Joanne's Easy Bake: Red Velvet Wedding Cupcakes

Joanne's Easy Bake: Red Velvet Wedding Cupcakes: I made the most daring commitment when I promised my son to make 120 cupcakes for his wedding reception! Having made the promis...

Red Velvet Wedding Cupcakes

I made the most daring commitment when I promised my son to make 120 cupcakes for his wedding reception! Having made the promise, it was through many tests and trials of recipes before deciding on this one that is most promising and a sure 'no fail' for the cupcakes and icing. The cupcake recipe is adapted from Laura Vitale's Red Velvet Cupcake (http://www.laurainthekitchen.com/recipes/red-velvet-cupcakes/). The icing decoration is buttercream icing that is formulated to be more like royal icing consistency in order to stay in shape until the cupcakes are consumed by my guests! It was a happy occasion for my family, friends and relatives and all the effort was well worth! The recipes are for 12 cupcakes and if you are as adventurous as me, making a promise for 120, you will have to do them batch by batch! In order not to over indulge, please make 12 and enjoy them over coffee and a good conversation!

Utensils Needed:-

12 cups muffin pan

Electric Mixer (Preferably a stand mixer)

Plastic Scraper/Spatula

Measuring spoons

Measuring cups

Flour wire mesh sieve

Measuring cup

Several Mixing bowls

12 paper muffin liners

1 ice cream scoop

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Ingredients

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature

3/4 cups granulated sugar

3/4 cups buttermilk * (see below for recipe to make buttermilk)

1 large egg at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon red food coloring (I used Chef Master)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line muffin pan with paper muffin liners and set aside for use when batter is ready.

2. Measure and sieve together the dry ingredients - flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt into a mixing bowl and set aside.

3. Place sugar and butter into the mixing bowl of stand mixer and using the paddle attachment on high speed, beat until mixture becomes creamy (for about 20 minutes). Then add egg and vanilla and continue beating until well combined.

4. Let the mixer speed run on low and add half of the sifted dry ingredients into the creamy mixture. Then add half of the buttermilk, and mix until just combined. Then add the remaining half of the dry ingredients and remaining half buttermilk. Beat until just combined (do not over beat). As soon as mixture is ready, turn off mixer and remove the mixing bowl. Add food coloring and hand mix using the spatula until the batter is homogeneously colored.

5. Scoop batter into the lined muffin tray using an ice-cream scoop for even distribution of batter.

Place muffin tray in pre-heated oven and bake for 15 - 18 minutes until cake tester inserted comes out clean (do not over bake)!

6. Once cupcakes are cooked, remove tray from oven and let cupcakes rest for 5 minutes in the tray, then remove and place each cupcake to cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

* Buttermilk Recipe

1 cup 1% cold filtered milk

1-1/2 teaspoon whipping cream (35% fat)

1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

Method

Combine cold milk and whipping cream in a measuring cup. Discard 1/4 cup of the mixture (you may save it to drink or put into your coffee). Add the distilled vinegar; stir and let stand for 5 minutes. Mixture will curdle; and there you have it - your homemade buttermilk ready to use!

Joanne's Buttercream Icing

1/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature

2 cups icing sugar **

2 tablespoon cooked corn starch (to make cooked corn starch, you may pre-bake the cornstarch at 250 degrees F for 20 minutes and let it cool completely before using). **

3 tablespoons skim milk or filtered cold water ** (Your choice - if you do not wish to refrigerate, then use water instead).

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Food coloring of your choice

**Extra cooked corn starch or icing sugar to stiffen the consistency or extra milk or water to thin down the consistency if desire**

Method

1. Sieve corn starch into a clean bowl before using.

2. Sieve icing sugar into another clean bowl before using.

3. Place butter and icing sugar in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer and starting with low speed and slowly increasing the speed of the paddle attachment, beat the mixture until it is light and creamy.

4. Continue with the beater at low speed, add cooked corn starch and slowly add milk or water until you reach the desired consistency.

5. Lastly, add food coloring of your choice.

*If you are able to pipe the icing at ease, then you have reached the desired consistency. If you desire to thin the icing down, simply add more milk or water (but a little at a time) or to stiffen, simply add more cooked corn starch or icing sugar (also a little at a time). Stir to combine with a plastic spatula until icing is smooth and shiny. Pipe onto the cooled cupcakes using your imagination!

Enjoy!!!

Joanne's Easy Bake: Easy Lemon Lavender Cake

Joanne's Easy Bake: One Bowl-Easy Lemon Lavender Cake: Easy Lemon Lavender Cake Purple and yellow are pretty contrasting colours. I recently came across a recipe in the Glo...

One Bowl-Easy Lemon Lavender Cake

Easy Lemon Lavender Cake

Purple and yellow are pretty contrasting colours yet when they come together, they complement one another - like lemon and lavender. I recently came across a recipe in the Globe and Mail for a triple lemon upside-down loaf by Lucy Waverman and thought it is a good idea to try since I have a whole bag of lemon curd in the fridge! It calls for sugar coated lemon slices, but when baked, they did not turn out as I had expected. After some tempering and fine-tuning to the original recipe, I came up with one having the aroma of my favorite flower since I have an abundant of lavender buds from my garden. Surprisingly it turns out to be very easy to make and absolutely delicious - not too sweet, neither too tangy and pleasantly scented, all in one bowl! Simply delicious with coffee or milk - a must try!

