Cupcake Project

Limoncello Snow Cones

noreply@blogger.com (Stef) — Fri, 25 May 2012 03:02:00 +0000

This post on limoncello snow cones concludes the trio of limoncello recipes I've served up this week. The first two recipes (limoncello floats and limoncello cupcakes based on the floats) both used ice cream. But, on a sticky, smoldering day, nothing beats plain old ice - gritty, crunchy, and so cold that you can only handle a little bit at a time. Grownup limoncello snow cones made with a refreshing minty limoncello syrup are worlds more sophisticated (and tasty) than plain ice cubes, more natural than the bright blue stuff you'll find at your local snow cone stand, and a totally chic way to end a cocktail party (or any adult gathering) on a summer's eve.

How to Make Limoncello Snow Cones

To make limoncello snow cones, or any snow cones for that matter, you need something that can turn ice into snow. For this, there are several options:

Coming in at around $25, there is the classic Snoopy Sno-Cone Machine. I've never owned one, but I posted about it on the Cupcake Project Facebook page last night and some said they loved it, while others said that it didn't work that well and was too much effort.

For just about the same price, you can get a less fun looking, but (according to the reviews) more functional ice shaver from Hamilton Beach.

Or, you could do what I did, and buy a $500 Vitamix blender. OK - I didn't buy this blender just to shave ice, but it was this recipe that pushed me over the edge to make the purchase. I knew that I was going to buy one eventually (our blender was on the outs and I had heard countless raves about Vitamix). Since I was going to get one at some point, I figured now was as good a time as any - no need to buy a snow cone machine that I would be giving away once I got a blender powerful enough to shave ice.

Once you've shaved your ice, you'll need some snow cone cups. Sure, you could use any cups or glasses. But, a snow cone is not really a snow cone unless a cone is involved. The cones were surprisingly hard to find. Some of the snow cone machines come with cones. Of course, my Vitamix did not. I tracked down plain white ones at Williams-Sonoma, but I also adore the stripey ones on Amazon (shown above).

Snow cones are typically served with special snow cone straws (shown with the cups above), but I opted to serve mine with cute wooden spoons from Sucre Shop.

OK, you've got your ice in cones and you've got your straws/spoons; now, all you need to do is to pour limoncello syrup all over them! See my limoncello cupcake post to learn how to make limoncello syrup.

Have fun and stay cool!

Limoncello Float Cupcakes

noreply@blogger.com (Stef) — Wed, 23 May 2012 19:35:00 +0000

Summer to me means ice cream cupcakes - look out next week for the announcement about the 2012 Ice Cream Cupcake Contest. To get the party started, I created this limoncello float cupcake inspired by my limoncello ice cream floats. The limoncello cupcakes have melted vanilla bean ice cream and limoncello right in the batter - making for a very vanilla cupcake with a light, lemon finish. Just before serving, the limoncello cupcakes are drizzled with a limoncello mint syrup and topped with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. The limoncello cupcakes can be a refreshing afternoon treat, a sophisticated end to an adult affair, or your reward for a rough day at work. Dig in!

Limoncello Float Cupcakes Recipe

The limoncello cupcake recipe is an original, but I used the limoncello syrup recipe from A Zest for Life.

Yield: 16 cupcakes

Limoncello Syrup Ingredients:

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons limoncello

Limoncello Cupcake Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1 3/4 cups cake flour, not self-rising
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
zest from two medium-sized lemons
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup full-fat sour cream
1/4 cup canola oil or vegetable oil
1/4 cup limoncello
2/3 cup melted vanilla bean ice cream (I used Häagen-Dazs® five ice cream)
Vanilla bean ice cream for topping, as much as you'd like (I used Häagen-Dazs® five ice cream)

Limoncello Syrup Instructions:

Bring sugar and water to a boil in a small saucepan on medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar in the water.
Reduce heat to a simmer.
Add mint leaves.
Press on mint leaves with a wooden spoon to release their flavor.
Simmer for two minutes.
Remove from heat and mix in the limoncello.
Strain out the mint leaves and cool the syrup to room temperature.

Limoncello Cupcake Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, mix together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest.
Add the sugar and mix until well combined.
Add butter and mix on medium-low speed for three minutes. Because there is so little butter, you'll end up with a very fine crumb texture.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, sour cream, oil, and limoncello until smooth.
Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined.
Slowly add melted ice cream and mix on low speed until just combined. The batter will be liquid. (Don't worry, you didn't do anything wrong. It's supposed to be that way.)
Fill cupcake liners just over half full.
Bake for 14 minutes and then test to see if they are done. They are done when a toothpick comes out without wet batter stuck to it. They should not turn a golden brown. If they are not done, test again in two minutes. If they are still not done, test again in another two minutes.
When the cupcakes are done, remove them immediately from the tins and leave them on a cooling rack (or just on your counter if you don't own a cooling rack) to cool.
When ready to serve, use a spoon to make a small divot in the top of each cupcake. Feel free to eat the parts you are scooping out - no one will know except us.
Spoon a couple of teaspoons of limoncello syrup into each divot.
Set a scoop of ice cream into the divot and serve immediately.

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a stipend and free Häagen-Dazs® ice cream.

Limoncello Ice Cream Floats

noreply@blogger.com (Stef) — Mon, 21 May 2012 02:17:00 +0000

I've always been a fan of ice cream floats. The many decisions (ice cream first, soda first, or everything together; use the spoon or the straw; mix the ice cream up to make it melt or let big chunks float on top) make ice cream floats an event, not just another liquid in a glass. As a kid, my favorite ice cream float combination was vanilla cream soda with a scoop of chocolate ice cream (if you've never tried it, you must!).

Why we don't see adult floats more often? Bar menus often feature boozy shakes and frozen drinks, but floats are few and far between. I decided to make one myself: a limoncello float.

A bubbly limoncello cocktail is a refreshing summer drink all on its own. Add a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and your limoncello float may get you rethinking root beer's greatness. Tart, tangy, sweet, cold, and eye-catching - this drink has it all.

How to Make a Limoncello Float

I based the bubbly limoncello drink on the recipe for Limoncello Sparkle Cocktail from FabFood. The only major change that I made to the drink portion was to switch out the Cointreau for Grand Marnier.

Yield: 1 limoncello float

Ingredients:

1 ounce chilled limoncello (You can purchase it or make homemade limoncello.)
1/2 ounce Grand Marnier
enough Champagne to fill the rest of the glass
As much vanilla bean ice cream as you'd like (I used Häagen-Dazs® five ice cream)

Directions:

Pour limoncello and Grand Marnier into a tall glass.
Add as much champagne as you need to fill the rest of the glass.
Perch a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on the edge of the glass.
Enjoy!

Tips:

I used a tiny measuring cup from OXO to measure the alcohol in this recipe. It made it so easy! A friend left the measuring cup at my house and I haven't had a chance to return it. I figured that since it's already here, I may as well put it to use. :)
It's helpful to have some tall ice cream spoons to use for floats. This is not an item that most people own, but it's cheap and fun! Splurge!

Häagen-Dazs®

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a stipend and free Häagen-Dazs® ice cream.

I've always enjoyed Häagen-Dazs®, so participating in the program was a bit of a no-brainer (I don't work with companies whose products I don't personally like). My father has a Chinese New Year tradition where he purchases eight or nine different Häagen-Dazs® flavors and samples them. Does this have anything to do with Chinese New Year? Nope! But, I can get behind any holiday celebrated with ice cream. I've had the pleasure of tasting/delighting in MANY Häagen-Dazs® flavors and still remember how fun it was to try the Green Tea ice cream at the Häagen-Dazs® in Japan (at the time, it was harder to find green tea ice cream here so it was a major novelty).

While I adore so many Häagen-Dazs® flavors (throughout my childhood, we regularly had a pint of Vanilla Swiss almond in our freezer - I still love it!), I wanted to feature one of their "five" flavors; these are the Häagen-Dazs® flavors that only have five ingredients. The vanilla bean ice cream that I used contains only skim milk, cream, sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla. I appreciate its simplicity and deliciousness.

Coming Soon

Look for a cupcake version of the limoncello float soon!

Cupcakewurst

noreply@blogger.com (Stef) — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:15:00 +0000

What would happen if, instead of stuffing a sausage casing with meat (or meat substitute), you stuffed it with cupcake batter? I had to try!

I baked them and ended up with chocolate cupcake sausage - Cupcakewurst.

I couldn't leave well enough alone, though:

That's right, I threw the Cupcakewurst on the grill! I kept them on there for just a minute or two on each side to heat the cake up.

But, a sausage needs a bun and some ketchup...

...so I stuck the Cupcakewurst inside of a Long John doughnut (a big, long doughnut) and squirted some raspberry topping over it.

Welcome to BBQ season!

How to Make Cupcakewurst

It took a lot of experimentation to conquer Cupcakewurst. I had hoped to be able to cook the Cupcakewurst entirely on the grill, but I found that the direct heat of the grill was more than the poor sausages could handle - they kept exploding and meeting their demise on the coals. I had the same problem in the oven: when I cooked the Cupcakewurst at the standard cupcake baking temperature of 350 F, they kept bursting open. I finally found the sweet spot of baking at 325 F and only filling the casings halfway. Even so, some of the casings still got small holes in them during baking. At 325 F, however, the cake cooked enough before the casings broke that only a small amount of batter oozed out through the holes. The small mess could easily be wiped up and the sausages were all usable.

