20 Sweets in 20 Weeks - #13: Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

I first attempted making Red Velvet cake back in 2009 and I think it is safe to say that it was deemed a failure. I think I must have put to much baking powder in those cupcakes because they were extremely bitter. So when Red Velvet won the poll this week I was happy to be giving it another shot, but I was also worried that I would fail again. Luckily those worries were unfounded. I have now successfully made Red Velvet cake, in the form of whoopie pies!

That being said - I think I'm not a massive fan of Red Velvet cake - the flavour is a bit so-so to me, it just isn't sweet enough, or chocolatey enough, or anything really. But my goodness it sure does look pretty. In fact it looks out of this world! The bright red cake with the white cream cheese filling looks divine. And on another positive note my mum officially loved these whoopie pies - she said for her it was a flavour explosion - I guess we must have very different tastebuds? Who knows.

Anyways if you want to make some pretty whoopie pies and you want a 'not too sweet' cake then give these a try - they were extremely easy to make and very pretty to look at.


Red Velvet Whoopie Pies (from Annie's Eats)
For the cookies:
2 cups plain flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
8 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 oz red food coloring

For the frosting:
8 oz cream cheese
5 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract (I only used 1 tsp)
2½ cups icing sugar, sifted

1. Preheat the oven to 375˚ F and line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.  
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and brown sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Beat in the egg until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.  Blend in the vanilla.  
4. With the mixer on low speed, beat in about a third of the dry ingredients, followed by half of the buttermilk, beating each addition just until incorporated.  Repeat so that all the buttermilk has been added and then mix in the final third of dry ingredients.  Do not overbeat.  
5. Blend in the food coloring.
6. Annie piped hers to make heart shaped whoopie pies - I just used an ice-cream scoop to scoop out the batter on to the baking paper. 
7. Bake for 7-9 minutes or until the tops are set, rotating the baking sheets halfway through (mine were a bit larger so I baked for 15 minutes).
8. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking trays  at least 10 minutes, until they can be easily transferred to a cooling rack.  
9. Repeat with any remaining batter.  
10. Allow cookies to cool completely before proceeding.
11. To make the cream cheese frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth, about 2-3 minutes.  Mix in the vanilla extract.  Gradually beat in the icing sugar until totally incorporated, increase the speed and then beat until smooth.
12. Annie used a piping bag to pipe the cream cheese frosting on between two of the cookies - I just used a knife to spread it on through sheer laziness. 
13. Once you have piped/spread on the cream cheese frosting on to the bottom of one cookie - sandwich it with another cookie - and voila! You are done. Now just repeat for the rest of the whoopie pies.

20 Sweets in 20 Weeks - #1: New York Cheesecake

Okay you voted and I baked. The very first sweet treat - a baked New York Cheesecake, and may I say it is very, very tasty! I am slightly bias because 1) I love cheesecake like no other sweet in the world and 2) I made it. But seriously this cheesecake is not too sweet, is not too dense and has a very subtle flavour. It is also the very first baked cheesecake that I have made - and it wasn't as scary as I thought it was going to be, quite easy really. I think the only slight issue I had with this was that I totally hacked it when I cut my slice - so it doesn't look super pretty, but don't worry the taste made up for that.


New York Cheesecake (from www.taste.com.au)
Serves 10

200g Nice biscuits
75g unsalted butter, melted
800g cream cheese
190g caster sugar
4 eggs
3 egg yolks
3 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tbs lemon juice
300ml sour cream
Good-quality cocoa powder, to dust

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a 23cm round springform pan. Place 2 layers of aluminium foil on the outside of the pan (this prevents water seeping into the pan while cooking in the water bath).
2. Crush the biscuits in a food processor. Combine melted butter with biscuit crumbs and press into the base of the pan.
3. Place the cream cheese, 170g caster sugar, eggs, egg yolks, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and the lemon juice in a food processor. Process until smooth, then pour over the biscuit base. Place the cheesecake in a large roasting pan and pour boiling water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the springform pan. Bake in the oven for 1 hour.
4. Beat together sour cream, remaining sugar and vanilla and pour over the cake. Return to oven for a further 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside in the pan to cool, then refrigerate for 4 hours. Serve dusted with cocoa powder.

