Creamy Oyster Parmesan-Spinach Sauce

Ingredients:
2 cups shucked oysters in their liquor
2 garlic cloves, minced
juice and zest of � lemon
� cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
� teaspoon white pepper
� teaspoon salt
� teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup defrosted chopped frozen spinach
1/4 cup Parmigiana Reggiano

To serve: hot, cooked 8 oz mafaldine or linguine

Directions:
Stir the lemon juice and the zest into the oysters. Set aside. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Saut� the garlic in the oil until fragrant. Add the cream, 1 tablespoon butter, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Bring to a boil and cook for just a minute or so, until the cream starts to thicken. Add the oysters and spinach to the pan and reduce the heat. Continue to cook just until the oysters are warmed through and look set. Remove from heat and stir in the Parmigiana Reggiano. Toss with the hot pasta and serve.

My thoughts:

When we think about buying food in season fruits and vegetables are the first things that come to mind. However, there is another favorite food that many people consider to have a season: Chesapeake Bay oysters. Many people still follow the rule that states that oysters should only be consumed during months that contain the letter �R�.

The reasoning behind the rule was simple. Before modern refrigeration, it was risky to ship oysters any distance during the steamy Summer months. On very hot days, oysters often spoiled during transit. By restricting the season from Autumn to early Spring, diners were less likely to get food poisoning from improperly refrigerated oysters.

While oysters are now safe to eat and available for purchase all year, many people still stick to the traditional season. Because of this, fresh, local oysters are often easier to find during the colder months than they are the rest of the year. Luckily I was able to find these lovely examples and turn them in to a wonderful, creamy but not too heavy sauce.

Caesar Salad with Toasty Garlic Croutons

Ingredients:
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
juice and zest of 1 lemon
4 anchovies (oil packed)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise (or 2 coddled or raw egg yolks)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Dijon
1 teaspoon capers
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt

for the croutons:
3 cups cubed bread
olive oil
dried basil
dried parsley
garlic powder



3 heads romaine, roughly chopped
1/4 cup grated Parmesan


Directions:
Preheat oven to 400. Place the bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with a few tablespoons of the spices. Toss and sprinkle with spices again as needed. Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 5-8 minutes then toss again. Bake an additional 2 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool. This can be done the night before you want to eat the salad.

Add all of the dressing ingredients to a blender. Pulse until smooth.

Toss the lettuce with the dressing. Sprinkle liberally with croutons and Parmesan.

My thoughts:

I made Caesar Salad recently and it was an unexpected delight. I, of course, have had it out but I had never made it myself before. It had so much flavor from the fresh dressing and homemade croutons.

Caesar Salad is a great salad for wintertime because it doesn't require any of the usual salad ingredients (tomato, cucumber, radish etc) which are all out of season. It is pretty easy to find tasty, crisp greenhouse romaine all winter.

The "official" recipe for the dressing is a bit vague so I cobbled together what I thought might be the best version. The trick is to use the best olive oil, anchovies (although some argue these were not in the original recipe) and cheese you have.

Season - {Lemon and Almond Cake}

The concept of seasonality isn't something that occurred to me until just a few years ago as I spent an afternoon strolling the produce section of a local grocery store and considered the quality of their offerings. Certainly, my parents had explained to me the grand exchange of goods from far-off lands; instilling in me a brief understanding of the world economy to prime me for further

Sum - {Lemon Meltaways}

Uncomfortably plastered to the walls of the hallway, I located two old group members amid a sea of unfamiliar faces. Designated as a random group by our TA months previously, the three of us weren't particularly close, but I knew them and was happy to be able to identify them so readily. In a large class, it's easy to stay anonymous for the entire semester, but, luckily, that it didn't happen

Fig Glazed Turkey

Ingredients:
1 14-16 lb turkey
sea salt
coarsely ground pepper
4 dried figs
1 small onion, quartered
1 small bunch thyme

glaze:
1/4 cup fig jam
1/4 cup olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon minced thyme
1 teaspoon grated ginger



Directions:
Preheat oven to 325. Place the turkey on the rack and position in the roasting pan. Whisk together the glaze ingredients or pulse them in the blender. Brush over the bird. Sprinkle the turkey thoroughly with salt and pepper. Stick the figs, onion and sprig of thyme in the cavity of the turkey. Roast for about 3 hours or until the juices run clear and the leg is easily wiggled. Allow to sit for about 10 minutes before carving.

