Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies

Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies are light fluffy moist and oh so soft! This batch was made for our bake sale to benefit Farm of the Child

I cannot even explain to you how busy the last week has been! I was lucky enough to get tickets to an advance screening of Dinner for Schmucks and got to spend a night with the boys at the movies. I love being the girl in the all guy group, especially at a movie like that.....where every minute or so Brandon would throw his hand in front of my eyes. I'm 26 guys! Don't really need to hide my eyes anymore! The movie is funny. Ridiculous of course, but look at the premise. Are you really expecting anything sophisticated? Paul Rudd was rather disappointing. But I laughed myself sick so it's all good.

This morning however caused my coworker to ask me if I'd had a rough night and took up drinking. Okay, so casual Friday is being taken to a slightly grander extreme today. My oversized white tee, dark shades, ratted hair, slumped hobo, and pained expression.......well yeah, I can see what he was saying. I look like a little I partied just a little too hard. What did I do?

THE RUNNING OF THE BRIDES!

When my roomate asked if I wanted to come to this event I thought....oh sure that'll be fun! Um. Worst definition of fun. Mobs? Bridezillas? Henchmen? Bartering? Hoarding? SCARY! Scariest form of fun ever. These women go crazy! And let's just take a moment to consider whether or not it is socially acceptable to strip down to a bra and underwear in the middle of the store and try on dresses. I was shocked by first of all, some people's confidence in their bodies. They were NOT that attractive. But also, their sheer brazen disregard for any form of social propriety. You are in a store! Not your home! Deck yourself out in spandex and have a little pride woman!

And so today I am a little worse for wear (as was every dress paraded through that store). I'm posting something that isn't new, borrowed or blue. Here it is: my old fashioned sugar cookies!

merry christmas in july as well! i usually make these for holiday plates in december. 

Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies

1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
3 c. sifted flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 c. evaporated milk or heavy whipping cream

Cream butter, adding sugar gradually. Cream until soft and fluffy. Then add eggs
one at a time, beating after each addition.  Sift dry ingredients together.
Alternately add ingredients and cream to egg sugar mixture.  Mix well.

Chill 3 hours or overnight.  Roll out on a well-floured board or countertop to 1/4-1/2
in. thickness.  Shape with floured cookie cutters.  Bake on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

(a secret:  the cookies won't be brown at all when they are done-press down lightly on a cookie when 8 min is up.  If the cookie springs back the cookie is done)

Old Fashioned Sugar Cookie Frosting

1/2 c butter
4 oz cream cheese
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2-3 c powdered sugar (just enough to sweeten)
milk

Whip softened butter and softened cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add
vanilla and powdered sugar mixing until well combined.  Add milk to bring
frosting to desired consistency.

Black and White Cupcakes

A lightly lemon flavored cake batter with chocolate and white vanilla frosting swirled atop. My take of an iconic NYC treat in honor of my weekend trip!

Just a few days ago I got back from NYC. It should have been closer to just a few hours ago, but I have the feeling that the raccoon I ran over a few weeks ago must have been Karma's favorite pet. First of all, a raccoon? Seriously? I hit a raccoon driving home in DC! Okay, so it’s probably not about that, but I had a CRAZY weekend! I don’t understand how literally nothing went according to plan.

First, a trip to NYC to spend some time with my friend Kim. So fun! We ordered in dinner from Kitchinette and spent the night planning away at our fun weekend! The big plan???? HOT AIR BALLOONS! We went to the The 28th Annual Quick Chek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning!!! It was fantastic!!! The balloons were absolutely gorgeous! And who knew the sky was that gorgeous at 6 am! No seriously, we woke up and drove out of the city at 5 am. It was an early morning!  

You might make fun of me for this picture but let’s face who I really am. I am a big kid at heart. Silly. Goofy. Carefree. With no inhibitions….which I probably should have by this age. Eh. Who needs ‘em? But yes, I am a big kid at heart. Little kids love little balloons. I’m a big kid, I love big balloons.

But when we got back to NYC we had a little trouble finding parking. That’s not surprising in the city. The parking situation is a little ridiculous, especially now that the Financial District is under construction on every other street. But the good news is I did eventually find a parking spot! It was just in Alexandria, Virginia. I decided to drive home instead of paying so much for parking and spend the money on coming up a few other weekends.

