Wildish

Last weekend was the Halifax Crafters Winter Fair, this time around I have not only been crafting, I was also baking every night to help keep the Gateaux Rose table stocked with fresh cupcakes and cookies. Leading up to the fair I was working busily on crafts for the Wildish table and preparing for Gateaux Rose, but the week before last I had to leave town unexpectedly for a funeral, so it has been hard to find the time to get everything done.

In the end it was well worth all the effort and I had a lot of fun despite being so worn out.  I really want to balance my craft/art/baking life, so that I can keep doing everything I love. Opening one business while trying to nurture another been a little tough, especially since I know very little about the actual business side of things, but I think I am getting there.

There is one thing I have learned this weekend though, two tables plus one craft fair means waaay too much to do. I think I’d better make sure to stagger events if I want to keep my sanity, or at least be able to sleep next time. Also, sorry to anyone who missed me while at either table! I was often at the cupcake table since it was so busy, if you missed me and want to get in touch you can email me at wildishteam@gmail.com.

Yeah, so these are just about the yummiest thing ever. I wrote this post for the Gateaux Rose blog and I thought I should repost it here too, because they turned out so wonderful.

Here you go:

We wanted to come up with a flavour that kids would love, but wow, this turned out to be a real crowd pleaser. I think it may be my new favourite! The nutella frosting is just out of this world and reminds me of delicious hazelnut praline filled chocolates. The mousseline also takes the nutella nicely, instead of thinning out the icing it makes it more spreadable and lovely, so you can add quite a bit if you feel like it. The banana flavour is subtle and the fruit makes the cake nice and moist. I am so pleased with this cake, this one is a real winner!

I couldn’t wait to share our new flavour with you all. We realize many of you out there on the internet would love to eat one of our cupcakes, but can’t make it across the globe to Halifax, so I hope you get the chance to have fun making this recipe at home. It’s pretty easy and really yummy. The frosting may be a slightly challenging, but with a little patience it will turn out fantastic.

Banana Chocolate Chunk Cupcakes:

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted Butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsps vanilla
2 bananas (mashed)
2 eggs
1 egg yolk

dry:
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder

1 cup buttermilk
200g chocolate chunks (mix of dark and milk)

Before starting ensure that all of your ingredients are room temperature, adding cold eggs to butter, or cold buttermilk to the batter will cause it to curdle. You can warm up eggs quickly by placing them in a bowl of hot water.

Begin by creaming the butter and the sugar until it is fluffy and very light in colour. Add the vanilla and beat for ten seconds. Then add the mashed banana one at a time followed by the eggs and egg yolk. Whip for a few seconds after each addition, just until the mixture is combined. Set aside.

Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl or onto a sheet of waxed paper. If you don’t have a sifter combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk to aerate the mixture.

Fold half of the buttermilk into the flour mixture, once there is no stray liquid add half of the flour mixture and fold until it is combined (if the liquid and the flour meet up you’ll get annoying lumps in your batter, so be patient and fold just until it is combined, over mixing will also cause problems.) Then fold in the rest of the buttermilk, then the last amount of flour combined with the chocolate chunks. Divide into cups with a big spoon (don’t use a little spoon, it could cause you to overmix by accident, this sometimes causes tunneling in cupcakes.)

Bake at 350f until the tops of the cakes spring back and a toothpick comes out clean.

Nutella Mousseline:

whip: 5 egg whites
1/2 + 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 cup of sugar

syrup: 1/4 cup of water
1 cup of sugar

add when completely cool: 1 pound/block (454g) of unsalted butter, softened, but just slightly cool. (Must be unsalted.)
Nutella (Chocolate Hazelnut Spread) to taste, I used about half a 750g jar. =P

Whip the egg whites on high, once they start to become soft and frothy add the cream of tartar and slowly sprinkle in the the 1/4 cup of the sugar as it whips. Beat on high as you make the syrup, you can add the syrup when it forms stiff peaks.