My thoughts:

We had my brother and his girlfriend over for our annual Faux Thanksgiving so I could develop these recipes to share. I was a little nervous about my theme* this year, figs, because I've found they are not something people always enjoy or are familiar with outside of the Newton. I shouldn't have worried because they really liked it! The glaze helps sell in the juices of the turkey and eliminated the need for basting, which I appreciate. The skin was slightly sticky but not in a bad way. I'd rather have a glazed skin than a dried out bird! Stuffing the cavity with fruit and vegetables instead of stuffing makes for a moister turkey as well. There is still air circulation (yay for no food poisoning!) but it generates some steam that seems to help.

*I do a theme each year because 1. it is fun 2. it helps with planning/shopping when you can use the same ingredient in more than one dish. Look for another figgy recipe next week!

Herbed Purple & Wax Beans

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb mixture of wax and purple beans
1 shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic
zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons minced thyme
1 teaspoon minced parsley
olive oil
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
In a skillet, saute the garlic and shallot in olive oil until translucent. Add the beans, lemon juice and zest. Cook until the beans are tender, just a few minutes. Sprinkle with herbs and spices. Stir to coat.

My thoughts:

This is one of those recipes when less is really more. I love when wax and purple beans come back in season in the fall because it lets me put off switching to squash as my sole local fruit for vegetable for a couple of weeks. Not that I dislike squash but that's pretty much all that is available until April, so I like to take advantage of whatever is still in season. Plus they are just so fresh and crisp, I don't know anyone who could resist them. Purple beans do lose their color as they cool so if they are tender enough, I just barely heat them through so they stay as purple as possible. I don't think they need much more than a simple dressing of lemon juice and herbs to make them sing. Just take care not to over cook.

Shop - {Filled Lemon Poppy Seed Cupcakes}

Selecting a cart is the first of my troubles. It happens all too often that I grab the handle of one in a row, confidently tug it in my direction and consequently find myself reeling backward with neither my balance nor dignity. Or the cart.Then, if I am to victoriously retrieve a cart from its resting place, I always find it difficult to excuse myself from the surrounding environment. Amongst

Sweet Dreams Are Made of This: Cake Dreams is a Little Taste of Heaven!

Layla admires the Chocolate Cupcake with Peanut Butter Frosting 

Cupcake from Cake Dreams!

Have you ever had people you know tell you that you should go someplace...that it's really great, the best, etc? Well, several people who know the Queen have asked her if she'd been to Cake Dreams in Rockville, MD. The answer was always not yet...they only opened last January...I'm just sayin'...The fact is CQ hardly ever buys cupcakes.

So, when CQ pulled into the parking lot last Friday night to pick up dinner from Bombay Bistro, she realized she was right there...right there at Cake Dream and they were open until 7:00! CQ was in luck and she was lookin' to purchase six cupcakes to try out...and share with her readers!

CQ opened the door and there was a guy behind the counter...who turned out to be Michelle's (the cake and cupcake creator) husband, Kevin. CQ mentioned to him that she baked cupcakes and had a blog. He asked CQ what the name of her blog was...when she said 52 Cupcakes, Kevin said "We were wondering when you'd come in!"

Chocolate Raspberry Cupcake

Then CQ met Michelle. She was awesome!

Vanilla Lemon (CQ's fav!)

