Decorating with Nostalgic Candies

Hi Everyone, 

Lets start with decorating. Decorating is by far the thing I love most about baking. Adding candies to the top of cupcakes, topping a tart with thinly sliced fresh fruit, making candy flowers to garnish a wedding cake; all of which are ways to put your own touch on your wonderful baked goods.

Now, you can do this with your own recipes or store bought items. The only thing that's important is that it looks and tastes delicious! Whenever I am out, at the corner store, a candy shop, I will even go out of my way to go to the grocery store in Japan Town just for different or old fashioned candies.

Here are pictures with some of my favorite decorating candies, Necco Wafers and colorful chocolate candies!

Traditional Necco Waffers

Flower Buttons and Pastel Chocolate Candies from Miette

Lime and Lemon Candies from a British Candy Shoppe

The final product! Meyer Lemon Cupcakes for a friends baby shower party for one of her girl friends. Half the fun of decorating is color coordination. The mother-to-be is keeping with gender neutral colors so that's what I did too. Although the chocolate candies have dusty pinks and blues there are also yellows and greens to offset the standard "its a boy" and "its a girl" colors.

Minis perfect with a Necco Wafer on top

Meyer Lemon Cupcakes!

Happy Baking!

B is for Boy, C is for Cupcake!

Hi Everyone, 

I wanted to share this quick update with you on how amazing my "future sister-in-law" baby shower was! Leanna and Barry are expecting their first baby, a baby boy, mid-November! We made our way down to Venture with a diaper cake and cupcakes ready for the festivities! 

Now here is the digs, this recipe is amazing! If you love lemon and love cake you will love this one! You know I try a lot of recipes and change things up to my liking. This one is for sure a keeper. For Mommy and Daddy to be, I made their favorite, Meyer Lemon Cupcakes. The recipe follows my so-so pics.

Meyer Lemon Cupcakes

Makes 2 dozen cupcakes or 3 9in layer cakes

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

2 cups sugar

4 large room temp eggs

1 1/4 self-rising flour

1 1/2 AP flour

1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice

1 tbs grated lemon zest

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 dozen cupcake tins with papers. If you decide to make the cake version go ahead and grease and lightly duest with flour a 9 inch cake pan then line with parchment.

2. In a large bowl cream the butter in an electric mixer until smooth and pale. Add the sugar gradually until mixture is fluffy. Spend time on this step, it make a big difference in the texture of your cake.

3. Add the eggs one at a time until just incorporated. Add the flours in one bowl then add to mixture in four parts alternating with milk then lemon juice and zest. Mix well after each addition just until incorporated. Divide batter amongst cupcake tins or 3 9x2 round cake pans. 

4. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted info center of cake comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on wire rack.

Meyer Lemon Buttercream Frosting

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

8 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

1/2 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp grated lemon zest

Add butter, 4 cups sugar then juice and zest in a large mixing bowl. Beat until sugar granulars are smooth and icing is creamy. Add sugar 1 cup at a time until the icing reaches its flavor and thickness desired. I usually use all 8 cups. You want the frosting to be spreadable but not melting over the sides of the cakes. This is when I add any coloring. Start of with a little drop then add. Remember, you can always add but cant take away. 

Let me know what you think! Bon Appetite!

Wedding Reception: Oh so pretty cupcakes

Early April friends of mine exchanged vows amongst close family. I was honored to make their wedding cake for their special day. Late August they celebrated their nuptials with a reception. For the special occasion I whipped up a classic, some chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream topped with candy flowers I got from one of my favorite confectioners, Miette. Ill have a post later this fall on gum paste decorations. To get the lavender color frosting I used just a dab of Wilton violet gel coloring. Bon Appetit!

Classic Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

A Flight of Dark Chocolate Beer Cupcakes

We all like a little variety and when it comes to food and beverage I like small plates. I like to taste many things and compare and contrast. My beer cupcakes last weekend were inspired by two things.

First, the Winter Brew Festival at Linden Street Brewery in late January. The festival was great. They showcased many beers, all of my local favorites and a lot of medal winners. We started at the dark beer section and made our way to the home brews. 

Second, the concept of ordering a "flight" or sampler when going out. You can usually find me ordering from the starter menu and trying a few different wines. I am totally fine having those two concepts marry which is the subject/experiment for this update - A Flight of Dark Chocolate Beer Cupcakes!

