Monday, August 31, 2009

Dessert Night...Yum.

We had friends over for dessert last night and it was so fun. We had PLENTY of sugar to go around and it was all so delicious! We had a PB Pie from Pioneer Woman (thanks Lacey), yum brownies with PB from Bakerella (muchas gracias Sar) and some snickerdoodles (merci Lisa!) that I don't have a recipe for yet! Our contributions were as follows:
Fruit and French Toast Kebabs
I omitted the syrup and blueberry stuff (too messy for a buffet style deal; plus I used apples, pears and strawberries) and served it with mi madre's Fruit Dip which goes as follows...mix together 8 oz cream cheese, 1/3 c brown sugar, 1/4 regular sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla. Beat it all together and keep refrigerated.


Savannah Cheesecake Squares
(from Paula Deen from Food Network Magazine Nov/Dec 2008)

Makes approx 24 "cookies"
1 c APF
1/4 c brown sugar
1 c chopped pecans
1 stick butter, melted
2 8-oz cream cheese, softened
1 c sugar (I cut this back a bit)
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla or almond extract (I opted for the almond and oh so glad I did)
Garnishments (I used fresh strawberries and frozen blackberries)

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Combine flour, brown sugar and pecans in a mixing bowl. Slowly pour in melted butter and mix until dough forms. Press into UNGREASED 9x13 pan (it will seem pretty thin) Bake until lightly brown (12-15 min). Remove from oven.
WHILE crust is baking, using electric mixer combine cream cheese and granulated sugar until smooth. Add eggs and extract. Beat well. Pour over crust and bake for 20 min (center should be set). Cool completely, cut into squares and decorate.


Tarts (which by the by are SO super easy it's almost a shame).



and PECAN Tassies!
An old roommate favorite!
(from Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, p 226)

1/2 c butter, softened
3 oz cream cheese
1 cup APF
1 egg
3/4 c brown sugar
1 Tbsp butter melted
2/3 c chopped pecans
Preheat oven 325F.
For pastry crusts:
Mix together 1/2 butter and cream cheese til softened. Stir in flour. Press a rounded teaspoon of pastry mix into bottom and up the sides of an UNGREASED mini muffin pan to form a little cup(makes 24).
we found we needed 1.5 tsp per muffin tin of the pastry mix to have a decent crust.
For Filling:
In a bowl beat together egg, brown sugar, and 1 Tbsp butter (melted). Stir in chopped pecans. Spoon 1-2 teaspoons into each prepared pastry-lined muffin tin. (
sometimes there's not quite enough filling for a full 24)
Bake 325F for 25 minutes or until pastry and filling has puffed. Cool slightly in pan. CAREFULLY remove and cool on wire rack.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Pork Tenderloin with Cherry Sauce



We made this for dinner last night and as we sat down I commented to Senor how it was a "pretty" meal and even better, it is SUPER easy to throw together. Healthy, balanced, and visually appealing...can't get much better huh?!

Pork Tenderloin with Cherry Preserves Sauce: (I'm going off the stuff we had last night...)
2 lb pork tenderloin
1 jar Bonne Maman Cherry Preserves
1/4 c red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp corn syrup (or just 1 Tbsp of sugar will do)--optional
1/4 tsp cinnamon, nutmeg, AND cloves

For Pork Tenderloin: Preheat oven to 425F. Line a baking pan with foil and place tenderloin in there...you can sprinkle with a little EVOO, salt, pepper if you like but it's not necessary, cover loosely with foil; bake for 25-35 min/lb. OR until meat thermometer reads 160-170F.
When the porkloin is close to being done--Use a small saucepan and mix together over med-hi heat the cherry preserves (keep your jar for leftovers!), red wine vinegar, sugar, spices. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 2-5 min.
You can pour the mix OVER the tenderloin as it's getting close to being cooked completely or you can hold off and pour it on individual servings (which is what we prefer). You can keep any leftovers of the cherry mixture in the jar refrigerated for quite a while.

