Cream Cheese Buttercream

I made a pumpkin cake (using this recipe) with this cream cheese buttercream for my teammate's birthday a few weeks back.

It was almost a disaster.

I had planned on making a simple powdered sugar cream cheese frosting, but as I've said before, the powdered sugar here is just terrible.  I should have known better.  The frosting was way too sweet to use on a whole cake and gritty and blah. I used a little of it for the middle filling, but then moved on to something else.

I found a recipe online for cream cheese buttercream, but got impatient and didn't let the cooked mixture cool enough.  Attempt #2, fail.

After reading some comments online and finding another recipe, I attempted this THIRD frosting.  Talk about wasted butter. Ugh. Well, after working my way through the recipe, I thought this one was going to be pretty ho-hum.  The texture was weird, but it tasted fine and seemed firm enough to hold up on a cake.  I actually spread it on the cake and resigned myself to an end product that wasn't pretty, but would taste okay.  It would just have to do.  While I was frosting the cake I left the leftover buttercream running in the stand mixture.  I was curious to see if it would get any better, texture-wise. And, LO AND BEHOLD, it finally came together!! Hallelujah.  I was so relieved that I actually removed the buttercream from the cake, re-whipped it until it smoothed out and frosted the cake over again. In the end, it turned out lovely and delicious.

And, it is really good and less time-intensive than most buttercreams I've tried.  The cream cheese flavor is subtle and the texture gloriously smooth.

So, the moral of the story is this: when making buttercream, do not give up.  Keep beating it.  It will come around. Eventually.

CREAM CHEESE BUTTERCREAM

• 4 large egg whites
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 22 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into small pieces
• 12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature, cut into small pieces

In a double boiler, whisk together egg whites and sugar.  Heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is warm (about 140 F), whisking frequently (about 3-5 minutes).


Transfer the egg white/sugar mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.


Add the salt and beat on high speed until the mixture is thick and glossy (about 5-7 minutes).


Beat in the extract.


Then gradually add the butter and cream cheese piece by piece while beating; stop beating when the buttercream is thick and smooth.


NOTES: 
This is the part where you might need to persevere.  Follow these tips and you should be successful:

• Scrape the bowl down frequently. 
• Let each piece of butter or cream cheese incorporate fully before adding more.  
• Let the buttercream beat for a long time.  If it looks grainy or too wet, keep going.  
• If it is still not coming together, put the bowl in the refrigerator for 20 minutes and then continue beating it. 

Seriously, I thought my buttercream was a goner, but it just needed more time. When it is finished it will be smooth, glossy, and fluffy.

Source: An Edible Mosaic

Whipped Frosting

I've been a sugar-cookie-making machine lately.  I made them twice in the last week for birthday celebrations.  I tried out this new frosting recipe (since the one I typically use is a little boring and a touch too sweet) and fell in love.  It is light and fluffy and very, very smooth.  It's not too sweet either, which can be a good thing.  Oh, and also, it uses granulated sugar instead of powdered sugar.  I like this because the powdered sugar where I live can be very gritty and not yield very good results when it comes to frosting.

You'll definitely want to use a stand mixer for this one; the frosting needs to be beat for a pretty significant amount of time in order to get everything mixed to a perfect smoothness. If you're having any trouble, just let your stand mixer work its magic a little longer.  

Here is my cute taste-tester:

WHIPPED FROSTING

• 7 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 teaspoons almond extract (or vanilla)
• 1 1/2 cups salted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• pinch of salt

In a small sauce pan, whisk flour into milk and heat on medium heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens.  It will be the consistency of thick pancake batter.

Stir in vanilla.  

  

Remove from heat and let milk mixture cool to room temperature.  

While mixture is cooling, cream butter, sugar, and salt together until light and fluffy on medium-high speed for about 5 minutes.  

Add the completely cooled milk mixture.  

Beat it for about 5 minutes on medium-high to high speed until it looks like whipped cream.  

NOTE:  It may looked separated at first, so keep beating it until it comes together.  

Source:  i heart eating 

Amaya's Pink Ruffle Cake

I haven't made a cake in a while, so was excited to make this for my birthday twin: cutie pie Amaya.

