How To Eat A Cupcake

Video: Making a Pumpkin Pie with a Fresh Pumpkin

howtoeatacupcake@yahoo.com (How To Eat A Cupcake) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:30:00 +0000

Yay! Another video! I love making videos, and it sucks that I barely ever have time to make them. But here's a good one! As you know, I love pies. Me and pies are pretty much BFFs now. And you may also know that I have an infinity-long list of things I want to bake in my lifetime. One of those things is a pumpkin pie with a fresh pumpkin. I figured it would be a pretty fun video topic since I'd never done it before. We can learn together!

Whew! Well after all that work, was it worth it? Sadly, no. Don't get me wrong. It was extremely delicious. But it's a totally different flavor than what your mind goes to when you think of pumpkin pie. And personally, I prefer the pie made with canned puree. Not only because it's rediculously easier, but because it's what I grew up on and it's what I'm used to. But hey, if you've got plenty of time and you're curious... go ahead and try it. You won't be disappointed! ;) We ate ours with homemade caramel sauce, which I felt was the best part!! If anything, you'll definitely wanna try that!
Pumpkin Pie with Caramel Sauce (from Bubby's Homemade Pies)
Makes 1 9-inch single-crust pie

Par-baked 9-inch crust (or a fully baked 9-inch graham cracker crust)
1 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch of ground nutmeg
2 cups fresh pumpkin puree or canned, unsweetened pumpkin
1 1/3 cups heavy cream
3 large eggs
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Caramel Sauce (recipe follows)

To prepare fresh pumpkin, halve the pumpkin lengthwise—stem to bottom—and remove and save the seeds, but leave the pulpy inner lining of brighter flesh they nest in—it's the sweetest part of the pumpkin. Chop the pumpkin in chunks and boil in unsalted water until tender. Drain very well. Remove the skin with a knife, discard the skin, and mash the flesh.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, blend the pumpkin, cream, eggs, sugars, and vanilla until smooth. Add the dry ingredients and blend just until combined. Pour the filling into the par-baked pie shell.

Bake the pie on a lipped baking sheet for 50-55 minutes, or until just barely set in the center. Wiggle the pie gently to test its doneness—look for a center that jiggles but doesn't slosh. The retained heat in the custard will continue cooking the middle as the pie cools off. Don't overcook it or the texture won't be as silky. Cracks in the custard are signs of overcooking. A cracked custard is still quite edible, but not optimal.

Cool the pie completely on a cooling rack before cutting, at least a few hours, then refrigerate. Serve it cold with Caramel Sauce. Store the pie covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Caramel Sauce
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cubed

Combine the sugar and water in a heavy pot over medium heat (check the heat setting or too much water will evaporate before the sugar has had a chance to melt.) Don't stir it. Clip a candy thermometer to the side so that the tip is immersed in the water but not touching the bottom of the pan.

Whisk together the heavy cream and sour cream. Set aside at room temperature.

Cook the syrup until it is a rich caramel color (340 to 380 degrees F on the thermometer) and remove it from the heat. You can choose how dark and intense you want your caramel flavor—the lower temperatures yield a light, sweet caramel, while the higher temperatures create a darker, less sweet caramel. If the syrup gets hotter than 380 degrees F, the caramel will be burnt and bitter, so start over.

Use caution during the next stage: The butter releases a lof ot steam when it hits the caramel, so be careful no to get burned by the steam. With the caramel pot off the heat, add the butter a little at a time, stirring quickly. Add the cream and sour cream and stir well.

Cool and store the caramel sauce in an airtight container. It will keep for 30 days at room temperature or up to 3 months refrigerated. To reheat, warm the sauce over a double boiler, stirring occasionally. (I reheated mine in the microwave, stirring between 15-second intervals.)

It's a Grape Pie, Charlie Brown!

howtoeatacupcake@yahoo.com (How To Eat A Cupcake) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:20:00 +0000

Wow! Halloween seemed to go by like a blur! My mom and I spent days upon days decorating our house and preparing food for our annual "Super Awesome Halloween Party Deluxe." This was our third year throwing a big "h-ween" party, and I'm positive that it's been the best so far. We had a great turn out, and everyone had a great time! They loved the food and said our decorations were awesome. Thank you, thank you very much! After all our hard work and anticipation, I was asleep by 10:30! Haha, yeah that's how I roll. I'm a pretty fierce party animal! Anyway, here are a few pictures from the party, followed by an INSANELY good recipe for grape pie... yeah I said it, GRAPE PIE! ;D

Our kitchen... before all the food hit the table!
(Let's play a game called "I spy Josh somewhere in this picture!")The graveyard in the backyard by the fire pit!Me, my dad, and my mom! Desserts from left to right: Honey-Orange Marshmallows, pumpkin-shaped Spritz Cookies, Red Velvet Truffles

For the marshmallows, I added 1 teaspoon orange extract and some orange gel color to the recipe after the link. Our Halloween parties get better and better every year. And I'm pretty sure this year our collection of Halloween decor outgrew our Christmas stuff!!! :D :D

Now on to the grape pie! I made this pie a few weeks ago, and I meant to post it before Halloween, but time got away from me. Anywho, if you've never had grape pie before, you are SO going to be blown away! It got thumbs up from all the girls at work, and mom and dad said it was awesome. It was a bit of work skinning all the grapes for the filling, but the crust recipe was so freakin easy that it made everything worth while. Not only was the crust the easiest one I've ever made, it was pretty darn good. I think next time I'll add a bit of sugar for some sweetness, but other that it's a dream! The filling was a bit soupy, but it thickened a little in the fridge. I even cooked the pie for 10 extra minutes hoping to thicken the filling, but it didn't work. Maybe some cornstarch in the mix will help next time. We'll see, because I'm definitely gonna be making this again! If you like the taste and tartness of Welch's grape juice, you will LOVE this pie!

Cooking the grape pulp and mashing the grape skins...

"Easy-as-pie" crust (yeah I had to go there!)Ain't she purdy???It definitely could've used some refrigeration before the first slice, but it was still delicious as grape soup!!After being in the refrigerator, the slices were a little neater, but still pretty wet. Oh well!

Prizewinning Concord Grape Pie (from "The All-American Dessert Book" by Nancy Baggett)
Makes 1 9-inch pie (books says 8 servings, but we easily got 10 or 12)

Filling
1 cup sugar, plus a little more if grapes are very tart
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 cups stemmed Concord grapes (about 2 pounds)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into bits

Pastry
3 cups pastry flour, or 2 cups all-purpose flour and 1 cup cake flour, plus extra all-purpose flour for dusting pastry
Scant 1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup corn oil or other flavorless vegetable oil
1/4 cup cold water, plus more if needed

About 2 teaspoons half-and-half or light cream for brushing on dough top
1 tablespoons sugar for sprinkling on dough top

In a large bowl, thoroughly stir together the sugar and flour. Holding each grape over a heavy, nonreactive 2-quart saucepan (to catch the juice), squeeze until the pulp portion pops out into the pan; reserve the grape skins separately. Gently squeeze the excess juice from the skins and add it to the saucepan. If a fine texture is desired, coarsely chop the grape skins; otherwise, leave as is. Thoroughly stir the grape skins into the flour-sugar mixture and set aside. Bring the grape pulp and seeds and butter to a boil over medium-high heat. Adjust the heat so the pulp simmers gently. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 6 to 9 minutes, or until the pulp is soft and mushy and has boiled down slightly. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Carefully turn out the pulp into a food mill or fine sieve set over a bowl. Press through as much liquid and pulp as possible; discard the seeds. Stir the strained pulp into the grape skin mixture until blended; you should have about 3 cups. Set aside. The filling can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Let come to room temperature before using.

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F. In a large bowl, thoroughly stir together the flour and salt. Stir in the oil with a fork just until incorporated. Add the water, gently stirring with the fork until the mixture is moistened and holds together. It may look streaked, but don't overmix. The pastry should not be at all dry; if necessary, add a bit more water until the mixture is evenly moistened but not wet. Lightly knead and shape the dough into a rough ball with your hands. Divide the dough in half, then shape each half into a smooth disk. Wrap one disk in plastic wrap.

Generously dust the unwrapped pastry disk on both sides with flour. Roll it out between large sheets of baking parchment into a 13 1/2-inch round. Occasionally check the underside of the dough during rolling and smooth out any wrinkles. Gently peel off the top sheet of paper. Center the round, dough side down, in the pie plate. Gently peel off the remaining paper. Smooth the pastry into the plate and patch any tears, if necessary. Using kitchen shears or a paring knife, trim the overhang to 1/4 inch. Turn out the filling into the pastry.

Generously dust the second pastry disk with flour, then roll it out into a 13 1/2-inch round as described above. Gently peel off the top sheet of paper, then pat back into place. Flip the dough; peel off the bottom sheet. Center the round, dough side down, over the filling. Gently peel off the remaining paper and patch any tears, if necessary. Trim the overhang to 1/4 inch. Fold the overhang under the bottom pastry to form an edge that rests on the lip of the plate. Press the layers together, then flute with your fingers or press with the tines of a fork all the way around. Brush the dough top (not the edges) with the half-and-half, then sprinkle with the sugar. Cut steam vents in the top, using a sharp, lightly greased paring knife.

Set the pie on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until nicely browned all over. If the edges begin to brown too rapidly, cover with foil (or a pie shield) during the last few minutes of baking. Transfer the pie to a wire rack. Let cool for at least 2 hours and preferably 4 hours (for neater slices) before serving.

The pie will keep, lightly covered, at room temperature for up to 24 hours or refrigerated for 3 days. Let come to room temperature before serving.

Halloween Recipe Round-Up!

howtoeatacupcake@yahoo.com (How To Eat A Cupcake) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:30:00 +0000

Only 5 days until Halloween! What are everyone's plans and what are you dressing up to be? We get to wear our costumes to work, and Wendi and I are gonna be 1980's prom queens! Then I'm coming home to help out with the annual Halloween party at our house. I haven't even decided what our menu is going to be this year, but I know I want to make my own version of the chocolate pistachio cake on the cover of Phyllis Hoffman's Celebrate Halloween.

Here are some of the Halloween goodies I've made in the past. I put them into this handy little guide complete with pictures and links to the recipes. It should make your holiday menu decisions a little easier! ;)

Cupcakes
Halloween Cupcakes I
Hallowen Cupcakes II
Caramel Apple Cupcakes
Apple Cider Cupcakes
Mocha Spice Cupcakes
Pumpkin Pecan Cupcakes
Pumpkin Cupcakes with Spiced Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Also, check out last year's Booo-tiful Halloween Cupcake Round-Up for lots of fun decorating ideas!