So I spent the rest of my weekend in DC, and that brings me to my second “Karma is our to get me” story: the ten minute tornado. My roommate and her fiancée are sitting with me in our living room, we’re eating lunch, and the sky goes from bright and sunny, to dark and ominous in about ten seconds. The winds start whipping through the streets and a part of tree falls into our lawn. Not being the brightest,  we walk out on the porch, look at it, and then Hugh, the good man that he is pulls us back inside….and then the entire tree falls in our yard! It destroyed our fence, and hit our gutter. That’s how close it was to the house and porch we’d just been standing on!We were so lucky. Our neighbor’s car was under their tree.

The weird thing? That storm lasted less than ten minutes. Bizarre.

So here are some black and white cupcakes, a caker’s take on the city’s classic cookie, and heck the swirls might as well be in honor of the swirling tornado that took out my white picket fence. Either way: Karma hates me lately.

What a weekend! I hope you have better luck with these than I had all weekend!

Black and White Cupcakes

1 white cake mix

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 1/3 cups water

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 egg whites

Line a cupcake pan with wrappers. Preheat oven to 325.

In a stand mixer, add cake mix, lemon zest and water. Mix on low with paddle attachement until well combined. Add oil. Mix. Add egg whites one at a time beating well in between each addition.

Bake cupcakes for 12-15 minutes.

Allow to cool on a wire rack before frosting.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting: 

1 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
A pinch of salt
3 cups confectioners sugar (or to taste)

1 cup cocoa

Whip in a stand mixer using a paddle attachment butter, and flavoring till creamy then whip in powdered sugar and cocoa. Set aside until ready to use.

White Buttercream Frosting: 

1 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
A pinch of salt
4 cups confectioners sugar

white food dye

Whip (with a paddle attachment, not wisk!) butter, salt and vanilla till creamy. Then whip in powdered sugar and white food dye. Set aside until ready to use.

To Decorate:

Take a decorating bag and if you are using a decorating tip attach it now. Lay the bag on the counter. Fill the bottom half with white buttercream, and then fill the chocolate buttercream on top. If you are holding the bag upright, you should have chocolate on the left and white buttercream on the right. Pipe out swirling to keep the different buttercreams to their respective sides. 

Chocolate Raspberry Charlotte Royale Bombe Glacee

This treat takes some work! And even more effort to make look pretty! I was paranoid the entire time. This ice cream cake is a twist of a Charlotte Royale and a Bombe Glacee, two amazing antique desserts. The result is beautiful and a very tasty treat!

The July 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Sunita of Sunita’s world – life and food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice-cream filled Swiss roll that’s then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. Her recipe is based on an ice cream cake recipe from Taste of Home.

This challenge was just that! A challenge! With multiple components coming together it took me the better part of my Saturday to complete the charlotte bombe glacee. I can’t call it a swiss roll ice cream cake. It just seems a little too low for such amazing antique desserts. The bombe has been around since the 1800s. Can you imagine trying to make ice cream in the early 1882? I can’t but Le Guide Culinaire has nearly sixty recipes for the bombe and it was published in 1903! The Charlotte Royale dates back farther to the 1700s. Absolutely amazing.

The biggest recommendation I can make is to freeze the swiss rolls before trying to assemble. It kept crumbs from getting in the icing, and kept the rolls from falling completely flat under the pressure of the knife. I also had a second mold for my bome that I used to ensure things were even, and cut up smaller pieces of swiss cake roll to fill in any gaps between the rolls to keep the ice cream from showing.

I absolutely loved this challenge! Thanks Sunita for an excellent challenge!

You’ll be making a few components for this dessert:

chocolate swiss rolls with raspberry buttercream

hot fudge sauce

raspberry jelly ice cream and

chocolate ice cream.

Personally I’d recommend completing all components before assembly.

Chocolate Swiss Rolls with Raspberry Buttercream

6 medium sized eggs

1 C caster sugar

6 tblsp all purpose (plain) flour +

5 tblsp dutch processed cocoa powder

2 tblsp  boiling water

a little oil for brushing the pans

for the raspberry buttercream:

1 cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

a pinch of salt

4 cups confectioners’ sugar

raspberry jelly to taste (about ½ cup for me)

Pre heat the oven to 400 F. Brush two 11x9 inch pans with a little oil and line with greaseproof baking paper.

In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs and sugar and beat till very thick; when the beaters are lifted, it should leave a trail on the surface for at least 10 seconds.

Add the flour mixture, in three batches and fold in gently with a spatula. Fold in the water.

Divide the mixture among the two baking pans and spread it out evenly, into the corners of the pans.

Place a pan in the centre of the pre heated oven and bake for about 10-12 minutes or till the centre is springy to the touch.

