Red, White and Blue Cake

Happy Monday!! I am recovering from a very long and fun weekend. But I'll share with you details of the bridal shower later in the week. For now, here is one of my stress-baking cakes from last week. Did I tell you that I am a stress baker? Whenever, I get overwhelmed with things, I pull up a recipe I have not made before or attempt an idea in my head and just go to town in the kitchen. Always helps calm my nerves.

This is an easy Red, White and Blue cake for the upcoming July 4th weekend celebrations. It's not too early to start planning. I got the idea for this cake when I saw the sprinkles at the check out counter of my grocery store. They always place the most mundane items along the check out, don't they? I had to sneak it into the cart before Mr J could see otherwise I would have received his favorite remark "you have a million other sprinkles you don't even use". Just like the speeches I get when I fall in love with yet another pair of shoes! Oh well, he saw them when we were unpacking the groceries and it was too late. Did I mention I have a shopping problem too?? Hmmmm, this is becoming a confessional so let's focus on the cake. 

I baked the cake just so I could decorate it with the sprinkles so I went with a simple vanilla butter cake with whipped vanilla bean frosting. It's a great recipe for a moist fluffy cake and I loved how it complemented the creamy vanilla bean frosting. I also made a batch of blue vanilla macarons to top the cake for a little extra touch and I wasn't sure how they would look on top of a cake. But I love how they add some character to this simple cake. 

For an upcoming July 4th weekend event, I would probably bake a more summer-y cake flavor like this lemon cake or strawberry lemonade cake though and keep the decorations the same. I love these sprinkles...can you see the cute little stars? My favorite.

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

I have no words to describe these strawberry lemonade cupcakes. Not just because they leave you speechless and wanting for more after the first bite (which they totally do!), but because I am brain-dead (and coming from a neuroscientist-in-training this is inaccurate, but I will let it fly today because I am that exhausted).

I had two big presentations earlier this week and I spent the past week and a half just reading and reading and reading and juggling married life, family, friends and blogging with that just left me exhausted. Of course at some points my brain was resisting the urge to work leading to some serious procrastination like giant cookie bake-offs (I'll share soon), mall excursions in search of cute tea cups that were never procured and baking these perfect summer strawberry lemonade cupcakes (among other stress induced goodies) but with no time to blog about them.

Using up the rest of the strawberries from this cake, I made a light and airy lemon cake filled with fresh strawberry bites and I topped the cupcakes with fluffy whipped strawberry lemon buttercream. It is the perfect balance between sweet and tangy (I believe strawberry and lemons were made just for each other!).

These are now on top of my favorite cupcake list and will be making them again as the months get warmer. I suggest you find a friend with a pool and bring these cupcake as a bribe, along with some fresh strawberry lemonade for the perfect hot summer day pool party (ahemmm, Laura).

I am off to bake about 80 cupcakes, decorate cookies and a cake for my first bridal shower dessert table this Saturday! Because I am a procrastinator genius, I left everything to last minute. Wish me luck! I'll share the results (hopefully successful) with you next week.

Hope you all have a great weekend!!

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

(Adapted from Martha Stewart Cakes)

Yield: 3-4 dozen cupcakes

Ingredients:

3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon plus ¾ teaspoon baking powder

¾ teaspoon salt

1 ½  cups unsalted butter (2 ½ sticks), room temperature

2 ½ cups sugar

5 large eggs, room temperature

Zest of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon lemon extract

1 ¼ cups buttermilk, room temperature

½  cup fresh strawberry, hulled and diced finely

Directions:

1.     Preheat oven to 350^oC. Line muffin tins with cupcake wrappers

2.     Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.

3.     Combine buttermilk, vanilla extract and lemon extract. Set aside

4.     In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

5.     Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down side of bowl as necessary. Mix in zest.

6.     With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with 2 batches of buttermilk mixture and beginning and ending with flour. Mix well to combine after each addition and scrape sides of bowl as needed. Fold in the strawberries by hand using a rubber spatula. 

7.     Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling 2/3 to the top.

8.     Bake until golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean. About 20-25 minutes  

9.     Transfer pans to wire racks and let cool in pans for 2 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pans and cool completely on wire racks.

Strawberry Lemon Swiss Meringue Buttercream

(Adapted from Martha Stewart)

1 ½ cups sugar

6 large egg whites, room temperature

2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Juice of 1 lemon

½ cup fresh strawberry puree

1. Whisk together sugar and egg whites in a heatproof mixing bowl set over (not in] a pan of simmering water. Whisk until warm and sugar is dissolved (mixture should feel completely smooth when rubbed between your fingers), 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

2. With an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk egg white mixture 5 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high, and whisk until stiff, glossy peaks form and meringue has cooled (test by feeling bottom of bowl), about 6 minutes.

3. Reduce speed to medium. Add butter, one piece at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and lemon juice.  Mix the strawberry puree into the buttercream until combined.

4. Best if used immediately or store airtight in refrigerator for up to a week.

Notes:

- Cupcake liners from Bake it Pretty

- I enjoyed these cupcakes with a fresh batch of strawberry lemonade, found here (minus the mint).

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

It's June already. Can you believe it? Where has 2013 gone?? Are you ready for the summer? I have several trips planned for the upcoming months, including first-time trips to Atlantic City and Boston! I am also in a wedding this August and it's my first time being a bridesmaid! I am pretty excited about it :). Although after 'torturing' my 8 bridesmaids for my recent wedding, I am a little scared lol. Next weekend is the bridal shower and I am doing a dessert table with a surprise theme. Stay tuned for that excitement!!

In line with the warming weather, I made these lemon poppy seed muffins to add some zest to my breakfast. They are quick and easy to whip up with a whole lot of flavor.  Each muffin is fluffy, a little crunchy and plenty lemon-y and will satisfy your lemon craving at any time of the day.

Dark Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Buttercream

 

Dark chocolate strawberry cake. That is summer-y right? I promised you I will eventually get into summer after starting off the season with macarons. Strawberries are my favorite berries... right in front of raspberries :) So when they are in season, I always have at least a pound of fresh strawberries around to add to anything from salads to frosting.

This cake starts with a very moist "one-bowl" chocolate cake that's then topped with my favorite vanilla swiss meringue buttercream with fresh strawberry puree. You can find the cake recipe here on Sweetapolita. I used two 8-inch round pans instead of three 6-inch pans that she suggests. Other than that, I followed her recipe closely. I used semi-sweet chocolate for the glaze and just drizzled it randomly on top of the cake. I wanted the chocolate cake to be the star so I went easy on the glaze ( by all means, go crazy!). 

This is a great cake for chocolate lovers because the dark chocolate cake is (for lack of a better word) oh-so chocolate-y and the light, fluffy strawberry buttercream spruces up an already decadent chocolate cake. I made it memorial day weekend for a special out-of-town chocolate lover who was very happy with it.

I hope you will try it. It would make for a great birthday cake as well. It may not be as summer-y as the next cupcakes I just made to share with you next week, but I think having fresh strawberries in the frosting definitely puts this chocolate cake in the season.

What are some of your favorite summer desserts??