Mini Cake- Small Batch Baking!

And birthday season continues!  Today I want to share a mini birthday cake I made for my Auntie Judy.  I brought this to our family's Memorial Day/Auntie's birthday cookout.  After loads of grilled meats, veggies, salads and fresh corn on the cob, I knew a huge slab of cake wouldn't be on the top of everyone's dessert wish list...a nice bowl of fresh berries with cool whip was more like it!  But, what is a birthday without a little cake?!

For this cake, I didn't want to make a full batch of batter and frosting and have tons of leftovers, so I researched some recipes and adapted a couple from Country Living for this 'small batch' project and the result was perfect.

The following recipe makes a two-layer 4" cake and enough frosting to generously cover the mini-cake.  Both recipes follow steps that are different from what I typically do when baking, which made it fun.  The frosting comes out super creamy and light- I love it!  I didn't like the extra buttery flavor, so added in some vanilla and it was perfect.  I filled this mini-cake with raspberry preserves and it was the perfect summer cake to pair with Grammy's berries and cool whip.

For the finishing decorative touch, I covered the whole cake in old school multi-color sprinkles before piping a "J" for Judy on top. I just love the whimsy of white frosting, bright sprinkles and birthday candles.  Perfect!

Do you have any small-batch baking recipes?  Let me know in the comments below!

Mini vanilla cake (makes one two-layer, 4" cake)

Adapted from this Country Living Basic Vanilla Cake recipe

Need:

• 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup skim milk

Do:

• Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
• Spray two 4" cake pans with non-stick spray
• Mix flour, baking powder and salt in large mixing bowl
• Beat in the butter, one small spoonful at a time until the mixture looks like coarse sand
• Beat in the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the mixture looks like fine, damp sand (NOTE- make sure to scrape down the bowl a few times, especially the bottom.)
• Beat in the egg
• Beat in the vanilla and milk on medium-high, until just blended.  Do not overmix!!
• Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 30 minutes
• Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then completely out of the pans.

Fluffy Butter Frosting - adapted from this recipe by Country Living

Need:

• 1/4 c. melted unsalted butter
• 1/4 c. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 3/4 c. confectioner's sugar
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Do:

• Beat the 1/4 c. melted butter with the confectioner's sugar, salt, milk, lemon juice and vanilla in a mixing bowl on medium-high. 
• Beat in the 1/4 c. cold butter, one small piece at a time, mixing well after each piece.
• Use immediately, or chill. If you put this in the fridge and use it later, let it sit out for 5-10 minutes, then whip with a little extra milk or vanilla to make it 'fluffy' before using.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake - Mad Men Season Premiere!

Is anyone else as excited for tonight's 2-hour Mad Men season premiere as my hubby and I are!?  We have been re-watching old episodes for weeks getting pumped up for the newest season.  I cannot wait to see what is next for Don, Betty, Peggy, Roger.  Oh, Roger. 

Image from Vanity Fair

Anyway, to celebrate I figured I would make a 60's-style dessert to enjoy while we watch- Pineapple Upside Down cake! This recipe is un.be.lieve.a.ble.  The old fashioned way is to bake this cake in a cast iron skillet, which I decided to forego for my trusty square pyrex.  Just as retro, if you ask me ;)

The end result is still a silky, perfectly vanilla cake sweetened with pineapple that pairs perfectly with some chocolate chip ice cream.  I've modified a Martha Stewart Pineapple Mango upside-down recipe for this one and it's truly one of my favorite cake recipes.  A must-try, with any fruit baked into the bottom of the dish that you like.

Now pull out your chip 'n dips, channel your inner Peggy (or Peter), and enjoy the show folks!

