Nice to see ya

Will be baking cupcakes and posting sometime in the next week! Sorry for the lack of cupcakey goodness.

Look forward to Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Banana Frosting. Not really a fall flavor, but one of my all time favorite flavor combinations.

Cait's First Cupcake Post: Pumpkin Cupcakes w/ Cream Cheese Frosting

Hello, I'm Cait and I am very excited to share my cupcake experiences with all the people of the internet! For my first post, I wasn't quite as prepared as Sarah so I don't have any action shots : (

I will start by introducing my kitchen appliances - as it seems to be the popular first step.

This is Big Red. 

OK, it doesn't have a name but if it did I am pretty sure that would be it. My mom and I bought this as a joint Christmas present in 2006 because we both always wanted a Kitchen Aid mixer. When it came time for me to move out, my Mom got serious with herself and accepted she never bakes anymore and gave it to me! YAY! Though she still borrows it from time to time for holidays - or bamboozles me into baking whatever it is she needs it for (i.e. 48 cupcakes for my sister's baby shower).

My Fancy New Oven.

You should know I am obsessed with Halloween
and busted out this dish towel 3 weeks ago.

Shannon and I moved into this apartment this past summer. It was newly renovated and the best part of all was new stainless steel appliances! It was pretty cool to be the first one to bake in this oven. 

That is about all as far as my kitchen appliances go. The rest are not as exciting. On to the cupcakes!

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Can you tell this cupcake is frozen?

For my first recipe, I decided to go with the classic pumpkin cupcake. I already mentioned I am obsessed with Halloween so I think it goes without saying that I am also obsessed with fall and everything pumpkin! That is why Shannon and I are having our wedding in October. I have already decided we are having a pumpkin cupcake, I just need to find THE pumpkin cupcake. This one was excellent.

This recipe is adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe. I chose it because it had a wide variety of spices in it and although they say less is more... when it comes to spices, I think MORE is more!

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and the spices. In another bowl, whisk together the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and eggs. Add dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. Then whisk in pumpkin puree.

Line the cupcake pan with liners and fill each about halfway with batter. Bake until tops spring back when touched and a cake tester comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes. Rotate the pans if needed. Transfer to wire rack and let cool completely before icing.

Did you know there is an extreme pumpkin shortage this season because of Hurricane Irene? I feel like this happens almost every harvest. I can remember the same thing happening 2 years ago. I was very hard pressed to find canned pumpkin. I searched two stores and then found one single can of Organic Pumpkin Pie Puree for $2.99. I usually don't like to buy the "pumpkin pie" in a can because I like to regulate the sweetness and spices myself.

I also realize I need to buy a sifter. I think the cupcakes turned out fine but I can't help but think what might have been if I had only sifted my ingredients! I had the same problem as Sarah, my cupcakes didn't come up quite as far as they should have (see picture above). Hopefully it is something that comes with practice.  I didn't really have any other problems with this recipe.

Here is the frosting recipe:

• 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 3 cups icing sugar, sifted
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Beat butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and sugar.

Just in case you didn't know (because I didn't) icing sugar is the same as confectioners sugar. This frosting recipe was so easy and SO delicious! It wasn't overly sweet, it was just perfect. Shannon opted for his cupcakes to be naked, but I preferred the frosted ones.

Overall, I give this recipe an A. I am sure I will become more critical as I bake more and sample more :)

Thanks for reading! I will have more pictures next time and some shots of Shannon and I enjoying the cupcakes. If you're lucky, maybe even a few shots of some really cute cats!

Any advice for better blogging in the future? 

Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting

...Take One

Alright, overall this recipe was a fail but I had a ton of fun baking! I hadn't baked in a long time, and I had a great helper. Don't judge Josh for wearing an apron. He was just embracing life. So, why was this recipe a fail?? It's partly my fault since all I own is a micro-grater. I think that the cake turned out super (read: overly) moist because we grated the apples down to liquid form. I should have bought a box grater. Guess what's #1 on my christmas list? Also, there wasn't enough spice. The recipe only calls for cinnamon but it would have been much better with a stronger spice array, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, etc. 

Here is the cake recipe:

·       1 1/4 cups flour

·       2 teaspoons baking powder

·       1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

·       1/2 teaspoon salt

·       2 eggs, at room temperature

·       1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

·       1/2 cup granulated sugar

·       1/2 cup applesauce

·       2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

·       2 Rome apples (about 1 pound), peeled and shredded

 1. Shred the apple instead of chopping it for even distribution in the batter and to keep the cupcakes moist.

1      2. Arrange a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 350°. Line a cupcake pan with baking liners. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

2.        3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar and granulated sugar until smooth. Whisk in the oil and vanilla. Stir into the flour mixture until just combined; stir in the apples. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan until almost full. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

     Action shots

#1. The Set Up

#2. Having fun...

#3. Grating the #?$%!! out of the apples

#4: Josh LOVES baking!

      Let's forget about the cupcakes. The caramel frosting was interesting. A lot of the recipes that I looked at were for caramel drizzle from melted caramel candies. A No Go for a few reasons. #1 Sticky, #2 Hardens after a bit and #3 Apparently it seeps almost completely into the cake after a bit too which would not be ideal. So, I searched long and hard for a creamy/fluffy caramel frosting recipe and eventually found one that got great reviews. I've never made homemade caramel, so it was an adventure for sure. Josh rocked it, stirring like a madman for 2 minutes straight. (It doesn't seem like a long time, but it is...). 

