Angel Food Cupcakes

I dream about food. Literally.

Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night after having a dream about a kind of food. I keep a note in my phone for dream foods.

Some of my late night thinking/dream foods have been my Raspberry White Chocolate Truffle Cupcakes and my Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Soft Pretzels.

These cupcakes were another one of my "dream foods." Angel food cupcakes filled with jam, topped with whipped cream and fresh berries. Yum.

Angel Food Cupcakes

Yields: 16 cupcakes

3/4 cup + 2 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup cake flour (or 1/2 cup AP flour + 1/2 tsp cornstarch)
1/4 tsp salt
6 egg whites, room temperature
2 1/2 tbsp warm water
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp cream of tartar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin tins with paper liners.

2. Combine half the sugar with the flour and salt.

3. In a large bowl, combine the egg whites, water, vanilla, cream of tartar, and remaining sugar. Whip together with a whisk until medium peaks form.

4. Sift a small amount of the dry ingredients into the egg whites, then fold in with a spatula. Do this in at least 6 batches to ensure even folding.

5. Fill muffin cups all the way to the top with batter and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a toothpick comes out clean.

6. Fill with jam, if desired. Top with sweetened whipped cream (add a small amount of vanilla for an awesome taste), then garnish with berries.

Kolaches

Every self-respecting Texan knows that it's impossible to make the drive from Dallas to Austin without stopping in West, Texas at the Czech Stop. For as long as I can remember, my family has always stopped in West to buy dozens of kolaches.

I have to clarify something for y'all: kolaches are sweet bread with fruit, cream cheese, or ricotta cheese filling-- NOT sausage in a roll.

Let's review-- Pigs in a blanket (while still SO delicious, definitely not a kolache):

Kolaches:

Delicious, buttery rolls with a raspberry cream cheese filling and crumble topping-- yum. I adapted this recipe from Saveur Magazine. 

Kolaches

Yields: 16 kolaches

For the Dough

1/2 cup warm water

1 tbsp active dry yeast (1/4 oz. package)

3 tbsp + 1 tsp sugar

4 tbsp butter, softened

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg yolk

3 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup warm milk

For the Crumble

1 tbsp butter, melted

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

1. Combine water, yeast, and 1 tsp sugar. Let sit for 5 minutes until activated. 

2. Beat butter and remaining 3 tbsp sugar together. Add the egg yolk and salt. Then, add the yeast mixture, flour, and milk. Combine and knead until no longer really sticky. 

3. Grease a bowl and add the dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes, or until doubled. I turned on my oven for 3 minutes, then I turned it off and let the dough rise in there. It was about 140 degrees. 

4. Preheat oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silpat. 

5. Divide the dough into 16 pieces. Pinch them into round mounds, and place them 1/2" apart on the prepared pan. Brush with 1 tbsp of melted butter. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes. 

6. Prepare the filling (see below) and the crumble. (To make the crumble, combine the three ingredients until it's crumbly). When the kolaches have risen, press the center of each one down with your fingers. Put 1 tbsp of filling into each and sprinkle the crumble topping on each one. 

7. Bake at 375 degrees fahrenheit for 25-30 minutes. 

Kolache Filling

6 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 tsp lemon juice

3 tbsp sugar

1 egg yolk

1. Combine all of the ingredients together until completely smooth.

For fruit filling, use jam. I used raspberry jam. 

Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream

The frosting is naturally colored!

Mmmm... chocolate ganache. So smooth. So delightful.

Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes

Yields: 12 cupcakes

3/4 cup hot water
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup chocolate chips, any flavor (dark, milk, semisweet...)
1-2 tbsp whipping cream

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit. Line a cupcake pan with 12 cupcake liners.

2. Microwave butter until mostly melted. Pour into the bottom of a mixer and add hot water, cocoa powder, and sugar. Beat it for about 15 seconds, then let it cool down for 5 minutes.

3. Mix the flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. In another bowl, mix the egg and vanilla. Add the egg mixture to the butter mixture in the mixer and beat until incorporated. Slowly add the dry ingredients.

4. Divide batter evenly among 12 cupcake liners. Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes.

5. Microwave chocolate chips and whipping cream for 20-30 seconds, then give it a good stir. It should melt. Once the cupcakes are cooled, dip the tops in the ganache. Let set before frosting.

