Bake-A-Long #9: Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes

Internal monologue inside my head today:

"Hmm, make cupcakes or go buy more ramekins. Cupcakes or ramekins. I intended to buy more ramekins earlier this week because I need more anyways. But I didn't and it's now time to bake. Do I want to go to the store? No. Cupcakes it is then. I'm not sure how it's gonna work out, but I'm doing it."

A conversation between Matt and I pre baking:

Me: "I'm making mini pineapple upside down cakes today"

Matt: "What! I don't like fruit and cake"

Me: "Well too bad, don't eat it then"

Conversation between Matt and I post baking:

Matt: "Let me try a bite of your cupcake"

Me: "Hold on, let me take a picture first"

Matt (after eating two bites): "This is pretty good"

Matt (an hour and two cupcakes later): "These are really good"

Me: :P (that's me sticking my tongue out at him to say don't complain next time until after you taste what I've made and even if it wasn't good you're lucky you have a wife that bakes for you).

Disclaimer - Although you may not be able to tell from the above conversations, we are both adults.

OK. Now to the cake details. To make the caramel sauce, the sugar, pineapple juice, and butter were cooked until the mixture was a medium brown color. I didn't bother with the thermometer this time because the thermocouple does not reach into such a small amount of liquid. Going by color appearance alone seemed to work for me. This was poured into the cupcake liners.

The problem with making this cake into cupcakes is that you cannot fit a whole pineapple slice into each cavity. Therefore, I had to cut each slice into pieces, which is fine, but it just doesn't look as nice when complete.

The batter was then poured over the top and baked for about 20 minutes. I yielded 9 cupcakes. I then had to make the decision of whether or not to unmold them or leave them in the liner. So I did both. I removed some from the liners and left the rest in.

So, the verdict is: these did not make the prettiest cupcakes, but they were much enjoyed anyways. I ate 1, Matt ate 2, Dad ate 2 and took 3 home with him and we have 1 left unspoken for. I don't think it will last that way too much longer.

Current internal monologue inside my head:

"I'm really excited to make the chocolate orange cake next week!"

Bake-A-Long #8: Chocolate Streusel Coffee Cake

We are currently renovating one of the outdated bathrooms in our 1913 built house. We are very fortunate to have the help of Matt's family, primarily his uncle, cousin, dad, and brother. Since I'm not very good with tools, my "job" has been to make breakfast and lunch for the crew. I most definitely have the better end of this little deal.

Bathroom pre gutting.

Partially gutted bathroom.

Look at the great job they are doing!

Given the crazy cold weather here this week (we live in central Florida and we supposably had snow early Saturday morning), coffee + this chocolate streusel coffee cake sounded like a perfect Sunday morning breakfast for everyone.

Overall, this cake was simple to mix up and bake (even with frozen feet).

The chocolate filling, which consisted of cocoa powder, brown sugar, and cinnamon, was sprinkled in the middle of the batter and then the top layer of batter was poured in. I didn't read all the way through beforehand and sprinkled the filling all the way to the edges of the pan, whereas I was supposed to keep in the center .

The recipe called for a 6 cup bundt pan and cupcakes but I used a 6 cup loaf pan.

I decided to throw some bittersweet chocolate chips on the top before baking.

The directions say the cake is done when the edges start to pull away from the sides. My cake, however, rose over the edges of the pan so I had trouble deciding when it was done baking (As I was previewing this post, I realized my error. I didn't make any cupcakes, and therefore had too much batter in the pan. I'm gonna blame my lack of following the directions this morning on the cold). I put a toothpick in after 43 minutes and it came out slightly wet but not doughy, so I took it out.

After a few minutes of cooling, the cake sunk slightly in the middle, which told me that it wasn't completely done, but I went ahead and cut into it while it was still warm.

The first few pieces were perfect: moist, melt in your mouth texture. But, as we got to the center of the loaf, the cake was slightly doughy. This however, did not stop anyone from eating it. Between 4 of us, the cake was 3/4 of the way eaten in one sitting. This is one I will for sure make again, but maybe I need to invest in a 6 cup bundt pan.

Homemade Limoncello

Limoncello is an Italian lemon liqueur made from liquor, lemon zest, sugar and water.

Up until now, I had never tried limoncello, but since reading about how easy it is to make, I've been wanting to try for a few years now. So, I stopped procrastinating and made a double batch to give away as Christmas gifts this year.

This liqueur is quite simple to make and was well worth the zesting/peeling of 16 lemons.

Ingredients

16 lemons

1.5 liters of vodka

1.5 liters of sugar syrup (see below note)

lemon leaves (optional)

Purchase a 1.75 liter bottle of good vodka. Reserve (or drink) .25 liters.

Zest the lemons, making sure not to get any of the white peel, which will impart bitterness. Matt used the zester and I used a knife to shave off the peel (his way was more efficient, but hey, we only have 1 zester). Put the zest into the 1.5 liters of vodka, seal, and store in a dark place for at least 1 week.

After 1 week, make your sugar syrup. Heat the sugar and water until all sugar has dissolved and the mixture is clear. We used a 1:1 mixture of sugar, water, but next time I think I would do only 25% sugar. The total volume of sugar syrup should add up to 1.5 liters.

Mix this in with your lemony vodka and strain.

Pour into bottles and store refrigerated.

If you desire to tuck a few lemon leaves into the bottle (we used some from our tree out back), blanch first by dunking into boiling water for 10 seconds and then running cold water over the leaves to stop the cooking process.

It was nice to have a homemade gift to give away to friends at the Holidays. The liqueur turned out quite tasty as well. Although strong and sweet, it is drinkable straight. You can also mix with club soda and mint for a refreshing "lemonade". On New Year's Eve, Matt mixed some with ginger ale. The flavor was great (kinda like a lemon head), but entirely too sweet. That is why next time I think we'll cut back on the sugar. We would also like to try again soon with oranges and grapefruit since they are season.

Enjoy!

Bake-A-Long #7: Whipped Cream Cake

Happy New Year! I normally do not make New Year's resolutions, but I have one which should be easily followed, thanks to the Heavenly Baker's group: make more cakes. No, not your average resolution, and at first it may seem silly, because what good does resolving to make more cakes do? Well, here is my list to support that a resolution of baking more cakes is a practical goal:

1. If you're going to eat dessert (and you must have dessert on occasion),

it might as well be homemade.

2. Baking can be a stress reliever.

3. You always learn something new when baking

(especially when you have the opportunity to read many other's

experiences when making the same recipe).

4. You have the opportunity to share your creations with

friends, family, and coworkers.

This whipped cream cake will not contribute to my resolution because it was not the first cake of 2010, but the last cake of 2009. I made this cake Christmas Eve and brought it to

Christmas dinner to share with family.

To make this cake, you make whipped cream (hence the name), and then add some eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. There is no butter in it, all of the fat come from the heavy cream. It was a breeze to make, as all ingredients were already on hand.

I may have over baked it just a tad, but the flavor and texture were great. We ate it plain, without any adornments. However, I think if I make it again, I will serve it with whipped cream and strawberries. This was a good cake and given the ease at which it was put together, it will be added to the make it again list.

Thank you, Heavenly Cake Bakers, for inspiring me to continue my baking hobby into the New Year!