Graduation lollipops

Last year, my friend told me that she didn't think I should bake for my own birthday, but should instead have someone bake for me.  I ended up making 2 different varieties of mini cupcakes -- Kit Kat and S'mores -- for my own birthday celebration.  I enjoyed doing it -- I really did -- and wouldn't have expected anyone else to have done it.  So now that my graduation is approaching, I figured I should make some graduation treats.  And although I'm sure that some would recommend that this be another time that someone else should be making the treats, I disagree.  First of all, I finally have some free time again (thanks to submitting my doctoral portfolio on May 6th!!).  Secondly, I spent an obscene amount of money at the baking store this week, including the purchase of some graduation-themed goodies.  And lastly, I have about 300 graduation celebrations over the next week and a half, and wanted to try to bring some to each event.  OK, so 300 may be an overexaggeration, but I do have a bunch of graduation-related celebrations.

I started off with 4-colored chocolate lollipops, with both milk and dark chocolate graduation caps.  I colored white chocolate yellow and red - yellow for the tassle and red for the ribbon on the diploma. 

Then, after I made the lollipops, I made a few graduation hat and diploma chocolates (not lollipops) that I thought would make some cute cupcake toppers (sorta like the ones I made for my sister's Law School graduation last year) - but I digress.

Since there are no "recipes" for these, I figured I would give you some helpful hints for making detailed, multicolored chocolates (lollipops or otherwise).

Here are my words to the wise:

1. When making colored chocolate, you need to use powdered food coloring.  You can't add any liquid or moisture to the chocolate (ie. liquid or gel food coloring) - it ruins the chocolate.

2. Despite the simplicity of them, my favorite "tools" for details when making chocolates are toothpicks and lollipop sticks (depending on how small the details are).

3. When layering chocolates, I always put the mold in the fridge for a few minutes before adding the next layer.  I find that if the first layer is still wet when I add the next layer, there is a tendency for the color to bleed.  And that's not pretty.

4.  Always put the lollipop stick in at the very end, and roll it so that it is covered in chocolate.  Don't put the stick in and then fill with chocolate.  It's just the way I do it, and it works.

5. After all the cavities in the mold are filled, gently bang it on the countertop a few times to get the air bubbles out.  It makes the finished product look so much nicer!

Banana cupcakes with chocolate icing

My mom and aunts recount eating banana cake with chocolate icing during their childhood.  I hear about it pretty often.  Last year, I made banana-chocolate cake pops with flowers and put them in a little flower pot for a cute Mother's Day centerpiece. 

This year, my aunt is hosting mother's day.  I asked her if I could bake anything for dessert, and she said she'd get back to me.  When she did, she asked for a nut-less carrot cake (my cousin is allergic to nuts), and I asked if she'd mind cupcakes instead, since I find cupcakes easier to transport than a whole cake.  She was OK with the idea, and so nut-less carrot cake cupcakes were the dessert choice.

But then I thought about it a little and decided that since she loves banana cake with chocolate icing, I would also make that for dessert -- since dessert is for Mother's Day and it is, afterall, her day.  I found a banana cake recipe and used a Nutella icing recipe - MINUS the nutella because of my cousin's allergy, although I would assume that Nutella icing on banana cupcakes might actually be heavenly - that I had made before and was quite well received.  So I made a little change to the menu and informed my aunt, but shhhh, don't tell.....she doesn't know what the change is!

Banana Cupcakes
recipe states that it makes 12, I got 12 full-sized + 8 mini cupcakes

Ingredients:

6 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon allspice
scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup mashed banana (about 1 1/2 medium bananas - I got that amount from about 1 1/3 large bananas)
1/3 cup sour cream or vanilla yogurt (I used yogurt)
3 tablespoons milk

 

Directions:

Line a muffin pan with paper liners.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Beat together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition.

 

Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, allspice, and salt.

Add gradually to the butter mixture.

Add the mashed banana, sour cream (or yogurt), and milk.

Mix until everything is combined (don't over-mix).

Divide batter amongst 12 lined muffin cups.

Bake for 15-18 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool completely before frosting.

 

 

Chocolate Cloud Icing

(check out the Nutella version here)

 

Ingredients:

 

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but cool

1-1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup premium bittersweet chocolate, chopped, melted and slightly cooled

1 tablespoon (15 ml) milk

pinch of salt

 

Directions:

 

In a bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, combine the sugar and butter and beat on low speed for about 1 minute.

 

Add vanilla, and beat on low speed until well combined.

Add the melted and slightly cooled chocolate and beat on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes).