I thought it turned out pretty nice.  And I'm very in love with my new cake stand.

Here are the details and linked recipes for each part of the cake:

• Cake: Really Good White Cake
• Filling: Lemon Curd
• Frosting: Vanilla Buttercream

And, a few notes:  

• I made two batches of the buttercream.  One batch is typically enough for a 9-inch layer cake, but the ruffles use up more than you would on an average frosting job.  
• I found this video on ruffles very helpful.  I've watched it many times.  
• Before putting the ruffles on the cake, do a crumb coat and refrigerate the cake for about 20 minutes.  A crumb coat is a very thin layer of frosting that seals in all of the insides and crumbs before you do the "real" frosting.  You should use about one cup of frosting for the crumb coat.  This is what the cake looked like after the crumb coat. 

And the finished product!  TA-DA!!

Happy birthday, Amaya!  

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Happy belated Thanksgiving!

My first Thanksgiving out of the country was really nice.  I felt a little twinge of homesickness on Thursday morning, but skyping with my friend Gina quickly cured me.  Thanks, Gina, for lifting my spirits.  Then, I was lucky enough to go to three dinners over two days and enjoyed visiting and eating with lots of lovely people.  And, I'm really happy to have a few leftovers in the fridge to look forward to.  Leftovers are, in my opinion, better than the actual meal.  

There are always lots of pumpkin recipes floating around this time of year.  Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of most things pumpkin.  I want to like pumpkin because it's festive and I like the idea of it, but, I mostly like pumpkin pie for the whipped cream and sometimes pumpkin cookies and other baked goods are too spongy for my liking.

This is the one pumpkin baked good that I've made over and over.  They have a nice texture and the cream cheese frosting is my fave that I've ever made.  There are substitutions you can make as well to keep the recipe a little more healthy.  Also, you could leave the frosting off and call these muffins.  But, really, why would you do that?

PUMPKIN CUPCAKES

Cupcakes:

• 4 eggs
• 1 2/3 cup sugar (can be reduced to 1 cup)
• 1 cup oil (substitution: 1/2 cup oil and 1/2 apple sauce)
• 1 can (16 ounces) pumpkin
• 2 cups flour (substitution: 1 cup flour and 1 cup almond meal)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon (be generous)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Frosting:

• 6 ounces cream cheese
• 1 cup butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 3/4 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


Beat together eggs, sugar, oil, and pumpkin until well mixed. 

In another bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and nutmeg.  

Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and mix thoroughly.  

Transfer mixture to lined mini muffin pans.  

Bake for 15 minutes or until they bounce back when you press lightly in the middle.  

Cream together cream cheese and butter. 

Add vanilla.  

Add powdered sugar, a little at a time, and beat well until frosting is smooth and a little fluffy.  

Frost cupcakes with a generous portion of frosting on each.  

Source:  modified slightly from Portland's Palate cookbook  

Peanut Butter Frosting

First off, thought I should mention that this is my 100th post!  Kind of fun to think about the fact that I've documented 100 of my very favorite recipes.  Here's to the next 100!

With that being said, this is not a totally new recipe.  I've shared it before as a possible filling for these homemade Oreos, but it's tasty enough that I think it deserves its own post.  I especially love this fluffy goodness on top of brownies.  I made these brownie bites for my friend Patty's birthday today and she may or may not have been seen just licking the frosting off the top.  No judgment here.

PEANUT BUTTER FROSTING

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3 tablespoons milk or cream 
• 2 cups powdered sugar

Mix butter and peanut butter in mixer.  


Gradually mix in the powdered sugar, a small amount at a time, beating well after each addition.


When the frosting thickens, add needed milk, a little at a time.  


Beat for at least 3 minutes or until it is a little fluffy.


NOTE:  I would suggest using something other than natural peanut butter for this recipe.  The separate oil in natural peanut butter makes it difficult to get the right texture for the frosting.  Stick with hydrogenated oils on this one.


Source: Allrecipes.com


And, in other news, check out one of my newest and most favorite additions to my kitchen.  I sold mine before I left and felt lost without it.