This was my first time working with sausage casing and I found it to be really fun! It's a cross between a giant slippery noodle and a condom. It's stretchy and (comments above about it popping in the oven aside) fairly hard to accidentally break.

Ingredients:

Edible sausage casing for as many sausages as you'd like to make. You'll need 12 inches of casing for each sausage. If you ask your local butcher, they should be able to tell you where to buy casing.
Cupcake (or cake) batter (about a 1/4 cup of batter per sausage). You can use any flavor you'd like. Wouldn't it be fun to use a red velvet cake and get more of a hot dog kind of look?
Long John doughnuts for the buns (make sure that they aren't filled). You should be able to find these at most doughnut shops, or you can try your hand at making homemade Long John doughnuts.
Raspberry sauce for the ketchup (I mashed raspberries and then heated and thickened them with some corn starch and sugar.)

Directions:

1. Begin by prepping the sausage casing. I found the video below to be extremely helpful in explaining that process.

2. Measure and cut off 12 inches of casing.

3. Tie one end of the casing into a tight knot.

4. Fill a sandwich bag or pastry bag with cupcake batter and cut a small hole in the end (no need to use a pastry tip).

5. Stick the pastry bag into the open side of the casing and work the casing partially up the bag.

6. Hold the casing in place with one hand and squeeze the pastry bag with the other hand, filling the casing half full. If you push all of the batter to one side of the casing, the batter should take up five inches of the casing (I know that five isn't half of twelve, but remember that some of the casing is taken up with knots).

7. Squeeze out any air bubbles and tie off the other end of the casing.

8. Place the sausage on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a Silpat. Spread the batter out in the casing so that it is evenly distributed.

9. Fill and tie off all of the remaining sausages.

10. Bake for 15 minutes at 325 F.

11. Flip the sausages and bake for another 15 minutes.

12. Remove from the oven. If any of the sausages burst open, wipe off (and eat) the cooked cupcake batter that spilled out.

13. Refrigerate until it's time for your BBQ (ideally within 3 days of making the Cupcakewurst).

14. When it's time for dessert at the BBQ, make sure that the grill is not scorching hot. Cook each Cupcakewurst for two minutes on each side to warm (if the grill is too hot or if you keep them on for too long, the casings will burn and tear).

15. Serve warm on Long John doughnuts with raspberry sauce.

Muffin Tin Chef Signed Copy Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Stef) — Tue, 15 May 2012 01:32:00 +0000

Last week, I shared two recipes inspired by Matt Kadey's book, Muffin Tin Chef: potato and egg cupcakes and stuffed French toast cupcakes. This week, I'm giving away a signed copy of the book so one lucky reader can explore 99 other ideas!

I'm using Rafflecopter to run this giveaway. It's something new to me (you may have seen it on other blogs), and I hope that you will find it simple to use. Let me know what you think in the comments! a Rafflecopter giveaway

French Toast Cupcakes Stuffed with Peaches and Mascarpone

noreply@blogger.com (Stef) — Fri, 11 May 2012 00:28:00 +0000

For my second recipe inspired by Muffin Tin Chef (my first was potato and egg cupcakes, a cupcake version of Matt's Parmesan hashbrowns), I put the Cupcake Project spin on his French toast made in muffin cups. I stuffed the French toast with brown sugar coated peaches and mascarpone cheese and topped them with fresh whipped cream and edible flowers.

Although I developed this stuffed French toast recipe with a traditional family Mother's Day brunch in mind, it was the gaggle of gals in my book club that got to enjoy these stuffed French toast cupcakes - with wine, cheese, and crackers on a crisp evening in a friend's yard. Most of the conversation that night centered around our lives as women and mothers (we were discussing The Awakening, considered to be one of the first feminist novels). Reflecting on the night, sharing Mother's Day cupcakes with my peers while discussing motherhood seems like such a fitting way to celebrate the holiday - so much so that I am considering making Mother's Day with friends a secondary tradition (I'm not giving up the family one, of course).

Whether you savor these cupcakes with your mom or any moms in your life, have a happy Mother's Day!

For the stuffed French toast cupcakes recipe, head to Paula Deen's website. I'm a regular contributor to Paula Deen's site, and this month I've shared these cupcakes with her readers.

Cookies Made with Hard-Boiled Egg Whites - It Works and It's Fantastic!

noreply@blogger.com (Stef) — Wed, 09 May 2012 23:49:00 +0000

I love a chocolate chip cookie that lives in the sweet spot between hard and crispy and soft and chewy - a cookie that is good with a glass of milk (but doesn't require one) and that gently crumbles in my mouth, but doesn't fall apart in my hand if I hug it too hard. These chocolate chip cookies fit the bill. Their flavor - sweet and salty with just the right amount of chips - hits the mark as well.

The taste and texture aren't the only things that set these chocolate chip cookies apart from the crowd; it's their surprising ingredient - hard-boiled egg whites - that makes them so unique! The egg whites dissolve during baking so your unsuspecting eaters will never know they were there. I can't profess to understand all of the science behind why the hard-boiled egg whites give these cookies such a stellar texture, but I can say that surprisingly, using them works.

Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

I had a handful of hard-boiled egg whites left over after making my deviled egg frosting and I didn't want them to go to waste. A Google search led me to a recipe on my favorite cookie blog, Cookie Madness, for chocolate chip cookies made with hard-boiled eggs. Perfect! I took Anna's recipe and adapted it to work with just the whites of the hard-boiled eggs. If you have a whole hard-boiled egg on hand and don't want to make deviled egg frosting, then you may want to try her chocolate chip cookie recipe as written.
Here is my chocolate chip cookie recipe adapted from Cookie Madness.

Yield: 30 small cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
whites from 1 1/2 hard-boiled eggs, broken into small pieces
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons whole milk
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Using an electric mixer, beat butter on high speed until you have a bowl full of little butter crumbles.
Mix in flour until completely combined with the butter. You'll now have slightly larger crumbles.
Mix in the salt and baking soda.
Mix in the sugar, brown sugar, and hard-boiled egg whites. Don't expect to see the egg whites disappear. You'll be able to see them until the cookies bake.
Mix in the vanilla extract and milk.
Fold in the chocolate chips.
Roll dough into small balls (or big ones if you like bigger cookies) and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or a Silpat.
Bake for 20 minutes or until the bottoms are slightly browned.

Cupcakes with Hard-Boiled Egg Whites

Of course, I had to wonder whether cupcake recipes made with hard-boiled egg whites would also turn out well. I took my Ultimate Vanilla Cupcake recipe and replaced the two eggs with two and a half hard-boiled egg whites and added them with the dry ingredients. The texture of the cupcake wasn't quite as good as the original, but it worked! People still loved the cupcakes and no one suspected the hard-boiled egg. If I had left over hard-boiled eggs, I wouldn't hesitate to use them in cupcakes.

Potato and Egg Cupcakes

noreply@blogger.com (Stef) — Tue, 08 May 2012 20:02:00 +0000

I recently received a review copy of the book Muffin Tin Chef by Matt Kadey. If I wrote the book, I would have called it Cupcake Tin Chef. Other than that, I wouldn't have changed a thing. The book is filled with ideas (and when I say filled, I mean that there are 101 ideas there) for sweet and savory dishes to make in cute single-serving sizes. I've loved Matt's blog, Muffin Tin Mania, for years, and the book is now a valued addition to my collection.

This week, I'm going to feature two recipes that I've made inspired by Muffin Tin Chef (I've also got a book giveaway coming soon!). Matt wrote an entire chapter just on brunch muffin tin recipes. Since brunch is my favorite meal (seriously, does it get any better than brunch?), I focused my energies there.

Matt's Parmesan hash browns caught my eye right away - you can't go wrong with carbs and cheese! But, since Matt is talking muffins and I'm talking cupcakes, I knew mine were going to need some frosting. I took his Parmesan hash brown muffins an extra step and topped them with deviled egg frosting (a sweet twist on deviled eggs). With Mother's Day coming soon, these potato and egg cupcakes might be just the thing to start Mom's morning off right.

Potato and Egg Cupcake Recipe

This recipe is heavily adapted from the Parmesan hash browns in Muffin Tin Chef.

Yield: 6 cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 pound shredded potatoes (about 2 cups)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon oil (I used truffle oil, because I've got a mega crush on truffles.)
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
deviled egg frosting (see my post on deviled egg frosting for the recipe)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 F.
Mix all ingredients except the frosting in a medium-sized mixing bowl.
Spray 6 of the wells in a cupcake tin with non-stick cooking spray.
Press potato mixture firmly into each well, filling them all the way to the top.
Bake for 45 minutes or until the edges start to brown.
Frost with deviled egg frosting and serve warm.

Deviled Egg Frosting

noreply@blogger.com (Stef) — Mon, 07 May 2012 03:00:00 +0000

The best part of deviled eggs (if you like them at all - they are definitely a love/hate food) is the whipped up yolk. The whites serve only as a rubbery delivery mechanism for yolky goodness. Why must deviled eggs be served on egg whites? Why can't they be served on, say, cupcakes? They can!

