Cupcakes + Beer = Delicious

So as some of you know my husband Jared home brews his own beer...I am not a big beer drinker and I wanted to find a way to enjoy his home brew. I found this recipe inside Martha Stewart's Cupcake book, but what makes my recipe unique is adding Jared's Irish Stout. If you want to check out his recipe his website is http://www.scarletbrewery.com/

Home brewing is becoming such a popular thing now, if you know someone who does it this is a great way to use it other than the obvious. If you don't know anyone that does the home brewing you could always use a Guinness Beer to substitute. This rich,moist cupcake has a hint of warm spice with a slight kick from the beer. This is one cupcake that would be welcomed at just about any party!

Ingredients: Cupcakes

3 3/4 c. all purpose flour

1/2 tsp + 1/8 tsp. baking soda

1 3/4 tsp. baking powder

1 3/4 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. ground cinnamon

1 1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

1 1/4 c. vegetable oil

1 1/4 c. molasses

1/2 cup + 1 tbsp. packed light brown sugar

2 large whole eggs + 1 egg yolk

1 tbsp + 1 tsp. finely grated orange zest (about 4 oranges)

1 1/4 c. Stout Beer, such as Guinness, poured and settled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line standard cupcake pan with paper liners (recipe makes a little over 2 dozen). Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt & spices and set aside.

With an electric mixer on medium-low speed beat oil, molasses, brown sugar, whole eggs and yolk, zest, stout beer until combined. Reduce speed to low and in 3 stages add dry ingredients, after each addition scrape down sides to be sure all ingredients have been incorporated.

I use an old fashioned ice cream scoop to fill cupcake liners with batter (only fill about 1/2 -3/4 up the rim of pan). Place cupcakes in the oven and they will bake for 15-20 minutes. Insert a toothpick in center if it comes out clean it is done.

While cupcakes are baking make your Icing:

Whisk together 2 cups of sifted confectioners sugar and 1/4 c. Stout Beer.

When cupcakes are cooled pour some glaze on top of each cupcake...yum!

~Sweet Regards,

Carol

Well this week is my first case of blogger's block...I had planned on writing about a quiche recipe I was making but it didn't come out as tasty as I would have liked. My husband Jared is lactose intolerant so I have to make everything lactose free...which can be quite the challenge...no heavy cream, butter or cheese etc. Well he is lucky I'm always up for a challenge. I'm sure by the end of fall I will have come up with a formula I am happy with and I will share it with all of you!

As for my latest cake adventures...I drew a motorcycle cake for first time, it came out nice. Then I spent Saturday morning making a two tier sweet 16 and the woman that ordered it the sent her elderly mother in a pick-up truck to get the cake. Does this sound like a recipe for disaster or what! First she picks up the cake box and crushes the whole side...my co-worker is trying to instruct her on how to handle the cake and she couldn't have cared less. She attempts to put the cake in the bed of the truck but decides it will slide around too much....then she plops it on the floor of passengers side crushing the whole other side!!!! Sometimes I wonder about people. I don't even know who to be more angry with in this situation the woman who ordered the cake who sent her elderly mother....or the elderly woman for not giving a crap. On another note this weekend I became a first time godmother to my beautiful niece Evelyn! I am going to post a picture of the cake I made for the occasion.

Sorry for the short blog!

Sweet Regards,

Carol

Tearfully Delicious French Onion Soup

Seriously…isn’t cutting onions the worst! Overtime I’ve definitely built up a tolerance to cutting them but man…making this soup always gets the waterworks going. This is a great soup to make if you are having a bad day because it at least gives you an excuse to have a good cry. The best part is when the soup is done it is the most comforting dish to eat. Granted I made this recipe last week…in the middle of the hot humid weather, not my brightest idea to date but it was worth it. I hope you enjoy it, let me know how it comes out.

Recipe:
I cut up 1 red onion, 2 Vidalia onions, 1 yellow onion first I cut them in half then in thin slices. In your big soup pot add 2 TBSP of butter or Margarine and 2 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive oil and let melt together and add in onions let them cook for 2 minutes and add ½ tsp kosher salt, 3 grinds of black pepper, 1 bay leaf and ¼ tsp of dried thyme leaves and let cook for 10 minutes stirring everyone now and then. After the first 10 minutes add 1 ½ tsp of granulated sugar and stir (this will help caramelize your onions). You want this to cook for another 35-45 minutes stirring occasionally, when onions are caramelized add 1 clove of minced garlic and cook on low for about 5 minutes until garlic is soft and not burned. Remove bay leaf and add 2 tsp of flour and let that cook into the onions for 1-2 minutes and add 1 box of *Kitchen Basics Beef Broth *bring this to a boil. Then let soup simmer on low for 30 minutes taste your seasonings to see if you need more salt & pepper depending on your preference.

There are some dishes in this world that just taste better reheated…well this is one of them. Let soup cool to room temperature then refrigerate overnight. When you are ready to eat it bring it to a boil again ladle into your oven proof soup bowls, top with a slice of baguette & 1-2 slices of Swiss Cheese then pop under the broiler until cheese is brown and bubbly...yum!

Ok so you might be wondering why Kitchen Basics Brand because it is made from all natural ingredients…words you can actually pronounce like beef broth, onions, bay leaf etc. I use it for almost everything and it doesn’t taste like canned or artificial soup. If you are feeling super ambitious feel free to make your own beef broth it will be even more amazing…but if you are short on time this is a great alternative.

Another thing I love about this dish is that it is cheap…I made this recipe from all things I had in my pantry…If I had a bottle of red or dry white wine I also would have added a ½ cup to this recipe…but if you don’t have to. Serve with your favorite salad and you have a complete meal. This dish also only serves about 4 people (unless you are me and Jared because we ate the whole pot in one sitting) so you might want to double the batch if you want leftovers.

Savory Regards,
Carol

So we recently celebrated my Mom's 60th Birthday! I just wanted to share a quick a picture of her cake (pink ruffled one). Everyday I make a lot of cakes at work...but sometimes they can be a little boring...because we have signature style a the the bakery...typical flowers...balloons...etc. So When it came time to do my Mom's cake I thought it would be fun to incorporate my style cake! If I had my own cake shop I would have a more modern approach to decorating...not that that there is anything wrong with a butter cream rose, I think they look beautiful on any cake...I know of some snobby bakeries that say that butter cream flowers look cheesy or like grocery store cakes...I think the opposite if you can't make a beautiful butter cream flower you shouldn't own a bakery hahaha.

My other cake thought for the day....I know fondant is all the rage right now with cakes with the shows Cake Boss & Ace of Cakes...and people want sculptures and all sorts of crazy things...but what about a cake that just looks delicious? Don't get me wrong again...There is something to be said for beautiful 6 tier fondant wedding cake with string work and sugar flowers or a cake sculpted in the shape of the Millennium Falcon...but it doesn't scream I taste good.... I mean it is totally incredible edible art. I love an interesting project but sometimes I think a lot can be said for a cake that looks yummy. Just some cake for thought....I will also post a picture of my Dad's 60th Birthday Cake....which to me screamed I look delicious..but that was a cake disaster...a story for another day :)

Sweet Regards!

Carol