honey grapefruit cupcakes

Tags

cupcakes, dessert, Easter menu, food, grated grapefruit, honey grapefruit cupcakes, spring flavors

I love a really sharp citrus flavor in the spring.  I think these cupcakes would be perfect for Easter.  Since the cake is made with yogurt and oil instead of butter and milk, it is lighter than a lot of cupcakes.  This airy flavor makes this dessert a perfect ending to a heavier meal.  And at our house, Easter tends to be full of heavy fare.

You could use any citrus flavor.  The grapefruit is sort of somewhere in between lemon and orange.  Between baking and icing, these cupcakes get an extra dose of citrus by pouring on a little reduced grapefruit syrup.  This extra (slightly tedious) step makes them so moist that you could easily make them a day ahead.  I think this step also accounts for the lip puckering taste that I think all citrus baked goods should contain.

Honey Grapefruit Cupcakes

(makes 1 dozen)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt

½ cup sugar

½ cup honey

3 extra-large eggs

2 teaspoons grated grapefruit zest (1 large grapefruit)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

½ cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup freshly squeezed grapefruit juice

1/3 cup sugar

Honey Grapefruit Buttercream Frosting

4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

2 tablespoons honey

2 cups confectioners’ sugar

2-3 tablespoons freshly squeezed grapefruit juice

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it’s all incorporated.

Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake for 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup grapefruit juice and remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

When the cupcakes are done, prick them 8-10 times each with a toothpick and then pour about a tablespoon of the grapefruit-sugar mixture over each one and allow it to soak in. Cool.

For the frosting, combine the butter and honey.  Add confectioners’ sugar and grapefruit juice.  Spread or pipe frosting onto cupcakes.

Enjoy!

fresh peach cake

Tags

fresh peach cake, ina garten

I’ve had my eye on this cake for a while.  I really like my cake with fruit.

And Ina Garten is the queen of cake with fruit.  Her lemon pound cake is my favorite.  Her flag cake is always a big hit at a party.

So I knew when I saw this fresh peach cake topped with pecans in her newest cookbook that it would not disappoint.

And it did not.  It is just one step away from a cobbler to a cake.  Crusty, yummy edges with enough bites of fruit to justify eating the rest for breakfast.

Which of course we did.

Demolished it.

Fresh Peach Cake

from Ina Garten’s How Easy Is That?

Ingredients:

1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar, divided

2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup sour cream, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 large, ripe peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and 1 cup of the sugar for 3 to 5 minutes on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, add the eggs, one at a time, then the sour cream and vanilla, and mix until the batter is smooth. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the batter and mix just until combined. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and the cinnamon.

Spread half of the batter evenly in the pan. Top with half of the peaches, then sprinkle with two-thirds of the sugar mixture. Spread the remaining batter on top, arrange the remaining peaches on top, and sprinkle with the remaining sugar mixture and the pecans.

Bake the cake for 45 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature

faith in action with a little apple cake on the side

Tags

apple walnut cake, faith in action, fall desserts, noteworthy, ravinia

So a few Sundays ago, I had the amazing privilege of cooking with a delightful group of gals as part of our church’s Faith in Action project.  It was a huge blessing to get to serve by doing something that I enjoy so much.  We put together two dinners for single moms to have in their freezers. Chicken Pot Pie and Chili, plus some cookie dough to have chocolate chip cookies hot from the oven in a flash.

We chopped most of the vegetables for the chicken pot pies, including many bags of onions, which brought everyone to tears.  The process of taking raw, fresh ingredients to something wonderfully yummy and beautiful was a new experience for some involved, which is so fun for me.  As I have processed the day with friends, I have come to realize that this is definitely something I would like to do again.

Some of the gals took and delivered their meals themselves and I have loved hearing the stories of how all the meals were received and put to good use.  The whole day is already a treasured memory in my heart.  Sometime soon I hope to find and type out Ben’s precious memories that he wrote for school about his day of putting his faith into action.

Since we needed something to munch on while we were cooking all day, I had an apple walnut cake ready for snacking.  I am so in love with eating apples right now.  The honey crisps make me swoon!  Granny Smiths in the skillet with a little butter and brown sugar make my oatmeal taste like pie.  Speaking of which, I’ve made apple pie already and it’s not even the holidays yet.

I’ve had several requests for the apple walnut cake recipe so here it is.  It is from an old standby cookbook that my sister and I discovered together when we were first married.  Some women on the North Shore of Chicago put it together as a companion to the Ravinia Festival, which is an outdoor concert series that is meant to be attended with a picnic in tow.  Lots of the recipes from the Noteworthy cookbook are meant to be a part of your summer picnic, but this cake would be great for your autumn outings!

Apple Walnut Cake

1  2/3 cups sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1  1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

4 cups chopped apples

1 cups chopped walnuts

In large bowl beat sugar and eggs. Add oil and vanilla.  Mix well. In medium bowl sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg.  Add to sugar mixture.  Blend well. Stir in apples and nuts.  Pour into greased 9 X 13 baking dish.  Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 55 minutes.

