Pot O'Gold Cupcakes

Tomorrow is St Patrick's Day and we will have our traditional corned beef, potatoes, and something green - I love cabbage but the rest of the family does not.  Somehow bok choy seems a little strange for an Irish dinner, but I just go with the flow.

Recently there have been some wonderful recipes for  cupcakes with a St. Patick's Day theme -  Irish Coffee Cupcakes by 52 Kitchen Adventures, St. Patrick's Day Cupcakes by Susi's Kochen Und Backen Adventures, and Guinness Cupcakes by My Baking Addiction, to name a few.  All sound so good, and I have bookmarked them so that I can try them soon.  I couldn't decide on one, so I took a little something from all of them and came up with Pot O'Gold Cupcakes.

As much as I love chocolate cupcakes I wanted to make a basic yellow cupcake, so I used a tried and true recipe from Martha Stewart. A good friend of mine brought back a jar of Ladurée Caramel au beurre salé for me when she went to Paris last year, and I have been saving it for a special occasion.  I am always torn when I get gifts like this because on the one hand want to use it, but I also want to save it because I can't replace it.  I decided that this was a good time to break that seal and enjoy the contents.  The caramel is so thick and delicious, so after I made the cupcakes I cut a small portion from the top and filled them with the caramel.  A buttercream frosting seemed to be the perfect topping, so I went with it, and added Bailey's® Irish Cream in a caramel flavor as a little something extra. I may have gone a little overboard with the Bailey's®, so I adjusted it in the recipe below.  

Well, I think that I may have just found the Pot O'Gold at the end of the rainbow. Happy St. Patrick's Day!  And remember, many an opportunity is lost because a man is out looking for four-leaf clovers. 

Pot O'Gold Cupcakes
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Ingredients

Cupcakes:

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 large eggs

Frosting:

• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3 tablespoons Bailey's® Irish Cream (I used the caramel flavor) 
• 1 tablespoon cream
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
 

Cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Line the cups of a standard (12-cup) muffin tin with paper or foil liners.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
4. In a liquid-measuring cup, mix milk and vanilla; set aside. 
5. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.
6. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. 
7. With mixer on low speed, add half of dry ingredients, followed by milk-vanilla mixture, then remaining dry ingredients. Do not overmix. 
8. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. 
9. Place tin on a rimmed baking sheet; bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
10. Cool cupcakes 5 minutes in tin, then remove and cool completely on a rack before frosting.

Frosting:

1. In a medium bowl, with an electric mixer, beat unsalted butter, confectioners' sugar, cream, Bailey's, and vanilla extract until smooth.
2. Mix in up to 1/2 cup more sugar or a few more teaspoons of milk as necessary to achieve a spreadable consistency. 
3. Makes enough for 12 cupcakes. 

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

To Try Tuesday - Bill's Berry Tart

Math never was my strong point so it is no big surprise that I missed Pi Day.  I had this great idea that I would make Bill Granger's Cherry Tart to celebrate Pi Day (even though it is, technically, a tart not a pie) but I ended up having 3.14159265 other things to do, so it became a To Try recipe instead.

I planned on using cherries but Costco did not have any and I didn't want to be stuck with a big bag of frozen cherries.  So I went with blueberries instead, using about 2 cups of whole berries to make a single layer in the tart shell.  It therefore became Bill's Berry Tart.





There is not one thing about this tart that I would change - it was amazing.  If you are looking for a easy-to-make dessert that will impress your family and friends then this is your dessert.  Cherries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, or even a mix of berries would be great in the filling.  I loved that the crust was a cinch to make and it did not have to be rolled out.  You know how the crust can shrink sometimes when you are pre-baking? Not with this one.  Also, those pie weights that you use to stop air pockets forming in the crust? Well, you will not need them for this crust. Simply make crust in less than 5 minutes, pre-bake, fill with fruit, pour custard over the top, and bake once more.  Mine baked for 35 minutes, so realistically you could have this pie ready in about an hour.  I sprinkled mine with a little powdered sugar after it cooled, but this is optional.  Ice cream or whipped cream would be a nice addition too.  Lastly, the original recipe was in metric, so if you prefer these measurements you can find the recipe here.

Bill’s Berry Tart

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Ingredients

Pastry

• ½ cup (1 stick) + 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled 
• ⅓ cup sugar 
• 1¼ cups all-purpose flour 
• a pinch of salt 
• 2 tablespoons of ground almonds 

Filling 

• ⅔ cup cream 
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten 
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 
• 3 tablespoons sugar 
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 
• 16 oz cherries, halved and pitted 

 Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Grease a 9-inch round loose-bottomed tart tin. 

