Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes

So, I have been baking a lot. Cooking, maybe not so much, but definitely baking. I've also been taking pictures and whatnot...I've just been too lazy to write everything out down here. Oh well.


Now that it's getting to be summertime (even if DC101 won't play Sublime's summertime version yet), I've been wanting lighter and fruitier desserts. One of my favorite treats in the world is the orange creamsicle - an orange popsicle with delicious vanilla ice cream in the middle. So I tried to recreate it in a cupcake! I stole various recipes from around the web, and combined them in my own version. The original cupcake recipe said it made about 18 cupcakes, so I doubled it for 36 - and wound up with 48.

So many cupcakes... 

Ingredients (Cupcakes):

• 1/2 c unsalted butter, softened
• 1 c sugar
• 2 c all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 c orange juice concentrate
• 3/4 c buttermilk
• 3 eggs
• zest of 3 oranges
• 1 tbsp orange oil (optional)

Ingredients (Orange Frosting):

• 1 c butter, room temperature
• 6-8 c powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp orange extract
• 1/4 orange juice (fresh)

Ingredients (Vanilla Frosting):

• 1 c unsalted butter, softened
• 3-4 c powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• up to 4 tbsp milk or heavy cream

Ingredients (Filling):

• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c milk
• 1/2 c butter
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1/2 scraped vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla extract (I used extract)

Yum, frosting!

Process:

1. Make the cupcakes: preheat the oven to 350F and line cupcake pans with liners.
2. Cream butter and sugar together in a large bowl until it turns pale and fluffy.
3. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. In another medium bowl, mix the orange juice concentrate, buttermilk, eggs, zest, and orange oil.
5. Add the eggs, one at a time, to the butter/sugar mixture. Mix well after each.
6. Add half the flour mixture, then falf the orange mixture, mixing well between each addition. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
7. Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until the middle springs back and a toothpick comes back clean. Cool completely before filling or frosting.
8. Make the orange frosting: beat the butter at medium-high speed until creamy. Add half of the sugar, vanilla, orange extract, and orange juice. Beat until combined. Gradually add remaining sugar until the frosting reaches the desired sweetness/consistency.
9. Make the vanilla frosting: beat the butter at medium-high speed until creamy. Add 3 c of sugar and incorporate into butter. Add vanilla, salt, and 2 tbsp of milk. Beat for 3 minutes, then add sugar or milk as needed for desired consistency.
10. Make the filling: whisk together flour and milk in a saucepan over medium heat until thick. Stir constantly to prevent clumps, and do not boil. Once thickened, strain into a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let cool completely to room temperature. You can speed this along by putting it in the refrigerator, but make sure to stir occasionally to maintain a constant temperature.
11. Once cool, cream the butter and sugar together in a medium bowl. Add the cooled milk/flour mixture and the vanilla. Beat at high speed for 5-7 minutes, until light and fluffy.
12. Combine all of the elements: using a sharp paring knife, cut out a cone from the center of each cupcake. Fill the middle with the cream filling, then recover with the top of the cone.
13. To frost with two colors, you need to put them both in a pastry bag at the same, one color in each half. This failed miserably for me, and I wish you better luck.
14. Frost, and enjoy!

My favorite part of these was the filling, by far. The cupcake was very moist and orangey, but it was missing the orange-popsicle flavor. The double frosting, as I mentioned, failed miserably, and I felt that the orange frosting was too sweet. The filling, however, was delicious. I could probably eat it by the spoonful, and I have plans to incorporate that same filling into many future flavors and variations of cupcakes!

Cupcake!

Grasshopper Cake

I suck at blogging. But, I have been cooking and baking and taking pictures. So maybe one day I'll catch up.

In the meantime, here's what I used to make a Grasshopper Cake for my friend Paul's 25th birthday. I got some help from my new "stand mixer" (read: DJ using my hand mixer for me because it drives me crazy to have to just stand and mix for so long). He also helped me not completely lose my marbles when I ran out of dark brown sugar and had to use light brown instead (whoops).

My new stand mixer. Aren't you jealous?
 

I googled "grasshopper cake" to find a recipe, and after looking over a couple contenders I decided to go with this one from the He-Eats blog. I attempted to follow his instructions as closely as possible (with the exception of having to use half light brown sugar) but I'll put them here again. (Note: He credits Baked: New Frontiers in Baking for the recipe.)

