You Put the Lime in the Coconut...

Ok well that's not the most accurate title, but I wanted something witty that involved coconuts. My other option was Raspberry Beret (which you'll understand more after seeing the pictures of the cupcakes), but I figured that wouldn't be quite as well received seeing as I might be the only person who thoroughly enjoys singing along to Prince songs whenever I hear them on the radio. Anyway as you can gather from the title or this post, I decided to pick up my baking and made coconut cupcakes! For those of you in the Orlando area, there is an absolutely phenomenal barbecue place that opened up called Four Rivers (check out the link to the website, it's legitimately phenomenal).  In addition to their amazing bbq, my mom and I always indulge in a slice of their heavenly (and HUGE) coconut cake. Now I never was much of a coconut fan (it was something about the texture of shredded coconut that turned me off), but this cake converted me. It set the bar high for what I was expecting out of a coconut cupcake, and I was nervous to see if I was able to accomplish my task. I found a Barefoot Contessa recipe on the Food Network website that seemed decent enough (I never used to be too fond of Ina Garten...she always seemed too pretentious for me to enjoy watching her show, but this recipe had a five star rating from over 250 users so I figured I'd give it a shot).
I made the batter following my own rules on how much shredded coconut, vanilla, and almond extract to add (lighter on the shredded coconut (texture remember) and heavier on the extracts), and went to fill my tins. I was using these really cute cupcakes liners that I got at Michaels (since the cupcakes themselves weren't going to have much color), and I guess I got distracted by their bright colors because I once again over-filled the liners with batter. After ten minutes in the oven I checked on the cupcakes only to be greeted by mutant muffin tops. As I lamented my lack of skill, my mom told me that she likes the cupcakes having muffin tops which made me feel slightly (only slightly...I still needed pretty ones to photograph) better. I took the cupcakes out of the oven while we were eating dinner (stuffed porkchops...yay mom!) and proceeded to let them cool. The icing was up next, and the recipe that went along with the cake recipe was for a coconut cream cheese icing. I made it once again being heavy handed on the vanilla and almond extracts for some added flavor. I iced a few with the regular icing and then for my coconut crazed older brother and mom, mixed the remaining shredded coconut in with the leftover icing and gave the rest of the cupcakes the royal coconut treatment. For a splash of color (look how fancy I am...a splash!), I decided to top the photo worthy cupcakes with some toasted coconut and a raspberry (hence raspberry beret...SO witty!). The finished result can be seen below!

The cupcakes were well received by my family, but I really don't think they were quite up to snuff. I still have the taste of Four River's coconut cake on my taste buds, so I'll be trying this one another time. Some improvements that I'm thinking of making: using a more moist yellow cake with slight flavoring as opposed to the dryer cake that this recipe produced (which could have been a result of adding cake flour due to a lack of enough all purpose flour to fulfill the recipe) and  making more of a straight up whipped frosting with flavoring instead of the cream cheese icing (the cream cheese was definitely an over powering flavor compared to the coconut taste). Over all it was a success for a coconut cupcake it just wasn't quite THE coconut cupcake that I was looking for.
Lastly, an update on Gus: My mom took him to the vet yesterday for one of his standard puppy check ups, and he now weighs a whopping (drum roll please) 35 pounds!! Well actually it's 35.something according to my mom, but she couldn't remember the other number. He's going to be quite the big boy which saddens me because the day is fast approaching when I can no longer carry him around like my little baby :( That's all from me for now! Stay tuned as I hopefully attempt to conquer Arnold Palmer (yes you read that right!) mini cupcakes for the fourth of July! Have a safe and happy holiday weekend!!

