I’ve had a fairly long & happy relationship with this book. My friend Xenia first told me about it almost two years ago, and I bought it mainly for the Dr. Pepper cake she mentioned. But there were so many other recipes that jumped out at me that I never even made that cake. Also, the book is filled with some of the most charming family stories/anecdotes I’ve ever read. I’ve made a few things out of the book (two types of cookies, maple syrup pie, lemon ice cream) and all were wildly successful, but my one attempt at a pecan pie was a major fail. However, as usual, I remain undaunted. And why not? Pineapple pie is not pecan pie and one failure does not mean I can never make a good pie ever again. Plus, like I said, I have made quite a few successful desserts from recipes out of this book. I can’t judge all the pies in it on just one failure that was probably my fault somehow anyway. So on that note, I decided I’d make my mom the pineapple pie for Mother’s Day and hope for the best. I crossed my fingers and toes with this one- first off, I was still a bit scared since my last pie attempt, and two, I never ever bake with pineapple or even eat it, so I was a bit unsure of the results. As you can see below, I didn’t need to be.

It’s a real shame I don’t like pineapple, because this pie looked and smelled amazing. I’m including a Martha pie crust recipe, but you can use any one you like. For this pie, you only need one crust though, so be sure to halve it unless you want to use the extra crust for cutting out shapes, etc. Which would be super cute, actually.

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PIE CRUST (from Martha Stewart)

Makes 2 9-inch pie crusts

Ingredients:

PINEAPPLE PIE (from Sweets: Soul Food Desserts & Memories by Patty Pinner)

Ingredients:

• 1 9″ pie crust, ready to go
• 1 20-oz. can crushed pineapple, drained
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 tablespoons sour cream
• ½ cup evaporated milk
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Prepare the pastry for a 9″-inch single-crust pie. Set it aside.
2. In a bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Add the eggs and mix well. In another bowl, combine the flour, salt and nutmeg. Add to the sugar mixture and mix well.
3. Stir in the drained pineapple, milk, sour cream and vanilla extract. Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the pie is lightly browned.
4. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or cold.

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Ignore the messed up edges, there. Please. For the love of all things pastry. Just focus on the filling, or the all-around effect of the pie. Hah.

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Pineapple is actually an anti-inflammatory food, too. Of course I don’t know if the sugar & everything else in the pie helps with that, so you might wanna just eat pineapple alone if that’s something of interest to you. The rest of you can just eat the pie. Oh- and see? I got my clear Pyrex pie dish. Now I’ve got the classic pie plate to go with my fancy shmancy ones. Don’t think this is the end, though. There are more in my future. I have tons of pie plates and cake stands on various wishlists all over the interwebs.

On that note, this Mother’s Day was a little hard for me; it’s the first without my Nana. I still miss her everyday, and I know my mom does too. I also know, or rather I don’t know but I can imagine, that the first Mother’s Day without your mom must be a straight up shit day, even if you are a mom to the coolest person alive (me- hello?). So I hope she got a lot of enjoyment out of having that entire pie to herself. No sharing. Just her, a pineapple pie, a fork & some whipped cream. Yes, a pie is just a pie. A pie can’t change the world, or bring back a dead loved one. But a pie can bring happiness, even if only briefly, and so I hope that that’s what my pineapple pie did. I always hope that’s what my baked goods do. If I can make someone smile with a cookie, or a cupcake, or a jar of homemade jam… then I’ll take it. It’s better than making someone cry. Although I can do that really well, too, it’s not something I’m always proud of. I’d much rather make someone happy. But it does depend on the person/situation *wink*

And before I go, let me just wish a happy mama’s day to all those amazing mamas I know; you’re all phenomenal & I hope you have a beautiful day. And most important, I want to say a big thank you to my mom, and all the strong/independent/crazy women who came before me, who were the mom’s of the family long before my mom came along, all of whom contributed to my DNA and therefore made me who I am today. Which is a pretty awesome person, if I do say so myself. Happy Mother’s Day.

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I saw this recipe at The Black Peppercorn and I knew I’d have to make it myself. I’ve made Guinness cupcakes, Guinness jelly, even put Guinness in macaroni & cheese. Why not Guinness barbecue sauce? Beer & barbecues go together like… rama lama lama ke ding a de dinga a dong. Or peanut butter & jelly. I love me a good beer. Don’t you?

This was my first attempt at a barbecue sauce. I was a bit nervous, actually, but I think it all worked out just fine in the end.

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GUINNESS BARBECUE SAUCE (adapted slightly from The Black Peppercorn)

Ingredients:

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I don’t know if you remember, but I made another version of this pie back in December. That was the “winter” version; cranberries & cinnamon. This, however, is the summer version. Inspired by this.

Yes, sometimes I keep my lemons in a mortar & pestle…

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And also inspired by MCA’s lyric in one of my favorite Beastie Boys’ songs, “No Sleep ‘Till Brooklyn“; “Like a lemon to a lime, a lime to a lemon, I sip the def ale with all the fine women.” As you probably know, MCA a.k.a. Adam Yauch passed away on May 4th. The Beastie Boys were always a favorite of mine, and they play a big role for me in the soundtrack of my life. I’ve got some awesome memories that match up with songs off more than just one of their albums, and some of the songs are just sentimental favorites. I think that’s the one thing that is comforting about “famous” people passing, whether it’s John Lennon or Johnny Cash or Kurt Cobain or Mozart or Adam Yauch- the fact that they never really die. The music lives on in our memories and on records and CD’s and iTunes forever. As far as my computer is concerned, The Beatles are all alive & kicking, just like it’s 1965. But it made me really sad to hear MCA died for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that he was only 47 years old, and that he left a 14-year-old daughter. Fucking cancer. The older I get, the more I realize how young 47 is, and just how much cancer really bites the big one.

Anyway, I was listening to some Beastie Boys songs, I knew I was going to bake something up, then I heard that lyric & saw the bowl of lemons, and I got an idea. Plus, add the fact that I was going to make something for my dad, and he loves blueberries… I came up with this idea of altering the infamous crustless cranberry pie into a more summery dish. Whereas last time this pie was made with cranberries & cinnamon, blueberries & lemon zest are the two main players this time, along with the sliced almonds. You can add a bit of lemon extract just to boost the flavor, but it’s not 100% necessary (I didn’t). You could also add lime zest too, if you really like that particular lyric. Another option would to be to dollop some lemon curd on top of it over the streusel before baking. It’ll brown and bubble up and get all creamy warm, like a lemon custard. Or, you can swirl some lemon curd in it before baking, or just serve it with some lemon curd & cream. It’s not really a pie. It’s not just a cake. It’s more like a coffee cake, or cobbler. And so, a new version was born. It doesn’t really have anything to do with the Beastie Boys, but it’s just inspired by a lyric. It’s not like I wanted to create a literal interpretation of B-Boy Bouillabaisse. Although, shit. That would’ve been a great idea.

Like a lemon to a blueberry, a blueberry to a lemon, I eat the def pie with all the fine women.

Listen, I’m not a lyricist. I bake.

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As you can see, streusel hates me. It always melts down into nothing. Oh well.

