Puttin' the Heat to the Meat!

The final stop on our BBQ eating frenzy took place at A & R BBQ. This happened after we toured Graceland –pretty much an Elvis amusement park. And, we paid extra to get to see inside the private plane and automobile museum…I mean we were only going to Graceland this once, we decided to live it up! I’m pretty sure the highlight of the tour was the Jungle Room, which Elvis had outfitted with green shag carpeting from ceiling to floor – even the walls. I also can’t forget to mention the custom waterfall that was in there along with the amazing 70s furniture – fur, lions heads, carved wood. Need I say more?

On to food!

A & R BBQ Memphis, TN

Attendees: Me and Brad (duh - but, I wanted to keep consisted with the other reviews)

Food Ordered: Beef shoulder sandwich, BBQ turkey sandwich, seasoned fries, BBQ spaghetti, fried pickles!

Review:

• My turkey sandwich was awesome – smoky turkey and tasty, thick sauce – it was better than the one I had at Neely’s. The meat was chopped which kind of makes for a hard-to-eat sandwich (pieces kept falling out) so eat it with a knife and fork.
• Brad’s sandwich was like XL size – I think he ordered the jumbo platter or something. I didn’t taste much of it – but Brad seemed to like it.
• Seasoned fries and fried pickles were good. I mean, I love pickles, and anything tastes better fried, right?! Plus, it’s not something you see every day. It’s too bad we didn’t have enough time to make it to the place that had fried twinkies…
• Don’t go expecting anything fancy from the atmosphere. It’s a true roadside BBQ joint –and it was fab.

Overall, we had an amazing time on our trip and ate like it was nobody’s business. My biggest disappointment (in terms of meals) sadly had to be the Papa John’s we ordered one lazy night. I happen to love PJ’s (esp the breadsticks, hello?!) and we don’t have them in Chicago. But, have they changed the secret recipe, or is the recipe different down south? Whatever these breadsticks were, they were not the same dense, chewy, bready breadsticks I remember from the Porter Hall study lounge. Even the pizza tasted different. It was a sad night…

Good thing we ate enough other delicious, local meals. Hope you all get a chance to check Memphis out some day.

Other places to try include:

• Umai – French and Japanese food (trust me it might sound like a weird combo, but I was quickly on team Umai!)
• Young Avenue Deli - we didn’t eat here – just good beers and a good vibe
• Bardog - cool bar, bar (beer is served in mugs) and location of my first-ever Fireball shot; Brad's sister knows the owners and it was good to talk to some locals to find out where to go and what to do
• Flying Saucer - had so many beers they have a newsletter to describe. If you drink 200 beers you get your name on a plate on the wall - we did not attempt this...yet...
  
  Where to eat next??!?

Rendezvous and Neely's

So far eating in Memphis has been soooo good! I’m not going to go into detail on ALL food….just BBQ. However, I do need to mention that if you are ever driving to Memphis, or down 55, or are ever near Sikeston, MO – you must stop at Lambert’s Café. It’s “home of the thrown roll” and a meal that I’ve never before experienced.

Quickly, a few notes on Lambert’s:

• You get “free pass arounds” of sides like fried okra, potatoes, beans and literally have piping hot, fresh rolls thrown at you.
• The servers come around yelling “hot rolls” and carry large bowls of the sides asking if you need more. We weren’t sitting at our table for more than a minute before an onslaught of food starting coming around.
• Drinks are served in giant thermos type mugs – like a 32 ouncer! (love)
• I’m pretty sure it was the first time in my life that I ordered chicken and dumplings – yum

On to BBQ. Our first stop was Rendezvous – from which I’ve gathered is probably the most well-known joint in town. We had to walk around the block before we realized that the restaurant was really located in an alley...

Rendezvous, Memphis TN

Attendees: Me and Brad
Food Ordered: Ribs, chopped chicken sandwich, plate of pickles (YES!), baked beans, coleslaw
Review:

• I did not order the famous ribs – but Brad did. They are smoked with a dry rub - so this is not the place if you are looking for sticky, saucy ribs like you get at Chili’s.
• I thought that the dry rub/smoky flavor was amazing….but the rib lacked meat and was very dry. But, I’m no rib aficionado - Brad loved it all.
• At first I thought that my chicken sandwich was just good. But then we were discussing….and tasting again…and slowly had this hidden smoky/roasted flavor hit the back of our throats – I changed my review from good to great!
• Sauce was a little thin for my tastes, but both the mild and hot and some kick.
• Bottom line - it’s a must-try if you are in Memphis.

Neely’s BBQ, Memphis TN

Attendees: Me and Brad
Food Ordered: Fried bologna sandwich, BBQ spaghetti, BBQ beans, fries, sliced turkey sandwich
Review:

• Disclaimer, we did not go to Neely’s just because they have a show on the Food Network. Upon looking at the menu, we decided to go there because they offered a few different options than some of the other restaurants.
• It’s a true “joint” – nothing pretentious, lots of dark wood and booth space.
• Brad wanted to go off the grid at this place – so he ordered a thick-cut, fried bologna sandwich topped with cole slaw and sauce and served on Texas toast. I don’t think I’ve seen him eat bologna before, but his plate was cleaned.
• My smoked turkey sandwich was pretty good – but was even better dunked in a bowl of sauce.
• The standouts here for us were the BBQ beans with lots of pulled pork in the bowl and strangely enough, the BBQ spaghetti. You just have to try it sometime.
• Sauce was decent.
• We were asked if we’d like a drink refill “to go.” Nice – who does that?!

We’re off to Graceland and Sun Studios today - and most likely Interstate BBQ. Maybe I’ll find the amazing sauce that I’ve been looking for there!

Brad and Katie’s Eating Extravaganza Road Trip to Memphis (via Springfield and the Lou)

So, one night Brad and I got this great idea to use up our airline and credit card points for a spontaneous trip to Belgium. Hey, that’s the kind of people we are! We also bought our car in a blizzard – not just a bad snow storm, a certified blizzard. We wanted a car and we were going to get it. We didn’t know there was going to be a blizzard…

Anyway, said Belgium trip would have taken place about a month from that night, to coincide with a Muse concert in Brussels. Yeah…maybe we had had too many beverages that night. The trip started to sound so amazing and we got really excited (I even expedited my new passport the next day). However, the more we researched details and concert costs (tix only available through a broker) our newly mature 30-year-old minds realized that we probably should wait and take a little more time to plan a trip to Europe - especially because neither of us had been there since we were in high school.

