Blueberry & Strawberry Cupcakes with Whipped Cream Frosting

  » By Keith Prickett

July 3rd, 2008 - Posted in Cupcakes, Dessert | Leave a comment (0)

I had to come up with something to celebrate the holiday with and for some reason around the 4th of July my mouth waters for every cake I see with whole blueberries and strawberries on top.  This cupcake recipe was my answer!  I used the Strawberry cupcake recipe from last week and simply reduced the amount of strawberries and added whole blueberries to the batter.  Then to make it have all the red, white and blue flair I used whipped cream, whole blueberries and strawberries to top it off.  The result is a festive, decadent, delight that we got to share with some friends the other night.  Here’s what I did:

Ingredients for Cupcake:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1 egg
• 6 ounces Homemade Applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• About 15 medium sized Stahlbush Island Farm’s Frozen Strawberries (thawed slightly) cut into quarters
• 5 oz whole, fresh or Stahlbush Island Farm frozen blueberries (thawed slightly)

Ingredients for Whipped Cream Frosting:

• 8 to 10 fluid oz Heavy Whipping Cream
• 2-3 tablespoons powdered sugar (more or less to your sweet toothe’s taste)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions for Cupcake:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Beat sugar and butter together until fluffy
3. Add your egg and applesauce and mix thoroughly
4.  Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl then add to your wet ingredients
5. Fold in strawberries and blueberries
6. Place in lined cupcake baking tins (I made about 14)
7. Bake for 20 minutes or so, until toothpick comes out clean

Directions for Real Whipped Cream Frosting:

1. Mix whipping cream, sugar and vanilla in a mixer
2. Beat until extra thick (but definitely stop before you make butter)

Put it all together by spreading real whipped cream on each cupcake.  Top with a whole strawberry and a bunch of whole thawed blueberries.

Strawberry Cupcakes with Fluffy Chocolate Frosting

  » By Keith Prickett

June 24th, 2008 - Posted in Cupcakes, Dessert | Leave/read a comment (1)

“These are the best cupcakes I’ve ever had!”  Those were the words of my beautiful wife after devouring one of these cupcakes I just whipped up.  That says a lot.  I really value her opinion when I cook but I have to say these little delights are SO GOOD!

I started with Amy’s Strawberry cupcake recipe, modified it a little, then topped it off with a fluffy chocolate frosting recipe from recipe zaar.  I ran to the store, but forgot to grab the yogurt so I used some homemade applesauce I made a few days ago.  I also snuck in some whole-wheat flour once again with nothing but perfection as a result.  Here’s what I did:

Ingredients for Cupcake:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1 egg
• 6 ounces Homemade Applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour (Remember I use King Arthur brand and have had trouble with other whole-wheat flours in my bread making)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• About 20 medium sized Stahlbush Island Farm’s Frozen Strawberries (thawed slightly) (Rachel brought them from work) cut into quarters.  I used large pieces of strawberries for the texture I desired.  I wanted big juicy pieces of strawberry in each cupcake.

Ingredients for Fluffy Chocolate Frosting

• 2/3 cup cocoa
• 6 tablespoons boiling water
• 1/2 cup butter (at room temperature)
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions for Cupcake:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Beat sugar and butter together until fluffy
3. Add your egg and applesauce and mix thoroughly
4.  Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl then add to your wet ingredients
5. Fold in strawberries
6. Place in lined cupcake baking tins (I made about 14, Amy says divide into 20)
7. Bake for 20 minutes or so, until toothpick comes out clean

Directions for Fluffy Chocolate Frosting:

1. Mix cocoa and boiling water thoroughly until a thick paste results
2. Beat in the butter until well combined
3. Mix in the sugar and vanilla
4. Blend until creamy and fluffy
5. Chill for at least 15 minutes before using as it starts out really runny!

Put it all together by spreading the frosting on each cupcake and topping with a half strawberry.

