Showing posts with label whipped cream. Show all posts
Showing posts with label whipped cream. Show all posts

Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pie's

12:18 PM | Labels: , , , , ,

Jose Tellez down in CBN took this photo for me, I think it came out really great. All of mine are super green from the lighting in the room. I promise my next post will have better photos :-)

In addition to my mini pumpkin cheesecakes that I made for our office Chili cook-off I also made some mini pumpkin whoopie pies. If you read my blog often you will find I love to make whoopie pies. I just think they are fun, super easy, and taste great. Since it is the season of pumpkin and I had already made pumpkin cheesecakes I thought I would stick with the theme and go with pumpkin whoopies, I mean what isn't to like? Pumpkin as an ingredient makes for some really moist and flavorful desserts - everyone loved them and they were the perfect size to just pop in our mouth. These would be awesome for kids on Thanksgiving, they are so good they might even want to help you make them.

Pumpkin Whoopies:
  • 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tblsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp ground allspice
  • 1 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups solid pack pumpkin
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  1. Preheat oven to 350, line two making sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
  2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and salt into a bowl or piece of waxed paper.
  3. In the work bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the brown sugar and butter on low speed until just combined. Add in the pumkin, then the egg, beating well. Add the vanilla and beat until combined.
  4. Slowly add the flour mixture and beat on low until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go.
  5. Using a small ice-cream scoop or a pastry bag or really anything you choose... make small rounds of the batter as small or large as you like. I made mini ones so I used my eye to make them all roughly the same size and by using a large round tip on the end of my pastry bag. Make sure to space them at least two inches apart from each other.
  6. Bake one sheet at a time for about 12-15 minutes each, or until the cakes begin to crack and are firm to the touch (this will also change depending on how small are large you make them). Let the cakes cool completely before icing them.
Maple Cream Cheese Frosting:
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth,
  2. Add the cream cheese and beat until combined.
  3. Slowly add the powdered sugar, maples syrup and vanilla until smooth.

To assemble:
  1. Flip over half of the completely cooled whoopies so the flat side is facing up.
  2. Pipe enough to cover the whoopie 1 1/2 tsp - 1 tblsp of icing depending on how large the whoopies are.
  3. Place another whoopie flat side down on top and press down lightly. If your icing gets too soft you can always put it in the fridge before hand to firm it up a bit. These are best served at room temperature. Store left overs in an airtight container. Enjoy!

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Posted by mercoon.boy

4th Flag Cupcakes

6:34 AM | Labels: , , , , , , ,



4th of July is upon us and I thought we should celebrate with cupcakes! My original plan was to make a "flag cake" which in case you have never seen one it is two sheet cakes layered on top of each other usually with a whipped cream frosting and then you use either raspberries or strawberries to create the red stripes of the american flag and blueberries to make the stars. It is an adorable festive cake that I recommend you try one day if you haven't already. However, this year I wanted to make something a little more unique and I was in the mood to experiment so I drew out a cupcake that had all the colors of the American flag only in a deconstructed way so it wasn't as literal. These are easy but still special and look like a professional cupcake. If you want you can always make the cupcake part in advance along with the raspberry drizzle and assemble when you have a little time to spend doing them carefully. Happy 4th, enjoy!

Makes about 17 cupcakes

For the cupcakes:
  • 1 package of yellow cake mix
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/3 cup of oil
  • 1 1/3 cup of water
  • 1 package of fresh blueberries
  • 1 package of fresh raspberries
Whipped cream frosting and filling:
  • 4 cups of heavy whipping cream (might need to make this in two batches, it makes a lot)
  • 1/3 cup of sugar
  • 3 tsp of almond extract
Raspberry Drizzle:
  • 1 (12 oz) package of frozen raspberries thawed and drained, juice reserved
  • 1/4 cup of sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons of raspberry liqueur (if you have it, don't worry if you don't)

