Cinnamon Cardamom Cupcakes with Pineapple Curd and Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

I have recently discovered that the base recipe I used for this cake is so very versatile! Want coconut cake, use coconut milk instead of cream and coconut extract instead of vanilla. Want strawberry cake, use 1/2 cup pureed strawberries for part of the cream. It's lovely. I'm constantly thinking of how else I can play with this recipe to come up with something new. 

This version was created specifically to accentuate the Pineapple Curd I've been raving about lately. Have you ever tried it? No? Well, you should. It is rich and decadent and flavorful and... amazing. My mouth waters just thinking about it. I searched the wonderful web to determine flavors that work well with pineapple, and when I saw cinnamon and cardamom in one list, I remembered my Cardamom Cinnamon Cookies and thought this would be a delicious combination. I was right! It's not an overly sweet cake by itself, but paired with the curd and a lucious cinnamon cream cheese frosting, these become decadent. 

2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 cup heavy cream, at room temperature 

6 large egg whites (3/4 cup), at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp table salt 

4 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp cardamom
12 Tbsps unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened but still cool 

Pineapple Curd (cooled and set)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl or stand mixer combine the dry ingredients: cake flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and cardamom.

On low speed, mix the dry ingredients until they are fully incorporated.

While that is incorporating, prepare the wet ingredients. I use a 2-cup measuring cup, but use what you feel comfortable with. Measure out the cream then using a fork mix in the egg whites. Add the vanilla and stir once more.

Add the butter to the dry ingredients in small pats.

Using the paddle attachment on low speed, combine until the mixture resembles small moist crumbs with no powdery streaks remaining.

Slowly drizzle in all but 1/2 cup of milk/egg mixture to crumbs with the mixer on low speed. Once added, raise speed to and medium (or high speed if using handheld mixer) for 1 1/2 minutes.

Add remaining 1/2 cup of milk mixture and beat 30 seconds more. Stop mixer and scrape sides of bowl. Return mixer to medium (or high) speed and beat 20 seconds longer. 

Portion cupcakes into muffin tins using an ice cream scoop. Bake 12-18 minutes until set (a toothpick inserted comes out clean).

Remove cupcakes from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Turn out of the pan, and allow to finish cooling. Once cooled, use a cupcake corer to create a well for the pineapple curd. Using a regular-sized teaspoon, spoon the curd into the cupcakes using the back of the spoon to smooth the top.

8 oz cream cheese, softened

8 oz unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks or 1 cup)

4 cups powdered sugar

1-2 tsp vanilla

1/2-1 tsp cinnamon (to taste)

A couple tablespoons of heavy cream to thin frosting if needed

Once you've finished filling the cupcakes with curd, prepare the frosting. Use the paddle attachment to cream the butter and cream cheese together. Add powdered sugar until combined. Add vanilla and cinnamon. If you need a little cream to thin it, add it at this point, but go slowly - you don't want to make it runny.

Frost the cupcakes, and enjoy!!!

Oreo Truffles

If you were able to bring heaven down to Earth and turn it into a food, then I swear it would be Oreo Truffles. These are divine, delicious little balls of yumminess. I like to use a smaller scoop so that there's more chocolate to truffle mixture ratio, but you can decide how you want it. When preparing to make these the first time I looked at several versions of the recipe. I'm not sure who first made these, but the recipe is so simply that's it's hard to jack it up too much.

1 regular size pack of regular stuffing Oreos
8 oz cream cheese
chocolate (white, semi, dark, or in my case, I use vanilla almond bark from Walmart, one batch of these uses about 8-9 cubes)
additional chocolate or other type of decoration

These are so much easier to make if you allow the cream cheese an appropriate amount of time to soften. Don't rush, and this will go so much more smoothly. While the cream cheese softens, get your Oreo mixture ready. If you have a food processor, then put all of the cookies into it and process until you have a fine crumb mixture. If you don't have a food processor, then you can use a rolling pin or a flat mallet and a freezer-thickness plastic bag to process the cookies. Beat, roll, and move around until your crumbs are fine and small. Clearly, a food processor makes these sooooo much easier. lol Once processed, add to the bowl with your cream cheese.

Carefully and meticulously mix until the cream cheese in completely incorporated with the crumbs. The better mixed the more consistent and the better your truffles will be.

Use a cookie scoop if you have one - it will make this process so much easier - to form the truffles into balls and place on a cookie tray (that will fit in your freezer) lined with parchment paper.

If you don't own a cookie scoop then you can use a spoon and roll the truffles into a ball - this is a very messy process, but will get the job done as well. Process all of the mixture, and then place the tray into the freezer for 30-45 minutes so that the truffles will harden. This will keep them from falling apart so much when you're dipping them into chocolate.

To melt the chocolate, please please please follow the directions on your package. To melt the vanilla almond bark, I broke up the cubes and put them in a microwave safe container with a small scoop (about a teaspoon or so) of coconut oil. You can also use crisco if you don't have coconut oil.

 Melt in 20 second increments, stirring after each round until chocolate is silky smooth.

Drop a ball into the chocolate.

Use a fork to scoop it out.

Use a spoon to scoop the chocolate over the ball.

