buttercream

Chocolate Whoopie Pies

February 12, 2012 By Anne 59 Comments

Whoopie!!! It’s time again, for Baked Sunday Mornings!!!

Every other Sunday a great group of bakers dedicate themselves to baking from a wonderful book, Baked Explorations by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. It’s a fabulous book by the owners of Baked in NYC. Many thanks to Sheri at Pork Cracklins and Bourbonnatrix of Bourbonnatrix Bakes for their wonderful efforts in leading Baked Sunday Mornings! Though I came in late to this group, I’ve enjoyed getting to know my fellow bakers as we eventually bake our way through this entire book!

This Sunday, just in time for Valentine’s Day, we’re making whoopie! Pies that is! I love whoopie pies for the same reason that I love macarons and cupcakes. You can play with the flavors of the cakes and fillings to suit any season or special occasion. Here’s what I did with mine… [Read more...]

Filed Under: Baked Sunday Mornings Tagged With: buttercream, chocolate

Caramel Apple Cake

September 11, 2011 By Anne 43 Comments

BAKED SUNDAY MORNINGS: CARAMEL APPLE CAKE

I am so glad to learn that the site for Baked Sunday Mornings has been updated. I always want to feature recipes that, even if they are not my own, are still accessible to everyone. Hopefully this recipe will be posted soon on the Baked Sunday Mornings site. It still can, however, be found in the book, Baked Explorations by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito.

What initially seemed unusual to me about this cake is the frosting. Because it contains flour!

Overall, this is really a good cake. The cake itself is moist and flavorful and one that I am likely to use again, especially in cupcakes. And the frosting is tasty. But I don’t think it’s worth the cooking process to get rid of the flour taste, even if it was meant to thicken the frosting. The recipe called for us to use the paddle attachment on our mixers for the frosting. But I ended up swapping out for the whisk….just to get more air and volume. I didn’t think the frosting had enough of a caramel flavor, yet I was reluctant to add more than the 1/3 cup it called for because I was afraid it would affect the texture of the buttercream. So I decided to spread a thin layer of caramel on the cake layers before I frosted it.

All in all the cake is good and the frosting is lightly sweet. But if I make this again, I will use my own recipe for caramel buttercream……and leave the flour for the cake batter!

On a scale of 1-5…..I’m giving this 4 whisks!

Filed Under: Baked Sunday Mornings, Cake Tagged With: apple, buttercream, Cake, caramel

‘I Wish It Were My Birthday’ Cake

July 25, 2011 By Anne 38 Comments

“IT TAKES AS MUCH ENERGY TO WISH AS IT DOES TO PLAN” Eleanor Roosevelt

Yesterday, I picked up a fabulous cookbook by Sherry Yard. And in it, she talked about her earliest memories of baking. And then I realized, there is no history of baking in my family. In fact, my history of baking starts with me! And it started rather late in my life. So I tried to search back on any memories I had of instances where my curiosity about baking was piqued. And I recalled a bakery near my home that I would go to for the most amazing cakes! They only sold 4 or 5 different kinds. But they were the kind of cakes I can only imagine a grandmother would bake! And there was one in particular. A yellow cake with chocolate frosting and pieces of penny candy and confetti and bows all over it. Every time I saw that cake in the bakery I would think to myself…..‘awwww….I wish it were my birthday’!

And so yesterday, when I realized I was the beginning of the baking history in my family…I decided to start a tradition. If you feel like celebrating your life….don’t wait till your birthday to do it! And so I give you…..‘I Wish It Were My Birthday’ Cake! This is an adaptation of Sherry Yard’s recipe and one of the most delicious yellow cakes I have ever tasted! The thing about making your own celebration cake is…….. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Cake Tagged With: buttercream, Cake, chocolate, frosting, vanilla

Vanilla Cupcakes with White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

April 21, 2011 By Anne 7 Comments

“NO HYPE. JUST A GREAT RECIPE.”

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Filed Under: Cupcake Heaven, Simple Tagged With: buttercream, Cupcakes, vanilla, white chocolate

Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

April 3, 2011 By Anne 4 Comments

“LIFE IS UNCERTAIN. EAT DESSERT FIRST.” Ernestine Ulmer

So I live in D.C. where there are an abundance of cupcake bakeries. And it occurred to me one day….that I could do that! Okay. Maybe not in mass. But I was certainly capable of making something better than a funfetti cupcake! I am starting off the first post of this very new blog with this cupcake. Because this was my first attempt at making a “fancy cupcake”. And it is one of the most scrumptious things….. [Read more...]