I love the bright colors of the paper I used!  This is the best picture I have of the whole banner.  We intended to trim the ribbon the left side but got distracted with other party prep.

Love the bright colors!

I used some scrapbook paper purchased about 3 years ago when I thought I would have time to make these amazing scrapbooks to document The Littlest Apple’s life.  3 years later, this is the first time I’ve used this paper.  (You can see more of this paper in the background of the photo in my Apple Pie Scented Playdough post).  LOVE it!

So, Ross Boss and I didn’t really measure anything.  We eyeballed all of it.

First we played “guess and print” until we found a font style and size we liked.  I think we wound up using Font Size 500.  Then we printed out all of the letters we would need.

At this point, we were having trouble figuring out how to get the letters traced onto the solid cardstock.  Ross Boss said “It’s too bad you don’t have one of those cool light table things, so we could just trace the letters onto the cardstock.” And a lightbulb went off in my head…we could use a window. It was pure genius, I tell ya.

Except that it didn’t quite work for the green cardstock.  For the green letters, I just taped the cardstock behind the paper with the letter and cut through both sheets simultaneously.

Next, we glued the white cardstock to the colorful scrapbook paper, then glued the letter on top, leaving room at the top of the cardstock for hole punches.  We used adhesive spray, which works great for projects like this (and I much prefer it to Mod Podge), but Ross Boss and I both learned the hard way that it is REALLY hard to get the spray adhesive off your hands.

I added a rectangle with stars made with a giant star punch to separate “happy” and “birthday.”  I intended to add some stars randomly to the rest of the banner, but didn’t quite get back to that.

Finally, I punched holes at the top a few inches apart (using a regular hole punch) then fed my blue ribbon through, trying to make it lay as flat as possible against the backdrop of the white cardstock.

Now that I’ve entered the world of paper crafts, I can’t wait to make something else with all of the beautiful scrapbook paper.  You know, something besides scrapbooks!

PS.  I also wanted to share a FAIL.  While Ross Boss was working on cutting out the letters for the Happy Birthday Banner, I was attempting to make a Buzz Lightyear Cake, using this cakepan…

Have you ever tried decorating a cake like this?  Well I hadn’t, until this.  I knew it would be tedious, but it was SO DIFFICULT!  I probably should have practice my technique first with a simpler design.  Also, the little insert with the directions and the photo to use as your guide is reversed from the way your cake actually looks.  A few days after this FAIL, I realized I could have rigged up a mirror or something so that the image “matched” what I was trying to decorate.  But my brain kind of imploded while I was trying to do this.  After my cake broke coming out of the pan, trying to smooth it out with frosting (which effectively removed all of the contours of the cake pan), I only got as far as the black outlines (which I kind of just made up as I went along) and filling a few areas before I threw in the towel.  It took me several hours to do that much, and I didn’t even get to the main part of piping in the rest of the colors.  Besides, that was just a practice cake…I was either going to have to do it all over again the night before the party or somehow freeze this cake for a week until the party.  Cake decorating is so NOT my thing.

Poor, deranged Buzz….

We went with hastily decorated cupcakes and cupcake toppers instead.  And they were just fine.

Have YOU ever made a banner?  Have YOU ever used a shaped cake pan like this? What was your experience like?

A quick note about cake baking: I don’t make layer cakes very frequently (see photos below), and this was my first time lining my cake pans with parchment paper.  Not sure why I didn’t try this sooner!  It made getting the cakes out of the pans a breeze!  No more cakes falling apart as you flip them over to release them from the pan.  Definitely try this next time you bake a cake, if you haven’t already!

Strawberry Layer Cake

recipe from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 4 1/2 cups cake flour
• 3 cups sugar
• 5 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups pureed frozen strawberries
• 8 egg whites
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 to 2 drops red food dye, if using

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter three 9-inch round or 8-inch square cake pans. Line with parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper.

Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixer bowl. With the electric mixer on low speed, blend for 30 seconds. Add the butter and strawberry puree and mix to blend the ingredients. Raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes; the batter will resemble strawberry ice cream at this point.

