Recipes

End of the Rainbow Cupcakes

By Cheri in Cakes, Sweets 13 Comments Tags: , , , , ,

End of the Rainbow Cupcakes

Last week was my birthday. The night before, as my hubby was bringing my sweet little boy to bed he turned and said to me, “Happy Birthday Cake Mommy!” I knew in that moment I wasn’t going to get away without making a cake. How could I after such sweetness?

Other years I’ve happily made a cake for myself because my guys birthdays are in the summer and waiting the whole year before making a cake seems entirely too long. But, now that my baby girl was born in the dead of winter she kind of solved that problem.

I don’t know about you but I get much more excited about cooking and baking for other people. Dreaming and scheming up something for myself just feels… strange. But, I didn’t want to let my little sonny down. He gets so excited about birthdays and I knew he was going to want to help.

Then I remembered that St. Patrick’s Day was coming up and although I normally don’t make anything special for that day, I thought it would be fun to bake some cupcakes with a little nod to the old tale of a pot o’ gold at then end of the rainbow. I remember being fascinated about that idea as a child and it always frustrated me that try as you might it never seemed possible to find the end of the rainbow. It seemed like the perfect whimsical treat to bake up with my son in celebration of not growing up too much.

I decided to start with a classic yellow cupcake, then topped it with a whipped vanilla frosting in all the colours of the rainbow, to mimic a pot o’ gold at the end of the rainbow (or underneath the rainbow in this case). I think it would be also super fun to fill it with some lemon curd to get the whole “hidden treasure” thing going in full effect. I only had liquid food colouring on hand so my colours are pretty pastel but I’m a pastel kind of girl anyways so I was fine with that. But, you could use gel colouring to get those true eye-popping colours of the rainbow.

So, lets get started.

To make the rainbow frosting you’ll want to divide your frosting into six bowls. Color each bowl a different colour of the rainbow. I used my favourite whipped vanilla frosting but I have to be honest, although I LOVE that frosting for layer cakes I’m not really a fan of it on cupcakes. I really like the piled high look on cupcakes but I found the frosting to be a little much in that manner. If you like buttercream frosting on cupcakes then this would probably suite you just fine, but I generally prefer a lighter frosting on my cupcakes. Next time I make these cupcakes I would probably go for a cream cheese frosting or do some sort of white chocolate buttercream. If you do want to use the buttercream I would double the whipped vanilla frosting recipe.

So, once your frosting is tinted as you like, spoon it into ziploc bags (I like to place the bags in a cup and drape it over the sides for easy filling). Seal the bags and cut off one corner on each one. Place three of the bags (with coinciding colours) into a large piping bag, putting them in the order they are in the rainbow. It’s important to try and make sure they are in the bag as evenly as possible or you’ll run out of one colour faster than the others. Repeat in a separate bag with the remaining three colours.

Snip off the ends of the two bags and put them together into one large piping bag fitted with a large coupler, again placing them in the colour of the rainbow. The larger the bag you can find the better. If it’s not large enough you may have to work with half of the amount of icing at a time.

Squeeze out any excess air before piping onto cupcakes. The first couple cupcakes may look a little funny until all of the colours start coming out at once. If you want you can do this on some parchment paper until you get the look you want. But I prefer to waste these types of things in my belly so we just mark those couple cupcakes as “taste tests”. I used a Ateco #827 tip to frost my cupcakes.

And, there you go, rainbow coloured frosting that the kiddies will go crazy for!

Classic Yellow Cupcakes

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups cake flour*
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 3/4 cups sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 1/4 cups milk

Sift together flours, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until combined. Beat in vanilla. Beat in the flour in three additions, alternating with milk, starting and ending with flour. Do not overbeat.

Scoop 1/4 cup batter into 24 regular sized muffin tins lined with cupcake liners. Bake at 350ºF for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing cupcakes from pan and cooling on wire racks. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

 *To make your own cake flour for this recipe, sift together 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour  with 1/4 cup cornstarch a couple of times to incorporate and fluff it up. This is equal to 2 cups of cake flour.

Makes: 24 cupcakes

Cupcakes recipe adapted Simple Bites, originally from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook.

Southwestern Breakfast Skillet

By Cheri in Breakfast, Main Dish, Mothers Day, Pork 4 Comments Tags: , , ,

Southwestern Breakfast Skillet

Going to a diner for breakfast has always been one of my favourite meals to eat out. Nothing like a plate full of grease to get you going in the morning! :) It’s actually been forever since I’ve gone out for breakfast. Somehow getting young kids ready and out the door with grumbling tummy’s just isn’t so appealing. I can’t even remember the last time we went out for breakfast but, I do remember that my favourite thing to order has always been breakfast skillets. And, if given the choice – southwestern please!

Since it’s been so long, I figured it was about time to recreate one at home. They’re so easy to make and since there’s no reason to get dressed before devouring it, you can enjoy your “diner” breakfast in your pj’s, bed head and all. Bonus!

The great thing about these kind of meals is they make quick dinners too. Breakfast for dinner is definitely one of our fallbacks when things are busy.

