Carrot Cupcakes with Orange Frosting(s)!

These bad boys were first made by my friend Andrea a few months ago for a birthday celebration. They were SO good. The original recipe suggests an orange glaze on top, which was absolutely phenomenal. I would recommend that as well as the orange cream cheese topping that was made for these cupcakes for the bridal shower. I will give both recipes, so you can choose which icing you'd rather have. From Gourmet, 2007.

INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups grated carrot
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sift together the dry ingredients, including the spices in a medium bowl. Set aside. In a large bowl whisk together the oil, eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, and carrots. Add the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Pour into lined cupcake tins. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack.

Orange Glaze                                                        
- 1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar                          
- 1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest                          
- 2-3 tablespoons fresh orange juice                  
                                                                            
Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 stick butter, softened
- 2 (8 ounce) blocks of cream cheese, cold
- 1-2 cups confectioners sugar
- 1 teaspoon orange zest, plus 3 tablespoons juice

For the glaze, whisk together the above ingredients. Dip each cupcake into glaze and let harden.

For the cream cheese frosting, beat together the butter and cream cheese on medium-high until fluffy and smooth- this will take a few minutes. Add the confectioners sugar to taste. Add the orange zest and juice, and a dash of vanilla, if you choose and beat until combined. Pipe or spread on cooled cupcakes.

Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes w/ Buttercream

These cupcakes were also made for the bridal shower that I co-hosted this past weekend. The bride has been very into lemon cakes recently, and so the co-host and I decided we'd give these a whirl. We used Martha Stewart's lemon cupcake recipe for the base, added our own lemon glaze, followed by raspberry jam, and finished each with a swirl of vanilla buttercream. The frosting is very sweet, but perfectly balanced by the tartness of the lemon flavor. These were a DELICIOUS.


INGREDIENTS
Cake
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 3 tablespoons lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk

Lemon Glaze
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons sugar

Vanilla Buttercream
- 3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 1 pound confectioners sugar, sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper liners. In a bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

With an electric mixer of medium speed cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. Beat in zest and vanilla. Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with 2 additions of buttermilk and lemon juice, beating just until combined. Divide evenly into muffin tins and bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown and cake tester comes out clean. Remove from oven.

While in the oven, make the lemon glaze. If the sugar won't dissolve, microwave the mixture and stir until combined and syrupy. Taste and add more sugar if needed. Poke holes in the cupcakes with a tooth pick and brush the lemon glaze on top of the cupcakes, letting the glaze slowly seep into the cake.

With an electric mixer beat the butter until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes. Slowly (1/2 cup at a time) add the confectioners sugar, beating until incorporated before adding the next half cup of sugar. After ever 2 additions of sugar, beat on high speed for 10 seconds before returning back to low, and adding more sugar. This process should take about 5 minutes total. Add the vanilla and beat until combined.

Once cupcakes are cooled, spread a thin layer of raspberry jam on top of each cupcake. Pipe buttercream on top of the raspberry layer on each cupcake. Serve and enjoy!

Greek Tortellini Salad

I made this pasta salad the other night for a bridal shower that I was co-hosting... Its an imitation of the tortellini salad at this great panini/gelato spot in downtown Knoxville called Coolato Gelato (arguably the bride's favorite local eatery). If you've never been, you really should. Similarly to all pasta salads, this one is infinitely adaptable and you can add whatever you like to it.

INGREDIENTS
- 1 pound tri-colored cheese tortellini pasta
- 8-10 ounces of good greek salad dressing
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 orange bell pepper, sliced thin
- a bunch of chopped marinated artichoke hearts
- 4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

Boil the pasta, according to directions. Add all the vegetables and feta and about half of the greek salad dressing. Toss to coat. Taste and add extra dressing until you have enough. If you make this in advance, only add half the dressing ahead of time and add the rest of the dressing right before serving. Also wait to add the tomatoes, so they don't get soggy. Serve and enjoy!

Smokey Lentil Soup with Grown-Up Grilled Cheese

This is a recipe that I found from a William Sonoma recipe section of their most recent catalog. They suggest that you make this in one of those classic William-Sonoma-One-Purpose-Gadgets where its a pot/blender/soup bowl/waste of money all in one... Yeaaa, I just did it the old fashioned way with separate appliances. Worked juuuuust fine. Both the soup AND grilled-cheese were great and I would serve each together or separately again!

SOUP INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
1 carrot, 1/4 inch dice
1 celery stalk, 1/4 inch dice
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
3/4 cup split red lentils, rinsed
1/3 cup diced canned tomatoes, drained
4 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon white vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
sour cream
3 strips bacon, crumbled (optional)

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the vegetables, tomato paste and paprika. Cook covered, stirring every few minutes, until vegetables have softened- about 25 minutes. Add the lentils, tomatoes, and chicken broth. Cover and cook on medium-low for about 35-40 minutes, until lentils are softened. Pour into a blender and blend briefly. Pour back into pot and reheat until ready to serve. Add the vinegar and taste for salt and pepper. Serve in bowls with sour cream and crumbled bacon on top. Serves 4.

