Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes

This past Tuesday marked two months of living in Indiana. There are still incredibly disorienting mornings where I wake up expecting to hear the sound of the bugle coming from the army base next to our old apartment. I imagine opening the window and hearing the calm of the Gunpowder River right before I start to make some coffee. Conversely, there are days where it feels like I’ve been in Indianapolis since the dawn of time. This illusion becomes shattered, though, when I try to go grocery shopping and cannot find simple ingredients to save my life – what even is a Kroger? They never have brussel sprouts.

I have come up with one simple philosophy to both help me adjust to a new city and get through the next few years of school: celebrate the little things. I have always been more of a big-picture sort of gal – rarely stopping to appreciate any small steps that I was taking towards a goal. Today’s little cakes are an intentional pause taken to acknowledge a productive week. Further, what I love about baking is that creating the treat is therapeutic in it’s own right, but then you can also invite others to enjoy it and quickly pause with you. That’s the real delicious attempt at building a community that I am here to advocate for.

Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Recipe makes 12 cupcakes – note, photos shown are of a double batch

PSL Cupcake Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup pumpkin* – not pumpkin pie filling!
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/8 teaspoon cloves
• 1/2 cup almond milk (or your favorite milk)
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 4 1/2 teaspoons espresso powder
• brewed coffee or espresso for brushing over the cupcakes once baked (~ 1 cup)

PSL Cupcake Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a large mixing bowl
3. In a separate bowl, add spices to pumpkin and mix
   • I know what you’re thinking – too many spices! What’s the shortcut here? If you don’t have these on hand and don’t feel it necessary to purchase 5 different things, just throw 3 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice in. I won’t tell.
4. In the spicy pumpkin bowl, mix in milk, oil, and espresso powder
5. Slowly combine wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix until you form a smooth batter
6. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until the cupcakes pass the toothpick test
7. Once cakes are baked and cool, brush each with coffee or espresso before frosting

These cakes speak truth to the saying that “muffins are just ugly cupcakes.” My sweet tooth won’t allow me to forgo the frosting, but these would definitely hold their own as a breakfast without being decorated

Cream Cheese Frosting + Decoration

Will frost 12 cupcakes

Frosting Ingredients 

• 8 tablespoons (one stick) butter, softened
• 4 oz (half package) cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• a few splashes of almond milk for consistency

Decoration

• Cinnamon sticks
• Caramel sauce

Frosting Directions

1. Mix together butter and cream cheese
2. Slowly mix in powdered sugar, adding a few splashes of milk as needed to obtain the desired consistency of your frosting
3. Mix in vanilla
4. Frost cupcakes
5. Using a micro-planer or fine cheese grater, add fresh cinnamon from the cinnamon sticks to the tops of the cupcakes. Use leftover sticks as decorations for the cupcakes
6. Finish decorating with a light drizzle of caramel sauce

 

*I always find that I have an awkward amount of pumpkin leftover. Not enough to really bake anything else with, but too much to feel justified in just getting rid of it. In a past life, I used to mix it up with some milk and spices and freeze it in ice cube trays and then blend with some iced coffee for a vegan version of a frozen PSL. In a more recent life, I just feed it to my dog. So, you know, if you were looking for some ideas.

Charlie knows that sharing is caring

Tiramissyou

My wife and I have about a month between finishing up our fellowship work and the big move to Indy. She has spent the past two weeks on a road trip with her best friend, which has been wonderful – but, to all four readers of this blog – I miss her so much. I did take the first week off to spend some much needed time with my family. It was no break, though, as they are very involved with their local animal shelter. They currently have 12 foster kittens that they’re caring for – 6 bottle babies, 4 who are 6 weeks, and 2 who are 12 weeks – and they go to the shelter to help out with the dogs on the side. So I’ll let this blog post also serve as a friendly reminder to please spay and neuter your pets – and, if you’re thinking of breeding them, don’t.

This little rascal, a 2-week-old bottle baby, needs to be fed once every 2 hours

Anyways, while she’s been road trippin’, among my efforts to finish packing, I’ve been working on this recipe for a tiramisu for her birthday to celebrate when she returns home. Kari doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth, but there is one thing that she will always order: the tiramisu at Grano Pasta Bar. This is nothing even close to that, but i’m giving myself an A for effort and thoughtfulness.

This entire endeavor begs the question: are lady fingers the world’s most boring dessert?

I was planning to just grab a package of them, make the fillings and call it a delicious day. But, alas, I could not find lady fingers anywhere. I even trekked to Trader Joe’s on a Sunday, which is a special kind of hell.

Henceforth, this recipe is now also DIY fingers. However, if you can find them, I probably wouldn’t expend the extra effort to make them at home. I made my fingers one day before I assembled the rest of the dessert, which then got to sit overnight in the fridge before eating it. You could definitely make them the same day, but you at least want to give your tiramisu some time to soak up all of the flavors, you know?