 

Add the milk and pinch of salt, and beat on med-high speed for another minute.

Triple ginger cookies

I love ginger.  All things ginger.  Well, all except for that funky pink pickled ginger that they serve with sushi.  So when I saw this recipe on Pinterest, I knew I had to make these cookies.  It's amazing that I waited this long, though I originally saw it over 6 months ago!

***Before I talk more about these cookies, I owe you all an explanation and apology, especially those of you who do not follow the JulieBakes Facebook Page.  About three years ago, before I even started this blog, I went back to school.  Again.  For degree #4.  The culmination of my doctorate was a portfolio - a 3" binder full of coursework and cases from the previous 3 years.  Or as I like to say, full of "blood, sweat, tears, stress, new friends, a few nervous breakdowns....oh, and some school work."  Anyway, that portfolio was due a few days ago.  I handed it in Monday....and then rushed to work.  The past 3+ days since I handed it in were a whirlwind.  Work then trivia (our team won!), then work on Tuesday, followed by a train ride to the 'burbs to my parents, a dentist appointment early Wednesday morning, and then spending the day with my mom on Wednesday including a celebratory lunch complete with a glass of prosecco and a nearly two hour nap for me (which comes nowhere near making up for the sleep I lost over the past few weeks while assembling my portfolio), then a train ride back to the city, and then making the dough for these awesome cookies!***

Now, back to the cookies.  These cookies have three different types of ginger - freshly grated, ground, and crystallized - and none of the funky pink stuff.  While running errands today to get the ingredients I need to make B some authentic homemade Pad Thai (I got the recipe from the cooking class I took when I was in Thailand), I even picked up a giant hunk of fresh ginger for these cookies at the Asian market.  I was convinced I had the rest of the ingredients at home, except when it came to making the dough, I realized I had used up my molasses.  In a pinch and with the grocery store across the street already closed, I needed a suitable substitute.  I had some dark corn syrup, so I used that -- but knowing that corn syrup is way sweeter than molasses, I used 1/3 cup of dark corn syrup (instead of 1/2 cup molasses) and upped the freshly grated ginger by a 1/2 teaspoon.  The only unfortunate other issue?  When I measured my crystallized ginger, I was 1/4 cup short.  Sad :-(.  But next time I make these cookies - and there will be a next time - I will be sure to use the proper amount of crystallized ginger....but I might keep my other substitutions the same.

Triple Ginger Crinkles - The Ultimate Ginger Cookies
From Will Cook for Friends
Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1/8th tsp. ground cloves
1/8th tsp. sea salt
3/4 cup crystallized ginger, chopped fine* (I only had 1/2 cup on hand, but will be sure to use the full amount next time)
1 stick (4oz.) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses (I ended up using the dark corn syrup I had on hand - see above - but decreased the amount to 1/3 cup)
2 tsp. freshly grated ginger* (I used a little bit extra - about 2 1/2 tsp - to counteract the added sweetness of the corn syrup, but since I love the taste of ginger, I might use that much in the future)
1/4-1/2 cup granulated sugar, for rolling

As per the original recipe, * Crystallized ginger can be chilled in the freezer to make chopping easier. Fresh ginger can be stored in the freezer for easier peeling and grating.

Directions:

Sift together the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt.
Add in the chopped crystallized ginger, breaking up any clumps.

In a large bowl, or the bowl of your mixer, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and fresh ginger.
Pour in the molasses (or in my case, the corn syrup) and beat well.

Mix in the dry ingredients until just combined.
The mixture should be thick and somewhat sticky.
Turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap, fold the plastic over itself, and pat into a 1 inch thick disc.
Wrap it up and refrigerate until firm (at least 1-2 hours, or up to a few days).

Tear or break the dough into about 20 equal chunks, and roll each into a ball between your palms.
Roll each ball in granulated sugar, and return to the fridge to keep cool (rolled cookies can be stored in the fridge, or frozen in an airtight container, for future baking).

Preheat oven to 325F. 
Place the chilled balls of dough onto a parchment or silicone lined baking sheet, spacing them at least 1.5 inches apart.
Bake on the middle rack for 10-12 minutes, or until the surface begins to crack - for a crispier cookie, bake a few minutes longer (I like chewy cookies, personally, so I skipped the extra time).
Let the cookies cool 3-4 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Once completely cool, cookies can be stored in a baggie or airtight container for several days, or frozen...but they won't last that long.