Utensils Needed

One 8 inch round baking pan or 9 inch loaf pan

Large mixing bowl

Measuring cups

Measuring spoons

Spatula

Pastry brush

Microplane zester

Hand held electric mixer

Ingredients for cake

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature

1/4 cup lemon curd (make extra for serving when cake is ready to serve)

2 eggs

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 and 1/2 teaspoons dried English Lavender buds

Method

1. Preheat oven to 325 F. 

2. Line baking pan with parchment paper or brush the pan with melted butter and coat with flour. Invert the pan over the sink and knock out loose flour. Set the pan aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients and beat with an electric mixer for a full 3 minutes.

4. Spoon batter into the prepared baking pan. Tap the pan on the table a couple of times to remove air bubbles from the batter.

5. Pop into the oven and bake for 20 - 25 minutes (if using the round baking pan) until nice golden brown or until the tester comes out clean or the sides of the cakes spring slightly from the pan. *Note - If you are using a loaf pan, the baking time will extend to 45 - 60 minutes.

Do not over bake, otherwise cake becomes dry.

6. Cool slightly before removing cake from pan and let it cool completely on a wire rack.

7. Serve each slice of cake with a whole spoon full of lemon curd on top. 

Enjoy and have a wonderful Summer!

*Below is the link to a lemon curd recipe from Food Network which you may use to make your own lemon curd if you cannot get any from your local supermarkets.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/lemon-curd-recipe-1941910

Joanne's Easy Bake: Easy Broiled Sous Vide Beef Steaks

Joanne's Easy Bake: Easy Broiled Sous Vide Beef Steaks: I was fascinated by the sous vide method of cooking steaks (the French way of immersing meat in a hot water bat...

Easy Broiled Sous Vide Beef Steaks

I was fascinated by the sous vide method of cooking steaks (the French way of immersing meat in a hot water bath) but never wanted to spend several hundred dollars to buy the precision sous vide cooker. Instead, I opted to improvise whatever gadgets that are in my kitchen to cook some good cuts of grilling sirloin steaks over the Christmas break to treat my esteemed guests, Cindy's family. Surprisingly, the steaks turned out amazingly tender and juicy no matter how I cooked them after their hot water bath! After two attempts, I can now say it is pretty easy for an amateur cook to serve up great steaks even if prepared in a most humble kitchen!

Utensils Needed:-

A heavy bottom stainless steel, 8 quart/7.6 litre stock pot

1-2 large heat proof, food safe plastic zip-lock bags

A meat or instant-read thermometer

A water jug

Large stainless steel bowl for marinating the steaks

A long handled soup ladle

A pair of serving tongs

Line Baking tray with parchment paper/Grill Pan

Ingredients:-

3 large pieces of grilling sirloin beef steaks

Freshly ground black pepper

Generous amount of fine iodized sea salt/kosher salt

Method:-

1) Fill the stock pot 2/3 full with clean cold water.

2) Fill a jug separately with cold water and set aside for later use.

3) Rinse and pat dry the steaks and place them in the large stainless steel bowl.

4) Cover steaks generously with fresh ground black pepper and salt.

5) Place each piece of steak and arrange them flat in the food safe plastic bag; close the zipper almost all the way until 1 inch is left and immerse the bottom of the bag into the pot of cold water. Squeeze out all the air from the bag and seal the bag by closing the zipper fully. (This is self-improvised vacuum sealing).

6) Remove bag of steaks from the pot and set aside.

7) Cover the same pot of cold water with lid and place on top of the stove, turn stove on high and bring the water to a rolling boil. Immediately reduce the stove to the lowest setting when water comes to a rolling boil.

8) Remove lid of the pot; place the bag of steaks into the pot of boiling water and immerse the bag fully using a long handled soup ladle. (Leave the ladle on the bag of steaks as weight to prevent the bag from floating in the pot).

9) Immerse the instant-read thermometer into the water and measure the water temperature. 

***To make medium rare steaks, the water temperature should be maintained at 140 degrees F and to make well-done steaks, the water temperature will have to reach 160 degrees F. Take note that the water temperature should never fall below 140 degrees F to prevent food borne illnesses.***

If the temperature of the water should rise too high above 140 degrees F (if you are making medium rare steaks) when the steaks had been placed in the pot, just add some cold water from the jug to bring the temperature down to 140 degrees F. If it should fall below 140 degrees F, just raise the heat to bring the water temperature up. You can check the temperature on and off to ensure that the temperature is constant.

10) Leave the steaks in the pot for at least 60 minutes or more if you have time or until about time to serve.

11) Before you serve, remove the steaks from the pot and the sealed bag. Discard the liquid in the bag and place steaks on the lined baking tray. 

12) Place tray on the top rack of the oven and turn oven to BROIL. Broil the steaks until they sizzle and are slightly brown on one side. Remove tray from the oven and turn the steaks over using serving tongs and broil the other side until sizzling and lightly brown. Turn off oven and remove tray. 

13) Transfer steaks to a serving plate. Leave steaks to rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing to allow meat juice to be absorbed. Slice and serve with your favourite home made gravy! Enjoy!!! Bon appetit!!!