Beer #1: Alaska Brewing Company, 2009 Smoked Porter
Beer #2: Anchor Steam Brewery, Porter
Beer #3: Lagunitas, Cappuccino Stout
Beer #4: New Belgium, 1554 Black Ale
Beer #5: Marin Brewing Company, Blueberry Ale

I tried two differed recipes with four different beers and here were my results. 

My favorites were Lagunitas Cap Stout (very pleasing dark flavor with hints of espresso) and New Belgium black Ale (mild, darker beer with sweet notes) mostly because of the recipe used. The recipe called for chocolate that was melted and worked into the wet ingredients. I also folded the egg whites into the ingredients at the end before piping into the cake pan. The cake was moist and had hints of espresso. It went very well with the chocolate ganache frosting glazed on top.

Lagunitas Chocolate Cupcake with Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting

 

New Belgium 1554 Black Ale small cakes with Chocolate Ganache Frosting

The Anchor Steam (deep, creamy and smooth with slight coffee flavor) and Alaska Porter (strong smoked flavor, full and dark, very mild after taste) cakes had great flavor but the recipe made a crumbly cake. It also called for cocoa powder instead of melted chocolate which I do not prefer. The beer was delicious and went really well with the salted caramel buttercream frosting piped on top.

 Anchor Steam Porter Chocolate Cupcake with Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting

Alaska 2009 Smoked Porter Jumbo Cupcake with Chocolate Ganache Frosting

And last but not least...Marin Blueberry Ale (lighter ale with a strong blueberry essence). This would make a great vanilla beer cupcake. Unfortunately, the beer was too light for the chocolaty goodness I was going for

Overall, once you find a dark, robust beer, whether it be smoked or espresso flavored, I don't think you can go wrong. Next would be finding the perfect cake recipe to compliment the beer :) and I think I found mine. Tips: Try melted chocolate instead cocoa powder and folding in the egg whites at the end as it does help make for a fluffy cake. 

Flight of Dark Chocolate Beer Cupcakes ready for delivery!

 

Bake on,
Sarah

Queen of Hearts

What do you do to show the one you love just how much you love them? I certainly don't wait until Valentines day, one specific day of the year to show the ones I love just that I do. And how do I do that you might ask? Baked goods baby!

This Valentines I was inspired most by two things, the upcoming opening of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland and the 2006 Summer issue of Donna Hay Magazine. This issue inspired me to bake when I was studying abroad in Australia in 2006 and still is the most inspirational magazine for the baker in me. Everything from the recipes, the themes and most importantly the food photography. Check it out sometime. Now you ask what these two have in common? Well, I did my best to recreate it and hopefully I did Donna Hay justice. Let the pictures roll.

Caramel Paddies made with puff pastry

Chocolate Heart Cookies with Royal Icing

Blueberry, Pear Heart Pies

Tea Time Brownies dusted with powdered sugar

Lovely Citrus Cupcakes with Cointreau Icing

  

 

 

Will you be my Valentine? 

Love, Sarah

Thanksgiving Part II: Pies, Tarts and Cupcakes Oh My!

Thanksgiving week was a very busy week for me as I am sure it was for all you bakers. This is just that start of it right?! I have Christmas cookie boxes coming up and several December birthday cakes to make and decorate and stocking stuffer goodies!

Aside from baking I LOVE San Francisco at night during the holidays. Talk about romantic! Colin and I started going a Christmas date every year where we hop on the California Cable Car line and enjoy the sites and later a nice cozy dinner for two.

At the bottom of California Street we hop on the festively decorated cable car and snuggle up close as we go up, up, up those steep San Francisco hills. We enjoy the ride and the holiday view of pretty decorations and trees decked in lights, giant ornaments, stars and over-sized holiday packages. One of my favorites is the towering crimson tree on the corner of Keary and California in the Financial District. This unique tree is brightly lit by dark red tree lights.

The best part of the whole ride, beside having dinner afterward is when we hop off at the Fairmont Hotel. We walk around Huntington Park, also festively decorated and we sit and admire Grace Cathedral. It truly is a site to see any time of year but especially during the holidays. 

Although I (with the help of my sister) made three things for Thanksgiving ; Pumpkin-Pecan Pie, Baci Tart and Spice Cupcakes with Toasted Walnut Cream Cheese Frosting, I would have to say the winning recipe was the Baci Tart. This you can definitely make it for the Holidays coming up and is actually quite easy once you read the recipe from start to finish.

