Mummies and Ghouls and Spiders, Oh My!

Don't you just love the fall?  The colors, the clothes (man do I love me some boots and a cozy sweater!), the holidays and traditions...I love it all.  I also like the next couple of months because when I bake cupcakes for my class, it is easy to make themed decorations, starting with Halloween.

It was my daughter's very first Halloween, and one of my students got her the most appropriate and perfect costume (in addition to the owl her dad and I had already gotten)...a cupcake!  Now is this not the cutest little cupcake you have ever seen? >>  Next year I"m thinking round 2 with this costume...

I had two things to bake cupcakes for this month - one was my daughter's Halloween play date and the other was my normal baking for my class' birthdays.  I had big dreams of using fondant because of a cool idea I saw on Pinterest...but then the reality of mommyhood and lack of free time kicked me in the butt, and I "just" did frosting.  I'm still super pleased with the results, though, and based on the "no cupcake left behind" - my students thought they were pretty good, too!

For this, I turned to my trusty (and crusty) Martha Stewart book for this tried and true recipe...

Pumpkin - Brown Butter Cupcakes

3/4 cup butter (@ room temperature)
1 2/3 cup all purpose flower
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg  (I use more than this - I LOVE nutmeg, especially fresh)
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated shugar
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 325.

In medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat.  Swirl occasionally, until butter turns golden brown.  Skim foam from top and remove from heat.  Pour into bowl to stop the cooking - leave the crusty sediment in the saucepan.  Let it cool.

Whisk together flour, powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves.  In the bowl of your electric mixer, whisk puree, both sugars, eggs and brown butter mixture (after it's cooled).  Mix until just combined - don't overdo it or you're headed for flat top cupcakes!

Divide batter evenly and bake - rotating 1/2 way through.  Bake for 20 minutes or until a test stick comes out cleanly!

Top with cream cheese frosting and enjoy!!!  So, so good, my friends!

For Hire!

Baking is definitely a hobby - actually, an obsession.  I love the smell of rising cupcakes in the oven, and certainly the joy on people's (mostly my students') faces when I bring them to work or to a party.  My students often say I should go on Cupcake Wars - which is outrageous because I need a recipe in front of me the entire time and I double and triple check it (mostly the math if I am doubling or halving the recipe), and even then, I still manage to screw it up sometimes. My husband wants us to buy a food truck and sell away.  But for me, it's just a hobby.

However, I won't turn away someone who wants to hire me to make something special just for them!  I was delightfully surprised when a friend Facebooked me to see if I would be interested in making cupcakes for her daughter's 1st birthday party.  After some important discussion about flavors, she decided on Strawberry Lemonade cupcakes - perfect for a hot summer day (which we have been having the last few days) and even more perfect for a little girl's party!

Cupcakes
From Half Baked - The Cake Blog

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup lemonade powder mix
1 cup milk
3 Tbsp lemon juice (juice of 1 lemon)
1 Tbsp lemon zest (zest of 1 lemon)
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line your pan with your favorite cupcake liners!

In medium bowl, combine dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, lemonade powder, lemon zest).  Set aside.

In your stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add eggs, one at a time.  Beat well after each and scrape down the sides so that everything combines.

Add lemon juice and vanilla - mix well.

Add dry ingredients in 3 batches, alternating with 2  additions of milk.

Fill your liners evenly and bake for 20 minutes!

These are nice and tart.  And then topped with the frosting - a perfect combo to refresh on a hot summer day!

Frosting
From Martha Stewart

I added a sour strawberry candy straw

1.5 cups fresh strawberries (rinsed, hulled, coarsely chopped)
4 large egg whites
1.25 cups sugar
1.5 cups unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons at room temp (unless it is like 400 degrees in your house, like it was in mine - then your frosting will be very runny...)

Puree strawberries in food processor.

Combine your egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl (of your standing mixer) over a pan of simmering water.  Whisk constantly by hand until the sugar is dissolved (should feel totally smooth when you rub between your fingers)

Put the bowl in the stand mixer and start whisking on low and gradually increase to medium/high until stiff peaks form.  Continue mixing until it is fluffy and glossy and completely cooled off from stove time! (about 10 minutes)

Start to add the butter a few tblsps at a time.  Mix well after each.  Then scrape down bowl and switch to paddle attachment - mix for 2 minutes on low to get all air bubbles out.  Add strawberries and beat until combined.

The frosting started drooping right away - "room temp"was just too hot for my butta.  But they tasted delish!

An Apple A Day...

In the spirit of going back to school, I decided to make these lovely creations for my AVID class for their birthday celebration!

The cake was Martha Stewart's Apple Spice Cupcake recipe.  So delish and so moist!

Applesauce Spice Cupcakes

2 c all purpose floud
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/3 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter @ room temperature
1 c granulated sugar
1/2 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs @ room temperature
1 1/2 c unsweetened apple sauce

Preheat to 350 F and line your cupcake tin with your favorite liners!

