It's summer and I have too much time...

...but I only made one today. I've actually had this account for a full year. These make me happy.
Hover over the picture to see the name of the set!

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Week 23. Tony Awards Rainbow Cupcakes

For the Tony's party, we wanted to make themed food...unfortunately, we were lazy and/or uncreative. All we could come up with was rainbow...we love gay people! So, there ya go...



Rainbow Cupcakes

3/4 cup Self-Rising Flour
3/4 cup Granulated Sugar
3/4 cup Unsalted Butter, Softened
2 Eggs
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla
3 tbs Milk
Red, Blue, Green, and Yellow Food Coloring


Start by pre-heating your oven to 395 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, use whisk to beat sugar into butter until creamy and fluffy. The mixture should be light in color.

Slowly stir in eggs and flour, making sure each is thouroughly stirred in. Mix in Vanilla.

Stir in milk 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring thoroughly after each tablespoon is added.

Divide mixture evenly into each of the smaller bowls.


Add food coloring in this manner:
Bowl 1- 8 drops red
Bowl 2- 8 drops yellow, 4 drops red
Bowl 3- 8 drops yellow
Bowl 4- 8 drops green
Bowl 5- 8 drops blue
Bowl 6- 8 drops blue, 4 drops red

Mix well until colors are evenly distributed.
Colors are as follows:
Bowl 1- Red
Bowl 2- Orange
Bowl 3- Yellow
Bowl 4- Green
Bowl 5- Blue
Bowl 6- Purple.

Line muffin pan with muffin cups. Starting with purple, spoon batter evenly into each of the muffin cups, spreadng slightly. Continue, layering, with blue, then green, then yellow, then orange, then red.


Bake for 20 minutes at 395 degrees.

Makes 12 regular-sized cupcakes.



For cream cheese frosting:

8oz cream cheese
1/4 cup butter
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix cream cheese and butter. Mix in vanilla. Slowly add confectioner's sugar.

**Hannah's Hints**

* These are so yummy! Carly said that all the colors taste different and blue is the best...but supposedly they are all supposed to be just vanilla-tasting. Just like blue M&M's taste the best...

* I bought blue raspberry, watermelon, and yellow sprinkles to put on top. They were yummmm and added a fun little pop to the vanilla taste.

* Although Carly and I were terribly hateful during the Tony's this year (we were so disappointed that the Tony voters chose Scarlett Johannson and Catherine Zeta-Jones...did you SEE that performance of "Send in the Clowns"???), we loved these cupcakes as much as we loved Sean Hayes and his bits with Kristin Chenoweth, as well as Bebe Neuwirth and Nathan Lane.

* Other people might recognize thse as "clown vomit"...ew. I dislike the words vomit and barf. "Throw-up" would be better. Anyway, rainbow is the best. Make these.

* We didn't follow the color scheme that the recipe called for...we were much more creative and it was lots of fun!

SURPRISE DATE!!

Last night, I got to hang out with my lovely lady friends! Went to Mollie's and had a terrific Lavender Lady... housemade lavender vodka, lemoncello, elderflower liqeur, sprite with a powder sugar rim. Yum-o!

When I came home, I asked my wonderful boy if we could go out for breakfast this morning... I was thinking, I don't know, Cracker Barrel or Bob Evans or something. But this morning we left around 10 or 10:30 and he had me close my eyes for about 10 minutes. When I opened my eyes, what did I see but signs for Illinois!



I had no idea where we were going...then we came to Longbranch Coffeehouse and Vegetarian Cafe. Ooooooh boy was it good!! Everything was vegetarian or vegan and all the drinks looked amazing!


I had the Puerto Rican Beans and Rice and fakin' bacon with an iced Chai! Spicy sauce, super deelish, and too too healthy!


He had a fabulous Harvest Wrap and blueberry basil tea...yum!


Yay! I was happy...so yum food.


Sillypants!

Then...we did some vintage shopping and went to QQ Bubble Tea...and we ordered amaaaaazing bubble tea from the most adorable Taiwanese woman in the world. I had banana and sour plum. He had strawberry and sour plum. And bubbles!!!




Here's one of the fabulous shirts I told him he should buy...getting ready for work, my handsome man.


Saw this fun old Dairy Queen sign... and some other crazy silly things on the road!




Rocking out to Avril...


Such a wonderful surprise date with my Latin lover...

Week 22. Delicious Banana Chocolate Cupcakes

I was running a little late this week, so I looked in my kitchen. I have 3 suuuuper ripe, brown, and mushy bananas. I have left over cocoa powder from the cake. So...chocolate banana cupcakes?



Banana Chocolate Cupcakes

2 cups (400 grams) granulated white sugar
1 3/4 cups (245 grams) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (75 grams) cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 medium sized bananas)
1 cup (240 ml) warm water
1/2 cup (120 ml) milk
1/2 cup (120 ml) canola or corn oil
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Chocolate Ganache Frosting:
8 ounces (227 grams) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup (180 ml) heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon (14 gram) unsalted butter


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Line 24 regular-sized muffin cups with paper liners or spray each cup with a non stick vegetable spray.

