My Favorite Time of the Year!

I love everything about Fall.

I love pumpkins, cold weather, boots, cute jackets and please don't get me started on the TV shows. The Thursday night line up on NBC speaks for itself guys. 

First of all, The Office is one of my all time favorite shows mainly for the following reasons. 

Jim Halpert, Jim Halpert and Jim Halpert. 

Also, I just discovered the show Parks and Recreation and it has become my current crush at the moment. 

For those of you who don't know me, I'm an obsessive person when it comes to certain things. A normal person would wait each week for the next episode and slowly work themselves into it but I'm not like your average bear. I watch it in my phone and obsessively watch the one and only episode on my DVR just in case I missed a funny line the first twenty times. 

I then Wikipedia the characters in the show and half of my conversations with my husband starts with topics like "Did you know that Chris Pratt was on Moneyball?" 

My life's suddenly filled with all sorts of Parks and Recreations. 

I've done this in the past with I Love Lucy, Sex and The City, Family Guy, Portlandia and Chopped. If I'm ever on a game show that requires me to answer questions about any of the shows I just mentioned, I'd win...  hands down. 

AND I'm competitive. We may or may not be friends after I win. 

Anyways, I decided to bring in this wonderful season by making Pumpkin Rolls. This delicious dessert is basically a spongy cake wrapped around a rich cream cheese filling.

For the longest time I was intimidated to make this because it required rolling and shaping but I finally got the nerve (and a day off) to face my fear. 

And to be honest, it wasn't hard to make at all. 

So here's my recipe. 

Note: I used parchment paper instead of a towel. It's a little harder to roll but it gets the work done. 

   Pumpkin Roll

   Source: Adapted from allrecipes

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 cup pumpkin puree

3 eggs

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch jelly roll pan or cookie sheet.

2.  In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice. Stir in pumpkin puree, eggs, and lemon juice. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Spread the mixture evenly.

3.  Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 15 minutes.

4.  Lay parchment paper on the counter, sprinkle it with confectioner's sugar, and turn the cake onto the paper. Carefully roll it up (lengthwise) with the cake in it. Place the cake-in-paper on a cooling rack and let it cool for 20 minutes.

5.  Make the icing: In a medium bowl, blend cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and sugar with a wooden spoon or electric mixer.

6.  When the cake has cooled 20 minutes, unroll it and spread icing onto it. Immediately re-roll (not in the paperl this time), and wrap it with plastic wrap. Keep the cake refrigerated or freeze it for up to 2 weeks in aluminum foil. Cut the cake in slices just before serving.

Happy baking!
Anna

Cupcakin' and Saving Lives

As previously mentioned, I was asked to make cupcakes for my cousin's engagement party and......

I'm pleased to announce that everyone loved my cupcakes! A couple of people stopped me and said "Oh my god, they were so good!" Not from family members or friends but from random folks I didn't know. 

The bride-to-be went all out and decorated her party with unique and creative ideas. At every table she had a piece of paper explaining how they met and fell in love (or in other words, how he totally pursued her!) and provided a video booth where guests got to perform a music video for the bride and groom. Isn't that cute???

Her wedding is considered the "event of the year" in our family and I'm so excited to see what ideas she has planned. All I know is that it'll be creative, trendy and open bar.  (Yes!)

And of the course the one thing I forgot to do was take pictures AT the party but don't worry, here's a couple of "before" pictures for all you doubters out there. 

Top left: Carrot Cake batter  Middle: Red Velvet batter  Top right: Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Below: Done and decorated!

So my first day of baking went according to plan. The cupcakes turned out wonderfully moist and none of them ended up in the trash. (which is rare...under cooked, ugly etc.)

But by day two I started to panic. My white chocolate cream cheese frosting wouldn't set and kept running down the sides of my carrot and red velvet cupcakes! I refrigerated the frosted ones and within a couple of hours, it stiffened up. 

Tip: It really helps to bake your cupcakes a day beforehand and store them in an airtight container (at room temperature, not refrigerated). They stayed nice and moist which made the decorating part of this process easy peasy. 

So, in conclusion, I walked away from this experience with a new found respect for home bakers. It takes a whole lot of time, dedication and taste buds for things to run smoothly because seriously, I lost all sense of taste in my mouth and was on the verge of vomiting cupcake by the end of the night. 

Don't get me wrong... I still love to bake but it's gonna be a while until I bust out my muffin pan again. 

On a side note, (and totally unrelated to cupcakes) I wanted to share a somewhat  frightening experience that happened last Sunday. 

I walked into my four year old's room and found her choking on a pretzel. I sat in front of her and hooked my finger to release the pretzel that was lodged in the back of her throat. After what felt like an eternity, she immediately started to breathe again and a sense of relief rushed through my body. I'm not trying to sound super dramatic but it scared the living sh*t of me. 

It's funny because a couple of nights ago I was messing with my iphone and read the First Aid app out of complete boredom. I happen to stumble upon the choking section and had no clue that I'd be using this procedure a couple of days later.

And in case you're wondering, pretzels are no longer allowed in my house... except maybe for Auntie Anne's or Wetzels. Those are delicious. 

All I know is that I'm grateful she's OK and pretty much did what any mother would do. To make the long story short, I fell asleep with swollen eyes and watched an episode of Family Guy before bed. 

Isn't Family Guy the cure for everything? *Stewie took Brian's Prius out for a joyride but wrecked it trying to win Justin Bieber tickets on the radio. Best.Story.Ever* 

Well here's the recipes for three of my yummy cupcakes.  

