Camp Cupcake: Maple-Sweetened Carrot Cupcakes

Once again, I make a recipe that I do not feel is significantly different from other Martha recipes.

It was billed as a "healthy recipe." The cake and the frosting are sweetened with maple syrup.

Despite the painstaking piping of the frosting, these are actually a very rustic cupcake. Prior to frosting, some of them had cooked carrot shreds sticking out of them.

I will be extremely transparent: I do not feel these are as good as the carrot cupcakes I made when I stayed with Shane and Maria back in September. It may be because, rather than shredding the carrots by hand, I bought matchstick carrots, which were not as fine, and cooked up somewhat conspicuously in the cupcakes. It may be because the cream cheese frosting was not sweet enough, due to it being a healthy recipe.

Or it may be molasses, of which I am not a huge fan.

However, they passed the inspection of my friend Amanda, of the Five Harringtons. This was not an easy test, considering that she has had an aversion to all things maple due the combination of morning sickness and some maple-flavored bacon.

Maple-sweetened Carrot Cupcakes

2 1/2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour (no, I did not buy unbleached flour)

2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. ground cinnamong

1 c. pure maple syrup, preferably grade B (I'm sure it makes a difference to use grade B, but grade B is REALLY expensive, so I used grade A).

1/3 c. unsulfured molasses

1 c. safflower or canola oil (I used canola oil)

1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

5 large egg yolks

2 c. peeled, grated carrots (4-5 medium)

Maple Cream-Cheese Frosting

Candied Carrot Chips (I didn't make these because they sounded too complicated for something I was convinced was going to be gross).

Preheat oven to 375F. Line muffin tins (standard or mini). In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In another bowl, whisk together maple syrup, molasses, oil, vinegar, and egg yolks until smooth. Add to flour mixture, and whisk until combined. Stir in carrots.

Fill lined cups about 3/4 full. Bake until dark golden brown, 10-12 minutes for mini, about 18 minutes for standard.

To finish, fit a pastry bag with a piping tip (I used a Wilton 12) and fill with cream cheese frosting. Pipe dots of frosting all over the cupcakes to cover.

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

1 lb. cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 c. pure maple syrup, preferably grade B

With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add maple syrup, and beat until combined. Use immediately, or refrigerate up to three days.

Smile because you have just made something healthy. Kind of.

Come back

One of the other authors of this blog sheepishly made a comment to me about how long it has been since she last posted. It got me thinking.

It is now May. 2010 is now 1/3 over. It's kind of a sobering thought, huh? Four months into the year, life has gotten busy, priorities have changed, and some of us have either completed, revised, or abandoned our goals.

When I started this blog, I wanted it to accomplish a couple of things:

• To give people a place to share their goals, and their disappointments as well as their triumphs.
• To give people a way to hold themselves accountable for their goals, so that they didn't give up on them.

Is it working? I'm not sure. Do people feel supported by this blog, or just guilty? Have you decided that the goals you set for yourselves four months ago are unrealistic? Did you decide that they no longer make sense given that your life has changed in some big ways since then? Have you completed your goals but been too busy to blog about them?

Life is busy. Don't feel guilty. If you've struggled with your goal, or given it up completely, don't let that stop you from trying again.

I guess what I'm trying to say to those of you who haven't been around for awhile is that I miss you.

Come back.

Camp Cupcake: Roasted Banana Cupcakes

In the last couple of weeks, I have found myself cranking out cupcakes with a sense of urgency. I apologize for taking over the blog with them. I'm not sure urgency and cupcakes belong in the same sentence. However, I am in the home stretch of a lot of things, including this project, and, rather than pacing myself on this, I am trying to get it done quickly.

Also, I can think of lots of occasions that call for cupcakes. School is almost over. Classes are ending. Mother's Day and Cinco de Mayo are right around the corner. I have a lot of eggs in my fridge. I have bananas I need to use.

Doesn't it seem funny that we buy more bananas than we actually eat, and we are constantly looking for things to do with the leftover ones before they go bad? As human beings, we are weird.

