Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting

It's almost Valentine's Day! Do you have any plans for tomorrow? I'm going to work... so the highlights will probably be my lunch date with friends and my dinner date with Howard.

Regardless if it were Valentine's Day or not, why not make something sweet and pink?

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes
(Makes about 20-22 cupcakes)

1 stick of unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar
Seeds from one vanilla bean
4 large egg whites
1/4 cups of milk
2 1/4 cups of cake flour
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F) and have your liners ready in the cupcake tray.
2. Using a stand-mixer, cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla bean seeds together.
3. Meanwhile, use a hand-mixer to whisk the egg whites until soft peaks are formed. Slowly add in the milk. It will be light and frothy. Pour 1/3 of this mixture with the butter mixture along with the vanilla extract and mix until incorporate.
4. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Pour 1/3 into the butter mixture and incorporate. 
5. Alternate between adding the egg/milk and flour/baking powder/salt into the butter/sugar/vanilla bean mixture until they are all incorporated.
6. Use an ice cream scoop to evenly distribute the batter into the cupcake liners.
7. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
8. Let the cupcakes cool before frosting.

Strawberry Frosting
(Makes enough for 22 cupcakes)

1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter
3 1/2 cups of confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons of puréed and strained strawberries

1. Using a mixer, cream the butter and sugar until smooth. About 4-5 minutes.
2. If you're using fresh strawberries, cut off the stem and the leaves. Give the strawberries a wash and pat them dry with a paper tower. 
3. Purée the strawberries and strain them through a sieve to separate the seeds. If you look at the photo above, we made about 1 cup, but you only need 3 tablespoons - otherwise the frosting's consistency will be too runny.
4. Add the seedless purée and mix until incorporated.
5. Fill your piping bag or use a metal spatula to frost your cooled cupcakes.

The strawberry frosting doesn't have a strong strawberry flavour, but it is there. We couldn't add anymore strawberry purée because the frosting would have been too runny. I think the solution is to use really ripe strawberries (so plan ahead) or to maybe boil it down so that some of the water content evaporates?

And if you want the frosting to have a stronger pink colour, you'll have to add some food colouring to it. We kept the pale pink since we didn't want to add any other chemicals to it. Seriously, strawberry frosting is a tough one to figure out. Do bakeries use strawberry extract to get a stronger flavour?

Overall, the strawberry frosting works with these light and airy vanilla cupcakes. The cupcakes are really soft and fluffy! Adding vanilla beans make it taste so much better, but I'll probably use less sugar next time.

Woof! I couldn't resist.

Baked NYC

Last week, Howard and I went to visit New York for some sightseeing, food, and shopping. I'm warning you now, I will probably be doing a post everyday this week. I need to SHARE.

We had such a good time walking around the city and eating. We hope that you'll get to visit some of these spots one day!

First up, we visited Baked on Sunday, August 15th:

Baked NYC
359 Van Brunt Street
Brooklyn, New York 11231
(718) 222-0345

They're on facebook and twitter too!

Baked. With all your accolades and press, we just had to try it for ourselves. Howard was skeptical. I was worried walking in because I had such high expectations.

Now that we have visited, what can we say? We're impressed. I am so happy that I have their cookbook and I'm looking forward to the next one (also check out the trailer). But first, let's look around the bakery:

Jars full of brownies! Your experience isn't complete unless you reach in and try one.

Busy, busy! But don't worry, they have excellent customer service. I spent quite some time deciding on which one cupcake to get. Then added another cupcake. Then Howard picked a treat. Finally, I knew I couldn't leave without trying the brownie. Yet, she was patience as we kept adding last minute picks. She didn't even rush us (and luckily there wasn't a line behind me yet). I think she understood that we were making some serious decisions.

Mmmm look at the grasshopper bars. Are those lemon lime bars?

Over on the wall is their little gift shop. I just love the look of their boxed candies! They sell malted milk balls that top their famous Malted Cake.