We were saddened by this mature decision, but we had still taken the whole week off and Brad became adamant about at least taking some kind of trip (we also have a wedding anniversary in November, so there was some impetus for a trip as well).

I’m not even entirely sure how a trip to Memphis came up. But, we always see the sign on the highway that says “57 to Memphis” and always joke about how we should just get on the road and drive there. Oh, and we love to eat BBQ. I know, I know – if you know me you are saying “Katie you don’t eat meat!” Well, I really don’t, but BBQ does include chicken…and sauce…which, um, I LOVE. I was known as the “dip queen” as a child after all. (Think French onion dip and Ruffles. Yeah.). I’ve also started to give pork a chance. Pulled pork – mmmmm.

So, here we are. I’m actually in the car on 55 as I’m writing this. Our trip is mainly centered around food – and we have NO problem with that. Our clothes might not fit at the end of this, but we’ll just roll it into Thanksgiving and holiday eating. YUM!

We started our trip eating a little early on Thursday at Smoque in Chicago – so we could have a “control” in our Memphis BBQ eating extravaganza. Even though Smoque specializes in St. Louis ribs (cut from spare ribs to make a more uniform, rectangular rack.), we were going with friends to celebrate a special occasion.

Here’s a quick review:

Smoque, Chicago

Attendees: Me, Brad, Erik, Megan

Food: Pulled pork sandwich, roasted chicken on salad, baby back ribs, spare ribs, corn bread, mac n cheese, fries, baked beans, slaw.

Thoughts:

• Katie and Megan: Had leftovers. We both got the salad with chicken. It was good, but not amazing. I think we liked the sides better – the handcut fries and mac n cheese were fresh and delish.
• Brad: Cleaned his plate. He got the pulled pork sandwich. It was GIANT and I tasted it – it was meaty, not very saucy though.
• Erik: Needed a wet nap. He got the ribs…and loved them. We all tried a bite and even Megan and I (who don’t really like ribs) agreed that they were great – especially the spare ribs. Not too fatty, good bark (haha, do I sound like a pit master?).
  

Other thoughts:

• It’s kinda like eating in a cafeteria – food is served on metal trays.
• Sauce was just OK. I prefer Smoke Daddy’s sauce and the fact that they have three varieties in squeeze bottles on each table so you can sauce up to your heart’s content.
• The restaurant is small and can get busy.
• It’s BYOB, so pack up your favorite brews (maybe some Texas Shiner Bock?) and give it a whirl!

Stay tuned for more BBQ reviews as we travel through Illinois, MO and TN!

Better Late Than Never - Pumpkin Bread

Ok, I know I promised pumpkin bread like a million years ago.... Well, I'm finally getting to it - although I'm sad to say that I don't have any pictures of the mini loaves of spicy deliciousness. They went too fast!

I've had a long obsession with everything pumpkin (real, fake, canned, candied -Brach's mello pumpkins are the bomb!!). In fact, this reminds me that I need to make my annual trip to find the perfect pumpkin candle for fall. Yes, I really do this...:) In recent years, I've had luck at Bath and Body Works - I'm very particular about my candle scents...especially pumpkin. I'm pretty sure this makes me a giant nerd, but if you read this blog, or know me in any way, this should be no surprise.

Anyway, back to food. I can't really take much credit for this recipe, my sister randomly found it online by searching for "lowfat pumpkin bread." Who knew the bread would turn out so good; be "good" for you; and look good in the mini muffin pans. It's super easy too.

Blogger isn't letting me copy and paste, so here's a link to the recipe. We baked the mini loaves for about 40-45 minutes and I served them with some light cream cheese - YUM!!

Iron Cupcake Chicago - Candy

The theme for September's Iron Cupcake Chicago was candy. I was initially really excited about this and had lots of ideas spinning around my head. Ultimately, I got busy, put the creating off and ran out of time to do something truly amazing.

I tried two options - one of which involved the below...

Yes, that's right - Pixie Sticks! Sounds fun, right? I have to admit, this idea originally stemmed from Brad's co-worker - thank you Traci!

However, it didn't completely work out. The idea? Use Pixie Sticks in place of sugar in the recipe. I mean, its all sugar, right?

Well, to say they were tart would be an understatement - and the cupcake came out really compact. Not totally horrible, but definitely unique. Not pretty enough to take pics of.

What I ended up going for the actual "competition" was a Candy Corn Cupcake. Basically a yellow and orange tinted vanilla cupcake with caramel buttercream.

I used a Cake Bible recipe that I've made a bunch of times - but I think the coloring, extra mixing (and maybe I put too much baking powder?) made the cupcakes come out too dry. I know, its sad. But, at least the yellow/orange layering came out OK and the caramel buttercream from Martha was delish.

Um, the actual Iron Cupcake "event" was interesting...

First of all, I went completely alone. I'm comfortable with myself, I didn't think the aloneness would be horrible - but, I was soon desperately wishing that maybe at least Brad would have been there. THEN, I realized the more people you had with you -rooting for you - and voting on your cupcakes would make a huge difference. Duh.

The person that won was at a table of 20 friends and family. I was at a table of 1.

But, seeing as how the event location is seriously in the middle of nowhere, (at least for me and my friends) not near public transportation, and at 6 p.m. on a weekday - makes it hard for me to muster a large crowd to come support me.

It remains to be seen if I will participate again. Maybe some suggestions about the time and place wouldn't hurt? Hmmm...

It's Been So Long - So, Very Long...

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile! I was out of town and then my schedule changed a bit, etc. BUT, I'm back with a very important post - especially for those in the Chicago area.

I'm participating in my very first Iron Cupcake Chicago challenge this Monday, Sept. 14 at 6 p.m.! Detes are below.

It's totally FREE though, so if you are in the area and love FREE CUPCAKES I'd love to see you there. Also, the theme is CANDY - so there should be some interesting entries. More on my entries later...

Thanks!

********
WHAT: Iron Cupcake Chicago

WHEN: Monday, Sept. 14, 6 p.m.

WHERE: Veranda Restaurant
5700 W. Irving Park (at Major) - sorry, kinda randy locale

WHY: FREE stuff and to support me! :)

Junk Cookies & Junk TV

OK, normally I hate posts, items, write-ups (what have you) that are written in the following manner. DailyCandy LOVES to do it, and every time, I'm like really? Is this funny? Can't you just tell us about the new store?

However, I need to recount a conversation that I had with Brad and this is the best way to do it. So, here goes...

