Moss Cupcakes You Say?? I Do!!!

Ok, I know this is a sort of ridiculous thing to be posting, but I don't really care.  The idea popped into my head and it just wouldn't go away... Cupcakes. Made to look like moss balls.  "You know, those moss balls you see sold at home decor places."  I said, explaining the idea to Jason.  "What?  Like, the kind you put in your closet?" he replied.  He was driving in his car and on a headset, so there was a good deal of static on the line.  Still, I was pretty sure he said "closet" and I was really confused.  "No, what?  Why would you put cupcakes in the closet?" I said, shaking my head (to no one).  "I was going to ask the same thing!" was the reply.  "And since when are moth balls GREEN?".  "OH!  No, not MOTH balls, MOSS balls..."  I said, almost rolling my eyes and then realizing "moth balls" might actually have made more sense.  "Um, oh... well... I'm sure it'll turn out great, sweetie... Moss balls...". 

I could picture him nodding his head on the other side of the phone.  Convincing himself, mentally, that he was not dating a crazy person.  Jason really is so supportive.  Even when my suggestions scare and confound him... and everyone else around me.  But it's okay if people are worried, because in my head this stuff makes a weird kind of sense. Sometimes my little brain says "You know what would be fun?  Making some cake balls that look like sheep."  And off the couch I go, zombie-like, to the kitchen to see if I have any Pocky around I can use for legs.

Most of the time people come around to my way of thinking once they see the results.  That, or they're too frightened to say otherwise.  "I LOVE the cheese snowmen, really!" they say, grabbing the tray I bring to their party... smiling a little too widely as they make a mental note not to invite me to their next one.  That's what I imagine.  But I'm hoping they will amuse someone.  Moss may not be the most exciting substance to want on a dessert.  It's not cute.  Or even logical.  But I had a surprising amount of fun making them, and I think they're perfect for Spring, really.  REALLY.  They're pretty tasty, too, when you combine the chocolate bases with the minty green tops and then coat them with more minty chocolate cake crumbs.  

By the way, this recipe asks you to buy mint oil to flavor it.  There's no reason why you should have to listen to that, though.  I think these would work perfectly well if you chopped up a handful of chocolate mints to put in the cupcake base and called it a day.  I wouldn't be a good Chicagoan if I didn't ask that those chocolate mints be the classic Frango Mints from the old Marshall Fields stores (now Macy's, boo) if you can help it.  But really anything minty would work.  Use your imagination!  I do... even when it tells me to make odd things like this...

Recipe: Chocolate Mint Moss Cupcakes

Makes 16 cupcakes

For the cupcakes... (adapted from Joy of Baking)

1/2 cup cocoa powder (Dutch-processed preferred)

1 cup boiling hot water

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons mint oil

For the frosting...

2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 1/3 cups confectioners sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon mint oil

Green gel food coloring

For the "moss"...

Might I suggest the Martha Stewart Red Velvet Cake recipe, and substitute green food coloring for the red.  Allow it to cool and then crumble half of it finely to use for coating your cupcakes.  It's good stuff and you can just eat the leftover cake you didn't "crumb" (there will be some).

What to do with it all...

For the cupcake base, start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees F and lining 16 regular-sized (4 ounces) cupcake cups with paper.  I use the standard thin white papers that turn transparent when you bake in them to show off the choclate base against the green tops.

In a small butter stir together the cocoa powder and the boiling water until smooth.  Set aside, allowing to cool to room temp.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

With a hand mixer, cream the butter, sugar and mint oil until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until smooth. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat only until incorporated. Add the room-temp cocoa mixture and stir until smooth.

Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full with the batter and bake for 16-20 or until the batter rises and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the deepest part.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.

For the frosting, start by creaming together your butter and sugar until fluffy (about 2-3 minutes) with a hand mixer on medium-low speed.  Beat in vanilla and mint oil, then increase mixer speed to medium-high and beat until frosting is glossy.

Using a spatula or similar, coat your cupcakes with frosting, then roll in your previously made green velvet crumbs.  Done!

Pursuits in baking - Easy Blueberry Lemon Bundt

So, I've decided to start baking more.  I've hesitant to bake much for years, limiting myself to just flipping thru baking and decorating books and vicariously making alterations and imagining the perfect, awe-inspring results.  The reality, I felt, would be much different.  Exploding muffin tins, caved cheesecakes and gravity-oppressed souffles haunt my dreams.