To make the pastry:

1. Stir together the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
2. Add the flour and salt and stir to make a soft dough.
3. Press dough evenly into base and side of tart tin with fingertips.
4. Put the tin on a baking tray and bake for 12-15 mins, until pastry is slightly puffy.
5. Remove from oven and sprinkle almond meal over base.

To make filling:

1. Whisk together cream, eggs, vanilla, sugar. 
2. Add flour and whisk until well mixed.
3. Arrange cherries over pastry base and pour cream filling over cherries.
4. Bake for 40-50 minutes until filling is firm.
5. Leave to cool and serve with cream or ice-cream.

Serves 8-10.  Original recipe appears in Holiday by Bill Granger.

Caesar Spaghetti

I'll be the first to admit that I find Rachael Ray a little over-the-top perky and I have to be in the right mood to watch her show.  When I saw her latest cookbook, Look + Cook, at the library I hesitated a little before adding it to the stack I was borrowing.  And then I forgot about it.  Well, not enough to earn me a library fine, but enough to give me just one quick look through before it was due.  I have to say that there were a few recipes that peaked my interest.  One recipe that jumped out at me was Caesar Spaghetti, and I quickly noted the recipe before I placed the book in the return basket.

Caesar Salad is a favorite around here, so I figured that these flavors in a spaghetti dish would be popular too, and I was right.  It is very easy to put together and the flavors were good.  I wish the sauce had been a little thicker, so I might play around with that a little.  I also found that the recipe was missing the croutons that you would expect to find on a Caesar Salad.  To fix this problem I cut some Hawaiian Sweet Bread rolls in half and lightly toasted them, and then gave them a nice schmear of garlic butter.  Problem solved.

I did have to make a few adjustments.  I looked everywhere but I could not find escarole.  Suitable substitutions are kale and spinach, so I went with spinach and it seemed to work out well.  Also, my daughters are not fans of little fishies (anchovies) so I omitted them and used the full tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce.  Leftovers were good too.

Caesar Spaghetti

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Ingredients

• salt
• 1 pound spaghetti
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus some for drizzling
• 6 anchovy fillets, drained
• 4 large cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 medium heads escarole, washed
• 1 lemon, halved
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, or to taste
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 cup grated Pecorino Romano

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. 
2. Once boiling, salt the water and then add the pasta and cook until just shy of al dente, according to package directions. Before draining reserve 1 cup of the starchy cooking water.
3. While the pasta is cooking, put a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the extra-virgin olive oil. Add the anchovies and cook until they've melted into the oil, about 2 minutes. 
4. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the garlic, stir 1 minute then add in Worcestershire. 
5. Shred the escarole and add several handfuls at a time, wilting the greens in the garlic oil. 
6. Dress the greens with lots of pepper and a little nutmeg, then squeeze the juice of 1 lemon over the pan. 
7. Place egg yolks in a small bowl and gradually add the reserved starchy cooking water to temper them - do this slowly or you will get scrambled eggs.
8. Turn off the heat and add the drained pasta and the egg mixture. Stir to combine. 
9. Add half of the cheese and toss vigorously for 1 minute. 
10. Dress the pasta with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and transfer to a serving dish. 
11. Pass the remaining cheese at the table.

Recipe by Rachael Ray

To Try Tuesday - Portuguese Custard Tarts

I found this recipe for Portuguese Custard Tarts courtesy of the Cooking Channel and Bill Granger.  For those who might not have heard of Bill, he is a very popular Australian self-taught "cook", who was quoted in Food & Wine magazine as saying "I learned how to cook in a domestic kitchen which keeps my food simple and instinctual".   I just love his easy going manner and simple approach to food.  He has eight cookbooks, including his latest, Bill's Basics.  It is no big surprise that I own them all.

Pressing plastic wrap on the surface prevents a skin forming on the custard

Bill's recipe originally calls for puff pastry but I still have quite a few pie crusts left over from Thanksgiving and Christmas.  What can I say, Sam's Club was selling rolled and read-to-use Pillsbury pie crusts in bulk so I stocked up on a bargain.  I decided that two of these crusts would make a good replacement for the puff pastry.  I also wanted to make mini tarts because they are a nice little mouthful, and also because they are so darn cute.  I simply used a fluted biscuit cutter and gently pressed the cut out pastry into a mini muffin tin.  I had enough dough to make 48 mini tarts, although I only had enough custard to fill 30 empty tart shells, so I filled the remaining ones with jam.

