Raspberry Buckle

My only goal when going to pick raspberries this fall with my son was to get enough to make Raspberry Buckle. I've used this same recipe with blueberries and I'm not sure if I could pick a favorite. Using either is divine. I like this desert when it is still hot and I've only made it with fresh raspberries or blueberries (however, you may substitute fresh for frozen). It's more dense than cake - almost like a big, fluffy, soft sugar cookie.

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
2 cups fresh raspberries (or blueberries)
**
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9x9" or 8x8" pan; set aside. In a medium bowl combine the 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

2. In a medium mixing bowl beat shortening with a mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add the 3/4 cup sugar. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add egg; beat well. Alternately add flour mixture and milk to beaten egg mixture. Beat until smooth after each addition.

3. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle with berries. In another bowl, combine the 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and 3 tablespoons butter. Cut butter into mixture until it is resembles course crumbs. Sprinkle over berries. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until golden.

Red Velvet Cake Stars

Lately, I've been obsessed with Bakerella and her amazing skills. I wanted to try the Red Velvet Cake Balls because they seemed pretty simple. I had to make treats in the shape of stars so I thought I would make an attempt for Red Velvet Cake Stars. They are much more time consuming than making the balls but I was pleased with how they turned out. I made about half a batch of stars and the rest were the usual balls.


A few tips for trying the stars:

• If you use white chocolate, be prepared to have the white chocolate mix with the red velvet cake. I could only use about half of the almond bark before it got too crumby and turned pink. The stars seem to be especially fragile because of the points.
  
• Use a small cookie cutter. It needs to be small to keep the shape. Also, the cake mixture will stick to the cookie cutter. I used a bamboo kabob stick and gently pushed the star out in the corners.
  
• Don't be fooled, the best way to dip these is a spoon. It seems strange because of the shape but I tried using a fork thinking that it would help keep the shape but the spoon worked much better.

Magnolia Bakery Cupcakes.

I found these cupcakes hidden away in Metalia's really up to date cooking blog. These things need to see the light of day and be made in every home across America. This is a true cupcake. Metalia's instructions are a little different, because she's probably not as anal retentive about her baked goods as I am.

********

Just as a warning before you make these and decide to inhale them all on your own one lonely night whilst watching America's Next Top Model, I did the math, each cupcake comes out to have 6 TABLESPOONS of sugar and 2.5 TABLESPOONS of butter in each one.
So yes, they're good. But pace yourself.

********

Magnolia Bakery Cupcakes

1.5 cups self-rising flour
1.25 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract



(Hi, one more thing before we get started, since these cupcakes are basically sugar and butter with a hint of vanilla, please please please use the best butter you can find and use only real vanilla. The OCD baker in me thanks you. I use Plugra, a European brand of butter I get at Trader Joe's and I only use Molina Mexican vanilla which I buy from this site. Totally worth it. Moving on...)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners.



In a small bowl, whisk the 2 flours together. Set aside. Add the vanilla to the milk in a large measuring cup. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until combined and fluffy, about 5 minutes (Be sure to stop and scrape the bowl thoroughly several times while beating).





Add the eggs one at a time, beating well and scraping the bowl well after each addition. After all the eggs have been added batter should still be quite fluffy and evenly textured.



Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the flour and the milk. (flour, milk, flour, milk, flour, milk) Again, be sure to scrape the bowl very well and completely before continuing or the cupcakes will not bake evenly because some will have more butter and burn while others may have more egg and they will fall.



Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. (Should and will make exactly 24.)



Bake for 20–25 minutes, rotating pans halfway through for even color. Cupcakes are done when they spring back when lightly touched or a toothpick comes out clean. Be aware they are very pale, so if they begin to brown they may be overdone.



Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack. (Completely people, don't get impatient.)



Frosting

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
6 to 8 cups confectioners' sugar (I end up using about 7.5, you'll need less in a drier climate, more in a humid climate.)
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Food coloring (Unless you are using white vanilla I suggest food coloring or your frosting will have a funny tint. Gel colorings work the best without messing with texture.)

