Red Velvet Cupcakes

I made these Martha Stewart Red Velvet Cupcakes on Monday night for a client's birthday.  A coworker and I decorated his office with 90+ balloons, streamers, and a Happy Birthday sign.  I picked this recipe because I really like red velvet cake.  The one thing that was weird with this recipe is that it called for baking soda and vinegar.  I'm not sure what it did to the cupcake (maybe made it more air-y??), but it tasted pretty good.  I was disappointed that it didn't turn out super red.  It looks more brown and that bummed me out, but it still tasted good.  I love love love this cream cheese frosting.  It tasted great on this cupcake, but it also pairs well with pumpkin spice and the banana pecan cupcakes. 

Red Velvet Cupcakes
Martha Stewart Cupcakes (pg. 30)
Makes 24

2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted
2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon red gel-paste food color
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar
Cream-Cheese Frosting

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cake flour, cocoa, and salt.

2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whisk together sugar and oil until combined.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.  Mix in food color and vanilla.

3. Reduce speed to low.  Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and whisking well after each.  Stir together the baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl (it will foam); add mixture to batter, and mix on medium speed 10 seconds.

4. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full.  Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes.  Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.  Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

5. To finish, use a small offset spatula to spread cupcakes with frosting.  Refrigerate up to 3 days in airtight containers; bring to room temperature before serving.

Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes 4 cups

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 pound (4 cups) confectioners' sugar, sifted
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and cream cheese until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.  Reduce speed to low.  Add sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, and then vanilla, and mix until smooth and combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.  If not using immediately, frosting can be refrigerated up to 3 days in an airtight container; before using, bring to room temperature, and beat on low speed until smooth again.

Yellow Buttermilk Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Frosting

I love baking cupcakes.  Anytime I can find an excuse to make them, I usually do.  This weekend I made some cupcakes for my brother-in-law because he's celebrating his 24th birthday this week, Saturday actually - Happy Birthday Kevbro!

His favorite cake is yellow cake with chocolate frosting.  His mom usually makes this for him every year, but this year I offered to make cupcakes.  I knew instantly I wanted to make his favorite - yellow cake with chocolate frosting. I already had frosting made from the Chocolate Chip Cupcakes I made last week, so I was good there.  All I needed to do was buy some buttermilk for the cake batter.

This yellow buttermilk cake batter is pretty good and would pair nicely with any frosting - chocolate, fluffy vanilla, maybe a caramel swiss meringue buttercream or a white chocolate swiss meringue buttercream.  It's the perfect base.  I would also be a good cake batter for decorative cupcakes.

If you try these let me know what you think! Happy cupcake baking!

Yellow Buttermilk Cupcakes

Martha Stewart Cupcakes Cookbook (pg. 26)

Makes 36

3 cups cake flour (not self-rising)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 1/4 cups sugar

5 large whole eggs plus 3 egg yolks, room temperature

2 cups buttermilk, room temperature

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Dark Chocolate Frosting (recipe in this post)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.  Sift together both flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.  Reduce speed to medium.  Add whole eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.  Add yolks, and beat until thoroughly combined.  Reduce speed to low.  Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and beating until combined after each.  Beat in vanilla.

3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full.  Bake, rotating tins halfway through (this is only if you are baking two 12 cup tins at once, if you are only baking one tin, then you don't need to rotate), until cupcakes spring back when lightly touched and a cake tester (aka a toothpick) inserted into the centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes.  Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely.  Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

4. To finish, use a small offset spatula to spread cupcakes with frosting.  Refrigerate up to 3 days in airtight containers; bring to room temperature and, if desired, decorate with sprinkles before serving.

Oatmeal Coconut Scotchies

Gross.  Not the cookies, but having to dig through the garbage this morning (luckily I didn't have to go far) to recover this recipe.  This last week I was craving cookies and it was one of my client's 40th birthday so I thought.. why not bake some cookies.  I didn't have much on hand, but managed to have all the ingredients for this Oatmeal Scotchies recipe on the back of a Nestle TollHouse Butterscotch morsels bag.  I used to make coconut butterscotch biscotti so that is why I had them on hand.  I was excited to try this oatmeal cookie recipe because I already knew I liked the coconut and butterscotch pairing.  Trust me.  If you haven't tried this combo.. it is SO good.  The recipe on the back of the morsel bag did not include coconut, it was something I added at the last minute, but these would be equally as good without it.  This recipe is now a favorite of mine because of the flavor and the texture.  This cookie has a slight chew on the outside (like a corner brownie..mmm) and is soft on the inside.  It melts in your mouth (because of that butter.. aren't your proud of me Paula?!). 

