Hello to 2012!

I can't believe 2011 is about to end.  The year has come and gone so fast.  This new years I will be celebrating all that 2011 has given me and to celebrate what the upcoming new year may bring.  I am truly grateful for all the blessings in my life and I hope that 2012 will be an even better year.  What will you be doing this New Year's eve?

While many people are brainstorming on what dress to wear or what party to go to, I was thinking about baking something that I could take to a friend's New Year's party.  I came across a blog, Spoon fork bacon, and read about their Rose Water glitter cake in honor of New Year's.  I instantly got inspired and came up with a sexy cupcake perfect for a New Year's party.  Instead of baking a four layer cake, I opted to make cupcakes and tweaked some ingredients for my version of a Rose Water cupcake. I decide to add white chocolate ganache to the cupcake to add a rich and smooth flavor.  I kept things simple by using a vanilla buttercream frosting since I did not want to overpower the cake.  See below for pictures of my process...

I'm not sure if many of you know that rose water can be used in cooking.  I didn't.  Upon opening the bottle, I immediately thought wow this is really strong.  Rose water can be pretty intense so I highly recommend using it in small amounts.  If not, a dessert can come out tasting like perfume.  However, if used in the right proportions and with the right ingredients it can compliment any type of dessert!

Mixing the sugar and butter - this takes a few minutes since you want a fluffy texture.  

    Adding one egg at a time ....

 Added all the dry ingredients and mix until all smooth. Then add the rose water

              Cupcake liners - yes if you read my last post I used these liners before.  I had extra....

    Drizzle white chocolate ganache

  Rose flower frosting before the final touches...

        Voila! Presto - added some gold dust and if you want, a raspberry or any fruit just to give it a sexier look. 

Happy New Year to everyone and celebrate your butts off! Hope you all have a fun and safe night!
Thanks for reading! :) 

Rose Water Cupcake
makes 18-24 - adapted by Spoon fork bacon

2 cups of all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar
4 eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon rose water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.  Mix together the butter and sugar until fluffy in texture.  Add eggs one at a time, scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl when necessary.  Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternating in three and mix until all combined.  Add in rose water and mix until incorporated.  Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full.  Bake for 18 minutes or until center is set.

White Chocolate ganache
8 oz white chocolate chips
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter

Place chocolate in a small stainless steel bow.  Heat butter and cream in a small sauce pan until a soft boil.  Pour mixture onto the chocolate.  DO NOT STIR.  Let the cream sit for a few minutes.  Then fold gently until chocolate is smooth and has a shine to it.

Vanilla Buttercream frosting
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cold milk
2-3 cups of confectioners sugar (adjust accordingly depending on how sweet you want it)

In a stand mixer, beat butter until creamy and smooth.  Add vanilla and milk.  Add sugar one cup at a time until all is combined and creamy.  

Sparkle

It's the season for celebrating and many of us get together to enjoy great company and delicious food. With all the holiday parties, it's also a time to get decked out and look your absolute best.

I don't know about you ladies out there but I love sparkle.  Since I consider my style approach as fairly simple, I don't like to over do it.  Just a little bit to highlight your fabulous self.  I found some glitter nail polish by OPI for their "The Muppets" collection and immediately snatched a bottle so I can have them for the holidays. 

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I'm sure many of you shoe lovers out there can agree with me that Louboutins are a girls dream - as I can't afford it, I can only drool from afar.  I saw these glitter pumps and almost died - they were not only glamorous but oh so sparkly and down right sexy! With a simple LBD or a tailored tuxedo suit, I believe this shoe can give your style that extra edge.  Wish I could have a pair, don't you??

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With that said, I believe I can bring some sparkle to my baking as well.  I had an order for my boss' mother's 90th birthday.  The order entailed a double layer red velvet cake and 36 cupcakes.  Since this was such a special celebration and so close to the holidays, I came up with some ideas to make it a little more memorable.

 In the end, I decided to create my own buttercream roses to decorate the cake.  I still used cream cheese frosting for the cake but to make the roses, a stiffer base was needed.  For the cupcakes, instead of a basic swirl for the frosting, I used a tip that created a rose design and to top it off dusted edible red sparkles.  I also purchased red and white polka dot cupcake liners to use instead of a plain basic liner.

In the end, I was able to pull of something sparkle-y and something personal for a very special birthday! Happy Birthday, Mary hope you had an amazing time with your family and friends! Special thanks to Jason Nunan who believed and trusted me to make his mother's birthday cake! :)
Celebrate this holiday season with lots of sparkle and create your own memorable dessert with your loved ones! Cheers! :)

Red Velvet Cake

serves 8-10 

for cupcakes makes 24 

2 1/2 cups of unbleached all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon of red food coloring (gel based) 

1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour 8" round cake pans.  Sift flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder.  In another bowl, whisk together the oil and eggs until combined.  Add buttermilk and whisk together.  Add food coloring, vinegar and vanilla, whisk until all is incorporated.  In a stand mixer, add wet and dry ingredients together and beat until all combined.  

Divide the cake batter evenly between the two cake pans.  Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes until center is set.  Use a paring knife to test the cake, if knife is clean then cake is done.  Place pans on a wire rack to cool.  

