Milo | Turns 2!

Happy birthday Milo! Milo celebrated his second birthday (and his teenage years) with another granola cake this year. It is incredible how much he has grown, how quickly (yet sometimes slowly) the year passed by, and how few posts I made in the meantime (hopefully I can fix that in the upcoming year).

The puppy's cuteness is unwavering though. Here are a few photos!

"I spy a cake."



"Is it for me?"



"Are you sure?"



"I'll just give it a little taste test."



"Maybe a big lick."



"Okay, get thee in my mouth!"



"All mine, all mine!"

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes - Summer is Here!

My brother and his wife's garden overfloweth with fresh fruit, so we took a load of lemons off their hands. Most of them went toward fresh lemonade (with many packets of Truvia and Splenda), but of course a few had to be saved for cupcakes.

These lemon cupcakes are topped with fresh strawberry Swiss meringue buttercream to welcome summer! Last year, summer decided to not show up in San Diego, so I am celebrating the warm sunny days we are finally getting this year. The cupcakes are made especially lemony with the addition of limoncello and lemon oil. The straws are made with rolled fondant painted with gold dusting powder.

Note to self: Do not cover overnight or the straws will wilt . . .

Apricot-Chocolate Cupcakes

These apricot-dark chocolate pound cake cupcakes were inspired by a cakelove recipe, and I was happy to finally put almond extract to good use. The almond flavor in the cake is a nice complement to the bittersweet chocolate, and these were delicious straight out of the oven with the chocolate bits still melted, and the dried apricot bits still soft and moist.

Unfortunately upon cooling, I found that the dried apricot bits became harder than they were to start out with. I might have to try pre-soaking them next time!

Admittedly, I am not a big fan of pound cake texture as it is denser, and with my unreliable oven from the 80s, my pound cakes are prone to ending up a bit dry and overbaked. But, I have found that pound cakes seem to get the most enthusiastic feedback from the office, so I'll keep working on them!

Mexican Brownie Cupcakes - Happy Cinco de Mayo

I discovered spicy Mayan hot chocolate at Coupa Cafe in Palo Alto and have loved that spiced up chocolate flavor ever since. When we moved to San Diego, we found out that Chuao Chocolatier, which supplies their chocolate bonbons and hot chocolates to Coupa Cafe, is based here! I was over the moon—an endless supply of spicy chocolate (and other favorites like Firecracker and Panko). Of course, it's a pricey supply, so for Cinco de Mayo, I decided to make Mexican brownies from scratch.

I am sure there are a variety of spices that can be added, but here's a simple way to get the job done:

Take your standard chocolate brownie recipe (a box mix works too) and add about 3/4 tsp. of ground chipotle chili pepper and 1 tsp. of ground cinnamon. I baked these as mini cupcakes, which requires about 18-20 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees, and topped with cinnamon buttercream. Avoid overbaking, since that seems to bake off the spice flavors.

Milo | Curious (Suspicious) Puppy

When Milo wakes up in the morning, the first thing he needs to do is go outside for a little walk. After waiting for me to put on my contacts, he jumps off my bed and scurries along behind me. When I get downstairs though, he always stops at the top of the stairs and tilts his head at me. Why? Because sometimes I go to my work laptop and check email first. Milo doesn't like that. Here's what he's thinking:

Me: "Come Milo!"
Milo: *stares* *blinks* *tilts head* "I don't believe you. Are you really taking me out or what?"
Me: "Milo, come!"
Milo: *snort* "You tricked me into jumping off the warm cozy bed!"
Me: "Milo, we're going outside!"
Milo: *tilts head other way* "Prove it."
Me: *puts on shoes*
Milo: "Not good enough."
Me: *jingles keys*
Milo: "You really mean it! I'm coming I'm coming!" *bouncing down stairs*

He also stops at the top of the stairs when we call him during the day too, as if to ponder whether there is anything in it for him if he came all the way down the stairs. Sometimes he will plop down too.


He also likes to do a plop down when we're bustling in the kitchen or otherwise ignoring him and he's waiting for a little attention.

Peppermint Chocolate Cupcakes - A Late-Night Snack

I was hungry one night. So I said to my assistant: "Why don't we bake something? Will you help me?" What a dear husband I have.

For the mint chocolate lovers out there like me:

This is a chocolate cupcake with peppermint ganache filling. I used the Cooks Illustrated recipe for Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes with Ganache Filling that I previously blogged about, but added peppermint extract to the ganache. The frosting is a peppermint buttercream (add peppermint extract to any basic buttercream recipe). I then topped off the cupcakes with dark chocolate mint leaves, which were made by brushing tempered chocolate on the back of mint leaves, and then peeling off the leaves once the chocolate has set.

I've made these cupcakes a few times before, but I think the use of Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes this time around was a vast improvement over the one-bowl chocolate cupcakes that Martha Stewart's book suggests. However, ultimately, the mint leaves are what make these cupcakes so special.

Pig-Pickin' Cupcakes - And a Baby Shower

Pig-Pickin' Cake (also sometimes called Pig-Lickin' Cake or Mandarin Orange Cake) is apparently a tradition at a southern barbecue. It is usually served as a layered cake, but this is my vision of it as a cupcake.

The cake portion is essentially a variation on my orange cupcakes, using pureed mandarin oranges instead of orange juice concentrate. I filled these cupcakes with pineapple pudding (crushed pineapples and vanilla pudding), which is what is usually used as the layered frosting. Then I topped the cupcakes off with whipped frosting (a cross between fresh whipped cream and meringue frosting that holds its shape a little better than whipped cream—I had to make sure these would survive a 2-hour drive). Finally, to class these up a bit for a baby shower, I decorated with gum paste flowers, which were brushed with yellow pearlescent powder and accented with pearlized sprinkles. So fun to make!

You can find a recipe for Pig-Pickin' Cake with a simple search online, but here is what I did for the cupcakes:

Cake

* 1 (18 ounce) box yellow cake mix
* 1 (11 ounce) can mandarin oranges in juice
* 4 eggs
* 2/3 - 3/4 cup vegetable oil (I prefer to use less)
* 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Filling

* 1 (6 ounce) can crushed pineapple (some recipes call for the larger can, but the smaller portion works better as a cupcake filling)
* 1 (8 ounce) container whipped topping (thawed)
* 1 (3.4 ounce) box instant vanilla pudding

Frosting

* 3 large egg whites
* 3/4 cup sugar
* Pinch of salt
* 1/3 cup water
* 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans (this recipe should make 24 cupcakes). In a mixing bowl, combine cake mix, mandarin oranges (with juice), eggs, oil and vanilla extract. Beat until mandarin oranges break up. Pour into cupcake liners (about 2/3 full) and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Note: Do not overfill the liners, as this batter will spill over the edges rather than form a tall mound. Cool in pans for 5 minutes, turn out of pans and finish cooling on wire racks.

In a mixing bowl, combine whipped topping, pineapple (with juice), and vanilla pudding mix. Carve out the center of the cooled cupcakes and fill with the pineapple pudding.

Frosting: In a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, combine the 3 large egg whites, 3/4 cup sugar, pinch of salt and 1/3 cup water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar has dissolved, about 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat on medium-high until glossy, stiff peaks form (do not overbeat), about 3 minutes; reduce speed to low, add 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, and beat just until combined. Use immediately.

Simple, and yummy. Enjoy!

I also made baby block cakes for the baby shower. These were brown sugar pound cake with brown sugar cream cheese frosting. It was a learning experience in working with fondant and trying to have a steady hand while piping royal icing. Let's just say, we are giving ourselves an A for effort, and a below average grade for execution =)