Spread a kitchen towel on the counter and sprinkle a little caster sugar over it.

Turn the cake on to the towel and peel away the baking paper. Trim any crisp edges.

Starting from one of the shorter sides, start to make a roll with the towel going inside. Cool the wrapped roll on a rack, seam side down.

Repeat the same for the next cake as well. Allow to cool. Meanwhile make the raspberry jam buttercream. Whip butter, salt, and vanilla till creamy then whip in powdered sugar in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment. Beat on a medium speed until light and fluffy. Add jam and continue until incorporated.

Open the rolls and spread the raspberry jam buttercream, making sure it does not go right to the edges (a border of ½ an inch should be fine).

Roll the cakes up again, this time without the towel. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the freezer until needed, seam side down, until ready to assemble the charlotte bombe glacee

The Hot fudge sauce

1 C powdered sugar

3 tblsp dutch process cocoa powder

2 tblsp arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)

1 and ½ C whipping cream

1 tblsp butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, arrowroot powder and whipping cream.

Place the pan over heat, and stir constantly, till it begins to thicken and is smooth

Remove from heat and mix in the butter and vanilla. Keep aside to cool until ready to assemble the charlotte bombe glacee

Raspberry Jelly Ice Cream

2 large eggs
¾ cups sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups whipping cream
1 cup whole milk

½ cup raspberry jelly


In a stand mixer combine the eggs and sugar. Beat for one minute until light and fluffy. Gently mix in the cream, milk and raspberry jelly. Do not whip!

Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Pour ice cream into a suitable container and freeze until ready to assemble the charlotte bombe glacee.

Chocolate Ice Cream

2 large eggs
¾ cups sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
2/3 cup dutch process cocoa


In a stand mixer combine the eggs and sugar. Beat for one minute until light and fluffy. Gently mix in the cream, milk and dutch process cocoa. Do not whip!

Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Pour ice cream into a suitable container and freeze until ready to assemble the charlotte bombe glacee.

Assembly:

Cut the Swiss rolls into 20 equal slices ( approximately 2 cms each ).

Cover the bottom and sides of the bowl in which you are going to set the dessert with cling film/plastic wrap.

Arrange two slices at the bottom of the pan, with their seam sides facing each other. Arrange the Swiss roll slices up the bowl, with the seam sides facing away from the bottom, to cover the sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and freeze till the slices are firm (at least 30 minutes).

Soften the raspberry jelly ice cream. Take the bowl out of the freezer, remove the cling film cover and add the ice cream on top of the cake slices. Spread it out to cover the bottom and sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and freeze till firm ( at least 1 hour)

Add the fudge sauce over the raspberry jelly ice cream, cover and freeze till firm . ( at least an hour)

Soften the chocolate ice cream and spread it over the fudge sauce. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4-5 hours till completely set .

Remove the plastic cover, and place the serving plate on top of the bowl. Turn it upside down and remove the bowl and the plastic lining. If the bowl does not come away easily, wipe the outsides of the bowl with a kitchen towel dampened with hot water. The bowl will come away easily.

Keep the cake out of the freezer for at least 10 minutes before slicing, depending on how hot your region is. Slice with a sharp knife, dipped in hot water.

Lavender Honey Caramel Candy Bars

Honey, lavender and caramel flavors gently combine to add a little something extra to this homemade gourmet candy bar. 

What a night we had making these. It’s so tiring to laud one’s own genius for that long. [Too true. –B.] I want to have some humility but this is definitely on my short list of favorites. I’ve been eating then practically nonstop since. Butchie and I both took some into work and got some great reviews back on them, but it was hard to share. Extremely hard to share. [Fine, if you must know we only got like two reviews from anyone other than ourselves. –B.]

Talk about a process, though! The caramel took far longer than we’d imagined, the shortbread dough has to refrigerate twice, and so on and so on. I’m fairly certain it was four hours after we started that I was finally covering the last bar with chocolate! Butchie thought she was so sly chopping the caramel. She made me think I was getting the easy job. Ha. She finished long, long before me, the brute. [In my defense, it was sticky work—just less finicky than the chocolate, apparently. –B.]

But we promise they are worth it. I have eaten two just while typing! It’s my own fault. I really shouldn’t have brought them into work with me. What was I thinking? Oh, right. Sharing. Silly me I should have known I’d end up eating them all myself.

Better go running! 