Optional:  Top with cream cheese frosting.  (I skip this when I am serving this as a breakfast dish.)

Cream Cheese Frosting

6 ounces cream cheese, softened

3 tablespoons butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Cream cream cheese, butter and vanilla.  Gradually add powdered sugar until mixture reaches spreading consistency.

let them eat cake

Tags

birthday cakes, birthday parties

photo by Whitney Loibner

Taido is feeling mighty loved right about now.  Mighty loved and maybe a weensy bit sick.  As he eats his sixteenth piece of birthday cake.

The spread for Taido’s birthday, greatly enhanced by the arrival of the fish, was super fun to make.  I cooked a lot more than I wrote last week.  The proof is in the pictures, which Whitney was so kind to take for me.

I may find myself in the kitchen more this week too, because company’s comin’!

In the meantime, if you find yourself wishing for a little cake…

well, here are the recipes.

photo by Whitney Loibner

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake from my favorite food blogger, Deb at Smitten Kitchen.

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch process
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup neutral vegetable oil, such as canola, soybean or vegetable blend
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottoms and sides of cake pans.  The recipe says to use three round cake pans for a triple layer cake, but I used one giant rectangle pan and cut it into two smaller rectangles to make a double layer cake.  You could probably use any combination you want.  Line the bottom of each pan with parchment paper and butter the paper.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Whisk to combine them well. Add the oil and sour cream and whisk to blend. Gradually beat in the water. Blend in the vinegar and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs and beat until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and be sure the batter is well mixed. Divide among the prepared cake pans.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Let cool in the pans for about 20 minutes. Invert onto wire racks, carefully peel off the paper liners, and let cool completely. (Deb note: These cakes are very, very soft. I found them a lot easier to work with after firming them up in the freezer for 30 minutes. They’ll defrost quickly once assembled. You’ll be glad you did this, trust me.)

To frost the cake, place one layer, flat side up, on a cake stand or large serving plate. Spread 2/3 cup cup of the Peanut Butter Frosting evenly over the top. Repeat with the next layer. Place the last layer on top and frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting.

To decorate with the Chocolate–Peanut Butter Glaze, put the cake plate on a large baking sheet to catch any drips. Simply pour the glaze over the top of the cake, and using an offset spatula, spread it evenly over the top just to the edges so that it runs down the sides of the cake in long drips. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes to allow the glaze and frosting to set completely. Remove about 1 hour before serving.

Peanut Butter Frosting
Makes about 5 cups

10 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2/3 cup smooth peanut butter, preferably a commercial brand (because oil doesn’t separate out)

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl often. Continue to beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.

Add the peanut butter and beat until thoroughly blended.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze
Makes about 1 1/2 cups

8 ounces seimsweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup half-and-half

In the top of d double boiler or in a bowl set over simmering water, combine the chocolate, peanut butter, and corn syrup. Cook, whisking often, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.

Remove from the heat and whisk in the half-and-half, beating until smooth. Use while still warm.

photo by Whitney Loibner

Coconut Cake from The Barefoot Contessa Family Style

Ingredients

3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pans
2 cups sugar
5 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pans
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup milk
4 ounces sweetened shredded coconut

For the frosting:

1 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 pound confectioners’ sugar, sifted
6 ounces sweetened shredded coconut

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans, then line them parchment paper. Grease them again and dust lightly with flour.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until light yellow and fluffy. Crack the eggs into a small bowl. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl once during mixing. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well. The mixture might look curdled; don’t be concerned.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the dry ingredients and the milk to the batter in 3 parts, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Fold in the 4 ounces of coconut with a rubber spatula.

Pour the batter evenly into the 2 pans and smooth the top with a knife. Bake in the center of the oven for 45 to 55 minutes, until the tops are browned and a cake tester comes out clean. Cool on a baking rack for 30 minutes, then turn the cakes out onto a baking rack to finish cooling.

For the frosting, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and almond extract on low speed. Add the confectioners’ sugar and mix until just smooth (don’t whip!).

To assemble, place 1 layer on a flat serving plate, top side down, and spread with frosting. Place the second layer on top, top side up, and frost the top and sides. To decorate the cake, sprinkle the top with coconut and lightly press more coconut onto the sides. Serve at room temperature.

photo by Whitney Loibner

Carrot Cake from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. freshly grated cinnamon
3/4 tsp. salt
9 grated carrots
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup raisins
2 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
4 eggs

For the frosting:
8 ounces of cream cheese, at room temp.
1 stick unsalted butter at room temp.
1 pound of confectioners sugar, sifted
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
1.5 cups toasted coconut
1/2 cup toasted and chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 325.
Butter 3 9 x 2 inch round cake pans. Flour the insides and tap our the excess. If using 3 pans, make sure you have 3 racks in the oven that are evenly spaced apart.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
In another bowl stir together the carrots, chopped nuts, coconut, and raisins.
Using a stand mixer, mix together the oil and sugar together, until they are smooth.
Add the eggs one by one, and beat until the batter is smooth.
Reduce the speed and add the flour mixture, mixing only until the dry ingredients disappear.
Gently mix in the carrots by hand.
Divide the batter evenly among the pans.
Bake for 40-50 min, or until a small knife comes out clean, and the cake has just started to move away from the sides of the pans.
Allow to cool for 5 min on a cooling rack, and then unmold the cakes.

