Cinco de Mayo

So I realize that I'm just about 3 months late...but I figure that since my last name is Mayo, I can celebrate this whenever I want.  This weeks cup cake is a ...MARGARITA cupcake!  Yum-O!
When I think of Margaritas I think of 1 thing.  Puertos...AKA...porta.  Some of my most fond memories of College involve Puertos and these little delicious yumcakes are my homage to that cheap mexican place on Tillitson in Muncie, IN.


I got some really awesome cupcake things while I was home this past weekend.  A new cooling rack, a carrying case, some new pans ( including a mini cupcake pan)...so I had a really good time making these with my new toys.


Cinco de Mayo
325F - 20-22 Min - 30 yumcakes

yumcake:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temp*
3 limes zested and juiced
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk*

*If you forget to let your eggs sit out for a bit, hold each one in your hand for 30 seconds, it will warm it up to room temp.

*If you don't want to buy an entire thing of buttermilk, then for every cup of buttermilk you need take a little less than a cup of milk and mix it with a tablespoon of white vinegar and let it sit for 5 minutes...You just made Buttermilk!


Frosting:
2 cups sugar
8 large egg whites
pinch coarse salt
3 sticks unsalted butter, room temp*
2 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
2-4 tablespoons tequila

*For the frosting it is very vital that the butter not get too soft.  The butter provides some of the structure for the frosting.


Yumcake:

1.  Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. 
2.  Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 5-7 minutes.
3.  Add in the eggs one at a time, mixing well in between each addition.
4.  Mix in the lime zest, juice and vanilla.
5.  Mix in the dry ingredients alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.
6.  Bake and cool completely before frosting.


Frosting:

1.  Put the egg whites, sugar and salt into a heat resistant bowl over a pot of simmering water.
2.  Whisk together until the mixture reaches 160F.  If you don't have a thermometer (which I don't) stick your finger in there once you see the sugar starting to dissolve.
3.  Mix on high in a stand mixer until stiff peaks are formed.  Air on the side of too stiff verses not stiff enough.
4.  Mix in the butter 2 tablespoons at a time continually mixing as you go, giving a little time between each addition.
5.  Mix in tequila and lime juice.  If it gets too soupy, switch the mixer back to med-high and it will eventually get more stiff.

Here is what I will tell you about this Frosting...It is a finicky one.  It did not work for me.  However, if you can get it to work it tastes delicious.

Here is what I suggest.... After the yumcakes have baked, I would poke holes in the top and pour the tequila over the yumcake.  Let that absorb and then make  either the regular buttercream or the whipped topping and include the juice and zest of 3 limes.  I think this might work best.  It was wayyyy too hot in my kitchen, so the frosting in the recipe didn't hold up.  However the cake itself is delicious and is very limey.  That, of course can always be adjusted by putting in more lime zest.


Best of luck to you all who have kitchens that aren't so hot.

Mango Licious

One of my favorite things to eat for dessert is fruit with a fresh whipped cream.  But it wasn't that dessert that inspired this weeks cupcake.  Matt (BF) made us a delicious dessert a few weeks ago that was a half of a mango that was 'bruleed' in the broiler using brown sugar.  It was insanely good.

I knew that I could turn this into a yumcake somehow so I decided on a Mango Mousse Cupcake with Brown Sugar Frosting.  I can get the fruit with the whipped cream!!! YAY!  I found a recipe for a Mango Mousse cake and made it into a cupcake.

So unfortunately...this week.  I didn't make my recipe (gulp).  There is no excuse...but if their were, would you believe me if I told you its been one of my busiest weeks since...I don't know when?!  My boss is out of town so my work load has doubled and I'm going home tomorrow (yay!)  So I am sorry to let the 9 of you who read my blog down, but  I hope you enjoy!  Anyway...try them out and let me know how the recipe is?!  Please :)


Mangolicious
 325F - 30 minutes - 24 yum cakes


yumcake:

3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tablespoon lime zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1/4 stick of butter

mousse:
3 cups mango puree, or 2 mangoes pureed
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 packages unflavored gelatin
2 cups whipped cream

yumcake:

1.  In mixing bowl, beat eggs until foamy.  Add sugar and beat until pale for about 10 minutes.  Mix in lime zest and vanilla.

2.  Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt/  Sift mixture in 3 segments over the egg mixture, folding well after each segment.