I'm not exactly sure why I have this primal fear of desserts.  Perhaps starting up now will reveal a repressed memory of a bananas foster gone wrong setting my pigtails a-flame as a child?  Or maybe in another life I was flattened by a rogue 50 lbs bag of flour that leapt from a high shelf at the General Store?  More likely it's a simple fear of failure... and the mess this will turn my kitchen into on a regular basis.

All of that being said, I'm excited to branch out into the baking world... and to be sharing it with all of you.  Hopefully they're be lots of fun to be had, and probably a disaster or two to laugh about.  I mean, seriously, look what I do when I just taking PICTURES of baked things.

I thought I'd start out with some baby steps here and explore a couple of recipes that almost require a cake mix.  I say "require" because I've learned the hard way that adding things willy-nilly to pre-set cake recipes can get you into lots of trouble.  Boxed cake mixes, besides being fool-proof, contain emulsifiers that allow you throw in additions without making much, if any, changes to the mix recipe.

So here is my first project.  Be sure to check out the wonderful Carol Egbert's site for another project I guest posted on rainbow cupcakes using all-natural color - it should be up soon!


Recipe: Blueberry Lemon Burst Bundt Cake

What you'll need...
One box vanilla or white cake mix (you can also use lemon if you really want lemony cake!)
PLUS
Whatever ingredients the cake mix calls for
1 cup of plain yogurt (you can also use blueberry yogurt to really up the blueberry flavor!)
1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries
1/2 cup water
The zest and juice of one lemon
1 teaspoon of turmeric (optional, for bright yellow color - don't worry, your cake won't taste like turmeric!)

Special equipment: 12 cup bundt pan, small sauce pan, hand blender or food processor

What to do with it all...

Preheat oven to temperature according to boxed mix for a bundt pan
Liberally grease your bundt pan 
Add blueberries and water to a small saucepan to simmer for 5 mins, or until thawed (if using frozen) then allow to cool
Mix all cake mix ingredients according to directions, folding in the cup of yogurt, lemon juice and zest and optional turmeric
Puree your blueberries using a hand blender or food processor/stand blender
Pour puree into your cake batter, but do not stir
Pour batter into your bundt pan and bake according to box instructions (your cake may take a little longer because of the additions)
Remove after baking and allow to cool before inverting and removing
Glaze with a simple syrup, honey or simply dust with powdered sugar!

Reinventing the Lamington cake: LAMBington cake "pops"... PART TWO!

Finally after much smoke and messy chocolate, the LAMBingtons photos & recipe is here!

Introducing...

Mortimer - the Traditionalist:

Clementine - The Sweet One:

Hubert - The... One That Got a Little Too Close to the Photo Lights and Got Melty:

As I mentioned yesterday, I had a little fire while taking pictures of these little guys, so I had to delay my REAL post until now.  So here they are, and if I must say so myself, they are rather adorable!  Thanks to Mr. P for creating a brilliant challenge over at Delicious Delicious Delicious.  He asked everyone to reinvent the lamington cake - the famous Australian dessert.  I thought, well, Australia has lots of lambs, right?  And "lamington" sure is close to LAMB...ington... soooooo....

I decided to model these little babies after the one and only Bakerella basic recipe for cake pops.  Those adorable, one-of-a-kind masterpieces that you don't even have to like cake to enjoy looking at for hours.  After making these, I searched her site and found that she even had some little sheep pops already!  They're very different from my guys, but I have a feeling if you put them all together in a room with some cocktails, they'd get along really well.  Obviously my sheep are not actually "pops" as they have legs... made out of plain Pocky sticks!  But the cake ball recipe is Bakerella's.  It was Jason's idea to add the chocolate eyes, by the way, and I'm so glad.  I really think they make these little guys.  He's brilliant!

Have you ever been the black sheep in the family?  This guy knows your pain!

So without further ado, here's my version of the lamington cake... I'm probably going to come back to this post to add more instructional photos and some better lit lamb photos once my new light arrives - yes, did I tell you?  I bought a new light to replace my burned light box.  It is, incidentally, the same one Bakerella uses *proud smile*.  Until then, I'll be feeling a little *ahem* SHEEPish about my sadly lit photos...

Recipe: The LAMBington Cake

What you need to get...