I made these for my last practicum night. I believe I have resolved my issues over being liked by the people I supervise, but I made these anyway. I actually made this recipe twice. After I roasted the bananas, I mixed them in with the eggs before they were completely cool, and it changed the texture of the cupcakes considerably.

Roasted Banana Cupcakes

Makes 16

3 ripe bananas, plus 1 to 2 more for garnish (I only used one)

2 c. cake flour (not self-rising), sifted

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 c. sugar

3 large eggs, separated

1/2 c. sour cream

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Honey Cinnamon Frosting

Preheat oven to 400F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Place 3 whole unpeeled bananas on a baking sheet and roast 15 minutes (the peels will darken). Meanwhile, sift together cake flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Remove bananas from oven and let cool before peeling. Reduce oven temperature to 350F.

Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add roasted bananas and beat to combine. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of sour cream, and beating until just combined after each. Beat in vanilla.

In another mixing bowl, whisk egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold one-third of the whites in the batter to lighten. Gently fold remaining whites in two batches.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each 3/4 full. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

To finish, fill a pastry bag with a medium French star tip (or, if you don't have a French star tip because you are not OCD, use a regular star tip, or just frost them with a knife) to pipe seven scallops around the perimeter of the cupcake and a large starburst in the center. Just before serving (if you do this too early, the bananas get kind of gross) thinly slice the remaining bananas and place 2 pieces on top of each cupcake.

Punch yourself in the face for following all of Martha's ridiculous directions for making what is, essentially, banana bread with honey butter.

Or don't.

Camp Cupcake: Meringue Cupcakes with Berry Compote

I don't think I have ever made anything as beautiful as meringue in my life. I have no children, so I feel okay about saying this without being hyperbolic.

It's just sugar and egg white, but in its unbaked form, it is fluffy and glossy like a sugary wedding dress. Remember when people used to stick a Barbie in the center of a baked Alaska or some other meringue cake so it looked like she was wearing a ballgown? Of cake? Here's a link to refresh your memory. Anyway, for the first time, I actually began to believe that a Barbie might want to be embedded in a dress of meringue. It was that pretty.

This is not your everyday, go-to, homemade goodie kind of recipe. It is much more high-falutin' than that. It would make a good dessert for something a little bit fancier, like a tea party, or a bridal shower (then again, when I make dessert for a bridal shower, it's still usually something simple like a bar cookie). Here is a link to the cupcakes. However, this link includes a recipe for strawberry-rhubarb compote. The recipe in the book calls for strawberry-raspberry compote instead. Here's the recipe:

Strawberry-raspberry Compote

1 container (10 oz.) fresh strawberries, rinsed and hulled, and coarsely chopped

1/2 c. sugar

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 container (6 oz.) fresh raspberries

Bring strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice to simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced to 3/4 c. Let cool completely before stirring in raspberries. Refrigerate up to 1 day in an airtight container.

A word of advice about the cupcakes: be careful with the creme fraiche. You can make it yourself, but I bought it at the grocery store. When I whipped it with the cream, I whipped it too long and ruined it. So be careful.

Camp Cupcake: Banana Pecan Cupcakes

As I made these, among other things, I kept thinking about that Jack Johnson song, "Banana Pancakes." It was raining outside.

While I feel that I have become skilled at various cooking techniques over the course of this experiment, the one thing that continues to elude me is caramel. This recipe goes wonderfully with caramel buttercream, which I attempted to make using homemade caramel, but once again, had to resort to subbing it for this:

I loathe you, Smuckers Ice Cream Topping. You are a reminder of my failings, and I hate that I continue to return to you like a crutch. And yet, I am so grateful for that crutch.

Here is the link on Martha's website. The cupcakes themselves were wonderful, very much like the banana bread my dad loves to make. They would be a perfect way to get rid of the overripe bananas hanging from that weird little banana tree in your kitchen.

Also, if anyone has any tips on how to make good caramel, I would love to hear it. The first batch I made was undercooked, and the sugar was not caramelized. The second batch cooked too long. I need help.