Baci Tart

This Baci Tart is made by putting together great tasting layers. To start it off a decedent chocolate tart crust, very easy and a great support to hold all that ooey gooey rich flavor. Next, a caramel sauce is made and roasted hazelnuts are added to the caramel sauce and its all poured into the pie shell. While all the goodness is baking in the oven I make a quick whipped cream. And when it comes out of the oven I drizzle chocolate ganache over the tart to make it look like a work of art :) Yummy right? 

This recipe can be found in the lovely baking book, The Art and Soul of Baking by Sur La Table with Cindy Mushet or by clicking here. Really give it a try! Its a show stopper! Here are pics from the other treats I made.

 

Sweet and savory Pumpkin-Pecan Deep Dish Pie

 

Spice Cupcakes with Toasted Walnut Cream Cheese Frosting

Thanksgiving: Part 1 - Cupcakes

Christmas is here again! Christmas in San Francisco is like no other. It’s a bit early for full on Christmas spirit throughout the city but at Union Square Park the Holiday spirit is coming together; kids crowd around the holiday ice rink, all the store windows are decorated with snow-scapes and Santa villages. Visitors from all over stroll the streets bundled up with a cup of coffee sharing the sidewalks with the early bird shoppers. My favorite holiday tradition of all? The puppies and kittens in the window at Macy's (old Gumps tradition) that’s put on by the SPCA! So so adorable!

My other favorite holiday tradition...baking of course! The only reason why I can relax and enjoy the holidays even when it gets crazy. This year because I am making so many treats I have made a schedule for myself and when you have five or six desserts you are making in one week that’s the only way to go. But really I couldn't do it without my stand mixer! If you do a lot of baking, even if its just for the holiday, invest in one, they will last you a lifetime and save you the sweat and tears of mixing by hand. I will keep you in the loop on the holiday makings - this is Part I starting with Thanksgiving!

The first recipe of the holidays I will share with you comes from my co-worker Elizabeth. This recipe, Chocolate Chip Kahlua Cupcakes with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting is a real crowd pleaser and is semi-homemade. Us young girls are pretty busy these days managing our social and professional lives that some times its difficult to make everything from scratch. As you know I am a firm believer in making it from scratch but this recipe I'd say will knock their socks off even if you are short on time.

This recipe was originally made for a bunt cake pan. It translates well into 2 dozen regular cupcakes and 2 dozen minis and the frosting recipe is provided as well but is totally interchangeable. I chose a pumpkin frosting for Thanksgiving but oddly enough the frosting came out tasting more orange than expected changed the name too. But what a great pair the orange frosting made with the chocolate cupcakes. Who doesn't love those chocolate oranges at Christmas? Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy! Stay tuned for Part II.

Kahlua Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

Minis

Kahlua Cake
Recipe provided by Elizabeth Young

1 pkg. Devil’s food cake mix
1 Large pkg. instant chocolate pudding mix
3 Eggs
1 c. Sour cream
1 c. Kahlua
¾ c. Vegetable oil
12 oz. Chocolate chips (I use Ghirardelli 60% baking chips)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine everything but the chocolate chips and mix well. Mix the chocolate chips into the batter. P our into a lightly greased pan or muffin tins with cupcake liners. Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes (17-20 minutes for regular cupcakes and 10-12 minutes for mini cupcakes). Let cool before removing from pan. Top cooled cake with Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting.


Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting (that tastes more like orange than pumpkin)
Recipe provided by Country Living at www.countryliving.com

1 package(s) (8-ounce) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup(s) pumpkin purée
1/4 cup(s) (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon(s) fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon(s) grated orange zest

1/2 teaspoon(s) pure vanilla extract

4 cup(s) confectioners' sugar, sifted

Blend the cream cheese, pumpkin purée, butter, orange juice, zest, and vanilla in a large bowl using an electric mixer set at medium speed until smooth. Add the sugar and continue to beat until light and creamy -- about 5 more minutes. To keep your frosting super thick first drain most of the liquid from the pumpkin then add the pumpkin a little at a time. If its too soft I found adding more cream cheese helps.

Can Cupcakes be Haunted? Naaa...

Terrific Trio of Terrifying Treats!