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the confectioners' sugar, milk and vanilla. Start out slow with an electric mixer until sugar is incorporated and work up to medium speed, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes (There still may be a few lumps depending on the temperature of your milk and butter to begin with, this is okay.)



Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating for two minutes on high after each addition, until the frosting is smooth (if it looks grainy keep adding sugar by half cups until it appears smooth.) Add the food coloring before your last cup of sugar so you can compensate if it throws off your texture. And don't forget to scrape often and well.



Frost liberally.



Seriously, if you're going to make these, make them right and simply slather them with a huge pile of frosting. They are best when eaten the day they are made so go out and make some neighbors happy. (Keep any uneaten ones tightly lidded in the fridge.)

Chocolate Cake

This is from Martha's Baking Handbook. Martha would like you to believe that it is a grand feat to produce a cake from scratch, but I'm here to let you know that this cake can be made from scratch in less than ten minutes using only one bowl and less than 4 utensils. Yep. That's right.



For a full how and why on cake visit my blog over here.

Cake Ingredients:

DRY
2.5 cups flour
1.25 cups Dutch Process cocoa powder (I prefer Hershey's Special Dark, in grocery stores)
2.5 cups sugar
2.5 t. baking soda
1.25 t. baking powder
1.25 t. salt
WET
2 large eggs plus one egg yolk
1.25 cups milk (2% or whole if possible)
.5 cup plus 2 T. vegetable oil
1.25 t. vanilla
1.25 cups hot water

Put all the dry stuff in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on low with paddle attachment until combined. Put all the wet stuff in the bowl. Mix on low for three minutes until smooth, scraping sides of bowl as needed. (EASY RIGHT?)




Pour into prepared 9" cake pans (video on proper pan preparation found here). Oven should be preheated to 350 degrees. Bake about 45 minutes, rotate halfway through. Cakes are done when toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 30 minutes, take cakes out, peel off parchment and allow to cool completely.



You can frost these with any frosting you like, but it goes best with Martha's Swiss Meringue Buttercream. It's a little trickier than the cake but so worth it you'll hate yourself if you don't try it.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream:

4 egg whites
1 cup sugar
8 oz. melted chocolate (bittersweet, try Ghirardelli 60% cacao chocolate chips)
3 sticks unsalted butter cut into tablespoons @ room temperature

Place bowl of an electric mixer with whites and sugar over a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar dissolves and mixture reaches 160 degrees.



Attach bowl to mixer fitted with whisk attachment and beat on high until it holds stiff peaks ( a few minutes). Continue to beat another 6 minutes until it is fluffy and cooled.
Switch to the paddle attachment. On medium low speed add the butter a few tablespoons at a time and beat in well before adding more.



Continue until all butter is added and then beat on high for 3 to 5 minutes. Add cooled melted chocolate and stir on low for two minutes.



Now you can keep it simple and leave it as two layers. Or you can get fancy and make it four layers. Use only a small amount of frosting between layers so it doesn't slide all over the place. (And make sure it's cooled, or you'll have a nasty melty mess on your hands.)






Frost cooled cake, place in fridge (covered) until frosting is set. Cut, serve, eat. (If there is any left keep it covered in the fridge)

Key Lime Tart

Key limes can be a little tricky to find, but worth it when you do. Try Trader Joe's or Wild Oats, they generally come about a dozen to a bag. This is an easy recipe if you have the right tools. A Microplane Zester will make it really easy to zest 8 tiny key limes. A good juicer isn't a must, but incredibly handy. Mine is the same kind my grandma has used since the day she got married almost 60 years ago. I have yet to find one that works better. I got it on eBay for $12. Search "vintage Wearever juicer" and you should be able to find one if you're in the market.
This recipe is from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook, except I didn't make my own graham crackers for the crust, I have a life.

Crust:

1 sleeve graham crackers.
3 tablespoons melted butter.

Preheat oven to 350. Process graham crackers in food processor until finely ground. Add melted butter and process until well mixed. Press moist crumbs into a 9" springform lined with parchment paper and greased up the sides. (9" pie plate can also be used) Place pan in freezer to harden while you prepare the filling.

