This past weekend I celebrated my 39th birthday. 39....a number that doesn't scare me or depress me, but rather baffles me. How? When? Wasn't I just 26 yesterday? I wonder where all the years have gone and think back to when my parents were 39 - I remember that time vividly. Am I really as grown-up now as they were then? Wow...I guess so? I have a home, a family and responsibilities so I guess that means I've been a grown-up for some time now. But...39? I guess the best part about turning 39 is not feeling 39! I feel happier and healthier than I ever have in my life before! Part of that is due to me trying to find inner peace and life and in parenting (that's a biggie). I attribute the other part to my dedication to fitness and exercise. I've always enjoyed exercising, but in my younger days I felt like it was a chore...something to check off of my To Do list. The last few years I've embraced exercise (especially running) as a way to have some time to myself or time with friends. A time to really push my body to its limits and a little bit farther. A time to work on achieving goals I could only dream about a decade ago. With all that being said, I'm working on a Birthday Resolution of sorts - I'm trying to stop worrying about the number on my scale and start paying attention to how good and strong my body feels when I treat it right! I plan to hit 40 happier and healthier than I hit 39!! BUT, before we do all that....LET'S EAT SOME CUPCAKES!! I, unapologetically, decided to bake myself cupcakes for my birthday again this year since I enjoyed last year's cupcakes so much. I had no plans on a party or a small gathering, I just wanted to enjoy baking my own birthday (cup)cake and eating more cupcakes than I want or need. I looked through lots of blogs and cookbooks trying to find this year's perfect cupcake. I ended up settling on this Almond Cloud Cupcake I had at a cooking class I took many years ago at Crate Cooking School. This was the perfect choice because it is a rather simple recipe - ie, I had most of the ingredients on hand and would be enjoying cupcake satisfaction in a very short amount of time. The cake itself is light and airy with a hint of almond flavor - the almond flavor really comes through in the icing. I decided to top it off with some toasted, slivered almonds which gives the perfect amount of crunch. Almond Cloud Cupcakes
Makes about 24 cupcakes For the cupcakes 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1 1/4 cups 2% milk 2/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 teaspoon almond extract 5 egg whites Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line 2 standard cupcake pans with liners. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment add flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, milk, butter and almond extract. Beat on low sped for about 30 seconds to combine. Adjust the speed to medium-high and beat another 2 minutes, scraping the bowl as necessary. Add egg whites and beat on medium-high for another 2 minutes. Scoop the batter into the prepared liners, filling about 2/3 full. Bake for 18-22 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool in pans for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. For the Almond Buttercream 16 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature (I prefer Plugra, European butter) 4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted 1 teaspoon almond extract 2 1/2 tablespoons cold water Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Cream the butter for 1-2 minutes. Add 2 cups of confectioner's sugar and mix on low until well combined. Add almond extract and water, mixing for about 30 seconds. Add the remaining 2 cups of confectioner's sugar and mix until just incorporated. Increase mixer speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 5-7 minutes. Transfer buttercream to a pastry bag fitted with a wide tip and frost cupcakes. Top with toasted, slivered almonds, if desired.
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It's finally January 31st. Hooray for making it through the seemingly longest month of the year! For me this month was long and cold but mostly restful and rejuvenating. The last half of 2012 was such a whirlwind for me and my family that January was a much needed 'down' month for us. Besides playing taxi-mom and going to the grocery store I practically became a shut-in during January! I'm proud to say that my month of rest and dedication has netted some great results! I'm down 7 pounds and up to 4-mile "long runs" and I feel great! I've been SO GOOD about Weight Watchers until....well, until this cake! Stupid cake. I mean, awesome cake. No, cake-that-broke-my-resolve. Er....healthy, tasty, not-too-sweet cake. Ugh....DELICIOUS CAKE! I'm still craving veggies and citrus so when I came across this recipe on Pinterest I knew I had to make it soon. It's moist and slightly tangy and I managed to work it into my Weigh Watchers plan. One piece...yes. Two, three and four pieces...not so much. *sigh* Oh well. Weight Watchers is great, but I love cooking, baking and food too much to commit to it much longer. It gave me a great jump start to the new year and Half Marathon training so we're all good! Carrot Zucchini Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes 24 pieces For the cake 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 2 eggs, slightly beaten 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed 1/2 cup canola oil 1/4 cup honey 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups shredded carrot 1 cup shredded zucchini 1/2 cup chopped pecans For the frosting 8 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese 1 cup powdered sugar 1 teaspoon lemon zest (about 1 lemon) 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice **Tip: Zest your lemons while they are whole, before juicing. It is MUCH easier this way! Preheat oven to 350° F. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, ground ginger and baking soda. Stir with a whisk. Set aside. In a large bowl combine the eggs, brown sugar, canola oil, honey and vanilla extract. Fold in carrots, zucchini and pecans. Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Stir until just combined. Pour batter into an ungreased 13x9 baking pan. Bake for 25 or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan before frosting. Once the cake is completely cooled make the frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice. Beat until light and fluffy. Spread the frosting over the cooled cake. Cut into 24 pieces. Hello and Happy New Year! Welcome back to the Butter Blog! After a very long break from blogging I've decided to start it up again and I'm very excited about it! There were so many things going on for me the 2nd half of last year that blogging took a backseat to other priorities. We've been in the new house for 3 months and have celebrated 3 major holidays already. Happily, moving boxes and decoration boxes are now all clear from my living space and I can finally relax, cook, blog and enjoy life....ahhhh! For a short while I contemplated stopping blogging altogether, but then I remembered why I started it in the beginning a little over a year ago - to challenge myself to try become a better cook, to document my favorite recipes all in one place and to share those recipes with friends and family. To that end, I am committing myself to blog at least one time a week, so...here goes!! The first recipe I want to share with you is a heavenly Lemon Loaf Cake. I made this cake several months ago, only a few weeks after we moved in, and I can still remember the taste of the cake so well! It has a beautiful yellow color inside the unassuming brown crust. The lemon flavor was bright but not overpowering. And the texture was a little dense, almost like a ricotta-based cake (which I LOVE!) and oh-so-indulgent! After eating my weight in sugar during the month of December I've found myself really craving citrus foods right now. This Lemon Loaf is perfect for that craving! I can't wait to get in the kitchen this weekend and make another batch! Lemon Loaf Cake
Makes 2 loaf cakes - approx 16 slices each For the cake 1 1/2 cups cake flour 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar 8 large eggs, at room temperature 1/4 cup lemon zest (approximately 2 lemons) 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice** 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled 1/2 cup sour cream 2 teaspoons vanilla extract **Tip: Zest your lemons while they are whole, before juicing. It is MUCH easier this way! For the lemon syrup 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice 1/3 cup granulated sugar For the lemon glaze 2 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted 4-6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice Preheat oven to 350° F. Butter sides and bottoms of 2 9-9-inch loaf pans. Line with parchment, then butter the parchment. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the sugar, eggs, lemon zest and lemon juice. Mix on low speed until just combined. With the mixer running, slowing pour in the melted butter. Add the sour cream and vanilla and continue mixing until all ingredients are incorporated. Gradually add the flour mixture using a rubber spatula to gently fold in, being careful not to overmix. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared loaf pans. Bake on the middle rack for 20 minutes. Rotate the pans and reduce the oven temperature to 325° F. Continue baking for another 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pans for about 15 minutes. While the cakes are baking, prepare the lemon syrup. Combine the lemon juice and granulated sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Cook for approximately 3 more minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. Remove the cakes from the pans and place on a parchment or Silpat lined baking mat. Using a toothpick, poke holes in the tops and sides of the cakes. Brush with the lemon syrup, allow to soak in and brush again. Allow the cakes to cool for approximately 30 minutes. When the loaves are cool, prepare the lemon glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioner's sugar and 4 tablespoons of the lemon juice. The glaze should be thick, but pourable. Add more lemon juice, if needed, to reach desired consistency. Pour the glaze over top of each loaf (it will drip down the sides). Let sit for about 15 minutes, or until the glaze hardens, before serving. When I made this recipe I 'halved' it to only make one loaf. My loaf kept well, unsliced, in Tupperware until it was gone (about 5 days). I plan on making the full recipe the whole way through to the glaze and cutting and freezing it by the slice. I'm not sure how this will come out but I'm going to give it a try. It sure would be convenient to grab a yummy slice to go on busy mornings! Source: As seen on Cook Like a Champion, originally from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking Summer birthdays run high in my family. My little Bean's was 2 weeks ago and hubby's was a few days ago (along with my not-so-little-nephew 200 miles away...happy birthday buddy!). Since most of my family has lost all interest in my cupcakes (*sniff*) I am branching out to find other decadent desserts to celebrate their special day. My hubby has a strong affection with chocolate, which seems to be growing stronger with each passing year. So obviously, my inspiration for his cake was easy - chocolate-chocolate-chocolate! I haven't had a good cheesecake in a while so when I came across this recipe for Triple Chocolate Cheesecake I knew I had to try it. Wow! This cake was insane! It's rich with chocolate, but the creaminess of the cheese cuts it back a bit. It's just, *sigh*, PERFECT! Because this cake is baked the night before, the active prep time is actually pretty quick and the results are simply amazing! Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Serves 12 For the Cheesecake 9 ounces chocolate sandwich cookies, such as Oreo 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted 32 ounces (4 x 8 ounce bars) cream cheese, at room temperature 1 1/2 cups sugar 1/2 tsp salt 4 large eggs 1 cup sour cream 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted For the Chocolate Ganache 1/4 cup heavy cream 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Set aside. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse chocolate cookies until finely ground. Add melted butter and pulse to moisten. Transfer to prepared springform pan and press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan. Place the pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Set aside to cool. Wipe out the bowl of the food processor. Combine cream cheese, sugar and salt. Blend until smooth. With the motor running add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Keeping the motor running add the sour cream and melted chocolate. Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Pour mixture onto prepared crust. Bake for 1 hour, until just set. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in the oven with the door closed for 1 additional hour. This will help prevent cracking. Remove from the oven and run a thin knife around the edges of the cake. This also will help prevent cracking. Once the cake is cooled, cover loosely with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, or overnight. When ready to serve, prepare the ganache. In a small saucepan, bring cream to a boil. Remove from heat and add chocolate. Stir until melted. Set aside until thickened, about 2-5 minutes. Carefully unmold the cheesecake from the springform pan and pour the chocolate ganache over top. Yesterday my baby girl, Brecken, turned 4 years old. I can't believe my baby is 4 already!! Brecken had a bit of a tough start to life. Lots of visits to Children's Hospital in the first few years...lots of visits with therapists....and lots of hard work. Yesterday on her 4th birthday we celebrated no longer needing to thicken her liquids for fear of aspiration, a huge advancement in her speech and finally being potty-trained! Yes, our little Bean has come a long way and we are so proud of her! One of Brecken's favorite things in life is the color blue (much to her purple-loving-sister's disapproval). Her other favorite thing is M&M's (big sister approves of those!) To that end, I decided an over-the-top blue and M&M cake was perfect for her! I have seen these multi-colored layer cakes all over the blogosphere and thought I'd give it a try. I think it came out pretty well, though I did learn a lot through this process - I'll share my tips with you on the way through the tutorial I've created for you. The first thing I did was make a batch of my favorite vanilla cupcake batter. Weigh the total batter amount. Next, I divided the batter evenly into 4 smaller bowls. This is where the kitchen scales comes in very handy. This is also where I learned I need to invest in some nice mixing bowls! Then, using Wilton Food Coloring Gels I colored each of the bowls of batter different shades of blue. The lightest one used 3 toothpicks worth, the next one was 4 toothpicks, then it was 5 and I think we used about 7 on the last one. Just keep adding gel until you reach your desired color. Place two of the batters into 8-inch round cake pans lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 for about 14 minutes, or when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. When the first two were baked and cooled slightly I removed them from the pans and placed them on a cooling rack to cool completely. Bake the last two colors as instructed above. You should end up with 4 thin cake layers. I baked my cakes the night before so I wrapped each layer tightly in plastic wrap and set them out at room temperature until I was ready to use them. Before assembling the cake make a batch of basic vanilla buttercream. I used this recipe: 3 sticks of unsalted butter, softened (I use Plugra) 6 cups of powdered sugar 1/4 tsp kosher salt 6 Tbsp heavy cream 2 Tbsp vanilla extract In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter for 3-4 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the salt to the confectioner's sugar, whisk together. On low speed, slowly add 1/2 of the confectioner's sugar to the mixing bowl. Slowly add the heavy cream and vanilla. Once incorporated, add the remaining confectioner's sugar, stopping the scrape down the bowl if necessary. When all the ingredients are fully combined turn the mixer on medium-high speed and beat for 5-7 minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy. When ready to assemble your cake, place the darkest color on the bottom and spread a layer of frosting on top. Continue to layer cake and frosting until you have 3 layers of frosting in between the 4 layers of cake. Here's where I started to figure out what to do better next time. First of all, I would probably assemble the cake on a cake board and a piece of parchment. This would allow to easily clean up the excess frosting and transfer the cake to the cake stand when ready to serve. Second, I was worried that I would have enough frosting so I went a little thin on each layer. In the end this recipe had MORE than enough so I would have put a good amount more frosting between each layer. Third, I would have used a knife to even out the top layer. It didn't look too crooked to me at this point but I later learned it really was! At this point what I did was use my blue food gel coloring again to tint the frosting to the shade of blue I wanted. I proceeded to frost the cake. In the future what I will do is put a 'crumb coat' on my cake first. To do this you simply spread a thin layer of frosting (white or colored) on your cake - it's ok if there are crumbs in the frosting. Place the cake in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes until the frosting is set. After 30 minutes you can proceed to frost your cake. From what I've read online this makes a huge difference and I wish I'd done it. All in all, my cake came out ok. But I'm really excited to use the tricks I've learned along the way on my next cake! The last thing I did was decorate the cake with lots of M&Ms! The birthday girl in all her blue glory! Thank you all for allowing me to practice my cake decorating (and photography!) on you!
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