Pumpkin Recipes
Pumpkin-Spice Cheesecake Brownies
Pumpkin Yeast Bread
Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin Chiffon Pie
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Pie
Pumpkin-Swirl Brownies
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Pumpkin Roll Cake
Soft Pumpkin Cookies with Craisins and Walnuts
Other Recipes
Dirty Rat Brownies
Decorated Sugar Cookies
Red Velvet Truffles
Body Part Punch

E-mail me if you have any questions or suggestions you'd like to share. Have a safe and fun Halloween! ;D

The Cake Slice presents: Cinnamon-Pecan Coffee Cake

howtoeatacupcake@yahoo.com (How To Eat A Cupcake) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:30:00 +0000

Hellooooooo Cake Slice! My, how I've missed you so! We just started baking from a new book, and guess what... The first cake isn't a layer cake! (And from the looks of next month's poll, the second won't be a layer cake either...but shhhh... you didn't hear that from me!) Our new book is "Southern Cakes" by Nancie McDermott, and our first recipe chosen is the Cinnamon-Pecan Coffee Cake. Wow, how insanely good did this cake smell in the oven!? As always, I used my new favorite cinnamon that I found at TJ Maxx. The coffee cake tasted great, and the dark, chewy raisins reminded me of an oatmeal raisin cookie. When I tasted the cake by itself, it tasted very plain. But luckily there's plenty of cinnamon-sugar, raisins, and pecans in every bite! Like a few of the other Cake Slicers, I had difficulty spreading the top layer of thick cake batter over the raisin/pecan filling. It looked like I had done it wrong, but once it baked up it looked great! A few things I'd recommend, don't toast your pecans first. The pecans on top get really brown. Also, some of the raisins on top of my cake got extremely dried out in the oven. Next time I'll plump them in boiling water first. Otherwise, a very fine recipe to begin our new year of The Cake Slice! To see the other bakers' coffee cakes, check out The Cake Slice blogroll!

Cinnamon-Pecan Coffee Cake (from Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott)
(I halved this recipe and baked it in an 8 x 8-inch square pan)

For the cinnamon raisin filling
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
3 tbsp all purpose flour
3 tbsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups raisins
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, melted

For the cake
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup milk
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 x 9-inch pan.

To make the filling, combine the light brown sugar, flour and cinnamon in a bowl and stir with a fork to mix everything well. Combine the raisins and pecans in another bowl and toss to mix them. Place the cinnamon mixture, nut mixture and melted butter by the baking pan to use later.

To make the cake batter, combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Stir the vanilla into the milk. In a large bowl combine the butter and sugar and beat with a mixer on high speed until pale yellow and evenly mixed, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl to ensure a good mix. Add the eggs and beat for another 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl now and then, until the mixture is smooth and light.

Use a large spoon or spatula to add about a third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir only until the flour disappears. Add a third of the milk and mix in. Repeat twice more until all the flour and milk mixtures have been incorporated. Stir just enough to keep the batter smooth.

Spread half the batter evenly into the prepared pan (it should be a very thick batter). Sprinkle half the cinnamon mixture over the batter followed by half the melted butter. Scatter half the raisins and nuts over the top. Spread the remaining batter carefully over the filling, using a spatula to smooth the batter all the way to the edges of the pan. Top with the leftover cinnamon, butter and nut mixture, covering the cake evenly.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the cake is golden brown, fragrant and beginning to pull away from the edges of the pan. Place the pan on a wire rack and allow to cool in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes before serving in squares right from the pan. The cake is delicious hot, warm or at room temperature.

Pumpkin-Spice Cheesecake Brownies

howtoeatacupcake@yahoo.com (How To Eat A Cupcake) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 21:30:00 +0000

After making the Pumpkin Yeast Bread, I had a bit of pumpkin leftover. Again, trying to stray away from traditional recipes (and also wanting to make a dent in the cream cheese stock pile in our fridge), I decided to go with pumpkin spice cheesecake brownies! I ran the idea by my bestest pal from work, Wendi, and she thought it was a great idea. I browsed the internet until I found the perfect recipe at Cara's Cravings. First, let me say this. I'm fairly confident when it comes to baking most things, but I'll admit I'm a little brownie challenged. I suck at brownies! Every time I've attempted brownies from scratch I've underbaked them, and they came out too fudgy and raw-tasting. Even when I make brownies from a mix it's hard for me to tell when they're done. I usually end up overbaking those because I'm afraid of a goopy chocolate mess. In the case of these pumpkin cheesecake brownies, it's possible that I may have underbaked them. At room temp they were very soft and mushy. That could be because of the cheesecake factor, but that factor also means they had to be refrigerated. They firmed up nicely in the fridge, and boy were they delicious! The tang of the cream cheese compliments the pumpkin nicely. And the subtle spice mixed with the chocolate brownie is perfect! The brownies were pretty rich, so we made about 12 servings out of an 8x8-inch square pan. I'll definitely be making these again soon! :) Thanks, Cara, for a great recipe!Pumpkin-Spice Cheesecake Brownies
Brownie Batter
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon

Cheesecake Batter
6 oz cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp flour
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp each ground ginger and ground cloves

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8x8" square metal baking pan.

Beat together melted butter, sugar, and vanilla, then beat in eggs one at a time. Combine dry ingredients and then gradually stir into butter mixture with a wooden spoon. In separate bowl, beat together cheesecake batter ingredients.

Spread about 2/3 of chocolate batter into prepared pan, and spoon cheesecake batter over. Dollop remaining brownie batter over cheesecake batter. Swirl the batters together by running a butter knife back and forth through the pan.

Bake for 40 minutes, or until center is set. Cool completely on wire rack and chill before cutting and serving. Keep refrigerated.

Pumpkin Yeast Bread

howtoeatacupcake@yahoo.com (How To Eat A Cupcake) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:28:00 +0000

First, I was on a pie kick... now it's a pumpkin kick. At least I can't say I'm not celebrating my favorite season this year! I love Autumn because of the changing leaves, the cooler air, and the fantastic recipes I get to make with apples and pumpkins! After the Pumpkin Chiffon Pie, I've been really interested in making unusual pumpkin recipes (ie, NOT the traditional pie or pumpkin bread recipes). Most pumpkin bread recipes are quick breads. They're usually pretty spicy and chock full of chocolate chips or some type of nuts. I wanted to go the non-traditional route by making a slightly spicy pumpkin yeast bread. I googled for a recipe (which always makes me feel like I'm cheating on my massive cookbook library), and I settled on a recipe from kingarthurflour.com. The only thing I changed were the spices because I wanted to use my favorite cinnamon and a few other pumpkin pie spices. The end result was a delightfully soft, golden orange bread with a slight whiff of spice. I know you're not supposed to slice warm bread because it damages the interior texture of the bread, and usually I can restrain myself, but this time I COULD NOT RESIST!! The pumpkin flavor was faint, but it was definitely there. The crust was so delicious, and the bread was so soft and moist.

It also makes fantastic toast. I topped mine with spiced pear butter from the Shenandoah Heritage Farmers Market. Mmmm... perfect!
PS: To everyone who was offended by me considering a 1985 recipe to be vintage in my last post, it's vintage to me because it was written before I was born. I classify anything from before 1986 as being vintage, regardless of Webster's definition of the word "vintage." My apologies for making anyone feel old! =/

Pumpkin Yeast Bread (adapted from KingArthurFlour.com)
(I halved this recipe and made 1 9x5-inch loaf)

1/2 cup warm water
2 packages (2 tablespoons) active dry yeast (actually the packages are 2 1/4 teaspoons, so you would only need to measure 1 1/2 tablespoons)
2/3 cup warm milk
2 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups puréed pumpkin, either fresh or canned
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 1/2 cups (approximately) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (I used 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon each ginger and nutmeg, and 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves)
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom (I omitted this)

In a large bowl, stir yeast into water to soften. Add milk, eggs, pumpkin, oil, 4 cups flour, brown sugar, salt, ginger and cardamom to yeast mixture. Beat vigorously for 2 minutes.

Gradually add remaining flour, a little at a time, until you have a dough stiff enough to knead. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead, adding flour as necessary, until you have a smooth, elastic dough.

Put dough into an oiled bowl. Turn once to coat entire ball of dough with oil. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Turn dough out onto a lightly oiled work surface. Divide dough in half. Shape dough into loaves and place in well-greased 10x5-inch pans or, shape half into a loaf, and other half into 12 large dinner rolls. Cover with a towel and let rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.

Bake in a preheated 375°F oven. Loaves bake about 30 minutes (my 9x5 loaf was done at 25 minutes), rolls about 20. Check the internal temperature of each with an instant-read thermometer; a reading of 190°F means bread or rolls are done.

Immediately remove bread or rolls from pans and cool on a wire rack to prevent crust from becoming soggy. For a shiny crust, brush tops of bread or rolls lightly with vegetable oil. Makes 2 large loaves, or 1 large loaf and 12 dinner rolls.

Vintage Recipe: Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

howtoeatacupcake@yahoo.com (How To Eat A Cupcake) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:30:00 +0000

Good morning, class! Let's begin the day by saying a random fact about yourself. I'll go first. I collect vintage cookbooks. And you know how much I love to start little categories for my blog posts, so here's a new one: Vintage Recipes! The first one comes from The Culinary Arts Institute Cookbook from 1985. I can't remember exactly where this book came from, but I know my dad gave it to me a few months ago. It's HUGE! It's full of strange old recipes, and the vintage food photography is so fun! ;D Apparently, gelatin molds and mousses were a huge hit in the 80's. Sadly, I think I'll pass on those recipes, but today's recipe actually does use gelatin... go figure!