1 box of lemon or vanilla cake mix (plus ingredients on the back of the box per baking instructions)
1 can of vanilla frosting (16 oz)
1 package of white chocolate baking/melting chips (11 oz)
1 package of milk chocolate baking/melting chips (11 oz)
1 jar of good jam or preserves (I used quince)
1 bar of milk chocolate, shaved (you can use chocolate sprinkles instead)
1 cup shredded/dessicated coconut
1 box of plain Pocky - such as "Rost" variety OR small unsalted thin pretzel sticks
1 tablespoon Garam Masala (optional)
1 cup raw almonds
1 cup blanched/skinless almonds

Special equipment: 13 x 9 cake pan, large bowl, wax paper, a toothpick

What to do with it all...

• For the cake oval bodies, bake your box cake according to directions for a 13 x 9 cake, adding the tablespoon of Garam Masala if desired  (also see Bakerella basic recipe)
• Allow cake to cool and crumble into a large bowl, and add your vanilla frosting by large spoonfuls and combine by hand until you achieve a consistency sort of like meatloaf - easy to form ovals
• Using a walnut-sized amount of cake mixture, form an oval shape, then cut the oval in half lengthwise and spread a small amount of jam in between - reassemble like a sandwich and reshape to an oval
  
• Cut the ends off of Pocky sticks in one-inch pieces (you want the end pieces as they will form the feet), OR if you are using thin pretzel sticks, cut them in half
• Melt your white and milk chocolate chips in small bowls according to package directions
• Dip your cut ends of the Pocky or pretzle sticks into the chocolate (some in milk, some in white as you wish the final colors of the lambs to be), just a scant centimeter or so and then stick into your oval, repeat 3 x until you have "legs" (the chocolate acts as a glue of sorts) - make sure your legs are at even lengths so that when you set them down later, they'll stand properly
• Place your lambs on their "backs" on a plate or small tray under a piece of wax paper and place into the freezer for at least 10 minutes
• During this time you can arrange your "wooling" station by spreading shredded coconut on one plate, chocolate shavings or sprinkles on another, and rewarming your milk and white chocolate for dipping
• Remove lambs from freezer and carefully dip one by one into the chocolate color to match the legs - make sure to cover the sides and front & tail
• Quickly move your dipped lamb from the chocolate to the coconut or shavings and coat - chocolate dries quickly!
• Now re-dip just one end slightly in chocolate to act as glue to attach your almond face - attach the almond with the pointed end so you have a rounded face
• To make eyes you can either just dab on milk chocolate with the toothpick, or attach small bits of solid chocolate that you've rolled between your fingers just a little to soften and make round and attach that using the melted chocolate and the toothpick

That's it!  The LAMBington!

Reinventing the Lamington cake: LAMBington cake "pops"... PART I

Yeah... this is Part I for a reason that was not in my plan when I started putting this little guy together tonight.  But a lot of things weren't in my plan when I started this tonight...

First things first, though.  Mr. P of the venerable Delicious Delicious Delicious is holding a Lamington competition this month.  A very cool idea that I immediately had an entry in mind for.  While that entry is now, at this moment, sitting in my dining room, the rest of the plan (lots of brothers for my little entry and lots of pretty photos to accompany them) was not to be tonight.

The reason why?  I nearly set my house on fire with one of my photography lights.  Yep.  The photo says it all...

I'm a nine to fiver and I go to school, so often take my food photos at night using a little make-shift softbox light I build out of a cardboard box and and old t-shirt that I was very proud of... however, while taking pictures of my creation tonight, one of the lights tipped forward without my knowlege while I was arranging the shot and ignited the shirt part while I was fiddling with the Lamington.  NOTE: These lights are not normally that close to the lightbox, they were shifted during the "Omigod, fire!  What do I do?!  Stop Drop and Roll??!!  No... find blanket???  Maybe... Call hero boyfriend from other room to come douse the flames??!!  YES!!" part of the photo session.

Anyways, lesson learned here is don't be cheap, even if you're a poor student, and make your own lightbox thinking it will save you money.  Saving $$$ = Flamable Materials.   So, while we had a good laugh about it afterwards (and a few beers to calm the nerves),  needless to say I now no longer have a softbox light.  Therefore, I will have to take my proper pictures of this creation in daylight tomorrow... nice and early.

In the meantime, here is a shot in icky lighting of my entry for the very awesome contest at Mr. P's place...

There's also a chocolate/square version of him which will be completed tomorrow (he's resting in this photo, obviously, waiting to be coated in yummy frosting)...

Did I mention that the prize for winning this particular contest is a cookie cutter in the shape of a Welsh Dragon?  Yeah, pretty kick ace... of course, dragons breathe *gulp* ... fire...

So until tomorrow, when I will be revealing the recipe, REAL photos, etc for this challenge... I say goodnight to everyone.  I'm off to shower off the campfire smell!