Edible nostalgia.

I stole that title from Williams-Sonoma. Ever since I came across this article in the New York Times about whoopie pies, I have been intrigued and excited to try the recipe out--though for whatever reason it took me a little while to get to it. I don't know what it was about whoopie pies that drew me in, perhaps the idea of going back to something simpler or being reminded of other frosting-filled chocolate cake snacks from childhood (Ding-dongs? Ho Hos?). But these are nice, round mounds of chocolate cake with a marshmallowy filling, and with a history that some say dates back to the Great Depression.

However they came about, they seem to be making a comeback in some circles, and they are a cute and uncomplicated alternative to the ubiquitous cupcake--maybe a little less extravagant (appropriate for these tough times) and certainly just as tasty.

I recently had a friend over for dinner to catch up on what's been going on her life, and she wanted to bake something chocolaty. I took up the opportunity to try out the recipe, and it provided for the perfect bonding experience. Baking with a friend (or even someone who's not yet a friend?) always makes for a great experience to share--there's something about creating something together.


The cakes turned out delicious, though they weren't quite perfect round mounds, and most came out as kind of deformed blobs of chocolate cake (my pictures tend to focus on the prettier ones). Instead of making the traditional marshmallow fluff filling, we made a basic buttercream frosting which was still gratifying. I've tried making it again, in hopes of making them nice and round, but yet again, to no avail--in addition to over-whipping the egg whites for the filling only to have it deflate later. I think I'm resigning myself to imperfection on this one in terms of "looks", but I'd like to think the imperfection adds to its old world charm.


Whoopie Pies
Adapted from the New York Times
Makes about 6 pies

For the cakes:

Preheat the oven to 350F degress and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

1. Cream together in a mixing bowl:
- 1/2 cup (or 1 stick) of butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup brown sugar

2. Add to the butter mixture, mixing on medium:
- 1 large egg
- 1 t. vanilla extract

3. Whisk together in another bowl:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa
- 1-1/4 t. baking soda
- 1 t. sea salt

4. Add to the butter mixture, alternating in 3 parts, combining well:
- flour mixture from #2
- 1 cup buttermilk

5. Create 12 mounds of batter on the baking sheets, each about 1/4 cup of batter, using a spoon or ice cream scoop. Each mound should be about 4 to 5 inches apart.

6. Bake on the middle rack for about 14 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely.

For the filling:

1. Temper the following by filling a saucepan with about 2 inches of water brought to a simmer, and whisking the following in a bowl of a stand mixer (or metal mixing bowl) over the the simmering water until the sugar is dissolved (or temperature reaches 180 degrees)--the mixing bowl should not touch the water:
- 3 large egg whites
- 3/4 cup sugar

2. Remove the mixing bowl from the simmering water, and whisk the egg white mixture on high until it increase in volume and becomes thick and glossy.

3. Reduce mixing speed to medium and add the following:
- 2 sticks butter, at room temperature; adding 1 T. at a time
- 3/4 t. vanilla
- 1/4 t. sea salt

4. Continue mixing until smooth, then increase mixing speed to high for one minute.

To assemble the pies, spread about 1/4 cup of filling on the flat side of one cake mound and place another mound on top, flat side down.

Hope.

I've been trying to get this post out but I've been at the mercy of my fickle internet service, which is back up again this morning (yay!). It's Saturday now but it's been feeling like one long Monday, and not because I couldn't get on line (though that probably didn't help). A long, long, looong Monday, that, now that I think of it, started somewhere last week, actually. It's one of those times when life just, well, sucks the life out of you. And Spring seems to have taken its own vacation around here and the clouds have rolled in again--perhaps somewhat appropriately. I really did have grand plans for this post, like cute little stories from my childhood and reflections on the joy of youth--you know, something terribly profound and thought-provoking, but I've lost the inspiration even before I've begun so maybe another time will do but not today.

