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.

Week 8 Runs and Final Decisions

Last Monday I was so excited that it was still light out after work due to day light savings, I immediately put on running shoes, grabbed my Garmin, and was off for a run. I was able to run 3 miles :) I tried to get Jake to run with me but he insisted on taking out the bike that needed some tire pumping action instead. We tried the "I'll catch up to you" plan... ya, that was a fail since we didn't agree on a set running route past .5 miles.. We ended up finishing at the apartment at the same time which I was particularly happy about since he had the keys. Jake also persuaded me away from my healthy dinner plans to celebrate day light savings at Chevy's Mexican Restaurant.. Pretty good start to the week :)

Friday was another beautiful day and since we had plans of going to Richmond for the weekend to see my friend Emily and her band East of Monroe perform, I wanted to get in a run before the weekend. My thighs have been pretty sore since our ski trip the weekend before so I felt like it was a solid but slow 3 miles. On another note, Emily's band was awesome! Seriously check out her songs (Careless thing by East of Monroe was one of my favorites).

Jake and I drove back from Richmond late Saturday night which gave us all day Sunday to relax, do laundry, and bike over to my all time favorite sub and pizza place in the DC area, The Italian Store. So freakin good!

Tuesday of this week rolled around and was able to get in a 3.38 run using mapmyruns.com. My legs were still pretty sore so I spent the remainder of the night stretching and getting in some protein by eating turkey burgers (the pictures came out badly so I will post the recipe next week when I make them again).

On another note, I have been struggling about what to do with my training for a 10K race that I will not be able to attend due to a family baby shower. I finally found a race that is near by, not too long, and looked fun. Chrystal City is about 5 minutes from where I live and beginning in April, they will be holding 5K races every Friday. This is something I feel like I can commit at least one Friday to. Not to mention I have begun recruiting some running buddies.. This means I will have to put my 10K Training Plan on hold and concentrate more on shorter runs to prepare for a 5K in April. I'm happy to be training for a race that I'll actually be able to participate in :)

Healthy Eggplant Parmesan

You know those foods that you thought were gross when you were little and now all of a sudden discover that you love them? This is true for the story of me and eggplant. I hated their texture, flavor, chewiness and weird shape. This all changed when I went to an Italian restaurant and mistakenly took a bite of what I thought was chicken Parmesan. I was happily surprised when I found out it was eggplant and so began my mission to make eggplant Parmesan not only from scratch, but healthy.

I think my version of the eggplant Parmesan actually tasted better then the Italian restaurants, but I'm slightly bias.. The eggplant was crispy on the outside and soft inside. It wasn't too chewy and definitely not soggy. Jake still has it in his head that he hates eggplant but he did eat a few pieces :)

The trick to making sure the eggplant doesn't come out soggy is to make sure you "weep it" after you cut it in order to remove some of the moisture. I salted both sides of the eggplant and left them on a paper towel to "weep" for about 20-30 minutes.

Once you see some pools of liquid, wipe off the salt and moisture.

Recipe adapted from Bakin and Eggs:

1 eggplant cut into 1/4 inch rounds

1 1/2 cups Italian panko bread crumbs

1 cup flour

1 egg beat plus a splash of water

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1 cup mozzarella cheese

2 tbs olive oil

2 tbs salt

"Weep" the eggplant for 30 minutes then wipe off salt and moisture. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Dredge each piece of eggplant in flour, then transfer to egg wash, and finally coat with a mixture of Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs. Lay on a wire rack that has been sprayed with non stick cooking spray. Brush the tops of eggplants with olive oil and bake for 15 minutes. Flip the eggplants and continue baking for 15 minutes. Top each eggplant with mozzarella cheese and bake until melted (about 3 minutes).

I served mine over spaghetti :)

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 :)

Week 7 Runs

Tuesday I got home from work, put on my running clothes, and headed out the door for my run. I tried the mapmyrun.com site and found a new 2.3 mile loop that was pretty interesting. I ran by one historical site for the old Glebe House which served as a parish since the 1700s. Pretty good run all in all :)

Friday rolled around faster then I anticipated and I decided to hit the gym after work. I ran 2 miles on the treadmill in 18:10 minutes. I had some extra energy and walked at a 3.5 mph speed at an incline for .25 miles and then sprinted .25 miles at a 7.5 pace. I hung around the gym and did some weights and such after. I'm glad I did since pizza and quite a few beers followed once we met up some friends to watch the Virginia Tech basketball game (which we won!!).

My long run was once again side tracked by a ski trip. Jake, our friend Josh, and I decided to head up to Liberty Ski Resort on Saturday to get in one last ski trip before the season ended. The weather was warm and sunny but the conditions were on the slushy side to say the least. It was like trying to ski on a Slurpee. The trip was still fun and we stayed out for almost 8 hours. I also had made a deal with Jake that I would give snow boarding a shot by the end of the season. I stuck to my word and actually was able to stand up, stop, and slightly steer by the end of Jake's lesson :) I think I'll give it another shot next year.
 Anyways, the combination of the long time on the slopes and the hard to ski slush pretty much made my legs jello for the rest of the weekend and I had to forgo my long run on Sunday. It wasn't a total loss though. With my extra time, I did make some chocolate coconut cupcakes to bring to a our friends' Sunday dinner. I'll post the recipe later this week :)