To make cupcakes use the same recipe but fill the liners half full and bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. 

Cream Cheese frosting

2 packages (8 oz) cream cheese softened

2 sticks of unsalted butter

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups of confectioners sugar

Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth.  Add vanilla and beat until it is combined.  Add sugar one cup at a time until frosting is creamy and of medium consistency.  

A Stylish Twist

I love it when you can take something simple and traditional by putting a spin on it.  Just like in fashion, many people twist their own style so why not in baking.  I certainly think it can be done.

Since it's cold outside, my latest style twist is combining a simple wool sweater tunic and pairing it with printed tights - whether it's flowers, geometric shapes or an animal print. Pick what suits your personality! Look at some of your options below...

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So this is where my baking twist comes in.... I've been wanting to bake a carrot cake but didn't want to make one that has canned crushed pineapple or one that is loaded with nuts and raisins.  Just not my style, lol... After doing a load of laundry, I came up with a fabulous idea of using pickled carrots.  I know some of you may be thinking I'm crazy but hey we all thought wide leg flare jeans should be left in the 70's but now are the hottest thing on the runway. 

My boyfriend has his own specialty food company, Donovan's Cellar, and they have one of the most delicious pickled orange cumin carrots I've ever tasted! I've had them on banh min sandwiches, in green salads, and on a cheese plate.  So I decide why not put them in a cake!

I don't like raisins and nuts in my carrot cake so the one I made here doesn't have any.  But that doesn't mean you have to omit them as well.  Have fun with it and pick something that you love and enjoy.  Whether it's walnuts, macadamia nuts or dried fruit.  What I've learned with baking is that you always have to try.  You'll never know what flavor profile works unless you test it out.

My twist on this carrot cake is using four different exotic spices.  Ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom.  The combination of all these spices together give the cake an extra kick.  I used just a tiny bit of cardamom since a little goes a long way.  The cake had a great subtlety between all these spices, none of it over powered the other.  I love using butter in my baking however with this cake the recipe called for oil and buttermilk.  The result was a beautifully moist fluffy cake!  To top the cake off, I created an orange cream cheese frosting.  The pickled carrots had orange in the brine and I thought by creating an orange flavored frosting it could compliment the cake and bring out the flavors.  Lemme tell you not only did the frosting taste amazing by itself it was absolutely divine with the cake! And for aesthetic reasons because I wanted to make this cake look beautiful, I added toasted pecans to the outside rim.  It gives the cake a pretty texture and a nice crunch.

Are you ready to take on your own stylish twist? Bake this cake for your next holiday party and I'm sure you'll be the hit of the night!

Spiced Carrot Cake with Orange cream cheese frosting
adapted by Zoe Bakes

2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
3 large eggs, room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cups of vegetable oil
3/4 cups of buttermilk
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups grated Donovan's Cellar Orange Cumin carrots 
1 cup nuts and fruits (optional) 

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two 8" round cake pans with wax paper.  Grease with oil and flour.  Set pans aside.
Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and the four spices.  Set aside.
Beat eggs, sugar, oil, buttermilk and vanilla at medium speed in a stand mixer until smooth.  Add the flour mixture and beat on low until all combined.  Remove from stand mixer and add in grated carrots.  Fold it all in with a rubber spatula.  Pour batter into the two cake pans.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, use a paring knife to insert in center of cake and if clean cake is done.  Cool cakes in the pan on a wire rack.

Orange Cream cheese frosting
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 stick unsalted butter
Zest of one navel orange (yields about 2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon of juice from the orange
1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract
2 cups of confectioners sugar

Beat together cream cheese and butter until smooth.  Add zest, juice and vanilla, beat until combined.  Add sugar one cup at a time until all combined and frosting is of medium consistency.

Tools

When it comes to baking there are many moving parts involved.  It's not just the ingredients in your recipe but it's the tools used that make everything work.  When I initially started out baking I only had a hand held whisk and a cookie sheet.  I moved up to a hand mixer which made life a lot easier.  Then for Christmas about a year ago, I received my very first KitchenAid stand mixer.  Boy, did I feel like the luckiest girl in the world.  I had been eyeing that mixer for months and wanted it not only because it looked pretty but because of all the amenities.  Not only can this sucker mix your cake and cookie mixes but it can create a beautiful meringue or a basic homemade whipped cream.  It doesn't stop there - if you purchase attachments - the list continues.  Homemade ice cream, sausages, pasta, bread, etc etc.  It's the one tool that I believe is a necessity! It's worth the investment and I promise you that once you have one of your very own, you'll never go back to your hand mixer.  Plus they come in all sorts of pretty colors! Go check 'em out!! 

I have an order coming up and I've been anticipating it since it's my biggest order yet.  Well it's only my second order but I am bit nervous about it.  I will be making 36 red velvet cupcakes and a double layer 8" red velvet cake.  It's for a 90th birthday so I have to make it ultra special! I just purchased my first tool that will be essential in my cake making.  The cake turn table! It's going to make frosting and decorating the cake easier so I don't have to contort my body uncomfortably.  Another tool that I cannot live without are my decorating tips! These are essential in creating beautiful decorations on your cupcakes and cakes!