Flourless chocolate earth cake

This year, my baking for Passover was limited.  I mean, baking for Passover is always limited, but I was particularly limited this year given my school work.  I did manage to make a delicious flourless chocolate cake, though!  This recipe was given to my mom by a friend of hers, who recommends the only garnish needs to be a sprinkling of powdered sugar (but that's not kosher for Passover), so I served it with some cut strawberries.

Passover Chocolate Earth Cake

Ingredients:

2 sticks butter (I used unsalted)
1 pound bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces (I used semisweet, since they're interchangable)
9 large eggs, separated
3/4 cup sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.
Butter a 9" springform pan

Melt the chocolate and butter together (I did it in a pot on the stove, though the original recipe says you can use the microwave, but to be careful not to burn it).

Whisk yolks and sugar together until light yellow.
Whisk a small amout of the chocolate mixture into the yolk mixture, then add in the rest of the chocolate mixture once it has been tempered.

Beat whites until stiff.
Fold whites into chocolate mixture.

Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan.
Bake 20-25 minutes.

Let cake start for 10 minutes then release the sides of the pan.

If using powdered sugar, sprinkle it on now.

ENJOY!!!! (This part was copied from the original recipe, too).

Samoa cupcakes

The past 9 days have been rough for me.  I fell a little behind on a deadline for school while I was working on other things, and in order to meet the deadline, I spent hours upon hours of writing (two) articles and editing and submitting said articles...and hours upon hours NOT sleeping.  I was beyond stressed, and I love baking when I'm stressed, as it calms me down.  But my lack of time made it hard to bake.

BUT...I promised my friend L a while ago that I'd bake cupcakes for her husband J's 30th birthday this weekend.  AND I submitted my second article today, so I am less stressed and now with some free time.  I'm so glad that the timing worked and I was able to bake for J's birthday!  (For L's 30th birthday this past summer, I made the assortment of mini cupcakes that you can see here.)

L planned a birthday dinner at a BBQ place, so we were trying to figure out BBQ/Southern themed cupcake flavors for J's birthday.  Somehow we ended up with a few "Southern" flavors and a few, well, fun-but-not-very-Southern flavors.

The flavor she was most intrigued by and wanted immediately was this Samoa Cupcake (that I found on Pinterest).  I thought about making them mini, but figured that full sized cupcakes were probably easier to serve.  And boy was that a smart decision -- even though the recipe said that it makes 24 cupcakes, I got 36 full-sized ones!

Red Velvet and Samoa Cupcakes for J's 30th!

[I should also let you in on a little a secret.  I have a box of (unopened) Samoa Girl Scout Cookies in my fridge...and a box of (unopened) Thin Mints, too.  This is when all my friends in New York City start suspiciously calling me to see if I want to hang out...to get a hold of my cookies.  But I digress.]

Somoa Cupcakes
from Spice is Nice

For the cupcakes:

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup Cocoa (Both she and I used Hershey’s special dark)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons coconut flavoring
1 cup coconut, packed
1 (scant) cup boiling water (I used 7/8 cup very hot tap water)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° and line 24 (like I said earlier, I got 36) muffin tins with cupcake liners.

In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Add in eggs, milk, oil, vanilla, and coconut flavoring. Mix well.

Fold in coconut, then add boiling water. (Batter will be very thin)

Pour batter into muffin tins, filling each cup no more than 3/4 full.
Bake at 350° for 22-25 minutes (Mine took exactly 20 minutes) or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cool for several minutes, but then remove cupcakes from tins on cool on a wire rack.

For the Salted Caramel Buttercream:

Ingredients:

2 sticks butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup caramel topping, plus more for drizzling (I ended up thinking that it didn't taste "caramel-y" enough, so I used extra caramel, which thinned out the icing a little...so I used the full 4 cups of powdered sugar)
1 pound powdered sugar (about 4 cups)
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Cream butter until fluffy.

Add in vanilla extract and caramel topping.
Add powdered sugar and salt and mix until smooth. If icing is still too thin add a bit more powdered sugar (the consistency differs based on the type of caramel topping you use).

Wait until cupcakes are completely cool, and use a pastry bag to ice the cupcakes.

For the Homemade Chocolate Sauce:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s special dark)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cold water
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except vanilla extract in a small saucepan over medium-heat, and whisk until smooth.

Bring sauce to a boil and continue to whisk until sauce becomes thick.
Remove from heat (The original author didn't say when to add the vanilla, so I added it now).
Let cool slightly and drizzle over cupcakes or store in an airtight container in the fridge until needed.

Assembly:

Pipe icing onto cupcakes.

Sprinkle with toasted coconut (I just took some leftover coconut, put it on a foil-lined baking sheet, and toasted it at 350F.  Why 350?  Because thats what the oven was on from baking the cupcakes.  Watch closely -- it can burn in a matter of seconds).