Served with Steam Fresh Green beans (steam them in the bag according to directions, toss with little EVOO, black pepper and coarse salt)
Mushroom/Onion rice
1 c Basamati/Jasmine/Brown Rice
1 can beef broth
1/2 onion, chopped
1 small can mushrooms, rinsed, drained
little butter

In med saucepan, over med heat melt butter (maybe 1/2 Tbsp or use EVOO). When it starts bubbling add onions, sautee til they're browning up a little, add shrooms for a minute. Now you have to check your measurements depending on the kind of rice you're using. For instance last night the Basamati Rice called for 1.5 c liquid for 1 c rice. So I used 1 c beef broth, 1/2 c water. So check your rice directions and use part beef broth, part water. Cook according to directions from there.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Lemony Blueberry Amazingness

P.S. 8/27/09 Senor has rescued me from my technologically challenged state and has FOUND my pictures!! So here ya go!

So you'll have to rely on the lovely photography of Mary Ann for this recipe. Her cake looks divine and thus the reason I HAD to try this one out!! This cake was easy to make, the mix was perfect and is still moist and soft. I opted to follow her suit and made the lemon cream cheese icing instead of the listed buttercream. I think it works nicely, EXCEPT it DOES NOT decorate well AT ALL. So if you're going for a fancy look, skip the cream cheese stuff and go with the usual buttercream suspects.
The filling was quite tart but so yummy, I really like it and think it goes well. Senor is still deciding. Overall he loved this and listed it as his #2 dessert now!
I 1/2'd the cake, filling and icing recipes; used it to make 12 cupcakes.
I baked the cakes as directed (swirling approx 1 Tbsp in each), once they're baked, using a fork I pulled back the middle and created a little crater for approx 1 heaping tsp of the filling to drop down in (be sure to do that while they're warm it makes it much easier). Then cool, ice. Keep stored in air-tight container in fridge.

Marbled Lemon Blueberry Butter Cake from Sky High by Alisa Huntsman and Peter Wynne
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 tsp grated lemon zest
1½ tsp lemon extract
7 egg whites
3 cups cake flour
4 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1¼ cups milk
Fresh blueberries, for decoration

Lemon blueberry preserves (below)
Lemon buttercream frosting (below)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of three 8 inch round cake pans. Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper.
In a mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, lemon zest and lemon extract until light and fluffy. Gradually add the egg whites 2 or 3 at a time, beating well between additions and stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Combine the flour, baking powder and salt, whisk gently to blend. In 2 or 3 alternating additions, beat the dry ingredients and milk into the butter mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl several times. Beat on medium-high speed for about 1 minute to smooth out any lumps and aerate the batter.
Scoop 1 cup of the batter into a small bowl. Divide the remaining equally among the 3 prepared pans, smoothing the tops with a spatula. This gives you a smooth surface to work with. Add 2½ tbsp of the lemon blueberry preserves to the reserved batter and blend well. Drizzle heaping teaspoons of this blueberry mixture over the batter in the pans. Use a skewer to swirl the blueberry mixture in short strokes to drag it down through the lemon batter without mixing it in.

Bake for about 25 minutes or until a cake tester or skewer stuck in the centre comes out clean and the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan. I baked my cupcakes approx 12 min and then kept checking them every 2-3 min, can't recall exactly how long they took, just keep an eye on them!! This is where I also, removed them from the oven, quickly used a fork to stick in the middle of each cake and pulled back a little to make a little pit in the center, spooning a tsp or so of the filling into each cuppycake. Then let them cool. Let the layers cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack, peeling off the paper and leaving to cool completely.

