As Good as Blue Cupcakes

First Born is credited with these cupcakes; he asked for them, helped make them, and then named them; when I pulled the finished cupcakes out of the oven he said, "Ah, as good as blue!" 

I'm also convinced he's psychic, since I was seriously craving cupcakes on my way home from work today.

 "As Good As Blue Cupcakes" are a bit of a surprise, because they're actually orange.  I whipped up some of my favorite chocolate buttercream to top them, which was all a terrible idea since I'm trying to watch what I eat, and I'm instead watching the cupcakes disappear off the plate.

As Good As Blue Cupcakes

(makes 12)

.5 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1.5 cups flour
.5 tsp. baking soda
.25 tsp. baking powder
.25 tsp. salt
1 c. sour cream (I only used a half, and they're not nearly as moist as they could be)
1/8 c. orange juice
.5 tsp. orange extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare muffin pan
2.  Mix the good stuff first:  softened butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla.  Add the sour cream and stir thoroughly.
3. Mix the dry goods, or just let little hands dump them in the bowl in whatever order comes first.
4. Stir in the orange juice and extract.
5. Use a 1/3 measuring cup to fill the muffin cups 3/4 full

 

 6.  Bake for 18-20 minutes (I did 21 and my cupcakes were a little dry.  Something turned out too raw recently, so I'm a little moist-gun-shy).








7.   Remove from pan and let cook on a rack.

 Chocolate Buttercream
(frosts twelve cupcakes) 

1.75 c. powdered sugar (odd, I know, but it's what I had left)
4 Tbsp. butter
.5 c. cocoa powder
1/8 c. milk/cream of choice


Mix is up, using a hand mixer to avoid the lumps you can see in mine, and slather it one.

How to be the "coolest mom ever" (to a toddler) in five minutes

Step one: Obtain one yard of fabric depicting toddler's interest-of-the-moment (here, superheros)

Step two: Stitch one straight seam for the bottom

Step three: Stitch one straight seam for the side

Step four: Hem the opening

Step five: Enjoy praise, squeals of delights, and cuddles involving the new super-awesome pillowcase.

Spring Potato Cupcakes Part II: Baking

Cupcakes have become one of my favorite treats to make. They are (usually) quick and easy, don't often require batch after batch (like baking cookies), and there seem to be no limits in terms of variety.

These cupcakes, made for Big One's spring party tomorrow, are based on the Chocolate-Mashed Potato Cupcakes on Sprinkle Bakes. I opened a new container of unsweetened cocoa powder to make them, and between the cupcakes and the frosting I used the entire thing.

I love chocolate.

From preheating the oven to final cleanup, this baking project took me 2 hours and 15 minutes. I had to bake the cupcakes in two batches, and the time this required would have allowed me to make the chip toppers, had I not already done so last night.




Spring Potato Cupcakes
Makes 26 cupcakes

• 3 cups flour
• 2.5 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup softened butter
• 1.5 cups sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
  
• 2/3 cups cold mashed potatoes (make sure you'd like in your cupcakes what you put in your potatoes. One of these days I may add bacon bits to this. Don't judge me, I'm just curious)
• .5 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 4 eggs
• .5 cup milk (the Monsters drink 2%, so that's what I used)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and prepare your muffin pans as desired. I've only recently become a cupcake-liner-convert, but holy cow does it make things easy. I don't know why I resisted.
2. Mix dry ingredients together. Like I've said before, I often skip the multi-bowl method, and mix the dry ingredients in the large measuring cup I use for flour. I give it a quick stir, and end up with something like this. (Or, you know, exactly this, since I've given you a photo of the results.)
3. Mix the "good stuff": cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, whip in the mashed potatoes, and then beat in the eggs and vanilla extract. You'll want to use a big bowl to avoid ending up with flour everywhere, like I did.
4. Alternate stirring in the flour mixture and the milk (approximately half of each at a time until it's all mixed in). The batter will be thick, which makes for very easy cupcake portioning.
5. Using a 1/4 c. measuring cup, pour/spoon batter into muffin pan. Don ' t worry about spreading the batter evenly - it will shape well in the oven.
   