Josh and I went to Howl-o-Scream at Busch Gardens on Sunday, and it really got me in the pumpkin mood. On my day off this week, I decided to make a pumpkin pie. I didn't want to make a regular old pumpkin pie, so I browsed my cookbooks. I found this recipe for pumpkin chiffon pie. The original recipe is called Pumpkin-Crunch Chiffon Pie, but it calls for spreading crunchy peanut butter on the pie crust before adding the pumpkin filling. Excuse me while I go vomit. Ok, I'm back. Yeah, so I guess you can tell I wasn't too thrilled with that flavor combo. I ix-nayed the PB idea and just went the chiffon route. The result was heaven in the form of fluffy, pillowy, light orange, spicy pumpkin pie filling! I dunno if I'll ever make a plain pumpkin pie again. This is just too light and soft and delicious and fluffy and creamy and... omg! I died and went to pumpkin heaven!
Pumpkin Chiffon Pie (from The Culinary Arts Institute Cookbook; 1985)
1 baked 9-inch pie shell
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
3 egg yolks, beaten
1/2 teaspoon each ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 egg whites
1 cup chilled heavy cream, stiffly beaten (I used only 3/4 cup of cream and added 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla)

Soften gelatin in the cold water and set aside.
Combine pumpkin, sugar, milk, egg yolks, spices, and salt in the top of a double boiler. Cook over medium heat 5 minutes. Stir in softened gelatin and cook 5 minutes more. Cool.
Beat the egg whites (I added 3 tablespoons of sugar to the egg whites) until soft peaks form. Gently fold egg whites into thoroughly cooled pumpkin filling. Pour mixture into pie shell. Chill until set. Top with whipped cream.

My Best Banana Cream Pie

howtoeatacupcake@yahoo.com (How To Eat A Cupcake) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 23:05:00 +0000

I'm extremely confident that Marilyn M. Moore truly did disclose the recipe for her best banana cream pie! And that's exactly what she named the recipe in "The Wooden Spoon Dessert Book." This is the first banana cream pie I've ever made, and I couldn't be more pleased with the way it turned out. The vanilla wafer crust is so yummy (even with reduced fat cookies). The custard is so creamy and delicious. Once it sits in the fridge layered with the bananas, the banana flavor infuses into everything and becomes so fragrant and wonderful! It seems like it would be such a heavy, rich dessert but somehow it feels light. I'm so pleased to finally have a recipe other than banana bread to use up ripe bananas!
My Best Banana Cream Pie (from The Wooden Spoon Dessert Book by Marilyn M. Moore)

Crust
1 3/4 cups vanilla-wafer crumbs (about 55 cookies)
3 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons melted unsalted butter (I used salted because I like a little salt in my crust)

Custard
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cold milk
3 large egg yolks, beaten
2 cups scalded milk
2 tablespoons soft unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ripe bananas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove 1/4 cup vanilla-wafer crumbs. Mix together remaining cookie crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Press the mixture evenly into a 9-inch pie pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until golden-brown. Cool on a wire rack.
For the custard, in a heavy saucepan stir together sugar, cornstarch, and salt, pressing out any lumps with the back of a spoon. Stir in the cold milk and beaten egg yolks. When the mixture is smooth, stir in the scalded milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. As soon as the mixture begins to thicken, turn the heat to low and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until thick and bubbly, about 1 minute longer. If the mixture threatens to become lumpy, remove it from the heat at once and stir vigorously until smooth. When thick, remove from the heat and gently stir in the softened butter and vanilla. Let cool 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent a film from forming on top.
Spoon 1/3 of the filling into the cooled crust. Peel and slice the bananas into 1/4-inch slices over the filling. Spoon the remaining filling over the bananas. Refrigerate until firm, at least 3 hours.
Top with sweetened whipped cream and reserved vanilla-wafer crumbs. Refrigerate leftovers.

Fried Peach Pies

howtoeatacupcake@yahoo.com (How To Eat A Cupcake) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:03:00 +0000

There are so many points I want to hit in this post that I literally had to open a Windows Notepad document to start typing them all out as soon as I turned the computer on. I want to touch on the history of fried pies A.K.A. "pasties" or "hand pies." I also want to talk a little about the German music I listened to while making them and the wonders of the "Sounds of the Season" Music Choice channel (and how I'm really sad that the German songs will end Oct. 5th). I want to talk about the memories these fried pies bring of when my dad used to work at the shipyard. I want to mention how awesome the cookbook is that this recipe came from, "Screen Doors and Sweet Tea" by Martha Hall Foose. And I can't forget to thank Stephanie Velez for sending me a copy of this book when her mother bought it for her not knowing she already owned it! Lastly, I want to say something about the banana cream pie I made last week that was supposed to be my next blog post, but these pies are just so awesome they skipped to the front of the line! Oh wait, that wasn't the last thing... I wanna thank my camera for being back in business and hooking me up with some GREAT photos, if I may say so myself! Ok, shall we begin?

I've seen the episode of Good Eats about fried pies/pasties, so if I tried really hard I could tell you some stuff about the history of them. But I made like 50 fondant bras at work today, and my brain is all mushy, so I'm gonna let Google and The NY Sun take over:

Fried pies are little hot-pocket semicircles of dough that are filled with fruit and, as the name implies, deep-fried. They're particularly popular in the South... Tradition claims that the "pasty" was originally made as lunch for Cornish tin miners who were unable to return to the surface to eat. The story goes that, covered in dirt from head to foot, they could hold the pasty by the folded crust and eat the rest without touching it, discarding the dirty pastry. The pastry they threw away was supposed to appease the knockers, capricious spirits in the mines who might otherwise lead miners into danger... The pasty's dense, folded pastry could stay warm for 8 to 10 hours and, when carried close to the body, could help the miners stay warm.

How's that for a history lesson? Well, I thought it was interesting. Anyway, on to my next point. The "Sounds of the Season" channel is playing the most awesome German music from now through Oct. 4. Usually, I have no interest in German music, but for some reason as the outside air becomes brisk and the season for pumpkins and apples falls upon us, German music just seems right! Lol, I'm sure you don't trust me, so if you get the Music Choice channels I encourage you to try it out this week. Don't be surprised when you find yourself wishing you had a German playlist on your iPod next time you leave the house.On to point numero tres. When I think of fried pies, I can't help but remember those Hostess pies my dad used to bring home from the Newport News Shipyard when I was a kid. He always picked my brother and I up from daycare on his way home, and a few times a week his pockets would be full of Hostess pies. His favorite was lemon, so all other flavors were scarce. But when I saw that red wrapper peaking out, I knew he'd brought a cherry pie for me! When I see those pies now at the grocery store I pass them up, but I enjoy the memory. :D Never fear, fried pies aren't out of my life forever. Thanks to Stephanie Velez, who was kind enough to send me her duplicate copy of "Screen Doors and Sweet Tea," I can make my own fried fruit pies (without the nasty Crisco film on the roof of my mouth, sorry Hostess, but you know it's true!). This book is really lovely for anyone who enjoys the history of food in the South. The stories, recipes, and pictures are full of nostalgia. For these pies, I used the filling recipe and instruction from "Screen Doors," but I used my go-to pie crust recipe for the crust. They are so delicious! The allspice makes them perfect to eat during the winter months. The only thing I'd change next time is to reduce the vinegar from 2 tablespoons to 1. The taste of vinegar didn't cook out like I expected it to and it was pretty noticeable. Other than that, these are perfect!I could just *hug* my camera for snapping this mouth-watering shot! ;)

Peach Fried Pies (from Screen Doors and Sweet Tea by Martha Hall Foose)
MAKES TEN 3-INCH PIES

PASTRY
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons vegetable shortening or lard
3/4 cups whole milk

FILLING
2 cups chopped fresh or frozen peaches (I used 3 large peaches)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
2 tablespoons cider vinegar (I'd reduce to 1 tablespoon next time)
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 large egg
Canola oil, for frying

MAKE THE PASTRY. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the shortening until no pieces are larger than a pea. Add the milk and combine, using a fork. Gather the dough and knead lightly for 1 minute. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate while preparing the filling.

MAKE THE FILLING. In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the peaches, brown sugar, and allspice. Cook and stir over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until the sugar is dissolved and the peaches are juicy. In a small bowl, combine the vinegar and cornstarch. Add to the peaches and cook and stir for 10 minutes, or until the mixture is thick and glossy. Stir in the lemon juice. Transfer the mixture to a shallow dish to cool.

In a small shallow dish, combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

MAKE THE PIES. Roll the dough 1/8-inch thick on a lightly floured surface. With a sharp knife or cutter, cut ten 6-inch circles (I used an inverted cereal bowl). Place 2 tablespoons of peach filling in the center of each circle. Beat the egg with I teaspoon water. Brush a thin line of egg wash around the edges of the circles. Fold to form a half-moon shape. Lightly press out any air pockets. Press the edges with the tines of a fork to seal. Pierce one time on top of each pie with a fork to let steam escape while frying. Heat 1 inch of canola oil in a large skillet to 375°F. Set a wire rack over a baking sheet lined with newspaper or paper towels. Gently place the pies, two at a time, pierced side up, in the skillet. Fry to golden brown, turning once, 2 minutes per side. Remove from the oil and let drain briefly on the wire rack. Toss in the cinnamon sugar and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Spicy Cinnamon Apple Pie

howtoeatacupcake@yahoo.com (How To Eat A Cupcake) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 12:47:00 +0000

So apparently I'm the only person in the world who likes a REALLY spicy apple pie on the first day of Fall (I made it Wednesday). And I might be the only person in the world who likes a really spicy apple pie at all. I googled, I searched AllRecipes.com, I checked Flickr, I checked the food blog search engine. All of the recipes turned up with a modest amount of cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg here or there. I was looking for something that resembled a spicy baked apple, but in pie form. Or better yet, you know those spicy red apple rings they sell in the grocery store? THAT'S WHAT I WANTED IN MY PIE!! I found nothing of the sort! I did see some yummy looking recipes for mincemeat pie, but no spicy apple pies! So... I made my own. I used the apple pie recipe in The All- American Dessert Book by Nancy Baggett. I spiced it up by increasing the cinnamon from 1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon and adding 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon oil. Of course I used my brand new REAL cinnamon you saw me bragging about in my last entry. And because I like some things to be supermarket-cheesy, I added some red food coloring to look more like the red apple rings. The filling smelled so cook on the stove, and it tasted exactly like I wanted it to. I accidentally overcooked the filling so the apples were slightly mushy, but not too bad.Before you start judging me and thinking I only like apple pie as a vehicle for cinnamon, you're half wrong! During the summer I use a squirt of lemon juice, a pinch of cinnamon, and I'm good to go. But during the Fall and Winter months, I prefer my pies on the spicy side. However, I do think nutmeg in apple pie is a sin! Save it for the nog, people!!Now, let's talk about crust. I started making my own pie crusts last year, and I've tried a few recipes since the very first time. With every new recipe I say "I've found my go-to pie crust recipe!" Well, that was before I really knew what I was looking for. I don't like my pie crusts to be so flaky that they shatter when you touch them with your fork. I also prefer my crust a little on the sweet side, and I like to taste a tiny bit of salt here and there. Most importantly, I don't like a greasy crust. I've seen pie crust recipes that use double the amount of fat to flour. This crust recipe is perfect!! Part of it is in the technique. I pulse half of the butter in the dry ingredients a few times before I add the rest of the butter. Then, I pulse that a few times until there are some big chunks left. Then, I add the shortening and pulse until only small pieces remain (The size of tiny peas). This produces tiny, flaky layers and a very tender crust because the first addition of butter coats the flour and prevents gluten from forming. (Thanks, America's Test Kitchen, for your episode on pie crust!) I increased the sugar from 1 1/2 tablespoons to 3 tablespoons, and it's the exact amount of sweetness I was looking for. This is definitely my go-to pie crust recipe! ;DBtw, this IS an apple pie, not a peach pie... I guess the tiny bit of red food coloring I added only turned it pinkish orange! And those shapes on top were supposed to be apples... Oops.
Favorite Deep-Dish Apple Pie (from The All-American Dessert Book by Nancy Baggett)

