Showing posts with label vanilla. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vanilla. Show all posts

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Red Velvet Cupcakes w/ Cinnamon Buttercream


I've felt like I've been in a food coma for the past 3 days...anyone else?  So much food, not a large enough stomach.  I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends.  I was a baking machine this week.  Since we went to a friends house for turkey day, my contribution was dessert...big surprise there lol.  So I spent all wednesday night making pumpkin cheesecake and the next morning making cupcakes.  My poor kitchen was a disatser, I wish the Keebler elf's would come at night when I'm sleeping and clean my kitchen.

This recipe comes from the show on TLC called George Town Cupcakes  I enjoy watching the sisters aventures in there bakery, just as much as I would probably enjoy their cupcakes.  I finally broke down and bought their  book on amazon with their most popular recipes.  I decided to try the red velvet recipe because 1 I've never had red velvet before and 2 the guys from my husbands office requested red velvet cupcakes with cinnamon frosting for their potluck at work.  Now I'm not sure if the recipe is truly the same one they use at their bakery, normally their cupcakes look very moist.  The cupcake that came out for me wasn't necessarily moist but it wasn't dry either, it was very light, fluffy and spongey. Still good and not very sweet which pairs well with the buttercream.


Red Velvet Cupcakes w/ Cinnamon Buttercream
from The Cupcake Diaries 

Yields: 12-15 cupcakes

Ingredients

3 1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temp
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs at room temp
4 tablespoons red food color like McCormick
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder, shifted
1 1/2 cups whole milk (I used 2% milk) at room temp
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Directions


- Preheat oven to 350F and line a cupcake pan with 12 paper liners.
- Sift together the flour and salt in a small bowl and set aside
- In a electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar at medium speed for 3 to 5 minutes until and light and fluffy
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing slowly after each addition
- In a small bowl whisk together the red food coloring, vanilla, cocoa powder. Slowly add the mixture to the electric mixer with the butter and mix until incorporated
- Add 1/3 of the flour, followed by the 1/3 of the milk to the electric mixer and mix.  Repeat, stopping to scrape down the bowl as needed.  Add the last third of the flour, followed by the last of the milk and mix until incorporated.
- In a small bowl, add the baking soda to the apple cider vinegar.  It will get fizzy, at it to the batter and mix thoroughly.
- fill the cupcakes liners 2/3 full and bake for 16 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 



Cinnamon Buttercream
Adapted from Can you stay for dinner?

Ingredients

1 cup 2% Milk
5 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup butter at room temp
1 cup sugar (not powdered sugar)

Directions

- In a medium saucepan, whisk 1 cup of milk with 5 tablespoons flour. Heat over medium until the mixture starts to bubble, whisk constantly. Continue to stir until the mixture starts to thicken, it will soon thicken to the consistency of cake batter. After about 7 minutes of whisking remove the mixture from the heat and add your extract.  Transfer the mixture to a heat proof bowl and let the mixture cool completely to room temperature. (I let it sit for about 30 minutes, stirring the mix every 10 minutes to release the heat)

- In your electric mixer cream together the butter and sugar on medium high for 3 to 5 minutes the mixture should be light and fluffy and white in color. You want the sugar to be completely incorporated in the butter.

- Make sure that your milk/flour mixture is completely cooled and add it to the butter and sugar. (you don't want the milk/flour mix to be warm or it could melt the butter).  Beat all ingredients together for 1 to 2 minutes on high speed, scrapping down the side of the bowl halfway, until smooth and blended. The frosting should be light and fluffy like whipped cream.





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Saturday, September 22, 2012

Baked Donuts w/ Pumpkin Spice glaze and Dark Chocolate


 I love bringing treats into work, usually its in the form of a cupcake, but today I was feeling frisky and wanted to bring something special in for Friday.  People usually like to bring donuts to work, I mean who doesn't like donuts? they go great with coffee and milk.  Usually I would buy the donuts from the nearest dunken and pick up a dozen.  

  Unfortunately in Misawa the closest place is Mister Donut, same thing like duken here in Japan. very tasty but its about 25 minutes away.  Way too far to get some donuts and the ones they sell on base at the shoppette are terrible.  That is why I decided to make homemade donuts, and even better their not fried, which means they're healthier and you can at least have two without feeling guilty ;)  oh and because of Halloween they have these pumpkin spice Hersey kisses at the store (amazing!) and I used those delicious kisses to make an wonderful pumpkin spice glaze on the donuts.


Baked Donuts
Adapted from Food.com
Yields: 18 donuts using a donut pan.
Ingredients
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons butter (soften)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 cups flour
4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup Almond milk (or regular milk)

Pumpkin Spice Glaze

1 1/2 cup unwrapped Hersey Pumpkin Spice Kisses
1/3 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar

Vanilla Bean Glaze

1/3 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean
4 tablespoons hot water

Dark Chocolate Glaze

use the remaining vanilla bean glaze and add 4 ounces bittersweet dark chocolate

Directions
- preheat the oven for 350 degrees
- Mix the soften butter and sugar together in a large bowl
- add the eggs and mix until blended
- in a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients together: flour, baking powdered, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon together
- Add the dry ingredients to the large bowl and blend with the wet mixture
- Add the milk to the batter, the dough should start getting thick and sticky 
- Using a donut pan, Spoon the batter into a pipping bag, snip a hole in the bottom and pipe the batter into each individual donut mold about half way full.
- Bake for 15-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean

Directions for the Glazes

Pumpkin Spice Glaze
- add the kisses and butter to a small glass bowl and microwave for about 30 -60 seconds, make sure to not burn the chocolate.
- add the powdered sugar to the melted butter/kisses and mix well
- add about 3 tablespoons hot water to the mixture and mix until the sugar is dissolved
- dip you cooled donuts half way into the glaze, remove and set on a wire rack, once the glaze starts to hardened dip a second time to add a thicker layer
- sprinkle with chocolate sprinkles


Vanilla Bean Glaze

- Melt the butter in the microwave
- Add powdered sugar and mix well
- add your vanilla extract and vanilla bean (cut lengthwise and scrape out the insides)
- Add your hot water and mix well
- dip your donuts into the glaze and place on a wire rack, dip a second time after the first glaze has hardened if you would like a thicker glaze.

Dark Chocolate Glaze ( I only used the vanilla bean glaze for about 6 donuts and made my chocolate glaze with the remaining left over vanilla glaze)

- Using the left over vanilla bean glaze add chocolate and microwave for about 45 seconds and mix well. dip you donuts half way into the glaze and set on a wire rack. 





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