Need:

• 1 stick plus 2 tablespoons room temp. unsalted butter
• 1 can of pineapple rings
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt

Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Spray an 8 x 8" square pyrex dish with cooking spray
3. Pull out 7 pineapple rings from the can and put them off to the side, finely chop the remaining rings and let them drain on paper towels
4. Beat 2 tablespoons of butter with the brown sugar until well mixed and nice and light and airy.  Using a spatula, spread out the butter/brown sugar mixture in the bottom of the greased pan. 
5. Arrange the pineapple rings and slides however you like on top of the brown sugar.  Fill in any gaps or holes with the chopped pieces.
6. Mix the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a medium bowl, set to the side.
7. Using your mixer, blend the stick of butter with white sugar until well mixed, and nice and light and airy.  
8. Add the eggs one at a time, and then the vanilla.
9. Turn the mixer to low and add half of the flour mixture, mix well, then add the yogurt and mix well, and then the rest of the flour until all is well mixed.  Here is the silky, delicious, amazing cake batter.
10. Spread the batter evenly over the pineapples, and pop the pan in the oven for 50 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. 
11. Let your cake cool for at least 30 minutes, then turn out onto your serving plate, enjoy!

Cupcakery Review - Isabelle's Curly Cakes

Last week I finally had the chance to visit Isabelle's Curly Cakes on Charles Street in Boston.  I have been eager to try Curly Cakes since I saw the signs going up about a year ago.  Isabelle is the daughter of famed chef Todd English, and Curly Cakes is supposedly named after her curly hair.  Weird association, in my opinion, but besides that, everything about Curly Cakes was great!

The shop was clean and tidy, and there was room for a few bistro tables so customers could enjoy their cupcakes on-site.  My friends and I only stayed a minute as I brought my cuppies home with me, so apologies for the lack of shop images.  The take-along box was super cute, though!

Arriving at Curly Cakes around 8:00PM on a Tuesday night resulted in a light selection, but the menu board suggested that early-day cupcake shopping would provide a greater array of flavors.  I chose one basic (Vanilla Bean) and one fun (Red Velvet) to take home and try. 

J & I couldn't choose a favorite.  On the vanilla, the frosting was the best part.  It is smooth, creamy, buttery buttercream that tasted great with the vanilla cake.

The red velvet was impressive because the cocoa flavor was SO prominent; it balanced perfectly with the cream cheese frosting and was one of the better red velvet cakes I've had.

I have to say that Curly Cakes didn't beat out Lulu's as my favorite cupcake in Boston, but it was pretty good and I would definitely stop in again.  If you've tried Curly Cakes, let me know what you think in the comments below!

J & I always share our cupcakes, half to each!

Happy Birthday, Mum!

February marks the month of "birthday" season in my family.  From now through August, we have at least one birthday every month!  Birthday season = peak baking season, and I kicked it off with this cute little cake for one of my favorite ladies - my Mum!

Mom had asked for just pizza, no cake for her birthday party last night because she wanted to get dessert from Bova's after a few drinks downtown.  No cake? Yeah right!  Instead of doing no cake, I just did a little one.  And yes, we still got late night dessert from Bova's too...best cannoli and lobster tails in the city!

So for mom's mini cake, I decided to go with a yellow theme and tried to have the layers reflect a gradient in color.  The yellow food coloring didn't work out as well as I had hoped...the darker layers look very similar in color, but I think it still came out very pretty.

To match the simple whimsical decorating, I kept the flavors fairly basic- vanilla cake, Bailey's irish cream filling, and vanilla frosting.  Sweet treat for a sweet lady.  Happy Birthday, Mum! Love you!

PS - Yes, you read right...Bailey's Irish Cream filling....this is a little hint to a signature-Stacey treat that I'll detail in an upcoming post.  Get excited!!

Brownie Mug Cake Hits the Spot!

Sooo you know how most mug cakes SOUND good in theory and then taste totally weird/microwaved/gelatinous/not-what-you-needed-at-all?  I spotted a mug BROWNIE on Pinterest, and in the heat of my chocolate-craving moment decided to go for it.

I.LOVE.THIS.MUG-BROWNIE. 

It's super chocolatey, to the point where I could not eat it plain- you definitely need the vanilla ice cream to balance the richness of the brownie.  The consistency is great- 60 seconds makes for a cup of gooey chocolate.  It's like the molten part of a lava cake on it's way to full-blown brownie.   YUM.

