Blueberry Lemon Poppy Seed Cupcakes

What is it with guys thinking that everyday run-of-the-mill activities are appropriate for picking up chicks? I seriously don't get it. If we're at the supermarket and you work at the meat counter where we go for our chicken and beef...no, we're probably not coming to you every other day because we like you, we just want our meat (no pun intended). If we're at an employment agency and you happen to be in our elevator or, even worse, next to us at the same table...no, we aren't looking to give up our number, we just didn't want to sit on some lady's lap to avoid you. I'm not saying these things are a daily or even weekly occurrence, but when they do happen it kinda makes you feel anxious to get up and bolt in the other direction rather than explaining in front of the ten people waiting behind you that no, in fact, you don't want to go on a date, you just want your veal shanks.

For the record, I don't want to imply that I would ever or have ever bought veal shanks, that was someone else. I'm more into baking cupcakes than veal shanks, and if left to my own devices I probably wouldn't even know what to do with a veal shank (oso buco?). These are hopefully my final baked food that doesn't involve maple syrup, brown sugar, pumpkin, or apples for a loooong time. Fall is almost here!!! I like summer just as much as anyone else, but I'm over capris and tank tops for now. These cupcakes are brushed with a tart lemon syrup before getting frosted with a creamy blueberry cream cheese frosting. They are out of this world and you should go get your Target or Trader Joe's on right now if you need to buy some freeze-dried blueberries for the frosting.

Blueberry Lemon Poppy Seed Cupcakes 

yield: 10 cupcakes -or- 24 mini cupcakes

INGREDIENTS
For the lemon poppy seed cupcakes and glaze:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp kosher salt
6 tbsp whole milk
zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, divided
6 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temp
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
1 tbsp poppy seeds

For the blueberry cream cheese frosting:
6 ounces cream cheese, chilled
3 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temp
1 tbsp blueberry preserves
1/8 tsp kosher salt
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup pulverized freeze-dried blueberries
pinch cinnamon

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 10 cups of a 12-cup muffin tin with baking cups or a 24-cup mini-muffin tin with baking cups. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt into a bowl. Stir together milk and 2 tbsp lemon juice.

Beat butter, 1/2 cup sugar, and lemon zest with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in the eggs until fully incorporated. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Beat in poppy seeds.

Divide batter among muffin tins (filling each cup two-thirds full). Bake until golden around the edges, 18 to 20 minutes for regular cupcakes and 12-15 minutes for mini-cupcakes.

Meanwhile, bring remaining 2 tbsp lemon juice and remaining 2 tbps sugar to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat. Let stand until ready to use.

Brush warm cupcakes with half the lemon juice mixture. Transfer cupcakes to a wire rack, and let cool for 30 minutes. Brush cupcakes again with remaining orange juice mixture, and let cool completely.

To make the frosting: in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the cream cheese, butter, and preserves on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.

Add in the salt, powdered sugar, pulverized blueberries, and cinnamon and beat on low speed until incorporated. Flip the mixer to high speed and beat until light and fluffy. Frost cooled cupcakes.

SOURCE
cake recipe adapted from Martha Stewart website.

Oatmeal Banana Bread

Yes this bread has oatmeal in it, and yes it is low-fat. Does that make it bad in the eyes of banana bread lovers?? I really don't know because I was never a huge banana bread fanatic, anyways. I mostly like to enjoy it crispy and toasted with lots of butter, which is exactly why I didn't make this into muffins. Although now that I think of it, banana cream cheese muffins would be pretty dang good. But that's besides the point. I'm still trying to be good here, so I'll save the unhealthy breakfast food for a special occasion. For now I'll just drink my coffee and eat a slice of this banana bread, toasted with butter. And wish that I didn't get woken up by Riley at 3:30 a.m. when I easily could have just made this banana bread at 7:00 a.m., especially since it involved a noisy electric mixer. Now it's 5:30 a.m. and I'm wondering how I'm going to make it through the rest of the day without a caffeine IV.

Low-Fat Oatmeal Banana Bread  
yield: 1 9x5" loaf

INGREDIENTS
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup uncooked old fashioned oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp  salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 large bananas, ripe
3 tsp canola or walnut  oil
1 large egg
2 medium egg whites

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9"x5" loaf pan and set aside. In a large bowl, stir together the dry ingredients.

In a smaller bowl, mash bananas with a potato masher or fork. Add oil and whole egg and mix thoroughly.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well. Batter will be fairly thick (I added a dash of buttermilk at this point because my batter was dry).

In a medium sized bowl, with an electric hand mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the batter in three additions.