After browsing, Howard and I bought a few treats to go:

The classic whoopie pie! Chocolate and vanilla, this goes great with a glass of milk.

One big bite from Howard. He said it was so good, so I took the next bite, and then he finished it! It was kind of sad when there was no more whoopie pie.

Our pistachio cupcake, vanilla base with pistachio sprinkled on top of the frosting.

I also wanted to try their chocolate frosting, so I got the chocolate and vanilla cupcake. Now that I thought about it, I should have went full chocolate since the pistachio had a vanilla base.

I was given the honour of first bite. I ate the chocolate and vanilla cupcake first. I was jumping up and down to wave Howard over - he went to get a drink. I told him that he had to try the cupcake, especially the frosting. I was going to save the pistachio for later, but didn't. We ate the cupcakes back-to-back because of the frosting.

Seriously, the frosting is just amazing. It is light and fluffy and isn't too sweet.

Howard thinks it is the best frosting he's ever tried yet!!!

Finally, the treat that received raves from Oprah and Food Network, the sweet and salty brownie! Nom nom nom!

Another sure sign that we couldn't stop? Well, we generally try 1 or 2 items from each bakery we visit. Here, we found ourselves getting 4 delicious items! So hats off to Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. Please visit Toronto for your next book tour?

Wordless Wednesday: August 18, 2010

Guest Baker: Thanks!

We had a special guest baker with us today. =)

She just got back from teaching English in China for a year.
She spent 11 days in Tibet.
Her Mandarin is much better than mine.
The day before, she was walking around downtown Toronto in a bridal gown (to promote a wedding contest).
She sends me postcards from her travel.
She sent in these lovely lyrics before.

It's Julia!

Our friend was in town (and in the country) and had been craving cupcakes for a year now. So we had her over to bake. We taught Julia some simple fondant work and gave ourselves a mini contest.

The Three Blind Mice Contest

• Using the extra pink fondant, make a little mouse.
• No extra details are required, only the body, tail, and ears.

So Howard, Julia, and I each made our simple mouse. We would love if you could judge them. I've labeled them L, M, and S (Large, Medium, and Small) here so you can keep track of the different camera angles:

The top view.

The front view.

The back view.

So who made the best mouse? Please let us know in the comments below which one you liked (L, M, and S). We'll reveal who made which later on! ;)

Check out the beautiful cupcakes of "Thanks" Julia made for her friend Carolyn!

Mario and Luigi Cupcakes

I have always wanted to do Mario-themed cupcakes after seeing the ones on hello naomi (she makes brilliant and super cute cupcakes). It was quite perfect for the long weekend. My brother came home and we played Mario Party 8 on the Wii. I never made it to the star. Fail. I have really bad luck in that game.

So here we have Mario and Luigi!

Mario is an Italian plumber who lives in the Mushroom Kingdom and Luigi is his younger brother.

Here is the star my character never reached. *Sniff Sniff*

However, I did get a bonus star in the end... for landing on the most green spaces that would send me flying back to start.

Boo-ha-ha! My brother was playing as Boo and he won.

I say boo-urns to that!

I made this set for Bev's godson, I hope he had a fantastic 12th birthday party!

Bev's Grrday Cupcakes

Grrday and Argday treats for Bev! Here's the short story: Barb is best friends with Bev. Bev's birthday is coming up. Barb has been planning this since February with me, so please give her a great big hug!

Bev went on a trip to Scotland, but she couldn't find the Loch Ness Monster. Well, here's something you might not have known, Nessy (yes, calling her that) likes living in cupcakes, not lakes! Here are some of the Nessy images that I found and liked: here and here. So you can see where the inspiration is from, the second image is a bit scary (for me), but I liked how it inspired me to span Nessy over 4 cupcakes.

Happy 42nd Birthday Bev! I hope you have a blast!

Bev's dinosaur! Barb had to do some serious B&E to get me photos of this guy. But that's what best friends do.

Grr! Awww, I love that little guy, he's so cute!

