frosting

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.

Dino Party: Red Dino Cake

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

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. :)

 

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.

Strawberry & Lime Layer Cake

By in Cakes, Easter, Sweets 16 Comments Tags: , , , , , ,

strawberry lime cake

I can’t believe it’s already been a year since I first posted about our brand new baby girl. Ahhhh! *tears* She’s growing up too fast! I love the baby stage. Just look at those cute baby cheeks (below) and tell me you don’t want to squish them all day long. I know there’s a lot of wonderful times ahead and I’m looking forward to it all so much. But, it’s ok for me to be a little sad that my baby girl is taking one more step to adulthood right?

I wanted to give her a simple but girly birthday party so I decided to go with the theme of Strawberry & Lime. I know that at this age she really couldn’t care less about her birthday so I tried to keep everything simple and stress-free. After-all I wanted to spend lot’s of time with the birthday girl.

The main star to the show (besides the sweet baby) was the Strawberry & Lime Layer Cake – a white cake sandwiched with coconut lime curd and smothered in whipped strawberry frosting. Fruity, refreshing and girly.

The decoration was extremely easy to do and the result was so precious. Perfect for a little girl’s birthday party. I followed a tutorial from Sockerru, where you pipe big dots of frosting and smooth them out with a spoon (I used the Ateco tip# 808 to pipe on the dots). Seriously, it was so simple and quick, anyone could do it. The key is to make the crumb coat as smooth and flat as possible so that everything looks even (I follow this method to smooth my frosting). The only thing I couldn’t figure out was how to finish it up in the back where the pattern met. The solution I came up with? Put the seam in the back where no one can see it. :D

Happy Birthday to my favourite baby girl!

Strawberry & Lime Layer Cake

White Cake
  • 3 cups cake flour*
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2 1/4 cups sugar, divided
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup milk
  • 8 large egg whites, room temperature (save the yolks for the curd below)

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

Beat butter and 2 cups sugar for several minutes until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Mixing on low-speed, add flour in 3 additions, alternating with milk, starting and ending with flour. Beat just until combined.

In a clean bowl, beat egg whites on low until foamy. Add 1/4 cup sugar and beat on high just until stiff, glossy peaks form when beater is lifted.

Gently fold 1/3 egg whites into butter/flour mixture to loosen batter. Fold in remaining whites.

Divide batter between 2 9-inch round cake pans lined with parchment paper rounds and spayed with cooking spray; smooth tops. Bake at 350ºF for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool 20 minutes before removing from pans and peeling off parchment. Cool completely on wire wracks before wrapping in plastic wrap to store.

*To make your own cake flour place 2 tablespoons cornstarch into a 1 cup measuring cup, spoon in enough all-purpose flour to fill. Sift several times to combine. This makes 1 cup cake flour.

Coconut Lime Curd
  • 1 (15 oz) can coconut milk
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup cornstarch
  • 1/3 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup lime juice
  • 6 eggs yolk
  • green food colouring, if desired

Place 1 cup coconut milk and sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until sugar is dissolved. Mix together the remaining coconut milk and the cornstarch. Pour into the saucepan, stirring to combine. Lower heat to medium, add butter and whisk until melted together. Whisk in lime juice and egg yolks. Cook, stirring often, until thick and it coats the back of a spoon. Do not overcook or eggs will start to scramble. Stir in food colouring, if desired. Allow the mixture to cool slightly and then pour into a heat-proof bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd to stop condensation. Allow to cool completely before refrigerating. Beat, to loosen, before spreading on cake layers.

Whipped Strawberry Frosting
  • 2 cups unsalted butter, softened
  • 4 cups icing sugar, sifted
  • 1/4 cup strawberry puree (from frozen, thawed berries is fine)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a stand mixer, beat butter for 6 minutes, until pale and creamy. Add remaining ingredients and beat for an additional 6 minutes, until light and creamy.

If not using all of it right away beat by hand with a spatula, to remove any air bubbles, before using.

To Assemble

Trim tops of cakes flat. Carefully cut each cake in half to make 4 layers of cake (here’s a great video to show you how). Place one cake layer on serving platter, spread with some of the coconut lime curd. Place another cake layer on top and spread with more coconut lime curd. Repeat one more time and then top with the last cake layer (you will have leftover curd). Crumb coat the cake to glue the crumbs to the cake and to make sure none of the curd shows through the frosting. Refrigerate 10 minutes to set. Frost as desired. Refrigerate until serving.

White Cake adapted from Martha Stewart. Coconut Lime Curd adapted from Donna Hay Dec/Jan 2012.

Christmas Cookie Puzzle

By in Christmas, Kids, Sweets 8 Comments Tags: , , , , , ,

Christmas Cookie Puzzle

This is a fun gift or activity for the child (or child-like person) in your life. An edible puzzle, to be decorated to your heart”s content and then eaten afterwards. Who says you can”t play with your food?

These are a lot of fun to make and after snapping the above photo, I let my son have at “er. He had a blast smearing the frosting and mixing all the colours together into an unappealing grey mass. It may not have looked very appetizing but he had so much fun and after scraping off an inch of frosting, it was still very edible. :)

You can make these as intricate or as simple as you like. It”s all left up to your imagination… or time.

The process is simple:

  • Roll cookie dough into a rectangle (you”ll want it to be a little thicker then normal for stability). Lay desired cookie cutters on top of the rolled out dough to figure out placement. Press cookie cutters into the dough, then press walnut, pecan or almond halves into the dough to create handles. Remove cookie cutters and bake according to recipe instructions.

  • Once baked, immediately re-cut the shapes with appropriate cookie cutters. Allow to cool completely before carefully removing them (it”s best to roll these out and bake them on the same piece of parchment paper so that you can pop the pieces out easier).

  • Once removed, decorate all pieces with frosting (recipe below) and allow to dry before putting the puzzle back together, to avoid smudging. Package up in cellophane to give away or eat and enjoy. :)

The frosting I used is perfect for kids. It can be made thick enough to spread or watered down just a tad more so you can put it into resealable plastic bags and pipe it on. It also dries nice and hard so you don”t have to worry about any of the pieces smudging if you are wanting to gift it. But of course, you can use royal icing if you prefer.

Sugar Cookie Frosting

7 tablespoons of milk will give you a frosting thick enough to spread, add additional milk to reach your desired consistency.

  • 5 cups icing sugar (confectioners sugar), sifted

  • 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

  • 7 + tablespoons milk

Mix together all ingredients until smooth, adding more milk as necessary to get desired consistency.

Tip: If piping onto cookies check the consistency by doing the 10 second ribbon test. Drag a knife through the frosting and lift to make a ribbon. It should smooth out in 5-10 seconds. If the icing comes together before 5 seconds, add more sugar. If it comes together after 10 seconds, add more liquid. This will ensure that it is firm enough to pipe but still loose enough to flood the cookie.

Frosting adapted from Annie”s Eats.

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