Tag Archives: vanilla

June 17, 2013 · 5:00 am

Vanilla Ice Cream with Mix-ins

Tracy of Shutterbean has a little phrase she often throws around on her blog – “Can’t stop, won’t stop.” and that is exactly how I feel about ice cream. I literally ate all the rocky road ice cream single handedly and as soon as it was finished I whipped up a batch of this ice cream.

Even though I’ve had an ice cream maker for over a year, this is my first attempt at vanilla ice cream. I’m kind of vanilla in many areas of my life but NOT when it comes to ice cream. For example, my wardrobe is quite vanilla. I favor solids and simple prints, cotton dresses and flip-flops. Accessories are somehow really difficult for me.

Yet when it comes to ice cream and baked goods I’m all about accessories. Plain vanilla ice cream – BORING!! Luckily I had a quart of man whore bar trimmings in the freezer begging to be put into something wonderful. You know when you’re trimming bars for a pretty presentation and you’re usually tempted to eat all the edges? Well gather some self-control and freeze those bad boys for later use.

Trimmed edges make the BEST mix-ins for ice cream. You’re eating a smooth, creamy, decadent ice cream and then BOOM, a delicious bite of an amazing baked good. Waste not, want not – word.

Anyway, vanilla ice cream maybe a little boring, but throw in a little something special inside and you have yourself a marvelous, cold treat for the hottest days of summer. You won’t regret your decision to mix all your leftover treats in your ice cream, trust me!

One Year Ago – Watermelon Martinis

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Vanilla Ice Cream with Mix-ins
Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker
Yield – 1 1/2 quarts

1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean
6 egg yolks
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons whipped vodka
1 quart man whore bars, cut into small chunks

Place the bowl of the ice cream maker in the freezer the night before.
Heat the milk, 1 cup heavy cream, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan until simmering. Cut the vanilla bean in half and scrape out the seeds. Add the seeds and the bean pod to the simmering cream.
Simmer for one minute and then cover with a lid. Remove from the heat and let steep for 30-40 minutes.
Whisk in the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream and place the mixture back on the heat.
In a medium bowl whisk the egg yolks. Add the heated cream mixture to the eggs little by little to temper the eggs. Once the eggs are warm, add them to the mixture on the stove.
Heat and whisk until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Pour the mixture through a fine sieve.
Stir in the vanilla and the vodka. Cool the ice cream base completely. I usually cool in the fridge overnight.
Churn the ice cream according the directions on your ice cream maker. Once churned pour into a freezer safe bowl and then mix in the chopped man whore bars.
Freeze until firm.

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Tres Leches Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Buttercream

Happy Quince de Mayo! Not a real holiday, you say? Oh well, these were enjoyed for the real holiday of Cinco de Mayo. Instead of a typical margarita cupcake or something boozy, I decided to make this Cinco de Mayo classy. Last year was a train-wreck, I still have flashbacks…

Classy is a fantastic way to go because these cupcakes are awesome, like seriously awesome. One of the best cupcakes I’ve made. And speaking of making cupcakes, as I was pulling out the ingredients and mixer to whip these up, I was struck by how long it had been since I last made cupcakes, it’s been awhile, since these in March, that’s almost two months ago!

I know it’s cliche and overdone, but I really love cupcakes. They are always appreciated, always perfect for any occasion, and completely easy to carry and serve. There are a million cupcake shops because the people have spoken, cupcakes are the way to go.

People often ask me what my favorite thing to bake is and I always sheepishly reply “cupcakes.” I should stop being sheepish and own it – I make damn good cupcakes, damn good. Plus, I love all the steps involved: batter, filling, frosting, and garnish. However, the amount of dishes leaves something to be desired.

Speaking of damn good cupcakes, this one is double damn good. I would eat swiss meringue buttercream on cardboard; it’s the creamiest, smoothest, and best frosting there is, hands down. Add a jar of dulce de leche and you can do no wrong. Best of all, the frosting isn’t overly sweet. The vanilla chiffon cake is a perfect host to the rich frosting and the silky three-milk soaking liquid. Honestly, again, you put the three-milk soaking liquid on cardboard, and I’d still eat the cardboard. Altogether you have a marvelous, sophisticated cupcake perfect for Cinco de Mayo or any day of the year.