Me: "I made cookies, do you want one?"

Brad: "Sure." (munch, munch, munch)

Brad: "These are good hon. What are they?"

Me: "Martha calls them kitchen sink cookies. But, I'm calling mine "junk cookies."

Brad: "Are they from a kit?"

Me: "What do you mean, "a kit?""

Brad: "Like a kit? A box or mix?"

Me: (Looking incredulous) "Do you know who you are talking to?" (thinking, WTF - where have you been the last 6 months?)

Brad: "Well, you've made other things from a box before, like brownies."

Me: "Those are fat free brownies. Did you even look at the giant, jam-packed with ingredients cookie in your hand? "Stuff like that doesn't come from a box!!!"

(note, the fat free brownies are good and I do not by any means only bake from scratch or with real butter...)

But, I mean, seriously, look at the pics below.

Would YOU ask if those came from a box? Cookies with semi-sweet chocolate, butterscotch and white chocolate chips; pistachios, almonds and peanuts; raisins; and a few reese's pieces and chocolate-covered coffee beans?!

I proceeded to re-tell this story to numerous people throughout the weekend. People we knew, of course - with Brad present so I could make him feel like an idiot. Nice wife, eh? :)

I hope you can tell why I'm calling them junk cookies though. I had a bunch of bags of ingredients that were almost gone and I wanted to use them up. You can pretty much throw in anything you want.

On to junk TV. I'm pretty much an addict. If its "bad," I'll watch it. But, if its actually bad - I know where to draw the line. Like I haven't indulged in "More to Love" - but, I also kinda have a problem with that whole concept...

Anyway, I bring up junk TV in conjunction with junk cookies because I was watching "Addicted to Beauty" while I was making them. Seriously people, this show is ridiculous. Maybe not the show per se, but the people on the show.

I doubt this will make it into my regular rotation. But, I encourage you to watch it just once (or for five minutes) as a reminder why you shouldn't get too much botox or too much boob injected into you. Just look at Dianne and Shannyn and you'll know what I mean.

Speaking of regular rotation though, when will "The Pick Up Artist" come back?!? Now, that's good, bad TV!

Julie & Julia & Katie

It's probably no surprise, but I'm reading Julie & Julia. I'm probably late on this, I guess it was published awhile ago...oh, well. But, where was I when all the hype was going around? Oh, I was probably trying to work my way up the corporate ladder.

While reading today, it got me hungry. Well, some parts of it got me hungry - the description of eggs ensconced in jelly - did not. So...I made something to eat. This is the part that I find hilarious, which inspired this short post.

In the book, huge, timely, rich and decadent recipes (requiring multiple sticks of butter) are written about in detail (hence the making me hungry part). But, what did I eat??

-100 calorie english muffin
-fat free cheese
-frozen mixed vegetables

A far cry from boeuf bourguignon - right?! But, to me it was a light lunch that I actually like - for reals.

BTW, I finished the book in between writing this. I thought it was "meh." I'll probably still go see the movie though.

Oh, I did prepare dinner for me and Brad (love my slow cooker) that we'll enjoy after I get my ass kicked in bootcamp tonight.

Two Cakes and a Cooler

Last week was busy. I had two cakes to make, a trip to Indy, a kickball game, classes at my new gym (in which the "warm up" consisted of 64 push ups, WTF?!), etc.

Cake #1 was actually for the trip to Indy. I was surprising my mother-in-law for an early birthday celebration and thought it would be easier to take a cake from Chicago to Indy, than Chicago to Charleston, SC.

Yellow Smiley Face Cake with

Chocolate Ganache Filling and Frosting

We're going to SC in a few weeks for MIL's actual birthday - and supposedly 90+ degree weather. Maybe I should buy that personal-sized Skittles fan that I saw at Blockbuster...

Anyway, the trip was fun, she was so surprised and LOVED the cake - yay! (PS, she used to like those smiley face cookies, hence the cake...get it?) I have some tips below on how I made the three-hour car trip in the middle of summer with a chocolate-covered cake - it is possible!

Cake #2 was actually my first "paid" cake! I know, right? Thanks to my awesome friends that like the stuff I make and refer me to their family and friends.

Bridal Shower Cake - Chocolate Cake with Raspberry and

Chocolate Ganache Filling and Mousseline Buttercream Frosting

The bride's colors were "Tiffany" blue and red wine - and I have to say I think I got the colors spot on. That's why I included the Tiff's box in the pic. :P

From what I've heard the cake was a success - sweet!

Now, what you've been waiting for...my magical cake-transporting tips. Like I said with my sister's graduation cake - in my head it made complete sense to me that I should be able to drive a cake from Chicago to Indianapolis in the middle of summer.

Well, of course I was right. The cake arrived in perfect condition, thanks to the following:

• ice
• cooler
• air conditioned car

Here's what I did:

• Made and frosted the cake a day ahead of time
• Put cake in a cake cover and froze the entire thing overnight
• Bought a deep, square cooler and filled with bags of ice
• Wedged cake in cooler with ice packs
• Kept car air conditioning on high
• Checked cake a few times to make sure ice wasn't melting completely
• Voila!
  

If you ever do this, just remember to put the cake in a fridge upon arrival at location. You don't want to thaw from frozen at room temp, or else something funky will happen with the condensation.

Go cake!

Iron Cupcake: July 2009, Entry 2

Second entry for Iron Cupcake July is.....drum roll.....a Sage-Poached Pear filled Pumpkin Cupcake with Sage Whipped Cream frosting. If there was a section in Iron Cupcake for "longest names" I think I'd win.

But, I'm telling you - if you like all things fall, like me, you will LOVE this cupcake. It's going to be a must-have (just like shoulder pads and neon pink - they're back baby!), at least in my household.

I wanted to do something with sage and pear because its a unique combo. I swear I read about this somewhere and of course now I can't find the article, otherwise I would have linked to it. Pumpkin and sage are often paired together, so I thought the spicy and moist cupcake base would be great with the herb-poached pears. With all the flavors, spices and herbs going on I just did a light and sweet "real" whipped cream frosting.

Even though it might sound like there's a lot of sage going on (I mean, the challenge ingredient is herbs) - it's not overpowering and the whole cupcake, filling and frosting combo is delish.

If you are a nerd like me and are interested in food and flavor trends, check out the following links. The food pubs and trades always send out trend info right before and right after the new year.

