Nina's Cupcakes

Speculaas [Club Baked]

2012-01-31T00:00:00.000-08:00

You know when the writers wrote that they loved the Delta cookies, I remembered how much I enjoyed those cookies on my trip to New York almost 2 years ago. My dad had free flights so my brother and I were able to go to New York City for the first time. I had such a great time with my brother - how weird right?

Anyways, these cookies brought me back to my flight. That 5 hour cross country flight was not the most fun flight, but you know what? The cookies were the best part of it. I'm so glad that I was able to learn how to make these.

As I eat these cookies, I remember all the great time I had in New York - watching my first Broadway show...on Broadway. The top of the Empire State Building and Rockerfeller Center. Brooklyn. Central Park. Wall Street. Ground Zero. My goal is to be there once for New Years Eve and stay in a hotel room facing Times Square, where I stayed last time with my dad and brother, and watch the ball drop from my room and be able to celebrate with my friends in the room. That way, I can be there, but also be warm and be able to use the bathroom. I MUST GO BACK SOON.

The flavors are great. I can taste all the spices and they go great with my morning drink from Starbucks (Soy Earl Gray Latte). I can just munch on these cookies all day. Love! I made mine in very little batches because I know if I make big batches I end up giving most of them to my boyfriend and as much as I love him, I love these cookies for myself. I've been baking about a sheet or two. I have about 1/4 of the dough left. I'll be able to eat these cookies for next couple of days.

Check out the recipe here and other bakers here.

Fresh Cherry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

2012-01-29T00:00:00.000-08:00

Fresh cherries on sale for $1.99 at Safeway? I grabbed a couple of bags at first thinking that they are bad either taste wise or they were moldy, but when I got home and ate a handful, they were sweet and tangy and actually really good. The next time the boy went to Safeway, I asked him to pick me up a couple of bags again so I could bake with fresh cherries.

Damn, was that a good idea or what? I sat down and pitted all those cherries. Actually, my boyfriend did. He used a straw from Starbucks and just pitted them. It probably wasn't the most efficient way to do it, but it did pit the cherries pretty well, better than if we tried to cut them and pit them. Definitely cheaper than a cherry pitter.

The cupcake itself is a bit dense, but out of the oven, it's soft and delicious. It's not too sweet, but the cherries running through the batter provide a great little point of sweetness. I decided to top these with a cream cheese frosting - it's my favorite type! I found a great little recipe that makes just enough for about 12-15 cupcakes.

Recipe:
Fresh Cherry Cupcakes
(adapted from How Sweet It Is)
makes 12-15 cupcakes
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped cherries
1-2 tablespoons milk, if needed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Beat butter and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Add flour, baking powder and salt with the mixer on low speed, then gradually increase speed. Add in chopped cherries and mix until combined. At this point, the cherries most likely have enough liquid that you don’t need to add any milk to the batter. If you batter seems dry and is not like typical cake batter, then add milk 1-2 tablespoons at a time, beating until incorporated.

Pour into cupcake liners, approximately 2 heaping tablespoons worth, and bake for 20-25 minutes or until cake is set. Let cool, then frost.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
(from Food Network)

4 ounces unsalted butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large bowl, beat together the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer. With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar a cup at a time until smooth and creamy. Beat in the vanilla extract.

To put the whole cupcake together, pipe the frosting onto the cupcake after it has cooled. I used a 1M frosting tip from Wilton, but any will do. Afterwards, decorate using some whole cherries with their stem still on.

Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

2012-01-25T00:00:00.000-08:00

After I got back from Sacramento, my boyfriend and I wanted to make dessert together since we never do it. We only make dinner together...sometimes. I made him promise that he wouldn't eat all the oreos and he didn't! He had about 10 left and we made half the recipe. It combines two of his favorite things together - chocolate chip cookies and oreo cookies.