Lemon Cupcakes

So it is Mat's second week at his new job, and he loves it - yay! So since his new work is treating him well I thought they deserved another batch of cupcakes. This time it was a recipe that I have been meaning to try for some time because I found the method quite interesting. The end result was really good, the cake has a nice soft crumb, isn't too sweet and has a nice subtle lemon flavour. And how can you ever go wrong with cream cheese frosting?


Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting (from Better Homes and Gardens - Christmas 2007)
Makes 17 cupcakes

4 eggs
1 1/2 cups caster sugar
1/2 tsp salt
Finely grated rind of 2 lemons
1 1/3 cups plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup almond meal
160ml cream
100g unsalted butter, melted
Juice of 1 lemon

For the frosting:
80g unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup icing sugar, sifted (I used 4 cups so that it was nice and stiff)
Finely grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
125g cream cheese, softened (I used 250g)

1. Preheat the oven to 170C. Line 2 12-hole muffin trays with cupcake cases.
   
2. Put the eggs, sugar, salt and lemon rind in a medium mixing bowl, and using the whisk attachment on our electric mixer for 3 minutes or until light in colour. Sift in the flour and baking powder with the almond meal and cream. Whisk until well combined. Add melted butter and lemon juice and whisk again.
3. Spoon mixture into cupcake cases and bake for approximately 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
   
4. To make the frosting: beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth, slowly add the icing sugar beating continually, finally add the lemon juice and rind and beat until smooth.

Cake Slice - White Chocolate Cake or should I say cupcakes!

This month The Cake Slice Bakers decided to make a white chocolate layer cake, which is just perfect for Christmas in my opinion. The recipe calls for either 3 x 8" cake tins or 2 x 9" cake tins, and guess what? I only have 2 cake tins and they are both 6". So I headed out to the local supply store to get some 8" tins only to discover that they were $12 each!!! Ouch! Way too much money for me at the moment, so I decided to make cupcakes instead.

I have to say this cake was not what I expected. The cake was moist and light in texture, but I could barely taste the white chocolate. The icing on the other hand was great a delicious combination of cream cheese and white chocolate.


White Chocolate Cupcakes (adapted from Nancie McDermott)
Makes 30 cupcakes

For the cupcakes:

2 ½ cups cake flour, sifted
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
4 ounces white chocolate, chopped
½ cup boiling water
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups caster sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk

For the frosting:

6 ounces white chocolate, chopped
12 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
¾ tsp vanilla extract
3 cups icing sugar

Method for the cupcakes:

1. Heat the oven to 180C and line 3 12-hole muffin trays with cupcake cases.
   
2. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl, and stir with a fork to mix them well.
3. Bring 3 inches of water to an active simmer in the bottom of a double boiler or a saucepan that will accommodate a medium heat proof bowl so that it sits snugly over the water. Melt the white chocolate in the top of the double boiler or in the bowl over the simmering water. Stir often, and then pour in the ½ cup of boiling water and stir to mix well. Remove from the heat.
4. In a medium bowl, combine the butter and the sugar and beat with a mixed at medium speed to mix them together well. Add the egg yolks, one by one, beating each time to keep the mixture smooth. Add the white chocolate and the vanilla, and stir well to mix.
5. Add about a third of the flour mixture, and then about half of the buttermilk, beating with a mixer at low speed just long enough after each addition to make the flour or buttermilk disappear. Mix in another third of the flour, remaining buttermilk and then the last of the flour.
6. In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites at medium speed until they are foamy and opaque. Continue beating at high speed until they swell into thick, pillowy mounds and hold peaks that are stiff, but not fry. Add one third of the egg white mixture to the bowl of batter, and fold it in gently using a spatula. Add the remaining egg whites and continue to fold with a light touch, until the egg whites are blended in well, with only a few streaks showing.
7. Transfer the batter to the cupcake cases and bake for approximately 20 minutes until the cupcakes are golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
   
8. Allow the cupcakes to cool.

Method for the White Chocolate Frosting:

1. In the top of a double boiler or a heatproof bowl, melt the white chocolate over hot, not simmering, water, stirring often. Remove from the heat once melted and let cool to lukewarm.
   