This recipe is a keeper.  Seriously.  Try it and enjoy :D

Mug Brownie - Adapted from a recipe on Chow.com

Need:

• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 2 tbsp water
• 1/8 tsp rum extract
• dash of kosher salt
• 3 tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 tbsp dark chocolate chips
• 1-2 scoops vanilla bean ice cream

Do:

1.  In a microwave-safe mug, whisk the oil, water, rum and salt until combined.
2. Add cocoa powder and whisk until all of the cocoa is moistened and there aren't too many lumps.
3. Add granulated sugar, whisk to combine
4. Microwave for 60 seconds (if you want less goo and more chew (HAH!) then go for 1:25)
5. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top of brownie
6. Top off with vanilla ice cream
7. Leave me a comment confirming that this is the best mug recipe you've ever tried

;)

Baby Shower Cupcakes

This weekend I had the pleasure of baking up 48 cupcakes for a baby shower!  Did anyone follow my live tweet as I worked on them?  It was a fun project, with one little whoopsy near the end (I dropped my bowl of flour/baking soda mix on the floor.  The bowl shattered into a million pieces and I had no idea how much flour I lost, so I had to eyeball it.  Scary!)  In the end, the cupcakes turned out great!

The order was for 24 chocolate and 24 vanilla cupcakes, all topped with raspberry frosting.  I was so excited for this order because I never tend to bake up the classics, so this was a great opportunity to do it.   I did some research and chose three recipes to follow..links and notes are at the bottom of this post.

Carol, thank you for the order and I hope today's baby shower is filled with love and fun!!!

For the vanilla cupcakes, I followed the Cupcake Project's Ultimate Vanilla Cupcake recipe.  I love this recipe and am keeping it as one of my go-to's.  The batter is super easy to put together.  I was a little nervous that the batter was so liquidy, but it baked up fine.  I had a little issue with crazy tops at first:

but when I filled the cupcake liners a little less and more evenly on the 2nd batch, they were perfect.  This cake is super light, nice and moist, and a strong, delicious vanilla flavor.  LOVE this recipe.

For the chocolate cupcakes, I followed the Magnolia Bakery recipe.  This recipe took a bit longer to make, mostly because you have to melt the chocolate and then wait for it to cool down a bit.  The nice thing about this recipe is that it made enough batter for 2 dozen cupcakes...I ended up getting 30 cupcakes from it.  The batter on this one was to die for.  My husband likes to "taste test" all of my batters, and he thought this one was frosting, not cake batter.  It is thick, moussy, delish.  The finished cake is much denser than the vanilla one, just as intense in flavor.  They baked up perfectly even, probably because I used a cookie scoop and made sure to put the exact same amount of batter in each cup.  LOVE love love this recipe.

Now for the frosting, I found a recipe for raspberry cream cheese frosting and tweaked it a little bit.  The original recipe called for adding a little liquor for taste and that just didn't seem right to do for a baby shower.  Here's the end recipe that I used.  It's sweet (but not TOO sweet!) and has a very intense raspberry flavor.  I know I've used that adjective a few times already-- I'm telling you, these cupcakes are so, SO flavorful.

Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting:
Need:
-1 8oz pack of cream cheese - room temp
-1 stick of unsalted butter - room temp
-1/2 a stick of shortening (4 oz) - room temp
-1/4 cup of seedless raspberry jam
-1 1/2 tablespoons of raspberry flavored jello powder
-2 lbs powdered sugar

Do:
1.  Beat cream cheese, butter and shortening together until light and fluffy.
2.  Add raspberry jam and 1 tablespoon of jello powder, beat to combine.
3.  Add powdered sugar in 4 parts.  Add in the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of jello powder with your third part of sugar.

Note- using the full 2 lbs of sugar will give you a nice thick frosting that is good for acheiving a firm design when decorating like in my pictures above.  You can certainly add less for a more creamy frosting, or even a glaze if you'd like.

Enjoy!

Reunion Sheet Cake!

Well folks this cake wraps it up; wraps up the Cake for Every Pan challenge, that is.  Last week I worked on this three-layer half-sheet cake for my parents.  They had a reunion with about 25 of their buddies from the "good ol' days" (read: the '70's!) when they all worked together at Moe Black's hardware store in Waltham, MA.  