Okay...now on to the cupcakes CQ and her entourage of four divvied up: Chocolate with Peanut Butter Frosting, Sweet Chocolate with Sweet Vanilla Frosting, Carrot with Vanilla Frosting, Yellow with Lemon Frosting (CQ's Fav), Chocolate with Raspberry Frosting, and Yellow Caramel!

The over-the-top reviews are in...here are some of the comments: Each and every one of the cupcakes that were bought were eaten (what else??), there were sighs of contentment all around, the flavors were deep when they needed to be (see Chocolate Peanut Butter), and light where needed (see Vanilla Caramel)...one a scale of from 1 to 10, with 10 being the BEST!, CQ and her band of cupcake eaters concluded that the Cake Dreams cupcakes were some of the most excellent cupcakes they have ever bought! Hooray for Cake Dreams. The royal "We" will be visiting them again soon.

Now, get in your car and go visit them! Tell them that the Cupcake Queen sent you! This is the address: 90 W. Montgomery Ave, Rockville, MD.

You might want to follow them on Facebook...(sometimes they give FB fans one free cupcake).

Have a great week...remember to Rock On!

CQ and Layla

Sweet Dreams Are Made of This: Cake Dreams is a Little Taste of Heaven!

Layla admires the Chocolate Cupcake with Peanut Butter Frosting 

Cupcake from Cake Dreams!

Have you ever had people you know tell you that you should go someplace...that it's really great, the best, etc? Well, several people who know the Queen have asked her if she'd been to Cake Dreams in Rockville, MD. The answer was always not yet...they only opened last January...I'm just sayin'...The fact is CQ hardly ever buys cupcakes.

So, when CQ pulled into the parking lot last Friday night to pick up dinner from Bombay Bistro, she realized she was right there...right there at Cake Dream and they were open until 7:00! CQ was in luck and she was lookin' to purchase six cupcakes to try out...and share with her readers!

CQ opened the door and there was a guy behind the counter...who turned out to be Michelle's (the cake and cupcake creator) husband, Kevin. CQ mentioned to him that she baked cupcakes and had a blog. He asked CQ what the name of her blog was...when she said 52 Cupcakes, Kevin said "We were wondering when you'd come in!"

Chocolate Raspberry Cupcake

Then CQ met Michelle. She was awesome!

Vanilla Lemon (CQ's fav!)

Okay...now on to the cupcakes CQ and her entourage of four divvied up: Chocolate with Peanut Butter Frosting, Sweet Chocolate with Sweet Vanilla Frosting, Carrot with Vanilla Frosting, Yellow with Lemon Frosting (CQ's Fav), Chocolate with Raspberry Frosting, and Yellow Caramel!

The over-the-top reviews are in...here are some of the comments: Each and every one of the cupcakes that were bought were eaten (what else??), there were sighs of contentment all around, the flavors were deep when they needed to be (see Chocolate Peanut Butter), and light where needed (see Vanilla Caramel)...one a scale of from 1 to 10, with 10 being the BEST!, CQ and her band of cupcake eaters concluded that the Cake Dreams cupcakes were some of the most excellent cupcakes they have ever bought! Hooray for Cake Dreams. The royal "We" will be visiting them again soon.

Now, get in your car and go visit them! Tell them that the Cupcake Queen sent you! This is the address: 90 W. Montgomery Ave, Rockville, MD.

You might want to follow them on Facebook...(sometimes they give FB fans one free cupcake).

Have a great week...remember to Rock On!

CQ and Layla

Kiwi-Lemon-Galangal Ice Pops

Ingredients:
4 cups peeled, halved kiwi
juice and zest of 1 (large) lemon
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh or ground galangal root or ginger

Directions:
Place all ingredients in a blender and pulse until smooth and well combined. Pour into ice pop molds. Freeze until solid.

