Wedding Shower - Henna Cupcakes, Chocolate Dipped Strawberries, and Mini Rose Cupcakes

My sister's friend's mom reached out to me to do the desserts for her niece's wedding shower. Since her niece majored in religion and world studies in college, she wanted something unique that had a bohemian feel. I decided to do a henna design while incorporating things like flowers, doves, hearts, and rings into the pattern since it was a wedding shower.

Before packing the cupcakes up, I gave them a quick spray of edible gold tinting which added some shine.

 Also on the order were 50 chocolate dipped strawberries..

  And 150 mini cupcakes...

I decorated some with rose icing designs and topped the others with gum paste hearts.

I really enjoyed putting together this order. I loved using all of the different colors and piping the henna designs. An added bonus - This was an actual paid job!

This brings me to my other piece of news-
I've always loved making sweets for people and really enjoy the entire process from thinking of new ideas, to shopping for products, to baking, and finally to assembling everything. Seriously, making pretty and tasty treats that others can enjoy is one of my favorite things to do.  Enough of my love confessions and strait to the point - I launched a new blog where I hope to detail any future large scale baking projects under the name Small Batch. I have a good amount of baking projects lined up this year for friends, family, and even some paying clients so I thought I might as well go all in (and face first..) and create a blog site detailing them. Feel free to visit if you are interested!
Small Batch

Better Vanilla Cupcakes

By far, the most difficult cupcake for me to make is vanilla... don't ask me why or I might remember all the failed batches and start crying again. I came up with my own recipe based on my Key Lime cupcake recipe in a crunch a few weeks ago. This cupcake is not eggy and has a similar texture to a pound cake. Enjoy!

For the cake:

2 sticks (16 tbsp.) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups natural cane sugar

3 cups unbleached flour

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking soda

6 egg whites, room temperature

1 cup sour cream, room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2/3 cup whole milk

For the icing:

2 sticks (16 tbsp.) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups (16 oz.) cream cheese, room temperature

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 of the seeds in a vanilla bean

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line muffin pans with paper liners or mini muffin pans with mini liners.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed, until light and fluffy. On medium speed, add the egg whites, 1/2 at a time, then add the sour cream and vanilla. Scrape down the sides then add the milk. Turn the speed to medium-low and beat for another minute. Stop the mixer.

Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. With the mixer on low speed (stir), add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until just combined. Fill the cupcake liners to the 2/3-level with batter. Bake in the center of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes for full-size or 15 minutes for mini. They’re done when a toothpick comes out clean. Cool to room temperature.

While the cakes cool, make the icing. Mix the butter, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on low speed until the sugar incorporates, then turn it up to high and whip for about 3 minutes. Spread the frosting generously on top of each cupcake.

Makes 2 dozen full-size cupcakes.

Goat Cheese Tarts, Lemon Tarts, and Summer Happiness

Wow so I have done a terrible job keeping this blog up to date. Jake and I have been extremely busy this summer and have only been able to spend one weekend in DC since our trip to Mexico in May! That combined with our shotty internet at home completes my totally valid excuse :)

Don't feel too bad for us though...

 At the tequila shot bar in our hotel in Mexico for our one year anniversary!

 Jake's favorite beach bar ever...

 Weekend trip to Charlottesville, VA

 Home to Richmond for Jake's sister's engagement party and....

 to see high school friends.

 Family trip to Chicago to see my sister who totally is wearing/stole my shirt

 And finally to NY to meet Ms. Molly Murphy (My cousin's first kid!)

And now for the food part of this post..

Since we've been gone every weekend, getting the motivation to go grocery shopping and cooking well balanced meals for the 4 nights we are in town has been non existent. Jake has not been complaining with the addition of Noodles and Co., Chipotle, and various happy hour deals to our weekly dinner rotation... However, I did get in one fancy home made item in in the past 3 months.... Father's Day Lemon Tarts and Goat Cheese tarts. I love tarts during the summer - simple, refreshing, and can be topped with all of the pretty summer fruits.