If you wanted to make this in true diner style you could top it with some homemade nacho cheese sauce. I think that would take it over the top in a major way.

Have a great weekend!

Southwestern Breakfast Skillet

If you don’t have an ovenproof skillet you can assemble to whole thing in a casserole dish before baking.

  • 6 eggs
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1/2 pound spicy italian sausage
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper chopped
  • 3-4 tablespoons oil
  • 4 cups frozen diced potatoes
  • salt & pepper, to taste
  • 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
  • salsa and sour cream, to serve

Whisk together eggs and milk, season with salt and pepper. Pour mixture into preheated 12 inch skillet, coated with 1 tablespoon oil. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until just set. Place eggs in a dish and cover with tinfoil. Set aside.

Wipe out skillet with paper towel, place back over heat. Add sausage, cook until starting to brown then add the onion and bell pepper. Once the sausage is cooked through and peppers are tender scoop into a plate and cover with tinfoil. Leave drippings in pan.

Add 3-4 tablespoons oil to skillet, turn up heat to medium-high and cook hash browns in skillet until brown and crisp. Season with salt and pepper. Once potatoes are ready remove from heat, layer sausage mixture and eggs over top then top with cheese. Bake at 400ºF for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and food is warmed through. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Serves: 4-6

Soft Honey-Wheat Sandwich Bread

By Cheri in Breads, Recipes 12 Comments Tags: , , , ,

Soft Honey-Wheat Sandwich Bread

Moving from Europe, where tasty, fresh artisan bread is readily available, I have to say, I miss it. I love baking bread, but the bread in Norway was so fresh and delicious I never had a reason to make my own. I’ve had such a hard time finding a sandwich bread that even compares to the ones that I took for granted there so, I knew it was time to start making my own once again.

I thought it might take a while to find a great recipe, but this was the first recipe I tried and it is perfect. Light and airy, thanks to the use of bread flour, and slightly healthier, thanks to the use of honey and whole wheat flour. There’s absolutely no sugar in this recipe – awesome! It’s not a european style bread at all but the slightly sweet and wholesome flavour makes it perfect for sandwiches. And, homemade beats store-bought hands down.

A Few Tips:

  1. The first time I made these I didn’t have any loaf pans so I just baked them freeform and they turned out fine. The shape isn’t perfect but the taste is just as good. :)
  2. These are made with a sponge but don’t let that scare you off. This is a simple bread recipe that’s easy to make. It has a couple more steps than usual but they only take a little extra time and that time is worth the results.

The other thing I love about this recipe is that it stays soft for a long time, longer then other recipes I’ve tried. I really can’t say enough good things about this bread. Now that the bread baking fire is renewed in me I know I’ll be trying my hand at many more recipes, but this will definitely be one that I return to when I want a soft and tender loaf.

Soft Honey-Wheat Sandwich Bread

You can make this bread by hand or using a stand mixer. It makes a lot of bread so I store them in the freezer. For tips on working with yeast doughs head here.

Sponge
  • 3 cups warm water
  • 2 (.25 oz) packages active dry yeast
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 5 cups bread flour
Bread
  • 3 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 3+ cups whole wheat flour
After it’s baked
  • 1 tablespoons butter, melted

For the sponge: Mix together warm water, yeast, and honey. stir in the white bread flour until evenly combined. Let sit for 30 minutes, until risen and bubbly.

To make bread: Mix the melted butter, remaining honey, and salt into the sponge. Stir in 2 cups of whole wheat flour. Knead in enough flour until the dough is smooth and tacky but not overly sticky. Spray a large bowl with cooking spray, place the dough in the bowl and spray the top of the dough with cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until double (about 1 hour).

Once risen, punch down the dough and divide it into 3 equal loaves. Place each into a greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pan, and allow to rise until the dough has topped the pans by one inch (about an hour).

Bake at 350º F for 25 minutes or until lightly browned and the bread sounds hollow when tapped. Brush the tops of the loaves with 1 tablespoons melted butter to prevent the crust from getting hard. Let cool 10 minutes before removing from pan. Let cool completely before storing in plastic bags.

Makes: 3 loaves

Adapted from allrecipes.com.

Vanilla Bean Rice Pudding

By Cheri in Creamy, Sweets 9 Comments Tags: , , , ,

Vanilla Bean Rice Pudding

I know. I know. Rice pudding? It’s not really something that gets people clambering up walls and banging on doors. When I was growing up rice pudding was our go-to when we had leftover rice hanging around. We’d heat it up with some sugar, milk and raisins mixed in. I always looked forward to it. I realize that, that rice pudding, although good, is nothing to write home about. Let me reassure you, this is not that rice pudding – this is post-worthy rice pudding. If rice pudding could be considered gourmet, this would be it.

I always love little flecks of vanilla seeds in white desserts and they make this pudding look like something special (or like dirt if you’re unfamiliar with vanilla beans). Since vanilla beans are so expensive I like to use them in recipes where they really shine. And, that’s just what they do in this recipe. The cream and vanilla give this such a creamy-dreamy-vanilla flavour and consistency. I love it warm but you can also serve it cold with a little bit of extra milk mixed in to get the consistency you like. It’s hard to describe just how delicious and comforting rice pudding can be, I guess you’ll just have to try it out for yourself to know what I’m talking about. ;)

P.S. If you don’t access to vanilla beans you can substitute it with 1-2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.