In a heavy bottom saucepan mix together the 1 cup of sugar with the 1/4 cup of water. Stir until dissolves and bring the mixture to a boil, once it starts to boil stop stirring entirely. Let it bubble until it reaches the soft ball stage, that is once you drop a drop of the sugar syrup into a cup of ice water and it forms a soft round ball at the bottom. It will be very hot (around 243f!), so be very careful with the hot sugar liquid.

Once it reaches this point it can be added to the egg whites. Turn the mixer to high and add the hot syrup in a thin, steady stream. Make sure it doesn’t strike the beaters or it may splash. If you don’t have a stand mixer have a friend or family member help you with this part. Use a heat proof spoon to get all of the syrup out of the pan (I use a silicon scraper). Beat until cool. Beat in cool butter, one heaping tablespoon at a time until your mixture is smooth. Then add your nutella one heaping tablespoon at a time until it is exactly how you like it (like I said I used about half a 750 g jar).

This recipe makes a lot of frosting, you could probably halve it (although I have not tried this personally, so this would be a little risky I admit). You can freeze the buttercream for your next batch of cakes (its best not to leave it long though, fresh ingredients really are key to successful baking. You may also need to rewhip it once it warms to room temperature).

If you are entertaining you could also make a small batch of chocolate cupcakes to use up the extra frosting. This chocolate hazelnut frosting is really delicious on rich chocolate cake as well. Mmmmm….

Muffins, or as I like to call them, “breakfast cupcakes”, are never inappropriate.  You can eat them in the morning, you can eat them for a snack, you can eat them at night, you can eat them on the go. Nobody says “don’t you know what time it is/where you are? Are you seriously going to eat a muffin now?”like they might if you were eating a cupcake at 8 am, which I do, but I’ve come to realize is not totally socially acceptable. Where cupcakes are fun, the life of the party, turnin’ heads, the muffin is like the invisible man.

I think this is because muffins are not always that good. Lets be frank, we’ve all had those way too cakey muffins. Now, that might sound weird coming form me, but they are way to sweet and heavy. What seems to have happened is that some of the mass producers of muffins took all the fat and sugar that would have gone on top and made it a cupcake and put it in the batter. I’m ok with a little sweet something on top and yes a muffin should be pleasantly sweet, but it should not be pound cake in disguise. They also shouldn’t be gigantic.

Yeah, I understand everybody wants a little something sweet for breakfast, but it should be sweet in the right places. The base in my opinion should be just sweet enough, with a sweet crunch on top, or a berries inside, perhaps a light flavourful glaze or toasted coconut. Why not decorate them too? Yes, this my friends is a breakfast cupcake, wholesome and pleasantly sweet, maybe with a little extra something on top, pretty, and perfect for any occasion any time. Perfect for coffee Breaks. That’s my kinda thing! That’s what I’ve been working on for days in the kitchen lab.

I’ve become so obsessed with breakfast cupcakes that I think I’ve made seven or eight batches over the past few days. Four batches were made in preparation for hurricane earl, which hit Nova Scotia a few days ago. Now I just need to come up with the decorations.

Over the next few days I’ll post the recipes I’ve come up with. Give them a try, I’m sure you’ll like them. They are also suitable for people who are allergic to dairy- I have a sister and many friends who can’t eat dairy and I was thinking of them when I came up with the blueberry recipe in the first place.

Recipe no 1. Blueberry with a sprinkling of oats and almonds

Dry:
2 cups all purpose flour,
1 1/2 tsp baking powder,
1 cup granulated sugar,
1/4 tsp sea salt,
1/8 tsp nutmeg,
1/4 cup oats,
1/8 cup slivered almonds,
1/8 cup chopped walnuts,
Wet:
2 large eggs,
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp vanilla soy milk,
1/2 cup soy oil,
2 tsps vanilla (or 1 tsp vanilla + 1 pure almond extract, also yummy)

Last, but not least:
2 cups of fresh blueberries (tossed in flour)

This recipe is very easy, you will just need two bowls, a whisk and a spoon or spatula for folding. Whisk all of the dry ingredients together in the first bowl, then whisk all of the wet ingredients together in the second bowl. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour on the wet mixture. Using a spoon or spatula gently mix the two together just until combined. Finally gently fold in the berries, being careful not to break them.

