Baking with Friends

When I see my friends from home during breaks one of our most important tasks is to bake new cupcakes.  Two of my dear friends and I absolutely can't stay out of the kitchen when we are together.  They are a big part of the reason why my cupcake obsession exists.  We always end up making more than one type of cupcake, so this time we went for lemon and chocolate toffee!

Light Lemon Cupcakes

Adapted From Gourmet

Makes about 2 dozen

1 cup canola oil

2 cups white flour

1/2 cup cake flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

2 cups granulated sugar

4 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350° and line cupcake pans.

Whisk together flours, salt, and baking powder.  Stir together milk, canola oil, vanilla, and zest in another bowl.  Beat together sugar and eggs in a large bowl with an electric mixer until just combined.  Reduce speed to low and add flour and milk mixtures alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture.  Bake in muffin pans for 16-20 minutes.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Adapted From Gourmet

Makes enough to frost 1 dozen cupcakes

2 cups confectioners sugar

8 ounces cream cheese

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy.  Add sugar 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice and beat until well combined.  Refrigerate frosting for at least 30 minutes before frosting.

The recipe for the chocolate toffee came from Lighter and Local.  The cupcakes were quite good!  The frosting recipe calls for a ton of butter, but don't be afraid to add it all!  I didn't add it all and my frosting was a bit too thick and hard to pipe.

Happy Baking!
Margaret

Baking for Breakfast

Breakfast is one of my favorite meals of the day- especially when it's sweet and filled with fruit. These scones do just that. I have used this recipe for plain scones at least three times in the last month or so, but today I decided to throw in a little extra something. Today it happened to be dried blueberries and lemon zest, but really any fruit would work nicely. Enjoy!

Mini Blueberry Scones

Adapted from Gourmet

Makes about 16 (I got 20 since mine were smaller)

1/2 cup heavy cream plus additional for brushing the scones

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 tablespoons sugar

Additional raw sugar for sprinkling scones

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 1/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising)

1 tablespoon double-acting baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter

1/2 cup dried blueberries

1 tablespoon lemon zest

In a bowl whisk together 1/2 cup of the cream, the egg, the vanilla, and 6 tablespoons of the sugar until the mixture is combined well. In another bowl stir together the flour, the salt, the baking powder, and the baking soda. 

Using a cheese grater that yields large pieces, grate butter directly into flour mixture and stir in with a fork. (I find that this is easier than cutting it and then trying to blend it into the dough.)  

Stir in the blueberries, lemon zest, and the cream mixture with a fork until the mixture just forms a sticky but manageable dough. 

Knead the dough gently on a lightly floured surface for 30 seconds, pat it into a 1/2-inch-thick round, and with a 1 1/2-inch fluted cutter cut it into rounds (or other fun shapes!). 

Gather the scraps, repat the dough, and cut out more rounds. On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper brush the scones with the additional cream and sprinkle them with the additional sugar (I like to use raw sugar here). Bake the scones in the middle of a preheated 400°F. oven for 15 to 18 minutes, or until they are golden.