6. Bake for 20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
7. Cool on a rack completely before frosting.

Which brings me to my favorite part.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Generously frosts 26 cupcakes

• 1 cup softened butter
• 5.5 cups powdered sugar
• 2/3 cup milk or cream of choice
• 3 tsp. vanilla
• 1.5 cups unsweetened cocoa powder

1. Mix all ingredients together. I like to start with the butter, cocoa powder and vanilla, adding the sugar and milk in batches until I end up with the right consistency. Keep in mind that this kind of frosting is pretty forgiving: you can, within reason, add milk and sugar until you get to the stiffness you would like. This equation gave me reasonably stiff frosting that didn't strain my disposable pastry bags.
2. Assemble your pastry bag using the tip of your choice (I think I used Wilson 35?), and fill the bag with the icing. Now, let me say this: I am not a cake decorator. I kind of stink at it. My mom, however, was always great at decorating cakes, and I remember her testing each tip by squeezing some icing on the cutting board. I didn't need to test the tip, since I'm not exactly doing precision work, but I put out a couple stars just because thinking of my mom makes me smile.
   
3. Frost the cupcakes!

If you would like to use sprinkles I recommend working a bit quickly, as you will want to decorate the cupcakes before the frosting dries - if it dries the sprinkles won't stick.

Then, top each cupcake with a prepared chocolate-covered potato chip.

Viola! And enjoy.

Spring Potato Cupcakes Part I: Prep

Big One's school is starting to make up class parties. The circus party took place on March 19, and now we are looking the spring party in the face. As usual, I have elected to try out something new: potato cupcakes.

I love potato bread and potato candy, so the idea of chocolate potato cupcakes didn't sound nearly as strange to me as they apparently did to Heather-at-Sprinkle-Bake's husband, but they did sound like good fun.

Tonight I opted for a little prep work to make the actual baking a bit easier, and tackled the mashed potatoes and the cupcake toppers.

First up were the mashed potatoes.

I love mashed potatoes in a really bad way, and when I realized that real mashed potatoes (for a small family) don't take that much longer than the boxed stuff I swore I wouldn't buy powdered potatoes again. I usually keep the skins on and add boil the potatoes in broth, but since I was making the batch specifically for cupcakes I knew I had to skin the potatoes first and stick to boiling water.

Basic Mashed Potatoes

• Potatoes (I usually go for 4-5 small potatoes to feed 2-3 people, but for this went with three large potatoes, peeled and cubed)
• Water to cover
• Bouillon (or broth, if desired)
• .25 c. butter
• 2 oz. cream cheese
• Seasonings and toppings to taste

Put the cubed potatoes in the pot and cover with water. Heat the water to boiling, and continue to boil the potatoes for 10-15 minutes, until they are fork-tender (I went with 15 minutes this time, and came away with super smooth potatoes).

Drain potatoes, reserving some liquid to thin potatoes if desired.

Plop in butter and cream cheese, and mash with a fork or potato masher.


Heather's recipe only calls for 1/3 cups of potatoes (although I'm doubling the batch), so why did I make so much? I have one chunker of an infant that will be sure to pack away the rest. I put some in the fridge for a meal or two, and froze the rest in ice cube trays. This is actually a great trick I learned when making for for Big One; most cube trays are 1oz, so it not only allows for convenient storage, but actually lets you tell the pediatrician "Oh, he eats seven ounces at a time."

I have made all of the baby's foods this time around, and it's been surprisingly convenient to dedicate an hour or two a week to making up a bunch of foods and freezing it all until he's ready for it.







Chocolate Covered Potato Chips: Cupcake Toppers
While the potatoes were boiling I started on the cupcake toppers: chocolate covered potato chips.

• 20-30 whole potato chips
• 1 cup chocolate pieces of choice (I went with traditional semi-sweet chips since I'm cooking for 4-year-olds, but I bet dark chocolate would be amazing)
• Garnish of choice, such as rainbow nonpareils. You really need something to take these treats from "bleh" to amazing.

The easiest way to melt the chocolate is by using the microwave. I start with 45 seconds to a minute, stir, and then go with 20-30 second intervals until the chocolate is smooth; it generally takes me two minutes or less to melt a cup of chocolate chips. If you have a stronger microwave you may need to go with a lower power (such as the defrost setting).

