pretty things and a chocolate cherry smoothie...

These are a few pretties I ordered from Shop Sweet Lulu.  It's so hard to pick just a few things from her shop, because I adore all of it.  I love all the bright spring colors in the straws, spoons and cupcake liners I picked out, and can't wait to use them this summer.

My blender has been working hard as it's getting warmer - Colorado finally realized it's supposed to be spring here - and almost every weekend now, we have smoothies for breakfast, sometimes with a slice of toasted Ezekiel bread with peanut butter.  Jamie heads downstairs to the garage to work on his car first thing in the morning, hardly taking the time to eat anything, so I'll blend up a healthy, low-sugar smoothie with protein powder and frozen fruit to take downstairs to him so he has something in his stomach throughout the morning.

I've been making my peanut butter banana smoothie a couple times a week lately, but today I made something different, with unsweetened almond milk, frozen cherries, ice, protein powder, unsweetened cocoa powder and a little vanilla.  It tastes indulgent and chocolatey, with a hint of fruity sweetness from the cherries.  Jamie drank his from a mason jar, but I just had to drink mine with one of my new pink, polka dot straws...

An Egg in the Nest...

In just a few weeks, we might have a little baby on our hands.  Well, twins, actually.  I say might because the babies in question are currently inside their little eggs, nestled on a bed of twigs in one of my empty flower pots on the balcony.

We have a couple of pigeons that have been lingering around our building, and in the mornings, we often hear them out on the balcony, their cooing getting louder and louder until one of us shoos them away.  Because really, who wants pigeons taking over the one outdoor space that we have with living on the third floor.  Apparently they've been canoodling out there more than we thought, because over the weekend, I noticed that they had started to build a nest on top of one of my empty (and very neglected) flower pots that was filled with dried up dirt.

And while we were contemplating getting rid of the nest to discourage any more loitering, they laid an egg.  And then another one!  Two pretty little eggs that I just didn't have the heart to get rid of.

I realize we're talking about pigeons here...  But I can't help being fascinated with the way the pair of them takes turns sitting on the eggs, keeping them warm, hour after boring hour.  Even pigeons sacrifice for their babies.

I really, really would love to see those baby birds hatch, something I've never seen before.  So I'm actually hoping they make it, even though that means a few more pigeons lingering around the building.  There's a place in my heart even for the happiness of pigeons.

So for now, we are trying our best to do all of our cooking indoors, so as not to disturb them.  They even seem to have gotten to the point that they trust me enough not to fly away when I walk up to the door to open it for some cool air, and I got close enough for a photo for this post a few days ago...

These cupcakes I made weren't for the pigeons, though!  (How weird would that be if they were, though?)  One of my close friends is having a baby, due in October, and she and her husband had a little party to announce if they were having a boy or a girl.  She asked me to make "gender reveal cupcakes", with a secret pink or blue filling inside, so that when everyone took a bite, they would see the color of the cream filling and the secret would be revealed!  Such a cute idea, and I loved being a part of it.

These were such fun cupcakes to make, and I used a design similar to my cream-filled Valentine's cupcakes, with fresh whipped cream filling and a smooth icing of chocolate ganache.  I piped pink, white and blue icing on top of the ganache in various boy/girl designs.  I also made a couple of cupcake toppers by cutting out onesies on pink and blue construction paper (tracing the shape of a small onesie-shaped cookie cutter), which I then taped to toothpicks and embellished with tiny little bows.

And as you can see, the secret cream filling inside was...  PINK!

She has been wanting a baby for as long as I've known her, and I know they're going to be wonderful parents.  I can't wait to meet their baby girl!


One Year Ago:  The Colors of Spice and the Secret in the Sauce
Two Years Ago:  Jiaozi and Cold Noodles

Gender Reveal Cupcakes
printable recipe

• 24 cupcakes, any flavor
• freshly whipped cream, tinted pink or blue (recipe below)
• chocolate ganache (recipe below)
• icing for piping, tinted pink, blue and white (recipe below)

Step 1:
Bake and cool the cupcakes.  Take a cupcake corer and scoop out the center of each cupcake.  Set cupcakes aside, covered with a clean kitchen towel, so they don't dry out.