Flavor pairings

Food and ingredient trends


Iron Cupcake info:

I'm competing to win the following prizes. July ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:

•A sweet cupcake ID bracelet by INSANEJELLYFISH, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5021935
•A delicious treat from CIRCLEMONKEY http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5335273
•Asweet surprise from Sweet Cuppin' Cakes Cupcakery, http://www.acupcakery.com/
•PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth can not forget our good friend, CAKESPY, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5243382

Corporate prize providers:

•HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS, http://www.fiestaproducts.com/
•HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, http://blog.hellocupcakebook.com/
•JESSIE STEELE APRONS http://www.jessiesteele.com/
•TASTE OF HOME books, http://www.tasteofhome.com/
•A t-shirt from UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM http://www.upwithcupcakes.com/
•Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers, http://www.1800flowers.com/

Iron Cupcake: July 2009, Entry 1

I'm not, nor have I ever been pregnant (not that there's anything wrong with that) - but I happen to like peanut butter and pickle sandwiches. I haven't had one in a long time - probably not since I ate real peanut butter, not Better 'n Peanut Butter (it's really good tho, I promise!).

Well, I found myself with a lot of leftover peanut butter frosting from the birthday cake craziness and the next baking project I had coming up was the July Iron Cupcake challenge. HERBS.



Hmm...you can probably see where I'm going with this. It might seem out there, but I wanted to do a take on the old peanut butter and DILL pickle sandwich. Hence, the Sweet Buttermilk-Dill Cupcake with Peanut Butter Fudge Frosting was born.


The buttermilk and dill aren't overpowering, so the cupcake is still sweet - and the frosting is just damn good (add cinnamon if you're feeling a little crazy!). I even made it with reduced fat pb, but I'm sure the heavy cream made up for it.

I'm going to work on another entry, maybe something with sage...

In the meantime, here are a few tips, since I love tips. I'll post this recipe separately.

• When working with herbs, start with a little bit and slowly increase to taste - you can always add, but it's hard to pick little bits out of a batter or frosting
• When working with brown frosting, do not use a large round open decorating tip - unless you want your cupcake to look like you know what! (or, do you think mine still looks like you know what?)
  

Iron Cupcake info:

I'm competing to win the following prizes. July ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:

• A sweet cupcake ID bracelet by INSANEJELLYFISH, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5021935
• A delicious treat from CIRCLEMONKEY http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5335273
• Asweet surprise from Sweet Cuppin' Cakes Cupcakery, http://www.acupcakery.com/
• PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth can not forget our good friend, CAKESPY, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5243382
  

Corporate prize providers:

• HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS, http://www.fiestaproducts.com/
• HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, http://blog.hellocupcakebook.com/
• JESSIE STEELE APRONS http://www.jessiesteele.com/
• TASTE OF HOME books, http://www.tasteofhome.com/
• A t-shirt from UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM http://www.upwithcupcakes.com/
• Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers, http://www.1800flowers.com/

Finished Birthday Cakes

I apologize for my lack of photography skills in these pics. But, I was extremely busy with my deadline (OK, so it was self-inflicted, but whatever!) of multiple cakes due on the same day for the big 30th B-day Bash. Check 'em out below!

Giant Corn Dog Cake!

Chocolate butter cake with homemade raspberry filling and vanilla buttercream frosting

Christian Louboutin High Heel Shoe Cake

Golden luxury butter cake with whipped chocolate ganache frosting;

shoe is molded out of gum paste

Classic Layered Birthday Cake

Banana cake with cinnamon peanut butter fudge filling and
white chocolate cream cheese frosting

Bachelorette Cake

Vanilla-apricot pound cake with apricot syrup and vanilla buttercream frosting

(oh, and a special twinkie surprise underneath the purple thong)

I'm not going to go into detail on every cake - that would take too long and you would get bored. So, I'll just try to touch on some highlights and give some tips if you are ever planning on making multiple cakes.

First off, I have to give props to my guest star "creative director" - my awesome sister - on the bachelorette cake. (she's the one who just got her MFA in costume design from UCLA) While we were sitting in traffic I had her draw up some designs and then she ended up decorating the cake, since I kinda had a few other things going on. Anyway, this cake is hilarious and AMAZING! I mean, look at the attention to detail! So...I guess I can add "exotic" cakes to my repertoire?

Feedback on the other cakes is as follows...

• Banana cake = best tasting. Everyone raved about this cake flavor combo.
  
• Shoe cake = prettiest. If you don't think this is pretty, there's something wrong with you!
  
• Corn dog cake = most impressive. Not too shabby for my first carved cake.

Cake tips:

Plan ahead - obvi. Everything had to be done on Saturday, July 4. I started baking/prepping on Sunday, June 28. However, I started on the gum paste shoe about a week before that - it takes a few days to dry and I had never done a shoe before so wanted plenty of time.

• Back out from your due date and plan to bake/make something every day - so you don't drive yourself crazy (well, it could still happen...).

Don't be afraid to freeze. Cake is usually best the day its baked. But, there's no way to make and decorate four cakes in one day. Well, unless you have a large staff and a commercial kitchen. I don't. So, bake the cakes ahead of time; when completely cool cover in plastic wrap and foil; put in freezer.

• Let cakes thaw in their wrappings in the fridge.
• Don't thaw on counter because the condensation with make your cake soggy.

Be prepared for mistakes - if its your first time trying something. I'm somewhat of a crazy perfectionist (when it comes to certain things) so its hard for me when a frosting doesn't turn out, or a cake falls (both of these happened to me last week).

• Mistakes will happen - even to the best bakers. So, take a breath and take a step back. You can usually find a way to fix most problems.
• Brad had to remind me of this a few times...

Birthday Cake Bonanza!

So, I turned 30 on Monday. That's me below at my FIRST birthday. I can't believe I'm really this old, probably because I have the mindset of a 15-year-old (which reminds me, I have to watch my DVR'd episode of last night's "NYC Prep"). But this isn't going to be a whiny post all about getting older, getting bags under my eyes and blah, blah, blah. This is going to be about one of my favorite things...CAKE!

Birthday cake to be more specific. I'm attempting to do something I've never done before. I'm baking and decorating three birthday cakes for my upcoming birthday party on July 4th. (It's actually a joint party with Brad and two of our other married friends who have summer birthdays). My girlfriend actually has the same birthday as me, can you believe? I had never met anyone with the same birthday as me...until I met her. Crazy, I know. :) Good thing I like her...I didn't at first, but that's a different story.

