Little Bites

I did some baking earlier this week and had some delicious left over icing in my refrigerator calling my name.  I gave in today and made some mini bite cupcakes. After all , we can't let icing go to waste, I think it's an unwritten baker's code ! I've made these cupcakes before and posted about them here .  This recipe has become my go to recipe for chocolate cupcakes. They have a deep dark chocolate flavor with a moist beautiful crumb. I usually follow the recipe exactly as written but I didn't realize I was out of mayonnaise so I substituted Greek Yogurt -they were just as delicious . The recipe is from the book :Sarabeth's Bakery:From my Hands to Yours.  Black Beauty Cupcakes-don't they sound gorgeous and mouth watering and well, elegant for cupcakes ?  They are all of that and more .

Sarabeth's cookbook contains so many incredible recipes- I highly recommend you  add it to your cookbook library. Her blog also has some recipes to tide you over until you buy the cookbook !

You can find the recipe  at About.com Entertaining (The chocolate ganache frosting recipe that Sarabeth uses for these  is included with that recipe) .  I used Cream Cheese Icing with Lyle’s Golden Syrup for my frosting.

Black Beauty Cupcakes
Makes 12  regular size cupcakes or 36 mini cupcakes

Ingredients:

Softened unsalted butter, for the pans

½ cup cocoa powder plus 2 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder, divided*

1 ½ cups plus 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour, divided *

1 cup hot water

1 cup superfine sugar

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

¾ cup mayonnaise

*If you are using muffin/cupcake liners you can eliminate the 2 additional tablespoons of cocoa powder and flour

Preparation:

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F.
2. To make the cakes, butter the insides of 12 muffin cups or use muffin liners. .(If you are using muffin/cupcake liners you can eliminate this step)-Sift together 2 tablespoons of the cocoa and 2 tablespoons of the flour. Dust the insides of the molds with the cocoa-flour mixture, and tap out the excess
3. Combine the remaining ½ cup cocoa powder and the hot water in the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer. Whisk to dissolve the cocoa. Whisk in the sugar. Attach the bowl to the mixer and fix with the paddle attachment. Sift the remaining 1 ½ cups flour, the baking soda, and salt together. With the mixer on low speed, in thirds, add the flour mixture, alternating with two equal additions of the mayonnaise, and mix, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until the batter is smooth. (The batter will seem a little thinner than usual.) Using a 2 ½-inch-diameter ice-cream scoop, divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.
4. Bake until a cake tester inserted in a cake comes out clean, about 20 minutes(for the minis about 12-15minutes). Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Gently unmold the cakes onto a rack, and let cool completely.
 (The cupcakes can be made up to 1 day ahead, covered with a cake dome, and refrigerated. Serve chilled or at room temperature.)

I found this fabulous frosting  recipe over at Hey Good Looking What you got Cooking and it's a perfect not too sweet vanilla frosting .

Cream Cheese Icing with Lyle’s Golden Syrup*
1 (8 ounce) package of Philly’s Cream Cheese softened
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 Tablespoon Lyle’s Golden Syrup(if you can't find Lyle's you can substitute honey)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Combine all the ingredients in a medium sized bowl and cream together until smooth. I used a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip to decorate these cupcakes.

Most of these went to work with J this morning,but of course I kept a little secret stash for us. And I'm getting ready to have one now with an iced cold glass of milk.  A great way to chase away the grey skies in Seattle !

Ocean Getaway

Just back from  Seabrook Washington with family and friends this week.  Walked on the beach,drank some champagne,cooked some awesome meals and  relaxed from city life -- good times! The biggest challenge wasn't packing-1 pair of jeans,sneakers and 2 sweatshirts-it was  what to cook for 6 adults and 2 kids and not make it complicated.  We took turns at meals and I made dinner on Friday (my favorite lasagna) and breakfast on Saturday.  I found  the perfect recipe for breakfast. I wanted something different and something that I could be sure no one had tasted before and I found it : Sweet potato hash topped with eggs-yummy and good for you .

 I found the recipe at The Kitchn . I could spends hours (and sometimes do) just perusing recipes on that blog and decorating ideas on their other blog : http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/.

When I saw the photo of the hash, with all those lovely caramelized onions and sweet potatoes , I knew it would be perfect for breakfast.  And besides, I could make it 2 days ahead of time so no slaving over the kitchen stove while at the ocean for this gal.