Yield: about 12 ice pops, depending on the size of your molds

My thoughts:

I sometimes hesitate about posting such simple recipes but the combination was so surprisingly good, I didn't want to keep it to myself. Ice pops are great for using up fruit, I recently had a ton of kiwi on my hands, enough that I made jam and a pie and these ice pops and still had some leftover. That is a lot of kiwi! Kiwi has a high water content so you don't need to add any juice (I just added the lemon juice for flavor) or water or anything to make it the right consistency for a superior ice pop. The lemon added just a bit of tartness to my very sweet kiwi and the galangal added a background note of spice that kept it from being just another boring ice pop.

Nineteen - {Lemon Chiffon Cake}

It's just after 8, and I'm failing to drift back to sleep. Sheltered from the morning chill outside, it's warm under my blankets. My pajamas comfortably enslave my limbs, but my mind aches to break free from the confines of my comforter. Under the sun's warm and welcoming glow through my window, I struggle to coerce my eyes back into a state of unconscious repose.But I fail.It's been like this

Lazy - {Lemon Meringue Tart}

A mildly curious glance toward the living room warrants a small smile permission to bridge my cheeks. Casually collecting the simple details of the scene lain before me, I admire the soft ambient light of the snow as I briefly and purposefully study the room's clock. Proudly dictated by the hands over the pristine white face is 5:30 - concrete evidence that the day is winding down to a

Of Friends and Cake - {Lemon Pound Cake}

Four sticks of butter sit dented and disordered on my dashboard, brushed by fading light and soft to the touch. Behind me, a dozen eggs rest snugly in their carton, cradled gently by a hoodie strewn over the backseat. A curious location, perhaps, for such things, but thoughtful, no doubt; my ingredients are sure to be room temperature by the time I arrive home, and then I can bake. There's

Inner Child - {Lemon Cookies}

Sometimes I feel pretty grown-up. I have a job, I pay bills and I can even buy Blopens from the TV commercials if I want!But then there are times when I feel ridiculously childish.For example: maybe someone my age shouldn't get excited and/or sing along when a certain new song by a certain Disney starlet with an identity issue comes on the radio, but it happens. I'm perfectly content with the

Baby Shower Martha Stewart Cupcakes Heading to North Carolina!

These cupcakes are all so happy that they are going to Durham, North Carolina for Shelley's baby shower which is tomorrow...she and Dav-EE are having a baby girl at the end of August. Then we'll be able to say "Hello Genevieve!" I can't wait!



Pre-baking I went to Michaels to pick up the naked little babies that I have used on baby shower cupcakes before...but they were no where to be found...CQ was not happy. She had to cruise the aisles...which she usually doesn't mind...quite a while until......



she found these wooden baby heads at Michaels AND they also had the red doll baby hair. CQ cut off little wisps and super-glued a ringlet to each of their heads...Shelley has red hair...and Dav-EE has a reddish tinge in his hair.



The cupcakes are Martha Stewart's Vanilla Cupcakes and the frosting is Pink Lemonade Frosting! The recipes are below. Hope you enjoy them!

Here's the recipe for the Martha Stewart Vanilla Cupcakes:

Ingredients

Makes 24

* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature (1 1/2 sticks)
* 1 1/2 cups sugar
* 4 large eggs
* 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
* 1 1/4 cups milk

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pan with paper liners; set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In another mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until incorporated and scraping down sides of bowl, beat in vanilla.
2. Add flour mixture and milk alternately, beginning and ending with flour. Scrape the sides and bottom of bowl to assure the batter is thoroughly mixed. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling papers about 2/3 full. Bake on the center rack of the oven until tops spring back to touch, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Here is the recipe for the Pink Lemonade Frosting:

Ingredients:

* 1/3 c. butter
* 4 1/2 c. sifted powdered sugar
* 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
* 1/4 c. fresh lemon juices
* 1/2 tsp. finely shredded lemon peels

Beat butter in a mixing bowl until it is fluffy.

Add 2 c. of the powdered sugar gradually, beating constantly.

Slowly beat in lemon juice, lemon peel and vanilla.