I definitely recommend baking these for yourself and for others as they will love you for it.

Oatmeal Scotchies
Nestle TollHouse
Makes about 4 dozen cookies (or about 3 batches of 9 large cookies)

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened (butter all the way baby)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract or grated peel of 1 orange (I used vanilla extract)
3 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
1 2/3 cups (11-oz. pkg.) Nestle TollHouse Butterscotch Flavored Morsels
1/3 cup sweetened coconut (something I added)

Preheat oven to 375.

Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in small bowl.  Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract in a large mixer bowl.  Gradually beat in flour mixture.  Stir in oats and morsels.  Drop by the rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. I rolled into a 1 1/2 in. ball and flattened will my palms so it looked like a little flat disk about 1/2 in. thick.  I could fit 9 of these on a standard baking sheet.  I also used a Sil Pat.

Bake for 7 to 8 minutes for chewy cookies; 9 to 10 minutes for crisp cookies.  Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. I cooked mine for about 9-10 minutes (when making 9 to a batch).  I definitely recommend leaving them on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes.  I left them until they cooled completely and they removed nicely (largely because it was on a Sil Pat).

Three Cheese Tortellini with Basil

I rarely buy pre-made fresh pasta, but one day it was on sale so I bought some and threw the pack in the freezer. I enjoy eating stuffed pasta tossed in olive oil and topped with fresh parmesan, but this time I wanted something more. I decided to defrost 1/4 cup of tomato paste from the freezer and add 2 tablespoons of milk to thin it out and give it a creamier taste. Once the pasta was cooked, I drained and tossed the tortellini with the tomato mixture. I plated just over a cup of the pasta and topped it with some fresh julienned basil and grated parmesan. For being a quick, simple, throw together meal, I liked it. If I were to make it again, I would probably thin it with some more milk. The basil definitely gave it that Italian touch.

Three Cheese Tortellini with Basil

Recipe By Me

Serves 2

1 container of fresh three cheese tortellini pasta (about 9 oz.)

1/4 cup of tomato paste

2 tablespoons of milk

1/4 cup of fresh grated parmesan, plus more for garnish

6 large basil leaves, julienned

1. Add pasta to a pot of boiling water and cook for 7-9 minutes (or according to the directions on the package).

2. While the pasta is cooking, mix the tomato paste with the milk and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds.  Julienne the basil leaves and grate the parmesan.

3. Drain the cooked pasta and add back to the pot.  Toss with the tomato mixture and grated parmesan.  Plate half of the mixture on a plate and garnish with more parmesan and julienned basil.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Lately I've been on a chocolate kick.  I had a bag of Dove milk chocolates at my desk all week a couple of weeks back and finally finished them when I received another bag from my secret prayer partner (who turned out to be Nancy).  So last week I finished that bag.  At least I was smart enough to bring them to bible study and spread the wealth - I still ate too much.  Outside of my Dove milk chocolate obsession, I've also been eating semi-sweet chocolate chips.  I know, I know.  Who on earth eats chocolate chips straight out of the bag to curb their chocolate addiction? Well, me of course.  So, when I stumbled across Martha's Chocolate Chip Cupcakes recipe in my Martha Stewart's Cupcakes cookbook, I couldn't resist.  I ended up bring these cupcakes to Kyle's work and everyone who tried one loved them.  The texture and flavor of these cupcakes remind me of chocolate chip banana bread (minus the banana).  It's a crumbly, bread type consistency.  I prefer a moist, chewy cupcake, but all in all, it was good.

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
Martha Stewart's Cupcakes, pg. 22

Makes 30

3 1/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon sifted cake flour (not self-rising)
4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup plus 6 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
5 large egg whites, room temperature
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.  Whisk together 3 1/4 cups cake flour, the baking powder, and salt.  Stir the vanilla into the milk to combine.