3.  Put into baking cups ONLY1/4 full.

4.  Bake for 30 minutes.


Mousse:

1.  Combine mango puree, sugar, orange juice, lime juice and set aside.

2.  In a small saucepan sprinkle gelatin over 1/4 cup water and let sit for 5 minutes.  Then dissolve the gelatin into water over medium-low heat.

3.  Once dissolved mix with mango puree.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

4.  Once cooled, fold in whipped cream and eat a big spoon full (My favorite part)!


Putting it all together:

1.  Once the cakes have completely cooled you want to spoon the mango mixture on top of the cake until it is even with the baking cup.

2.  Once you have filled all of the cups refrigerate for another hour.

3.  Remove and frost!



Brown Sugar Frosting:

2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 sticks of butter
1/3 cup milk
3 cups of confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla


1.  Dissolve the brown sugar into the milk and butter.  Stir until mixture is smooth.

2.  Pour hot mixture into a bowl and mix in the confectioner's sugar until smooth!

3.  Enjoy!

**Note:  If the frosting has reached a good consistency and you haven't used all 3 cups of sugar.  That's OK!

Choc-o-Choc-o Chip

This weeks blog is for my amazing roommate, Mr. Matthew Renskers.  Matt and I went to college together at Ball State, but he was two years ahead of me.  After he graduated, he went on to get his Master's with the Alabama Shakespeare Festival.  Once he moved here, they formed the BAMA Theatre Company, and are being featured at this years Fringe Festival here in NYC.   Anyway, his show opens this weekend, and his favorite thing in the world are cookies.  So I am making him a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough cupcake.  I found a recipe @ Annie's Eats.  OF COURSE, I am tweaking a bit...very slightly.  There is nothing wrong with this cupcake...except for the filling.

The name of this post gives homage to the amazingly ridiculous- so stupid you can't help but laugh- youtube video, "Muffins".  I HIGHLY recommend this video.  I first was exposed to this insane creature when my brother and sister decided that it was the most hilarious thing they had ever seen.  My brother and sister were, at the time, 13 and 11, so they pretty much find everything funny, HOWEVER...I laugh every time I watch it.  I started laughing when I typed it into the 'Title' block.  Needless to say it has become a family favorite.  WATCH IT!

This weeks recipe...I must say...is probably going to become a favorite.  This is pretty random, but living in NYC doesn't allow for much kitchen space.  My roomies are so kind as to allow me to use this shelf for my baking goods!  I wish there was a magic fairy who would replenish it while I was asleep.

 When Matt tasted them he told me to put them at the top of the yumcakes recipe list.  When they were baking they smelled like heaven.  And I must say that this was the most beautiful cake batter ever!

So here it is y'all.  This weeks yumcake!  Enjoy.

 
'Choc-o-Choc-o Chip'
350 F - 18-20 Min - 24 yumcakes

Yumcake:
3 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
4 large eggs
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cup chocolate chips (put as many as you want in there)

Filling:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp
6 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons, all purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (again...use as many as you want)

***If you want to cut this step out...you can buy those cute little pre-squared raw cookie dough and stuff those in there.  But you should note that you get the same idea with this filling without the raw eggs.

Frosting:
3 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
3 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons milk
2 1/2 teaspoon vanilla



1.  Cream together the butter and the brown sugar until light and fluffy, literally 5 minutes.  This makes such a huge difference and I can't stress enough to find your patience.
2.  Mix in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
3.  Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in another bowl.
4.  Mix the dry ingredients into the butter/sugar, alternating with the milk and vanilla, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.
5.  Fold in the chocolate chips

6.  Fill baking cups 2/3 of the way and bake for 18 to 20 minutes.

For Filling:
1.  Cream together the butter and augar.
2.  Beat in the flour, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla until smooth.
3.  Fold in the chocolate chips.
4.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firmed.
5.  Cut a cone off the top of the cooled cupcakes and insert a little ball of filling.
6.  Insert the top of the cone back over and frost!

Frosting:
1.  Cream the butter and brown sugar
2.  Mix in the confectioner's sugar, until smooth.
3.  Mix in the flour and salt.
4.  Mix in the milk and vanilla until smooth.


Matt was very excited!
                                      

Look who stopped in....Miss New York....she typed this without me knowing...so they must be pretty durn good.

Testimonial:  "Holy cow - these are by far, my favorite cupcakes that Carlie has ever made!!  I will need to move out of our apartment NOW if I want to stand any chance at winning a Miss America swimsuit award because I could eat anything from yumcakes for every meal." - Claire, Miss New York

Figgy Pudding?

