Short and Sweet

Lamingtons are traditionally small square cakes coated in chocolate glaze and rolled in coconut. If I had mini square cake molds I would have attempted square cupcakes but for the sake of keeping things simple for my Oscar Party I went with the standard cupcake pan.

CUPCAKES

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup buttermilk

In a small bowl, mix together flour + coconut + cocoa powder + baking soda + salt.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat sugar + oil + egg until smooth. Add vanilla, mixing well. Alternately beat in flour mixture and buttermilk, making three additions of flour and two of buttermilk, beating until smooth.

Scoop batter into cupcake lined pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 22 to 27 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes in pan and remove onto cooling rack.

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Topping

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup packed sweetened flaked coconut

In a microwave-safe bowl, combine chocolate chips + cream. Microwave, uncovered, for 40 seconds until cream is hot and chocolate is soft and almost melted. Stir mixture until smooth.

Spread the melted chocolate over the cupcakes and sprinkle coconut over melted chocolate. Refrigerate cupcakes until chocoalte is firm.

Ever since we ran out of Island Farms lemon merange pie ice cream, I have had a serious craving for lemon merange pie. To be slightly different I though I would try and make a key lime pie instead. For this recipe you can use either real key limes, or regular limes if you can not find the real ones. I used regular (persian) limes because they did not have key limes at my local grocery store and they still turned out delicious. I was extra lazy and bought the pre-made tart shells, but you could also make your own if you were feeling up to it.

The Neopolitan: Simple chocolate cupcake, vanilla buttercream icing, fresh strawberry on top. See more of my cupcakes on my flickr or fotologue site.

You may have noticed a trend in my postings recently. Cupcakes. Some may say I’m a little obsessed, but I don’t see anyone complaining when I bake them a few times a week.

I pretty much bake for every event I can. Recently I make a few batches for a friends birthday BBQ. Let’s just say, it went well and there were no cupcakes left to spare.

Here are 2 recipes for Chocolate Chai (this amazing recipe was politely stolen from my favorite site Chockylit’s cupcake bakeshop) and Raspberry Mint cupcakes.

CHOCOLATE CHAI CUPCAKES
basic chocolate cupcake recipe with a simple chai spice mix

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup buttermilk (this makes the cupcakes really moist!)
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 teaspoons chai spice mix (see recipe below)

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preheat oven to 350 degrees.

sift cocoa + sugar + flour + baking soda + baking powder + salt + chai spice mix into a large bowl.

add egg + water + buttermilk + oil + vanilla and whisk until smooth, about 3 minutes.

scoop batter into cupcake liners with 1/3 measuring cup.

bake for 20-22 minutes until tooth pick inserted in middle comes out clean.

let cool for at least 30 minutes before frosting.

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CHAI SPICE MIX

2 teaspoons fennel, groud
2 teaspoons cloves, groud
1 tablespoon cardamom, ground
2 teaspoons cinnamon, ground
2 teaspoons ginger, ground

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CHAI SPICE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
4-5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons chai spice mix
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger

Beat butter until creamy, scrape bowl.

Add 4 cups of sifted powdered sugar, milk, spice mix, and ginger. Beat until combined.

Add more powdered sugar as needed to get piping consistency.

RASPBERRY MINT CREAM CUPCAKES

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking power
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk

In a small bowl, mix together flour + baking power + salt.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat sugar + oil + eggs and vanilla together until smooth. Alternately mix in flour mixture and milk, making 3 additions of flour and 2 of milk. Beat until smooth.

Scoop batter into cupcake lined pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes in pan and remove onto cooling rack.

Cut small cone shaped wholes in the top of the cupcakes and fill with mint creme. Put cones back in place top filled cupcakes with icing.

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MINT CREAM

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup mint
1 cup whipping cream

Bring sugar and water to a boil, stir until sugar dissolves.

Chop mint and add to the mixture.

Boil for 3 minutes.

Cool to room temperature.

Beat whipping cream on high until stiff peaks form add the five to six tablespoons of syrup to taste and beat until combined.

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RASPBERRY BUTTERCREAM

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
4-5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 cup raspberries

Beat butter until creamy, scrape bowl.

Add 4 cups of sifted powdered sugar, raspberries. Beat until combined.

Add more powdered sugar as needed to get piping consistency.

Top iced cupcakes with fresh raspberry and mint leaf.

I recently discovered the best strawberry rhubarb pie recipe from Simply Recipes, with some unusual ingredients. It calls for quick cooking tapioca which I found very strange. Never the less, it was the tastiest pie I have ever had. Highly recommended!

Here is the recipe from Simply Recipes with my own additions:

INGREDIENTS

4 cups rhubarb stalks cut into 1/2 inch pieces (Trim outside stringy layer of large rhubarb stalks; make sure to trim away any and discard of the leaves which are poisonous; trim ends.)
1.5 cup strawberries, stemmed and sliced
1 cup raspberries
1 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons of quick cooking tapioca
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of grated lemon rind
Unbaked pastry for two-crust 9 inch pie

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Preheat oven to 400°F.

1 Mix the rhubarb, strawberries and the raspberries with the sugar, tapioca, salt, and lemon rind. Let sit for 10 minutes.

2 Turn into a pastry lined pan. Top with the pastry, trim the edge, and crimp the top and bottom edges together. Cut slits in the top for the steam to escape.

3 Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes, reduce heat to 350°F, and bake an additional 30-40 minutes longer. Cool on a rack. Serve warm or cold. If you do cool to room temperature, the juices will have more time to thicken.

