Today's Banana Cupcakes

So today went much better.  I've already eaten two plain.  Cream cheese frosting anyone??

BANANA CUPCAKES

by Julie Hasson

1.5 all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

1 c. sugar

1/2 c. vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 c. mashed banana (about 2 large)

1 tsp. vanilla

1. In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking soda and salt.

2. In a bowl, whisk together sugar, oil and eggs until smooth.  Add banana and vanilla, beating well.  Add banana and banilla, beating well.  Add flour mixture, beating until smooth.

3. Scoop batter into prepared pan.  Bake in preheated oven 20-24 minutes.

* My personal notes... The recipe said 12 dozen cupcakes, I got 16.  20-24 minutes?!  My first pan went in for 20 and it was a touch beyond golden brown!  Gawd only knows what 24 minutes would look like?!  I'd say 18 was fine.

British Banana

Sunday night I say to myself... self! stop being a bum.  Get you fat ass off the couch and do something... you love baking.  You have some frozen bananas in the fridge.  Go!

So I went to kitchen and I ended up with some very mundane and very bland cupcakes.  I thought half a banana didn't seem like much and I was right!  Ugh!  I need to listen to myself more.

I didn't even bother frosting them.  I did take them to work.  And my coworkers did manage to eat them.  Diana told me that it was yummy with her coffee, so not all was lost.

Beautiful Presentation

I went to Barnes & Noble yesterday looking for a particular cupcake book. I found it, but I also found in the bargain section an amazing book with great looks for presenting your cakes. I'm not a huge fan of the way fondant tastes, but it certainly looks pretty. I bought the book because it had step by step of the various techniques. I think I'll test it on my pink lemonade cupcakes this weekend!

New Order

I just got a call from a family friend and they're having a "Welcome Home GT" party.  You know when you have excessive funds you can do things like that... Throw a party when you're fancy car gets fixed and it returns to your garage.

Regardless, cupcakes AND money.  Doesn't matter why and it will be fun.  Here are the details...  They're having a dessert table with cookies and brownies so I suggested something more fruit-like and less chocolate.  

My thoughts for right now is one dozen pink lemonade cupcakes aaaannd?? What is the other dozen?

Mom's Birthday

Yummy!  The cobbler was delicious.  A hit.  My middle sister never likes my fruit desserts.  She says fruit is not to be in dessert.  It is a healthy snack.  Well she acted shocked, like WOW you can bake??

Half eaten, but I know my Mom will be eating it as breakfast for the rest of the week.  She likes her sweet in the morning with her coffee.  (Me...I like it anytime of the day.)

My dad is where I get my sweet tooth.  When I was little and there was no food in the house and grocery shopping needed to be done...there was always at least 4 kinds of ice cream.

What to do? What to BAKE?

So I was about to type in that tonight I want to bake a chocolate cupcake with a mint ganache fill and a white chocolate frosting.

Then I remembered I just did a mint chip cupcake not too long ago. I want something different... Something new... What to do? What to do?

Peach Cobbler with Almond Paste

It's my Mom's birthday tomorrow and she isn't a sweet fan.  She likes salty.  She's a caterer and I'm a baker so we don't really see eye to eye in the kitchen.  She WILL bend though for sweet involving fruit.  One of her favorite things I've made her is a Peach Cobbler with almond paste.  I think I orignially found it in Gourmet magazine a million years ago, but you can find it here.

The almond really adds something.  I love it too and it's pretty easy to make.  The topping or biscuits are probably the biggest pain.  Oh and cutting up 4lbs of peaches isn't a great time either, but it's worth it.

Pure Peach and Almond Cobbler

Yield

8 to 10 Servings

Time

35 minutes to assemble
50 - 55 minutes to bake
85 minutes total time

Filling4 lbs peaches, peeled and sliced into 1/2" slices3/4 cup sugar3 tablespoons cornstarch1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Cobbler Topping2 cups all-purpose flour1/2 cup sugar1 teaspoon baking powder1/2 teaspoon baking soda1/4 teaspoon salt1/4 teaspoon nutmeg1 stick (8 tablespoons) cold butter1-7 oz box Odense Almond Paste1 cup buttermilk
Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 9"X13" baking dish or similar size.
2. Place peaches in a large bowl. Whisk together sugar, cornstarch and nutmeg. Pour over fruit and mix together until well incorporated. Pour into baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes while preparing almond topping.
3. Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg into a medium bowl.
4. On the large hole side of a box grater, grate the Almond Paste and butter (yes, it can be done) into flour mixture. Mix with fingers until the texture of small crumbs, or use a food processor or pastry cutter.
5. Add buttermilk and stir until just mixed. For tender biscuits, don't over mix.
6. Remove baking dish from oven and drop dough by rounded tablespoons on top of hot fruit (an ice cream scoop with a wire release makes this step effortless).
7. Return dish to oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes more, or until fruit is bubbly and biscuits are golden brown. Delicious cold, or warm, served with vanilla ice cream

Wedding Cupcakes

Wedding Cupcakes Q&A

Recently, I answered a few questions about wedding cupcakes for theWedding Channel.