In another large bowl, whisk together the egg whites, milk and red food dye, if using, to blend. Add the whites to the batter in two or three additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl well and mixing only to incorporate after each addition. Divide the batter among the three prepared pans.

Bake the cakes for 30 to 34 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the layers to cool in the pans for 10 to 15 minutes. Invert and turn out onto wire racks and peel off the paper liners. Let stand until completely cooled before assembling the cake, at least an hour.

Strawberry Buttercream

recipe by me!

• 8 ounces unsalted softened butter
• 5 cups powdered sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons whole milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 1/2 tablespoons strawberry preserves

In a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter & salt for about 30 seconds and then add half of the powdered sugar and the milk to the butter and beat again until combined. Scrape down the bowl.  Add the rest of the powdered sugar, the vanilla, the lemon juice, and the strawberry preserves and beat until combined.  Scrape down the bowl again.  Beat on high speed for 5-6 minutes or until the frosting is fluffy.

Cheesecake-Filled Pumpkin Cupcakes

from Every Day with Rachael Ray

Makes 1 dozen

Ingredients:

• 1 8 oz package cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 2 large eggs, plus 1 egg white
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used coconut oil.  Love it!)

Place a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.  Line a 12-cup muffin pan with baking liners.  Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar for 3 minutes.  Beat in 1 egg white and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.

In a bowl, whisk the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  In another bowl, mix the pumpkin puree, 2 eggs, granulated sugar, oil and 1 teaspoon vanilla.  Whisk in the flour mixture.

Layer each muffin cup with some of the pumpkin batter, then the cream cheese mixture, then more of the batter.  Bake until springy to the touch, 25 minutes.  Let cool.

Cinnamon Buttercream

from recipezaar.com

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 3 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 3-4 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Place butter in a large bowl.  Beat on low for 30 seconds.  Add sugar about a cup at a time, beating on low between each addition.  Add 3 tablespoons milk, vanilla and cinnamon.  Beat on medium 1 minute.  Blend in up to 1 tablespoon of milk if frosting is too thick.  Ice cupcakes.

Well, for starters, the birthday boy got his own special allergy-friendly cupcake and frosting.  I used a cake recipe from the Depression era when milk, butter, and eggs were too expensive for many people.  This recipe uses vinegar and oil.  I made chocolate buttercream using shortening…..the consistency was perfect…my only problem was with the awful artificial butter taste from the Butter flavored Crisco.  Bleh!  I’ll use plain shortening next time.  So the allergy friendly cupcake tasted pretty decent, and was just right for my Littlest Apple.  He’s really not big on cake/muffin texture (okay, let’s be honest, he doesn’t like to eat anything.  Period.)  He did take a few licks of the frosting, but that was about it…..here’s his cute cupcake picture.

For everyone else, I took a mix-and-match cupcake approach.  I made vanilla/vanilla, vanilla/chocolate, chocolate/chocolate, and chocolate/vanilla.  Two cakes, two frostings.  The chocolate cake with chocolate frosting was a hit with the guests, as was the chocolate cake with vanilla frosting.  MY personal favorite was the vanilla/vanilla.  I guess they were all good!  This is my all time favorite vanilla buttercream recipe…..I absolutely LOVE the salt in the frosting!

I used the Wilton pre-rolled fondant and alphabet cutters to spell out the Happy Birthday message on top of the cupcakes.  It was super easy, but the letters were a little small and spaced too far apart, making it kind of hard to read.  I’ll definitely try this method again on a cake!

We didn’t capture any closeup pictures of the cupcakes, but here are all of the recipes…

Milk and Egg Free Cake

• 1 1/2  cup  flour
• 1  cup  sugar
• 1  tsp  baking soda
• 1/2  tsp  salt
• 1  Tbsp  vinegar
• 5  Tbsp  oil
• 1  tsp  vanilla
• 1  cup  water

Preheat oven to 350F.  Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix thoroughly.  Mix wet ingredients in a separate bowl and stir to combine.  Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until you get a smooth batter. Do not beat.  Pour into greased and floured pan (8″ square or 9″ round) or 12 cupcakes. Bake in oven until tests done – about 35 minutes for cake, about 20 minutes for cupcakes.

