Thai Iced Tea Cupcakes

This is a batch of cupcakes I've been dying to post: Thai Iced Tea Cupcakes.  I've had the idea for quite a while, but no drive to make them until my girlfriend's birthday came up. She loves iced Thai tea (personally, I'm a Thai iced coffee kind of girl) and I love making treats for people I care about. The search commenced for a confectionery version of this tasty beverage. 

In my search across the vast internet, recipes for this flavor are few and far between.  So. I decided to take a crack at it and crossed my fingers.

The result was this lovely cupcake. I truly hope that you like it as much as we did. 

Thai tea is made from strongly brewed black tea mixed with other spices such as crushed tamarind, star anise, cardamom, etc. Condensed milk or sugar is used to to sweeten things up and topped with heavy cream or some other rich form of milk. The most distinct attribute is the rich amber color.

To ensure the flavor was not obstructed, I went with my go-to white cake recipe and made some modifications. Got to love white cake, it's like working with fresh fallen snow. I used over a cup of brewed thai tea- not the instant stuff either! I randomly selected this one, Hand Brand, while at the global market. Simply follow the directions, but double the amount of tea leaves to make it more potent. Just opening the bag is aromatic!

This cake is super fluffy and moist. The flavor is not overly sweet, it's mild and dreamy.

As for the frosting, it was a difficult toss up. Option 1: a butter cream flavored with more Thai iced tea, or Option 2: condensed milk icing. I really wanted to incorporate condensed milk as that's one of its distinct features. We tried out both. 

Honestly... you cannot go wrong either way.  My recommendation is to use both. You can drizzle the condensed milk frosting on top and let it drape across the cake, or you can use an apple corer to make a well in the center of the cake. Drop a spoonful in the middle to make a sweet surprise center! Give the condensed milk some time to firm up- it's will stop dripping, I promise. Then, top it off with a swirl of the butter cream for a truly beautiful and delicious creation.

Top with beautiful, peach colored sprinkles to really set out that distinct amber color!

In the end, I never got to share these cupcakes with the birthday girl. Instead, I made them for my beloved college room mate's visit to VA this past weekend. She just signed her offer letter and is graduating from the University of Michigan with a PhD in Chemistry. I am SO PROUD of you Asako! You guys have to understand how HARD she worked. It takes one hell of a person to remain so persistent. You truly are amazing hun. 

It was only fitting to add a cute little flag to the victory!

Squirrel from Sofie Skein.

Thai Iced Tea Cupcakes

Cake
2 3/4 cups cake flour
1 1/4 cup brewed thai tea, at room temperature (brew with twice the amount of recommended tea and the optional whole star anise)
6 large egg whites (3/4 cup), at room temperature
1 teaspoon star anise extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar (12 1/4 ounces)
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened but still cool

Glaze (optional)
1/4 cup thai tea, at room temperature

Option 1: Buttercream Frosting

3 cups confections sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon star anise extract
2 tablespoons thai tea, at room temperature
a dash of cardamom

Option 2: Condensed Milk Icing (from Martha Stewart)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
7 ounces of sweetened condensed milk
dash of course salt
3/4 cups confectionery sugar, sifted


Preheat oven to 350. Line 24 cupcake tins. Set rack in middle position.

Pour cooled tea, egg whites, and extracts into 2-cup glass measure, and mix with fork until blended.

Mix cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed. Add butter; continue beating at slow speed until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no powdery streaks remaining.

Add 1/2 of tea mixture to crumbs and beat at medium-high speed for 1 1/2 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup of tea mixture and beat 30 seconds more. Stop mixer and scrape sides of bowl. Return mixer to medium (or high) speed and beat 20 seconds longer.

Fill tins until about 3/4's full. I love using the ice cream scoop for this. Bake until thin skewer or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 17-19 minutes.

Let cakes rest in pans for 3 minutes. Loosen from sides of pans with a knife, if necessary, and invert onto wire racks. Let cool completely.

