red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

Red Velvet Cupcake

2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup beet juice (or 2 oz. red food coloring)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon white vinegar (used white balsamic vinegar, what I had on hand)
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 dozen cupcake liners

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners.

Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In a smaller bowl, mix beet juice (or food coloring) and cocoa powder to form a thin paste without lumps and set aside.

In a large bowl, using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla and the red cocoa paste, scraping down the bowl with a spatula as you go. Add one third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beat well, then beat in half of the buttermilk. Beat in another third of flour mixture, then second half of buttermilk. End with the last third of the flour mixture, beat until well combined, making sure to scrape down the bowl with a spatula.

In a small bowl, mix vinegar and baking soda. Be careful as it will fizz so don't do it in a shallow bowl. Add vinegar mixture to the cake batter and stir well to combine. Fill cupcake cups with cake batter until they are a little under 3/4 full.

Place muffin tins in your preheated oven. Bake for approximately 20, rotating pans halfway through. The cupcakes are done when you are able to pat the tops and the cake springs back up. If it sinks down, they are not yet complete. Or insert a toothpick into the center of a cupcake in the center of the tin, and if it comes out clean, they are done.

Cool the cupcakes before frosting.

Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar.

Makes enough frosting for 2 dozen cupcakes.

a better chocolate chip cookie.

Chocolate Chip Cookie
adapted from David Lebovitz's The Great Book of Chocolate

1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 1/2-inch (1cm) pieces
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (200 grams) dark chocolate chips
1 cup (130 grams) walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 300F.

Beat the sugars and butter together until smooth. Add in the egg, vanilla extract, and baking soda.

Stir in the flour and salt. Mix to combine. Add the chocolate and the walnuts to the batter.

Make ~2tbsp cookie dough balls and place them about 4 inches apart from each other on a baking sheet.

Bake for about 18 minutes, or until golden brown, and let cool.

Makes about 20 small cookies.

simple banana bread

Classic Banana Breadadapted from Elise, who got it from Mrs. Hockmeyer

3 to 4 ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 cup melted butter
1/2 cup sugar (1/4 cup brown, 1/4 cup white)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup of roughly chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Stir the butter into the bananas. Add in the sugar, egg, and vanilla extract. Add in the baking soda and the salt and mix. Add the sifted flour last. Stir the batter until just mixed. Toss in the walnuts and then lightly stir.

Pour the batter into a loaf pan and pop into the oven for about 1 hour.

Makes 1 loaf.

egg custard tarts

Egg Custard Tartsadapted from WokkingMum

Pâte Brisée crust (recipe)
5 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 2/3 cup water
5 tbsp sugar

Spray or butter the sides of the muffin tins.

Roll out 5x5 inch thin layers of crust. Line the insides of a muffin tin. Using scissors, remove edges of the crust so that they fit snugly inside the tin.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Mix together the milk, water, and sugar. Lightly beat the eggs in a separate bowl, and pour the egg into the milk mixture through a strainer. Stir the mixture lightly to melt the sugar and try to avoid making air bubbles.

Pour the egg mixture into the tarts.

Bake the tarts for 30 minutes.

Makes 12 tarts.

*the tarts could be sweeter, said a friend. but, i thought it was perfect.

bleu cheese dressing

Creamy Bleu Cheese Dressing
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup plain yogurt
2 tbsp rice vinegar (what I had on hand)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup of crumbled bleu cheese
honey

Mix all the ingredients together except for the bleu cheese.

Add the bleu cheese into the mix and beat until the cheese is incorporated into the dressing. Drizzle the honey to the dressing until the dressing is sweet enough.

banana strawberry muffins

Banana Strawberry Muffins
adapted from AllRecipes

2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup strawberries, roughly chopped
1/2 cup banana, mashed
1/2 tbsp orange zest
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup applesauce
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/8 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 350F.

Mix and sift together the flour, baking soda, and cinnamon.

In another bowl, mix together the lightly beaten eggs, sugar, banana, orange zest, butter, applesauce.

Mix the wet and dry ingredients, and stir until just moistened.

Pour the mixture into a buttered muffin tin. Bake for 30 minutes, or when the muffins are ready and checked by inserting a knife to the bread.

Let cool.

Makes 12 small muffins.

a crustless cheesy quiche.

Crustless Cheesy Quiche
adapted from SimplyRecipes

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
1 zucchini, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
5 eggs
4 oz cream cheese
6 oz Gruyere cheese
3 tbsp Parmesean cheese

Melt the butter on medium heat and stir in flour until bubbly. Slowly add the milk to the mixture until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat to cool down, about 15 minutes.

Saute the onion and zucchini in a little bit of olive oil until the onion is cooked and translucent. Set aside to let cool.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine the cottage cheese, baking powder, and salt.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and slowly add cream cheese, cottage cheese mixture, zucchini/onion mixture, and flour/butter mixture. Fold in the Gruyere and Parmesean cheese.

Pour the mixture into a buttered 10" pie pan. Bake for 4o minutes at 350F or until the top is lightly browned.