One Year Ago – Black Bean Sliders

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Tres Leches Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Buttercream
Adapted from Bakers Royale
Yield – 16 cupcakes

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, separated
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup coconut milk

Preheat the oven to 350 ˚F and line a cupcake pan with liners.
In the bowl of a stand mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy with a paddle attachment. While this is mixing, separate your eggs.
Add in the yolks one at a time while the mixer is in medium speed. Beat in the vanilla. Scrape the bowl as needed.
Sift together the flour, soda, and salt. On the lowest speed, beat in the dry ingredients and the buttermilk in alternate batches, beginning and ending with the flour.
Beat the egg whites until you have stiff, white peaks. Fold the egg whites into the rest of the batter.
Use a standard ice cream scoop to portion the batter into the cupcake pans. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
Whisk together the evaporated milk, condensed milk, and coconut milk. Try not to drink it all!
When the cupcakes are finished baking, poke several holes and use a pastry brush to coat each cupcake with the 3-milk mixture. Repeat five or six times. You won’t use all the milk.
Refrigerate the cupcakes for two hours before frosting.

Dulce de Leche Swiss Meringue Buttercream
5 egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon vanilla
12 ounce can dulce de leche
1/2 cup sweetened coconut

In the bowl of a stand mixer add the egg whites and sugar. Place the bowl over a small pot of simmering water. Whisk the egg whites and sugar until the mixture is no longer gritty.
Using the whisk attachment, beat the eggs/sugar for about 10 minutes on high or until you have stiff white peaks and a cool bowl.
Meanwhile, add the coconut to a dry saute pan and toast until golden brown, let cool.
Turn the mixer to medium and add in the butter one tablespoon at time. If the mixture looks curdled, just scrape the bowl and keep mixing.
Beat in the vanilla, salt, and dulce de leche.
Add into a piping bag with a star tip and pipe onto each cooled cupcake. Sprinkle the toasted coconut on top.

Note – this recipe makes a TON of frosting. I used less than half to frost the cupcakes. I took the remaining 1-quart of frosting and stuck it in the freezer. To use later, simply thaw in the fridge and then re-whip in a mixer.

3 Comments

Filed under Cupcakes

Tagged as coconut, dulce de leche, vanilla

April 19, 2013 · 5:00 am

Strawberry Shortcake Whoopie Pies

When I was deciding which category to click for this recipe, I had to check out my recipe index to see how I’ve been classifying whoopie pies. In sixteen months of blogging this is only my third whoopie pie recipe. That seems kind of sad. I feel like I’ve made more whoopie pies than that, but apparently they were pre-blog. Things are going to be changing around here!

Nicole called these strawberry shortcake whoopie pies delightful and “one of the most delicious things you’ve [I've] ever made.” I said that was bold statement. I’m always surprised when people say things like that to me because everyone has such different tastes and ideas of taste perfection. In this way, food competitions are so biased, get a different group of judges with different tastes, and you could have completely different results. This is also what makes baking for friends so fun, it’s always possible to please someone!

I’m writing this while watching the movie Hook and I know it has nothing to do with strawberry shortcake whoopie pies, but it’s such a throw back to my childhood. I don’t even know how many times I’ve watch this movie, but it’s been a lot. Growing up my brother and I watched it countless times with a babysitter while my parents were bowling. I’ve had the distinct pleasure of introducing the movie to campers one summer and some students during Saturday school.

RUUUUFFFFIIIII-OOOOOOOOOO! Why is this such a great movie? Is it simply nostalgia from my childhood or is it cinematic genius? I don’t know if I care. Also, did you know Maggie Smith plays Wendy? IMDB to the recuse! The make-up tried to make her look older (about the age she is now in Downtown Abbey), but she still looks young. In real life she’s much older than you would expect.

