6 posts tagged “cupcakes”

strawberry cupcakes

1 comment

Today Martha Stewart had on Candace Nelson, the owner of Sprinkle's Cupcakes. They currently have locations in Beverly Hills, Newport Beach and Dallas. Next week they are opening in Phoenix. For those who don't live nearby, or prefer not to spend $3.25 for a cupcake (after waiting in line for an hour), here is the recipe for the strawberry cupcakes and frosting. These are my favorites, although the most popular reportedly is the red velvet (probably doesn't hurt that they have red velvet everyday). They have fresh strawberries in both the cake and icing. If using fresh strawberries be sure they are ripe.

sprinkle's strawberry cupcakes

i n g r e d i e n t s

Makes 1 dozen cupcakes
2/3 cup whole fresh or frozen strawberries, thawed
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 cup whole milk, room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
2 large egg whites, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

i n s t r u c t i o n s

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside.
2. Place strawberries in a small food processor; process until pureed. You should have about 1/3 cup of puree, add a few more strawberries if necessary or save any extra puree for frosting; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a small bowl, mix together milk and strawberry puree; set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg and egg whites until just blended.
5. With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the milk mixture; mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended.
6. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in tin before icing.

i n g r e d i e n t s

Makes icing for 12 cupcakes
1/2 cup whole frozen strawberries, thawed
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, firm and slightly cold
Pinch of coarse salt
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

i n s t r u c t i o n s

Place strawberries in the bowl of a small food processor; process until pureed. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce mixer speed and slowly add confectioners' sugar; beat until well combined. Add vanilla and 3 tablespoons strawberry puree (save any remaining strawberry puree for another use); mix until just blended. Do not overmix or frosting will incorporate too much air. Frosting consistency should be dense and creamy, like ice cream.

If you want to make the little decoration on top, you'll need to get your hands on some fondant and fondant cutters. Personally I think the little dots on top are dangerous and likely to chip a tooth. They don't even taste good.

We spent the afternoon in Emeryville today. It would appear they opened a new Sephora there on Bay Street (yesterday). I did not go in as I have recently stocked up on my beauty products, and should not be spending any more money in that effort.

We decided to see the movie, Evening. The cast is unbelievable (Claire Danes, Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Vanessa Redgrave, Natasha Richardson, Toni Colette). I thought I would have been impacted more. I don't know. The underlying messages are both bleak and hopeful. Random tidbit: Richardson and Redgrave are mother-daughter in real life and Meryl Steep's daughter, Mamie Gummer plays the younger version of Streep's character.

teacake cupcake

5 comments

We also stopped at teacakes. They have started doing special flavors of the day. Today was all about pink. They had strawberry and pink velvet. Alas they had sold out of the pink velvet, so I can't tell you how amazing it was.

So far the only thing I have tried from what we bought is the iced molasses cookie. I am usually all about chocolate, but I have a soft spot for this type of cookie. I think it is because I made them many years ago during one of my all out Christmas baking frenzies.

The hotel has gone from deserted to hopping. There is a wedding here today (07.07.07), so that is making it more lively than usual.

Cupacakes

Who doesn't love cupcakes? They are cute and tasty. But have you ever tried to take one home for later? Not so pretty, right?

Well, now you can have your cupcake later. I first found these at Sprinkles in Newport Beach. Since then, they have done a deal with Williams-Sonoma so guess who is also selling these little guys? Even better, you can get them from the source too.

Depending on where you get them, the price ranges from $3 to $5 each. Of course, shipping can add to the price, so that is something to consider as well. I only saw blue and white at Williams-Sonoma. Sprinkles had Pink. And I recently saw yellow at Bittersweet in San Francisco.

Here are some links:

Cupacakes (note they have a list of retailers on their site)
Bittersweet (locations in San Francisco and Oakland)
Sprinkles (locations in Beverly Hills and Newport Beach)
Williams-Sonoma (available in store only)

One last thing - these are NOT dishwasher safe. They must be handwashed and should be rinsed before first use.

Let me know what you think! And feel free to join the group if you like.

Back at It's a Grind. Yay! for free WIFI. The connection at the house is just slow as molasses or nonexistent during the day.

It has cooled off a bit. I would guess it is in the high 60's, low 70's. This is much more normal for November in Los Angeles. Ninety plus really was crazy. As a result I can finally wear my new parrot (green) tunic from Lands End. It has a hood and kangaroo pockets. I had to keep going on line to see if they had one. At one point it showed up and then said it was unavailable when I tried to check out.

For whatever reason, B picked a table by the restroom. I just witnessed a woman go in there on her cell phone and come back out on her cell phone. What ever happened to manners?

I am getting 'connection timed out' errors when I try and publish on Blogger. Thought they had that fixed. Guess it was only temporary. Ugh.

Last night I made pork chops for the first time in months. I also baked potatoes and fixed a salad. I miss cooking.

We bought two kinds of flour and will probably bake something over the weekend. I wonder if Paula Deen's Humming Bird cake recipe could be made into cupcakes? I would rather not have to buy three cake pans. Not that there is a cupcake tin in the house. In fact, I tossed out two of the most rusty bread pans I have ever seen. Gross.

We have been invited to B's Uncle's home for Thanksgiving. The last time there was a bit of a misunderstanding about where dinner was going to be, and I ended up carting a turkey and the trimmings across the San Gabriel Valley. Don't know what the expectation is this time, but it has been a while since I made a turkey. We ended up going to the school sponsored lunch both years we were in Chicago. I think last year since we didn't get any food, we stopped at the store on the way home and I made turkey burgers. They were good, but I sure do miss that post-Thanksgiving turkey sandwich. My Mom and I would usually split on around 10pm on Thanksgiving evening - turkey, stuffing, and a bit of cranberry sauce on a Kaiser roll. Mmmm.

sticker on a box

Last weekend we stopped by at teacake, a new bake shop in Emeryville.  This is a photo of their box - that's a sticker on it.  Wonder what's inside.....

teacake cupcake

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These actually are as good as they look.  And at three bucks a pop, they should be.  Still, I miss my vanilla wonders from Southport Bakery via Intelligentsia (and they were only two bucks).  We also tried a couple of cookies. Oh my!