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Fresh Strawberry Cake with Vanilla Buttercream

Most of you aren't aware of how awesome of a family I have. Not only is my family the most awesome family in the history of mankind, it's also one of the most ridiculous families in the world (I mean that out of love). Not only am I lucky enough to have three outrageous brothers and two sophisticated sisters, but I'm also fortunate to have a nephew and two nieces. 

I know what you're thinking. Ohhh....my....cuteesssssieeessssss!From left to right: Willem, 5; Audrey, 5 months; Ellie, 2 years.

Last week, we had Willem's big FIVE birthday, and after weeks of deciding and delegation, he had made up his mind about what kind of cake I was making for his birthday:

Strawberry cake.

BLUE vanilla icing.

Sprinkles. A LOT of sprinkles.

When you're five, you don't really think about the repercussions of blue frosting, or millions of sprinkles. You think about blue. You think about sprinkles. You think about awesomeness.

I was surprised after making this cake of how refreshing it was, and how much adults enjoyed it. I made an effort to compromise my nephew's needs with the other 30 peoples needs, starting with the sweetness and ending with the avoidable mess that could come of this cake. After all was said and done, it seemed like everyone was really satisfied with the outcome. 

Strawberry Cake with Vanilla Buttercream 

Recipe:

Preheat 350

For strawberry puree:

24 oz very ripe strawberries

1-2 tsp sugar (optional)

For cake:

1/4-1/2 C milk, room temperature

6 large egg whites, room temperature

2 tsp vanilla

2 1/4 C cake flour

1 3/4 C sugar

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

12 tbsp butter, room temperature

Vanilla Buttercream:

1 C unsalted butter, room temperature

3-4 C confectioners sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp vanilla (I like a little extra)

up to 4 tbsp heavy cream

For strawberry puree, blend the strawberries until smooth. If you want a little extra sugar, feel free to add it (that's a little too sweet for my tastebuds). Preserve 3/4 C puree for the cake and use leftovers for a filling or frosting. Also, I highly recommend throwing it on ice cream as well (hehe).

In a small bowl, combine puree, milk, egg, vanilla, and mix with a fork until well blended. In a bowl of stand mixer, add sifted flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt to combine. Continue beating at a slow speed and add butter. Mix until combined and resembling moist crumbs.

Add wet ingredients and beat at a medium speed for about a minute or until full and evenly combined. Stop mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl and hand beat for 30 or more seconds. If the batter is not pink enough for you, add a few drops of red food coloring. 

Oil two round pans and divide evenly into each pan. Bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes clean. 

Let this cake cool ENTIRELY before frosting. It has a dense texture due to the cake flour and strawberries. Meanwhile, you can start the buttercream. 

Start by beating the butter in the mixer until it is completely fluffy and whipped. Add salt. Note: I like to use the paddle to do the hard work of softening the butter, then use the whisk attachment to finish it. From here, alternate adding heavy cream then sugar. By the end, this should be a full-bodied frosting. Add vanilla and refrigerate if necessary. 

As I said before, I compromised with my nephew for his cake. I was not doing a blue cake. And I was not pouring a million sprinkles on it. But I did give him this:

it's not perfect. It's not Picasso. But it made my little munster happy, and that's what matters. Also, not a single person reported any new cavities that day. Enjoy, and happy birthday Willem!

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Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

There comes a time in every child's life where the only thing that really makes anything happen is cookies. Cookies are one of the many secrets to a child's soul, along with Skittles and water guns. However, today, Skittles and water guns hold no value. Today, cookies will prevail.

I feel fortunate in the sense that I have one of the largest groups of taste-testers in Arizona, and the bright side? Two hundred and fifty of them are between the ages of 12 and 18. Working at a high school has some surprising perks, and having an environmental predisposition is a very valuable asset. The kids are usually pretty happy with the opportunity of tasting the stuff that I bake for their events, like dances or karaoke nights (yes, we have karaoke at our school). 

After distribution of these fantastic and BASIC cupcakes, I realized I had to share the recipe. Everyone needs easy things in their lives. The easier, the better. If you have kids, school, 4 jobs, or anything of that nature, you deserve some easy tasks in your life. Not only that, but you deserve to revisit your cookie-filled childhood and devour some delicious treats. There's no shame in that. Not one bit. 

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes:

Recipe:

Preheat 350.

1 1/2 C all purpose flour

1/2 C unsweetened cocoa

1 1/4 C sugar

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

1/2 C vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 C milk

3/4 C water

24 Oreos, plus a little extra for crumbs

Frosting:

1 C shortening

1 lb powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

3-6 tbsp milk

2 or more tsp Oreo crumbs

Mix the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl using a whisk. Add eggs, oil, vanilla, and milk and mix well until thoroughly combined. Add the water and mix. 