Step 2:
Make the whipped cream according to the recipe below.  Scoop cream into a piping bag and pipe into the center of each cupcake, smoothing out the top with a knife.  Refrigerate while you make the ganache.

Note: Instead of whipped cream, you could also fill the cupcakes with a tinted buttercream or cream cheese buttercream filling.

Step 3:
Make the ganache according to the recipe below.  Dip each cupcake into the ganache and lightly shake off the excess.  (If you have any extra ganache, you can double dip the cupcakes, or chill the ganache and roll into truffles.)  Refrigerate cupcakes to set the ganache while you make the icing.

Step 4:
Make the icing for piping according to the recipe below.  Tint icing various colors, scoop into piping bags fitted with small tips and decorate however you like!

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Recipes and Design by Curly Girl Kitchen


Whipped Cream Filling

• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
• pink or blue gel food coloring

With an electric mixer, whip all ingredients on medium speed until firm peaks form; it's necessary to whip it thoroughly (stopping short of making butter, of course) to ensure the cream is stable and won't collapse and get runny.  Refrigerate until ready to pipe inside the cupcakes.


Chocolate Ganache

• 4 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate (such as 60% cacao), finely chopped
• 5 ounces (1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons) heavy whipping cream

Tip: Don't make the ganache until you're ready to dip the cupcakes.  If you make it ahead of time, it could cool too much and get too thick for dipping.

Place the chopped chocolate in a small bowl.  Pour the cream into a small saucepan and heat gently over medium heat, just until it begins to bubble around the edges.  Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let stand for 3 minutes.

Stir the cream and chocolate together with a spatula until smooth and shiny.  Dip the cupcakes as directed above.


Icing for Piping

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon meringue powder (available at craft stores, on the baking aisle)
• 1/4 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon clear piping gel (available at craft stores, on the baking aisle)
• water

With an electric mixer, combine the butter, shortening, powdered sugar, meringue powder, clear vanilla and piping gel in a bowl until combined.  Add milk or water, just a few drops at a time, and mix until the icing becomes the right consistency for piping.  If it's too dry, it won't flow smoothly out of a small round piping tip, so if you're not sure, test a little first and then add more liquid as needed.


Recipes and Design by Curly Girl Kitchen

Strawberries and Custard Icebox Cake and Rhubarb Ice Cream for Two Years of Blogging...

Tomorrow it will have been two years since I started writing this blog!  Throughout all the recipe testing, photo shoots, baking successes and failures, and trying to start a baking business, I'm still just having fun with all of it, and keeping up this space for the love of what I'm doing.

So to celebrate I've made a cake and homemade ice cream.  There was a cake that my family used to make several times every summer that I looked forward to like no other cake.  We simply called it Strawberry Shortcake, although it was not a shortcake in the technical sense, since there were no biscuits or mini cakes involved.

This cake my family loved so much was a simple yellow cake, sliced into 3 or 4 layers, then stacked with Cool Whip and sliced strawberries.  We refrigerated it for a little bit so that the cake would absorb the moisture of the cream and berries before eagerly cutting it into generous pieces.  It was simple and yummy.

Icebox cakes have been making a comeback in recent years from their retro popularity, and I've seen many that are quickly made with layers of graham crackers or cookies, instant pudding and Cool Whip.  Easy and tasty, I'm sure, but I wanted to make something a little more adventurous.

To recreate the flavors of that cake that I loved as much as I adored my favorite Strawberry Shortcake Doll, no pre-made items would do for what I had in mind.  Since I planned on slicing the cake into many thin layers, a soft, fluffy white cake wouldn't work at all, so I used one of my various recipes for pound cake baked in round cake pans.

The firm, dense texture of pound cake is ideal for slicing into thin layers, and the perfect base for absorbing the delicious flavor and moisture of the filling.  To fill all those layers of cake, I made creamy vanilla bean custard and fresh strawberry jam filling, which I alternated between each cake layer.

After chilling the cake to let the flavors come together, I topped it all off with lightly sweetened whipped cream and more fresh strawberries, with little bowls of the extra vanilla custard and strawberry jam on the side.

Sometimes I really like the look of a "naked" cake (no covering of buttercream).  Just rustic and simple, with the focus on the flavors.