To be honest, I've had one of these cookies that my friend had made a year or two ago. It was so sweet and decadent and I decided I would put off making those for a while. Well, it was a while, and I wanted to see if I could make them for myself.

These were super easy to make and using a silpat and some parchment paper, we threw the recipe together in a couple of minutes. Putting the cookie together was the best party and we had a lot of fun doing that together. I think the next time, I'll make these with mini Oreos so that they don't come out like huge cookies that no one wants to eat. Instead, they'll be smaller with a little surprise in the middle!

Recipe:
Modified from Becky Bakes
1 sticks (1/2 cup) softened butter
3/8 cup or 6 Tablespoons packed brown sugar, light or dark
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup of chocolate chips
some Oreo cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugars together with a mixer until well combined. Beat in eggs and vanilla.

In a separate bowl mix the flour, salt and baking soda. Slowly add to wet ingredients along with chocolate chips until just combined. Using a tablespoon take one scoop of cookie dough and place on top of an Oreo Cookie. Take another scoop of dough and place on bottom of Oreo cookie. Seal edges together by pressing and cupping in hand until Oreo cookie is enclosed with dough. Place onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet and bake cookies 9-13 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

Cocoa Rice Krispies Football Treats

2012-01-22T00:00:00.000-08:00

I made these for my boyfriend who was working on the same day the San Francisco 49ers were playing the New York Giants for the NFC Championships. The sad part is, he didn't even end up having to go into work, and so he dropped them off at work for those who had to be there, and stayed at home and watched the game.

These were pretty good, although I'm not sure if I were to make them again, I would use peanut butter. I think the great taste of the cocoa rice krispies are enough. Damn, these treats are HUGE. Maybe I just can't shape them correctly, but next time, they'll be smaller. I'll probably end up making a half recipe or something.

Regardless, the 49ers didn't end up winning, but it was a great first season for Coach Harbaugh. Next year!

Blackberry Champagne Cupcakes

2012-01-20T00:00:00.000-08:00

This is the first post in the series of posts that make GREAT Valentine's Day or romantic desserts. I know my boyfriend just revealed that he doesn't love cupcakes (WHAT HORROR), but I still decided to make these anyways.

Instead of making these for a romantic reason, I made them for a friend's party. I asked her what she wanted and she had mentioned raspberries and champagne. Although it's not the best thing to bake with, I thought I would give it a try. I didn't have fresh raspberries, but I did have fresh blackberries. It's not the same, but it's still amazing! HAPPY BIRTHDAY GAIL!!!

The cupcakes turned out surprisingly very well. Everyone really enjoyed them. I ran into some difficulties with the frosting, but since everyone was drinking, no one noticed! The cupcake was moist, even though I thought it would be quite dense and dry. Delicious new addition to my arsenal. Alcoholic cupcakes are great for birthdays!

Recipe (adapted from Love Cupcake):
Makes about 24 cupcakes
Soaked Blackberries:
1 1/2 cup champagne
2 containers of blackberries (about 70 of them)

1. Place the blackberries in the champagne in a container overnight, or at least 4 hours.

Cupcakes:
2 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup champagne (from soaking the blackberries)

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line muffin tin with cupcake liners.
2. In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a mixer cream butter and sugar until well mixed and airy. Add eggs one at a time making sure each one is fully incorporated before adding the next. Slowly add in flour mixture. Stir in vanilla and champagne.
3. Fill cupcake liners 1/2 full. Insert one blackberry into each cupcake. Cover with enough batter to cover the berry. Bake for 25 minutes. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely.

Champagne Frosting:
1 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/8 cup champagne

Cream butter until smooth. Slowly add sifted powdered sugar. Mixture will bery thick, keep adding champagne to get the consistency you want. Frost cupcakes and top with a blackberry (soaked ones).

Mint Filled Brownies [MSCC]

2012-01-16T00:00:00.000-08:00

A very quick post. I just make these yesterday - 1/3 of the recipe, had to do some math, but it turned out pretty simple. I actually ended up with 5 cupcakes and they made great brownies to eat with ice cream!