I hope you enjoy them!

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

  » By Keith Prickett

June 19th, 2008 - Posted in Dessert | Leave/read a comment (1)

Rachel was at it again.  This time she used her Stahlbush Strawberries (just now coming into season) and Rhubarb (which has already been cut once, but it’ll grow more for a cut later on in the season).  As I said before she really loves smittenkitchen.  She thinks I need to get a nice camera (as opposed to my cheap, point-and-shoot, digital camera) to take quality food shots.  I agree, but I don’t want to fork out the dough.

She used a recipe from the site for the pie and I have to say it turned out incredible!  Rachel spent a lot of time in the kitchen on this one.  Apparently the recipe originally comes from Bon Appetit, April 1997.  After the pie was done cooking we decided that next time we might leave out the shortening (and replace it with butter).  Other than that, like I said, it was great!  I really love the strawberries around here and rhubarb is really growing on me.  I wouldn’t have given rhubarb a second glance a few years ago.  Now we seem to be eating it all the time.  We sure have been eating good around here lately!  Here’s what we did:

Ingredients for Crust:

• 3 cups flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into pieces
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 10 tablespoons (about) ice water

Ingredients for filling:

• 3 1/2 cups 1/2-inch-thick slices trimmed rhubarb (look for Stahlbush in your grocery health food section)
• 1 16-ounce container strawberries, hulled, halved (about 3 1/2cups) (look for Stahlbush in your grocery health food section — or get fresh if available!)
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 larg egg yolk beaten (for glaze)

Directions:

• For Crust: Combine Flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor [or use a pastry cutter].
• Using a on/off pulse cut in the butter and shortening until a coarse meal forms.
• Blend in enough ice water a few tablespoons at a time to form moist clumps.
• Gather dough into ball, cut in half and flatten each half into a disk.
• Wrap in plastic separately and refrigerate until it is firm, about 1 hour.
• For Filling: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Combine first seven ingredients in a large bowl and toss to blend.
• For Pie: Roll out each dough disk to 13-inch round. (Rachel really liked using this pie crust maker and I saw it in action, it’s really awesome!
• Transfer to 9-inch pie dish.  Trim excess dough leaving a 3/4 inch overhang
• Roll out second dough in the same way.
• Cut it into fourteen 1/2-inch-wide strips.
• Pour filling into crust and arrange the 1/2-inch strips on top
• Seal the end.
• Brush the glaze over the crust and sprinkle with turbinado sugar (if you have it) for a nice touch.
• Bake the pie for 20 minutes, reduce heat to 350, then bake until the the rhubarb is tender (about another 30 to 40 minutes)  If the crust starts to brown too much you can cover it lightly with tin-foil.

I hope you enjoy it!

Strawberry Chiffon Shortcake

  » By Keith Prickett

June 12th, 2008 - Posted in Cake, Dessert | Leave/read a comment (3)

Rachel has an obsession with this food blog, so naturally she always wants to try out recipes.  I don’t blame her, the photos and ideas look so perfect.  So my sister-in-law had her 21st birthday a few days ago so Rachel set out to make her the strawberry chiffon shortcake from the blog for her.  I love strawberries and whipped cream (who doesn’t?) so I was sold on this cake the instant I saw the photo.  When she finished it last night we sliced into the tall, beautiful, 3-layer treat and enjoyed it with the birthday girl.  The cake was light and fluffy and the lemon zest did indeed offset the missing flavor of butter (as is suggested in the blog).  The whipped cream and fresh strawberries added to the flavor and texture to create a delicate and delicious cake.  We decided the only think we’d do different is put whipped cream around the sides next time.

I can’t wait until tonight when we get to eat another piece (leftovers!).  I don’t think I’ll post the directions here because Smitten Kitchen’s are so complete (and Rachel doesn’t change recipes like I do), so check out our photos and then make it for yourself by clicking the link above.

I hope you enjoy it!