One thing that will help me stick to my resolution is my brand new Kitchen Aid Mixing Stand! That's right everyone, after several years of begging, Mike finally caved and let me buy one. I got the Pro 600 series so that means I can make LOTS of cupcakes, woohoo!
As a result of my new awesome mixer I have been quite the little baker this past week. Not only have I made 2 different cupcakes but I also made some delish chocolate chip cookies. I should also mention that for the past week I have basically lived in my newest apron that my sister-in-law, Tammy, got me for Christmas. I am developing an obsession with cute aprons!
First, I decided to make chocolate chip cookies on Sunday for our book club meeting (yeah yeah I'm in a book club...). I have forever been searching for a chocolate chip cookie that has some substance to it and doesn't flatten out when I bake it. When I was in high school there was a family of girls that all went to my school and they were known for their amazing chocolate chip cookies; it was like this mysterious recipe that we all wanted to get our hands on. Well, ladies and gentlemen, I have found it! The funny thing is it was such a basic recipe and I was not at all prepared for how great it would turn out. I read online once that the key to chocolate chip cookies was pastry flour, not just any old flour. Since I decided to make these so last minute I decided to try that theory out later and just stick with a quick and easy recipe. I'll have to use pastry flour next time and compare the two versions.
Next up is the cupcakes! My day off is always a good excuse to bake but this week I had even more incentive: a group of girls from work were getting together for dinner the next night and I volunteered to bring dessert! One of my coworkers had been bugging me for months to make a cupcake that I originally made for her over a year ago so I figured I'd make her happy which brings me to the first of my two cupcakes...
White Chocolate Cheesecake Vanilla Bean Cupcake
That's right folks, I said cheesecake AND cupcake!!! This cupcake didn't come from my Martha Stewart Cupcakes book. When I originally baked this I found a recipe that had a dollop of cheesecake in the center of a cupcake. As delicious as it was, I didn't feel satisfied with the amount of cheesecake that I ended up with in my cupcake; I wanted more! So I decided to try literally combining the two and my result was amazing, if I do say so myself.
First, I baked a basic vanilla bean cupcake (using my homemade vanilla extract - that's right, I said homemade! I'll explain that a little later) but I only filled the liners 1/3 of the way with batter. They didn't rise as much as I had expected (or maybe they did but the weight of the cheesecake smooshed them down a bit) so next time I think I'll try filling them halfway. Once done baking, I let them cool.
While the cupcakes were cooling I began making the cheesecake. Since the cake portion was already cooked I decided to us a "no-bake" type cheesecake. I wanted a flavor that would give the basic vanilla a little pizazz without overwhelming the cake so I went with white chocolate cheesecake. First, I melted some white chocolate over a double broiler. As that was cooling a little I beat together cream cheese, sour cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract (yup, more of the homemade stuff!). Once it was smooth I added in the melted white chocolate. Then I smoothed it onto the top of the cupcakes and put them into the refrigerator to firm up. Before serving them I put a fresh raspberry on top for little pop of flavor and color.
I think they turned out great. In fact, my coworker said they lived up to her high expectations! In the interest of full disclosure, however, I will say that the consistency of the cake was a little different. It wasn't bad, just different if that makes sense. They were much denser then your average cupcake. I'm not sure if that was due to them being chilled in the refrigerator or maybe some of the cheesecake mixture was absorbed into the cake as it was firming. Who know, but regardless I think they were a success!
* How cute are the bottom of these liners?!?!
Cookies and Cream Cheesecake
I was surprised how quickly I finished making the other cupcakes and still felt like baking so I decided to keep on going... Since it's been a while since I made anything from my Martha Stewart cookbook and I had a lot of cream cheese left over I thought it would be a perfect time to make these mini cheesecakes! I'm so glad I did because they were SUPER yummy and extremely easy to make.
First, I put an entire Oreo in the bottom of each cupcake liner as the crust - cute detail! Then I beat the cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, vanilla and eggs. Once it was smooth I folded in crumbled up Oreo cookies. I filled each liner with the cheesecake mixture and baked them. After they finished baking I chilled them in the refrigerator (still in the cupcake tin to help them keep their shape until they firmed up) overnight.
I must say these were a hit with all my coworkers! Shannon summed it up by saying "OK, frickin' yum!" HAHAHA, made me laugh... I would definitely recommend that everyone make these for parties, potlucks, etc... I guarantee you they will get eaten up quickly!
Lastly, I said I'd mention my homemade vanilla extract. My mom read about making your own extracts and we decided to give it a try. It is a 3 month project so it does require some patience. All you do is put a few sliced vanilla beans in vodka. A word of advice: buy your vanilla beans in bulk!! My mom and I bought a bunch of them online and divided them up; even with shipping it ends up being a much cheaper price then it would have been at the grocery store. Once a week you need to shake up the jar a little. At the end of 3 months you'll have yourself some awesome vanilla extract. The best part is you can keep topping it off with more vodka as you use it and occasionally swap out a vanilla bean for a new one. We took the idea and ran with it, and also made orange extract and lemon extract.
Day 1
After 1 Month
The Finished Product
Comments:
Post a Comment