And just in case you’re wondering, I got that pie plate for a whopping $2.50 after Thanksgiving at Michael’s. I love the color (goes especially great with blueberries) & the large ruffle around the edge. I think collecting pie plates might be my new “thing.” I’ve only got three so far (this one, a pink one and one that was my mom’s that has a recipe for apple pie on it), but next on my list is a regular old Pyrex clear glass one. I’ve heard they’re the best for baking pies with a crust. Emile Henry makes some really nice decorative ones. Do you have a favorite pie plate?

Sorry, I got off-track there for a bit. Let’s get back to the goods.

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MCA’S “LIKE A LEMON TO A BLUEBERRY” CRUSTLESS PIE (altered from the original cranberry-based recipe which was from All Recipes, also with alterations)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour plus 2 tablespoons set aside for topping
• 1 cup white sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup whole fresh blueberries (or whole frozen)
• ½ cup sliced almonds, divided, half set aside for topping
• ⅓ cup light brown sugar
• zest of one whole lemon
• ½ cup butter, melted, plus 2 tablespoons butter just softened, set aside for topping
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• ¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• drop of lemon extract (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° degrees F. Grease one 9″-inch pie pan (or 8″ x 8″ glass baking dish).
2. Combine the 1 cup flour, white sugar, lemon zest and salt. Stir in the blueberries and half the almonds, and toss to coat. Stir in the ½ cup melted butter, beaten eggs, vanilla and lemon extracts. If you are using frozen berries, the mixture will be very thick. Spread the batter into the prepared pan.
3. In a small bowl, mix the 2 tablespoons flour, 2 tablespoons softened butter & light brown sugar together to make a streusel-like topping. Sprinkle mixture on top of pie. Sprinkle remaining ¼ cup almonds on top of that, or arrange neatly if that’s your bag.
4. Bake at 350° degrees F for 40 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted near the center comes out clean.

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The coolest thing about this ‘pie’ is exactly the fact that it’s not really a pie. It’s called a ‘crustless pie’ but you can call it anything you want. It’s like a zombie-pie-cobbler-coffee-cake. It doesn’t even require a pie crust! But even cooler than that- you can eat it any time of day. Because of the fruit-y aspect & the nuts, you can eat a slice for breakfast just as easily as for dessert (with some whipped cream or ice cream). And depending on how you make it, you might make it more breakfast-y or more dessert-y. Use whole wheat flour or add some oats for a totally different spin. And another amazing thing? You can use any fruit or berries in it, any kind of nuts, any kind of extract and zest.

Some other ideas include:

• Blackberries & raspberries with almonds
• Chopped strawberries with lemon zest & sliced strawberries & almonds arranged on top before baking
  
• Peach slices with vanilla beans & chopped pecans
• Chopped pineapple with Macadamia nuts & orange zest
  
• Cranberries with cinnamon, walnuts & steel cut oats
• Mango with flaked coconut, coconut extract, lime zest & pine nuts
• Dried cherries with dark & white chocolate chips & walnuts
• Banana slices with chocolate chips
• Raisins & golden raisins with cinnamon, nutmeg, chopped walnuts & steel cut oats- “Oatmeal cookie pie”
• Chocolate chunks with chopped hazelnuts & marshmallows (minus the streusel)- “Rocky Road pie”
  

Of course, some of those aren’t 100% seasonally appropriate right now, but that’s up to you. You could even mix some marmalade in with the batter, then top it with some chopped or sliced nuts, then brush it with more marmalade right out of the oven (so it gets all melty like a glaze) and make a sort of marmalade-pie-cobbler-whatever. Honestly, it’s so easy, and it’s so easy to change it up that you can totally do anything with it. You can tinker with it ’till your hearts content. Plus, it’s basically the perfect last-minute picnic or barbecue dessert. It takes no time to make,  doesn’t even require a mixer, travels well & a trained monkey could do it. Or someone who’s been drinking some Brass Monkey. Whatever. It’s easy, trust me. Blast some Ill Communication and get on that shit!

Rest in peace, Adam.

“He who sees the end from the beginning of time
Looking forward through all the ages:
Is, was, and always shall be.”

“B-Boy Bouillabaisse (A Year And A Day),” Paul’s Boutique

Donsuemor & Davidson’s Tea asked me a few months ago to take part in their blogger tea party, so of course I accepted! I love tea. And I love Donsuemor. And that means that this post is all about my little tea party featuring Davidson’s delicious teas and Donsuemor’s delicious madeleines.

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I might have mentioned a few times on this blog how big of a role tea has played in my life. My grandmother was a big tea drinker. If you mention the word “tea” to anyone who knew her, they’d say “Aggie!” Ever since she passed away last July, I’ve especially missed that. Her world renowned crazy tea & cookie obsession! If my nana didn’t have her tea & cookies… someone was going to pay. As long as she had a warm cup of tea & some kind of cookie, all was right with the world. Like that image says above- a cup of tea solves everything. And so on that note, for the tea party I decided to use my grandmother’s vintage fine china tea set (& musical teapot). It’s Yamaka China, made in occupied Japan. It’s trimmed in 14K gold & it is beautiful. It must be a rare pattern too, because after looking up Yamaka tea/snack/luncheon sets, I haven’t found it anywhere. The teapot isn’t Yamaka, I’m actually not sure what it is, but it plays ‘Tea For Two’ when you pick it up to pour it. They were both bought sometime after she got married in 1940. My grandma was scrupulous about keeping things perfect, so the set is in mint condition. Looks like it just came out of the box.

And yes, the teapot still plays.

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I also used her vintage lace tablecloth, which I never even knew she had. I also hadn’t really ever looked at her china before, but when I decided to use it I really noticed how stunning it is. And I love the fact that the plates have a special little sunken-in area off to the side of the plate for the tea cups to sit in! Brilliant! Plenty of room on the plates for those madeleines. I went & bought some pretty flowers (that matched the tea set) and put them in another flowered tea pot for decoration. I’m not 100% sure what kind of flowers they are, but they’re gorgeous. I put out my jadeite bunny sugar bowl and I put out my grandma’s crystal salt & pepper shakers, just ’cause they’re pretty to look at. Then I got out some good silver teaspoons. All that …and I was ready for a party! A tea party, of course.

Thanks to Anna who pointed out the heart shape in the tea bag!

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Donsuemor sent four types of their madeleines: chocolate, chocolate dipped, lemon zest and original. Perfect for a tea party. And of course Davidson’s Tea sent three amazing teas: Bing Cherry with Almond, Tulsi Hibiscus Flower and Vanilla Cream Spice. All of the teas are organic & these happen to all be caffeine free. And did I mention delicious?

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I love the Vanilla Cream Spice tea. It’s very, very delicious. It was my favorite, although honestly I haven’t tried the Bing Cherry yet. The Hibiscus tea would be amazing iced! I think this weekend, since the weather will be warm again, I’ll make a big pitcher of hibiscus iced tea with some German rock sugar. And while I don’t think I could pick a favorite madeleine; if I did it’d be a tie between the chocolate-dipped and lemon zest. I can honestly say they’re all amazing, there’s not a bad one in the bunch. But I’m a tea lover, and I’m a French cookie (& pastry) lover too, so I guess I’m not the best judge. Or maybe I am a good judge for that reason!

