Cakes

Raspberry Truffle Cupcakes

By in Cakes, Chocolate 8 Comments Tags: , , , , ,

raspberry truffle cupcakes

We had a late Easter celebration a couple weeks ago. I decided to stray away from the more traditional pies and tarts and make cupcakes instead. Partly because they transport so well, and we were driving 2.5 hours to get to my parents, but mostly because I was in the mood to make cupcakes! And when the mood strikes for cupcakes, I listen.

When it comes to cupcakes, chocolate is where it’s at. But since this was an Easter celebration I wanted something a bit more springlike than just plain chocolate. So, I took my favourite triple chocolate cupcakes and adapted them to be chocolate raspberry. Seriously. Yum. I’m not exaggerating when I say that everyone who tasted them immediately fell in love. And really, how could they not? A fluffy, not too sweet, chocolate cupcake gets stuffed with rich raspberry ganache and topped with a whipped raspberry frosting. Divine!

raspberry truffle cupcakes

I had one last jar of homemade seedless raspberry jam from our raspberry haul last summer and I really think that made a big difference in the flavour. If you don’t have homemade, go with the best quality you can, because you want maximum flavour not just sweetness. I made eight grain-free cupcakes alongside the regular ones, and the filling and frosting were enough for those as well, so you may have some leftover or you can just pile on extra frosting and drizzle the tops with extra ganache. I don’t think you’d here any complaints about that!

I had a heck of a time making the frosting. I used my mom’s old handheld mixer that she got as a wedding gift 30+ years ago. Ha ha. It was a gong show and slightly terrifying. The beaters would randomly come flying off or it would shut off suddenly because the cord fell off. It took both me and my husband to keep that thing together and pieces were still flying off. So the frosting was probably not as smooth and fluffy as it would normally be, but we had a good laugh. :) And, it was worth all the flying pieces in the world because that frosting, oh that frosting, it was absolutely scrumptious. And it ended up being everyone’s favourite part. When frosting beats ganache, you know it’s good!

raspberry truffle cupcakes

Raspberry Truffle Cupcakes

Chocolate Sour Cream Cupcakes
  • 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
  • 1/2 cup boiling water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk*
  • 2 large eggs

Sift flour, sugars, baking soda and salt through a fine-mesh sieve. Set aside.

Place chocolate, butter and cocoa into a large bowl. Pour boiling water over. Let sit for 2 minutes. Stir until smooth. Whisk in vanilla, sour cream, buttermilk and eggs until well combined. Add dry ingredients, whisking until smooth.

Spoon 1/4 cup batter into regular-sized muffin tins prepared with cupcake liners (you will need 15-18). Bake at 350ºF for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let cool 5 minutes before removing to cool on a wire rack. Cool completely before frosting.

*To make a quick sub for buttermilk add 1/2 tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice to a 1/2 cup measuring cup. Fill the rest of the way with milk. Let sit for 5 minutes. Use as directed in recipe.

Raspberry Ganache
  • 5 oz. semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream

Put the chocolate and jam in a small bowl. Bring cream to a boil and pour over the chocolate and jam. Let stand 3 minutes. Stir until smooth. Allow to cool to room temperature before using. If making ahead store, covered, in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave until spoonable.

Whipped Raspberry Frosting

We love the frosting just the way it is, but it will be hard to pipe because it’s on the sticky side. Feel free to add more icing sugar to make it more pipe-able, just keep in mind that the more sugar you add the sweeter it will be and less raspberry punch you’ll get. Kept as is, you can just spread it on with an offset spatular or with the back of a spoon or knife.

  • 1 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
  • 2 cups icing (confectioners) sugar
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In a stand mixer, beat butter until pale and creamy. Add remaining ingredients and beat until fluffy and creamy.

Assembly
  • fresh raspberries, for garnish

Cut out a small cone in the centre of each cupcake. Save scraps for another use, or discard. Spoon ganache into each cupcake and spread a small amount over the top to smooth it out (see here for a visual). Refrigerate to set, if needed. Spread on frosting in desired fashion. Top with raspberries just before serving. Store, covered, in the fridge.