Ingredients (cakes):

• 3/4 c dark unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 c hot water
• 2/3 c sour cream
• 2 2/3 c all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 c (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 c vegetable shortening
• 1 1/2 c granulated sugar
• 1 c firmly packed dark brown sugar (I used about 1/2 dark and 1/2 light)
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

Ingredients (creme de menthe buttercream frosting):

• 2 1/4 c sugar
• 1/2 c all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 c milk
• 1/2 c heavy cream
• 4 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, soft but cool, cut into small pieces (I only quartered the sticks)
• 2 tbsp creme de menthe
• 2 1/4 tsp peppermint extract

BUTTER!

Ingredients (mint chocolate ganache):

• 6 oz dark chocolate (I used 60% cacao), coarsely chopped
• 1/2 c heavy cream
• 1 tbsp creme de menthe
• 1/2 tsp peppermint extract

Ingredients (chocolate mint leaves):

• 20 fresh mint leaves
• 4 oz semisweet chocolate

My practice chocolate mint leaves.

Process:

1. Preheat the oven  to 325F. Butter and line three 8-in cake pans with parchment paper. Butter the paper as well, then dust with flour.
2. Whisk the cocoa, hot water, and sour cream together in a medium bowl, then set aside to cool.
3. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt in a medium bowl.
4. Beat butter and shortening together in a large bowl on medium until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add sugars and beat for another 5 minutes or so.
5. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating between additions. Add vanilla and beat until combined.
6. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, 1/2 of the cocoa mixture, 1/3 flour, 1/2 cocoa, 1/3 flour, mixing well between each.
7. Divide equally among pans, smooth out the top, and bake for 35-40 min until it passes the toothpick test (mine baked for about 43 min). Cool in pans for about 20 min before turning out to cool completely.
8. For the buttercream, whisk together the sugar and flour in a medium saucepan. Add the milk and cream and cook over medium heating, occasionally whisking, for about 20 min until thickened.
9. Once removed from heat, beat on high speed until it has cooled to room temperature (may splatter). Switch to low speed and add the butter; beat until incorporated and then turn to medium and beat until light and fluffy.
10. Add in creme de menthe and peppermint and beat to combine. (For a greener frosting, I also added 4 drops of green food coloring.)
11. For the ganache, put the chocolate in a medium bowl. Bring the cream to a boil and pour it over the chocolate. Let sit for about 2 min, then gently mix together the chocolate and cream until emulsified. Add creme de menthe and peppermint and sit to combine.
12. Let the ganache cool for about 15 minutes.
13. To put it all together, place a cake layer on the serving plate. Spread about 1/4 c ganache on the top and put in the fridge for about 1 min to firm up. Spread about 1 1/4 c buttercream on top of the ganache. Add the second layer and repeat. Add the third layer.
14. Crumb coat the cake and refrigerate for about 15 min. Frost the sides and top with the remaining buttercream and decorate however you want (I placed chocolate mint leaves on top).
15. For the chocolate mint leaves, melt the chocolate until smooth. Use a clean paint brush to brush a thick layer of melted chocolate on to the underside of the mint leaf. Place chocolate side up across the handle of a wooden spoon set atop a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper. Refrigerate until set (at least 15 min). Peel the leaf off of the chocolate. Use the chocolate leaf immediately or refrigerate in a sealed container until used (up to 3 days).

I thought it turned out pretty well, and I didn't hear any complaints, so I think I'm good. Enjoy!

Finished product.

It's lucky it survived the trip to the party - almost didn't make it out of my kitchen!

Pasta Fresca

My favorite dish at Noodles & Co is their pasta fresca. Noticing that I was on the verge of becoming addicted, I searched for their recipe and came up with something that doesn't taste quite the same, but is still definitely delicious. The original recipe I found is here.

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/4 cups farfalle pasta
• 1 roma tomato, cubed
• 1/4 red onion, diced
• dash of salt
• dash of fresh ground black pepper (the first time I've used that in my cooking!)
• a handful (maybe an ounce?) of fresh baby spinach

For the sauce (makes way too much, but I can't really scale it down any more):

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/8 c balsamic vinegar
• 1/8 c sweet white wine (I used sauvignon blanc)
• 1/4 c extra virgin olive oil

Process:

1. Cook the pasta as directed for 'al dente,' drain.
2. While the pasta is cooking, prepare the sauce: combine the garlic, salt, balsamic vinegar, white wine, and olive oil in a small bowl; stir and set aside.
3. In a hot saute pan, add 1 tsp olive oil, the pre-cooked pasta, tomato, onion, salt, and pepper.
4. Cook, stirring constantly, until everything is heated through.
5. Add the baby spinach and about half of the prepared fresca sauce.
6. Continue to cook until the spinach is slightly wilted; remove from heat and serve with grated parmesan cheese.

