Lemon Zest Cupcakes (a la Julia Child)
You can’t go wrong with Julia Child. I watch her old shows on dvd and peruse her books constantly. The book: Baking with Julia
I saw her “Lemon Loaf Cake” and adapted it to cupcake form – a really easy way to get individual servings. This cake is so flavorful and so much like a pound cake, but light at the same time. Don’t believe me – try it and you’ll find it just melts in your mouth. Best of all? You can make it all by hand in one bowl – no need for a mixer!
ingredients:
4 eggs
1-1/3 cups sugar
pinch of salt
zest of 3 lemons
1-3/4 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup heavy cream
5-1/2 Tablespoons butter, melted
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prep a cupcake pan with liners.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar and salt – just until foamy, don’t over do it.
Now add the lemon zest. It’s amazing how flavorful these are considering there is no lemon juice, just the zest. It really pulls this whole cake together.
Spoon the flour and baking powder into the egg mixture, whisking slightly until combined.
Whisk in the heavy cream, then fold in the melted butter.
Spoon the batter into the prepped cupcake pan. Bake for 20+/- minutes depending on your oven. Check for doneness with a toothpick. Let cool on a wire rack.
While I have frosted these, there is really no need – they are great on their own. Or maybe just sift a little powdered sugar on top to show people how fancy you are.
Ube Ice Cream Shake
If you haven’t yet – please vote for me HERE for my tiny Rainbow Sherbet Ice Cream Cupcakes – you could win too!! There’s just a few days left!
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Ube is not for everyone, but since I had leftover ice cream from the mochi+ube ice cream cupcakes, I went for it. Cold, purple, loveliness.
ingredients:
3 scoops ube ice cream
1-1/2 cups milk
2 tablespoons sugar
Ube ice cream – key ingredient. Don’t be afraid of the yam. It is your friend. I’m sure there’s a t-shirt in that sentence, waiting to happen.
In a blender, add the ice cream, milk and sugar. And then, well – blend.
Tell the kids to drink their veggies, and enjoy.
Kalua Pig in the crock pot
16 hours to make this?? Don’t freak. There’s only 3 ingredients – trust me, you won’t even have to work for it.
ingredients:
one 4-5 lb pork butt/shoulder
1 Tablespoon Hawaiian salt
1-1/2 Tablespoons liquid smoke
Place the pork in the slow cooker. Pierce it all over with a paring knife.
For the salt I used a mix of regular, coarse Hawaiian salt and a specialty Black Lava salt that I got from Hawaii. The charcoal, smokiness gives it a little something extra.
If you can’t find the ‘special’ salt, don’t sweat it. Just use the coarse Hawaiian salt by itself – you can get a ton of it for a couple of bucks at a Japanese market.
Rub the salt into the top of the pork. Then pour the liquid smoke over and rub that in. Turn the slow cooker on to low…
Midway around the 8 hour mark, this is what your pork will look like. At this point turn the pork over,then walk away for another 8 hours…
Once the 16 hours is up, shred the pork using two forks, moisten with the juices if necessary, and serve.
Super simple! This is great for parties because there is NO work involved – just serve it with some Hawaiian sweet bread rolls, and you’re done!
Candy Cupcakes
The one thing people say about my cupcakes is that they are not overly sweet. Well…here’s a remedy for that. Top them with candy.
Decorating can be the most fun part of cupcake making, but you don’t have to be an expert with the piping bag or a fondant master. Just buy some super colorful candies and be creative. Maybe it’s all my years of gingerbread house making but I love looking for new candies to use as decor. This is also a great way to get the kids involved too, but don’t blame me for the sugar high…
ingredients:
frosted cupcakes
candies
When it comes to choosing candies think of a type and look for texture and color. Chocolate is always a good topper. While I’ve made Hello Kitty heads and Lego men out of chocolate, you can find some pretty cool store bought ones right off the shelf.
Snocaps are cool because they are TINY enough for cupcake tops, and you can arrange them creatively. The nonpareils give it a really nice textural quality as well.
Japanese markets are GREAT for candies cause they have funky things you’ve never seen. I am a big fan of these cute little pyramid-y chocolate that are half strawberry half chocolate a yummy combo and just the right amount of color.
But you don’t have to buy special ones – ANY chocolate makes a good topper, from shavings, to chocolate chips – to crushed chocolate cookies. Chocolate is king!
Another good go-to is gumdrops. For one thing they are everywhere, so if you are at the drugstore you can pick up a bag for about a buck. They are stunningly colorful and fun and give a lot of height to the cupcake.
Lastly, persue the candy aisle. Go ahead, wander it. Take it all in. You’ll see candy in a whole new light. Flat strips, rolled bits, bean shapes – all work great. And if you can find them sugared – even better, it gives a nice sparkly quality to the cupcake.
You’ll be surprised at what nice display of different colors and textures you can come up with, just like a candy shop!
Sweet tooth – no joke, but decorating cupcakes can be really easy if you just keep your eye out for interesting candy and get creative!
