Lizstomania and Lemons and Such

Hola amigos.
It was my friend's birthday the other day, so of course I baked her cupcakes. Every day Andie (the birthday girl) and I go to Mulberry's (the awesome little store right by my school) and I get my small nonfat sugar free vanilla latte, and she gets her kiddie chai and a piece of lemon bread. SO, in honor of that (and also the fact that I am very much anticipating summer) I decided to make her some lemon-y cupcakes.
After looking at a bajillion and one cupcake recipes involving lemons, i decided to make her yellow cupcakes with a lemon sauce on top. I got both recipes from Cupcakes! by Elinor Klivans.


Easy-Mix Yellow Cupcake Batter

1 1/4 Cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 Tsp. baking powder
1/4 Tsp. baking soda
1/4 Tsp. salt
1 Large egg
1 large Egg yolk
1 Cup sugar
1/2 Cup canola or corn oil
1 Tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 Cup sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the egg and yolk and sugar until thickened and lightened to a cream color, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing.
4. On a low speed, mix in the oil and vanilla until blended. Mis in the sour cream until no white streaks remain. Mix in the flour mixture until it is incorporated and the batter is smooth.
5. Bake for about 18-20 minutes. Makes about 12 cupcakes.

Lemon Sauce

1/2 Stick unsalted butter
1/3 Cup fresh lemon juice
2 Large eggs
2 Large egg yolks
1 Cup sugar
2 Tbsp. cornstarch, dissolved in 1/4 cup water
1 Tsp. grated lemon zest

1. In a medium saucepan, heat the butter and lemon juice over medium heat until the butter melts and the mixture is hot, about 130 Degrees F on a thermometer.
2. Meawhile, in a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, egg yolks, and sugar together to blend them, then whisk in the dissolved cornstarch.
3. Whisking constantly, slowly pour the hot butter and lemon juice into the yolk mixture.
4. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a large spoon, just until it comes to a boil and thickens; it wil take about 6 minutes.
5. Immediately remove from heat, strain into a small bowl, and stir in the lemon zest.
6. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the sauce, use a toothpick to poke a few holes in the plastic wrap to let steam escape, and refrigerate until cold. The sauce will thicken further as it cools. Makes about 1 cup of sauce.

Peace. Love. Cupcakes.

Happy Monday yo.

So I've been kinda lazy about uploading pics from my camera, so one of my recipes is actually from last week, but shhh.
Saturday night my wonderful friend Olenka slept over at my house, and so in the morning, I did what I always do when people spend the night at my house, I made breakfast.
I decided to make french toast on cinnamon swirl bread from the Bread Garden (a.k.a. the best bakery EVER). This is the recipe my dad taught me, its kind of just a go with the flow kinda thing, but I'll give approximate measurements.



Mini French Toast
Ingredients:
Cinnamon Swirl Bread (or any other bread of your choice)
2 Eggs
Cup of milk
Dash of Amaretto
Butter (for pan)
Confectioner's Sugar (for garnish)

Directions:
1. Heat up a medium frying pan on a medium setting (on my stove that would be about 8).
2. Whisk together eggs, milk, and Amaretto.
3. Drop a piece of butter onto pan to grease.
4. Dip bread into batter to soak, then place in pan.
5. Let cook for about 1 minute on each side.
6. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.



So the other week, I was asking my friends what they wanted me to bake, and I got multiple requests for red velvet cake, so I had no choice to make red velvet cupcakes. I had made them one time before with my friend Katie, but I didn't love the way they came out, so I decided to try a different recipe this time. After some browsing, I decided that the red velvet recipe from Simply Recipes was the best looking. They came out a perfectly awesome red color, which made me super happy. Because really, if you are going to make red velvet cakes, why would you settle for anything less than the reddest red?




Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

CUPCAKES
1 1/2 Cups sugar
1/2 Cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
2 Eggs, room temperature
2 1/3 Cups cake flour
2 Tbsp. Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 Tsp. baking soda
1 Tsp. baking powder
1/2 Tsp. salt
1 Cup buttermilk
1 1/2 Tbsp. red food coloring
1 Tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tsp. distilled white vinegar

FROSTING
1/2 Cup butter (1 stick), room temperature
8 Oz Philly cream cheese (1 package), room temperature
2 - 3 Cups powdered sugar
1 Tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

CUPCAKES

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Beat the butter and sugar in an electric mixer for 3 minutes on medium speed until light and fluffy.
2. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is fully incorporated. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure even mixing.
3. In a large bowl, sift together the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl whisk together the buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla extract, and red food coloring.
4. Add a fourth of the dry ingredients and mix, then add a third of the wet. Continue adding in a dry, wet, dry pattern, ending with the dry ingredients.
5. Scoop into cupcake papers, about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Rotate the pan after the first 15 minutes of baking to ensure even baking.
6. Allow to cool for one minute in the pan then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cupcakes.

FROSTING
1. Cream the butter and cream cheese together, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure even mixing.
2. Add the vanilla extract and mix.
3. Add the powdered sugar, continually taste to get to desired sweetness. Smooth onto cooled cupcakes.



Now I'm not the hugest fan of red velvet in general, but these came out pretty darn good, and all my friends loved them, so if your going to do red velvet, this is definitely the way to go.

Peace. Love. Cupcakes&FrenchToast.
Kelsey

Cookies and Crocodile Rock

Okay, okay. I DO realize that a chocolate chip cookie recipe seems like the absolutely most BORING first post, but you know what? The cookies are freaking amazing. This is actually the best cookie recipe I have ever used in my life. It was actually the first thing I ever baked, back in the day when my mommy had to help me around the kitchen. They're so good, and I usually vary them up a little each time I make them. This time I used M&Ms and an extra 1/2 cup of brown sugar. They came out kind of ugly, but damn they were good.





Recipe:
2 Cups all purpose flour
1 Tsp. baking soda
1 Tsp. salt
2 Sticks butter
1 Cup sugar
1 Cup packed light brown sugar*
2 Tsp. vanilla extract
2 Eggs
1 Cup M&Ms

*I added an extra 1/2 cup of brown sugar.

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees F.
2. In electric mixer, mix butter and sugars. Add vanilla and eggs.
3. In a medium bowl, sift the dry ingredients. Add them to the wet ingredients. Mix everything together.
4. Bake 8 - 11 minutes.
5. Eat!

Peace. Love. Cookies.
Kelsey

Hi! My name is...

chicka chicka Slim Shady.
Just kidding. It's actually Kelsey.
I'm 16 years old, a sophomore in high school (but only one quarter left!)I am a very dedicated ballet dancer. I dance 7 days a week. So basically I am in love with baking and everything around it, so I decided, why the hell not start a baking blog. So that is why I am here right now.
3 years ago in 7th grade is when this whole obsession started. Every Wednesday my friend and I would have cookie day, since that was the only day I didn't have ballet. In 8th grade it changed from Wednesday to Monday and from cookie day to cupcake day. Then in high school it got a lot more difficult to have a baking day every week, but i still try to bake as often as possible. I have always fantasized of having my own cupcake shop, so maybe this will bring me one step closer. I really hope you enjoy my recipes and feel free to give me any suggestions! I look forward to getting baked with y'all.