Quick Update

Oh my god! I cannot believe that I haven't posted anything here since October! Time does pass by fast!

Anyway, I'll just do a quick show and tell of what I've been doing lately and if anyone's interested in a particular recipe, just ask for it.

Carrot-Pumpkin Cupcakes. It's like I'm obsessed with that combination, but these were very different because the had walnuts and coconut and were extremely moist. So moist that they would break apart while eating it. Got the recipe from verybestbaking.com


Chocolate on Chocolate Cupcakes with Pepermint Bark Garnish. I made them for my brother because he's very picky, and almost never eats my cupcakes. They were good, if you are a chocoholic. Got the recipe from A Baker's Field Guide for Cupcakes by Dede Wilson.


Pumpkin and mascarpone pie. It was a good pie, I've had better, but it was good. What made this pie good was the mascarpone whipped cream topping, which would be awesome on top of some cupcakes. I don't remember where I got the recipe, I just have it written down in one of my recipe notebooks.


Butter Pecan Ice Cream. Making ice cream is easy, but not as easy as I thought it would be, but it was totally worth it. It was creamy, rich and full of flavor, the pecans added a salty note to the ice cream. Eating store bought ice cream will never be the same after this ice cream. Got the recipe from http://www.ice-cream-recipes.com

Pumpkin-Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese-Ginger Frosting

I've been dying to bake pumpkin cupcakes since August, I've been constantly searching for a can of pumpkin in the supermarkets, but I was told by a clerk that "canned pumpkin is only available during the Thanksgiving season". I don't get it, what's the point of canning food if it's only going to be available when in season? Maybe people don't buy canned pumpkin in this island util November, but still that pumkin is gonna stay edible at least two years from when it was first canned.
Anyway, so at last I got me some pumpkin and did the cupcakes, using as base a Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cupcakes from Simply Recipes. I really love the way they turned out, when you eat them you taste the spices and the sublte flavor of the pumpkin followed but the nice after taste of the carrots and walnuts. The cream cheese with the ginger compliments the spiciness of the cupcake. The candies on top are chocolate covered ginger. I've got to say that I'm actually very proud of this cupcakes.



Pumpkin-Carrot Cupcakes
Makes:17

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ginger, ground
1/8 teaspoon cloves, ground
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, ground
1/2 cup buttermilk
½ cup walnuts, chopped
1 cup carrot, shredded

-Preheat oven to 350 F. Cream the butter, brown sugar, molasses and honey, until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add one at a time, the eggs, then the pumpkin and vanilla; beat until incorporated.
-In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and the spices. Add the flour mixture and buttermilk alternatively to the pumpkin batter. Add the walnuts and carrot stirring until just combined.
-Pour into paper lined cupcake pans, filling close to the tops (I used an ice cream scoop) and bake 18 minutes or until done. Let cool completely.

Cream Cheese-Ginger Frosting

8oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick unsalted butter
½ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons ginger spread
-In the bowl of an electric mixer, put the cream cheese, ginger spread, butter and brown sugar on medium speed until smooth. Refrigerate 30 minutes if too soft.

Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake with Cola Frosting

Last Thursday was my mom's birthday. She wanted me to make her a chocolate cake, so I found a recipe of chocolate cake with mayo and a cola chocolate frosting. Even though it sounds weird, it tasted very good even though it had a strong chocolate flavor, there was no hint of it having mayo and it added moisture to the cake.It's great for days when there's no milk and eggs at home, because the mayonnaise substitutes them. This was the first time I did a double layer cake, so it wasn't perfect, but I think that for a first time I did pretty good. Again, when dealing with a chocolate frosting I had problems because of the heat, I actually had to stop frosting it and put it in the fridge because the frosting was slowly melting. The recipe doesn't have walnuts but I added about 1 1/2 cups chopped in the middle of the cake and on top because my mom loves adding nuts to EVERY dessert she makes. I got the recipe from The Baking Sheet from Autumn 2005, a newsletter from from King Arthurs Flour me and my mom used to receive.



Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake with Cola Frosting
Makes: two 8 inches round cakes

2c all-purpose flour
1c granulated sugar
1/2c brown sugar
1/3c unsweetened cocoa
2tsp baking soda
1/4tsp salt
1/2tsp espresso powder
1c water
2tsp vanilla extract
1c mayonnaise
1c semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease and flour two 8 inch round pans. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugars, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and espresso powder. Pour in the water, vanilla and mayo, and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, stopping once to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. Stir in the chocolate chips. Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let cool completely before removing from the pans.

Cola Frosting
Makes: 4 cups

1/2c (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/3c unsweetened cocoa
1/2c cola beverage
6c confectioners' sugar

In a small saucepan, bring the butter, salt, cocoa, and cola to a boil. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and add 2 cups of the confectioners' sugar. Beat on low speed to incorporate the sugar and to cool the mixture. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, and then gradually add more sugar. Once all of the sugar is incorporated, beat until the frosting is a soft, spreadable consistency. It will continue to firm up as you work with it (unless you live in a humid place where it will melt), so keep the unused portion covered with a damp towel.