Experimenting...

Okay, I had an idea on the train home tonight. I was thinking about how I want to find some lavender to make my lavender shortbread which is...amazing. So, my eyes are peeled.

Then I got to thinking ... there's a huge tea boom going on (at least in NYC). I love tea. I love tea related baked goods. Perhaps this is my time to start formulating some recipes.

So I pose this question ... what would you like to try??

Thanks for the input!!

Guinness and Baileys Irish Cupcakes

I apologize ... I had meant to blog this prior to St. Patty's Day and I just am not sure where my time has gone!! (Well...I do know between rehearsals for one project and performances for another, but still. A girl should have time to blog!)

The Irish in me loves loves loves this cupcake. I've found another variation, which I intend to try out and will report back! These cupcakes are moist and delicious. I was amazed at how rich and chocolaty the Guinness made the cupcakes! I've actually made these twice thus far - the first time I used the Guinness 250 (the Anniversary addition), and this time with the regular Guinness. I was afraid it wouldn't be as rich with the regular Guinness, as the 250 is a bit more chocolaty - but it worked wonderfully in this recipe.

So...while this cupcake is PERFECT for something like St. Patrick's Day, I think it's wonderful anytime of year.

Guinness and Baileys Irish Cupcakes
adapted from IrishCentral.com & Annie's Eats

Yields: 24 medium cupcakes
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients:

For Cupcakes:

• 1 cup stout (Guinness)
• 16 TBS (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cups sour cream

For Baileys Ganache Filling

• 8 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 TBS butter, at room temperature
• 2 tsp Baileys Irish cream

For Baileys butter cream frosting

• 8 TBS (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3-4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
• 4-8 TBS Baileys Irish Cream

Recipe

1. To make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners. Combine the Guinness and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cocoa powder and whisk until smooth. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
   
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the eggs and sour cream to blend.
4. Add the stout-butter mixture and beat just to combine. Mix in the dry ingredients on low speed just until incorporated. Dived the batter evenly between the cupcake liners, filling them 2/3 - 3/4 full.
5. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 17 minutes - rotating the pans once halfway through baking. Allow them to cool in the pan for 5 - 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
6. TO MAKE THE GANACHE FILLING: Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan until simmering, then pour it over the chocolate. Let sit for one minute and then whisk until smooth. If the chocolate is not completely melted, place the bowl over a double boiler or give it a very short burst in the microwave (15 - 20 seconds). Add the butter and Baileys and stir until combined. Set ganache aside and let cool until it is thick enough to be piped. (You can use the refrigerator to speed the cooling process, but be sure to stir every 10 minutes or so to ensure even cooling.)
7. PREPARE CUPCAKES: Scoop out the center of the cupcakes for filling. There are a variety of methods for this. My favorite method for scooping out the insides is to take a large piping tip and use that to core the cupcake.
8. Once the ganache has reached the correct consistency, transfer it to a piping bag fitted with a wide tip and pipe it into the cupcakes.
   
9. TO MAKE THE FROSTING: Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Gradually add the powdered sugar until it is all incorporated. Mix in the Baileys until smooth. Add more if necessary until the frosting has reached a good consistency for piping. Frost the cupcakes.

Enjoy!!

Lemon-Poppyseed Muffins

I gotta say...I'm not really a huge muffin fan. But, people really enjoy when you bring a batch of fresh muffins to work. So, sometimes I make muffins. I'm not anti-muffin or anything.

For some reason I've always been drawn to lemon-poppyseed muffins. Something about citrus just does it for me. These muffins don't have a lot of lemony tang in the muffin bit, but have a lovely lemony glaze that really just makes the flavor pop. There are a lot of variations on this basic muffin recipe - today I'll just do the lemon-poppyseed but as I work my way through making the other muffins I will be sure to post.

Lemon-Poppyseed Muffins
courtesy of the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Yields: 12 large muffins, or about 22 medium muffins
Prep time: 5 minutes
Total time: 50 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 + 1/4 cups sugar (divided)
  
• 1 TBS baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 TBS poppyseeds
• 1 TBS grated lemon zest
  
• 1 1/2 cups lowfat plain yogurt
• 2 large eggs
• 8 TBS (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Directions

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Generously coat muffin tin(s) with vegetable oil spray, or line with baking cups.
2. Mix the flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and poppyseeds together in a large bowl. Whisk the yogurt, eggs and lemon zest together in a medium bowl. Gently fold the yogurt-egg mixture into the flour mixture with a rubber spatula unil just combined. Fold in the melted butter.
3. Use a large ice-cream scoop or measuring cup to divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out with just a few crumbs attached, 25 to 30 minutes.
4. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then flip out onto a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes before serving
   
5. While baking - heat 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice in a small saucepan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture forms a light syrup, 3 to 4 minutes. Brush the warm syrup over the warm baked muffins and serve.

Enjoy with a nice cup of coffee or afternoon tea!