A Complicated Cupcake

This little cupcake was hours in the making. It involves making a lemon curd, baking the cupcakes, making the icing and then the assembly. We have a Meyer Lemon tree out front that is in full production so I decided to give this recipe a try this afternoon.

The final result is rich and delicious, sweet and tart- this is actually the best tasting cupcake I have ever made from scratch. The cake itself is fantastic and when combined with the frosting and lemon curd filling, this cupcake is a serious dessert.

I would recommend making these for an occasion where they will all get eaten since they are a little time intensive and involve a dozen eggs, almost two boxes of butter and some vanilla beans. Right now Chris and I have 20 something in our kitchen and I am not sure who is going to eat them.

I did not follow the assembly instructions exactly- since I did not have any sanding sugar or some of the decorative tools and since Chris and I were the only ones eating them I was only mildly concerned with the presentation.

Also, the cake itself would be worth making to taste it's deliciousness.

Cupcakes

Ingredients

Makes 2 dozen

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or 1 vanilla bean, scraped
• 5 large eggs, separated
• 1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
• 1 cup plus scant 1/3 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sour cream
• Meyer Lemon Curd
• Vanilla Bean Buttercream
• Sanding sugar
• 24 raspberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 standard muffin tins with cupcake liners; set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add vanilla; beat to combine. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Sift together both flours, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. With the mixer on low, add flour mixture; mix until well combined. Add sour cream; mix until well combined.
4. In a clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold egg whites into batter.
5. Fill each muffin cup half full with batter. Transfer muffin tins to oven and bake until a skewer inserted into the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean, 20 to 24 minutes. Let cupcakes cool completely.
6. Using an apple corer, make a hole in the top of each cupcake, taking care not to push the corer through the bottom; remove cake from hole. Fill a squirt bottle with lemon curd and squeeze curd into holes.
7. Fit a pastry bag with a 3/8-inch plain round tip and fill with buttercream. Pipe buttercream in a circular motion on top of each cupcake; sprinkle with sanding sugar. Pipe a dollop of buttercream in the center of each cupcake and top with a raspberry.

Meyer Lemon Curd

Ingredients

Makes enough for 2 dozen cupcakes

• 1 cup sugar
• Zest of 3 lemons
• 3 large eggs
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1 cup Meyer lemon juice
• 5 ounces unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

Directions

1. Prepare an ice-water bath. Set a medium bowl in ice-water bath and set aside.
2. Place sugar and lemon zest in a mortar and grind with a pestle to combine and release the oils. Transfer sugar mixture to a medium heatproof bowl along with eggs and egg yolks; whisk to combine. Place over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk until sugar has dissolved. Add lemon juice and continue whisking until mixture is thick and reaches 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Add butter and whisk until well combined.
3. Strain lemon mixture through a fine mesh sieve set over prepared bowl. Cover lemon curd with plastic wrap, pressing plastic wrap directly onto surface. Transfer to refrigerator until completely chilled.

Vanilla Bean Buttercream

Ingredients

Makes enough for 2 dozen cupcakes

• 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into small pieces
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• Pinch of salt
• 1 vanilla bean, scraped
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup milk

Directions

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until creamy. Slowly add confectioners' sugar; beat to combine, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary.
2. Add vanilla bean seeds and vanilla extract, and beat to combine. Slowly add milk and continue beating on medium-low speed until smooth and creamy, about 5 minutes.

Recipe on Marthastewart.com via Vanilla Bake Shop

Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower and Garlic

My sister discovered this recipe and I've been making it ever since. If you don't like garlic then this probably isn't for you- but if you're a garlic lover (like myself) this recipe will blow you away. I didn't know that cauliflower could taste like this! Love it.

2 heads garlic , papery skins removed, top quarter of heads cut off and discarded
6 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 head cauliflower (about 1 1/2 pounds) (see note)
Table salt and ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 pound pasta (see note)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 - 3 tablespoons juice from 1 lemon
1 tablespoon fresh parsley leaves , chopped
2 ounces Parmesan cheese , grated (about 1 cup)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts , toasted

Instructions
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position, place large rimmed baking sheet on rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees.

2. Cut one 12-inch sheet of foil and spread flat on counter. Place garlic heads, cut-side up, in center of foil. Drizzle ½ teaspoon oil over each head and seal packet. Place packet on oven rack and roast until garlic is very tender, about 40 minutes. Open packet and set aside to cool.

3. While garlic is roasting, trim outer leaves of cauliflower and cut stem flush with bottom. Cut head from pole to pole into 8 equal wedges. Place cauliflower in large bowl; toss with 2 tablespoons oil, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper to taste, and sugar.