OK, back to cake. Oh, I almost forgot - I'm actually making four cakes this week. I'm helping my S-I-L with a cake that she needs to take to a bachelorette party - so it will have some kind of fun "man" decoration. I haven't fully figured that out yet...

Anyway, here is the cake line up:

• Four layer, 9-inch round banana cake with peanut butter/cinnamon fudge filling and white chocolate cream cheese frosting (pour moi - I had banana cake on my first b-day, in that pic above - so I thought it would be fun to recreate 30 years later)

• Four layer, 8-inch square golden butter cake with light whipped chocolate ganache frosting (for my girlfriend - there will also be some surprise decorations - but she reads this blog so I'm not telling...)

• Four layer, 9x13 corn dog-shaped cake made with chocolate cake, raspberry filling and mousseline buttercream (for Brad - this will be my first-ever "carved" cake - so wish me luck! yes, it's going to look like a giant corn dog...or at least I hope it ends up looking that way!)

• Four layer, 8-inch square vanilla-apricot cake with apricot syrup and probably the mousseline BC too (this will be for the bach party)

I've made three of the cakes. They are all wrapped with plastic/foil and are sitting in the freezer. (by doing so I've realized that I hate plastic wrap and probably need a lesson in "wrapping.")

I've even made some headway with the frostings/fillings. I want everything to be done on Friday, so I scheduled out to bake/make something every day this week.

So far, I've realized that two cake pans are definitely better than one - if you are making layer cakes. Its really annoying to make a recipe, bake the cake and then repeat immediately when the pan is cool enough.

If you are interested in a few good pointers for cake baking, see below.

• Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature (butter, eggs, milk) before mixing
• Use cake flour, instead of all-purpose, and be sure to sift it
• Prepare your pans well by greasing all sides and bottom, lining the bottom with parchment paper, greasing the paper, and flouring the pan (you can use cocoa powder when making chocolate cake)
• Use Magi Cake strips or Bake Even strips to ensure an even flat cake

Stay tuned for more updates on this cake adventure and pics!

RECIPE: Vanilla Cupcakes with Straspberry Filling and Basil-Lime Cream Cheese Frosting

CUPCAKES

(from All Occasion Downy Yellow Butter Cake Cupcakes by Rose Levy Beranbaum)





Yields 9 large cupcakes



Ingredients:

· 3 large egg yolks (room temp)

· ½ cup milk (room temp)

· 1 ½ tsp vanilla

· 1 ½ cups sifted cake flour

· ¾ cup sugar

· 2 1/4 tsp baking powder

· ½ tsp salt

· 6 tbsp unsalted butter (room temperature/softened)





Directions:

· Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line cupcake tin

· In a medium bowl, lightly combine the yolks and ¼ of the milk and vanilla

· In a large mixing bowl combine the dry ingredients and mix on low speed for 30 seconds to blend

· Add the butter and remaining milk and mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened

· Increase to medium speed and beat for 1 ½ minutes

· Scrape down the sides

· Gradually add the egg mixture in 3 batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition

· Scrape down the sides

· Fill paper-lined cupcake tins two-thirds full and bake 20-25 minutes or until cupcakes test done

· Let cupcakes cool for 10 minutes in the pan and then remove and let cool completely on a rack before filling and frosting



*Note, this recipe made nine very large, somewhat overflowing cupcakes with big tops. If you would like to make smaller cupcakes, just make more with the same amount of batter.



STRASPBERRY FILLING



Ingredients:

· 1 cup fresh strawberries, cleaned and chopped

· 1 cup fresh raspberries, cleaned and chopped

· 3/4 cup water

· Slightly less than 1/2 cup sugar (you may need to add more if the mixture is not thickening up)

· Dash of black pepper, to taste

· Dash of salt, to taste

· Fresh lime juice from 1 lime



Directions:

· Combine all ingredients in a heavy saucepan

· Place on high heat and bring to a boil

· Once mixture is boiling, lower heat to medium and cook mixture, stirring until it has reduced to a thick filling

· Once mixture has reached desired thickness, remove pan from heat and transfer filling to a bowl to cool

· Let cool completely before filling cupcakes



BASIL-LIME CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

(adapted from Wilton)





Ingredients:

· 1 stick unsalted butter, softened

· 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

· 2-3 tbsp fresh lime juice, to taste

· 1-2 tbsp minced fresh basil, to taste

· 4 to 5 cups confectioners' sugar (or more or less depending on desired consistency)



Directions:

· Combine softened cream cheese, softened butter, lime juice, and basil in large bowl or bowl of mixer

· Beat mixture until light and fluffy

· Add sugar, one cup at a time, mixing in between

· May use between four to five cups of sugar for this recipe, depending on the consistency you want

· If it is too thin, add more sugar slowly to the mixture

· Chill frosting before piping on cupcakes



TO ASSEMBLE CUPCAKES

· Use a small round cookie/biscuit cutter (or just use a spoon) to cut out the center of the cooled cupcakes

· Fill cupcakes with about 1 tbsp filling, or enough to fill the hole you created

· Pipe swirls of frosting over the filled hole and over the entire cupcake

· Garnish with fresh strawberries and raspberries if desired

Iron Cupcake: June 09 Summer Berries, Entry 2

My second entry for Iron Cupcake summer berries is a Vanilla Cupcake with Blackberry Filling and Sweet Corn Buttercream Frosting. This entry was supposed to be the more "out there" one with the whole adding of corn to the frosting. Brad actually liked this one better than the straspberry. I was surprised - but, I had previously made him sweet corn ice cream with blackberry sauce (he loved), which is where the inspiration for this cupcake came from.



I swear that I had tasted something like a sweet corn ice cream at Jeni's in Columbus, Ohio (awesome and unique ice cream!) and sampled it with a blueberry or blackberry ice cream. But now I think that I might have made it up? At any rate, I felt the need to try this combo of sweet corn and blackberry. In my head it sounded good and I guess I was right, because the cupcakes were pretty darn good.

You might think a sweet corn frosting sounds gross, but since its sweet it just adds to the flavor of the frosting. It's not an over-powering strong corn taste. You do get lil bits of corn kernel is some bites, but it gives the frosting a nice texture.

The huge, fresh blackberries I got at Stanley's for an insanely low price made the filling SO GOOD! I again added black pepper and some lime juice to contrast with the sweet berries. Yum.

I used the same vanilla cupcakes as the previous post.

OK, so hope you like these pictures and descriptions - now vote for me starting June 28 at 8 p.m. :).