Sweet Potato Hash with caramelized onions,sausage and eggs

Adapted from The Kitchn

Thanks to Faith at The Kitchn for this recipe,click on The Kitchn to see her beautiful photos and prep.

serves 8

2 pounds onions, about 2 large
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Table salt
1 pound fresh Italian sausage or chorizo- I mixed 1/2 Italian and 1/2 chorizo-perfect !
3 pounds sweet potatoes, about 3 large potatoes, ideally organic-I used 4 potatoes-3 sweet potatoes and 1 yam
6 large garlic cloves
4 long stalks rosemary, about 1/4 cup of leaves-make sure you use fresh-dried just won't make the same dish
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste if necessary
Freshly ground black pepper
To serve:
Large eggs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Parmesan cheese, to serve

To make the hash:
Heat the oven to 450°F. Peel the onions and cut them in half lengthwise, then cut them into thin half-moons. Cut the half-moons in half. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. When it foams up add the onions and sprinkle lightly with salt. (Don't worry if they are crammed into the pan; they will rapidly cook down.) Lower the heat slightly and cook the onions for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, and lowering the heat if they seem to be burning. Cook them until they are very dark brown.
Meanwhile, put the sausage in another skillet and brown over medium-high heat, chopping it up into fine crumbles with a spatula. Cook the sausage for about 10 minutes, or until it is browned and beginning to crisp. Drain away any excess fat.
While the onions and sausage are cooking, chop the unpeeled sweet potatoes into cubes that are about 1/2-inch to a side. Finely mince the garlic and rosemary leaves, and toss them in a large bowl with the sweet potatoes. Toss with the olive oil, kosher salt, and a generous helping of black pepper.
When the onions are dark brown and the sausage is crispy, stir these into the sweet potatoes as well. Line a large baking sheet with foil or parchment paper, and spread out the sweet potatoes evenly. Roast the sweet potatoes for 30 to 45 minutes (roasting time depends on the size and uniformity of the sweet potato chunks, as well as the variety of sweet potato you buy) or until they are soft and browned.
Refrigerate the cooled hash for up to 5 days.
To serve:
Heat the oven to 425°F. Spread a relatively thin layer of the (already cooked) sweet potato hash in a baking dish, such as a cast iron skillet or a 9x13-inch baking dish. You can also bake in individual ramekins. Make small wells in the sweet potatoes and crack in large eggs. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are hot and the eggs are baked through. (Test the eggs by prodding them with a fork to check the firmness of the white and the yolk; baked eggs are deceptive in that the white often looks much less cooked than it really is.)

Serve immediately, with shavings or sprinkles of Parmesan cheese, if desired.

I wanted to make sweet potato biscuits to go with the hash but unfortunately I didn't pick up enough sweet potatoes to make the biscuits, so I improvised and made pumpkin biscuits. These were incredible with melted butter that had maple syrup mixed into the butter along with a little maple syrup dribbled over the biscuits when served. Mmmm good.

Pumpkin biscuits with maple butter

Adapted from The Kitchn Sweet Potato Biscuits with Maple Butter

yields approximately 18 (2-inch) biscuits

For the biscuits
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into cubes
1 cup pureed pumpkin (approximately 1 large potato)
1/2 cup buttermilk, plus additional as needed

For the maple butter
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons real maple syrup

Preheat oven to 375°

In a large bowl, mix together all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry blender (or your fingers if you don't have one) cut the butter into the flour mixture until the butter is a mix of pea-size balls and small crumbs.

In a separate bowl, mix together the pumpkin and buttermilk until well-combined. Fold into the flour mixture, adding more (up to 4 tablespoons) buttermilk if necessary. The dough should form a nice ball, and be just a bit on the sticky side, as opposed to crumbly and dry. Chill the dough for thirty minutes, if desired, although you can bake them off immediately if you would like.

Pat out the dough onto a lightly floured surface to about a 1-inch thickness (do not roll out the dough with a rolling pin). Cut out rounds using a well floured biscuit cutter. Gather the remaining scraps and repeat until all the dough is used. Place the biscuits on a large sheet pan and bake for 15 minutes (or bake in batches).

For the maple butter, mix the room temperature butter and maple syrup until completely combined and smooth. Serve with warm biscuits or refrigerate until needed.