Buttery Vanilla Cupcakes

recipe from Stephanie’s Kitchen

One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes

recipe from Martha Stewart

Vanilla Buttercream

recipe from My Sweet and Saucy, adapted from Demolition Desserts

• 4 oz. unsalted softened butter
• 2 1/2 c. or 10 oz. powdered sugar
• 1/2 t. kosher salt
• 1 T. plus 1 t. whole milk
• 1 t. pure vanilla extract
• 1 t. fresh lemon juice (I put 1/2 t.)

In a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter & salt for about 30 seconds and then add half of the powdered sugar and the milk to the butter and beat again until combined. Scrape down the bowl.  Add the rest of the powdered sugar, the vanilla, and the lemon juice and beat until combined.  Scrape down the bowl again.  Beat on high speed for 5-6 minutes or until the frosting is fluffy.

Chocolate Buttercream

recipe from Stephanie’s Kitchen

Devil’s Food Cupcake

from 500 Cupcakes, by Fergal Connolloy

• 2 cups self-rising flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) sweet butter, softened
• 2 separated eggs
• 3 1/2 oz. semisweet chocolate, melted
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Place 18 paper baking cups into muffin pans.  Sift the flour and baking powder and set aside.  In a medium bowl, cream the sugar and buter.  Add the egg yolks and beat well.  Add the melted chocolate and vanilla, mixing well.  Add the flour and milk alternately, beating well with each addition.  Beat the egg whites in a medium bowl until soft peaks form, and gently fold them into the batter.  Spoon the batter into the cups.  Bake fro 20 minutes.  Remove pans from teh oven and cool for 5 minutes.  Then remove the cupcakes and cool on a rack.  

Marshmallow Filling

Transfer 1 jar of Marshmallow Fluff to piping bag.  Once cupcakes have cooled, cut a cone shaped piece out of the center of each cupcake and discard (or eat!).  Using the piping bag, fill the hole you’ve created with marshmallow fluff until level with top of cupcake (approximately 1 tbsp. of marshmallow per cupcake).

Chocolate Ganache

• 2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
• 10 ounces good semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons light corn syrup

Melt butter in a 3-quart saucepan.  Remove from heat, add chocolate and corn syrup, and whisk until chocolate is melted.  Refrigerate ganache in bowl, stirring occasionally, until thickened and spreadable, about 1 hour.

Frost each cupcake, making the top flat (or even with a little indention), to allow for the dulce de leche.

Dulce de Leche

from The Pastry Queen, by Rebecca Rather

• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

Remove the paper wrapper from the can of sweetened condensed milk.  Use a can opener to make two small punctures in the top of the can on opposite sides.  Set the can of milk in a medium saucepan, puncture side up.  Fill the saucepan with water to reach two-thirds of the way up the sides of the can.  Cover the saucepan and bring the water to a boil over high heat.  Decrease the heat until the water simmers and simmer about 1 hour.  (Picky Apple Note: It usually takes around 2 hours, not 1).  Check the sauce pan periodically, adding water to ensure that the level does not drop below halfway.  A bit of milk may seep out of the small holes in the can.  Cook until the milk pooled on top of the can has turned a deep golden brown.  (You may have heard that boiling a can of sweetened condensed milk unopened is a shortcut.  Do not attempt this.  The milk expands when heated and may erupt with explosive results.)

Allow dulce de leche to cool.  Spoon about a tablespoon on top of each cupcake.

Praline Pecans:

adapted from this Southern Living Recipe

• 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar 
• 1/4 cup butter 
• 1/4 cup milk 
• 1 tablespoons corn syrup 
• 2 1/2 cups toasted pecan halves

Stir together first 5 ingredients in a heavy 3-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil, stirring constantly, 7 to 8 minutes or until a candy thermometer registers 234°.  Remove from heat, and vigorously stir in pecans. Spoon pecan mixture onto wax paper, spreading in an even layer. Let stand 20 minutes or until firm. Break praline-coated pecans apart into pieces.

Chop praline pecan pieces, and sprinkle each cupcake with about a tablespoon of chopped praline pecans.