The Sailing Scholarly Pup

Hi everyone! Sorry for my negligence in posting over the past week. Between my dad having surgery last Tuesday (all is well!) and my little brother turning 15 (getting his permit AND almost killing me driving the same day...) I've had quite the hectic week with no time for baking. There was, however, time for Gus! My family had signed Gus up for a six week puppy training class just to make sure we were doing things right with him --nothing too fancy just Petsmart. Last Friday marked Gus's sixth week and thus his graduation (if he passed his test). My mom and I had grand plans to prepare Gus for his test by thoroughly wearing him out prior to taking him to class, but it appeared that the atmosphere had different plans. The good old Florida summer thunderstorms are in full force, and we were restricted to staying in the house prior to Gus's test due to one of them paying us a not so friendly visit. Usually before class all of the puppies get to play with one another so we arrived extra early (a record setting 15 minutes!) to make sure Gus was able to get some of his pent up energy out. Well a new training class had started that week and was still in progress when we arrived which saddened Gus immensely. Long story short: we were left with a VERY ADD pup who was not too keen on listening or obeying any of our commands. Thankfully (no idea how it happened...ok he didn't do too badly but still...) Gus passed with a 98%! It definitely helped that he gained extra credit points for being able to shake and roll over (he's such a smart little boy!). At the end of the class, all of the puppies receive diplomas, goodie bags, and get to have a picture wearing their graduation cap (which is an entirely new story of Gus disliking things on his head, chin straps, and sitting still). Below you can see Gus's before and after pictures. The first is him on his first day of school (lunch box included...) and the other three are my failing attempts to capture Gus in his graduation cap.

We get two weeks off and then Gus starts his intermediate level classes (which will finish right before I go back to school) so in the mean time Gus decided to have some fun. My mom gave him a boat as his graduation gift (ok it was a pool raft, but I just wanted to not what a pampered pooch he is), and Chris and I were excited to get him in! Gus seemed to enjoy it greatly and looked incredibly adorable sailing around. We're planning on getting him an eye patch to go along with his pirate ship!! Check out some of the highlights of Captain Augustus's first sea voyage!

By the way, all of you Chi O's out there please take note of the fact that the boat is red and yellow AND there's a skull and cross bones on the sail! How cute is that? I have a little Chi O pup! Stay tuned for some baking entries coming soon (and stories about my second job: tutoring my absolute FAVORITE little kid EVER)!!

Pup in Pool

As promised here are some Gus updates. On Friday Gus went to his second to last puppy training class. There are four other dogs in his class, and if we were to give out puppy superlatives Gus would most likely get class clown. At the beginning of the class all of the puppies get to play with each other, and Gus is quite the comical little pup. He tends to be moderately submissive rolling over on his back for even the smallest of dogs (a few times even sprinkling them in the face with an excited tinkle...oopsies!). We had finished covering new material in the class and practiced the test that the dogs will have to take next week in order to graduate. Gus was incredibly ADD and ended up with 3 minuses (2 of which were in categories he always performs) out of 9 categories. Needless to say my mom is now questioning if he'll even graduate (which he will). Stay tuned for graduation updates (and pictures!!) next week! Class and the horrible thunderstorm that we had on Friday night tuckered Gus out, but that didn't stop him from wanting to play on Saturday!
On Saturday Chris and I went in the pool. Before I go into much more detail a little background on the history of my family's dogs and pools is required: prior to welcoming Gus into our family, we had a yellow lab named Valentine. She was a sweet dog and quirky to say the least especially because she hated the pool. If you have any familiarity with labs they LOVE the pool. I think I traumatized her at a young age by trying to carry her in (something I have since learned you should never do with a dog...oopsies again!). With that small tidbit of history now understood, Chris and I were very excited at the prospect of Gus liking the pool. Unlike most 'water' dogs that will just jump in the pool (especially if people are already in the water or a ball is thrown in), Gus would just hang out on the edge of the pool when Chris and I were in seemingly expressing a slight desire to be in there with us but not enough of one to actually make the jump. A few weeks ago we had enticed him to get in the pool by putting treats on a cushion that we held up to the edge of pool, but this time that didn't seem to be doing the trick. We finally got him using ice as a lure and getting him to hop on a float that I was already seated in. He freaked out at first and then loosened up as he realized he enjoyed floating around and not getting all too wet. We eventually got him to actually swim which he still seems to be warming up to. Right now we all like to say he has a healthy fear of the water where he won't get in on his own but enjoys it when we're there. Below are some of the pictures of Gus's pool adventure!