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And coincidentally, it may seem as though I color-coordinated everything to match the tea packets, but I didn’t! Haha. I swear. I was planning on using the jadeite bowl and her pink-patterned tea set before I even realized the tea packets matched everything perfectly. But yeah, that’s just the way I do things, you know. I like to be 100% coordinated. *wink*

All in all, it was a sweet little tea party on a beautiful end-of-April afternoon. Even Arwyn requested some tea. I think she liked the Hibiscus flower one.

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Aren’t the flowers lovely, too? Thank you so very much to Donsuemor & Davidson’s Tea for helping me host such a beautiful tea party. Not only that, thank you for helping me rediscover something beautiful of my grandmother’s that I hadn’t given a lot of thought to. I had a wonderful time. I’m just sorry my tea-loving nana wasn’t here to enjoy it with us. But I guess she kind of was.

You can find Donsuemor on the web, on Twitter, and on Facebook. You can also find Davidson’s Tea on Twitter & Facebook, too! So go become a fan, become a follower & buy some of their treats.

If you follow the website, you know every summer I have a vegetable & herb garden. I call it my little Victory Garden. Some years it’s larger than others & what I grow varies, but always at least a little something. It started off as just herbs and then I branched out into tomatoes, then peppers too, then the rest is history. I don’t consider myself a microfarmer or a sustainable gardener or anything, I do it for fun and enjoyment and because I genuinely enjoy gardening and I like literally enjoying the fruits of my labor. Not so I can preach the evils of McDonald’s or non-organic produce. I don’t do that.

However this year I’ve decided to pare down a lot; there’s a lot going on with me & I don’t know if I have the time nor the ability to 100% invest in a large amount of stuff. Not financially, mind you, but physically. It takes a lot to keep a garden going, you know, even if it is “just a container garden.” Which by the way- there is no such thing as “just a” anything in gardening. Anything you have, even if it’s one tomato plant, takes a bit of effort to keep going. So anyway, this year I’m keeping it small. Not sure yet exactly how small, but because of this extraordinarily warm winter, which was actually the 4th warmest winter on record, my perennial herbs have made their appearance at least a month and a half early: chives, two types of oregano (variegated & regular) and parsley. Re: that warm winter, this is the absolute earliest I’ve ever posted about my garden, by the way. So my mint seems to have died, but it wasn’t doing too well by the end of the season last year so I’m not surprised. It was about 4 years old, it might have just run it’s course. So I think I’ll buy some basil, rosemary & maybe some more mint & definitely cilantro. Then I’ll see how many veggies I want to do (or can do). Maybe I’ll just keep it at herbs this year. I don’t know.

I’m no expert. I never took a horticulture or agriculture class. I’ve just always loved to garden. My mother used to plant every year & ever since I was able to hold myself up and dig, I helped her. But a couple of years ago I expanded from my usual flowers into herbs. After having a ton of success with them for two years straight & providing friends/family with tons of fresh basil, I jumped into getting a tomato plant. I was probably just thinking about fresh Caprese salads, but it was a great experience. Then the next year (2010) I decided to do a full-on container garden: peppers, cucumbers, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, etc. I only had one total failure & it was zucchini. Look up zucchini abortion, you’ll see why. And so last year I continued with my garden but things turned upside down when my Nana died, so admittedly I let a lot go by the wayside & was a bit neglectful. I still got a lot of beautiful tomatoes & peppers, etc. So, like I said, this year there is a lot going on in my “personal life” (what does that even mean, anyway? Isn’t your entire life personal?) and I don’t know really what I’ll end up doing garden-wise this summer.

What I do know is that as usual, I’ll keep you all updated along the way. I do that in the hopes that I encourage others to grow something! It’s so much fun & you really gain an appreciation for the earth. If you didn’t already have one, that is. Gardening is a great excuse to do something good for not only yourself, but Mama Earth. So you plant a tomato plant & that way you buy less from the supermarket. It’s a win-win. And it’s fun! Especially if you have kids. It’s also a teachable moment, you can use it to teach kids just about anything- farming, what chlorophyll is, how plants provide oxygen, organic foods, etc.

Here’s a little sample, just a bit of my last years’ vegetable growth, in case you’ve missed it or just recently started reading. It’s all done in containers! If you’re interested in seeing the full posts from my past years’ gardens that are full of pictures as well as gardening tips & advice, then here they are: 2010 (1, 2, 3) & 2011 (1, 2).

Habanero peppers. These are crazy prolific, I must have gotten at least 24 hab’s off this one plant!

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Roma tomatoes, not finished growing, obviously..

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Bell pepper. I have a little trouble with these, but I manage to get at least one or two.

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Eggplant! I only ever get one off a plant, but it’s usually huge. This is mid-season so it’s not anywhere hear being done. I always get one massive eggplant!

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It doesn’t matter if you have two feet or two acres to work with, you can grow something & enjoy the benefits of having fresh veggies and/or herbs right outside your door. If you’re interested in container gardening, here’s a great link with information from Taste of Home. And not only that- but gardening reduces stress, promotes good health by getting you outdoors & active, and it’s a constructive & productive thing to do. And if you don’t have outdoor space, you definitely have a window. And if you can’t have a windowbox, then you can at least grow some herbs in your kitchen.

Anyway, stay tuned for this summer’s garden! And as always, I love hearing about what you’re planting/growing, so do tell…

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What’s that? Oh nothin’, just lemon ricotta cupcakes with powdered sugar.

Did you just fall off your chair? I know, ’cause I almost did myself. Ricotta is fuckin’ amazeballs. Pardon my French- er, Italian. But it seriously is. It can be sweet or savory, used as a condiment or a filling, mixed with sugar… never-ending possibilities.

Ricotta (Italian pronunciation: [riˈkɔtta]) is an Italian dairy product made from sheep (or cow, goat, buffalo) milk whey left over from the production of cheese. Although typically referred to as ricotta cheese, ricotta is not properly a cheese because it is not produced by coagulation of casein. Rather it is made by coagulating other milk proteins, notably albumin and globulin, left over in the whey that separates from the milk during the production of cheese. In fact, ricotta is safely eaten by individuals with casein intolerance.

Ricotta (literally meaning “recooked”) uses the whey, a limpid, low-fat, nutritious liquid that is a by-product of cheese production. Most of the milk protein (especially casein) is removed when cheese is made, but some protein remains in the whey, mostly albumin. This remaining protein can be harvested if the whey is first allowed to become more acidic by additional fermentation (by letting it sit for 12–24 hours at room temperature). Then the acidified whey is heated to near boiling. The combination of low pH and high temperature denatures the protein and causes it to precipitate out, forming a fine curd. Once cooled, the curd is separated by passing through a fine cloth.

Ricotta curds are creamy white in appearance, slightly sweet in taste, and contain around 13% fat. In this form, it is somewhat similar in texture to some cottage cheese variants, though considerably lighter. It is highly perishable. Ricotta comes in other forms as well.

RICOTTA CUPCAKES

Ingredients:

I ain’t no genius & I’m definitely not Florian Bellanger (thank cupcakes!). I’m no June Cleaver and I am most likely not the person you think of when “perfect” comes to mind. But I have failed a few times, and I have made many mistakes and with most of them I’ve managed to figure out the how/why. Again- don’t think I’m being cocky here, not at all. I just hope my basic little down-home, practical knowledge can help someone else out there. So I decided to do a little Q&A on my Facebook page.