Mom gave very little direction on the cake flavors, she wanted it to taste good and for me to do "whatever's easiest."  Dad said he wanted the filling to have a "wow factor."  Easy yet wowwing.... I opted to go with three layers of french vanilla cake, filled with strawberry cream and frosted with almond buttercream.  Apparently a few people wanted the recipe for the strawberry cream filling, sorry guys, that one is a BostonSweetie secret!

The cake decoration was a bit more important to my mom.  She really wanted the store's logo on the cake, and all she had for me to go off of was a small, faded picture, scanned into Facebook and then printed on an old ink jet printer since I couldn't see the picture from my account.  I was having mini panic attacks about that part, as my artistry can sometimes be questionable, but it all worked out in the end.

I figured out a great method to get this done and make it look good!  Lucky for me, the font in the logo was almost identical to the font "Impact."  I typed out the logo in a size that would be appropriate for the cake, and then printed it out on regular old computer paper.  Next, I rolled out some white fondant, placed the printed sheet on top of the fondant, and traced around the letters with a ballpoint pen.  I had to be careful to not pierce the paper and yet still press hard enough to leave an impression on the fondant.  Once the tracing was done, I used edible Wilton markers to color the logo yellow and black.  These things are pretty cool, I bought a pack of bold-tip primary colors.  These are easy to use and very helpful for people like me who's drawing ability doesn't go past the crayons and markers of elementary school! Note...the result of these do look a lot like those crayons/markers of your youth.  You can see "lines," so color evenly!!  I bought mine at Michael's, but you can buy them online at Wilton.com too.

So cake and filling, check.  Logo, check.  I added a textured top to the cake, some yellow buttercream piping and a few 70's inspired fondant flowers, and bam, the end result was pretty great!  Mom and dad loved the cake, and the party was a hit.  Sheet cake?  Great success!

* NOTE:  Wilton did NOT ask me to write about their edible markers; I tried them out for this project and liked how they worked so have decided to include them on my blog on my own accord.  I purchased these for myself and recommend them for anyone looking to achieve that "colored" look.

Bakery Review: Vicki Lee's

Do you like cake?

Me too.... see?

I was so excited to eat this cake that I forgot to take a picture of the slice first.  And being out of blogging practice, I didn't even get any good pics of the bakery or other pastries in the shop.  Bad blogger!

So while I can't show you picture of the other delicious treats at Vicki Lee's, I CAN tell you that it is a bakery that you must make a point to visit if you're around the Belmont/Waltham area.

There's lots of seating and the bakery is bright, airy, white, clean and modern.  The case isn't overwhelming- there are a few (GORGEOUS) cakes, cookies, little individual pastries, pies, gallettes, etc.  Everything looks perfect and appetizing, and the service was great.  We had no complaints at all and will definitely be going back.

The cake that I chose is a simple white cake with vanilla buttery buttercream, and filled with fresh strawberries and a thin, thin layer of something tangy, I believe it's a light lemon curd.  I thought this cake was one of the best I've eaten- the cake was so light, spongy, and had a very delicate crumb.  The buttercream was silky smooth, not too sweet, and super complimentary to the fruit and the cake.  Hubs tried it and said it was awesome, not the best he's ever had (obviously, because I didn't make it, haha!) but a "really, really good wedding cake."  I guess it did seem kind of wedding-y, which makes it even more awesome.

Whoever does the cake decorating at Vicki Lee's is ah-maze-ing.  I'm talking meticulous, error-free piping.  It was unreal, super impressive, tv-style cake decorating.

In addition to the sweets, Vicki Lee's also sells breakfast, sandwiches, soups, salads, coffees, etc.  Our trip was quick, so we didn't try any of those items but they looked fresh and yummy.

Vicki Lee's is a must-go, and gets an A+ in our book!

Lightening McQueen!