If you want, you can brush on some extra tea with a baster. 

For the icing, 

For the buttercream frosting, beat the butter until smooth. Add the sugar until well incorporated. Add the extract, spice, and Thai tea.

For the icing, whick together butter, milk, and salt with an electric mixer on medium speed. Whisk in sugar 1/4 cup at a time until combined. Then whisk on high speed until thick and smooth. Use immediately.

Hello Philly, PA!

On the spur of the moment, Mike and I decided to take a one night trip to Philadelphia. Neither of us have ever been there and it was only a 3 hour drive, like going to VA Beach. There's nothing like a new world to explore! We found it to be a crazy mash up of Richmond (for hipsters and art), Baltimore (for the dirty parts), and DC (for the diverse architecture).

The drive went smooth and we arrived at the hotel, in the heart of the city, pumped and ready to go. That's when the receptionist told us Kayak had messed up our reservation: we were booked for the NEXT weekend and there were no more rooms. (&#%)*#)$*#_$ Every other hotel in the city was crazy pricey. We set our sights over the bridge to NJ.

Oh boy.

Driving through Philly is a b*tch. There are a million random ramps and sporadic merges. If you don't know where you are going, take a Xanax before attempting this. Somehow we weaved our way through the city only to arrive at our $70 a night hotel in the middle of nothing NJ. It was really old. and barren. I'm pretty certain there were some prostitution deals going down.

As for fine dining, there was one major institution keeping the area alive: Cherry Hill Mall. I have never seen a mall so massive. The entire highway is dictated by this damn monolith to shopping as there is no break in the guard rail median. If you're going the wrong way, you'll be stuck for several miles. FUN! We settled on something "local".. California Pizza Kitchen.

At this point, all we could do was laugh and return to our luxury suite.

The morning started with a spring in our step and left over pizza for breakfast. We hit the ground running with absolutely no battle plan. Commence the nomad tip!

We parked next to China town, which had plenty of fresh produce and local vendors. It was pretty impressive and unexpected. It was a healthy size and had that "smell" you associate with ethnic markets- that's when you know it's REAL. This is NOT like China town in DC, these people mean business. I wanted to buy every green plant in site.

We had to find the famous LOVE sculpture located in "Love Park" to which we had a good chuckle. I'm sorry... but we were both under the impression that this sculpture was grandiose in size. It's not big. But it does generate one heck of a crowd. Mike tried to wiggle away, but it just wouldn't be right if we didn't take a picture in front of it.

There was the mandatory visit to the museum where Rocky was shot running up the steps. It's just as it sounds like, steps. There is a statue of Rocky and a Rocky impersonator to take pictures with. This statue is in front of the museum, which I couldn't find an explanation. It was an interesting mash up of native American images. There's so much history to the town, I should have read a book on way up or at least wikipedia.

After that, we commenced a hunt for a Philly coffee shop. We lost. All the ones that came up on the internet were not open. Dunkin Donuts- you win. Anybody know any good coffee shops in Philly?? 

We stumbled upon a local art show brought to you by the Philadelphia Art Alliance. It was all modern pieces, with expansive wall displays of ink plots and and books containing symbolic charms. There was a lot of tactical pieces. Inspiration is everywhere. Great job Philadelphia Art Alliance! Keep holding down the art scene.

Of course we wanted to keep it local, so you can imagine the delight when I saw Philly Cupcakes. Doesn't get better than that! The shop was cute and full of pink pink pink! The cupcakes are displayed in large old fashioned cabinets and they have a diverse selection. The cupcake was all right and I did pick up crazy cute cupcake liners that they design.

There was an amazing art store, Utrecht, where we were able to purchase some Montana graffiti cans and tips. Mike thought the only spot you could get these bad boys was New York! Hoooooorayyy!!! Summer is going to be colorful. 

