Munch Madness: Cake Edition

With the beginning of spring came a tidal wave of cake baking opportunities so I thought I'd share some of them with you!

First up: Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

 I made these colorful cupcakes for my friend Stephanie for her birthday party. As she is an avid lover of tie-dye, anything bright, and sunny days I knew that I needed to make her a cake with an added color pop. These were so much tastier than the store-bought funfetti cake mix and better for you too (none of those preservatives, ick!!)

Next up: Rum Raisin Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

 My mom had dinner with some old friends the night before Easter and I offered to make dessert. What better cake to make before Easter than Carrot Cake?! I've always had a dream of decorating a cake with little marzipan carrots (don't ask me why) and so I finally had the opportunity to do so!

Aren't they cute?

Lastly (but not leastly): Dairy-Free Gold Cake with Marshmallowy Boiled Frosting

My brother is allergic to dairy, but when my mom's birthday rolled around, I wanted him to be able to take part in the cake-eating festivities so I altered my classic gold cake recipe to contain margarine and almond milk rather than butter and milk, and the results were fantastic!! Oh and boiled frosting is made with sugar, water, egg whites, and some flavoring, so no dairy there either!

Clearly cakes have been a running theme in my life lately, who knows what next month will bring....pies? cookies? muffins? Candy? So many choices!!! Until next time, enjoy the weather (it's starting to warm up! Yippee! And don't forget to celebrate Earth Day on April 22nd :)

Valentine's Day Sugar Cookies

For some reason Valentine's Day has always been one of my favorite holidays. Whether it's because it gives me one more excuse to break out the craft box to make some special valentines, because it means that I get to try my hand at some pretty treats, or because I think the idea of a whole holiday devoted to love is just the sweetest thing ever, I always get super excited every time February rolls around. This year, I decided to try my hand at some sugar cookies decorated with royal icing. These cookies are a perfect and pretty way to show your love this Valentine's Day!

Here's a secret, my all-time favorite sugar cookie recipe comes from one of my favorite books as a child: Mr. Cookie Baker. Apart from being an adorable story with lovely illustrations, the recipe at the end of the book makes yummy and sturdy cookies that are perfect for decorating.

Sugar Cookies (From Mr. Cookie Baker)

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons milk 

Instructions:

1. Mix together 2 cups of the flour, the baking powder, and salt. 

2. Cream together the butter and sugar. Then beat in the egg, vanilla extract, and milk. 

3. Stir in the flour mixture, then gradually add enough of the remaining flour to make the dough stiff enough to roll

4. form the dough into a ball. Chill at least 1 hour

5. Preheat oven to 375˚

6. Roll out the dough on a floured surface to about 1/8 inch thick. Cut with cookie cutters and place on ungreased cookie sheets

7. bake about 8-10 minutes or until nicely browned

Royal Icing

Want perfect icing for decorating cookies? I suggest Wilton's color-flow mix which is a mixture of dried eggwhites and a couple other ingredients that when added to icing make sure that it dries up nice and quick and that it retains a bit of a glossy sheen. You can find the product and the recipe on Wilton.com

http://www.wilton.com/idea/Color-Flow

Now it's time to tint and decorate to your hearts delight! Happy Valentine's Day!

Raspberry Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache

First of all, Happy 2013!! Ok, now back to business. This past weekend my friends and I threw a birthday bash for our friend Sophie. I immediately offered to make the birthday cake and began searching for the perfect recipe.

Over December break, my cousin Lu shared with me her lengthy list of favorite baking blogs, and on the top of her list was http://joythebaker.com: beautiful blog filled with delightful treats and sweets. After browsing her site for an embarrassing amount of time, I finally decided on the Raspberry Almond Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache. In my version I replaced the almond extract with vanilla extract because a friend of mine at the party has a vicious nut allergy and I wanted him to be able to eat them too.

These cupcakes are super easy and super elegant! The perfect dessert for a classy dinner party, lovely garden party, or a casual get together among friends.

Raspberry Almond Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache (Makes 12)

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/3 cup fresh raspberries, roughly chopped

Directions:

1. Put a rack in the middle of the oen and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line muffin cups with paper liners.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt inside a bowl.
3. Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Beat in egg and almond extract.  Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture and milk alternately in 3 batches, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and beating just until incorporated.  Fold in the raspberries.
4. Divide the batter among lined muffin cups.  Bake until pale golden and a wooden pick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes.  Turn cupcakes out onto a rack to cool completely.
5. Spread frosting on cupcakes once cooled.

For the Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips (I used chocolate chunks)
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions: 

Put chocolate chips in a small bowl.  Bring cream to a simmer in a small heavy saucepan.  Pour cream evenly over chocolate.  Let stand for one minute to soften, then stir until smooth.  If frosting is too loose to spread, let it sit at room temperature for 10 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, frosting will continue to thicken as it stands.