Like its savory counterpart, deviled egg frosting starts with hard boiled egg yolks. But, instead of lightening them up with mayonnaise, the frosting uses heavy whipping cream. It's sweetened with the addition of powdered sugar and thickened with butter. The classic deviled egg topper, paprika, is mixed into the frosting, providing a little kick - and in my case, smokiness (I used a smoked variety of paprika). The end result is a frosting like none other. Because of all of the egg yolks, it's like eating a thick custard. I'd devour a cup of this frosting straight up, but it is frosting, after all, and you may be wondering what flavors to pair it with.

What To Frost With Deviled Egg Frosting

Deviled egg frosting pairs best with basic vanilla, something lemony, or possibly chocolate (I haven't tried it, but I think it would work). Deviled egg frosting need not be limited to cupcakes. It would be stellar on any brunch plate - over waffles, pancakes, French toast, or hash browns (look for an upcoming post with more on using deviled egg frosting with hash browns).

What to do With Leftover Hard Boiled Egg Whites

When you are done making deviled egg frosting, you'll be left with many hard boiled egg whites. There is no need to toss them. You could cut them up and eat them in a salad. Or, you can bake with them. Say what? Yes, you can actually bake cupcakes and cookies using hard boiled egg whites - more on that in a future post.

Deviled Egg Frosting Recipe

Yield: Enough frosting for 12 cupcakes if you keep the frosting swirls small. Double the recipe for big swirls of happiness.

Ingredients:

12 large eggs
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Directions

Hard boil the eggs. Don't be embarrassed if you don't know how to do this. I had to look it up.

Put the eggs in a big pot filled with cold water.
Heat the pot on high heat until the water boils.
Once it boils, turn off the heat (but don't take the pot off the burner), and cover the pot.
Leave the covered pot on the burner for 12 minutes.
Uncover the pot, dump out the water, and fill it with cold water to stop the eggs from cooking.
Crack the egg shells and peel them off.

Cut the hard boiled eggs in half and place all of the yolks into a small bowl. You won't need the egg whites, so refrigerate them to use in another recipe or to snack on late at night if there is absolutely nothing else around.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy - about 3 minutes.
Add the yolks and heavy whipping cream to the butter and mix until smooth.
Slowly mix in the powdered sugar.
Mix in the salt and paprika.
Spread or pipe on cooled cupcakes or use however your heart desires.
Optionally, sprinkle paprika on top of frosting for an authentic look.

Coffee-Rubbed Pork Tacos on Homemade Chocolate Corn Tortillas

noreply@blogger.com (Stef) — Sat, 05 May 2012 20:10:00 +0000

It all started with some leftover masa harina (special corn flour that I used to make chocolate tamale cupcakes). I couldn't let that big bag of flour go to waste, so I decided use some of it to make corn tortillas with a hint of chocolate. Then, of course, I needed something to go in the tortillas. Coffee-rubbed pork tenderloin seemed like just the thing - and my husband Jonathan, who does most of the cooking in our household, was just the man to prepare it.

The coffee-rubbed pork tenderloin that Jonathan created is simple to prepare, but wow, is it good. The meat is juicy with a prominent coffee flavor and a hint of some of the other spices: a blend of cayenne pepper, cumin, cinnamon, garlic powder, and onion powder. Although the slight sweetness of the chocolate in the tortilla is a fitting complement to pork, I would recommend this pork recipe with any type of tortilla or even on its own.

Coffee-Rubbed Pork Tacos Recipe

Note: Jonathan uses the 7-6-5 method (modified for the stove) to cook the pork. If you are interested in learning more about the method, check out the article on the 7-6-5 method on Fine Cooking.

Yield: 12 small tacos
Ingredients

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 tablespoons ground coffee
2 pieces pork tenderloin, each about one pound
12 tortillas (ideally homemade corn tortillas with a hint of chocolate)
pickled onions or diced red onions, to taste
Cotija cheese or other Mexican cheese, to taste
fresh cilantro, to taste
limes, for garnish

Directions:

Place the pork in a baking dish.
In a small bowl, mix the cayenne pepper. kosher salt, pepper, cumin, cinnamon, garlic powder, onion powder, and ground coffee.
Rub spice mix on all sides of the meat.
Cover the baking dish and refrigerate for a minimum of two hours.
Remove from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature (about twenty minutes).
Heat a large heavy-bottomed skillet (preferably cast iron) on high heat.
Add meat to skillet and cook for seven minutes. Do not touch the meat during this time.
Flip the meat and cook for six minutes. Again, do not touch the meat while it cooks.
Remove the skillet from the heat.
Cover and let sit for five minutes.
Remove meat from the skillet and let rest for five minutes.
Thinly slice the meat and serve on warm tortillas topped with pickled onions, crumbled Cotija cheese, and cilantro.
Garnish with lime wedges.

Homemade Corn Tortillas with a Hint of Chocolate

noreply@blogger.com (Stef) — Thu, 03 May 2012 13:57:00 +0000

Although these homemade corn tortillas are chocolate corn tortillas, don't expect them to taste like dessert. The chocolate is very subtle and serves only to give the tortillas a more robust flavor. Chocolate tortillas would pair well with dessert fillings like peanut butter and banana or strawberries and chocolate. But, as you'll see in an upcoming post, I filled mine with coffee rubbed pork.

Chocolate Corn Tortillas Recipe

My recipe for chocolate corn tortillas is an adaptation of the corn tortillas recipe on AllRecipes.

Yield: One dozen corn tortillas

Ingredients:

1 1/2 ounces Abuelita chocolate (a Mexican chocolate made by Nestle containing sugar, cocoa, and cinnamon)
1 3/4 cups masa harina (corn flour treated with lime and water)
1 cup water

Directions:

Heat Abuelita until soft. I did this using 20 second intervals in the microwave. But, you could also soften it in a double boiler on the stove top.
In a medium-sized bowl, mix masa harina, water, and softened chocolate.
Turn dough out to a clean and dry surface. Knead until pliable and smooth. You may need to add a little more water or masa harina to get the texture correct.
Cover dough tightly in plastic wrap and let sit for thirty minutes.
Heat a skillet on medium heat.
Break off a small ball of dough.
Fold a large piece of parchment paper in half.
Place the dough ball in the middle of the folded parchment paper.
Roll the dough as thin as you can get it. The parchment paper really is key in this step. I tried rolling the dough without it and it stuck to the rolling pin and kept falling apart. If you have a tortilla press, use that instead of a rolling pin.
Transfer rolled dough to the hot skillet.
Cook for about 30 seconds and then flip.
Cook for another 30 seconds and turn out to a plate.
Repeat steps 6-12 to cook all of the tortillas.
Eat warm with your favorite filling.

On Chocolate and Corn

When I posted about my chocolate tamale cupcakes, a few people seemed off-put by the combination of chocolate and corn. Although it may sound unique, you've probably had the pairing before. Have you enjoyed chocolate-covered popcorn (love it!!) or gone coo-coo for Cocoa Puffs? Some of you may have even tried chocolate peanut butter Bugles.

St. Louis Food Blogger Bake Sale Recap and an Online Bake Sale Going On Now

noreply@blogger.com (Stef) — Wed, 02 May 2012 14:06:00 +0000

I came home from the St. Louis Food Blogger Bake Sale for Share Our Strength with a sugar high (from snacking all day on the best baked goods in town), a stash of baked goods that I simply couldn't consume during the sale, and a pile of money ready to be counted.

Our goal for the sale was to beat last year's number of $800. Although we had a busy day, there were lots of lulls (were they due to the Cardinals game or the looming storm?). I feared that we hadn't come close to the $800.

Clearly, I was too busy chatting it up with the other awesome volunteers, bakers, and shoppers, and playing with my favorite shopper (above) to notice just how many sales we had made. I piled the dollars on my kitchen counter, counted, re-counted, re-counted, and re-counted again. $975!! I was in awe! Even with that number, we still had a lot of baked goods that had gone unsold. We sent them Perennial Artisan Ales (a local brewery) who generously offered to give them to their patrons that evening and collect donations. They collected another $25 for us, pushing us to an even $1000!! Woohoo! We still had a few baked goods left over (not too many) and those were donated to the St. Louis Crisis Nursery.

Kimberly and I owe a HUGE thank you to so many people for making the day a success. But, before I get on with the lengthy thank you list, I want to point your attention to another bake sale happening online right now. The Food Bloggers Bake Sale for Hope is an online auction. Winners will be mailed baked goods from bloggers around the nation. You have until the end of the day today (May 2) to bid.

Now, on to the thank yous! Let's start with all of our incredible bakers. Go check out their blogs; these folks have talent!

I'm sorry that we couldn't have a photo of everyone's baked goods. If we missed yours, it is not a reflection on the quality of your product. Also, we tried to get everyone's contributions on the list, but if we overlooked yours somehow, please let me know so I can add you to the list!