Drizzle with chocolate sauce and remaining caramel sauce.

Mini Minnie-themed cupcakes

For my friend's daughter's 3rd Birthday, I made some Minnie Mouse Oreo pops, as well as some mini cupcakes.  Staying with the Minnie Mouse theme, I bought some bright pink with white polka dot mini cupcake liners.  The final vote was for chocolate cupcakes with vanilla icing.

In terms of decorations, I wanted to say with the Minnie Mouse theme.  The pink polka dotted cupcake liners were a start, but I needed some cute decorations.  I had some pink sugar bows (leftover from the Minnie Mouse sugar decorations from the Oreo pops), but there were only 9.  So I bought some big spinkles in a variety of colors (light blue, dark blue, red, and white), but used the white ones only, and sprayed some of them pink with some leftover edible "spray paint.".  And I had a plethora of bright pink decorations in the apartment - namely nonpareils and sugar crystals.  And while I was already going overboard with the decorations, I figured why not make half of the vanilla icing pink?!

The result is 48 mini cupcakes in a pink-and-white Minnie Mouse theme!  I had enough leftover cake batter to make 3 regular sized cupcakes, one of which I decorated with pink icing and a leftover Minnie Mouse, for the birthday girl.

I used my favorite go-to chocolate cake recipe (the same one I made for my mom's birthday last month) and a new vanilla buttercream recipe (American buttercream, unlike it's French and Swiss counterparts, is way easier to make!).

Rich Chocolate Cake
(a recipe I got from a cooking class I took a long time ago....I may have posted it in the past).

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 large egg PLUS 1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup very strong coffee (I used regular strength and they turned out just fine)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
4 Tbsp (2 ounces) melted unsalted butter, cooled slightly
1/2 cup buttermilk

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375F.
Line cupcake tray (or mini cupcake tray) with paper liners.

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder.
Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together the egg, egg yolk, coffee, vanilla, melted butter, and buttermilk.

Whisk the liquid ingredients into the try. 
Pour into the cupcake tin.
Bake (Mini cupcakes took about 8 minutes, regular sized ones about 16-17).

Let cool.
Ice with your favorite frosting....or check out this delicious and easy vanilla buttercream:


Classic Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
From a new little blog I came across, SavorySweetLife

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened (but not melted!)

3-4 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar, SIFTED (I used 3 cups)

¼ teaspoon table salt

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

4 tablespoons milk or heavy cream (I used heavy cream, since thats what I had....and only ended up using 2 Tbsp)

Food coloring, optional

Directions:

Beat butter for a few minutes with a mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed.
Add 3 cups of powdered sugar and turn mixer to the lowest speed (so the sugar doesn’t blow everywhere) until the sugar has been incorporated with the butter.
Increase mixer speed to medium and add vanilla extract, salt, and 2 tablespoons of cream and beat for 3 minutes.
If your frosting needs a more stiff consistency, add remaining sugar. If your frosting needs to be thinned out, add remaining milk 1 tablespoons at a time.

I took half the icing out of the mixer and put it into my piping bag fitted with a large tip.  Then, I added pink food coloring to the remaining frosting to make it pink.

Oreo pops, Disney-style

March 5th is my friend's daughter's 3rd birthday.  This year, she (the almost 3-year old, not the mom) chose a Minnie Mouse theme for her party.  Although I'm not going to make it to the actual party this year (it's a Sunday, and it's my Sunday to work), I couldn't not supply some Minnie Mouse-themed treats for the party. 

I discussed with my friend R what I'd make for the party.  We decided on Oreo pops for the kids, and some mini cupcakes (for the adults) to supplement the party-supplied "kids only" cake.  But that post will be up later...

I went to my trusty baking store to buy some Minnie Mouse sugar decorations for the Oreo pops, as well as a few other goodies, and bought out the last 3 packages.

When it came time to make the Oreo pops, I saw some bright pink and white striped paper straws that I had bought for my friend's 30th birthday party, but that were never used.  I cut them in half and used them instead of lollipop sticks for half of the Oreo pops.

Then, I did what I always do with Oreo pops....I wrapped them in clear bags and tied them with (bright pink) curling ribbon, curled the ribbon, and voila! adorable Minnie Mouse-themed Oreo pops!

Now, I've made Oreo pops a bunch of times in the past.  This post seems to be the best at how I did it, along with other sites that have directions.  It also happens to be that that post will take you to what I made for this same little girl for her 2nd birthday!