Note: The goat cheese tarts are only for those with a serious love of goat cheese... While some of my family members loved them, I think I could have swallowed a gym sock with a less disgusted look on my face... I've always hated goat cheese so I don't know why I thought this would have gone better... Next time I'll use cream cheese instead.

Shortbread Tart Crust: (From Joy of Baking)

1 cup (130 grams) all purpose flour

1/3 cup (35 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (113 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Butter or lightly spray with a nonstick vegetable cooking spray, an 8 - 9 inch (20 - 23 cm) tart pan with a removable bottom. 

In your food processor, place the flour, sugar, and salt and process to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the pastry starts to come together and form clumps. Place the pastry in the prepared tart pan and, using your fingertips, evenly press the pastry onto the bottom and up the sides of the pan. (Can use the back of a spoon to smooth the surface of the pastry.) Pierce the bottom of the crust with the tines of a fork. (This will prevent the pastry crust from puffing up while it bakes.) Cover and place the pastry crust in the freezer for 15 minutes to chill. (This will help prevent the crust from shrinking while it bakes.)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. 

When the pastry is completely chilled, place the tart pan on a larger baking sheet and bake until the crust is golden brown, about 13 - 15 minutes. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool while you make the filling.

Lemon Curd:

I used the same recipe as my lime curd, just used lemons instead :)

Goat Cheese Mousse: (From Tartelette)

200 ml heavy cream, cold
4 oz (120gr) goat cheese, at room temperature
2 tablespoons (25gr) to 1/4 cup (50gr) sugar, depending on your preference
Juice and zest of half a lemon


In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream to medium stiff peaks and reserve it in the refrigerator while you prepare the mousse.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the goat cheese and sugar with a spatula (if the goat cheese is soft enough there is no need to put your mixer to use on that one). Add the lemon zest and juice and mix thoroughly until incorporated.
Carefully fold the reserved whipped cream into the goat cheese base by placing your spatula in the center of the bowl, scooping the bottom over the top. Give your bowl a 45 degree turn and repeat until the batter is smooth. Fill a pastry bag with the mousse and divide it evenly among all tart cooled tart shells.

Top tarts with your favorite berries and serve slightly chilled.

We have some more busy weekends ahead of us but this coming weekend I will be doing Ashley's cupcake tasting (followed up by a recap on here hopefully) and then headed off for our family beach week :) Summer does not suck.

Tart Love - Lime Curd Tarts

I needed a break from cupcakes.. this may or may not have been due to my compulsive habit of eating batter and giving myself tummy aches... And in comes my new love of tarts :) These bite sized babies are light, refreshing, and help with your fruit intake for the day. I decided to try out my tart making skills with a lime tart recipe which turned out pretty delicious.

 First thing - the dough. I was pretty scared of this since I suck at anything dough related. I found this recipe and went full speed ahead. I ended up adding some extra ice water to make the dough not as crumbly. My dough did not turn out as planned looks wise but the taste did work well with the lime curd.

Dough Recipe from Tartelette

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
5 tablespoons butter, cold and cut into small slices
3 to 4 tablespoons ice cold water

Prepare the dough:
Mix together the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or a fork until the mixture forms pea-sized pieces. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of water over the flour mixture and toss with fork until moistened. Repeat with the remaining water, one tablespoon at a time and gather the dough into a ball with your hand. Do not handle the dough too long. Wrap into a sheet of plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. This will allow the dough to relax and make it easier to roll, keeping it from becoming tough. Roll dough on a lightly floured surface, applying pressure from the center to the edges until it is about 1/4-inch thick. Cut out six 6- inch circles onto the dough and press them into the tartlet molds or rings (or one 9 inch pan if making a larger tart). Place the rings or molds on a baking sheet. Prick the dough with a fork, apply a piece of parchment paper inside the molds and fill with dry beans or pie weights. Refrigerate 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350F and when ready, bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool completely and remove the pie weights and paper. Keep the oven at 350F.

