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Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream

October 18, 2011 by Anna

Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream

Spice cake is one of those flavors that you start to crave when leaves turn orange. Cinnamon seems to be the first spice you think of when you turn your calendar page on October 1st.

new oct+042a Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream

Enjoy the last warm afternoons, when the sunshine hits the orange – red leaves and makes your backyard glow in Fall colors.

Enjoy them while they last.

Enjoy them with your loved ones.

Enjoy them with spice cupcakes topped with cinnamon buttercream.

new oct+046a Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream

Let’s make cupcakes! :).

new oct+047a Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream

Spice Cupcakes
adapted from Better Homes and Gardens “Cookbook Bridal Edition”

1/4 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups buttermilk or sour milk

Let your butter and eggs stand in room temperature for at least 30 minutes. Line your cupcake pan with paper liners. Set aside. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
In a bowl, whisk together dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Set aside.
I am mixing bowl, beat butter and shortening until light and fluffy. Add sugar and vanilla. Beat all until combined. Add eggs, one at a time. Beat well after each addition.
Add the dry ingredients, alternating with buttermilk. Make sure you start and finish with the flour mixture.
Fill your cupcake liners 2/3 full.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cupcake comes out clean.
Cool the cupcakes in the pan for a minute or two, then place on wire rack to cool completely.
Frost with the cinnamon buttercream. I used Wilton’s tip 1M to decorate the cupcakes.

Tip: To make sour milk: place 1 tbsp of lemon juice or vinegar in a clean glass measuring cup. Add enough milk to make 1 cup total. Stir. Let stand for 5 minutes before using.

new oct+052a Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream

Buttercream
adapted from Wilton

1/2 cup of solid vegetable shortening
1/2 cup of butter, at room temperature
1 tsp of vanilla extract
4 cups of confectioners’ sugar, sifted ( about 1lb )
1 Tbs of milk
1 tsp of cinnamon

Cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Mix to combine. Add sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. Beat well after each addition. Add milk and beat until buttercream is light and fluffy. Add cinnamon. Whip until combined. Keep covered with a damp cloth until you are ready to use it. Keep refrigerated in airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Whip for a couple of minutes before using.

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Enjoy!

Sour Cream Chocolate Bundt Cake with Chocolate Glaze

October 15, 2011 by Anna

There is no more pretending that Fall is not here yet. The warm temperatures, as much as misleading they are, can’t stop the leaves from falling. I should know. Racked the leaves the other day just to wake up to another blanket of them the next day.

But a nice chocolate cake can make it all better. 🙂

And it did.

And so did the glaze. Bittersweet chocolate glaze. Mmmm.. Yum!

new sept+067a Sour Cream Chocolate Bundt Cake with Chocolate Glaze

Besides, any reason to make a chocolate glaze is a good reason. Let’s be honest here – if you make a cake to drizzle the glaze over it – it will be ( probably the only one ) reason to not just spoon the chocolate straight into your mouth. 🙂

So today I am sharing my first Fall cake of this year. It had to be chocolate. Of course. With a chocolate glaze.

Yep. All better.

The glaze is not too sweet. It let’s the flavors of the cake and itself to exist in perfect harmony.

Sour Cream Chocolate Bundt Cake
adapted from Williams – Sonoma

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sour cream
6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled slightly

Let your butter, eggs and sour cream stand in room temperature for 30 min.

Position a rack in the center of an oven and preheat to 325°F. Grease and dust with cocoa powder ( or flour) your bundt pan.

Sift together the dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the butter until smooth and creamy, 30 to 45 seconds. Gradually add the granulated sugar, beating until blended. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue beating until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs a little at a time, beating after each addition, until the mixture is thick and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Stop occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Next beat in the vanilla.

Add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the sour cream. Make sure you start and end with the flour. Gently fold in the chocolate.

Pour the batter into the pan. Spread it so the sides are about 1 inch higher than the center. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool the cake upright in the pan for 10 minutes.
Invert the cake onto a plate and let cool completely. Drizzle with glaze.

Chocolate Glaze
recipe adapted from Pillsbury’s “Bake Off Cake Cook Book” ( no link, because I didn’t find it on Amazon – but will post about it soon)

1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 oz. melted semi-sweet chocolate chips ( see the tip for a substitution )
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 to 2 Tbsp of warm water

Place all ingredients in a small bowl. Mix until good to drizzle.

Tip for making the glaze:
You can substitute cocoa powder for chocolate. Use 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder mixed with 1 tablespoon of oil for every 1 oz. of chocolate ( 1 square ). Works great!

new sept+061a Sour Cream Chocolate Bundt Cake with Chocolate Glaze

So what should I bake next time I rake the leaves?

Rosette Cupcakes

October 8, 2011 by Anna

My cupcakes will never be the same again. After making those sweet rosette cupcakes, I am never going back to frosting my little cake babies with spatula. Look at them. Aren’t they adorable? 🙂

My adorable rosette cupcakes:)

I used the awesome 1M tip. I could probably write a separate post about this tip. You can say that it pretty much made the rosettes in front of my eyes! 🙂

OK. Now onto the actual cupcakes. I went for the classic combo: chocolate and vanilla. The cake is not too sweet. Neither is the frosting. The level of sweetness is just right. My husband really likes the frosting. It’s very light and fluffy. I used Americolor’s regal purple to achieve the beautiful color.

So there you have it: Devil’s food cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting. You can say the flavors are nothing fancy here, but that is where my 1M tip comes in. 🙂 Creating the rosettes that make those cupcakes stand out in a crowd.

Buttercream
adapted from Wilton

1/2 cup of solid vegetable shortening
1/2 cup of butter, at room temperature
1 tsp of vanilla extract
4 cups of confectioners’ sugar, sifted ( about 1lb )
1 Tbs of milk

Cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Mix to combine. Add sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. Beat well after each addition. Add milk and beat until buttercream is light and fluffy. Keep covered with a damp cloth until you are ready to use it. Keep refrigerated in airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Whip for a couple of minutes before using.

Devil’s Food Chocolate Cupcakes
adapted from Better Homes and Gardens “Cook Book Bridal Edition”

3 eggs
2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp of baking soda
1/4 tsp of salt
1/2 cup of shortening
1 3/4 cup of sugar
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup of cold water

Let your eggs and butter stand in room temperature for about 30 minutes. You can cut the butter in a tablespoon size pieces and put them in your mixing bowl.
Line your cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, soda and salt. Set it aside.
Beat shortening and butter together in a large mixing bowl. Beat until creamy. Add sugar and vanilla and beat until combined. Add eggs, one at a time. Beat well after each addition.
Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternating with with water. Pour batter into cupcake liners, filling about 2/3 of each liner.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes, until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in a pan for few minutes and transfer onto a cooling rack.
Frost when completely cooled.