October Goods: Better Late than Never

Morning, kittens. : )

It seems that lately I've been getting distracted by shiny things (or people... or a person... shut uuuup). And in the midst of that, I realized that I missed giving you a few things. So here they are, in no particular order.

1. Pecan-Topped Pumpkin Bread from Cooking Light


I made this pumpkin bread, ate a bit, shared a bit, and French toasted the rest. No complaints here...

In the interest of full disclosure, I skipped the pecan topping (a good choice since I ended up serving it to someone with a nut allergy) and subbed whole wheat flour for some of the AP.

2. Potato Soup


I love soups, but only on certain days. Well... those days come more often once fall sets in. On this particular night, I made a rich, cheesy, sour cream potato soup that ended up reminding me of my grandma's mashed potatoes. Mmmm... I really wish I'd written down the recipe.

3. Pumpkin Beer Cupcakes with Alicia's Halloween Decorations


Adorable, no?! I followed The Bitchin Kitchen's recipe for Pumpkin Beer Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting exactly. Well... that was the intent, at least. As it happened, I halved the recipe without incident... until it came time to add the pumpkin ale... at that point I forgot I was halving and added the full amount of pumpkin ale. But... ya know... it didn't hurt anything. My snafu resulted in a light, almost sponge-like cake.

While I baked and iced, Alicia made these cute cleavers, tombstones, pumpkins and undead hands out of gum paste she died, sculpted, and painted. Another fab collaboration, if you ask me.

4. Chicken Soup for a Sickie


Mmmhmm... another of those soup days. This one was necessitated by two things: a sore throat and a lot of leftovers. A creamy chicken and rice soup was just what I needed and the leftovers from the leftovers kept me happy for a next couple of days. Again... recipe... I don't have one for ya.


Sooo... now that we're both caught up... let's November together, yes?

Rainbow French Toast (and a Moral)

Things happen.


But when they do... you usually have new options. (Like removing the icing and starting again...


By soaking cupcake slices in a custardy, almond flavored mixture.



And frying them up. And baking them for a few minutes after that.)


This time, I found out that though rainbow cupcakes are tasty, rainbow cupcake French toast is amazingly, woah Nelly delicious.

So, I guess what I'm saying is... it gets better.

(I'm also saying that this happened on a lazy weekend morning that demanded brunch. My cabinets, however, were ridiculously bare... so the cupcakes had to stand in for breads.)

Cupgaykes for all!

Today (October 11th) is National Coming Out Day!

So, I think it's time I share something with you.

This cupcake...

And this one...

All of these...

And even these unbaked cupcakes... are gay.

And it would make about as much sense to turn down one of these cupgaykes for being different as it would to do the same to a person.

Dear cupgaykes,

I love you just the way you are.

Love,

Amanda

Oh, and for a touch of irony... these cupgaykes came from a box. :)

Vegan Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes

Good morning, lovely.


Hmph. Yeah, I can hear you. I know what you're thinking.

"So what? It's a cupcake. It looks chocolate, but whatev. Why do we care?"

Well... maybe you don't care. And I won't try to make you... but if you were to give a flip, I'd encourage you to find the animal products in this pile of ingredients.


Can't? Good. These chocolate & coconut cupcakes are vegan, babies.


Which explains why yesterday I found myself standing beside a friend, staring into a bowl of chocolate soy milk and vinegar and wondering if it would ever - in fact - curdle. (It didn't.)


We soldiered on though... and forked the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.


And combined them (in two parts) with the soy & vinegar solution.


I then poured 1/4 of a cup of batter into each cupcake liner. Apparently while I did that, the vegan said or did something funny.


Exactly 15 minutes after the cupcakes went into the 350 degree oven, they were perfectly cooked and domed. And just... perfect. Chocolatey and moist but very light with a velvety crumb. It might be a new go to chocolate cake recipe for me.


The icing was not so perfect, but it was my first time trying to make a buttercream with... "buttery spread." Here you can see the shortening and buttery spread whipped together.


After adding the extracts, coconut milk, and powdered sugar, it pulled together like a weak icing. Not bad... but odd. As in, really light in texture but wicked sweet. So I'm going to do some finagling with the icing recipe. I'm going to consult Wilton next time.


The verdict: vegan shmegan. Maybe it's because I didn't have to do anything with silken tofu, but I didn't really find vegan baking too taxing. What does that mean? Well... I think it means I need a gluten free friend to come along and really rock my baking boat.

Should you or a vegan treat of yours want to follow in my ever-cautious, fumbling footsteps, here are the recipes I used.