In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs, mashed bananas, water, milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir, or whisk, until combined. Pour or scoop the batter into the muffin cups, about 3/4 full, and bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. Frost with the Ganache.

Ganache: Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized stainless steel, or heatproof bowl. Set aside. Heat the cream and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Let the Ganache cool completely, and then beat until soft and fluffy. With an offset spatula or knife, spread the frosting on top of each cupcake. Can garnish with colored sprinkles. Can be stored in the refrigerator for several days. Bring to room temperature before serving.


**Hannah's Hints**

* This is a great recipe if you're like "oh no! I lost track of my bananas and now they're all brown and icky and I don't want to make banana bread!" You can just plop them in and blend away...delicious!

* These are probably one of my very favorite cupcakes that I've made! The ganache hardens and then just meeeelts in your mouth. DOUBLE-YUM!

* It says to whisk the stuff...but that's weird to me. Just do whatever you like...I sure didn't spend days whisking it all together...

* Yummy, easy, and super healthy for you! #1 Bananas are a fruit and chocolate is a legume. #2 Chocolate increases your endorphins, so you are happy and calm after you eat them. #3 Chocolate and banana is probably the best combination ever. #4 This is a super moist cupcakes...like, moisty moist. Moist doesn't even look like a word anymore, it's so moist. Fo rils.

Week 21. Smith Wedding Cupcakes!

Last week, I made a gazillion (okay, just 130-ish) cupcakes for Alyssa and Josh's wedding... there are some beautiful, professional pictures so I'm going to wait until they are up so you can see them!!

I just wanted to post to make sure you didn't think I was slacking on my one-a-week!

In lieu of those, here is a picture of the birthday cake the boy and I made for Laurie's son!!



Also, my darling boyfriend took me on a wonderful day trip to St. Louis and to see LIZA MINNELLI!! Here's a couple of pictures:


Carrot cake and Red Velvet Cupcakes from The Cupcakery in St. Louis! Yuuummm..


Our beautiful selves by the Arch...


Le Arch! I can be artsy with my iPhone too!


He had never been to the Arch, so I made him take a picture touching it!

Extra! Extra!

A few weeks ago when I was home, I decided to try a few fun, new recipes! Michelle mentioned that I should sing the song "Shoo Fly Pie"... here are the fun lyrics!

If you wanna do right by your appetite,
If you're fussy about your food,
Take a choo-choo today, head New England way,
And we'll put you in the happiest mood. with:
Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy
Makes your eyes light up,
Your tummy say "Howdy."
Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy
I never get enough of that wonderful stuff.
Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan dowdy makes the sun come out
When Heavens are cloudy,
Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy,
I never get enough of that wonderful stuff!
Mama! When you bake,
Mama! I don't want cake;
Mama! For my sake
Go to the oven and make some ever lovin' Sh,
Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy
Makes your eyes light up,
Your tummy say "Howdy,"
Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy
I never get enough of that wonderful stuff!

Here are some pictures:




Yum yum! If you're really curious, I can post the recipes, too...

Week 20. [Not Like London] Banoffee Cupcakes

I've been missing London, lately...and I ate a LOT of dessert there...I mean, A LOT. And one of my Sainsbury's faves was the Banoffee Dessert...yum!! So, when I saw this cupcake recipe, I thought HOORAY! And yet...not the same...because, well, there's no coffee...still pretty good, though!



Banoffee Cupcakes

Ingredients
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 ripe banana, mashed
• 1 cup self-rising flour
• 4 chewey caramels, chopped

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Beat in butter and sugar together in a bowl until creamy, then beat in egg, a little at a time. Fold in the mashed banana, then sift the flour into the mixture and fold in, followed by the caramels.
3. Spoon the mixture into the paper liners and bake in the preheated oven for about 16 minutes until risen and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

To decorate
• 2/3 cup heavy cream, whipped
• 3-4 tablespoons dulce de leche or caramel sauce
• 1 banana, sliced

To decorate, swirl the cream over each of the cupcakes, then drizzle with a spoonful of dulce the leche or caramel sauce and top with slice of banana.

** NOTE: Dulce de leche is a sweet caramel sauce from Argentina and it is available from larger supermarkets. If you can’t find it, you can make it yourself. Put a sealed can of condensed milk in a saucepan, pour over boiling water to cover, and boil for 3 hours, adding more water as necessary so that the can is always covered. Remove from the pan and let cool completely before opening using a can opener. Stir well to make a smooth sauce before spooning over the cakes.


**Hannah's Hints**

* Ok, I'm too impatient to make dulce de leche, so I just used caramel in a jar from the store...delightful :-)

* Also, this deal with "heavy whipping cream" being good just after you whip it, is a large falsehood...it isn't terribly yummy. So I just used a small dollop and covered it with the caramel...much better.

* Bananas are ridiculous to keep "yummy" looking for more than like an hour once you've sliced them...that's ok, they're equally as yummy without. Or you could store the cupcakes and slice banana just as you get ready to serve them.