Lemon Blueberry Preserves--I (ag) would recommend making this FIRST
3 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen I used frozen cuz that's what I got
¾ cup sugar Decreased this a tweak (to about 1/3 cup or less I think)
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1½ tsp grated lemon zest
1 tsp grated fresh ginger

Puree the blueberries with any juices that have exuded in a blender. Pass the puree through a coarse strainer to remove the skins. I skipped straining it mainly b/c I liked the skins and texture. It didn't seem to harm anyone or cause a war outbreak anywhere.
In a heavy medium saucepan, combine the blueberry puree with the sugar, lemon juice, zest and ginger. Bring to a gentle boil over a medium heat, stirring often for 20 minutes, or until the preserves have thickened and are reduced to 1 cup. To check the proper thickness place a small amount of a saucer and put in the freezer until cold. Drag your finger through it. If a clear path is made through the preserve then it is ready. Let the preserves cool before using. (Can be made up to 5 days in advance).

Lemon Buttercream Frosting
1 cup sugar
¼ cup water
2 eggs
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and water. Bring to the boil over a medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Continue to boil without stirring, occasionally washing down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush until the syrup reaches the soft-ball stage, 238 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Immediately remove from the heat.
In a large mixer bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, beast the eggs briefly. Slowly add the hot syrup in a thin stream, pouring it down the sides of the bowl; be careful to avoid hitting the beaters or the syrup may splatter. When all the syrup has been added, raise the speed to medium,-high and beat until the mixture is very fluffy and cooled to body temperature. This can take 15-20 minutes.
Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and gradually add the softened butter 2 to 3 tablespoons at a time, beating well between additions. As you’re adding the last few tablespoons of butter, the frosting will appear to break, then suddenly come together like whipped butter. Beat in the lemon juice, and the frosting is ready to use.

To Assemble
To assemble the cake, place a layer, flat side up, on a cake stand. Spread half of the lemon blueberry preserves over the top. Place a second layer on top of the first and spread the remaining preserves over it. Finally place the third layer on top and frost the top and sides with the lemon buttercream.
Decorate with fresh blueberries and serve.
Makes one 8 inch triple layered cake.

ALTERNATIVE Cream cheese icing:
For the frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick ( 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 pound or 3 and ¾ cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or ½ teaspoon pure lemon extract
1/2-1 tsp lemon zest (optional) YES PLEASE
1/2 tsp vanilla (optional) YES again please!

German Apple Pancake


This is a post script 8/27/09 (at the beginning I know...)--Senor helped me find my deleted pictures of this dish. It was Delish! Senor L.O.V.E.D. it. He put it on the "request over and over" list. I would have cooked it cute little muffin tins but it was just us so we made it in an 8x8 pan and ate about 75% of it.

German Apple Pancakes from Martha Stewart Kids Magazine

Ingredients
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into pieces (about 1 pound) I used about 4-5 medium ish apples (gotta a little carried away)
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon increased to 1-2 tsp
Added 1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2/3 cup flour
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
3 eggs
3/4 cup whole milk
added 1 tsp vanilla (would probably be good with almond extract too!)

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a 8-inch pan with cooking spray or you can use melted butter. Sprinkle with granulated sugar.
2. Peel, core,and slice each apple into twelve wedges, then cut each wedge into three pieces. Toss with brown sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice (and nutmeg).
3. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the apples and saute, turning occasionally, for 10 to 12 minutes, until caramelized. Remove pan from stove; let cool 5 minutes. Spread apples in prepared pan.
4. Place flour, salt, granulated sugar, 2T melted butter, eggs, and milk, vanilla in the bowl of a food processor. Process for 3 minutes.
5. Pour batter over apples. Place tin in oven and lower heat to 400 degrees. Bake 20-25 minutes. Pancakes will puff up during last 5 minutes of baking.
6.Take pan from oven and turn it over on a flat surface to remove pancakes. Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve immediately.

Ours took a little bit longer but I would just recommend checking it frequently (BUT DO NOT OPEN the oven door or you'll lose your POOF!)

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Summer tomatoes and Grown up Mac y Queso

My padres have an abundance of tomatoes in their garden right now. Oh, the taste of a fresh, home-grown summer tomato!! Be still my beating heart! It took many years for my fondness to grow but it cannot be dampened now! Mom gave me SEVERAL tomatoes last week and I was trying to think of how to use such a wonderful thing. I came across Mary Ann's (she goes to church with my parents) stuffed tomatoes and thought it would pair perfectly with her adapted "Grown up Macaroni and Cheese" (or Rotini and cheese as senor pointed out). All of my notes are in red.