Here's the frosting recipe:

·       1/2 cup butter

·       1 cup packed brown sugar

·       1/4 teaspoon salt

·       6 tablespoons milk

·       3 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

1.     Melt butter in a saucepan, stir in the brown sugar and the salt. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add the milk, stirring all the while.

2.     Return to heat and bring to a boil again. Remove from heat and allow to cool until lukewarm (approximately 20 to 25 minutes). Stir in the confectioners' sugar and beat until smooth and cool enough to spread. You might need to add a few drops of milk if frosting gets too stiff.

Action Shots

#1: Don't let it burn!

#2: Josh attacks it. 

#3: His hand's moving so fast  you almost can't see it...

In conclusion, this recipe is no bueno for the wedding. Let's move on. 

(But we did have fun, as evidenced by our HUGE smiles...)

To take it in another direction...

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, North/South Cupcakes has been reincarnated. Since one of my best friends, Cait, is getting married October 2012, we are going to use this blog to test fall cupcake recipes. Yay! If you have any suggestions for flavors comment here on the blog. We're thinking of testing the following flavors:

Oatmeal banana cupcakes with ?? frosting
Almond cupcakes with amaretto frosting
Chocolate cupcakes with bailey's/coffee frosting
Cinnamon cupcakes with ?? frosting
Apple pecan cinnamon roll cupcakes
Hazelnut cupcakes with nutella frosting
Apple spice cupcakes with caramel frosting
Maple walnut cupcakes with maple frosting
Apple cider cupcakes with ??? frosting
Pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting
PB&J cupcakes

Also, we are trying to find the perfect recipe for our favorite flavors. So, if you have an awesome recipe or some super baking secrets, let us know. Cait and I (and maybe some friendly guest posters??) will be posting for each recipe we try. This should help us keep the batches straight in our heads and compare the recipes. Y'all can help us along the way. That's right, y'all. I said "y'all." Y'all can just get over it.

Love&Stuff,
Sarah

Alex tries to bake…Part 1

Tonight, to kick things off, for my first post I decided to try my luck at making Mint Chocolate cupcakes. I love mint and chocolate isn't so bad either so I'm hoping I can't go too wrong here. I guess I should start from the beginning and let everyone know/warn you, that I am not the best baker. Some of you may remember my infamous "valentine's day pancake cupcakes" or the dry attempt at the "peanut butter filled cupcakes" from Martha's Cupcakes that I tried to make for Sarah's going away party. (By the way-Thanks for humoring me guys, I noticed most of them were gone despite their lack of deliciousness). So what I want to get out of participating in this blog is really a reason to force myself to bake more and hopefully, with practice, get better.

This brings us to the task at hand and now, with my new Kitchen Aid mixer (I think I'll call him Big Blue) fired up and ready to go, I started by measuring everything out into dishes. I did this for a few reasons. First, like Sarah, I also like to pretend I'm in a cooking show when I try to follow recipes that aren't printed on the back of a box. And second, in the past, many of my baking woes were caused by the wrong measurement of ingredients (See "valentine's day pancake cupcakes").

So with the ingredients laid out I took our trusty recipe book and started throwing contents into Big Blue. Quickly, I realized that I need to add the special Kitchen Aid Pouring attachment cover thing to my christmas list because as Big Blue churned away, a clous of sweet cocoa powder and flour started to waft around my counter. Not entirely a bad thing but a paing in the neck to clean, so in the future, we'll try to avoid that.

This recipe was really easy despite the heck of a time I had trying to find Dutch process cocoa powder. (By the way, I went with the half and half stuff Hershey's makes that I found after going to 6 different stores-count 'em-6).

So despite my less-than cocoa ingredient, everything seemed to be going accordingly. once Blue was done his thing, I had a slight moment of panic....was the mixture supposed to be so soupy? Did I mess up on the measurements somehow?? AGAIN?!? Alas, I reminded myself of the laborious pre-measuring I had done in order to avoid this and so put my second guessing aside.

I dutifully poured the batter into the paper cups and slid the pan into the preheated oven. So far so good asides for a little burn on my thumb. (Note to self, even when sliding in a cool pan, where oven mits because those rackes are wicked hot). One halfway turn of the pan, 20 minutes passed, and voila! Do I dare say we have success? Only time will tell. Well, really the taste testers at Clark can give me their rating tomorrow but for now I'm going to sit back and enjoy the minty chocolate smell wafting around the house.

-->Editor's note here: You might as well all know now that I'm kind of terrified of the homemade frosting recipes in the back of this book. They intimidate me to no end and for now logical reason so today I decided to use store bought frosting and add some peppermint oil to it myself - a technique we use often in my house. So don't be fooled, the frosting goodness you see here and some of you will taste tomorrow was not at all made by me. Also, instead of trying my hand at making chocolate mint leaves, I decided to crush up yummy soft peppermint candies to use as a topping because well, I'm not that patient and probably not that creative.

Until next time!