Basic (Vegan) Chocolate Cake from Chow

1 cup soy milk (We used Light Chocolate Silk because I already had it.)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract, chocolate extract, or more vanilla extract (We used coconut because we thought, why not?)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder, Dutch-processed or regular
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line a muffin pan with paper or foil liners.

2. Whisk together the soy milk and vinegar in a large bowl, and set aside for a few minutes to curdle. Add the sugar, oil, vanilla extract, and other extract, if using, to the soy milk mixture and beat until foamy. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add in two batches to wet ingredients and beat until no large lumps remain (a few tiny lumps are OK).

3. Pour into liners, filling 3/4 of the way. Bake 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Coconut Icing (a revision of the Vegan Fluffy Buttercream Frosting from Chow)

1/2 cup nonhydrogenated shortening
1/2 cup nonhydrogenated margarine (We used BestLife Buttery Spread because anyone who doesn't listen to Oprah should be questioned.)
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted if clumpy (You already know I did not sift.)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract (We used 1 t coconut extract and 1/2 t vanilla extract.)
1/4 cup plain soy milk or soy creamer (We used coconut milk.)

1. Beat the shortening and margarine together until well combined and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat for about 3 more minutes.

2. Add the vanilla and soy milk, and beat for another 5 to 7 minutes until fluffy.

Now that I'm writing out this recipe, I'm thinking that the coconut milk was the problem. I think it's a bit too thin to really bring together a nice icing. So perhaps before I go to all the way to Wilton, I'll just try making it with soy.

Hey, hey, it's a cupcake!

And a sneaky one with a twist, at that. Look!


You see it? It's got a chocolate chip cookie bottom. Mmm... now that's decadent. And soooo easy.


Just make up a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough and put about a half-inch layer of dough in the bottom of your well-greased cupcake tin. Cover the cookie bottom with cake batter (I used a homemade funfetti for these cupcakes.)


Bake at 350 until a toothpick comes out clean, and voila! You've got a cutie patootie cookie bottomed cupcake that turns out of the tin like a charm. If you look closely, you can see the very subtle line between the cookie and the cake.

I made just a few of these with some leftover ingredients as an experiment, but it worked so well that I'm excited to try it out with different flavor combinations. Like... a gingersnap bottom and a creamy peach cupcake. Or... a chocolate chip/oreo bottom and a cookies and cream cake. OR... an oatmeal cookie with a bright, strawberry cake.

Oh... this is just too good. If you'll excuse me, I'll probably be thinking about combinations for the next few days. Hmm... What combo would you try?

The Suspense is terrible...

I hope it will last.

It was brought to my attention that my last post read like an end-of-semester meltdown. Well. Since that wasn't really my intent... I thought I'd follow that post with another on just exactly why this week is AWESOME.

+ I have a new friend. And she's nearly a pharmacist. (Therefore... cooler than you.)

+ I've gotten to watch The Golden Girls three nights this week.

+ I updated ye olde CV and now it's in God and my boss's hands.

+ The weather in GA is beyond fab.

+ A friend is visiting this weekend. There are already pool plans.

+ My stack of ungraded papers has been chiseled down to 13.

+ My car just needed a good night's rest and a full tank of gas.

+ Blair had leftover cupcakes on her counter today. She may have four fewer now than she did when I found them. (Shut up... they were mini cupcakes. And besides, who are you to judge me anyway?)

+ I huggled two different dogs today.

+ My credit card bill came to a humorous nine dollars and sixty two cents. Big spender!

+ I heard "Mr. Big Stuff" and Billy Joel's "My Life" on the radio in the same, 9 minute car trip.

So there! You happy now? I think... Yes, I think that this list might have been easier to come up with than the downer one. Oh! But I forgot something...

+ It's the last week of classes!

Back in the Day Bakery, Savannah

I really should have titled this post, "BEWARE the eerie cell phone pics!!!" Consider it so titled.



Anyway... a story for you.

Last week three young, attractive, meeting-weary composition instructors found themselves loosed on the sidewalks of Savannah. After working off a comforting Irish pub lunch with some disheartening window shopping, the girls needed some sweet. Insert a smart phone, a rainbow costume, a parking citation, one boyfriend on a bike, and a set of keys locked in a trunk, and cupcakes were the only logical fix.

With a little help from that smart phone, the girls made their way across town to Back in the Day Bakery. There they were greeted by another trio of ladies sporting skirts and aprons and offering cupcakes, breads, sandwiches, and all manner of hot and cold beverages.


