Red Velvet Cupcakes

Hi, I was so excited to stumble across a baking blog geared toward baking for 2! I made these cupcakes last week. They are supposed to be red velvet, but I omitted the coloring. As you can see, I didn't frost them either. Although frosting, is the best part of cake, I wanted to try these plain so I could judge the cupcakes on their own. Afterall, what doesn't taste better covered in frosting!

They were ok. Nothing special. I got them from the blog: http://www.dessertfortwo.com/

Red Velvet Cupcakes
Cupcakes

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons buttermilk

1 egg white

1 teaspoon red food coloring

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon white vinegar

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour

2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

Frosting

3 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

6 tablespoons powdered sugar

1 teaspoon milk

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a cupcake tin, place 4 cupcake liners on the outside edge.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder.

In another bowl, beat together the canola oil, sugar, buttermilk, egg white, red dye, vinegar, and vanilla using an electric mixer.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing all the while.

Divide the batter between the four cupcake liners and bake at 350° for 20-22 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
Beat together all icing ingredients using an electric mixer.

Frost cupcakes when cool. Dust with cocoa powder before serving, if desired.

Apple Pie Filling

I wanted to let you know not to buy this product. If there's caramel in there, I'm the queen of England! What a rip off. The flavor is not great either. Bummer.

Homemade Bread

Here is a picture of a loaf of bread I made a couple weeks ago. I have forgotten what recipe I used. I remember it had buttermilk in it though.

Cream cheese pound cake

Boy, I am seriously doubting my ability to choose a recipe! This sounded soooo good! I love pound cakes. This cake was disappointing. It was dry and the crumb was coarse. I would not make this cake again.

This recipe came from a blog called "lick the bowl good". It was not original to her, but she had already halved the recipe so I used it.


Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Berries adapted from Cake Keeper Cakes

1 1/2 cups cake flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 cup fresh berries (I used raspberries and blueberries)

Adjust the oven rack to the lower middle position. Grease a 12-cup Bundt pan and dust with flour. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.

Combine the butter, cream cheese and sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and lemon zest.

Turn the mixer to low speed and add the flour mixture, 1/2 a cup at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. After the last addition, mix for 30 seconds on medium speed. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Place the cake in a cold oven. Turn the oven to 325 degrees F and bake, without opening the oven door, until the cake is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35-45 minutes.

Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes, then invert it onto a rack. Cool completely before slicing and serving.

Store uneaten cake in a cake keeper or wrap in plastic and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Bread Pudding

Good evening!

I made and tasted my first bread pudding tonight and I liked it! I never wanted to make bread pudding because it sounded gross to me. It sounded soggy. And I hate soggy bread. That's why I hate stratas. I had some dried out hamburger buns & a couple slices of stale raisin bread staring at me; so I made bread pudding. I did halved the recipe because I didn't want to get stuck with a big pan of something I'd have to throw out. And I didn't make the sauce - I'm out of brown sugar. What a delightful surprise. I did add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon instead of the 1/4 teaspoon & I tossed in the last of my vanilla which was about 1/4 teaspoon. If you've never tried bread pudding, I encourage you to make this. I bet you'll like it!

The recipe is from www.allrecipes.com

Bread Pudding

3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, melted
3 cups whole milk
10 slices hearty farmhouse-style bread,
toasted and cut into cubes
1 cup raisins

1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 pinch ground cinnamon
1 egg
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1 pinch salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Directions:
1.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 2-quart baking dish.
2.
In a mixing bowl, whisk 3 eggs, white sugar, 2 tablespoons of light brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/4 cup of butter, and 3 cups of whole milk together, and gently stir in the bread cubes and raisins. Lightly spoon the mixture into the prepared baking dish.
3.
Bake in the preheated oven until browned and set in the middle, 50 to 55 minutes; cover the dish with foil after 30 minutes to prevent excessive browning. Let the pudding stand for 10 minutes before serving.
4.
For vanilla sauce, whisk 1/2 cup of light brown sugar, the flour, a pinch of cinnamon, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons of melted butter, 1 1/4 cups of whole milk,and salt together in a heavy saucepan until smooth. Heat over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and the sauce coats the back of a spoon, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the vanilla extract. Pour sauce over warm bread pudding, or serve on the side in a bowl.

Pet Peeve

Am I the only one who gets annoyed at blogs that start out about baking and then inundate the reader with family photos, vacation photos & comments about anything other that baking under the sun?!

I get annoyed because I feel decieved. I signed up for one thing and am given another. Not fair. Not appreciated.

Lemon Souffle

Hi,

I finally made a souffle. I chose a lemon souffle. This dessert was light and not too sweet. It is a dessert you can eat and not feel full or guilty after eating it. It was easy to make. I only made one change, I used strawberries instead of blackberries.

Although this was a nice dessert, I don't think I'll be making anymore souffles. Not enough bang for the buck to me. I like rich, decadent desserts.

I used the recipe found at www.bakingbites.com

Lemon Blackberry Souffles

4 large eggs, divided and at room temperature

1/3 cup sugar + 2 tbsp sugar

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 cup milk (any kind)

1/3 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed

1 tbsp lemon zest

1 cup fresh blackberries

Preheat oven to 400F.Butter four 6 or 8-oz ramekins. Dust the insides of the ramekins thoroughly with sugar (just as you would if you were flouring the ramekins).In a medium saucepan, whisk together egg yolks, 1/3 cup sugar and 1/4 cup flour until well combined. Whisk in milk. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently, then whisk in lemon juice. Bring to a boil, still whisking frequently, and remove from heat. Strain into a large bowl and stir in lemon zest. Allow to cool for 15-20 minutes.In a medium bowl, beat egg whites with a mixer on medium-high speed until foamy. Beat in remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and continue to beat to stiff peaks. Fold into lemon mixture, working in two or three additions.Divide blackberries evenly into ramekins, almost covering the bottom of each ramekin. Divide lemon mixture even into ramekins. There may be a small amount of lemon mixture left over. Fill the ramekins to the very top and then level each one off with the back of a knife (as you would when measuring sugar).Bake for 16-18 minutes, until the tops are golden brown.Serve immediately, or allow souffles to cool and fall slightly, then serve chilled with whipped cream.
Serves 4.