Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream - Annie's Eats

The final frosting that I tried ended up being the one I went with.  It was another Swiss Meringue Buttercream from Annie's Eats, with just a few little changes from the first recipe I made.  This one had just the right combo of ingredients and turned out delicious.  I had my Grandma Ulmer at my house for the week I was finalizing the cupcakes and cake and it was so fun to have her tasting and testing with me.  She couldn't stop licking the beaters with this frosting, it was that yummy.

I made the frosting several times and I learned a lot along the way.  I found out that if you even have the tiniest drop of egg yok in your egg whites, a drop that you thought you took out but must not have gotten it all, the eggs won't whip up stiff.  In the end, I mastered it and the frosting turned out amazing.  It pipes wonderfully too.  It isn't too sweet and is light and creamy.  It's my new go-to frosting.  And I'm excited to take the recipe and add variations to it, like brown sugar, chocolate, peanut butter, strawberries, etc.

White Cake - The Way the Cookie Crumbles

I have finally found a winner!  YEAH!  I took a major hit on my diet while testing all these recipes so I'm glad the search is over.  There are three recipes on this post from The Way the Cookie Crumbles.  It was a great to know I wasn't the only one struggling to find the perfect recipe.  I made the third recipe, which was her variation on the other two.  EXCEPT, I used buttermilk instead of milk and did all vanilla extract, no almond.  They had delicious flavor, were super moist and were dense.  I've decided I don't like airy cupcakes. Blah.  I made 24 cupcakes with the batter, but filled them too full for my liking.  Next time I need to only do them a scant 2/3 full.  Baked them for only 13-14 minutes.  Some of them came out just overdone and some came out just slightly underdone.  Regardless, all of them tasted delicious. 

I took some to my Mom and sisters last Thursday night for taste testing and they all agreed they were top rate cupcakes.  SO happy!

I topped them with a Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting from Beantwon Baker.  I'm not sure why I tried this frosting recipe, because clearly from the photos it's not a "stiff" frosting.  I was just too intrigued by the brown sugar part.  The frosting was VERY yummy.  I loved it.  But it's no dice for frosting cupcakes that need to hold their shape.  It's a keeper for regular situations though!

Over the weekend I also retested the Swiss meringue frosting i had in the fridge.  I left it out to get room temp and rewhipped it up.  It held it's shape pretty well and isn't too sweet which is a requirement for Kahly.

I also made another frosting to go on Kahly's family birthday cake on Saturday.  I made Mel's Kitchen Cafe Magic Frosting.  This was another fabulous frosting.  Not too sweet, very creamy, great flavor.  I used it to fill and cover a three tiered rectangle cake.  I took my time frosting the outside of the cake, trying to determine if it would be doable for Kahly's cutting cake.  I wasn't able to get it perfectly smooth like I want.  So I think I'm going to try another swiss buttercream recipe to see if it works better.  The non-fondant covered tier cake is the part that is scaring me the most about this whole endeavor.  I want it to look good!

Cakes, DONE.  Frosting, still working on it. 

I started working on the gumpaste letters and flowers today and just got back from buying a bunch more cake decorating tools.  I love doing this stuff, so fun!

Fluffy Yellow Cake - Annie's Eats

I have a cake decorating class I'm going to tonight, and they asked us to bring a 9x13 cake, so I used the opportunity to try out another recipe.  This one is yellow and not white like I want, but if the flavor is awesome I'd go with yellow.  Problem is, I won't get to taste until after the class. :)

I followed the recipe from Annie's Eats exactly for her fluffly yellow layer cake.  This wasn't the easiest of recipes because of all the room temp ingredients and the egg white whipping.  I thought the cake had decent flavor, it was a bit mild.  But again, I think it was too dry.  One good note, the cake held up really well to cutting and carving in the cake class.  A lot of people's cakes that they brought turned into crumbly messes, but mine held it's shape very well.  Just isn't what I'm looking for in my final cupcake selection though.

Even though I'm not frosting the cake I wanted to try out another frosting recipe today too.  I did a Swiss Meringue Buttercream from Beantown Baker.  Annie's Eats has a very similar recipe that I may try out as well.  With this one, I think I got the egg white mixture too hot in the beginning and it never formed "stiff peaks" like it was suppose to.  But I went ahead and added the butter just to see what happened and it actually turned out fantastic!  It's a really stiff, yet creamy, frosting.  Just what I want.  And this version is not sweat at all, which is what Kahly wants.  It's pretty buttery, but I guess that's to be expected.  It will pipe beautifully.  I am going to try the other swiss meringue recipe just to see if there is any difference, but it looks like I might finally have a frosting that will work! Yeah!