Double crust All-Purpose Pie Pastry Dough (recipe follows)
All-purpose flour for dusting dough

Filling
10 1/2 cups peeled, cored, and thinly sliced apples (8-11 medium baking apples; choose at least three kinds, such as Stayman, Jonathan, Golden Delicious, Braeburn, Smokehouse, Sunrise, Granny Smith, Grimes Golden, York, and Gala) (I used 2 Pink Lady, 2 Braeburn, 1 large Granny Smith, and 1 large Fuji)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or more to taste
Scant 2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
3 1/2-4 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch (use larger amount if apples are very juicy)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I increased to 1 teaspoon and added 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon oil)
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits

1 tablespoon milk for brushing on dough top
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar for sprinkling on dough top (I used turbinado sugar)

Lightly grease a 9 1/2-inch deep-dish pie plate or coat with nonstick spray. If the dough is cold and stiff, let it warm up until slightly pliable but still cool to the touch. Generously dust it on both sides with flour. Roll out one dough portion between large sheets of baking parchment into a 13 1/2-inch round. Occasionally check the underside of the dough during rolling and smooth out any wrinkles. (If the dough seems sticky or limp, place in the freezer for 5 minutes to firm up.) Gently peel off the top sheet of paper, then pat back into place. Flip the dough; peel off the bottom sheet. Center the round, dough side down, in the pie plate. Gently peel off the remaining paper. Smooth the dough into the plate and patch any tears, if necessary. Using kitchen shears or a paring knife, trim the overhang to 1/4 inch. Prick the pastry all over with a fork. Loosely cover the pastry and place in the freezer while you roll out the top pastry and prepare the filling.

Roll out the second portion of dough into a 13 1/2-inch round as described above. Transfer the round (paper still attached) to a baking sheet and place in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. In a very large, heavy non-reactive saucepan, toss the apples with the lemon juice. In a medium bowl, stir together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt until well blended. Add the sugar mixture and butter to the apples, tossing until well blended. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat. Simmer, stirring and scraping the pan bottom, for about 3 minutes, or until the apples cook down slightly; be careful not to burn. Remove from the burner. Taste and add more lemon juice, if desired.

Turn out the apple mixture into the bottom crust, mounding it in the center. Gently peel off the top sheet of paper from the second pastry round. Center the round, dough side down, over the filling. Peel off and discard the remaining paper. Trim the overhang to 3/4 inch. Fold the overhang under the bottom pastry to form an edge that rests on the lip of the plate. Press the layers together firmly, then flute with your fingers or press the tines of a fork all the way around. Brush the dough top (not the edges) with the milk, then sprinkle with the granulated sugar. Cut generous slashes in the top for steam vents, using a sharp, lightly greased paring knife.

Set the pie on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until the crust is lightly browned. Spray the underside of an extra-wide sheet of aluminum foil with nonstick spray (or use nonstick foil). Make a foil tent over the pie top so the entire crust is covered. Continue baking for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the top is nicely browned and the filling is bubbly. Transfer the pie to a wire rack. Let cool for at least 1 1/2 hours and preferably 4 hours or longer (for neater slices) before serving.

The pie will keep, covered, at room temperature for up to 2 days or refrigerated for up to 2 days longer. Let come to room temperature before serving.

All-Purpose Pie Pastry Dough (Double Crust)
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/3-inch cubes
7 tablespoons solid white shortening, cut or spooned into 14 pieces
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cake flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar (I increased to 3 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
6-9 tablespoons ice water

Freeze the butter cubes and shortening pieces for 20 minutes. (I used refrigerated shortening and butter, not frozen.)

In a large bowl, thoroughly stir together the all-purpose flour, cake flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Sprinkle the chilled butter and shortening over the flour mixture. Using a pastry blender, forks, or your fingertips, cut in the fat until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs with a few bits the size of small peas remaining. Be sure to scrape up the flour mixture on the bottom of the bowl.

Combine the all-purpose flour, cake flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in the processor. Pulse for 10 seconds to mix. (I re-wrote the next part of the recipe to show how I made it.) Sprinkle half the chilled butter over the flour mixture. Process with about five 1-second pulses. Stir, lifting up the contents on the bottom. Add the remaining butter, and pulse about 5 more times. Add shortening, and pulse 10 more times, just until the bits of fat are cut in and the mixture looks like coarse crumbs with a few bits the size of small peas remaining; stop halfway through and stir to redistribute the contents on the bottom. Turn out the mixture into a large bowl.

In a small bowl, measure out 6 tablespoons ice water. Using a fork, lightly combine the water mixture with the flour mixture, tossing until the water is evenly incorporated and the mixture just begins to form clumps, 15 to 20 strokes. Be sure to reach down to the bottom to be sure the flour underneath is dampened. Check the consistency by pinching a small amount of dough between your fingertips; it should hold together smoothly and be moist but not soggy. If it is crumbly or dry, sprinkle over more ice water, 2 teaspoons at a time, tossing briefly with a fork. When the water is evenly incorporated and the dough is sufficiently moistened to hold together when pinched, gather it up and firmly press it together with your fingertips into a smooth, dense mass. Divide the dough in half, and flatten the portions into 6-inch disks. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes and preferably 1 hour. The dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or wrapped airtight and frozen for up to a month; thaw in the refrigerator before using. Roll and bake as directed in the individual recipes.

French Cruller Doughnuts

howtoeatacupcake@yahoo.com (How To Eat A Cupcake) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:30:00 +0000

Last weekend, my family and I worked at the Isle of Wight County Fair. We have a mobile concession business where we sell funnel cakes, hot dogs, corn dogs, french fries, shrimp baskets, lemonade, etc. During the large festivals, we work close to 20 hours in a day. Those early mornings usually mean donuts for breakfast. Sadly, our only options for donuts around here are chains like Dunkin Donuts. Every time I open that pink and orange box, I get a quick rush from the donut glory, but I'm quickly let down as soon as I take a bite. My favorites are French crullers, but they're usually flavorless and waxy, and they always leave that grossy film on the roof of your mouth. I haven't been able to find a good cruller around here, so I took matters into my own hands this morning by making my own!I saw the recipe in "A Passion for Baking" by Marcy Goldman. This book is in my top 5 faves because it has never let me down! This recipe didn't give me my perfect cruller, but it did get close enough to get an A-. The problem is not in the recipe, but in the bake temp and time. I like my crullers on the dry and crispy side. These were very eggy in the middle. I'm pretty sure if the second oven temperature was lower and the baking time was extended, these could very well be the crullers of my dreams!
UPDATE: I made these again and lowered the 2nd bake temp to 300F. I left them in the oven for 30 minutes, then I turned the oven off, cracked the oven door open with a wooden spoon, and left them in for about 10 more minutes. They were slightly more crisp, but still not my dream crullers... *sigh* =/

There are really only two components of a cruller, the pastry and the glaze. While I give this pastry an A-, the glaze definitely gets an A++! The secret is in the imitation flavoring! Not just any imitation flavoring... vanilla butter nut flavoring! Or as I like to call it: liquid gold! It's definitely lick-your-fingers good!

French Cruller Doughnuts (from "A Passion for Baking" by Marcy Goldman)
Makes about 8

Choux Paste Doughnut Base
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs

Vanilla Butter Nut Glaze (my own recipe)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla butter nut flavoring
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 tbsp hot water

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat.

For Choux Paste Doughnut Base: In a large saucepan, stir milk, water, sugar, and salt together over medium heat. Stir in butter and allow it to melt. Increase heat and bring mixture to a rolling boil. Stir in flour all at once. Blend well with a wooden spoon, adding vanilla and beating briskly until mixture forms a ball that leaves the sides of pan. Beat vigorously 1 to 2 minutes before removing from burner and turning out into a large bowl. Allow mixture to cool 5 minutes, but do not let cool completely.

Using a wide whisk or wooden spoon, add eggs, 1 at a time, until mixture is smooth and glossy. Spoon choux paste into a large pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch star tip (I used an Ateco 2D tip). On prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between each pastry, make a 4-inch circle of batter with another circle on top -- concentric circles. If you don't have a pastry bag, use a soup spoon to spread out a ring of batter as best you can. It will be fine once it puffs.

Bake pastry 15 minutes; then reduce oven temp to 375F and bake another 15 to 20 minutes or until doughnuts are light in texture and medium brown all over. Cool slightly, about 5 minutes.

To make glaze, whisk everything together in a medium bowl to a thick glaze consistency. If mixture seems thick, microwave for 10 seconds. Dip each doughnut once, let excess drip off back into bowl. Let doughnuts set on a wire rack.

