Flavor-of-the-Month: Tribute to John Hughes

When this September's Flavor-of-the-Month theme was announced, I added several films to the my Netflix list so I could properly execute the theme: A Tribute to John Hughes (1950-2009). Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, Weird Science, and The Breakfast Club all made it to the top of my queue. I am a child of the '80s. Literally. Pretty in Pink came out when I was what? Three? Four? Needless to say, I can't count myself among those who can say that they grew up watching John Hughes films, and thus I needed a refresher :) After watching the films and brainstorming for ideas, I settled on "Pretty in Pink" cupcakes, mentioned by Bridget of Bake at 350 when she revealed the theme. I 'may' or 'may not' have 'stolen' her idea...

Dreamy Pretty in Pink strawberry cupcakes (with "Duckie" topper* You gotta love the sweet & dorky best friend, although he did border on the stalker-y side... Oh and am I the only one who thinks the dress she made was not pretty?!?!  Even for the 80's!).

*Get your own Duckie toppers over at Bake it Pretty, quite possibly the sweetest baking supply shoppe around!  I can't spend too much time on their website though, because I want to buy EVERYTHING I see. 

 I found the recipe in Cupcakes! from the Cake Mix Doctor. View the cupcake recipe here. I topped them off with a rich strawberry cheesecake frosting, which you can lighten up by using 8 or 12 oz. cream cheese instead of the full 16 oz. (I went whole-hog with this one and used a full pound!)

Click here to visit Bridget's blog and view the other Flavor-of-the-Month participants!

Strawberry Cheesecake Frosting
Enough to generously frost 24 cupcakes with leftovers

• ½ cup salted butter, softened
• 1 lb. powdered sugar, sifted if lumpy
• 2 tsp. strawberry extract
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 Tbl. mashed strawberries
• 8-16 oz. cream cheese, cold--cut into pieces

In a mixer bowl, beat softened butter until creamy. Add powdered sugar gradually, beating after each addition until combined. Add extracts and strawberries, and beat until combined. Add cold cream cheese pieces to bowl, and beat on low speed until combined. Increase speed and beat briefly until smooth and fluffy.

Weekend Birthday Celebrations!

Don't you love surprise parties?  I do.  (Not having one thrown for me, but being "in" on the surprise!)  A friend was celebrating the Big Three-Oh on Friday, and her fiancée put together a small gathering of friends to surprise her.  Unfortunately, he could not answer the favorite cake flavor question, so I had to resort to Facebook sleuthing.  Ugh!  Luckily I was able to find a note about the birthday girl's favorite ice cream flavor being mint chocolate chip, so I decided to go on that.  Finally, something good came from those ubiquitous Facebook quizzes/20 things about me/etc.!

Mint chocolate chip cake: A velvety chocolate cake topped with whipped mint chocolate chip ganache (which ended up melting/softening very quickly!  It did not hold its whip.  Tasted great though.) and whipped icing.  Lettering cut from rolled mint chocolate candy clay.

I was also commissioned to make cupcakes and a main cake for a little girl's first birthday party, which had a rubber ducky theme (how fun!).

Golden vanilla and rich chocolate cupcakes are topped with either plastic ducky picks...

...Or molded candy duckys.

• Candy duckys made with candy discs and this mold
• Plastic duckys from Bake it Pretty
• Brilliant blue cupcake liners, also from Bake it Pretty

The centerpiece cake was an almond pound cake baked in a 3-D rubber ducky pan.  In my rush to get everything packaged and ready for delivery, I forgot to snap a picture of him.  It's really too bad, because he ended up "dying" before the party.  After delivery, I was informed that the ducky started leaning at its destination...and then...*gasp* his head fell off!  :(  I'm not sure what happened here; I even made a practice duck the previous week because of my fear of tipping and/or decapitation.  The practice ducky stood proudly for 2 days before I finally cut him up, but he didn't have to endure a bumpy car ride!  I didn't think my driving was that crazy...

My Girl, Paula: Squash Casserole

 

Oh. My. Word.  Paula Deen has done it again with this squash casserole from The Lady and Sons, Too! cookbook, which was selected as this week's My Girl, Paula recipe.  This casserole was delicious and filling; I'd say that it could serve 6 or 8, not 4 as listed in the recipe. 

 

Changes I made:

• Used crushed plain Goldfish® crackers instead of Ritz® (got them on sale for 99 cents!)
• Used diced colby cheese
• Drained and mashed squash in a sieve held over the cooking pot.  A LOT of water came out!  Took 2 lbs. squash to yield 2 cups mashed.  Probably could've used 1½ lbs. if I didn't try so hard to drain the water out. (Using this much squash might be why my casserole is so filling!