Second thing- the lime curd. I've never made curd before so this was almost as scary as the dough.. I tried making it in a home made double boiler but the temperature wasn't getting high enough for the mix to curd (<- right term?). I did get a pretty hard core arm work out trying though. I moved the mixture to a sauce pan over medium low heat and whisked away until I had the right consistency. 

Curd Recipe from  Joy of Baking (I used limes instead of lemons)

 

3 large eggs

3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar

1/3 cup (80 ml) fresh (not bottled) lemon juice (2-3 lemons)

4 tablespoons (56 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 tablespoon (4 grams) lemon zest(The yellow outer skin of the lemon

Lemon Curd:  In a stainless steel bowl, placed over a saucepan of simmering water, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and lemon juice until blended. 

Cook, whisking or stirring constantly (to prevent it from curdling), until the mixture becomes pale in color and quite thick (like a hollandaise sauce or sour cream) (160 degrees F or 71 degrees C on a thermometer). This will take about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately pour through a fine strainer to remove any lumps. Cut the butter into small pieces and whisk into the mixture until the butter has melted. Add the lemon zest, cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming, and let cool to room temperature before filling the pastry crust. Can be made and stored in the refrigerator for about a week.

  

The Curd:

After the curd cools, spoon into tart shells and top with fruit. You might want to chill the tarts in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving so it give the curd a chance to firm up. I've also just decided the word "curd" is not appealing and should be changed.

Sea Shell Cupcakes

So I have been trying to think of creative, yet easy to make lots of, beach themed cupcakes for Ashley's wedding. Sea shells were a must and I decided chocolate molds would be both elegant and easy. I remembered making chocolate molds of hearts when I was 6 at a friends birthday but that pretty much summed up my chocolate experience so I was a little hesitant at first. However, I found it was super easy and turned out pretty cute.

First things first - melt white chocolate and milk chocolate in the microwave. Set microwave for 30 seconds, then stir, and repeat until smooth consistency.

Transfer melted chocolate to separate zip lock bags.

I poured the white chocolate in almost to the top and then squeezed some milk chocolate on top. I then took a tooth pick and swirled the chocolates together. Since my molding sheet was clear, I could hold it upside down and see where more swirling needed to be done.

I put the molding sheet in the fridge until the chocolates hardened (about 20 min.) and then popped them out. Tah Dah!

Frost the cupcakes - I was going for a baby blue here.. I need to work on my icing coloring skills.

And then top with the sea shells :)

Isomalt Coral

A few weeks ago the National Cake Show came to town. I found a Living Social deal for half off tickets and thought it might be fun to check out. I also dragged Jake to this show which I do kind of feel bad about especially after hour two of me freaking out about cool cake supplies... It's ok though, he has dragged me to a few gun and knife shows and made me go paint balling for 5 hours one Saturday. I don't care what some people say, paint balling hurts.

Anyways, so while I was at the show, I went to an Isomalt demonstration. Isomalt is basically like a stick of sugar that when melted can be made into decorations. I bought it because you can make some pretty cool coral sculptures that I thought might look nice with Ashley's beach themed cupcake display.

This is what Isomalt looks like in solid form:

I broke up about six sticks of  Isomalt and microwaved them for 15 seconds at a time stirring in between until completely melted. I then added some green gel food coloring. (The mixture should bubble at this point).

In order to make coral, I used the ice method in which I greased a large glass and filled it with ice cubes.

I poured the hot Isomalt over the ice slowly. Toward the end of the pour, I tried to make a base at the top by slowly pouring in a more concentrated spot. After the Isomalt cooled (like 20 seconds), I carefully dumped the glass upside down in a bowl. The figure below is the end result.