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Q: Neikya Davis- I was wondering if cupcake batters should be different from cake batters. I’ve made hundreds of cakes and never have any baking problems. But whenever I try to make cupcakes, I always have issues with the cupcakes rising. And for that reason, I HATE making cupcakes. Thanks!

A: Well Neikya, I don’t think that there’s a difference in the batters themselves. I say that because most cupcake recipes can be adapted into making cakes and vice versa. I have noticed most cake recipes when used for cupcakes don’t rise quite as well as cupcake recipes alone, though. If your trouble is with the cupcakes rising but sinking in the middle during or after baking, then that could be a few things: ingredients aren’t “fresh” enough, off-brand butter or oil (as silly as it sounds, there is a serious fat difference in “cheap” butter & good quality butter), the wrong size eggs or the fact that the eggs/butter are too cold. It could also have to do with oven temperature. If that isn’t the problem, or the factors I listed definitely aren’t the problem, then it could be your baking powder or baking soda is old. It loses it’s power after a certain period of time and won’t rise. The reason you may not have a problem with the cakes is that it’s a larger surface area for one, and two they don’t have to rise as much as a cupcake does. And if that doesn’t sound like it’s the problem, maybe you’re over-beating your butter? Are you at a higher/lower altitude? Is your oven gas or electric? Is it humid or dry out? All those factors can also influence your baking. I hope that helped! If not, I suggest The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Berenbaum. She answers tons of scientific questions and gives reasons for everything.

Q: Cindy Wright- I have never had good luck making carrot cake cupcakes. Do you a good recipe? I usually bake from scratch.

A: I’ve had the same exact problem. I can’t find a good carrot cake or carrot cupcake recipe. I sorta gave up. That said, I heard this one is to die for. If you try it, please let me know how it worked out for you!

Q: Melanie Bishop- I have tried to make cupcakes with peanut butter cups or kisses in the middle. However, no matter if the candy is room temp, frozen, or just barely covered with cake batter, the candy inevitably sinks to the bottom of the cupcake. Any tips to prevent this?

A: Melanie, I’ve had this problem, but mainly with chocolate chips. I find it happens when the batter is very liquidy. I have two solutions you can try: one, coat the candies in flour first. Just put a tablespoon in a bowl and toss ‘em in it, then stick ‘em in. Two, bake the cupcakes halfway and try putting them in then. It will be tricky, and don’t burn yourself. Good luck & please let me know if it works!

Q: Dee Kozarov- I am always excited when I see red velvet cupcakes but then I taste one and the cake is always dry and the cream cheese frosting always taste cheap. Do you have any suggestions on better cake and icing?

A: When a cupcake is dry, it’s usually because it was over-beaten or there isn’t enough fat in it. Red velvet in particular can be tricky, I don’t know why. I’ve tried some duds, let me tell you. But I have found an excellent red velvet recipe that I suggest you try. As far as the icing, I hate cream cheese frosting so I recommend either a vanilla bean cream cheese frosting or a regular vanilla frosting.

Q: Jill Ritenour Wilch- I have problems with my cupcakes rising like I would like them to as well. They prefer to spread instead of rise. Anyone else find they do not fill out the bottoms of the liners either? Mine always seem a bit brown and loose.

A: Jill, you may be overfilling the cups. Or not mixing them thoroughly, and the ingredients aren’t fully incorporated. If you could, send me a photo some time. I could help better if I see exactly what you mean about the bottoms. Until then, make sure your ingredients are room temperature, get an oven thermometer if you don’t have one, make sure you mix your ingredients thoroughly but don’t overbeat them, and you fill the cups no more than halfway. Halfway is the standard, although some recipes call for three-fourths or two-thirds, to be on the safe side I usually do halfway. Could it also be that the recipe calls for either not enough/too much flour or sugar and not enough baking powder? Does it happen with all your cupcakes or just specific ones? Do they use butter, shortening or oil? Those can be factors as well.

Q: Jocelyn Lua- I was wondering if you have any way of telling if your cupcakes are gonna turn out soft & moist, or otherwise. Cos I have been baking them for some time now, but i could never know how they are going to turn out until they finish baking (even if i might have used the recipe before). And it makes me nervous as hell, cos I’ll really hate to waste food. =x

A: I don’t really think there’s a way to tell that 100% from the batter, Jocelyn. However I have found that the thicker the batter, the heavier & denser the cupcake and the more liquidy the batter the more moist and “squishy” the cupcake. However, I’ve made some batters that were quite thick like cookie dough, and I’ve gotten some lovely cakes. Again, the weather, the humidity, your oven, and the ingredients all make a difference as to how exactly a cupcake is going to turn out.

Q: Pola Sanchez-Baker- Is there any way to save a whipped cream that’s been whipped too long? It becomes butter-like and… well, just too thick for frosting.

A: In a word, Pola, no. Sorry. Once it’s been whipped that long, it’s beyond the “cream” stage and into the butter stage. It’s best to keep going, add a little salt, and make homemade butter so the whole thing isn’t a loss. That’s what I’d do, anyway. I’d make lemons out of lemonade & use it to make a homemade compound butter. Maybe with some sauteed garlic/parsley, some basil & chopped sundried tomatoes or just with some cilantro. Then I’d wrap it in waxed paper, refrigerate it (or freeze it) and use it for cooking or topping bread later on. Just don’t keep it frozen for longer than 7 or 8 months.

Q: Tina Becker- Every once in a while when I bake cupcakes from scratch, I notice they have a raw flour taste. It only happens now and then…is it just a “bad recipe” or something that I might be doing?

A: There are a lot of reasons it could be. Yes, it could be a bad recipe. If it always happens with just that particular recipe and no others, then toss it, it sucks. It could also be that the flour isn’t being incorporated well enough so it’s not “cooking.” Make sure you scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl during the mixing to get everything all up in there. Another reason could be the brand of flour has a very strong flavor; although I’ve tried many brands myself and never had that issue, it could very well be. So if you switch brands a lot and notice it only with one brand- stop using it. There could also be too much flour in the recipe, or you’re using all-purpose when you need to use cake flour. And yet another reason could be that the flour is old and therefore stale. If you don’t bake a lot and have the flour in the house for a long time, it’ll turn. Finally, are you using the right amount of salt & extract? Both of those things add flavor (and salt also helps the rising if you’re using baking powder, but that’s another unrelated issue), and without them you’ll definitely end up with a not very delicious baked good. I hope one of these can help you! Happy baking!

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If you have any questions yourself, feel free to ask me on Twitter or on Facebook. And as always, you can totally e-mail me your questions any time.

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I apologize for this not being a cupcake post, or any kind of edible post. It’s a drinkable recipe. I hope you still enjoy it!

I guarantee most of you have heard of cold brewed coffee by now. It’s the “latest trend” in coffee; a bandwagon I’ve avoided like the plague. But, like The Hunger Games, I caved in. Especially after reading about it’s ultimate deliciousness. The coffee, not The Hunger Games. Here’s a little background from our friend Wikipedia:

Cold brew or cold press refers to the process of steeping coffee grounds in room temperature water for an extended period. It is also sometimes referred to as Toddy coffee which is a trademarked cold brewing system.

