Baking Therapy

I love baking. This is no secret. But the times I love baking most are when I am feeling lowest. Today was one of those days. I feel like my body has betrayed me, despite doing everything right. Despite doing all the injections religiously, my body still decides not to do what I want it to. And I hate it for betraying me.

But on the days when nothing seems like it will ever be ok, I bake. I find it comforting that I can put butter, sugar, flour, baking powder and chocolate into a bowl and have it come out of the oven twenty minutes later as a perfect pan of brownies. I love that without fail you can always find someone willing to devour those brownies. I love seeing that something I am good at brings the people in my life a little bit of sweetness and happiness. It makes me feel better about my crappy reproductive system. I may never be able to make a baby, but damn it I can make Cookie Dough Brownies, and Cake Batter Blondies.

How to Make $3 Fondant

It is no secret that I hate store bought fondant. It tastes horrible and is way too expensive. But, nothing compares to fondant to get those smooth, expensive looking cakes and cupcakes. So I was forced to occasionally buy the Wilton fondant from Michael's even though I hate it.

Until I found a recipe for Marshmallow Fondant. It is wonderful, tastes like a marshmallow, insanely easy and cheap to make, easy to work with (once you get the hang of it), and for covering a cake it looks just as good as the manufactured stuff. The only area it lacks sometimes is molding figurines. Marshmallow fondant tends to be softer than store bought fondant, and it doesn't dry as quickly either. But it can still work. For instance I made the pumpkins on the cupcakes in this post with fondant and it worked just fine. Anything much more complicated and you are asking for trouble though.

While I was making my fondant for a little boy's birthday cupcakes I decided to set up my tripod and camera and do a little tutorial on how to make marshmallow fondant. Enjoy!

What you need:
A big bag of mini-marshmallows
1 pound powdered sugar
1-2 tbsp(s) water or flavoring
Crisco

What you need to do:

First, pour the bag of marshmallows into a microwave proof bowl along with a tablespoon of water or flavoring:


Microwave the marshmallows in short increments for 15-30 seconds, stirring between each interval. Continue until the marshmallows are almost entirely melted, continue stirring until they are melted entirely.

Next, pour half of the powdered sugar into the bowl with the melted marshmallows...



and stir until the mixture begins to thicken.


Once the mixture has thickened a bit grease the counter top and your hands with Crisco and dump the mixture onto the counter. (You will have wonderfully soft hands after all this)


Knead the marshmallow/sugar mixture while adding more powdered sugar...


Once the mixture is thick enough that you can pull it apart with out the fondant breaking form it into a ball and cover it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight or until you need it. Fondant will last about a week in the fridge if you double wrap.


If you want to color the fondant only use gel food colorings (I have never used the powder ones, but I hear they work too). Color the fondant after it has set in the fridge and before you roll it out and decorate with it.

Oscar Night Cupcakes

I haven't baked in a good long while, so I decided to make some cupcakes to take into work with me on Oscar night. Nothing terribly fancy, just something I have been craving for a while. First up:

Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Glaze and Marscapone Buttercream




Peanut Butter Cupcake with Chocolate PB Buttercream
Made with Powdered Peanut Butter

M.I.A.

I know, I know... I have been seriously M.I.A. lately. It is amazing how I can go from looking for things to keep me busy and my mind off all things fertility and baby related, to wishing everything would slow down and stop piling on top of me. Work has been nuts as usual. I really wish I could leave and find a less stressful job (one where.. gasp.. I might be appreciated at). Damn awesome insurance preventing me from leaving.

So here is the update: Nothing New.

I am still stuck in this damn plateau. I have been in the same 2 pound range for almost two months now. I finally broke down and made an appointment with a nutritionist. I thought it would be the same old thing I have heard from every diet/doctor I have talked to in the past. Portion control, cut out the sugars and carbs, blah blah blah. But she was actually awesome and had some great tips. She thinks I am right on with my calorie intake, but we need to mix it up a little and re-distribute the calories throughout the day. She also said I am not eating near enough protein. So she gave me a basic outline of a meal plan, and told me to cut it out with all the Starbucks. Which I already knew, and I suppose I will have to cut out the caffeine when I get pregnant (notice I am saying 'when' and not 'if' now). So I am switching to green tea instead of my daily grande non-fat peppermint mochas. More than anything though this appointment has gotten me excited about trying to lose weight again. After the first 40 pounds I was kinda just tired, and then with things stalling I was frustrated. But I am starting to feel that old motivational push again.