After Gus's eventful Saturday, it was time for a low key Father's Day. If there's one thing to learn about my family it's that we do holidays right...especially in the food department. My mom made a great strata for after Mass (it has egg, bacon, sausage, and bread all cooked as an egg casserole of sorts...if you couldn't guess, I got my love of cooking/baking from my mom). She then prepared a phenomenal and very time intensive dinner that seemed to very much please both my dad and grandpa. She also had the idea to 'bake' a peanut butter pie. Some background on this pie: back in the day when Food Network was still new and Emeril Lagasse (yea the guy who trademarked the term BAM) was one of the reigning stars, we saw a recipe for Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Pie. My mom used to make it quite frequently considering how time intensive it is and it was always a big hit with whatever crowd she brought it to. My dad is a HUGE peanut butter nut (which stinks for Chris since he's allergic, but it's ok last night he made amazing brownies...it's one of his favorite things to make and he even tweaks the box mix...impressive for a 14 year old boy) so this pie is perfect for him. Since I was the one who went to Publix yesterday to get the supplies I was also the one who took on the task of making the pie after only having made it once before for my friend Olivia's birthday our second year at UVa. The pie itself is pretty easy to make but takes a decent amount of time as it has to set for two hours two separate times. I also (as you are getting used to I'm sure) enhanced the recipe quite a bit making my own decisions about how much peanut butter and other ingredients should actually go into the pie. While this blog is about my summer cupcake challenge,  I figured I'd share a picture of the pie since it was such a huge hit...enjoy!

Coming next: I will hopefully take on making high hat cupcakes for Chris's birthday, but my baking might be interrupted this week as my dad should be having surgery tomorrow...keep checking back for more!

First Succesful Venture

Well hello again! Due to the nastiness that is brewing outside of my office window I've decided to brighten up my day (and yours obviously) with another post! At work on Monday I had cupcakes on the brain and decided that it was time to bake a classic vanilla cupcake. Now when I think vanilla cupcakes I instantly think back to my first year at UVa and my absolutely wonderful and amazing great grandbig Christina. Christina is phenomenal at just about everything, but what will always be ingrained in my mind is her uncanny ability to always produce AMAZING vanilla cupcakes. Not only did they always taste superb, but they also were always iced so perfectly that I knew she was the person to go to for advice. I sent her a facebook message last week and boy did she deliver! I now have two new blogs to follow and countless suggestions from her for different cake recipes to try (including her vanilla cake recipe that she uses)!!

My only obstacle to overcome was coming up with an icing that would do the cakes justice. So I started thinking, and the idea almost instantly dawned on me. My friend Sabrina had visited me way back when the summer before my senior year of high school, and we had decided to have a crafty day where we designed our own aprons and baked cupcakes. We both decided that we would try out the vanilla cupcake recipe from Magnolia Bakery (New York bakery famous for their cupcakes...check out their website by clicking on the name if you want to make your mouth water). The products of our day are below and needless to say the cupcakes were yummy BUT the ICING was FANTASTIC. So it was settled...I would use Christina's cake recipe and Magnolia's icing (with a few tweaks).

I stopped by Publix (the grocery store that I miss terribly while at school) on my way home from work to get a few extra ingredients (I am starting to hoard bags of confectioner's sugar...), and then rushed home ready to bake. Since my little brother (ok younger brother...the kid is a beast who is just about 15 and already taller than me so it's just something I'll have to come to terms with) had a baseball game that night we were supposed to eat dinner early. Unfortunately that did not mesh well with my baking plans so while the rest of my family sat down to eat (minus my older brother who wasn't home from work yet), I was rushing to bust out the batter and get the cupcakes in the oven (plus I was SO excited to use the gingham print cupcake liners that I had bought the week before). This time around I was probably too cautious with the amount of batter I put in for each cupcake because while none of them overflowed there were several that fell below the lining (which can be fixed with icing but still wasn't perfect).