Raspberry Buttercream

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Beat together butter and raspberry jam for 2 minutes. Slowly add powdered sugar. Beat in vanilla. Pipe onto cupcakes with a closed star tip. Top with sprinkles.

Banana Cake with Brown Sugar Buttercream

Well, blog readers, I'm finally back! Back to the blog, and back to BYU!

My gorgeous roommates and crappy-yet-cute house

I forgot how much I love Provo. Seriously. Yesterday I went to SLAB Pizza (This awesome pizza place that gives you a quarter of a giant pizza and a drink for $5) and after I walked in, I saw Stephanie Nielson. I recently finished her book and I am in love with her story. She's one of the most inspiring people I've ever seen. You can see her story here. 

So I've made this cake many times over the past few years. I'm not sure exactly when I discovered the recipe, but it's been a favorite for quite some time now. 

The only reason I haven't blogged about it yet is because it's usually gone within an hour or two of baking it. Recipe tweaked from Butter Yum. 

Banana Cake

Yields: 8x8 cake

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup sour cream (or buttermilk)

1 egg

2 tbsp butter, softened

2-3 overly ripe bananas

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees (350 for glass pan) fahrenheit.

2. Cream together sugar, sour cream, egg, and butter for about 3 minutes. Add mashed banana and vanilla and beat. 

3. Mix together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add them slowly to the wet ingredients.

4. Pour into a greased 8x8 pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle of the cake. 

Brown Sugar Buttercream

1 stick butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp milk, optional 

In a stand mixer, cream together the butter and the brown sugar for 5 minutes, or until most of the graininess of the sugar is dissolved. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla slowly. If the frosting is too thick, add milk slowly. If it's too thin, add more powdered sugar. 

Blueberry Streusel Muffins

Last year, I bought a blueberry bush. I had heard that blueberry bushes grow really well in Texas, and since the plant was only about 8 bucks, I went for it. 

Last year, I didn't get to eat any of the blueberries. The squirrels or birds ate all of them. It was the saddest thing that's ever happened.

Yesterday, I went outside to find a few of the blueberries were ripe and delicious!

They're so blue!

Now, I don't by any means have enough blueberries to make anything, but eating the few ripe blueberries on the bush made me crave blueberry muffins for breakfast this morning. I've made blueberry muffins many times before, but these are definitely the best. They're so good, y'all. I adapted the delicious recipe from the Samson Family. 

Blueberry Streusel Muffins

1¾ cups flour

¾ teaspoon salt

¼ cup sugar

2½ teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 cups blueberries (I used more like 2 cups-- hey, I like blueberries!)

1 large egg, at room temperature

¾ cup milk

1/3 vegetable oil

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 tbsp cold butter

1. Sift the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder into a large bowl. Sprinkle over the blueberries. Beat the egg well then add the milk and oil and mix well together (don’t beat as this makes the muffins tough).

2. Scoop using a cookie scoop into buttered muffin tins or paper-lined muffin tins, filling the tins to the top.

3. Using a pastry cutter or a fork, cut the butter into the flour and sugar for the streusel topping. Cut until it resembles large crumbs.

4. Bake in an oven preheated to 425°F for 15-16 minutes, or until risen and golden. Remove from the oven, leave in the tray for 5 minutes, then flip out with a small knife onto a cooling rack.

Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chewy Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies

Yields: 3 dozen scrumptious cookies

• 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup Cranraisins
• 1/2 cup lightly toasted coconut
• 1/4 cup toasted pecans (I only put pecans in half my batch)

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until it's light and fluffy. Taste a little. That's the best stuff in the whole world. Mix in the egg and the vanilla and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. 

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients slowly until it's incorporated. Add the white chocolate chips, Cranraisins, and coconut and mix until they're evenly distributed. 

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (It's worth it-- they come out in better shape and texture). 

Drop in 1 tablespoon scoops on a cookie sheet lined with silpat or parchment paper. Bake at 350 for 8-9 minutes and DO NOT BAKE THEM FOR MORE THAN 10 MINUTES or you will regret it and be sad forever. They may look like they're not done, but they are! I promise!