Our bakers:

Stacy Anderson - Every Little Thing
Brown Butter Brownies

Laura Beaver - Food Snob St. Louis
Cinnamon Roll Cookies and Boozy Banana Bread

Amrita Rawat - The Sweet Art
Salted Chocolate and Raspberry Key Lime Macarons

Julie Edmonds - Inkredible Stamping
Pressed Sugar Cookies and Cherry Date Nut Bread

Nupur Kittur - One Hot Stove
Jammy Thumbprint Cookies and Savory Samosa Puffs

Vicki Bensinger - At Home with Vicki Bensinger
Sugar Cookies with Buttercream Frosting

Amy Burdge - Eat It, St. Louis
Apple Cinnamon and Blueberry Hand Pies

Rachel Bates - Crazy Cupcake Girl
Peanut Butter, Jelly, and Potato Chip Cupcakes

Sandia Hoormann - Bite of Life STL
What's Shakin' Ma'con and Caramel Sutra Cupcakes

Elizabeth Cowie - Eating Local in the Lou
Rosemary-Lemon Cookies

Natalie McLaury - The Sweets Life
Chocolate Chip Blondies and Zucchini Bread

Stephanie Tolle - Iron Stef
Chocolate Salty Balls and Dulce de Leche Cookies

Tony Busekrus - TonyLovesFood
Apple and Mixed Berry Mini Pies, Rustic White Bread, and Smoked Pugliese Bread

Krista Wampler - Bake Me Away
Chocolate Caramel Thumbprint Cookies and White Chocolate Raspberry Cookies

Amy Trapp - Special Treats
Rocky Road Cake Pops

Kimberly Henricks - Rhubarb and Honey
Chocolate Cranberry Crispies

Nancy Pollack
Peanut Butter Cookies

Eleanor Bergquist
Cherry Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies

LaTia Thomas
Chocolate Ripple Cupcakes and Drunken Cheesy Muffins

Laura Kuentzler
Chocolate Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting

Stefani Pollack (me) - Cupcake Project
Chocolate Peanut Butter Hi-Hat Cupcakes and Brown Butter Cupcakes

Our volunteers:

From let to right: Sandia, Tony, Kimberly, the other Stef, and me

Thanks also goes out to our awesome volunteers: Sandia, Tony, Stef, and Elizabeth (sorry you didn't get in the photo). We couldn't have done it without you!

Our host:

Sappington Farmers' Market has been our gracious host for the past two years. We truly appreciate their hospitality and the wonderful gift basket full of goodies that they donated!

Our evening host:

Perennial Artisan Ales gladly responded to our last-minute plea to help sell baked goods to the evening crowd. We are grateful for their participation!

My partner in crime:

Thanks to Kimberly, without whom this may have never happened and whose company I still enjoy after an entire day and evening together.

I'm looking forward to working with everyone again next year!!

How to Turn Cookie Dough Into Frosting

noreply@blogger.com (Stef) — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 19:46:00 +0000

I've posted about cookie dough frosting before (see my posts on chocolate chip cookie dough frosting and peanut butter cookie dough frosting), but did you know that you can easily create your own cookie dough frosting out of any cookie dough? The next time that you bake cookies and find yourself licking the beater, take a moment to think about how incredible that cookie dough would taste on top of a cake or cupcake. Imagine oatmeal raisin cookie dough frosting on maple cupcakes, snickerdoodle cookie dough frosting on pumpkin cupcakes, or shortbread cookie dough frosting on apple cupcakes.

How to Turn Cookie Dough Into Frosting

Start with any cookie recipe.
If there are eggs in the recipe, leave them out. Although I eat raw cookie dough with eggs (tsk, tsk) all of the time, you can get sick from raw eggs.
Remove any baking powder or baking soda from the recipe. These are in the recipe to help the cookies rise. Since you aren't baking cookies, you don't need leavening agents.
Remove any mix-ins from the recipe. Instead of mixing raisins, chocolate chips, dried fruit, etc., into your cookie dough, sprinkle them on top of the cookie dough frosting as decoration.
Mix all remaining ingredients together in a large bowl. Don't worry about the order that you add the ingredients. Since you aren't baking the cookies, the specific recipe instructions don't matter.
Evaluate the thickness of the batter. If it's too thin (unlikely since most cookie batters are thick), add flour a tablespoon at a time until the batter is a good consistency to pipe. If the batter is too thick, add milk a tablespoon at a time until the batter is a good consistency to pipe.
Pipe or spread on cooled cupcakes or cake.

I don't promise that this method will work for every single cookie dough out there, but it should work with most of them. I'd love to hear what recipes you experiment with and how they come out. Leave a comment on this post or share photos on the Cupcake Project Facebook page.

Chocolate Tamale Cupcakes for Cinco de Mayo

noreply@blogger.com (Stef) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 18:40:00 +0000

When I was a shy girl in pigtails, I collected stickers in my gold vinyl sticker book. I would regularly flip through the book admiring my latest puffy unicorn or scratch 'n' sniff Strawberry Shortcake, deciding which stickers to keep and which ones to trade with a friend. I still love stickers; there is something so tactile about them in today's world of screens. My son and I add one each night to the wall calendar by his bed to reveal the next day's plans.

These days, I have an intangible collection - recipe ideas stored in a file on my computer. Although the collection has no monetary value, scrolling through it and imagining cupcakes to come brings me the joy of a new Smurfette sticker. I build my collection daily after getting out of the shower, coming home from a great dinner, chatting with you on Cupcake Project's Facebook page, or spending way too much time on Pinterest.

This summer, I went to a taste of Mexico dinner at Milagro Modern Mexican Cuisine put on by Slow Food St. Louis. I was blown away by the chocolate tamale - a chocolate-filled version of the classic Mexican dish made by steaming corn dough stuffed with meats, cheeses, or veggies in a corn husk. This dish took a prized place in my collection, and I knew I would be making tamale cupcakes for Cinco de Mayo!

In my chocolate tamale cupcakes (based on the lovely recipe for chocolate tamales on Homesick Texan), I sweetened the corn dough with brown sugar, spiced it with vanilla, cinnamon, and cloves, mixed rum-soaked raisins into the corn, and filled the tamales with spiced Mexican chocolate. Even though these chocolate tamale cupcakes are clearly dessert, it's hard to avoid making an entire meal out of them, when they are are served warm with a dollop of sour cream sprinkled cinnamon.

Unique Ingredients

The chocolate tamale cupcakes call for two ingredients that you may not be familiar with:

Masa harina is a very specific type of corn flour used for making tortillas and tamales. You can find an excellent description of masa harina on TLC. If you can't find masa harina at a local Mexican grocer, you can purchase masa harina online.
Abuelita is a Mexican chocolate made by Nestle with sugar, cocoa, and cinnamon. If you don't want to buy Abuelita, you can use an equal amount of chocolate chips instead.

Chocolate Tamale Cupcakes Recipe

As I mentioned above, my chocolate tamale cupcakes recipe is an adaptation of the chocolate tamale recipe created by Homesick Texan. The recipe with my adaptations is below.

Yield: 12 chocolate tamale cupcakes

Ingredients:

12 dried corn husks (plus a few extras in case you accidentally rip one in the process)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 cups masa harina
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1 cup milk
1/4 cup raisins (Leave the raisins out entirely if you don't like them, or soak the raisins in 2 tablespoons of rum for a more grown-up taste.)
2 ounces Abuelita
Sour cream (optional for frosting)

Directions:

Place the corn husks in a pot filled with water and submerge until completely covered. Soak for 20 minutes or until soft and pliable. You don't have to worry about over-soaking - so you can do this step the night before you if you'd like.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, mix the butter and brown sugar until fluffy.
In a separate medium-sized mixing bowl, mix together the masa harina, cinnamon, vanilla, ground cloves, and salt.
Stir the water and milk into the corn mixture until it becomes a moist paste.
Add the corn mixture to the creamed butter and sugar and whip until fluffy. Optionally, stir in the raisins.
Cut off a square-ish piece of corn husk just larger than a cupcake liner.
Press corn husk into a silicone liner. It's OK if the husk doesn't quite hold the shape - once you add the filling, its weight will hold the husk down. Although you will not be baking the cupcakes in a cupcake tin, I found it easier to do the prep work with the liners in a tin.
Fill the husk halfway with the corn mixture, packing it down firmly with your fingers.
Drop a piece of Abuelita (about 1/8 ounce - but you don't need to weigh it) into the center of the corn mixture.
Fill the husk to the top with more corn mixture.
Cut a small square of corn husk and lay it over the top of the corn mixture.
Repeat steps 6-11 for all of the cupcakes.
Steam the cupcakes. I steamed my cupcakes in a bamboo steamer placed over a large skillet (shown in the photo at the beginning of this section). The nice thing about using a bamboo steamer is that there are multiple layers - allowing you to steam all of the cupcakes at once. You could also use a metal steamer basket over a pot, but it might be hard to fit all of the cupcakes inside the basket. Either way, load your cupcakes (still in the silicone wrappers) into the steamer and place them over the wok or pot filled with water just high enough so that it doesn't touch the steamer.
Bring the water to a boil and then cover the steamer and turn the heat down to medium-low.
Steam cupcakes for one and half hours for softer tamales, or two if you like your tamales more solid. Be sure to check on them periodically to ensure that there is still enough water in the wok or pot.
Remove the corn husks from the silicone liners and remove the top piece of husk from each cupcake.
Serve warm and optionally top with a dollop of sour cream and a dusting of cinnamon.
If not eating immediately, cool to room temperature. Then, cover and refrigerate. When ready to eat, microwave for a few seconds at a time to warm them.

Hummingbird Cupcakes with Pineapple Almond Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

noreply@blogger.com (Stef) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 12:02:00 +0000

It seems that outside of the South (some people think of St. Louis as the South - but we're definitely Midwest), no one has heard of hummingbird cupcakes. You are missing out!

