Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

These cupcakes were inspired by the bounty of local strawberries basking in the sunshine at nearly each and every rural intersection. The source recipe hails from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook for Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes.

I started there and then let my creativity take over to a degree. The recipe recommends you put the berries in the bottom then add the batter on top. I preferred to stir the berries into the batter instead and also added 2 drops of strawberry oil for a boost of added flavor and a hint of pink color.

I stuck with the cookbook's recipe for cream cheese frosting but instead of adding crushed graham crackers on top I decided to go with, you guessed it, MORE berries. I simply combined a few chopped berries with some strawberry gelatin (yup, Jello!) and a teaspoon of water. Simmer that for a few minute then let cool. It will start to gel up nicely within 1/2 hr. Makes a great topping.

So let's get baking!

RECIPE:
*altered source recipe: Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes, The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook

WHAT YOU NEED

CUPCAKES

1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup fine granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1-2 drops pure strawberry oil or 1/2 teaspoon strawberry extract
1 large egg
12 large strawberries cut into small pieces

FROSTING

2 1/3 cup powdered sugar, sifted
3 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1 tablespoon milk or cream
4 oz cream cheese, cold

BERRY TOPPING

1/2 cup diced strawberries
2 teaspoons strawberry gelatin
1 teaspoon water

MAKE IT

PREHEAT OVEN to 350F
LINE muffin tin with 12 paper liners

IN BOWL OF STAND MIXER fitted with paddle attachment (or hand held electric beater), blend flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter on SLOW speed until you have a sandy consistency and everything is combined
ADD milk and vanilla, beating on MED speed until combined - scrape down sides when needed
ADD egg and beat for a few more minutes until everything is fully blended
FOLD in strawberries

FILL MUFFIN CUPS 2/3 full with batter
BAKE 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean
LET CUPCAKES cool in pan 5 minutes then transfer to cooling rack

IN SMALL SAUCEPAN combine berry topping ingredients
LET SIMMER 5 minutes and remove from heat
LET COOL 20 minutes

IN BOWL OF STAND MIXER fitted with paddle attachment (or hand held electric mixer) combine icing sugar, butter and cream
BEAT on SLOW speed for 1 minute then increase and blend well on MED speed 2-3 minutes
ADD cream cheese and beat in slowly at first then increase speed and let beat for 5 minutes until fully combined and no noticeable lumps

PIPE frosting onto cupcakes
WITH back of a small spoon make an indent in the tops of each frosted cupcake
ADD 1/2 teaspoon of berry topping
PLACE CUPCAKES in refrigerator for 15 minutes for frosting to set

ENJOY !

Also seen here:

Ham and Cheese Crustless Quiche

I don't usually post savory recipes like this on Lemon Drop but believe me this is an exception worth noting.

Why quiche? Because I love it and rarely make it. Why do I rarely make it? Because it usually involves meddling with pie crust and I have to be in a really super duper mood to open that Pandora's box of "flaky fun".

But last week I wanted a delicious slice of quiche, I mean REALLY WANTED IT, so I decided to research crustless varieties. Lo and behold, I found one. I ended up making the Crustless Spinach, Onion and Feta Quiche from Baking Bites blog and though I thought it was wonderful, I wanted something more.

I love ham and cheese quiche so decided to try it out in this recipe. I also love peppers and a red one was begging me to use it up ASAP.

How does a crustless quiche work? The added flour to the egg mixture gives it the stability it needs.

4 simple words sum it all up: I am in love.

LET'S GET STARTED !

A Ham and Cheese Quiche
My take on a western omelet inspired egg dish

RECIPE:

WHAT YOU NEED

1 medium onion, diced
1 cup diced ham
1/2 diced red pepper
1 tsp Lawry Seasoning Salt
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/3 cups milk (low fat is fine)
3/4 cup shredded old cheddar

MAKE IT

PREHEAT oven to 400F.
LIGHTLY GREASE a 10-inch quiche/tart pan (or a pie plate)
IN MEDIUM FRYING PAN, cook diced onion and red pepper with a bit of vegetable oil (or cooking spray) over medium-high heat until translucent and tender. Add Seasoning Salt and ham. Stir to combine. Set aside to cool for a few minutes
IN LARGE MIXING BOWL, whisk together eggs, flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk in milk and 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Then stir in onion, pepper and ham mixture.
POUR quiche base into prepared pan. Top with remaining cheddar cheese.
BAKE for 33-35 minutes, or until center is set and the outside edge is golden brown.
LET SET for 5 minutes, then slice and serve. I prefer to let mine rest about 20 minutes before digging in - I like the firmer consistency of a cooled quiche.

Birthday Cake Cupcakes with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

My daughter asked me to make one, yes, ONE, cupcake for her friend at school as it was her birthday. I readily agreed being the loving and sweet mother I am.
And, I will admit, because I knew this would mean leftover cupcakes here for me, I mean "the family", to enjoy.

I wanted the cupcake batter to have a birthday cake feel to it. I remembered how my kids used to love Birthday Cake ice cream which was all the rage a few years ago. It had blue frosting swirled into the ice cream, some pink too if I recall correctly, and sprinkles thrown in for fun.

