Strawberries, Pineapple, and Bananas...Oh My!

Ava Faye Cakes

I had a hankering, as usual, to make a fun batch of cupcakes. I decided to make a cupcake for my friend, Ava. She did not get her Valentine's cupcakes and was coming over for dinner so I wanted to make her something special. Well, I sent a text message to my girl to find what her favorite flavors are. She sent me a message back that said: Vanilla, dark chocolate, strawberry, banana, pineapple...and cheesecake, if that is a flavor. So, I decided to combine all these flavors to make one harmonious cupcake. I don't think she knew I was going to use everything she said, but they all did go pretty good together. I figured I could get the vanilla taken care of easily by making that the flavor of the batter. Then, I decided to combine all the fruit mash it up together, and make that the filling. Well, I still had two left so I just decided to make two icings. One was dark chocolate ganache and the other was literally an easy cheesecake I baked then scraped out of the pan added a little milk, powdered sugar, and left over whipped cream I had in the fridge. I also added a little purple food coloring to the cheesecake icing because that is her favorite color. It was a crazy explosion of awesome flavors! Anyway, as Ava and I shared one of these concotions, we decided that it would be better with a simple cream cheese icing instead of the cheesecake. I used an extra large cupcake pan with liners to make six cupcakes, but you could make more smaller ones if you prefer. I put one scoop of batter in each liner, added a scoop of fruit filling on that and topped each with another scoop of batter. It turned out surprisingly good. I wasn't sure about baking them with the fruit already added, but it was delish!

Ava Faye Cakes:

(I changed a few things to make it easier and better )

For the Cupcakes:
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
¾ cups milk
½ cup butter (room temperature)
1 egg (room temperature)
1 vanilla bean cut lengthwise
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
*Fruit Mixture
*Dark Chocolate Ganache
*Cream Cheese Icing

*Recipes Below

Directions:
In a small saucepan heat the milk and vanilla bean just to a boil. Remove from heat and let cool for about an hour. Then remove vanilla bean, scrape out the seeds from inside it, and add them to the milk. Discard the bean pod. Preheat the oven to 350. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl (I use a sanding mixer) cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well. Add the dry ingredients in 3 additions alternately with the milk in 2 additions, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat until just combined. Using a large cupcake tin, lined with cupcake liners, add a scoop (about 2 tablespoons) of batter to each cup and smooth out across liner. Then, top those portions with a scoop of the fruit mixture and smooth out. Finish by topping each with another scoop of cupcake mixture to cover fruit filling. Cook in oven for about 35-40 minutes.

After baked (the cupcakes, not you!), allow to cool completely before icing. When cooled top each cupcake with a thin layer of ganache and after that is dried a scoop of cream cheese icing.

Fruit Mixture:

1 8 oz can crushed pineapple
½ of a banana diced
½ cup strawberries diced

Combine all fruit together and smash with a potato masher

Dark Chocolate Ganache:
½ cup heavy whipping cream
5 ounces dark chocolate chips (or bar, chopped)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
½ teaspoon almond extract

Combine all ingredients except extract in a double boiler and melt over low heat. When melted, add extract and use immediately to get that glossy effect. If ganache is allowed to cool it will still be good, it will just dry with a more matte appearance.

Cream Cheese Icing:

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese froom temperature

1 stick butter, room temperature
1 lb powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Add a couple of red and blue drops of food coloring to make purple (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a stand mixer and beat until icing consistnecy is reached.

Great Things in Small Packages

Well, the Valentine's Day truffle cupcakes turned out perfect! They were such a hit among friends that one even suggested copyrighting the idea. I don't know if they're the next million dollar idea, but they were darling. Anyways, here are the pictures, as promised. I found these little boxes at a craft store and tied them up with ribbon to make them more like a box of chocolates. When my friends realized they were different flavored little cupcakes they were ecstatic. I have a feeling some of the flavors will be requested more frequently than even my famous vanilla cupcakes with cream cheese icing.My favorite were the toffee and Bailey's Irish Cream cupcakes. I knew cupcakes make people smile, but yesterday was one of the most rewarding experiences in my short baking history. I love cupcakes!!!

Valentine's Truffle Cupcakes:

Come on Baby Light My Fire: Spicy Cayenne Pepper
Jamaican Me Crazy: Coconut Cream and Lime
Mint for Each Other: Mint, Duh
A Whole Latte Love: Kahlua Cream and Toffee
Orange you my Valentine? Orange
Razz my Tazz: Raspberry
Espresso My Love: Strong Espresso
Long Stemmed Rose: Rose Water Cream
Completely Nuts for You: Cashew, Almond, Pecan, Walnuts
Ahhhmaretto: Amaretto/Almond flavored
Caramellow Out: Caramel
Feed me a Strawberry: Strawberry Cream

Flavors are listed in a previous blog, if interested.

