VELVET CUPCAKES

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABY!

Today was the last school day prior to baby's birthday, so I had to make the class some cupcakes. I don't like to do the same every year, so I decided to try a new recipe this time...with a twist. One of my Christmas presents this year, was a new cookbook from my lovely husband. He gave me the "Jamie's America" book by Jamie Oliver (one of my favourite Food Channel personalities). On page 38 is a recipe for very chocolaty Velvet Cupcakes, which looked great, but the problem is that my little girl prefers "vanilla" to chocolate. No problem!!!

I used the basic Velvet Cupcake recipe, but rather than adding cocoa, I just added a bit more flour to make up for it. Also, for flavour, I added a bit extra vanilla essence and a little almond essence and left out the food colouring.

This batter is a little different from my other cupcake recipes for a couple of reasons. One reason is that this recipe uses egg and buttermilk, and the other reason is that the batter is thick, but "fluffy". I have been thinking of how I might describe the texture of the batter, and the only thing that comes to mind is "fluffy" almost mousse-like, but in a thicker, slightly heavier way.

I don't want to plagiarize Mr. Oliver, but I will give you the gist of this recipe, as it is a common cake base recipe used in the States. The "velvet" result is similar to the texture of the good ole' American Hostess brand cakes...yumm!

Here we go:

INGREDIENTS:

50 Gm Butter, softened
150 Gm Caster Sugar (fine granules)
1 Large Egg
2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract/Essence or Paste
1 Tsp Almond Essence
160 Gm High Grade Flour
125 Ml Buttermilk
½ Tsp Baking Soda
1 ½ Tsp White Vinegar


DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F and line muffin tin with paper liners or silicone cups. (I sprayed demitasse cups with cooking spray and baked the cakes in those).

Cream the butter & sugar together with a mixer until fluffy.

Beat in the egg, vanilla, and almond essence.

Carefully fold in half of the flour then mix in half of the buttermilk, then repeat with the other half of each. Once well combined, the mixture should be very smooth and fluffy.

In a small cup, mix the baking soda and vinegar and mix into the batter carefully until well combined.

Divide this batter evenly between cupcake liners (or demitasse cups) then bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

FROSTING: I made a simple mascarpone frosting using 4 tbsp soft butter, 8 oz mascarpone cheese, ~3 cups icing sugar and a squeeze of orange juice. Cream the butter & cheese until fluffy, then add the juice (or about a half teaspoon of vanilla essence) and mix in the sugar, one cup at-a-time until you get the desired consistency.

Enjoy!

EGGNOG KISSES

EGGNOG KISSES

Traditionally, I don’t do a lot of “holiday baking” like my grandma and her sisters usually did. I do, however, enjoy making a few more “unique” things to share with friends. Recently, a friend shared some homemade eggnog (lower-fat version) which was very nice and inspired my to ring my Dad and see if he still remembered the proportions for his full-fat version (which he did share with me, and I can post here later if time allows).

Not too long after that, I believe, I noted this recipe posted on a fellow food blogger’s site at Cooking Down Under. This is another American transplant foodie only she is living “across the ditch” in Aussie and I live here in lovely Aotearoa (literally translates to “Land of the long white cloud” – or more simply, New Zealand).

Anyway, I saw this recipe and just had to try it to see if these biscuits/cookies truly tasted like eggnog (and they really did have a mild noggy flavour). I will say though, that for more nogginess, I have doubled the vanilla and added nutmeg in the dough, then slightly increased the rum in the icing – Perfection!

Only a couple of shopping days left now and I think we are all set in my household. I hope you are all done with your Christmas shopping and looking forward to a great holiday and even better new year! Best wishes to you all.

Meri Kirihimete!
INGREDIENTS:

DOUGH

¾ Cup Butter
½ Cup Sugar
¼ Cup Packed Brown Sugar
1 Tsp Vanilla
1 Egg
¼ Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Nutmeg
2 Cups Flour, sifted

FILLING¼ Cup Butter
¾ Cup Sifted Icing Sugar (powdered/confectioners sugar)
*1½ Tbsp Rum
*Ground nutmeg

* Amounts vary to individual tastes.

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl, beat ¾ Cup butter (or margarine) until softened.

Add sugar and brown sugar and beat until creamy.

Now add egg, vanilla, salt, and beat well.

Slowly incorporate the flour and mix until well combined.

Wrap in cooking paper and/or cling film and chill for about 1 hour or until no longer soft.

Shape into 1 inch balls, then place them approximately 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet, or a baking sheet lined with baking paper or a silicone baking mat.

Press down centers with thumb (or, in my case I used the backside of a ½ Tsp measuring spoon.

Now, bake in a 180 C (350 F) oven for about 12 minutes, or until done.

Remove and cool completely before filling.

To make the filling, using a small bowl and fork, beat ¼ Cup butter until softened then slowly add powdered sugar and beat/whisk until fluffy.

Next, add the rum and mix well.

Spoon about ½ Tsp of filling into the centre of each cookie then sprinkle each with just a bit of nutmeg.

Chill the cookies until the filling is firm, then enjoy!

GINGERBREAD CHRISTMAS TREE COOKIES

GINGERBREAD TREES

It's been a while since I last added any content to my little bubble of cyberspace here, but I have not forgotten my poor little collection of goodies here. Although the photos might leave something to be desired these days, I am still creating in the kitchen every chance I get.

This latest creation came as a fun little experiment. A mate of mine sells Avon, and in the Christmas catalogue, there were kitchen goodies. Normally, I don't buy much Avon...I have been using the same cosmetics and skin care line since I was...well, it's been 22 years and I still don't have wrinkles yet! Anyway, in this catalogue there were star shaped cookie cutters...okay, nothing so grand about that...but wait, there's more. The sizes ranged from very small to almost dinner plate sized and the photo in the book was quite impressive. You basically make 2 sets of each size gingerbread cookie and stack them into a tree shape. The icing helps to hold the stack together, and I bought little shiny sugar ball decorations to emulate Christmas bobbles.



If you really want to try this though, bake the cookies the day before, and ice them the next day. Allow them to begin to set before stacking and you should get good results.

So...here is a basic gingerbread recipe with a solid drying icing to decorate with.



INGREDIENTS:

425 Gm Plain Flour
2 ½ Tsp Baking Powder
2 Tbsp Ground Ginger
1 ½ Tsp Ground Cinnamon
½ Tsp Ground Nutmeg
¼ Tsp Salt
125 Gm Unsalted Butter
155 Gm Light Brown Sugar
1 ½ Tsp Vanilla Essence/Extract
1 Large Egg
125 Gm Dark Molasses


DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 180° C / 350° F.

In a bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, spices and salt and set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy.

Add vanilla and eggs and mix well until smooth.

Blend in the molasses and mix well.

Slowly add the flour and spice mixture about ½ to 1 cup at a time until fully incorporated.

Press the dough into a mound and wrap in plastic wrap to store it in the fridge for 2 hours.

Remove from the fridge and roll out flat (about 3-4 mm thick) and cut shapes to bake about 8-10 minutes.

Cool cookies on a rack and ice when cool.

SIMPLE ICING FOR GINGERBREAD:
Beat 3 Egg Whites with 1 Tsp of Cream of Tartar and 500 Gms (1 Lb) of Icing Sugar / Confectioners Sugar until very stiff. OPTIONAL - Powdered food colouring is best, but liquid can also work.