Toasted Marshmallow Pretzel Sticks

• Pretzel sticks (I used “Old Fashioned Dipping Style” pretzel sticks)
• Mini marshmallow

Toast mini marshmallows on a cookie sheet under the broiler until browned.  Working quickly, put a toasted marshmallow or two on the end of each pretzel stick.  Insert bare end of pretzel stick into cupcake.  (Depending on the length of your pretzel sticks, you may only need half a stick).
Chocolate Dipped Graham Crackers

•  at least 3 whole graham crackers
• 2 cups of dipping chocolate (or chocolate chips with a little bit of butter)

Break each graham cracker into 4 pieces.  Heat chocolate until runny.  Dip each graham cracker in chocolate, and set on a rack to cool and harden.  Once the chocolate has cooled and hardened, insert a graham cracker into each cupcake.

Glazed Lemon Cakes

from Everyday Baking

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for muffin tin
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for muffin tin
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk, or plain low-fat yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated, plus juice, plus 2 tablespoons more lemon juice for the glaze
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 6-cup jumbo muffin tin. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, vanilla, and lemon zest and juice of 1 lemon. Set aside.
2. With an electric mixer, cream butter and granulated sugar until light. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk mixture.
3. Divide evenly among muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cake comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in tin, then cool completely on a rack.
4. Set rack over wax or parchment paper. In a small bowl, stir confectioners’ sugar with remaining lemon juice until smooth. Pour over cakes, spreading to edges with a small knife. Let set 30 minutes.

Whenever we go out for Tex-Mex, I always order strawberry margaritas.  It is my absolute favorite drink, so the quality of the strawberry margarita is yet another consideration when we’re deciding on our Tex-Mex dining destination.  I’ve had some strawberry margaritas that were so bad I barely drank any of it, and I’ve had some that were so delicious I wanted to keep drinking and drinking and drinking them until I couldn’t stand up (Chuy’s, Cafe Adobe).  Um, not that I ever did that.  Nope.  Not me….hi Mom and Dad!

Part of the reason I started my blog was to participate in all of the great events.  Laurie of Quirky Cupcake hosts a monthly event called Cupcake Hero with a different theme ingredient each month.  When I saw that the theme for this month’s Cupcake Hero event was liquor, I immediately thought of my favorite drink, the strawberry margarita.  After doing some research, it seemed that strawberry margarita cupcakes are a little played out in the food blog world.  I got a little deflated and thought about other drinks I might make into a cupcake.  But I kept coming back to that strawberry margarita.  I just couldn’t shake the idea of a strawberry margarita cupcake, and besides, they’re new to me.  I was inspired most of all by this recipe for Cherry Limeade cupcakes over at Oooh, You Tasty Little Things because of the use of limeade concentrate, which is exactly what we use when we’re making margaritas at home.  I’m not a big fan of the pre-fab margarita mixes.  In addition to limeade concentrate, I also used some strawberry preserves that I made last week in my continuing quest for the perfect strawberry cupcake.  And of course, the star of the show, tequila!  The cupcakes sure did smell like a booze fest before they went in the oven, but I actually think I may have gone a little too light on the tequila in retrospect.  Or maybe the tequila is just overshadowed by the tartness from all of the lime.  Regardless, they turned out decent, though the buttercream wasn’t as smooth as usual.  I had so much fun throwing this together, and I can’t wait to see all of the other drink-inspired cupcakes!

Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes

Makes approximately 22 cupcakes.

Cupcake Ingredients:

• 3 cups cake flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons limeade concentrate
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/3 cup tequila
• 5 tbsp strawberry preserves

Margarita Glaze:

• 3/4 cup limeade concentrate
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp tequila

Strawberry Margarita Buttercream:

• 1 pound powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 4 tbsp limeade concentrate
• 2 tbsp tequila
• 3 tbsp strawberry preserves
• Red food coloring

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mix together the flour, salt, baking soda and powder and set aside. In a medium sized bowl, cream the butter until smooth then add the sugar and cream together. Once the butter and sugar are creamed add in the limeade concentrate, strawberry preserves, and 1/3 cup tequila. Mix in one egg at a time. Add in flour mixture 1/3 at a time. When flour is thoroughly mixed, mix in the milk. Batter will be slightly lumpy. Divide the batter evenly into lined muffin tins and bake for about 20 minutes. Allow to cool.