Enough digression, back to the whoopie pies. They really are delightful as Nicole said. I don’t know what happened to yield 30 pies when the original recipe only yielded 12, but feel free to cut the recipe in half to make a more manageable amount. However, I assure you, there will be no problem distributing all of these. I was not only able to give a bunch to a student monitor for her birthday, but I was able to share with colleagues at lunch. Make yourself some lovely strawberry shortcake whoopie pies this spring; everyone will be as happy as a 28 year old re-watching Hook!

One Year Ago – Red Velvet Brownie S’more Bars

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Strawberry Shortcake Whoopie Pies

Adapted from Cookies and Cups

Yield – 30 whoopie pies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

3 eggs, room temperature

4 1/4 cups flour

1 cup whole milk

1 tablespoon vanilla

10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 tablespoon whole milk

3 cups powdered sugar

1 quart strawberries, washed, trimmed, and thinly sliced

Preheat the oven to 400 F and line all your cookie sheets with parchment paper. The more cookie sheets the faster things will go.
Beat the butter and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Beat in the baking powder, salt, and eggs on low speed until well combined.
Add the vanilla to the milk in a mixing glass and add the flour in three batches with the milk/vanilla mixture in between. Scrape the bowl as needed.
Mix until the dough is just combined.
Use a 2-tablespoon scoop to portion the batter on the cookie sheets. Leave plenty of room between whoopie pies, I was able to put 8 whoopie pie halves per baking sheet.
Wet your fingers to smooth and flatten the top of each whoopie pie.
Bake for 10 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool and completely.
Make the filling by creaming the butter and vanilla until pale yellow in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Add in the powdered sugar half a cup at a time. Start on low and then increase the speed to high to whip the filling.
Beat in the milk until light and fluffy.
Match the whoopie pie halves and smear some filling BOTH halves. Place a few strawberry slices on one half and smush together.

2 Comments

Filed under Sweet Treats

Tagged as strawberry, vanilla

March 8, 2013 · 5:00 am

Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes

Are you tired of vegan cupcakes yet? This is the last vegan recipe for awhile, I promise. If you thought the vegan chocolate cupcakes were good, these are better. For real.

The melted coconut oil adds the richness cupcakes need and completely replaces the butter. These cupcakes are soft and tender and incredibly moist. The lovely, light vanilla cupcake is paired with a decadent and chocolate frosting, the same frosting used on the chocolate vegan cupcakes.

As you can properly tell, I’ve been in a bit of a blogging rut lately. There definitely needs to be a pause on the drunk blog posts, sorry Andrea. I don’t want to blame everything on being vegan, but my creativity was a bit squashed. Work has continued to be overwhelming as new curricula is being written and taught. I look forward to some future baking prospects and a renewal of blogging energy.

In the future, most recipes will contain my favorite ingredient: butter! Lots and lots of butter. It’s unbelievable how much of a difference one ingredient can make in not only flavor, but in texture as well. Butter really is God’s Gold!

One Year Ago: Coffee Marshmallows

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Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
Adapted from All Recipes
Yield – 24 mini cupcakes

1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup almond milk
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup coconut oil, warmed until melted
3/4 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Add the apple cider to the almond milk to curdle the milk. Let sit for about 5 minutes.
Whisk together the flour, sugar, powder, soda, and salt in a large bowl.
Whisk the melted coconut oil and vanilla into the almond milk/vinegar mixture. Stir the wet into the dry until just combined.
Use a small scoop to portion the batter into lined mini muffin tins.
Bake for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted inside comes out clean.
Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

Avocado Chocolate Frosting
Adapted from Love & Lemon

2 ripe avocados
1/4 cup cocoa powder, special dark
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup coconut milk
Almonds for garnish

Add the avocados, cocoa, vanilla, and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium to mash the avocado.
On low speed add in the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time and beat until well blended. Beat in the milk until it is spreading consistency.
Add to a piping bag and pipe a star on top. Garnish with a whole almond if desired. I did this because of food allergies. Since there is almond milk inside, I wanted it to be apparent that there were nuts.

4 Comments

Filed under Cupcakes

Tagged as almond, avocado, chocolate, coconut, vanilla, vegan

February 11, 2013 · 5:00 am

Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Pudding

Yes, the frosting is orange, however, these are not Halloween cupcakes. They would be adorable for Halloween, but they are for a birthday girl. I just wanted a frosting with a fun color and I was like hey, haven’t used orange in awhile, why not? Now I remember why I don’t use orange very often, it’s kind of weird.