My so called "studio" shot! I'm sorry if these photos aren't as crisp. I took them late in the night, so the lighting wasn't very good. See? Simple set-up that you can do at home. A white Bristol board and a lamp.

I'm sure Nessy would go "Arg" if anyone ever heard her...

Collar Cupcakes

Well I heard you.

Batter photos make you lick your monitor.

What about this one?

Vanilla Cupcakes
Recipe from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook
(Makes about 36 mini cupcakes)

1 cup of all-purpose flour
3/4 cups of sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
3 tablespoons of unsalted butter
1/2 cup of whole milk
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and have all ingredients at room temperature. Also have your cupcake liners ready.
2. With your electric mixer, beat the flour, sugar, baking powder, and butter on low speed until everything is combined.
3. Gradually pour in half the milk and mix.
4. Whisk the egg, vanilla extract, and remaining milk together. Then pour into the mixture.
5. Scrape and continue mixing until the batter is smooth.
6. Divide your batter evenly into the paper cups, about 2/3 full, and bake for 20-25 minutes. Or until a cake tester comes out clean.
7. Let the cupcakes cool before frosting.
   

I wanted to make little collars. To do these, before you pour the cupcake batter in, take a pair of clean scissors and make a small cut. Then, fold down the left and right side to make a collar.
Don't you think these would be great for Father's Day, a corporate look, or as shirts? I think I'll add a bow tie next time!


Pink Grapefruit Buttercream

1 stick of unsalted butter
2 cups of confectioner's sugar
2 tablespoons of honey
1/4 cup of grapefruit juice

1. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together.
2. Add in the honey and mix until combined.
3. Slowly add in the grapefruit juice until buttercream is smooth.
4. Optional: add one tiny drop of red food colouring or pink gel paste to dye the buttercream pink.
   

Bonus tip: The collars make it easier to rip off the shirt, err, I mean peel the liner from the cupcakes. Easier access! ;)

Winter Party Cupcakes 2

Here are my second winter-themed cupcakes! The first one can be seen by clicking here. These cupcakes are vanilla with raspberry filling and topped with chocolate buttercream. I hope you enjoy the decorations, I made these little figures from fondant:

"...they keep falling..
But there's one thing I know
The blues they send to meet me won't defeat me
It won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me..."

Do you prefer snowfakes or raindrops falling on your head?

Skates! I did the two, Howard's on the left and mine on the right.

Mom and Pop!

Brother and Sister!

A rare blog comment from Howard: The subtle/cute smile reminded me if a clip I saw somewhere where someone personified a cherry tomatoe by cutting a slit in it for a mouth then made a skit of it being sick and vomitting out "its guts" by squeezing it? So now for some reason I want to do the same thing but on this fondant snowgirl.
Nooo... not the little snowgirl! And this is why I mainly do the blogging.

Inspired by the Buffalo plaids that I've seen at Roots lately.
Some warm wooly mittens and a trapper hat!

The full album of photos can be viewed on our facebook page. They were posted early as a sneak preview for our fans. =)

Agatha's Birthday Sets

Anita is an editor extraordinaire and caring daughter! Anita's mom, Agatha, is a golf fanatic, so a golfing set was natural. I heard that she had actually achieved getting a hole in one before. That is quite an amazing feat, in fact, they had a party for it too. So, I made a set showing Agatha from tee-off to the green.

Notice the yellow tee and all the divot holes (from previous golfers). The fairway passes a pond with the inattentive duck. Then, extends past some trees...

Finally, passes the sand trap and into the hole!
By the way, click here to see the whole album of photos. I went snap happy...

"What else? What else?" you ask. Well, Agatha is born in the Year of the Pig. She's very proud of her zodiac animal. I hope it brings her lots of good fortune.

Pig tail!

"More, more!" you scream. Okay, Agatha has recently been travelling - she loves cruises! Notice all the correct steps. You need to pack your luggage. Hop on a plane. Relax on the cruise as you past by islands (that have turtles sunbathing).

Have a wonderful birthday Agatha!
Fun fact: Agatha and my dad have the same birthday!