Vanilla Cupcakes - Annie's Eats

This recipe for Vanilla Cupcakes comes from Annie's Eats.  I thought that since her red velvet was divine, that maybe I could go 2 for 2.  NOPE.  The recipe was VERY similar to the one I did from Amber's site, so I opted to add the lemon zest that this recipe said was optional.  I was hopeful it would add to the flavor.  It only slightly improved the flavor and the cupcake was too dry for my liking.  I cooked them for 15 minutes, so I know they weren't overdone.

To go with these cupcakes I made this Easy Vanilla Buttercream frosting, also from Annie's Eats.  I'm still unsure about this frosting.  I put it in the fridge for a couple hours after making it and then brought it almost all the way to room temp and tried to pipe it.  It was a little separated and difficult to pipe.  I have got it sitting at room temp again and will give it one more go before putting in the final verdict. The flavor is good, tastes like your standard sugary buttercream.  ***Update - this frosting just wasn't good enough.  Didn't make the cut.

Red Velvet Cake - Annie's Eats

In addition to finding the perfect white cupcake recipe, I also need to find the perfect Red Velvet Cake recipe.  Red velvet cake is notorious for being tough to make, usually ending up way too dry.  But it's Kahly and her friends favorite kind of cake, so I thought I'd surprise them with their own "cutting cake" made out of the red velvet, just for the two of them.  The cupcakes will all be vanilla with pink frosting, but the cutting cake on top will be red velvet with some kind of frosting to match cupcakes so you can't tell it's red velvet underneath. So fun!

My first red velvet cake comes from Annie's Eats.  I made them into two 6" round cakes instead of cupcakes.  There was no recommendation from her on time for the cake version, so I just did trial and error and had to keep testing them for doneness.  I was so worried that they would be over cooked, so I errored on the side of caution and ended up undercooking them by just a couple minutes.  The very center on the top wasn't quite done, but it didn't affect the rest of the cake. I baked them for 30 minutes and should have done 31-32 minutes instead.  I followed the recipe exactly.  These cakes were AMAZING.  Seriously.  I wouldn't have called my self a red velvet fan prior to eating this cake, but now... well, I'm converted.  It was so moist, so fluffy (yet had good depth) and the flavor was out of this world good.  And the color of the cake, while definitely a "fake" red, was so bright and fun.  I loved everything about this cake.  I am going to try one more recipe just to make sure, but this one is already a clear winner in my mind.

For the frosting, I used the cream cheese frosting that went along with the cake recipe.  I had high hopes since the cake was so good, but I was severly let down.  While this frosting tasted every bit as good as a cream cheese frosting should taste, it was so soft and liquidly, even after being in the refrigerator for several hours, that it barely clung to the sides of the layered cake I made.  It was a soupy mess.  I followed the recipe exactly.  I have no idea where I went wrong.  Based on her post she has used this frosting to do wedding cakes and cupcakes, so I need to figure out what to do differently. I'm getting a little discouraged with frostings at this point.

White Cupcakes - Amber's Delectable Delights

The kids and DJ all enjoyed one of the cupcakes I made yesterday for dessert last night and then I shipped all the remaining cupcakes off to work with DJ this morning.  I can't have yummy cupcakes overflowing in my kitchen or my diet will go out the window.  Besides, I plan to make lots and lots of recipes until I find just the right one, so out with the old and in with the new today!

Next up, White Cupcakes from Amber's Delectable Delights.  Again, this recipe called for only 12 cupcakes and again, there was just too much batter for only 12 cups.  But I am staying true to these recipes the first go around, so I filled them up to the top.  They rose quite a bit and have that muffin top I don't like.  I only baked them for 16.5 minutes instead of 20.  I also used clear vanilla extract so that they would be true white.  Unfortunately, they still have a yellow tint to them.  I had to use salted butter since I had no unsalted butter on hand, but I ommitted the 1/4 tsp salt.  These cupcakes turned out too dry.  They were not overcooked so I know it wasn't that.  And there just wasn't enough flavor to tempt me to make them again.