Despite the strange coloring of the frosting, these would make awesome fall cupcakes because of the yellow, orange, and brown colors. Maybe I’m just ahead in my seasons. This cupcake doesn’t have fall flavors, but the flavors are season neutral and would be delightful anytime of the year.

Homemade pudding, like homemade marshmallows, and basically everything homemade, is so much better than its store-bought siblings. The pudding only takes a few minutes to cook and stir and then you have something rich and chocolatey and outstanding without any chemicals.

When my monitor, the monitor who I hope to have daughter just like one day, requested cupcakes with pudding inside I had no idea what she was talking about. What was strange was she told me I had made them before. It took me awhile to remember, but then I remembered making decorated cupcakes with a pudding filling from my cake decorating class. For those I used snackpacks, these are totally an upgrade.

If the pictures look different it’s because I took them at school. I made the cupcakes too late in the day to take photos at home so I lugged my camera + the cupcakes to work. I don’t talk about my blog with my students because I like to keep some separation between home and work, but my monitors know about the blog and know we don’t talk about it. So when I was standing on furniture taking photos, they were more than a bit curious! The lighting in my room is fantastic, I wish I had so many windows and so much light at home.

Anyway, a little injection of chocolate pudding is the best way to make a boring vanilla cupcake extra special. The pudding adds both flavor, contrast, and moisture. The actual vanilla cupcake is super flavorful, tender, and moist. A simple vanilla whipped frosting in whatever color you desire finishes off this sweet treat.

One Year Ago: Chocolate Brownies made with Beans

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Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Pudding
Adapted from Tie Dye Cupcakes
Yield – 16 cupcakes

1 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean
1 3/4 cup cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
2 eggs
1/3 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vanilla
2/3 cup whole milk

Preheat the oven to 350 F.
In the bowl of a mixer add the sugar and the seeds from the vanilla bean and massage together with your fingers.
Add the flour, powder, soda, and salt to the sugar, mix slowly with the paddle attachment.
Add the butter and beat for several minutes until the mixture becomes nice and crumbly.
While the mixer is mixing, whisk together the yogurt, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Pour this in the mixer and combine. Scrape the bowl as needed.
Slowly add the milk in and turn on high for a few seconds.
Use a standard size ice cream scoop to portion the batter into lined cupcake pans.
Bake 14-17 minutes until a toothpick in a center cupcake comes out clean. Cool on cooling rack.

Chocolate Pudding
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Yield – 6 servings (1 to fill cupcakes and 5 to eat!)

1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 cups whole milk
6 ounces chocolate (I used a mixture of dark and semisweet)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Place the cornstarch, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk in the milk slowly, a little bit in the beginning to make a smooth mixture. Once the mixture is smooth, you can whisk in more milk faster.
Cook the mixture on a low temperature until it thickens and can coat the back of a wooden spoon. This takes 15-20 minutes and requires some diligence.
Turn off the heat and add the chopped chocolate. Stir to combine and then stir in the vanilla. Place in your serving bowls with plastic wrap on top of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming.
Refrigerate until cool.
Insert the pudding into a piping bag with a cupcake injector tip. Fill each cooled cupcake before frosting. Eat the rest of the pudding at your leisure!

Whipped Vanilla Frosting
Yield – enough to generously decorate the cupcakes + extra

1 1/2 cups whole milk
7 1/2 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
electric orange gel food coloring

In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the milk and flour. Keep whisking until the mixture becomes smooth and thick resembling pancake batter.
Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla and allow to cool completely.
Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy – beat for 8 minutes
Add in the cooled flour/milk mixture and beat until the entire frosting is light and fluffy, about another 5-8 minutes.
Add the food coloring and mix until well combined.
Use a large round tip to pipe the frosting on the cupcakes, with bits of cookie.