Delicious choice! It was simple to get those mini peppermint patties, now I just need to find more uses for them! Boyfriend loved them as a nice addition to our dinner together. Very minty, but the brownie was still soft and fudgy.

PS. Great choice by MSCC and Rebecca!

Mississippi Mud Pie [Club Baked]

2012-01-15T00:00:00.000-08:00

Yes, I was going to start baking again, and I have! One of my many New Years Resolutions is to bake (and cook) - at least once a week. This way I'll be improving my skills and providing wonderful treats to my friends in the Bay Area. I'll probably send a couple of cookies on the way to my friends in different countries and states which means I need your addresses and requests!

Anyways, back to this recipe. In the book it describes the Mississippi Mud Pie as a controversy so I decided to wiki it. Apparently on wikipedia, they only have the second version of the pie, with the dense cake and not this version.

This version has a nice cookie base, chocolate in the middle, ice cream, and some fudge on top! It's a nice delicious (and fattening) treat after a great dinner with my boyfriend. I used some Bailey's instead of whiskey, oreos instead of wafers for the base, and well, karamel sutra ice cream instead of coffee. I know it's not the same, but it was delicious regardless. I really enjoyed making this. I used about 1/6 of the recipe and ended up with three little pies in cupcake liners. I made these before I left for a business trip. I was gone for a week to Sacramento so it was great to eat dinner, drink wine, and talk to him. It's those little things in a relationship that really count.

PS. Thanks to Club Baked and Jess for this awesome pick!

Snickerdoodles

2011-12-23T00:00:00.000-08:00

Snickerdoodles. It's a fun word to say out loud. After baking a whole bunch for my friends for their holiday parties, I was baked out. But Scott asked me to bake one last thing for his dad. His parents have different ideas of the perfect cookie. His mom loves crunchy cookies - almost burnt; his dad loves the soft chewy type. Scott has the crunchy cookie down. Just bake them for a long time, but soft chewy cookies are a lot harder. You have time it correctly. You want a nice crunchy outer shell, but the inside has to be chewy and delicious.

He asked me to help him out. Since I was going to be stressed out about taking the CPA (Certified Public Accountant) test, I knew that baking was a great stress reliever. I bring them to work and I have a big group of people to eat them without having to force Scott to bring them to work or eat them himself. It's a great deal!

I made half of this recipe twice. So yes, I made a full recipe, but I found the second time I made it, it was much better. This is my second version of the cookie.

Snickerdoodles
(adapted from Joy of Baking)
Ingredients:
Cookie:
1 3/8 cup of all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 cup of unsalted butter (1 stick)
3/4 cup of granulated white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla (or imitation)
optional: 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

Cinnamon Sugar:
1/4 cup of granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon (add more if you would like)

Directions:
If you're like me and you don't start baking until you feel like, you won't have room temperature butter. The best way to get it soft is to microwave it. If you put it straight from the refrigerator, you'll have to first put it in for about a minute and a half, and then at half minute intervals. It should be fine around 2 minutes or so. After it's soft, you can add the sugar. Mix until combined (I use a spatula, but you can use an electric mixer). Add the egg and vanilla. MIX IT WELL.

Then add the flour, baking powder, and salt together. I know most places have you mix it in a separate bowl, but really, I don't have the time to wash so many dishes. If you mix it well, it won't really matter...I hope.

Then make the cinnamon sugar, just mix the sugar and cinnamon together. Shape the dough into a ball. I use a tablespoon to make sure that my cookies are around the same size. I like to place my sugar and cinnamon into a shallow bowl (or a ramekin) so it's easier to roll around. After rolling it in the cinnamon sugar, I place it on parchment paper or a silpat. Then press down until it's about 1/2 inch. Before placing it into the oven, I sprinkle some of the cinnamon sugar on top, generously.

