#33: Cupcake on a Stick

another birthday (for c. wong this time), so alas another baked good. i started looking through my cupcake book and web sources and nothing was inspiring me. somehow i thought of the cupcake lollipop idea and decided to search for a recipe in how to construct it. after seeing this helpful blog i started right away. the blog post made it seem fairly straight forward, but as it turns out it's quite tricky to make cupcake lollipops. i started with making a Magnolia Bakery vanilla cake in a square pan. after the cake cooled, i chopped it up and ground the pieces in a food processor. meanwhile, i made a Magnolia Bakery vanilla buttercream frosting. i then mixed the frosting into the crumbled cake and then formed into cake balls. after freezing the balls, i melted some semi sweet chocolate in a double boiler and then coated the balls in the chocolate and stuck a lollipop stick on the bottom (from Richards in Alamo) and then chilled in the refrigerator. after the lollipops were completely cooled and the chocolate was solid i packaged them in small cellophane treat bags and tied a yellow ribbon on them (both also from Richards).

i was happy with how the lollipops turned out (tasty and rich), but they look nothing like the blog post i was using. i think i'll definitely keep these in mind for the future and hopefully next time i can decorate them with more color and sprinkles.

#32: Peppermint Chocolate Cupcakes

i made some peppermint chocolate cupcakes for m.lyons birthday yesterday, adopted from my Martha Stewart cupcake book. first step: i started making the mint chocolate leaf (the garnish on top). the leaves were surprisingly very easy to make and almost fail proof! i bought some organic mint leaves from Trader Joe's and then washed and dried some of the smaller leaves. i then melted some semi sweet chocolate and then "painted" one side of the leaf with chocolate using a spoon. i then rested the leaves on a wooden skewer on top of parchment paper, and then let them chill in the fridge for 15 minutes. after the leaves were cool, i peeled the mint leaf off and then the leaf imprint was leftover on the chocolate. kind of like fossils! i then placed the chocolate back into the fridge to prevent them from softening. second step: i then made the cake with cocoa powder and some of the extra melted semi sweet chocolate. i also added peppermint extract into the batter. third step: lastly, i made the buttercream frosting and used peppermint extract as a substitute for the vanilla. to decorate, i piped the peppermint frosting onto the cupcakes, drizzled some melted some more semi sweet chocolate, and then placed a chocolate mint leaf on top. ta da! here is the finished product.

#31: A Springy Dinner

a couple weeks ago i planned to make dinner for my parents and decided to opt for making a light spring dinner. i had some leftover carnitas in the freezer that i slow cooked a couple weeks before, so i tried to think about what i could do with the meat. i decided to make paninis (with our very cool panini press). I spread a cranberry chutney (wich craft jar - tom collichio) on the bread and added carnitas, caramelized onions, and pepper jack cheese to get the melted ooey gooeyness. For the bread, I bought a multigrain bread from Trader Joe's. I also bought some small red/golden/purple potatoes and roasted them in the oven with salt, pepper, and dried rosemary (not as good as fresh rosemary but still tasty). The potatoes took about an hour total to cut, boil, dress, and roast. Then to finish off the plate I tossed some salad greens with a housemade balsamic vinegar/olive oil dressing (with salt/pepper). The meal took me about an hour to prepare and serve...better multi-tasking and timing than i expected. I'll definitely try this out in different variations again for a nice spring/summery meal.

#30: For All You Mothers Out There

for mother's day breakfast this year i made beignets dusted with powdered sugar, with a strawberry compote. in case you don't know what beignets are, they are fried donuts. cafe du monde is probably the most famous place to get fresh beignets - in new orleans. i should also admit that i made the beignets from a boxed mix. i made the strawberry compote from fresh strawberries with sugar and some water. the beignets were a nice little sweet breakfast treat for mommy.

#29: Not Just For the Gluten Free

for f.chang's birthday this year, i decided to bake a cake. since he's opting for the gluten-free diet, i searched for some potential gluten-free cake recipes. i've been checking out a lot of recipes on allrecipes.com, and landed on this one, a Flourless Chocolate Cake - highly rated and a good number of reviews with modification suggestions. i preferred baking a cake that lacked flour completely, rather than substituting with brown rice flour or something like that.

The cake called for chocolate, sugar, water, pinch of salt, butter and eggs - pretty simple. i bought an 18oz bar of dark chocolate from Trader Joe's for the occasion. The cake was dense, rich, and delicious! it was reminiscent of fudge. for garnish i added some powdered sugar and sectioned an orange to make a flower for the top. the cake was enough to share with at least 15 people. great recipe and a big hit!