3 Comments

Filed under Cupcakes

Tagged as birthday, chocolate, pudding, vanilla

February 4, 2013 · 5:00 am

Chocolate Dipped Marshmallows

Every quarter my students are required to complete some sort of project in science. In past we have done science-fair type projects or model building or something relatively fun. This year with CCLS ruining everything, all students are required to write argumentative essays ALL the time. I’m all for literacy in the science classroom, but the reality of reading 150 essays is rough.

Without fail, there are always a few students who choose not turn in their projects on time. This is frustrating. In one of my classes, every single student turned in their project the day it was due. I was super pleased and told the class I would make them a special treat for their hard work and commitment to due dates.

After doing a quick survey for ideas, the only item every student was interested in was marshmallow. It had been awhile since I’ve made marshmallows, so I thought I would jazz up some homemade marshmallows for the special reward. Meaghan from The Decorated Cookie served as my inspiration for marshmallows on sticks. Of course there was not a consensus between chocolate or vanilla, so I dipped some marshmallows in melted chocolate and some in melted blue vanilla candy melts. All the cupcakes got the sprinkle treatment of course.

Homemade marshmallows are phenomenal and should not even be in the same food group as store bought marshmallows. These marshmallows are so light, sweet, and almost creamy. It was a bit more difficult than I anticipated to keep the marshmallows on the stick, but in the end they turned out wonderfully! Once wrapped in some plastic with a ribbon, the chocolate dipped marshmallows were easy to transport and enjoyed by all the students.

One Year Ago: Fig Newtons & Brussel Sprouts

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Chocolate Dipped Marshmallows
Yield – 36 marshmallows
Adapted from Coffee Marshmallows

4 teaspoons powdered gelatin (each packet has about 2 1/2 teaspoons, so 2 packets)
2/3 cup cold water
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 tablespoon canola oil
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
Melted chocolate
Sprinkles

Soak the gelatin in 2/3 cup cold water, set aside to bloom. Most of the water will become absorbed.
In medium saucepan, heat 1/2 cup water, sugar, and vanilla. Add in the bloomed gelatin and water. Stir and cook until all the sugar is dissolved.
Add the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Beat on slow speed to start and then on high speed until soft peaks. This took me about 15-20 minutes.
Prepare a 9”x13” pan by covering with several sheets of plastic wrap. Pour in the oil and spread around.
Pour the marshmallow mixture into the prepared pan and let sit at room temperature for an hour.
Sift together the corn starch and powdered sugar.
Dust the marshmallows with the corn starch and powdered sugar mixture and turn out on a large cutting board. Dust the round cookie cutter (1 1/2 inch) and slice the marshmallows.
Melt the chocolate. Dip the tip of a stick of the melted chocolate and stick into a marshmallow. Allow the chocolate to harden.
Spread sprinkles on a plate.
Dip the top of the marshmallow in chocolate and then immediately dip in sprinkles. Allow to cool and harden completely before wrapping.

7 Comments

Filed under Sweet Treats

Tagged as chocolate, gluten free, marshmallow, sprinkles, vanilla

January 21, 2013 · 5:00 am

Vanilla Pudding Shots

Friday was a recipe for the kids, today is all about the grown-ups. Because honestly, the best part of being a grown-up is drinking, am I wrong? Pudding shots look sweet and perfect for a kids party, but these cuties pack a punch, a vodka punch. With a half of fifth of cake vodka in my cupboard, I’m always on the look out for ways to use it up. I know I could just drink it all, but that seems a little excessive.

The pudding shots were made for our NYE’s party, but they would be great for any party, or any time when you want a party to happen. Nothing says party more than sprinkles and whipped cream. The pudding shots are easy to mix together ahead of time but I wouldn’t add the sprinkles and the cookie until right before serving. As you can see from the picture the sprinkles bled a bit and the cookie get a little soggy. The cookie makes a perfect little spoon to scoop up all the boozy vanilla pudding! There may or may not be left over pudding shots in the freezer that serve as a delightful-midweek pick-me-up…

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Vanilla Pudding Shots
Adapted from Endless Simmer
Inspired by That’s so Michelle
Yield – 48