The highlight in my long "Monday", though, was that I managed to do one of my favorite things on a Saturday morning this last weekend, and that was to go to the local farmers' market. Farmers' markets are really the place to be for a weekend morning, to leisurely stroll along the vendor stands and watch people with baby strollers and reusable shopping bags, as they mull around the organic produce laid out in crates and boxes. Gone is any affectation, replaced by a little more sincerity. I usually go not really with a shopping list in mind, but just to see what's in season and what looks enticing and to people watch or spend quality time with a friend, but this time, I had purpose: I was going to buy a plant for my new apartment. I have never bought a plant, never had any inclinations toward cultivating a green thumb, but decided I needed one just to brighten up my place and make it more homey and welcoming. But I didn't know what to get ("a wise bowl of sage"? maybe too clever...only at a farmers' market), so instead I saw a table of lovely, fresh strawberries beckoning, and I could not resist. Instead of a plant, I came home with the lovely strawberries, which then later turned into some not-nearly-as-lovely-but-they'll-do strawberry cupcakes (I found the recipe at pickycook.com; I didn't get enough air into the butter so they baked up a little heavy and my frosting didn't come out so smooth, but the taste, it was what you would think a fresh Spring day would taste like if you could put it into a cupcake...mmm).

And my mission to get a plant? I got daffodils from Trader Joe's that were so cute when I first picked them up it was enough to dispel any blues momentarily, but they have only since wilted considerably, in just a matter of days. What could I have done wrong? I watered it faithfully, put it by the window for light, and all I can think of that was that maybe, just maybe, I didn't talk to it enough--or at all. My very first plant ever and I have already almost killed it in record time. Another thing to chalk up to the blues. But tomorrow is Easter Sunday, and that is always a marker of hope.

Strawberry cupcakes
Adapted from the recipe at pickycook.com (thank you Picky Cook!)
Makes about a dozen

For the cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 350F and line the cupcake tin.

1. Puree in a food processor or blender:
- 1 cup of fresh or frozen strawberries (hulled) (there will be extra for the frosting)

2. Whisk together with a wire whisk:
- 1-1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 t. baking powder
- 1/4 t. kosher salt

3. In a cup, combine:
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1-1/2 t. vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup strawberry puree from #1

4. Cream together in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy:
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup of sugar

5. Add to the mixing bowl and mix to combine:
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 2 large egg whites, at room temperature

6. Mix into the butter and egg mixture from #5 on low: the flour mixture from #2 and the milk and strawberry puree from #3, alternating between each but beginning and ending with the flour mixture.

7. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan for about 5 minutes, then cool on a rack completely.

For the frosting:

1. In a mixing bowl, using the paddle attachment, cream:
- 2 sticks (or 1 cup) of butter

2. Mix in, until smooth:
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 t. salt
- 1 t. vanilla
- 1/3 cup strawberry puree

Think green.

I think green is my favorite color. I "think" because it kind of depends on what mood I'm in too, like when I want fun shoes or in choosing my stand mixer, I like red, or when I want a bright top, I sometimes like orange, but only if I'm wearing it with jeans, otherwise pink sometimes does the trick. And then there are M&Ms. I don't eat them often, but if I have them, usually they're in my trail mix and I only eat the green ones, but if I'm in the mood for more chocolate, I'll eat the orange ones, too. Green seems to be the color I always come back to. The color just speaks fresh, calm, and clean.

These days, or maybe it's always been the case, green also represents the color of environmental responsibility. I have some friends, a couple, who decided to take steps beyond putting plastic bottles in recycling bins, and started their own compost in their backyard. It was the first time I'd known someone personally to do something like that. Sometimes I think that what little I do won't make a difference, but they showed me that even if there is only the hope that every little thing can count, and if we can do something, then why not?

I helped throw a baby shower for these friends this past weekend, and how appropriately, though probably not intentionally, they chose the baby shower theme color to be a moss green. Since I was baking cupcakes for the shower, I was trying to think of a flavor that would work with the color, so I came up with lime cupcakes! Kiwi just didn't seem right, but lime was more feasible. I don't see lime as a cake or cupcake flavor very often, or at all, but if lemon is a popular flavor, then why not lime? Using a recipe for yellow cupcakes from The New Best Recipe, which has great recipes for every course of a meal, I added lime zest and lime juice, and they turned out wonderful! And for the frosting, instead of the cream cheese frosting which is often used on lemon cupcakes, I wanted a fluffier and softer texture, so I made a lime curd and mixed it with whipped cream. I have extra frosting in my freezer now, which tastes amazing on its own, like a mousse!