I also went and talked to an acupuncturist, and I think I will be starting treatments with him every other week in January. I am both excited and nervous about being stuck with dozens of needles.

Also I have decided I am getting this IVF bus rolling. Screw the last 15 pounds, I set up a consult with my RE to talk about our IVF options. I want to know specifics. What protocol will we try first, are we going to do ICSI, what testing do I need done before we start? And I want to get all the tests done before I hit my goal. that way as soon as I see those magic numbers on the scale we can just start jabbing me with needles and get those follies growing damn it! I am ready! I am sick of getting passed by people who have been married half as long as we have!

So I guess that is a little more than nothing new. Expect lots and lots of baking coming up. I am making a birthday cake for my hubby today (a skull cake no less) and I have just crap loads of Christmas baking to do. With any luck things are starting to seriously look up around here.

Why I Love Ross...

Ross, TJ Maxx, Marshalls I love them. You can get great stuff for pretty cheap, and here are my latest finds!

Ok I hate grocery store Vanilla Extract, but I can't always afford the super awesome stuff. That is when I head on over to Ross or one of the others and grab some of this:

It isn't the best vanilla on earth, but it is leaps and bounds better than the crap on the grocery store selves. I especially love the Vanilla Bean Paste. It is like if I had split and scrapped the seeds out of hundreds of vanilla bean pods and bottled them. Both these puppies cost $4.99.

Now my next purchase I am a little ashamed of. I normally hate boxed cake mixes, it is cheating in my book, but I love Halloween. It is my 2nd favorite holiday. And I love zombies and zombie movies, so I kinda had no choice but to buy a zombie cupcakes mix. I mean come on, it has bone sprinkles! The cupcakes were also $4.99.

And last is my secret obsession. Aprons, I love aprons. I especially love vintage looking aprons. I sometimes think I would have loved being a 50's stay at home Mom so I could walk around wearing aprons, pearls and high heels and not feel like an idiot. That is why I was so excited to find this apron, it combines that vintagey look with my love of Halloween. I will probably be wearing this during trick or treat this year. Possibly with a pair of heels and some fake black pearls. $7.99 to be a naughty Mrs. Cleaver, not bad!


Stay tuned for an up date on everything fertility related in my life, stuff is actually moving again!

Baby Shower Cupcakes, Recipes, and a Competition!

As I was baking some cupcakes for a family friend's baby shower last night I realized I have never posted my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe! How is that possible? So today is the day. I am also posting a fairly decent red velvet recipe, though I must admit I do not like red velvet. I am opposed to anything that only puts 1 TBSP of cocoa powder in a recipe. Either make it chocolate or don't, that is my theory.

I must warn all my readers, my brain is on energy conserve mode today. I was up until 4am last night making these cupcakes, so the ole noggin is moving at the break neck speeds of a snail. I was tapped to make 120 mini cupcakes for a woman that works with my Mom to give as favors for her daughters baby shower. Got that? She requested Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream, Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream, and Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. They all turned out pretty darn good, and I got some great pictures of them too, which I am trying to do more of. So with out further ado, here are the pics and recipes:

Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream


This recipe is from Ina Garten, with a few changes by yours truly in italics.
Double Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients
1 cup cake flour
3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee (I use the instant coffee from Starbucks, it has a great taste and the benefit of only making one cup instead of brewing a whole pot)

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Line cupcake pans with paper cups and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, mix the flour with the sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt at low speed. In a medium bowl, whisk the buttermilk with the oil, eggs and vanilla. Slowly beat the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients until just incorporated, then slowly beat in the hot coffee until fully incorporated. The batter will be very very thin, that is A-OK.

