Things I'm ADORING this week...

I have been having a very busy week filled with doing absolutely nothing...thus, I have found many beautiful things in my life.



I made this necklace for the Red Queen for Spring Into Dance!


These beautiful, gracious women...I aspire to be a mixture of them.


Mary Pickford was my celebrity look-a-like for Makeup class...I have come to adore her.


Beatiful girl.


Isn't this lovely? Glow in the dark things are the BEST!


Edward Gorey is one of my very favorite illustrators. I adore the macabre beauty!


Smart man, that Gandhi... One of my mottos.


I want to live here. Forever and ever.


In a fit of frustration with school, I went to the $5 sale at Urban Outfitters and bought this. Yessss.


I watched Stepford Wives for the first time the other day...I loved it because I love the idea and the clothing! But also terrified because I feel if I ever go nuts, I'll turn into the Glenn Close character!


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And finally...



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My beautiful, amazing, mint green bicycle!! (Which I hope to pick up sometime next week!)


So much happiness and love, despite craziness at school! And my birthday is in a week! YAY!

most pictures from weheartit

Week 14. "Happy Birthday, Daddy!" White Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

April 8th was my wonderful Daddy's birthday, so I wanted to make a cupcake in honor of him! I know he loves white chocolate and raspberries and this classy-sounding recipe seemed like the perfect fit!



"Happy Birthday, Daddy!" White Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes
Makes 12 cupcakes.

Cupcakes:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
4 ounces white chocolate, melted
1/3 cup oil
1/2 cup soy milk
1/2 cup coconut milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Filling:
8 ounces frozen raspberries
1 tablespoon water
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water

Frosting:
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/3 cup cream cheese or tofutti cream cheese
3 to 3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, seeded, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon soymilk
6 ounces white chocolate, melted
12 fresh raspberries

Directions
Preheat oven to 350ËšF.
In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add sugar and brown sugar and mix. Slowly mix together melted chocolate and oil. Whisk together soy milk, coconut milk, lemon zest, and vanilla. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix until relatively smooth. Fill cupcake liners with a scant 1/4 cup of batter (should be just under 2/3 of the way full – my cupcakes overflowed, so err on the under-filled side here). Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden, and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

To make filling, combine frozen raspberries with water, sugar, and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until raspberries begin to break down. Add 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixture and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat, and strain mixture through a fine mesh sieve, pressing as much through as possible. Return strained mixture to heat once again. Add another tablespoon of cornstarch mixture, and bring to a simmer. If mixture still seems thin, add more cornstarch as necessary. It will thicken more upon cooling. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
Cut out small cones from tops of cupcakes (holes should be approximately 1/2″ across and 1/2″ deep), saving removed cake. Fill holes with raspberry filling, and replace cake on top.

To make frosting, beat butter or margarine and cream cheese until fluffy. Slowly add confectioner’s sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until creamy. Melt white chocolate as before, and mix in vanilla seeds or extract. Add to frosting and mix well. Add extract and soy milk, and beat until fluffy (add more sugar and/or soymilk if you need it, until you get the right texture). Generously pipe or spread onto filled cupcakes. Top each cupcake with a single fresh raspberry.

**Hannah's Hints**
* This is a crazy involved recipe. I NEED a sieve because a tea strainer just doesn't cut it. Yikes. But it does work...eventually...

* The frosting recipe is super duper sweet, so perhaps a little less than usual. Still yummy and white chocolate-y!

* Please top these with fresh raspberries...the bite with the raspberry, frosting, filling, and cake is the BEST!

* Also, instead of the coconut milk we just used all soy milk...it's nice and vegan too!

Week 13. "First Friday" Key Lime Cupcakes

This week I had the immense good fortune to be asked by Laurie, from Annie Laurie's to make cupcakes for their First Friday open house. I wanted to make something unique and Spring-y, to celebrate the beautiful weather of late and to show any potential customers *fingers crossed* that I don't just make your typical chocolate or vanilla cupcakes! It was really exciting to get paid for doing something I love!



"First Friday" Key Lime Cupcakes

CUPCAKES
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup self-rising flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon finely grated lime peel
1/4 teaspoon neon-green food coloring
3/4 cup buttermilk

FROSTING
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon finely grated lime peel
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

CUPCAKES
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line standard muffin pan with 12 paper liners. Whisk both flours in medium bowl. Beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar; beat to blend. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, then next 3 ingredients (batter may look curdled). Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with buttermilk in 2 additions. Spoon scant 1/3 cup batter into each liner.
Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool.