The cold-press process requires grinding coffee beans at a relatively coarse setting (typically as fine as possible to still be filtered^[1]) and soaking those grounds in cold water for a prolonged period of time, usually 12 hours or more. The grounds must be filtered out of the cold water after they have been steeped using a paper coffee filter, a fine metal sieve, or a French press. The result is a coffee concentrate that is often diluted with water or milk, and can be served hot, over ice, or blended with ice and other ingredients such as chocolate.

Cold brewed coffee naturally seems sweeter due to its lower acidity. Because the coffee beans in cold-press coffee never come into contact with heated water, the process of leaching flavor from the beans produces a different chemical profile than conventional brewing methods.^[2]

Cold brew coffee is a type of iced coffee, but this latter term also refers to coffee that is brewed hot and then chilled.

Thanks to The Daily Beast & America’s Test Kitchen & some other websites, I learned the 411 on why I should be drinking cold brew. Less bitterness & acidity as well as reduced oil content are two of the pluses, as well as the fact that 90% of the flavor and the exact same amount of caffeine come through. That sold me. See, I love my coffee. And despite the fact that I add sugar & milk, I find a lot of it to have a gross bitterness. I’ve figured out exactly what brands I enjoy and thanks to my Keurig it’s made it way easier to avoid the highly acidic or bitter “bold” roasts. But when I brew my own ground coffee I do find that most of it is too bitter for me- like old diner coffee. Or worse yet: coffee that tastes like burned sludge. Ugh. Again, Keurig helps avoid that issue without resorting to instant coffee. But still. Another plus of a cold brew? It’s apparently way stronger than hot brewed coffee. So strong it has to be diluted. Sign me up! And get this:

[...] the flavor of cold-brewed coffee won’t change over time. Cold-brewed coffee has never been hot, so its chemistry doesn’t change as it cools. As soon as you filter out the grounds, you’ve got a stable solution. With temperature change comes change in taste, but because cold-brewed coffee eliminates most of that temperature change, flavor is locked in. In other words, your day-old cold-brew won’t taste stale like day-old coffee.

- The Daily Beast

Again- sign me the hell up. Another benefit? All of that makes it the perfect type of coffee to use in baking or dessert-making. So the next time you’re making something like chocolate stout cupcakes, or bittersweet chocolate cupcakes, or mochacchino cupcakes… you’ve gotta brew up some of this to use.

After pouring the water into the grounds.

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Cold brewed coffee takes much more time than hot, obviously. The main reason people even use hot brew is because it’s quick. That’s all. However, on the other side of the coin, cold brew takes more than 24 hours from start to finish. It’s a very easy process, but it takes quite a while to “brew.” And of course, it’s not hot. It’s room temperature, and you add ice cubes to it. So it’s more iced coffee than anything.

But I love me some ice coffee.

After waiting 10 minutes, stirring the grounds & waiting again.

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And then… you wait. And while you wait, you write up the recipe. Because yes- they do sell cold brew coffee machines. But why do you have to buy one when you can use things you already own just as easily? And how much crap can we really cram in our kitchens anyway?

EASY COLD BREWED COFFEE

Ingredients:

• 5 teaspoons ground coffee (preferably good quality & freshly ground)
• 4 cups room temperature filtered water (I used Poland Spring because my tap water ain’t all that, even when filtered)
• French Press, large Mason jar or other glass container
• Coffee filters
• Sieve

Directions:

1. Put the grounds in a French Press. If you don’t have a French Press- get one. If you can’t run out and buy one right now, then put them in a large Mason jar or other large container (preferably glass).
2. Pour the room temperature water over them. Wait 10 minutes. Don’t touch it for 10 minutes. Seriously.
3. After 10 minutes, stir. I stirred somewhat vigorously, creating a mini-whirlpool. Then just walk away and leave it alone for another 10 minutes.
4. Once the 10 minutes is up, cover it with plastic wrap (or the jar lid) and keep it at room temperature for 24 hours.
5. Once the time is up, “press” the grounds (if using a French Press). Then place the sieve over a large glass measuring cup or glass bowl & place a coffee filter in it. Pour the coffee slowly into the filter. You might have to help push it through with a rubber spatula every now and then. If you’re not using a French Press, you’ll need to do this process two or more times. When it’s finished, dilute it with water at a 1:1 ratio (trust me on this- cold brewed coffee is STRONG). Remember when choosing your containers that you’ll end up with roughly 8 cups of coffee.
6. Fill a glass with plenty of ice. Pour coffee in and enjoy!

Straining the coffee...

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I’d recommend using a French Press for this. Not only does it make the filtering process easier, it’s just handy to have around. I love my French Press, and I don’t use it much anymore since getting my Keurig last year, only when I run out of K-cups, so I was excited to break it out again. Now it has a new job: making cold brew coffee!

Okay so for all you coffee drinkers that, like me, hate the acidic or bitter taste of most coffee… you’ll adore this method. You barely need sugar, seriously. I added it anyway because I like a little coffee with my sugar. But you really don’t need it. Especially if the only reason you take it isn’t so much for the taste/sweet tooth but just to cover the strength of the coffee. If you like the bitterness, you may not like this at all. Mainly because it really is much milder, tastier and sweeter. You really get a true coffee taste without any extra stuff or without an aftertaste. I kind of feel like this is the way coffee is supposed to be.

Just remember to store your cold brew in the fridge. And if you’re worried about diluting your brew with the melted water from ice cubes, pour some coffee in an ice cube tray and freeze it, then use those. And yeah, I drank mine in a jar. How else?

The color of these is almost like suede, isn’t it? Blue suede, denim, blue velvet, whatever… they’re awesome. Blue Suede cupcakes, at your service, ma’am.

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It’s no secret I’m a huge fan of “the Sun Sound”; Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, etc. I love any and all things Rockabilly, but more so the authentic Rockabilly. My mother is a big Elvis fan & I was surrounded by his music growing up. As I got older, I got more into the Man in Black & started getting into all the old school Sun artists more. I just love that sound: “steady like a train, sharp like a razor.” Ever since I was a kid the song “Blue Suede Shoes” has been a favorite. It’s such a pop culture standard, it’s a song everyone knows. But really, not many people realize the history behind the song, and that it wasn’t originally Elvis’! It was Johnny Cash’s idea, and written/performed by Carl Perkins, then by the King.

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Gorgeous man. Anyway so, when I got the idea to make blue cupcakes, that’s exactly what song title popped into my head! Therefore, inspired by the King himself, who in August will be gone 35 years (and of course my main man Johnny Cash)… it’s a perfect blue cupcake.

The batter was so blue.

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And of course… that made blue cupcakes!

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You can call them whatever you like. To me? They’re blue suede.

“Blue Suede Shoes” is a rock and roll standard written and first recorded by Carl Perkins in 1955 and is considered one of the first rockabilly (rock and roll) records and incorporated elements of blues, country and pop music of the time. The song was notably covered by Elvis Presley.