Pour the batter into the prepared cups. Make sure not to fill them more than half way, they will rise A LOT. Bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool in the pans for 30 minutes, put onto a rack to cool completely.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting


This recipe comes from the Southern Queen Paula Deen, again my changes are in italics.

Ingriedients
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups vanilla sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
2-3 drops red food coloring gel
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flours, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients
1 pound cream cheese
2 sticks butter, softened
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

OK here is my big tip on how to make perfect Cream Cheese Frosting. DO NOT soften the cream cheese! The recipe will tell you to soften it or have it at room temp but don't! Take it straight from the fridge to bowl. Trust me. At room temp it gets gloppy and lumpy and kinda gross. Nice a cold from the fridge you will get smoothness every time.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting


And finally, it is almost time for Cupcake Cup 2010!!! This is a cupcake competition in the Central Pa area. 2009 was the first year it was held. I made Chocolate Rum Marbled cupcakes and the judges sad they were too simple, so I am going all out this year. Expect a post in about two weeks with the choices for what I will make. I will open up voting to all 29 of my followers and to The Bump girls. Whatever you guys think I should make for the competition is what I will go with.

Vanilla Lemon Lime Cupcakes

Summer always puts me in the mood for all things citrus. I decided last week I wanted to expand my baking horizons and try a few things I have never made before. So I decided to make Lemon Curd with the intent of using it as a filling for some cupcakes. Then I got sick and the lemon curd sat in my fridge for a week.

Finally today I felt better and got my baking pants back on. Since the lemon curd used up all of my lemons and I didn't feel like a run to the grocery store I opted to make Lime cupcakes and fill them with the curd. I took the recipe out of Martha Stewart's Cupcake cookbook only changed it around a little (I can't leave anything alone). After tasting the lemon curd with the cake I decided I would need a frosting that was light and sweet to cut through all the tartness. So I went with my classic Vanilla Buttercream that I adore. Seriously, if I could bath in that Vanilla Buttercream I would.

I must say they turned out great. Moist, but not sticky. Tart, and dare I say bright? The lime flavor gets lost a little with the lemon curd, but I didn't mind that much. And the buttercream did exactly what I wanted, it gives just enough sweetness so the lemon curd doesn't become over powering. I think the folks at work would agree that they were great since as soon as I walked in I had four guys swarming around me. This one is going straight into my scrap book where I keep all the 'keeper' recipes.


Here is the cupcake recipe as copied from Martha's website. I will italicize all changes I made to the recipes.

Lime Cupcakes

Makes 24 (I got 32)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
Finely grated zest of 3 limes (about 3 tablespoons)
4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk

Directions

-Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flours, baking powder, and salt.

-With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is until incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in zest and vanilla. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk and lime juice, and beating until just combined after each.

-Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

And here is the link to the Lemon Curd recipe which I used verbatim.

Wedding Cupcakes!

I was recently contacted by a very good friend about possibly doing cupcakes for her friend's wedding reception (thanks T!). I have emailed with the lucky bride several times now, and it looks like we will be meeting this Tuesday to do a taste testing and talk about designs.

The theme is Hawaii/Beach so I will be working on Pina Colada Cupcake recipes tomorrow and this weekend. I have some great ideas about doing sand covered cupcakes. I will also be making what I call a "cutting cake." Basically it is a small cake for the top tier of the cupcake tower that the bride and grown can do the traditional cutting of the cake.

I am so excited about the prospect of doing a wedding!!! I know it will be a big challenge, but I think I am up for the task. Plus it will be a great distraction for everything. I will post pics of the test cupcakes this weekend and update on the meeting next week.

Trying to hold it together...

I am 11 days post IUI and I tested this morning. Twice. Both negative. It could still be early, but I am so disappointed. I had comepletely convinced myself that this had worked and I was pregnant. I have had some of the classic symptoms; nipple soreness, nausea that kinda comes and goes, weird cramping in the general uterus area, needing to pee more often, and being really tired. But the truth is all those things can be explained away by the massive amounts of progesterone I am taking and the fact that I am trying to lose weight and have been chugging water like there is no tomorrow.

