Buttercream Roses!!

Well Friday I made my first attempt at doing some art with icing. Which I believe was a total success! This week I had an order for 2 dozen cupcakes; one dozen vanilla and one dozen chocolate. So I made my weekly trip to Michael's to get my supplies. A friend of mine said it was very easy to make them and even offered to show me. However I declined, bought the tips I needed and watched a few You Tube videos. I finally found one that showed how to do it right on the cupcake which made my life a whole lot easier! So here is the video that I watched to master the Buttercream Rose: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7zsiXGWkzA

So this order was for a friend of mine. It was for her grandmothers 102nd birthday and from what I heard they loved them. When you make your icing make sure it is stiffer than your normal buttercream if not your petals will be very droopy and your flower will become one glob!! Also make sure your tip to make the petals, which is shaped like a tear drop, has the larger opening is at the bottom. Also, make sure to practice on some parchment paper before starting them on the cupcakes it will take a lot of practicing before you get in the flow of the rose pattern! Once you get it down you are golden!! So try it out, it's quite addicting to make after you get it down.

And here is the final product! I'm pretty proud of myself for this being my first decorating adventure!!

Guinness Cupcakes!!!

So it's been a while since I've posted anything. So I have made a vow to bake something every week. Here is my first post!! Today I made Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Icing. I found this recipe on Pinch My Salt. This is one of the best cupcakes I have ever made!! It is super moist and the icing is to die for!! I think the best thing about this recipe is that you can taste each distinct ingredient but also taste them together as a whole!! Its an amazing and unique recipe that I would definitely use again. I will post the recipe and directions as I found it on the site.

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes

2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup plain, thick yogurt, at room temperature
6 oz. dark stout (I used Guinness), at room temperature
2 t. vanilla extract
1/2 cup dutch processed cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Guinness Extra Stout cupcake

2. Line a 12-cup cupcake pan with cupcake papers; spray the whole thing, cupcake papers and all, with nonstick spray. Set aside.
3. Melt butter in microwave or on stovetop, then set aside.
3. In a large bowl, preferably with a pouring spout, whisk together eggs and yogurt. Add beer and vanilla whisk until well combined.
4. Sift all the dry ingredients together (cocoa powder, sugar, flour, baking soda, and cinnamon) into a separate bowl.
5. Add about a third of the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and using a hand mixer, blend well. Add the rest of the flour mixture, a third at a time, mixing well after each addition. When all ingredients are blended, add the melted butter then continue mixing until very well combined.
6. Pour batter into the twelve cups, filling each only about 3/4 full.
7. Bake on center rack of the preheated 350 degree oven and for approximately 25 minutes.
8. When cupcakes are done (toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake will come out clean), remove the pan to a wire rack.  Let cool for ten minutes then remove cupcakes from pan and let them cool completely on wire rack.

recipe notes: Sour cream can be substituted for yogurt, if that’s what you have on hand. I used the sour cream and it tasted amazing. Next time I make them I'm going to try the yogurt. Now I made two batches one with Guinness Draught and the other with Guinness Extra Stout. The batch made with the Guinness Draught looked like a regular chocolate cupcake recipe, but the one with the Extra Stout looked like a dark chocolate recipe. Both have distinct flavors I would recommend either stout!! Also if you have a convection oven it only takes 20 minutes to bake, DO NOT leave it in any longer.

Best Icing ever!!

Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 t. vanilla extract
Seeds from 1/2 a vanilla bean that has been split and scraped
In a medium bowl, blend together cream cheese, butter, vanilla and vanilla bean seeds. Gradually add powdered sugar, mixing well until it’s all incorporated.  Use immediately.  The frosting will harden in the fridge, so plan on bring it back to room temperature if you must refrigerate it before frosting the cupcakes.

The finished product!!

recipe notes: So this is the easiest frosting recipe I have ever made and it taste AMAZING!! I doubled my recipe because I made 30 cupcakes and I still had plenty of icing left over. The vanilla beans are optional and if you decide not to use them just add an extra 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract.



Recipe courtesy of Pinch My Salt:
http://pinchmysalt.com/chocolate-stout-cupcakes-with-vanilla-cream-cheese-frosting/

Raspberry Ice Cream

Well here we go, first post!!! Today I made Raspberry Ice Cream. I took a classic vanilla ice cream base and added the raspberry to it.  I LOVE raspberries!! Ever since I bought my ice cream maker I have wanted to make something with raspberries.  We grow our own at home so I have learned the art of cooking with raspberries.  It is very simple, the only thing that takes some time is the sauce for the ice cream. Here is what you need for the raspberry sauce.

1 pint of rinsed Red Raspberries
1 1/2 cups of sugar (divided)
1 cup water
2 tablespoons sifted cornstarch

Step 1: First thing you need to do is make your simple syrup which is your 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar.  Heat the 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water in a saucepan over medium heat until sugar is completely dissolved.

Step 2: Once simple syrup is made add raspberries. Cook on medium heat for 1-3 minutes. Add rest of sugar to saucepan. Reduce heat to low and cook for about 20 to 25 minutes or until raspberries are completely cooked down.
Step 3: Once your raspberries have cooked down completely whisk cornstarch a little at a time, do not add all at once or cornstarch with stay in one big clump.  I found that it is better to sift it in rather than just dump it in.  Whisk constantly until all of cornstarch is dissolved and sauce is thickened.
Step 4: In order to get seeds out of sauce you must strain sauce through a fine mesh sleeve into a container. I strain it through a fine metal strainer and it works just the same.

Step 5: Your sauce should look like this once it is finished. Cover and chill for about an hour or until completely cooled.

Now once the sauce is cooled or chilled we can move to the ice cream.  Making the ice cream is the easiest part.  Like I said I based the ice cream recipe off of a basic Vanilla Ice Cream recipe. You can use any vanilla ice cream recipe, but substitute the vanilla for raspberry extract.  Here is the recipe I used.

Raspberry Ice Cream

1 1/2 cups of whole milk
1 1/8 cups of sugar
3 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon raspberry extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon of red dye
Raspberry sauce

Step 1: In a medium bowl mix milk and sugar together 1 to 2 minutes until sugar is dissolved.
Step 2: Add heavy cream and extracts and mix.
Step 3: Add dye to mixture to give color. You may add or subtract as much dye as you want to your liking. 
Step 4: Freeze according to ice cream makers manufacturers directions.
Step 5: About 3 to 5 minutes before ice cream is finished add sauce and make sure it is mixed completely in ice cream.

Remove ice cream from ice cream maker into a sealable  container and freeze for 2 to 3 hours or over night.  Now all you have to do is enjoy.  It is a very creamy ice cream that everyone will love.  I followed the same recipe with blueberries and it was a huge hit!!! I hope that you enjoy it.