Cupcake Test 6, Toasted Almond with Caramel Frosting

Toasted Almond Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting were the tested cupcake for the week.  When I read that, I expected a cupcake that reminds me of an Almond Shortbread Cookie - buttery, full of almond and butter flavor and a little sandy in texture.  And Caramel Frosting - sweet, sticky, a bit salty, tasting of browned sugar and butter.  Like the Fleur de Sel Caramels I've been making the past couple of Christmas seasons. 

I'm afraid these cupcakes are not what I expected.  But, let me not get ahead of myself.

Process Notes:  Toasting the slivered almonds is key to the flavor profile of the cupcake and it takes just a blink to go from mildly toasted to burnt.  I had my almonds in the oven for just 5 minutes, not the 6-10 recommended.  I immediately removed the almonds from the hot sheet and allowed them to cool for 15 minutes where they continued to darken before grinding them coarsely in my mini-chopper.  I then began the cake mix, allowing the nuts to cool just a bit longer before folding them into the batter. 

I added a bit more powdered sugar to the brown sugar/butter frosting mixture, hoping for a lighter color and texture.  I even pulled out my second hand mixer to try and whip it into shape.  The frosting crystallized quite quickly, making it very difficult to work with, despite repeated infusions of milk.  I was only able to frost 21 cupcakes with the amount per the recipe. 

Tasting Notes:  Me - The cupcake itself is quite delicate, perfumed with the hint of almonds.  Since you start with a white cake mix, there is not much in the way of a butter flavor.  I believe that if I had ground the almonds finely, I wouldn't have even noticed that they were in there.  The frosting is where this whole thing goes squirrelly.  If I were in charge of naming it, I would have called it a "Brown Sugar Brûlée".  It's gritty and totally overwhelms the fragrant almond cupcake both in taste and aroma.  If I were to redo the cupcakes, I'd try this Salted Caramel recipe, if I had to go with Caramel frosting.  I'd also increase the almond amounts (both ground nut and extract) and start with a yellow butter cake mix.  I might change the frosting to a whipped chocolate ganache (without the cinnamon) as found here.  Although the Toasted Almond with Caramel sounds like a great combination, I'm afraid this recipe is just a jumping off point to something else you'd rather have.

ETA:  When I give up my preconceived ideas, these aren't bad cupcakes.  The almond flavor comes through as the cupcake cools and the frosting is quite tasty.  I still think that the frosting sets up far too fast, however, how can you go wrong with brown sugar and butter?

Mark - Came home last night and dinner wasn't quite ready, but the cupcakes were.  He split one with me and declared it quite yummy.  He liked the lightness of the cupcake and the sweet frosting.  So much so, that he decided he needed another one.  That's a resounding success.

I haven't delivered these out for other folks to taste yet, but I'll update my post as soon as I hear something.
ETA:  The deck dudes both thought the cupcakes were "awesome".  Mark's co-workers were mixed in their opinions - some thought the frosting was too sweet, others liked the gritty texture - made them think of old fashioned ice cream.  "Not my favorite" was a common comment.

Cupcake Test 5, "Strawberry-Cream Cheese Cupcakes"

The Bride to Be sent off a quick email last week, and let me know her next three choices.  Since I found fresh strawberries at the market, I went with the "Strawberry-Cream Cheese Cupcakes".    Now, from the get-go, these aren't Strawberry Cheesecake cupcakes, these are quite clearly Cream Cheese Cupcakes, even though I think Cheesecake sounds like a mighty fine idea, and if there's another recipe, I'd highly recommend trying it.  (If I pulled the wrong recipe, Miss BtB, please let me know and I will be happy do another batch.  The only other Strawberry Cupcakes I see are the Strawberry & Cream, made with Strawberry Soda.)  These are instead, a lump of cream cheese in the middle of a sour cream cupcake, with some jam on top.  Doesn't sound very appetizing when I put it like that, however, they smell really delish ~ they are cooling as I start to write this.  They will get topped with a swirl of cream cheese frosting and a garnish of fresh fruit, which should make them oh so tasty.

Process Notes:  Since they are topped with some jam, I decided to go with some of my homemade preserves from last summer - I made half the cupcakes with strawberry and half with blueberry.  I have some cherry that I think would be tasty as well.  I didn't realize that they made cream cheese in 3 oz pkgs (why?), so I diced up my 8 oz package into 24 bits for the cupcakes.  And, instead of the chintzy 1/4t of jam, I went with a full teaspoon per cupcake.  Which, hey!, I got 24 cupcakes AGAIN with the use of the magical ice cream scoop!  Although I bought some canned cream cheese frosting, I wanted to make some homemade cream cheese frosting, so I used the recipe in the back of the book. Oh, the canned only frosted 11 cupcakes, but I was generous with it.  The recipe made more than enough for the other dozen cupcakes.  I topped the "stay-home" cupcakes with some fresh fruit, but I don't think that will travel well. Or look good for an extended period of time.  I think a sprinkle of colored sugar would be sparkly.

