Sweet Recipes: Citrus Cake, A Love Story

Last year I fell in love with a cake. June 14th, 2011.

There you are browsing Pinterest for the 3rd hour in a row when suddenly it smacks you in the face. Cake LOVE. A beautifully photographed and presented cake, for your viewing pleasure. The kind that makes you want to reach on in and grab a slice, if such thing were at all possible. Have you even had this happen to you? Well of course I pinned that sucker right then and there and have since been drooling over it.

Of course I never got around to making it. That is until we settled on a summer Citrus Brunch Celebration and started planning our menu. Then out came my “Cakes” board and the Citrus Cake was re-pinned to our “Citrus Brunch Ideas” board. It was finalized. This cake was going to happen. In my kitchen.

My cake love came at the hand of one Apollinas and her fashion inspired blog. About her cake inspiration she writes: “Those spring Stella McCartney prints we have all been seeing look delicious enough to eat.  So, now you can - in the form of cake…!”

Enough talk of my cake love though, here is the recipe we adapted from Apollinas.

Citrus Cake with Orange & Lemon

Ingredients

  • 2 sticksunsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • grated zest of 2 oranges
  • grated zest of 2 lemons
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 eggs, room temperature
  • 1 cup milk
  • Non-stick baking spray
  • Parchment Paper, cut to fit the bottoms of your baking pans.
  • Assorted citrus fruits, sliced and drained to decorate with.
  • Fresh mint leaves, for decoration.

Directions

  1. Heat your oven to 350°F and prepare two 8″, 9″ or 10″ cake pans. I prefer to use Pam for baking, and spray the pans generously, then line the bottoms with parchment paper and spray again. I find it is easier than buttering and flouring. 
  2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl, then set it aside.
  3. With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high until fluffy, 2 - 3 minutes.  
  4. Add the grated zest of the oranges and lemons.  
  5. Add the vanilla.
  6. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides if needed.
  7. Reduce speed to low, then add the dry mixture and the milk, alternating a little of each, and ending with the dry. Mix this until just until combined, and take care not to overmix.
  8. Divide the batter equally between the prepared cake pans, leveling the top of each with a large spoon or rubber spatula.  
  9. Bake until a toothpick from the center of the cake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes for 8-inch pans, 22 to 25 minutes for 9-inch pans and 20 to 22 minutes for a 10 inch pan.  
  10. Cool the cakes in the pans for 15 minutes, then turn out onto racks to cool completely.

Citrus Curd Filling

Ingredients

  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tbsp grated lemon zest
  • 1 tbsp grated orange zest
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, sliced

Directions

  1. In a stainless or glass bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, zests and juices. 
  2. Add the butter, then set the bowl on top of a saucepan of simmering water.
  3. Cook the curd, whisking constantly, until the mixture has thickened, about 15 minutes. 
  4. Pour into a medium bowl.  
  5. Cover and refrigerate until completely cool, about 2 hours.

Fresh Orange Lemon Buttercream

Ingredients

  • 4 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
  • 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
  • 4 cups of powdered sugar

Directions

  1. Beat the butter in your electric mixture until light and fluffy. 
  2. Reduce the speed to low and add the orange juice and zest.
  3. Add the sugar a cup at a time, waiting until one is fully in corporated before adding another.
  4. Resume a medium-high speed and beat the buttercream until it is smooth and fluffy.
  5. Store at room tempurature until you are ready to ice the cake. (Up to 2 days in an air-tight container.)

Assorted Citrus Fruits & Mint Leaves

Chose which citrus fruits you want to feature on top of the cake.

Slice them thinly and pat dry with a paper towel before laying them on top of your cake.

Pluck your mint off the sprigs and scatter about the cake between your citrus slices to add a bit of greenery. We also added in a bit of sage as well for color around the base of our cake.

Please try this recipe and come back and let us know your thoughts!

Or share with us a cake you fell in LOVE with!

Sweet Ideas: Bumblebee, Honey Comb & Bee Hive Cupcakes

 

We have seen so many cuter than cute parties featuring yellow, bumble bees, honey, and bee hives that we thought we would share a few photos and a recipe for two of our favorite cupcakes.

This recipe is for a Banana Cake topped with Honey Buttercream and finished with a Hive Comb Sugar Cookie or just a simple Bumblebee.

