Bad Luck Streak in Baking School

As you may have noticed from my not-so-subtle whining in the past few posts, this has been a bad week all around for me, but most especially when it comes to baking. The vampire cupcakes I tried to decorate on Sunday looked more like demented and deformed ghosts had died (again) on top of my cupcakes. FAIL. The chili chocolate cupcakes I made for my book club were overfilled and baked over the tops of the pan in an unsightly manner. FAIL. And then there are the peach cupcakes I made last night as a last ditch effort to come up with a quality entry for Sweetest Kitchen's white chocolate Mystery Box Cupcake Challenge. I'm going to make the bold claim that this sort of thing would not have happened were I not sick. If I'd had more energy or a fully functioning brain I'd like to think that I would have noticed that the recipe I was preparing was an icky vegan one. You know, before I was halfway through putting the ingredients together.

Not that I have anything against the vegans out there, but I can't personally adopt a lifestyle that limits my food choices. I love food too much to give up anything, even though I do aim for a healthy, balanced diet and have been known to deny myself dessert if I'm feeling a little pudgy. I may rarely eat pasta because it's so high in calories and carbs but that doesn't mean I don't allow myself to order it if I'm at a restaurant that features great pasta dishes. I don't want to miss out on, say, devouring the most amazing rack of lamb at Fandango just because I can picture the critter it once was bleating in the field. By that same token, I don't want to miss out on the rich taste and texture that things like butter and eggs bring to baked goods. To me there's no substitute.

Aww, aren't you cute? Now get in my belly!

When I spotted Restless Chipotle's 50 Best Cupcake Recipes on the Internet I was overwhelmed by the number of delicious-looking recipes I need to add to my baking repertoire. I'd already been mulling over the idea of a peach cupcake for the white chocolate challenge so I was happy to see one on the list that was a little different than the peach cupcakes I'd made before. Since I wanted to add chopped peaches as a filling after baking I liked the idea of having the peaches in the batter pureed and blended in. While I did skim through the blog post to ensure she was actually recommending the recipe, I printed the recipe out without reading it (again, totally uncharacteristic for me). Once I got home I decided to use what little energy I had left to make cupcakes instead of dinner. It wasn't until I was nearing the last steps that I stopped and asked myself, "When do I add the eggs?" And then realized that eggs were not listed as an ingredient and that, suspiciously, the recipe called for water instead of the usual milk and vegetable oil instead of butter. It suddenly dawned on me that I was using a vegan recipe, which was a crushing disappointment for me because I knew I only had the energy to make that one batch so there would be no redos. Hoping that despite my fears the cupcakes would still turn out to be tasty and nearly indistinguishable from the "real" thing, I popped them in the oven and watched as they rose oddly. Mountainous peaks in the center of each one instead of the lovely, even dome I usually aim for. On top of that, I had my husband taste one before frosting and not only could he not detect the peach flavor, but he also found the texture to be off. More like a muffin than a cupcake and not even quite as good as that. They went straight into the freezer without being frosted until I can think of a better use for them, but if I run out of space in the freezer they will be the first to go in the bin.

Yes, 90% of this is my fault for not reading the recipe through before starting in on it. However, I can't help but be a little annoyed that the blogger who posted the recipe didn't think to mention it anywhere in her post and that the 50 Best Cupcake list didn't either. In fact, reading the original blogger's profile info reveals that she's a vegetarian, not vegan, so there were no hints that I needed to be on the lookout for funky vegan recipes.

Here's hoping that my and my oven's luck improves next week. And here's hoping that I ditch this crabby persona and go back to being my usual sweet and wonderful self once this ailment passes. One can dream...

Peach & Caramel Frozen Yogurt

It seems that every time I make a new batch of ice cream I manage to decrease the cream and fat content little by little. At this rate I'll be feeding my husband a bowl of ice and trying to convince him it's a delicious homemade frozen delicacy within the month. Only joking, although one of my main motivations for breaking down and buying an ice cream maker was so I could make lower fat versions of ice cream. I'm always on a quest to find ways my husband and I can eat more healthily while still indulging in dessert. The first batch I made was delicious but it was also far too full of cream and fat. A good way to christen the ice cream maker but not something I intend to make regularly.

When I discovered that I not only had a bunch of ripe peaches on the counter but also a large container of plain yogurt near expiration I began searching for the perfect peach frozen yogurt recipe. I found a few that looked promising and eventually settled on the simplest one involving only peaches, yogurt, water, and sugar. To make it even easier on myself (ok, ok, and because I didn't read the directions closely enough) I wound up dumping everything into a saucepan, heated until the peaches were soft enough to mash, and didn't bother blending the mixture in a food processor for smoothness. I'd prefer to have chunks of peaches visible and even left the skins on the peaches because I actually like that fuzzy covering. Because I used fat free yogurt I substituted half and half for some of the water and because I had some peach simple syrup left over I poured that in and decreased the sugar a bit to compensate.

I also had some caramel left over so I poured that in while I was transferring the frozen yogurt from the ice cream maker to the container. I know my husband well enough to predict that he'd never remember to add the caramel sauce himself to each bowl so better to mix it in. That way he can't miss it!