Book Review: "You Made That Dessert?" by Beth Lipton

howtoeatacupcake@yahoo.com (How To Eat A Cupcake) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:17:00 +0000

Recently, I was asked by one of my favorite bloggers, Beth of CookiePie, if I would review her brand new cookbook called "You Made That Dessert?" I was completely flattered that she thought of me, and I was totally awestruck that she got her very own cookbook published. How cool is she??? Lol! She sent me a copy, and I am in love with it! The pictures are fantastic. There is a wide variety of dessert recipes. I love the little stories that go with each one. The two recipes I've tried so far were completely delicious! I made the Gingersnaps (pg. 7) and the Peanut Butter and Banana Bread (pg. 80). The gingersnaps were robust and spicy, crispy around the edges with a great chewy texture. I took some to work and everyone loved them! The peanut butter and banana bread is a genius recipe! It takes a classic flavor combination and makes it new! I made it into muffins instead of a loaf, and they were perfect! Moist and dense, not too sweet, they would make a great breakfast or afternoon snack. I recommend this book to any baker, not because I love Beth and her blog, but because it really is a fantastic cookbook!

You can find it on Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com

Gingersnaps
Makes 3 dozen cookies

2 cups (8.5 ounces) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups (10.5 ounces) sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line three rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. In a small bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and pepper, and stir with a fork to combine.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer at medium speed, beat together the butter and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and add the egg, molasses, and vanilla, then beat until combined. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a flexible spatula. Beat again until the mixture is uniform. (The mixture may look curdled and separated at first, but don't worry; as you beat it, it will come together and turn a pale brown.)

Stop the mixer and add the flour mixture. Use a flexible spatula or wooden spoon to mix the dry ingredients into the butter mixture until a dough forms. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and stir well so that all of the dry ingredients are fully incorporated.

Place the remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a small bowl. Use a small ice cream scoop or two teaspoons to scoop out pieces of dough and roll them, one at a time, in your palms to form balls that are about 1 1/2 inches wide. One at a time, roll the balls in the sugar until they're coated, then place the dough balls 2 inches apart on the baking sheets (don't crowd them-they will spread a lot). Use the bottom of a glass to lightly press the balls into discs.

Bake the cookies for 10 to 11 minutes, until lightly browned. Let them cool on the pans on wire racks for 5 minutes, then use a spatula to remove the gingersnaps and place them directly on the wire racks to cool completely.

Peanut Butter & Banana Bread
Makes 1 9-inch loaf

1 1/4 cups (5.35 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (do not use "natural")
2/3 cup sugar
3 large ripe bananas, mashed with a fork
2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or chopped pecans (optional)
1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Mist a 5 x 9-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt with a fork. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat the peanut butter and sugar together until well blended, about 2 minutes. Beat in the mashed banana and eggs; mix well.

Using a wooden spoon or flexible spatula, stir the flour mixture into the peanut butter-banana mixture, mixing until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a flexible spatula if needed. Stir in the chopped nuts and/or chocolate chips, if using.

Pour the batter into the pan and gently smooth the top with the flexible spatula. Bake 45 minutes. Cover the pan loosely with foil and bake 10 to 15 minutes longer, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the bread cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes in the pan.

Remove the bread by running a paring knife around the inside of the pan to loosen it, then inverting the pan to release the bread : onto a wire rack. Carefully turn the bread right-side up and cool completely. Slice and serve. Wrap any leftovers tightly in plastic wrap and foil; keep at room temperature for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 1 month.

I guess I'll go ahead and use this entry to tell you about this awesome cinnamon I found at TJ Maxx last week! It's made out of totally different stuff than most cinnamon sold in the United States. If you watch "Good Eats" religiously like I do, you've heard Alton Brown talk about the difference between cheap cinnamon (Cassia) and REAL cinnamon (Cinnamomum Zeylanicum). This is the REAL STUFF and it was only $4.99! It smells so much better than cheap cinnamon. It was really yummy in the gingersnaps, and I bet it's gonna make INSANE cinnamon rolls! I'm definitely gonna go back and get a few more.

The Cake Slice presents: Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake

howtoeatacupcake@yahoo.com (How To Eat A Cupcake) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:59:00 +0000

I'm not even going to begin this entry like a broken record by apologizing for being so late. That doesn't even matter. What matters is how freakin awesome this cake is! The September edition of The Cake Slice brought us the Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake. It was our very last recipe from "Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes." We sure did go out with a bang! Did I already use the term "freakin awesome" to describe it? The chocolate cake layers were probably the moistest cake I've ever baked. The chocolate flavor was so dead on. It was perfect! The white chocolate mousse filling was a delightful compliment to the rich, dark chocolate frosting. This cake is completely sinful. If you can eat an entire slice, you deserve a medal of honor. I barely made it through half a slice, and I was so satisfied I saved the rest for later! This recipe is a definite keeper.
Oh, I do have one warning for you. Don't do the "wax-paper-strips-under-the-cake-to-keep-your-cake-plate-clean-while-you-frost" trick. I tried it, and when I went to pull the paper out, the cake was so moist it started to break off and pull apart! I smudged it all back together, but it wasn't pretty!

Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake (from Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes)
Makes a 9" triple layer cake - serves 16 to 20

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup milk
1 1/4 cups hot, strongly brewed coffee
2 eggs
1 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar

1. Heat oven to 350F. Butter bottom and sides of 3 (9-inch) cake pans. Line bottom of pans with parchment or wax paper and butter the paper.
2. For batter, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside the dry ingredients.
3. Put chopped chocolate in heat-proof bowl. Bring milk to a simmer. Pour the hot coffee and milk over the chocolate. Let stand 1 minute, then whisk until smooth. Let the mocha liquid cool slightly.
4. In a mixer bowl, beat together the eggs, mayonnaise, and vanilla until well blended. Gradually beat in sugar. Add dry ingredients and coffee liquid alternately in 2 or 3 additions, beating until smooth. Divide batter among pans.
5. Bake 25-28 minutes, or until pick inserted in center comes out clean. (I also suggest doing the finger test. Lightly press the tops of the cakes to make sure they don't feel wet of spongy at all. These cakes are so moist, if they are even slightly underbaked, they might sink.) Let cakes cool in pans on wire racks 10-15 minutes. Unmold cakes. Peel off paper lining and cool completely, at least 1 hour.

White Chocolate Mousse
4 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1 egg white
1 tablespoon sugar

1. Melt white chocolate with 1/4 cup cream in a double boiler or in a small metal bowl set over a pan of very hot water. Whisk until smooth. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
2. When it has cooled, beat the remaining 3/4 cup heavy cream until soft peaks form. In another clean bowl, whip egg white with sugar until fairly stiff peaks form.
3. Fold the beaten egg white into white chocolate cream. Then fold in the whipped cream just until blended (do not overwhip or your icing will split). Refrigerate until ready to use, but do not make too far in advance.

Sour Cream Chocolate Icing
12 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 stick unsalted butter
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/4 cup half-and-half, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature

Melt chocolate with butter and corn syrup in a double boiler over barely simmering water or in a heavy pan over very low heat. Remove from heat and whisk until smooth. Whisk in half-and-half and sour cream. Use while soft. (If icing is runny, let it cool completely to room temperature.)

To Assemble the Cake:
1. Place one cake layer flat-side up on cake stand. Cover top with half the white chocolate mousse, leaving 1/4 -inch margin around edge. Repeat with second layer.
2. Set third layer on top and pour half the sour cream chocolate over the filled cake. Spread all over the sides and top. Don’t worry if cake shows through. The first frosting is to seal in the crumbs which is why professionals call it a "crumb coat". Refrigerate cake uncovered for at least 30 minutes to allow the icing to set. Cover the rest of the icing with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature.
3. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining icing, which should have the consistency of mayonnaise. If the icing becomes too soft, chill briefly. If icing becomes too stiff, microwave on high 2 or 3 seconds to soften, and then stir to mix well. Use an offset palatte knife or the back of a spoon to swirl the frosting decoratively around the cake. Keep cake refrigerated.

Coconut Washboard Cookies

howtoeatacupcake@yahoo.com (How To Eat A Cupcake) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 16:45:00 +0000

You're probably thinking the same thing I'm thinking. Why are these called washboard cookies? The don't resemble washboards at all. Or maybe you read my Twitter rant at the time these cookies were baked. Remember that rant in all caps about my cookies not coming out right...?? Yeah, these are those cookies! According to the description in the book, these cookies are supposed to be "crisp and perfect with a cup of tea." Well.... no. They didn't exactly turn out like that. Actually it must be opposite day because these suckers are very cake-like. If you know me, cake-like cookies do not make me happy... UNLESS they are part of a whoopie pie. But, ladies and gentlemen, these are not whoopie pies. These are supposed to be washboard cookies! I hate that I'm making very few posts lately because of my new and improved busy schedule. And I hate even more that my last TWO posts both contained mishaps! Oh well, I must press on! If anyone has any advice as to why these cookies turned out soft and cakey instead of crisp, I'd love to get your input!
Also, if you have any clues as to why my camera decided to go all "Chester Cheetah" on me and turn all of my photos orange, that would be nice as well! Here's what they looked like before Photoshop:Recipe from Cook's Country: America's Best Lost Recipes
Washboard Cookies
MAKES 36 COOKIES

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I reduced this to only a pinch, but I'd completely omit it next time)
1 large egg
2 tablespoons milk
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup sweetened, shredded coconut

1. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Whisk together the egg and milk in a small bowl. With an electric mixer at medium-high speed, beat the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg mixture and beat until well combined. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture and coconut, and mix until just incorporated.

2. Following the photos, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and, using floured hands, shape it into a 15-inch log. (At this point, the dough was extremely soft and hard to work with. I'd recommend chilling it for about 15 minutes to make it easier to shape into a log.) Flatten the top and sides of the log so that it measures 1 inch high and 3 inches wide. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 45 minutes. (The dough can refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month.)

3. Adjust two oven racks to the upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator, unwrap, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices, and arrange the slices 1 inch apart on the baking sheets. Dip a dinner fork in flour, then make crosswise indentations in the dough slices. Bake until the cookies are toasty brown, 15 to 18 minutes, switching and rotating the baking sheets halfway through baking. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve.

Cheesecake Pie w/ Strawberry Sauce!

howtoeatacupcake@yahoo.com (How To Eat A Cupcake) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 20:38:00 +0000

Hey guys! First off I wanna say sorry I've been M.I.A. lately. I've been staying busy working at Just Cupcakes, and in my free time Josh and I have become addicted to watching Dexter (all 3 seasons are on Showtime On Demand!!). I made some 7-grain bread last week, but we ate it all before I could take photos and post the recipe. I know i'll be making it again, so look out for that recipe coming soon. Also, my dad's birthday is September 10th. YOU KNOW I'll be making his cake, so keep an eye out for that post as well.