Lavender Honey Caramel Candy Bars

For the lavender honey caramel

1 cup milk
1 ½ cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons dried lavender buds
¾ cup unsalted butter
¾ cup honey
1 ¾ cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt

For the cookie base:

1 large egg, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

10 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/4 sticks), cold and cut into small pieces

For the chocolate coating:

Dark chocolate

Prepare your pan by greasing it with butter then lining the bottom with parchment paper. Do not use wax paper the caramel will stick.

Place the milk, heavy cream and lavender buds in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 30 minutes. Strain out and discard the lavender. Measure 2 cups of the liquid. Discard the excess.

Combine all of the ingredients except the vanilla and salt in a deep saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring. Using a pastry brush dipped in water, brush down any sugar that has crept up the sides of the pan.   When the mixture reads 240 immediately remove from heat, stir in the vanilla and the salt, and pour into the prepared baking pan. Cool the mixture completely until it is firm, at least 1-2 hours in the refrigerator.

To begin to make the shortbread, in a small bowl beat together egg and vanilla extract until yolk is broken up and evenly combined; set aside.

Combine flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add butter and mix until mixture looks like sand. Add egg mixture and mix just until dough comes together. Form into a flat, rectangular disk, wrap in plastic, and chill at least 1 hour.

Heat oven to 375°F. Place dough on a 14-inch piece of parchment paper, lightly flour, and roll into a 13-by-8-inch oval, about 1/8 inch thick. Transfer parchment paper with dough to a baking sheet, cover in plastic wrap, and refrigerate again for 15 minutes.

Cut each cookien into a 3x.75 inch cookie. Pierce each cookie four or five times with a chopstick or the base of a thermometer.

Place on a baking sheet and cook until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Remove to a wire rack and let cool.

Invert the caramel onto a cutting board and turn glossy side up. Cut into bars to place on top of the shortbread.  Set aside and temper the chocolate.

Place two thirds of the chocolate in a double boiler.  Melt slowly to 107 degrees. Remove from heat and stir until it reaches 110 degrees.  Add in remaining third of chocolate and stir to combine until the mixture reaches 90-93 degrees. Use immediately. 

Place a candy bar on a fork and proceed to spoon the tempered chocolate over it, covering completely. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper. Set completed candy bar on the sheet. Repeat with the remaining candy bars.  Set the cookie sheet in the refrigerator to set the chocolate.

Enjoy!

Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes

Lemon cake with raspberry jam inside and a raspberry buttercream made to benefit Farm of the Child. The tart lemon and raspberry are a perfect combination!

What a week! Thank heaven for interns! My intern James has been saving my sanity this week. In recovery mode from the bake-athon of last week.....well....I may have missed some work. James is so cute! He's still too young to have had his soul crushed by the working world. He works so hard! Bless his littler heart.

Either way these were made to celebrate my past intern Mary Kate as part of the bakesale!

I've said it once and I'll say it again, DC would not function without interns!

Lemon Buttermilk Raspberry Cupcakes

1 3/4 cups sugar

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

2 tablespoons grated lemon peel

3 extra-large eggs

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

3 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

seedless raspberry jam

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake tins with paper wrappers Beat sugar, butter and lemon peel in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in lemon juice.

Sift flour, baking soda and salt into medium bowl. Stir dry ingredients into butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients.

Divide batter among prepared pans along with a dollop of raspberry jam. Bake until tester inserted into center of cakes comes out clean, about 15 minutes.

Raspberry Jam Buttercream Frosting

1 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
a pinch of salt
4 cups confectioners’ sugar

raspberry jam to taste (about ½ cup for me)

Whip butter, salt, and vanilla till creamy then whip in powdered sugar in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment. Beat on a medium speed until light and fluffy. Add jam and continue until incorporated.

Cream Soda Battered Corn Dogs

Iron Chef Soda was a great success! A little heavy on the sugary treats for a dinner party but I’m not complaining! We had a few standout dishes to be sure! Congratulations to David on his win with Pomegranate Sorbet! Next Month’s ingredient is Saffron! photos as seen on photograzing and food beast.

cream soda battered corn dogs

I found this Iron Chef to be challenging. And I picked it! What’s up with that??? Next time I win I’m picking……….um………..bacon. Now that would be a tasty night.

I’ll admit, I didn’t figure out at all what I was going to make until the day before. It’s been a busy month and I kinda forgot! Oops! It happens! Between bake sales, long distance relationships, trivia, writing, blogging,  planning trips to Kansas and NYC, my daring baker challenge….I forgot.