For the frosting, this time I tried Brown Eyed Baker's Vanilla Buttercream Frosting.  I followed it exactly as the recipe perscribed with the exception of using salted butter instead of unsalted.  I didn't have any unsalted on hand.  The frosting is very creamy and smooth.  It is pretty sweet though.  And definitely soft.  I put it in the fridge for about 30 minutes and when I took it out to pipe with I had to wait about 5 minutes for it to warm up before I could work it through the tip.  But once I did, the frosting held up beautifully.  It pipes well, is pretty sweet and would be fine left out of the refrigerator.  It's in the running.

Vanilla Cupcakes - Brown Eyed Baker

First UP, Vanilla Cupcakes from Brown Eyed Baker.  The only reason this one was first was because I had all the ingredients on hand for it and didn't have to go to the store to start my quest.

Her recipe said to only fill 12 cupcakes with the batter.  I followed it as outlined and once the cupcakes were done baking they were a little too big and had a small "muffin top" rim from being overly full.  Perhaps my cupcake pan is slightly smaller than hers.  Next time I would make it into 14 cupcakes.

The flavor and texture of the cupcakes were good.  I baked them for 19 minutes and I still think they were overdone.  Next time I'd only go with 18 minutes.  I think this affected the moisture of the cupcake, causing them to be a tad bit dry.  I also used reduced fat sour cream, which may affect the taste a little.  I think these are worth a second go, using full fat sour cream and spreading into 14 cups and reducing the baking time to 17-18 minutes.  Good potential!  

I decided to pair these with Brown Eyed Baker's Cream Cheese Frosting as well.  For the frosting, I had to add an extra cup of powdered sugar to get it to a consistancy that wasn't so soft.  Before adding the extra cup of sugar it was almost "melty" it was so soft.  I need the frosting that I choose to have enough stiffness to it to pipe and stay put.  The flavor was very yummy, as a cream cheese frosting should be, but I don't think this will be the frosting recipe I use.

Cupcake Hunt

I'm going to be making cupcakes for my sister and her friends combined birthday party.  I am on the hunt to find the best vanilla cupcake, with the best vanilla or cream cheese frosting.  I will also be working on some fondant monogrammed toppers and some extra fancy little accessories.  Is it possible for a cupcake to have accessories?
So that I remember which recipes I've tried and which ones I liked, I will be posting my reviews and info about each.  Let the cupcake hunt begin!

Knit Pants For My Boy

I have been busy making A LOT of knit pants, skirts and shorts.  Ethan has three new pairs of knit shorts for PJ's, Addison has several skirts that I'll post about later and Austin has a new pair of knit pants.  He doesn't really need them, but the fabric was so cute that I just had to do it.  I think I could even get away with him wearing them to church, if I put a nice button up shirt with them.

Black Forrest Cake

I made this Black Forrest Cake from Brown Eyed Baker for my husbands birthday.  It was DIVINE!  Really, the cake was so moist and chocolaty and the cherries were soft and sweet and the whipped topping was light and not overly sweet.  We devoured it at his camping/cook out party.

I changed up the middle cherry layer just a bit.  Everything else I did exactly as her recipe called for.

Cherry Layer:
2 cups of fresh or frozen pitted cherries
1/4 cup of water
3/4 cup of sugar
2 TBS of cornstarch
1 tsp of vanilla

Put the cherries into a medium sauce pan and heat on medium until the cherries are warm and juices are released.  Add the water, sugar, and cornstarch to the cherries.  Stir and cook until bubbly and the sauce has thickened.  Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.  Let the cherry and sauce cool completely.  Add the cherries and as much sauce as you prefer to the middle layer of the Black Forrest Cake.  The sauce makes the cake all that more moist.  Reserve 12 of the cherries for the top of the cake.

Raspberry Crisp Bars

My husband really went overboard on buying fresh fruit this past week, so that's why I've had so many fruity recipes lately.  The raspberry flat he bought was great, but they were so ripe that they started to get mushy too quickly.  Wasting raspberries was out of the question, so it was time to find another way to use them up.  This recipe from Allrecipes.com did the trick.  Again, I made a few alterations and I loved the results.  Next time I make it, I may get a little crazy and try to make it with Coconut Oil instead of butter.  I don't know how that would affect it, but I think it's worth a try to make it more healthy.