Baked Donuts
I’ve been meaning to post this recipe forever – but hey – I’ve been busy! I have a Mini Donut Maker
ingredients:
2 cups cake flour
3/4 cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk (more as needed)
In a bowl, whisk together the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add the eggs and buttermilk – you may not need all of the buttermilk, but I don’t like the batter too thick, myself. Stir until just combined.
Spoon the batter into your donut maker and bake according to the directions.
Nutella Chocolate Chip cookies
A chocolate chip cookie, with the best addition ever – a swirl of Nutella.
The ultimate cookie.
ingredients:
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter (1-1/2 stick)
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup Nutella
1-1/2 cups chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and prep baking sheets with silpats.
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter, the sugar and the brown sugar. Add the eggs and the vanilla until combined.
Gradually add the flour until the mixture is combined.
Then mix in the chocolate chips and the Nutella – I don’t like to fully combine it, ’cause traces of Nutella is always is a good thing.
Drop by Tablespoons onto the prepped baking sheets and bake for 8-10 minutes. I like mine a little bit on the crispy side, so ten minutes works for me.
Let cool on wire racks. When the cookies come out they will go from rounded balls to lovely flat cookie discs.
These are pretty addictive so I suggest you give away as many as you can – before you eat your fill, of course.
Ice Cream Cake
I make a lot of ice cream bombes, but see…it’s cake that I love.
It’s amazing how easy it is to make an ice cream cake. You can do it in steps and take all the time you want – just keep going back to the freezer here and there. Take an hour, take a week – it’s dessert for the lazy!
chocolate cake ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup Valrhona cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
chocolate ganache ingredients:
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 quart ice cream, softened (homemade or bought)
2 cups crushed chocolate cookies
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9″ round cake pan, line it with parchment, and butter the parchment. Set aside.
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the milk, oil, egg and vanilla. Stir until combined.
Pour into prepped cake pan, and bake for 15-20 minutes, checking with a toothpick until done. Let cool in the pan, for about 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and let cool completely.
When the cake is cool, even it out so you get a flat surface.
Wrap it in plastic wrap and put it in the freezer.
Line a 9″ cake pan with plastic wrap. Pour the softened ice cream into the lined pan, spread evenly – then place in the freezer to chill.
Now you can do this step within the hour, or heck, the next day – who cares. When you are ready – make the ganache. In a small saucepan combine the chocolate chips, heavy cream and vanilla. Stir over medium heat until everything is combined. Keep stirring! Keep your eye on it! You will magically get an amazing ganache in a matter of minutes. Set it aside to cool down.
Once the ganache has cooled, take the frozen cake out of the freezer, place it on top of the ice cream in the cake pan, then turn it out onto a wire rack. Simple!
In cake they don’t stack evenly, take a paring knife and just go around the edge to even it all up.
Pour HALF the ganache onto the TOP of the cake and spread evenly, just to the edge.
Now pop the cake back in the freezer. WHOA, hold up, why are there TWO cakes in my freezer? Cause I couldn’t decide what ice cream to use and I just went for it and did one mocha and one mint. Don’t judge.
Wait about 15 minutes (or the next day), for this next step. See? Do it now, do it later, no one will know the diff.
When you are ready for this last step, take the cake out of the freezer and using the remaining half of the ganache, go around the edge of the cake, following up with the crushed cookie crumbs on top, going around the edges.
One last time, place the cake back in the freezer until you are ready to serve. Honestly – this is a really easy recipe and people think you worked so hard on it. Just do it in steps, if you have a party on the weekend, do a step a day – don’t sweat it. You’ll have an impressive dessert at the end of the week to show for it.
Eat My Blog Bake Sale!
Want to taste some of my cupcakes or cookies? Now you can – this Saturday June 19, the Eat My Blog Bake Sale will be held at Tender Greens in West Hollywood, benefiting the L.A. Regional Foodbank, this is a HUGE sale for a good cause!
I like to bake things for bake sales that people wouldn’t normally make for themselves. I mean who wants to sit and make babies out of candy, am I right? Just me, I know.
So here’s what I’m bringing to the bake sale – two of my signature treats: Sleeping Baby Brown Sugar Cupcakes and Burger Bite cookies.
Please stop by this Saturday and buy some great sweets for a wonderful cause!
Vote for me for Best Ice Cream Cupcake!
Whee! My Tiny Rainbow Sherbet Ice Cream Cupcakes are one of three finalists for the Best Ice Cream Cupcake!
PLEASE go HERE and VOTE for me – you just might win a prize pack too!! Thanks!
Cherry season!
Yes indeedy, just ask O.G. – It’s cherry season. While I’ve gone overboard in the past, this year I am cautiously buying them in small amounts. But if you feel the need to go crazy for cherries, here are some of my favorite recipes that I’ve made in the past, usually from buying bulk cherries and freezing them for later…
Buttermilk Cherry Ice Cream Sandwiches