Slowly beat in the rest of the powdered sugar. If necessary, add a little more lemon juice if frosting is not spreadable.

No matter where you go there you are.

CQ

Baby Shower Martha Stewart Cupcakes Heading to North Carolina!

These cupcakes are all so happy that they are going to Durham, North Carolina for Shelley's baby shower which is tomorrow...she and Dav-EE are having a baby girl at the end of August. Then we'll be able to say "Hello Genevieve!" I can't wait!



Pre-baking I went to Michaels to pick up the naked little babies that I have used on baby shower cupcakes before...but they were no where to be found...CQ was not happy. She had to cruise the aisles...which she usually doesn't mind...quite a while until......



she found these wooden baby heads at Michaels AND they also had the red doll baby hair. CQ cut off little wisps and super-glued a ringlet to each of their heads...Shelley has red hair...and Dav-EE has a reddish tinge in his hair.



The cupcakes are Martha Stewart's Vanilla Cupcakes and the frosting is Pink Lemonade Frosting! The recipes are below. Hope you enjoy them!

Here's the recipe for the Martha Stewart Vanilla Cupcakes:

Ingredients

Makes 24

* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature (1 1/2 sticks)
* 1 1/2 cups sugar
* 4 large eggs
* 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
* 1 1/4 cups milk

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pan with paper liners; set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In another mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until incorporated and scraping down sides of bowl, beat in vanilla.
2. Add flour mixture and milk alternately, beginning and ending with flour. Scrape the sides and bottom of bowl to assure the batter is thoroughly mixed. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling papers about 2/3 full. Bake on the center rack of the oven until tops spring back to touch, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Here is the recipe for the Pink Lemonade Frosting:

Ingredients:

* 1/3 c. butter
* 4 1/2 c. sifted powdered sugar
* 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
* 1/4 c. fresh lemon juices
* 1/2 tsp. finely shredded lemon peels

Beat butter in a mixing bowl until it is fluffy.

Add 2 c. of the powdered sugar gradually, beating constantly.

Slowly beat in lemon juice, lemon peel and vanilla.

Slowly beat in the rest of the powdered sugar. If necessary, add a little more lemon juice if frosting is not spreadable.

No matter where you go there you are.

CQ

Apple Cider Vinegar Honey Syrup Sponge Cupcakes

	Wow....this recipe seemed crazy at first...in all my cupcake adventures, this is the FIRST time I've made cupcakes using bread crumbs instead of flour!
	I made these for my sister, Robin's 50th...that's the BIG 50!...birthday. Her BIG DAY was actually Jan. 25th, but she wanted a slumber party at our Mom's house so we did it last night. Three of our relatives came down from New York, and two of her Suitland High School buddies came, too.
	The recipe for the these is in the book called Tempt...Cupcakes to Excite by Betty Saw, who is a chef in Malaysia. The recipe was so easy...literally eggs, castor sugar, grated lemon rind and white fine breadcrumbs!
	This is my Mom's dog, Arby...he is investigating the cupcake! Arby is an 8 year old cocker spaniel and a real lover!
These are people at the slumber party: Marie, Noelle, and Maddie from New York::and our Mom!
Laura and Catherine made all the wonderful appetizers! Robin and Jean having a nice hug!
	And, this is today, Sunday....breakfast at Bob Evans...we love the Bob Evans...what a great ending to a great party!
Here's the recipe: Apple Cider Vinegar Honey Syrup Sponge Cupcake "This is a soft spngy cupcake made usng ony fresh white breadcrumbs without flour soaked in a tangy spice-flavoured syrup." Large paper cases--makes 10 cupcakes Ingredients (sponge batter) Eggs (2 large separated) Castor sugar (80 grams, divided into 2 portions Grated lemon rind (1 tsp) Fresh white breadcrumbs (75 g) Apple Cider Vinegar Honey Syrup Apple Cider Vinegar + Honey (100 ml) Caster sugar (40 g) Orange or apple juice (2 Tbsp) Cinnamon stick (1 cm piece) Clove (1 whole) Cointreau (1 Tbsp, optional Topping: Fresh grated white coconut for sprinkling ------------------------- Method: Line muffin pans with paper cases. Place egg yolks with 40 g sugar in bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a balloon whisk. Whisk until pale, thick and light. Beat in lemon rind. In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites until frothy. Add remaining 40 g sugar of sugar gradually and continue to beat until stiff. Fold a third of the egg white mixture followed by the breadcrumbs into the egge yolk mixture. Carefully fold in remaining egg white mixture in tow batches. Spoon mixture evenly to fill paper cases and level surfaces with a teaspoon. Bake in a preheated oven at 175 C (350 F) for 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool cakes in pan before tkaingout. Meanwhile, prepare Apple Cider Vinegar + Honey syrup. Place all ingredients except Cointreau in a small saucepan and bring to a slow boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 minute. Stir in Countreau if using. Remove and leave spices in the syrup to infuse for 15 minutes. Note: This recipe is a good way of using leftover white bread. Simply slice off the crusts and tear them into a food processor. Process until they become fine crumbs. Measure out amount required and use immediately or store in covered containers in the freezer. They will keep for 1-2 months. *The Apple Cider + Vinegar is from Wescobee, an Australian produce. Cointreau can be replaced with either fresh apple or orange juice. *I did not have this product to I did equal amount of honey and Apple Cider Vinegar together. I have no idea if this was right or not, but it tasted great!
Rock On! CQ