Dip and spoon chocolate over the chips one by one. I dipped each chip in, and then used a spoon to force the chocolate up as high as I wanted it to go.

Let excess drip off before laying each chip on a sheet of parchment paper (preferably on a cookie sheet or otherwise portable surface).

While the chocolate is still wet cover each chip in sprinkles.

Let the chips dry. I put my cookie sheet in the refrigerator for an hour to make sure the candy set before putting the chips in a bag to await the cupcakes.

Ew

My middle child has a singular talent: he can pick his nose with his tongue.

"How are those boogers, M?"

"Yummy!"

"I love you, Mommy."

"I bet you do: I'm making cookies."

"Are those cookies ready yet?"

Auntie Monster's Baby Blankets

Once upon a time, when I had just two monsters, I threw together fleece lap quilts featuring my partner's old metal t-shirts for the wee ones.

I framed the shirt fronts in poodle fleece, backed them with a skull-and-crossbones fleece, serged the edges and called 'em "done." It was a quick-and-dirty project intended more to give the boys each something of Daddy's to snuggle with than to rock anyone's crafty world. They were promptly named the "pirate blankets" by the Big One, because any skulls or bones automatically means pirate (or Jack Skellington).

My then-not-yet sister in law thought the blankets were hilarious, and asked me to make her a Cradle of Filth blanket "if [she] ever [had] kids." I laughed it off and said "sure," and it was never brought up again.

"Ever," of course, has turned into "April," and I have not forgotten my promise (though I have a feeling she has). Of course, baby J needed a bit more than a quick fleece blanket from his Auntie Monster, so I developed grand plans of putting together a pieced t-shirt-front quilt that would delight his parents and one day the mister himself.

But here's the thing: I really stink at quilting and blanket making. And yet I keep trying...

I love to sew, but when I say I'm sewing something it usually means something silly and frivolous that will require hardware to work properly (like the Tudor gown at the left, complete with steel-boned undergarments). Want a brocade bustle to jazz up your steampunk ensemble? Gotcha covered. Need a gypsy skirt or a court costume to wear to that Renaissance festival you promised your nerdy friend you'd attend? I have a whole trunk full. The day I found out I was pregnant with Big One I wore an 18th-century robe a'la Francaise to one of my graduate classes as part of a semester-long project. Yeah, I'm that kind of nerd.

But ask me to sew blocks of fabric together and you sure as heck can't expect it all to be squared.

So, as usual, my first attempt was a failure. I had cut two t-shirts (one Cradle of Filth for the mama, and one Boondock Saints for my brother) into 3-inch strips, serged them together end to end, and then cut the one long strip into several strips to then piece together for the front of the quilt. The end result was something like a gothic brick-road rainbow.

But I just couldn't let it go. My solution was this: I cut nine regular rectangles out of the curved mess of piecing, regardless of the direction of the seams, edged them all in the same fabric as the baking, and crossed my fingers that it would all come together.

And this is the final result. It's a little bit of his mother, a little bit of his father, a little bit of his babyhood (his nursery is decorated with frogs, and that's what the paisley pattern is), and a little bit of his auntie. If nothing else it should keep the new monster warm and remind him that he's loved.

What's the point of sharing all this? Well, I have a few, not least of which is my love of sharing completed projects.

Two, I wanted to share one way to preserve t-shirts instead of stuffing them in a drawer.

Three, I always appreciate hearing about mistakes people make when crafting/sewing/baking, especially when they are able to save it in the end.

I can't wait for Baby J to make his entrance.

Things I Learned in the First Six Months of Motherhood

Our family is expecting a new member some time in the next month or so: my very first nephew! (Not only do my rockin' brother and his amazing wife get to be first-time parents, but I get to be a first-time aunt! Auntie Monster, perhaps?)

It's making me feel nostalgic about my own first-timer days (which is a lot easier now that all three Monsters sleep through the night), and I came across this little bit when looking through old blog posts and baby photos.

I wrote the following list nearly four years ago - when Big One was six months old - and it held true for all three of my own kiddos. There is more (oh, so much more!), but this is a good description of our first six months as Parents.