Once the cupcakes have cooled, poke holes in the top of the cupcake, not quite to the bottom of the cake. Make the glaze by mixing together 3/4 cup of the limeade concentrate with about 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 2 tbsp tequila.  Whisk the mixture well, so there aren’t any lumps. Pour about a tablespoon of the syrup over the holes in each cupcake, slowly, so that the syrup absorbs into the cake.
For the buttercream: Cream together butter, powdered sugar, limeade, tequila, and strawberry preserves until smooth.  Add drops of red food coloring until frosting is desired shade of pink.

Refrigerate cupcakes.

So in honor of this anniversary of sorts, I wanted to make more of an effort to have a nice Valentine’s Day and cook a quasi-special meal.  It definitely wasn’t the most creative menu, but I wanted to cook a few things that I knew The Picky Apple would eat….not too many experimental or new dishes for this special night.  We put The Littlest Apple to bed, and I brought out the china that we only use about once a year, as well as candles and music.  Our menu consisted of:

• Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Raspberry Chipotle
• Roasted Asparagus
• Hasselback Potatoes  (recipe below)
• Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting
• Banfi Rosa Regale 2007

Here’s a brief rundown of each item….

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Raspberry Chipotle: I know I just cooked the pork tenderloin dish a few weeks ago, but The Picky Apple really likes it, so i figured I’d play it safe.

Roasted asparagus is an easy, beautiful side dish.  I just spread out the asparagus on a baking sheet and drizzled with olive oil, kosher salt, and pepper.  Baked at 325 F for 15 minutes.

The Hasselback potatoes are something we saw prepared on the Food Network late last year and thought they looked good.  They turned out great, but took a looooooong time to cook, and were somewhat “needy.”  It takes some fancy knife skills to make all of the required slices in the potato without slicing all the way through.  I clearly lack these skills.  Additionally, for the first 30 minutes, you’re supposed to be basting the potatoes every 5 minutes with a chicken stock and butter mixture.  Well, The Littlest Apple is “needy” too, particularly so while I was preparing this dinner, so the potatoes didn’t get all the basting called for in the recipe.  I maybe did it 2 or 3 times, but luckily, they were still plenty tasty.  Recipe below.

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting:  For as long as I’ve been with my husband, he’s requested a strawberry cake with strawberry frosting for his birthday.  The box kind.  (Some of us refer to this as the Barbie/Princess cake, but it hasn’t deterred him from requesting it year after year.  He’s secure in his manhood, I suppose.)  Since I enjoy baking so much, I’m a little hesitant to use box mixes.  I guess I’m a little bit of a cake snob, but so far I’ve just played along and made the box kind for him.  Recently I’ve been on a cake/cupcake kick, and The Picky Apple specifically requested strawberry cupcakes.  This was my first attempt at strawberry cupcakes, and it definitely wasn’t successful so I won’t post the recipe.  They tasted more muffin-y than cake-y, and just weren’t what we wanted.  Therefore, the search for the perfect strawberry cake/cupcake continues.  Let me know if any of you have a good recipe.  I’ve got another one that I may post about in a few days if it turns out decent.

Last but not least, the wine.  Banfi Rosa Regale 2007.  I am not a big wine drinker normally, but I love sparkling wines, particularly those that are slightly sweet.  When I saw the display in the store with this sparkling, sweet red wine, I knew I wanted to try it.  The wine was good, but I only had one (or one and a half) champagne flutes of it (nursing mother, and all that).  It was so good that I made a note last night of exactly what it was so I could buy it again.  And then I woke up this morning.  I woke up at 5 am with a pounding headache and vomiting.  It definitely felt like a hangover, but how could a measly glass do such damage?  I haven’t had much to drink lately (pregnancy and now nursing my son), but I had two margaritas last Saturday night for Girls Night Out and no ill effects.  The tannins maybe?  I’ve never had a problem with red wine before.  Maybe I’m getting sick?  Let’s hope not.  Besides, I’m feeling better now.  Whatever it was, it was a rude awakening for the morning after Valentine’s Day.