Apple Cider Vinegar Honey Syrup Sponge Cupcakes

	Wow....this recipe seemed crazy at first...in all my cupcake adventures, this is the FIRST time I've made cupcakes using bread crumbs instead of flour!
	I made these for my sister, Robin's 50th...that's the BIG 50!...birthday. Her BIG DAY was actually Jan. 25th, but she wanted a slumber party at our Mom's house so we did it last night. Three of our relatives came down from New York, and two of her Suitland High School buddies came, too.
	The recipe for the these is in the book called Tempt...Cupcakes to Excite by Betty Saw, who is a chef in Malaysia. The recipe was so easy...literally eggs, castor sugar, grated lemon rind and white fine breadcrumbs!
	This is my Mom's dog, Arby...he is investigating the cupcake! Arby is an 8 year old cocker spaniel and a real lover!
These are people at the slumber party: Marie, Noelle, and Maddie from New York::and our Mom!
Laura and Catherine made all the wonderful appetizers! Robin and Jean having a nice hug!
	And, this is today, Sunday....breakfast at Bob Evans...we love the Bob Evans...what a great ending to a great party!
Here's the recipe: Apple Cider Vinegar Honey Syrup Sponge Cupcake "This is a soft spngy cupcake made usng ony fresh white breadcrumbs without flour soaked in a tangy spice-flavoured syrup." Large paper cases--makes 10 cupcakes Ingredients (sponge batter) Eggs (2 large separated) Castor sugar (80 grams, divided into 2 portions Grated lemon rind (1 tsp) Fresh white breadcrumbs (75 g) Apple Cider Vinegar Honey Syrup Apple Cider Vinegar + Honey (100 ml) Caster sugar (40 g) Orange or apple juice (2 Tbsp) Cinnamon stick (1 cm piece) Clove (1 whole) Cointreau (1 Tbsp, optional Topping: Fresh grated white coconut for sprinkling ------------------------- Method: Line muffin pans with paper cases. Place egg yolks with 40 g sugar in bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a balloon whisk. Whisk until pale, thick and light. Beat in lemon rind. In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites until frothy. Add remaining 40 g sugar of sugar gradually and continue to beat until stiff. Fold a third of the egg white mixture followed by the breadcrumbs into the egge yolk mixture. Carefully fold in remaining egg white mixture in tow batches. Spoon mixture evenly to fill paper cases and level surfaces with a teaspoon. Bake in a preheated oven at 175 C (350 F) for 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool cakes in pan before tkaingout. Meanwhile, prepare Apple Cider Vinegar + Honey syrup. Place all ingredients except Cointreau in a small saucepan and bring to a slow boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 minute. Stir in Countreau if using. Remove and leave spices in the syrup to infuse for 15 minutes. Note: This recipe is a good way of using leftover white bread. Simply slice off the crusts and tear them into a food processor. Process until they become fine crumbs. Measure out amount required and use immediately or store in covered containers in the freezer. They will keep for 1-2 months. *The Apple Cider + Vinegar is from Wescobee, an Australian produce. Cointreau can be replaced with either fresh apple or orange juice. *I did not have this product to I did equal amount of honey and Apple Cider Vinegar together. I have no idea if this was right or not, but it tasted great!
Rock On! CQ