I can't claim that these cupcakes are environmentally friendly, but when you read the instructions on how to make the cupcake portion, you'll see that you don't waste much effort. The cupcakes come out pretty close to perfect even if all you do is throw all the ingredients together in the bowl and mix! Unfortunately, when I made these for the shower, I forgot to add the baking powder for half of them, so they didn't rise and were dense! It was late, and I served them anyway, and some guests thought they were meant to be like that!


Lime Cupcakes
Adapted from The New Best Recipe
Makes about one dozen

1 stick or 1/2 cup of unsalted butter, softened
1-1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1-1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 large egg, plus 2 large egg yolks, room temperature
1/2 t. vanilla
The zest and juice of one regular lime (not key limes, which are small; if using key limes, use 2 or 3)

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees, and line the cupcake pan with liners.

Cream the butter in a bowl using a mixer on low to medium speed. Once light and fluffy, add all other ingredients and mix together until combined and smooth.

If this last step seems too risky, cream the butter with the sugar, then combine all the wet ingredients (buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, lime juice and zest) and mix together. In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt), then add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until the batter is smooth.

Divide the batter equally among the cupcake wells in the cupcake pan, and bake on the middle rack for about 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then cool the cupcakes on a cooling rack.

Lime Curd Whipped Cream Frosting
Adapted from epicurious.com

For the lime curd:
3 large eggs
1/2 cup of sugar
the zest and juice of 2 regular limes (about 1/4 cup of juice)
3/4 stick of butter, cubed

For the whipped cream:
1/2 cup of heavy cream
1/2 cup of powdered sugar
green food coloring (optional)

In a saucepan whisk the eggs, sugar, lime juice and lime zest together. Over low heat, add the butter and continue to whisk the mixture. Continue doing so until it thickens and begins to bubble. You can increase the heat gradually if the mixture does not thicken. Once you can see whisk marks in the curd, remove the saucepan from heat and pour the curd through a sieve if it's a little lumpy. Allow the curd to cool and refrigerate the curd in a covered container until chilled (I did this overnight).

When ready to make the frosting, beat the heavy cream and powdered sugar with the whisk attachment on high until stiff peaks form. Add a little green food coloring just enough to tint the frosting (a couple of drops if using liquid), and fold in about 1/4 cup of the lime curd, then add another 1/4 cup (you'll have leftover lime curd). Chill the frosting to allow it to set. Frost the cooled cupcakes with a spatula or piping bag.

A little zing.

I'm still on my vegetable kick this week. I know I put you through that whole thing on Swiss chard last week, but this time will be different--we're back to cupcakes! It's always been interesting to me how someone could have come up with the idea of putting a vegetable into a cake. I read somewhere that it was a ploy to get kids to eat more vegetables. Whatever the case, it works, and our topic du jour involves the zucchini!

To be honest, the zucchini is not really a personal favorite. The best thing about the zucchini is the crisp outside, but when cooked, it's mostly mushy and can be a little blah in flavor (in my opinion). Usually, when served as a side dish, steamed or sauteed, it seems to require a lot of salt and pepper to compensate for the blandness. I tried reading up on the zucchini to try to appreciate it a little more, and I learned from Wikipedia that the zucchini is the "swollen ovary of the female zucchini flower". Hm...think about that the next time you have some. All said, my relationship with zucchini is a little ambivalent. (So far, I'm not doing a good job of promoting the zucchini, am I.)