Note: the cooked biscuits will freeze beautifully and can be pulled out at a moments notice. Just bake at 375° until heated through. Place a little gravy boat of maple syrup on the table so that guests can dribble a little syrup over the buttered biscuits-heavenly !

Our little sunroom at the Sand Dollar Cottage

Beautiful sunny spot to have coffee in the morning and watch the waves come in

Hello Gorgeous-Where Have You Been

Hello my gorgeous little chocolate bites !  I've missed you and I'm so glad we are back together.

Where has the time gone..my brief little break turned into almost 10 months. I never meant to be gone that long,but life plays little tricks on us and just when we think we know where we are going another door opens or another fork appears in the road. Last Spring I thought I was going to fulfill my dream of being a pastry chef in a small bakery run by a friend. Unfortunately the economy did not want to cooperate and my friend's financing fell through and the money dried up faster than a slice of homemade bread left out on the counter too long. I was crushed, what would I do-go back to my old job-that didn't seem to be an option, I knew I wanted to go forward. So I found a job in the travel industry again, intensely disliked it and quit after 2 months. I am now working  from home-how lucky is that.  While there have been many challenges this year with family ,friends and my health- I feel very blessed to be where I am right now- I am exactly where I am supposed to be. This blog may change a little,not too much,because I still love to bake. But I am dedicated to losing the weight I gained during this last 10 months of depression eating-you know what I'm talking about-so you will see a mix of baking,traveling and just thoughts on life. Thank you all for your words of support and standing by waiting for my return. I hope you will stay with me on my journey.

I would love to say these little sweet morsels of chocolate are fat free but alas they aren't, but they are wonderfully delicious. I found this recipe in my recent online issue of Desserts Magazine.  The recipe for the devil's food cake and fudge icing (a very rich chocolate ganache made with addition of Lyle's golden syrup) is by Bea Vo.  The only change I made to the recipe was adding a sprinkle of sea salt to the finished cupcakes. You can find the recipe online at a sweet blog called  The Bountiful Plate.  Or you can buy Bea's book "Tea With Bea: Recipes from Bea's of Bloomsbury" at Amazon.com.

The recipe yielded 30 cupcakes,gave a half dozen to my neighbor and the rest went off to work with J-otherwise I would be on the treadmill or walking the dog all day long !

Blogging Break

Hello Sweet Friends,
I am taking a blogging holiday so to speak.  I won't be posting for a few weeks while I take time off to refresh .  I leave you with a thought from this week end's Creative Live Workshop with Penny De Los Santos. She was wrapping up the workshop and said, "If you aren't doing what you love, why not "

White Velvet Butter Cupcakes with Golden Neoclassic Buttercream-Heavenly Cake Baker

It's Monday and J and I are on our way back from the Oregon Coast.  We discovered a new campground-Nehalem Bay-just south of Manzanita. This is how it's described in the park's brochure :

Imagine waking up to the song of the seagull, spending your afternoon on a kayak trip around Nehalem Bay, then taking a short walk over the dunes to the beach. There you'll sit with a blanket and watch the sun set over the ocean in the shadow of Neah-Kah-Nie Mountain. Finally, snuggle down for the night while the ocean waves sing you a lullaby. This is Nehalem Bay State Park.

 Although I suspect that when this place fills up in the summer it may be the campers next door singing you a lullaby.  Huge surprise-it rained ! It was still lovely,all snuggled in the trailer with the sound of the rain on the roof.  And don't forget jumping puddles while running to the showers. . Did you like how I matter of factly mentioned "campground" ? Yes, I camp -there I said it !  I have friends who think camping means they stay in a standard room instead of a deluxe room at the Fairmont .  And no, I don't mean the crawl into a tent type of camping (gave that up on a very rainy morning in Wells Grey Park in Canada many years ago), or the luxury liner 45ft long RV type of camping.  We have a little pop up trailer with most of the comforts of home; comfortable bed,  dining table for two; a Hansel & Gretal type stove and sink-tiny, tiny; and most important-a mini propane furnace. If the temperature drops we don't have to climb into sleeping bags rated for minus 40 F !  And my sister will appreciate this-you don't have to duct tape everything to keep the rain out.  The only thing it lacks is a refrigerator (we use a cooler) and an oven-I'm a baker I need an oven.  Maybe someday I'll add one of those nice portable convection ovens .