Filling:

4 egg yolks
2 -3 teaspoons fresh grated key lime zest (about 8 key limes)
1/2 cup fresh squeezed key lime juice
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
dash salt

Beat egg yolks for 4 minutes until lightened and fluffy. Add rest of ingredients and beat on low to combine. Pour into crust and bake for 10 minutes, or until set in center. Allow to cool, cover with plastic wrap and chill for two hours to overnight. Serve with whipped cream garnish if desired.












It's not the most beautiful thing ever but it is tasty and stinking EASY.

Cinnamon Rolls

Makes 2 dozen rolls plus two small loaves of monkey bread.
Start to Finish: About three hours.
Ingredients:

Dough

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons sea salt (you can use regular table salt but sea salt tastes better, better yet, it tastes less.)
2 large eggs
3 envelopes yeast (Or a wee bit less than three tablespoons)
7-8 cups of flour (I use 7 in Utah (drier climate) and 7 3/4 in Indiana)
2 1/4 cups of very warm water (120-130 degrees)

Filling/Topping

2 sticks (one cup) butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
6 tablespoons cinnamon

Frosting

1 stick butter
1 8 oz. package cream cheese
1 1/2 lbs. powdered sugar (about 3/4 of a 2 lb. bag)
1 teaspoon vanilla
dash salt
a couple of teaspoons of milk

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream butter, sugar and salt for 3 to 4 minutes until lightened and creamy. Mix in eggs. Scrape bowl as needed until mixed well.


In large bowl stir together 4 cups of flour with yeast and add to butter/egg mixture. Then add warm water and stir until combined. Scrape bowl as needed. Add the rest of the flour one cup at time until mixture starts to build up on paddle.



Scrape the paddle and switch to the dough hook and continue adding flour until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and is soft and not overly sticky.

Dump dough out onto floured surface and knead until smooth. (The mat I'm using is called a RoulPat, a SilPat's older brother, both are silicone baking mats that are oven safe, if you make bread all that often a RoulPat is one of THE BEST investments you can make.)

Place dough in large greased bowl to raise for half to one hour (cover with clean towel) in a warm place.

While dough is raising add all ingredients for filling/topping to the bowl of a large food processor.

Pulse to combine and until the mixture resembles moist, course crumbs. Set to the side.

When dough has doubled in size,

divide in half and roll out first half on a well floured surface to a rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick. (Stainless steel silicone rolling pin, another excellent investment)

Cover dough with 1/3 of cinnamon/butter mix

and roll up tight like a jelly roll.

Cut off first few inches with sharp serrated knife and set to the side. Cut 12 rolls and place a few inches apart on a jelly roll pan covered in parchment.

Set aside remaining end of dough. Cover with towel and allow to raise until doubled in size (30-60 minutes) Repeat for other half of dough.

With the four remaining ends of dough, cut into small pieces and loosely place in a small bread pan, add a few bits of the cinnamon mixture throughout. Cover and allow to raise.

When the rolls have raised, preheat oven to 325 degrees and sprinkle remaining cinnamon/butter mixture over the rolls.

Bake for 15-20 minutes (WATCH CLOSELY PLEASE. With all that butter and sugar these babies can go from gooey and delicious to burnt mess in moments. Trust me.)

While the rolls are baking, cream together one stick of butter, 8 oz. of cream cheese, a teaspoon of vanilla and a dash of salt.

When mixture is fluffy and creamy (2-3 minutes, with bowl scraping) add powdered sugar.

How much? Until it looks and tastes right, trust your instincts. But it's usually about 3/4 of a bag. If it gets a little thick add milk a teaspoon at a time until it is somewhat thick and fluffy. (You'll be spreading it on the hot rolls so you want a little substance to it)

Frost while warm, eat while warm.


Yum right?

Bake the little monkey breads for 20-25 minutes at 325 after the rolls are done baking.

Spread a little frosting on them, oh baby.



Questions? Comments? Email me...mooshinindy*at*gmail*dot*com