The Ultimate Vanilla Cupcake



 

 

To make this super moist, light and fluffy cupcakes you will need :Butter, Sugar, Egg,Yogurt or Sour cream, Vanilla extract, Vegetable oil, Milk, All purpose flour, Baking soda, Baking powder and Salt.

 

Start by creaming 2 Tbsp butter until smooth.

 

Add 1/2 Cup Sugar and mix it on a medium speed until you get a crumb texture.

 

With the mixer still on medium speed, add 1 Egg and mix until very pale and creamy.

Then add 2 1/2 Tbsp Yogurt or Sour cream

1 tsp Vanilla extract 

 

and 2 Tbsp Vegetable oil and mix until combined.

In a seperate bowl add 3/4 Cup + 2 Tbsp All purpose flour and 3/4 tsp Baking powder. 

 

To this add 1/4 tsp Baking soda and 1/4 tsp Salt.

and mix it .

With the mixer still on medium speed alternate additions of flour mixture and 1/3 cup Milk,

beating after each addition until incorporated.

The batter will be liquid. Don't worry!

Prepare your muffin tin with liners and fill about 2/3 full.
Bake for 14 minutes at 350 degree F and then test to see if they are done. They are done when a toothpick comes out without wet batter stuck to it.If they are not done, test again in two minutes.

When the cupcakes are done, remove them immediately from the tins and leave them on a cooling rack or on your counter to cool.Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

Now to make this fluffy buttercream frosting you will need:Butter, Powdered sugar, Milk or heavy cream, Vanilla extract and Salt

Whip 1 stick or 1/2 cup salted or unsalted butter until nice and smooth.Use room temperature butter.

To this add 1/8 tsp Salt, if using salted butter ignore this step.

next add 1/2 tsp the best quality Vanilla extract and beat until smooth.

To this add 1 Cup Powdered sugar, adding 2 Tbsp at a time and beating after each addition.

Make sure the butter is whipped nicely and fully smooth before adding the sugar.Or else the frosting will not be smooth.

Add 1/2 Tbsp of Cream or Milk and continue beating.Add an additional 1/2 Tbsp of  cream or milk until desired consistency is reached. If you want to pipe the frosting on cupcakes, the frosting should be nice and thick. Continue to beat another minute or so. 

If you like to color the icing, use the  desired color one drop at a time and mix it nicely.The frosting should now be smooth and fluffy.

Now the fun part ! Let's decorate the cupcakes.

Keep all the cooled cupcakes in a tray.
Place tip inside your piping bag.I used Open star (Wilton 1M) to make these wonderful swirls.You can also use Closed star (Wilton 2D)
Half fill the piping bag with icing.

Hold the piping bag straight up, start frosting from the inside and begin swirling towards the outside.
Continue squeezing with constant pressure.
Once you reach the edge stop pressure, and pull tip away.

And another technique is, start on the outside and swirl in towards the center.

Voila! A beautifully frosted cupcake

RECIPE
Vanilla Cupcakes :Adapted from www.cupcakeproject.com
Ingredients:

• Butter - 2 Tbsp
• Sugar - 1/2 Cup
• Egg - 1
• Yogurt or Sour cream - 2 1/2 Tbsp
• Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
• Vegetable oil - 2 Tbsp
• All purpose flour - 3/4 Cup + 2 Tbsp
• Baking powder - 3/4 tsp
• Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
• Salt - 1/4 tsp
• Milk - 1/3 Cup

Directions:

• Cream room temperature butter in a bowl.
• Add sugar and mix again.
• Add egg, yogurt,vanilla extract and oil and mix until smooth
• Combine dry ingredients and add to the egg mixture and add milk.
• Mixture will be liquid.Dont worry.
• Fill the muffin tins 2/3 full with the mixture and bake for 14 minutes or until done at 350 degree F
• When the cupcakes are done, remove them immediately from the tins and leave them on a cooling rack.
• Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

Butter cream icing:Adapted from www.glorioustreats.com
Ingredients:

• Butter - 1/2 Cup or 1 stick
• Salt - 1/8 tsp
• Vanilla extract -1/2 tsp
• Powdered sugar - 1 cup
• Milk or cream - 2 Tbsp

Directions:

• Cream the room temperature butter until nice and smooth.
• Add salt, vanilla extract and powdered sugar and mix until fluffy.
• Add 1 Tbsp milk and whip again.If the icing is too thick and difficult to pipe, add another Tbsp of milk.If icing is too thin add powdered sugar.

 

Restaurant style House Salad with Homemade Croutons

A simple,fresh and delicious salad that is filled with vegetables and topped with crispy homemade garlic croutons. 