The take? Red velvet and cappuccino (not pictured), Chocolate Heaven and hot chocolate, and Milk Chocolate and milk.

One of our ladies realized too late that the combination of a Chocolate Heaven cupcake and a poured version of the same was far too sweet an undertaking. Another left behind her milk chocolate icing when not even a full glass of milk could balance the sugar.


Our third miss powered through her red flavored (eh...) cupcake by taking frequent breaks and long sips of her piping hot cappuccino.

Though perhaps unprepared for the magnitude at which their call for sugar would be met, the girls left Back in the Day feeling full, contented, and slightly buzzed. A good time was had by all.

Moral of the story: Be careful what you wish for. But... if you wish for a sweet, all-American, buttercreamed cupcake... and you're in Savannah... go to Back in the Day Bakery. The ambience, friendly service, and tasty treats will not disappoint. For the record... the rosemary focaccia is excellent for cutting the sweet, so I have to assume their savory sandwiches are equally good.

Oh, and keep an eye open for Paula too. She's got to be around there somewhere...

Margarita Cupcakes

I make a lot of cupcakes. You've seen some of them.

Some of you lucky b-i-t-c-h-es have gotten to taste them. And some of you that have tasted them with me probably realized that I'm pretty critical of my favorite little treats. There is always something I could have done better. Baking time, amount of sugar in the icing, flavor composition... it usually needs tweaking. It's not often that I'm impressed by my own baked goods.

That said...

I'm impressed with these Margarita Cupcakes.



They are white as can be and pretty boring to look at, but my goodness are they flavorful. And they certainly should be... most of the liquid in the batter is margarita mix, tequila, and triple sec. When lime zest and a white cake mix join this party, there really shouldn't be any more questions about whether these cupcakes are winners.

I made these suckers for a Girls' Night (that I hosted?!?) and they went over well. I mean really well. There was some sighing. And moaning. And one girl said she didn't want the cupcake to end. And... since they are minis and 3 actually make up one regular cupcake... I don't think any of us really policed ourselves.



I also didn't police myself Sunday when I had three of these suckers for breakfast and another two with dinner. Luckily, I was only left with five after I sent each of the girls away with a plate Saturday night.

Anyway... you don't care about that... you're interested in this: Margarita Cupcakes by In Mama Joe's Shadow. I followed the cake recipe exactly, but I did not make the icing suggested here. I mistakenly tossed the leftover margarita mix after I made the batter and I forgot to pick up lime juice while running my errands. So while the girls chatted about pregnancy tests and zebra masks at the kitchen table, I whipped up a quick lime cream cheese icing with one stick of butter, one block of cream cheese, and lime juice, zest, and powdered sugar... all to taste.

Fabulous. I wouldn't change a thing.

If at first you don't quite fail, try, try again

If you follow me on Twitter, you probably saw this post coming.

February 14th, 11:11am: And I just ruined three cupcakes (no biggie) and a cupcake tin (biggie! Who does that?!?!?! THIS GIRL!!!). Dust off the ol' "disaster" tag.

Consider the disaster tag dusted, polished, and bronzed for the occasion.

Ugh. Observe.


Here are four of the recent cherry spice cake cupcakes. Notice how the one in the foreground is fine... nearly textbook. The three in the background? Charred. As in black. Let's... just...


Yeah... you can't smell the smoke and you can't tap on that rock hard cupcake bottom, but you can tell how epically burned those three cupcakes are, right?

Hmm... I can see some of you are still unconvinced. "Look at those golden tops," you might say. "Are you sure it isn't just a funky liner issue?" Well... I see your counterargument, but I'm going to quickly draw your attention back to the evidence.


Bam.

Conclusion reached.

Soo... I've overbaked cupcakes before. I'll admit it. It happens. But... overbaked cupcakes don't look like this. No no, dear friends. This kind of disaster requires special skill and an extra step.


An extra step that I didn't realize I was taking until it was too late...

Since it was Valentine's Day and I was feeling festive, I made myself a decadent breakfast once the cupcakes were in the oven. And for once in my kitchen experience, my timing was perfect. My egg sandwich came together just a minute before the cupcakes needed to come out of the oven, and I was surprised and even pleased with myself. All smug, I pulled the perfect cupcakes out of the oven, set them on the stove (as I always do), and sat down to that amazing sandwich.

While three of my cupcakes continued to cook. (-_-)

Oh, but don't worry... the smell of smoke and failure alerted me to the disaster before the smoke alarm took notice.


**insert dramatic eye roll here**

So... di-sas-ter. To add insult to injury, I don't have a back-up cupcake tin, meaning that I don't actually have a horse to get back on.