How amazing would this cake be with fresh, in-season peaches, too?

And to complement the cake, I made fresh rhubarb ice cream.  The ice cream almost didn't happen, because I had a terrible time that evening trying to find rhubarb, either fresh or frozen, but at the fourth grocery store, I finally found some fresh rhubarb that didn't look like it had been sitting there for a week.

I simmered the rhubarb on the stove with some sugar and a little butter, then pureed it in the blender until thick and smooth.  Then I whisked the puree into an egg-based ice cream custard with a little vanilla, and chilled it overnight.  When I churned the ice cream the next morning, I sneaked a few spoonfuls of it while it was at soft-serve consistency, and it was so smooth and creamy, pretty and pink, with a nice balance of sweetness for the tart rhubarb.

The last two years of blogging have opened so many new opportunities for me, and I'm thankful for all of you, who come here, and read the words I've written.  It's wonderful to be doing something I feel passionate about, and I'm excited to see what happens in this third year...



one year ago:   Peanut Butter and Jelly Tart, and Reflections on my First Year of Blogging
two years ago: The First Post: Margherita Pizza

Rhubarb Ice Cream
printable recipe

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 1/2 cups chopped rhubarb (fresh or frozen)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• 5 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the rhubarb and 1/2 cup sugar.  Simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rhubarb is juicy and soft.  Let cool for a few minutes, then pour into a blender and puree until smooth.  Set aside.

In a clean saucepan, combine the cream and milk.  Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, just until the cream begins to bubble around the edges.

In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks together with the remaining 1/4 cup sugar.  Slowly stream a cup of the hot cream into the egg yolks, whisking them constantly to temper them.  Scrape the egg mixture back into the cream.  Continue to whisk constantly while cooking the custard over medium heat, for about 5-8 minutes, until thick enough to coat a spoon.  Remove from the heat and pour the custard through a fine mesh strainer to remove any bits of cooked egg.

Whisk the rhubarb puree and the vanilla into the custard.  Cover with plastic wrap, right against the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming, and refrigerate until very well chilled, preferably overnight.

Churn the chilled custard according to the manufacturer's instructions of your ice cream maker, then transfer to a container and freeze until firm, about 4-6 hours.

Yields about 2 quarts.

Recipe from Curly Girl Kitchen



Strawberries and Custard Icebox Cake
printable recipe


cake:

• 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/3 cups whole milk

vanilla bean custard:

• 2 cups whole milk
• seeds of 1 vanilla bean (or 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste)
• 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 4 egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold

strawberry filling:

• 4 cups sliced fresh strawberries
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons corn starch
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

garnish:

• whipped cream
• fresh strawberries

Bake the Cake:
Preheat the oven to 350.  Spray the bottoms of three 8-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray, line with parchment paper, then spray the paper as well.

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar, cream cheese and butter on medium speed, scraping the bowl occasionally, until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.  Beat in the eggs and the vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking powder.  With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk, starting and ending with the flour, mixing just until moistened.

Divide batter between the pans and bake for 28-30 minutes, until the center springs back when gently touched and a toothpick comes out clean.

Cover the pans loosely with clean kitchen towels and cool completely on wire racks.


Make the Custard:
In a saucepan, combine the milk, vanilla bean seeds or paste, sugar and cornstarch.  Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, whisking occasionally.

In a separate bowl, lightly beat the egg yolks to break them up.  When the milk mixture begins to bubble around the edges, slowly stream about a cup of the hot milk into the eggs, whisking them constantly to temper them.  Scrape the warmed egg mixture back into the saucepan.

Whisking constantly, bring the custard to a boil over medium heat, then cook for 1-2 minutes until thickened.  Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, until smooth.  Pour into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, right against the surface of the custard.  Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

Note, to speed up the chilling process, you can place the bowl of custard in a larger bowl filled with ice water, and whisk the custard to bring the temperature down more quickly.


Make the Strawberry Filling:
In a saucepan, combine the strawberries, sugar, corn starch, lemon juice and water.  Simmer over medium low heat, mashing the berries a little, for about 15 minutes.  When the berries are very juicy, increase the heat to medium.  Bring to a boil and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, until thickened like jam.  Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.  Cover and chill thoroughly.
 