It's also important to mention that the entire time I was baking the UVa baseball team was playing their third super regional game in a 3 game series against UC Irvine to determine which team would advance to the College World Series. In a nail biter finish with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning short stop Chris Taylor hit the single that drove in the tying and winning runs for UVa! Stay tuned for updates from Omaha as the Cavaliers take on the CWS (they'll be playing Cal first). After celebrating the win with Gus (he was fairly confused but enjoyed the playtime), I started on the icing. The nice thing about the Magnolia Vanilla Buttercream is that it's a simple icing and is easy to tweak to your liking. I mainly eyeballed the ingredients and took it from there. After adding some food coloring (I figured purple was the best color because it complemented the three colors of cupcakes liners), the cupcakes were ready to be iced! See below for how they turned out!

While I thought the snickerdoodle cupcakes had been a success (my mom LOVED them), the vanilla cupcakes were definitely a big hit with everyone. Chris (my little bro) said that they were the best cupcakes he had ever had...eep how can I top myself now?!? Stay tuned for a Gus themed post in the near future (probably after obedience class on Friday), and be on the lookout for my post detailing my attempts to make Chris High Hats for his 15th birthday! Oh and look...the sun just came out!

Getting started...

Hi! So a little bit of background on this blog before I start charming you all with my witty stories and commentaries on life. I'm home for the summer from school and needed some extra ways to entertain myself when I'm not at work. I decided that since I love baking and to me it's one of the greatest ways to relieve stress I'd bake! I decided to make it somewhat of a challenge for myself and bake a new type of cupcake every week. Talking with my little from my sorority and telling her about my cupcake plan, she convinced me to keep track of all of my trials with a blog and thus the birth of what you are reading now.

This blog entry should actually be dated back to last Thursday, but I had quite a bit of trouble coming up with a name so pretend that the date stamp is June 9, 2011. Anyway I have quite a bit of downtime at work and decided to put it to good use and develop my own compilation of recipes from different places. I stumbled upon Martha Stewart's website and started taking some of the cupcake recipes from there. The first recipe which caught my eye was for Snickerdoodle Cupcakes. I mean who doesn't love Snickerdoodles? They're such great simple cookies, and I figured they'd make for some great cinnamony cupcakes!

After a trip to Michael's with a hefty coupon and a heftier amount of money spent to purchase what I deemed to be necessary baking supplies (pastry bags, tips, and REALLY cute cupcakes liners), I headed home to get to baking. Several reading errors later...note in the recipe where it instructs you to cream the butter and sugar...yea I added cream, butter, and sugar and mixed them together only to be greeted by a curdled mess of nastiness which reminded me to slow down and actually read the recipe instead of skim it...I had plump cupcakes full of cinnamon that tasted great. Unfortunately none of them were picture perfect...I was a bit overzealous with the ice cream scoop that I was using to put the batter into the cupcake tins and the majority of them overflowed. So there are no pictures...bummer. I did make one change and made a cinnamon cream cheese frosting instead of the frosting that is in the original recipe. It was really tasty. Next time I make them though, I'll probably tweak the cake recipe a bit to get some more flavor.

Since I wouldn't want to deprive you of a picture in my first post, let me introduce you to my dishwasher.


His name is Augustus(we call him Gus/Gus Gus/Gussy), and he's 14 weeks old. He's a Golden Retriever, and the majority of my summer thus far has been spent loving him. As you can tell from the name of my blog...I'll also be recording the adventures of Gus so stay tuned for lots of puppy love this summer!