I just took a trip to Michael's this past weekend and picked up a few extra tools needed for my upcoming order.  Since it will have a Christmas theme - actually the only thing that is Christmas about it, is the color.  Hahaha... Anyway, I decided to get red cupcake liners and thought the ones with the polka dots were just adorable.  I also picked up edible red sparkles to add to the cupcake frosting.  I think it'll add that special touch at the end.  I'm SO excited to work on this next order - which will be my next post! Hopefully, it'll look just as pretty as I envision it to be! Stay tuned...

Thanks for reading!

Happy Thanksgiving!

One of my favorite holidays is just a day away and not only do I love eating turkey smothered with gravy, homemade crisp stuffing, green beans and mashed potatoes. But, most importantly, desserts! C'mon, obviously this was heading somewhere sweet, right?

As most people indulge in turkey dinner - I ALWAYS leave room for dessert. So on this particular holiday I'm going to give thanks to the good ole fashioned pumpkin pie!

For this pumpkin pie, I added cream cheese and half n half to add a creamier and smoother filling. I believe by doing this the pie stays rich, creamy and moist. Instead of using, a graham crust, I decided to go for a flakier and sweet crust which adds a nice balance between the pumpkin and it's spices. To top the pie off, I made homemade whipped cream! (just a side note, I try to not use anything pre-made, it just tastes more delicious that way!).

What better way to give thanks to your family and friends!

Pumpkin Pie Recipe

adapted by Paula Deen

8oz. package of cream cheese

1 can of pumpkin puree

3/4 cup of sugar

1/4 teaspoon of salt

3 large eggs

1 cup half and half

1/2 stick of unsalted butter, melted

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

In large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese with mixer. Add pumpkin and beat until combined. Add sugar, salt, and beat until combined. Add eggs, half and half, butter and beat until all combined. Then add vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger and fold in until all incorporated.

Pie Crust

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour, unbleached

7 tablespoons of unsalted butter, diced

1 1/2 tablespoons of granulated sugar

1 egg yolk

Sift flour in a bowl and rub in butter with your hands. Add sugar and combine together. Mix in the egg yolk and add just enough cold water to make mixture into a dough. Wrap in foil and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Roll out dough with some flour to about 1/8" thick. Line a 9" pie pan and pinch the edges off (you can pinch the edges to make a design as well), cover with foil and add pie weights or dried beans on top. Place in a preheated 375 degree oven for 15-20 minutes. Remove the foil and place in oven for another 5 minutes or until the crust is lightly colored and firm.

Add the pumpkin filling into the crust until you hit the edge of crust. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until the center is set. Place on a wire rack to cool.

Homemade whipped cream

1 cup whipping cream or heavy cream

1 tablespoon confectioners sugar

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Beat cream on high in a chilled stainless steel mixing bowl for a minute or so then add the sugar and vanilla. Beat until soft peaks form. Serve immediately.

Bon Appetit!

I love all things Fall

One of my favorite seasons is Fall. All the leaves change color, the weather drops just enough, I get to wear my fave military parka and riding boots, but what excites me the most is Fall baking!

Not only do I love the food at Thanksgiving, the desserts that come at the end send me straight to dessert heaven. Pumpkin, gingerbread, cinnamon, nutmeg, apples, sweet potato, maple syrup the list goes on! There are so many great ingredients that you can combine to make sweet, luscious, and decadent desserts!

Today's post is dedicated to one of my all time favorite spice - ginger! I love all things ginger - with sushi, in drinks, in food, and especially in desserts! :) So here is my ode to ginger... A gingerbread cupcake with maple buttercream frosting. The addition of molasses in the cake takes it to the next level and the sweet and earthy flavor of maple syrup rounds all of it together. Giving this cupcake just enough of sweet and spicy. I decide to decorate the cupcake with a rose design - this is for my bestie Erin who had sent me a pic of a rose cupcake. Wish you could be here to taste it with me! Happy Fall everyone!

Welcome!

Welcome to my very first blog post! As I am new to this, I'd like to first introduce myself.... I am a dessert lover and appreciate all types of baked goods. I would like to use this platform to express my passion and creativity for baking. Please follow my journey as I chronicle all of my baked goods in the pursuit of one day opening my very own bake shop!

I've been playing around and making desserts on my down time for the very reason that I love doing it. I also end up with a bunch of leftovers that my boyfriend and I cannot finish. So what do I do with it all? I don't throw them away, I am too proud to dump them in the trash. What I do is give it away - friends, colleagues, acquaintances, and neighbors. I don't want to toot my horn but I've been receiving great feedback which leads me to believe that I might be onto something....

Then out of nowhere, I receive a cupcake order from my boyfriends co-worker. She wants Halloween themed cupcakes - preferably pumpkin flavored. I, of course, agree to do it with so much excitement and all of my creative juices start flowing into my brain. I do some research and come up with a jack o lantern and mummy design. I stick to what she requested which were the pumpkin spiced cupcakes and decide to use cream cheese frosting.

Here are the results!