Assemble:
Remove the cooled cakes from the pans and peel off the parchment paper.  Using a sharp knife, slice the cakes into several thin layers - the more layers the better. (I sliced each cake into 3 layers, for a total of 9 thin layers).

Place a layer of cake on a cake board or serving pedestal.  Spread with a thin layer of the chilled vanilla custard, right to the edge of the cake.  Place another layer of cake on top and spread that one with a thin layer of the strawberry filling.  Repeat with the rest of the cake layers, custard and strawberry filling, alternating the custard and strawberry filling with each layer.

Cover and chill the cake for 1-2 hours, so that the cake absorbs the moisture of the custard and strawberry filling.


Garnish and Serve:
Before serving, garnish with freshly whipped cream and strawberries.  If you have any leftover custard or strawberry filling, serve that on the side.


Recipe from Curly Girl Kitchen

Toasted Coconut Ice Cream

Coconut milk is an ingredient I just started using a few years ago, when we began trying out a few recipes for curry dishes at home.  Until I made my own curry, I never would have guessed that coconut milk was used so heavily in Indian food.

I love the creamy, rich quality it adds, and that it's also versatile enough to use in both savory and sweet dishes.

We don't eat out all that often, but when we do, if it's not for sushi or oysters, then we love going out for spicy curry.  During the first year that we were dating, one of our favorite restaurants was an Indian restaurant in Longmont, and we'd linger there over hot vindaloo curries with lamb and potatoes or lobster masala in a creamy tomato curry sauce.  Always with steaming bowls of jasmine rice to cool our mouths.  We're actually making curry for dinner at home tonight - I can't wait!

And on the sweet side of coconut milk...

Ever since I made a Coconut Cream Pie for Easter, I've been wanting to try making a coconut ice cream from coconut milk.  This is a simple 5-ingredient ice cream - just cream, coconut milk, egg yolks, sugar and toasted coconut - that has a wonderfully fragrant flavor of coconut from both the milk and the toasted flakes.  I used the coconut milk much more heavily than the cream, but you could definitely play with the amounts as you like - more cream will yield a richer ice cream.

For fun, I dipped ice cream cones in melted white chocolate, then rolled them in toasted coconut, letting the chocolate firm back up.  They make a pretty presentation for serving scoops of the ice cream.

And to anyone who doesn't like coconut, well, I think you're missing out on so much deliciousness...

Toasted Coconut Ice Cream

printable recipe

·         1 cup heavy cream

·         2 cans (14 ounces each) unsweetened, full-fat coconut milk

·         5 egg yolks

·         ½ cup granulated sugar

·         1 cup shredded coconut, toasted

Notes:

To toast the coconut, spread it evenly on a baking sheet and toast in a 300-degree oven for 5-10 minutes until lightly browned – watch it carefully as it can go from golden brown to burned very quickly.

You can adjust the quantities of cream and coconut milk and use more cream and less milk for a richer ice cream.  If you do this, you might want to add a little coconut extract so that it still tastes very coconuty.

In a saucepan, combine the cream and coconut milk.  Set over medium heat and bring to a gentle simmer, just until it begins to bubble around the edges.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar.  When the milk is simmering, slowly stream a cup of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly to temper the eggs.  Scrape the egg mixture back into the saucepan.  Whisk the custard constantly while continuing to cook over medium heat, just until thick enough to coat a spoon, about 5 minutes.  Transfer to a container, cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, or overnight.

Take the chilled coconut custard and churn it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  Stir in the toasted coconut.  Freeze until firm, about 4-6 hours.

Yields about 1 ½ quarts.

Recipe from Curly Girl Kitchen

rainy day musings, warm milk with honey, and chocolate...

It's a napping sort of day, with the moody gray skies, chilly breezes, thunder, lightning, rain and sleet we've had today.  The sky is already impossibly dark for early evening.  I haven't had the luxury of a nap, though, just too many cups of black coffee to make it to five o'clock.

I left work and was pelted with cold rain as I walked to my car - why didn't I wear a sweater this morning?  I love the rain, but it chills me all the way through on days like this.  I wish I had a pair of polka dot rain boots to splash through all the puddles.