FROSTING
Beat all ingredients in medium bowl until smooth. Spread over cupcakes.

**Hannah's Hints**

* I omitted the green food coloring because you really couldn't see it after you mixed in all the flour unless you put a TON in.

* These are so interesting...for some reason after I took them out of the oven, they shrank away from the cupcake papers. They looked more like cute little tea cakes!

* The icing for this one recipe covered about 64 cupcakes, unless you really pile it on!

* I loooooooove my new zester! It makes life so much easier!


AND

I made cookies especially for Caleb because he was nice enough to video me and because I love him!


I'll post the recipe soon!

And wonderful boy bought be a gooooorgeous hyacinth (we named the flower stalks after the fairies from Sleeping Beauty!) and we made homemade pizzas!!



And finally, check out the wonderfully macabre art of my good friend, Lynn Graznak Saults!




images from www.surrealmacabreart.com

Week 12. "B & B" Banana- Butterscotch Cupcakes

Over Spring Break, I got a huuuuge book called "1001 cupcakes, cookies and other tempting treats," so naturally I wanted to make something from it! I wanted to do something fruity, and I love bananas (and I substituted butterscotch chips for the pecans they suggested). Yummmm...

Bananas are my favorite fruit because they have ap-peal!



"B & B" Banana- Butterscotch Cupcakes

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 ¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
2 ripe bananas
8 tbsp butter, softened
Heaping ½ cup superfine sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 tbsp sour cream
3 oz butterscotch chips (1 cup is 6 oz)

Icing:

8 tbsp butter, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
Butterscotch chips, if you like

1. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Line two 12-hole cupcake pans with paper liners.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Place the bananas in a separate bowl and mash with a fork.
3. Place the butter, sugar, and vanilla extract in a large bowl and beat together until light and fluffy, then gradually beat in eggs.
4. Stir in mashed bananas and sour cream. Fold in the flour mixture and butterscotch chips.
5. Spoon batter into paper liners. Bake for 20 minutes, or until well risen and golden. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
6. For topping: place butter in a bowl and beat until fluffy. Sift in the confectioners’ sugar and mix together well. Spread on top of each cupcake and sprinkle with butterscotch chips, if you like.

**Hannah's Hints**

* Bananas add delicious flavor and texture to these...makes you feel a little healthier, doesn't it?

* As I've said before, soften the butter...it's just so much easier!

* The icing is extra sweet, but simple tasting. It's a nice contrast and complement to the cupcake, but only use a covering. You probably won't want to pile it on!

Week 11. "For Cousin Tracy" Chocolate and Peanut Butter Gourmet Cupcakes

This was Spring Break, so I was in Boston and Cape Cod for half the time, and the other half was spent blissfully with my boy in Rolla. A few weeks back, Cousin Tracy sent me a lead on this recipe and said I should make it next time I was a home...and lo and behold...a family BBQ during break seemed the perfect time! They were quite a hit!



"For Cousin Tracy" Chocolate and Peanut Butter Gourmet Cupcakes

Ingredients
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, shaken, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
2 tablespoons brewed coffee
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup good cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Peanut Butter Icing
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup heavy cream
chopped salted peanuts, to decorate (I used Reese's Peanut Butter Cups!)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and 2 sugars on high speed until light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes.
4. Lower the speed to medium, add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, and coffee.
5. In another bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
6. On low speed, add the buttermilk mixture and the flour mixture alternately in thirds to the mixer bowl, beginning with the buttermilk mixture and ending with the flour mixture.
7. Mix only until blended.
8. Fold the batter with a rubber spatula to be sure it's completely blended.
9. Divide the batter among the cupcake pans (1 rounded standard ice cream scoop per cup is the right amount).
10. Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, remove from the pans, and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Peanut Butter Icing:
11. Place the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
12. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work.
13. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.
14. Frost each cupcake with Peanut Butter Icing and sprinkle with chopped peanuts, if desired. I used Reese's Peanut Butter Cups!

**Hannah's Hints**

* This was adapted from a Barefoot Contessa recipe...which explains the amazingly gourmet taste!! Oh! It's a perfect blend of the rich peanut butter icing and the perfect chocolate cupcake. I would use this chocolate cake recipe over and over again!