Sophie's Ruffle Cake

I've been wanting to make a ruffle cake for a while and my niece Sophie's birthday was the perfect opportunity.  I knew she would appreciate the girly ruffles.  She requested white cake and chocolate frosting.  So I made yellow butter cake with malted chocolate frosting and added marshmallow filling.

This video was very helpful with learning how to make ruffles.  Be sure to start with a crumb coat on the cake so the frosting has something to adhere to.  The good news is that if your first ruffles don't turn out very well, you can scrape them off and start over.  I did.  I was pretty pleased with the results.  I feel like the ruffles make it look like you really know what you're doing, even if you don't, which I don't.



Ruffles!!

SOPHIE'S RUFFLE CAKE

• Yellow Butter Cake
• Malted Chocolate Frosting
• Toasted Marshmallow Filling

When assembling cake, brush each layer with simple syrup in order to keep the layers moist.

 SIMPLE SYRUP

The simple syrup is brushed on each layer when assembling the cake to keep it moist.  If you want, you can steep a vanilla bean pod in the syrup to add a little extra special flavor. 

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• vanilla bean pod (optional)

  

Combine the water and sugar in a small saucepan.

Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until the sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally.

Remove from the heat and let cool before using.      

NOTE:  I made two yellow butter cakes and split each layer in half.  This made for a pretty tall cake.  You could make one and split it into third or fourths, depending on how skilled you are at splitting cakes. 

Happy Birthday, Sophie!

   

Sources:

• Yellow Butter Cake: Caitlin Freeman
• Malted Chocolate Frosting:  Sweetapolita
• Marshmallow Filling:  Sweetapolita

Vanilla Buttercream

This is a slightly different buttercream than what I've used before, but the result was good and I thought it was a little bit easier.  I like to use half unsalted and half salted butter for a slightly salty flavor.  I also firmly believe that cakes made with buttercream should be served at room temperature.      

VANILLA BUTTERCREAM
yields: enough to frost one 9-inch layer cake

• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• 7 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 2 cups (16 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1 tablespoon pieces, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract

Note:  The sugar syrup and egg whites will need to be ready at roughly the same time, so preparing them will require some coordination.


In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, bring the sugar and water to a simmer, swirling occasionally, and cook until the sugar dissolves.


Continue simmering, without stirring, until the syrup reaches 248°F on a digital thermometer, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites and cream of tartar on medium speed until the whites hold soft peaks, 8 to 10 minutes.             

Immediately transfer the sugar syrup to a heatproof liquid measuring cup. With the mixer running on medium-high speed, add the hot sugar syrup to the whites in a thin, steady stream; aim to pour it into the small space between the mixer bowl and the whisk.


Continue to whip the mixture until thick and shiny and the outside of the bowl feels cool to the touch, about 10 minutes.

Decrease the speed to medium and, with the mixer running, add the butter one piece at a time.


The mixture won't resemble perfect buttercream until the last of the butter has been added. If it's looking deflated, wet, or broken during mixing, make sure the butter is at room temperature and slow down the additions, adding the next piece only after the last one has been fully incorporated.


Add the vanilla and beat on medium speed until well combined, about 1 minute, until the texture is similar to mayonnaise.

Do Ahead: Stored in an airtight container, buttercream will keep for up to 1 week in the refrigerator or for up to 4 months in the freezer.


Warming Buttercream:
Place about 2 cups of buttercream in a microwavable container. Heat it for no more than 5 seconds at a time at full power until it begins to look slightly glossy but not at all melted; it should still be solid, with a sheen from a softened exterior—not unlike ice cream on a cone as it begins melting and dripping onto your hand.  Beat the warmed buttercream in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until it resembles mayonnaise, about 30 seconds.

Source:  Caitlin Freeman

Buttercream

I think it's pretty normal to have tastes and preferences change as you get older.  Buttercream would not have been my frosting of choice as a kid.  A few years ago my mom was making my sister's wedding cake. {She's talented like that.}  She made and decorated the cake, but ordered the buttercream from a local bakery.  Making enough buttercream for a wedding cake would be pretty labor intensive.  I think this is when I really fell in love with this grown-up version of frosting.  She had a huge bucket {literally} of buttercream and I used cake scraps, graham crackers, or just about anything that would make a suitable vehicle for the silky goodness that is buttercream. 