Let me first say, this is one of our favorite recipes. Banana cake is very sweet, but not overly sweet. It is more like a muffin, only topped with frosting. I have personally consumed many of these for breakfast. The combination of banana cake with honey - cinnamon frosting is perfect.

Banana Cupcakes

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 ripe bananas)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • Honey-Cinnamon Frosting (recipe below)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  2. Make a well in center of flour mixture. In well, mix together butter, mashed bananas, eggs, and vanilla. Stir to incorporate flour mixture (do not overmix). Dividing evenly, spoon batter into muffin cups.
  3. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan; cool completely on a wire rack. Top with Honey-Cinnamon Buttercream. 

Honey Cinnamon Buttercream

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

  1. In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat confectioners’ sugar, unsalted butter, honey, and ground cinnamon until smooth, 4 to 5 minutes.

Sugar Cookie Honey Comb Shapes

Ingredients

  •  2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • 2 tablespoons brandy, or milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • Light Corn Syrup
  • Yello Sanding Sugar

Directions

  1. Whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar; mix until light and fluffy. With mixer running, add egg, brandy, and vanilla; mix until well combined. With the mixer on low, slowly add reserved flour mixture. Mix until just combined.
  2. Transfer dough to a work surface. Shape into 2 discs, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
  3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with nonstick baking mats or parchment paper; set aside.
  4. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes, and transfer to prepared baking sheets, leaving an inch in between. Leftover dough can be rolled and cut once more. Bake until lightly golden, about 10 minutes; do not allow to brown. Transfer to wire racks to cool.
  5. Brush with a light coating of corn syrup and dust with yellow sanding sugar to complete the look.

 

Decorating Suggestions

Bee Hive Cupcakes: Pipe frosting using a large round tip. You can be as creative as you want here, doing just a few fat rings, or going really tall with several more. 

Honey Comb Cupcakes: Ice cupcakes with a spatula, then affix your sugar cookie shape on top, filling the center with fresh honey to finish.

Bumblebees: Create edible bumblebees to add to your frosted cupcake by combining large black jelly beans, almond slices and yellow tinted icing. (You can use store bought, or leftover honey buttercream.)

 

  • Starting with your jelly beans, secure an almond slice to each side of each bean with dots of icing. You may find it helpful to let the almond slices set in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before attempting to proceed.
  • Then stripe your yellowicing across in a zig-zag pattern using a sandwich baggie with  a very small hole snipped off the corner. Refrigerate again to harden icing.
  • Nestle your bees onto the frosted cupcakes.

 

Sweet Recipes: Super Bowl Sunday Cupcakes aka The Cupcake for Men

Hello sports fans! We’ve got a super delicious recipe for you today just in time for the BIG GAME on Sunday! We’ve been huge fans of this cupcake recipe for quite a while now, they are super delicious, moist and best of all, for ADULTS. This is not a cupcake for children, let them have the chocolate frosted and sprinkled and all that jazz. We have BEER and BACON and CHEDDAR. That’s right, all in a cupcake. I know what you are thinking, that sounds weird, interesting perhaps, maybe even intriguing?

Trust us on this one, you want to make these, if for no other reason than to taste the High Gravity Beer Buttercream! There’s just something about beer and buttercream that form a harmoniously wonderful taste sensation.

This recipe is all about the ingredients. Use whatever kind of beer you like. Use a good quality smoked bacon that crisps up nice. Use a more expensive extra sharp cheddar, not the stuff that some pre-shredded. Remember this is for you and your discerning tastes, not the sugar crazed kids!

 

Sweet Cheddar Beer Cupcake Recipe

1 cup Beer , Your Preference.
1 stick Unsalted Butter
1 cup Sharp Cheddar, Grated. Get something nice and sharp, not the cheap stuff.
2 cups Dark Brown Sugar
3/4 cup Sour Cream
2 Eggs
1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
2 cups Flour
2 1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
  1. Heat beer and butter in a large saucepan on medium-high heat until butter is melted.
  2. Add cheddar. 
  3. Remove from heat, and whisk in the sugar.
  4. In a separate bowl, whisk the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla.
  5. Mix the sour cream mixture into the beer mixture. 
  6. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour and baking soda.
  7. Fold flour mixture into the batter. 
  8. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 fill.
  9. Bake at 350 F for 18-25 minutes, or until inserted cake tester comes out clean. Watch them closely you want them moist not dry. 
  10. Let them cool completely before frosting.