Hmmm... any suggestions for how I should I bounce back? Any comfort recipes I've been missing all my life?

Julie, Julia, and Amanda (Part 2)

So...

Umm...

Earlier this week I shared my Julia Child-inspired cookies. They weren't a Julia recipe, but they look like Julia. What I have to share with you today is pretty much the Willy Wonka ("strike that, reverse it") of those cookies. These cupcakes come from a Julia Child recipe, but you wouldn't necessarily know that by looking at them. Just something interesting I thought about...


Anyway...

Julia Child's Gateau A L'Orange et aux Amandes (Orange and Almond Sponge Cake for those who, like me, do not read French) was actually not terrible to put together. The experience of making the cake and icing was a lot like making my first Martha Stewart cupcake. A lot of steps, none of them impossible. Let the record show, however, Julia Child's steps are significantly more difficult and delicate than Martha Stewart's.

The first thing that Julia got me to do that Martha never did was assemble and measure all my ingredients ahead of time.


Mise en place, she calls it. Here's what I had:

1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
3 egg yolks
zest from one orange
1/3 cup orange juice, strained
1/4 tsp almond extract
3/4 cup pulverized almonds
1/2 cup cake flour
3 egg whites
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon sugar

I do not have Mastering the Art of French Cooking, so I followed Danielle's very carefully posted recipe at Cooking for My Peace of Mind. Since I was largely baking for my peace of mind this weekend, it just all felt right.


I began by gradually beating 2/3 cup of sugar into the egg yolks until the mixture formed a ribbon when I pulled the beater up.


Note the ribbon in the bowl there and the amount of left-handed, perfectly timed picture taking skill it took for me to capture it.


Next I added the orange juice, orange zest, and almond extract. The orange et amandes bits. (Is that at all right, French speakers?) After the mixture became light and foamy, I added the pulverized almonds, mixed, and then added the flour, mixed again.


In another bowl, with another mixer, I beat the egg whites and pinch of salt to soft peaks. Once the soft peaks showed up, I added a tablespoon of sugar and continued to beat to stiff peaks, the ones you see in the picture there.


Back to the batter, I added one stick of melted butter and stirred yet again.


Finally, I folded the beaten egg whites into the gorgeously fragrant orange almond batter.


Julia and Danielle said I could fill my cake all the way to the top, but my fancy cupcake liners were quite a bit taller than my tin. So I kept it conservative and I'm glad I did. You'll see in a minute that the cakes rose perfectly.

Now for the topping bit...

I followed the recipe for Julia's Italian Meringue in Julia's Kitchen Wisdom. This book I actually do have. :)

Here's what I gathered (and forgot to photograph):

2/3 cup egg whites (4-5)
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar (I didn't have this so I went without)
pinch of salt
1 and 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water

Julia's instructions: Beat egg whites, cream of tartar, and a pinch of salt to soft peaks and turn machine to slow. Meanwhile, boil water and sugar to the thread stage. (Amanda's note: You'll know you've reached this when you drizzle a bit of sugar water off a spoon into a glass of water. The sugar should form a thread in the water. Also... don't ever stir the sugar... Idk why... but it must be important b/c everyone stresses that.) Beating the eggs at moderate speed, slowly dribble in the hot syrup. Increase speed to moderately fast and continue beating until the meringue is cool and forms stiff, shining peaks.


Let me just say... this takes a hot minute. You can go ahead and walk away. And then walk away again after you check it. And then walk away again when you talk yourself out of checking it.

I'm just sayin... it takes a minute.


But... oh em gee... when it works? It's a thing of absolute beauty. This meringue is Julia's basic meringue. She provides variations for making this into a buttercream, flavoring it, and all sorts of other things... but honestly... this pure form is better than my attempt at her buttercream.


I frosted my mini cupcakes with an offset spatula and they look almost as if they were piped. Gorgeous. I'm... in love. I cooked sugar - I cooked an icing - and I'm in love with the result. I am as surprised as you are.


And what of the cupcake as a whole?

Well... I told you the batter was fragrant and lovely? The cake was just as nice. The sponge is light and fluffy and just slightly sticky. Both the orange and almond flavors are noticeable but delicate. Pairing the fresh, airy sponge with meringue was an excellent choice, since I'm certain anything heavier (an American buttercream, for instance) would have killed it. The Italian Meringue, on the other hand, provided sweetness that was as subtle as the cake itself.

Mmmm...

In the words of my idol, Ms. Paula Deen, "Y'all are gonna have to excuse me while I finish makin love to my tater."