In each baking cup, add one tsp of crumbled cookies. The method I chose was simple, and similar to the "crush the apples" method in the Maple Butter Apple Bliss recipe:

Put half of the Oreos into a LARGE plastic Ziploc bag. Seal, and begin rolling, beating, hitting, screaming, etc. whatever, until the cookies are at a desired texture. It sounds scary, but I find it to be very calming and therapeutic after a long days work. This is kind of what you're going for:

Next, you'll want to fill the cupcake liners with the single teaspoon (trust me, that's plenty):

Fill each liner with batter about 3/4 and bake for 16-18 minutes.

For the frosting:

Beat the shortening in a mixer until smooth (hint: pretend it's butter for a buttercream). Add vanilla and mix until combined. Add the powdered sugar in three additions, and then 1-2 tbsp of milk at a time. When the consistency is ideal, add cookie crumbs. Hint: the cookie crumbs need to be crumbs, not chunks. Make sure that there are no pieces big enough to clog the piping bag or frosting tip. 

When the cupcakes are done, set them on a cooling rack, clean up, and eat a cookie. When the cake is cool, frost. The ending result should be something like:

So there! Have at it, you childish, anxious, teen dream baker, you! You got this! Go listen to some Backstreet Boys and do the Macarena! Do what you want, you rebellious, spontaneous, punk! And while you're doing what you want, when you want to, enjoy some cookies and cream cupcakes. And do not be afraid to eat just the frosting. I salute you, you maniac! Enjoy!

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Mocha Cupcakes with Baileys Irish Cream Frosting

After reading the title of this post, I expect you to be doing nothing less than wagging your nonexistent tail anxiously while waiting for me to spit it out. People, if you are over the age on 21 in the states, and over 18 in UK, I NEED you to do this. 

There's something charming about Bailey's that makes you never able to complain when it's a part of your day. Honestly, when was the last time someone offered you Bailey's and you thought, "No, I'm just not feeling it."

Truth be told, I would probably recommend this cupcake for more of a Winter/Fall treat, but as stated before, no one could possibly complain about them in the Spring. This cupcake is NOT as heavy as it sounds. The chocolate and coffee in the cake are mild, and I did that purposely as to avoid anything too rich; I saved that for the frosting. The frosting IS NOT NON-ALCOHOLIC, so please, if you feed these to your children, do not blame me for your child's behavior proceeding the event.

I think this recipe should be in everyone's recipe book. Why? Because it's another AWESOME staple. At some point, for no reason, you have bought a bottle of Irish Cream, and yet, 18 months later, you STILL don't know what to do with it except put it in your coffee every Monday morning. This is an EASY cupcake with an impressive impression. TAKE THE RECIPE.

Mocha Cupcakes with Bailey's Irish Cream Frosting:

Recipe:

Preheat 350.

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 C buttermilk

3 heaping tbsp cocoa

1 stick butter

1/2 C coffee

1 C sugar

1 C flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

Bailey's Irish Cream Frosting:

1 stick butter

4 C confectioner's sugar

1/4 C Bailey's

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp milk

2 tbsp coffee

In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in room-temperature buttermilk. In a saucepan, melt butter and cocoa together at a low temperature. When smooth, add coffee

 In a separate bowl, combine salt, flour, and sugar. 

Combine cocoa mixture and egg and mix at a low speed.

Add buttermilk mixture and vanilla and beat until smooth. Bake for 20 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. 

For the frosting, make sure the butter is room temperature. Beat butter until whipped, then add Baileys, vanilla, milk, and coffee. Mix together and start adding sugar. 

Essentially, after icing and tasting, you should be in seventh heaven. Enjoy the deliciousness. And if you're feeling creative, don't be afraid to use a different liquor in place of the Baileys. Enjoy!

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Coconut Vanilla with Fresh Strawberry Buttercream

I'd like to take this opportunity to remind all of my readers that I DID promise I wouldn't do almond this time, and look at who kept her promise?! Now that we have discussed that as briefly as possible, I want to talk to you about Easter. Easter means a lot to many of my friends and family, so I like to participate in all fun activities that surround Easter. Most people would say I celebrate the more commercial side of Easter, and they'd probably be right. However, my favorite part of Easter is the reminder that always comes to mind; it's SPRING TIME! 

Spring time is my favorite time of year. I live in Arizona, and the months March to early May are my happiest. Spring time also means the weather gets warmer and people start drinking iced tea and getting sunburned (which is mildly comical). Spring time is also a superb time to start breaking out refreshing cupcakes, rather than heavy cupcakes, like I would usually aim for in winter. 