I think this is hard because you can't TASTE the cupcakes - so how do you decide who to vote for? Best pic? Best descrip? (Btw just saw "Spring Breakdown" a direct-to-DVD movie with Parker Posey, Rachel Dratch and Amy Poehler - if you've seen, you'll get the aforementioned reference.)

Happy Cupcake!


Voting details:

• Starts Sunday, June 28 at 8 p.m. at NO ONE PUTS CUPCAKE IN A CORNER, http://www.ironcupcakemilwaukee.com/
• Open through Monday, July 6 at 12 p.m.

Required Iron Cupcake info:
I'm competing to win the following prizes from the following prize providers and sponsors.

Our June ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:

• a sweet cupcake ID bracelet by INSANEJELLYFISH, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5021935
• a groovy linocut piece from BLOCKHEAD PRESS http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6108705
• a sweet surprise from Sweet Cuppin' Cakes Cupcakery, http://www.acupcakery.com/
• PLUS, IronCupcake: Earth can not forget our good friend, CAKESPY, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5243382, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice - sweet!

Corporate prize providers:

• HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS, http://www.fiestaproducts.com/
• HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, http://blog.hellocupcakebook.com/
• JESSIE STEELE APRONS http://www.jessiesteele.com/
• TASTE OF HOME books, http://www.tasteofhome.com/
• a t-shirt from UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM http://www.upwithcupcakes.com/
• Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers, http://www.1800flowers.com/

Iron Cupcake: June 09 Summer Berries, Entry 1

My first entry ever for Iron Cupcake is a Vanilla Cupcake with Straspberry Filling and Basil-Lime Cream Cheese Frosting. The ingredient theme for June was summer berries, so I combined sweet strawberries and raspberries (i.e., "straspberry") with a light and buttery vanilla cupcake.



I wanted to do something "different" but also something not so "out there" - so the end cupcake would still be appetizing. I tried a few recipes, some including berries in the actual batter, but found that adding the fruit in that way really changed the texture of the cupcake. Those actually ended up tasting more like muffins than cupcakes.


Strawberry and basil is a fairly common pairing, so I figured that would be a natural selection for a lot of people. But, I still wanted to try this route - again, the not so out there route. So, I tried to change things up a little bit by using the basil in the frosting with the lime juice and cream cheese. Also, the filling has a little black pepper and lime juice for a spicy/tangy kick. The vanilla cupcake was the perfect complement to hold up against the flavors of the straspberry filling and fresh, tangy frosting. If you want my recipes, please ask and I'll email them.


I've checked out some of the other entries though and I think I'm up against some tough competition. Stuff like Sichuan Blueberry Pancake Cupcakes and Blackberry Lemon Polenta Cupcakes.

Jeesh...I might have to up my ante next month. Read the next post for my second cupcake entry! And, I'd love to get your votes, of course. :)



Voting details:

• Starts Sunday, June 28 at 8 p.m. at NO ONE PUTS CUPCAKE IN A CORNER, http://www.ironcupcakemilwaukee.com/
• Open through Monday, July 6 at 12 p.m.

Required Iron Cupcake info:

I'm competing to win the following prizes from the following prize providers and sponsors.

Our June ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:

• a sweet cupcake ID bracelet by INSANEJELLYFISH, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5021935
• a groovy linocut piece from BLOCKHEAD PRESS http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6108705
• a sweet surprise from Sweet Cuppin' Cakes Cupcakery, http://www.acupcakery.com/
• PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth can not forget our good friend, CAKESPY, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5243382, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice - sweet!

Corporate prize providers:

• HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS, http://www.fiestaproducts.com/
• HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, http://blog.hellocupcakebook.com/
• JESSIE STEELE APRONS http://www.jessiesteele.com/
• TASTE OF HOME books, http://www.tasteofhome.com/
• a t-shirt from UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM http://www.upwithcupcakes.com/
• Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers, http://www.1800flowers.com/

Iron Cupcake Earth: June 2009 Summer Berries Entry 1

In your post, please be sure mention that you are competing to win the following prizes, be sure to include reference and an active link to our prize providers and sponsors:
Our June ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:
A sweet cupcake ID bracelet by INSANEJELLYFISH, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5021935
A groovy linocut piece from BLOCKHEAD PRESS http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6108705
a sweet surprise from Sweet Cuppin' Cakes Cupcakery, http://www.acupcakery.com/
PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth can not forget our good friend, CAKESPY, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5243382, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice - sweet!Last and certainly not least, don’t forget our corporate prize providers: HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS, http://www.fiestaproducts.com, HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, http://blog.hellocupcakebook.com, JESSIE STEELE APRONS http://www.jessiesteele.com; TASTE OF HOME books, http://www.tasteofhome.com; a t-shirt from UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM http://www.upwithcupcakes.com/. Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers, http://www.1800flowers.com .

Cali Trip, Red Devil's Graduation Cake and Gum Paste

Just got back from the big family trip (nine adults, one toddler) to Cali. We had a great time - I flew a cake with me for my sister, ate self-serve, soft-serve yogurt at least four times and watched turtle racing (just like on "Rob & Big").

In short (or long kinda) I:

• watched my little sister graduate with her MFA from the TFT department (theater, film & television...I didn't know either) at UCLA where Oliver Stone gave the commencement address - he decided to talk about politics, war and the sad economy instead of give an uplifting congratulatory speech
• ate Giant Cheetos for the first time (amazing)
• saw a taping of "Chelsea Lately" and got called out by the warm up guy (who is also the tour guide in the police station in "The Hangover") - we had to move seats so he saw me and Brad stand up and he yelled, "hey, where'd you two meet...computer class!??" just because we were both wearing thick-rimmed glasses....seriously. it was funny tho - and we are pretty big nerds
• spotted CJ from "Top Chef" taking a smoke break outside his restaurant; saw Tim Meadows at brunch
• drank GIANT margs at least twice; saw my brother get a "talking to" from the rent-a-cop for wearing his sweatshirt hood up in the bar (WTF?) - this was a crappy bar too, not a Brent Bolthouse club or anything
• got to spend quality time with my whole fam!
  

I also decided that I wanted to make my sister a custom, costume designer-themed graduation cake. I wanted her to have an awesome cake and I also wanted to experiment with gum paste so I would know what I'm doing with it when I start making the birthday cakes in a week or so. Gum paste is pretty much like edible sugar play dough - fun times, like a kid again!