Mix together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove in a medium mixing bowl.

In an electric mixing bowl (fitted with whisk attachment) cream butter and sugar on medium until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down bowl as needed.  Switch to low and add applesauce and then flour - beat until just combined.

Fill tins to 3/4 with batter and bake for 20 minutes!

I then topped them with red and green fondant, and stuck a pretzel stick right in the middle (as the stem).  Then, a little green leaf, and we had a full fledged apple!  I coated the top of the cupcakes with a very light layer of cream cheese frosting, so that fondant would stick!

This is the first time I have made something with fondant for my AVID students, and they were pretty excited!  They took some of their own pictures :)  They then used them as brain food to study - I love those kids!

You can see the red and green varieties!  An apple a day keep these students ready to learn!

Humming Right Along...Hummingbird Cupcakes

I have always believed that baked goods can (and should) brighten a person's day.  When I was growing up, my mom would lead us in baking copious amounts of Christmas goodies for our friends and neighbors.  We would wrap them up in cute or pretty boxes and people were always glad to receive them.  More recently, one of my students has begun delivering sweet treats to me.  She and her mom bake frequently - everything from cupcakes to blondies to lemon bars....and I sample them all!  Every time she shares her baking adventures with me, it is like the cherry on top of my day.

I was in a giving type of mood last week, and decided to whip up a batch of something new - Hummingbird Cupcakes.  Hummingbird cake, a Southern tradition, reportedly got its name because people would hum while baking it.  What a happy sounding cake!  Perfect to wrap up and gift to others.

Hummingbird Cupcakes


3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon (though I like to put in a bit more...)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 large ones)
1 can (8 oz) crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut


Top with Cream Cheese Frosting!!!


8 oz cream cheese at room temp
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter cut into pieces at room temperature
1 pound of confectioners' sugar, sifted


The thing about this frosting is, it's really about your taste buds.  If you like it more cream cheesy, add less butter, or the same amount of butter but more cream cheese.  The powdered sugar is what gives it a workable consistency, so you could add more than the pound if you feel that the frosting is still too thick for your liking.  


Then, put it all in a cute little box (I like mine with polka dots - from Michael's)...

Add a hand written note to pull it all together!

The Best Cupcake Book

The more I bake, the more I appreciate this book.  She never lets me down.  Many cookbooks that I have really don't produce that great of cakes.  They are often dry, or the flavors are too bold.  With good old Martha, you get subtle, delicious and simple flavors.  Some of her ingredients are a bit ladida, but for the most part its good old fashioned eggs, sugar, flour, butter, done.  

If you want to bake successfully, and have a home run every single time - this is your book.

Ladybugs! (My first adventure with fondant)

My good friend, and colleague, Eric, invited us to his adorable daughter's 2nd birthday party today.  The Evite was full of cute little ladybugs, and so I asked if that was the theme of the party?  His reply: "No, that was just the cutest Evite option."  Very much an Eric response.  However, I already had it in my mind that I wanted to make ladybug cupcakes (inspired by the Evite), so even though it wasn't the official theme, we still went ahead!

I shared my idea with Mike, my husband, and he helped brainstorm what the best possible way to tackle these bugs would be.  He chose the cupcake flavor for the day, ran to the store, and our adventure began.

When you have such a fun decoration on the top, and when you are making cupcakes for a 2nd birthday, it probably isn't super important what type of cupcake is underneath.  But, I care.  And I knew a lot of my friends and colleagues would be there, and they would appreciate a yummy cupcake that wasn't just cute, but delicious as well.  We decided to go with a Devil's Food chocolate cupcake.  I LOVE this recipe (have I written about it before?)  The sour cream makes it so flippin' moist - it is the best chocolate cupcake ever.  Seriously.

Fresh outta the oven!

 For some reason these turned out exceptionally well.  I think I am just figuring out (after all of my practicing) how much I need to fill up those lovely little cups.  I was really excited about this.  Before today, I always seem to have like 1/2 meh looking cupcakes and then 1/2 blob looking (where I put way too much in and it spills up over the cup...)  Not cute.

These would probably taste bomb with my new favorite cocktail - Sweet Tea Vodka + Lemonade....
Just saying...

 Once they cooled, we were ready to move onto the next step: fondant.  This was our first time working with fondant, so we were a little nervous.  Especially since we were making them the same day as the event.  Probably not the best idea!  While the cuppies were cooling and second batch was in the oven, I prepared for the next step.

I love this thing.  I got two of them for my bridal shower, and I think they are the bee's knees. 

They're done!  Read to be ladybugged!

Another bridal shower gift - today's apron of choice.

 So, fondant is weird looking.  It looks, to me, like a huge brick of lard.  Not very appetizing.  It was hard for me to imagine how we were going to transform this blob into something cute for a kid's birthday party.

Bloooooooooobbbbbbbbb......

