I made these this week and they would be great for an Easter dinner. They’re sort of like a bird’s nest cookie, except inside out. I filled them with homemade lemon curd, topped with a cream cheese buttercream and sprinkled with toasted coconut.

We’re away with some of my family at Osoyoos lake for the weekend – it was 18 degrees today. Definitely felt like summer. We walked into town for a couple hours and had lunch at a cafe, and walked back. We were out in the sun long enough to get a little bit red.

I’m really loving this warm and sunny Easter.

Hope everyone has a lovely Easter weekend with family and friends. I’ll definitely be enjoying it before school begins again on Tuesday. I am also lucky enough to be going to the Rihanna concert Monday night – should be interesting.

You will need:

24  of your favourite Vanilla Cupcakes – baked and cooled.

Toasted Coconut:

To toast coconut place pan on medium heat, add ½ cup medium unsweetened coconut to the pan and allow to heat. Once fragrant, sift around coconut continually for 5 minutes until lightly browned and toasted.

Remove from heat and place in dish to cool.

Lemon Curd:

• 3 large eggs
• 1/3 cup sugar
• Grated zest of 1 (one) lemon
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 6 tablespoons butter cut into small pieces (3/4 stick)

Directions:

1. Whisk together eggs, sugar and lemon zest in medium saucepan until light in colour.
2. Add lemon juice and butter
3. Cook, whisking over medium heat until the butter is melted. Then whisk constantly until the mixture is thickened and simmers gently for a few seconds.
4. Place a medium mesh-sieve over a bowl and scrape the filling using a spatula into it. Strain the filling into the bowl.
5. Let cool, cover with plastic wrap and push against the curd, so you do not have a film, and refrigerate to thicken.

 To assemble cupcakes:

Using a small knife, cut a circle at a diagonal into the top center of the cooled cupcake. Make sure not to cut too far down, you still want a bottom to your cupcake. Take out the ‘core’ and cut off the excess and reserve the ‘cork’ to replace on to the cupcake.

Using a small spoon, fill the center of the cupcake and replace top ‘cork’ to cover.

Buttercream:

• 3 sticks of unsalted butter (1 ½ cups), room temperature
• ¼ cup cream cheese, softened
• 4 cups sifted icing sugar

1. Cream butter in stand mixer with whisk attachment for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy. Scrape down sides.
2. Add sifted icing sugar ½ cup at a time and whip well. Scrape down sides as needed between adding more.
3. Once all icing sugar is incorporated, add in the ¼ up of cream cheese. Whip again until well incorporated.
4. Pipe onto cupcakes and then sprinkle with toasted coconut.

I have 5 days left in this country – and Summer has finally decided to stick around. We had to endure a rather unruly June, but July has been quite nice. I have been told I’m not really allowed to complain, however, as I am going to Europe for a month. Where the weather looks like this:

Believe me, I will not be complaining.

That is, until it is so unbearably hot and humid that I can’t sleep through the night. Who can stand sleeping in anything when it is THIS hot. Adam and I have shrugged off our duvet cover each night, and even having a thin bed sheet on top is too much. Each morning I wake up in a tangle of bed sheets and the duvet half on the ground. I find I toss and turn more in the heat.

I remember my mom telling me that when she took my brother to Italy when he was a baby, they would let him run around naked indoors because it was too hot. I can’t imagine a baby in that heat! At least I know i’ll be well hydrated, because I will be hooking an IV of fluid up to myself in the form of a straw – and some Pellegrino.

Tonight we also had Adam’s baseball BBQ and game – it was great until my allergies began to act up. Thankfully my current bed partner (Adam) doesn’t mind crawling in bed with a girl covered in a face mask and a lovely nose strip (thank you Breathe Right)  It’s the only thing that will do the job right now. Along with allergy medicine, nose spray, and an Advil decongestant. I really hope my future children do NOT inherit my allergies. Summer’s really suck with them.

On another note..