In my head it seemed so easy and made complete sense to bake a cake in Chicago and fly with it to LA. And, also take the somewhat delicate gum paste decoration items with me as well. I have to say, everything really worked out the way I wanted and there were absolutely no complications with security or the taking of the cake on board. I googled and you can take cakes and pies on the plane - I printed the TSA Web page that had this info and took it with me to the airport just in case. I was NOT going to dump this amazing red cake in the trash!

Everything arrived in great shape and nothing was broken or smashed - yes, success! I did not make and take frosting though, just ended up buying some at the store. It still tasted good, like that hydrogenated oil taste you just can't get from homemade. ;)

If you are interested in successfully taking a cake (undecorated) with you somewhere on a plane, here's what I did:

• baked cakes two days before departure; let cool completely; wrapped layers in plastic wrap and foil; kept in freezer until morning of departure
• pulled out random, perfectly-sized insulated bag that we happened to have and lined with towels
• removed cake layers morning of departure; separated layers with cake boards to keep them straight; put in insulated bag; put bag with cake into large carry-on (not the rolly kind)
• tucked two large zip top bags in bag
• after going through security, made Brad get zip top bags filled with ice from Starbucks
• put ice bags around cakes and zipped insulated bag
• kept insulated bag in carry-on until on the plane; removed it from carry-on and placed under seat in front of me; put cakes in fridge upon arrival at beach house
• voila!

It was a pretty secure fit under the seat, but I also had my feet there to keep it from jostling around.

If you are interested in more about the actual cake, see below:

I used our family's traditional red devil's cake recipe, upon the graduate's request. Our version of this cake is a little different than ones you've probably had from a bakery - I can't really describe the taste - it just tastes like RED cake! It has buttermilk, coffee, cocoa powder and LOTS of red food coloring. A lot of other recipes don't use coffee and call for vinegar. I think the addition of coffee really enhances the cocoa and buttermilk for a completely unique-tasting cake. It was still moist and delicious even after all the traveling.


Working with gum paste was definitely interesting and I have to say I'm pretty impressed with the end result - since I had never used it before. Stay tuned for more gum paste in birthday cake posts.

Iron Cupcake and Denim Diapers

So, I joined a virtual Internet cupcake challenge called Iron Cupcake Earth. Basically, I'll be baking cupcakes each month based on a "secret" ingredient, a la Iron Chef. Except, I won't be on TV, there's no one-hour time limit, no badly dubbed English voice overs and I won't be competing against Morimoto.

The ingredient for June is Summer Berries - Strawberries, Blackberries, Raspberries, Blueberries. I've already been busy "creating" and will post info and pics soon.

Now I've got to pawn these babies off on people. I already sent a batch with Brad for his team - sans some of my Tupperware - I have bad luck with Tupperware getting stolen from offices. I know, it can't get much worse...well, maybe...if I'm ever caught wearing denim diapers, that's definitely worse.

You've heard of jorts (jean shorts) and short jorts, but I overheard someone talking about denim diapers at a bar and I immediately fell in love with the term. You know you've seen these at the store - or if you're me - on someone in public with cheek showing. How is this OK??? I'll be sure to post pics of any DD sightings while we are in LA.

Anyway, stay tuned for some amazing cupcakes and photos - I only have like a thou shots to choose from since I'm now an amateur photographer. Hah. Oh, and Iron Cupcake winners are based on votes, so I'll be pimping you vote for me starting June 28!

Baked Corn Dogs

I've been wanting to make corn dogs for Brad for a long time - he loves them. But, I'm not really one for a) hot dogs (at least not "real" ones) and b) making fried food. I thought for sure that there would be a way to make baked corn dogs - and there is!



To be honest, these taste more like hot dogs wrapped in corn bread (because they don't get as crispy from frying) but in my opinion, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. A quick broil towards the end of the bake time could be a solution...hmm...will try that next time.

The recipe is fairly easy and can be adjusted according to your tastes, e.g., I used 98 percent fat free turkey hot dogs and fat free corn bread mix - yes, it still tasted awesome. I haven't had a real hot dog in a long time, but to me these turkey ones taste really real. Brad likes them too, so that's a good sign.

I also made these little foil hot dog boats/troughs because I thought the coating might fall off and spread over the pan - but now I'm not entirely sure if they are necessary. The coating is pretty thick.

Side dish...

• It was still fun to play with foil.
• Brad now wants a birthday cake shaped like a corn dog - instead of a zombie brain. I like this better.
• I realized that I have a lot of shoes, probably too many flip flops, but still always want more. Brad only has like four pairs.
• There is a ridiculous amount of candy in our cabinet.
• We have WAY too many glasses. I started counting and we're well over 100 glass glasses - and that's not counting glasses still in boxes. There is only two of us.
• I tweeted my second tweet to a celeb yesterday. Mandy Moore said she was watching RHNJ and I of course had to say something. She didn't tweet back though...:(
• We ate our corn dogs with fresh green beans and oven-roasted red potatoes.

OK, here's the corn dog recipe.

Ingredients: for 4 baked corn dogs

• 4, 98 percent fat free turkey hot dogs (like Oscar Mayer, or your fave hot dog)
• 1 1/2 cups fat free corn bread mix (like Krusteaz - I know, weird name)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/8 cup fat free cottage cheese
• a dash (or about 1/8 tsp) each of the following: salt, black pepper, smoky paprika, chili powder blend (I like Chili 9000 from Penzey's), cayenne pepper
• 4 long bamboo skewers
• 4 foil hot dog boats, if you want to try

*You can make the corn bread batter without all the spices, but we like spicy. It will turn a little orange from the paprika and chili powder.

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
• In a shallow baking dish, combine corn bread mix, spices, cottage cheese and water (it will be very thick - add a little more water if necessary to make it spreadable)
• Insert skewers into hot dogs
• Coat hot dogs in batter (don't make it too thick, about a 1/2 inch of batter should work)
• Spray inside of foil hot dog boats with cooking spray and place on a sheet pan
• Put coated hot dogs in foil boats (or skip the foil and place hot dogs right on a nonstick sheet pan)
• Bake for 12-15 minutes until brown

*You will have some corn bread batter leftover. You could just throw it out, but I took mine and made two muffins. Just lower the oven to 400 degrees and bake for 18 minutes.

Fun Lost Cupcakes

Normally, I like to watch Lost at home alone or just with Brad - so I can turn the TV up to level 30 so I don't miss anything (I still ask Brad, "what did they say?"). Maybe I'm going deaf...but, we live in a loft and the el is close, so I blame that. Oh, and we have an abusive couple (so far I think only verbally) living above us that like to fight at all hours of the day and night.