Ugly Duckling

Tasting Notes:  Me - The cupcake is very moist, tender and quite flavorful with just a bit of crumb.  I prefer the homemade cream cheese frosting to the canned kind, but the canned is not bad.    I think that mixing some sweetened condensed milk with the cream cheese, prior to baking, would make these more of a cheesecake cupcake and actually, taste better.  My lumps, based on the 8 oz block vs. the 3 oz block, were kinda big and well, lumpy.  I liked the flavor, but it was more of a distraction than an enhancement.

Mark - No cupcake this time, just frosting.  You can still taste the confectioners sugar in the homemade frosting, so the canned frosting was a bit smoother.  However, not much real difference between the two.

Ugly duckling

Outsiders - Ralph & Sean (my deck dudes!) ~ Sean says they taste great.  Ralph said his kids loved them, but his wife was wondering about the cream cheese.  Ralph personally, thought they just fell apart in his hands - too tender. All preferred the blueberry to the strawberry.

Cupcake Test 4, "Key West"

StO (sadly blogless) picked the Key West cupcakes to try this weekend.  I believe we are all especially fond of Key Lime pie.  The combination of sweet and tart, smooth filling and sandy graham cracker crust, is just heaven on your tongue.   But I must say personally, an overly sweet key lime pie is not very good.

One of my favorite trips was a 4 day excursion to the Florida Keys in which I tried the Key Lime Pie at every restaurant we ate at.  The best was, coincidentally, at Lorelei's, on Key Largo.  I don't know if they are still in existence, but the large plywood mermaid is still a landmark in my mind.

Process Notes:  Wahoo!  I got 24 cupcakes this time.  I was overfilling the cups just a smidge, but now, I've got it down pat.  I added additional lime juice to the "filling" - when I tasted it, it was just too sweet, with not much lime flavor to it.  And OMG, was that not the nastiest looking stuff when you put the lime juice and food coloring in the pudding?  I wanted to do half the cupcakes with the filling on top, as per the directions, and the other half as we did the Just Because.  However, the filling was so runny, I wasn't able to just top the cupcakes.  I also added about a T of lime zest to the cake batter pre-baking and on top of the frosting topper.  Like I said, if it's supposed to be lime, I want it to be LIME!  The pics on line show a small slice of lime, but I think the zest will be just fine.

Tasting Notes:

Me:  Sweet, tart, what's not to like?  Even though I tried to push the filling into the cupcake, I think the filling was too runny, and I probably needed a cupcake corer to make it work.  Instead, it just kind of ran over the top, which was fine.  These definitely needed to be refrigerated - a consideration to keep in mind.

Mark:  He only tried the filling, which he really liked.

The Office:  Specific comments - one guy thought they were the best so far.  His second favorite were the chocolate-peanut butter JB's.  Since these were in the fridge, they took a couple of days to disappear.  Out of sight, out of mind, doncha know?

Cupcake Test 3 "Double Coconut"

My pick this week - Double-Coconut Cupcakes. Can I just say, mmmmmm?   These are actually triple coconut, but if you used the pre-mixed frosting, then they would be just double.  There is a dollop of coconut and sweetened condensed milk as a surprise filling in the cupcake.  There is coconut flavor in the homemade frosting, and then you top it all off with some toasted coconut.

Process Notes:  Again, even with the ice cream scoop, I only got 21 cupcakes.  This is obviously user error.  I'll try to do better next time.  I used a small cookie scoop (like an ice cream scoop but just a smidge larger than a melon baller) to put the filling in the cupcake batter - and I had more than enough of the coconut goo to do 24 and more cupcakes.  Tool wise though, I'll bet this was the way to go.  I got a new pan as well - this one has the little wave things on the bottom of the cups so I think it's an air bake pan.  I also used my heavy duty pan.  Regardless, none of the cupcakes burned.  I was nervous that they hadn't baked enough, even though my toothpick test came clean, because as I was pulling them from the pan, they seemed soft on the bottom.  After letting them rest however, they firmed up.  The frosting was quick and easy to make.  I added an extra 1/2 t (making it 1 & 1/2 t) of coconut extract to enhance the flavor.  Watch the toasting process carefully.  It takes just moments to go from yum to burned.  Speaking of the coconut, the bag says that there is 5 1/2 c in it.  I'm assuming that's fluffed, because I didn't have that much extra. 

Tasting Notes:

Me:  Yum and Yum and Yum.  I like the surprise filling that's not really a filling, because once the sweetened condensed milk is cooked, it's absorbed into the batter of the cupcake making it really moist and delicious.  The frosting is addictive.  And the toasted coconut on top gives it a bit of color and crunch.