My hummingbird cupcakes are everything that banana muffins wish they could be. The hummingbird cupcakes have a strong banana flavor, but so much more complexity. The addition of pineapple adds moisture and the sweetness of nature's candy. The cupcakes have a nutty flavor (thanks to the pecans mixed throughout), but even if you happen to get a nut-free bite (unlikely), the nut flavor will still be there; I baked my hummingbird cupcakes using almond flour rather than the more typical all-purpose flour (bonus - the almond flour means these hummingbird cupcakes are gluten-free!).

Because banana is the most intense flavor in the cupcakes, I wanted to play up the pineapple in my cream cheese frosting. When you add real pineapple (as opposed to pineapple flavor) to frosting, it tends to make the frosting too wet to pipe. The natural tendency is to add more powdered sugar to compensate - making the frosting well above sugar levels I can tolerate. For this frosting, I used almond butter as the thickener, which gave the frosting a pipeable texture (with enjoyable nutty undertones) without adding too much sweetness. I'm in love.

What are Hummingbird Cupcakes?

What is the origin of the name "hummingbird cupcakes"? There is no definitive answer, but EndlessSimmer has a nice post with some hummingbird cupcake history and a vegan hummingbird cupcake recipe.

While all hummingbird cupcakes contain banana and pineapple, there are differences. Some, like mine, have nuts (typically pecans or walnuts) while others leave them out. Sometimes, as in the case of Martha Stewart's hummingbird cupcakes found in her cupcake book and made popular by Annie's Eats, hummingbird cupcakes have coconut - giving them a more tropical feel than my version.

Hummingbird cupcakes are always frosted with cream cheese frosting. The pineapple almond butter cream cheese frosting is all my own (you didn't think I would leave well enough alone, did you?).

Hummingbird Cupcakes Recipe

Yield: 14 cupcakes

Cupcake Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 eggs
1/4 cup golden syrup (honey will also work)
2 tablespoons walnut oil (any nut or vegetable oil will work)
1 cup smashed ripe bananas, about two bananas (if you don't have ripe bananas, microwave newer bananas for a minute or so to bring out their sweetness)
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained (a can of pineapple works for this, or use chopped fresh pineapple, food process it, and strain out the excess liquid)
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Frosting Ingredients (Note: If you don't like to use a lot of frosting on your cupcakes, you could probably cut this in half):

1 cup crushed pineapple (in this case, there is no need to drain it)
1/2 cup water
4 tablespoons brown sugar
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup almond butter

Cupcake Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 F.
In a large bowl, combine almond flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon.
In a separate bowl, mix together eggs, golden syrup, and oil.
Mix bananas and pineapple into the wet ingredients.
Stir wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
Fold in the pecans.
Divide evenly between 14 cupcake liners (liners should be filled almost to the top).
Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out dry.

Frosting Directions:

Place pineapple and water in a small saucepan on medium heat.
Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.
Mix in brown sugar.
Stir occasionally and reduce the mixture for about fifteen minutes or until most of the liquid is gone.
Remove from heat and set aside to cool to room temperature.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, mix cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy (about three minutes).
Slowly mix in the powdered sugar until fully combined.
Mix in 1/2 cup of the sweetened pineapple (you may have just a little bit leftover to snack on) and the almond butter.
Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes.

Who Won The Wrappers?

Over the past few days, I've been running a contest: Guess the Flavor, Win the Wrapper. Many of you correctly guessed hummingbird cupcakes! Of those who guessed correctly, I randomly chose four winners. They are Monika Atikson, Kristen from Bake Something, elims2376, and Nicole Like. Congrats!

As for the rest of you, you can still purchase these wood paneling wrappers from NellieCakes Designs at a 15% discount - just enter the code "project15" when you check out!

Guess the Flavor to Win the Wrapper

noreply@blogger.com (Stef) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 19:57:00 +0000

Update: This contest is now closed. Follow the link for the answer and the winners.

These wood paneling wrappers from NellieCakes Designs are among the most unique and stunning cupcake wrappers I've ever seen. Nell was kind enough to send me wrappers to sample, plus she set some aside for you to win! She is also giving a 15% discount to all Cupcake Project readers - just enter the code "project15" when you check out!

How to Win Wood Paneling Cupcake Wrappers from NellieCakes Designs

The cupcakes inside these wrappers are my twist on a classic Southern cupcake flavor. For a chance to win the wrappers, leave a comment with your guess as to what the classic flavor is. To get a second guess, pin the photo from this post to Pinterest. Then, leave a comment here telling me that you pinned the photo and giving me your second guess.

Fine Print:

All entries must be received by 11:59 PM CDT on Sunday, April 22. I will reveal the answer on Monday.
There is a limit of two entries per person. You may leave one comment with your first guess and a second comment with a second guess (only if you have pinned the photo).
Everyone who correctly guesses the answer is eligible to win. I will randomly draw four winners from the pool of correct answers. If there are not four people who have correctly guessed, I will draw from all entrants to select the remaining winners.
Each winner will receive 12 wrappers.
Be sure to include contact information in your comment. I will post the winners in Monday's post and contact the winners directly. If I do not hear from the winners within one week of contacting them, I reserve the right to draw new winners.

Good luck! I can't wait to share the recipe on Monday!

Homemade Cupcake Piñata Filled with Cupcakes

noreply@blogger.com (Stef) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 03:01:00 +0000

Imagine the joy and surprise when your party goers bash into a homemade cupcake piñata and...

...are met with cupcakes raining down (protected in plastic containers)!

What About the Smashed Frosting?

I suggest leaving the frosting off of the cupcakes in the piñata. Set up a frosting station as part of your party and let kids (or adults) frost their own cupcakes after the cupcake piñata is broken. If you prefer to frost ahead of time, opt for a hard frosting or a glaze rather than a swirl - that way the frosting is less likely to get damaged.

Can't I Just Buy a Cupcake Piñata?

You can certainly buy a cupcake piñata (check out this one on Amazon - so cute!). However, doing this craft with my son was what made the whole thing special. As if playing together weren't reward enough, Tinker Lab, one of my favorite parenting blogs, recently shared a post about how sensory activities - like playing with paper - play a central role in infant and child brain activity.

Is a Homemade Cupcake Piñata Expensive?

The homemade cupcake piñata is made of paper mache - a craft where paper is shredded, dipped in glue (in my case flour and water), and molded to create a shape. The molds are removed and you are left with a hard form made only of layers of paper.

I bought almost all of the tools for making the homemade cupcake piñata at a dollar store: a bucket, two bowls, tissue paper, and pom poms. I happened to have a large roll of brown craft paper that I used for the wrapper - but you could make the wrapper using paper bags. I don't subscribe to a newspaper, so I picked up a bunch of free periodicals at the grocery store (thank you, Sauce Magazine).

How To Make a Homemade Cupcake Piñata

Time: Start this project four days before you'll need your piñata. Don't worry, there is just a little bit of work to do each day.

Supplies:

Flour
Water
A bucket (for the wrapper)
A bowl with a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the top of the bucket (for the frosting)
A smaller bowl (this will be for the cherry)
Plastic wrap
Newspaper
Scissors
Twine (to hang the piñata)
A small piece of cardboard or card stock (to secure the string)
24 unfrosted (or glazed) mini cupcakes in small plastic containers
Duct tape
Elmer's glue
Tissue paper (whatever colors you want)
Pompoms (for the sprinkles)
Brown craft paper or paper bags (for the wrapper)

Paper Mache Instructions:

In a bowl or any container you like (I used a bread tin), mix one part flour and two parts water. This creates the paste that makes the newspaper stick and harden. It doesn't matter how much you make, you can always make more as you go along.
Cover the outside of the bucket and two bowls with plastic wrap. Be thorough. The plastic wrap makes it easier to remove the paper mache from the buckets and bowls once it has dried. I missed a spot on the bucket and had to cut the bucket up in order to remove it.
Rip newspaper into strips (the size doesn't really matter).
Dip a strip into the "glue".
Run your fingers along the wet paper to remove any excess liquid.
Press the paper onto the plastic wrapped bucket.
Continue dipping paper and pressing it onto the bucket until the entire bucket is covered. Slightly overlap the strips to make the form stronger.
Repeat with both bowls and set out to dry overnight.
Your piñata will need three layers of paper mache in order to be thick enough for lots of batting before it breaks. So, once layer one is dry, repeat the process again for layer two and then again for layer three.

Tips:

I highly recommend working outside. Paper mache can get messy.


Remember, kids, the paper mache goes on the outside of the bucket, not in the bucket.

Even if you don't want to make a piñata, you can still try your hand at paper mache.
I love the way the bowl came out. Making and painting a bowl would be a great project.

Assembly Instructions:

Once the paper mache is dry, carefully remove it from the bucket and bowls.
To add the twine, use the tip of a scissor to poke a small hole in the middle of each bowl.
Place a small piece of cardboard or card stock in the larger bowl and cut a small hole in its center.
Run the twine through the small bowl, through the large bowl, and through the cardboard. Wrap the twine around the cardboard and tie it in a tight knot. The cardboard helps to ensure that the knot will stay in place.
Fill the paper mache bucket with cupcakes in plastic containers.
Duct tape the paper bowl to the paper mache bucket. This is the weakest point of the piñata. As you saw in the photo at the beginning of this post, it is where my piñata broke when it was whacked. I recommend using a LOT of duct tape. Alternately, you could take the time to paper mache the two parts together.
Duct tape the small paper mache bowl to the large paper mache bowl.