Until then, how about a cheesecake recipe?? It's simple, but it's delicious. I used Teddy Grahams for the crust, and the cheesecake is creamy and mm-mm-good! The homemade strawberry sauce is... well, it's just okay. I won't make it again because it's just too sweet and the strawberry flavor is diluted. It might taste better after a night in the fridge, but as of this moment it's lackluster. =/ At least it's pretty to look at! If you have a better recipe for strawberry sauce, you know where to leave it! ;) Cheesecake Pie w/ Strawberry Sauce

Graham Crust
2 1/4 cups Honey Teddy Grahams (or 20 graham cracker squares)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/8 teaspoon salt

Filling
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Strawberry Sauce (from Junior's Cheesecake Cookbook)
2 quarts fresh strawberries
1 cup cold water
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon pure lemon extract
2 to 3 drops red food coloring, optional

In a food processor, pulse Teddy Grahams until no big pieces remain. Add melted butter and salt. Pulse until evenly blended; press onto the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 9-inch pie plate. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Stir in vanilla just until blended. Pour into prepared crust.

Bake at 325 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Refrigerate overnight.

For strawberry sauce, wash, hull, and dry the strawberries on paper towels. Slice them 1/2 inch thick, vertically from top to tip, into a large bowl.

Bring 3/4 cup of the water and all the sugar to a boil in a medium-size saucepan over high heat and let boil for 5 minutes.

Dissolve the cornstarch in the remaining 1/4 cup water in a cup. Whisk this mixture into the boiling syrup and cook until the mixture thickens and turns clear, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the extracts and food coloring, if you like.

Drizzle over the berries and toss lightly to coat. Store, tightly covered, in the refrigerator up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Chocolate Caramel Shortbread... (think Twix!)

howtoeatacupcake@yahoo.com (How To Eat A Cupcake) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 20:43:00 +0000

UPDATE: I got the good recipe from my cousin! It's actually from a book I gave her for her birthday this year! Thanks to Fran for typing the recipe up for me!

Chocolate Caramel Shortbread
Makes 12

1/2 cup butter, plus extra for greasing
Generous 1 cup all purpose flour
Generous 1/4 cup superfine sugar

Filling and topping
3/4 cup butter
Generous 1/2 cup superfine sugar
3 tbsp dark corn syrup
14 oz/400 g canned sweetened condensed milk
7 oz/200 g semisweet chocolate, broken into pieces

Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Grease a 9-inch/23-cm square, shallow cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Place the butter, flour, and sugar in a food processor and process until it starts to bind together. Press into the prepared pan and level the top. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden.

Meanwhile, make the filling. Place the butter, sugar, corn syrup, and condensed milk in a heavy-bottom saucepan. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let simmer for 6-8 minutes, stirring until very thick. Pour over the shortbread and let chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours, or until firm.

Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Set over a saucepan of gently simmering water and stir until melted. Let cool slightly, then spread over the caramel. Let chill In the refrigerator for 2 hours, or until set. Cut the shortbreat into 12 pieces and serve.

When I got home from work yesterday I was so excited to start baking for "wing night." I wanted to make one of my Grandma's recipes, and I chose her Jelly Roll recipe. I was planning on tweaking it a bit by flavoring the cake with coconut and making a pineapple cream filling instead of using jelly. I attempted to translate my Grandma's handwriting and finally came up with what looked like a perfectly delicious cake batter. I poured it into the pan, watched it bake slowly at a temperature that I had to assume because it wasn't specified in the recipe, then I removed it from the oven to cool. On my way from the oven to my cooling rack..... SPLAT!!?!!? There it went... straight onto the floor... face down, of course!Thankfully, my brain is pretty good at knowing what is and isn't worth getting upset over, and this was definitely not worth it. I picked up the pieces, tossed them into the trash, thought briefly about a few negative words, then headed straight for one of my new cookbooks to choose a new recipe! I used the last of my white sugar in the jelly roll cake, so my options were narrowed down to brown sugar recipes. I chose a recipe for "Toffee Squares" in Better Homes and Gardens^® The Ultimate Cookie Book, but between you and me, I don't recognize any toffee in this recipe. I changed the name to Chocolate Caramel Shortbread! I hoped it would be similar to something my cousin made a few months ago. She let me have some of the leftovers, and it truly tasted like a homemade Twix candy bar! Crunchy shortbread on the bottom, chewy gooey caramel in the center, and chocolate on top. Mine, however, were not like a Twix at all. Well, maybe a factory reject Twix. The recipe called for baking the cookie layer WAY too long before the caramel went on. And it called for too much vanilla in the caramel, which created a very distracting flavor. If I made these again (I won't! I'll be getting my cousins recipe) I'd reduce the first baking time to 15 minutes. I'd also reduce the vanilla to only 1 teaspoon.

I'll try to get the recipe my cousin used and post it here for anyone who wants to try it! Until then, here's the sorry version I made...

Toffee Squares (from Better Homes and Gardens^® The Ultimate Cookie Book)
Prep: 25 min. Bake: 33 min. Chill: 30 min. Oven: 350° F
Makes: about 36 squares

3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk (1 1/4 cups)
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 12-ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips or pieces (2 cups)

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan; set aside.
For crust, in a large mixing bowl beat the 3/4 cup butter and the brown sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Beat in the egg yolk. Stir in the flour and salt until well mixed. Using flour hands, press the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake about 20 minutes or until light brown (I'd probably only bake for 15 mins next time). Cool in pan on a wire rack while preparing the filling.
For filling, in a medium saucepan heat and stir the sweetened condensed milk and the 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat until bubbly. Cook and stir for 5 minutes more. (Mixture will thicken and become smooth.) Stir in the vanilla. Spread over the crust. Bake 12 to 15 minutes more or until top is golden brown.
Sprinkle evenly with chocolate pieces. Bake for 1 to 2 minutes more or until chocolate pieces are shiny and melted. Remove from oven; set on a wire rack. Using a flexible spatula, immediately spread the chocolate evenly over baked layers. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Cover and chill 30 minutes or until chocolate is set. Cut into squares. Refrigerate up to 3 days.

Banana Split Birthday Cake, Version 2.0

howtoeatacupcake@yahoo.com (How To Eat A Cupcake) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 20:04:00 +0000

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you may remember my banana split birthday cake from last year. The layers were hummingbird cake (banana and pineapple) without the cinnamon. I filled it with whipped cream, fresh sliced strawberries, and chocolate ganache. I frosted the whole thing with whipped cream and topped it like a real banana split with cherries, sprinkles, and more chocolate drizzled over the whole thing. It was a freaking masterpiece, if I may say so myself. So last Saturday when my birthday rolled around again, I knew I wanted to give this cake another try.

Stephanie L. and I baked the cake layers Friday afternoon. I just wasn't satisfied with the way the cake looked. It barely rose at all, and it felt way too dense. Just for reference, I looked up a hummingbird cake recipe in Southern Cakes and noticed it was exactly the same except it used baking soda instead of baking powder, as well as a lot less oil. I had already tweaked last year's recipe to use less oil, but I had a feeling the leavening was wrong. So we made it AGAIN using baking soda this time. It rose more, and the soda made the cake brown faster, which looked a lot prettier (even though it would soon be smothered in whipped cream). Don't worry! We didn't waste the first attempt. Even though they were dense I know they'll still taste yummy, so I threw them in the freezer for later use.

To celebrate my birthday, we all stayed at my parents' camper at Sunset Beach Resort on the Easter Shore. "We" including myself, Josh, my parents, two of my aunts, two of my cousins, and a handful of my parents' friends. We had such a blast! My family knows me so well, because I didn't ask for anything at all for my birthday, and all of my gifts were still amazing. I got a bread maker, a popcorn machine, an angelfood cake pan, a digital picture frame, a BUNCH of underwear (there's an inside joke, don't worry), two Queen cd's, and obviously there was a sale on hand soaps at Bath & Body Works! ;P My dad made ribs on the grill with THREE different kinds of BBQ sauce he got from Quaker Steak & Lube. They were so yummy! When it was time for the cake, everyone raved about how beautiful it was. My dad tasted it and said that when we have our own bakery we're gonna call it the "$1M cake" and charged $79.95 as an introductory price! Haha, I dunno what neighborhood he thinks that bakery is gonna be in with wallets that big! Lol, anyway this tweaked recipe is definitely the one that's going into our family cookbook!

All I got was a cell phone picture, sorry! I totally forgot about taking pictures until we were about to walk out the door!
Here's what it looked like last year...

Banana Split Cake
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups diced bananas
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup chopped finely walnuts

Whipped cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 cups cold heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Chocolate sauce
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 ounces heavy cream

Fresh sliced strawberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three 8-inch round cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper.
Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl, combine eggs, oil, bananas, pineapple, vanilla, and walnuts; stir until moistened. Do not beat.
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert and remove pans. Cover cakes with a lint-free kitchen towel to finish cooling.

While cakes are cooling, make chocolate sauce. Combine chocolate chips and cream in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high in 30 second intervals, stirring each time, until chocolate is almost melted. Continue stirring until chocolate is completely melted. Let cool until slightly thickened.

When cakes are completely cool, make whipped cream. Whisk the sugar and cornstarch together in a small saucepan and slowly whisk in 1/2 cup of cream. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture thickens and resembles pudding, 2-3 minutes. Let the mixture cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. In a large bowl, whip the remaining 2 1/2 cups cream and the vanilla together with an electric mixer on low speed until frothy, about 30 seconds. Increase mixer speed to medium and continue whipping until it begins to thicken, about 30 seconds. Slowly add the cooled cornstarch mixture and continue to whip until soft peaks form (about the texture of Cool Whip), 1-3 minutes. Do not overwhip, or mixture will curdle.

Thinly spread whipped cream over each layer. Arrange fresh sliced strawberries and drizzle chocolate sauce over the whipped cream. Frost the whole cake with whipped cream and drizzle more chocolate on top. Add maraschino cherries and sprinkles for decoration.