Makes: 15-18 cupcakes.

Cupcake recipe adapted from My Recipes. Filling and Frosting adapted from Annie’s Eats, originally from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody.

Pumpkin Spice Roll

By in Cakes, Recipes, Sweets, Thanksgiving 11 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Pumpkin Spice Roll

I was planning on sharing a Thanksgiving side dish with you today, but it was a royal flop so I decided to make something pumpkin instead. Pumpkin heals all wounds. And, let”s face it, the whole (north american) world, including myself, is pretty much obsessed with pumpkin right now. And, I was in need of a guaranteed win.

I”ve made this Pumpkin Spice Roll quite a few times over the years and it”s always a winner no matter where I serve it. It”s so extremely easy to make and yet looks so impressive. I made it in our first years of marriage, when I was just learning to cook, and it turned out a great success, so you know it”s easy. ;)

A soft pumpkin spice cake coated in a layer of walnuts, with a creamy yet light, cream cheese filling – it”s pretty much an inside out spice cake rolled up into one pretty presentation. It would be perfect for Thanksgiving but you can save it for any special day, like maybe the first snow fall? Hopefully your snow holds off a little longer than ours. :)

Pumpkin Spice Roll

You can sub 1.5 teaspoons pumpkin spice for the combination of spices in the recipe, if you prefer.

  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

  • 3 eggs

  • 1 cup sugar

  • 3/4 cup pumpkin puree

  • 1 cup chopped walnuts

  • 3/4 cup icing (confectioners) sugar, divided

  • 1/2 cup (4 oz.) cream cheese, softened

  • 3/4 cup cold whipping cream

  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Grease a 15x10x1 inch pan, line it with waxed or parchment paper. Grease and flour the paper as well. Whisk together the flour, spices, baking powder and salt. Set aside.Whisk together eggs and sugar until pale and thick. Whisk in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture just until blended. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle walnuts over evenly. Bake at 375°F for for 15 minutes, or until the top of the cake springs back when touched.

While cake bakes, sprinkle a clean kitchen towel with 1/4 cup icing sugar. As soon as cake comes out of the oven, invert onto prepared towel, remove the pan and gently peel of the paper. Starting at a short side, gently roll up the cake and towel together to form a log. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before adding the filling.

To make the filling, beat together 1/2 cup icing sugar and cream cheese until smooth with an electric beater. Gently mix in the cream and vanilla, scraping up any cream cheese stuck to the bottom of the bowl (mixture will be lumpy). Beat on medium-high speed until mixture is smooth and stiff peaks form when beaters are lifted.

Gently unroll cake, spread filling evenly over entire cake, leaving a 1 inch gap on both short ends (so filling won”t squeeze out as you roll it back up. Re-roll the cake, firmly but gently. Wrap cake in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before slicing and serving. To serve, dust with additional icing sugar if desired.

Makes: 10 servings

Adapted from Kraft.

Blueberry Cheesecake Coffee Cake

By in Breakfast, Cakes, Sweets 5 Comments Tags: , , , ,

blueberry cream cheese coffee cake

The air is getting cooler. We’re waking up to the furnace coming on in the mornings. The kids are getting snuggled up in their pj’s before bedtime, instead of sleeping in their undies and diapers with the windows wide open. We’re donning sweaters in the cool of the morning and at the setting of the sun. But, I still refuse to say the f word (starts with “f”, ends with “all”). It’s still summer and I’m going to enjoy every last ounce of it while I can. So, no mentioning the f word around here, ok? I’ve seen it thrown around too much lately. Let’s enjoy the season that’s here, while it’s still here. Even if it does lack the intense heat and crazy awesome thunder storms.

One thing I appreciate about a bit of cooler summer weather is that I don’t have to dread turning my oven on. Baking with summer berries is one of the best things ever! And this blueberry cheesecake coffee cake is about as good as it gets. Think dense, lightly sweet, coffee cake topped with a thin layer of rich cheesecake, fresh blueberries and crisp streusel topping. I don’t really think it needs much of a description, besides yum! We’ve been enjoying our’s with iced coffee and I’ve saved a few slices in the freezer just in case another heat wave decides to hit and I’m avoiding the oven again. But, even if that never happens it will most definitely not be going to waste!