Decorating Instructions:

You'll notice in my decorating photos below that my parts were not yet duct taped together. This was a big mistake and made things much harder for me. Use the photos for decorating guidance, but definitely be sure to duct tape first.

Cut a circle of brown paper and glue it to the bottom of the bucket.

Accordion fold two sheets of brown paper - each should be able to wrap halfway around the bucket with a little extra paper so the ends can overlap without pulling the pieces taut.

Duct tape the ends of one the sheets onto your cupcake. Overlap the second sheet onto the first and glue it in place.

Crumple tissue paper and glue it onto the bowls to create the frosting and cherry.

Glue on pom pom sprinkles.

Hanging and Breaking the Piñata:

Tie the piñata to a branch and you are ready to go!

If you've got big kids, you'll probably want to blindfold them before letting them smack the cupcake. I allowed my little one to try his best with full vision. He had a blast, but he ended up needing a little bit of help.

I love the cupcake mid-air in this photo!

If you make a cupcake piñata, I'd love to see pictures and hear stories! Enjoy!

Homemade Jelly Beans - You Pick the Flavor

noreply@blogger.com (Stef) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 01:30:00 +0000

Once I conquered homemade Lucky Charms (a task that was so arduous I will never repeat it), I needed another challenge. I set my sights on homemade jelly beans. While homemade jelly beans are time-consuming to make, I learned that the process isn't that difficult. I would make homemade jelly beans again and I would encourage you to try preparing them, too. Seriously, you can do this.

When you create homemade jelly beans, you get the joy of choosing the flavor and color you'd like - any drink you fancy can be turned into a jelly bean flavor. Use juice to flavor jelly beans for a kid's party, but don't forget the adults. Grownup flavors made using your favorite cocktails allow you to get really creative. The homemade jelly beans shown above are margarita jelly beans. Serve the margarita jelly beans straight up or use them to top margarita cupcakes. Jello shots are so 2011; homemade jelly beans are where it's at!

How Do Homemade Jelly Beans Compare to Store-Bought Jelly Beans?

These homemade jelly beans are close to store-bought jelly beans, but not quite the same.

The outside: The outer coating in store-bought jelly beans is harder, smoother, thicker, and has a shinier coating than the homemade jelly beans. The coating on the homemade jelly beans turned out a little bit gritty. The next time that I make them, I might try using super fine sugar for the coating to see if that makes a difference in the grittiness.

The inside: The homemade jelly beans have a much gummier inside than the store-bought jelly beans. I would say that they are truer to the name "jelly" bean.

The flavor: You can flavor your jelly beans however you like. I liked the taste of my margarita jelly beans better than any store-bought jelly bean.

How to Make Homemade Jelly Beans

Jelly beans ready to be coated

I learned how to make homemade jelly beans from Mason Howard on eHow. Mason's recipe is below with my notes, tips, and modifications. One major change that I made was the method for coating and drying the beans.

Yield: About 150 Homemade Jelly Beans

Ingredients:

1 cup water, divided
2 cups sugar, divided
1/4 ounce gelatin
1/2 cup juice with no pulp or your favorite cocktail (Note: If you use a mild juice flavor, you may want to mix it with lemon juice to make it more tangy. I used an actual margarita for mine. If you use a margarita or other cocktail, you'll probably have some leftover to drink. Oh no! ;))
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Non-stick cooking spray
Food coloring (whatever color you'd like)

Tools and Supplies:

6 jelly bean molds (You can buy the jelly bean molds shown above on Amazon.)
Candy thermometer (I recommend the Maverick digital thermometer.)

Directions:

In a large saucepan on medium heat, combine 3/4 cup water, 1 1/4 cups sugar, and gelatin.
Bring to a boil, stirring regularly to ensure that no clumps of gelatin form.
As soon as the temperature reaches 230 F, take the pot off the burner - the syrup should still be quite liquidy. This should not take more than 25 minutes. If your syrup gets any hotter than 230 F, it will make your jelly beans too hard.
Set the pot in a bowl of ice to stop the temperature from rising. If you don't have a bowl bigger than your pot, just fill your sink with ice water and put the pot in there.
Quickly stir in the juice (or booze) and salt.
Spray the jelly bean molds with non-stick spray and pour the syrup into the molds. I found that it was better to overfill the molds than to underfill them. The beans that I underfilled a little bit were harder to remove from the molds.
Let the jelly beans sit for four to six hours, or until the gelatin has hardened. It will still be gummy and sticky.
Pop the jelly beans out of the molds and transfer them to parchment paper. This part is a little bit tricky. I used a small spoon to dig them out. The great thing is that the beans are very forgiving. Don't worry too much about mangling them when you remove them, as they hold their shapes surprisingly well.
Lightly dust the beans with cornstarch to help them dry. Let them sit for another few hours.
To make the outer shell, mix 1/4 cup water, 3/4 cup sugar, and whatever food coloring you like.
Pour the mixture into a jar along with the jelly beans, as shown above.
Seal the jar tightly. Tilt the jar at an angle (like a slide) and turn it in your hand (as you would a doorknob), preserving the angle. The goal is to make a mock version of a tumbler (a tool used for coating candy - that at $700 is cost-prohibitive for the average home baker) that allows the sugar to gradually build up and evenly coat the jelly beans. This step is extremely important. If the candy is not well-coated, it will not have a hard outer shell. Tumble for 10-15 minutes. This, my friends, is the workout portion of your candy making experience.
Fish the coated beans out of the liquid and place them on fresh parchment to dry and harden overnight.
Once the top side is hard, flip each bean and allow the other side to dry.
Admire and eat!

Facebook Shout Out

Yesterday, I posted the in-progress photo above of my jelly beans to Facebook and asked everyone to guess what I was making. My favorite guess was from Mallory Evans-Coyne who guessed "cellular mitosis". That cracked me up. However, two people guessed it right! Congrats to Jenigario M and Kim Campbell! Be sure to join the Cupcake Project Facebook community for future fun previews!

Astute observers will note that this photo was taken in a pot. In the original recipe, the jelly beans were tumbled in a pot. I tried that method and found that the pot was way too heavy to tumble for 15 minutes - the jar was so much easier.

Hot Cross Buns Stuffed with Chocolate and Strawberries

noreply@blogger.com (Stef) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 19:54:00 +0000

The chocolate cross on these hot cross buns provides just a small hint of what's inside. Take a bite into the hot cross buns and you'll be surprised by the melted chocolate and chopped fresh strawberries you'll find in the center. These hot cross buns are far from traditional, but they could easily become a new tradition.

The hot cross buns' pastry is airy and light - almost like a croissant - and not overly sweet. I will be using this recipe as a starting point for other sweet rolls in the future with a variety of fillings and mix-ins. I encourage you to play with the recipe and make it your own.

I baked my hot cross buns in cupcake liners - this is a cupcake blog after all - however, you could also roll the dough into balls and bake them on a cookie sheet.

Hot Cross Buns Recipe

I created this hot cross buns recipe as a guest contribution to Paula Deen's website and you'll find the recipe there.

2012 Food Blogger Bake Sale for Share Our Strength - Call for Bakers, Volunteers, and Eaters

noreply@blogger.com (Stef) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 23:57:00 +0000

Kimberly Henricks-Friedhoff of Rhubarb and Honey and I are excited to be St. Louis's hosts for this year's Food Blogger Bake Sale for Share Our Strength! Last year, St. Louis food bloggers and avid home bakers raised over $800 to help Share Our Strength fight the problem of childhood hunger in America. We plan to meet and beat that number this year! The bake sale is going to be an amazing day filled with sugar highs and smiles. Please help spread the word by sharing this post or the Facebook event with your friends and family.

If you don't live near St. Louis, remember that this is a nationwide effort. Check out the list of Food Blogger bake sales by state and see if you can get involved in one near you. If there isn't one in your area, perhaps you'd like to host!

The Details

Where: Sappington Farmers' Market
When: April 28, from 10 AM - 2 PM
Who: We need bakers, volunteers, and eaters!

Bakers: Are you a home baker who can bake something from scratch (cakes, cookies, brownies, pies, fudge, cupcakes, bread, anything)? We'd love to have your baked goods as part of the sale. We are looking for baked goods to sell. You don't need to be a food blogger, and your baked goods don't have to be gourmet.
Volunteers: Whether or not you are baking, we'd love a little help setting up, selling baked goods, and cleaning up. This is a nice chance to spend an afternoon hanging out with some fun folks.
Eaters: If you've ever wanted to eat the computer screen while reading some of your favorite food blogs, now's your chance to taste the food without having to make it yourself. Mark your calendar and invite your friends!

How to Sign Up

To sign up to bake or volunteer, simply fill out the form at the bottom of this post.

Special Thanks

Special thanks goes to Gaby Dakin of What's Gaby Cooking for coordinating this effort each year.

<p>&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Loading...&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;</p>

Matzoh Brei Cupcakes for Passover

noreply@blogger.com (Stef) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 02:46:00 +0000

Passover is not a cupcake kind of holiday. However, there's no reason not to sneak them onto the Passover menu in unexpected places. In past years, I've brought you charoset cupcakes and gefilte fish cupcakes, and given you a recipe for flourless chocolate cupcakes that are worth crossing the Red Sea for. This year, I've created Passover breakfast cupcakes - matzo brei cupcakes.

What Are Matzo Brei Cupcakes?