I thought it turned out pretty cool and doesn't melt in humidity like most sugar sculptures. You might want to note that even with a greased cup, Isomalt may still stick. You can either chip off stuck Isomalt with the end of a butter knife or dissolve with hot water.

Here are pictures of some of the cakes at the show I thought were particularly cool :)

Flip Flop Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes

I've been test baking cupcakes for Ashley's wedding for a a couple months now and thought it was time to give her beach themed wedding cupcake decorations a shot. I've always wanted to try marshmallow fondant so I thought flip flops would be an easy decoration to try it with.

I've been searching for a chocolate cupcake recipe that packed more of a chocolate punch then my George Town Chocolate Cupcakes I made a while back. These cupcakes weren't quite the chocolate overload creations I was looking for but they tasted great, were light and fluffy, and stayed moist even after being frozen for a few weeks. I love that the recipe uses sour cream to give a more rounded flavor and to keep the cakes from drying out too quickly.   

All in all, these were pretty yummy cupcakes so I'm calling it a success :)

Recipe from Martha Stewart

• 3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup hot water
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup sour cream, room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cocoa and hot water until smooth. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
   
2. Melt butter with sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat, and pour into a mixing bowl. With an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat until mixture is cooled, 4 to 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add vanilla, then cocoa mixture, and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the sour cream, and beating until just combined after each.
   
3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-
   quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 15 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.
   

I decorated mine with coconut frosting topped with toasted coconut and fondant flip flops.

For the frosting, I added some coconut extract to butter cream and beat until white and fluffy.

For the coconut, I toasted sweetened coconut on baking pan for 3-5 minutes at 350 degrees or until slightly browned.

For the flip flops, I made a marshmallow fondant by melting 2 cups of mini marshmallows in the microwave and then stirring in food coloring. I then added powdered sugar until a dough formed. I rolled and shaped small flip flops and then drew straps with a food marker. The marker ran on some of them so I would suggest piping icing.

Key Lime Pie Cupcakes

My favorite pie by far is Key Lime Pie. When Jake's sister, Ashley, asked me to bake some beach themed cupcakes for her wedding, my heart and tummy went strait for Key Lime. These cupcakes are super moist and taste like you are taking a bite of Key Lime Pie. No joke. I made them on a Sunday night and ate 2 strait out of the oven. I then proceeded to dream about them while at work on Monday and soon found myself having a Key Lime Cupcake dinner... healthy choice fail. Due to my lack of Key Lime self control, I will not be making these cupcakes again until Ashley's taste test :)

The only things I am going to do to tweak this recipe are increase the baking powder to 3 tsp and whip the egg whites to fold them into the batter before baking. Hopefully this will give them a less dense, more fluffy texture. Either way, I think these are my favorite cupcakes I've made so far. 

Recipe from Bitchin Camero

For the cake:

2 sticks (16 tbsp.) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups natural cane sugar

3 cups unbleached flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

4 large eggs, room temperature

1 cup sour cream, room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2/3 cup key lime juice, either from real key limes or bottled. I used Nell & Joe’s brand.

For the icing:

2 sticks (16 tbsp.) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups (16 oz.) cream cheese, room temperature

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line muffin pans with paper liners or mini muffin pans with mini liners.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed, until light and fluffy. On medium speed, add the eggs, 2 at a time, then add the sour cream and vanilla. Scrape down the sides then add the key lime juice. Turn the speed to medium-low and beat for another minute. Stop the mixer.

Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. With the mixer on low speed (stir), add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until just combined. Fill the cupcake liners to the 2/3-level with batter. Bake in the center of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes for full-size or 15 minutes for mini. They’re done when a toothpick comes out clean. Cool to room temperature.

While the cakes cool, make the icing. Mix the butter, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on low speed until the sugar incorporates, then turn it up to high and whip for about 3 minutes. Spread the frosting generously on top of each cupcake.

Makes 2 dozen full-size cupcakes.