Pour batter into pan and bake until top of loaf is firm to touch, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes. Flip out and cool on a wire rack for another 10 minutes. Slice loaf into 10 equally sized slices.

SOURCE
adapted from Weight Watchers website via Joy the Baker.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

1 serving = 1/10th loaf
  Calories: 190

  Total Fat: 2.9 g

  Cholesterol: 18.5 mg

  Sodium: 139.4 mg

  Potassium: 223.5 mg

  Total Carbohydrate : 41.6 g

     Dietary Fiber: 2.2 g

     Sugars: 20.0 g

  Protein: 4.4 g

Artichoke Hummus

I'm a huge hummus fan. I usually buy it once a week and struggle to use it all up before it goes bad. With all the different flavored hummus out there, I never really saw any reason to make my own. That was until I saw this recipe for low calorie artichoke hummus from Hungry Girl. To say that I'm obsessed with artichokes is probably right. I'm always keeping an eye out for different ways to prepare them, and this recipe seemed perfect since it also fits right into my diet (120 calories for 1/2 cup). The artichoke flavor really comes through with just a hint of background spice from the cumin and garlic. And while the texture is lighter than normal hummus, I find that it's perfect for lunch with Trader Joe's multigrain crackers (sooo good!). You should really give this hummus a try.

Artichoke Hummus 
Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS
1 15-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp paprika, plus more for garnish
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup vegetable broth or water

DIRECTIONS
Add all ingredients except water to a food processor. Pulse 5 or 6 times, or just until the mixture begins to come together. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and pulse a few more times. With the motor running, stream in the vegetable broth or water until the desired consistency is achieved (I used all of mine). Scrape down the sides of the bowl, blend again, scrape out into a bowl and chill for 2 hours. Serve with pita chips and veggies, topped with more paprika for garnish

SOURCE
adapted from Hungry Girl.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

I have to say, the picture for these cupcakes doesn't do them justice. I took the pic last minute because I was scrambling to get the cupcake tower put together for my nephew's birthday, but I wish I'd had more time. It's not a complete loss though, I guess it just means I'll have to make them again! After trying out a few different red velvet recipes, this one is the winner. They're velvety smooth and light, and have the added bonus of being the easiest cupcakes I've ever made. There's just two bowls and a whisk required for these, so they come together in a matter of minutes. If you're wondering if the baking soda in the recipe is a typo, it isn't. This is the first cake recipe (other than a sponge) that I've made without baking powder, and I was skeptical at first. But even though the picture isn't the best for these, the recipe definitely is.

Red Velvet Cupcakes  
Yield: 24 cupcakes

INGREDIENTS
For the cupcakes:
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp (1 oz.) liquid red food coloring
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp distilled white vinegar

For the cream cheese frosting:
10 oz. cream cheese, chilled
6 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temp
3 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
4 tsp clear vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners.  In a medium bowl, combine the cake flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt; whisk to blend.  In another large bowl whisk together the eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk, food coloring, vanilla, and vinegar.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until combined and no lumps remain.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared liners.  Bake, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 minutes.  Let cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add in the confectioners’ sugar and mix on low speed just until incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat 2-3 minutes more. Blend in the salt and vanilla.

SOURCE
cupcakes and frosting adapted from Annie's Eats, cupcakes originally adapted from Saveur.

DIY Cupcake Toppers

I've been wanting to do a post on fondant toppers for a while now. I love the look of fondant on cupcakes, and I love being creative with it in the kitchen. It feels like you're making an art project rather than a tedious decoration, and Riley loves playing with all the leftover "play-doh" (yum!). I rolled out the fondant for this project and used a round cutter to make the circles. To make the design, I traced the same cutter on a paper plate and sketched out a graphic inside the circle. After I cut it out, I used it as a template to cut out the Batman logos. The most important thing to remember when making your own is to plan everything out beforehand. Choose the graphics and colors before you start, making sure that your design isn't too intricate. These would be adorable on any kind of cupcakes for any occasion. DIY cupcake tower and red velvet recipe coming soon :)

DIY Cupcake Toppers

INGREDIENTS/TOOLS
1 recipe homemade fondant, colors of your choice
vegetable shortening for rolling
large cutting board or surface and rolling pin
2" round cutter
graphic
paper plate, cardboard, or card stock
pen and scissors
exacto or paring knife

DIRECTIONS
Before beginning, grease all surfaces with a very light coating of vegetable shortening to prevent the fondant from sticking. Roll out your base color fondant (the color you want the background circle to be) to 1/8"-1/4" thick. Using the round cutter, cut out as many circles as you can fit. Gather the scraps up from around the circles, and carefully transfer the circles to a large flat surface to dry. Re-roll the scraps and cut more circles.