Exclusive: How to Interview a Cupcake

Starring Lemon Cupcake with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
You may have noticed that my new theme is...and will continue for the next few month's to be..."little people" and cupcakes! I'm having way too much fun with this idea. This particular yellow cupcake is vanilla stuffed with lemon curd (I bought the lemon curd in a jar!).
The cupcake recipe is from A Baker's Field Guide to Cupcakes: Deliciously Decorated Crowd Pleasers for Parties and Holidays by Dede Wilson...it's her basic yellow cupake recipe.
For the frosting, I used Wilton's Buttercream Icing: Here's the recipe: 1/2 c. butter 1/2 c. solid shortening 1 tsp. vanilla 4 c. (approx. 1 lb.) sifted confectioners' sugar 2 tbsp. milk In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and shortening with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all the sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at high speed until light and fluffy. Keep icing covered with a damp cloth until ready to decorate. Refrigerate when not in use. Keeps for up to 2 weeks in an air tight container. Re-whip before using. Makes 3 cups.
This mini-cake is for my friend Autumn's birthday...she's 29 today! Her initials are AR...I call her aray...we surpised her today...with the mini-cake...she has never been able to eat any of my cupcakes because she can't eat salt...she has a heart problem...this was my first baking attempt with no salt! It turned out very nicely. I got the recipe out of the Small Batch Baking cookbook by Debby Maugans Nakos. She bakes mini cakes in cans

You can see more of these photos on my flickr account at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cupcakequeen/

Rock On!

CQ

Exclusive: How to Interview a Cupcake

Starring Lemon Cupcake with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
You may have noticed that my new theme is...and will continue for the next few month's to be..."little people" and cupcakes! I'm having way too much fun with this idea. This particular yellow cupcake is vanilla stuffed with lemon curd (I bought the lemon curd in a jar!).
The cupcake recipe is from A Baker's Field Guide to Cupcakes: Deliciously Decorated Crowd Pleasers for Parties and Holidays by Dede Wilson...it's her basic yellow cupake recipe.
For the frosting, I used Wilton's Buttercream Icing: Here's the recipe: 1/2 c. butter 1/2 c. solid shortening 1 tsp. vanilla 4 c. (approx. 1 lb.) sifted confectioners' sugar 2 tbsp. milk In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and shortening with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all the sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at high speed until light and fluffy. Keep icing covered with a damp cloth until ready to decorate. Refrigerate when not in use. Keeps for up to 2 weeks in an air tight container. Re-whip before using. Makes 3 cups.
This mini-cake is for my friend Autumn's birthday...she's 29 today! Her initials are AR...I call her aray...we surpised her today...with the mini-cake...she has never been able to eat any of my cupcakes because she can't eat salt...she has a heart problem...this was my first baking attempt with no salt! It turned out very nicely. I got the recipe out of the Small Batch Baking cookbook by Debby Maugans Nakos. She bakes mini cakes in cans

You can see more of these photos on my flickr account at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cupcakequeen/

Rock On!

CQ