I used these matzoh cups for matzoh brei cupcakes,
but you could fill them with anything - get creative!

Matzoh brei cupcakes are made from edible molded matzoh cupcake liners stuffed with matzoh brei and "frosted" with your topping of choice (I went for a variety of jams). My toddler taste tested them (he's young enough to not be upset about eating matzoh pre-Passover) and he gave them the thumbs up!

How to Make Matzoh Brei Cupcakes

Yield: 2 matzoh brei cupcakes (scale to fit the size of your group)

Ingredients:

1 piece matzoh (1 piece of matzoh makes 2 matzoh liners with a little matzoh left over. You could possibly squeeze three liners out of the one piece if you were running short.)
1/4 cup plus two tablespoons matzoh brei (see my matzoh brei recipe for instructions)
1/4 cup jam

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 F.
Soak matzoh in water until it is soggy and falling apart.
Grease cupcake tins.
Press a layer of wet matzoh into each cupcake well, being sure to push it all the way up the sides as shown in the photo above.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the cups are crispy.
Fill each cup to the top with hot matzoh brei.
Spread jam on top.
Serve immediately.

How To Make Matzoh Brei Like My Mom's

noreply@blogger.com (Stef) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 02:46:00 +0000

Every Jewish family has their own take on how to make matzoh brei - the classic Passover breakfast of eggs mixed with fried matzoh. In this post, I share the matzoh brei recipe I've eaten every Passover since I could eat solid food. Below the matzoh brei recipe, you'll find a barrage of variations. If your family has a special way to make matzoh brei, I'd love to hear about it in the comments. Also, be on the lookout for my matzoh brei cupcakes, coming soon!

How to Make Matzoh Brei

Yield: 1 large serving of matzoh brei

Ingredients:

1 piece matzoh
small pat unsalted butter
2 eggs
1 tablespoon milk
salt to taste
pepper to taste
syrup or jam for topping

Heat small skillet on medium heat.
Break matzoh into small pieces (see photo above to get an idea of the size). The pieces definitely do not need to be uniform.
Place broken matzoh pieces into a colander and run water over them until they are soft but not soggy.
When skillet is hot (you'll know because water dropped into it will sizzle), add butter and swirl to coat the pan.
Add matzoh to the skillet and fry until the edges just begin to brown (this should only take a few minutes).
In a small bowl, beat eggs, milk, salt, and pepper until the mixture turns a pale yellow.
Add eggs to the matzoh and scramble until cooked.
Turn out to a plate, top with syrup or jam, and enjoy.

Matzoh Brei Variations

As I stated above, the matzoh brei my mama makes is the not the same recipe that every Jewish mother makes - each family has their own twist and each family knows that their way is the "right" way.

The first debate about how to make matzoh brei relates to preparation:

Some families make matzo brei frittata-style (sometimes called omelet-style). In this method, there is a higher ratio of matzoh to egg. The matzoh and eggs are mixed prior to cooking, the two cook together into one solid mass, and the dish is served out onto the plate like a frittata - a frittata without any veggies or meat. Who needs anything else when you can have starch? Does any other culture mix a cracker with eggs and call it breakfast?
There's a variation on the frittata-style that I call cake-style. In this case, a large skillet is used and a thick layer of matzoh and egg mixture is poured into the pan. Rather than producing a single-serving frittata, this method yields a matzoh-brie "cake" that is served in slices.
Other families, like mine, make their matzoh brei scrambled-style. As the name implies, this style is basically scrambled eggs fried up with matzoh.
Regardless of preparation style, different families prefer different levels of matzoh softness. I like my matzoh hard enough that it doesn't fall apart, but soft enough so that I can easily cut it with a fork. Jonathan thinks this a blasphemy and that the matzoh should be almost mushy (ironic since he prefers matzoh balls that are hard as rocks - an entirely different debate).

Then there's the issue of spices:

Some families spice their matzoh brei with garlic powder, onion powder, and other herbs.
Others opt for a more sweet taste with vanilla and cinnamon. My father first introduced me to this method when I was in my 20's. He had never been the one to make my matzoh brei as kid so I had no idea that he was holding out on this great twist.
Still others (like the matzoh brei my mom made during my whole childhood) are seasoned with only salt and pepper and rely on toppings to provide most of the flavor.

Matzoh brei toppings are another divisive topic. Some folks eat matzoh brei plain (like most people eat their scrambled eggs), while the masses tend to top their matzoh brei. I've found that matzoh brei toppers fall into two camps::

Syrup (the "right" way - that's the way I like it)
Jam (Jonathan prefers the jam method. Clearly, he won out for the post photo. The jam definitely adds some color to the dish.)

If you've never made matzoh brei, you are at a distinct advantage. You have a chance to create your own "right" way of doing things and begin your own family tradition.

Coffee and Doughnut Cupcakes Three Ways

noreply@blogger.com (Stef) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 02:19:00 +0000

Coffee and doughnut cupcakes are my attempt to wrap the complete experience of a lazy Sunday morning spent lounging in stained sweats, noshing on coffee and doughnuts, into a cupcake.

Oddly, I'm not the first person to make coffee and doughnut cupcakes (there are quite a few of us crazy cupcake innovators out there). I've identified three methods of preparing coffee and doughnut cupcakes. Most coffee and doughnut cupcakes (like the ones created by my all-time favorite cupcake blogger, Chockylit, the ones from my pals at C and C Cakery, and the totally adorable ones from Always with Butter) go for method 1. Method 1: Bake coffee cupcakes and top them with doughnuts. Method 1 makes for an irresistible presentation and affords you the ability to dip the doughnut in the frosting. However, I shot for a tad bit more integration between the doughnut and the coffee when I created method 2.

Method 2 is a unique and not necessarily optimal method. Method 2: Bake doughnuts (in my case, homemade Krispy Kreme doughnuts) into coffee cupcakes.

I dropped mini Krispy Kreme doughnuts into cupcake liners and spooned coffee cupcake batter over them.

When the coffee and doughnut cupcakes emerged from the oven, the doughnuts had floated to the top like little life preservers. This isn't the most attractive look for cupcakes, but once they are frosted, who cares? It's really hard to beat finding a doughnut immersed in your cupcake. Yet, I was a bit disappointed with the cupcakes' shelf life. The doughnut burrowed in these cupcakes will get stale if you don't eat the cupcakes quickly. Straight from the oven, the doughnut's edge is a bit chewy, but the inside is still light and flaky. Soon thereafter, the doughnut portion starts to taste rubbery and stale - still good bathed in whipped cream, but not ideal.

If I made coffee and doughnut cupcakes again, I'd opt for method 3. Method 3: Bake coffee cupcakes. Just before serving, warm them in the oven or microwave (hot cupcakes are always better), core a hole in them, drop a doughnut hole in the hole, and top with whipped cream or ice cream.

Coffee and Doughnut Cupcake Recipe

The recipe below explains how to make all three methods of coffee and doughnut cupcakes. Refer to the text above to remember which method is which.

Yield: 12 cupcakes if using method 2, where the doughnut takes up part of the volume; otherwise, you may want to double the recipe

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons whole milk
1/2 cup whole roasted coffee beans
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
Homemade mini Krispy Krispy cream doughnuts (ideal for method 2) or doughnut holes (great for method 1 or 3), or any doughnuts you have on hand (you could make this work for any method)
Whipped cream or ice cream for topping

In a small saucepan on medium-high heat, heat milk and coffee beans until just boiling.
Remove from heat, cover, and steep for fifteen minutes.
Using a sieve, remove the beans from the milk and set the milk aside. You will only need 1/4 cup plus two tablespoons of the milk, so it’s fine if some sticks to the beans during this process.
Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a medium-sized bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
In a separate medium-sized bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the egg to the butter/sugar mixture, mixing until fully incorporated.
Alternately mix the coffee-infused milk (you should have 1/4 cup plus two tablespoons of the milk to use) and dry ingredients into the butter/sugar bowl, mixing until just combined.
This step varies by method:

Methods 1 and 3: Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full.
Method 2: Drop a miniature homemade Krispy Kreme (or a piece of a doughnut that you cut to fit your cupcake liner) into each liner and top with batter until almost full.

Bake cupcakes for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out dry.
This step varies based on method:

Method 1: Top with whipped cream or ice cream and put a fresh doughnut hole on top just before serving.
Method 2: Top with whipped cream or ice cream and dust with cinnamon.
Method 3: Just before serving, core a hole in the cupcake using a paring knife or a cupcake corer and fill the cupcake hole with a doughnut hole. Top with whipped cream or ice cream.

Eat on a lazy Sunday.

How To Make Krispy Kreme Doughnuts

noreply@blogger.com (Stef) — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 03:31:00 +0000

I never understood the allure of the Krispy Kreme doughnut until I tried one piping hot. I then saw why my coworkers deposited them in our break room almost daily (it wasn't just a plot to make themselves look better by making the rest of us fat). The doughnut pusher got to enjoy a hot Krispy Kreme during their morning commute. Still sticky glaze and a plush doughnut does wonders to ease the pain of that Hummer in front of you that won't let you pass.