Berry season is in full swing – delicious local berries are readily available as we make our way through the seasonal peaks. Strawberry season is almost over – but there is still plenty of time left to go and pick some (I believe end of July is the finish). Unfortunately we haven’t been able to hit up many U-Pick farms, due to the fact we’re moving, packing, and (I’m) leaving the country later this week. However, last year we did visit Krause Berry Farms in Langley, and loved it - Their welcome sign is, after all, a giant strawberry.

They provide all the info for each berry season and schedule. If you have a free weekend I suggest visiting them, the farm and cafe are awesome – corn pizza, fresh fruit smoothies, milkshakes, sky high pies, and mini donuts! You can also buy frozen foods and bring them home with you! You can read about my older post and visit to Krause Berry Farms here.

I made these strawberry cupcakes for our blogger picnic a few weekends ago – they are perfectly light and refreshing without being overly sweet.

I picked up the cute mini purple cupcake stand from our visit to Steveston the weekend before from a store called Serenity Home Decor. They have lots of unique and adorable gifts, cupcake related items, baking, novelty etc. Definitely worth a stroll through.

Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes 

You will need:

24 baked and cooled yellow cupcakes

one batch of Swiss Meringue Buttercream

local, fresh strawberries, washed & sliced (reserve smaller strawberries for decoration)

Fresh Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Ingredients:

5 large egg whites

1 cup sugar

3 sticks butter, chilled, cut into cubes

Directions: 

Add washed, sliced strawberries (about 3/4 cup) to a food processor, and pulse for a few minutes until pureed. Do not drain, or add sugar. I like to leave the seeds instead of draining it like a coulis and heating it up – leave it fresh and un-cooked. Set aside.

In a metal mixing bowl, preferably from your stand mixer, place over a pot of simmering water, not boiling. Add sugar and egg whites. Be sure there is no yolk or oil in the egg whites, they will not whip properly otherwise.

Whisk constantly, until thermometer reads between 140-160 degrees F. If you do not have a thermometer, heat until sugar is completely dissolved and the egg whites are hot. This takes about 7-10 minutes.

Transfer metal bowl back to stand mixer, with whisk attachment and whip until the egg whites are thick and glossy and cool. The bowl itself should be cool to the touch, again this takes about 7-10 minutes on high.

Once the glossy thick texture is achieved, switch to a paddle attachment, and on medium add the chilled cubes of butter, one at a time, until fully incorporated.

The texture will begin to change, to a heavier, silky texture. It may look curdled, but continue to mix and it will become smooth once again. This time my butter was a bit too warm, and my frosting was curdling and soupy. I place it in the fridge for 15 minutes, added a couple more pieces of chilled butter and began to whip again. It became smooth once again.

Pour in the pureed strawberries, and whip for a moment to blend completely. No artificial colouring needed here – all natural baby.

Using a star tip, pipe strawberry buttercream onto cupcakes. Slice reserved smaller berries, dried/wiped dry, and place on top.

These cupcakes are best eaten the same day – but are ok to be stored in the refrigerator for a day or two at most. Allow to come to room temperature before serving.

 These would be perfect for a summer picnic, a bridal shower, baby shower, or summer BBQ as a light and tasty tag-along dessert. You can most certainly swap out Strawberries for other berries as well.

Enjoy your summer =) Any plans??  I suggest visiting a U-Pick Berry Farm! Blueberries, Strawberries, Raspberries!

FINALLY.

The sun has graced us with it’s presence in Vancouver.

After a long weekend, rather a very long month, of rain it appears that Summer has officially arrived. I woke up this morning with a glimmer of light shining through the blinds. There are a few clouds in the sky, but there are giant pockets of blue sky that we have not seen in some time now.

This morning I’m baking a carrot cake for a family dinner tonight with Adam’s family, his aunt and uncle are visiting from out of town. I made a three layer, and one of the layers got stuck in the pan. I’ll just piece it back together with frosting later. There’s nothing more cream cheese frosting can’t fix.

