easter cupcakes for the coasties

so, today was a little easter party held for all the coastie kiddies... there were games, 2 bounce houses, an easter egg hunt, crafts, lots of goodies, and a kinda creepy looking "mr. bunny"... the thing was that my hubby didn't tell me until 4o'clock yesterday that we were supposed to bring goodies to share with everyone, you know like cookies, brownies and such... he always waits till the last moment to tell me things... typical man... but no matter, i love to break out the supplies and bake my pa-tootie off in the kitchen... so heres some pictures of the yummies...

what a way to greet the morning!

so... unless you're a complete nutter, there is something absolutely unbelievable about ooey gooey fresh from the oven cinnamon rolls! and i always seem to have a hankering for them, which is a big uh-oh especially now that i'm getting back in shape... (no more baby-belly and swimsuit season is just 'round the corner, whooo0 hooo0!) so i thought about it for a while, whether or not to make them, and well... the devil on my shoulder won...

so to make up a little bit for my lack of willpower, i decided to prolong the inevitable by making alton brown's overnight cinnamon rolls... but this didn't curb my desire to gorge myself, it made it worse!! having to count down the hours until they would be ready was torture! but in the end.... so worth it!

they were so0o0o0o0 good... not to dense, not to cakey... just perfect!

the one thing i altered in the recipe is the cinnamon filling... i added 1/2 tsp. of ground ginger, 1 tsp. of fresh ground nutmeg... and for added fattiness i chopped some dark chocolate (about 2 ozs.) really fine and added that too... it was subtle, but the and spicy-chocolate combo was AWESOME...

i used my cream cheese frosting recipe from my red velvet cupcake recipe, but just halved it... i love frosting, but i didn't want to overload the rolls, and lose all that yummy flavor...

i could not wait to dig into these... i really didnt even have patience to set them up to take some pictures!

yummy fluffy frosting

so... no real story behind this post... just that fact that i was craving the combination of strawberries and chocolate... so i dug into my bag of tricks and pulled these tasty suckers out... i used my favorite of all favorite chocolate cake recipes, and i played on a frosting recipe by dorie greenspan... and the results were fantastic! so, i'm just keeping this post simple, with just some pictures and a recipe... i think the pictures are enough to make you wanna lick the screen... so here you are... enjoy!

ridiculously good chocolate cake:

dry ingredients:
3 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups a.p. flour
1 1/2 cups cocoa powder (i use 1 cup cocoa powder, and 1/2 cup special dark cocoa powder)
2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/4 coarse seasalt (i make my own vanilla seasalt, just for that added vanilla kick... i place the seasalt in a mason jar, along with a split vanilla bean and shake it up a bit... after a few days the salt has a subtle vanilla undertone... and it looks pretty all speckled with the vanilla)


wet/fat ingredients:
3 eggs
3/4 cup veg. oil
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
6 ozs. chopped good quality bittersweet chocolate
1 1/2 cups strong brewed hot coffee


directions:
1. preheat oven to 325 and prep your cupcake tins with liners
2. chop the bittersweet chocolate, place it in a lrg. glass measuring cup, and pour the hot coffee on top. let sit for about 5 minutes, then stir to make sure it is all melted and smooth
3. sift together all of the dry ingredients in a lrg. mixing bowl
4. in stand mixer on medium, beat the eggs until slightly thickened and lemon colored, 3 minutes
5. add the buttermilk, the veg. oil and the vanilla to the egg and beat until combined
6. slowly add the chocolate mixture to the egg mixture, and mix until combined
7. turn mixer down to low, and slowly add in the dry ingredients, scraping down the bowl as necessary, and mix until combined
8. fill cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick come out clean

fluffy marshmallow frosting with a strawberry twist:
ingredients:
1/2 cup of egg whites (about 4 lrg)
1 cup of sugar
3/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 cup water
1 tbsp vanilla

directions:
1. put the egg whites in a clean, dry mixer bowl
2. place the sugar, cream of tartar and water in a medium saucepan and stir to combine. bring the mixture to a boil over medium high heat, then cover and boil for 3 minutes
3. uncover and allow the syrup to boil until it reaches 242 degrees on a candy thermometer
4. when the mixture reaches 235 degrees and begin whipping the egg whites on medium until the egg whites form shiny peaks, but if the whites peak before the sugar mixture reaches 242, turn the mixer down to low until the sugar mixture catches up
5. now when temp is reached, turn the mixer to low, carefully pour the hot syrup down the side of the mixer
6. after the syrup is all in, add in the vanilla and mix on medium until it reaches room temp, forming soft billowy peaks
*7. now i folded in some fresh pureed strawberries that i had sweetened slightly with a simple syrup, this made it slightly tart and sweet... yummy!

and for added prettiness, i decided to top them with some dark chocolate curls, and because the frosting was a tad on the tart side, i drizzled a little white chocolate ganache atop some of them... is there anything better then strawberries and chocolate...

booze and bake!

so... as i said on my last post, i was getting ready to celebrate my hometowns st. patty's day parade, and all the craziness that ensues... and like all the years before, it was good times!

the day starts off with a face paced downhill 1 mile run down the avenue, followed by a parade filled with firemen, horses, floats of all kinds, lots of bagpipes, some new york politicians, cute little irish dancers, and lots of wacky people... and the entire streets are lined with green-clad drunks...

here's some of the many bagpipers...
jacks favorite... firetrucks!
and this guy...

my lucky little guy with his party beads!

usually we start at my moms house, walk the parade route stopping in one of the many bars to get a drink, and then we end at my brothers place where we have a few drinks, then back to moms for a feast of good ol 'irish food... sheppards pie galore, cornbeef and cabbage, lots of potatoes, corn chowder, lots of soda bread... while back at moms, we get down and drity and play a mean game of bingo thanks to nana, and the winners all recieve green prizes... like irish spring soap, a box of green jello, all sorts of green cheesie knick-knacks...