I'm home now, though, with a warm cup in my hands.  I was thinking about when I lived in China and I ate lots of local honey to try to get my body accustomed to the allergens so that I wasn't constantly sneezing and wiping my nose.  For my daily dose of honey, I would warm up a cup of milk before bed, and stir in a tablespoon of honey.

It's now been years since I've made myself a cup of warm milk, so today was the day to remake my old favorite drink.  I've recently switched to unsweetened almond milk instead of my usual skim milk, so I warmed up a cup of almond milk, added a spoonful of honey, a few drops of vanilla extract and a fresh grating of nutmeg.  I'm still getting used to the taste of almond milk, and to be honest, I far prefer the taste of cow's milk instead.  I imagine this would taste pretty good with coconut milk, too.  For extra deliciousness, you could make this with 2% or whole milk, or even add a small splash of half 'n' half or cream.  Yummy in my tummy.

My hands are getting delightfully warm from the hot cup, and I'm cozy in my pajamas now, my uncomfortable and cold work clothes lying in a heap on the floor.  Heaps of laundry waiting to be put away is one of my biggest faults.  I admit it.

There's a pigeon on our balcony incubating her egg in one of my flower pots - more details on this later - and I wonder if she's cold out there.  How can she not be freezing?  She's getting drenched with rain as she sits there on her egg.  She lets me come right up to the glass door now without getting scared and flying away.  I think she senses that I don't actually mind her presence out there, and she even let me take a few fuzzy photos of her through the dirty, rain-streaked glass.

"Should we name the pigeon?" I asked Jamie last night.  After all, she's going to be with us for a few more weeks, and if all goes well, there will be a baby bird out there for a couple weeks after that.  And then we can reclaim our outdoor space for ourselves again.

"Uh, no, we shouldn't."  He's not as intrigued by all of this as I am.

Maybe I shouldn't name her, though.  No point in getting attached to a silly little pigeon that I don't want to get to close to for fear of mysterious bird diseases.  But if I did...  any suggestions for names?

I've found a blog that I can't stop reading.  It's called Naughty Shorts, and it's written by an Australian dressmaker who sells her vintage creations on Etsy.  Her blog is all girly, pretty, vintagy loveliness, and I'm in love with it.  Reading through her posts inspire me to renew my own creativity, things that I've neglected for too long, like my own sewing, painting and drawing.  I've been so busy dreaming up recipes and baking that I've forgotten there are other things I love to do, too.  Creativity ebbs and flows, though, and I'm glad to have a little renewed inspiration.

But for tonight, since it's Jamie's turn to cook dinner, I'll enjoy my hot milk, my favorite green blanket and a book...  And a little dark chocolate.

Warm Milk with Honey

• 1 cup milk, any kind you prefer
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• pinch of freshly grated nutmeg, or cinnamon
• splash of cream or half 'n' half

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and warm over medium heat until hot.  If desired, add a little cream for extra richness.

Yields 1 serving

Recipe from Curly Girl Kitchen

Steamed Mussels and Thai Tuna Burgers

It was just another Friday night dinner at home, and our usual routine of cooking while listening to 80's rock, eating, drinking wine and watching a movie is comfortable and familiar.  I love Friday nights, when the whole weekend is ahead of me and I can plan out everything that I want/need to get done.  Whether or not it all will get accomplished remains to be seen at that point, but I like looking forward to all the possibilities.

I had shopped after work that day at Hmart, our local Asian market, for fresh, sushi-grade tuna and live mussels.  I scrubbed the mussels under cool water while Jamie diced the tuna for the Thai Tuna Burgers I wanted to try from Food and Wine.  We followed the recipe almost exactly, including the ginger lemon mayonnaise which was so good, although we did add a few bread crumbs to the mixture as the burger patties wouldn't hold together otherwise.  This could be due to our lack of a mortar and pestle so the ginger and garlic may not have been mashed as thoroughly as they should have been.  The burgers were delicious, especially with the crunchy, slightly pickled cucumbers and red onions.  I also garnished the burgers with a handful of micro greens, which looked ever so pretty and fresh on top.

