Lemon Chiffon Layer Cupcakes

This is a repost of a recipe from my other, short-lived blog. I've decided to focus on masquerading domesticity here, so now it will be a one-stop-shop for all my baking cleverness! So here you go!

These are lemon chiffon cupcakes, with a layer of lemon curd in the middle and topped with vanilla glaze and a homemade candied lemon peel!

Lemon love!



So they weren't perfect! I'd never made chiffon cake before and it wasn't that difficult. But I wasn't really sure what to expect when I baked it into a cupcake. First I knew I wanted to slice them in the middle so I could add the layer of lemon curd, so I baked them without wrappers which is ALWAYS a headache! Never have I ever baked a cupcake or muffin where I didn't murder at least 3 before they came out of the pan when they had no wrappers.

Also I expected they would behave a bit more like an angel food cake which creeps up the side of the pan then keeps going. As you can see here, they didn't do that.

And, my vanilla glaze recipe was wrong wrong wrong, so I ended up adding too much milk. I adjusted the recipe below though so you can make a proper vanilla glaze.

Candying the lemon peel was fun though, if not a little stressful! If you're going to take on all parts of this cupcake, I suggest making the candy lemon peel first, then the lemon curd, then the cupcakes and finally the glaze.

Eggless Lemon Ice Cream

Whatever September, tell me when fall really gets here, I'm still making ice cream.



This is eggless lemon ice cream and it's ridiculous easy and quick because you don't have to heat the cream. I found it odd the recipe I followed instructs you to place it in the fridge after the sugar dissolves to let it cool down... My heavy cream just came out of the fridge...in fact that's the only way to keep heavy cream I understand... So maybe I missed something, but even if I did this came out great!

(Eggless) Lemon Ice Cream
Adapted from C&C Cakery

2 cups of whipping/heavy cream
1 cup of sugar
2 lemons worth of zest (about 1/4 cup)
4 lemons worth of juice (about 1/2 cup)

1. In a metal bowl, combine the cream and sugar.
2. Using a hand mixer on low, slowly dissolve the sugar (don't actually whip the cream, use a wire whisk if you have to instead)
   
3. Add zest and lemon juice while whisking slowly.
4. Process in an ice cream maker according to manufacturers instructions OR use this method if you don't have an ice cream maker!

Strawberry Lemonade Icebox Pie

This pie looks super impressive and sexy, but it's actually super easy! It is also super sweet, be warned. And, it's a touch hard to cut because of the graham cracker crust, but the slices don't need to be neat to taste good!

This is only the second pie I've made from my Martha Stewart summer of pies magazine article. Making them all may have a been a bit ambitious, but this was a good one!



Strawberry Lemonade Icebox Pie
Adapted from Martha Stewart

For the crust
Vegetable oil cooking spray
9 to 10 graham crackers, broken into pieces
1/4 cup sugar
Salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the filling
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
2/3 cup strained fresh lemon juice
2 large egg yolks (reserve whites for meringue), plus 1 large egg, lightly beaten
Coarse salt

For the topping
12 ounces strawberries, sliced (2 cups)
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 large egg whites, room temperature

1. Coat a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray.
   
2. Pulse crackers in a food processor until finely ground; measure 1 1/3 cups, and discard excess.
   
3. Pulse cracker crumbs, sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in food processor to combine.
   
4. Add butter, and pulse until mixture is moist and holds together when pressed between 2 fingers.
5. Press crust evenly into bottom and up sides of pie plate using the bottom of a dry measuring cup.
   
6. Freeze for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 while crust freezes.
   
7. Bake crust until firm and turning darker around edges, 10 to 11 minutes.
   
8. While crust bakes, start the filling. Whisk together condensed milk, lemon juice, egg yolks and egg, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
9. Remove crust from oven, and reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.
10. Pour filling into warm piecrust. Bake until center is set, 25 to 30 minutes. (Note: I baked mine longer, probably closer to 35 - 40 min, I think my pie plate was smaller than 9 inches and therefore deeper!)
11. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
12. To make the topping, slice up the strawberries and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar and the lemon juice.
    
13. Give a stir and let stand for 30 minutes.
14. Meanwhile, heat egg whites and remaining 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar in the heatproof bowl of a mixer set over a pan of simmering water until sugar dissolves and mixture is warm to the touch, 2 to 3 minutes. (Note: If you're worried about making meringue from raw egg whites, heat the egg whites to 160 at this point while you dissolve the sugar! I didn't bother checking the temp so I don't know if mind really got to 160, but I've safely made meringues and swiss meringue buttercream frosting using this method before!)
    
15. Transfer to mixer, and whisk on high speed until medium peaks form, 8 to 9 minutes.
16. Position an oven rack in the lowest position and preheat the broiler while your meringue whips.
    
17. Spoon strawberries over pie.
    
18. Spoon meringue over top of strawberries and place pie under broiler AND DON'T LEAVE IT until meringue is just browned.
19. Eat the pie!