I topped mine with crushed graham crackers and green sprinkles :)

Champagne Cupcakes

Champagne and weddings seem to go hand in hand so why not try it in a cupcake form? I had my doubts I would be able to pull these off but they ended up tasting great. Not exactly a super sweet cupcake but I could taste the champagne flavor so I'm calling it a success! These cupcakes were pretty fluffy and since they aren't overly sweet, you could use a filling and heavy frosting without too much of a sugar rush. To give the cakes a more champagne taste, I brushed each one with a champagne/powdered sugar mixture. I paired them with a basic butter cream. Not going to lie, I tried a champagne frosting but that backfired pretty quickly. Next time I make these I'm going to invest in some champagne extract for the frosting and cupcakes.

Recipe from Home Is Where The Holmans Are:

Cupcakes:
2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup champagne
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
6 egg whites

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pan with paper liners (recipe yields about 22 cupcakes). 

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine.  In mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar on medium high speed until light and fluffy, about three minutes.  Add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with two additions of champagne combined with vanilla. 

In a clean bowl, beat egg whites on high speed until they hold stiff peaks.  Fold in about 1/3 of the egg whites to lighten the batter then gently fold in the remaining egg whites.  Transfer batter to cupcake liners, filling each about 2/3 of the way full.  Bake approximately twenty minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool about five minutes in the pan and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Vanilla Bourban Bean Cupcakes

Jake finally removed the vanilla beans from his Vanilla Infused Bourbon. I saw this as a good opportunity to use the Bourbon soaked beans in testing a vanilla cupcake for Ashley's wedding. Not going to lie, my first try was a complete flop and the cupcakes were super dense and tasted eggy.. yuck. I found a new recipe pretty quickly in hopes that I would regain my baking confidence.

These cupcakes were super moist, light, and delicious. Per Jake's request, I made a vanilla cream cheese icing to top them.

Vanilla Bourbon Bean Cupcakes Recipe: (From http://www.chow.com/)

2 cups cake flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon fine salt

12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), at room temperature

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped, seeds reserved (or 1 tablespoon vanilla extract)

2 large egg whites, at room temperature

2 large eggs, at room temperature

3/4 cup whole milk, at room temperature

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Line 2 (12-well) muffin pans with paper liners. Alternatively, coat the wells with butter; set aside.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to aerate and break up any lumps; set aside.

Place butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed until very light in color, about 3 minutes. Add sugar and vanilla seeds (if you’re using vanilla extract instead, you’ll add it later), and continue beating until the mixture is airy, about 3 minutes.

Scrape down the paddle and the sides of the bowl, turn the mixer to medium speed, and add the egg whites one at a time, beating well after each addition. Then add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add the milk (and vanilla extract, if you’re using it in place of seeds) and mix until combined (the mixture will look curdled, but it’s not). Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Reduce the speed to low, add the reserved flour mixture, and mix until just combined, about 15 seconds.

Fill the muffin wells about halfway and bake until the cupcakes are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 18 minutes. Set the pans on a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the pans and let cool completely before frosting.

 Vanilla Bourbon Bean Cream Cheese Icing Recipe:

8 oz cream cheese

4 tbs unsalted butter

4 cups powdered sugar

1/2 of the seeds in one vanilla bean

Beat all ingredients together with an electric mixer until smooth consistency.



George Town Cupcake's Chocolate Ganche Cupcake

I have some exciting and happy news tonight. My sister in-law, Ashley, who was proposed to during half time of the Super Bowl, took me up on my offer to make the wedding cake, or should I say, wedding cupcakes :) Needless to say, I'm so excited about the opportunity to make cupcakes for such an awesome couple. I've made cakes, but never experimented much with cupcakes so I'll be taking the next couple months to try recipes and techniques. Since Ashley hasn't decided on specific flavors, I thought I should at least get started with some basic flavors. Chocolate was first on my list.