Celebrate the Autumnal Equinox!

Please don't be mad.  I've edited the recipe for my "Big Batch Cut-Out Cookies" once more, this time to include a range of sugar amounts to use.  In my original post I listed 2 cups of sugar, but then edited the recipe a few days later down to 1½ cups after realizing that I had amended the recipe to cut down on the sweetness.  Then I made the autumn cookies you see above.  Wanting to try something new and more time-efficient, I decided to forgo the glaze and color the cookie dough.  The result was quite lovely, but the cookies were a little bland and somewhat delicate without the sheet of glaze holding them together.  So... I went back to the original post and included a note to allow the baker to use between 1½ and 2 cups of sugar.  Sorry for the confusion!

To make the cookies seen above, divide the dough into the desired number of portions and knead food coloring into it before rolling out and chilling.  Score fun designs on the dough with a toothpick, brush with an egg white wash, and sprinkle with colored sugar if desired.  Bake as usual.  For some very festive multicolored cookies, take the scraps from each colored dough and press them together before rolling. 

Big Batch Cut-Out Cookies (adapted from Allrecipes)

Makes about 5 dozen 3-inch cookies when rolled ¼-inch thick

2 cups butter, softened

8 oz. block cream cheese (full-fat, please)
1½ - 2 cups sugar, depends on whether you plan to glaze or not

1 tsp. salt

2 egg yolks

1 Tbl. Vanilla extract

½ tsp. other flavoring**

5 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

** This may be almond, orange, lemon, Princess Cake & Cookie, or my new personal favorite: Fiori di Silicia (seems pricey, but a little goes a very long way. You can make 12 batches with a single bottle, which is a great value considering the recipe is technically a double batch.)

Cream butter, cream cheese, sugar, and salt together until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks and flavorings, and mix to combine. Gradually add flour, 1 cup at a time, stirring after each addition to incorporate flour. Dough will be very soft and sticky, but resist the urge to add more flour. Divide dough into 4 portions and roll out to ¼-inch thickness between two sheets of waxed or parchment paper. Stack in refrigerator to chill for at least 3 hours. (I do mine the night before or first thing in the morning to give the dough ample time to firm up.)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Get out your baking sheets and line with parchment, foil, or one of those new-fangled silicone liners. Or you can leave them plain if you don’t mind washing greasy pans in between batches. No need to grease your pans because trust me--there’s enough fat in the dough! Cut out shapes with desired cookie cutters, place on pans, and bake at 350°F for 12-15 minutes. Cookies will remain very pale. They are done when they are just barely firm (pressing one with your finger won’t leave a dent). Cool before removing from cookie sheets—they are quite tender and fragile when hot! Glaze with Glacé or Royal Icing. Glacé icing dries softer and more translucent than royal icing, and is easier to make. Royal icing produces vibrant colors, can be piped into much finer details, is sturdier for shipping, but can be tricksy for cookie newbies like myself.

Head on over to Our Best Bites for a fabulous tutorial on making and using Glacé Icing.

Happy ITLAPD, Sea Dogs an' Land Lubbers!

That be "International Talk Like a Pirate Day", in case ye didna know.


(Pirate-speak translation brought to you by Sydd Ware)

Rum: th' perfect accessory fer International Talk Like a Swashbuckler Tide. Better yet, let's make that rum raisin. Or chocolate rum raisin. Cobblin' together two o' me favorite recipes from Vegan Cupcakes Take O'er th' World gave me yummy cupcakes in record time. If ye prefer, ye can make th' rummy raisins without liquor by substitutin' equal parts water an' rum extract fer th' dark rum. Less shipmatey, still tasty. Now off ye go t' make ye some cupcakes! Arrrr!

Chocolate Rum Raisin Cupcakes (adapted from VCTOTW)
Yields 12 cupcakes

2/3 cup raisins, coarsely chopped
2 Tbl. dark rum (or 1 Tbl. rum extract + 1 Tbl. water)
1 cup milk or soy milk
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. rum extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

1. Place raisins and rum (or rum extract & water) in a small bowl and heat in microwave until warm, about 30-60 seconds.  Cover with plastic wrap and set aside while preparing cupcake batter.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F and place 12 paper liners in a muffin pan
3. Combine milk and vinegar in a large bowl, and set aside to curdle. Meanwhile, sift flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in separate bowl.
4. Add sugar, oil, and vanilla to milk mixture, whisking until foamy.
5. Add half of dry ingredients to wet mixture. Whisk until combined. Add remainder of dry ingredients, and whisk until combined (some small lumps might remain, but that's okay).
6. Drain raisins and stir them into batter.
7. Pour batter into 12 paper-lined muffin cups, filling each about ¾ full. It might look like it's too much batter, but they'll be fine. Bake for 18-21 minutes, or until cakes test done. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting. Cupcakes might shrink a bit while cooling.