One of my favorite things about this summer so far are the kids birthday parties that my hubby and I get to go to. Last weekend we had a blast at Lex's 3rd birthday party.  The theme was "Cars," his favorite movie.  I can't take credit for any of these treats, they were all baked and decorated by our friend Monica, but the cake and cupcakes were so cute, I have to share!

Monica bought a special Cars cake pan and did the decorating herself - red icing is hard to make, but even though it looks a little pink, Lex loved his cake.

The cupcakes were great- kid-friendly chocolate and vanilla were a huge hit.  The kids (and big kids like my hubs) were loving the cupcakes with little cars on top.

After the birthday party we headed to a friend's cocktail party.  When my father-in-law walked in, he presented the ultimate treat plate....

Bruins cookies!!!!  The Stanley Cup celebration is going to continue all summer long.  GO BRUINS!!!

Bridal Shower Cake - Stephanie and Rich

This past weekend I had the honor of making another bridal shower cake! This one is for a close family friend, Stephanie, who is marrying her sweetie this year!  Stephanie's wedding colors are so chic; navy blue and bright orange.  I LOVE that combo!  I think pairing a neutral with a bright is classy, fun, unique annnnd just overall the best.

I had a great deal of creative license with this cake- the only requests were no fondant and marble cake.  Easy enough!  I baked up a 2-tier chocolate and vanilla swirl cake (10" and 6") and then had fun with the filling and frosting.

 

For the filling, I made a bittersweet chocolate ganache, using Ghiradelli bittersweet chocolate and heavy cream.  Who knew ganache was so easy?  Instead of leaving it a thick, fudgy ganache, I whipped it into more of a mousse consistency.  I could have eaten the whole bowl of just plain whipped ganache.  It was THAT good.

      

Whipped ganache as a filling!

For the frosting, I made up a medium batch of Maxine's Decorating icing, but flavored it with vanilla and heavy cream.  This was hands down the most delicious version of Maxine's Decorating icing that I've done.  It is SO worth using the heavy cream.

From the reviews I heard, the shower was a great success and everyone loved the cake!  Happy Wedding, Stephanie.  We love ya!

Kappa Tuesday - Raspberry Rhubarb Bake!

Well hello!  I'm sorry it's been a while since my last post.  Life has been busy, but the baking hasn't slowed down!  I'm kicking BostonSweetieBlog back off with a Kappa-licious bang for you.  I mean it.  Kappa-LICIOUS.

Last night our girls dessert was provided by the lovely Miss Lindsay.  She made an absolutely amazing dessert for us - Raspberry Rhubarb Bake with vanilla gelatto.  She brought all of the ingredients to dinner, quickly assembled everything, popped it in the oven when the chicken was done, and an hour later our dessert was ready!  This is warm, sweet, satisfying, and absolutely delicious.

 

The recipe is so easy, this is a GREAT thing to make for summer potlucks, parties, or when you're craving a sweet on a random weeknight.  The recipe is below.

Before I sign off- I have to give a shout-out to Shannon who provided our Kappa Dinner:  Rosemary chicken, sauteed green beans and rice pilaf.  It was SO good, and she was proud of how pretty she plated everything.  I know my blog is all sweets, but this meal was pretty sweet (ohhhh!) so thank you Shanns!  Here's a pic:

Coming up tomorrow: Smore's bars and a care package to a deployed soldier, my participation in Operation Baking GALS!

Raspberry Rhubarb Bake - serves 6
Recipe from Lindsay's mom's cookbook "One Dish Wonders"

Place 2 cups of sliced rhubarb (fresh or frozen) in a greased, square 8"x8" baking dish.  Sprinkle with half of a 3 oz. package of raspberry or strawberry Jell-O, 1/6 cup of sugar and half of a box of yellow or white cake mix (in that order.) 

Pour 1/2 cup water evenly over dry ingredients.

Drizzle with 1/6 cup butter or margarine, melted.

Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes, or until rhubarb is tender.

Great idea from Lindsay's mom Barb: "I would put the other half of the Jell-O and cake mix in ziplocks and stick them in the cupboard or freezer if you think it will be a while before you make it again.  Doubled, this recipe fills a 9" x 13" pan, which would be good if you were going to a group event."