When I think of my Maw Maw, I think of a number of things.  Most of which have to do with food.  She is one of the my favorite comfort food cooks.  I can only imagine this is where my Mom learned to cook, which is where my love of cooking developed (Thanks, Mom!).  Growing up I have distinct memories of her home, and her garden.  She had a huge pear tree and she has the same couple of fig trees that I grew up eating off of.  So fresh you could eat them right off the tree.  This weeks cupcake is a reminder of her.

I believe that figs can be off putting.  The majority of people have never eaten a fig in their lives (How unfortunate)!  Figs have a grainy texture and are mushy, HOWEVER, they have such a pure sweetness, that once you try them, you can't help but to love them.  And they are really pretty to look at.

When I worked at Stella's, we had a seasonal appetizer that was out of this world.  Fig wrapped in Serrano ham topped with blue cheese.  In the first bite you would get the crunch of the Serrano ham which was immediately followed by the sweet softness of the fig and then the blue cheese hits you like a salt truck.  Man, oh Man!  This appetizer is pretty common here in NYC, but this was my first experience of it, and it was perfect.  While thinking about what to put with my fig cupcake, I thought of this perfect appetizer for the perfect frosting.  Since I had experimented with Brie,why not experiment with blue cheese.  In lue of putting more pork into another cupcake, I thought I would add some rock salt on top to serve the same (not so fatty) purpose.

'Not your G-ma's Figgy Pudding'

350 F - 20-25 Min - 16 Yumcakes

2 large eggs
2/3 cup fresh figs, mashed or fig preserves
1/2 cup addition fig preserves
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups cake flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks butter, room temp


1. Sift together, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Put in mixer and add sugar.  Mix for 30 seconds to combine dry ingredients.


2.  Take 2 tablespoons from figs and whisk into eggs with vanilla and lemon juice, set aside.


3.  Add butter and remaining figs to dry ingredients in mixer.  Mix until moist, and then mix on high for another 2 minutes.


4.  Add egg mixture in 2 parts, mixing well between each addition.


5.  Fill baking cups 2/3 of the way.  Put a small dollop of the additional fig preserves in the center of the baking cup.  The batter should bake up around it.


6.  Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, Enjoy!




For the Frosting:
Cream Cheese Frosting recipe +


1/2 cup blue cheese
1 teaspoon lemon juice


1.  Soften the blue cheese and whisk until all of the lumps are gone.  Let it set again back in the refrigerator.


2.  Combine the cooled  blue cheese, cream cheese, butter, sugar and lemon juice in the mixer until you have reached the desired consistency.





Figs are in season right now, so NOW would be a good time to make these yumcakes.  I spotted figs at one of the grocery stores close by me last week, and in my attempt to get them this week was told they were out of them (go figure).  So I make a quick dash over to the aisle with the jellies and preserves, and luckily found one jar of fig preserves.  For me this wasn't ideal, because I like to use the real thing, but it would definitely work, and would cut out the step of me mashing up fresh figs.  Fig flavor is not extremely strong, so the preserves gave me another idea.  Once you have made the cupcakes, why not put a dollop of the preserves into the middle of the yumcake and let the batter cook around it.  This worked really well.  The yumcakes, while not punching you with flavor, still had the essence of a fig, because when you bit down you tasted each individual fig seed.  YUMMMMMMMY!


Unfortunately without the figs, I couldn't execute my idea about the garnish.  I thought that a 'bruleed' fig slice would have been beautiful.  All you have to do is make a thin slices if fig and put them on a cookie sheet with sugar on top (brown sugar would be delicious) and stick them under the broiler for about 10-20 minutes.  Keep an eye out though, they will definitely burn easily.

I had some bad luck with my first batch of frosting (why there aren't any pictures this week).  I was following another recipe(bad idea).  The consistency was terrible.  I tried adding an egg white foam, and that did not help at all. :(  It hit me that the ingredients that I was using were the same as my cream cheese icing, and so why not just add blue cheese.  So that's what I did.  If you aren't a cheese addict, like me, or don't like Blue Cheese, then use a milder semi-soft cheese.  You want to make sure that you get a salty cheese, so that it will play off of the sweetness of the fig.  I hope that someone is trying some of these, or if not at least enjoying hearing me rant about Cupcakes.