My thought process went a little something like this:

“OH MAN! Okay I need some I can just like, pour a can of something into, like, a beer battered onion ring. Only, not beer. Not beer. Not beer. Not beer…..crud. There is no soda replacement for beer. Square one. Replace the water in a recipe with sparkling water…..that’s kinda lame. Okay, replace the milk in something with soda……CREAM SODA! PERFECT!”

Yes, I really did consider doing the lamest recipe of all and just replacing water with carbonated water. It’s one of the lower points in this cooking competition.

clockwise: dr. pepper pancakes and syrup, curry, cheetos (seriously), apple dumplings, stawberry soda cake, raspberry blackberry cobbler, dr. pepper cake, soda bbq chicken, david pomegranate sorbet

We had some great entrees. My friend Katelyn made the dutch oven classic raspberry blackberry cobbler with soda added to the cake mix, and Gina pulled off the apple dumplings from the Pioneer Woman. Both of which were excellent. The real killer of the night was David’s Pomegranate Sorbet. The recipe is below!!!!

A successful evening! (Another success was our attempt at a bacon wrapped corn dog. A little more greasy but I like it). David will be hosting us for Iron Chef Saffron next month! I’m very sad I’ll be missing it but I’m not skipping my weekend with the long distance boyfriend for it. Shocking right?

Enjoy!

Cream Soda Battered Hot Dogs

oil for deep frying

1 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup yellow cornmeal

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons bacon drippings

1 egg, beaten

1 1/4 cups cream soda

2 tablespoons powdered buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 pounds hot dogs

wooden sticks

Heat oil in a deep fryer to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C).

Put hot dogs on a cookie sheet lined with paper towels in the oven on warm while working.

In a stand mixer, stir together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Stir in melted bacon drippings. Pour in the egg, buttermilk, and baking soda. Mix until everything is smooth and well blended.

Insert wooden sticks into the ends into the end of each hot dog as you. Dip the hot dogs in the batter one at a time, shaking off the excess. Deep fry a few at a time in the hot oil until they are as brown as you like them. Place finished corn dogs back onto the cookie sheet in the oven to drain, and to keep warm.

David's Pomegranate Sorbet

1 pint blueberries (the better they are, the better the result!)

1 bottle Izze Pomegranate Soda

1 c. sugar  (If you don't want it quite as sweet, you can remove a couple of Tbsp.)

1 pinch salt

1/2 Tbsp. vanilla

Blend and strain the blueberries.  It'll probably be a bit goopy due to the pectin in them.  Combine everything but the vanilla into a sauce pan and heat to dissolve the sugar and pectin from the blueberries.  Take off the heat and add the vanilla.  Chill over night, and freeze.

Lemon Chocolate Cupcakes

Butchie graciously offered to help me with the bakesale this week! Too kind right! Amidst all the amazing cupcakes we made we ended up with a few extra batters and voila! A chocolate lemon cupcake! As seen on Photograzing. 

A few years ago I had an intern named Mary Kate.  She is almost TOO good of a person and has chosen to spend the next two years of her life as a volunteer for Farm of the Child in Honduras! Simply amazing! I’m not as good of a person so I only baked cupcakes to help pay her way! Lots and lots and lots of cupcakes.  Thankfully, Butchie is also a good person and was kind enough to devote our weekly baking night to helping with me prepare.  [What’s with all the virtue in this paragraph? Somebody go kick a puppy. –B.]

What a night it was! Eight types of cupcake and three types of cookies is a little much for one kitchen table. In the end there were 108 cupcakes left after our taste tests and I never even attempted to get a count on those cookies.  Posts on many of them will be scheduled in the coming weeks.  Hope you like cupcakes! We have a ton of recipes coming for you! And no more cake for a long time after. I never thought there would be a day I was tired of cake, but 100+ cupcakes have changed my mind.

When all was said and done, we had some extra cake batter and thought about cake batter ice cream, so I just did that. Even then, still some batter left: lemon chocolate cupcakes? Yes, please! I must admit this is far more of a Butchie treat. She loves her lemon. [Someday my citrus evangelism will work and you will see the light. –B.] I will admit that I didn’t mind it at all. I’m starting to think that I have overcome my pronounced hatred of lemon. Out of a matter of pride however I won’t fully admit that just yet, and instead stick to the notion that for once (and not yet again) lemon came out wonderfully! [Mark my words, it will happen. --B]

I just want to wish Mary Kate all the best. I’m very happy to have yet another Cherry Tea sale and to help do some good in the world, and to help her help others.  Farm of the Child is getting a fantastic worker.  