Red Wine Sangria Cupcakes

Hello friends, for brief while I thought I would launch a new blog where I would investigate "Can it Cupcake?" An exploration of turning things that are not traditionally in cupcake form, into cupcakes! The idea has legs, but I'm not finding the time to maintain two blogs! So I'm going to merge it back into my baking blog here! Sorry for recycling posts! In the end it will make this blog more exciting with more inspiration!

So in case you missed it on Can it Cupcake, here is the Red Wine Sangria post!

I made these cupcakes in honor of Cinco de Mayo. I've seen a lot of margarita cupcakes or Mexican hot chocolate cupcakes, but I hadn't seen sangria cupcakes! These are chocolate red wine cupcakes with a pineapple ring layer, triple sec orange frosting and topped with lemon lime zest!



Fancy! But for as fancy as these sound I think they could have come out better. I don't recommend halfing the chocolate red wine cupcake recipe, it requires weird measurements to half and they came out kind of dense. The pineapple on the bottom could have also cause that, I was a bit worried it may be too juicy. But the frosting is amazing!

So here is the recipe with full measurements that should yield around 24 regular sized cupcakes!

Red Wine Sangria Cupcakes

For the cupcakes
Adapted from We Are Not Martha

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
5 oz. chocolate chips
1/2 cup boiling water
2 sticks butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup red wine (I used a Spanish cabernet sauvignon, for no particular reason other than it was a Spanish red wine and I liked the bottle)
3 cans sliced pineapple rings (my can had 10 rings)

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line cupcake pans with wrappers
2. Drain the pineapple slices, and cut as pictured below then place in the bottom of each wrapper
   
3. In a heatproof bowl combine cocoa powder and chocolate chips and pour in the boiling water. Quickly mix to combine and until chips are melted
4. In a stand mixer or large bowl using a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together.
5. Then beat in each egg one at a time until well combined.
   
6. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
   
7. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until combined.
8. Alternate adding the chocolate mixture and wine until all is well combined.
9. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups right over the pineapple
10. Bake for about 20 minutes until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean
11. Cool in pan on wire rack for 5 - 10 minutes then remove to wire rack to cool completly
    

For the Triple Sec orange liqueur buttercream frosting

1 package powdered sugar (16 ounces)
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 tablespoons Triple sec
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon orange extract

1. Cream the butter in a mixer
2. Add all other ingredients and start mixing on slow, increasing speed as ingredients begin to blend together
3. Use more or less milk as necessary to achieve desired consistency

Assembly!

1. Frost cupcakes once completely cool.
2. Combine 1 tablespoon lemon zest, and 1 tablespoon lime zest and mix together
3. Sprinkle zest over frosting and you have sangria cupcakes!

Lemon Chiffon Layer Cupcake on Can It Cupcake?

I attempted to see if lemon chiffon cake could work out as a cupcake!

These are lemon chiffon cupcakes with a layer of lemon curd topped with vanilla glaze and a homemade candied lemon peel!

Please check them out at Can It Cupcake?!

Lemon Cut Out Easter Cookies - Adventure in Royal Icing

These cookies were my first try at all out royal icing decorating. I got my feet wet with these gingerbread cookies this Christmas, but this time I was dedicated to coloring, outlining, thinning, flooding, etc! Here's how they came out!



Eeehhhh...okay for a first try! I need more practice with finding the right consistency for piping and flooding. And I need more patience. I got tired of coloring and mixing and stirring! Ah! They took me all weekend! I rolled them out and baked them Friday. Then Saturday I started the decorating. And then I ran out of royal icing and had to wait for the first round of icing to dry, so I finished them Sunday. Finally!

If you want to laugh here are the links what I used for inspiration. Wilton chick and bunny cookies.



I'll keep practicing! Both the cookie and icing came out nice and lemony though!

Lemon Cut Out Cookies
Adapted from Bake at 350

For the cookies

3 cups unbleached flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup sugar
2 sticks butter
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. Set aside.
3. Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy.
   
4. Add in the egg, vanilla, lemon juice and zest and beat until combined.
5. Slowly add in the flour until dough is formed.
6. Roll out on a floured surface and cut into shapes about 3/8 to 1/4" thick.
   
7. Place on parchment lined sheets. Freeze 5-10 minutes on the sheets before placing in the oven (this will help prevent cookies from spreading).
8. Bake 9-12 minutes, depending on cookie cutter size.
9. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack and let cool completely.
   

For the icing

4 tablespoons meringue powder
scant 1/2 cup water
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon lemon extract

1. Combine the meringue powder and water and beat until foamy.
2. Slowly add the powdered sugar on low and beat on low to combine.
3. Add in the corn syrup and lemon extract
4. Increase speed to medium high and beat for about 5-10 minutes, just until the icing is glossy and stiff peaks form.
5. Add more water a teaspoon at a time if consistency needs adjusting to be pipable.

I also used Bake at 350's instructions for decorating, lots of good photos!