If you've ever been to George Town Cupcakes you know how freakishly good their cupcakes are. I searched the internet for their recipe and found that the only one they have released is for their chocolate cupcake with ganche frosting. This cupcake is more of a light cupcake with a dark chocolate taste. Since it isn't too rich, the heavy ganche frosting works really well.

This is the George Town Cupcake Recipe from the Washington Post:

For the cupcakes

• 1 1/4 cups flour, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, sifted
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons (4 ounces) European-style unsalted butter, such as Plugra brand, at room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract, preferably Madagascar bourbon
• 1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup Valrhona cocoa powder, sifted (see headnote; may substitute another good-quality cocoa powder)

For the ganache frosting

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup Callebaut semisweet chocolate chips (6.4 ounces; see headnote; may substitute other good-quality semisweet chocolate chips)

Directions:

For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard cupcake pan with 12 baking cups, and a second pan with 6 baking cups.
Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt on a sheet of wax paper or parchment paper.

Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer. Beat on medium speed until fluffy. Stop to add the sugar; beat on medium speed until well incorporated.

Add the eggs one at a time, mixing slowly after each addition.

Combine the vanilla extract and milk in a large liquid measuring cup.

Reduce the speed to low. Add one-third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, then gradually add one-third of the milk mixture, beating until well incorporated. Add another one-third of the flour mixture, followed by one-third of the milk mixture. Stop to scrape down the bowl as needed. Add the remaining flour mixture, followed by the remaining milk mixture, and beat just until combined.

Add the cocoa powder, beating (on low speed) just until incorporated.

Use a standard-size ice cream scoop to fill each cupcake paper with batter, so that the wells are two-thirds full. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes (start checking at 15 minutes) or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the ganache frosting: Lay a large piece of wax paper on the work surface.

Combine the heavy cream and chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Fill a medium saucepan with an inch or two of water and place over medium-low heat. Place the bowl over the saucepan and let the mixture melt, stirring until it is shiny and smooth.

Remove the bowl of chocolate ganache from the saucepan; let it cool slightly, for 2 to 3 minutes. Working with 1 cupcake at a time, carefully dip each cupcake top in the warm ganache, twisting your wrist as needed to make sure the cupcake top gets completely coated. To prevent drips, quickly turn the cupcake right side up and place on the wax paper. Allow the ganache to set for 5 minutes before serving.

 I topped mine with different sprinkles :)

I really wanted Jake to try one but he isn't a big chocolate person. He is a peanut butter and chocolate kind of guy though! I mixed some peanut butter, powder sugar, and milk to make a peanut butter spread for the top of his cupcake. I then topped that with the ganche. Success!

Dessert Party and Super Bowl kind of weekend

This weekend was filled with good food that I did not make. Saturday, Emily M. had a dessert party where she made about 10 different desserts which included lemon squares, chocolate butter scotch oatmeal cookies, strawberry cupcakes, and Oreo truffles. Everything was awesome but I thought the Oreo truffles were pretty intriguing.

Emily M.'s Oreo Truffle Recipe:

12 oz milk chocolate chips

8 oz cream cheese

12 oz Oreo cookies, crushed

Blend crushed Oreos with cream cheese. Roll into bite sized balls and chill until solid. Melt chocolate chips until smooth consistency (melt chocolate in microwave for 30 seconds, stir, and repeat until completely melted). Dip Oreo balls into melted chocolate and let set.

The next night, we arrived at Josh's place for the Super Bowl.

He made a huge Primanti Brothers sub with all the fixings, including the french fries, in honor of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

This bad boy had meat, cheese, cole slaw, tomatoes, and french fries. Yum.

We were sufficiently full by the end of this weekend :)

Not Quite Red, Red Velvet Cake

I attempted to make red velvet cake for Christmas dinner this year. You can see the results..

So close to red but not quite! Eh, I tried... Thankfully the cake tasted awesome.

I found this recipe on on the Smitten Kitchen blog (http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/09/red-velvet-cake/).