Instead of trying to swirl frosting into the cupcake somehow, I simply used my Wilton gel food dyes and streaked the batter with pink and teal coloring before filling up my muffin tins and baking away.

I then topped them with a strawberry cream cheese frosting and white sprinkles. I used my Wilton 2D piping tip to create the rose affect.

LET'S GET STARTED!


You will need your coloring gels handy
Pink and Teal
Grab several toothpicks as well; we will use them to
streak the color into the cupcake batter


and your 2D Piping Tip to make the Rosette topping


Now on with the show !

RECIPE: WHAT YOU NEED

WHITE CUPCAKES*

*Recipe Source: The Art and Soul of Baking

Standard muffin tin lined with paper liners.
Recipe makes 12 cupcakes

1 1/2 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
3/4 cup granulate white sugar
4 egg whites at room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups (7 ounces) cake flour. Weigh it out first then sift it !
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup (3 ounces) sour cream at room temperature
Pink and Teal Gel Coloring
Toothpicks

FROSTING

1/2 cup butter at room temperature
3 oz plain cream cheese at room temperature
2 cups powdered/icing sugar, sifted
2-3 drops Strawberry Extract Oil (not the regular extract, but the oil, as it has stronger flavor and more truer to the taste of real berries) A little goes a long way!
Pink Gel Coloring
Sprinkles

MAKE IT

CUPCAKES

IN LARGE BOWL, cream together butter and sugar, MED speed with electric mixer 4-5 minutes
IN SMALL BOWL, WHISK together egg whites and vanilla just until combined
ADD EGG MIXTURE, one tablespoon at a time, to butter mixture blending well after each addition.
SCRAPE down sides of bowl when required
IN MEDIUM BOWL, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt
ADD 1/3 DRY INGREDIENTS to butter mixture, mix until combined
ADD 1/2 OF THE SOUR CREAM, to butter mixture, mix until combined
CONTINUE THIS PATTERN ending with flour.
ENSURE batter is well combined and no dry areas remain
WITH YOUR TOOTH PICK, scoop out some pink gel coloring and add it to your batter in different areas.
DO the same with the teal gel coloring
WITH YOUR TOOTHPICKS, swirl the coloring throughout the batter. You want mostly clear lines of color, do not over-blend or you will have on strange colored cupcake !
FILL muffin tins 3/4 way to the top

BAKE 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
ALLOW TO COOL COMPLETELY on a cooling rack





FROSTING:

IN LARGE BOWL, cream together butter and cream cheese, MED speed with electric mixer 4-5 minutes
ADD icing sugar and beat, MED speed, another 2-3 minutes
ADD strawberry extract blending until thoroughly combined
WITH A TOOTHPICK, add in a little pink gel food coloring. Blend and add more til you have the depth of color desired
PIPE frosting onto cooled cupcakes and finish off with sprinkles

For the birthday girl who is turning 16:
Her very own cupcake all tucked away in its little carrying case.

The yellow circle and #16 were made easily with candy melts.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

THEY ARE FINALLY HERE and just in time for Valentine's Day!! The cupcakes are freshly decorated and last time I looked there were only a few left. They won't last long at your place either.

I cannot take credit for the recipe but I have tried many a red velvet cupcake recipe and found the one featured on Joy of Baking to be the best yet. My advice though would be to add 2 tbsp of red food coloring vs just the 1 tbsp as stated in the recipe.

For the icing, I did not use the one shown in the Joy of Baking Red Velvet link. Instead I opted for a basic cream cheese icing I use to frost anything from carrot cake to banana bread.

I snapped a few photos along the way!

Red food coloring being added to the buttermilk

Makes a nice and fluffy batter.
TIP: Make sure you really blend all the ingredients together
well before filling cupcake liners otherwise you will run the risk of a marbled affect
where you will see red cake streaked with cocoa lines.

Fresh out of the oven!

Cooled and ready to be frosted

The final result !

Here is the link to the Joy of Baking Red Velvet Recipe. Icing recipe below.

ICING:

1/2 cup cream cheese at room temperature
1/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups icing sugar (ensure you sift this to avoid grainy frosting)
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

With hand mixer, whip cream cheese until light and fluffy ( 2 min, medium speed)
Add butter and whip 1 min, medium speed
Add icing sugar and vanilla. Mix until well blended

Fill piping bag with whatever tip you choose and pipe away !

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

This recipe goes out to Jane and her 5 furry little white friends (hey, they should have a treat now and then too!)

Carrot Cake... Need I say more? You either love it or you hate it. I can safely say I can count, on one hand, the number of people I have met in my lifetime that do not like carrot cake.

What makes a good carrot cake? the carrots, the spices? Nope, the ICING !! The more icing the better but what makes carrot cake icing so darn good? The answer is simple: CREAM CHEESE !

I have baked many a carrot cake in my day but Anna Olson's one is the winner. Moist and tender with a kick-ass icing. No need to even layer it. An 8inch square pan is all you need.

Rather than reposting here I will simply redirect you to the recipe link. Give this one a try, you will NOT be disappointed.

A word of advice, use crushed pineapple vs diced. Trust me on this one.

Anna Olson's Carrot Cake