I was so excited last night to wake up this morning and test because I was sure it would be positive. I think I slept a total of four hours. Then I started having crazy nightmares too. So now there is a fairly big possibility that I am not pregnant, and I am so tired I will most likely be a giant biotch all day.

I decided I am not going to test again until Saturday. I will test Saturday and Sunday and then Monday is my blood test to confirm. I may also do some baking this weekend for Easter to distract myself.

Back on the Rollercoaster

Aunt Flow showed today, I am miserable. I have been lucky the past couple months in that my first couple cycle days were on my days off. No such luck this time, so I had to call in sick b/c I tend to have mini-flares of Crohn's when I get my period and can't be far from a bathroom for very long. I start my Clomid on Saturday (yay Clomid crazies!).

This will be our last shot at a 2010 baby. If we get PG on this cycle my Estimated Due Date (EDD) will be 12-17-10. I know it is really sad that I know my EDD already. But hey I have had two baby names for both girls and boys picked out since the hubs and I started talking about trying, and I have known how I would decorate the nursery since we moved into our house (before we were married).

And now I have to go make 40 Ice Cream Cupcakes for a baby shower at my Mom's office tomorrow. Ugh,I have to try and match the buttercream to the bedding the Mom-to-be picked out, so I will be spending the night staring at a picture of a nursery on the pottery barn website. I will post pictures later.

The Search for Great Low Fat Desserts Continues...

As you all know I am on a quest to lose 50 pounds by this summer. But I am also not a happy camper if I don't get my dessert every once in a while. So I have charged myself with the task of making super tasty yet healthy(ish)desserts. Here are two of the latest additions to that mission.

Black Bean Mint Brownies (better than they sound)

1 can (15.5oz) Balck Beans (washed and rinsed)
3 eggs
3 tbsp Canola Oil
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
1/4 cup Splenda
3/4 cup Cocoa Powder
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tbsp Vanilla Extract
1 tsp Mint Extract
1/2 cup Mint Chocolate Chips

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Puree the washed black beans in a food processor until smooth and creamy. Add the next 8 ingredients to the food processor and and mix until ingredients are combined thoroughly and smooth.

Pour mixture into a greased 8x8 pan and sprinkle the chocolate chips over the mixture. Bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool and cut into 25 squares.

Calories: 94
Fat: 4
Carbs: 13.3
Dietary Fiber: 2.8

The Second Recipe is Reduced Fat Roasted Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Buttercream. Let's face it you are never going to be able to make an awesome cupcake that is completely healthy, but I think this is about as close as it gets. The original recipe for the cupcake came from Martha Stewart, I lighted it up a lot.

Reduced Fat Roasted Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Buttercream
3 Bananas
2 cups Cake Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Splenda
1 stick Unsalted Light Butter
1 Large Egg
2 large Egg Whites
1 tbsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup Fat Free Sour Cream

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Place the bananas on a baking sheet with peels still on. Roast for about 10-15 minutes, the skins will turn brown (don't panic!).

While the bananas are roasting mix the flour through salt together in a bowl and set aside. Take the bananas oput of the oven and let cool in the fridge before you peel them (hot banana, hot banana.)

While the bananas cool mix the butter, sugar and splenda until light and fluffy. Add the egg whites and egg until blended. Add the vanilla extract. Peel the bananas and mas them with a fork or potato masher. Add to the butter mixture and mix till incorporated (will be pretty lumpy still.)

Add the flour mixture in three parts alternating with the sour cream and scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions. Scoop the batter into cupcake tins with cupcake liners and bake for 15-20 mintues or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool and top with frosting.

Calories: 166
Fat: 6
Carbs: 25
Fiber: .9

Reduced Fat Peanut Butter Buttercream

1/2 cup Reduced Fat Peanut Butter
1/2 Light Butter
1 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
1 tbsp Vanilla Extract
3 tbsp Skim Milk (more if needed)

Mix the PB and butter together until completely blended. Add powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time alternating with milk and vanilla. Use more milk if you want a thinner frosting for pipping, or less for thicker froting for spreading.