Vote! Vote! Vote! for the Top Banana!

Cupcake Hero is back, and the polls are open!  Visit I ♥ Cuppycakes! to view the entries and cast your votes.  You can vote as often as you'd like through Sept. 21st, but you can only choose one entry per ballot (meaning you can't pick 5 favorites and hit the "vote" button.  Do them one at time).  Does that make sense?  

Voting Rules Update: You can only vote once, so choose carefully! 

Click HERE to vote!

All the entries look delicious, so it won't be easy for ya (especially if you're hungry!)...

Honey Wheat Buns

Mmmm...

That's the only way I can describe these honey wheat buns, because my mouth is too busy eating them to say anything.  You know those soft, delicious wheat rolls school cafeterias make? The ones you beg the lunch lady to let you swap out your beans/peas/corn/"dessert" for, but she won't let anyone have two until all the kids have been served?  Well, these are it.  Find the recipe here.  This is another one of those "KAF Guaranteed" recipes, so you can be assured that they will be both delicious and easy to make.  I formed 8 patties instead of 16 rolls and baked them for around 24 minutes (no tent needed).  I could've been more dainty and made 10 buns, but I'm just greedy like that :)

My Girl, Paula: Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

Did I really need to join up with another blog group? Well if the group happens to be making items from The Lady & Sons, Too! cookbook by Paula Deen, then then answer has to be a whole-hearted "YES!" I've had the book for several years now, and by a wonderful stroke of luck, it's been autographed. Some friends (Thanks, Mr. & Mrs. B!) were guests for what was the precursor to the show "Paula's Party," and they were kind enough to bring my book along to get it autographed. By Paula Deen, her husband Michael, AND brother Bubba no less!

My inaugural item for the "My Girl, Paula" group was an epic fail. I don't know what happened. Really. What began as a gloriously tall chocolate chip bundt cake morphed into an ugly, shrunken brick with a dense and gummy ring throughout. I was so sad, yet 99.99% certain that the cake was baked completely. The recipe was followed exactly--no substitutions, and the cake was even in the oven for an additional 10 minutes for good measure. Multiple toothpick tests came out clean, so I don't know how I could've botched this one. Observe:

No worries though. A quick online search yielded another Paula Deen chocolate chip pound cake recipe--this one used less pudding and liquid, so I was more confident for a successful outcome. I found the recipe here at Perry's Plate. Wanting a cake reminiscent of a chocolate chip cookie, I used butterscotch pudding mix in place of chocolate and brown sugar instead of white. (And only 6 oz. of mini chips, since that's all I had after using the other half of the bag in my first attempt) The result? See for yourself:

Sweet success! So although my first adventure with the My Girl, Paula group had its challenges, I'm glad I will be participating and cooking my way through The Lady & Sons, Too! book. That's right, I said cooking. As in, not just baking anymore! I probably won't be making every recipe for the month, but I'll definitely try to keep up with the minimum two required by the group. Squash casserole is on the menu for this month, and I'm definitely looking forward to that one! ♥

Start Your Day Off Right

Having exhausted my freezer-supply of morning glory muffins, I was looking for something different to bake up for the next few weeks' breakfasts. My parents came to visit last week, armed with a rather large clamshell of blueberries from the warehouse club. Faced with more blueberries than I could possibly eat before they entered Moldsville, I needed to bake them up pronto. Blueberry muffins were an obvious choice, but since I've been eating muffins for two weeks I decided to try out this recipe by Farmgirl Fare. I used a 50/50 mixture of all-purpose and whole wheat flour for an added nutrition boost, and they turned out deliciously! Blueberries stuffed between oatmeal and wheat strusel? Tasty!

Key Lime Bars

It takes quite a few Key limes to produce a reasonable amount of juice. Based on my previous experience with the Key lime cream cheese frosting for my Cupcake Hero entry, I estimated that I would need 20 Key limes in order to extract the ½ cup lime juice I needed to make Key lime bars. Knowing that would involve a good deal of squeezing (which I did by hand previously), I did an online search for "tips for squeezing Key limes" to see if there was an easier way. Turns out you can use a garlic press to squeeze halved Key limes (duh, why didn't I think of that?!?)

