With Sprinkles on Top

Lemonade (or pink lemonade, if you prefer) is a staple of summertime. But today is the first day of September and summer is ending. I might be in the minority on this, but I’m looking forward to autumn — cooler weather, sweaters, football, slow-cooked foods, orange and red leaves, and apple-based baked goods are all on the way! But today and tomorrow’s posts will serve as a goodbye to summer. A goodbye to long days, lemonade stands, thunderstorms, s’mores, the ever-present smell of sunscreen, drippy ice cream cones, outdoor concerts, sleeping with the windows open, the sounds of crickets, fresh tomatoes, corn on the cob, the smell of freshly cut grass and grilled foods, baseball games, flipflops, and swimming. Check back tomorrow for a beach and Hawaii-inspired birthday cake.

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes
Recipe source: Erica’s Sweet Tooth
Print Recipe

For the cupcakes:
1 box white cake mix
3/4 cup frozen pink lemonade concentrate
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs whites

For the frosting:
6 cups powdered sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
4 Tbsp frozen pink lemonade concentrate
Pink and yellow food coloring

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line 24 muffin tins with liners.
2. Combine all of the cupcake ingredients in an electric mixer and mix for 30 seconds or until smooth. Divide batter, filling liners about 2/3 full. Bake 25 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
3. Once the cupcakes are completely cooled, combine all frosting ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer and mix until combined. Increase speed to medium-high until frosting is light and fluffy.
4. Divide the frosting into two bowls; color one batch pink and the other yellow.
5. Fit a pastry bag with a large tip (star or round). Fill half the bag with pink frosting and the other half with yellow (so you have both colors in the same bag — it will pipe out in a swirled mixture). Frost cupcakes.

Makes about 24 cupcakes.

One of my former co-workers is expecting a baby in early October (hi, Jenny!). Our former boss hosted a cookout last week and I decided to make mini cupcakes for dessert — with a baby girl/baby boy theme! The mom-to-be is going to have a delivery surprise, so we were all making bets as to whether she’s carrying a boy or girl (I predict a girl). These cupcakes were a breeze to make, as I used a chocolate box mix for the cupcake. I bought the pressed sugars at Vanilla Bean and used my favorite icing recipe in the whole wide world. I dyed half pink and half blue — and used a large round tip to pipe the icing onto each mini cupcake.

White Buttercream Icing
Recipe source: therepressedpastrychef.blogspot.com
1 stick salted butter – room temperature
1 stick unsalted butter – room temperature
1 cup shortening
1 tablespoon clear vanilla extract**
2 pounds confectioner’s sugar
4-6 tablespoons very cold milk
(The CLEAR extract is very important if you want WHITE buttercream. Most buttercream tends to have a yellow-ish tint if you use real vanilla extract)

1. Cream the butter and shortening in the bowl of an electric or stand mixer.
2. Add the clear vanilla extract and combine well.
3. Begin adding in the sugar and mixing thoroughly after each addition.
4. After all of the sugar has been added and mixed thoroughly, begin adding the very cold milk… one tablespoon at a time, combining very well after each addition (mixer on medium-high to high speed) until you reach the desired consistency.

My friend (and cake decorating partner-in-crime) Meghan and I wanted to make a Thank You cake for the assistant director of our graduate program. Barb has been part mother, part friend, part problem-solver, part chocolate supplier, and a constant and unwavering source of support as we went through the MPH program. In short, we love Barb.

We didn’t know what the theme of the cake should be, but then we realized that a) we are in Wisconsin b) it’s August and c) Barb’s daughters show cows at the fair. All three of those things added up to a farm cake! Here are some details about how we made the cake.