True buttercream does not have powdered sugar, a common ingredient in most frostings.  It's made by making a meringue from egg whites and combining it with a cooked syrup and, of course, a truckload of butter.  It's not super sweet, but is smooth and light and amazing.  I've noticed that many cupcake shops say their frosting is buttercream, but very few places actually use true buttercream.  There's a tiny little cupcake shop in downtown Seattle called Yellow Leaf that has lots of different interesting and delicious flavors of buttercream.

I made this tonight for cupcakes for a church event, but neglected to take pictures of any of the cupcakes.  Good thing I had a little dollop left for a graham cracker.  It made for the perfect snack since I mostly care about the frosting anyway. 

A few notes on buttercream:

• You'll need a candy thermometer to keep track of the temperature of the syrup. 
• If the mixture looks a little soupy while mixing, don't fret, it will come together in the end. 
• The buttercream is done when it thickens slightly and the soupiness disappears.
• Although the recipe calls for unsalted butter, you can use salted if you'd like.  I like the sweet-and-salty combo so I like to use half salted and half unsalted butter.   
• Buttercream can be made 1 week ahead and chilled, covered, or 1 month ahead and frozen. Bring to room temperature (do not use a microwave) and beat with an electric mixer before using.

BUTTERCREAM

• 4 large egg whites at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces and softened
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract (or almond or coconut extract)

Combine egg whites and salt in bowl of a standing electric mixer with whisk attachment or other large bowl.

Stir together sugar and water in a small heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over moderately high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved.

 

 

When syrup reaches a boil, start beating whites with electric mixer at medium-high speed.

 

 

Once whites are frothy, add lemon juice and beat at medium speed until they just hold soft peaks. (Do not beat again until sugar syrup is ready—see below.)

Meanwhile, put thermometer into sugar syrup and continue boiling, without stirring, until it reaches soft-ball stage (238–242°F).

 

 

Immediately remove from heat and slowly pour hot syrup in a thin stream down side of bowl into egg whites, beating constantly at high speed.

 

 

Beat meringue, scraping down bowl with a rubber spatula, until meringue is cool to the touch, about 6 minutes or longer. (It's important that meringue is fully cooled before proceeding.)

With mixer at medium speed, gradually add butter 1 piece at a time, beating well after each addition until incorporated.

 

 

(If meringue is too warm and buttercream looks soupy after some butter is added, chill bottom of bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice and cold water for a few seconds before continuing to beat in remaining butter.)

 

 

Continue beating until buttercream is smooth.

 

 

NOTE:  Mixture may look curdled before all butter is added, but will come back together before beating is finished.

 

 

Add vanilla extract and beat 1 minute more.

 

 

Source:  Epicurious

Homemade Oreos

This post is for my friend Joyce, who loves treats as much as I do. When I told her I was starting a blog, she asked if I was going to put this recipe on it. Of course, Joyce, of course. In fact, she was telling me about a time when she made these with her sisters and tested out different fillings. They made cream cheese, chocolate, and mint frostings for between the layers. Mint was the winner!  I'll have to get her mint frosting recipe someday, but for now I'll be sharing the recipes for the original cream cheese frosting and a fluffy peanut butter frosting, my personal favorite. 

These cookies are as easy as they get.  The trick is to keep the cookies soft (I am pretty opposed to crunchy cookies) and to have a good frosting-to-cookie ratio.  Ratios involving frosting are always important and, in my opinion, should be close to 1:1. 

Here are some with blue cream cheese frosting that I made for a boy baby shower.

HOMEMADE OREOS

• 2 packages Devil's food cake mix (I use Betty Crocker cakes mixes.  For some reason, other brands don't turn out as well.)
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs

Mix cake mix, oil, and eggs using a mixer; it will be a thick mixture. 

Roll batter into 1 inch balls and place on a cookie sheet with Silpat (silicone baking sheet).

Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. 

NOTE:  When you pull the cookies out of the oven, they will be a little puffy.  I like to use the bottom of a drinking glass to flatten the cookies out while they are still hot.  This makes them nice and flat and lump-free.