Hasselback Potatoes

from Emeril Lagasse, via The Food Network

Ingredients:

• 2 small baking potatoes, about 3/4-pound total
  
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
  
• 1/3 cup chicken stock
  
• 1/4 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
  
• 1 1/2 tablespoons finely grated hard cheese, such as Parmesan
  
• 1 tablespoon fine dry bread crumbs  

Directions:  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Peel potatoes. Cut each potato not quite through in a series of crosswise slices about 1/4-inch apart or closer so that they are still joined together at the bottom. Brush the potatoes with the melted butter and place in a small baking pan. Pour the chicken stock around the potatoes and sprinkle with the thyme leaves. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast until the potatoes are half cooked, 25 to 30 minutes, basting every 5 minutes with the butter-chicken stock mixture.

In a small bowl combine the grated cheese and bread crumbs and divide the mixture evenly between the tops of the 2 potatoes. Continue roasting without any further basting until the potatoes are crispy on the outside and cooked through, about 30 minutes.

*Note: Exact cooking time will depend on the size of the potatoes.

Being from the South, I decided it was about time I tasted Red Velvet Cake, the classic, beautiful Southern dessert that I’m always seeing in cookbooks and on TV.  I attempted to make Red Velvet Cupcakes, after seeing Chockylit’s recipe on Cupcake Bakeshop.  I made a few adjustments to the recipe, including a decrease in the batch size to 12 cupcakes and a substitution for buttermilk.  Additionally, I used red food coloring instead of paste.  I clearly did not add enough, since my cupcakes only had a faint red hue.  But really, the redness is just a novelty and adds nothing to the flavor, so I suppose you could omit it completely.  The cupcakes turned out with an excellent texture and a light cocoa flavor.  They were good, but I’m not sure that I’ve become a Red Velvet devotee.  Not the recipe’s fault though.  I just think they look a lot prettier than they taste, and there are plenty of more chocolate-y cupcake and cake flavors I prefer.

Red Velvet Cake is typically served with Cream Cheese Frosting, but Nathan doesn’t like Cream Cheese Frosting.  I made half with Cream Cheese Frosting and half with Portsmouth Frosting from The Fannie Farmer Baking Book.  The Portsmouth Frosting is a relatively simple vanilla buttercream, which can also be used as a filling for a layer cake (even better if combined with chopped nuts).

Portsmouth Frosting

from The Fannie Farmer Baking Book

Makes 1 1/4 cups.

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or rum
• 3 cups confectioners’ sugar

Directions:

Combine the butter, cream, and vanilla or rum in a mixing bowl.  Slowly beat in the sugar until the frosting is thick, smooth, and spreadable.  If too thick to spread, add droplets more cream; if too thin, beat in a little more sugar.  You will have enough to fill and frost an 8-inch two-layer cake.

After reading blog after blog about cupcakes, last night I made cupcakes from scratch for the first time ever. I decided to go with something basic for my first try, so I made Magnolia Bakery’s Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting. My cupcakes were a little too dense, but still fairly tasty. It took me a while to get the frosting thick enough to frost the cupcakes and hold shape. Additionally, I think I would prefer chocolate or some other flavor frosting, as the vanilla cake with vanilla frosting is a little too plain for me. I’m still practicing my food photography (and photography in general)…

Magnolia’s Vanilla Cupcakes

Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes (depending on the size of your cupcake papers and muffin tins)

• 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.
3. In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
5. Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing. At the bakery we ice the cupcakes with either Vanilla Buttercream or Chocolate Buttercream.

Adapted from More From Magnolia, by Allysa Torey.

Picky Apple Note: I only got 14 cupcakes out of this recipe.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Makes enough for 2 dozen cupcakes.

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 6 to 8 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.) Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Picky Apple Note: I needed to add nearly 10 cups of confectioners’ sugar to get the frosting thick enough to pipe onto the cupcakes and hold its shape.

Adapted from More From Magnolia, by Allysa Torey