Lemon Buttermilk Cake 

1 3/4 cups sugar

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 tablespoons grated lemon peel

3 extra-large eggs

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

3 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Beat sugar, butter and lemon peel in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in lemon juice. Sift flour, baking soda and salt into medium bowl. Stir dry ingredients into butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients.

Set aside cake batter until ready. Make chocolate buttermilk cake. 

Chocolate Buttermilk Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup dutch process cocoa

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

¾ teaspoon Kosher Salt

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

3/4 cups unsalted butter, softened

3 large eggs

In a large bowl combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt.

In 2-cup liquid measuring cup, mix buttermilk and vanilla.

In a stand mixer beat sugar and butter until blended on a low speed then increase speed to high for a few minutes until light and creamy. Reduce speed to low; add eggs, 1 at a time while the mixer continues to run.

Add in flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately. Beginning and ending with flour mixture.

Pipe  chocolate cake batter and lemon cake batter into into lined cupcake tins alternately.  Repeat with the remaining batter.  Bake 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes.

Top with chocolate lemon buttercream frosting. 

Lemon Chocolate Buttercream

1 cup butter, softened
1 tsp lemon flavoring
a pinch of salt
3 cups confectioners’ sugar

dutch processed cocoa to taste

Whip in a stand mixer using a paddle attachment butter, and flavoring till creamy then whip in powdered sugar in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment.

Enjoy!

DC Cupcakes: What the Locals Think

With the latest DC cake show to be airing tonight I thought I'd have the locals of DC weigh in on the cupcake scene. As seen on Photograzing. 

As a baker who lives and works in DC it’s high time I discuss with you the cupcake craze. It seems to have taken DC by storm. Since I moved here three years ago, a new cupcakery seems to have sprouted up about every six months. It’s so hard to keep track of which cupcake I ate and where. 

So, I decided it was time to hold a blind taste test and an opinion poll. Let me take one second to make my disclaimer: I’m not paid for this, don’t want to paid for this, I just want to eat cake and give you some straight up unbiased and unpaid for opinions.

I picked my first three cupcakeries to taste: Georgetown Cupcakes (soon to have a show on TLC  DC Cupcakes), Baked & Wired, and Hello Cupcake. I went to each and picked up the basic staple: chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting. Because each place has a few variations, I chose the cupcake that the shop deemed good enough to serve on a daily basis.

The results were ENTIRELY unanimous on the taste test:

• Hello Cupcake was DRY. Lease favorite for all.
• The favorite frosting was Baked & Wired.
• The favorite cake was Georgetown Cupcake.
• When asked to pick an “overall favorite” every single person picked Baked & Wired.

Survey Stats:

100 people were asked: Hello Cupcake, Baked and Wired, and Georegetown Cupcakes: which is your favorite and least favorite, and why?????

Favorite:

Baked and Wired: 76%

Georgetown Cupcakes 24%

Hello Cupcake: 0%

Least Favorite:

Hello Cupcake: 55%

Georgetown Cupcake: 33%

Baked & Wired: 12%

*non responses were excluded from the percentages. Roughly 1 in five people were excluded from the survey because they’d never been to any of the three.

Surprised by the results? I’m not.

For the next round we’ll do Love Cafe (Part of Cake Love and their show on the Food Network Sugar Rush), Red Velvet and Sticky Fingers, a vegan bakery.

Here’s my personal review each cupcakery.

The Least Favorite: Hello Cupcake

DRY. So dry it was hard to actually get a good bit out of it with a fork, and for me, the fork test for cake is HUGE. If I can’t get a good fork full of cake…not worth my time. Their location is steps away from a metro stop and their the only cupcake hub for a mile in any direction. I’m pretty sure that’s how they stay in business. They also gets some props for catering to the gluten free or vegan crowd which also seems to hang around the Dupont section of town. Their store is basic, and displays are lackluster. Cheaply decorated with ten dollar glass containers full of sprinkles, that are not airtight and make me wonder about their sanitation. I know because I considered these containers for my kitchen storage and decided against them. Their staff is less than knowledgeable. If you are going to have gluten free and vegan snacks, you need to know what types of sugar and flour go into each cupcake. 

One of our taste testers was surprised that he picked the Hello Cupcake as his least favorite as he frequents it so often.

The good points: In the opinion poll people RAVED about their Lemon Cupcakes. It was called to die for. Their packaging is great for traveling. Your cupcake with make it anywhere and not be ruined or loose half the frosting.

