Rose Water And Raspberry Cupcakes

It's been a quiet few months here. After Christmas and New Years are both over, everyone seems to go into hibernation mode. Well, at least here in Canada, where it has been a super cold and dreary winter.

Everyone hides and inside and there are very few reasons to bake or use the new cupcake book and supplies that I got for Christmas.

Yes, I was the lucky recipient of a William-Sonoma gift-card this Christmas! 

The first thing I bought was this amazing cupcake book.

That was quickly followed by a jar of rose water and a jar of orange blossom water. I have been looking for those everywhere!

As St. Patrick's Day approached, my work's social committee decided to have a comfort food pot-luck. And what is more appropriate for me than to make cupcakes?

Since I really wanted to use the new stuff that I had got, I decided to make these!

(sorry, I forgot to take process shots again)

Rose Water and Raspberry Cupcakes

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 tbsp rose water

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 cup whole milk

Position oven rack in the middle of oven; preheat oven to 350°; line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper or foil liners.

In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together; set aside.

In another bowl, with an electric mixer on med-high speed, beat the powdered sugar and butter together until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.

Add in rose water and the eggs, one at a time, beating on low speed until combined after each addition.

Add in the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk in 2 additions, beating on low speed until just combined; scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full.

Bake until lightly golden and a pick comes out clean, 15-18 minutes.

Let the cupcakes cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes; transfer the cupcakes to the wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour

Rose Water Glaze

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1 tbsp while milk, plus more as needed

1 tsp rose water

2 drops red food colouring

Make the glaze--in a bowl, whisk the sugar, milk, rose water, and food colouring together until smooth; the glaze should be spreadable. If too thick, whisk in additional milk a few drops at a time. If too thin, whisk in additional sugar, one teaspoon at a time; use right away.

Spoon the glaze over the cupcakes (the glazed cupcakes can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days; bring to room temperature before finishing).

Top each cupcake with the fresh raspberries and sugared rose petals (if using), dividing evenly, and serve.

Don't they look super pretty?

They were really delicious, although a bit intense with the rose water. I would cut it back a bit next time.

These weren't really the right thing to take to a comfort food pot-luck. They are a little too fancy for that. They would be much better suited for an afternoon high tea.

I will for sure make them again.

Saturday Morning Cartoon Birthday Treats

My very awesome boyfriend just turned 30 the other week.

Him and his friends are always throwing theme parties and his birthday was to be no exception to that rule.

But what kind of party to throw?

A Saturday Morning Cartoon Party, of course.

Art by Suppa-Rider

Everyone wore graphic t-shirts of their favorite cartoons, we threw on netflix and watched all sorts of 80's and 90's cartoons; Transformers, She-ra, Power Rangers, G.I. Joe, Sonic The Hedgehog and Jem. It was fantastic.

But what's a theme party without themed food?

We went with a breakfast theme, of course. But what do you make for a breakfast themed birthday cake? I scoured the internet for breakfast cupcakes and came across this amazing recipe from one of my favorite baking blogs; Confessions of A Cookbook Queen

 

picture by Confessions of a Cookbook Queen

Captain Crunch Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Marshmallow Frosting

1 box Duncan Hines Classic Yellow cake mix 1 cup buttermilk 4 large eggs 1/3 cup oil 4 cups Cap’n Crunch cereal, plus more for garnish
Preheat oven to 350. Line 24 muffin tins with baking cups and set aside. Using a food processor or a large Ziploc bag and rolling pin, crush 2 cups of the cereal very finely (to a cornmeal consistency). 

If you don't have a food processor or a rolling pin, an empty wine bottle works just as well. Who knew?

In the bowl of a mixer, add the cake mix, crushed cereal, buttermilk, eggs, and oil. 

Beat on low speed about one minute, stopping to scrape down sides of the bowl. Increase speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more. 

 
Fold other 2 cups on uncrushed cereal into the batter.

Fill liners 2/3 full and bake for 12-15 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly touched. Allow to cool on cooling racks.

 

To Make Frosting:

2 sticks butter, at room temperature (I used salted) 1 cup peanut butter 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/4 cup milk 4 cups powdered sugar 7 oz jar marshmallow creme

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the 2 sticks of butter, peanut butter, milk, and vanilla on medium low speed until well blended. 

Slowly add powdered sugar and beat on low until just barely blended. Increase speed until medium and beat for about 2 minutes, until light and fluffy. 

 

Fold in Marshmallow Creme, not fully combining to allow for a swirl of marshmallow throughout.

Frost cupcakes generously and add a sprinkle of cereal to the top.

Note the Spiderman foils. Perfect for a Saturday Morning Cartoon Party.

I'll be honest, I was worried about this recipe. First off, I'm not one to use a box mix. I like making things from scratch, but I couldn't figure out what I needed to change by doing it from scratch, so I went with the box mix. Second, I wasn't sure how good putting cereal into cupcakes would be. But for both accounts, I was wrong. The cereal in them seemed to almost caramelize. Yum!

These cupcakes were AMAZING!!! 

Everyone loved them. 

The other new recipe I tried was bacon related from The Food Network

Candied Bacon

 

12 slices bacon, about 1/4-inch thick
Finely ground black pepper
1/3 cup light brown sugar
Equipment: 2 baking sheets, preferably the same size


Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Put bacon slices in a bowl, season them with pepper and toss with the brown sugar. 

 

 

Cover a baking sheet with parchment or foil and arrange the bacon in a single layer on top. Sprinkle any sugar left in the bowl over the bacon. 

 

 

Top with another layer of parchment or foil and top it, squarely, with another baking sheet. The baking sheet will flatten the bacon as it cooks. 

 

Place the tray in the center of the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Check the bacon by lifting the top tray and parchment. If it is not golden brown and fairly crispy, resist the temptation to turn up the oven temperature, and cook it for 10 to 15 minutes longer. Check it again. Keep in mind that when you remove the tray and transfer the bacon to a serving platter or individual plates, the bacon will "crisp" up a little more. Be patient!

My first batch got a little burnt, so I turned it back a bit for the other batches. (sorry, I only got a picture of the burnt batch)

It was really, really good. But by the third batch, the smell of it was getting to me and I didn't end up having more than a few pieces. Of course, there was none left over for me to try again the next day.

Other party foods that we served were mini bagels, berries, pancakes, hash-browns and nutella and peanut butter sandwiches. Sooooooo gooood!!!