Actually, it turns out that most people can use a garlic press to squeeze halved Key limes. My efforts with the garlic press produced a fair amount of juice, most of which ended up squirting on my face, on the floor, in my eyes, all over my shirt and arms...you get the point. In other words, everywhere except the target vessel. I tried orienting the garlic press in every which way, but to no avail. Maybe I'm just an idiot (very possible). It works for the vast majority of people, but for me...not so much. However, I will say this: the extra labor of hand-squeezing tiny little limes made the final product all the more delicious!

Key Lime Bars (from Cook's Illustrated)

Makes 16 bars

Crust:
5 oz. animal crackers
3 Tbl. packed brown sugar
pinch of salt
4 Tbl. butter, melted

Filling:
2 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 Tbl. lime zest
pinch of salt
1 egg yolk
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
½ cup fresh Key lime juice

Preheat oven to 325°F. Prepare a foil sling using heavy-duty foil, and fit it into an 8-inch square pan. Spray with nonstick cooking spray.

In a food processor, pulse animal crackers until fine crumbs form. Add brown sugar and salt, then process until combined. Add melted butter to processor bowl, and pulse until crumbs are evenly moistened. Press crumbs firmly into the bottom of the foil-lined pan. Bake at 325°F for 18-20 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from oven to cool while preparing filling. (Leave oven on)

While crust is cooling, stir cream cheese, lime zest, salt, and egg yolk together in a medium bowl until smooth. Add sweetened condensed milk, and stir well to combine. Stir in lime juice until mixture is smooth and begins to thicken.

Pour filling into crust and spread into corners if needed. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until filling is set and edges begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours before cutting.

Warning: The following images may not be suitable for the faint of heart. Children, avert your eyes.

Okay...everybody in the pool! Time to go for a spin...

KAF Guaranteed Fudge Brownies

Seriously. You have to make these brownies, which bear the proud stamp of "KAF Guaranteed" by King Arthur Flour Company. Check out their promise:

Our guarantee: These brownies, deep chocolate brown inside with a lighter-colored top crust, will be about 3/4" to 1" tall when cut. They'll be ultra-moist without crossing the line into gooey/ under baked. (Link)

And did they deliver? You betcha. This is my third attempt at this recipe but definitely not my final. The first two? Not so good. User error, of course. Not following directions and/or forgetting vital ingredients like baking powder produced brownies that while tasty, did not live up to the guarantee in appearance. I was extra careful to adhere to the recipe this time, even adding the chocolate chips I omitted on my first two attempts. My reward? Beautifully shiny, crackly tops and a moist fudgey interior. It was the general consensus of my co-workers/lucky recipients/guinea pigs that the chocolate chips were superfluous (okay, so I'm paraphrasing here). So...unless you're an uber chocoholic, I'd leave them out. Walnuts would be a welcome substitute though. Round 4, anyone?

Cupcake Hero::September [Banana]

Where was I all of last year, and why am I only now discovering salted caramel, one of 2008's biggest flavor trends? Where was I hiding whilst what seemed like the entire world was fawning over its salty-sweet-creamy sumptuousness? At least I've managed to get myself out from under my rock to come up with ideas for my Cupcake Hero:: [Banana] entry. I really really wanted to make simple banana cupcakes, capped with salted caramel. I even had a name: Salty Caramel 'Nanacakes. It seemed so perfect, so clever...but luck would not be on my side.

Maybe it was the crazy Louisiana humidity. Or forgetting to throw salt over my shoulder (which I never do anyway...should I start?). Whatever the case, my salted caramel never came together. There it was in the pan, fully cooled but still a grainy, sloppy mess that refused to whip up into the silky caramel frosting promised by my recipe. I was so very sad. Cupcakes already 'at the ready,' I turned to an old stand-by: cream cheese frosting. Not just any cream cheese frosting, mind you. My banana cupcakes needed a perfect counterpoint: Key Lime Cream cheese frosting, made from the teensiest, cutest little limes ever.

Banana Cupcakes Makes 24-30, depending on desired size

1 box yellow cake mix
1 ½ cups mashed ripe bananas
½ cup butter, melted
½ cup water
3 eggs

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place paper liners into muffin tins.

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the mixer, scrape down bowl, then turn speed up to medium and beat for 2 minutes. Batter will be thin. Portion batter into muffin tins. I filled up 30, partly because I wanted to make smaller cupcakes but mostly because I am terrified of overflow. My cupcakes ended up being shorties, but that's okay. Frosting covers and fixes all! Bake cupcakes for 20-24 minutes, or until they test done. Cool completely before frosting.

Key Lime Cream Cheese Frosting (generously frosts 30 cupcakes)

½ cup butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted if lumpy
2 Tbl. key lime juice (I needed 5 to get this much)
zest from 5 key limes
16 oz. (2 boxes) cream cheese - cold

Beat butter, powdered sugar, lime juice, and zest together until smooth and combined. Cut cream cheese into chunks and add to butter mixture. Beat until just incorporated; overbeating will break down the cream cheese and make the frosting runny. Frost cupcakes, top with a lyophilized* banana, and enjoy!

