Pineapple Upside-down Cupcakes

I wish my picture taking abilities did these cupcakes justice!! they are SO good!

When I was little my mom used to make a few "famous" desserts; chocolate chip cookies, banana split cake, Pistachio Pudding (which we now know as watergate salad) and Pineapple Upside Down Cake.  So for me, turning this into a cupcake and adding buttercream was crucial.  As usual folks, I did not follow any certain recipe but made my own up after unsuccessfully trying to follow someone else's.  The results? A hit!!!! I guess you can say that I am called to bake and am the reigning Cupcake Queen, at least in my area; hope you enjoy!

Cake:

1 box Butter Recipe Cake Mix

INSTEAD OF WATER USE THE PINEAPPLE JUICE FROM THE PINEAPPLE

Brown Sugar Buttercream:

Bailey's Brown Sugar Vanilla Creamer

3 cups confectioners sugar

2 sticks butter, softened (1 cup)

a handful of brown sugar (generous)

**this recipe will ONLY decorate 15 cupcakes if you are as frosting happy as I am**

Garnish:

1 can pineapple chunks

1 jar maraschino cherries

Line 2 muffin pans with paper/foil.  Follow the instructions on the box and if you are like me do NOT pay attention to the instructions that tell you how much to fill them, I like my cupcakes with a "mountain" instead of flat, be generous folks, you only get one chance to impress someone with a cupcake and brighten their day.

While the cupcakes are in the oven is a good time to make the buttercream.  Whip the butter and add the confectioners sugar a little at a time because if you are using your kitchen aid mixer, the force of the mixer and the air will blow the sugar all over the counter, you only need to do this once and you will learn :).  Grab a generous handful of brown sugar and add it to the mix, add the creamer until the mixture is smooth but not runny, I never measure so use your own judgement.

After the cupcakes have cooled it is decorating time!!!!!  Use a star tip or a round flat tip, whatever you choose, I went with a star tip this time.  When each cupcake is frosted grab some brown sugar and sprinkle on top, cut your maraschino cherries in half and garnish each cup cake with one pineapple chunk and half a maraschino cherry.  THAT IS IT!

An easy cupcake to do with or for the kids, grown ups will love it to!!!  Enjoy this tasteful blast from the past :)

Pineapple Upside-Down Cupcakes

Cap'n Crunch OOPS All Berries Cupcakes

OOPS All Berries Cupcake 

This is one recipe I am not letting go of, I thought of this and I worked with it until it tasted like all you needed to do was pour milk on it! I saw many versions of this cupcake but none that looked right to me so I am sorry but you will have to figure this one out on your own like I did, but enjoy the picture!!! (here is a hint though, I also folded the OOPS All Berries into the batter :)

The Inside of the Cupcake

The Original Cupcake, looked too gray and too much
like a hat for skiing to me, time to tweek again!

Final Results!!

Gianduia Mousse Cake

Just LOOK at how high this cake is! so delicious!!!

Gianduia is Italian and is the combination of hazelnut and chocolate. This recipe is unbelievably easy and the results are phenomenal!!!  I got the recipe from Gourmet Magazine about 10 years ago and I have had nothing but great reviews on it since.  The wonderful thing about this cake is that first of all there is NO FLOUR in it at all, the second great thing about this cake is its versatility.  If you put the cake in the refrigerator the consistency is like fudge, but if you take it out and let it sit for a half hour or 45 minutes the consistency is like a delicate mousse!

This cake is extremely rich and decadent and you will only need a small piece, I suggest serving a side of homemade whipping cream and fresh raspberries to cut the richness, or to accentuate it!

**Helpful Tip** I always use semisweet pieces and dark chocolate pieces, it is easier to melt that way, Ghirardelli and Nestle are both good

Cake:

9 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)
7 ounces fine-quality milk chocolate
1 cup Nutella * (I always use the entire 13 ounce jar)
3/4 cup unsweetened hazelnut butter (recipe follows)
6 large eggs
1/2 cup superfine granulated sugar
1 cup well-chilled heavy cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° F and butter a 10-inch springform pan. Wrap bottom and side of pan with a large piece of heavy-duty foil to waterproof.