Fill muffin tins until almost full, they will puff up quite a bit, but they won’t run over the sides of muffin liners. Bake at 350f until you see a bit of golden brown on top, which will take about 25-35 minutes. These are nice with a bit of a crisp top.

Happy baking! =)

 

I wanted a buttery lemon sandwich cookie I could use as a counterpart to my chocolate sandwich cookie.  I think these will work particularly nicely.

Lemon Sandwich Cookie Dough:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter,
2 cups all purpose flour,
1/2 cup of granulated sugar,
1 lemon worth of zest,
1 egg yolk,
1 tsp vanilla or lemon extract
1/8 tsp  ground nutmeg,
1/8 tsp salt

1 or 2 bars of good quality white chocolate, such as “Just Us”.

Almond paste or marzipan

To make the dough: Beat the room temperature butter and the sugar together until creamy, this will take about one minute. Add the egg yolk and extract to the butter and mix until combined. Finally stir in the remaining dry ingredients by hand. Divide the dough in two and flatten each piece into a disk or rectangle, wrap in parchment paper and refrigerate for an hour.

You can use store bought marzipan or you can make it yourself. (I make my own nut pastes by grinding nuts in my mortar & pestle and adding a touch of confectioners sugar, oil and maple syrup to the mix, but I don’t usually measure, so I will have to amend this post later to give you the exact amounts I use in my recipe. )

Roll the dough and the marzipan out between sheets of parchment paper, I use one big piece and fold it over. You can fold it and use the inside fold to shape the edges of your dough into a perfect square or rectangle. I use a small crinkle cutter to make the biscuits and the filling rounds, which were rolled quite thin;  1/8  inch thick for the dough and 1/16 for the marzipan. (the recipe works well for shortbread bar cookies too, just make them 1/4  to 1/2 inch thick)

Bake the cookies at 350f on parchment lined paper until the edges are golden brown.  When you remove them from the oven flip half of them over on the paper and place a square of the chocolate on top, as they begin to melt pat each of them down a little, then cover each square in a thin round of the marzipan.  You can then smooth the marzipan out which will simultaneously smooth the chocolate underneath. Top with the other half.  You could also put a little chocolate on this half too if you’d like, but it is not necessary, they should hold together anyway.

Good quality white chocolate looks tan or custard coloured because of the high cocoa butter content. The cheaper bars are lighter in colour because a lot of the cocoa butter is replaced with sugar, milk products and fats.

You can make these cookies with earth balance vegan spread instead of butter if you want to make the dough dairy free. Check to make sure your chocolate is dairy free as well if you are preparing it for someone who is sensitive. You might have to substitute dark chocolate since most white chocolate has some dairy in it.

 

I had to share this too, over at Gateaux rose we just made these fun emergency kits for the weekend! Hurricane Earl is on it’s way towards Nova Scotia and I picture myself curled up in a fort made of sheets eating cupcakes, probably with my dog, a flashlight, and perhaps a good book or two.

I get so keyed about storms, I love the energy and excitement. I do hope nothing gets damaged though, especially my garden. I’ll let you know how it goes.

(the following was written by Crystal Ross, you can visit the original post here…)

Summer is not over yet! It’s hot and humid here in Nova Scotia, the perfect time to enjoy a ice cream cone. I’ve been experimenting with various flavours, but I often find myself making batches of French Vanilla. It’s just so fragrant and creamy. I thought I’d share the steps with you in case you felt like making some too. (Of course, If you don’t feel like making it we will gladly make you a pint.)