Make them. Eat them. Hide them from your husband because he'll eat all of them. 

Tiramisu Cupcakes

Source: Adapted from Your Cup of Cake (Cupcake and filling only)

1 box White Cake Mix

2 egg whites

1 egg

1/3 cup oil

3/4 cup buttermilk

3/4 cup sour cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 cup strong coffee

Filling:

8 oz mascarpone

1 tablespoon strong coffee

1/2 cup powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pan with cupcake liners.

Sift cake mix into a small bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, gently whisk egg whites, egg, oil, buttermilk, sour cream and vanilla.

Stir cake mix into wet ingredients.

Using half of the batter, fill cupcake liners about 1/3 full.

With the remaining cake batter, add the strong coffee and mix. *I added 2 tablespoons of flour to thicken the batter.

Scoop the coffee cake batter over the regular batter so that each cupcake liner is filled about 3/4. (So you have one layer of vanilla cake and a top layer of coffee cake.)

Bake for 16-20 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean.

Filling: Combine all ingredients in a small bowl using a spoon.

To assemble, cut a cone shaped piece of cake out the top of each cupcake (make sure cakes are cooled). Generously spoon in your filling.

Pipe your frosting (recipe below) over the hole with the filling and top with chocolate shavings and cocoa powder.

Coffee Buttercream Frosting

Source: Adapted from The Kitchen is My Playground (Frosting only)

1 1/2 T. instant coffee granules

1 1/2 T. water

1 1/2 T. vanilla extract

3/4 lb. (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

3 c. confectioners' sugar

3 T. milk

DIRECTIONS

Combine water, coffee granules, and vanilla extract in a small bowl; stir to dissolve coffee.  Set aside.
Beat butter in bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 1 minute. 
Reduce mixer speed to low.  Add confectioners' sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating for a few seconds between each addition. 

Increase mixer speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes. 

Add the coffee mixture and milk; beat on low speed to combine.  Scrape down sides and bottom of the bowl.  Increase mixer speed to medium and beat until fluffy, about 4 minutes. 

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Source: Adapted from "Carrot Top" Mom (cupcake only)

2 1/4 cups flour (I use all-purpose)

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, softened

2 1/4 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup buttermilk (or milk with 2 teaspoons lemon juice)

1 ounce red food coloring

4 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Set aside.

Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed 5 minutes or until light and fluffy.

Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in sour cream, milk, food color and vanilla.

Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until just blended. Do not overbeat.

Spoon batter into 24 paper-lined muffin cups, filling each cup 2/3 full.

Bake 18 to 22 minutes or until toothpick inserted into cupcake comes out clean.

Gently remove from oven (these are super-moist, and will collapse if you aren’t careful).

Cool in pans on wire rack at least 5 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely.

Frost with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting. (recipe below Carrot Cake Cupcake recipe)

*Do not frost until totally cooled, or the frosting will slide off!*

Frost the cupcakes generously, and serve at room temperature.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Source: Adapted from Your Cup of Cake

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/8 cup white sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

½ cup oil*

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups shredded carrot, raw

½ cup crushed pineapple

1 ½ cups flour

1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon*

½ teaspoon nutmeg*

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Beat eggs, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. 

Mix in oil and vanilla. 

Fold in carrots and pineapple

In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt, and spices.

Mix the dry ingredients into the carrot mixture until just moistened.  Do not over mix. 

Fold in nuts if desired.

Bake 20-25 minutes until the tops spring back.

Let cool and frost.

White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Source: Adapted from Your Cup of Cake

2 oz white chocolate

8 oz cream cheese, softened

½ cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3-4 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons heavy cream *

In a saucepan on LOW heat, melt white chocolate. 

Stir until smooth and let cool until at room temperature.

Beat together cream cheese and butter, mix in white chocolate and vanilla.

Gradually beat in powdered sugar until fluffy. 

Mix in heavy cream.

Refrigerate in a piping bag to chill if the frosting is too soft.

Happy Baking!

Anna 

My Very First Blog

I'm a big fan of blogs. My daily routine usually consists of logging into google reader and finding over 300 blog entries of celebrity gossip, style/fashion and weight loss picker-uppers. To top it off, I have a HUGE obsession with baking blogs. I say about 90% of the blogs I read caters to cakes, cookies and cupcakes recipes that I'm dying to try by the end of the day. I've grown to love certain bloggers and feel somewhat attached to their personal stories and journeys after being a dedicated reader for four years.

With that being said, my husband asked me a couple of nights ago why I don't start my own blog.

I looked at him crazy and said no... like, immediately.

Of course the wheels in my head started to turn and I began to question what would I write about if I "did" start my own blog?

I guess I could write about parenting.

Maybe baking?

How about making quick and healthy dinners for a family of three? Or shows? Or running! Oh boy. 

So here I am. I have a blog.  I'll be making about three dozen cupcakes for my cousin's engagement party this weekend and I feel that this would be an appropriate way to start things off.  It'll be my first "gig" (and probably my last. haha) but I thought it would be fun to write about it.

I'm nervous and excited. But for the most part,  I'm frightened that I'll overhear someone at the party saying that it's nasty and gross as I sit there with tears running down my cheeks at the next table. Just kidding. (not really)

But I have a menu and here it is:

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Carrot Cake Cupcakes with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

and last but not least, a TIRAMISU CUPCAKE.

The last one scares me. It has a mascarpone filling and topped with a buttercream coffee frosting. Yikes.

Well, I'll be sharing my first experience as a cupcake maker and posting pictures on here soon.  We'll see how it goes.