Day 5: An American Cupcake in Paris

Our first full day in Paris and the bottom fell out while we were walking from the Basilica of the Sacre Couer on Montmarte (a hill 130 meters above the city). We were wet and cold....and very happy that we had not worn the new boots we bought earlier in the day.

Are there any cupcakes in Paris? The only cupcake I have come across so far is Buttercream, but I have discovered macaroons. I am thinking about changing the name of this blog to Carpe Macaroons! I paid 4.50 Euros for three of these amazing cookies today and they were worth every bite.

I feel a little bit like Charlie looking for the Golden Ticket in Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I hope to find the golden cupcake soon.

Buttercream visits Notre Dame Cathedral

Buttercream looks across the city of Paris

Buttercream at the Basilica of the Sacre Coeur

Montmarte

The steps to the

Basilia of the Sacre Couer at Montmarte

(looking down was easier than walking up)

 

Recipe of the Week - Bailey's Irish Cream Cupcakes

Week 35

St. Patrick's Day is only 3 days away...hence the recipe for this week. I love Bailey's Irish Cream cupcakes! 

sugarcrawler via Flickr

Bailey's Irish Cream Cupcakes

1 cup finely chopped nuts
1 pkg. French Vanilla cake mix
1 (3 oz.) pkg. Jello instant vanilla pudding (omit if there is already pudding in your cake mix)
4 eggs
1/2 c. cold water
1/2 c. applesauce
1/2 c. Bailey's Irish Cream

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare muffin tin with cupcake liners. Sprinkle nuts on the bottom of each cupcake liner. Combine the rest of the ingredients. Fill each cupcake liner 1/2 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes (check frequently after 15 minutes). Cool completely.

Frost with your favorite buttercream frosting.

Recipe of the Week - Chai Latte Cupcakes

Week 8

My niece just moved back to Mississippi from Lake Tahoe. She has been here for 18 months and we miss her already. She loves the flavor of Chai and in the small Mississippi town where we are from, there is little chance of her finding anything Chai...so every now and then I am going to mail her some Chai tea.
















In honor of Payton and her love of Chai, this week's recipe features Chai Tea Latte Cupcakes. As an alternative to this recipe, you can use your favorite vanilla or yellow cupcake recipe and just add the chai spice mix. If you don't have any of the spices on hand to make the chai mix, you can steep 3 chai teabags for 10 minutes in the warm whole milk. I am including a recipe for chai buttercream frosting, but if you think that will cause a chai overdose you can use a 7-minute or cream cheese frosting instead.

Chai Tea Latte Cupcakes

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tsp. of chai spice mix (recipe below)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup whole milk

Cream butter and sugar for about 5 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth. Mix together the flour, salt and spices and add to butter/sugar mixture. Add the two milks, alternating with flour (always begin and end with flour).

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until done.
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Chai Mix

2 tsp. ground cloves
1 Tablespoon cardamom
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. ginger


Chai Buttercream

1 cup Crisco
1 cup butter
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
2-3 tsp. Chai Mix (add spices to your taste)
1 envelope Dream Whip
1/2 cup water
8 cups powdered sugar

Cream the Crisco and butter and chai mix. Mix the water, vanilla, salt & Dream Whip together and set aside. Add the powdered sugar, alternating with liquid. When everything is combined, beat on high speed for 5 minutes.

Recipe of the Week - Decorator's Buttercream

Week 4

This week's recipe is one that I use every time I make a batch of cupcakes. It tastes great and because it does not contain any dairy products, it does not require refrigeration and withstands very warm temperatures well. It forms a light "crust" so you can also use it to pipe decorations.



Decorator's Buttercream

2 cups Crisco shortening
8 cups confectioner's sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla (use clear vanilla for pure white icing)
1/2 cup water
1 tsp. salt
1 envelope Dream Whip

Cream the shortening in a heavy-duty mixer until it is smooth. Add the vanilla. Whisk the water, salt & Dream Whip. Add the sugar and liquid mixture - alternate until combined. Beat on high speed for about 5 minutes.

Cream cheese buttercream: delete dream whip & water and add two 8-oz. blocks of cream cheese (due to the addition of cream cheese you will need to refrigerate this icing)

White chocolate buttercream: Add one 12-oz. bag of white chocolate chips - melt chips in the microwave and mix thoroughly.

Chocolate buttercream: Add 1/2 cup cocoa and mix thoroughly.

Buttercream

The Buttercreams...no, it's not a new sitcom! Buttercream is a broad term for a type of frosting. It is usually a fat (butter, margarine or shortening) mixed with powdered sugar and a flavoring. The type of fat used depends on the environmental stability you need - a hot afternoon with pure butter would not be pretty. Some recipes call for non-fat milk solids and/or small amounts of egg whites. Buttercreams made with shortening can withstand warmer temperatures much better than those made only with butter.

Meringue buttercreams - a mixture of water and sugar are heated to form a syrup which is poured over egg whites and beaten to form a meringue The most common types are Swiss Meringue and Italian Meringue. French buttercream uses egg yolks instead of egg whites.

Decorator's buttercream - the sweetest and most firm of the buttercreams. Also called Rose Paste, it can be used as an icing and to create roses and other decorations.



There are numerous buttercream recipes and every baker has to experiment to find a recipe that works for your specific environment. What I use at Lake Tahoe would not be a good fit for my family in Mississippi. Google buttercream recipes and find the one that is right for you!

Frosting vs. Icing

Is there any difference between frosting and icing? Are they interchangeable terms? The answer is that they mean the exact same thing. The term "frosting" is used more often in the United States and "icing" is used more often other countries. This is probably because confectioners or powdered sugar is also known as "icing sugar."

The postings for this week will explore the most commonly used frostings/icings: how they are made and for what types of cakes they are best suited. I will include recipes!

• Ganache


• Swiss Meringue Buttercream


• Italian Buttercream


• French Buttercream


• Royal Icing


• Decorator's Buttercream


• American Buttercream


• Seven-Minute Icing


• Cream Cheese Frosting