Blueberry Cheesecake Coffee Cake

Coffee Cake
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2.5 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup milk
Cheesecake Topping
  • 8 oz. (250g) cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 cups blueberries
Streusel Topping
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

For the Coffee Cake: Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour to butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with milk, starting and ending with flour. Mix just until incorporated. Spread evenly into a greased 9 inch cake pan (a springform pan works best for easy removal).

For the  Cheesecake Topping: Beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually beat in sugar until incorporated. Add vanilla and egg. Beat just until blended. Spread on top of coffee cake layer. Sprinkle with blueberries.

For the Streusel Topping: Mix together sugar, flour and cinnamon. Using your hands, incorporate the butter until the mixture clumps together easily (the butter should be mixed in with no visible lumps). Sprinkle on top of blueberries.

Bake at 350ºF for 45-55 min. or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before serving.

Adapted from Sugar.

Dino Party: Red Dino Cake

By in Cakes, How-to's 4 Comments Tags: , , , , , , ,

Dino Party: Red Dino Cake

This post is part of a series for a Dino themed birthday party.  To view the rest of the series head on over to the Dino Birthday Party post.

This was the most important aspect of the party to me. If I got nothing else done I knew I just had to make this dinosaur cake because it was what Max was the most excited about. Anytime anyone would ask him about his birthday his first response was to tell them about his “red dinosaur cake”!

He knew from the very beginning that he wanted a red dinosaur cake. So one day, we went online to Cake Central to look for some inspiration. He would say, “no, don”t like it” to every one, until he saw this one. The moment he saw it, it was decided – it had to be that cake. I did my best to recreate it and he would come over to check up on me and make sure I was making it “zactly the same” (so cute!). Of course you can never make something exactly the same, nor would I want to. That”s the beauty of making it your own.

Here”s how I made mine.

Baking

I split the batter between all of the pans – 2 cups for each half of the ball pan, the remainder in the 9×13 pan. Bake at 350ºF until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire wracks to cool completely. Wrap one half of the ball cake in plastic wrap and freeze.

Preparing

Prepare a double batch of Whipped Vanilla Frosting; tint green.

Color fondant to desired colours by kneading gel colourings into the prepared fondant. I made my own using this recipe, but you could also buy it pre-made.

Take the frozen half-ball cake and gently carve it into a dino head shape by taking it in slightly at the top and sides to form a nose. Working with a frozen cake helps it to not fall apart while you carve it. Once you get the look you want, let it thaw.

Cut two cardboard cutouts to match the bottom of the half-ball cakes; wrap them in plastic wrap. Use a small bit of frosting to stick the cake to the appropriate board. This will help later when you want to cut the cake into servings. It also makes transferring the cakes much easier.

Frosting

Lightly coat the half-ball cakes in Whipped Vanilla Frosting. Roll out the desired colour of fondant and drape over. Smooth and trim to fit the cake perfectly.

Frost the 9×13 pan with Whipped Vanilla Frosting. Place the half-ball cakes on top in desired placement. If at any time the frosting seems to be getting too soft or starts to melt, refrigerate before continuing.

Decorating the Dinosaur

I used this wilton kit to help me with the decorating

  • I flattened two white pieces of oval fondant for the eyes. Shaped and flattened some red fondant to cover part of the eyes, for the eyelids. Shaped and flattened two half circles out of black fondant for the pupils.

  • I rolled one large piece of fondant to make the neck and connect the back to the head

  • I rolled another larger piece of fondant, rolling it thinner on one end, to make the tail. I attached it to the end of the dinosaur and curled it to fit on the base cake.

  • I rolled out some blue fondant and cut out triangles to make the spikes on his back. I drug lines through, to add dimension. I made them differing sizes and shapes. They stuck on easy on their own but you could also use a bit of water, if needed.

  • I put lines along the nose to look like it”s crinkling

  • I made indents with a ball tool to look like nostrils

  • I rolled out the blue fondant and cut out circles to add to the body and head

Decorating the Base

  • I rolled thin strings of brown fondant and placed them in a vine-like fashion around the cake.