Before the burgers, though, we ate hot edamame with a generous sprinkling of coarse kosher salt, and mussels, steamed in white wine and broth, seasoned with garlic, shallot and a little lemon and butter.  There's nothing quite like the scent of a knob of butter, melting in a hot pan, garlic and shallot browning in the pool of melted butter.  I can't wait for the next Friday night...

Steamed Mussels in White Wine, Garlic, Shallot and Butter
printable recipe

• 2 pounds live mussels
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1 large shallot, roughly chopped
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• lemon wedges
• fresh herbs or micro greens

Rinse the mussels (which should be purchased fresh that day and kept on ice in the refrigerator until ready to cook), and scrub the shells under cool water with a vegetable scrubber.  Pull off any visible strands of the "beard".  If any shells are open, or smell bad, throw them away; those mussels are already dead.

In a large saucepan (one with a lid) melt the butter and olive oil over medium heat.  Add the garlic and shallot, with a little salt and pepper, and brown for about 2 minutes until fragrant.  Add the white wine and broth.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, then add all of the mussels at once.  Cover with the lid and steam the mussels until the shells open, about 4-5 minutes.

Scoop the mussels into a large bowl, pour some of the broth over the top, and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and a squeeze of lemon and the herbs.  Enjoy immediately, with some crusty bread to soak up the broth.

Yields 2-4 servings.

Recipe from Curly Girl Kitchen

Browned Butter Carrot Cupcakes with Salted Candied Pecans

If you've followed my blog for a while, then you might remember the Browned Butter Carrot Cake I made several times last September, first for a birthday party and then for work.  But I had yet to try my recipe in cupcake form, so with a request for "something with cream cheese frosting" for the cupcakes I planned to bring to a work potluck, I was glad for the chance to make this recipe again.

Because it's just that good.

I was pleased that my recipe baked equally well for cupcakes as it does for layer cakes - at high altitude I can never be sure of this until I try it.  I've always loved carrot cake, and the browned butter adds so much flavor and richness to the sweet little cakes.

The cupcakes are topped with a swirl of cinnamon cream cheese buttercream and a sprinkling of salted candied pecans.  The pecans taste like fall, but they taste fantastic no matter what season.  They are dangerously addictive, though...  As they sit cooling on the counter, it's tempting to start nibbling at the edges, and after a couple of bites, you'll want to eat your weight in candied pecans.

Browned Butter Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Buttercream and Salted Candied Pecans

printable recipe

cupcakes:

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 cups finely grated carrots (5-8 carrots, depending on their size)
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

cream cheese buttercream:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 5 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons meringue powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon vanilla

To make the cupcakes: 

Preheat the oven to 350.  Line muffin tins with paper cupcake liners (about 28-30).  Set aside.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Cook the butter, swirling occasionally, until it turns a nutty golden brown, about 5 minutes.  Set aside to cool for 15 minutes.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves.  In another larger bowl, whisk together the grated carrots, applesauce, brown sugar, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla.  Whisk in the brown butter until incorporated.  Gradually whisk in the flour mixture just until moistened.  Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 full (I filled each with about 1/4 cup batter).

Bake until the centers spring back when gently touched and a toothpick comes out clean, about 15-17 minutes.  Cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then transfer cupcakes to wire racks and cool completely, covered loosely with a clean kitchen towel. 

To make the frosting: 

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the butter and cream cheese for about 1 minute to combine.

In a separate bowl combine the powdered sugar, meringue powder and cinnamon.  Add to the mixing bowl, a cup at a time, mixing on low to combine.  Add the vanilla.  Increase speed to medium and beat for 2-3 minutes until smooth and creamy.

Fit a piping bag with a large star tip and pipe the buttercream onto the cooled cupcakes.  Top with chopped, salted candied pecans (recipe below...).

Yields about 30 cupcakes.

Recipe from Curly Girl Kitchen

Salted Candied Pecans

• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg white
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 3 cups raw, unsalted pecans

Preheat the oven to 300.  Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with non-stick spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, egg white, vanilla, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg until well combined.  Add the pecans and stir with a spatula to coat them evenly.  Spread into a single layer on the baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes.  Cool completely on the foil before breaking or chopping into pieces.  Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

Yields 3 cups.

Recipe from Curly Girl Kitchen