JAMSquared

Category Archives: Baking & Cooking

Surprise Cupcakes

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It’s been a while since I posted anything food related. That’s not saying I haven’t baked or cooked anything worth blogging about, just that other things are higher on my list of blogging priorities.

My friend Stephanie’s birthday was back in August. We went and celebrated with dinner at BJ’s. Stephanie is lactose intolerant and as such, most places don’t have dessert that is edible for her. So I made cupcakes to bring to dinner. I spent quite a while perusing recipes to find one that was just right. Did you realize that most cake mixes contain dairy? This eliminated a lot of doctored cake mix recipes. Finally, I came across one that sounded perfect. It has a jam center and Stephanie really likes linzer cookies, so how perfect is that.

I started getting out the ingredients and realized that the recipe called for milk. Oh jeez, how did I overlook that? I had hoped not to have to go to the store to make something for Stephanie, but alas that was not meant to be. I thought about looking for a different recipe, but I had my mind set on these jam-filled cupcakes. We went out for another reason and on the way home stopped at the grocery store where I ran in and picked up soy milk.

Stephanie with a Cupcake

Surprise Cupcakes

Source: Quick Cooking March/April 2002

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup shortening
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 5 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1-1/2 cups milk
  • 3/4 cup strawberry or grape jelly (I used strawberry)

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Fill 36 greased or paper-lined muffin cups half full. Spoon 1 teaspoon jelly in the center of each.

Bake at 375°F for 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted 1 in. from the edge comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Decorate as desired.

Yield: 3 dozen

Surprise Cupcakes with Creamy White Icing

To decorate, I whipped up my MIL’s Creamy White Icing. This stuff is to die for. I tinted it blue since Stephanie likes blue and added some sprinkles.

Creamy White Icing

Source: Olivia Moore

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup butter-flavored shortening
  • 2-1/2 teaspoons flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3 cups confectioner’s sugar

Directions:

In a saucepan over low heat, melt shortening; add flour and salt. Slowly stir in milk. While stirring continuously, bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat; add vanilla and confectioner’s sugar. Set pan in ice water to thicken while stirring to spreading consistency.

Yield: enough for 3 dozen cupcakes

Surprise Cupcakes with Creamy White Icing

Pina Colada Fruit Salad

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I recently organized a South Austin play group via Circle of Moms (a Facebook app). Our first play date was Wednesday and it was a lot fun. We had four mommies and six kiddos, four under 1 year of age and two 3-year-olds. I set out sandwich fixings and this fruit salad I made. You could probably make this with pretty much any fruit as long as you included the pineapple. It was delicious and I will be making it again.

Pina Colada Fruit Salad

Pina Colada Fruit Salad

Source: Simple & Delicious May 2010

Ingredients:

  • 1-1/2 cups green grapes (I cut the grapes in half because of the kiddos)
  • 1-1/2 cups seedless red grapes (I cut the grapes in half because of the kiddos)
  • 1-1/2 cups fresh blueberries (I used blackberries since they’re cheaper right now)
  • 1-1/2 cups halved fresh strawberries (I quartered instead of halved)
  • 1 can, 8-oz., pineapple chunks, drained (I actually used a 20-oz. can)
  • 1/2 cup fresh raspberries
  • 1 can, 10-oz. frozen non-alcoholic pina colada mix, thawed
  • 1/2 cup sugar (I might try this with confectioner’s sugar next time, which might make it less soupy)
  • 1/2 cup pineapple-orange juice
  • 1/8 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1/8 teaspoon coconut extract (I omitted since I realized I didn’t have it on hand)

Directions:

In a serving bowl, combine the fruit. In a small bowl, whisk the pina colada mix, sugar, juice and extracts until sugar is dissolved. Pour over fruit; toss to coat. Chill until serving. I definitely recommend serving this in bowls, not plates.

Yield: 9 servings

Zucchini Fudge Cake

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Last Saturday, our friend Phap came over to help James pull up the ruined laminate flooring. Phap is quite the eater and whenever he comes over I always send him home with food. For dessert, I made this delicous cake. I did not tell them the name of the cake until after they had eaten their slice. James, my non-vegetable eating husband, found it to be pretty tasty. Phap tore it up and had devoured the 4 slices I sent home with him by the next day. I also took the cake over to Ranger and Clarisse’s house and they enjoyed the cake as well.