Chop chocolates into small pieces and melt in a double boiler or a metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring until smooth. Remove top of double boiler or bowl from heat and stir in Nutella and hazelnut butter until combined well.

In a large bowl of a standing electric mixer or in a large bowl with a handheld mixer beat eggs until frothy, about 1 minute. Gradually add sugar, beating mixture at high speed until thick and pale and it holds a slowly dissolving ribbon when beaters are lifted, about 4 minutes if using a standing mixer and about 8 minutes if using a hand-held mixer. Pour chocolate mixture into egg mixture and stir until combined well. In a chilled bowl beat cream until it holds soft peaks and fold into batter gently but thoroughly.

Pour batter into springform pan and put springform pan in a roasting pan. Add enough hot water to roasting pan to reach halfway up side of springform pan. Bake cake in middle of oven 1 hour and 10 minutes. Turn off oven and let cake stand in oven 40 minutes. Remove springform pan from water and cool cake in pan on a rack 30 minutes. Remove side of pan from cake. Let cake cool completely before serving

Hazelnut Butter

1 1/2 cups hazelnuts (about 7 ounces)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Toast and skin hazelnuts, but do not cool. In a food processor grind hazelnuts into a fine paste. Add oil and pulse until combined well. Hazelnut butter may be made 1 week ahead and chilled, covered

A few "dents" in the cake but pretty AND tasty nonetheless

Watermelon Shark

Watermelon Shark for Legacy Surf Camp Luau

We have a great youth group at my church, full of wonderful kids and I help as often as I can because they just make me smile, they bring joy to my life and they have potential untapped that they are unaware of........

I cannot even put into words just how fun this was to make! I would loved to have stayed and seen the looks on the kids faces when they saw this!  

It was MESSY to carve but after the juice and seeds were washed off the porch, then the fun began!!!

S'Mores Cupcakes

S'Mores Cupcakes

Let me begin by telling you that the search for a decent recipe combination was the reason I decided to go out on my own and do what I saw in my head 

I will admit that I cheated a little and yes, I did it the Sandra Lee thing for the cake, it was a last minute dessert for our youth group at my church and making homemade cake was not an option.  A slight disclaimer.  I use different recipes that I find successful and combine them but I never stick exactly to any one recipe, I tweak it to my own taste, I encourage you to do the same!

1 box Duncan Hines Butter Recipe Cake mix
Dark Chocolate Buttercream (recipe follows)
Marshmallow Buttercream (recipe follows)

Garnish
Mini Marshmallows
Graham Crackers (some crumbled and some broken into pieces)

Dark Chocolate Buttercream 
2/3 cup Hershey Special Dark Chocolate - NOT UNSWEETENED COCOA!!!!
1 stick butter (melt)
3 cups powdered (confectioners) sugar
flavored creamer
this recipe will only top 12 cupcakes if you are as generous with your frosting as I am)

Marshmallow Butter Cream
1 cup softened butter
1 (7 oz) jar marshmallow creme (I used 14 oz)
2 cups confectioners sugar
1 tsp vanilla (I did not use this!)

**warning, even though the original recipe calls for 7 oz. of marshmallow fluff, do NOT follow it unless you have tasted it first!!!! I believe I used double that**

After baking cupcakes chill them in the fridge before working with them.  Fill the cupcakes with the marshmallow filling, you do not need a "filler tip" you can use a standard tip.  Spread a layer of marshmallow frosting on top of cupcake, sprinkle on crumbled graham crackers.

Pipe the chocolate frosting on to the cupcake, sprinkle more crumbled graham crackers on top, garnish with 3 mini marshmallows and a broken piece of graham cracker stuck into the top!

JUST LIKE A CAMPFIRE without the bugs! one of favorite desserts!!!

Margarita Cake with Tequila Lime Frosting

Sorry folks but if you want the recipe to THIS you will have to look it up and mix and match like I did, this is one secret I am NOT sharing other than to say that I used WAY MORE 1800 Silver Tequila than it called for in the buttercream!!!!