The end result is tasty but surprisingly hard. My husband may have to invest in a chisel to get his next serving out of the freezer. Not sure if this is what one should always expect to get with homemade frozen yogurt or if it's all due to my fat-free yogurt substitution. I'm not ready to go with full fat yogurt but next time I'll try upping the fat content a little and maybe even try the trick of adding a dash of vodka to the mix since alcohol doesn't freeze. It's still edible but requires a little planning ahead since it needs to sit out to soften.

Peach Frozen Yogurt
Recipe adapted from The Perfect Scoop

Makes about 3 cups

4 medium peaches, roughly chopped (skins on or off)
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup half and half
2/3 cup sugar
4 teaspoons peach simple syrup (optional, if you omit use 3/4 cup sugar above)
1 cup plain yogurt

Dump all of the ingredients in a medium saucepan and cook over medium low heat, covered, stirring occasionally until peaches are soft, about 5 minutes. Thoroughly mash with a potato masher or fork and continue to cook another 3-5 minutes until cooked through. Remove from heat and cool in refrigerator overnight.

Freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. When transferring churned frozen yogurt from ice cream maker to freezer container, drizzle caramel between layers.

Caramel
Recipe adapted from Sprinkle Bakes

1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
Pinch of salt
1/8 cup plus 1 1/2 teaspoons heavy cream, at room temperature

1) Melt the sugar over medium heat in a large pot. With a wooden spoon, stir the sugar as it melts and cook until it becomes a deep amber color.

2) Add the butter and salt and stir it in until melted.

3) Pour in the heavy cream (mixture will foam) and whisk until you get a smooth sauce. You may have some lumps but keep stirring until they have melted. Remove from heat and cool completely.

Peach Simple Syrup
Adapted from Cook's Recipes

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 small peach, roughly chopped

In a saucepan combine sugar, water, corn syrup and peach pieces. Heat over high heat, and once the peaches are softened a bit mash with a potato masher or fork. Heat to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Simmer syrup, undisturbed, 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Pour syrup through a fine sieve, pressing on solids. Cool at room temperature.

Note: This recipe makes much more than you'll actually need. Syrup keeps, covered, in the refrigerator for weeks.

A Tale of Two Cupcake Challenges

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Oh, who am I kidding? There can be no bad times when cupcakes are involved!


We're now into the second month of The Sweetest Kitchen's Mystery Box Cupcake Challenge where the theme is white chocolate. Even though I'm not eligible to win again I planned to participate as soon as I saw the ingredient. White chocolate happens to be my husband's favorite! I've been brainstorming ideas to try out over the next month in the quest for another winning combination. So I guess white chocolate was on my mind when I discovered Hoosier Homemade's Summertime Fun Cupcake Challenge. There's a different theme every week in August and this week's theme is flavor. Taken from the website: "What flavor screams Summertime Fun to you? Create a cupcake with that flavor, write a post with the recipe, add pictures and share them!"

Nothing says "summertime fun" to me like fresh produce and noshing on the abundance of goodies my garden produces this time of year. It's actually a miracle that my garden produces anything because I am such an abysmal gardener. My husband even bought a Grim Reaper scarecrow to stick near my plants with the assumption that they'll need his services sooner rather than later. But in the summer things seem to miraculously take care of themselves and flourish. There's nothing better than having fresh tomatoes, basil, and oregano on hand to make homemade pasta sauce. I also love the ready availability of inexpensive fresh fruit in the stores. It's currently peach season where I live and I find myself stocking up on several pounds a week while they're so cheap. With all of that floating around in my head the concept of a fresh fruit summertime cupcake began to coalesce.

I knew I'd begin with a fresh peach cake since I'd been wanting to make Cupcake Project's Peach Cobbler Cupcakes since I first saw the recipe. The cake is indeed moist and delicious with that rustic look that comes from chunks of fresh peach thrown in the mix. I'd planned to pair it with a white chocolate frosting and was trying to dream up just the right filling to go with it. Last night I got my inspiration from my own garden in the form of mint that is crazily attempting to take over my entire front yard. After a quick Google search to help perfect my idea I stumbled across a peach cupcake recipe that uses sage-infused ricotta as a filling. While I'm not quite brave enough to combine savory and sweet like that, I figured I could adapt the idea and instead infuse my ricotta with mint from my garden. Ricotta would be perfect to offset the sweetness of the cake and white chocolate frosting. The best part is I'd be making the ricotta myself so no trips to the store were required. At least I thought that would be the best part because they made it look so easy on their blog.

I should point out that I have zero experience making cheese. I don't think I've even so much as watched a TV program on the subject. Next time I'll make the effort to buy the exact ingredients called for as my substitutions of half and half and skim milk resulted in a ricotta that, while tasty and authentic in flavor, never got to the right texture. I think mine was too thick because of the excess cream so the liquid couldn't drain out properly. I managed to rescue most of it and preserve the ricotta flavor by adding some cream cheese and extra confectioners' sugar to thicken it up. I do think those additions helped make the filling tastier as well. The mint infusion worked perfectly as I dropped four mint leaves into the milk and cream mixture as it heated. I can't wait to try this again and follow the recipe to a T since I love the idea of making my own at home.