Favorite flavor cupcakes mentioned in the survey: You Tart! Mayan Chocolate

Décor: 2

Service: 2, prompt, but the staff is not knowledgeable about ingredients

Packaging:  8, not cute, but your cupcake will arrive safely

Variety:  7

Georgetown Cupcakes: Chic and Trendy

Georgetown easily has the best branding of any cupcake shops in DC. They’ve marketed themselves so well it’s amazing. One person in the survey even mentioned that they “love their corporate identity” and that’s true of most of their fans. Since they’ve recently moved locations however I feel some of the identity has been lost. I love the quaint little shop around the corner. Walking into the new location on M Street felt a little too much like a factory. Standing in line watching the baking trays of cupcakes in their stands, I felt like a lot of the personality was gone. They have more seating now, pretty molding, white walls and modern furniture accents and lovely three tiered cupcake displays that are charming. But watching the army of staff and the loss of the personal feel of the old store I am leaning away from the love. I also found the large signs warning about nut allergies to be rather detracting. They strongly advise that if you have nut allergies you do not eat any of their cupcakes.

Flavor wise? This is not the bang for your buck cupcake. Easily the smallest cupcake of the three, with the least frosting or decoration. It’s still a very chic cupcake, minimalist in decoration, made with quality ingredients and very moist. The favorite cake of the three. A very good cupcake, but neither the taste test or the survey lived up to the hype.

Favorites flavor cupcake mentioned in the survey: Lemon Berry, Chocolate2 or 3, Chocolate Coconut

Décor: 8

Service: 8, not fast, long lines, but friendly and knowledgable

Packaging:  5 cute, but I’ve never had a cupcake travel twenty feet with losing half the frosting in the box

Variety:  9

Baked & Wired: The Locals Favorite

“Off-Beat” is probably the best way to describe Baked & Wired. They aren’t just cupcakes though. One survey participant didn’t think they should be included in the survey even because of it. (Personally I think it’s smart of them to diversify. Cupcakes won’t last forever). But overwhelmingly the taste test and the survey professed DC’s deep love for Baked & Wired.

They have much more hang out appeal, with local art on the walls, a coffee bar, and a large selection of flavors all lined up under glass domes. Rows and Rows of cake plates covered in treats and a selection that is better for a group that includes those people who don’t like cake. They give away free coffee grinds for composting, have doggy water bowls, and draw on the sidewalk in chalk all the time. They’re relaxed and very friendly. You practically can get the life story of the guy behind the counter if you want it. It has a community, and their community loves them.

They also have the largest of the cupcakes, with inventive names and frosting flavors, quality ingredients, and the best frostings. If only their cake was a little more moist, they’d be the trifecta.

Favorite flavors mention in the survey: Karen’s Birthday Cake, Chocolate Doom, Pretty Bitchin’, Red Velvet

Décor: 7 - creative, but a bit poorly lit

Service: 10 -  friendly, helpful, knowledgeable

Packaging:  9 – minimalist but also get the cupcake there in one piece, love the wax paper wrappers

Variety:  8 -  creative flavor names, wide selection, heavy on the chocolate flavors but I like chocolate, seasonal fresh fruit incorporated

Let’s Talk Peanut Butter:

I personally have also tried to peanut butter flavor at each location. I feel iffy about Hello Cupcakes peanut butter blossom. The cake it still too dry, as is the frosting. The texture leaves something to be desired. I end up there because it’s on my way home.  Georgetown Cupcakes does not have a good equivalent. Their peanut butter ditty is hardly peanut butter. A couple tablespoons of peanut butter filling is harldy going to please the peanut butter lover. It’s their only cupcake that has ever actually annoyed me. Baked & Wired has my favorite peanut butter cupcake named “Pretty Bitchin’” and it lives up to the name. Why can’t that cake be more moist??? Like our other taste test and survey, Baked and Wired wins out again.

A few Quotes from the Survey:

If I really want to indulge, then I go for B&W.  If I just want a sugar fix, then I go to GC. I've never really been impressed with Hello –MM in DC

I love Baked and Wired because I like a denser cake that you have to cut with a fork. Their cupcakes are big and the frosting is thick. Favorite: Karen's Birthday Cake (chocolate cake with buttercream frosting!) – ML in Maryland

I've never been to any of them. I think the fancy cupcake craze is rather ridiculous. –EC in DC

Favorite is baked and wired, the georgetown's frosting tends to be too buttery. –HP in DC

