Voting is now open! Please vote for me HERE under Bakeaholic! Vote now!! Thanks =)

Voting is now open! Please vote for me HERE under Bakeaholic! Vote now!! Thanks =)

Ever since I saw the Iron Cupcake Earth challenge was CRANBERRY I began brainstorming immediately! I knew I wanted to do something out of the {cake} box, something different than cranberries and chocolate! Seeing as how my drink of choice is a Cosmopolitan, thought about making a cupcake that resembled a martini! Cosmo’s do have cranberry juice in them, but I thought a Crantini fit even better! So I began thinking of what to make them with, cranberries of course, and the frosting had to have Vodka! Let me tell you, the icing is delicious! My taste-testers could have eaten the entire bowl! So here is my entry to the IC: Earth Challenge with Crantini Cupcakes, Cran-Vanilla cupcakes with Lime Vodka Frosting. Much love to Jordan for taking the pictures again =)

If you like my Crantini-Cupcake creation please vote for me! Now! That means..right now! ( please =) )

This Months Prizes are:

• Lollipop Workshop
• Cookie Sunshine
• Lots of Sprinkles
• Cakespy
• Sweet Cuppin Cakes Bakery and Cupcakery Supply
• Head Chefs
• Hello Cupcake
• Jessie Steele Aprons
• Cupcake Courier
• Taste of Home
• 1-800-Flowers

You can vote Now!! here for the Iron Cupcake Earth Challenge.

If you would like my recipe click here.

My Iron Cupcake Earth Recipe for Cran-Vanilla {Crantini} Cupcakes with and Lime-Vodka Frosting. 

Cran-Vanilla Cupcakes

{makes 3 dozen small/regular size)

Cupcakes:

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup superfine {berry} sugar
• 4 Large eggs
• 1 cup Vanilla Yogurt
• 2 tsp. Vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
• Zest of 1 large lime

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin tins with cupcake papers.

In a small bowl, combine the flours and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl ( with a stand mixer preferably) cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy for 3 minutes (I would suggest timing this as it does make a difference, you want the butter to be light and airy). Then add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add the dry ingredients alternating with the yogurt and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but make sure to not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended.

Using a spatula or wooden spoon, fold in the cranberries and lime zest until just mixed.

Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, about 1/4 cup, filling them about 3/4 fu

ll. I had to use my large wilton muffin pan, and two smaller ones to make all the cupcakes!

Bake about 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. You should always start with the lesser time, and then add more if need be.

Once they are baked, let them cool in the muffin tins for about 10 minutes, and then lift them to cool completely onto cooling racks. You can frost them with the vodka buttercream, or if you want to use regular icing you can also brush the tops of the cupcakes once cooled with vodka to soak in!

Frost with Vodka-Lime Buttercream (See Below)

It came in handy that I had to make cupcakes because I was actually going to a 50th birthday party the night I made these! Which was good because there was about 3 dozen!

Needless to say the kitchen was a huge mess afterward, but I sweetened the deal with a cupcake!

I thought I’d share some pictures of the photo shoot. Thanks to Jordan for setting it all up for me. Helps that he is a graphic designer/photographer and has all the proper supplies, ie: light box, digital SLR, Tripod etc etc. That’s what Bf’s are for! =)

Jordan working away! I let him eat a few as we we went!

Here’s the recipe for the frosting I used on my IC: Earth Crantini Cupcakes

Vodka-Lime Frosting

Ingredients:

3/4 Cup Butter

1/4 Cup Shortening

1 tsp. Vanilla

4-5 cups Powdered {icing} Sugar, Sifted ( The amount will vary on what type of consistency you want )

1-2 tsp. Milk

2 Limes (1 for zesting and Juice, and 1 for garnish)

1 Tbsp. Vodka

*Splash of Cranberry juice

Directions:

Before you begin, zest one lime and squeeze out its juices into a cup. Set aside the lime zest and juice to add later. Sift icing sugar into a large bowl so you can easily measure it out once you start.

Using a stand mixer, cream softened butter and shortening, add vanilla and mix until smooth.

Add sugar gradually, 1/2 cup at a time. Once you’ve added 1 cup, mix in milk. Once you’ve gotten the milk mixed in, gradually add sugar and lime juice alternating.