If I had an oven I could have baked these cupcakes from the beach. Not !  J and I have some rules . For me: no baking at the beach, just beach combing and relaxing. For him : no fly tying (he's a fly fisherman) , maybe just reading about fly tying .  So since I couldn't bake these on the beach I baked them at home shortly after the "Interesting" episode with the tomato soup cupcakes.  Wow, what a difference a cupcake makes. These are light and airy, almost like a cross between a sponge and chiffon cake-definitely a keeper in the white cupcake category.  And the recipe for these is from Rose Levy Beranbaum's "Rose's Heavenly Cakes".  You see I've joined another baking group: Heavenly Cake Bakers.  Why you ask ?  First of all because I happen to love Rose Levy Beranbaum, THE Diva of Desserts as she has been called !  And her most recent book Rose's Heavenly Cakes is hard to resist when you are roaming the bookstore aisles.

Buy me

You start flipping through and you see all those beautiful cakes, and before you know it that book has mysteriously (what ? no honey I didn't buy that it followed me home !) shown up on your kitchen book shelf. Back in the late 80's I fell in love with her Cake Bible and quickly moved onto Rose's  Christmas Cookies-it's been my Christmas Cookie book for as long as I can remember.

 And the butter cream is lovely-just the perfect sweetness from the use of  Lyle's Golden Syrup.  I didn't add any of Rose's suggested variations, instead, before icing the cupcakes I poked a few holes in the cupcakes and spread on some homemade caramel.  I did make a few without the caramel to get a feel for the taste of the cupcake along with the Golden Butter cream-yum yum yum. The butter cream is another keeper.  Some butter creams tend to coat the roof of your mouth long after you took the first bite , this one doesn't-now I can't wait to try the variation with chocolate.

I'm not at all surprised by my results and the taste of these cupcakes.  With Rose you trust that if you follow her detailed instructions and tips you will be doing your little baker's elation dance around your kitchen when you remove the cake from the oven.  She's like that best friend you can always listen to and who always gives you the best advice. Head over to Heavenly Cake Bakers and see what everyone else thought about these cupcakes . 

And next time you are shopping at Amazon or wandering through your favorite bookstore

 BUY THE BOOK !

Tomato Soup Cupcakes with Mascarpone Frosting,-Baked Sunday Mornings

I know what you are thinking-Tomato Soup Cupcakes-what ?  Right up there with avocado cheesecake (which by the way if made properly is pretty darn good ) .  I know I was thinking the same thing-I like my tomato soup with a side of grilled cheese and a big kosher pickle.  Not topped with creamy mascarpone frosting.

But I was surprised-it reminded me of a cross between a mild mannered spice cake and pumpkin cake with a slightly acidic bite to it. Interesting.  That's what we say when we don't hate it but we don't love it either. Interesting.  The batter made beautiful cakes, nice and light with great crumb.  And they rose like , well like round tomatoes. I'm not a huge proponent of the use of food coloring but it might be fun to play around with  red food coloring and get these cupcakes  closer to the color of tomatoes instead of pumpkins.

 The frosting is a little on the sweet side,not the cheek sucking teeth numbing sweet, just slightly sweet.  I was looking forward to the mascarpone frosting but the taste got eaten up by the powdered sugar-too bad because mascarpone is one of my favorite tastes, so rich, so creamy. 

I think I'll play with the frosting in the future and cut back on the butter and increase the mascarpone and see what happens. A sour cream frosting would probably go well with these. Oh well C'est la vie, at least they look pretty and they taste, well,interesting. Head over to Baked Sunday Mornings  for the recipe and see what everyone else thought of these and how they turned out.

BUY THE BOOK AND BAKE ALONG WITH US

Seattle Bakesale for the South at Cakespy Shop

Hey Seattle don't miss the chance to support a great cause.  The Seattle Bakesale for the South.  And if you want to volunteer as a baker click here.  I will be watching for you  May 14, 11 am til ? at CakeSpy Shop, 415 E. Pine Street (near Summit), Seattle WA 98122.

I'm thinking of making Pecan Pie Bars, maybe some Red Velvet Cupcakes, what would you bake ? Maybe some delicious berry fried pies ?  Or a huge coconut cream cake ?  What do you think ?