I recently joined a “Stitch ‘n’ Bitch” club and decided to bake a batch of cupcakes for my first appearance. I made raspberry vanilla cupcakes filled with raspberry jam (it call for preserves, and I had no idea that meant jam, so I made my own!) and topped with a lemon lime cream cheese icing.

They turned out really well. See recipe below.

CUPCAKES

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking power
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup raspberry preserves (see recipe below)

In a small bowl, mix together flour + baking power + salt.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat sugar + oil + eggs and vanilla together until smooth. Alternately mix in flour mixture and milk, making 3 additions of flour and 2 of milk. Beat until smooth.

Scoop batter into cupcake lined pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes in pan and remove onto cooling rack.

Cut small cone shaped wholes in the top of the cupcakes and fill with raspberry preserves. Put cones back in place top filled cupcakes with icing.

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RASPBERRY PRESERVES

2 cups raspberries
1 cup sugar

Simmer raspberries + sugar on medium low heat for 35 minutes stirring often until preserves are thick and syrupy.

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ICING

1 cup butter
5-6 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lime zest

Beat butter until creamy, scrape bowl. Add 4 cups of sifted powdered sugar, lime juice, lemon juice, lime zest, and vanilla, beat until combined. Add more powdered sugar until you get to the consistency you want.

I recently discovered The Cupcake Bakeshop and have been testing out a few of the recipes. The cupcake above is her coconut lime recipe mixed with my white cupcake recipe. These were tasty!

CUPCAKES

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking power
1/4 tsp baking soda
Pinch salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 egg whites
1/3 cup lime juice
2/3 cup coconut milk
1 tsp lime zest

In a small bowl, mix together flour + baking power + baking soda + salt.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat sugar + butter together until well combined. Add egg whites one at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternately beat in flour mixture and lime juice + coconut milk mixture, making 3 additions of flour and 2 of lime juice + coconut milk. Beat until smooth and mix in lime zest.

Scoop batter into cupcake lined pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes in pan and remove onto cooling rack. Apply icing when cool otherwise it will drip off.

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ICING

1 cup butter
5-6 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lime zest
toasted coconut (see instructions below)

Beat butter until creamy, scrape bowl. Add 4 cups of sifted powdered sugar, lime juice, lime zest, and vanilla, beat until combined. Add more powdered sugar until you get to the consistency you want (not too stiff so that its hard to pipe).

To toast coconut, crack a coconut, drain, shred into consistency you prefer. Spread coconut onto baking pan and sprinkle with sugar. Toast in the oven on broil until slightly brown.

Top iced cupcakes with toasted coconut and lime zest.

Everything is better when it is smaller… well not everything. But definately pies.

Here is my recipe for mini pies (or one regualr size pie).

CRUST

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup pastry flour
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup cubed cold shortening (or lard if you prefer)
1/3 cup cold water
1 tsp cold vinegar

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In large bowl, sift together all-purpose flour + pastry flour + sugar + salt. Using pastry blender (or two knives), cut in shortening until dough is of a similar texture to oatmeal. With a fork or hands, stir in water + vinegar until dough starts to stick together. Lightly knead the dough + shape into discs, one slightly larger than the other. For mini pies: separate into a few smaller discs. Wrap in plastic + chill for 2 hours.

Remove from fridge + let warm for 10 mins. Flour surface, roll the larger disc until it is 3-4 inches larger than the pie plate. For mini pies: roll the larger disc until it is 1 inch larger than the mini pie plate. I used ramicans. Transfer to pie plate (I find that rolling the dough over the rolling pin and then roling out on top of the pie plate works well), and gently push into corners. Roll the second disc out 1 inch more than pie plate. For mini pies: 1/2 an inch will do. Prebake for 20 mins at 350 degrees then add filling and bake as directed.

After filling is added, brush the rim of the bottom pastry with water. Put the top pastry in place, crimp the top and bottom together to seal.

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BUMBLE BERRY PIE FILLING

1/2 cup rum
2 medium granny smith apples
1 cup each: Blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and halved strawberrys.
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Milk (optional)
Sugar (optional)

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Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Boil apples in rum for 10 mins. In a large bowl combine apples + berries + sugar + flour + cinnamon. Spoon into pie plate. Add top crust. Cut small slits in pie top to allow venting. Brush top of pie with milk and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 50-55 mins. Serve with ice cream.

After many batches of cupcakes (no cupcakes were harmed or discarded) and many different variations of ingredients I have found the most delicious and moist cupcakes (Thanks to cafemama.com for the direction). Try out the recipe and let me know what you think. With one day to go, these are perfect for Valentines Day!

ICING

3 cups icing sugar
2 tbsp butter (softened)
3 tbsp milk
2 tsp vanilla

Optional
1 drop of red food colouring (optional for extra cuteness)

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mix 1/2 cup soft butter + 2 cups icing sugar.
add 2 tbsp milk + 2 tsp vanilla + 1 cup icing sugar.
add 1 tbsp milk and mix until smooth.
try not to eat whole bowl before cupcakes are ready.

CUPCAKES

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup buttermilk (this makes the cupcakes really moist!)
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
cupcake liners

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preheat oven to 350 degrees.
sift cocoa + sugar + flour + baking soda + baking powder + salt into a large bow.
add egg + water + buttermilk + oil + vanilla and whisk until smooth, about 3 minutes.
scoop batter into cupcake liners with 1/3 measuring cup.
bake for 18-20 minutes until tooth pick inserted in middle comes out clean.
let cool for at least 30 minutes before frosting.

makes 12 cupcakes so you may want to double or triple if you want to give some away (they are hard to resist).