Let cookies cool completely on a cooling rack. 

Spread filling between two cookies.

NOTE:  I like to use a pastry bag to spread the frosting.  It's way faster, looks better, and provides enough frosting so it's not all cookie. 

ANOTHER NOTE:  If you like a good portion of frosting on each cookie, you'll need more than the cream cheese frosting below.  I would double it to make sure you have enough.  If you prefer a thin layer, the amounts below are plenty. 


CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Cream cream cheese and butter together in mixer.

Add vanilla.

Add powdered sugar, a little at a time and beat well after each addition. 



Here's the peanut butter frosting version: 

PEANUT BUTTER FROSTING
* from allrecipes.com

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 2 cups powdered sugar

Mix butter and peanut butter in mixer. 

Gradually mix in the powdered sugar, a small amount at a time, beating well after each addition.

When the frosting thickens, add needed milk, a little at a time. 

Beat for at least 3 minutes or until it is a little fluffy.

NOTE:  I would suggest using something other than natural peanut butter for this recipe.  The separate oil in natural peanut butter makes it difficult to get the right texture for the frosting.  Stick with hydrogenated oils on this one.

S'more Brownie Bites

I experimented a bit the other night and came up with these. 

Believe me, these were DE-LISH! They have a graham cracker crust, brownie middle, and marshmallow topping. Not sure what's with my marshmallow obsession lately. Do you blame me?

I made these in mini muffin pans.  This recipe yields approximately 3 dozen mini brownie bites. Start by lining your pans with cupcake liners.

TIP: If you live in the Seattle area, buy these at Cash & Carry. They are super cheap and have a variety of sizes. 

GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (10 crackers)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, melted

Combine graham crackers, sugar, and butter.


Sprinkle about a tablespoon of the graham cracker mixture in the bottom of each cup and use a tart tamper to flatten it out.


Bake crusts in 350 degree oven for 5 minutes.

Source:  Ina



BROWNIE LAYER


Make brownie batter according to the directions on the box.  I like Betty Crocker's Fudge Brownies.


Fill cups about 2/3 full with brownie batter.


Bake at 350 for 12 minutes.



MARSHMALLOW FROSTING

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 large egg whites
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk sugar, egg whites, 1/3 cup water, light corn syrup, and cream of tartar in large metal bowl to blend.

 

 

Set bowl over saucepan of barely simmering water (do not allow bottom of bowl to touch simmering water).

 

 

Using handheld electric mixer, beat on medium speed until mixture resembles soft marshmallow fluff, about 4 minutes.

 

 

Increase mixer speed to high and beat until mixture is very thick, about 3 minutes longer.

 

 

Remove bowl from over simmering water. Add vanilla extract and continue beating until marshmallow frosting is completely cool, about 5 minutes longer.

 

 

Use a pastry bag to pipe frosting on top of cooled brownies.

 

 

Finish by sprinkling graham cracker crumbs and/or mini chocolate chips on top of the frosting, just to be fancy.


Source:  Epicurious

Fluffy Cupcake Frosting

My mom is an amazing cook.  Growing up we mostly had homemade treats which meant that I loved store-bought goodies.  Weird, I know.  My sisters are the same way.  So, although I now really appreciate her fantastic cooking and baking, I still love a cupcake with sugary and fluffy frosting.  I also appreciate a smooth and silky buttercream as well (will blog that recipe at another time), but for this entry we're going with shortening and marshmallow cream.   

I originally found this recipe when I was looking for a cream filling for donuts.  Its works well as that, too, but I also love it on a cupcake.

FLUFFY CUPCAKE FROSTING or CREAM FILLING FOR DONUTS

• 2 teaspoons very hot water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow cream
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Dissolve the salt in the hot water and allow to cool.

Whip the marshmallow cream, shortening, powdered sugar, and vanilla until it begins to get fluffy.

Add the water and whip well.


NOTE:  I just used this frosting today to make mini cupcakes for another baby shower.  I doubled the recipe and it frosted almost 4 dozen minis.   

I made these with this frosting for a little pirate-themed shower that we had for my sister several months ago after her cute Oliver was born.  She loved the frosting.  I knew she would.