Tap the fork to loosen any excess chocolate. Then use a knife to slide the ball off the fork back onto the parchment. If you use sprinkles like mine, then you must do it within three or four balls or the chocolate will get too hard. You can also use another type of melted chocolate to drizzle over top. I think the sprinkles make them look like pretty little snowballs, so I've stuck with it. It also adds a nice little sugar crunch to the balls.

Once the balls have hardened, package into a sealed container and store in the fridge. I know these will remain fresh for a week, but honestly, they've never lasted much longer than a few days. Enjoy your little bites of heaven!

Cranberry, Orange, Pecan White Cake

Another cranberry recipe for you lovely folks. I found this recipe for Cranberry Layer Cake on Pinterest, and while I loved the flavor ideas of the cake, I was not about to buy boxed mixes so I went in search of a solid white cake recipe that I could use for this and for any other needs. This search led me to this blog for White Cake Taste Test. I decided to go with the butter version, and oh my gosh, it was delicious. 

Adding the cranberries, orange and pecans from the original recipe makes for one mouth-watering cake. Slather it in cream cheese icing with orange zest and this cake becomes out of this world. The only other changes I made were making this cake three layers instead of two, which required more icing - definitely not a bad thing, right?

2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
6 large egg whites (3/4 cup), at room temperature
2 tsps almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
4 tsps baking powder
1 tsp table salt
12 Tbsps unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened but still cool
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted (I didn't toast mine)
1 Tbsp finely shredded orange peel

For icing

3/4 cup butter, softened (or 1 1/2 sticks)

12 oz cream cheese, softened

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

1.5-2 lbs confectioner sugar

1-2 tsp orange zest

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two (or three) 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray; line the bottoms with parchment or waxed paper rounds. 

Either use a food process to lightly chop cranberries or use a knife. Unfortunately, my knife skills are not that good, so I went with the  food processor.

Pour milk, egg whites, and extracts into 2-cup glass measure, and mix with fork until blended.

Mix cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed.

Add butter; continue beating at slow speed until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no powdery streaks remaining. 

Add all but 1/2 cup of milk mixture to crumbs and beat at medium speed (or high speed if using handheld mixer) for 1 1/2 minutes.

Add remaining 1/2 cup of milk mixture and beat 30 seconds more. Stop mixer and scrape sides of bowl. Return mixer to medium (or high) speed and beat 20 seconds longer. 

Add cranberries, orange zest and pecans and fold into batter.

Divide batter evenly between prepared cake pans; using rubber spatula, spread batter to pan walls and smooth tops.

 

Bake until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 23-25 minutes (18-20 mins if you use three cake pans). Let cakes rest in pans for 3 minutes.

Loosen from sides of pans with a knife, if necessary, and invert onto wire racks. Reinvert onto additional wire racks. Let cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours.

To make the icing, cream together butter and cream cheese. Add extracts. Gradually blend in confectioner sugar until icing is creamy and the desired consistency. Add orange zest.

 

Frost each layer of the cake carefully, and then smooth frosting.

Enjoy this delicious creation!

Pumpkin Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

Several weeks ago, I tried my hand at creating a cookie recipe and Cinnamon Chip Oatmeal Raisin Cookies was the result. You know what? It turned out really well! So, I decided to try my hand at creating a cake. For all of the creative side of my personality, I also have a very mathematical, analytical side as well, and that kicked into high gear as I prepared for this recipe. I wanted to do something like a carrot cake, but based loosely on my pumpkin bread recipe. I did research on what exactly it was that made something a "cake" versus being a "bread," and I found several good blogs to help explain the difference. Then I broke out Excel, and listed the ingredients for my carrot cake recipe, pumpkin bread recipe and a recipe for carrot bread that I found. Then with the knowledge I learned from the blogs, I compared the recipes and decided roughly on the following - I did tweak it just a little bit more as I was preparing it. I have to admit that I was a little scared to tell my coworkers that I had brought Pumpkin Zucchini Cake for Monday treat. Doesn't really sound like much of a treat does it? Let me tell you though, it went over very well. I received lots of compliments on it. Even my daughter said it was delicious, and she had NO idea that there was even zucchini in it! Maybe it was just the cream cheese icing, but the spices in the cake really shine and it was really, really tasty. Want to sneak just a little more vegetables into your recipes, then this one should go over very well.

3 cups all-purpose
1 tsp baking soda
2.5 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsps nutmeg
1 tsp cloves
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 can pumpkin puree
1-2 whole zucchini, peeled and shredded
1 cup chopped/diced walnuts

(By the way, please ignore the vanilla in the photo - it actually shouldn't have been there, but I didn't take a second picture without out it. Oops.)

Sift together dry ingredients, and then set aside.

Combine oil and sugar in large bowl or stand-mixer bowl.

Add eggs and pumpkin. Mix until combined.

Add flour mixture in two rounds. Mix until combined.

Add zucchini and nuts. Mix until combined.

Pour into greased and flour cake pan (9X13, two 8" or 9" rounds, or bundt pan).

Bake at 350 degrees Farenheit for 40-55 minutes or until cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Allow cake to cool for 10-15 minutes in pan, and then turn out onto wire rack to cool completely. While cake cools, prepare cream cheese icing.

1 lb powdered sugar
2 tsps vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened

Cream together butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy.

Slowly mix in powdered sugar until it is all incorporated; add vanilla, and then continue to blend until smooth. Spread icing onto cake, and enjoy!