A Salted Caramel Icing

Caramel intimidates me, plain and simple. It always has. I have many childhood memories of watching my parents work together to make Mom's much loved caramel icing that tops a hot milk sheet cake. The whole process is nerve wracking to even watch let alone participate in because so many things can go wrong--the sugar can burn or the caramel can get grainy if not poured and spread quickly enough. The icing alone takes a few hours, lots of patience, teamwork, and perfect timing, and these are the reasons that I have never attempted mom's caramel cake on my own.

So when Mom suggested that I make a caramel icing to top chocolate cupcakes for our English Graduate Organization bake sale, I thought to myself, "Well, that's not going to happen." But Mom reassured me that she had a different caramel icing recipe from her Aunt Harriet that would not be as painful or time consuming as her traditional caramel. This recipe is traditionally used to top a prune cake, but it was indeed very simple and worked perfectly for these cupcakes.

To begin, I baked the cupcakes, using my chocolate cupcake recipe and let them cool completely. Then, it was on to the icing.



Salted Caramel Icing
1 stick butter
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon sea salt or Kosher salt
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
2 cups powdered sugar
1-2 tablespoons sea salt
1-2 tablespoons raw sugar

In a medium-sized sauce pan, combine the butter, brown sugar, and milk.

Bring these ingredients to a boil, stirring frequently with a whisk. Let the mixture boil for 3 minutes, continuing to stir.

After 3 minutes, add 1/4 teaspoon of the sea or Kosher salt. I used Kosher because it dissolves very quickly. You can also adjust the amount of salt to your liking. I love salted caramel, but I have found that I enjoy more of a subtle salt taste rather than an intense one.

After whisking in the salt, add the whipping cream and continue to whisk. I added the cream to the original recipe to thicken and smooth the icing.

When the cream is incorporated, remove the pan from the heat, and use a handheld mixer to whisk in the powdered sugar a cup at a time. Continue mixing the icing until it is completely smooth and cool enough to spread.

There is a small window of time to ice the cupcakes and sprinkle on the salt/sugar garnish, so I suggest mixing equal parts sea salt and raw sugar in a small bowl before beginning to ice the cupcakes. Like the salt in the caramel, you can alter the ratio of salt to sugar or cut out the sugar entirely according to your salt preference. I used the raw sugar not only to cut the salt but also because I like the way larger, darker grain of the raw sugar looks and tastes.

After spreading the icing on an individual cupcake, immediately sprinkle on the salt/sugar mixture to insure that the sprinkles stick to the icing before it hardens.

Try to ice the cupcakes as quickly as possible to avoid the caramel becoming grainy, but if it does, whisking it quickly over low heat with the handheld mixer will give you a little more time to complete the icing process.


Whether these are for a school bake sale or a fancy party, I promise that these cupcakes won't disappoint any of your friends or their taste buds.

Happy baking!

A Whole Wheat Morning Glory Muffin

I am on a mission to develop healthy-ish, but still tasty, breakfast muffin recipes. These pumpkin muffins were a start, but I still feel a little guilty eating something with chocolate chips more than once or twice a week. When Mom mentioned that she had baked Morning Glory muffins a few weeks ago and that they froze well, I started looking for recipes. Let me tell you that there a quite a few different types of muffins that fall under the Morning Glory title. After a few hours of reading recipes, I decided to just work with the basic muffin recipe from my pumpkin muffins and use ingredients that I already had at home.

Morning Glory muffins

I am thrilled with the way these turned out. The whole grains, carrots, and apples don't over power the muffin like I was afraid they would, but they do make for a hearty taste. Steve, who usually turns up his nose at anything that appears to be healthy, was skeptical of the grated carrots, but he ended up eating a few after dinner last night and gave them a thumbs up.



Whole Wheat Morning Glory Muffins

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup AP flour
1/4 cup wheat bran
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups peeled and grated carrots
1 large peeled and grated apple
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup raisins
4 large eggs
2 ripe bananas
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons molasses
2 teaspoons vanilla

Whisk all dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

Grate carrots and apple. Combine with raisins, cranberries, and walnuts. Add to the dry ingredients and  stir until incorporated.

In a medium sized bowl, mash bananas and whisk together with eggs, oil, molasses, and vanilla. Add to the mixture in the large bowl and stir until evenly incorporated.