Zucchini cupcakes (and zucchini bread) are a whole other story, however. I was originally looking for something kind of different and unique to make for a friend's birthday, and I came across this zucchini cupcake recipe from Epicurious.com, which included honey, crystallized ginger and orange zest. Perfect. The flavor combination looked intriguing, and it didn't involve a lot of guilt (anything with zucchini must not be that guilty). Also, one of my favorite things about this recipe is grating the zucchini. Yeah, I know, a little weird. Zucchinis are firm, but not hard (like carrots! I generally avoid grating carrots by hand if I can) making the grating process nearly effortless and sort of therapeutic (repetitive, mindless motions get me into a zone).

The original recipe calls for coarsely grated zucchini, and when I made it the first time, the cupcakes seemed a little hearty but turned out really moist, with a nice subtle ginger and citrus zing. I made this recipe again last week, grating the zucchini more finely and baked it up as a loaf (I didn't care so much about presentation this time around--I planned on eating most of it). It turned out a little drier (just a little)--could it be a product of how finely I grated the zucchini? Or maybe because it was a loaf instead of individual cupcakes? Nonetheless, I offered to give some of the zucchini loaf to another friend to try, but it didn't quite make it to her. (I'll make this again for her another time.)

Zucchini Ginger Cupcakes
(adapted from Epicurious.com)
Makes about a dozen cupcakes or one 9" loaf

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 t. ground ginger
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. finely grated fresh orange zest
1/3 cup coarsely chopped crystallized ginger (or chop more finely, as preferred)
1 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder

3/4 cup vegetable or mild olive oil
3/4 cup mild honey (I've also used brown sugar instead)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 t. vanilla
2 cups grated zucchini (about 2 medium zucchinis)

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees and line the cupcake pan or grease the loaf pan.

In a bowl, use a wire whisk to combine the dry ingredients (not including the brown sugar, if using). In a separate bowl, whisk the oil, honey or brown sugar, eggs, vanilla and zucchini until just combined. Mix in the flour mixture on low or by hand.

Pour the batter into the cupcake pan or the loaf pan and place on it the middle or upper third rack in the oven. The cupcakes take about 20-25 minutes to bake, or 45-50 minutes if using a loaf pan. Allow to cool in the pan for about 5 to 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool on a cooling rack.

If you're making cupcakes, you can use the following cream cheese frosting recipe, which adds a little more verve!

Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 T. unsalted butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. finely grated fresh orange zest

Cream the cream cheese and butter together in a mixer on medium until fluffy. Add the remaining ingredients and continue mixing. If the frosting is too thick, you can also add a teaspoon of milk at a time to soften it.

Warm and fuzzy.

Autumn is my favorite season of the year. I like Springtime, too. But there is something about the fall, when the air is crisp and the leaves change colors. I made a trip to the Boston/New England area a couple of years back in October, that was simply breathtaking (I felt like I had stepped into Little Women). Where I live now is nothing like it, but in contrast to where I grew up (the cosmopolitan, concrete-laden Los Angeles), watching the trees--real leafy trees, not palm trees--around my neighborhood turn red, orange and yellow is still beautiful to me. Autumn also means the holidays are nearing! Maybe they are too commercial (after all, one of the most anticipated events right after Thanksgiving is Black Friday), but there's something to be said about time set aside to spend with the people you love (even if some of them may drive you crazy at times, as family often does) if for no other reason than to share a meal and to try to remember that we still have much to be thankful for (because it is so amazingly easy to forget).

When I think about food for the holidays, I think about foods that make me feel warm and cheerful. That usually includes things like pumpkin pie (love the pumpkin pie), sweet potatoes, gingerbread, chocolate anything and my mom’s cooking (she is an incredible cook). While not a conventional Thanksgiving dessert—no pumpkin involved—carrot cupcakes have risen to that level for me. I’m referring specifically to the carrot cake recipe from Sherry Yard's The Secrets of Baking (another birthday gift!), which uses brown butter to give it a complex nutty flavor. I first attempted this recipe about two months ago, and cannot stop making them (I just made a batch using carrots and coconut the other day after work to put in the freezer so I could have them whenever I want). The brown butter gives the carrot cake a sort of vitality that holds its own even if additional traditional "fillers" (e.g. walnuts, raisins) aren't on hand. Carrot cupcakes may not be a traditional Thanksgiving dessert, but it's always an American favorite according to Sherry Yard, and I think they could still be a nice way to finish off a turkey dinner. I've adapted the original recipe here for cupcakes and to make the recipe a little less complicated. (Side note on Sherry Yard's book: my favorite pastry cookbook I’ve come across so far; she goes into the chemistry of baking to help you understand techniques and their purposes, and it's organized in such a way for you to mix and match recipes to spur your creativity—very educational).

