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.

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.