3.9 ounce box instant vanilla pudding
3/4 cup cold milk
1/2 cup cake vodka, I used Three Olives
1/3 cup whipped vodka, I used Pinnacle
8 ounces Cool Whip, I used reduced fat
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
splash of vanilla
sprinkles
24 Dark Chocolate Pirouline Cookies
48 small cups

Whisk together the pudding and the milk in a large bowl. Whisk in the vodkas. Fold in the cool whip.
Set up the cups in a 9×13 baking pan. Transfer the mixture to a large baggie and then snip off the end to fill the cups. Fill each cup about 2/3 of the way. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
Make whipped cream by whisking the heavy cream in the bowl of a stand mixer until soft peaks form. Whisk in the sugar and vanilla. Transfer to a piping bag and pipe a dollop in each cup.
Cut each pirouline cookie in half.
Top sprinkles and half a cookie to use as a spoon.

6 Comments

Filed under Beverages

Tagged as sprinkles, vanilla, vodka

December 7, 2012 · 5:00 am

Vanilla Vodka Chai Cocktail

Rarely do I see a recipe and make it that same day. I’m a saver, I like to save a recipe or a treat for the perfect time and place. I love going back to look at my Pinterest boards to see what looks delicious or what fits the special occasion. On Sunday, I did not have to wait more than a few hours between the excitement of finding a new recipe, the joy of making it, and the delight in tasting it.

I spent Sunday baking banana bread and finishing up my Christmas cookie baking schedule. I do not mess around with my baking schedule – a spreadsheet has been made, ingredients have been bought, the whiteboard has been filled out, and I have paused my personal life. I love it, I love it all.

I even love the pain I get in my back from standing at work all day and then standing in my kitchen all night. I love putting on the Christmas music and making a mess in the kitchen because I’m working three different recipes at once. I love the craziness and all the butter and the chocolate smears on the cupboards. It’s really the only time of year where it is acceptable to go nuts and just bake cookies all day, I’m going to push things to their full potential!

Next week will start the Christmas cookie line up. Monday will have a ridiculous cupcake recipe that I just shoved in my mouth and I’m excited to share Christmas cookie recipes with you. Last year I baked with intention of starting this blog and this year I bake for the blog (and my friends of course)! If you can’t wait until Wednesday for the first recipe, here are some OLD posts from the beginning: Rainbow Cookies and Stained Glass Sugar Cookies.

I almost forgot to describe the cocktail because of my excitement in talking about Christmas cookies, or maybe I’ve had too much sugar. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised by how wonderful this cocktail was, it tastes just like a boozy chai latte. The drink itself is refreshing and flavorful, these would be great for a summer afternoon! There is just enough vodka to make this a true cocktail, but not so much so that you feel knocked down. This is drink I’ll be making again.

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Vanilla Vodka Chai Cocktail
Adapted from My Life as a Mrs.
Yield – 1 serving

6 ounces (3/4 cup) hot, almost boiling water
1 tea bag for spiced chai
1/2 tablespoon simple syrup
2 ounces vanilla vodka
1 ounce (2 tablespoons) amaretto
1/2 tablespoon half & half
ice
cinnamon sticks for garnish

Several hours before you wish to have cocktails, make your tea: heat your water into a kettle until it is almost boiling. Combine 6 ounces of hot water (3/4 cup) for every tea bag, multiple accordingly for all the servings you wish to make. Let steep for about 10 minutes and then remove the tea bag. Cool the mixture until cocktail time.
Make the simple syrup by boiling 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water together. Stir until all the sugar is dissolved and let cool completely.
Add the tea, vodka, amaretto, simple syrup, and half and half to a shaker with ice. Shake for about 30 seconds.
Pour over a ice into a nice glass. Garnish with a cinnamon stick! Enjoy responsibly!

Vanilla Cupcakes

Baking for cupcakes for 13 year girls is fun. They like simple, sweet cupcakes in fun colors! I actually made these cupcakes for two of my monitors. These big ones and then similar ones but in mini form and with sparkle sprinkles. It’s surprising the girls do not ask for more complicated/interesting flavors, but when I probe them to see what they want for their birthday treat, it is usually vanilla.