I whipped them up last night. It was delicious. The tomatoes were divine and the macaroni (I'm not a cheese fan) was quite delicious and easy. Try it some evening! And remember to use the George to fix your bacon!

Grown Up Mac and Cheese with Turkey Bacon and Broccoli adapted from the Barefoot Contessa
4 ounces turkey bacon, chopped and cooked until crisp (I use regular bacon, center cut--4 slices)
2 cups whole wheat rotini
1 1/2 cups 2% milk (whatever milk you've got is fine. we used 1%)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 ounces Gouda cheese, grated
3 ounces Italian blend shredded cheese
2 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch nutmeg
2 cups broccoli crowns, cut up
2 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed
2 tablespoons freshly chopped basil leaves
(I sub'd the bread/basil for italian bread crumbs, it was fine. we don't keep white sandwich bread at our house, it's dangerous)
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the rotini and broccoli--cook according to the directions on the package, 6 to 8 minutes (I went 8 min and it was perfect). Drain well into a large mixing bowl, add in bacon pieces.
Meanwhile, heat the milk in a small saucepan, but don't boil it. (I simply heated it up in the microwave for 1.5 min til it was steaming but not bubbling). Melt the butter in a medium pot and add the flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk til smooth. While whisking, add the hot milk and cook for a minute or 2 more, until thickened and smooth. Off the heat, add the Gouda, Italian blend, Cheddar, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Pour cheese mixture over pasta, broccoli and bacon mixture and stir well. Pour into 2 individual size gratin dishes or smaller ramekins if you want to get more servings, and reduce the baking time accordingly (I used 6 little dishes and only kept them in the oven for 15 minutes).
Place the bread slices in a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until you have coarse crumbs. Add the basil and pulse to combine. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the top of the pasta. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on the top.
Feta-Stuffed Tomatoes from Southern Living
Prep: 15 min., Bake: 15 min.
4 large tomatoes
4 ounces crumbled feta cheese (I used 2 oz and then sub'd 2 oz shredded parmesan/mozarella)
1/4 cup fine, dry breadcrumbs (I used Italian blend)
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons olive oil (I used 1 Tbls)
Cut 4 large tomatoes in half horizontally. Scoop out pulp from each tomato half, leaving shells intact; discard seeds and coarsely chop pulp.
Stir together pulp; 4 ounces crumbled feta cheese; 1/4 cup fine, dry breadcrumbs; 2 tablespoons chopped green onions; 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley; and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium bowl.
Spoon mixture evenly into tomato shells, and place in a 13- x 9-inch baking dish. I baked mine in little muffin tins in the muffin pan so they'd maintain their shape--they got a little juicy/soggy but were still good. Just baked them at 400F with the macaroni for 12-15 min. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes. Garnish with Italian parsley sprigs, if desired.

Coconut soup and Son-in-Law Eggs

Senor was in charge of dinner the other night, he selected 2 things from his Thai recipe book. The man loves Thai. Both items were light. The soup was quite zippy and fresh. I liked it (which says alot since I'm NOT a coconut fan). The eggs were more Chinese than Thai I think, but were different. Not sure I'd make them a go-to. It was a nice change from the usual and was filling!
Thanks senor!
Chicken and Coconut Milk Soup (modified from the Complete Thai Cooking by Hamlyn)
2.5 c chicken broth
1/2 tsp lime zest
1/4 tsp lemon zest
2" piece ginger, peeled and finely sliced/grated
3/4 c coconut milk
1/2 c fish sauce (OMITTED, I hate fish sauce)--sub 1 tsp salt
2 tsp light brown sugar
6-7 Tbsp lime juice
12 oz boneless, skinless chicken cooked and cut up into small pieces
red pepper, as needed (USE SPARINGLY!!)
We added cut up fresh pineapple and cooked sweet potatoes (peeled, cubed and boiled til tender)