Cooking w/ Trader Joe's: Edamame Salad

howtoeatacupcake@yahoo.com (How To Eat A Cupcake) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 19:25:00 +0000

Ladies and Gentleman (uh, Adam, I think I can address you solely, lol), I have discovered a new love... Trader Joe's! I know I'm a little late, but in Hampton Roads we're always slightly behind on the trends (we got our first cupcake shop 2 years ago and our first Trader Joe's this year). Our only TJ's is in Va. Beach, which is about 30 minutes away from my house. Thankfully, I work at Just Cupcakes, whish is literally a stones throw from there! HURRAY! Anyway, you may remember me mentioning that I won a cookbook contest on warmolives.blogspot.com and she sent me Cooking with All Things Trader Joe's. She gives away one cookbook each month, and the winner of the cookbook is asked to please make one recipe from the book and post it on their blog w/in 30 days. I decided to make the Green Garbanzo Salad, except I substituted edamame. Wednesday when I left work I decided to do some grocery shopping. I bought all the ingredients for the salad (which, btw, the book says all of the capitalized ingredients in the recipes can be found at TJ's... umm no! I couldn't find the frozen garbanzos, the frozen shelled edamame, or the super tiny mozz. balls). I decided to get a container of the fresh, ready-to-eat edamame, as well as a bag of frozen, ready-in-5-minutes edamame and see if it was worth the extra $1 to buy it pre-cooked and already shelled. Shelling the soy beans was super easy, so yes, I will be saving my $1 and buying the whole frozen pods from now on! As for the mozz. balls, I bought the regular sized marinated mozzarella and quartered them.

This salad was so delicious! Josh even loved it, and his favorite food in the world is cheeseburgers and loaded baked potatoes! Speaking of cheeseburgers... we ate this salad as a side dish. Wanna know what it was next to on our dinner plates? Cheesy Hashbrown Hamburger Helper! Yeah, we know how to do it up right in the 757! Lol ;) Anyway, I made a double batch of the salad, and between Josh and I it was gone in 2 days! It's safe to say this recipe is going to become a staple in the Baker household!

Oh yeah, did you notice I'm creating a new section for my blog? "Cooking w/ Trader Joe's!" Expect a LOT more posts with that subtitle! ;)

Green Garbanzo Salad (from Cooking with All Things Trader Joe's)
Serves 4

2 cups frozen Green Garbanzos or frozen shelled edamame
2 tsp salt to flavor boiling water
1/2 cup Perlini Super Tiny Fresh Mozzarella balls
1/4 cup diced red onion (I will reduce this next time, as it was more than enough for a DOUBLE batch.)
1/2 tsp minced garlic or jarred Crushed Garlic
1/4 cup Tuscan Italian Dressing (We barely used this much in a double batch. I'd say just add it to taste.)
Fresh basil, for garnish

1. Cook garbanzo beans in salted water. Drain.
2. Combine all vegetables in a large bowl. Pour vinaigrette over salad, add mozzarella balls, and toss gently.
3. Garnish with chopped fresh basil.

UPDATE: Win a copy of "Hello, Cupcake!"

howtoeatacupcake@yahoo.com (How To Eat A Cupcake) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 21:04:00 +0000

UPDATE: So obviously you're all either really busy this summer or really lazy. I've only gotten TWO entries for this contest so far, and it's been posted for TWO WEEKS! Since I'm super nice, I'm changing the rules. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment including your e-mail address. (Still U.S. residents only, sorry.) I'll randomly choose a comment, and you'll get the book! :D How's that for a giveaway?!?!

Recently, I won the IronCupcake:Earth challenge, and one of the prizes was a copy of Hello, Cupcake! by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson. Something interesting is that this is the 2nd copy of this book that Houghton Mifflin (the publisher) has sent to me for free (I reviewed it right before it came out)! Lol, so this time I'm giving it away! But don't think winning is going to be easy. Oh no no no, I have to make sure you're not gonna get it and then make a buck off of it on craigslist! I'm gonna make you WORK for it! Muahahaha... SO, here's how to enter:

1. Reproduce any one of the following cupcake designs from the book.
2. E-mail a picture of your cupcakes to howtoeatacupcake{at}yahoo{dot}com
3. If you have a blog, please post your cupcakes and link back to this entry. (Thanks!)
1. Leave a comment including your e-mail address.
2. Sorry, U.S. residents only. =(

Submissions will be accepted until Saturday, August 8 (my birthday!). The winner will be chosen at random and will be notified by Wednesday, August 12. Everyone has a fair chance to win, so what are you waiting for? Get in the kitchen and get your cupcake on!

HERE ARE THE DESIGNS TO CHOOSE FROM:
Pandamonium
Corn on the Cob
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Big Birthday Cake
What a Hoot!
(If you see any mistakes in the instructions, let me know. I scanned them really fast and barely looked over them. I'll double check them soon.)

"Baked" Chocolate Chip Cookies

howtoeatacupcake@yahoo.com (How To Eat A Cupcake) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 21:40:00 +0000

I've noticed that chocolate chip cookies seem to be one of the most controversial desserts when it comes to finding the "perfect recipe." Some people like them chewy, some people like them crunchy. Some people prefer to use melted butter, some like the creaming method. Some like to use brown sugar, some like to use white sugar. Some say vanilla extract is unnecessary, some say it's a necessity. There are so many issues when it comes to the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe! I'll get this out of the way first: I have not found it. These "Baked" cookies (from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking) are delicious, but I have a few complaints. My first is that there are WAY too many chocolate chips for my liking. I want to be able to taste the caramely flavor of the brown sugar and the vanilla-flavored dough, but instead I get bombarded by chocolate chips in every single bite! My second and last complaint is that the cookies are just too flat. In the picture in the book, the cookies look almost cake-like. While I am extremely pleased that my cookies did not have a cakey texture, I am disappointed by how flat the were. Yes, they were chewy (which I like), but just flat, almost as if they had deflated. I guess it's a weird complaint, but I like my cookies to have a little more volume.

I did notice something strange while I was lining my pans with parchment paper. Inside the Reynolds parchment paper box there is a recipe for chocolate chip cookies. It's almost identical to the "Baked" recipe, but it has 1/2 cup more flour and only 12 oz. of chocolate chips. I just thought that was a funny coincidence! :) PS: This recipe is brought to you by my super awesome boyfriend, Josh. I was getting ready to type the recipe into Google Docs, but I got up to get a drink. When I came back, look who was sitting in my seat doing my dirty work for me! He's the greatest! <3Chocolate Chip Cookies (from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking)
Makes 24 cookies (I used a 2-tablespoon scoop and got 33 cookies!)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups (16 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and baking soda together; set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter and sugars together until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. The mixture will look light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and beat for 5 seconds
Add half of the flour mixture and mix for 15 seconds. Add the remaining flour mixture and beat until just incorporated
Using a spatula or wooden spoon, fold in the chocolate chips.
Cover the bowl tightly and put in the refrigerator for 6 hours.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Use an ice cream scoop with a release mechanism to scoop out dough in 2-tablespoon-size balls. Use your hands to shape the dough into perfect balls and place them on the prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, rotating the pans once during the cooking time, until the edges of the cookies are golden brown and the tops just start to darken.
Remove the pan from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Use a spatula to transfer the individual cookies to the rack to cool completely (although they are delicious warm).
The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

IronCupcake_012: Marbled Lavender & Honey Cupcakes

howtoeatacupcake@yahoo.com (How To Eat A Cupcake) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 23:41:00 +0000

Iron Cupcake:Earth_012
Theme: Herbs
My entry: Marbled Lavender & Honey Cupcakes
Voting begins: Tuesday, July 28 @ http://www.ironcupcakemilwaukee.com/ and will be open through Wednesday, August 5 at 12 noon Central.

Another last minute Iron Cupcake entry! Man, I gotta work on completing the Iron Cupcake challenge before the end of the month! Anyway, I made these Tuesday night for wing night. I knew I wanted to use lavender as my herb of choice, but I was worried the flavor would be overpowering. No way! I added some crushed lavender leaves to a basic vanilla cupcake recipe, and I ended up with a delicate, lavender-scented cupcake! To make them even fancier, I divided the batter and colored some of it purple. I swirled it into the white batter to give it a marbled look. Then for the frosting, I made a very simple buttercream with some honey added to it. It was just enough to accent the lavender flavor without overpowering it. These are probably the prissiest, most delicate cupcakes I've ever made. But don't let the dainty appearance fool you because they are DELICIOUS! ;D

Pretty marbled cupcakes... Oh btw, all of you searching for the perfect domed cupcake recipe... I FOUND IT! Marbled Lavender Cupcakes... Want a bite????? ;P

Marbled Lavender Cupcakes (adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes)
Makes 16

1 3/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup milk, room temperature
1/3 cup heavy cream, room temperature
2 tablespoons lavender leaves, finely chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Honey Frosting (my own recipe)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon heavy cream
Food coloring, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine milk and cream.
2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream chopped lavender, butter and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk mixture, and beating until combined.
3. Measure out 1 cup batter, and transfer to another bowl. Stir purple food coloring into reserved 1 cup batter.
4. Fill prepared cups with alternating spoonfuls of white and purple batter, filling each three-quarters full. Run the tip of a paring knife or wooden skewer through batter in a figure-eight motion to make swirls. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until tops are golden and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes (Mine were done at about 18 minutes). Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.
5. To make frosting, combine all ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on low until combined. Increase speed to high and whip for 1 minute.

Overall rating on a scale of 1-5
Moistness: 5
Tenderness: 5
Frosting: 5 (mmm... honey!)

Prizes provided by Etsy artists:
A sweet cupcake ID bracelet by INSANEJELLYFISH
A delicious treat from CIRCLEMONKEY
Also, CAKESPY, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice!
SWEET CUPPIN CAKES CUPCAKERY will be tossing in sweet surprise.
Corporate prize providers:
HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS
HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson
JESSIE STEELE APRONS
CUPCAKE COURIER
TASTE OF HOME books
UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM
Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers

The Cake Slice presents: Marbled Lemon Blueberry Butter Cake

howtoeatacupcake@yahoo.com (How To Eat A Cupcake) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 20:28:00 +0000

Sorry I'm late! This new job is keeping me so busy, but I love it so I'm not complaining! I was supposed to post this entry yesterday with all of the other Cake Slicers, but as soon as I got home from work my mom swooped me up and took me to the mall to go cell phone shopping. I made this cake waayyy back at the beginning of the month. It was delicious, and the entire thing got eaten during wing night! That rarely happens! I'm gonna chalk it up to the fact that I only made half the recipe. I baked it in a 13X9 pan and then cut it into three "layers" to make a rectangular cake. I had a hard time marbling my batter, and when the cake was sliced you couldn't really tell it was marbled. But it was still yummy! The homemade blueberry filling was the best part! I wasn't a huge fan of the whole-egg buttercream. I would've MUCH rather had Swiss meringue buttercream, and Josh agreed with that! Other than that little tidbit, the cake was awesome! Another great choice for The Cake Slice!

