THE “SALLY” CUPCAKE RECIPE

Today, March 22nd, is the birthday of one the most awesome teachers in all existence. Her name is Sally Haggis, and I knew I had to deliver a kick-ass cupcake to congratulate her. I already knew she was a big fan of carrot cake through my painstaking research (I asked her what her favorite cake was). So I set out to find the greatest carrot cake recipe that I could make cupcakes out of. I then had to find a truly incredible frosting to accompany it. The carrot cupcake features the use of crushed pineapple and applesauce for great moisture and flavor, and the cream cheese frosting has a nice maple syrup twist – how delightfully Canadian. The end results were pretty spectacular, in my humble opinion, and hugs and smiles were shared. Here’s the legendary recipe:

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

• 2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl until smooth. Add powdered sugar, syrup, and vanilla; beat until smooth. There is a chance that this frosting might be a bit runny, as it happened to me. In this case, add the frosting, little at a time, to a separate bowl of icing sugar until you reach your desired consistency.

Carrot Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup apple sauce
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 8-oz. can of crushed pineapple, well drained
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Small pinch of ground cloves
• 3 cups grated carrots

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, apple sauce, sugars, pineapple and 2 teaspoons vanilla.
3. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and small pinch of ground cloves.
4. Stir in carrots, until well blended.
5. Line cupcake tray with liners. Fill each liner 3/4 full.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 min. Let cupcakes cool completely. While cooling, prepare frosting.

Cupcake recipe from:

http://half-bakedbaker.blogspot.ca/2011/11/best-ever-carrot-cake-cupcakes.html

Frosting recipe from:

http://www.epicurious.com:80/recipes/food/views/Maple-Cream-Cheese-Icing-104851#ixzz1pUZmcpUD

THE “CAYLA” MUFFIN RECIPE

In relation to my previous post, I continue on my journey of baking and good deeds with a muffin to celebrate my good friend Cayla’s birthday. Cayla is a young girl with an infectious laugh and a charming, bubbly personality. She’s also a damn near vegan. She also let me know she’s not a big fan of cupcakes. So I set out to create a healthy and delicious muffin that she could enjoy for her birthday. Now there are certain parts of the recipe that make it great, such as the inspired use of unsweetened applesauce for moisture. I also substituted almond milk for regular milk, to suit Cayla’s taste. I also threw some sprinkles on there, since y’know, it’s her fricken’ birthday.

A straight up, healthy blueberry bran muffin.

Yields 12 muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups wheat bran
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 egg
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or use paper muffin liners. Mix together wheat bran and milk, and let stand for 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, mix together applesauce, egg, brown sugar, and vanilla. Beat in bran mixture. Sift together all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir into bran mixture until just blended. Fold in blueberries. Scoop into muffin cups.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until tops spring back when lightly tapped or a toothpick comes out clean when poked through.
4. Enjoy with a tall glass of almond milk while listening to ‘Tiny Dancer’ by Elton John.

The recipe is based on:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/low-fat-blueberry-bran-muffins/

The “Devin” Cupcake Recipe

So I had this bright idea to do nice things and also improve my baking skills. So I figure baking cupcakes for my classmate’s birthdays is a good idea. Devin Petitclerc is a debonair fun-loving youth, so the cupcake had to fit his personality. I put together various recipes I found on the interweb to compose this recipe for him. Here’s what I came up with:

A chocolate cupcake with chocolate chips, chocolate ganache filling and a vanilla buttercream frosting.

Yields 16 cupcakes

The Chocolate Ganache Filling:

 Ingredients:

• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar

For the ganache filling, place chocolate, cream, and confectioners’ sugar in a small microwave-safe bowl. Cook on high power until mixture is warm to the touch, 20-30 seconds. Whisk until smooth and transfer to the refrigerator. Let stand until just chilled, no longer than 30 minutes.

The Chocolate Cupcake (with chocolate chips right in the batter)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
• 1-1/4 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoons vanilla
• 2/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Beat butter until softened.
2. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until well combined.
4. Measure the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder into a small sized bowl and whisk to combine.
5. Measure out the milk and vanilla and stir to combine.
6. Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar and beat to combine. Add about a half of the milk/vanilla and beat to combine.
7. Continue adding, alternating between dry and wet and finishing with the dry.
8. Stir in chocolate chips.
9. Scoop batter into cupcake cups about 1/2 full.
10. Place one slightly rounded teaspoon of the ganache filling on top of each cupcake.
11. Bake at 350 degrees for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (mind you, there’s a good chance you’ll poke through a chocolate chip and freak out. Calm down. try poking by the edges).

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 2-4 tablespoons milk

For the frosting, in a large bowl beat butter and shortening until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and salt. Beat in confectioners’ sugar, 1 cup at a time, scraping down sides of bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of milk; beat at high speed until light and fluffy. Add additonal milk for desired spreading consistency.

You can spread the frosting on the cupcakes with a butter knife, or fill a zip-loc bag with it, cut a hole in a corner and pipe it onto the cake.

Enjoy!

 

The ganache and frosting recipes come from:

http://buddingbaketress.blogspot.com/2011/01/ultimate-chocolate-cupcakes-with.html

The cupcake recipe comes from:

http://www.cupcakeproject.com/2008/02/better-than-sex-cupcakes-chocolate.html#ixzz1k7nKWSgy