Vanilla Bean Rice Pudding

1 cup arborio rice (or other short grain rice)
3 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split open and seeded
1/2 cup sugar

Place rice in a medium-sized saucepan, cover with cold water. Bring just to a boil then strain in a fine mesh sieve, rinsing with cold water (this is to remove some of the starch). Place drained rice back in the saucepan along with milk, cream, vanilla bean and seeds. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in sugar and simmer an additional 5 minutes or until rice is cooked and mixture is thick and creamy (it will thicken more as it cools). Let cool slightly and serve warm or refrigerate and serve cold with a bit of milk stirred in to loosen the consistency.

Serves: 6

Adapted from Tartelette.

Loaded “Baked Potato” Soup

By Cheri in GF Mains, Gluten Free, Lunch, Main Dish, Soup 8 Comments Tags: , , , , , ,

Loaded “Baked Potato” Soup

It’s still winter. Despite a few days of teasing here and there the cold weather is prominent and spring is still a month away. For my family this means soup – it’s kind of a winter staple around here.

Now that we’ve moved to New York my hubby’s office is only a five minute walk away which means he comes home for lunch almost every day. And, I’m loving it. We generally like to keep things pretty simple but soup and grilled cheese are pretty much a must. The thing I love about soup is that it keeps on giving – you make the recipe once and you can have it for lunch again later in the week.

James isn’t a big fan of potatoes, unless they’re in the form of french fries or mashed potatoes (drenched in gravy, of course), so I don’t make baked potatoes very much at all. Baked potatoes are one of my favourite ways to eat potatoes but for the potato-averted they seem to be a bit of a nightmare since they’re so full of… potato. Because of this, I was pleasantly surprised when James loved this soup. I think the number one reason is because the soup is smooth and silky – no bland chunks of potato to be found. Add some crumbled bacon, cheddar cheese and chives and you have a baked-potato-lovers dream that’s fit for non-potato-lovers too.

Loaded “Baked Potato” Soup

  • 4 strips bacon, diced
  • 1.5 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts only
  • 1.5 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 5 cups chicken stock
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1 cup full-fat sour cream
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • grated cheddar cheese and chopped chives, to serve

In a large saucepan cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon to paper towels to drain. Set aside for later.

Cook leeks in a couple tablespoons of the bacon grease until soft. Add potatoes, stock and thyme. Bring to a simmer, cover loosely and simmer 15-20 minutes or until potatoes mash easily with a fork. Remove the sprigs of thyme and puree the soup with a handheld blender, food processor or blender. Strain through fine mesh sieve to ensure smoothness, if desired. Pour back into pot, add sour cream and season with salt and pepper. Heat over medium heat until warm; do not boil.

Ladle into bowls and serve topped with cooked bacon, cheddar cheese and chives.

Makes: 6 servings

Adapted from Fresh with Anna Olson.

Homemade: Butter

By Cheri in Condiments, Homemade, How-to's 9 Comments Tags: , ,

Homemade: Butter

OK. I can’t believe it took me this long to make butter. I knew that it was easy to make, but I think somehow in the recesses of my brain it just seemed like it had to be more difficult than it is. Now that I’ve made it, I’m wondering, why is this not a common thing? Why aren’t we all making our own butter? We make whipped cream all the time and butter is essentially over-whipped whipped cream. After you beat the cream for 10 minutes or so it separates into butter and buttermilk (not the same buttermilk that you buy from the store because this is not fermented). That’s it. Now you have butter. Does it get any simpler then that?

Now, this doesn’t mean I’m going to be making my own butter all the time. I’m still planning on using the sticks for baking and such because this is one instance where homemade is not actually cheaper. For me to buy 2 sticks of butter (1 cup) is cheaper than buying a pint of heavy cream (which makes 1 cup of butter), plus the bars are awfully handy for measuring. But, for those times when you’re wanting to use butter as a spread, I definitely think it’s worth it to make your own. The fresh taste and satisfaction of making your own butter just can’t be beat. Add herbs, spices, or citrus zest to jazz it up and give it some diversity. Just think what a star you’ll be when you whip some up for brunch to serve with scones or french toast.

Please, please do yourself a favour and don’t wait as long as I did, to make your own butter. You will not be disappointed.

Homemade Butter

  • 1 pint heavy cream (2 cups)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste (optional)

Beat cream in a stand mixer* with the whisk attachment until solids form (butter) and separate from the liquid (buttermilk). Pour into a fine mesh sieve to strain buttermilk. Rinse with cold water. Press with a spatula (or squeeze with hands) to make it into a cohesive mass and to remove excess water. Mix in salt, if desired.

*According to other sources this can also be made in a food processor or blender but it was too thick for my cheap blender so I switched to the mixer. Also you could use hand beaters.

Makes approximately: 1 cup butter

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