I’m happy to comply with vanilla cupcake requests. Vanilla isn’t always my first choice, but this recipe for the cupcakes and the frosting is amazingly moist and flavorful. I have used it often and in many different form. This recipe is a major reason why I think people shouldn’t use cake mixes, it’s just so easy!

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Vanilla Cupcakes
Adapted from Tie Dye Cupcakes
Yield – 16 cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 350 F.
In the bowl of a mixer add the sugar and the seeds from the vanilla bean and massage together with your fingers.
Add the flour, powder, soda, and salt to the sugar, mix slowly with the paddle attachment.
Add the butter and beat for several minutes until the mixture becomes nice and crumbly.
While the mixer is mixing, whisk together the sour cream, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Pour this in the mixer and combine.
Slowly add the milk in and turn on high for a few seconds.
Use a standard size ice cream scoop to portion the batter into lined cupcake pans.
Bake 14-17 minutes until a toothpick in a center cupcake comes out clean. Cool on cooling rack.

Whipped Vanilla Frosting
Yield – enough to generously decorate the cupcakes + extra

1 1/2 cups whole milk
7 1/2 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
electric purple, electric pink, and violet gel food coloring

In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the milk and flour. Keep whisking until the mixture becomes smooth and thick resembling pancake batter.
Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla and allow to cool completely.
Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy – beat for 8 minutes
Add in the cooled flour/milk mixture and beat until the entire frosting is light and fluffy, about another 5-8 minutes.
Add the food coloring and mix until well combined.
Use a large star tip to pipe the frosting on the cupcakes, decorate with sprinkles!

1 Comment

Filed under Cupcakes

Tagged as birthday, vanilla

July 4, 2012 · 5:00 am

Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Raspberry Frosting {Candyland Cake}

I was in a cake contest with my friend Christine! We didn’t win, but the feedback was great and we were able to support Relay for Life and all they do to help fight cancer. I made 300 mini cupcakes and a few bits and pieces for the display cake. Christine is a much better decorator than I am so she did all the fondant work. The theme was Candyland – we take things very literal!

I baked for three days in order to get everything ready, it was kind of a baking overload, the kitchen and freezer were covered with mini cupcakes. Three hundred cupcakes is a lot! We wanted to go for something classic and simple and something that would withstand the Brooklyn heat wave. These cupcakes were good! You should make some, but only a few, not 300!

The baking contest was a great experience and although I do not think I will be entering another baking soon, I really want to do this one next year!

Also, if the picture at the top of the page looks super fantastic, it’s because I took a food photography class at the Brooklyn Brainery. I learned a lot and was able to use the instructor’s DSLR camera for a bit! I look forward to taking more and more awesome photos!

Print the Recipe.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Raspberry Frosting
adapted from my standard vanilla cupcakes
Yield – 120 mini cupcakes

2 cups sugar
3 1/2 cups cake flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoons salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
4 eggs
2/3 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoon vanilla
1 1/3 cup whole milk

Preheat the oven to 325 F.
In the bowl of a mixer add the sugar, flour, powder, soda, and salt, mix slowly with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and beat for several minutes until the mixture becomes nice and crumbly.
While the mixer is mixing, whisk together the yogurt, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Pour this in the mixer and combine. Scrape the mixing bowl as needed.
Slowly add the milk in and turn on high for a few seconds.
Use a mini ice cream scoop (1 tablespoon) and place the batter into lined cupcake pans.
Bake 12-14 minutes until a toothpick in a center cupcake comes out clean. Cool on cooling rack.

Chocolate Raspberry Frosting
Adapted from Wilton’s Chocolate Buttercream

1 cup shortening
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups cocoa powder
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2-1 jar seedless raspberry jam (add as much jam as you would like for flavoring)
2 lbs powdered sugar
8-10 tablespoons milk

In the bowl of a stand mixer beat together the butter and the shortening until well combined.
Beat in the cocoa powder powder, vanilla, and jam. Mix until well combined.
Add in the powdered sugar one cup at a time scraping the bowl as needed.
Add in the milk until the frosting reaches a desired consisteny. Place in a piping bag and frost your cupcakes.

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Filed under Cupcakes

Tagged as chocolate, raspberry, vanilla

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