Trace the round cutter onto a paper plate. Using your graphic, either trace or sketch it inside the circle. Cut out the graphic. Roll out your second color of fondant 1/8"-1/4" thick. Place the graphic onto the rolled fondant and use a paring knife to cut around it. Lift the graphic and place it on a surface to dry. Continue to cut the graphic until you have enough.

Using a dab of water as glue, place the graphic onto the fondant circles. Let dry overnight. Place on top of frosted cupcakes.

DIY Fondant

I can't believe after all the times I've made homemade fondant that I haven't taken pictures and posted it on here. That's probably because making fondant can be a sticky gooey mess. For instance, right now, my hands are a lovely shade of fuchsia that's not showing any signs of scrubbing off in the near future. I still think it's seriously fun to do, though, and even my first time making it I came out with pretty good results. I'll do a tutorial soon on making fondant cupcake toppers, but for now I just want to share the recipe that I always use. It's super easy to make, super tasty, and kids of all ages will love it (even me).

DIY Fondant 
Yield: enough to coat 2 8" cakes or 24-36 cupcakes

INGREDIENTS
15 ounces mini-marshmallows (bigger ones won't melt properly)
2 tbsp water
2 pounds powdered sugar, 1 cup reserved
1 tsp vanilla extract or lemon juice (optional)
gel food coloring (Ateco or Wilton brand works best)

DIRECTIONS
Before you begin, grease all utensils and bowls (including your hands when they're handling the fondant) with a thin layer of vegetable shortening. In a microwave safe bowl add the mini marshmallows and water. Microwave in 30 seconds intervals, stirring each time, until the marshmallows are completely melted.

Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment add the powdered sugar. Pour the melted marshmallows into the mixer and turn it to low speed (be careful since powdered sugar might fly out). Once most of the sugar is incorporated turn the mixer up one notch (just one!) and beat until the fondant comes together, about 30 seconds. At this point you can add reserved sugar if the mixture is too sticky. There may also be some sugar left in the bottom of the bowl. That's all fine.

Dump the fondant out onto a well greased surface and knead with your hands until the fondant feels smooth. It might be slightly sticky at this point, or slightly dry. I like to incorporate a dab or two of vegetable shortening into the fondant to smooth it out and make it more pliable and smooth if it is tough to work with.

To color the fondant, flatten a ball out on a well-greased work surface (I like a glass platter or disposable cardboard cake circle). Use a toothpick to add a dab of food coloring in the center. Fold the fondant over several times and knead until it is uniform in color, about 10 minutes. Rub the ball of fondant with vegetable shortening, wrap in plastic, and let rest 2 hours before using.

Oven-Dried Tomato and Basil Muffins

These muffins are the perfect summertime snack. Or, in my case, the perfect summertime dinner, with a side of coffee. The base of this is a plain savory muffin, but every bite is flavored with fresh basil and black pepper, and the bites where you get a sun-dried tomato are like a burst of summer. The parmesan cheese in the batter adds just enough of a salty cheesy bite so that these aren't bland in the least.

Since I live with my parents, and my mom has a garden that's raging out of control, I decided to take over and use up some of the sweet orange cherry tomatoes and basil we've got fresh to pick 24/7 (seriously, who needs five cherry tomato plants and eight regular sized tomato plants!?). I'm so happy I made the oven-dried tomatoes for these rather than buying them from the store. I've discovered a new favorite, and an easy way to use up all the tomatoes we have. They'd be perfect on pasta or in a number of other dishes.

Oven-Dried Tomato and Basil Muffins
Yield: 12 muffins

INGREDIENTS 
For the oven-dried tomatoes:
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved (I used about 3 cups of fresh-picked cherry tomatoes)
olive oil
small pinch of sugar
kosher salt and pepper

For the muffins:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled (if using salted butter, omit the 1/2 tsp kosher salt)
3/4 cup oven-dried tomatoes, chopped
1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus additional 1-2 tbsp for garnish
1/4 cup fresh basil, chiffonade

DIRECTIONS
To make the oven-dried tomatoes, preheat the oven to 225 degrees F.  Place the tomatoes in a small baking dish in a single layer, cut side facing up.  Drizzle lightly with olive oil and season with a pinch of sugar, salt and pepper.  Bake for about 3 hours, or until the tomatoes are mostly shriveled up (my tomatoes took closer to 5 hours).  Refrigerate until ready to use.

To make the muffins, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Grease a 12-cup muffin pan or line with paper liners.  Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper into a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, lightly beat together the eggs, buttermilk, and melted cooled butter.  Add to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.  Gently fold in the tomatoes, basil, and Parmesan cheese.