2. Transfer the melted white chocolate to a large bowl, and add the cream cheese, butter and vanilla. Beat together at medium speed until you have a smooth sauce.
   
3. Add the confectioners sugar and beat until smooth.

Iron Cupcake - Keep It Simple Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes

It is Iron Cupcake time again and this month the not-so-secret ingredient was apple. As soon as the ingredient was announced I started to rack my brain - toffee apples, apple pie, baked apples, apple crumble - arrrghh! What to do? I finally decided that you just can't mess with the apple and cinnamon combination, I know it isn't very inventive but it is darn tasty!

Apple cinnamon cake topped with cream cheese buttercream and dusted with ground cinnamon

Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes (from Confetti Cakes for Kids by Elisa Strauss)
Makes 24 cupcakes

3 3/4 cups plain flour
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 cup unsalted butter
3 cups packed brown sugar
4 eggs
1 cup apple sauce
2 apples, peeled and chopped finely

1. Preheat the oven to 350F and line 2 12-hole muffin trays with cupcake papers.
2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, bicarbonate of soda, salt and cloves. Set aside.
   
3. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping after each addition.
4. Alternately add the flour mixture and the apple sauce to the butter mixture in three batches, starting with the flour. Scrape down the bowl after each addition and beat until thoroughly combined.
5. Add the apples and stir them in just until they are incorporated.
6. Divide the batter among the cupcake papers and bake for 20-25 minutes.
   

Cream Cheese Buttercream

60g butter, softened

160g cream cheese, softened

3 cups icing sugar (approximately)

1. Beat butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy.
2. Gradually beat in sifted icing sugar until you reach the consistency you want.
   
3. Spread over cooled cupcakes and then top with a dusting of ground cinnamon.
   

Look at those yummy chunks of apple...


All lined up ready to be packed up in the cupcake courier...


Well this one didn't make it to the courier :P


Our Generous IronCupcake:Earth Prize Providers:

• The Demy™ by Key Ingredient
• Hello, Cupcake by Karen Tack & Alan Richardson
• Bella Cupcake Couture
• Cupcake Stackers by Gourmac
• The Cake Mix Doctor Returns! by Anne Byrne
• Beautiful Baking Liners by Vestli House
• Sweet Cuppin' Cakes Bakery & Cupcakey Supply

If you like pina coladas...

Pineapple cake topped with Pina Colada buttercream and shredded coconut

Have you heard that Iron Cupcake is back? Another reason to bake some cupcake delights! To kickstart the second year of Iron Cupcake we have an interesting challenge - the theme this time was music. So of course I started to rack my brain for cupcake worthy songs, and I came up with... If You Like Pina Coladas!

So if you in fact do like Pina Coladas may I suggest that you try out these cupcakes, especially the buttercream (drool).

Pineapple Cupcakes (adapted from Planet Cake)
Makes 12

175g unsalted butter, softened
160g caster sugar
1 tsp natural vanilla extract
1 tsp grated lemon zest
2 eggs
160g self-raising flour
100g plain flour
200ml milk
440g tin of crushed pineapple, well drained (reserve the juice for the buttercream)
1/4 cup desiccated coconut
1/3 cup honey
50g unsalted butter, extra

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and line 2 12-hole muffin trays with paper cases.
2. Beat butter, sugar, vanilla, lemon zest and a pinch of salt until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Sift the flours together. Using a wooden spoon, fold the flour and milk alternately into the creamed mixture.
4. Spoon mixture into the paper cases. Top each cupcake with crushed pineapple and a sprinkle of coconut.
   
5. Beat the extra butter with the honey until creamy. Spoon some of the honey mixture over each cupcake - not too much!
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Leave in tray for 5 minutes and then transfer to wire racks to cool.