But, I was invited to a Lost season finale party. I didn't accept right away - then Brad was going to the Cubs game, I was itching to make some fun cupcakes and, oh yeah, I wanted to hang out with my friends - so I decided to go.

1) I think the cupcakes were pretty fun to look at 2) I had fun making them 3) I think people at the party thought they were too fun to eat...until I just made them dig in and told them not to eat the plastic rock/island parts. A choking might have put a damper on the party mood.

Anyway, I've established that they were "fun" and I tried to put my own twist on the decoration. I mean, I'm not the first person to make Lost-themed cupcakes. I googled...there's some tough competition.

I hadn't seen the hieroglyphics on any of the cupcakes I found, so I definitely wanted to do those.

I wanted to make the desert islands with pretzel rod palm trees because they had pretzel rod palm trees!


(Side pretzel note, when I was little and we'd go to the pool in the summer my mom would only let us have pretzel rods and licorice from the snack bar. Why? Because they weren't messy like melted candy bars? Or, because we already looked chunky in our little bathing suits and didn't need the chocolate that we really wanted? Hmm...I'll ask her.

Speaking of moms and licorice, Brad's mom would only let him have exactly three pieces of licorice at a time. She told him that any more than that would cause XXX [insert something gross that requires the use of Pepto]. What?! I'm pretty sure I lived off licorice and cereal in college and never once bought a bottle of Pepto for, ahem...too much licorice. Hilarious.)

Sorry, back to Lost cupcakes. I searched a couple of stores for small plastic planes so I could make it look like they were crashing into the cupcakes, but I didn't find any. So, I got crafty and molded my own little plane out of some stiff icing. Take that Ace of Cakes! Haha.

The actual cupcake was Ginger-Lime with Vanilla Buttercream. Yum. And, something "different" with a tropical island nod? Yes.

Here's the recipe, adapted from FoodNetwork.com.

Ingredients: my adapted recipe made 14 regular-sized cupcakes and 9 mini-sized. The original recipe said 12-14 regular.

Cupcakes

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 heaping teaspoon grated lime zest
• 1/4 teaspoon grated ginger root (next time I would probably increase this to 1/2 or 1 tsp to taste the ginger a little more)
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 1/2 cups cake flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup light sour cream

Frosting (from Billy's Vanilla Buttercream on MarthaStewart.com.)

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 6 to 8 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (or clear vanilla flavor for a whiter base that's easier for making other colors)
• Assorted food coloring, icing gels/pastes

*This is supposed to make enough for 30 cupcakes; I made the whole recipe so I would have enough for all the colors and piping I wanted to do. I have leftovers.

Instructions for Cupcakes:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes
• With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition
• Add the vanilla extract, lime zest, lime juice and ginger and mix well
• In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt with a fork or whisk; then sift the entire dry mixture together
• In 5 parts total, alternately add the dry ingredients and the sour cream to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry; mix until just combined
• Line a muffin pan with liners and fill each liner almost to the top with batter (a 1/4 cup measuring cup or ice cream scoop works well and ensures they're all the same size)
• Bake for 25 minutes or until the tops begin to brown and a toothpick comes out clean
• Remove cupcakes from oven and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then transfer to a baking rack to cool completely before frosting

Instructions for Frosting:

• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes
• With mixer on low speed, alternately add 6 cups sugar, milk and vanilla; mix until light and fluffy
• If necessary, gradually add remaining 2 cups sugar to reach desired consistency (i.e., if the frosting still looks "grainy" add more sugar)
• Divide into bowls and make crazy frosting colors, or just leave it plain if you're boring and not fun! ;)

*Note, when adding food coloring to frosting it will make it look "wetter" and "grainier." Just add more powdered sugar until you get a smoother consistency.

One more photo, I couldn't resist. Also, I'll stop taking picture on my cooling racks...how lame.

Choffee Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

Yes, you are reading the title correctly "choffee" - it's a combo of chocolate and coffee if you hadn't guessed. I felt like chocolate coffee cherry oatmeal cookies was a mouthful - but, you'll want a mouthful of cookie after reading this recipe! Seriously, I think I'm funny, even if no one else does...:)

This cookie is more an everyday representation of a dessert that I'd usually make because it's actually, hmmm...lite? better for you? lower fat? What do you call it when you want people to try them?

But for real, I don't make giant layer cakes and full fat sweets and sit around eating them (well, maybe sometimes) all the time. I usually save those for holidays, special occasions, celebrations, etc. However, this cookie tastes like its worthy of a celebration. The recipe uses regular butter and cocoa, just less of it; and the oatmeal adds healthy grains and fiber.

The result is a thin lace-like oatmeal cookie that's crispy on the outside and chewier in the middle. Dried cherries give a sweet/sour bite and the coffee enhances the cocoa - and really the entire cookie. The coffee was my glorious addition.

I didn't encounter any troubles with the dough, it's just a little sticky.

Otherwise, I'd recommend using heaping teaspoons when scooping the dough out and make sure to actually space them out the full 1 1/2 inches apart, they will spread. Maybe I didn't do this on one of the pans....

Here's the recipe, adapted from WeightWatchers.com.

Ingredients: for 36 cookies

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp table salt
• 3/4 cup butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 1/2 cups uncooked oatmeal (not instant)
• 1/2 cup dried cherries
• 2 tbsp instant coffee granules
  

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350ºF
• Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together in a small bowl; set aside
• Place room temperature butter into bowl of a mixer and mix with a paddle attachment until smooth, or beat with an electric mixer
• Slowly pour granulated sugar in an even stream into butter and mix on high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes
• Pour in brown sugar, mix until incorporated and then scrape mixture down from sides of bowl
• Slowly beat in each egg one at a time until incorporated
• Slowly beat in flour mixture until incorporated
• Scrape mixture down from sides of bowl and stir in oatmeal, coffee granules and dried cherries (Note: Freeze dough at this point or continue for baking)
• Scoop rounded (HEAPING) teaspoonfuls of dough onto a nonstick sheet pan, a pan lined with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat about 1 1/2 inches apart
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until edges are set
• Let rest on pan on cooling rack until cool and then transfer to rack to cool completely
• Serve cookies or stack between sheets of waxed paper in an air-tight container and freeze for up to two weeks before serving
• Yields 1 cookie per serving

*These are rich and taste really good broken up over lite vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt; or if you're Brad, take two and make an ice cream sandwich.