Johnny Cash planted the seed for the song in the fall of 1955, while Perkins, Cash, Elvis Presley, and other Louisiana Hayride acts toured throughout the South. Cash told Perkins of a black airman whom he had met when serving in the military in Germany. He had referred to his military regulation air shoes as “blue suede shoes.” Cash suggested that Carl write a song about the shoes. Carl replied, “I don’t know anything about shoes. How can I write a song about shoes?”^[1]

When Perkins played a dance on December 4, 1955, he noticed a couple dancing near the stage. Between songs, Carl heard a stern, forceful voice say, “Uh-uh, don’t step on my suedes!” Carl looked down and noted that the boy was wearing blue suede shoes and one had a scuff mark. Good gracious, a pretty little thing like that and all he can think about is his blue suede shoes, thought Carl.^[2]

That night Perkins began working on a song based on the incident. His first thought was to frame it with a nursery rhyme. He considered, and quickly discarded “Little Jack Horner…” and “See a spider going up the wall…”, then settled on “One for the money…” Leaving his bed and working with his Les Paul guitar, he started with an A chord. After playing five chords while singing “Well, it’s one for the money… Two for the show… Three to get ready… Now go, man, go!” he broke into a boogie rhythm.^[3] He quickly grabbed a brown paper potato sack and wrote the song down, writing the title out as “Blue Swade”; “S-W-A-D-E — I couldn’t even spell it right,” he later said.^[4] According to Perkins, “On December 17, 1955, I wrote ‘Blue Suede Shoes’. I recorded it on December 19.”^[5] Producer Sam Phillips suggested that Perkins’s line “go cat go” be changed to “go man go”, but it didn’t.

Thanks to Sprinkle Bakes for the idea of adding a bit of a purple color to make the cupcake less green. Genius! See by the very nature of having a yellow egg yolk in there, the blue turns a sick greenish color if you don’t add a counteractive color, i.e. violet. I suppose a teeny bit of a red could work too if you don’t have violet, but I stress the teeny part.

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BLUE SUEDE CUPCAKES

Makes about 2 dozen*

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder (NOT dark!)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup oil
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon blue food coloring
• a drop of violet food coloring

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° degrees. Grease and flour two 8″-inch cake pans, or prepare muffin tins with liners.
2. Lightly stir eggs in a medium bowl with a wire whisk. Add remaining liquid ingredients and stir together with whisk until blended. Set aside.
3. Place all the dry ingredients in your mixing bowl and stir together really good with another wire whisk. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix on medium-high for about a minute or until completely combined.
4. Pour into muffin tins about halfway full and then drop the pans on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles. Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
5. Wait, and after about ten minutes, remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack.

*I always get more.

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This is an adapted red velvet cake recipe. So in theory, you can use almost any food coloring just by adjusting the amount. If you’re using green, use 1 oz. (two tablespoons). If you’re using red, use double that amount (four tablespoons). For the blue you only need half an ounce (one tablespoon). I’d use one tablespoon for purple or violet as well. The recipe can also be halved successfully. As a matter of fact thats exactly what I did.

I put them in leopard liners with gold sugar topping… because it just seemed right. He had a safari-themed room at Graceland, aka “the jungle room,” so the leopard isn’t too much of a stretch. And The King did like his gold. Remember that suit? Or that jumpsuit?

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Yeah. You’re welcome.

You all know how much I love Nutella, right? Well, I saw this idea on Pinterest (where else??) & decided to do it my way, or at least the way I imagined it being done in my head. I just used my basic muffin recipe as a base, then just swirled in some Nutella before I baked ‘em. Probably one of the easiest muffins ever. Not that muffins are typically difficult. I always say I never understand using a muffin mix when they take literally minutes to make from scratch. No joke. But especially these. There’s practically no mixing required. Just a little stirring. And some swirling.

Seriously. Before you buy another muffin mix, make some from scratch. You’ll see.

NUTELLA SWIRL MUFFINS

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ⅓ cup light-brown sugar
• ⅓ cup sugar
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ⅔ cup milk
• ½ cup butter — melted and cooled
• 2 eggs – beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• jar of Nutella (don’t worry, you’re not using the whole jar)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400° F. and grease up twelve muffin cups or put liners in them (I prefer liners because it’s less messy that way).
2. In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugars, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, stir together milk, eggs, butter, and vanilla until blended. Make a well in center of dry ingredients; add milk mixture and stir just to combine. Don’t overmix!
3. Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling them almost to the top; top each muffin with 2 teaspoons Nutella. Using a sharp knife, swirl the Nutella into the batter. It doesn’t have to be perfect or go all the way to the bottom. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of one muffin comes out clean.
4. Remove muffin tin to wire rack; cool 5 minutes and remove from tins to finish cooling.

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So that’s it. It’s a short & sweet post today ’cause this couldn’t really get any easier. Oh- I used some unprocessed unbleached paper liners from The Layer Cake Shop for these, in case you’re wondering.

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So that all makes me excited, but I wanted to start pickling again. As you can see, my chives (above left) are starting to get little buds, so I might make some chive blossom vinegar this year. But that’s not what this post is about. So let’s get to the point. Giardiniera.

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Italian giardiniera is also called “sotto aceti”, which means “under vinegar”, a common term for pickled foods. It is typically eaten as an antipasto or with salads.^[2]

In the United States, giardiniera is commonly available in traditional or spicy varieties, and the latter is sometimes referred to as “Hot Mix.”

In the Midwest region of the U.S., giardiniera is used as a condiment, typically as a topping on Italian beef sandwiches.^[3]

A milder variety of giardiniera is used for the olive salad in the Muffuletta sandwich.

The Italian version includes onions, celery, zucchini, carrots, and cauliflower. The pickled vegetables are in red- or white-wine vinegar.

American giardiniera is commonly made with serrano peppers along with a combination of assorted vegetables, including bell peppers, olives, celery, pimentos, carrots, and cauliflower, and sometimes crushed red pepper flakes, all marinated in vegetable oil, olive oil, soybean oil, or any combination of the three. It is also common to see it pickled in vinegar.

Jardinière is a French culinary term, meaning a dish that is cooked or served with a mixture of spring vegetables, such as peas, carrots, and green beans.

I know there are a million variations & recipes for this, but this one is just a basic one that I came up with by combining two recipes; one from the Better Homes & Gardens book, You Can Can & another from the Ball Complete Book of Preserving. This was really a canning request from my mother, who loves Giardiniera. She had requested it a while back but I was in such winter mode, I couldn’t even think of it until we got hit with a stretch of 70+ degree days back in March. Then all of a sudden, I was ready to start making springy foods & pickles again. I made some Bourbon pickles but it wasn’t enough. I wanted to jar up some more fresh veggies. And what better way to do that than this? IT’S LIKE A GARDEN… IN A JAR!

I adapted it a bit seeing as she’s not a fan of zucchini & that seems to be prevalent in a lot of recipes. But I’m including the zucchini in the recipe below. This looked so beautiful in the jar from start to finish I couldn’t believe it. I could hardly stop taking pictures of it!

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The point is, basically you can add whatever you want or take away whatever you want. That’s the beauty of it. You can use all of it: zucchini, carrots, cauliflower and the three colors of peppers, or you can use a hot pepper instead, or you can omit the zucchini or omit the carrots (but really who doesn’t like carrots!?) or even add pimentos. Heck- add green beans if you want. It’s just that simple. Honestly. Have I ever lied to you?