On the main shopping strip, there were a ton boojie shops. The boy had his eye on a shoe spot: UBIQ. His thoughts: "Gorgeous interior. I liked it cuz it took itself, in terms of design very seriously. Up scale much like Gucci and LV stores. But it had that street feel cuz it was still sneakers and anyone who had a slight interest could walk in. Even though it looked pretentious it wasn't, cuz  the culture seems more accessible than a Gucci store. The selection was kinda wack tho. Major had a better selection shoes wise."

From there, the cashier recommended a Burmese restaurant called Rangoon back in the Chinatown district. Neither of us have ever tried Burmese so the idea piqued interest. The restaurant was laid out like your typical Chinese restaurant as was the menu. Our entries were simple and plain, I had fried rice with some shrimp paste in it and chicken. Maybe we just didn't order authentic? The Burmese wontons, however, stuffed with pork, drizzled with sweet coconut and sesame seeds are legit. DELICIOUS! Crisp and sweet.

To end a nutty, nomadic wandering trip, we met up with some acquaintances that break for a little session at Temple university. Much love to our gracious hosts Ookie and Alex. Plus, Sunny gave me a hat to replace the one that fell off my bag while scoping out the city. Let me tell you, these kids are awesome dancers and sweethearts! We were terrified of their slippery dance floor, but it was an honor to dance with 'em. Thanks Philly dance scene!

We will be back this summer for the food market!

Heart Shaped Cinnamon Rolls Overnight!

I've been lying low, taking a break from the kitchen. It was tough, but some things require that kind of focus. I am happy to announce that I passed the Project Management Professional (PMP) exam today! Much love and appreciation for the support from family and friends as I've poured over books and banged my head on the kitchen table every night after work. Special thanks to my love, for keeping me sane and being too good to be true. It feels so good to have my life back. 

These cinnamon buns were made awhile back, for Valentines Day to be precise. The recipe is from Alton Brown and it is fantastic! They are, without a doubt, spot on and one of my favorite roll recipes of all time. I love cinnamon buns!

Granted: it's time consuming. There's a lot of down time as the bread rises so if you're doing it on a work night, start as soon as you walk in the front door. Plus, they need to sit over night which is great for brunch on the weekend. Delicious, soft bread lightly dusted in cinnamon gooey happiness.

The only deviation I made from the original recipe was the glaze. Truth be told... it was simply because I didn't have any cream cheese and was too lazy to go back to the store for more. Instead, I used this banger glaze, touched with coffee and maple syrup. You can never go wrong with coffee.

Oh and did I mention that they're shaped like hearts? Thanks for inspiration Mud Pie Station!

Here's a quick overview of how to make these super cute cinnamon buns! 

First, make the cinnamon bun rolls up to the 2nd point of rising. This is where you usually roll them into rolls. Don't roll them up like rolly pollys! Just roll out the dough just like the recipe says into a 18x12 rectangle. 

Cut the dough right down the middle! Then cut the two halves into slivers of 12 so you should have 24 evenly sliced slivers (as you can tell, I didn't really have time to cut them evenly!). Roll the dough from the outsides in, so they meet right into the middle. 

Pinch the center to form a heart.

Bake as instructed. 

Don't forget the glaze.

Loves!

Mimosa Cake with Champagne Buttercream

A few weeks back, a good friend asked me to make a cake for his girlfriend's birthday. I was super excited that he would trust me to create a cake for the woman he loves! She's a sweet heart and deserved nothing short of fantastic. I immediately began to think of all the cute birthday themes- this cake was going to be stunning! Then my dear friend threw me a curve ball. Two actually.

1. He wanted the flavor to be orange. Not lemon, not chocolate, not vanilla, not red velvet. Orange.
2. Green frosting

Orange flavor, I can muster that. But... green frosting? On a birthday cake? Que est-ce que what? Okay Harold. If that's what you want, that's what you shall get. My sole qualm was it looked more like an Easter cake than anything else. Maybe another shade lighter... I placed my hopes on the candles to do all the talking.