At this very moment our house is a mess. I usually can’t stand it when everything is all over the place, and have to clean up asap. But right now, I’m packing for my trip (any travel advice?? tips for packing??), and for the house move. So, our condo looks a little like an episode of hoarders. I did manage to vacuum this morning, because I really can’t stand walking on bits and pieces of things. I also may have spilled some sugar in the kitchen. Walking on sugar is a pet peeve. Can anyone relate?

We’ve already packed a lot of boxes, and now we’re on the constant search of boxes. We’re frequently asking at grocery stores when we’re shopping. Produce boxes are great, because the fruit packaging helps insulate and protect things like dishes and serving ware.

These cupcakes are part of my ‘summer cupcake series.’ Another summer staple besides Watermelon, are drumsticks. I remember walking to the corner store when I was younger and getting a Drumstick. Last week we were at my Zia’s for dinner and my little twin cousins were eating drumsticks, one Strawberry Vanilla, and one original with Caramel. The cupcakes are vanilla, stuffed with Caramel like in the cones, topped with vanilla swiss meringue like the ‘vanilla ice cream,’ dipped in chocolate and topped in peanuts, just like the real thing. They are also sort of like a Dairy Queen Peanut Buster Bar – which are equally delicious. Though I think I would need a different caramel, a stickier, harder caramel unlike this one, which is more liquid.

I refrigerated them to allow the chocolate to harden, and I had to ‘taste test’ one, and they are actually quite good cold. I love anything crunchy, and the crunch of chocolate and peanuts is perfect. Although I was paying for it later, due to my peanut/wheat allergy :S
I gave these away to a friend, and to my mom. She likes to microwave hers for a few seconds as well.

Do you have any nostalgic summertime treats?

Drumstick Cupcakes

You will need:

24 vanilla cupcakes, baked and cooled.

-Caramel sauce, I used the pre-made in the squeeze bottle, for extra convenience
-1/2 cup chocolate chips, baking chocolate, melted and slightly cooled
-1/2 cup peanuts, chopped

Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Ingredients:

5 large egg whites

1 cup sugar

3 sticks butter, chilled, cut into cubes

Directions: 

In a metal mixing bowl, preferably from your stand mixer, place over a pot of simmering water, not boiling. Add sugar and egg whites. Be sure there is no yolk or oil in the egg whites, they will not whip properly otherwise.

Whisk constantly, until thermometer reads between 140-160 degrees F. If you do not have a thermometer, heat until sugar is completely dissolved and the egg whites are hot. This takes about 7-10 minutes.

Transfer metal bowl back to stand mixer, with whisk attachment and whip until the egg whites are thick and glossy and cool. The bowl itself should be cool to the touch, again this takes about 7-10 minutes on high.

Once the glossy thick texture is achieved, switch to a paddle attachment, and on medium add the chilled cubes of butter, one at a time, until fully incorporated.

The texture will begin to change, to a heavier, silky texture. It may look curdled, but continue to mix and it will become smooth once again. This time my butter was a bit too warm, and my frosting was curdling and soupy. I place it in the fridge for 15 minutes, added a couple more pieces of chilled butter and began to whip again. It became smooth once again.

To Assemble:

Using an apple corer, or a knife, cut a circle in the middle of the cupcake, and fill with caramel. Replace a bit of the core of the cupcake back on top to ‘seal’ the cupcake and caramel.

Pipe, using a large open tip, vanilla frosting onto cupcakes. You want them sort of rounded, so I just make mine regularly, and once you cover them in chocolate you sort of round them out.

After you pipe each cupcake, place in freezer to chill for a few minutes.

Once cupcakes are chilled, dip into chocolate, you can reference this post here  and sort of press the icing into the chocolate to round it out. Once it is fully covered let excess chocolate drip off, and immediately sprinkle chopped peanuts on top. Place into fridge to harden.

Repeat with remaining cupcakes. Chill in fridge until chocolate has hardened. Serve room temperature or chilled. Can be kept in fridge for up to three days.

Happy summer!

{And if you want a little more caramel… }