It smelled insane while cooking. INSANE.

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SMALL-BATCH GIARDINIERA

Makes about 3 pints

Ingredients:

• One smallish head of cauliflower (preferably organic/pesticide free), cut into florets
• One each of a large red/green & yellow Bell pepper (again, preferably organic/pesticide free), cut into strips
• Three large whole carrots (yet again… preferably organic/pesticide free), peeled and cut into slices
• One half of a large white onion, cut into rings and then each ring cut into quarters
• 1 small celery (you know the drill), cut into ¼” thick slices
• 1 small zucchini (ditto), cut into ¼” thick slices
• 3 cups white vinegar (5%)
• 1 ¼ cups water
• 1 tablespoon pickling or canning salt
• 1 ¼ cups white sugar
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 fresh garlic cloves, finely minced

Directions:

1. Prep, wash & cut all your vegetables & keep them in separate bowls. Mince garlic. Prepare water bath canner, and sterilize jars and lids. Keep jars warm. Set aside.
2. In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine water, vinegar, sugar, pepper, garlic and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat, cover and boil gently for 5 minutes, until the spices have infused the liquid.
3. Add the cauliflower, onions, zucchini, celery and carrots and return to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in peppers.
4. Pack vegetables into jars with a slotted spoon within to a generous ½” of the top of jar. Ladle the hot pickling liquid in to cover vegetables, leaving ½” headspace. remove air bubbles and adjust headspace if necessary, by adding more liquid (you may not use all the liquid). Wipe rims, center lids and screw bands on until resistance is met. Then adjust to fingertip-tight.
5. Place jars in canner, ensuring they’re covered by at least 1-2″ of water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes. Turn off heat, remove canner lid and wait 5 minutes. Then carefully remove jars, cool, and store. Enjoy!

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I really think it’s the prettiest thing I ever canned up. Truly. Everything around here has been all pastel & pink & pretty lately, and then this was like a technicolor shock to the system. Seriously, have you seen prettier Giardiniera, ever? No. No you have not. Testimonial time:

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If you’re thinking of making this, and you have no previous canning experience, please take a peek at this post and read my (very basic) summary of what you’ll need to start. Then move on to the USDA’s directions (much clearer & informative, I admit). It’s not difficult, but you have a lot of reading to do to make sure you’re doing it right/have the proper materials, etc. The last thing you need is to give someone botulism. So yeah, be responsible & do your homework first. Then you can go ahead & make Giardiniera all damn day long.

Anyway, that’s that. Put it in a salad, put it on a sandwich, mix it with cooked chilled pasta for a quick pasta salad, pop it on a pizza, or eat it right out of the jar. Whatever. The liquid can be used as salad dressing too, once the vegetables are gone. Just mix it with a little oil. And again, like I said… it’s SO EASY. Literally the longest part of the process is the cutting of the veggies. Once that’s done, it’s 1-2-3. Just don’t cheat & buy a bag of frozen mixed vegetables. That’s awful. And lazy. Use top notch fresh ingredients and you’ll see how amazing it really is. I prefer to buy organic for things like this, just because of the lack of pesticides and since I’m using the entire thing (as opposed to just the pulp of an orange, etc), it freaks me out not to. But really, any good, fresh vegetables will do. Far be it from me to tell you how much to spend or what to buy. Buy what you’re comfortable with & what you can afford. Most of all… enjoy it. Enjoy the shopping for ingredients, enjoy the cutting & chopping, enjoy the process, enjoy the eating. Shopping for fresh vegetables & fruit at this time of year is all the fun! But of course, I can’t discount the ingesting of ‘em either.

Happy Spring!

Well it’s officially Easter Sunday, and I’m sure that you’re all busy making your dinners and baking your goodies, but just in case you’re lookin’ for some more inspiration, I thought I’d pop back in and show off my dip-dyed Easter eggs… plus something special I made with them.

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Easter bread! Sweet & delicious (& unique). I’ve been looking for the perfect recipe to make for years. This was a tradition around my house forever, we used to buy the one shaped like a bunny with the egg where the butt was, ha. But I kept forgetting to make it and then whenever I found a recipe I just wasn’t feeling it. And then I found this one! Big thanks to The Italian Dish for the perfect recipe. Here’s a couple of pre-baking photos, pardon my pans- usually I cover them in parchment to bake but I ran out & wasn’t aware until it was time to bake. And at 11 a.m. on Easter Sunday I was not about to run out and get any! By the way, I used the entire recipe but only made 6 breads.

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Enjoy your Easter, everyone who celebrates it. Or should I say… Buona Pasqua! And for the rest of you, I hope you have a nice relaxing Sunday with your family or friends, & you eat something delicious. Because that’s what it’s about for me. Being with the people I care about and enjoying my time. Not religion, or fables, or anything. Not being perfect or having the perfect table settings or impressing anyone. Not worrying. But just taking a day off to experience the true joys of life: food, family, and freakin’ naps! Zzzzzzz…

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Again, this year, I had no idea what I was going to make. That’s been a common theme. I was lost as to what I was going to make for Valentine’s Day, then for St. Patrick’s Day, then again for Easter. It’s just been that kinda year I guess. I saw a million cute things but I hate repeating the same shit everyone else does.

But that’s basically what I ended up doing anyway. Pfft.

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I made some simple vanilla-flavored cupcakes and topped them with vanilla frosting, then dipped them in chocolate sauce, then I added egg-shaped quins and white chocolate bunnies. Can’t get much easier than that, huh? THESE ARE NOT HI-HAT CUPCAKES. They’re just regular cupcakes dipped in chocolate. I used ‘The Ultimate Vanilla Cupcake’ from the Cupcake Project for this, and the chocolate sauce is one I’ve used before that hardens when it dries but doesn’t really harden to a crazy hard consistency. It just hardens enough to not be melty and messy. Deelish. The white chocolate bunnies are just white chocolate bars melted & poured into bunny molds. Very, very easy. The larger molds were more like the traditional chocolate Easter bunny, but they were too large for toppers so I just paired each cupcake with one.

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By the way, I’ve started using salted butter in my confectioner’s sugar buttercream. I find it adds a nice touch, takes away some of the super-sweetness that you can get from a high-sugar buttercream. Just a lil’ tip from me to you.

So I hope you all have a Happy Easter, Happy Passover, Happy Eostre, Happy Spring! There might be another Easter-y surprise thrown in sometime this weekend. Maybe. Maybe not. *wink*

]]> http://cupcakerehab.com/2012/04/hoppy-easter/feed/ 2 http://cupcakerehab.com/2012/04/hot-cross-muffins-hot-cross-muffins-one-ha-penny-two-ha-penny/ http://cupcakerehab.com/2012/04/hot-cross-muffins-hot-cross-muffins-one-ha-penny-two-ha-penny/#comments Wed, 04 Apr 2012 15:55:17 +0000 Marilla @ Cupcake Rehab http://cupcakerehab.com/?p=19992 My grandma loved hot cross buns. LOVED them. Every spring, she had to have her hot cross buns for Easter. It was tradition, yes, but more so she just really enjoyed them. However I never really knew the full meaning behind them until I decided to make a batch in her honor this year. Thanks Wikipedia!