2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter until smooth.  Adding the sugar in a steady stream, beat until pale and fluffy.  Reduce speed to low.  Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk mixture, and beating until just combined after each.

3. In another bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed (I did medium-high), whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form (do not overmix).  Fold one-third of the egg whites into the batter to lighten. Gently fold in the remaining whites until just combined.  Toss chocolate chips with remaining tablespoon cake flour, and gently fold into batter.

4. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full.  Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the centers comes out clean and the tops are springy to the touch, about 22 minutes.  Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.  Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

5. To finish, use a small offset spatula to spread cupcakes with frosting.  Refrigerate up to 3 days in airtight containers; bring to room temperature and, if desired, decorate with sprinkles before serving.

Dark Chocolate Frosting
pg. 302

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon boiling water
2 1/4 cups (4 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 pounds best-quality semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled (see page 323)

Combine cocoa and the boiling water, stirring until cocoa has dissolved.  With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter, confectioner's sugar, and salt until pale and fluffy.  Reduce speed to low.  Add melted and cooled chocolate, beating until combined and scraping down sides of bowl as needed.  Beat in the cocoa mixture.  If not using immediately, frosting can be refrigerated up to 5 days, or frozen up to 1 month, in an airtight container.  Before using, bring to room temperature, and beat on low speed until smooth again.

Mango Shrimp Kebabs

Who doesn't love kebabs?! I mean come on.  It's the ideal meal on a nice, sunset afternoon... riiiight?!

Well, I thought so.  After getting home from work last Tuesday I decided to make these kebabs because I saw them in the April issue of Cooking Light and well, they looked, fabulous - and easy.

There are only a handful of ingredients.  Shrimp, red bell peppers, mangoes, red onion, limes, and some s&p.  I told you this recipe is easy.

It's also suprisingly delicous if you like simple flavors.  I love simple flavors.  Shrimp always tastes amazing to me no matter how you prepare it, you get subtle sweetness from the grilled mangoes and bell pepper, and the lime juice on top rounds out the meal nicely.  Did I mention you get two full kebabs for only 277 calories? Awesome.

Mango Shrimp Kebabs
Cooking Light, April Issue, pg. 185

1 1/2 lbs. large peeled and deveined shrimp
1 large red bell peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 mangoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 small red onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 limes, cut into wedges

Prepare grill to medium-high heat.  Sprinkle shrimp evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon freshy ground black pepper.  Thread shrimp, bell pepper pieces, mango cubes, and onion pieces alternately onto each of the 8 (12-inch) skewers.  Place skewers on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 2 minutes on each side or until shrimp are done.  Squeeze lime juice from lime wedges over kebabs.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 skewers)

Calories: 277
Fat: 3.3g (sat 0.7g, mono 0.5g, poly 1.2g)
Protein: 35.8g
Carb: 27.1g
Fiber: 4.2g
Chol: 259mg
Iron: 4.5mg
Sodium: 551mg
Calcium: 109mg

Tart & Tangy Bulgar Salad

I found this recipe in the April edition of Cooking Light magazine on page 202.  I always like to take these sort of recipes to work for lunch during the week because they are easy to make and they are the type of recipes that get better the longer they sit in the fridge.

One caveat, you need to enjoy green olives.  If you don't like green olives, I recommend swapping with kalamata olives.  In addition to the green olives, there is lime juice, salt, basil, garlic, red onion, and tomatoes.

This recipe would also be really good with chicken to add some more protein.

Tart and Tangy Bulgar Salad

1 cup uncooked bulgar
1 cup boiling water
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 large basil leaves, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup chopped red onion
12 large olives, sliced (about 3/4 cup)
1 large tomato, chopped
Lime wedges (optional)

1. Combine bulgar and boiling water in a large bowl.  Cover and let stand for 45 minutes.
2. Combine oil and next 4 ingredients (through garlic) in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk until combined.  Add oil mixture, onion, olives, and tomato to bulgar; toss well.  Garnish with lime wedges, if desired. 

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)

Nutritional Info:

Calories: 210
Fat: 8.7g (sat 1.2g, mono 6g, poly 1.1g)
Protein: 5g
Carb: 31g
Fiber: 7.6g
Chol: 0mg
Iron: 1.5mg
Sodium: 420mg
Calcium: 35mg

If you make this, let me know what you think.  Enjoy!