Maple-Walnut Cupcakes

My Nemesis struck again. It came disguised as Maple. The cupcakes are pretty basic to make (Use mixer cover when mixing in the milk or it will platter). They are nutty and crumble easily (baked for 20 minutes). Great as muffins with coffee for breakfast.
Then I began to make the butter cream, cooking the Maple syrup (BF brought all the way from Massachusetts). I used a candy thermometer until it registers 240 (I took it off the heat but the temperature kept rising to 270). As I poured it into the mixer with the egg yolks, it hardened instantly into candy. It almost broke my mixer whisk and sliced my thumb when trying to wipe it off.
I tried to use the Safeway Butterscotch but this time it did not help (Too sticky. Not even the kids bought it).
If anyone out there has a Maple Buttercream recipe that does not require a candy thermometer and possible ER, please Help me!

120 to Go!

Banana Cake

Valentines Cake!
I know Banana cake does not sound like the most romantic cake but it was next on the project ( I had to make the Devil's Food cake first for my friend's birthday because she does not like bananas). My BF is a sport and knows I'll make it with Love which is what matters on Valentines. The batter was very heavy and baked for 30 minutes (Rotating at 20). Then I sliced the bananas and cooked them in the caramelized sugar (Reminds me of "platanos" ). So far so good. The Mascarpone frosting is ($$$) not to sweet, light and easy to spread (I DREAD spreading frosting on cakes. I feel like a little kid trying to perform brain surgery). So far so good. THEN.... I HATE CARAMEL. It is my NEMESIS. I stirred the sugar in the pan until "golden amber" (I even referred back to page 19 for color examples). When I added the cream it spatters and hardens very quickly. The ice bath just made it worse (stuck to the bowl).
BF saved the day with his Safeway Butterscotch sauce (I am always keeping it in stock from now on). Why make it when you can buy it is my new motto.
I Love You Honey!
121 to Go!

Devil's Food Cake with Mint Chocolate Ganache

Messy, Messy, Messy! A Delicious Chocolate Mess. The recipe makes a lot of batter which baked for 41 minutes (smooth, moist, velvety cake). This was my first time making Chocolate Ganache(Be careful when pouring the chocolate into the hot milk because it splashes) and was shocked when I read I had to stir it frequently for "about 40 minutes". I don't know who has 40 minutes (Martha's employees!) to stir Ganache but I DO NOT. I let it cool down and beat it for 10 minutes when I realized it had curdled. I placed it in the fridge for 20 minutes and then beat it again until it was fluffy enough to spread. Then came the messy part, pouring the melted Ganache over the cake. I had already placed it on the cake stand and it covered all of it. After refrigerating it for the Ganache to harden, I was too scared to remove the cake to clean the stand. We were taking it to my friend's Birthday Party and I thought they should just be grateful I'm bringing it. My BF said if I trusted him with it he would take it off the stand, clean the stand and place it back on (He's got balls of steel!). I entrusted him with my chocolate volcano and closed my eyes through the whole procedure.
It was a success! It looked and tasted great. My friends said it was the highlight of party.

122 to Go!

PS. Forget the Chocolate Mint Leaves!

Lemon Curd Cake

Mom's Birthday Cake. It took me almost 10 hours to make (Longer than it took for my mom to give birth to me!). This was definitely a Labor of Love. The Lemon Curd was an arduous step that left me wishing I owned a lemon tree (6 lemons) and a chicken coop (4 eggs, 4 egg whites and 16 egg yolks, !). I refrigerated the curd for 2 hours (I wish I would have made it a day ahead). The batter was very thick (I used sour cream) and baked for 30 minutes total (Rotating at 15 min). The Lemon Swiss Meringue was delicious and easy to spread. If you love lemons you'll love this cake.

Happy Birthday Mom (Tita)!

123 to Go!

Coconut Cake with Seven-Minute Frosting.

WOW!!!!! If/when we get married, this will be our wedding cake (Hope you're OK with this honey).  This is the best cake I have ever had in my life (I can't even try to be humble on this one).  At first I was horrified at the amount of eggs it required (8 for the cake, 6 for the frosting for a grand total of 14 eggs!). Then it was the huge amounts of sugar (almost 3 cups).  After I got over these numbers, I thought I had ruined it by adding the flour before the eggs and vanilla. I was not letting all the eggs and sugar go to waste so I continued on as if nothing had happened (Denial is a beautiful thing).  I was actually thinking of omitting that part on the blog (Please don't gasp at me). I know the purpose of the blog is to write the good,  the bad,  and the ugly of this process but the EGO is a funny creature. The reason I am writing what happened is because it might affect why it was so amazing and I want you to experience it too.  I will be OCD every time I make this cake (I've documented the time of day, humidity, weather, monthly cycle. No detail is left for chance.) 

I used Challenger butter, O eggs, Madagascar vanilla, Hawaiian Sun Coconut Milk and flaked sweetened coconut instead of shredded (I also used these flakes to garnish the cake. In the New Project there is no time for fresh coconut "curls". Besides, as my BF pointed out, the kids could choke on those).

I baked the batter in 9'' round pans for 50 minutes (rotating at 22 min). I let them cool in the pan for 10 min an flipped unto a wire rack.

The frosting was easy to make (hardest party was separating the egg whites). Make sure to use a candy thermometer and make sure the mixture is 160 degrees before whipping it. I frosted the cake while lightly warm (Next time I would spread the middle with 2 cups of frosting instead of 1 1/2 since there was some left over. The more the better). 

So Moist! Coconut Lover's Paradise!!!

124 to Go!

Yellow Butter Cupcake with Chocolate Frosting

The kids liked these (Used Guiradelli semi-sweet) but did not LOVE them. I caught my 2 year old scraping the frosting off and eating the cupcake alone (a painful sight). The frosting is very liquid and hard to pipe out of pastry bag (BIG MESS).  They baked for 22 minutes, rotating at 10 (I turned them out after a few minutes unto wire rack). 

This was my offering to my wonderful BF who came over to do his duties: bed frame,  shelves and a round of Monopoly wit the kids.  He seemed happy enough (had 2). 

 This gorgeous cake stand was my Birthday gift from my thoughtful BF. (Neiman Marcus). Thank you honey!

125 to Go!

Yellow Butter Cake with Dark Chocolate Frosting

If you love Dark Chocolate you'll love this cake. The kids did not like it but I'll make it up to them with the Cupcake variation.   For the frosting I used 70% Cocoa "El Rey" chocolate from Venezuela that my grandmother Yayi sent me.  The Yellow cake was simple to make and baked for 30 min (Rotating pans after 15 min).  I let them cool 10 min in pan and then flipped them to a wire rack (I brushed Wilton's cake release on cake pans. It works every time an you don't have to use butter, flour or parchment paper). 

I was intimidated to begin the cakes section but I'm glad we're off to a good start.

126 to Go!