Let's start by making the croutons.
For this you will need Garlic,Olive oil, Salt, Pepper, Italian seasoning and a baguette.

Cut an 8oz bread in to small cubes.For best results use a day old french bread.

Pour 1/4 Cup Olive oil into a bowl.

Next peel a garlic and grate it into the olive oil.

Transfer the bread cubes into a large bowl and add 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Dried Italian herbs

Drizzle the bread with olive oil.Gently toss the bread and make sure they are coated with all the oils and seasonings.

Once the bread cubes are evenly and lightly coated, transfer them to a baking pan lined with parchment paper.

Place it in a preheated oven at 300 degree F for 20 minutes.Remove and stir the croutons and return to the oven.Cook for another 20 minutes or until browned and crunchy.
They are perfect toppings for salads.Allow it to cool completely and store it in airtight containers.It can last up to 3 weeks unrefrigerated.

Now let's make our salad.For this you will need : Any type of lettuce (I used Romaine and Iceberg),Cherry tomato,Black olive,Red onion,Parmesan cheese and the croutons we made.

Wash and clean some romaine lettuce, then chop chop chop...

Then take some iceberg lettuce, then chop chop chop...

Transfer it to a large bowl.

Next thinly slice some onion rings

and add the onions into the bowl

 

Add some cherry tomatoes..If you are using regular tomatoes, cut it into wedges and add it to the bowl.

Finally add some pitted olives.Kalamatta olives works best in salads.
Give it a good toss and refrigerate it.

When ready to serve, transfer it to a plate and add some croutons

and finish it with some freshly grated parmesan cheese.

So simple and light !! Try it .


RECIPE

Ingredients:
For the croutons:

• French baguette - 1
• Pepper - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - 1/2 tsp
• Italian seasoning - 1/2 tsp
• Olive oil - 1/4 Cup
• Garlic - 1

For the salad :

• Iceberg lettuce
• Romaine lettuce
• Red onion
• Cherry tomatoes
• Pitted olives
• Croutons
• Parmesan Cheese

Directions:
For the croutons:

• Cut the bread into 1-inch cubes and add to a large mixing bowl.
• Add salt, pepper and italian seasoning.
• Combine the garlic and olive oil in a small mixing bowl.
• Drizzle the oilve oil all over the bread .Toss with a spatula until the bread is evenly coated.
• Pour the mixture onto a baking sheet and place in the preheated over for  20 minutes. Remove, and stir the croutons. Return to oven, and cook for 20 more minutes.
• Cool and store in an airtight container until you use.

For the salad:

• Mix everything except croutons and cheese and refrigerate until ready to serve.
• When ready to serve, transfer to a serving plate and garnish with croutons and freshly grated parmessan.

  

Russian Tea Cake

These snowball cookies taste just like Christmas.

Things you will need to make this delicious cookies :Almonds,All purpose flour,Butter,Powdered sugar,Salt and Vanilla extract.

 Spread 1/4 cup Almonds in a single layer on a baking pan and bake at 400 degrees F for 7 to 8 minutes.

Throw the toasted nuts into a blender or food processor

Measure 1/2 cup All purpose flour and from that take 1 Tbsp of flour ..

and add it to the food processor

and grind them up in until they have become smooth and fine powder.

Next, in a medium bowl beat 1/4 cup room temperature butter.

To this add 1 1/2 Tbsp Powdered sugar

Mix it until they are thick and smooth.

To this add the measured All purpose flour

1/2 tsp Vanilla extract

1/8 tsp Salt

Mix everything together.

Finally add the powdered almonds.

Once again mix everything together until they are nice and moist and ready to roll.

Roll mixture into quarter size balls.

You should get 12 out of it.

And bake it at 350 degrees F for 12 minutes.

Cool slightly on a wire rack .The cookies will be slightly brown on the bottom.

Roll the warm cookies in powdered sugar to give them a nice coating.

A perfect cookie to include on a Christmas party menu.

RECIPE (Taken from www.allrecipes.com )

Ingredients:

• Almond - 1/4 Cup
• All purpose flour - 1/2 Cup
• Butter - 1/4 Cup
• Powdered Sugar - 1 1/ 2 Tbsp
• Vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - 1/8 tsp

Directions:

• Powder the almond with 1 tbsp all purpose flour in food processor.
• In a medium bowl , cream butter, vanilla and salt  until smooth.
• Add powdered sugar and flour and mix until blended.
• Mix in almond powder.
• Roll the dough into 1 inch balls.
• Bake for 12 minutes at 350 degrees F
• When cool, roll it in powdered sugar.