Once you have mixed all the lime juice in, add the vodka {this can be omitted if you don’t want to add alcohol.} Once you have mixed in all the juices, add the rest of the sugar slowly until you achieve the desired consistency. You will want it to be stiff enough to pipe, so you want to be sure that it is not too watered down with the lime juice and vodka. You may add more/less lime juice depending on how much flavor you want.

If you want to, you may add some coloring to the frosting. Add this last, or separate the icing into different mixing bowls to use different colors. Preferably use gel food coloring, so it does not add more liquid.

*For the pink icing I also added a splash of cranberry juice for Cranberry Lime Frosting.

Garnish:

For the Crantini cupcakes, I decided to give them a sugared rim (using Bar Sugar) and top them off with sugared cranberries and lime wedges.

I used  this recipe for the Sugared Cranberries, if you don’t want to go to all the hassle you can just use raw cranberries washed, and tossed in superfine sugar. Place in fridge for a few minutes to harden.

This dessert is all the craze right now! I’ve seen it popping up on numerous dessert menus at restaurants like Moxies and now White Spot! It’s a British dessert, and it’s not actually pudding. Pudding literally just  means dessert. So this sticky toffee dessert is exactly what it sounds like! I’ve been wanting to make this one for a while now, and since I’m having a dinner tonight with my cousins I thought it would be a great time to try it out! I looked for an appealing recipe, but a lot of them called for making them in ramekins, which I didn’t really want to do. So I got this recipe from the Joy Of Cooking 75th Anniversary edition cookbook. This would make a great holiday cake for Christmas or Thanksgiving! Its warm and comforting, and best of all it has butterscotch toffee sauce!

Sticky Toffee Pudding

8 servings

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour eight 6-ounce ramekins or a 9×2 inch square baking pan. (I used a fluted cake pan)

Combine in a small saucepan:

• 1 1/2 cups pitted dates, coarsely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups water

Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered for 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in:

• 1 1/4 tsp. baking soda   ( i know this isn’t the greatest picture, but it just shows you how the mixture will puff up once you add the baking soda, it will be really airy and spongy.

  

Set aside. Whisk together in a small bowl:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder

Beat in large bowl on high speed until lightened in color and fluffy:

• 1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
• 6 tablespoons  ( 3/4 stick) butter, unsalted, softened

Beat in one at a time:

• 3 large eggs

Beat in:

• 1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla

Gradually add the flour mixture, beating on low just until mixed. Stir in the date mixture, until just combined. Pour into the prepared dish(es).

If using ramekins, put them on a baking sheet. Bake until the pudding is a deep golden brown and a skewer inserted in comes out moist but clean, 20-25 minutes. About 35 minutes for a single larger dish. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the dish(es), then turn out the pudding and invert onto the rack, right side up, to cool slightly. Serve warm, each serving covered generously with warm Butterscotch Sauce.

 Warm Butterscotch Sauce:

Cook, stirring over medium-low heat in a medium heavy saucepan:

• 2/3 cup light corn syrup
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter ( 1/2 stick)
• 1/8 tsp. salt

Stir to dissolve sugar. Increase heat to medium-high and without sitrring, boil until as thick as corn syrup. about 3 minutes. Let cool slightly. Add:

• 2/3 cup heavy cream

Allow sauce to thicken on the countertop at room temperature for a while before serving. It makes it nice and gooey and delicious!!

I made this earlier in the day, and made the sauce earlier as well. The sauce needs to sit a while at room temperature to thicken up, i scooped a little on the cake at first and poked holes into it so it seeped in. I waited til the sauce was a little thicker to really pour it over the cake. I kept about 1/2 of it to pour over the individual pieces, with whipped cream. I suggest microwaving the cake slices and then putting a dollop of whipped cream and then drizzling even more butterscotch sauce! This was incredibly delicious!

Enjoy!

It’s a rainy Remembrance day here in Vancouver, and after a day of shopping at the GUESS Factory Store where I bought 3 yes THREE trench coats..in red, black and cream {i told you i was a shopaholic.} But they were on sale for $35 from $94! So mathematically I had to buy them. I came home with an urge to bake, and I’ve been craving something really chocolaty like a brownie!  I found this excellent recipe called Tribute-To-Katherine-Hepburn Brownies in Baking: From My House to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.  (It was only after I read ‘What Would Audrey Do?‘ that I actually learned that Audrey and Katherine Hepburn were not related at all, as Im sure many people pondered once before. And as you know, I love Tiffany’s and Audrey very much!)