4. Remove baking sheet from oven. Carefully transfer cauliflower to baking sheet and spread into even layer, placing cut sides down. Return baking sheet to oven and roast until cauliflower is well browned and tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer cauliflower to cutting board. When cool enough to handle, chop into rough ½-inch pieces.

5. While cauliflower roasts, bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta; cook until al dente. Squeeze roasted garlic cloves from their skins into small bowl. Using fork, mash garlic to smooth paste, then stir in red pepper flakes and 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Slowly whisk in remaining 1/4 cup oil.

6. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup cooking water, and return pasta to pot. Add chopped cauliflower to pasta; stir in garlic sauce, ¼ cup cooking water, parsley, and ½ cup cheese. Adjust consistency with additional cooking water and season with salt, pepper, and additional lemon juice to taste. Serve immediately, sprinkling with remaining ½ cup cheese and toasted nuts.

(also from Cooks Illustrated)

Steak tacos

Amazing- you will not be disappointed. I live in an apartment (hence no grill) so being able to cook these on the stovetop makes this even more appealing. Top this with the pickled onions- I was skeptical but they complement this perfectly and are worth the twenty minutes.

PS: Both of these recipes are from Cooks Illustrated- a fabulous source.

Herb Paste
1/2 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
3 medium garlic cloves , roughly chopped
3 medium scallions , roughly chopped (about 1/3 cup)
1 medium jalapeño chile , stemmed and roughly chopped (see note)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Steak
1 flank steak (1 1/2 to 1 3/4 pounds), trimmed of excess fat and cut lengthwise (with grain) into 4 equal pieces (see below)
1 tablespoon kosher salt or 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Tacos
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas , warmed (see note)

Instructions
1. FOR THE HERB PASTE: Pulse cilantro, garlic, scallions, jalapeño, and cumin in food processor until finely chopped, ten to twelve 1-second pulses, scraping down sides as necessary. Add oil and process until mixture is smooth and resembles pesto, about 15 seconds, scraping down sides of workbowl as necessary. Transfer 2 tablespoons herb paste to medium bowl; whisk in lime juice and set aside.

2. FOR THE STEAK: Using dinner fork, poke each piece of steak 10 to 12 times on each side. Place in large baking dish; rub all sides of steak pieces
evenly with salt and then coat with remaining herb paste. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.

3. Scrape herb paste off steak and sprinkle all sides of pieces evenly with sugar and pepper. Heat oil in 12-inch heavy-bottomed nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until smoking. Place steak in skillet and cook until well browned, about 3 minutes. Flip steak and sear until second side is well browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Using tongs, stand each piece on a cut side and cook, turning as necessary, until all cut sides are well browned and internal temperature registers 125 to 130 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 2 to 7 minutes. Transfer steak to cutting board and let rest 5 minutes.

4. FOR THE TACOS: Using sharp chef’s knife or carving knife, slice steak pieces across grain into 1/8-inch-thick pieces. Transfer sliced steak to bowl with herb paste-lime juice mixture and toss to coat. Season with salt. Spoon small amount of sliced steak into center of each warm tortilla and serve immediately, passing toppings separately.

Sweet and spicy pickled onions

1 medium red onion , sliced thin (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
2 jalapeño chiles , stemmed, seeded, and cut into thin rings
1/4 teaspoon table salt

Instructions
Place onions in medium heat-resistant bowl. Bring vinegar, sugar, jalapeños, and salt to simmer in small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Pour vinegar mixture over onions, cover loosely, and let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Once cool, drain and discard liquid

Sour Cream and Lemon Pound Cake

Last night we had some friends over for dinner and a basket of lemons that need to be juiced so it seemed like the perfect occasion to try this out. I was not disappointed in this cake- it turned out moist and had the perfect lemon flavor, we garnished it with whipped cream and berries.

I was rushing to get this in the oven so I did not sift the dry ingredients and I used regular flour instead of cake flour. Also, I had no idea what a 16 cup tube pan was so I used a loaf pan and made two loaves of the cake. After an hour of baking I would check every five or ten minutes to see if it was done.

For those of you who are like me and do not know what a tube pan is, apparently it is just a pan with a tube in the middle like an angel food cake pan or a bundt pan. Chris looked it up for me after the fact.

Ingredients

• 3 cups cake flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 cups sugar
• 6 eggs, room temperature
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
• 1 cup sour cream

Preparation

Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease 16-cup tube pan. Dust pan with cake flour; tap out excess flour.