• The cake was chocolate — made using the enhanced box-mix recipe!
• I used a 9″ pan for the bottom tier and a 6″ pan for the top.
• The chocolate “stones” surrounding the pond were purchased at Vanilla Bean.
• All of the detailing — from the bandanna ribbon to the farm animals — were made out of fondant. Meghan made all the animals, using the Wilton 2009 Yearbook as a guide.
• We got the barn to stand up by placing a cake dowel into the top tier — and then propped the flat barn up against it.
• Speaking of cake dowels — make sure to always use them when making cakes with two or more tiers!
• The green grass is frosting piped out of a Wilton tip (#233 or #234)

Let me know if you have any other questions!

Ahh, August. The month of state and county fairs here in the Midwest and throughout the country. I visited my local county fair a few weeks ago and debated trying a fried Oreo or fried beer (yes, fried beer). But my years in microbiology & public health made me rethink eating anything sold in a hut next to a livestock barn. Corn dogs are a staple of the fair and everybody’s guilty pleasure. C’mon. You know you love them.

I found a recipe for corn dog muffins on Pinterest. Pinterest is my new favorite website — it’s a digital bulletin board of sorts. Totally awesome. I’ve made a vow to actually make some of the things I pin — and here’s the first adventure: corn dog muffins! They were delicious — and the extras are very easy to freeze and store for the coming fall and winter months!

Corn Dog Muffins
Recipe adapted from: Heavenly Homemakers
Print Recipe

2 cups cornmeal (I used yellow cornmeal, though I’m sure white would also work)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
4 eggs
4 Tablespoons honey
1/2 cup melted butter
2 cups buttermilk
8 hot dogs, cut into thirds

1. Preheat oven to 400F and line two muffin tins with paper liners.
2. Stir together dry ingredients. Add eggs, honey, butter, and buttermilk. Stir until just mixed.
3. Spoon a spoonful of batter into each cup, place a hot dog piece on top, and cover with a few more spoonfuls of batter. The cups should be about 2/3 full when you put them in the oven.
4. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Makes 24 muffins.

*Note: The first twelve muffins I made, I filled the muffin cups 2/3 full of batter and then placed the hot dog piece on top. That’s why you can see the hot dog piece in some of the muffins in the photo above. On the second group, I tried to hide the hot dog piece by using the method listed in step 3.

I’m baaaack! Aside from yesterday’s post, it’s been a while since I’ve posted and for that, I apologize! Summer is always a busy season and I’m not in the kitchen as much as I’d like to be. I was browsing around on Tumblr & Pinterest (seriously, two of my absolute favorite sites!) and found a photo of neapolitan marshmallows. I swoon over anything neapolitan — pretty color palette and a perfect combination of flavors. I don’t, however, love marshmallows. Then I remembered that I had this bundt cake recipe bookmarked for ages and thought I would give it a try. It’s a relatively easy homemade cake (no box mixes this time!) – and baking it in a bundt pan makes it even more simple!

Neapolitan Bundt Cake
Recipe source: See You in the Morning
Print Recipe

3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
2-1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
16 oz sour cream
2 tsp vanilla

For chocolate swirl:
6 oz dark chocolate (60-72% cacao), chopped (I used 6 oz. Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips)
1 tsp unsweetened dark cocoa powder

For strawberry swirl:
1/2 cup diced strawberries
1 tbsp strawberry preserves
A few drops of pink or red coloring

1. Preheat oven to 350F and spray a 10-inch bundt pan with non-stick spray.
2. Make chocolate swirl: In the top of a double boiler over simmering water or in microwave, melt the chocolate. When it’s completely smooth, add the cocoa powder and stir. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth. Scrape down the sides and add the sugar. Beat until smooth and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down bowl and mix. Add the sour cream and vanilla and beat until just incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in 3 additions. Do not overmix!
5. Pour 1/3 of batter into the chocolate and combine.
6. Fold strawberries and preserves into another 1/3 of batter.
7. Plop large spoonfuls of 3 batters into pan, then use a butter knife to pull through the layers and make swirls.
8. Bake in the center of the oven for about an hour, rotating halfway through. Let cake cool in the pan for a bit and then invert on a wire rack to cool completely. Add a dusting of powdered sugar to the top if you’d like!