First, on browning butter: melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until it turns light brown (kind of obvious, I know). During the process, the butter will foam and bubble, and the fat solids will start to turn colors so you'll have darkened bits of butter in the pan. Be careful, though, it quickly goes from brown to black (this happened to me the first time I tried it--I stepped away for less than a minute and the next thing I knew, all the bits were black. Black butter is more bitter and may have different uses, but we're not going for that here). For the carrot cupcake recipe below, let the brown butter cool to about room temperature--don't refrigerate it so it'll remain in a liquid state.


Carrot Cupcakes
(adapted from "Carrot Cake" in The Secrets of Baking by Sherry Yard)
Makes approximately 18 cupcakes

1/2 cup all purpose flour (sifted)*
1/2 cup whole wheat flour (sifted)*
1/2 cup almond flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup regular granulated white sugar
3 large eggs at room temperature
1 T. vanilla extract
1/2 pound (or 2 sticks) unsalted butter*, browned (still liquid and including bits that may be stuck to the pan)
2 cups grated carrots
Optional additional ingredients: walnuts, coconut, raisins (or anything else you’d like; about 1 cup of each, if using)

- Preheat the oven to 350F degrees, and line the cupcake pan.
- Sift the all purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, almond flour, baking powder and baking soda into a mixing bowl. Use a whisk to combine.
- In another bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla, and whisk together by hand.
- On low speed, using the paddle attachment if you have a stand mixer, add the egg and sugar mixture to the flour mixture. Once incorporated, mix on medium for about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Returning the speed to low, gently pour in the brown butter. Once the butter has been incorporated, scrape down the sides of the bowl, then turn the mixer to high for about 2 to 3 minutes (mixing on high will help incorporate more air into the batter).
- Gently fold in the carrots and any additional ingredients by hand, using a wire whisk or with a spatula.
- Pour the batter into the cupcake pan, filling each well almost full but not up to the rim, about 3/4 of the way.
- Bake the cupcakes for about 20 to 25 minutes, and use a toothpick to check for readiness. Cupcakes are ready when the toothpick comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes in the pan for a couple of minutes, then transfer them to a rack to cool completely.

*Recipe notes:
- The original recipe called for 1 cup of all-purpose flour, but I try to make some of my baked goods a little healthier so I use 1/2 cup of wheat flour--which also adds to the nutty flavor, in my opinion.
- You can substitute applesauce for butter to reduce the fat content, but at most, use 1/2 cup of applesauce and 1 1/2 cups of butter (to total the 2 cups called for). Also, if using applesauce, incorporate the applesauce before adding the brown butter; and I recommend refrigerating the batter for about an hour before baking--the cupcakes bake up more rounded and won't spread as much.

You can use an icing or cream cheese frosting to top the carrot cupcakes off. After trying both, I prefer the cream cheese frosting for both taste and presentation.

Cream Cheese Frosting

When it comes to making frosting, I almost never do the same thing twice because I add ingredients as I make it to get to the consistency I like, which is usually on the softer side. As you can see from the picture, I made the frosting too soft this time. This is an approximation of what I do for cream cheese frostings:

5 T. butter at room temperature
2 8 oz. packages of cream cheese
2 t. vanilla
1 T. grated orange zest (optional)
2 to 3 cups powdered sugar (depending on desired consistency)
(If the frosting is too thick, sometimes I’ll add orange juice, one teaspoon at a time, as necessary)

Cream the butter on medium speed, scrape down the bowl, then add the rest of the ingredients and whip on medium until fluffy. This should be enough to frost more than 18 cupcakes generously.