My only complaint about these tarts is that the custard is very sweet. Next time I make them I will definitely cut the sugar in half.  I really don't think I will miss it as they are quite rich to begin with. About 12 disappeared before I had even finished taking these photos.  I was surprised because my husband is back in training mode so he is usually very disciplined about eating sweets, but I guess these were hard to resist.

Portuguese Custard Tarts

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Ingredients

• 3 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup superfine sugar (I used regular)
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2/3 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 refrigerated pie crusts, thawed 
• nutmeg for sprinkling, if desired

Directions

1. Place the egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch into a saucepan and whisk them together. 
2. Gradually beat in the cream and milk until smooth. 
3. Place the pan over medium heat, and stirring constantly, cook until the mixture thickens and comes to a boil. 
4. Switch off the heat, and stir in the vanilla extract. 
5. Transfer the custard to a bowl, cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming, and leave out to cool. 
6. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease 2 x 24 count mini muffin pans. 
7. Lay the pie crusts on a lightly floured board and, using a biscuit cutter, cut rounds from them.  Gather the left-over pastry scraps and re-roll, cutting more rounds as needed.
8. Press one round into each mini muffin hole. 
9. Spoon the cooled custard into the pastry cases, sprinkle with nutmeg if desired, and bake until the pastry and custards are golden, about 20 to 25 minutes. 
10. Leave the tarts in the pan for 5 minutes, and then remove and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Recipe adapted from Bill Granger and the Cooking Channel.

To Try Tuesday - Calamansi-Ginger Scones

 

It is that time of the week again where I need to glance through my To Try recipes and choose something to make.  The problem is the list just keeps growing and I don't think there are enough days in the week to try them all.  This week I chose a scone recipe that I had printed out from Epicurious.  It is funny though how the recipe I printed out isn't exactly what I ended up making.  Originally this recipe was a Meyer Lemon and Dried Blueberry Scone, which I will be making and blogging about this weekend.  However, I had signed up to do a baking class last weekend at KCC, and I had about 30 minutes to spare before class, so I wandered around the Farmers' Market.  I saw some wonderful little calamansi and they were calling my name.


Calamansi (also known as calamondin) is a small citrus fruit that resembles a lime, but it is orange inside. I always thought they were a fruit from the Philippines, but according to Wikipedia they are actually a hybrid, possibly being a cross between a mandarin orange or tangerine and a kumquat. I was surprised that something so small could have such large seeds.  Mine had four seeds in each (and a few smaller pieces that looked somewhat like a seed) and they were as large as a lemon seed.  Also be warned to watch out for your knuckles when you are zesting them - there isn't much to grab on to when you are running that microplane across the peel.  To me they taste like a lime that has a hint of mandarin orange.

I was very pleased with the end result.  I barely let them cool before I glazed one so I could bite into the yumminess.  They are so tender, with just a hint of spice from the ginger and tartness from the calamansi juice, and I just loved the sweet-tart glaze on top.  Buttermilk helps to produce a softer texture in baked goods, and it definitely worked its' magic here.  I doubt these are going to last long around here.

Calamansi-Ginger Scones

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Ingredients

• 3 cups self-rising flour 
• ½ cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar   
• ¾ cup (11/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes 
• 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon buttermilk 
• 1 ½ tablespoons calamansi zest
• 2 tablespoon crystallized ginger, finely minced
• 3 tablespoon calamansi juice, divided
• ½ cup of powdered sugar, sifted.

Preparation

1. Position rack in top third of oven and preheat to 425°F. 
2. Line large baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper.
3. Whisk self-rising flour and 1/2 cup sugar in large bowl. 
4. Using fingertips, rub in chilled butter until pieces are size of small peas. 
5. Mix 1 cup buttermilk,  1 tablespoon calamansi juice, and calamansi zest in glass measuring cup.
6. Pour buttermilk mixture into dry ingredients and stir until dough begins to form (some of flour will not be incorporated).
7. Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface and gather together. 
8. Knead dough briefly, about 5 turns. 
9. Divide dough in half. Form each dough half into ball and flatten into 1-inch-thick disk. Cut each disk into 6 wedges.
10. Transfer scones to prepared baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart. 
11. Brush tops with remaining 1 tablespoon buttermilk and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar. 
12. Bake until scones are golden brown on top and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes (watch them because mine were done in about 18 minutes).
13. Allow to cool.
14. While scones are cooling make glaze by combing powdered sugar and remaining 2 tablespoons of calamansi juice. Brush over scones with a pastry brush.

Makes 12 scones.

Recipes adapted from this recipe at Epicurious.com