It feels like summer

GAHH!
As of I am leaving for New York on my dad's birthday, and my mom's birthday is today, yesterday we had a Father's Day/Double Birthday celebration extravaganza.
Usually we make my dad a key lime pie for his birthday every year, but this year I wanted to make him cupcakes.
I saw this recipe on Martha Stewart's website a while ago, and have wanted to try it ever since, so i thought this was the perfect occasion.
Of course, I really wanted to make something for my mom today since it is her birthday, but we have no sugar or eggs or butter, and I have no money to go buy some (not to mention a car or license to get to the store). I'm an awful child. =[

ANYWAY, happier thoughts, here's the cupcakes:

Key Lime Meringue Cupcakes (recipe adapted from Martha Stewart)

CUPCAKES:
3 cups all-purpose 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), plus 2 tablespoons fresh key lime juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk



1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. 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.
3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown and 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.
4. To finish, spread 1 tablespoon lime curd onto middle of each cupcake. Generously dollop on 7 minute frosting on top. Hold a small kitchen torch 3 to 4 inches from surface of frosting, and wave it back and forth until frosting is lightly browned all over. Serve immediately.



KEY LIME CURD:
8 large egg yolks
Finely grated zest of 2 limes
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed key lime juice (about 3 limes)
1 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
(8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces

1. Combine yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar in a heavy-bottom saucepan; whisk to combine. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon (be sure to scrape the sides of the pan), until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, 8 to 10 minutes, and registers 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer.
2. Remove saucepan from heat. Add salt and butter, one piece at a time, stirring until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve into a medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the curd to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled and set, at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.

They were really yummy, but they were definitely an all day project. I still have a butt load left over because the recipe makes 24, so if you want one, come on over to my house. Haha.

Peace. Love. Keylimes.

LEAPING LEMONS!

Last Wednesday was the Youth Company Picnic (bye bye seniors! *sob sob*) which was hella fun but hella sad at the same time, because we were saying bye to our fabulous seniors.
After moving around an appointment and making some compromises I was able to go, which was really good.
I wanted to bring something lemon-y, because, well, I dont know, but lemons just seem very picnic-y and summer-y. Wow. Thats a lot of -y's. Anyway, I found a recipe for lemon bread/poundcake on Cupcake Rehab and HAD to try it.
And I'm so glad I did, because it came out perfectly. It tasted a lot like the one from Starbucks, as promised, and it was definitely a hit at the picnic.

Here is the recipe:
Lemon Pound Cake (Lemon Loaf)



POUND CAKE:
1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons salted butter, softened
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pure lemon extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease a 9×5 loaf pan well.
3. In a medium bowl mix flour, baking soda, and baking powder.
4. In mixing bowl or stand mixer, cream butter. Add sugar, eggs, vanilla, lemon extract, lemon juice and oil until mixed well.
5. Add dry ingredient mixture to your mixer and blend until smooth. No not over mix.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until testing stick comes out clean. Edges should be a dark golden brown and will crisp upon cooling.
7. Let cake cool before icing.



ICING:
1 cup plus 1 teaspoon powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons whole milk
1/2 teaspoon pure lemon extract

For icing blend powdered sugar, milk, and lemon extract until creamy. Ice the top of your cake and let the icing drip down the sides of your pound cake. Let icing set before slicing.

The one thing I will probably change in future times of making this would be the icing - i think there was too much lemon by adding lemon extract to it. Other than that it was perfect though.

PEACE. LOVE. LEMON LOAF.

A week ago I made madeleine cookies for the first time, and i have to say they came out pretty good. WELL. Sorry. Excuse the bad grammar.
Anyway, not much to say about them, so I'll just give the recipe:

Almond Madeleine Cookies Drizzled With Chocolate
(adapted from Technicolor Kitchen

COOKIES:
2 large eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1⁄3 cup all-purpose flour, sifted twice after measuring
3 tablespoons almond meal (or finely ground almonds)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled



1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Generously butter and flour 12 molds in a madeleine pan.
2. In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine eggs, sugar and salt. Beat on medium speed until pale, thick and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes. Mix in vanilla and almond extracts.
3. On low speed, mix in the sifted flour and almond meal until just incorporated. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the melted butter until blended.
4. Fill each mold almost completely full. Bake the madeleines until the tops spring back when lightly touched, 10 to 12 minutes.
Cool in pan for 2 minutes. Remove madeleines from pan and allow them cool completely on cooling rack.