Scoop the batter evenly into the muffin pans.  Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese.  Bake for 20 minutes, until well risen, golden brown, and firm to the touch.

Let muffins cool 5 minutes in the pan before removing.  Serve warm or cool completely and store covered for 3 days.

SOURCE
adapted from Annie's Eats and Confections of a Foodie Bride.

Peach-Basil Crumbles

What do you do when you have only 4 peaches and are craving a cobbler? Find the perfect recipe in individual ramekins, at least that's what I did. This dessert is a little bit on the savory side from the addition of basil which gives these a really exotic flavor. The combination is actually pretty good, although I'm still not impressed by this enough to like it more than a traditional peach crisp. If you're looking for something a little different and interesting for a summer dessert, this is perfect. It's quick and easy, too, and economical if you've got basil growing at home. It's also pretty low calorie (like all crumble-type desserts) which is what won me over versus the peach skillet cake I also had been thinking about making. The only thing I changed about the Martha Stewart recipe was to substitute walnuts for almonds (it's what I had on hand) and to chiffonade the basil rather than tearing it into large pieces.

Peach-Basil Crumbles
Yield: 4 crumbles

INGREDIENTS
For the peach filling:
4 large peaches, peeled if desired and each sliced into 8 wedges
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
1/4 tsp coarse salt

For the crumble topping:
2 ounces or 1/3 cup chopped almonds (I used walnuts, pecans would work as well)
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp coarse salt
3 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces (omit salt if using salted butter)
heavy cream, for serving (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Make the filling: Mix all ingredients to combine.

Make the topping: Combine all ingredients (except cream), rubbing in butter with your fingers until mixture is crumbly.

Divide filling among four 5 1/2-inch round baking dishes, and sprinkle with topping. Transfer to a baking sheet. Bake until bubbling and golden brown, 25 to 27 minutes. Let cool slightly. Drizzle with heavy cream if desired.

SOURCE
slightly adapted from Martha Stewart.

Strawberry Shortcake

You know what's the worst in the summer? Wishing for fall. I'm sort of tired of it being hot and muggy 24/7, leaving the smelly air conditioners on at all hours, wearing work-out clothes to avoid that sticky feeling, and never ever wearing make-up or blowing out my hair because I know I'll be a sweaty, runny, frizzy mess in 5 minutes.

I've been so ho-hum about the season and not being near a real beach that I've sort of checked out, especially when it comes to food. But I think these strawberry shortcakes were just the thing to pull me out of my rut or at least tide me over until pumpkin season. The strawberries at the store were the most beautiful I've seen them all season, and I couldn't think of anything that could be better than strawberry shortcake except just eating them out of the carton, which I definitely did.

Who knows, maybe there's even a beach trip in store for me before the season is up? (And I'm counting the days). Sorry to be such a bummer, I'll be back to my cheery self once the temperature is a tad bit cooler and I can conquer this 5 pounds I've been struggling to lose for 2 months now!

Strawberry Shortcake
Yield: 6 servings

INGREDIENTS
For the strawberries:
1 lb. (about 4 cups) fresh hulled strawberries
2 tbl+ sugar

For the shortcakes:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
1/2 cup (8 tbl) salted butter, cold and cut into 1/2" cubes
1/4 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 large egg

For the whipped cream:
2 cups heavy cream
2 tbl sugar

DIRECTIONS
First, assemble the strawberries: Add 1/3 of the strawberries to a bowl and mash into a pulp using a potato masher, fork, or your fingers. Slice the remaining strawberries into 1/4 inch slices and toss in the bowl with the sugar. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to 2 hours, then refrigerate until ready to use.

Meanwhile, make the biscuits: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a large heavy baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the cold cubed butter and use a pastry cutter or your fingers to cut in the butter; the mixture should resemble coarse cornmeal when finished.

Measure the heavy cream, buttermilk, and egg into one cup and whisk together. Add to the dry ingredients, using a fork to gently moisten all the flour until the dough just begins to come together. Knead once or twice until the dough comes together.

Empty the dough onto a lightly floured cutting board and roll or pat out into a 3/4" circle. Using a 2 1/4" round cutter make as many biscuits as will fit and place them on the baking sheet. Gather the scraps and continue cutting until you have 6 biscuits. Arrange the biscuits on the baking sheet, brush with cream and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown all over. Cool.

Just before serving, make the whipped cream: Beat together the cream and sugar in a large metal bowl until soft peaks form.

Assemble the shortcakes by slicing a biscuit in half and scooping strawberries and juice on top. Replace the other half of the biscuit and top with whipped cream.

SOURCE
adapted and re-written from Fine Cooking magazine.