Pina Colada Buttercream

160g cream cheese, softened
60g unsalted butter, softened
500g icing sugar, sifted
2 tsp coconut essence
2 tsp pineapple juice

1. Beat the cream cheese and butter until creamy.
   
2. Add the icing sugar, coconut essence and pineapple juice and beat until combined.
   

To assemble the cupcakes top each with a swirl of the buttercream, then flatten out the frosting and roll it in some shredded coconut. Decorate with a bendy straw and cocktail umbrella.


Our Generous IronCupcake:Earth Prize Providers:

• The Demy™ by Key Ingredient
• Hello, Cupcake by Karen Tack & Alan Richardson
• Bella Cupcake Couture
• Cupcake Stackers by Gourmac
• The Cake Mix Doctor Returns! by Anne Byrne

And check out Iron Cupcake Earth - it really is a lot of fun!

Baking Mondays - O is for Oreo Cupcakes

Chocolate Oreo cupcake topped with Oreo cream cheese frosting and an Oreo.

Can I just say yum! These cupcakes are really, really good - I could eat a lot of them, although I am refraining myself from doing so. Even Mat said it was one of the best cupcakes I have made so far, so that must be saying something. So if you like Oreos and chocolate (and who doesn't) then you must make these cupcakes - trust me you will love them.

Oreo Cupcakes from the Cupcake Project
Makes 18 cupcakes (I got 29 out of it - my cupcake trays are small)

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 1/4 cups brown sugar (I only used 3/4 cup)
8 oz dark chocolate, melted
3 large eggs, separated
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 3/4 cups milk
8 Oreo cookies, smashed to bits (place the cookies in a plastic bag and smash with a rolling pin)
29 Oreos halved
29 Oreos to decorate cupcakes with

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius and line 3 12-hole muffin trays with cupcake liners.
2. In each cupcake liner place half an Oreo (the half with the cream filling still on it). Reserve the other half for the frosting.
   
3. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Mix in egg yolks.
5. Mix in vanilla and chocolate.
6. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and baking powder.
7. Alternate adding the flour mixture and milk to the butter/sugar mixture.
8. Stir in Oreos.
9. In a separate bowl, whip egg whites until peaks form.
10. Fold the batter into the egg whites.
11. Fill cupcake liners almost to the top.
12. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
13. Once cupcakes have cooled top with Oreo cream cheese frosting and an Oreo.
    

Cream Cheese Oreo Frosting by Cupcake Project

8 oz package of cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened (I used 3/4 cup)
3-4 cups icing sugar (I used 4 cups)
1/2 t vanilla extract (I omitted this)
3/4 C crushed Oreos (I used the 29 half pieces of Oreo cookies from the cupcakes, crushed very finely in a food processor)

1. Whip cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy.
2. Mix in powdered sugar one cup at a time.
3. Add vanilla extract. (I didn't do this)
   
4. Gently stir in crushed Oreos.

The Ratings?

Me - 9/10 - almost perfect! The cake is light and spongy with a great flavour, not too rich and not too sweet. The frosting is yummo and having the secret Oreo on the bottom of the cupcake is great.
Mat - 10/10 - sensational!

Baking Mondays - Cinnamon Swirl Cupcakes

I decided to take a small break from my A.. B.. Cupcakes project this week and instead made a recipe that I bookmarked a while back. I made Cinnamon Swirl Cupcakes from My Baking Addiction - and may I just say that these are yummy! If you are fan of cinnamon I suggest you give these a try.

The ratings?

Me - 8/10, these were really tasty - love the cinnamon mix swirled through the cupcake. The only down point was my silly oven not baking these properly - but I will definitely try these again when I one day get my new oven :D
Mat - 9/10, almost one of the best - the cake was too moist though (but again that was my oven playing up)

Baking Mondays - Banana Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

This week I had some left over bananas that were beginning to get a bit overripe - so it was a perfect opportunity for some banana cupcakes. I decided to finish off the cupcakes with some lemon cream cheese frosting and it was delightful! I am very happy with these cupcakes.

So the recipes...