CHOCOLATE TOPPING:
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 tbsp. butter

1. Put a saucepan on stove on medium heat.
2. Put chocolate chips and butter into pan to melt, stirring constantly. Once everything is completely melted, remove from heat.
3. Pour, drip, drizzle, do whatever you please with it on the madeleines. The possibilities are endless.

I'm definitely going to experiment more with madeleines in the future. They're so good and so simple its crazy!

Peace. Love. Madeleines.

When you get the urge to bake, well, you gotta bake.
And that is what I did tonight.
My mom bought me these mini peanut butter cups from Trader Joe's, and oh god they are so good. I love love love peanut butter and chocolate, and together, jeez, there are few things that can top that.
Also, because of that, these are very, VERY dangerous things to have around my house, because I can and WILL eat them until they are gone. So I made cookies with them. There are still a lot left, but that cut the amount down by a lot.
I adapted a recipe from the Joy of Baking. It was a chocolate chip cookie recipe, but I just made the dough without the chocolate chips, scooped it out, and then placed 2-4 peanut butter cups on top and baked them like that. I kinda figured that since the peanut butter cups were a little more dense than your average chocolate chip, you wouldn't need as many. So anyway, I'll stop my rambling and give you the recipe.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies (adapted from the Joy of Baking's Chocolate Chip Cookies)

COOKIES:
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
A lot of (aka I'm not sure how many) mini peanut butter cups

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F with rack in center of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter until smooth and creamy. Add the white and brown sugars and beat until fluffy (about 2 minutes). Beat in eggs, one at a time, making sure to beat well after each addition. Add the vanilla and beat until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and beat until incorporated. If you find the dough very soft, cover and refrigerate until firm (about 30 minutes).
4. With two spoons, drop about 1 tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheets. Place 2 - 4 cups on each blob of dough. Bake about 10 - 14 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges. Cool completely on wire rack.



Okay I do realize that that is not the most amazing picture of them, but they are pretty freakin good and I'm tired and lacking any sense of creativity.


*NOTE: I am eating one right now and I kinda decided that I am going to double the amount of salt next time because the contrast of the peanut butter with the actual cookie is a little off. They're still pretty good, but they could be a little saltier.

Peace. Love. Peanutbutter.

Are Those Deep Fried Cupcakes?

On Sunday I went to a barbecue at my good friend Katie's house, and my mommy made an angel food cake for dessert.
Good, sweet, creator of all that is good in the world, let me just tell you that angel food cake is one of my absolute favorite kinds of cakes - scratch that - desserts, in the world. I have two big slices of that baby and could have had two more. And THAT is why my love handles will not go away.
Anyway, on the ride home, I asked my mom if it would be possible to make angel food cupcakes. She told me she didn't think so, because you have to put the cake upside down and all that jazz. So I did my research and looked in my cupcake book, by Elinor Klivans, and I found a recipe for lemon angel food cakes.
I changed it a little and took out the lemon zest so they could just be plain angel food cakes.
So here is the adapted recipe:

CUPCAKES:
1 Cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 Cup sugar (plus 4 Tbsp.)
1 1/2 Cup egg whites
1 Tsp. cream of tartar
1/4 Tsp. salt
1 Tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 Tsp. almond extract



1. Preheat oven to 325. Have ready a muffin pan with 24 muffin cups (or 2 with 12 cups). Put paper liners in 6 of the cups to protect the pan.
2. Sift the flour and 4 tablespoons of the sugar into a small bowl and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt until the whites are foamy and the cream of tartar dissolves. Beat on high speed until the egg whites look shiny and smooth and the beaters form lines in the mixture; if you stop the mixer and lift up the beaters, the whites should cling to the beaters. Slowly, beat in the remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time., then beat for 1 minute. Mix in the vanilla and almond extract. Beating on low speed, sprinkle 1/4 of the flour mixture over the egg white mixture at a time, beating after each addition to incorporate it.
4. Using about 1/2 cup for each, spoon the batter into the 18 unlined muffin cups. The batter may even be above the tops of the cups, but this stiff batter will not spill over the sides. do not smooth the tops - let the batter remain in fluffy mounds.
5. Bake for about 35 minutes, until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry. The cupcakes will rise quite a bit.
6. Use a small knife to loosen the edges of the cupcakes from the pan. Carefully remove the cupcakes from the pan, using the knife to help release them if necessary, and let them sit on a rack.


They came out really good. I definitely think i will make this recipe again.