Heat the chicken stock in sauce pan over med heat, add lime zest, lemon zest and ginger. As it simmers add coconut milk, fish sauce, sugar and lime juice. Stir well. (A note: At this point I would say strain out the ginger pieces...I did not care for them). Add in chicken (and other mix-ins) simmer for 5 minutes.
Sprinkle red pepper on top as desired for HEAT!
Son-in-Law Eggs (we halved the recipe)
4 hard cooked eggs
3 c peanut oil (or vegetable oil)--we nixed that and used a few Tbsp to coat the pan
5 shallots peeled and finely sliced
3 cloves garlic peeled and finely sliced
1/3 c Tamarind water (we sub'd: 3 Tbsp white vinegar, 3 Tbsp brown sugar, 3 Tbsp soy sauce mixed together)
3 Tbsp fish sauce (OR 1 tsp salt!)
1/3 c light brown sugar
1/2 c water

garnish-cilantro

1. Shell the eggs and cut in half lengthwise
2. Heat oil in wok (or large nonstick skillet) over med heat and stir-fry shallots, garlic until golden...drain on paper towels. set aside.
3. Slide eggs (yolk side down) into hot oil (again just a few Tbsp), cook all over until golden brown. Remove and drain on papertowels.
4. Put the tamarind water, salt, sugar in a sauce pan. Stir until sugar dissolves then add water. Cook, stirring constantly for 5 minutes until it becomes syrupy. Reduce heat.
5. Arrange eggs yolk-side up on a plate, sprinkle each with shallots/garlic. Bring sauce to fast boil and continue boiling (stirring) until it is thickened. Remove from heat and ladle over eggs.
Garnish with cilantro/red chiles.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Orange Toast

The house smelled funny today so I put some homemade potpurri on the stove to freshen things up; the scent of cinnamon and cloves made me hungry and craving something cinnamon-y and orange. I appologize now, I was so overcome with hunger I did not have time to take a picture of this, trust me though, it was DELICIOUS!
Thus I came up with this:

Orange French Toast
(makes 3-4 slices)
2 eggs
1 Tbsp OJ (or more)
1/2 tsp orange zest
pinch cloves
pinch nutmeg
1-2 tsp cinnamon
3-4 slices of bread
butter

1. Mix eggs, OJ, zest, and spices together; whisk well.
2. Heat skillet on med-low, while doing so soak 1 slice of bread--flip to coat on each side.
3. lightly grease warm skillet with butter, place egg-soaked bread in skillet and cook on each side til done.
4. Repeat with remaining bread until done
Serve with maple syrup or warmed applesauce mixed with craisins and pecans. Yum!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

PB and Chocolate Bday Cake

I was wanting to try my hand at a little more fancy cake. My friend Sarah's Bday was coming up so I asked her to pick something...she went with an almost no-fail combo of chocolate cake and PB frosting. Like Reese's peanut butter cups on crack.

Few thoughts on the outcome:
1. I used 8" round pans but forgot to adjust the baking time...next time will decrease by about 5-10 min
2. Forgot to sift the flour, not sure this really made a huge difference, BUT...
3. Refrigerated cake (completed) day before, should've waited to assemble until the day of
4. Batter seemed extra thick, perhaps increasing buttermilk to thin it a bit
5. The icing required continuous thinning...kind of difficult to work with
So, summary, it looked great, just need to tweak some things about the recipe and my methods-the cake itself was a bit dense and dry.
Happy Birthday Sarah and thanks for allowing me to experiment!
Here's the process-

Cakes are baked, icing is made

cakes are levelled, spackled and lathered in PB frosting

decorating done, cake is complete! Sorry, I failed to get a picture of a slice of the cake...

