A friend of mine is having a going away party tonight. She got a great job in NYC, and they want her there immediately! Good news for her, but bad news for us here in Boston!
The party is also a Knit Night, so I thought I’d bring some appropriately decorated cupcakes. This was my first time working with marzipan, and what fun it is! Like, four hours of fun.
Speaking of the party, I gotta go! Forgive my lack of words; I hope I can make up for it with the ridiculous amount of photos!
On February 25th, 2008 I was on the Martha Stewart Show showing Martha how to make these. Here’s the clip!
People over at the PPK have finally begun to notice that I’m incapable of making a dessert that isn’t miniature. Mini apple pies, mini doughnuts, mini pineapple upside down cakes, mini layer cakes, mini cupcakes, and now mini tarts.
I just can’t help myself.
But who can resist a tiny dessert? Any sweet treat is even more appealing to me in a diminutive size. I also admit that I am completely in love with miniature utensils. If I see a mini pie plate, tart shell, or any other miniscule dish or pan and I’m wont to buy it.
This was my first attempt at a fruit tart and was I ever pleased. I made a lemon “cream” for the filling, and next I’m going to try a traditional lemon curd–well, as traditional is you can be without using eggs. Or butter. We’ll see how it goes.
The tart shells are whole wheat pastry flour, which is something I debated. I didn’t want a heavy or gritty crust, but something light, sweet and flakey. I couldn’t be happier with how it came out. I need to use whole wheat pastry flour more often. I definitely didn’t give it enough credit.
I glazed them with some violet jelly I found at the same market where I purchased the pea tendrils. When I got home I realized the the jelly I bought wasn’t set at all - it was really more like a violet glaze, even after refrigeration. What better use for it then? The light violet flavor really compliments the berries.
I hope my US readers had a wonderful long weekend! Summer seems just around the corner, so I’ve been thinking about ice cream. And cupcakes. And cupcake versions of ice cream. These are more recognizable as cupcakes than my last attempt at ice cream look alike cupcakes, and easier to eat to boot.
Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World has a recipe for banana split cupcakes, but I wanted something simpler (read: I was already half-way through making my own version when I realized Isa and Terry had probably already thought of it, and lo and behold, it’s on page 81). These here are the Golden Vanilla Cupcakes. It’s my default yellow cake recipe, if you haven’t noticed.
The frosting is banana buttercream, but don’t worry, it doesn’t have any icky banana extracts in it. I hate banana-flavored things - only the real deal with suit me! If you blend a banana into your frosting you get a light but yummy banana flavor that doesn’t taste like chemical bananas. So that’s good, right?
Simple Banana Split Cupcakes Makes 12 Cupcakes
1 Batch Golden Vanilla Cupcakes, cooled (air conditioners cool more than people)
12 Maraschino Cherries
1/2 Cup Chococlate Chips, melted (or pre-made chocolate sauce)
2 Tbs Soymilk
Chopped Nuts, optional (peanuts are classic) Sprinkles
Banana Buttecream
Bake and cool cupcakes. Place chocolate chips and soymilk in a double boiler and melt slowly, whisking until smooth. Set aside. Whip frosting ingredients together until smooth and airy; use a stand mixer if available.
Frost cupcakes, add cherries. Drizzle with chocolate sauce and sprinkle with nuts, if using. Use extra banana slices or dried banana chips for an extra garnish.
Stewart has been asking for danishes. For weeks. I finally made them.
The recipe needs a lot of work. And when it’s done, it’ll be available in my upcoming cookzine!
I’m going to start work on a collection of recipes with the help of some friends over at the Post Punk Kitchen Forums. When I have more details about the format, release date, and availability I’ll be sure to let you know.
Previews of cookzine recipes will be posted on weekends, but regular posts with recipes will still be put up on the weekdays. I think this will be a fun project and I can’t wait to get started. In the meantime, danishes!
Two of my friends are celebrating their birthdays today (though today isn’t either of their actual birthdays), so I decided to make mini pineapple upside-down cakes. These are really easy and so so so tasty. I made an extra so I could have one too.
Do you have a favorite yellow cake recipe? Do you have access to pineapple rings, brown sugar, and cherries? Guess what? You can make a pineapple upside-down cake too!
Mini Pineapple Upside-Down Cakes Makes three to four mini cakes, or one 8-9″
1 Yellow Cake Recipe (I use the golden vanilla cupcakes from VCTOTW)
1 Can Pineapple Rings
1 Jar Marischino Cherries
1/2 Cup Earth Balance
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
Melt sugar and earth balance in a DRY sauce pan over medium heat, stirring only when necessary. The presence of water, even a drop, can make your sugar seize and become gross. When sugar mixture bubbles up, remove from heat. It should cool and look (and taste!) like a caramel sauce, because that’s what it is!
While the sauce is cooling, prepare your cake mix. If you’re making one large cake (like 9″), pour all the caramel in the bottom. 2-3 tablespoons worth of sauce is perfect for mini cakes. Arrange pineapple rings on the bottom, and fill their center with cherries. You can decorate the sides of the pan, too, like the photo on the left.
Pour in your batter, being careful not to dislodge the pineapple slices. If you’re using a springform pans, you might want to cover the outside in foil or bake them on a cookie sheet. My caramel sauce dripped out during the first few minutes and left a mess on the bottom of my oven. Bake for as long as your cake recipe tells you too - mini cakes will be done between 18-25 minutes at 350º F.
Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Remove rings (if springform) or run a knife around the outside (if regular cake dish) and invert onto a serving plate. It’s easiest to put the plate on top, upside-down, then invert the whole shabang and remove the pan. Serve warm, but really, they’re just as good room temperature. Definitely unmold them while they are warm, since the cooler the sugar gets, the harder it’ll be to get them out of the pans.
I only told you that I made these for friends so I can’t eat them all myself and pretend I “just didn’t have time to bake.” This might be my new favorite cake. So good.
