Red Velvet Cupcakes

Must I say anything about this? I love the hint of cocoa and the moist texture this cake has. Also, you're not really limited to just red (green is my favorite color, so I'll use that the next time). These were made for a bake sale, and are actually mini-sized for a faster sale and to attract all the females that love cute things.

cake batter;
2-1/2 cups cake flour*
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 oz. red liquid food coloring* (or any color to your liking)
1/2 cup veggie oil
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk*, at room temp
1 teaspoon white vinegar

Preheat oven to 350.
Sift dry ingredients together until well blended.
Add wet ingredients and beat on low speed until just incorporated.
Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full with batter.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Cool in pan for 2 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.


frosting;
1 pckg (8oz) cream cheese, room temp
1 stick butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
4 tbsp milk

Beat cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy.
Add vanilla.
Beat in sugar, 1/2cup to 1cup at a time.
Add 2 tbsp of milk and beat in.
Beat in an additional tsp to 1/2 tbsp of milk at a time, if desired, to consistency you like.



**
- cake flour; if you don't have access to this, sub with 2-1/4 cup all-purpose and 1/4 cup corn starch
- food coloring; I use Wilton's gel food coloring - not only is it cheaper ($1.69/1oz bottle), you only have to use HALF of it!!!
buttermilk; a great sub is a tbsp of white vinegar plus enough milk to equal a cup; just add together, stir up a bit, and leave for at least 10 minutes
- makes 24 cupcakes, 75 mini cupcakes, 1 2-layered 8 or 9-inch cake, or a 2-layered 6-inch with enough batter for about 6-8 cupcakes

So Jeannie and I decided to make marshmellow treats on Friday... Why didn't I say rice krispies treats? We used honey nut cheerios, was slightly short of 4 cups of mini marshmellows, and had only 2 tbsp of butter instead of 3. I don't know why, but we decided to do it to see how it went.

End result? It was really good at first. That is, until the mixture set... and it was hard. FREAKING HARD. The rest was Jeannie's because I just could not deal with it. So.. as a reminder for you people: never attempt when you're short on butter.

RED VELVET CHEESECAKE

this is adapted from Annie's Eats



30 chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed
1/2 cup butter, melted
3 (8 oz) pckg cream cheese, room temp
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. distilled white vinegar
1/2 oz. wilton's food coloring gel


line bottom of 9-inch spring form pan with parchment and lightly grease sides.
use 3 sheets of aluminum foil to cover bottom of pan to protect it from the water bath.
add melted butter to crushed cookies and mix until moistened.
press evenly into bottom of pan.


preheat the oven to 325.
beat cream cheese until smooth.
add sugar and beat until smooth again.
add eggs, unsweetened cocoa powder, sour cream, buttermilk, vanilla extract, vinegar and food coloring.
mix on low speed just until fully combined.
pour the batter into the prepared pan.
place on cookie sheet and pour enough hot/boiling water to fill about half the height of the sheet.


bake at 325 for 10 minutes, reduce the heat to 300, and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
turn off the oven, prop the door open slightly, and let the cheesecake stand 30 minutes.
remove the cheesecake from the oven; cool in the pan on a wire rack until room temp.
run a thin knife around the outside edge of the cake to separate from the pan.
cover and chill overnight.

decorate to your liking prior to serving (i drizzled with white chocolate, covered in milk chocolate shavings, made a white frosting for the dollops, and toasted some sliced almonds)


and this is how it looks like from the inside;

Caramel Popcorn

Now... I know that this isn't the best thing to eat. It's obviously not all that healthy, but when that fatty inside you comes out... sometimes, you just can't help it. I found this recipe at allrecipes.com, and it's DELISH. It is so addicting that I have trouble not eating handfuls of it when I actually make this for friends and family members. I cut the butter amount in half.


recipe;
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 bags popped popcorn (approx.)

directions;
1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (95 degrees C). Place popcorn in 2 foil covered baking pans (the bigger, the better [for easy mixing]).


2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in soda and vanilla. After it begins to foam up and lighten in color, pour in a thin stream over popcorn, stirring to coat.



3. Bake in preheated oven, stirring every 15 minutes, for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cool completely before breaking into pieces.

Notes:
If you'd like for the popcorn to be more on the chewy side, bake for less time.
For even BETTER popcorn, add a cup of roasted cashews to the mix.
If all you have is salted butter, just omit the salt that's called for in the recipe.

Appalachia!

Appalachia... such a wide stretch of land. Covering thirteen states and 420 counties, you can imagine that the cuisine is anything but limited. Who else better to make the discovery and try it out other than THE Andrew Zimmern, master of eating just about anything and everything that is edible?



Andrew, you never cease to amaze me. From stinky tofu to the variety at the "penis" restaurant... you're a god in your own way. But do you want to know something? Even though there are many things that you've had that I will probably never try, there is one thing that i have the upper hand in... and that is the fact that I can eat durian!

Happy birthday Andy~

So it's my best friend's birthday today... the big 22. I made him a Mario themed cake... and it took quite a lot of effort! everything was from scratch... from the cake to the frosting.. to the fondant. I know there are some flaws, so please be easy on me haha... it was my first time in not only making fondant, but using it as well! I'm a little sad though... 'cause I didn't spend any time with him today =( I saw him for maybe... half an hr (when I dropped the cake off).











Happy birthday Andysa!

breakfast buns

Oh, i lag so much! I'm lacking motivation in practically every aspect of my life... but a recent discovery I've had is making me feel that it's time to get back on track with what I love... food! I'm excited for the weeks ahead because I have birthdays to bake for... and I'm doing it with fondant!

Anyways, for those of you who want to make a little change to your scrambled egg breakfasts... stuff it in some dough and bake it with some cheese and meats to make buns! This is always a huge hit with those that I serve them to...


ingredients;
about 15 eggs, scrambled and seasoned to taste (I do so by adding fish sauce, sugar, and crushed black pepper)
6 slices American cheese
2 loaves of white bread dough, thawed (easily found in American markets where frozen pie and pastry crusts are sold)
1 egg, beaten
optional: cook your eggs with some chopped onions, minced garlic, diced ham/bacon, or diced bell peppers... anything to your liking!



1. Preheat your oven to about 350. Take both thawed loaves and cut into 5-6 even pieces each, depending on how big you want your buns to be. With your own fingers, press dough out into a 1/4-inch thick circle.







2. Take the American cheese slices and fold into 4 pieces. Place one in the center of the dough. In estimation, put just over a quarter of a cup of the scrambled egg mixture on top of the cheese. Take another piece of cheese and place on top of eggs.





3. Pull the sides of the dough, fold over, and press so that nothing can come out during baking. turn over and place on parchment covered cookie sheets, about 2 to 3 inches apart. Brush bun with the beaten egg. Place in oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until golden.



I suggest you wait 10 minutes after baking so it's still hot, but cool enough to bite into and enjoy. Remember that this is all approximations... since I never measure when I make this. If you do end up with extra scrambled eggs, it'll just be more for you to eat while waiting!