The Tequila used in the Buttercream

Its simply NOT a cake without PLENTY of
Buttercream in every bite!!

Before Garnishing with White Chocolate Shavings

The cake was a hit for the two beautiful people whose birthday's I made the cake for, Chris & Carla, a wonderful couple who met in high school and have been married FOREVER! How weird is it that they almost share the same birthday?  They were well worth the experiment as I have never done this type of cake before

The pictures will give you a slight clue as to what I used but the method and exact measurements will have to be yours to figure out............this time 

Peach Cobbler

I got my peach cobbler recipe from Paula Deen, but as usual I had to add my own special little twist and flavor.  Nothing huge, just a drop of this and a sprinkle of that and it came out wonderful! Fresh peaches that a friend got at a road side stand, then I bought two white flesh peaches that were not as tender and it gave it that extra peachy flavor and was a little more firm for added crunch, pair that with a buttermilk biscuit crust that I sprinkled brown sugar on and it was delish!!

Baked white flesh and pink peaches
 with a brown sugar mixture

Buttermilk Biscuit topping with Brown Sugar
Ready to go into the oven

Finished, Baked, Smelling Good and
Ready to EAT!

Watermelon Basket

My first carved watermelon

This was so much fun, I don't know why I did not do it sooner.  We had a church picnic at Coastal Vineyard at the beach and I was thinking, hot dogs, hamburgers, WATERMELON, but who wants to bring a watermelon and cut it there, or cut up watermelon and put it in a bowl with a lid.  Well, maybe someone but not me, so I decided to make a watermelon basket, Google'd it and got video instructions, scrounged around for a few tools and voila....the basket is born!  I love taking pictures of my work, however, I have to remember to use the flash feature on the camera, some of these were a little too dark!

Getting started!

First Cut

Handle is carved!

Hollowed out and ready for fruit!!! (Aerial View)

Finished Product

Cream Puffs

Cream Puff Collage

So, holiday time is over and hoping that everyone enjoyed theirs.  I had a quiet but nice holiday myself and am thankful for all my friends who made it special while I wait for my children to return from Florida!

First let me begin by saying that this was so very simple and easy to make that I could kick myself for not doing it sooner and for letting it intimidate me.  NEVER EVER let anything intimidate you! You are in control and if you don't get it  right the first time there is always a second, a third a fourth, a fiftieth; the important thing is to try it and then see if it is even worth your while to try to perfect it.  That being said I will begin by saying this; there is a french term called mis en place and translates as "everything in its place" meaning to get your items out and all together before hand.  I did not! The result was that I was scrambling around like a crazy person because I thought i put something out and did not!  So this time around I definitely will get everything out first, I might even measure it out and put it in little dishes like they do on television!  And that is exactly what I did this past weekend, I applied the mis en place technique and was quite pleased to feel much more in charge for my cooking rather then it in charge of me

I looked up and read over and over several various recipes for the puffs and they all pretty much said the same thing but  Emeril Lagasse made it the easiest to understand, he simplified it and I needed that, being a first time puff maker.  It is actually called Pate a Choux (patay ah shoo) but I like to refer to them as puffs and here is the recipe I used.  This recipe is for MINI SIZED, something I forgot when I was piping them because I was so excited over the ease of this recipe.  Next time my focused goal will be the shape and the fact that if I want more then 12 I must make a double batch.  No need for that, I just need to perfect the puff and can always make more later.  The important thing is to use what you have right away, the ingredients do not lend to the fact that it will deflate but it must say to use immediately for a reason, so we follow that direction.

    1 cup water
    1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
    1 tablespoon sugar
    1/4 tsp. salt
    1 cup plus 2 tablespoons bread flour
    4 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (I used wax paper and stuck it to the pan with butter in the corners). Set aside.

In a heavy bottomed 1-quart saucepan-combine the water, butter, sugar and salt. Bring to a rolling boil. Remove from the heat and add the flour, all at once, to the pan and quickly stir vigorously to incorporate the flour into the liquid.