Mark:  Delicious.  Loved the frosting so much, he upped his shot so that he could eat more of it.  He usually doesn't do that. 

Work:  All but one was gone by the time Mark headed home.  I'm sure that's a function of the now regular appearance of cupcakes at his office.  And, coconut is one of those flavors that folks either really like, or really don't like.  The last one was gone before he got to the office this morning.  All comments were positive.  (He's not really good about direct quotes!)

Cupcake Test 2 "S'more"

This week, we've had a request from the groom to make the S'Mores Cupcakes.  

Process Notes:  Even though I went from a 1/3c scoop to a 1/4c scoop for my cupcakes, I only managed to get 21 cupcakes.  I'm still looking for an ice cream scoop with a sweep to see if that will help.  Also, the book called for baking them at 375, while the box called for 350.  I baked at 375, but just for 18 minutes.  And, due to the higher temperature, the ones in the cheaper (lighter) muffin tin, were extra brown.  I'd recommend doing them at the lower temperature.  The frosting is oh-so-sticky, but what do you expect with marshmallow fluff?  Also, I was only able to frost 18 cupcakes with the one batch of frosting.  That's a half-dozen short which will add up in quantity, quickly.  I used my mini-chopper on the candy bar shrapnel, but if I were making these in bulk, I would definitely use the food processor.

Tasting Notes:  Me - I'm not a big fan of the S'mores.  I like them in theory, but in practice, not so much.  I liked the chocolate mixed into the batter - that was tasty.  I didn't really get any graham taste from the crumbs that were added.  Instead, I felt like they made the cupcake a little rubbery.  The frosting didn't have much of a marshmallow taste to it - maybe if it got toasted with a flame thrower?  The teddy graham couples were cute for decoration.  I think StY probably had a good idea to dip the cupcakes in the graham crumbs as decor & for more flavor.

Mark -  Likes these very much and would put them on the list to make.  His suggestion for improvement is to put a puddle of chocolate syrup in the top of the cupcake before frosting them to add a bit more chocolate flavor.  He thought that the teddy couples were appropriate for a wedding - & fun too. 

Mark's Office - I'll add these notes some time this weekend.  Mark did say he had received positive feedback.

Cupcake Test 1a & 1b "Just Because"

My youngest sister is getting married this year!  She's asked my other sister to work her magic in producing some sort of (cup)cake for the reception.  Sister the older has sent both of us the book Better Crocker Just Cupcakes so that we can all test recipes and take notes. 

Our first test is of the "Just Because" cupcakes.  In the book, they look like a version of ho-ho's or ding dongs, rich chocolate cupcake with a cream filling.  I used a chocolate cake mix for the cupcake and then made two filling/frosting options.  The first is the "Creamy White Frosting" - I tinted mine pink because I don't have any clear vanilla (yet!) in my pantry.  The second is the "Creamy Peanut Butter Frosting".

Process Notes:  I only got 21 cupcakes (vs. the 24 advertised) - I need to get a scoop that will let me put the same amount of batter in each liner.  I baked them at 350 (preheated and everything!) on the convection bake setting in the gas oven.  Chocolate cake doesn't look good in fancy liners.  You might as well use the foil ones or plain-jane and a wrapper.  It took 3/4 of a recipe of the Creamy White Frosting to do 10 cupcakes.  1/2 a recipe of the Creamy PB Frosting was more than enough to do 11 cupcakes.  I think I put a smidge too much milk in the PB frosting - I've got a cupcake in the fridge to see if it sets up better. 

The Ugly Ducklings

Tasting Notes:  Me - The cupcakes were moist, but not exceptionally so.  I liked the PB better with the cupcake than alone.  The Creamy White was also quite tasty.  I can see this with a chocolate ganache or some jelly inside.  It does not however, taste like a ding dong or ho-ho - that would need a bit more cream I do believe.

Hubster -  The Creamy White is his favorite.  It tastes like the frosting they used to make at the Harvey's in Valdosta.

His Office - we'll see if we can get an update tomorrow.   eta:  The un-official verdict is this:  The pink frosting looks more appetizing than the peanut butter - all 8 cupcakes devoured vs. a couple of the peanut butter remaining at the end of the day.  The peanut butter frosting looks a little like poo if you don't put sprinkles on it.

You can see StY notes here.

A tasty mess

I haven't made one of these in a while - like years.  But evidently it's made an impression because when Mark had a pot-luck to attend, this is what he asked me to make.  I couldn't find my original recipe, so I did a search and this one sounds like 95% of the one I had previously. The only change I made was to swap the graham cracker crust for one made of Oreo Cookie crumbs.  Skip the sugar, and it is good to go.  Made for a decent breakfast this morning with a cup of joe. 

We're off book folks....