Heat oven to 400 degrees F and bake for about 10 minutes. After letting it cool on the pan for 5 minutes, it's ready for consumption, or placing into tupperware for someone else to eat.

ENJOY!

Christmas M&M Cookies

2011-12-10T00:00:00.000-08:00

I love this time of year. It's just a great time to bake for your friends and coworkers. I baked a batch of these for Scott and some of my coworkers since they found out that I baked. Great huh?

Well I know that they enjoyed it because I brought about 20 and there weren't any left when I left from work. Scott says that he loves the cookies and that they were his favorite! I'm definitely happy that he enjoyed them. He's never really had any of my baking since I stopped after we started dating. Now he gets to try all of my baking since it's the holiday season.

I really do miss baking guys; I hope everyone still reads and I promise to bake at least once a month!

I found the recipe here, and its a great one. Try it! I baked it for a little longer than the recipe and it still turned out chewy. That's the most important part - chewy, soft cookies.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Brown Butter Frosting

2011-11-18T00:00:00.000-08:00

This cupcake was definitely a nice fall dessert since it had pumpkin which was super easy. It's an easy dessert - just throw everything together basically and bam, it's done!

Cinnamon Coffee Cake Bundt

2011-11-03T00:00:00.000-07:00

A couple nights ago, I just felt this HUGE urge to bake. Possibly because I haven't in a while and because when I get stressed, all I want to do is bake..and then not eat it. I know it might seem weird to people, but I just can't get myself to eat what I bake, other than like one piece. This recipe is actually really good where I don't mind eating a couple of pieces...over a couple of days.

It's super simple to whip up, I did it in about 20 minutes and baking took about 45 mins. Almost fell asleep since I was baking at about midnight, but that's what the boyfriend is for. He told me when to take it out of the oven. Actually, I only found the recipe because I was showing him a website and then i thought that a recipe would be especially good.

The recipe is a great one, but I modified it slightly. I used yogurt instead of sour cream, and added cinnamon to the batter. I also added more instant coffee to it just slightly and used hazelnut instant coffee instead of regular. It adds this actually nice flavor to it.

The coffee cake is especially good days after when the flavors are allowed to settle a bit. We had the coffee cake the next morning with some fruit and an omelet to share!

Jambalaya (cooking)

2011-11-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Yes, all I typically do is bake, but since I'm trying to lose weight and not spend as much money, my boyfriend and I have been staying in and cooking. Obviously, it's a lot cheaper to cook from home than it is to eat out every night. We talked earlier in the day and we decided that we wanted to make something with chicken, onion, and celery in it. I chose some recipes and we decided on Jambalaya.

Some chicken, sausage and vegetables make a great jambalaya - much cheaper than at a restaurant.

So the recipe is modified from this Jambalaya recipe. We only made a couple of changes and it came out amazing! Everything is basically the same as the recipe, except the order in which we cooked items.

Instead of the meats first, we decided on vegetables first.

Then the meats.

Then adding in everything according to the recipe. 30-40 minutes later - everything is complete!

DELICIOUS!

Small Update!

2011-10-30T00:00:00.000-07:00

I have no idea who still follows my blog, but I have been slacking in the baking department since I met my boyfriend. Anyways, we had been together for a year so we decided to go to my hometown and Disneyland!

Some of the pictures I took (with my cellphone camera)

Lovely sights hm? I really enjoyed the park all decorated Halloween like. This was only in Disneyland though. California Adventure, which was the first time I've ever been, was so much fun as well. Scott and I had so much fun together and ate way too much for our own good.

Examples:

All of these things were delicious! The gumbo was in Disneyland; the second one is from Embassy Suites, and the third is from this amazing place called Bruxie. The waffle sandwich is a great thought and they are so good. I'm so glad they're opening one in my hometown too so when I go home for thanksgiving I will definitely go there for food!

NY Style Crumb Cake [Club Baked]

2011-07-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

So I know that this is a bit late, but I've been busy moving, travelling and having too much fun!