I work at home now. No one stops by the office with hot Krispy Kreme doughnuts. So, I figured that I should make my own. I learned how to make Krispy Kreme doughnuts from I Made That! My homemade Krispy Kreme doughnuts are not quite as sweet as the real ones and not quite as greasy (read that as good or bad, depending on your personal taste). My friend Carter said that my homemade Krispy Kreme doughnuts were the first doughnuts he's ever had that didn't have a weird artificial aftertaste. I've never noticed any odd aftertaste with Krispy Kremes, but I took Carter's comment as a nice compliment.

Mini doughnuts ready to be fried - plus the doughnut holes.

There are four main benefits that I see to making homemade Krispy Kremes (feel free to add your own in the comments):

You can serve every single doughnut fresh and piping hot.
You can make the doughnuts any size you want. I made some mini ones that I used in cupcakes (stay tuned).
You get to eat the doughnut holes.
You know exactly what goes into them. (This one applies to anything homemade.)

How to Make Krispy Kreme Doughnuts

As I noted above, I got the recipe for Krispy Kreme doughnuts from I Made That! I am reprinting it below with my notes and very minor changes. The recipe requires three different rising stages (each about an hour long) so be sure to make them on a day when you've got some time.

Yield: 10-12 regular-sized doughnuts or a lot more little ones

Doughnut Ingredients:

1 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 1/4 cups bread flour, divided
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons superfine sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
vegetable oil for frying

Glaze Ingredients:

1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk

Doughnut Directions:

Heat the milk to 100 degrees. You can do this in the microwave or on the stove top.
Stir in the yeast until it is dissolved or close to dissolved.
Transfer to a medium-sized bowl and mix in 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of the bread flour. Stir until smooth.
Cover the bowl (I like to use my cloth bowl covers for this) to prevent drying out and place in a warm spot to rise.
When the batter has doubled in size (about an hour, depending on the temperature of your house), add it to a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
Add the egg yolks, superfine sugar, and salt. Mix on low speed until smooth.
Mix in vanilla extract and butter until smooth.
With the mixer running, slowly add the rest of the flour (1 1/4 cups + 2 tablespoons). Keep mixing until the batter just comes together into a smooth dough. It will be quite wet and sticky, but should be able to hold together as one “lump” of dough. If not, add a bit more flour, one tablespoon at a time.
Lift the ball of dough up and brush the bottom of the bowl lightly with vegetable oil.
Cover the bowl again and place in a warm spot to rise.
Once the dough has doubled in size (another hour or so), refrigerate it for 15 minutes. This will make it easier to roll out.
On a well-floured surface, gently roll out the dough to about 3/8” to 1/2” thickness.
Use cookie cutters to stamp out whatever shapes you like. I used a 3 1/2" circle for the large doughnuts with a 1 1/4" hole. For the minis, I used a 1 1/2" circle with a 15/16" hole (all of these cutters come in the same set). Save the holes to fry up as well, or roll the batter out again to make more doughnuts.
Place the stamped dough on a parchment- or Silpat-lined cookie sheet, cover with plastic, and allow to rise again in a warm spot.
Once the doughnuts are almost doubled in size (another hour or so), heat oil in a large pot or deep fryer until it reaches 360 F. I strongly prefer to fry in a deep fryer. It keeps everything so much cleaner and perfectly regulates the temperature.
Fry the doughnuts in batches until golden brown on each side (you'll need to flip them mid-fry). The total frying time will be under 2 minutes. Use tongs to flip and retrieve them.
Set hot doughnuts on paper towels to absorb extra oil.

Glaze Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl until smooth.
Drizzle over piping hot doughnuts.

If necessary, reheat doughnuts in the microwave for about twenty seconds.

Easter Egg Cupcakes with "Yolk" Centers

noreply@blogger.com (Stef) — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 02:23:00 +0000

Last year, I (and many of you) discovered the magic of Easter cupcakes baked in egg shells. You can bake any cupcake recipe in cleaned out egg shells and when you are ready to eat the cake, you just crack the egg and dig in. Ah-mazing!

One question that I was asked repeatedly on the original Easter egg cupcake post was whether the eggs could be dyed. I decided that a visual answer was in order.

As you can see, the answer is a resounding, "Yes, siree!" The dye will also get on the cupcakes themselves a little bit unless you are able to apply dye to the egg shells without getting any dye inside of the holes. In retrospect, perhaps I could have covered the holes while I dunked the egg shells in the dye. If you give this a try, let me know.

Since I was remaking the Easter egg cupcakes anyway, I thought I'd give you a little surprise. Look - this year's cupcake eggs have yolks!!

I made the yolks by piping a layer of dyed cream cheese filling between two layers of batter. It wasn't perfect (the cream cheese part stuck to the shell a little bit and it was impossible to get the filling right in the center of the egg), but I was still egg-cited by the results.

I baked the Easter egg cupcakes at my friend Brooke's (of Sucre and Spice) while listening to polka music and watching her work on her wooden spoons. Having a crafty friend definitely has its perks. Brooke came up with the idea of these adorable cupcake toppers and whipped them up - all in under fifteen minutes. She had the paper and the two stamps already in her possession. Good friends are everything that they are cracked up to be.

How to Make Easter Egg Cupcakes

These instructions for making Easter egg cupcakes are essentially the same as last year's instructions with the egg-ception of the dyeing step and the cream cheese "yolk" filling. If you want the more basic Easter egg cupcake, have a look at last year's post.

Yield: 18 extra-large egg cupcakes

Dyed Eggs Ingredients:

18 extra large white eggs (Only three will get used in the cake. The rest are just used for their shells.)
1/2 cup of water for every egg color you want
1 tablespoon vinegar for every egg color you want
Food coloring (as many colors as you'd like)

Cupcake Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
a pinch of salt
2 eggs (from above)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 teaspoon lemon extract
1/2 cup sour cream

Cream Cheese "Yolk" Ingredients:

1 egg (from above)
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
Gold and yellow food coloring

Dyed Eggs Directions:

Carefully poke a small hole in the top of each egg. I found that the easiest way to do this was to use the tip of a corkscrew bottle opener.
Once you have poked tiny holes, peel back the edges of the holes to expand them a bit. The holes need to be large enough to fit the tip of a piping bag inside. You can always make the holes larger when you are ready to pipe so err on the smaller side during this step.
Turn each egg upside-down and dump out its contents. Keep the contents of two eggs separate for the cake recipe and one egg separate for the cream cheese "yolks". If you plan on using the other eggs for baking, it might be helpful to store them in small plastic containers in groups of two (otherwise it will be hard for you to later tell how much of your big bowl is two eggs). You may wonder why there is a thermometer in the photo. I used the tip of the thermometer to help get all of the egg out of the shell.
Rinse the insides of the eggs out thoroughly over the sink. Then, immerse them in saltwater for thirty minutes. At first, I couldn't get them to sink. I realize that this is probably obvious to most of you, but in case anyone else is science-challenged, I thought I would share Jonathan's tip that the eggs need to be filled with the saltwater in order to sink.
Rinse the egg shells in cold water to remove the salt.
For each color that you want, prepare cups with water, vinegar, and six drops of food coloring. Stir and add more color until you like the way the color looks.
Dunk eggs one at a time into the cups of color and leave them in for a minute. Have a look at the resulting shell color and dunk again if you want the color to be more intense.
Remove from the dye and place eggs hole side down on a paper towel to dry.

Cupcake Directions (I used my favorite sour cream cupcake recipe with lemon extract instead of vanilla):

Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium-sized bowl and set aside.
In a large bowl, mix eggs and sugar until light and creamy.
Add the butter and lemon extract and mix until fully integrated.
Mix in the dry ingredients until just combined.
Add the sour cream and mix until smooth.

Cream Cheese "Yolk" Directions:

Mix cream cheese, egg, and sugar until smooth.
Add food coloring until the mixture looks yolk-colored. I found that this was best achieved by using mostly gold with just a touch of yellow for some brightness.

Egg Filling and Baking Directions:

Place the prepared egg shells into a cupcake tin. Use aluminum foil to help them stand upright.
Load the cake batter and the "yolk" into piping bags fitted with small tips. Make sure that the tips can fit all of the way inside of the egg holes. If they can't, gradually egg-spand the holes until the tips fit.
Fill your eggs about 1/4 full with batter.
Top the batter with "yolk" until the eggs are about 1/2 full.
Top the "yolk" with more batter until the eggs are about 3/4 full. This is the tricky part. If you underfill the eggs, you won't have complete cake eggs inside when you crack them after baking. If you overfill the eggs, cake will flow out of the eggs during baking. I found that it was best to let the cake overflow out of the top of the egg slightly and then to simply pick it off (eat it) and clean the shell with a damp towel before serving. Unfortunately, this technique may remove some of the dye.
Bake the eggs at 350 F for 20 minutes.
Let cool, crack, and eat!

Thanks To My New Sponsor

I was recently offered the opportunity through FoodBuzz to work with Frigidaire. Frigidaire asked a select group of FoodBuzz bloggers to post about our favorite springtime recipe. This is it! It's light and lemony and full of the wonder of everything new and fresh about springtime. Read on and you just might win a new oven!

This post was sponsored by Frigidaire. When you check out Suzanne Goin's springtime recipes at www.maketimeforchange.com, Frigidaire will donate $1 to Save the Children's U.S. programs. Plus, you'll be entered for a chance to win the new Frigidaire Range with Symmetry™ Double Ovens– featuring two large ovens (that can each fit up to a 28 pound turkey!), providing the flexibility to cook multiple dishes at the same time at different temperatures, so you can get more on the table at the same time.