Favorite is Baked and Wired, because they're bigger and just feel more like home-cooked amazingness.  I haven't been to Hello Cupcake yet I'm inclined to say it's my least favorite, which is probably why I've never been.  I think Georgetown Cupcake is cute and tasty, but not as amazing as B &W. –BC in Maryland

I love Baked and Wired - big, dense, sugary cupcakes! While trying to decide on a flavor I once said, as an aside to my friend, that I wanted a strawberry chocolate cupcake.  The girl working there gave me a free strawberry cupcake that she was going to throw away (because it had one minuscule chocolate crumb on it) and I bought a chocolate cupcake - two for the price of one! (I shouldn't have eaten both but I did.) Once I try all of their cupcake flavors I need to start in on those brownies that are so tempting. Least Favorite: Georgetown Cupcake - they have some interesting flavors, but they're small and I was under whelmed with the taste –MS in Maryland

 I find cupcakes on the whole really awkward to eat with the frosting piled high the way it is.  Unless one is going to eat the cupcake with a knife and a fork, I think the frosting on the cupcake should be flat or close to flat on the cake.—JD in Maryland

I've never been to any of them, actually, though I had heard something about D.C. being the cupcake capitol of the world—AH in Maryland

I've only been to Georgetown Cupcake and Hello Cupcake. Between those two, Georgetown definitely wins. They just taste better! Although I have to hand it to Hello's lemon cupcake, which is delicious. But EVERYTHING at Georgetown Cupcake is delicious, and it's hard to compete with that.—CK in Maryland

I've only tried GC, and I think they're fantastic, but I also think cupcakes are on their way out.  Vive les macarons! –JL in Maryland

I like Georgetown cupcake for many reasons. The location is chic. The boxes are adorable. The cupcakes are delicious (especially chocolate Gnache, Red Velvet, and Carrot Cake. MMMM!) They are super yummy. It's just a classy place that I don't think you can beat. –HJ in Maryland

Baked and wired is the best because their cupcakes are more filling (bigger) and their frosting is more creamy. By far more delicious all around. Georgetown cupcakes are my least favorite. –CH in DC

Baked and Wire is my favorite.  The portion sizes are big, the cake is thicker (but not as overly dry as Cakelove's) and the frosting is creamy and has a good flavor.  I used to like Georgetown cupcake because the cupcakes are so light and airy, but I don't think the wait or the price is worth it. –JD in DC

Never been, and find the craze a bit ridiculous.—SO in Virginia

I've never been to any of them...  And while I like cupcakes, I'm not sure what all the hullabaloo is about.—RR in Maryland

Cake Batter Ice Cream

If you're anything like me, you end up eating half the cake batter before anything ever gets baked. This ice cream is the perfect quick fix for wanting cake batter without wanting to bake a cake! Smooth and rich it's sure to be a hit! As seen on Photograzing. 

If you're wondering about that little orange speck, don't worry! It's just a sprinkle. I made an attempt at adding sprinkles to the ice cream for a little color. Frankly it looks like plain vanilla. The sprinkles however didn't help one bit. Oh well, can't say I didn't try.

I've had my cousin in town over the Fourth of July and let me tell you it is rough being a DC tourist. I only joined her for maybe half the excursions but it was a VERY tiring week. There is so much to do! To see! To eat!....but mostly you just walk a mile to all of it. So. Much. Walking.

Clockwise: The National Cathedral, The George Washington Monument, Arlington National Cemetary, The US Capital Building, The Thomas Jefferson Memorial

All in all it's been a tiring time. My personal favorite was walking a mile to the White House to meet my cousin, walking another mile to the George Washington Monument for kickball, and then playing kickball....all in record breaking heat. One-OH!-Two?!?!?! Wretchedly hot. And we didn't even win kickball...but that was a week ago. I'm over it.....not really. I'm sad that today will be the first day in months without kickball.

But to make up for it today I have a rather large order for a bake sale to benefit Farm of the Child in Honduras. A former intern from my office will be volunteering with them for two years, and we're holding a little bake sale to help her raise money to pay her way! She's a wonderful person with such a big heart. I'm excited for her to have such a wonderful opportunity.

Be looking forward to lots of cupcake and cookie posts this month about the wonderful treats I made to benefit Farm of the Child! And without further ado:

Cake Batter Ice Cream

2 large eggs
¾ cups sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
1 1/4 cups yellow cake mix

In a stand mixer combine the eggs and sugar. Beat for one minute until light and fluffy. Gently mix in the cream, milk and cake mix. Do not whip!

Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Pour ice cream into a suitable container and freeze until hardened fully.

Enjoy!