Indecision '08

Although people did not rush to the polls to vote, the resuts are in. It's a tie between Margarita and Pineapple Upside-Down Cupcakes. I guess I will have to make them both. I promise to take pictures and let you know how they turn out.



Although this is not a cupcake, it was a hit among my friends. I made this cake for a friend's birthday. She loves tequilla, to say the least. Maybe I can make another one when I make the margarita cupcakes. I think they would be cute with those little jelly lime wedges on the side to look like a shot.

"Choc" it up to Bad Measurements

I never thought I would say anything negative about something chocolate, but Friday I had my first cupcake debacle. I recently had a delicious spicy chocolate truffle from Whole Foods in which I think they used crushed red pepper to flavor and add heat. Well, it was so tasty that I thought it would translate well into a cupcake. Needless to say it did not. I found a recipe for a spicy chocolate cupcake online that called for chili powder and cayenne pepper. It was awful! It tasted so weird with the chili powder and had way too much heat from the cayenne. I think next time, if ever, I will completely cut the chili powder out of the recipe and just add a dash of cayenne to the ganache. I think the chocolate cake part should jst be left the way it is...Chocolatey delicious! Anyways, Just thought I would share this funny story about my chili cupcakes. Bam!=Yuck!

Fun Takes the Cake!

I've been racking my trying to think of some fun ideas and recipes I could share. So I decided to look through my "portfolio" of cakes and other confections and had a blast looking back on some of the funny things I have made.

By the way, that brain cake I made was for a former employer of mine. During college I worked for a Neurologist. Yes, She loved it! She could not stop laughing at the fact that I actually added EKG wires to it. I reassured her that they had never been used.

Anyways, I was recently having a facebook message session with one of my best friends from high school, Ryan. Yes, it's sad that we never actually talk to people these days. It seems as though whenever my friends need to tell me something, they either message me through facebook or myspace, or send me a text message. Oh well, that's a competely different subject. So Ryan and I were talking about how much easier it was when we were little kids. We had super fun hay ride and roller skating parties and never even knew what bills were! Well, I was wondering how I might bring back a little of this childhood fun to my life and I realized that I already do. It just takes a little sugar, flour, butter, and other stuff to be a kid again. Another of my best friends (this one I have known since I was three) and I were trying to do something fun during the Thanksgiving holiday and we decided to make cupcakes. They were no masterpiece, but we had an awesome time decorating them like kids would.

Eleanor with her cupcake...Hey, it matches her outfit! Hahaha

I told you they were no masterpiece...But aren't they fun?! I think my favorite one is the random yellow one with the pecan in the middle of it. Ellie did that one, I think.

So you see, You can have childhood fun no matter what your age! I realize that I, more often than not, act like a goofy kid anyway. Might as well add icing and food coloring to the mix!

Well, enough of the stroll down memory lane, here is a recipe for some fabulous carrot cupcakes that you might love!

I got this recipe from one of my favorite cake cook books Williams Sonoma Cake. Then I just used my own easy cream cheese icing recipes to top it off. You can add a little food coloring to some of the icing to make the carrot decoration on the top if you like.

Delicious Carrot Cupcakes:

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Walnuts

3/4 lb Carrots

1 1/4 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

2 Teaspoons Bakng Powder

1/2 Teaspoon each: Baking Soda and Salt

1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

1/2 Teaspoon Freshly Grated Nutmeg

2 Large Eggs
1 1/3 cups Firmly Packed Light Brown Sugar

1/2 cup Whole Milk

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled to rom temp

1/2 cup dried currants

For the Frosting:

1- 8 oz package of cream cheese

1 stick of unsalted butter

1 lb of powdered sugar

1 tablespoon of vanilla

* I always add a touch of almond extract as well (optional)

Lightly toast the walnuts and then coarsely chop; set aside. Peel the carrots and cut into 1/2 inch slices.

Bring a large saucepan three-fourths full of water to a boil. Add the carrots and cook until tender, 10-15 minutes. Drain and let cool. In a food procesor, puree the cooked carrots. You should have about 1 cup of puree.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pan with cupcake papers.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together onto a sheet of waxes paper; set aside.

In a larger bowl, whisk together the eggs and brown sugar until well combined. Whisk in the milk and melted butter. Whisk in the dry ingredients and then carrot puree. Using a large rubber spatula, stir in the walnuts and currants.

Pour the batter into the cupcake papers (I use an ice cream scoop to make them uniform in size).

Bake until lightly browned and a skewer inserted into center comes out clean, 45-50 minutes (I think when I made these as cupcakes they took much less time to cook. Keep a close eye on them and do the toothpick test when they start to firm up). Let cool completely before frosting.

Frosting: Add all frosting ingredients in a mixer and combine until smooth. If to stiff you can always add a little milk or more flavoring (vanilla or almond extract).

These cupcakes were a huge hit with my friends. Although carrot cake tends to just be a vehicle to get the cream cheese frosting in your mouth, these cupcakes were particularly tasty.

Enjoy!!!