Coat 18-24 muffin tins or use cupcake papers. Fill tins and bake in at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

A Healthier Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffin

I've been on a muffin kick lately. I guess this is better than a cookie or cupcake habit, but we all know muffins can be deceptively high in calories. So, I took my original pumpkin muffin recipe added some whole wheat and cut back on the sugar and oil.  I actually think the wheat bran adds a nice texture, and I barely missed the sugar. I don't know the exact calorie count or nutrition breakdown, but these are definitely a step in the right direction.

Ingredients

1 cup AP flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup wheat bran
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 15 ounce can pure pumpkin
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Whisk dry ingredients together. Mix in liquid ingredients. Then add chocolate chips, if you so desire. Coat 18-24 muffin tins with cooking spray or use cupcake papers. Divide batter among the tins. Bake 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees.

These muffins also freeze well. I take them out one at a time and pop them in a warm oven for 5 minutes, and they're ready for a quick breakfast.

A Second Goal Accomplished: A Picnic with Steve

I'm quite a bit late posting about this goal from 4 Simple Goals Before 2013. But I forbid myself from blogging during the busy end of the semester, and the break just got away from me.

Long live the Hercules (Steve's bike).
It was stolen a week or two after the picnic.

On a lovely Sunday afternoon in November, Steve and I went on a picnic to celebrate a little milestone and enjoy the warm weather. We picked Manderson Landing, a park that overlooks the Black Warrior River, as our destination, packed up the bikes with a mom-made quilt and a little lunch, and headed out. It was a lovely day complete with fall leaves and adorable dogs.

I baked french bread the day before and made a big picnic sandwich for us to split. Steve brought the chips and cokes.

Steve wasn't too impressed with the Renaissance Fair-esque sword fighting going on across the sidewalk, but it's all a day at the park.

I also baked some pantry cookies. I'll post this recipe and the one for the picnic sandwich soon.

My mother made this quilt for my dorm room bed my freshman year of college. I simply love it, and it's perfect for a picnic.

I'm afraid I will only be 2 for 4 on my 4 Simple Goals before 2013. I'll put the letter writing and dressmaking on my list for the new year.

I enjoyed a Christmas break filled to the brim with sewing, cooking, traveling, and visiting with family. Now, I'm a few days into the new semester.

I hope that y'all enjoyed the holidays and your new year is off to a nice start.

A Chocolate Cupcake with Peppermint Buttercream

These cupcakes are my new favorite holiday treat, and they're perfect for sharing.

Last Tuesday night in the midst of paper writing season, I came to a point where I couldn't read or write another word about Thoreau or feminist theory. I needed a productive excuse to escape to my kitchen for a few hours. I knew I couldn't call my mother for suggestions because she would have told me that what I really should have been doing was writing not baking, which was the truth, but I've always been a little stubborn. Without my normal mom-sultation, I considered a couple of different holiday treats and possible flavor combinations, and I decided to try my hand at creating cupcakes that combine two of my favorite sweets. I adapted this cupcake recipe from a chocolate cake recipe, changing the butter to oil and tweaking a few small things, and I simply substituted peppermint extract for vanilla in our regular buttercream recipe and added crushed candy canes to the top for taste and decoration.


Chocolate Cupcakes (yield: 24)
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2  eggs
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fill 24 muffin tins with cupcake papers.

Whisk dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

Add wet ingredients to the dry and mix thoroughly.

Fill cupcake papers in tins 2/3 full. Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick/fork comes out clean from the center of a cupcake.

Remove cupcakes from tins and let them cool completely before frosting.

Peppermint Buttercream Frosting
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons half and half (could substitute milk)
3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
crushed candy canes for topping (optional)

I love frosting, but I think a little goes a long way with the sweetness of buttercream. Therefore, this buttercream recipe makes just enough to frost 24 cupcakes by spreading a layer of frosting on each rather than using a piping bag, so if you like to pipe on your icing, I suggest doubling the recipe.

After the butter has softened, cream butter in a mixing bowl until fluffy. I use a handheld mixer when I'm at school, and this takes me a good five minutes of mixing. So if you're using a handheld, don't give up on your butter; just switch hands.

