Never Leave Dry Land

 

Piña Colada Cupcakes

 

 

 

(mini-cupcakes – yields 24).

 

I just checked out Gail Wagman’s Cupcake’s Galore. I made the Piña Colada cupcakes. I have a mixed review of her recipes. The frosting she suggests was not good so I created my own recipe. The cupcakes were good though. In addition, she has unnecessary steps that take too much time and do not make the cupcakes any better. I will have to try more recipes and report on whether I like this cookbook. There are some recipes that I hope are promising.

 

Here is my version of her recipe. Moreover, my own creation: Piña Colada Frosting.

This version is awesome and yummy. The cupcakes were eaten up in seconds. I am craving more.

 

Piña Colada Cupcakes:

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup unsalted butter (½ a stick), at room temperature

¾ cups sugar

1 egg

¼ cup pineapple juice

¼ cup Pineapple or Coconut Rum (I used Pineapple Rum)

¼ cup shredded coconut

 

1)      Preheat oven to 350F.

2)      Mix together flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.

3)      In a large bowl cream butter and sugar. Add egg. Then beat in flour mixture and pineapple juice and rum, alternating.

4)      Stir in coconut to large bowl.

5)      Fill cupcake tins, about ¾ full.

6)      Bake for 10 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.

7)      Cool in pan.

 

Piña Colada Icing:

¼ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 tablespoon milk (1%)

3 tablespoons pineapple juice

1 tablespoon pineapple rum

Yellow food coloring

2 cups powdered sugar.

 

1)      Mix butter, pineapple juice, and rum.

2)      Add powdered sugar until desired consistency.

3)      Add more liquids or powdered sugar until desired spreading consistency.

4)      Add a little yellow food color to create a faint yellow tint.

 

 

 

-          Frost cupcakes, then rim the cupcakes with sugar sprinkles like a Piña Colada glass and then top toasted coconut.

 

 

Two Birthdays – Belated Post

Two Birthdays Two Recipes

 

Kathy’s birthday was April 30 and mine was May 9. I made Kathy Lowfat Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. On the Monday of my birthday week, I made Oatmeal Cupcakes with Banana Coconut Frosting.

 

Here are the recipes:

Both are modified versions from Crazy About Cupcakes by Krystina Castella

 

Lowfat Carrot Cupcakes

 

These are a favorite of all my friends.

 

1.5 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tbl. baking powder

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

¼ tsp. ground ginger

1 egg

2 tbls. vegetable oil

¼ cup chopped walnuts (plus, extra to sprinkle on top)

½ cup fat-free milk (recipe calls for low-fat but the fat-free works)

8oz. crushed pineapple

1.5 cup grated carrots (I buy a bag of shredded carrots in the produce section to save time)

¼ cup brown sugar

 

1. preheat oven 350
2. In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.
3. In a medium bowl mix the egg, vegetable oil, walnuts, milk, pineapple, carrots and brown sugar.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir.
5. Fill cupcake tins. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

 

Cream Cheese Frosting with Chopped Walnuts (I modified it to make it “low” fat)

 

8oz. fat free cream cheese, at room temperature

6 tbls. unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup chopped walnuts

 

1. Cream together cream cheese and butter until smooth.
2. Sift powdered sugar into the butter mixture and beat until lumps are gone.
3. Add the vanilla and mix until integrated.
4. Add chopped walnuts and mix until integrated.
5. Frost cupcakes and then sprinkle walnuts on top.

 

 

 

Oatmeal Cupcakes

The brown sugar added on top prior to baking adds an extra surprise in each bite. The more the better. Then the frosting. Yummy. These cupcakes are amazing. Many layers of flavor.

 

1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature

½ cup sugar

1 ½  cups firmly packed dark brown sugar ( ¾ cup for recipe and ¾ cup for sprinkling on top)

1 cup fat free milk

1 ½ cup sifted flour

1 cup quick-cooking oatmeal

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

½ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground allspice

2 large eggs at room temperature

 

1)      preheat oven to 350.

2)      In a large bowl cream together butter, sugar, ¾ cup dark brown sugar, and ¾ cup milk.

3)      In another bowl mix flour, oatmeal, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice.

4)      Add dry to wet ingredients. Beat and add remaining milk ( ¼ cup) and the eggs. Beat.

5)      Fill cupcake liners and then top each with brown sugar. The more the better.

6)      Bake for 20-25 minutes.

 

 

 

 

Banana Coconut Frosting

 

5 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup coconut

½ cup mashed bananas (usually 1 banana)

1 tsp lemon juice

8 cups powdered sugar

 

1)      Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a pan. Stir in coconut and continue stirring until the coconut is brown. Set aside.

2)      Combine mashed bananas and lemon juice.

3)      In a separate bowl cream together the 3 ½ tablespoons butter and powdered sugar. Then add the banana mixture. Mix.

4)      Mix in the cooked coconut.

 

 

 

Topping:

2 cups granola

Banana chips

 

 

Frost each cupcake and then roll the cupcake top in the granola. Top with a banana chip. Enjoy immediately. Happy Birthday to me.

 

 

 

Pesach!

Grandparent’s Seder Plate and Elijah’s Cup.

I am behind in postings. I have a long list of things I would like to blog about but alas I am entering the final stretch of my semester and attempting to finish my MA essay. So pardon my tardiness.

Pesach is almost over…. I woke up this morning craving cereal, my yummy Smart Start.

This week has been rather interesting. I have eaten a lot of fruit and matzo.

For Seder I made a Mina de Espinaca (Spinach Pie), Matzo Ball soup and Kosher for Passover Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate frosting (a la Manischewitz).

The Mina before going into the oven. Yummy!

-Mina de Espinaca con crema. I added broccoli and shallots to the mina to make it more unique.

Matzo Ball Soup!

Later in the week I made Matzo Farfel stuffing and a Matzo Cheese pie, Honey Cupcakes and White Cupcakes (all Kosher for Passover).

Here are the Kosher for Passover Chocolate Cupcakes I made from Manischewitz cake mix.

Proof.

 

Fresh out of the oven!

The finished Cupcakes.

I promise to update soon.

Baked Bananas

I have some bananas that are beginning to brown so I thought I should make good use of them. I made a baked banana from my Student’s Vegetarian Cookbook.

Baked Bananas:

(the finished product with steam coming from it, yummy!)

Here is the recipe:

Oven 400 degrees F

1 banana

2 tablespoons yogurt (be generous!) (I used Weight Watchers Vanilla yogurt)

ground cinnamon

1) Put the banana on a baking sheet and make a slit along the length of the banana.

2) Bake the banana for 10-15 minutes. (The skin will turn black and the banana will ooze)

3) Remove the banana from the peel, spoon yogurt on top and sprinkle with cinnamon.

 

(steamy goodness in every bite)

I think my dad will love this recipe. They smell better than baked apples and are defintely better. 

Now I have to figure out what to do to with the rest of the bananas.