This cake itself was pretty easy to make and super delicious! I really enjoyed putting these together. I gave one to my friend who came by and visited me in San Francisco, kept one for myself, and gave the rest to my boyfriend who was meeting his grandparents in Vegas. Apparently it's their anniversary!

As I mentioned travelling, I ate so much great food. Here's pictures of some of them!

So much good food in Asia, I really wish that I could bring back the tastes for you guys!

Fruits of the Forest Pie

2011-04-27T15:04:00.000-07:00

I know that I had promised to bake more..and now that I'm moving out of my apartment I am! I had 2 frozen pie crusts and I thought that yesterday was perfect for a pie.

I had tried to just use the other pie crust as the top crust, but it fell apart on me, so I decided to be a little creative instead. I cut out (using cookie cutters) hearts and made the top crust that way. This way, there were vent holes where the pie could do its thing.

It was so delicious. We couldn't even stop and get a picture of its inside. The many many different berries made it a great combination. I feel like you could still taste all of them even though they were mixed together. It was still warm about 2 hours later when we finally dug into it and it was gone in 2 minutes.

Fruits of Forest Pie (adapted from here)

Ingredients:

1 double crust pie crust
2 cups strawberries, cut into small pieces
1 cup blueberries
1 cup raspberries
1 cup blackberry
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Ease bottom crust in 9-inch pie pan.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Stir in berries. Gently toss berries until coated. Transfer berry mixture to the pastry-lined pie plate.
Trim bottom pastry to edge of pie plate. Place top crust on filling and fold edge under bottom pastry. Flute edge as desired. Prick with fork for steam vents. ( I made the top crust by cutting some pie dough into shapes of hearts and decoratively placed them on the pie)
Bake for 50 minutes, or until top is golden filling is bubbling. Cool on wire rack.

(maybe) Better than Sex Cupcakes

2011-02-10T18:10:00.000-08:00

So I know, I haven't been keeping up with baking, but I'm trying to get back into. These were made for the Kiwanis Takeover. They were sold for $40! YAY!

It's based on this recipe, but I replaced the mousse with pudding because it was easier to buy. I also used devil's food mix instead of making it from scratch. I'm being lazy, I know! It was delicious regardless!

I called them (maybe) Better than Sex Cupcakes because...well I don't want to promise anything. What if it wasn't better than sex, that would just not be good.

Look at that delicious inside!

Happy New Years

2011-01-01T17:22:00.001-08:00

Happy New Years Everyone!

I know that I haven't been baking recently, but I promise that will change!

Pumpkin Bundt Cake

2010-11-15T23:59:00.000-08:00

HAPPY BUNDT CAKE DAY!

Pumpkin for the season.

I know it's been a while since I've posted, but I've just been so busy. Recruiting for a job, a new boyfriend, and school in general. I made this pumpkin bundt very late at night, but it's super yummy and in season. With a bit of cream cheese, it's the perfect dessert for a college student. Cake mix and some pumpkin puree and you're basically done. Perfect for a late night snack to munch on.

I hope to be baking soon enough again. Gotta feed the boyfriend somehow. ;)

Coconut Pecan Frosting with Devils Food Cupcakes [sms]

2010-10-03T00:00:00.000-07:00

This week's Sweet Melissa Sundays pick, Coconut Pecan Frosting, was chosen by a great friend, Eliana of A Chica Bakes.

I remember when I was travelling to New York, Eliana gave me some great tips and pointers for going there. I'm super sorry that we were not able to meet up anything, but I'll be back in New York in March with my best friend for Spring Break. We'll be partying it up and eating some delicious foods.

I do want to apologize to everyone for not posting for a while. School and recruiting has been taking over my life lately, but I have some extra time this weekend because I don't have midterms until next week. I had a date this weekend, one of many since my ex and I broke up. He decided to cook me dinner while I made him these cupcakes with this topping. He loved it. I made the Devil's Food cupcakes from a mix, but doctored it up. I used this recipe for Chocolate Rum Cake because I had some Malibu lying around...well because my friend Elan is awesome and bought me some when I was super depressed.