Raspberry Crisp Bars

1 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon baking powder 3 cups white whole wheat flour 1 cup room temp butter 1 egg 1 pinch salt 1 pinch ground cinnamon 4 cups raspberries (or any kind of fresh berry) 1/2-3/4 cup white sugar 3 teaspoons cornstarch

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease one 13x9 inch pan.
2.	Combine 1 cup of the sugar, the flour, baking powder, salt, ground cinnamon, butter, and egg. I use my hands to break up the butter and work it until it's a crumbly dough.  Pat half of the dough into the prepared pan.
3.	Combine the remaining 1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar (this varies based on the sweetness of the fruit you are using), the cornstarch and berries. Place mixture over dough in pan. Crumble the remaining dough over the tops of the berries.
4.	Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 45 minutes or until the top is slightly brown.

Blueberry Peach Coffee Cake (or Muffins)

Staying true to what I talked about doing in my last post, here is another recipe that I made today.  We had some blueberries and nectarines that were getting a bit too ripe and I didn't want them to go to waste.  So I got the base of this recipe from Allrecipes.com, but altered it quite a bit and it turned out fantastic.  I love using the whole wheat flour in my baking and having things still turn out tasting delicious.  

Blueberry Peach Coffee Cake (or Muffins) 

3 cups white whole wheat flour 3/4 cup white sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 pinch salt 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg 3 eggs 1 cup milk 1 tsp vanilla 1/2 cup melted butter 1 1/2 cups blueberries 1 1/2 cups peeled and diced fresh peaches or nectarines   Topping: 2 tsp white sugar 2 TB butter

Directions:

1.	Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease 13x9 pan or muffin tins, or line with paper liners.
2.	In a large bowl, stir together the flour, white sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs, milk and 1/2 cup of melted butter and vanilla until well blended. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix until just blended. Fold in the blueberries and peaches. Fill pan or muffin cups with batter.
3.	For the 13x9 pan, back for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  For the muffins, bake for 18 to 20 minutes. After pulling them out of the oven, spread the 2 TBS of butter on top, the butter will melt as you spread it around.  Then sprinkle with the 2 tsp of sugar. Cool in the pan over a wire rack.

Yummy Banana Bread Recipe

I made this banana bread today from Our Best Bites.  It's a Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze.  I modified the recipe and made a couple mistakes along the way, but it stilled turned out amazing. That's the sign of a recipe with good bones.  If you mess it up and it still turns out delicious, then it's a winner in my book.  For my own sanity, I'm writing down my modifications so that I remember what to do next time.  I basically just made it a bit more healthy by using whole wheat flour and substituting coconut oil for butter.

Posting it on my blog also helps me keep track of which recipes I've tried from which blogs.  I really need to do this with everything I make so that I can keep my own personal "best of" and "don't make this again" lists. :)

Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze
adapted by To Craft or To Cook, which was adapted by Our Best Bites from Cooking Light

2 C white whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 C sugar
1/4 C coconut oil, room temp
2 large eggs
1 1/2 C mashed ripe bananas (about 4 large bananas)
1/4 C sour cream or plain yogurt
3 Tbs apple juice or milk*
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 C coconut

Topping: 2 Tbs additional coconut
Glaze: 1/2 C powdered sugar whisked with 1 1/2 Tbs fresh lime juice

*as in: don't go buy apple juice just for this recipe.  If you don't already have some, just use milk!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat oil and sugar until blended.  Add eggs and beat to combine.  Add banana, sour cream or yogurt, apple juice (or milk), and vanilla.  Beat until blended.
Add flour mixture and beat at a low speed until just combined.  Stir in 1/2 C coconut.

Pour batter into a 9x5" loaf pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray.  Sprinkle additional 2 Tbs coconut on top. 

Bake in the oven for about 1 hour or until a knife or skewer inserted in center comes out clean. Note: Check bread after about 40 minutes.  If the top has browned and the coconut pieces are looking toasty, cover top of bread lightly with a piece of foil.  Continue baking until done.

When done, remove pan from oven.  Let cool on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes and then carefully remove from pan.  Whisk powdered sugar and lime juice together for the glaze and then drizzle over top.    Cool for another 15 minutes before slicing.