See? The marbling looks pretty from the top... This is how I cut it to make a rectangle-shaped cake. I thought I was going to have problems with my buttercream. After whipping the eggs with the sugar syrup, I got SOUP! But it all worked out in the end... And I'm pretty darn proud of the way I decorated the top! ;D ...the marbling is indistinguishable, but it's still pretty!

Marbled Lemon Blueberry Butter Cake (from Sky High: Irresistable Triple-Layer Cakes)
Makes one 8-inch triple-layer cake

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 tsp grated lemon zest
1½ tsp lemon extract
7 egg whites
3 cups cake flour
4 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1¼ cups milk
Fresh blueberries, for decoration
Lemon blueberry preserves (below)
Lemon buttercream frosting (below)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of three 8 inch round cake pans. Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper. In a mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, lemon zest and lemon extract until light and fluffy. Gradually add the egg whites 2 or 3 at a time, beating well between additions and stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt, whisk gently to blend. In 2 or 3 alternating additions, beat the dry ingredients and milk into the butter mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl several times. Beat on medium-high speed for about 1 minute to smooth out any lumps and aerate the batter. Scoop 1 cup of the batter into a small bowl. Divide the remaining equally among the 3 prepared pans, smoothing the tops with a spatula. This gives you a smooth surface to work with. Add 2½ tbsp of the lemon blueberry preserves to the reserved batter and blend well. Drizzle heaping teaspoons of this blueberry mixture over the batter in the pans. Use a skewer to swirl the blueberry mixture in short strokes to drag it down through the lemon batter without mixing it in. Bake for about 25 minutes or until a cake tester or skewer stuck in the centre comes out clean and the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan. Lat the layers cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack, peeling off the paper and leaving to cool completely.

Lemon Blueberry Preserves
3 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
¾ cup sugar
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1½ tsp grated lemon zest
1 tsp grated fresh ginger

Puree the blueberries with any juices that have exuded in a blender. Pass the puree
through a coarse strainer to remove the skins. In a heavy medium saucepan, combine the blueberry puree with the sugar, lemon juice, zest and ginger. Bring to a gentle boil over a medium heat, stirring often for 20 minutes, or until the preserves have thickened and are reduced to 1 cup. To check the proper thickness place a small amount of a saucer and put in the freezer until cold. Drag your finger through it. If a clear path is made through the preserve then it is ready. Let the preserves cool before using. (Can be made up to 5 days in advance).

Lemon Buttercream Frosting
1 cup sugar
¼ cup water
2 eggs
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and water. Bring to the boil over a medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Continue to boil without stirring, occasionally washing down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush until the syrup reaches the soft-ball stage, 238 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Immediately remove from the heat. In a large mixer bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, beast the eggs briefly. Slowly add the hot syrup in a thin stream, pouring it down the sides of the bowl; be careful to avoid hitting the beaters or the syrup may splatter. When all the syrup has been added, raise the speed to medium,-high and beat until the mixture is very fluffy and cooled to body temperature. This can take 15-20 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and gradually add the softened butter 2 to 3 tablespoons at a time, beating well between additions. As you’re adding the last few tablespoons of butter, the frosting will appear to break, then suddenly come together like whipped butter. Beat in the lemon juice, and the frosting is ready to use.

To Assemble
To assemble the cake, place a layer, flat side up, on a cake stand. Spread half of the lemon blueberry preserves over the top. Place a second layer on top of the first and spread the remaining preserves over it. Finally place the third layer on top and frost the top and sides with the lemon buttercream. Decorate with fresh blueberries and serve.

Cookie Carnival: Lemon Ricotta Cookies

howtoeatacupcake@yahoo.com (How To Eat A Cupcake) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:52:00 +0000

This is my first post for the Cookie Carnival, hosted every month by Kate over at The Clean Plate Club. This month we were allowed to vote for which cookies we wanted to make. The winning recipe was Lemon Ricotta Cookies. I didn't vote for these, but when I found out they were the winner I knew Josh would be excited. He's crazy about lemon desserts. This particular recipe comes from FoodNetwork.com. Reading the reviews, I noticed everyone said these were a cake-like cookie. I'm not a fan of cake-like cookies........ UNLESS!! Unless they're smashed together with fluffy, creamy frosting in the middle... You see where I'm going with this?? Whoopie pies, people, WHOOPIE PIES!!?! My dad is crazy about whoopie pies. He's always asking me to make them. So this week for wing night, I made a dessert that satisfies the two most important men in my life!
These lemon ricotta ~~cookies~~ whoopie pies are fabulous! The cookie is definitely cake-like. It's moist and the lemon flavor is excellent. The frosting in the middle is a cooked flour frosting (my 2nd favorite frosting after SMBC). It's creamy and fluffy and lemony and PERFECT! These whoopie pies will satisfy any lemon lover!

Lemon Ricotta Cookies w/ Lemon Glaze (I omitted the glaze and sandwiched the cookies with Cooked Lemon Frosting, recipe below)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 lemon, zested

Glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 lemon, zested

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In the large bowl combine the butter and the sugar. Using an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat to combine. Stir in the dry ingredients.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon the dough (about 2 tablespoons for each cookie) onto the baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.

Glaze:
Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Spoon about 1/2-teaspoon onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to gently spread. Let the glaze harden for about 2 hours. Pack the cookies into a decorative container.

Cooked Lemon Frosting
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, soft but cool
Zest of 1 large lemon
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Whisk together sugar, flour, milk, and cream in a saucepan. Boil over medium heat until mixture becomes extremely thick like glue, about 15-20 minutes. Whisk frequently to prevent burning.

When mixture has thickened, pour it into the bowl of an electric mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat on medium-high speed until mixture cools to room temperature, about 15 minutes (test it by touching it with the back of your hand or wrist). Add the soft but cool butter a few tablespoons at a time. When all the butter has been added, increase speed to high. The frosting will look too soft at first, but it will thicken after about 3-5 minutes on high speed. Stir in lemon zest and lemon juice.

WHAT A DAY!

howtoeatacupcake@yahoo.com (How To Eat A Cupcake) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 19:23:00 +0000

Usually I don't like to make posts about things in my life that don't pertain to baking or food. I don't want to clog up my blog with entries about what happened this week on Nurse Jackie or about conversations Josh and I have about how the only thing certain is uncertainty. Usually, my life is pretty blasé. However, today is an unsual day. (I say "is" because the only thing I'm superstitious about is not tearing off the date on my page-a-day calendar until I've fallen asleep and woken up the next day. Today is today until it's tomorrow.)

Let's go back to this morning. I left for work in a hurry and forgot to grab my Oikos Greek yogurt (with honey on the bottom, yum). When I got to work, not only did I have no breakfast, the air conditioner was broken! It's Virginia! It's hot. It's humid. It's NOT cupcake-friendly weather. So we sold our cupcakes BOGO all day because customers had to wait while their cupcakes were being frosted-to-order. One positive thing so far, I got off work early which gave me plenty of time to come home and bake for "wing night." Back to the not-so-positives, on my way home, I got stuck at the drawbridge. As if that isn't bad enough already, when I went to turn my car back on, THE BATTERY WAS FREAKIN DEAD AS A DOORNAIL! I was sitting in the middle of the highway in my mom's tiny Cabrio (she was getting my car inspected for me, thanks momma!) waiting desperately for someone to stop and help. A very nice man driving a huge F-350 stopped, but he couldn't jump me because he couldn't turn his monster of a truck around on the highway. Finally, almost 10 minutes later, while cars are ZOOMING past me at 50+ mph, a guy from the department of transportation pulled up and pushed my dead car across the bridge so I could pull off of the highway. Then the nice man with the F-350 turned his truck around and gave me a jump. Both the VDOT guy and the F-350 guy were so nice! Thank goodness for both of them! So finally, I got back on the road and got home safely. Then, I went to use the bathroom and ALMOST dropped my phone in the toilet. That would've seriously been the straw that broke the camel's back...

I'd like to end this dreadful post on a positive note. I won Iron Cupcake:Earth last month, and one of the prizes is the book Hello, Cupcake! It came in the mail today, and I already have a copy of it. SO... I'm giving this one away! I haven't thought of what kind of contest I'm going to have. If you have any ideas or suggestions that would be nice. Otherwise, scroll down to where it says "Post A Comment" and tell me how sorry you are that my day sucked so bad! ;P

Whole Wheat Banana Nut Muffins

howtoeatacupcake@yahoo.com (How To Eat A Cupcake) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:00:00 +0000

The scenario:
2 bananas sitting on the table, rapidly turning brown
My all-purpose flour container, almost empty
My bag of whole wheat flour, FULL
What to do?
Whole wheat banana nut muffins! Mmm, I should've known the subtle sweetness of whole wheat flour would go perfectly with the taste of overripe bananas. Add to that a tangy zing of dried cranberries and a delicate crunch from toasted walnuts... It's the perfect muffin! It's not too sweet, so you don't feel guilty about eating it for breakfast. My only complaint was that the banana flavor was mild. But I think that let the flavor of the whole wheat flour shine through. So, I guess I have no real complaints after all!
The original recipe is from Betty Crocker: Baking for Today. It uses all-purpose flour, but I substituted whole wheat flour for most of the AP flour. The original also adds a streusel topping. You can do that if you want a sweeter muffin, but I omitted it.

Whole Wheat Banana Nut Muffins (adapted from Betty Crocker: Baking for Today)
12 muffins (or about 10-11 if you fill the cups to the top)

1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 medium)
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
Streusel topping, optional (recipe below)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners or use nonstick spray.
2. Make streusel topping; set aside.
3. In large bowl, beat milk, oil, egg, and mashed bananas with fork or wire whisk. Stir in flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt all at once just until flour is moistened (batter will be lumpy). Fold in cranberries and walnuts. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Sprinkle each with about 1 tablespoon streusel topping, if using.
4. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown (Mine didn't take near that long! I think they were done at about 17-18 minutes. Check them with a toothpick.). If baked in greased pan, let stand about 5 minutes in pan, then remove from pan to wire rack; if baked in paper baking cups, immediately remove from pan to wire rack. Serve warm if desired.

Streusel Topping
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons firm butter or margarine

In medium bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Cut in butter, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until crumbly.