I made 2 servings of this dish, fully intending to save the second for lunch the next day. Didn't happen. I went back for seconds immediately. It didn't taste quite like the Noodles & Co dish, but I think in some ways I liked it  a lot more. For one thing, I am much more generous with my use of vegetables than Noodles & Co is. I also scaled way back on the olive oil, and when I make this again I will scale it back even more. Adding some grilled chicken to the mix would probably also be good for my non-vegetarian friends. Anyway, I'm definitely planning on making this again. So delicious!

Ready to go!

I had a glass of the same wine I cooked with - and lit a candle to make it extra fancy!

Honey Mustard Potatoes

Potatoes! Delicious!

Ingredients:

• 9 or 10 red potatoes, cubed
• 1/4 large white onion, diced
• 1 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp mustard (Bavarian)
• dash of salt
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Process:

1. Lightly coat cooking pan (I used 9x9) with spray. Cover bottom of pan with single layer of potatoes.
2. Spread onions over potatoes.
3. Mix butter, honey, mustard, salt, onion powder, and garlic powder together. Pour over potatoes. Stir mixture in pan to coat potatoes.
4. Cover with foil and bake at 375F for 25 minutes.
5. Stir, remove foil, and continue baking for another 10 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

This was so delicious. I adapted a recipe I found online, and my big problems were that my pan was too big for the amount of potatoes I made; and the butter and honey mixture did not make enough. I think next time I will make more of that mixture, and mix everything together in a bowl before pouring into the pan to ensure that all of the potatoes are evenly coated.

I went ahead and ate this along with some yellow corn and one of Morningstar's Chik'n patties. Yummy!

The finished potatoes (looking very small in their pan)

Final meal

Shells with White Kidney Beans

Okay, so I make a lot of pasta. I'm okay with that, because I love pasta. I also love how you can basically cook the same thing every time, but there are an infinite number of little flavors that you can change.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 medium green pepper, chopped
• 1/4 large red onion, chopped
• 1/2 can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1 tbsp basil
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• dash of salt
• 2 servings whole wheat shell pasta
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

Process:

1. Put water and salt in a pot; bring to boil. Add shells and cook as directed (6 minutes or so for al dente). Drain and return to pot.
2. Heat olive oil in skillet. Add pepper and onion. Cook over medium heat for 2 minutes.
3. Add garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, and basil to vegetables. Cook for another minute.
4. Add kidney beans to mixture. Lower heat to medium-low. Stir and cook for another 1-2 minutes, then remove from heat.
5. Add vegetable mixture to drained shells in pot. Stir. Add mozzarella and stir until everything is well mixed and the cheese is melted.

I liked this a lot better than the last dish, probably because I wasn't afraid to throw in more flavors with the herbs and powders. All of the above measurements of spices and oil are guesses; I tend to just add variable amounts until I think it smells/looks good. I almost didn't add the cheese at the end, but I'm glad I did - I love cheesy pasta!

The peppers, onions, beans, and spices - yum!

The final product.

Fettuccine alla veggies

Threw this together after my riding lesson tonight. I love fettuccine but I'm not the hugest fan of spaghetti sauce. So I figured I'd leave that part out altogether!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 medium green pepper, chopped
• 1/4 large red onion, chopped
• 1 small tomato, chopped
• garlic powder, to taste
• oregano, to taste
• 1/2 package fettuccine
• dash of salt
• extra virgin olive oil

Process:

1. Put water and salt in a pot; bring to boil. Add fettuccine and cook as directed (10 minutes or so for al dente). Drain and return to pot.
2. Meanwhile, heat up 1-2 tbsp olive oil in small to medium nonstick skillet. Add green pepper, onion, garlic powder, oregano. Cook for 2-3 minutes over medium heat.
3. Add tomato to peppers and onions. Cook another 1-2 minutes over medium or medium-low heat, then remove from heat.
4. Add 2-3 tbsp olive oil to fettuccine in pot. Use just enough to cover fettuccine. Stir.
5. Stir veggie mixture into fettuccine. Enjoy!

Allover, not too bad for a first attempt. A little bland for my tastes. I think in the future I will add fresh garlic in addition to the garlic powder, as well as some onion powder and basil. A lot more oregano as well. I might also want to add some mushrooms to the mix, and maybe some yellow/orange or red peppers. The colors were so pretty!

Pretty vegetables!

Dinner! Yum!