Serendipitously Delicious


I call these Serendipity Sandwiches because I "created" them after eating something similar at the super famous Serendipity 3 in NYC many years ago. There's nothing super fancy to them, just a dang good, filling sandwich (suitable even for a man-dinner)

Ingredients:
Pumpernickel-Rye Swirl Bread (I usually cannot find this so I go with rye or pumpernickel plain)
Muenster cheese slices
Deli Turkey (I prefer honey cured-thinly sliced)
Zaxby's Zax sauce (you can buy just the sauce!)--sub options here
avocado, smushed
sliced tomato
sliced purple onion
chopped spinach
bacon (cooked)--this is completely optional but I find it does make it more filling
Preheat Oven to 350F
1. Toast the bread, place on foil-lined cookie sheet (pair the bread for each sandwich side by side)
2. Slather one side of each sandwich with Zax sauce
3. Now add red onion, bacon, tomato as you like on the Zax's sauce bread
4. On plain side of sandwich place desire amt of turkey (I like LOTS), top with Muenster cheese
5. Place in oven and bake for 10-15 min or until cheese has melted to your liking (I like mine a teeeensy bit brown)
6. Remove, top tomato side with avocado and spinach...serve open face.
Sides: fruit, tostidos, potatoes, pickle wedges

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Philly Dip Sandwiches


Chicken Style.
I cannot stand the taste/texture of steak/roast beef. Blame it on preggo-ness, I blame it on working at Arby's. Either way I can't handle it. So I use chicken for my Philly Dips. Senor doesn't mind.

Here's my concoction from last night:
(Makes 5 Sandwiches)
Filling:
2 lbs chicken breasts (with skin & bone), boiled, chopped/shredded
1 green belle pepper, sliced
1 onion, sliced (retain 1/4 for au jus)
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp EVOO
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2-3 tsp dried parsely flakes
1/2 (or more) tsp paprika
black pepper and salt to taste
1-2 tsp chicken boullion
1/3-2/3 c water

Boil chicken, de-bone, shred. In large skillet over med-hi heat heat butter/oil until it's hot. Add 3/4 of onions and all peppers. Sautee until slightly translucent. Add chicken, seasonings as desired. Sprinkle chicken boullion over chicken and add water 2 Tbsp at a time (con't add water to keep chicken moist)...heat through.

Au Jus:
1 can beef consume
1-2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp worcestershire sauce (I used soy sauce cuz we were OUT!)
black pepper--to taste
1/4 onion sliced
3 Tbsp diced celery
2/3 c water
1/2 Tbsp butter or EVOO
1 Tbsp flour

In med suace pan heat EVOO or butter and when hot add onions, celery. sauteee slightly until softening. Add worcestershire sauce. Stir in flour. SLOWLY whisk in beef consume (be sure to get flour dissolved), water, mustard, pepper. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, simmer on low for 15-20min.

Buns:
I used this recipe and it was SUPER easy. It does require some time (so plan accordingly) but the pay-off is well worth it. I used 1/2 the recipe to make 6 buns and used random proportions of whole-wheat/All-purpose flour.

You can always use sub rolls or something from you bakery too.

Place desired amount of chicken, onion, pepper mix on buns; top with slices of tomatoes; add a slice or two of provolone cheese (or your choice) and place in oven to melt cheese...350F for 10 min usually does the trick.

Place au jus in bowl for dipping.
Enjoy!

Cupcakery Trial #1



In preparation for our girls' trip we had laid out plans to go to the local Cupcakery (Luli's) and the more I thought about them the more I wanted to make some cupcakes NOW! I haven't made cakes in a while, it's been pies and cookies around here. So I decided to try my hand at cupcakes (making them all pretty and presentable). I am not anywhere near being ready to open a cupcakery but I think for 1 yr old parties (a duty of being a mom, right?!) they'll be fine!
I used this cake recipe (I 1/3'd it and it made exactly 12 cupcakes-- DO NOT OVERBAKE! I think about 12-15 min would be perfect) and this icing recipe--sub'ing almond extract for the vanilla...it was mighty tasty! (I kind of actually mixed it with the Hershey's perfect chocolate frosting...)

Icing:
Fluffy Chocolate Buttercream:
Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
2/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1/4-1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.