Birds Make Good Neighbors

These interesting cupcakes have, in my opinion, a really gross, intense smell when preparing. This is probably because they are made with a stout beer and unsulfered molasses. Stout beer is sometimes used in English and Irish recipes for spice cakes and quick breads. And these exactly taste like a spice muffin, not what one would think – beer and molasses. Adding raisins would be a great idea. Serve with coffee or a glass of stout.

These were made for a June 19th birthday party – at a bar. Perfect fit!

Stout (Guiness) Cupcakes
Makes 28

Ingredients
3 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 and 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 and 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 and 1/4 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg (I used regular)
1 and 1/4 cups vegetable oil
1 and 1/4 cups unsulfured molasses
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon packed light-brown sugar
2 large whole eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
1 and 1/4 cups (10 ounces) stout beer, such as Guinness, poured and settled
Stout Glaze (see below)

Stout Glaze
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/4 cup stout beer, such as Guiness, poured and settled

Whisk together ingredients until combined.  Use immediately.

Directions
1.)  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.  Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.

2.)  With an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat oil, molasses, brown sugar, whole eggs, yolk, zest and stout until combined.  Reduce speed to low.  Gradually add flour mixture, beating until just combined. 

3.)  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 (I use a knife), about 20 minutes.  Turn out cupcakes onto wire racks to cool completely.  Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

4.)  To finish, place cupcakes on  a wire rack set over a baking sheet (or wax paper); spoon glaze over cupcakes and let set.  Cupcakes are best eaten the day they are glazed (but I have witnesses who beg to differ after eating them a few days later); keep at room temperature until ready to serve.

Photo by Tiffany. Recipe from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes

Made these for a July birthday. Delicious, but very messy!

Ingredients

Makes 12 Jumbo

Directions

Photos by Karen (mom) and Tiffany
Watching: Julie & Julia
From http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/cream-filled-chocolate-cupcakes

Click Photos to Englarge

These are a major hit. I made these for my mom’s birthday party. Here’s the recipe:

1.) Prepare your favorite white cake mix (18.25 ounce box), then divide the batter evenly among six small bowls. I measured out approximately 3/4 cup for each bowl. Following the above color chart (see photo), dye each bowl a rainbow color (I accidentally did my [first batch] rainbow backwards. Oops!)

2.) Line 16 muffin pan wells with baking cups. Evenly distribute the purple batter among the cups, then the blue, and so forth, referring to the rainbow color chart. As you go, gently spread each batter layer to cover the color underneath. I used a spoon (about a teaspoon’s worth) of batter for each layer.

3.) Bake according to box directions. Top with a whipped cream or icing cloud and enjoy!

Photos by Tiffany
Recipe FamilyFun.com/Magazine
Soundtrack: Silent Drive / Banana Rejection

Click Photos to Englarge

This is the third or fourth cake I’ve made from Sky High, which is the Halloween Sweet Potato Cake – and it’s delicious! This cake is probably my favorite cake I’ve made thus far.

While I can’t post every recipe, I am going to explain a couple of alterations I had to make. First of all, I set my oven a little below what the directions called for. My pans are dark pans – and I have an oven that tends to bake a little bit darker than usual. I always “watch” my oven when it comes to a new recipe. You don’t want to waste/burn all of your hard work away!

Also, I mixed the egg whites after I mixed the other ingredients. I found that when I mixed the egg whites when the directions called for it, when it was time to add them, they had “fallen”. And this is probably my fault entirely, as I am a little slow, as well as a perfectionist (which causes me to re-read the directions a million times)! I still added the egg whites the way they were, and I think my cakes “fell” a little (see photo), but again, they still tasted wonderfully.

When the recipe suggests piping an edge of frosting on the cake (see my photo above), do so. My cream sauce and icing was a little thin, BUT I did leave my butter and cream cheese out for a couple of hours while making this cake. I know the recipe calls for room temperature, but I think I went a little overboard. The piping does help keep the orange cream frosting from running. Also, don’t overfill the middle, or it will run out, making it difficult to ice the outside of the cake. After successfully icing the entire cake, I put it in the fridge (covered in a cake pedestal) and the icing was perfect.

Last, I couldn’t find my food processor to blend the sweet potato. I baked the potato for an hour, which turned out perfectly; however, trying to use a blender doesn’t work. Well, our shotty blender we received as a gift doesn’t work, that is. The sweet potato is suppose to be purified, but I went ahead and just blended it on high with my hand mixer and went on with the recipe. I’m not sure how the texture difference is suppose to be, but again, it made no difference in the delicious taste of the cake. The cake was dense, yet light, had the perfect moisture, and the icing was the best icing, so far, the book has called for. A must try, this recipe.

I can’t wait to try pumpkin next!

Check out Alisa’s work in person at: Loveless Cafe. I’m only three hours away and can’t wait to visit!

For Mother’s Day, my mom and I decided to bond and bake a cake together – a triple-decker boston cream pie cake. We certainly didn’t need the bonding, we’re close enough; however, it did take two of us to whip together this, what seemed complicated, version of a boston cream pie cake.

Be aware: this cake takes fourteen eggs! 8 whole eggs are separated and used for the cake. 6 eggs yolks are used for the vanilla custard. If you don’t want to throw away the egg whites, you may freeze them for future use in a soufflé or meringue. Some cooks like to freeze single egg whites in ice cube trays and store them in a plastic container or a freezer bag. If that’s too complicated, or you simply don’t want to mess with freezing six egg whites, use them to make a delicious, low-calorie spinach egg white omelette for later!

If you’re short on time, make the cake part ahead of time, along with the custard. Throw each cake in a separate gallon size plastic bag and toss the bowl of custard in the fridge. The day of, prepare the chocolate and assemble the cake. The vanilla custard will be nice and chilled and the cake just as fresh – and ready to eat!

Triple-decker Boston Cream Pie modified from Sky High

Cake Ingredients
2 cups cake flour (we used Pillsbury Softasilk Cake Flour)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ cups sugar
8 eggs, separated
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (we used pure vanilla extract, which made
the custard really strong in flavor)
Vanilla Custard (see attached recipe)
Chocolate Glaze (see attached recipe)

For complete recipe, download the PDF. | For the book Sky High:
Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes, buy it at Amazon!

Oh, to open a (successful) bakery would be such a dream. Until then, I try to bake a cake for every occasion. This moist, delicious triple-layer chocolate cake was made for my brother, Mike’s, 42nd birthday and you’ll never guess what’s in it: mayo and coffee! It was the most moist cake I have ever made.

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate,
coarsely chopped
1 cup milk
1 1/4 cups, hot, strongly brewed coffee
2 eggs
1 cup mayonnaise (real, not low-fat,
not salad dressing)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
White Chocolate Mousse (see attached recipe)
Sour Cream Chocolate Icing (see attached recipe)

For complete recipe, download here.