Needless to say, there was a rumble dumble, five minutes it lasted. The first version of this cake was a cheat. I used a box mix (gasp) recipe from allrecipes with some adaptations. As usual, it bit me in the ass. The cake was dry and gross. No way was I going to present that hot mess.

The end result was this twist on my favorite white cake recipe. Why white cake? Because it's a clean slate of flavor and incredibly easy to modify. The cake was moist and evenly flavored, with traces of champagne and orange juice, creating a light mimosa effect. I used my favorite champagne- Asti.

The filling is champagne infused mandarin oranges. I added a layer of orange slices which was a big mistake because it made the cake difficult to frost. See that gap? Hellacious to frost. Lesson learned: smash the oranges and blend in with a bit of frosting. If you want, DOUBLE the amount of oranges. At least the birthday girl really enjoyed the chunks of fruit.

The frosting is from I am Baker because she knows manageable frosting. That little bit of shortening makes all the difference the world. Use her full recipe if you're going to make a lot of designs with the frosting. I halved it because let's face it- 2lbs of powdered sugar is a lot.

The flowers on top were made from store bought fondant. I used a set of cookie/fondant flower shaped cutters in 3 sizes, food glitter, and light green sugar pearls. This was my first time ever making fondant flowers and it was not as difficult as I thought it would be! The hardest part was rolling out the store bought fondant. It was a brick!

To help keep their shape and store them, I used an empty egg container. This tutorial was very helpful. All I did was roll out the fondant, cut multiple sizes of flowers, pushed down the center to make it bud with the back of my paint brush, a dab of generic frosting in the middle, insert sugar pearl, and set in egg container to harden.

It didn't turn out the way I had envisioned, but the flavor was yummy and everybody enjoyed it (so I was told). Happy Birthday Yen! Kiss kiss!

PS Sorry for the mediocre pix- this was a late night job, the following day was work, and it was a fire drill to get out on time. You know how it is.

Mimosa Cake with Champagne Buttercream

frosting from I am Baker

Cake
2 3/4 cups cake flour
1 cup champagne, at room temperature
1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
6 large egg whites (3/4 cup), at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar (12 1/4 ounces)
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened but still cool
1 tablespoon orange zest

Filling
1 15 ounce can mandarin oranges
1/4 cup champagne

Glaze (optional)
A lil more champagne

Frosting
1 lb bag powder sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2- 3 tablespoons champagne
1-2 tablespoon milk

Preheat oven to 350. Spray or butter 2 8x8 square pans.

Take the canned mandarin oranges and drain the juice. Place oranges in bowl and add the champagne. Set aside to let it soak up them juices.

To the cake! Pour champagne, egg whites, orange juice, and extract into 2-cup glass measure, and mix with fork until blended.

Mix cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed. Add butter; continue beating at slow speed until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no powdery streaks remaining.

Add 1/2 cup of champagne mixture to crumbs and beat at medium-high speed for 1 1/2 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 of champagne mixture and beat 30 seconds more. Stop mixer and scrape sides of bowl. Add the orange zest. Return mixer to medium (or high) speed and beat 20 seconds longer. 

Pour into prepared pans and bake for about 23-25 minutes, or until skewer comes out clean. Let cakes rest in pans for 3 minutes. Loosen from sides of pans with a knife, if necessary, and invert onto wire racks. Reinvert onto additional wire racks. Lightly brush a little more champagne as a glaze (optional). Let cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours.

Make the frosting.  Sift the powdered sugar into a mixer with the butter and shortening until smooth. Add the champagne and milk. Taste as you go, adding champagne as desired. Just don't add too much or you'll have a thin, goopy sugar mess. Put a some frosting to the side, about 1/2 cup.

You already soaked the oranges in champagne., now drain them. Smash oranges in a food processor or with a fork to make a paste. Add in that 1/2 cup of frosting and mix until well combined. This will be for the middle of the cake. 

Once the cakes have cooled, frost as you desire. Be sure to level it if you're doing layers. 

Just please... no green food coloring!