Directions:
  1. Preheat you oven to 350 and center your rack.
  2. Mix the cake mix with eggs, water, and oil according to the back of the cake mix package.
  3. Line your cupcake tray with which ever color liners you like and fill 3/4 of the way to the top so that you get a little overlap once they bake making sure you have enough to cut off and use later for tops.
  4. Bake for about 15-18 min. Cool completely on a rack, once cooled carefully cut the top of each cupcake off using a serrated knife.
  5. While the cupcakes are cooling make your raspberry sauce. Add enough water to reserved raspberry juice to measure 1 cup (make sure you do this otherwise it will be way to thick in the end) Stir together sugar and cornstarch in a 1-quart saucepan. Stir in juice and raspberries.
  6. Heat to boiling over medium heat. Boil and stir 1 min; strain out the seeds and let cool completely, your done. If you want you can add the liqueur after you strain it.
  7. In a stand mixer fixed with the whisk attachment, whisk together your whipped cream ingredients - cream, sugar, and almond extract until stiff peaks form. About 2-3 min.
  8. In a pastry bag fitted with a small round tip fill with about a quarter of the whipped cream mixture and insert into the center of the cupcake bottoms to fill the centers with cream.
  9. In a larger pastry bag fitted with a large round tip put a layer of frosting on the top of the cut cupcakes. Place a small handful of blueberries on top of the cream layer on each cupcake.
  10. Put your cupcake tops back on top of the blueberry cream layer. Using the rest of the whipped cream frosting pipe a mound of whipped cream on top of it as high as you want, I feel for these they look best when there is a good amount of height to them, go all out :-)
  11. Drizzle with the raspberry sauce using just a spoon or you can put it in a ziplock bag and cut a tiny tip off and drizzle that way. Top each one off with a fresh raspberry and your done! Happy 4th Flag Cupcakes!

Whipped Cream mixture for the inside of the cupcakes and the topping

Tops of the cupcakes cut off, whipped cream inserted into the center of each one - yum

Layer of blueberries and cream

Replace your tops and using a large tip pipe big mounds on top

Raspberry sauce on the stove top - make sure you cool it all the way before putting it on your cupcakes

Sorry for the dark photos, it was late and my house is rather dark...

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Posted by mercoon.boy

Banana + Cream Cups

12:35 PM | Labels: , ,

Being as obsessed as I am with baking and cute things I find myself surfing blogs for ideas and good recipes. Lately I have found some great ones, some of my favorites include: Eat Drink Chic, A field Journal, Design Sponge, Once Wed, and Tartelette which is where the idea for this next recipe came from. The creator of Tartelette is also a food photographer which I love because her photos are amazing and make everything look so yummy! Her version of this recipe called for creme fraiche or sour cream and I didn't have either handy so I decided to do it with homemade whipped cream which is more my style anyway or you can use vanilla ice cream as well.


•••This recipe really only makes enough for two people so if you need more then I would double... triple accordingly.

For the whipped cream:

  • 1 cup of heavy whipping cream
  • 1 tablespoon of sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon of good Vanilla extract

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix on high until light and fluffy. Put aside in the fridge while you prepare the rest to keep nice and cold.

For the crumble topping:

  • 1/4 cup light brown sugar
  • 4 tablespoons of flour
  • 3 tablespoons of cold butter
  • 2 tablespoons of chopped crystallized ginger (you can find this at any grocery store in the spices section of the baking isle)

Preheat the oven to 350F, in a small bowl combine the sugar and flour, add the butter cut in small pieces and ginger, mix with your hands or with a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. spread the mixture on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 15 min until golden brown. let cool to room temp.

For the good part! Bananas!

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons of water
  • 2 tablespoons of butter
  • 2 bananas, cut into thick slices - peel first ;-)

In a skillet set over medium high heat, cook the sugar with water until it caramelizes to a golden caramel. I noticed this never really happened for me until I added the butter so don't worry if it isn't perfect. The first time I tried something went wrong and it basically turned into sand. Turn the heat down and add the butter. Let it melt before adding the bananas. let them cook in the caramel for a couple of minutes until soft and caramelized. I have to say this does get pretty hot so be careful when you ad the bananas not to burn yourself. Remove form the heat and wait a few minutes before dividing the mixture in your glasses.

To assemble:

Put a thick layer of whipped cream on the bottom of your glass, then a good thick layer of the banana mixture, lastly sprinkle the ginger mixture on the top as much or as little as you like.

Once you master this recipe it will be great for those nights where you want something special and have some time to make it great... beats a bowl of ice cream any day.

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Posted by mercoon.boy
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