* I don't care for nuts, so I decided to garnish with Reese's...then we made a small batch with Reese's in the middle, which apparently were also good!

* The batter for both of the parts of this recipe are DIVINE...please lick the spoon.

Week 10. "Pucker Up" Lemon Curd Cupcakes

This week, I had so many delicious cupcakes to choose from, I just had to pick on a whim! And I decided lemon curd sounded deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelicious...



"Pucker Up" Lemon Curd Cupcakes

• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract or lemon oil (oops! I used lemon juice!)
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
• 1 cup milk
• lemon curd, for filling, one 10-ounce jar, or about 1 cup homemade (use 2 jars if you want lots of filling)

Preparation:
Heat oven to 350°. Line 18 muffin cups with paper cupcake liners.
Combine the flour, salt, and baking powder; set aside.
In a mixing bowl with electric mixer, cream butter with the sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and lemon extract. Beat in about a third of the flour mixture and half of the milk. Repeat with another third of the flour mixture and the remaining milk. Slowly beat in the remaining flour mixture until blended. Fold in the lemon zest. Fill paper liners about 2/3 full. Bake for 17 to 19 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Set pan on a rack to cool.
Scoop out a small amount of the center of the cupcake and spoon about 1 to 2 teaspoons of lemon curd in each center. You can pipe it in, but I used a small spoon. Keep them level until you know you have plenty of lemon curd to fill all of the cupcakes. If you make your own or use 2 jars, you can use more.

**Hannah's Hints**

* I decided that lemon extract is actually lemon juice...I mean, what do you extract from a lemon?? JUICE. Duh. Except...not. Lemon extract at the store is like lemon oil and other crazy stuff...whatever, lemon juice worked perfectly.

* Again, I really need a zester. However, the thinly chopped slices of peel that I put in worked beautifully and it's fun to get a piece in your cupcake...yum!

* Instead of scooping out the tops of the cupcakes, I cut a cone out to put about 2 tsp of lemon curd in...and I thought "What to do with 23 awkward cupcake cones?" Upon searching the web and facebook, I found a friend who made faux petit fours and I think that's a GRAND idea...so I'm freezing the cake cones and will be making icing after Spring Break!


Things I love right now...

Our trip to the Humane Society...Carly's new kitty (we hope!) Dragon


Taking a break while organizing dance storage


Adventures with this boy...first masago experience! Yummy Saffron!


And this amazing early birthday present from my very wonderful boy, with help from Annie Lauries!


Friday I'm off to Boston to audition at NETC...crossing my fingers for ice cream in Harvard Square! Then to Cape Cod until Wednesday...candy and beach, here I come!

I'm in love...

...with so many things right now. Of course, when am I not??

And since I'm sitting in my apartment, waiting for the UPS man to arrive with my book, I shall share with you a few things I am lusting after nowadays!

1. Looking for places to start a bakery in downtown Cape Girardeau...





...yes, I do have too much free time. And yes, I was creepily driving really slow down busy streets to take these pictures. I like the third one because of the big windows and because the number is 113!

2. Fun vintage finds at Annie Laurie's...


I want this so badly, but I have no idea where I'd put it, unless it were strong enough to hold the tv...which is doubtful.

3. Learning to live by these ideals...



lovelies from weheartit

4. Seafoam green...everything could be this color and I would be terribly delighted!


weheartit


matching with roomie, Carly, Izzy and Tayloir...Easter egg nails!

5. Seafoam, Rose tea in my Eiffel Tower mug which is three shades of brown just like the actual Tower, fun glass jars, and Tad...so much love!



6. SPRING!



7. I am enjoying my hair very much...can't wait to re-dye it when I go home!


weheartit

8. Travelling! Can't wait to go to NETC in Boston and Cape Cod for Spring break! I want my suitcase to look much like these...




weheartit

9. Oh yes, and this...



Check out this cool kid

10. Finally, I got skype. Yikes. Add me: cupcake.ingenue


weheartit

It's First Friday and the boy and I shall be going for dinner and visiting Annie Laurie's...then seeing Shutter Island, which I am terrified about. Surely it will be alright, as long as I have an Icee and candy. ;-)

My book still isn't here...rude UPS man, you better be cute!

Eat some cookies or cupcakes today because it's the weekend!!