Return the pan to the stove, and over a medium-low heat, continue to cook and stir the dough over the fire. Do this until the dough pulls away from the sides of the pan and forms a ball. Remove the dough from the saucepan, and place in an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.

Mix the dough on low speed until the dough is cooled down to about 140 degrees F, which is still quite warm to the touch, but cool enough to prevent the eggs from cooking if added to the dough.

Raise the speed of the mixer to medium, and add 1 of the eggs to the dough and mix until completely incorporated. Continue adding the remaining eggs, 1 at a time, waiting until each egg is incorporated before adding the next egg.

Immediately transfer the dough to a piping bag with a large, round tip. Pipe round circles or whatever shape you desire onto the pan.  However, if you are looking to fill cream puffs or eclairs you have to follow the instructions for those recipes, this is just your basic pate a choux recipe that can be used for many desserts and savory treats.

Do not pipe them too closely together as they will need space to expand as they bake. Place the sheet pan in the oven and bake for 12 minutes, or until golden brown. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F, and continue to bake until they are dried out, about 22 minutes longer. Turn the oven off and remove from the oven. Using the tip of a pairing knife, cut a small slit in the side of each puff near the bottom. Place the puffs back on the baking sheet and place back in the oven, propping the oven door open so they can dry out as they cool, about 1 hour or until the oven is cool.

This recipe was SO DAUNTING because only the "professionals" can take on something this difficult...PISH POSH to all that nonesense!!!  if you can BOIL WATER you can make cream puffs, if you have made mac and cheese for your kids you can make cream puffs! if you have melted butter for shrimp you can make cream puffs.  I hope my step by step instructions have helped you to see that! it is after all the reason for this blog!  To let the ordinary average every day cook know that all these terms that chefs use, when broken down are just so simple...so don't be intimidated...GET IN THAT KITCHEN and do something crazy!!!!

Storage tips below are from http://www.baking911.com/pastry/pateachoux.htm and I have not tried it yet, I would prefer to serve mine the same day, fresh and hot but when you have parties or special events, sometimes storage is the better option!

Refrigerator: If thoroughly baked, unfilled cream puffs may be refrigerated for a couple of days, but it does stale quickly, so I recommend freezing, instead.Before refrigerating, you'll first want to cut them open and remove the strands of dough to prevent sogginess. Wrap all puffs individually after they have cooled and before freezing. Place them is a resealable plastic bag being careful not to put too many in at once.

Freezer: If you have more dough than you need or want to make them in advance, bake all of it and freeze the finished puffs for up to 3 months (best at one month) and an airtight container and keep away from freezer odors. There's no need to cut cream puffs open or remove the strands of dough before freezing. Thaw at room temperature. To crisp, unwrap and place in a 325 degree F oven until warm. Let cool and fill as desired.

INTERESTING FACT ON THE ORIGINAL PATE A CHOUX:  A note about Pâte à choux in the 1760's: "Cooked potatoes were mashed. Eggs were added, and the mixture was shaped with a spoon into balls that vaguely resembled little cabbages. This potato batter was replaced by a more modern version that used a white roux instead of potatoes. This version was perfected in 1760 by the famous Pastry Chef Avice..." From The Professional French Pastry Series Book.

I remember now that if we had leftover potatoes in my house, my dad would add an uncooked egg to the mashed potatoes and put it in a skillet and cook it until i don't know when he assumed it was through, but it was quite tasty so he might have gotten this idea from his mother, who got it from hers.

Happy Eating from the Kitchen Gypsy

Linzer Cookies

Christmas - the most beautiful and tasty time of the year!

The Linzer Cookie or Linzer Eyes are a traditional Christmas Cookie dating back to the 1800’s that has its origin in Linz, Austria, also home to the infamous PEZ candy and its beloved dispenser, two great inventions by our Austrian brothers

I tried making this cookie about 7 years ago and found myself VERY frustrated, so I employed the help this time of my good friend, Leah Gore.  Now two people share the same frustration.  The cookie recipe itself is not difficult to make, but a few years ago when I attempted to make the cookie I bought a Linzer cookie mold that supposedly made it easier to form the cookies.  The cookies are primarily butter, sugar, ground almonds and flour, but mostly butter.  As this is a cookie rich in butter, I chose Plugra Butter because it is higher in butterfat content – about 3% more then your average butter, making it perfect for baking.  Plugra is a European butter you can find in most markets, I found mine at the local Food Lion in Myrtle Beach, its about $2.50 for 2 sticks but the outcome is far worth the price!