 

High Gravity Beer Buttercream Recipe

2 sticks Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
4-6 cups Powdered Sugar
1 cup Beer
Grated Cheddar
Crispy Cooked Bacon Pieces (smoked tastes great)
  1. Beat butter until creamy. 
  2. Slowly mix in 4 cups powdered sugar. 
  3. Add beer to taste, more for a stronger flavor if you prefer. 
  4. Add in remaining sugar, or just enough to get your buttercream to the right consistency. Not too stiff, not too runny, spread-able. 
  5. Top with cheddar and bacon and serve immediately.

 

 

Parisian Inspired Valentine's Day Pastries and Recipes

 

Strawberry Cake, Gâteau de Fraise

Bonjour mes amis ! Nous sommes de retour aujourd’hui avec un poteau de suivi au sujet de la nourriture merveilleusement française que nous avons servie sur notre table de dessert de Valentine.

Oh wait…we aren’t in France. Sigh. What is it about Paris that seems so magical anyway? Only everything. I have to admit, I am a tad bit envious of one very popular blog author these days. Her name is Jordan Ferney of Oh Happy Day, and she moved her family to Paris for an entire year. How cool is that? Alas that is not something we could conceivably do anytime soon, so we settle for dessert, with Parisian style.

We already talked about our inspiration for our Valentine Dessert Table here, but today we wanted to share with you the food details! When you think of French pastries what comes to mind for you? Croissants? Madelines? The ever popular Macaron? Us too. In fact, that is just what we included, minus the macarons. Oh sweet crispy chewy Macarons, why are you so hard to make? Because your oven is terri-bad Heather, at least that is what I keep telling myself. It couldn’t be my skill level or anything like that, no sir. Must be faulty equipment. OK sorry about that, major tangent. Anyway, we included traditional Parisian fare like the croissant and madeline, which we were able to find at our local grocery. We also wanted to have lots of little cakes and cookies as well. Just like you would find in the Pâtisserie. So we stuck to the color pink and we baked a Strawberry Cake, Rose Cupcakes and Raspberry Kiss Meringues. We also included Turkish Delight. What you say? Not a French pastry? You are right of course, but they were the right color, bite sized and rose infused, and so we thought, what the heck. Read on below for the details on where we found our store bought items and the recipes for the ones we baked ourselves.

Turkish Delight

We found a beautiful box of Turkish Delight at our local Kroger grocery. It was so pretty. It was so appealing. It was so NOT what we expected. Have you ever tasted a Turkish Delight? We hadn’t. It fit so well with what we wanted on our table though we grabbed it and put it out there, and then we tasted it. It was like biting into a stick of rose scented chap-stick, covered in powdered sugar. It wasn’t bad, it was… unusual. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it appetizing however. 

 

Croissants

Private Selection Mini Butter Croissants from Kroger grocery. These were in a 6-pack and came frozen. They must thaw and rise overnight before baking the next day. We found these croissants delicious! Flakey, buttery, soft, everything they should be, living up to their very french reputation.

Madelines

Also from Kroger grocery. These were pre-baked and available in the bakery section of our store. They were also very tasty. Madelines are traditionally a soft cake-like cookie, and we are for sure a fan of these. I just love the little shell shape. A madeline pan is now on my bake ware items to purchase list, so if you know me and there is an occasion to buy me something coming up, you know what to do!

Raspberry Kisses

Light as air meringue cookies that melt in your mouth! A super easy recipe that requires minimal preparation. The recipe uses jell-o as its main source of flavor, so if you prefer another flavor or color simply buy that kind of jell-o instead of the Raspberry. We wanted a berry flavor and the pink coloration as well.

Ingredients:
6 Tsp. Meringue Powder
6 Tbsp. Water
1/8t. salt
3 1/2 Tsp. raspberry Jell-O
3/4 c. sugar

Directions: 

  1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees
  2. Beat together (in a mixer on high) the meringue powder and water until combined, then add the salt and continue to beat until foaming.
  3. Add the Raspberry Jell-O and sugar gradually, and continue beating until the mixture forms stiff peaks.
  4. Pipe batter into small swirls or kiss shapes on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper.
  5. Bake at 250 degrees for 25 minutes, the turn the oven off and allow them to sit for an additional 20 minutes.
  6. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool completely before taking them off of the parchment paper.