Frosting:
Combine the cream cheese and butter in the stand mixer bowl, and using a paddle attachment mix until smooth and creamy.
Gradually add the sugar and beat until smooth.
Add the lemon juice and mix until combined.
Spread 1/3 icing on bottom layer.  Repeat with second and third layers, leaving sides of cake layers.
Sprinkle the top of the cake with the roasted walnut bits.
Place in the fridge for 30 min so that the icing can set.

a pound of obsession

Tags

baking, cooking, dieting, much love for ina garten

as i threw the swimsuits and beach towels in the washing machine last night, i thought, this is really it. the summer is officially over. the first two weeks of school are just practice i guess. now that labor day weekend has come and gone we are seriously into fall. and the summer heat in arkansas is finally giving up her fight. no more hundred degree days, hopefully. it might even rain. and no more swimming, probably.

we gave our last weekend and even our last evening of summer our best shot…you know, without going to colorado for the weekend. taido was preaching, so we had to remain in the general vicinity. taido let the kids pick out chinese takeout for dinner and one last movie. i bought a lime pound cake, because i have been dying to make my favorite lemon pound cake from the barefoot contessa, but i just couldn’t squeeze all those fresh lemons and then have to write in my food journal,

1 half of 1 slice of the best lemon pound cake ever.

but still, i am craving it. and i really like to bake. i mean i really. like. to. bake. but i just didn’t think i would put the right amount of love into the cake knowing how little of it i would eat. i mean if i were less selfish, maybe i could think…i am just going to enjoy how much my sweet family will love this cake. they will be so excited when they smell it and that will be enough for me. i don’t have to eat half a pound cake to be satisfied. really. but not really. and i firmly believe that food doesn’t taste right when you don’t make it with love. i know this to be true because i made some very mediocre cookies last week sans passion because i was aware that i would not be eating any of them.

so when i saw this little lime pound cake, i thought…if i buy a good pound cake then i won’t feel like i’ve slaved over it and i won’t have poured my heart into it and i can just eat a little wee sliver of it and give the rest to the herd of pigs with whom i inhabit this house. (i mean that in the most endearing way…those chinos can flat eat.) so i snatched it up. i ate my little portioned out dinner, without even whining inside that i wanted more because i had cake waiting. and even a decaf latte to go with my little sliver. i gave the kids their cake. they gobbled it up. more more more. no more, i say. more tomorrow, maybe. i take my little after dinner treasures and get all snuggled up on the couch (after the baby has gone down…this is key…sleeping babies make all things better), and i take a little bite of my lime pound cake. and, oh. no. no lime juice oozing from the cake. my lips don’t even pucker from the tart. because there is none. i’ll wager not one fresh lime was squeezed for this imposter. so sad. come on fresh market. you are upscale. quality ingredients. superior food. but this pound cake. alas, it was just a pound cake. a good one. with a very far away hint of citrus. but nothing like the WOW and the TANG of the barefoot contessa’s lemon pound cake. it just didn’t compare. such a disappointment. i just wanted to throw my plate.

it is possible that the somewhat drastic response to this less than worthy cake is revealing other problems, other issues in my life. perhaps i am frustrated over this whole food journal bit. of course i would have given it up by now if someone else wasn’t writing their food down as well and we weren’t trading notebooks weekly. or maybe i just felt sad that the summer was over, but it was still hot. and it had not rained (yet). taido said to me, as graciously as possible. you seem very discouraged. is there something going on besides just food here?

perhaps. i will have to think about that later. because right now, i have a lemon pound cake in the oven.

and should you find yourself in the sad position of not coming to my house tomorrow because you are not a leader for the 9th-12th grades at fellowship north, then you can make one too. here’s the recipe.

Ina Garten’s Lemon Pound Cake

INGREDIENTS

½ pound unsalted butter

2 ½ cups granulated sugar

4 extra-large eggs (at room temperature)

1/3 cup grated lemon zest (6 to 8 large lemons)

3 cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

¾ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

¾ cup buttermilk at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

 

2 cups confectioners’ sugar

3 ½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

 

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease two 8 ½ x 4 ½ x 2 ½ -inch loaf pans. Cream the butter and 2 cups granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for about 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, and the lemon zest.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, combine ¼ cup lemon juice, the buttermilk and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. Divide the batter evenly between the pans, smooth the tops, and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Combine ½ cup granulated sugar with ½ cup lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves and makes a syrup. When the cakes are done, let them cool for 10 minutes, then invert them onto a rack set over a tray, and spoon the lemon syrup over the cakes. Allow the cakes to cool completely.

For the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice in a bowl, mixing with a wire whisk until smooth. Pour over the top of the cakes and allow the glaze to drizzle down the sides.