They had the German cherry pitter, and it works quite well actually.  The hopper kinda stacks up, so you can gently roll the cherries through, but I have to imagine that it works so much better than picking up a cherry, pitting a cherry, pulling the cherry off the pitter and picking up the next cherry.  We were able to process 36#'s of fruit with relative ease.

I know, crazy huh?  I thought that one box of cherries would not quite be enough, so I bought two.  And actually, I'm glad. If this is not the last week the cherries will be available, then it's darn close. 

We spent two afternoons making up jam.  Saturday was Plain Cherry Jane and "Bing" Cherry Jam with spices and Amaretto.  Sunday, we went off book (Ball Blue Book) and started going crazy.  We made Blue-Cherry-Berry, Cherry Marmalade, Cherry-Strawberry, Cherry Vanilla, and Cherry Conserve(Compote?).  All quite yummy, although I think the Cherry-Strawberry and Cherry Vanilla are my favorites.  The Cherry-Strawberry is full of that jammy fruit flavor you read about in your wine tasting notes.  We liked it so much, I actually put aside cherries in the freezer so we can make some more when I get strawberries.  The Cherry Vanilla tastes kinda like the way good pipe tobacco smoke smells.  I think it's going to be great over vanilla ice cream, or maybe as a glaze on some really good meat - duck perhaps?

2010 Jam Plans include:  Strawberry (1 1/2 flats of fruit), Plum (1 box of fruit), and Meyer Lemon Marmalade (whatever is left on the trees!).

I need to preserve (groan!) the recipes for future episodes of "Little Cabin in the Woods", so measurements and notes as follows.

Cherry-Strawberry makes 6.5 half pints

• 2 1/2 c chopped, pitted cherries
• 2 c chopped strawberries
• 1/4 c lemon juice
• 3 1/2 c sugar
• 1 pkg powdered pectin (next time use the low-sugar version)

Cherry Marmalade makes 7 half pints

• 4 c chopped, pitted cherries
• 1 med orange, chopped and seeded (peel included)
• 2 T lemon juice
• Sugar (tbd)
• 1 pkg powdered pectin

Blue-Cherry-Berry makes 8 half pints

• 2 c blueberries
• 2 c chopped pitted cherries  (change to 1 c blueberry, 3 c cherry)
• 1/4 c lemon juice
• 6 1/4 c sugar
• 2 pkgs liquid pectin

Cherry Vanilla makes 7 half-pints

• 4 c chopped, pitted cherries
• 1/4 c Amaretto (altho you don't taste it, I think it supports the vanilla bean)
• 2 T lemon juice
• 1 vanilla bean, scraped but whole pod cooked in
• 4 c sugar
• 1 pkg powdered pectin (change to low sugar pectin next time)

Cherry Pecan Conserve (Compote?) makes 10 half pints

• 4 c chopped, pitted cherries
• 1 c chopped strawberries
• 1 med orange, chopped and seeded (peel included)
• 1 pkg powdered pectin
• 1/4 c lemon juice
• 4 c sugar
• bring the above to a boil then add:
• 1 c chopped pecans
• 1 c raisins
• 1 pkg liquid pectin

Cookies

I've been playing with Photoshop a bit today - trying to get back into the swing of things regarding my photos. I love my camera. and I love my new software. It's just a bit of a learning curve for now, getting everything to work the way I want it to. I need to figure out if I import all my photos into the gallery - do they stay where I saved them, or does a second copy get saved in another directory?

But in between times, I smell cinnamon and butterscotch and oatmeal baking. Cooling on the racks, maybe, before I have one "to taste". Baking cookies has always made me happy. I like that we each have a favorite - these are Mark's. And I say we each have a favorite - mine just happens to be whatever is fresh out of the oven.

I've given up on the "thrifty" version - where you make twice as much dough as the recipe calls for, and only use the original amount of the "expensive" ingredient - like chocolate chips. Remember that? Kinda like "stretched" juice - one can of frozen condensed makes a whole jug full of juice - just add that much water - no matter what the size of the can or the jug. Yeah, I remember the first time I read the directions on the side of the can. No wonder everyone else had better juice than we did. Ah well.

But in the mean time, we learn. And things get better.

Love you much.

Carnage

Damn Squirrels!

A bowl full of summer

I was at a restaurant the other night and ordered a salad. Alongside of the of the nicely dressed greens and lightly seared Ahi Tuna were three round slabs of tomato. I'd say they were about 4" in diameter, pink and firm like Styrofoam. Don't even bother.

What we have here however, are three tiny tomatoes that have been waiting patiently on the deck for the perfect moment of ripeness. They span the summer spectrum of red to yellow all in the same fruit, and are firm and juicy at the same time.

Seasoned with some kosher salt, cracked pepper and a side of mayo, it's a sweet bowl full of summer sunshine.