-silk cake, right?! No? Fine.

These turned out yummy, nonetheless. By the end of the night, with a few cupcakes left, the wait staff was all surrounding our table begging for a cupcake. This was good news for all my margarita-consuming friends! I used a red velvet cake recipe I found on Smitten Kitchen for the cake, and then topped it with a Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting and Chocolate Ganache Drizzle I found on Joy the Baker's Blog. Woah, Nellie! (Or Liz, cause it was her birthday =))

Red Velvet Cupcakes
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

3 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cups canola oil
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
6 tablespoon red food coloring
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Set aside.

Combine the flour, cocoa powder and salt together in a bowl.

Combine oil and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time. Slowly add the food coloring followed by the vanilla. Add the flour mixture, alternating with the buttermilk until all added and combined.

Combine the baking soda and vinegar and then add to the mixture. Pour into muffin cups, about 2/3 full. Bake for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting
From Joy the Baker

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
4-6 cups powdered sugar
2-4 tablespoons milk

Cream the cream cheese and butter together. Add the brown sugar, salt and vanilla and mix well. Add powdered sugar, 2 cups at a time until the frosting is the consistency you desire. Add milk to create correct consistency as well. Decorate cupcakes with frosting however you wish to!

Chocolate Ganache
From Joy the Baker

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup heavy cream

Heat chocolate chips carefully in a saucepan over medium heat until melted. Pour cream over chocolate and let stand for one minute before stirring to combine. Drizzle over cupcakes.

Delicious...so say the Sexy Polar Bears:

Summertime In NY

It's official. I think we skipped spring and it is now summer. This weekend is supposed to be about 80 degrees everyday. Perfect day for a run in the park!

Next on the agenda....Angel Food Cupcakes with Blackberry Frosting. These little guys are delicious! The cupcakes have a very subtle lemon flavor that goes perfectly with the blackberry frosting. They are also very light...which is nice!

I found the recipe for angel food cupcakes on Baking Bites. I substituted lemon extract for the lemon zest, which was the only change I made. The blackberry frosting on creative loafing. I halved the recipe and used real blackberries instead of the preserves.

Bake on!

Angel Food Cupcakes
3/4 cup sugar, divided
1/2 cup cake flour
5 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon lemon extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners (this recipe made 11 cupcakes for me).

In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup sugar and the cake flour.

In a large bowl, beat egg whites and then add cream of tartar and salt. Gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and beat until soft peaks form. Mix in vanilla and lemon extracts. Fold flour mixture into egg whites.

Divide evenly into muffin tins. These dont rise much, so feel free to fill them pretty full. Bake for 16-18 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Blackberry Frosting
1/2 cup butter
4 oz. cream cheese
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
6 oz. blackberries
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whip butter and cream cheese together until creamy. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time. Mix the blackberries in a blender and then add to the sugar mixture along with the vanilla.