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I love the spooks, the sweets, and the season all together. This Halloween I made cupcakes for a friend. The order: 30 vanilla cupcake for a parents Halloween party. Kids like candy, kids like cupcakes so I put them together. I also got some great ideas from Martha Stewart's website to suite the parents as well.

I have to be honest, I tried the witch cupcakes. I cut the tops off sugar cones and dipped them in chocolate, made green buttercream frosting and with an assortment of candies for topping I made an assembly line for easy decorating. I actually spent a lot of time on this idea to find out that I made the wrong kind of frosting to hold that weight of decorations. The frosting was too smooth and light to hold up the candies. So if you are going to make witch cupcake next year I recommend using a very thick frosting that doesn't get soft. Be careful, your witch can closely resemble an owl which wouldn't be a bad idea for Thanksgiving.

I went with the Ghooley Ghost, Fun Frankenstein and Black Widows Web. These were all really fun to make. I used a standard Vanilla Cupcake recipe with a buttercream frosting. A few tips: I used electric green food coloring for the frosting so it didn't resemble a Christmas green. I recommend making some of the details with a fine piping bag and black frosting and to experiment with different candies. No matter what the recipe calls for, a little bit of black licorice goes a long way. The critique: The kids voted for the Fun Frankenstein and the candy cups probably because he had the most candy on top. As my favorite animated orange cat would say, "Candy, candy, candy candy!"

Fun Frankenstein:
Electric Green buttercream frosting, sour straws for mouth, caramel candy corns
as bolts, Halloween M&Ms for eyes and black licorice for stitches and nose.

Ghooley Ghost:
Buttercream frosting piped on with an Ateco 809 for height,
black Halloween M&Ms for eyes, black icing applied with small
piping bag for mouth and black licorice for brow.

Black Widows Web:
Electric Green buttercream frosting with black frosting piped on and
pulled with a toothpick and black licorice or red vines for spider legs.

To package them I used black tissue paper and put the cupcakes in a standard cupcake holder. For a friend that's fine, normally I would use my Mixing Bowl stamp and boxes. As a special touch I placed cupcake liners of assorted Halloween candy in between the cupcakes to keep them from bumping into each other. An overall success.

The Doyle's Dont Just Like Beer...

We love chocolate too! Last weekend I made a Porter Chocolate Layer Cake with Chocolate ganache and Buttercream Frosting...yes I said Porter, for Colin's 32nd birthday. The cakes I make are individual size, either for two or one serving each for 4. Perfect really if you don't want an entire cake hanging around the house. With the left over batter I can usually squeeze in a dozen or dozen and a half of cupcakes.

This was the first beer dessert I've made and I was so pleased it came out so well. I think Grandma Doyle would have been pleased as well. The house smelt like if you can envision walking into a pub right off the chocolate river in Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. YUMMY! You wouldn't think beer and chocolate but it actually makes for a light and moist cake. I got the recipe off of smittenkitchen but I made a few changes to what I had in the kitchen. This would be my adaptation. Go ahead and bake on! and let me know what you think!



Porter Chocolate Layer Cake with Chocolate ganache and Butter Cream Frosting

For the Porter Chocolate Cupcakes
1 cup porter, I used Black Butte Porter
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
Ganache Filling
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 to 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Buttercream Frosting
3 cups confections sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Make the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring 1 cup porter and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add porter-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling them 2/3 to 3/4 of the way. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, rotating them once front to back if your oven bakes unevenly, about 14-17 minutes. You can also divide the batter between cake pans as I did and continue to check the cakes for done'ness after 10 min. Cool cupcakes on a rack completely.
Make the filling: Chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then stir until smooth. (If this has not sufficiently melted the chocolate, you can return it to a double-boiler to gently melt what remains. 20 seconds in the microwave, watching carefully, will also work.) Add the butter and stir until combined.
Fill the cupcakes: Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped (the fridge will speed this along but you must stir it every 10 minutes). Meanwhile, using your 1-inch round cookie cutter or an apple corer or talent with a paring knife, cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes. Make sure not to cut all the way through the cupcake liner. Put the ganache into a piping bag (or ziplock with the corner cut off) with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.

Make the frosting: Whip the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, for several minutes. You want to get it very light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a few tablespoons at a time. When the frosting is thick to spread drizzle in the cream. To ice and decorate the cupcakes I used an Ateco 809 tip to make the poof of buttercream and topped with chocolate covered blueberries.