When the butter is fluffy, add the powdered sugar a cup at a time, mixing on a low setting to keep from decorating your counter tops with lovely, but sticky sugar. When all 4 cups have been thoroughly incorporated, add the half and half a tablespoon at a time until the consistency is spreadable (or preferred consistency for the method of frosting you desire). Then, add the peppermint extract, mixing thoroughly to incorporate the flavor evenly throughout the frosting.

Frost cupcakes and sprinkle crushed candy canes on top of each cupcake.

I took these cupcakes to choir practice the next night as a treat after our last practice before Lessons and Carols, and when we arrived I realized that some of the candy cane color had bled onto the white icing. This did not affect the taste, only the appearance, but because of this color transfer, I suggest that you serve the cupcakes the same day that you make them.Overall, I think the few hours of writing that were sacrificed proved well worth it to my sanity and the taste buds of St. Paul's choir members.

If you try this recipe over the holidays, please drop back by and let me know how it went.

Happy baking and Merry Christmas!

One Simple Goal Accomplished: Two Wheel Traveling

A couple weeks ago I wrote a post about 4 Simple Goals {Before 2013}. 

The third goal on my list reads: Ride my bicycle to campus more often than I take my car.

 I can gladly report that I've succeeded at this goal.

And I love it. 

 Breathing fresh air and getting my heart pumping is a much better start to the day compared to sitting in traffic and trying to find a parking spot, and it's actually faster to take my bike.

I pack simply and lightly. My little basket holds a small notebook, a few books, my phone and wallet, a collapsable tote, and even a strategically placed coffee cup. (Although I might be pushing the 17 pound weight limit now that we're into the very large second volume of the Norton Early American Literature anthology, but that's yet to be seen.)

Bicycling makes me more confident, y'all. Those hills aren't as steep and those cars aren't as intimidating as they used to be. I grew up in the completely flat Mississippi Delta, never having to change a gear to pedal up hill, so I am weary of even the smallest of hills and plan routes around them. (Ask Steve about the first time he made me pedal up a hill in Columbus.) But one day I got the courage to go a faster route up a small hill, and now it's a breeze. I'm also more comfortable in street traffic. A lot of students at UA ride their bikes on the sidewalks, but I'd rather not run the risk of hitting someone who is walking or getting in the way of someone who needs full access of the sidewalk. So it's out into the street for me. Thankfully, drivers around Tuscaloosa seem to be pretty aware and considerate of us folks on two wheels.

Riding while wearing a skirt is much easier than I imagined. I had horrible {possibly illogical} visions of my skirt blowing up over my head or getting caught and ruined in the chain, but after seeing the women on Call the Midwife ride on cobblestones in nurse's uniform skirts and finally deciding I couldn't keep saving my favorite skirts for the rainy days of driving, I mustered up the courage to try it out, and much to my surprise, it was no big deal. 

Here's a photo of my second successful skirt/Schwinn combo:

thanks to Collyn for snapping this one

Happy pedaling! 

A Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffin

In our little half of the duplex, we currently have pumpkin beer, pumpkin spice coffee syrup, and now pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. You might say that Collyn and I have a little bit of an obsession. But, who doesn't love pumpkin goodness, especially in October? 

pumpkin chocolate chip muffins

A few days ago while I was working on the paper that has kept me from blogging for the past couple of weeks (I turned it in yesterday, hooray!), I ordered a pumpkin chocolate chip muffin at one of our lovely local coffee shops, so today, when I decided I was in the mood for some baking, I thought back to those delicious muffins. I looked online for a recipe but didn't find one that sounded right to me. I wanted to use multiple spices rather than the pre-mixed spices in a cake mix, oil rather than butter, and pure pumpkin rather than pumpkin pie filling. So I, of course, called Lulu for consultation, and she had a plain pumpkin muffin recipe that we spruced up to make the recipe for these muffins. 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

yield: 24-30 muffins 

Ingredients:

2 cups AP flour

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon cloves

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger 

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1 15 ounce can pure pumpkin

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

How To:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 Whisk dry ingredients together.

Add vanilla eggs, oil, and pumpkin. Mix until evenly incorporated. 

Add chocolate chips and stir. 

Spray muffin tins with cooking spray or line them with cupcake paper. Fill the tins 3/4 of the way full (I discovered that filling them not quite as full makes the tops pop rather than spread and flatten).

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Enjoy. 

Why not have a little chocolate with your breakfast?