Calories: 145
Fat: 6.5
Carbs: 19.9
Fiber: .3

Even the Best Screw Up...

I couldn't resist posting this. Proof that no matter how long you have been baking or how many baking experiments you have done, mess ups happen. For instance my first attempt at making low fat/calorie chocolate cupcakes ended in disaster. Oh well, back to the drawing board.

My Favorite Cupcake Stuff...

Enough with all this sad sack infertility stuff, let's talk about baking! So I have been talking about doing a favorite stuff post, and finally here it is. I took a few pictures of some of my favorite gadgets and such and I will explain why they make my baking life easier!

- This is My favorite Vanilla Extract of all time! I get it at TJMaxx for $13, normally it is $20. I have been know to buy up all their bottles b/c it is not always in stock when I need it. The reason I love this particular Vanilla is because it is filled with Vanilla Seeds. You can see in this pic a ton of little black dots in the bottom of the bowl. Those are the vanilla seeds. It saves me a lot of time and money for recipes that call for scrapping vanilla beans. and even in recipes that don't call for scrapping vanilla beans it adds a ton of flavor compared to normal vanilla extract you get in the store.

- Going along with vanilla extract another thing I love is Vanilla Sugar, it is super easy to make. Just cut a couple vanilla beans in half length wise and stick them in an air tight container with a pound sugar, and shake! It makes the sugar smell amazing. It is great in all kinds of baked goods and even coffee or tea.

- This is one of my favorite gadgets. It is a New Metro Design Beater Blade. they come in different sizes for different mixers, and they are awesome! It completely eliminates the need to scrap down the sides of the bowl. The best part is they aren't too pricey. On Amazon one goes for about 22 bucks. Not too shabby!

- And the last thing for today's post is cake flour. I really don't care about brand, just whatever is available at your local store. Cake flour helps to keep your cupcakes light and fluffy with a smaller crumb then normal all purpose flour.

So there are just a few of my favorite things in the kitchen. I will most likely do another of these in a couple weeks when I get some time as I have a ton of other gadgets I want to rave about. Happy Baking!!!

Healthy Cupcake Success!!

Here is the recipe for the healthy cupcakes I made yesterday. They turned out very good, but next time I think I may add more blood orange juice to kick up the flavor some more, and add zest to the batter as well. They turned out moist and fluffy, which I was surprised with considering the lack of fat in it. Things I may try in the future to get the fat and calorie count down even further: fat free sour cream, and reduce the sugar blend by a half cup. I have added the nutritional info at the bottom of the post. The nutritional info will vary depending on how much of the frosting you put on each cupcake. I normally like to put a piped swirl on top, but that uses a lot of frosting, so this time I just spread it on the top and topped with some orange zest.

Light Blood Orange Cupcakes

2 cups Cake Flour
1 cup Flour
2 cups Splenda Baking Blend
1 tbsp Baking Powder
¾ tsp Salt
½ cups Light Butter
½ cup sour cream, low fat
1 tbsp Vanilla Extract
½ cup Skim Milk
½ cup Blood Orange Juice

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt; mix on low speed until combined. Add butter mix until just coated with flour.

Add in yogurt, milk, and vanilla extract in three parts, scrapping down the bowl between each addition; beat until ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat.

Using the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until they form a stiff peak. Fold in ¼ of the stiff egg whites to the batter. Once incorporated fold in the rest of the egg whites/

Divide batter evenly among liners, filling about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 17-20 minutes.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.


Cream Cheese Frosting

8oz. 1/3 less fat Cream Cheese
2 cups Powdered Sugar
1tsp Vanilla Extract

Directions:
Beat cream cheese in a bowl until smooth. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, beat until fully incorporated. Add vanilla and beat until light and fluffy.

Tip: Your cream cheese frosting with come out perfectly smooth is you use the cream cheese nice and cold, right out of the fridge.