The white chocolate ganache whipped up into a lovely light frosting with just the right amount of sweetness to offset the tang of the mint ricotta filling. To give an extra punch of peach flavor and to round out the cupcake I made some peach simple syrup by boiling a diced peach with sugar, water, and corn syrup and spooned some on top of each cupcake. Since I was feeling especially artsy I went ahead and candied a few small mint leaves as decoration. I'll admit that I did eat mine because I can't resist anything covered in sugar (except, perhaps, ants for those of you getting any ideas) and I loved the burst of sweet mint.


So here I am killing two birds with one stone and meeting the requirements for two cupcake challenges. I'm not sure this will be my final entry in The Sweetest Kitchen's challenge because I have a whole month to keep experimenting, which I know thrills my husband to no end. It is, however, exactly what I was looking for to capture my idea of a perfect summertime treat so I shall humbly submit this as my entry at Hoosier Homemade:

Fresh peach cupcakes with mint-infused ricotta white chocolate filling topped with whipped white chocolate ganache and a drizzle of peach simple syrup, all adorned with candied mint leaves.

Whew! That's a mouthful!

Whipped White Chocolate Ganache
Recipe from Vanilla Garlic

12 ounces white chocolate (good quality)
3/4 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2-3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

1) Chop chocolate and transfer to a heat proof bowl.
2) Heat cream until bubbles form around the edge of the pan. Pour cream over the chocolate.
3) Let sit for 1 minute then stir until combined.
4) Add butter to the chocolate (make sure it's soft) and stir until combined.
5) Whisk together sugar, salt, and vanilla in another bowl until combined.
6) Pour the sugar mixture onto the chocolate mixture, then stir until combined and smooth.
7) Let sit at room temperature until thickened, about 2 hours.
8) Beat with an electric mixer until fluffy.

Note: Keep close watch as this can suddenly separate.

Yields enough to frost 24 cupcakes - you'll have leftovers

Mint-Infused Ricotta White Chocolate Filling
Adapted from Diced Tomato

2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup cream
4 decent sized mint leaves
1/8 tsp salt
2 1/4 teaspoons lemon juice
2 ounces white chocolate
3-4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar

On standby:
A strainer/colander lined with cheesecloth and set on top of a large bowl (just in case your cheese cloth gets away from you, the extra bowl will act as insurance in case some of your cheese curds fall through your sieve).

1) Over high heat, put the milk, cream, salt, and mint in a nonreactive pot to boil. When it boils the mixture should froth and expand.
2) When a boil is reached, reduce heat to medium and add lemon juice. Your mixture will start to curdle almost immediately.
3) Continue to cook for two minutes and then pour into your colander/strainer and allow to drain (you may need to empty the liquid from the bottom of your insurance bowl as you go so that your mixture keeps draining). This should take about an hour or so. Check on it ever so often to pour off any liquid that runs off. Remove mint leaves.
4) Place the white chocolate in a small bowl and microwave at 20 second intervals, stirring after each, until melted and smooth.
5) Beat melted white chocolate and 3 ounces cream cheese in a mixer until smooth. Stir in ricotta and confectioners' sugar by hand. If needed, add additional cream cheese to thicken.
6) Refrigerate until ready to use.

Peach Cupcakes
Recipe from Cupcake Project

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups peaches, roughly chopped (about 2 medium-sized peaches)

1) Line 16 cupcake wells with paper liners. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2) With a fork, whisk flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a bowl.
3) Beat butter and sugars in a large bowl for 1 minute until light and fluffy.
4) Beat in eggs, yogurt/sour cream, and vanilla extract until blended.
5) Mix in flour mixture.
6) Fold in peaches.
7) Fill cupcake liners 1/2 full.
8) Bake at 350 F for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out of the cupcake clean.
9) Cool in pan on wire rack 5-10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely on rack.

Yields 16 cupcakes

Peach Simple Syrup
Adapted from Cook's Recipes

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 small peach, roughly chopped

1) In a saucepan combine sugar, water, corn syrup and peach pieces. Heat over high heat, and once the peaches are softened a bit mash with a potato masher or fork. Heat to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Simmer syrup, undisturbed, 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Pour syrup through a fine sieve, pressing on solids. Cool at room temperature.

Syrup keeps, covered, in the refrigerator for weeks.

Candied Mint Leaves

1 egg white
Granulated sugar
Small mint leaves

1) Dip mint leaves in egg white and shake off excess.
2) Dunk in a shallow dish of sugar and coat evenly.
3) Set on a baking sheet or wire rack to dry. Once slightly hardened flip over and move to a clean area of the sheet or rack to finish drying.


To assemble the cupcakes:

1) Using the cone method, cut a cone from the top of each cupcake. Spoon approximately one teaspoon of ricotta filling into each and replace the top of each cupcake.
2) Pipe whipped white chocolate ganache onto each cupcake.
3) Spoon a small amount of peach simple syrup onto each cupcake. This is best done immediately before serving.
4) Garnish with a candied mint leaf and enjoy!