The blog has some helpful pointers on making the cake more red. Next time I make this cake, I will use less cocoa powder and that should do the trick. I also topped mine with crushed candy canes to make it more festive. The cake is really delicious and I would recommend it!

Recipe and notes from http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/09/red-velvet-cake/

Yield: 3 cake layers

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa (not Dutch process)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cups canola oil
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) red food coloring or 1 teaspoon red gel food coloring dissolved in 6 tablespoons of water
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place teaspoon of butter in each of 3 round 9-inch layer cake pans and place pans in oven for a few minutes until butter melts. Remove pans from oven, brush interior bottom and sides of each with butter and line bottoms with parchment.

2. Whisk cake flour, cocoa and salt in a bowl.

3. Place oil and sugar in bowl of an electric mixer and beat at medium speed until well-blended. Beat in eggs one at a time. With machine on low, very slowly add red food coloring. (Take care: it may splash.) Add vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk in two batches. Scrape down bowl and beat just long enough to combine.

4. Place baking soda in a small dish, stir in vinegar and add to batter with machine running. Beat for 10 seconds.

5. Divide batter among pans, place in oven and bake until a cake tester comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool in pans 20 minutes. Then remove from pans, flip layers over and peel off parchment. Cool completely before frosting.

Cupcake variation: Since this has been published, many readers have written in to express that it adapts well to cupcakes. The yield is approximately 35 cupcakes, with the liners filled only 3/4 of the way, and the baking time should be between 20 to 25 minutes, but check in on them 2/3 of the way through in case your oven gets the job done faster.

Cocoa Notes

• Some red velvet cakes have no cocoa, others have up to half a cup. The less cocoa, the brighter the red, and the less food dye is needed to give it the desired hue. This cake has more cocoa and quite a bit of red dye, but as you cans see from the picture, it is a real stand-out red. Feel free to use less, but make sure you dissolve it in 6 tablespoons of water to compensate for any moisture lost.
• Dutch versus Non-Dutched cocoa: This recipe uses baking soda, so it calls for non-Dutch-Processed cocoa. The reason is that Dutch-Process cocoa is neutral and will not react with baking soda, so it can only be used in 1) recipes with baking powder or 2) recipes with enough other acidic ingredients that will compensate for the lack of acidity. However, you’ll notice that this recipe has both vinegar and buttermilk in it, or quite a bit of acidity, leading me to wonder if either kind of cocoa could be used with success. I had non-Dutch on hand, so I used it, but if you only have Dutch and try this recipe, let us know if it works. Personally, I prefer the Dutched stuff because it usually is of a higher quality with a more delicate chocolate flavor.

Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from several sources

Makes 6 cups

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter room temperature
3 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Place cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl. With a handheld electric mixer, beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add sugar and vanilla. Beat, on low speed to combine. If too soft, chill until slightly stiff, about 10 minutes, before using.

Icing Notes:

• Technique: Cake decorators will always tell you to ice a cake in two batches, first a “crumb layer” and then the more decorative one. Though I rarely bother, in this cake in particular, with its dark hue barely disguised by a thin layer of frosting, it is especially helpful. To do this, place a small amount of frosting on the cake and spread it over the entire surface that will be iced, thereby anchoring wayward crumbs in place so that they will not mess up the final product. A few minutes in the freezer or longer in the fridge will firm this up so that you have an ideal surface to build the real layer of frosting upon.
• Quantity: The recipe here creates an amount of frosting that allows for a thin coat between and over the cake layers. I found it to have the ideal cake-to-frosting balance for this recipe. However, you might want to double the recipe if you prefer a more decadent, padded frosting layer.

Jake's Take: Thought the cake was good and moist. He also likes a more cream cheese heavy frosting which I do too. He liked the crushed candy canes on top and would like them to cover the sides of the cake as well. Note: The crushed candy canes need to be almost in powder form since you don't want anyone biting down on a big piece and hurting a tooth.