Sift flour, baking soda and salt into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl at medium speed until fluffy. Gradually add sugar and beat 5 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating just until combined after each addition. Beat in lemon juice and peel. Using rubber spatula, mix in dry ingredients. Mix in sour cream. Transfer batter to prepared pan.

Bake cake until tester inserted near center comes out clean, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Let cake cool in pan on rack 15 minutes. Cut around cake in pan. Turn out cake.

Carefully turn cake right side up on rack and cool completely. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Wrap in foil and let stand at room temperature.)

Recipe from epicurious.com

Shrimp Tacos with Corn Relish

Chris and I were trying to figure out what to cook last Sunday when he came up with the excellent idea of making shrimp tacos. I looked up a recipe and we had the stuff on hand so we tried it out and I thought it was delicious. I loved the flavor but Chris thought it needed more kick and less lime. I recommend you try this out and then tweak the marinade to suit your collective palate. Also, I think our shrimp may have been more limey because we lost track of time and let them sit in the marinade for two hours instead of one.

Marinade

• 1 1/2 tbsp minced red onion
• 1/2 tsp finely chopped garlic
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1/2 tsp Jamaican jerk or Cajun seasoning
• 1/8 tsp paprika
• 16 shrimp, shelled, deveined, tails removed- we just defrosted some of the shrimp we got in a bag at Costco then removed the tails
  

Corn relish

• 2 ears corn (or 1 cup canned or frozen and thawed)
• Vegetable-oil cooking spray
• 6 Roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 green onion, chopped
• Lime- or lemon-pepper seasoning

Tacos

• Tortillas
  
• 1 tsp chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 green onion, chopped- we added Avocado chunks instead of more green onion.

Combine marinade ingredients with 1/4 cup water and season with salt. Add shrimp; refrigerate 1 hour. To make relish, cut corn kernels off cob. Lightly spray a sturdy skillet with cooking spray and heat over moderately high heat. (Avoid Teflon pans, which should not be used when cooking at such high temperatures.) Stir-fry corn until golden brown. Pour corn into a bowl and add remaining relish ingredients; season with salt. Remove shrimp and reserve marinade. Lightly spray the same skillet with cooking spray and heat on high until very hot. Toss in a few shrimp at a time and cook until just opaque; remove shrimp. Pour marinade into pan, bring to boil and boil for 2 minutes; lower heat and simmer until thick. Put 4 shrimp on each tortilla; top with corn relish and marinade sauce. Sprinkle with cilantro and green onion.

Also, I highly recommend getting the uncooked Tortillaland tortillas. These things are delicious- I can't go back to eating the already cooked kind from the grocery store. We buy these at Costco and if your Costco carries them you have to try them. I think Sam's club also carries them but I have not seen them anywhere else.

Chocolate Crock-Pot Cake

I found this recipe on cjaneanswers.com (her pic) last week and it is fantastic - like a heavy pudding rich chocolate cake. Make it right away! Mine looked just like this - maybe even better. I shamelessly ate two bowls.

1 package chocolate cake mix
1 container of sour cream (8 oz)
1 cup chocolate morsels
1 cup water
4 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 package instant chocolate pudding mix

spray crock pot with nonstick cooking spray.
mix cake mix, sour cream, chocolate morsels, water, egss, oil
and pudding mix in a bowl by hand.
pour into crock pot.
cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours.

I think cooking on low is probably better. I cooked on high and the edges got a little brown, but not too bad. the entire center was complete bliss.

Spinach and Prosciutto Lasagna

I have not done much cooking lately, because of the holidays, and moving- but now that we are mostly settled in to our house I have decided I need to get back in the habit of making more diverse meals. We have pretty much been eating quesadillas or frozen pasta lately.

Last night I made this lasagna; it is fast and delicious. It is the kind of homemade meal I like.

Ingredients

Serves 4

* 2 packages (10 ounces each) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
* 1 1/2 cups part-skim ricotta
* 1 garlic clove, minced
* Coarse salt and ground pepper
* 2 1/2 cups jarred tomato sauce
* 4 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, finely chopped
* 6 no-boil lasagna noodles
* 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella (4 ounces)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Make filling: In a medium bowl, stir together spinach, ricotta, garlic, teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; set aside. In another medium bowl, stir together tomato sauce and prosciutto.
2. In an 8-inch square baking dish, spread cup tomato sauce. Layer 2 noodles, 1/3 filling, and 1/3 remaining tomato sauce; repeat twice. Top with mozzarella. Bake until browned, 35 to 40 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

From Everyday Food, October 2008