1 whole egg
2 egg yolks
1/3 cup of sugar

1/3 cup of sugar
2 cups of fresh whipping cream
1 cup of whole milk
a 6 inch piece of vanilla bean

Using a mixer beat the eggs and 1/3 cup of sugar on high speed for a few minutes, until the mixture becomes pale yellow, creamy and thick.

Meanwhile combine the remaining group of ingredients (1/3 cup of sugar. cream, milk) in a saucepan. Split the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds. Add the seeds and the bean to the cream.

Heat on medium until it begins to bubble and then reduce to low heat. At this point you can turn the mixer on again and ladle in about half of the hot liquid as it beats. Let it beat for a few minutes and add it all to the saucepan. This tempers the eggs so they don’t cook up and get lumpy.

Now you must stir gently and pay attention to the saucepan. It needs to thicken quite a bit and become a custard, but you can’t let it boil so keep your burner on a low setting. Keep an eye on it, when it covers the spoon nicely and looks rich, it is done. The richer it is the smoother your ice cream will be.

At this point I usually remove the vanilla pod and put it in another bowl and whip it for a few minutes, or beat it with the mixer to encourage it to cool quickly. Once it isn’t too warm,  you can put it in the fridge to cool all the way.

The custard will get even thicker and look even more tempting. It has to be cold when you add it to your ice cream machine, or it may not freeze properly.

If you don’t have an ice cream machine, you can still give it a whirl. Put it in the freezer in a metal bowl, wait 30 minutes until the edges start to get hard, whisk it hard with a beater from the machine or beat it with a mixer, then return it to the freezer and repeat until it’s the way you like it. It might be more labour intensive, but it will work.

Don’t they have such a neat form and texture? I find their fuzzy, hyperbolic forms are very attractive. I am going to make something with some of these soon.

I made these homespun beauties to share with friends on Canada day. They were light lemon cake with home made strawberry/raspberry preserve and vanilla bean buttercream. Each one was served with fresh strawberries and raspberries. If you try making these at home pick up a nice raspberry jam with a low sugar content. My partner Dan loves to eat these jam filled cakes in the morning without icing.

I had a pretty relaxed Canada day enjoying the company of friends, we spent the day drinking wine, sharing food, walking around the city, swinging on swing sets, and watching old episodes of “Kids in the Hall” until the fireworks got under way.

I forgot how much I enjoy swing sets. There is something so Zen about swinging away. I was so involved in the experience, the action, the movement,  the rush of summer air, the view of clouds in the distance over the building tops as I reached the highest heights.

Amy loves parks and often suggests we go out and find one. I’m so glad Amy brings out the kid in me. I joked this was going to be my new exercise of choice, (it is a super low impact exercise and it seems to work everything.) I do plan on doing this more often though. You should try rediscovering it too.

I hope you had a relaxing Canada day as well. =)

Lemon Dream Cupcakes:

1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter,
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar,
1 tsp vanilla,
2 small lemons worth of zest,
3/4 cup milk,
1/4 cup cream,
6 egg whites, 
3 cups sifted cake flour,
4 tsps baking powder,
1 tsp salt
(all ingredients should be room temperature).

Cream butter and sugar until white and fluffy, add zest and vanilla.

Lightly whisk your eggs, milk and cream, then set the mixture aside. Sift your dry ingredients all together and set that aside too.

Fold half the flour mixture into the butter, then half the liquid, then the remaining flour and liquid.

Fill cupcake cups 3/4 full, leaving some space for them to rise. They take between 15-25 minutes  depending on your oven. Bake at 300f if you are using a shiny pan or 350f  if using a dark or non-stick pan. If you’d like extra “zing” brush the tops of the cakes with lemon juice when you remove them from the oven. The lemons I used were organic and a bit smaller than your average lemon. I recommend using organic citrus when you are using them for zest.

Enjoy!