Eat all you can, and if there are any left, store them in an airtight container for up to 10 days. I doubt they'll last that long!

Bon Appétit!

Lemon Blackberry Cupcakes

I have some pretty awesome friends. After driving for about four days from Provo to Idaho, then Idaho to Denver, then Denver to Texas, I'm finally home! Yesterday was my friend Haidyn's birthday. She's the best. We've been friends forever. We fluently speak in movie quotes, ride elephants together, and eat ridiculous amounts of food from her family's catering business. 

I love that Haidyn is not at all a picky eater. She loves the weird food I like, so when I knew I'd be making her cupcakes for her birthday, I knew I could be as creative as I wanted to be. 

I wanted something with berries, and when I came home, there were some scrumptious-looking blackberries in the fridge that I just couldn't resist. 

We had some lemons and I immediately knew I wanted a light lemony cupcake filled with sweetened mascarpone. The frosting would be lemony blackberry cream cheese buttercream topped with a blackberry. I love dreaming up cupcakes. 

Lemon Cupcakes

Yields 18-20 deliciously full-sized cupcakes

• 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup cake flour (I used 1 cup minus 2 tbsp all purpose flour, then added 2 tbsp corn starch. This is my go-to cake flour recipe. Make sure to mix the flour and corn starch together really well.)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup milk
• 4 large egg whites, room temperature (I put my cold eggs soaking in warm water for 3 minutes or so)
• 3 teaspoons lemon juice
• zest of one lemon

1. Preheat oven to 375 fahrenheit (If you're at high altitude, preheat to 385). Line cupcake tins with adorable cupcake liners.

2. Mix together flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk until incorporated.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together sour cream, milk, and egg whites. Set aside. 

4. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy.

5. Add the vanilla extract to the butter mixture. While the mixer is on low, add the flour mixture in 3 parts alternating with the milk/sour cream mixture. (You'll start and end with flour mixture).

6. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. (If you make mini cupcakes, they take about 13 minutes.)

Mascarpone Filling

1/2 cup (4 oz) mascarpone cheese

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp lemon juice

Beat it all together and pipe into cupcakes.

Blackberry Cream Cheese Buttercream

4 oz cream cheese

6 tbsp butter

4 cups powdered sugar

1/2 tsp clear vanilla extract

1 tsp lemon juice

1/4 cup blackberries plus some for topping

Heat the blackberries in the microwave to help release the juices. Mash them through a sieve to get the seeds out. Beat the cream cheese and butter in a mixer. Add the powdered sugar until it's smooth. Add vanilla and lemon and beat until it's fluffy. Add the blackberry juice and make sure it's beaten until it's fully incorporated. Pipe onto cupcakes and top with a blackberry and some sugar crystal sprinkles. 

Bon appétit!

Lemon Raspberry Muffins

Finals Week! The worst and best week of the entire semester. It's the best because at BYU we get two "reading days" where we're supposed to study (I'll let you guess how much studying actually goes on...) I had some raspberries leftover and I wanted to make muffins.

Muffins are really great. Have I ever told you that? They're like little mini cakes you can eat for breakfast without anyone judging you. They're beautiful. They usually have yummy berries or chocolate chips in them. Delectable.

When you eat a cupcake, everyone knows you're eating dessert, but when you have a muffin somehow it becomes more acceptably healthy. Hey, I'm not complaining. These muffins were exactly what I needed to relieve my finals stress.

I also bought a giant thing of bubble wrap at Walmart to relieve the rest of my stress. It's working. I'm essentially stress-free and I only have one final left. What a beautiful finals week!

Lemon Raspberry Muffins

Yields: 18 muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup buttermilk (1 cup milk + 1 tsp vinegar)

1/2 cup veggie oil

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1 1/4 cups raspberries

1 cup powdered sugar

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

2. Combine dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt) in a large bowl. 

3. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, buttermilk, oil, and lemon zest. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Gently fold in the raspberries. 

4. Scoop the batter into 18 muffin papers or sprayed muffin tins 2/3 full and bake for 18-20 minutes. 

5. Whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice and dip warm muffin tops in the glaze and let it harden slightly for about 3 minutes before eating. 

Bon appétit!