Nutritional Information
Calories 202
Total Fat 5 g
Cholesterol 15.4 mg
Sodium 85.2 mg
Potassium 38.6 mg
Total Carbohydrate 33.7 g
Dietary Fiber 0.3 g
Sugars 23.7g
Protein 3.1 g

Trying to Make Cupcakes Healthy

So I have been on bedrest all day after getting my second epidural steroid injection. I am, booooored out of my mind. I have been doing very good on trying to lose weight so far. I have been to the gym twice this week. I am only allowed to do the stationary bike, but i do twenty minutes a day. I plan on trying to do this 4-5 times a week. I have also been eating a lot more healthy. I have been following a pretty strict meal plan of about 1300-1700 calories. And if I am in a hurry I have been getting salads at McD's or Wendy's instead of the hamburgers I used to get. But most importantly I have been putting everything I eat into my nutrion tracker on Sparkpeople.com.

My only problem so far is the lack of sweets on the meal plan. I know when trying to lose weight you have to cut out a lot of the sweets, and I accept that. But I think living without cupcakes is a sad, sad exsistance. So while I have been on bedrest I have been brainstorming how to cut the calories and fat in my favorite cupcake recipes. I have been working on the vanilla cupcake recipe all day. So far I have cut the calories by 20 grams and the fat by a little over 3.5 grams. I would like to get it down even further, but not really sure how to do it.

The next step is to actually bake the new cupcake recipe and see how it tastes. Cause really what is the point of a light cupcake if it tastes horrid, right? So I am planning on making the vanilla cupcakes tomorrow morning, only I am going to make a slight adjustment, I am going to make Blood Orange Vanilla Cupcakes with Light Cream Cheese Frosting. and I will probably make them in mini form so that I can taste test them without all the calories and I will just adjust the rest of my calories for the day to compensate.

So wish me luck on this my latest cupcake experiment!

Cupcake Experiments!!!!!

So I might cheat a little with my cupcake experiments. Basically I take my vanilla cupcake recipe from below and I tweak it for whatever flavor combo I want. I figure it took me a year of playing with the vanilla recipe to get it right, and I love it soooooo much, why wouldn't I use it as a base for every non-chocolate based recipe I try?

This weeks experiment is two fold. First, I love Thai food, a lot. I wanted to try and make something that reminded me of Thai cuisine, while still being super yummy and not too weird. So I came up with the idea of doing a cupcake with three of my fav Thai flavors; Coconut, Lime, and Basil. Just weird enough. I made a coconut cupcake with basil and topped it with lime buttercream and toasted coconut. I dubbed them the Bangkok Cupcake. They turned out pretty good. I wish the Basil had come through a little more, but not bad for a first attempt. I think next time I will double the Basil and boil it in the Coconut Milk first to draw more of the flavor out.

The second recipe came from the inspiration of the IF ladies who were discussing their favorite alcoholic drinks. My favorite adult beverage is a Margarita, so I made a tequila cupcake with lime buttercream and a dusting of salt. They are awesome! I wish I had little drink umbrellas to stick in them cause they remind me so much of being in The Keys when I was in college.

Here are the recipes, if you have tried the vanilla cupcakes from the previous post these recipes will look very familiar.

Bangkok Cupcakes
2 cups cake flour
1 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 large eggs, separated
1 cup coconut milk (I used light but either is good)
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract (I normally hate artificial extracts, but if it is all you got it will work)
1 cup shredded coconut
3-4 Leaves of fresh basil, finely chopped


Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt; mix on low speed until combined. Add butter, mixing until just coated with flour.

In a large glass measuring cup, whisk together egg yolks, coconut milk, and extract. With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients in 3 parts, scraping down sides of bowl before each addition; beat until ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat. Mix in Coconut and Basil. Using the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until they form a stiff peak. Fold in 1/4 of the stiff egg whites to the batter, once incorporated fold in the rest of the egg whites.

Divide batter evenly among liners, filling about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 17 to 20minutes.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Margaritaville Cupcakes
1 cup cake flour
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar (recipe follows)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup tequila, plus 3 tablespoons



Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt; mix on low speed until combined. Add butter, mixing until just coated with flour.

In a large glass measuring cup, whisk together egg yolks, cream, and 1/2 cup tequila. With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients in 3 parts, scraping down sides of bowl before each addition; beat until ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat. Using the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until they form a stiff peak. Fold in 1/4 of the stiff egg whites to the batter, once incorporated fold in the rest of the egg whites.

