Autumn Pecan Pie

A warm cup of coffee, a cozy sweater, and a slice of pecan pie are the essence of fall.  (They also making doing homework a little more fun.)  Plus, the smell of this pie baking is like all of the good aromas of fall wrapped up in one little glass dish.

My mom would make this pie a bunch at home around this time of the year, so I asked her for the recipe.  Turns out it is this one from Epicurious.  It uses maple syrup along with the typical corn syrup, so there's a whole lot of amazing flavor in this pie.

Happy Fall and Bon Appetit,
Margaret

Salted Caramel Mocha Cupcakes

A couple of days ago, on my way home from classes I stopped by Starbucks and picked up a salted caramel mocha.  It was the perfect way to end a long day, especially since the air was just a little bit chilly and it was starting to smell like fall. 

So for the past several days I have been craving caramel, but I am not super excited to spring $4 on another mocha.  The answer?  Cupcakes, as usual.

I have been wanting to make my own caramel for awhile now, but I am always nervous about trying it because I don't have all the fancy equipment and candy thermometers that a lot of recipes call for.  Then I came across this recipe, which had lots of helpful pictures and explanations, and decided to just go for it.

Totally worth a little bit of nerves.  The caramel sauce made me a little nervous when the butter refused to incorporate with the cooked sugar, but after a lot of whisking it turned out.  And it is delicious.  You can make it with or without the salt, but the salted version is really wonderful.

The cupcakes also include a step where you cook the sugar and butter on the stove.  I was a little reluctant to do this step, since it not only adds more time and dishes, but it isn't the usual procedure for cupcakes.  I realized though, that you are sort of making another caramel which goes directly into the cupcake batter, so the chocolate cupcakes actually have a hint of a caramel flavor.

So happy official last day of summer, and welcome to fall.  What a better way to celebrate than a salted caramel mocha cupcake?

Bon Appetit,

Margaret

Strawberry Pistachio Tart

Summer is pretty clearly over, even though the calendar doesn't say so quite yet.  However, this weekend Costco was still in that summer mood, and had some gorgeous strawberries on sale.  A Costco-sized clamshell of strawberries is much too much for one girl to handle, so I decided to make something for my suite for dessert.  On a whim I adapted this recipe to go with what I had on hand, which included pistachios.

I love making pies, but often it takes a lot of time to perfect that basket-weave top crust and whatnot, so it doesn't always happen.  However, this tart is super quick and easy to make.   I threw mine together before I got dinner going, and it was all set and cooled by the time dessert rolled around.

Crust

1 1/2 cup flour

2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup plus 1 tbs butter, cubed and cold

2-4 tbs ice water

Whisk dry ingredients together.  Add butter and mix with a fork until mixture resembles a coarse meal.  Add ice water slowly until dough just forms into a ball.  Wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Filling

1/2 cup ground pistachios

1 tbs flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 cups cut strawberries

2 tsp lemon juice

Combine all ingredients and gently mix.  Roll out crust and press into pan.  Prick several times with a fork.  Spread filling over crust and bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes, or until edges of crust begin to brown.

Bon Appetit

Margaret

Back to School Cupcakes

For the past week I have been getting settled in at school and participating in the New Student Orientation Program as and Orientation Leader.  I had a great group of orientation leaders in my "crew," (which happened to be crew P as evident by the decorations) so we all got together for baking and a potluck lunch for our crew and our crew chief.

I decided to go for the black magic cupcakes, since not only were they the first cupcakes that I baked last year in my new kitchen, but also because they are delicious.  They are foul-proof and since I have made them so many times it is a great way to get used to a new kitchen and a new oven.

For the frosting, I adapted this recipe.  I just substituted 1/4 cup of the nutella for peanut butter, and it came out fantastic.  I had a few left over, so my suite got to enjoy some cupcakes as well.  Anyways, its good to be back, and it's good to be baking.

Bon Appetit,
Margaret

Lavender Blackberry Cheesecake

How many ways are there to bake with lavender?  Lots.  Here is another recipe where I used my handpicked lavender!  I combined a few different recipes to make something with what I had in the fridge.  I also went for our smaller cheesecake pan (the 7 inch) which is a much better size for just four people.  The result- new favorite cheesecake.  Make one, do it.

I went a graham cracker crust, a lavender cheesecake, and a lavender-blackberry sour cream topping.  It's a couple different steps, and you do have to put it back in the oven after adding each element, so it does take a bit of time to make the finished product.  But it's worth it.