Back to the cookies; our frustration rested in the cutting of the cookie, everything stuck to the mold and we had to put it in the refrigerator quite a few times so that it would harden again so we could cut it.  If you have the patience, the taste is phenomenal  NEW NOTE:  Now that I had an entire night to think about it and some of the morning after 5:30 a.m. to think some more...you COULD just use one standard cookie cutter, cut out twice the amount and make sandwich cookies without holes, but you would not see the raspberry jam, however it would be slightly less frustrating then trying to use the Linzer contraption that we used, sometimes the old fashioned way is just best!    However if you are feeling incredibly patient, then the link to the original cutter I bought 7 years ago is amazingly still working for someone because they are still selling it, I have posted he link as well as the link to the Plugra butter

One thing Leah and I both agree on after tasting them, these cookies are well worth the frustration as they melt in your mouth and are hands down one of the most delectable cookies I have EVER tasted!

Enjoy!

Linzer Cookie Recipe

1 ¼ cups of whole almonds

1 cup of Plugra butter

2/3 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups sifted flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp salt – omit if using salted butter

Two different sized cookie cutters, one for base, one for inset

Confectioners Sugar for dusting

1 cup seedless raspberry jam

Toast almonds in a 375 degree oven for 10 minutes, set aside and let cool.

After they are cooled, place the nuts in a food processor or chop by hand (a blender would work well but watch to make sure it does not liquefy)

Line baking sheets with parchment or waxed paper (put butter on the corners on the pan to make sure it adheres to the waxed paper.

Beat butter and sugar together until pale in color and creamy.  Add eggs and vanilla, beat until smooth.

In a separate bowl add sifted flour, baking powder and cinnamon.  Mix together and then incorporate into the butter mixture and mix well.  Separate dough into two balls, put each one between two sheets of wax paper, smash down with your hand and refrigerate for an hour.

After an hour take the cookie dough out of the refrigerator and roll while still in the waxed paper until thin, about a quarter inch. Now that you have worked the dough, the butter will have softened so put it back in the refrigerator for a few minutes before attempting to use the cutters for the top row.

Use the larger cookie cutter and cut out as many as you can, stopping in-between if they start to stick, to put them in the refrigerator.  Bake these cookies for about 8 or 9 minutes, I use my “nose method”,  as soon as I start to SMELL the cookies I take them out, touch them and they should be a little doughy, not much, because they will continue to cook while cooling on the pan.

While the cookies are cooling roll out the other portion of cookie dough that is in the refrigerator; again, it will have softened so put it back in the refrigerator before attempting to cut again.  Using the smaller cookie cutter, with a hole in it, cut the top layer for the cookie out.  Remove the other cooled cookies from the pan; they should easily peel off the waxed paper, set aside on a plate.

Put your top layer cookie with the cutout on them into the oven, cook 8 or 9 minutes once again.  Take out and cool, after they are cool dust generously with powdered sugar.  If you do not wait until they have cooled to add the powdered sugar, the sugar will melt right into the cookie

Assembly time:

Put one tsp of raspberry jam on the bottom layer, put the cutout cookie lid on top and press together.  You must taste the first one, sorry, I know you don’t want to eat it after baking all this time but it is your duty to taste your food before it leaves the kitchen.  Leah and I had to taste several to make sure they were good enough for others!

Your cookies are done! I hope this was helpful and not confusing in any way, but if it was feel free to comment and contact me and I will make necessary revisions so that this cookie is not as frustrating for you as it was for us.  Your final result should look something like this.

Happy Eating from the Kitchen Gypsy!

http://plugra.com/product-information#productInfo8oz
http://www.surlatable.com/product/linzer+cookie+cutter+set.do?keyword=kaiser&sortby=ourPicks