Banana Cupcakes with Vanilla Pastry Cream

We are now back to the beginning-the first "Baked" book,  "New Frontiers in Baking" which, in my opinion is the best. I have bake extensively from this book and look forward to redoing some of my favorites.

This particular recipe is one of the few I haven't made before. I think I was leery of the pastry cream topping and the 6 egg yolks involved. As it turns out, rightly so!

The cupcakes are light and fluffy- quite different from a typical banana bread or cake, which tend to be heavier.  The batter was easy to make but made more than the designated amount- but that's fine! More is better!

Now for the pastry cream-

I always debate as to when the thickness is the right thickness. Taste doesn't seem to be the issue- it's delicious, but being able to pipe the cream is a different story. Mine did not come out thick enough to pipe so I just lightly spread it on top. Sort of runny......

I think next time I would possibly fill the cupcakes with the pastry cream and top it with a light butter cream frosting. Lots of cream leftover- guess I'll just have to make cream puffs!!

You can find the recipe here: Baked Sunday Mornings

Enjoy!

Baked Sunday Mornings-Holiday Spice Cake with Eggnog Buttercream

  

Okay, so I've never tasted eggnog before.( Is she serious, you say?!) Yup, it's true! Guilty as charged- no excuses other than I was just never presented with the opportunity. Without having tasted eggnog, I had no idea what the butter cream was supposed to taste like. Let me tell you, it soooooo doesn't matter , because whatever the taste is supposed to be, this frosting is delicious.

Found this serving plate and couldn't resist!

 I knew in advance that I would make cupcakes since I had no use for a whole cake and this way I could freeze them for future use or hand them out to friends and family. I love those warm, winter type spices of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger etc. The combination is soothing and comforting, while not being overly sweet.

Then my daughters found these to match and bought me a gift! It's true... cake does complete me!

I must say, I had my doubts about the frosting as I was making it. It didn't seem to come together , but I persisted and eventually it developed in to the creamiest, smoothest butter cream I have ever tasted. This is one recipe I will use again and adapt it to all different flavors. Sweet, but not sickeningly sweet, and since the sugar is cooked, there is no gritty taste.

No question I will use this for a cake at the right opportunity. You can find the recipe here. Enjoy and stay warm!

Peanut Butter Creme- Filled Devil's Food Cupcakes

I haven't baked in a long time, except of course for sugar cookies to decorate, but for some reason, that's different. The cookies are so easy to make and they are , for me, a means to the enjoyment of the decorating part.

I tend to bake less in the summer for obvious reasons- hot, sticky,less desire to eat baked goods ( thank goodness for that ), but every once in a while, I sit down and leaf through my cookbooks and huge three-ring notebooks with recipes I have accumulated and vow to make someday. Last night I got the urge and just went with it. After finding a recipe which I had all the ingredients for, I jumped right in, at 10 o'clock at night.(I'm on vacation- I can sleep in!)
The combination of chocolate and peanut butter is one of my favorites and this recipe by Bobby Flay is one I have had on my list for a long time. I used the recipe as is , except for the gananche frosting. I had some chocolate buttercream frosting on hand so of course I used that instead. I piped it on using a medium sized flower tip.

They are as delicious as I had expected them to be, so I sent them with my daughter when she went back to the army this morning. Otherwise I would have finished off the whole bunch and the two new pairs of pants I bought would not have liked that at all!

Long time, No Write ( and no pics )

It's been a very long time since I 've posted anything. Reasons range from laziness (I am a notorious procrastinator) to more valid  excuses like visiting family in the U.S.( I know, that 's not really an excuse- they have a computer too!) , and having to find a new apartment to rent, which is almost an impossible task in this country. It has been a very stressful time for me, and we still haven't found anything, but at least our present landlord has given us a reprieve until August. Phew! Now I can get back to my normal ( well ,sort of) life.

Baking has been sporadic; cooking even less. While in the States I bought a few cookbooks I've been wanting- Baked by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito and The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz. Could have bought tons more, but that weight restriction on overseas flights will kill ya! I made the Root Beer Bundt Cake from "Baked" and it was delicious. Easy to make and the root beer flavor was not as strong as I had expected. I also made  "The Baked Brownie", which is one of their signature items. Fudgy, moist and really just all around yummy ( amazing with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side!) .

I'll be posting more as I make my way through the book.

As far as pictures go, my little point and shoot camera is on it's last clicks- looking around for something to replace it without spending a fortune- any suggestions would be welcome!

I did bake some heart-shaped sugar cookies for Valentine's Day and they are waiting patiently to be decorated.

I also managed to  make some cupcakes for a friend's birthday. Got the decorating idea from Martha Stewart. It was fun to do and everyone loved the flavor- vanilla cupcakes with a lime buttercream frosting and cut out fondant letters on top.

Good to be back!