Tonganterror: Week 9 What We've Learned So Far

Week 9

I don't have much to say about the day to day of P90X anymore, so I decided to diverge from the usual format. Instead I wanted to blog about some of the things I noticed about being a P90Xer over the last 64 days....

1. People Don't Buy It

I was surprised when I began the program how many people looked at me like I had embarked in some new multi-level marketing company (or pyramid scheme). There are a lot of fears and frustrations associated with a daily workout schedule. Furthermore, there seems to be a lot of negative perceptions towards workout videos in general. So as we talked about the program and what we were doing, it seemed that many were unbelieving and generally bracing for our failure. The key to these communications seemed to be an undying ridiculous optimism. I lied to myself and them and basically did everything I could to stay excited about this program for the first week.

2. You Will Never Feel Good About "Pressing Play"

The most important thing about the program is to keep doing it. It is difficult, it takes forever, and it is everyday. The first few days of this workout, I felt like I was going to die. I wasn't happy about how bad I felt. I wondered if it was healthy for me to work so hard. I questioned whether I would even be able to do this, or if I was fit enough for the program. But I kept pressing that play button, and here I am. There were days when I felt like I didn't have time, or that I was sick or whatever number of reasons that seemed logical at the time. I just put in the disc for the day and started moving. I don't believe that I always "brought it", but those days were just to keep the habit going.

I believe today marks day 64 of the 90 day journey. I have committed to maintaining the workout schedule indefinitely at this point. I am excited to continue working and see the changes that will come. Thanks to everyone who has been supportive and helpful.

Camp Cupcake: Rhubarb Cupcakes

Confession: Rhubarb kind of freaks me out.

I have always enjoyed it in strawberry-rhubarb pie, but there is something creepy about the way you buy it in the store, with its pink stalk and its disturbing, finlike leaves.

However, these cupcakes called for it, and I am nothing if not a conformist.

In the process of slicing the rhubarb, I again cut myself with my Miracle Blades. Fortunately, I assessed the wound and determined it was not deep or long enough to require stitches, as it stopped bleeding fairly quickly and only required one Band-Aid. Plus, it was almost midnight, and I knew I would have to make a trip to the ER if it was bad enough to need stitches, so that also factored into how severe I assessed the cut to be.

The recipe is fairly easy, and yields what could be classified as a muffin. However, you then top it with whipped cream and a rhubarb syrup, which makes it more dessert-like.

Unfortunately, on my way to work that morning, the syrup spilled out of its container and into the plastic bag surrounding it (that was lucky), so no one had the cupcakes with their syrup. But they were still good with the whipped cream.

More unfortunately, I apparently got no pictures of these cupcakes, so you'll just have to trust me that they looked and tasted very good. The whipped cream made a good topping, even without the syrup, and the rhubarb, once baked, was not too sour, just a little tart.

Martha used to have a link to this recipe on her site. I don't know where it went, but it is gone now.

So here it is:

Rhubarb Cupcakes with Whipped Cream

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. coarse salt

1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 c. sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 c. sour cream, room temperature

3/4 pound rhubarb, stalks trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch dice (3 cups)

1 vanilla bean, halved length-wise

1 c. water

Whipped cream (unsweetened)

Preheat oven to 350F. Line standard muffin tins with liners. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Cream butter and 1 cup sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. Scrape sides as needed. Beat in vanilla extract. Add in flour mixture in two batches, alternating with sour cream, and beating until combined after each. Stir in 2 c. diced rhubarb.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake about 25 minutes, rotating halfway through. Cool completely.

To make rhubarb topping, use tip of paring knife to scrape vanilla-bean seeds into a saucepan. Add water and remaining sugar (1 c.) and bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat. and stir in remaining 1 c. rhubarb. Let cool completely. Remove rhubarb with a slotted spoon, and reserve. Return liquid to a simmer, and cook until reduced by half, 5 to 8 minutes. Let cool slightly, then return rhubarb to syrup.

To finish, dollop a generous amount of whipped cream onto each cupcake, and top with rhubarb and some cooled syrup. Serve immediately.