Graham Cracker Crust

from The Joy of Cheesecake

Makes enough for a 9-in pan

(if you are making a 7-in pan like I did, you will have leftovers- that's ok)

1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs

6 tbsp melted butter

1/4 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine all ingredients, mix well.  Press the crumb mixture evenly along the bottom of a pre-greased springform pan, and about 1'' up each side.  Bake for 5-10 minutes.  Let cool before adding filling.

Lavender Cheesecake

Recipe adapted from Mt. Shasta Lavender Farms for 7-inch pan

4 ounces heavy cream

2 tsp dried lavender buds

14 ounces cream cheese

2.5 ounces sugar

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine lavender and heavy cream in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil over medium heat.  Immediately remove from heat and let rest for 10 minutes.  Strain cream and discard lavender.

Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until very smooth- approximately 3 minutes.  Add lavender-infused heavy cream and continue to mix for an additional 3 minutes on medium-high, or until smooth. Whisk eggs and sugar in a separate bowl.  Add to cream mixture and gently beat until smooth.

Pour into pre-baked crust in springform pan and bake for 40-50 minutes or until set.  It is best to also place a large pan filled with water 1 rack below the cheesecake to allow for humidity in the oven during baking.  This reduces the chance of your cheesecake developing cracks.

Blackberry Lavender Topping

Adapted from The Joy of Cheesecake

makes enough for 1 7-inch cheesecake

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tbsp lavender sugar (or just use regular sugar and add a few lavender buds)

1 tsp vanilla extract

3-4 blackberries

Preheat oven to 450°.

Muddle blackberries, set aside.  Combine sour cream, sugar, and vanilla.  Whisk until smooth.  Add blackberries, a bit at a time, until desired color and flavor are reached.

Bake for 5-7 minutes or until set.

When your cheesecake is done you should allow it to slowly cool in order to prevent cracks.  I left mine in the turned-off oven with the door propped open until the oven reached room temperature.  When the cheesecake is cooled to room temperature you should put it in the fridge- still in the pan though.  You can take it out of the pan after a few hours in the fridge, just run a sharp knife around the edge of the pan first.  And there you have it- a lovely lavender cheesecake!

Bon Appetit
Margaret

Orange and Ginger Beer Cupcakes

Sometimes I still like to play dress up.  On this particular day my baking buddies and I had decided to go retro and dress up 50's style.  We were having trouble figuring out a cupcake to match our theme, when I stumbled upon a cute, retro-looking can of ginger beer in the fridge.  One of my friends suggested adding orange, and thus the Orange and Ginger Beer Cupcakes were born.  The flavors go incredibly well together.

Orange Ginger Beer Cupcakes

adapted from Raspberri Cupcakes • makes 12

Ingredients

1 cup brown sugar

1 1/4 sticks butter

2 eggs

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp club soda

3/4 cup ginger beer

2 tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice

1 tbsp orange zest

Preheat oven to 350°.

Beat butter and brown sugar until creamy in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Add eggs one at a time.  Once combined, add orange zest.

In a separate bowl combine flour and baking powder.  Sprinkle with club soda and mix.  Combine orange juice and ginger beer in a measuring cup.  Alternate adding wet and dry mixtures to the butter/sugar mix, beginning and ending with dry.  Mix well after each addition.  Distribute batter between 12 cupcake liners.  Bake in pan for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Orange Buttercream

Makes enough to frost 12 cupcakes generously

1 stick butter

3-4 cups powdered sugar

2 tsp orange zest

1 tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice

1 tbsp milk or half and half

Beat butter in electric mixer on high for several minutes until creamy.  Add sugar 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition.  After 2 cups of sugar have been added, add milk, orange juice, and zest.  Continue adding sugar until desired sweetness is reached.

We enjoyed our cupcakes with a glass of mint lemonade and retro napkins.  Bon Appetit!

Margaret

Lavender Honey Cupcakes

So as witnessed by my previous post about my adventures on Lavender Hill Farms, I have a bit of lavender kicking around my kitchen.  Well obviously I had to make cupcakes.

One of my good friends had found this recipe from Kitchen Chronicles awhile ago, and we had already been planning on making them.  It was even better to know that I had fresh, hand picked lavender to use!

The cupcakes came out beautifully.  They didn't rise too much in the cups, so I probably would fill them a bit more next time and only make 10 or so rather than the 12 the recipe calls for.  Other than that they were absolutely perfect.  The lavender adds such a special and unique flavor, and the honey cream cheese frosting is to die for.

And by the way, they go fantastically with a good cup of espresso.

Margaret