Zucchini Fudge Cake

Zucchini Fudge Cake

Source: The Taste of Home Baking Book

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 2-1/2 cups sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup baking cocoa
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 3 cups shredded zucchini (I used 2 zucchini)
  • 3-1/2 cups prepared chocolate frosting (see following recipe I used)

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition. Stir in zucchini.

Pour into three greased and floured 9-inch round baking pans. Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. (Since I placed all 3 pans on the same rack, I rotated them about halfway through baking.) Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. (I let cool about 1.5 hours before frosting.) Spread frosting between layers and over the top and sides of cake.

Yield: 10-12 servings

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Source: Betty Crocker’s Cookbook (2000 binder edition)

Ingredients:

  • 4-1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 3 teaspoons vanilla
  • 3 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, melted and cooled
  • 1/4 cup milk

Directions:

In medium bowl, mix confectioner’s sugar and butter with electic mixer on low speed. Stir in vanilla and chocolate. Gradually beat in just enough milk to make frosting smooth and spreadable. If frosting is too thick, beat in more milk, a few drops at a time. If frosting becomes too thin, beat in a small amount of powdered sugar.

Yield: almost not enough to frost my cake

Onion Mustard Buns

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Last Saturday, I made these Onion Mustard Buns. It was the second time I had made them, but they turned out much better this time. The previous time, I had let them rise for too long (gone on a walk with Jessica to the park and missed the baking window) and they fell flat in the oven. They were still tasty, but flat and a little hard. This time, they turned out perfect. I made them a little larger than the recipe called for since I planned to serve them as hamburgers buns. I also used them for sandwiches this week. The mustard flavor is subtle, but provides a nice taste. I totally recommend you try this recipe.

Salmon Burger Served on a Mustard Onion Bun

Onion Mustard Buns

Source: Best of Country Potluck Recipes

Ingredients:

  • package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
  • 1/4 cup warm water (110° to 115°)
  • 2 cups warm milk (110° to 115°)
  • 3 tablespoons dried minced onion (I used 2 teaspoons onion powder, because I didn’t have minced onion)
  • 3 tablespoons prepared mustard (I used stone-ground mustard with no added salt)
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 6 to 6-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add milk, onion, mustard, oil, sugar, salt and 4 cups flour; beat until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down; divide into 24 pieces (I only divided into 16 pieces). Flatten each piece into a 3-in. circle (I didn’t really flatten much). Place 1 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.

Yield: 2 dozen (16 if you want slightly larger buns perfect for burgers)

Lemon Cherry Cake

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Not yesterday, but the previous Saturday, we went to Sprout’s Farmers Market (a grocery store, not a true farmers market) to buy avocados, since they ran a one-day special of 4 for $1 and I thought it would be a great food to introduce to Jessica. While there, we browsed the bakery section, since they also had sourdough loafs for $1. James saw a bunch of lemon desserts and got a hankering for something lemony so I said I’d bake him something and picked up some lemons while we were there. Once home, I browsed one of my cookbooks and came up with four options for him to choose from. Lemon Cherry Cake was the furthest from what he was craving, but it sounded intriguing, so he picked it. Plus, we had also picked up some fresh California cherries while at Sprout’s.

We actually baked the cake together last Sunday. I pitted and chopped the cherries and zested and juiced the lemon while James mixed the batter. The result was delicious, although both the lemon and cherry flavors are very subtle.

Lemon Cherry Cake

Lemon Cherry Cake

Source: The Taste of Home Baking Book

Cake Ingredients:

  • 1-1/2 cups coarsely chopped fresh or frozen pitted sweet cherries
  • 3/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1-3/4 cups sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2-1/2 cups all-purposed flour
  • 2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1-1/4 cup milk

Frosting Ingredients:

  • 1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
  • 3-1/2 to 4 cups confectioner’s sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan. (I used a stoneware pan.)

Pat cherries dry with paper towels; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in lemon peel and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition.

Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle with cherries. Bake at 375°F for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

For frosting, in mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, lemon juice and peel until smooth. Beat in enough confectioner’s sugar until mixture achieves desired consistency. Spread on cake. Store in refrigerator.

Yield: 12-15 servings