*Geek Alert!!! Lyophilization, or freeze-drying, is a method of preservation that typically causes less damage to the food item than conventional dehydration. For example: A freeze-dried apple or banana is crisp and interesting, while a dehydrated (dried) apple or banana is chewy and spongy. You can freeze-dry items that you wouldn't normally put through a dehydrator, like ice cream (yay, space food!). I lyophilized a Twinkie® once during my grad school days. It was great fun! And yes, we ate it afterwards.

Here's a quick explanation of lyophilization: foods are frozen in a special chamber. The pressure in the chamber is then lowered to allow the frozen water in the food to pass directly from the solid state to the gaseous state in a process known as sublimation. Science is cool!

Big Batch Cut-Out Cookies

Sorry, No-Fail Sugar Cookie. I like you, I really do. But I don’t love you. I’ve made you many times before, and everyone else loves you…but I’m a big greedy Pig-Hog. Sugar cookie? Yum. Butter cookie? Even better. Buttery cream cheese sugar cookie? Now you’re talking! If you’re looking for a change of pace from your usual sugar cookie, try these cut-outs. The addition of cream cheese and less flour than the NFSC recipe lends a soft, creamy texture to the cookie. While the baked cookies look nearly identical to the NFSC (both hold their shape quite well), these are probably a little too fragile for use in cookie bouquets.

Big Batch Cut-Out Cookies (adapted from Allrecipes)
Makes about 5 dozen 3-inch cookies when rolled ¼-inch thick

2 cups butter, softened
8 oz. block cream cheese (full-fat, please)
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 egg yolks
1 Tbl. Vanilla extract
½ tsp. other flavoring**
5 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

** This may be almond, orange, lemon, Princess Cake & Cookie, or my new personal favorite: Fiori di Silicia (seems pricey, but a little goes a very long way. You can make 12 batches with a single bottle, which is a great value considering the recipe is technically a double batch.)

Cream butter, cream cheese, sugar, and salt together until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks and flavorings, and mix to combine. Gradually add flour, 1 cup at a time, stirring after each addition to incorporate flour. Dough will be very soft and sticky, but resist the urge to add more flour. Divide dough into 4 portions and roll out to ¼-inch thickness between two sheets of waxed or parchment paper. Stack in refrigerator to chill for at least 3 hours. (I do mine the night before or first thing in the morning to give the dough ample time to firm up.)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Get out your baking sheets and line with parchment, foil, or one of those new-fangled silicone liners. Or you can leave them plain if you don’t mind washing greasy pans in between batches. No need to grease your pans because trust me--there’s enough fat in the dough! Cut out shapes with desired cookie cutters, place on pans, and bake at 350°F for 12-15 minutes. Cookies will remain very pale. They are done when they are just barely firm (pressing one with your finger won’t leave a dent). Cool before removing from cookie sheets—they are quite tender and fragile when hot! Glaze with Glacé or Royal Icing. Glacé icing dries softer and more translucent than royal icing, and is easier to make. Royal icing produces vibrant colors, can be piped into much finer details, is sturdier for shipping, but can be tricksy for cookie newbies like myself.

Head on over to Our Best Bites for a fabulous tutorial on making and using Glacé Icing.

Toba Garrett’s Glacé Icing (from Kitchen Collectables)

Enough for one batch of my cut-out cookies

1 lb. powdered sugar, sifted
¼ c. + 2 Tbl. Milk, whole or 2% works best
¼ c. + 2 Tbl. Light corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract—clear, if possible
½ tsp. other flavoring (I like orange extract)
Assorted food colorings

Mix powdered sugar and milk together until smooth and creamy (may take a few minutes). Blend in corn syrup and flavoring, but don’t whip or beat vigorously…be gentle! Divide into small bowls and add color, then cover bowls with plastic wrap. Let glaze sit for at least 15 minutes. During this time, the small bubbles formed during mixing will slowly surface to the top, at which point you can gently stir them out. Stirring quickly now will only make more bubbles... which will make you very sad! Use an offset spatula to glaze cookies, but if you're brave you can hold the cookie by its edges and dip them in glaze. Let set until dry and firm, which may take several hours depending on humidity. I leave mine out overnight, and the cookies are still soft & creamy despite being uncovered.

If you want to thicken the glacé icing for piping or creating a dam to separate colors, take a small amount of glaze and add powdered sugar until you reach piping consistency.