Things I Learned in the First Six Months of Motherhood

1. Don’t Panic.

2. This, too, shall pass.

3. Move beyond the birth – in the end it doesn’t matter how he got here, just that he’s here.

4. People always tell first time moms-to-be that they can’t even fathom how much they will love their child once they are born. That that love is indescribable, and heartbreaking. They’re right.

5. You will become oddly comfortable with bodily functions very quickly. And Oxyclean is magic.

6. You will do two out of three things you swore you would “never” do. And that’s ok.

7. It’s ok to ask for help – it doesn’t mean you’re a bad mom.

8. It’s also ok to ask questions – even the “stupid” ones.

9. You really can function without sleep. But napping when your baby does can be nice, too.

10. Hormones suck.

11. There will always be someone who does things different. They will think their way is the only way. You will think they’re wrong. But there’s no point in arguing – just take care of your baby.

12. Everyone has advice for new moms. And some of it is actually pretty good.

13. Some of that advice may actually come from the dad. Not all suggestions are criticism.

14. Four-month-olds (or thereabouts) hate life. And no matter how much grandparents/friends/internet strangers may try to convince you otherwise, very few babies teethe at four months. Yours probably isn’t. He’s probably just being a four-month-old.

15. The “cannibal stage” doesn’t mean they’re teething, either (no matter how badly you want something to “blame”). They chew. And drool. They’re babies.

16. They’ll outgrow “it” by the time they go to college. Don’t stress.

17. It’s ok to take some time to yourself. A few hours a week doing something for you will help you recharge, and give the kiddo some time with someone else who loves him. In the end, it’ll make everyone a little bit happier.

18. Establishing routines does not mean having to be a militant mom, and it can actually be a big help for everyone.

19. It’s very sad to pack up the clothes they’ve outgrown. Especially when you find you can do it every few weeks.

20. Enjoy the everyday – every smile, every laugh, every little milestone. I’m only six months into this, but I have a feeling that one day these will be memories to sob over, and I’ll be glad to have them.

Dear Pot,

I recently enjoyed your status update in which you complain about a number of people on your news feed posting pictures of their children. It was especially informative when you followed it with twenty photos of your adult cat sleeping on various chairs and sofas, thereby establishing what designates a preferable social networking post.

Thanks for the lol,
Kettle

Circus Cake

Rainbow cakes seem to be all the rage on food blogs lately, which means I've been coming across them (to my delight) about once a week.

I'm horribly and wonderfully addicted to food blogs.

Anyway, when faced with the prospect of bringing a treat to Big One's preschool circus party I could think of nothing better!

My initial thought was to make a cotton candy cake, but in the end I went with my tried-and-true yellow cake recipe and added some cotton candy to a regular buttercream.



The director of the school actually called me to tell me how delighted they were with the cake, which left me giggly for days.

Awesome Yellow Cake

Cake Ingredients
1 cup shortening or butter (both work equally well)
2 cups white sugar
5 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2.75 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1.75 cups milk
1 box instant vanilla pudding

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare your pan or pans. I work with four round 9" pans, which makes it a lot easier to throw together cakes with several layers.
2. Stir together the "good stuff," as I always remembered of it as a kid: butter and sugar, followed by eggs, dry pudding mix, and vanilla.
3. Combine the rest of the ingredients. While a separate bowl is generally recommended, I find that measuring out the flour in a large measuring cup and then adding salt/baking powder and giving it a quick stir just the trick just fine.
4. Alternate mixing in the dry goods and the milk until everything is thoroughly combined.

At this point you could bake it at will: 45 minutes for one 9x13 sheet, or 15-20 minutes for a few round layers. But then you wouldn't have a clown cake - just a very yummy yellow cake.

5. To make the layers I separate the batter into six separate bowls, each with approximately 3/4 c. Then I added food colorings at will. This part is totally up to the baker. I wanted to go with primary colors but was stuck with a "neon" box of food coloring, so I had to adapt a bit. Plus, I added a black layer because, well, I'm Mme. Monster.



6. Each color went in its own pan, and I baked four at once and then the final two layers. Small layers like this are usually done in 15-18 minutes, but be sure to check with a toothpick or thin knife.