 These cookies should be stored in an air-tight container and will remain fresh for several days.

Strawberry Cake

Ingredients for Cake:
2 ¼ cups All-Purpose Flour
1 ½ Tsp. Baking Powder
¾ Tsp. Salt
1 ½ Sticks Un-Salted Butter, room temp.
1 ½ Cups Sugar
2 Eggs
1 Cup Buttermilk
1 Cup Fresh Strawberries

Ingredients for Buttercream:
1 Cup Fresh Strawberries Blended
2 Sticks Un-Salted Butter
3 - 5 Cups Confectioner’s Sugar
1 Tsp. Vanilla

Directions for the Cake:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare your cake pans in your preferred method.
  2. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt and stir, then set aside.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until it is light and fluffy.
  4. Add the sugar and continue beating until it is well combined.
  5. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Scrape down the mixer bowl as necessary.
  6. Add half of the dry ingredient mixture and continue beating on low speed until blended.
  7. Add the buttermilk and continue mixing on low until smooth.
  8. Add the remaining dry ingredient mixture and continue beating on low speed until blended.
  9. Add in the fresh strawberries and mix on low speed until blended.
  10. Divide the batter evenly between your cake pans. We used three 6” pans to create a small, but tall cake.
  11. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean and your cakes are slightly golden on top and spring back to the touch. Approx. 20-30 mins depending on the size of your cake pans.
  12. Allow the cakes to cool the transfer them to a wire rack until you are ready to stack your layers.

Directions for the Buttercream:

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until it is light and fluffy.
  2. Add 3 cups of powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
  3. Add the vanilla.
  4. Mix in the strawberry puree a tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired texture.
  5. Add more confectioners sugar as needed to thicken your buttercream to your liking.

Assembly:

  1. To assemble your cake, spread an even coating of the butter cream onto the top of your first cake layer.
  2. Continue with your next layer, and so on until you have all layer stacked with buttercream between each.
  3. Apply a thin coat of buttercream to the entire outside of your cake.
  4. Do not worry about crumbs at this point as this is your crumb coat. Allow this to set up until it has hardened slightly.
  5. Then apply another thicker layer of buttercream onto your entire cake. If you prefer you can pipe it on making a pattern or even use a cake comb to create an interesting design into the buttercream.
  6. Store your cake under a cake dome or wrapped until you are ready to serve.

Rose Cupcakes

These cupcakes employ rose water to keep them smelling fresh as… a rose! Rose water can be hard to find at times, but most specialty grocers will carry it. Look for it with the French cuisine along with the international foods.

Cupcake Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups cake flour, not self-rising
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
2 - 3 Tbsp. Rose Water (your preference)
1 - 2 Drops Red Food Coloring

Buttercream Ingredients:
1 Cup (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter, room temp.
6 Cups Confectioners’ Sugar
1/2 Cup milk
2 - 3 Tbsp. Rose Water (your preference)

Directions for Cupcakes:

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt; mix on low speed until combined. Add butter, mixing until just coated with flour.
  2. In a large glass measuring cup, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla. With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients in 3 parts, scraping down sides of bowl before each addition; beat until ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat.
  3. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 17 to 20 minutes.
  4. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat process with remaining batter. Once cupcakes have cooled, pipe frosting into small swirls around the outer edge of the cupcake then work your way inwards until you reach the center. Garnish with sugar pearls.

Directions for Buttercream:

  1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes.
  2. With mixer on low speed, add 6 cups sugar, milk, and rose water. Mix until smooth.

Hard as we may try it is entirely possible that we have left out a detail or two here and there, so if you spot something please do not hesitate to speak up in our comments section and we will try to right that wrong! I was recently informed that our Hot Chocolate Stick recipe while insanely delicious, had omitted the small detail of oiling the spatula that you use to spread the marshmallow. The brave reader at home had attempted to create these hand-crafted marshmallows and said she ended up with it everywhere! Stuck to everything! After checking I did discover that while we mentioned oiling the spatulas, we had forgotten to mention the importance of covering your hands with non-stick spray to ensure that you do not end up marshmallow-ed. So we apologize for that!