Divide batter evenly among liners, filling about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 17 to 20minutes. while cupcakes are still warm brush reserved 3 tablespoons tequila over the top of each cupcake.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Lime Buttercream
Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted softened butter
2 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 tablespoons Lime juice

Directions:

In a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter & salt for about 30 seconds and then add half of the powdered sugar and the lime juice to the butter and beat again until combined. Scrape down the bowl. Add the rest of the powdered sugar, and the lime juice and beat until combined. Scrape down the bowl again. Beat on high speed for 5-6 minutes or until the frosting is fluffy.

Let's Talk About Cupcakes...

Baking is one of the many ways I cope with everything in my life. When you are trying to bake something delicious for someone you love, like, or even someone you have never met, you can't think about anything else. Plus you have something sweet and awesome to eat after. And while I am lying on a table with my feet in stirrups, I like to think of different flavor combinations to distract myself. My favorite thing to bake are cupcakes. They are cute, sweet, and you can have fun decorating them without the commitment of making a whole cake. Plus it is hard not to be happy while eating a cupcake. So now I am going to share with you my favorite cupcake recipe. It is easy, yummy and versatile. I got the original recipe from Martha Stewart's Website and after playing with it for a while came up with my final version. So here ya go...



Chrissy's Double Vanilla Cupcakes
2 cups cake flour
1 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups vanilla sugar (recipe follows)
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 large eggs, separated
1 cup skim milk
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract


Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt; mix on low speed until combined. Add butter, mixing until just coated with flour.

In a large glass measuring cup, whisk together egg yolks, milk, and vanilla. With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients in 3 parts, scraping down sides of bowl before each addition; beat until ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat. Using the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until they form a stiff peak. Fold in 1/4 of the stiff egg whites to the batter, once incorporated fold in the rest of the egg whites.

Divide batter evenly among liners, filling about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 17 to 20minutes.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Vanilla Buttercream

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted softened butter
2 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Directions:

In a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter & salt for about 30 seconds and then add half of the powdered sugar and the cream to the butter and beat again until combined. Scrape down the bowl. Add the rest of the powdered sugar, the vanilla, and the lemon juice and beat until combined. Scrape down the bowl again. Beat on high speed for 5-6 minutes or until the frosting is fluffy.

Vanilla Sugar

Ingredients:
1 pound granulated sugar
2 vanilla beans

Directions:
Transfer sugar to an air tight container. Split the vanilla beans in half length wise. Put beans into the sugar and shake the container. Everyday for a week shake the container for a couple minutes(great when getting bad news/BFNs. At the end of the week use in coffee, tea, baking recipes or on cereal for a special treat.

Hello There

My name is Chrissy, some of you may know me as thebeadinglady (hey IF ladies!). This is my first attempt at an actual blog. I had one other one, but that was more for myself. I hope this blog will actually be read by people, heck maybe even help some people.

So you may be asking yourself "Who is this Chrissy girl and why the heck should I want to read about her?"

Well I don't know why you would want to read about me (boredom?) but I can tell you who I am. I am 27, married to a wonderful man, Aunt to 9 awesome nephews and nieces, sister to two sisters and a brother, mom to two awesome dogs and a very old guinea pig, amateur baker, obsessed with cupcakes, occasional jewelry maker, DIY home renovator, TV and movie nut, and book worm. I am a dork. I am very overweight, tall, hair changes color monthly, blue eyes. I love the work I do, but am falling out of love with my actual job. I am not religious at all. I have Crohn's Disease. I am reproductively challenged.

My goal for this blog will be to just share my journey. I will write mostly about my Fertility Treatments, Crohn's Disease, and baking. But other stuff will probably creep in too. I am at the beginning of my fertility treatments, and have been dealing with Crohn's for only two and a half years, so I don't know everything yet. But that is kinda the point. I want to record the things I learn along the way. I don't know if anyone will actually read this, but to anyone that does: Welcome, get comfy, it is most likely going to be a bumping ride!