7. Let the cakes cool for about ten minutes in the pan before turning them out onto a wire rack. I used to have a terrible time getting my layers out in one piece before I realized that the bottoms of the cakes weren't cooling on the still-warm stovetop. To fix this I started cooling the pans on wire racks before dumping the cakes over, and voila! Solid layers!



Icing
2/3 c. soft butter
4 cups powered sugar
2 Tbsp. (or more) milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 package cotton candy and milk (1-2 Tbsp) to dissolve

Have you ever purposefully dissolved cotton candy? It's kind of fun and kind of gross. And it turns a very unappetizing shade of green.


1. Dissolve cotton candy, using just enough milk to liquify the whole mess.
2. Combine all ingredients with an electric mixer (trust me, it's just easier).
3. Separate into bowls and color as desired.

I went with five colors: green, blue, orange, pink/red, and purple.


Assembly
I am really glad I took assembly pictures of this cake, because it helps drive home just how colorful it all was.



Once the layers are assembled you can frost the exterior of the cake. And, if you're like me, you'll run out of the primary color you intended to use.

In my head, this was going to be a bright green cake with homemade dot candy in black and white all over the surface. However, it ended up a kind of tie dye nightmare which ultimately looked like it belonged in a preschool classroom.



White sprinkles went around the sides of the cake, and I dropped homemade dot candy (royal icing, really) directly on top.





I wish now that I had done more dot candy colors, but I had never tried it before. I also wish my top layer had baked flat, but that doesn't always happen around the lab.

Strawberry Coffin Cakes

Coffin Cakes a'la Desdemona, perhaps?

I actually made these a month ago, but I never seemed to find the time to post...

I purchased a coffin pan last fall, and I've been anxious to find an excuse to use it. It is intended to bake dessert cups, and actually came with a brownie recipe (that I didn't end up keeping...), but when I came across a recipe for a chocolate loaf I thought it sounded like the perfect treat.

And, because it's what I had on hand, I decided to serve these creepy treats with strawberries and whipped cream, which immediately brought Othello to mind.

Iago would have loved these.



Ultimately, I have to call these coffin cakes a mixed success. The Monsters and I enjoyed them, but I found the cake itself to be far more dry than I would have liked. I addressed this by pouring plenty of extra strawberry syrup over my own servings, and it worked like a charm.

Creepy and Kooky and certainly yummy.


Strawberry Coffin Cakes
from Two Peas & Their Pod

Ingredients
.75 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
1.5 cups all purpose flour
.75 cup sugar
1.5 teaspoons baking soda
.75 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 egg yolk*
.75 cup buttermilk**
.5 vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 ounces dark chocolate chips

Toppings
.5 cup chopped strawberries per serving
.5 cup sugar
whipped cream

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease your pan of choice.
2. Mix together the dry goods in one bowel, and whisk the wet ingredients in a separate bowl.
3. Slowly stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and mix just until the two are combined. This can be done with a mixer or by hand. Personally, I mix all of my batters with a regular flatware tablespoon, because it's easier to grab out of the drawer than it is to pull out either my hand mixer or my stand mixer. I understand that this is strange.
4. Mix in the chips or chunks by hand.
5. Pour into mold of choice and bake. For the coffins, I filled the molds about 3/4 full and checked them after 18 minutes. I stand by the toothpick trick of checking baked goods - if a toothpick inserted in the thickest part of the confection comes out clean then it's done. Maria and Josh recommend one hour to one hour and ten minutes if baking this as a loaf and not cupcakes/dessert cups.
6. Let the cakes sit in the p an for about ten minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
7. Top and enjoy.

While the cakes are in the oven I washed and chopped my strawberries and put them in a tupperware container with the sugar. To make sure the strawberries are juicy and syrupy I shake the container vigorously before putting it in the fridge to sit (my partner prefers juicy shortcakes, so this is largely to appease him). We toped the coffins as we ate them, and the strawberry mix stayed well in the fridge for several days. Likewise, the coffins kept on our glas cake plate until they mysteriously disappeared.

* I saved the egg white for breakfast the next day
** I never ever keep buttermilk. Instead, I put 1 tablespoon of lemon juice in an 8oz. measuring cup, and then filled it to the line with milk. After sitting for five minutes it makes a great substitute, and you can just measure off what you need. I've been told that white vinegar works just as well.