Anyways, back to my blog, I've been trying to get myself back into baking, and I'll attempt to make something weekly. Wish me luck!

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes [msc]

2010-09-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

YAY! It's my month to host.

It's been super busy month, so I apologize for not getting this up earlier. I've just been working on school and getting everything done before they're due or needed. This semester so far has been about heartbreak, meeting new people, finding a job, doing well in school, and most of school, staying healthy.

This recipe was super easy to make and although there are still a few in the house, I've been controlling myself and not eating as much. My neighbors and roommate however, have been slightly worse at controlling themselves. It's okay though, the more they eat, the less I have to.

I really enjoyed the creaminess of the cheesecake on top, but the nice crunch of the oreo at the bottom and throughout the cake. I do wish that I could make them perfect by somehow making the Oreo cover the entire bottom of the cheesecake, that would have made it even better!

The recipe for this month's Cupcake Club is found on page 104-105 of Martha Stewart's Cupcake book.

Triple Citrus Cupcakes [msc]

2010-08-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

I made these cupcakes at the beginning of the month for a friend, Mimi, who had a great birthday party. I decided to make these because she said she like light flavors and something just overall light. I thought these would have been perfect.

First I made 2/3 of the recipe. 9 eggs was just way too many. I just made it with 6 eggs - which I thought was still a lot. I used grapefruit instead of orange...well because that's what I had in the house. In addition, I decided to add a bit of citrus alcohol in it since the batter was not cupcake consistency.

After baking it, it had a muffin-like consistency therefore I just decided to add a center of lemon yogurt to it. This way, it is less muffin like, but more moist as well. I also topped it with a lime buttercream. Since I didn't have time to place it into the fridge to set up more, I just kinda scooped it on and topped it with sprinkles.

Everyone loved them which is great. Happy [way] Belated Birthday, Mimi.

The recipe for this month's Cupcake Club is found on page 64 of Martha Stewart's Cupcake book or here.Thanks to Marthe from Culinairy Delights for choosing this.

ps. I apologize to everyone for commenting on their blogs a bit later. I will be in New York this week. If you have any suggestions on what to do or where to eat, please email me! I would love to have a great supply of places to eat.

Pomegranate Cupcake with Lime Frosting

2010-08-13T00:00:00.000-07:00

HAPPY 21ST BIRTHDAY DMITRIY!

I know that I've posted about Dmitriy before; I must have. He's one of my closest guy friends and I just really enjoy being around him. He really makes me sane sometimes when I'm going insane and he's a great friend that I've made at Cal.

Today is his 21st birthday. I was going to make him alcoholic cupcakes, but thought that making a cupcake with alcohol isn't too hard, but making a cupcake for a friend with one of his favorite fruits is harder. Pomegranates are not only not in season, they're kinda too strong for me.

I made a simple white chocolate pomegranate cupcake that I found and then added a little bit of pomegranate juice boiled with a bit of sugar mixture to put into the middle. Also, I topped it with a bit of lime frosting because I've seen so many commercials from Dove that have the two together.

It was simple, delicious and I know he really enjoyed it. Enjoy your 21st and have some fun. I'm super sad that I can't be there, but I know that you'll enjoy it loads!

ps. sorry for the really mess background. I was at my desk, rushing because I had to leave in a couple of minutes to come back home.

Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Torte [sms]

2010-08-08T00:00:00.000-07:00

This week's Sweet Melissa Sundays pick, Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Torte, was chosen by Jennifer of The Rookie Baker.