When you think coconut, you probably think of a pina-colada, or even a nice vacation in the Bahamas. Don't worry, you'll get all that some day, but today, it's a coconut cupcake. This recipe is NOT a REALLY coconut-ty cupcake. More so, it's a vanilla cupcake with coconut notes, and I found that to be just fine. The strawberry buttercream is a perfect balance. It was not as delicate as I predicted, and to top it off, it was not that gross strawberry frosting you buy at the store; this is the good stuff. So, with that, I give you cupcakes:

Coconut Vanilla Cupcakes:

Recipe:

Preheat the oven to 350.

1 3/4 C all purpose flour

1 C sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 C coconut milk

1/2 C canola or vegetable oil

2 tbsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp white or apple cider vinegar

1/2 C coconut flakes (optional)

Frosting:

1/2 C whole strawberries, frozen and thawed or fresh

1 C (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

Pinch of salt

3 1/2 C confectioners' sugar, sifted

1/2 tsp vanilla (optional)

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together coconut milk, oil, vanilla, and vinegar. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and whisk until just combined. Do not over mix. Add coconut flakes if you want to use them. The batter will have an oily, cookie dough appearance. Don't worry, you did it right.

Fill the cupcake liners about two-thirds full and bake15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes clean when testing. 

For the frosting, place the strawberries in the bowl of a small food processor; process until pureed. Use the paddle attachment to then beat butter in an electric mixer. Next, switch the paddle for the whisk attachment and add strawberry. This is tricky, because you do NOT want the butter to curdle. That'd be bad. So what you want to do is add the strawberry puree, mix the butter and strawberry just enough to where is looks evenly mixed, and then start pouring in sugar. I did this all with the mixer on very low, except when I whipped the butter alone. This isn't a hard buttercream, but it's opposite of everything I've ever been taught, which we will talk about another time. When the buttercream looks right (should be very thick), add vanilla, give it one last stir, and then refrigerate in a pastry bag until cupcakes are done. 

When the cupcakes are done and cooled, ice them. Garnish with sprinkles, toasted coconut, or strawberry. 

I hope this recipe serves you well and gives you the same wonderful feeling of spring that it gave me. And if you celebrate Easter, I wish you a happy Sunday! If you don't, enjoy the mess! 

[sugaronthecounter]

Peanut Butter Protein Bars

I know that everyone is going through a similar thought as me right now: WHAT DO YOU MEAN, IT'S NOT A CUPCAKE??!!!?!??! 

Breathe, folks. Baking is more than a dollop of sugar frosting on top of cake; I believe that the goal of baking should be to know HOW to bake, HOW to cook, and how to understand and apply any general knowledge about the art of it all.

Now that we have recovered your sanity and faith in me that I WILL, in fact, lead you in the right direction, let's talk about protein. Typically, when you're running low on energy, running late for work, or needing to pump up, you turn to the protein bars that are sold next to the crap food at the grocery store. Here's a quick question: do YOU know what is in them? Because I CERTAINLY do not. Here's my philosophy in life: if it tastes like candy, looks foreign, and is sold next to the rest of the junk food in the store, it's probably NOT that great for you. 

I'm about to explain a new lifesaving product to you, and you will be forever happy that you read this post. The shelf-life of these bars is pretty long (about four days) and they probably won't even make it that long because you've eaten them all. Preparation takes about 20 minutes, and is worth every second. 

Peanut Butter Protein Bars

Recipe:

1/3 C honey

1/3 C dark brown sugar

1 C creamy peanut butter

1/2 C crunchy peanut butter

1 tsp cinnamon 

5 C bran flakes, such as Raisin Bran

1/3 C ground flaxseeds

1 C. chopped craisins

1/3 C oats

1/2 C walnuts, pecans and/or almonds

Start out by putting the honey into a large pot on medium heat. OVERESTIMATE how much room you will need. Add sugar and stir until melted and mixture begins to bubble. Add cinnamon and stir until dissolved. Stir peanut butter into the honey mixture untl smooth. Remove from heat and stir in bran flakes, flax, craisins, nuts, etc. Press firmly into an 8x8 pan (I used a flat spatula to press the mix). Refrigerate for 2-4 hours. Cut into squares and EAT UP!

I want to remind you not to fear creativity in this process. Remember your knowledge and use your NOGGIN! You can add practically anything to this recipe (I certainly did). The peanut butter will overpower almost anything, so there's even room for the not-so-sweet stuff, like spinach, or protein powder. The idea behind this recipe is to create a base so you can add to it and continue playing with the ingredients. You WANT to know what's in your food, and you WANT it to taste GREAT. This is your opportunity! Enjoy!

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