"i love you man..." jack and his cousin brandon, what were these two drinking...

so anyways bake to the cupcakes...

being that it was an irish celebration, i went with a good ol' irish dessert... irish carbomb cupcakes... guiness chocolate cupcakes, filled with a baileys chocolate mousse, topped with a jameson infused buttercream... they were freakin' awesome...

the yummy inside...

cheers everyone!

a black and white affair

so, i was in the mood to bake, i was originally going to bake some yummy fresh from the oven cinnamon rolls, but alas... i had no buttermilk... so after much procrastination and some suggestions from the hubby (who at first said he'd run to the store for some buttermilk... however, he got sidetracked by his and my sons new obsession... LEGOS!)... i decided to make some vanilla cupcakes with a swirl of vanilla and chocolate buttercreams... i've always wanted to try this swirling method, and i wanted to try it before the st. patricks day parade...

now, i'm not talking about the st. patricks day parade in manhattan or in boston... i'm talking about the crazy st. paddys day parade of staten island, new york... its a day full of fun, food and well... debauchery... think about a 9 by 12 mile wide island, populated with 430,000+ people coming together to celebrate... but the main reason everyone gets together is not the parade, the marching bands, and general merriment... its the fact that the parade route hosts a slew of bars... and it turns into a little mardi gras... half the cops are wasted so, walking with a 16oz. red cup full of fun is somewhat okay...

its my families favorite holiday!!

so, the reason i wanted to try this swirl method is because i am going to be bringing dessert... chocolate guinness cupcakes, filled with a baileys cream center, topped with a jameson infused buttercream that happens to be tri-colored (white, orange and green)... so i needed to practice a little... and heres what i did... all and all, not so bad!!

just for the hubby

so, being that my hubby is always surrounded by my baked goods, he's always asking, well more like begging me to bake things a little more healthy... not to mention that the hubs works in the health profession and he works to help people maintain a healthy lifestyle... so, sometimes he gets overwhelmed by the amounts of butter and sugar and FAT in the cakes and cookies... but come on... that's where the flavor comes from!!!

but i guess, once and a while i can bend the rules for him... so i decieded to bake up some whole wheat chocolate cookies... and let me tell you... they ended up soft, chewy, chocolatey with a hint of honey sweetness... i knew i was in trouble when i couldn't stop eating the dough, how was i going to handle myself when they are warm and freashly baked...

i found this recipe on king arthur flours website... since i was using their whole wheat flour, i found it only fitting to use their recipe...

whole wheat soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies:

6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter

1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar

3/4 cup (5 5/8 ounces) brown sugar lightly packed

3 tablespoons (2 1/4 ounces) honey

2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon espresso powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) cider vinegar

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 cups (8 ounces) King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour

2 to 3 cups (16 to 18 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

directions:
1. preheat the oven to 350
2. lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets
3. in a large bowl, beat together the butter, sugars, honey, vanilla, espresso powder, and salt till smooth
4. beat in the vinegar, egg, baking soda, and baking powder
5. stir in the flour, then the chocolate chips, mixing JUST till combined
6. drop the dough, by tablespoonfuls, onto the prepared baking sheets
7. bake the cookies for 10 to 11 minutes, until they’re starting to brown around the edges
8. remove them from the oven, and allow them to cool for 5 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely

so, if you're interested in a healthier version of an old classic... try this!

time to celebrate... with cake!

so... it's been a while since i last posted... but i have a valid excuse... i finally had my baby!! whoooooo hoooooo!!! ahhh... i'm all a-glow and mushy now!!

i'm pleased to introduce to you all, my little man, benjamin scout perkins... born February 6th at 4:36pm... weighing 8lbs 14ozs, 21 inches tall... (we were freakin shocked at how big he was... we figured he was going to be around 6 lbs since i gained only 20 pounds and i was all belly)... but hey, i guess i grow big kids... his big brother was 8lbs 3ozs, 21 1/2 inches... isn't he freakin cute... ahh... i'm in love!!


anyways... i've been looking for an excuse to bake a certain cake that just makes me drool every time i look at it... it is a perfect celebration cake... and now i had a reason... but, come on, who really needs a reason to bake delicious goodies... not me!

so, the particular cake i am talking about ladies and gentlemen is the cover "art" from dorie greenspans "baking from my kitchen to yours"... and no wonder she picked it... it just oozes yumminess right from the picture... you know what i'm talking about if you've seen it!


so this cake is an amazing combo of fluffy marshmallow frosting and a subtle rich chocolate cake... it just screams yummy party cake to me... or cake you wanna eat on a rainy sunday all cuddled under a blanket with a tom hanks/meg ryan movie on... come on ladies, you know what i'm talking about!

so anyways... i was heading back home to introduce the baby to some of the family, and in typical family fashion there was going to be lots of good food, drinks, and of course dessert! mom had gone to the local bakery, but was secretly hoping i had enough time to bake something (come on mom, do i ever show up empty handed!)

it was so fun to dig into this cake... i can't wait to bake it again... party or no party!