A hot cross bun, or cross-bun,^[1] is a sweet, yeast-leavened, spiced bun made with currants or raisins, often with candied citrus fruits,^[2] marked with a cross on the top. The cross can be made in a variety of ways including: of pastry; flour and water mixture; rice paper; icing; two intersecting cuts. They are traditionally eaten on Good Friday but in the UK they are now sold all year round.^[3]

In many historically Christian countries, buns are traditionally eaten hot or toasted on Good Friday, with the cross standing as a symbol of the Crucifixion. They are believed by some to pre-date Christianity, although the first recorded use of the term “hot cross bun” was not until 1733;^[1] it is believed that buns marked with a cross were eaten by Saxons in honour of the goddess Eostre (the cross is thought to have symbolised the four quarters of the moon);^[4] “Eostre” is probably the origin of the name “Easter”.^[1] Others claim that the Greeks marked cakes with a cross, much earlier.^[5]

According to cookery writer Elizabeth David, Protestant English monarchs saw the buns as a dangerous hold-over of Catholic belief in England, being baked from the dough used in making the communion wafer. Protestant England attempted to ban the sale of the buns by bakers but they were too popular, and instead Elizabeth I passed a law permitting bakeries to sell them, but only at Easter and Christmas.

English folklore includes many superstitions surrounding hot cross buns. One of them says that buns baked and served on Good Friday will not spoil or become mouldy during the subsequent year. Another encourages keeping such a bun for medicinal purposes. A piece of it given to someone who is ill is said to help them recover.^[6]

Sharing a hot cross bun with another is supposed to ensure friendship throughout the coming year, particularly if “Half for you and half for me, Between us two shall goodwill be” is said at the time. Because of the cross on the buns, some say they should be kissed before being eaten. If taken on a sea voyage, hot cross buns are said to protect against shipwreck. If hung in the kitchen, they are said to protect against fires and ensure that all breads turn out perfectly. The hanging bun is replaced each year.^[6]

Amazing. As a self-admitted total history nerd, the part about Elizabeth I blew my mind! It also cemented my desire to make my own hot cross buns. But see, my idea was to translate them into a muffin type of deal. Not really, since they’re really just hot cross buns, except baked in buttered paper in muffin tins. But they resemble muffins more than buns this way. I got the idea from the panettone I made for Christmas which was both much talked about and much devoured. Is that proper grammar? Doesn’t sound like it. But you get the idea. Either way, hot cross buns are incredibly similar to panettones in terms of the dough & ingredients, so there wasn’t really much difference in making them.

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HOT CROSS BUNS (adapted slightly from Ree Drummond/Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole milk
• ½ cup canola oil
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 package (2 ¼ teaspoons) Active Dry Yeast
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup (additional) flour
• ½ teaspoon (heaping) baking powder
• ½ teaspoon (scant) baking soda
• 2 teaspoons salt
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• spices: cardamom, nutmeg, allspice (optional)
• ½ cup golden raisins

Glaze:

• 1 whole egg white
• splash of milk

;

Icing:

• 1 whole egg white
• powdered sugar
• splash of milk

Directions:

1. Combine 2 cups milk, canola oil, and ½ cup sugar in a saucepan. Stir and heat until very warm but not boiling. Turn off the heat and allow to cool until mixture is still warm, but not hot–about 30 minutes. Sprinkle yeast over mixture. Add 4 cups of flour and stir to combine. Mixture will be very sticky. Cover with a towel and set aside for 1 hour.
2. Meanwhile, cut large squarish circles out of brown paper bags. Melt two tablespoons butter and brush each one with some butter. Line muffin tins with them and press down, making them fit.
3. Add ½ cup flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir till combined. Combine ¼ cup sugar with cinnamon and whatever other spices you want to use. Lightly flour surface. Press to slightly flatten dough. Sprinkle a couple tablespoons of the sugar/cinnamon mixture. Sprinkle on about a third of the raisins. Then fold the dough over on itself and flatten again so the dough is “plain” again. Repeat the sugar/raisin process, then fold the dough again. Repeat a third time until all the raisins are used. (You won’t use all the sugar/cinnamon mixture.)
4. Pinch off ping pong or golf ball-size bunches of dough. With floured hands, quickly roll it into a ball, then turn the edges under themselves slightly. Place each ball in the buttered paper. Cover and allow to rise in a warm place for at least 30 minutes, an hour-plus is better. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
5. Make glaze: mix 1 egg white with a splash of milk. Brush onto each roll. Bake for 20 minutes, give or take, or until tops of buns have turned nice and golden brown. Remove from pan and allow to cool on a cooling rack.
6. Make the icing: Mix 1 egg white with enough powdered sugar for icing to be very thick. Splash in milk as needed for consistency. Add icing to a small Ziploc bag or disposable pastry bag and snip the corner. Make icing crosses on each roll, making sure they’re completely cooled first.

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I halved the above recipe and ended up with 14 total: 6 in the buttered-brown-paper-muffin version, without raisins, and 8 in an 8″-inch cake pan with raisins. As soon as the dough was made, I split it in half after adding the cinnamon mix and just added raisins to one lump and left them out of the other one. Makes sense, right?

These are the original buns that were baked in a pan & contain raisins

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If you’re making the full batch, you could easily use brownie pans instead of a round cake pan, if you’re not into the buttered paper idea. You also don’t have to use golden raisins, or even raisins at all. Dried currants work too, as does citron if you’re into that. I’m definitely not. I’m sure any kind of small dried fruit would do the trick. And if you’d really like to, I’m sure little mini chocolate chips would taste delicious too. And if you’re really adventurous, why not soak the raisins in a bit of liquor first?

I have to say these were much easier than I anticipated. I made them while watching a few episodes of Shameless & before I knew it they were ready to eat. Best hot cross bun muffins ever!

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Each holiday I post a compilation of my favorite (or the best) cupcake or dessert items that are pertinent to said holiday; I also throw in links to other things like snacks or cookies or even meals that relate as well. I started doing it last Halloween (2010). Afterwards, I’d gotten good feedback from people who said it helps them come up with ideas without having to search too much, so I kept it up. The rest is history, as they say.

So here you are. A convenient little list of pretty cakes (& other things listed at the bottom) that are perfect for spring/Easter/Passover/whatever you celebrate. I celebrate chocolate bunnies, myself. Anyway, click on each image & you’ll be brought to the recipe. Enjoy!
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And there’s more than this that I haven’t pictured here, both for the sake of time & space. If you’re interested in them, I’m listing them below. I hope this helps you guys out with some ideas! And don’t forget- there’s plenty more to come in the next week or two.

Chocolate fudge Easter egg cake pops

Chocolate hi-hat cupcakes with banana-flavored Italian meringue

Sweet noodle kugel

Shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate (shape ‘em like bunnies!)

Thumbprint cookies
…………………………………….(shape ‘em like eggs & use all different colored springy jams & jellies to fill them)

Cherry filled low-sugar cupcakes
…………………………………….(great for diabetics, dieters or people who don’t like frosting.. freaks!)

Carrot cupcakes with lavender-colored cream cheese frosting

Coconut macaroons & chocolate-covered coconut macaroons

Alfajores with dulce de leche filling