We divided the fondant into our two colors.  1/3 was dyed black and 2/3 red.  This stuff stains your hands.  For real.  I look like I wrestled some beets (according to Mike).  But, it started to look a little more interesting!

Our fondant dye

Fondant is pretty easy to dye.  But, as I said, messy.  It is a good arm workout though.  When it starts to get sticky, you just sprinkle a little bit of powdered sugar in there, and bam!  Good to go.

Then, it was time to get rolling!  Mike rolled out the fondant into a thin layer.  He is very good at this job.

Then, we took one of our cups, and cut out red rounds.  These are going to be our ladybug base.

In order to get the fondant to stick, we put a very thin layer of frosting on there.  By thin, I mean VERY thin.  Due to time constraints, we just used store bought frosting (shhhhh - don't tell anyone!)  But whatever - one less dish, thank goodness!

We popped those red discs on right away, and they looked so cool!  I mean, they didn't really need much else IMO, but we knew they could only get cuter!  There was something both Mike and I appreciated about the smooth and clean line that the fondant created.  It just looked so neat and tidy!  Something we both love.

From there, we started crafting their little heads.  For this, Mike simply took the edge of the same cup to create little parts of discs that folllowed the same curve as the red rounds.

To get the black to stick on top of the red fondant, we brushed it with just a little bit of water!  Stayed on like glue!

After that, it was eye balls (and we used white decorating pearls) and their little dotted backs.  For the polka dots, we actually used the tip of a piping tip - size #12.   It worked perfectly!

We got to the birthday party, and saw the cute printed table cloths - ladybug!  Our cupcakes fit right in!

We thought it was a success, but the ultimate judge was, of course, the birthday girl, Marisa.  Here's what she thought:

Far Out! (Tie Dye Cupcakes and Back to School!)

Today was my first day back to school and the beginning of my sixth year at Fremont High School.  I had a great start, and I definitely feel that this is going to be a good year!

As I have posted about before, I make cupcakes every month for my AVID class in order to celebrate their birthdays.  I have made them many types of cupcakes in the last two years, and so today, I decided it would be fun to put a funky twist on an old recipe.  I made Martha Stewart's Buttermilk Cupcakes with Vanilla frosting.  It's such a simple flavor, and very light and moist (probably from all the eggs!)  But instead of plain old white, I took some inspiration from one of my students, Emma, and made them tie dye!

You split all the batter into 3-4 bowls (my student said that any more than three gets a bit messy).  You dye each color whatever color you want.  I chose purple, teal and blue.  I then used a cookie dough scooper (the little one), and scoop one color into all of the tins.  Then the next color, etc.  Bake and enjoy!

Tres Leches

One of the greatest gifts I have in my life is wonderful friends.  I don't have a large circle, nor is that something I want.  What I do have is a perfect circle of fabulous friends, most of whom I have known for the better part of my life.  Today, one of my very best friends, Emily, celebrated her birthday.  I have known Em for almost a quarter of a century - holy cow.  From crayons to wedding dresses, from all nighters to puppy play dates, I am happy to celebrate another year of a fabulous friend!

In celebration of Em's big day, Mike suggested trying out a new cupcake recipe.  I tried to find something fabulous and kind of exotic for my jet setting pal, and landed on Martha Stewart's Tres Leches recipe.  It was kind of a pain in the rear because you have to soak them with the milk which takes quite a while.  But, in the end, they look fabulous and taste good too!!  

Happy birthday, Em!

Yummy whipped topping - with Em's dahlias in the back!

With a little cinnamon on top!

Scrumptious!

Lovely Lemon

My sweet, sweet summer is coming to an end.  School starts on Monday and I will be greeted with the smiling, tired, annoyed, anxious, eager faces of my next group of students.  As my days are limited, and I have to think about how I want to spend my last few days of unadulterated freedom, of course, I thought it was a great time to try out a new cupcake recipe!

As usual, I went to my trusty Martha Stewart cookbook (which is looking a bit beat up these days...) and the lemon meringue cupcakes caught my eye.  Nothing is more refreshing than a bright, citrusy cupcake.  I was sold.

I headed to the store to buy a LOT of butter, lots of eggs and of course, lottsa lemons!

The layout - I like to have everything out before I start.  

LEMONS! 

Since it was the end of summer, I drank champagne while whisking!

I love fresh cupcakes - right of the oven - before they've been frosted.  I have been known (just about every time I bake) to sneak a few bites in and split a warm one with Mike before they receive their final touches.

The end product was SO yummy, and well worth the many dishes it incurred.  The only hiccup was that I was supposed to put the lemon curd on top of the cupcake and then the frosting.  Well, the curd has to chill in the fridge for two hours, and of course, I forgot about it.  So I just whipped up my seven minute frosting, and put it right on there.  Literally as SOON as I did that, I remembered my curd.  Oh well.  It still tasted good.  I never said they would be pretty.  :)  Next time, I'll get it right!

Yummm - the pink polka dot wrapper is a perfect fit!