Q: Are cupcakes a good alternative to a wedding cake?
A: Cupcakes are certainly a great alternative to a wedding cake if you're looking to share a sweet treat with your guests that's portable, bite-size, and much more budget-friendly than a wedding cake (which, according to the Bridal Association of America, now averages $543 per cake). "Cupcakes are for everyone," says Nichelle Stephens, cupcake expert and blogger for Cupcakes Take the Cake, a blog obsessively dedicated to all things cupcake-related. "At weddings, I've seen many weight-conscious people refuse a slice of cake, but a cupcake is an indulgence that people seem to love."

Cupcakes for Every Season 
You should avoid purchasing certain types of cupcakes depending on the season (example: chocolate cupcakes will melt in the summertime, and fruit-filled ones could spoil). Stephens suggests you keep it light in the spring and summer and save your ganache or pudding-filled cupcakes for a wintertime wedding. "A light cupcake, such as angel food cake or lemon, is better for a summer, outdoor wedding," advises Stephens. "If you order cupcakes with buttercream frosting, request that the caterer/baker do a lighter layer of frosting and maybe add a small sliver of fresh, seasonal fruit like strawberries, kiwi, or lemon."


Trends That Take the (Cup)Cake 
Forget plain chocolate or vanilla -- the more exotic your cupcake, the better! Highly customized cupcakes with haute cuisine ingredients are currently all the rage, explains Stephens. "People want very special cupcakes tailored to their event and their personality," she notes. While more and more couples are opting for personalized cupcakes (think wedding colors, initials, nationalities, even astrological signs), the ingredients are for a sophisticated foodie. Stephens cites chocolate ganache, toffee, cardamom, green tea, and lavender as some of the trends hitting the market.

Presentation Is Everything
Yes, cupcake stands may still be de rigueur, but Stephens suggests getting creative with your cupcake presentation. "They can be presented on a heart-shaped cut-out, or they can spell the wedding date. The point is to make them very accessible because they'll be eaten up quickly!"

I don't really want to say it, but there is nothing else to describe it... ADORABLE.  I've done nothing with my day other than watch bad television and surf the internet. I wanted to share these amazing little cupcakes with you.  

These are brought to you by Cakes By Destini.

Sorry it took so long to post, but my boyfriend came in to town and we were VERY busy.  In three short days I still had to work, we had dinner with my parents and we attended a VERY long wedding.  So finally... here it all is!  I think the customer was quite pleased!

Everything getting mixed up.  Don't let that banana fool you, it just happened to be in the shot.

First batch in the oven!Ta da! Good start... they rose nicely.  Amy says to bake them for about 18-22 minutes,  but mine were good at 16 minutes.  By 18 minutes they were very golden.  I was worried they would be dried out, but they still tasted great.

You can see here I was trying to do something new.  So many people I see on blogs and websites are using this smooth technique instead of the star tip.  I wanted to try it, but as you can see... YUCK.  It's great to have a roommate that doesn't care if they look "pretty".  I don't know if my tip just isn't big enough or what.  I got frustrated and that's what it turned out like...

See my frosting!  This is my second attempt at a swirled frosting.  I don't use a pastry bag to pipe my frosting, I have this lovely contraption from William Sonoma that is GREAT, but I have to kind of make my own method.  I pretty much just alternate the frosting in the tube. Chocolate, vanilla, chocolate, vanilla...etc.  It seems to work pretty well, I first tried it at 4th of July with blue and white.  

All done.  I happened to have the ribbon at home (I'm also a budding scrapbooker) and I want one of the colors for my "business" to be apple green.  So I thought I would gift wrap the box, it adds a little touch of something.

To review: Amy Sedaris's vanilla cupcake recipe + chocolate chips + chocolate/vanilla swirl buttercream frosting = Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Coming Tonight...

Tonight is the final run for the chocolate chip cupcakes. Pictures will be posted :)


K

Trial #2: Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

So like I mentioned... I was planning on using Amy's vanilla recipe and adding semi-sweet chocolate chips. Done right?

NOT.

A family friend mentioned the idea of using a Hershey's kiss... Placing it in the center. As a surprise? Quite the thought.

I tested this suggestion this afternoon. I used the vanilla recipe as planned and baked three variations. 1. placing the hershey kiss first, before baking. 2. adding the hershey kiss at the baking midpoint. 3. just adding chocolate chips.

And then mid way through I inserted the kisses into empty batter. See?

Putting the kiss in the center was brilliant! In my opinion it was best to start with the chocolate placed in the cupcake first, making it soft in the center for eating. The midway kiss was still on the harder side.

So this might not work for this particular job... I think if I was a little boy I would be more impressed with lots of chocolate chips, not a chocolate center. I will keep this in mind for something in the future.

On thursday is my final run... Wait till you see my frosting idea ;)

K

Trial #1: Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

All he wants is chocolate chips.  And I'm delivering BLAND! Ugh, the first batch was overdone so I lessoned the recommended bake time.  The second batch was still dry so I added a little vegetable oil and the third batch was much better... Still, no flavor.  He's a kid so how wild can I get? 

I'll be making another attempt either monday or tuesday probably.  I think I'll go with my tried and true vanilla recipe.  Amy Sadaris' vanilla  cupcake recipe is the one I always go back to.  Sweet and throw in some chocolate chips... VOILA! 

On Friday a lady at work placed an order with me for a dozen cupcakes for next friday.  It's for her son's birthday.  I THINK he's turning 5 and all they specified is that he wants chocolate chips.  Hhhmmm...

I am new to blogging and hope to share my trails in baking with all of you out there soon.  I am completely self taught and looking for lots of feedback.

Thank you!

K