Tribute-To-Katherine-Hepburn Brownies ( Baking: From My House to Yours. Dorie Greenspan)

After Katharine Hepburn died, eulogies came from every quarter, many including stories about her brownies. In an article sent to me by my friend Bon Appetit editor in chief Barbara Fairchild, Heather Henderson of St. Paul, Minnesota, recalled wanting to quit her studies at Bryn Mawr. Her father managed to get Miss Hepburn, a Bryn Mawr alum and a neighbor, to intervene. The famous Kate invited both the young woman and her father to her home one afternoon. At tea, Ms. Henderson got a taste of the legendary brownies as well as of the actress’s views on education.

In her tribute to the actress, Ms. Henderson wrote, “I’ll always be grateful to Miss Hepburn for making me stick it out at Bryn Mawr and for giving me these rules to live by: 1. Never quit; 2. Be yourself and 3. Don’t put too much flour in your brownies.”

This recipe is a play on the one Miss Hepburn is reported to have used. Since a quick search through my cookbooks uncovered two other brownie recipes credited to Kate, and each was different, I decided it would be fine to add my own little touches. I’ve kept the essence of Miss Hepburn’s recipe — these are thin, soft, very chocolaty brownies made without much flour — but I’ve added a little cinnamon, some coffee and a quarter-pound of chopped fine-quality chocolate. Since the chocolate doesn’t firm up much in baking, it makes a soft, gooey brownie even softer and gooier and, to my way of thinking, even yummier. I think Miss Hepburn would approve.

Makes 16  2 inch x 2 inch brownies

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons finely ground instant coffee
• 2 large eggs, preferably at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup broken or chopped walnuts or pecans
• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

GETTING READY: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Butter an 8-inch square baking pan and line the bottom with parchment or wax paper. Butter the paper, dust the inside of the pan with flour and tap out the excess. Place the pan on a baking sheet.

Whisk the flour, cinnamon, if you’re using it, and salt together.

Put the butter in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan and place the pan over low heat. When the butter starts to melt, sift the cocoa over it and add the instant coffee. Continue to cook, stirring, until the butter is melted and the cocoa and coffee are blended into it. Remove from the heat and cool for about 3 minutes.

Using a whisk or a rubber spatula, beat the eggs into the saucepan one at a time. Next, stir in the sugar and vanilla (don’t beat anything too vigorously — you don’t want to add air to the batter), followed by the dry ingredients, nuts and chopped chocolate. Scrape the batter into the pan.

Bake for 30 minutes, at which point the brownies will still be gooey but the top will have a dry papery crust. Transfer the pan to a rack and let the brownies cool for at least 30 minutes. (You can wait longer, if you’d like.) Turn the brownies out onto a rack, peel away the paper and invert onto a cutting board. Cool completely before cutting into 16 squares, each roughly 2 inches on a side.

*I used a pizza cutter to cut them, it works really well!

SERVING: These are happy being served in all the typical ways — with whipped cream, ice cream or Hot Fudge Sauce or paired with a glass of milk to allow for dunking. I think they are best at room temperature, when they are at their moistest, but they are also very good chilled.

STORING: Wrapped well, the brownies will keep for 3 days at room temperature or frozen for up to 2 months.

Enjoy!

I love the Martha website, and I visit it often for ideas and inspiration. I love checking out the cookie of the day! I found this weeks cookie of the day, Nov. 2nd, ”Cowboy Cookies” and it looked de-licous! I have been wanting to make it since Sunday!..But I thought I would wait a day or so after eating so many chocolates leftover from Halloween! I also happened to have all the ingredients on hand..so that was a plus! These weren’t too sweet so they were just right after the weekend. I would recommend you whip up a batch for your cowboys! (and cowgirls!)

The little cowboy hat was the added touch! Jordan bought me a necklace that came in this little cowboy hat jewelry box for a Christmas present when we first stared dating! I added some ribbon to it for the photo =)

Try these! And you’ll be sure to roundup a group of hungry people!

From the Martha Stewart Living: Cookie of the Day

Makes about 5 dozen ( I didn’t even come close to 5 dozen..so unless you make them really tiny don’t think it will get this many cookies!)

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup light-brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, cut into 1/4-inch chunks (1 cup)
• 3 ounces (3/4 cup) pecan halves
• 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

I also added some Raisins.. to trick me into thinking their healthy! I also used about 2 tbsp. apple sauce as I didn’t have quite enough butter. These are yummy!