  • I rolled out green fondant and cut out leaf-like shapes in differing sizes and shapes. I drug lines to make the veins and placed them around the vines and the dinosaur.

  • I rolled small thin pieces of fondant into grass-like shapes and used them to fill up any empty spaces.

And, that”s it. I didn”t use many special tools, I personally like to form most of it myself with my own hands just using a paring knife to cut unique shapes. Hopefully my description is actually helpful and not confusing. I may not be the best instructor via writing, but hopefully you get the gist. :)

 

End of the Rainbow Cupcakes

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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.

Triple Chocolate Cupcakes

By in Cakes, Chocolate, Sweets, Valentine's 22 Comments Tags: , , , , , ,

triple chocolate cupcakes

I couldn’t pass up the chance to make a chocolately, decadent treat in honor of Valentine’s Day. They are pretty much best buds after all. And, can you believe there’s not a single cupcake recipe on this blog? I couldn’t. I even had to double check my archives to make sure one didn’t slip in there somewhere. But, there wasn’t a single one to be found. Craziness, I tell you. So I’m here today to share my inaugural cupcake recipe with you and what better way to start it off then with something über chocolatey.

I think cupcakes are a great project for beginning bakers. They’re less intimidating than layered cakes and much easier to decorate. And besides, they’re just plain cute.

These cupcakes start off with a moist chocolate cupcake that’s both light in flavour and texture. I prefer my cupcakes not to be too sweet because they’re going to be topped with all sorts of sugary goodness. I decided to go a bit chocolate crazy this time around. There are three layers of ganache – in the centre of the cupcakes, directly on top of the cupcakes and drizzled on the frosting. A rich chocolate frosting swirls on the top with a sprinkling of chopped chocolate. A chocolate lovers dream for sure.

The best part about these is, once they’ve been sitting in the fridge chilling out, they become even more rich and the texture of the frosting becomes almost truffle like. One cupcake is definitely enough to get your chocolate fix. At first I was worried the frosting might be too sweet but paired with this cupcake and the silky ganache, it’s pure magic.

Triple Chocolate Cupcakes

The frosting sets up very quickly so you’ll want to use it right away. Also, it’s sets up nice and firm so it’s easy to cover the cupcakes loosely with plastic wrap, once they’ve set up, without ruining the piping job.

Chocolate Sour Cream Cupcakes
  • 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
  • 1/2 cup boiling water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 2 large eggs

Sift flour, sugars, baking soda and salt through a fine-mesh sieve. Set aside.

Place chocolate, butter and cocoa into a large bowl. Pour boiling water over. Let sit for 2 minutes. Stir until smooth. Whisk in vanilla, sour cream, buttermilk and eggs until well combined. Add dry ingredients, whisking until smooth.

Spoon 1/4 cup batter into regular-sized muffin tins prepared with cupcake liners (about 15). Bake at 350ºF for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let cool 5 minutes before removing to cool on a wire rack. Cool completely before frosting.

Ganache
  • 4 oz semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup whipping cream, steaming hot

Place chocolate in a bowl. Pour cream over chocolate and let sit for 2 minutes. Stir until smooth. Let cool to room temperature.

Chocolate Frosting
  • 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1/3 cup whipping cream
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 pound confectioners sugar

Place butter, cream and salt in the bowl of a mixer. Sift cocoa through a fine-mesh sieve set over the mixing bowl. Mix on medium-speed until creamy. Add vanilla. Sift confectioners sugar into mixing bowl through a fine-mesh sieve. Beat on low to combine; turn speed to medium and beat for 6 minutes until creamy and fluffy. Icing will be quite stiff.

Assembly
  • 1 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

Cut out a small cone in the centre of each cupcake. Discard scraps. Spoon ganache into each cupcake and spread a small amount over the top to smooth it out. Pipe on frosting in desired fashion (I used an Ateco 808 tip). Drizzle with remaining ganache, heating up if necessary. Garnish with chopped chocolate.

Makes: 15 + cupcakes

Cupcake recipe adapted from My Recipes. Frosting adapted from My Recipes.

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