GROWN-UP GRILLED CHEESE 
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for brushing
1 yellow onion, sliced
8 slices sourdough bread (for 4 sandwiches)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon dijon mustard, stirred into butter
8 ounces gruyere, sliced thin
3/4 cup arugula

Heat the olive oil in a large grill-pan and caramelize the onions (will take about 30 minutes). Remove from heat and wipe the pan with a paper towel. Brush the outside pieces of each sandwich bread with olive oil. Brush the insides with the butter/dijon mixture. Layer gruyere on the inside of the sandwich, followed by caramelized onion, and then more gruyere. Put the other piece of bread on top and place in heated grill pan and cook for about 2-3 minutes per side. Remove from pan and open sandwich, quickly placing arugula inside. Place bread back on top and cut sandwiches in half. Serve with soup.

Funfetti Cupcakes!

I found these on a really cute baking blog a few weeks ago and though I'd give them a whirl. Everything on her site looks really good (her blog here), but I had never tried a recipe from this blog before, so it was a total experiment.

In the end, I loved the idea, but would change around a few things. I found the batter to be too tough-- almost bread-like, which I know was at least partially, if not all, due to me over-beating. And I didn't think it had enough flavor, despite adding more vanilla than the recipe suggested. 

So, below I've posted a different yellow cake batter that I've made before and really enjoyed- it will not change the coolness of the funfetti inside. And I wanted to try making a white chocolate cream cheese frosting, because I thought it would pair well... it was very good. They look awesome and (should) taste great with the new cake batter!

CUPCAKE INGREDIENTS
2 cups plus 1 tablespoon cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick softened butter
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup nonpareils sprinkles


Whisk the first four dry ingredients together in a bowl. Set aside. With an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until fluffy (about 2 minutes). Add the vanilla and one egg at a time, beating just until mixed. Add the buttermilk and the dry ingredients alternatively, beating slowly just until mixed. Fold in the sprinkles. Pour into cupcake tins lined in papers. Bake for about 15-20 minutes (check with a toothpick- do not overcook). Remove from oven and let cool completely before frosting. Makes about 12 cupcakes.

WHITE CHOCOLATE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
8 ounces cream cheese, softened slightly
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
5 ounces melted white chocolate, cooled slightly
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 cups powdered sugar
Sprinkles for decorating

With an electric mixer beat together the cream cheese and butter on high until soft and incorporated. Add the white chocolate while mixing and the vanilla. Slowly add the powdered sugar until it reaches the desired consistency/sweetness. I tend to use less, but that is my personal preference. Frost the cupcakes to your liking and decorate with sprinkles.

Snickerdoodles

This recipe post is a birthday of sorts... its my 100th recipe! I thought for a long time about what I wanted my 100th post to be. I knew it needed to be something sweet and baked. I had originally thought I'd do a big birthday cake- maybe a german chocolate, or a cheesecake... but I try to only make those things when I also have another occasion to cook for (other than the blog), so that it actually gets eaten. I made these last weekend to bring to a girls weekend in Asheville, NC and they were delicious... undoubtedly because they have both butter and crisco in them. Top notch... figured they were worthy of the 100th post. Enjoy! (Adapted from Cooks Illustrated)

INGREDIENTS
2 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon plus a pinch of kosher salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1/4 cup vegetable shortening (Crisco)
1 1/2 cups sugar, plus 3 tablespoons for rolling dough
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon for rolling dough

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

With an electric mixer beat the butter, shortening, and sugar until smooth- about 1-2 minutes. Add eggs, and beat about 30 seconds- scraping down the sides of the bowl when necessary. Slowly add the dry ingredients and beat on low just until combined.

In a small bowl mix together the 3 tablespoons of sugar and cinnamon. Roll the dough into heaping tablespoon sized balls and roll them in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake in a 400 degree oven for about 8-10 minutes. Cookies will be crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Delicious.

Homemade Blackberry Jam

I went berry picking this past weekend for the first time in maybe 15 years. I went with a friend who had also not been berry picking in ages. I think we had forgotten how many gigantic bugs we would encounter and I'm sure we looked and sounded like the most prissy berry-pickers the farm had ever seen (there were lots of screams, shudders, and backward jumps to avoid certain critters).

Despite the creepy critters, the end result was wonderful and I can't wait to go back again soon. Not only did we come home with pints of delicious blackberries, but we met a rabid horse, and a bear-dog... And a very nice old man that taught us about the chemistry behind how non-sugar-binding pectin works to thicken homemade jam.

INGREDIENTS
4 cups fresh crushed blackberries
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons non-sugar-binding pectin
4 12ounce glass jars with tops


Mash the berries with a fork or potato masher. Add them to a large pot with the lemon juice and bring to a boil. Add the pectin and bring to a rolling boil again (make sure you also add the appropriate amount of calcium water that will be in the same box as the pectin- I used 2 teaspoons). After 2 or 3 minutes remove from heat. Pour into hot, sterilizing jars and put the tops on. Let sit on the counter for 12-24 hours then refrigerate. These will stay fresh in the fridge for about 3 weeks, or in the freezer for longer. YUM.