Sour Cream Banana Cupcakes (from The Australian Women's Weekly - Cupcakes)
Makes 12

90g butter, softened
110g brown sugar
2 eggs
75g self raising flour
75g plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarb soda
1/2 tsp mixed spice
2/3 cup overripe banana
80g sour cream
2 tbsps milk

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius and line a 12-hole muffin tray with cupcake liners.
2. Beat butter, sugar and eggs until light and fluffy. Note: If I do these again I will beat the butter and sugar on its own first, and then the eggs to get a better consistency.
3. Stir in sifted ingredients, banana, sour cream and milk.
4. Divide batter amongst cupcake liners, and bake for 20 minutes.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
Made more than enough for 12 cupcakes

60g butter, softened
250g cream cheese
500g icing sugar, sifted
juice of 1 lemon

1. Beat butter and cream cheese until combined, light and fluffy.
2. Add the icing sugar and beat until combined.
3. Add the lemon juice and beat until combined, and then keep beating until smooth.

And the ratings?

Me - 9/10 - yum, yum, yum! These were light, moist and delicious. The icing was very tangy and sweet - loved it! My only issue is that the cake could taste a little bit more like bananas.
Mat - 9/10 - best banana cake that I have made so far (even though I have only made one before :P)

Baking Mondays - Coconut Lime Cupcakes

This week I chose a cupcake recipe from my new book "The Australian Women's Weekly - Cupcakes". The book was a surprise gift from my lovely mum and she also got me the cookies and cupcakes by colour books from the same series. Thanks mum!

Coconut Lime Cupcakes

Makes 24

250g butter, softened

2 tsps coconut essence

1 tbsp finely grated lime rind

290g caster sugar

4 eggs

160ml milk

120g desiccated coconut

375g self-raising flour

1. Preheat oven to moderate and line two 12-hole standard muffin pans.
2. Beat butter, essence, rind, sugar and eggs in a large bowl with electric mixer until combined.
3. Stir in milk and coconut, then sifted flour. Divide mixture among cases; smooth surface.
4. Bake for 25 minutes.

Coconut Lime Frosting

60g butter, softened

160g cream cheese, softened

2 tsps coconut essence

juice of 2 limes

3 cups icing sugar (approximately)

desiccated coconut to decorate

Beat butter, cream cheese, essence and lime juice in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy; gradually beat in sifted icing sugar until you reach the consistency you want. Spread over cooled cupcakes and then top with desiccated coconut.

The only changes I made to the recipe was to add the lime juice to the frosting - it just needed that bit of extra bite.

So how do these cupcakes rate?

Me - 8/10, they are really light and fluffy, and have a very subtle flavour. They could be a little more flavoursome.

Mat - 9.5/10, hubby was very impressed with this cupcake since he likes cakes that are not too sweet.

Baking Mondays - Red Velvet Cake

I've always been curious about red velvet cake - it is something that we don't really have here in Australia, so every time I have seen it blogged about I have thought to myself that I really want to give it a try. So this week I did just that. I used the recipe from Cookie Madness and unfortunately I don't know if I did something wrong but they didn't turn out very well at all. The cake itself is not really sweet and there was way too much icing/frosting for the 16 cupcakes that the mixture made.

So my first attempt at red velvet cake can be deemed as a failure :( but perhaps I shouldn't give up just yet. Maybe I should try some more recipes - or perhaps I got some of my measurements wrong? I was very hot, flustered and rushed when I baked these.

Is red velvet cake usually sweet or did I make a boo-boo?

Baking Mondays - Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

I've decided to add one more weekly regular to my blog - Baking Mondays! I'll choose something different to bake each Monday and post up what I baked, a photo of it and what I and others thought of the baked goods.

So this week I baked these little devils...

I used the recipe from exclusively food - but made 1.5 times the mixture and made cupcakes instead of one big cake. The mix made 18 cupcakes. I also made double the frosting mixture, but used about 2/3 of the icing sugar suggested and added more lemon juice instead.

The result? Very yummy! These cakes were nice, moist, and not too sweet. The frosting was very nice also, very light and tangy. In fact Mat tried one and loved it, my mum thought they were great, and both Zoe and Harry the cat were giving the cupcakes a good stare up. I would say these cupcakes were a definite success.

Before I sign off - Happy Australia Day to all! Hope everyone had a fantastic day.