I'm sorry for not posting for the past couple of weeks. To be honest, I haven't felt like baking in a while. My boyfriend, Brent, decided to break up with me 2 weeks ago after being together for almost 3.5 years. It was hard, but it was right decision for both of us. I'm both glad and sad that this happened. I mean it's been coming for a while, and we are just both so busy with our own lives that we haven't seen each other for more than 4 months already.

Back to this pick, I absolutely loved it. I ended up making it on a Thursday when I was off from school. I forgot that I didn't own anymore 9x13 pans anymore after losing them earlier in the year. Instead, I placed 4 ramekins of water next to the springform on a cookie sheet, 2 on each side. It didn't seem to affect the cake very much. I finished it with a frosting from this brownie and topped it with even more raspberries. It was super sweet, but raspberries cut out some of the sugar and was a bit better.

What is hilarious is that my roommate thought that the cake was too sweet and I expected the cake to stay a while in the apartment. I went out to dinner for a friend's 21st and I came back and my roommate and her friend finished about half of the cake. I guess I shouldn't leave too many sweets for her.

Make sure to check out the rest of the SMS bakers on the blogroll.

ps. does anyone have any places in NYC that I have to try? I'm going from the 15th til the 20th so I need places to try/avoid/whatever. It has to be good for college kids and a 12 year old. My brother and I are the only ones doing the vacationing! Preferably near Times Square too because that's where we're staying...I think!

pps. I just started yelping! Add me!

Kiwi Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

2010-07-24T00:00:00.000-07:00

This was a week-late birthday present for my friend Phuoc. He's turned...30-something, I forgot. He's our Golden Gate Regional Advisor, but he's a great Kiwanian and person. He used to be in Circle K as well so he's got stories for us about when the club started once again and became what it is now - a powerhouse!

Anyways, back to the cupcakes, I made these late Monday night. I got them out of the oven and my roommate, Kimberly, and I each tried one that night and the chunks of kiwi were the only parts that had lots of kiwi flavor, the rest of the cupcake was pretty lemon-y. The next day, although, after the cupcake was allowed to rest, the kiwi flavor was apparent in the cupcake as well. As a suggestion though, I would puree the kiwi and put it into the cupcake instead of chopping it up. It seems like this way, the kiwi flavor will be there more.

I topped these cupcakes off with some cream cheese frosting. I used ones out of the can, but that is only because I still had lots of it left and I was being lazy. In addition, I don't have cream cheese around typically so it was just a lot easier. I topped them off with a bit of sprinkles because everything is better with sprinkles!

Kiwi Cupcakes

[adapted from couture cupcakes]
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup caster sugar
3 eggs
1 ¼ cup SR flour
1 tbs lemon juice
1/2 cup sour cream
2 kiwi fruit finely diced

1. Preheat oven to 180 (350).
2. Line a muffin tray with cupcake liners.
3. Cream butter, lemon zest and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
4. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Beat in the flour until just combined, add the sour cream and lemon juice and beat until well incorporated.
6. Fold in the finely diced kiwi fruit.
7. Evenly divide the batter into cupcake liners and bake for 20 - 22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
8. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Banana Butterscotch Bread

2010-07-22T00:00:00.001-07:00

So I know that I normally have quite a few pictures, but sorry, I was not able to take pictures of the bread myself since I brought it to a "banana" breakfast. It was super fun to eat with my friends in the morning after a couple hours of class. I love these guys. The bread was delicious and a great addition to the breakfast. It was great to sit there and talk and hang out. The banana bread had a great banana flavor, but also, the butterscotch added a great flavor to it without overpowering it or anything.

We also made some banana pancakes with some chocolate chips - they were super delish!

Banana Butterscotch Bread [adapted from allrecipes]

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup white sugar
1 large egg
4 ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 cup butterscotch chips

Directions
Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pans. Set aside.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a bowl. Set aside.
Beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy. The mixture should be noticeably lighter in color.

Beat in the egg, then stir in the mashed bananas.

Pour in the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated.

Fold in the butterscotch chips; mixing just enough to evenly combine. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans.
Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 50-60 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.