Lady Fingers

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup flour

Directions

1. 1. Pre-heat oven to 350ºF
   2. Separate the eggs – whites into one bowl, yolks into another
   3. Beat yolks on high speed with 1/4 cup of sugar, the vanilla, and salt. Once mixed, return the yolky mix to it’s original bowl that you separated the yolks out in
   4. Beat the egg whites on a high speed, slowly adding the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar until peaks form

Mary Berry would approve

1. Add the yolky mix into the peaks and mix on a very low speed
2. Slowly add the flour and continue to mix on a low speed until your batter is fully mixed
3. Place batter in an icing piping bag or ziploc bag and pipe about 3″ long finger-strips. You want to be sure that the cookies are about the same size so they all cook evenly

   

   Mary Berry would not approve

4. Bake for 12-13 minutes

Allow fingers to cool and either immediately use for tiramisu or store up to one week in an air-tight container

They’re going into a stackable dessert – don’t even sweat it if they look like this!

These cookies are so bland that Mabel won’t even eat them

Here’s the thing: Yes, they’re bland. But! We are about to do some layering magic that is going to make them taste amazing. Plus, all of that egg whipping made these little ladies extra porous to soak up so much coffee and rum – yes, I said rum. I know this is supposed to be made with wine. I don’t think I can stand a trip to the liquor store after Trader Joe’s, though. That reminds me – soon we will be able to buy beer (and wine!) in grocery stores! It’s the little things.

Tiramisu

Ingredients

• 5 egg yolks
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 8 oz mascarpone cheese
• 16 oz heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons vanilla
• 4 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon Kahlua
• 3/4 cup espresso
• Cocoa powder for dusting
• the fingers

Directions

1. I started by brewing some espresso. Set aside 3/4 cup in a bowl, place in the fridge for later, and treat yourself to the rest. While you’re in the fridge, go ahead and place an empty mixing bowl in there for your whipped cream later
2. While espresso is brewing, separate 5 eggs. We aren’t going to use the whites, so save them for whatever you feel is up next – super healthy omelette later? That’s between you and your leftovers. We are then going to get a double boil situation set up and gently cook the 5 egg yolks with the sugar. I say situation, because anything that I own that would have been moderately helpful in making this dessert has already been packed away. I can’t understate how genius I think that I am for using pyrex bowls as measuring cups. Cook until slightly frothy and then transfer the mix to a mixing bowl. Place mix in the freezer for 15 minutes for a cool down break

   

   Adapt, overcome

3. While yolky mix is cooling, grab the empty bowl from the fridge and it’s time for whipped cream! Add the cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla and mix on a high speed until peaks form. This dessert is all about the peaks
4. Now get the yolky mix back out of the freezer and we are going to mix it with the mascarpone cheese, 1 tablespoon of Kahlua, and half of the whipped cream in that order, adding ingredients slowly

   

   I want to make crepes filled with this?

5. Time to start assembling into an 8×8 inch pan! First add 3/4 cup Kahlua to the espresso. Dunk the lady fingers and assemble half of them on the bottom of the pan. When I was dunking it wasn’t a quick dunk – these ladies were going for a leisurely, drunken swim

   

   Once they’re covered in that magnificent filling, nobody will remember this monstrosity

6. Once you have this layer down, cover with half of your yolky-whip mix. Repeat fingers, yolky-whip mix, and then finish off with a generous layer of remaining whip and top with a dusting of cocoa powder. Allow to set in the fridge for at least 6 hours before serving

 

 

 

 

Orange Crush Cupcakes

Orange crushes are the quintessential Maryland summer drink: versatile enough for any brunch, BBQ, or gathering of family and friends of any kind. This drink contains vodka, triple sec, seltzer, and fresh squeezed orange juice. This drink also happens to be my favorite.

As I think about leaving my home state in 90 days to begin a PhD program in Indiana, I’ve taken some time to reflect on being a life-long Marylander and all of the things that are a given here (ex: mountains, water, the fact that Mike Pence was never our governor) that won’t necessarily be true in my new, relatively flat, basically land-locked Midwestern home. Do not mistake my sentimentality as being unexcited, I am thrilled about the team that I will be working with and the research that I will be doing. It’s just hard to move from the place you’ve always known and loved, you know?

So I decided to create a recipe to commemorate what I’ve always considered to taste like sunshine, happiness, and memories in a glass. I dedicate this one to you, Maryland. Cheers to old friends and new adventures!

The Orange Crush Cupcake (crush cake?) makes 12

• 2 tablespoons orange zest
• 1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
• 3/4 cup almond milk (or your favorite milk)
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons vodka
• 1 tablespoon triple sec
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon orange extract
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/3 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

You will need two oranges: one for the cakes and one for the glaze

1. Pre-heat oven to 350°F
2. In your mixing bowl, first zest one of your oranges until you have 3 tablespoons of zest
3. Cut the same orange in half and squeeze out the juice into the bowl with the zest. If you have a juicer, then feel free to save yourself some hassle. I squeezed by hand and it felt great to work through some stress. One orange will give you ~1/2 cup of juice
4. Add the milk, oil, egg, alcohols, and extracts to the bowl and mix
5. Add the sugar and mix
6. Add the flour slowly, mixing every 1/3 cup. Making sure to continue mixing until no lumps remain
7. Add baking soda, baking powder, and salt and give your batter one last mix until smooth
8. Add 1/4 cup of batter to lined cupcake pan and bake for 20 minutes 
9. Allow cupcakes to cool before decorating

Orange Crush Glaze – will glaze 12

• 4 tablespoons orange zest
• 1/8 cup butter (softened)
• 1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
• 3/4 tablespoons vodka
• 1/4 tablespoon triple sec
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 tablespoon orange extract

1. Zest orange until you have 4 tablespoons of zest in your mixing bowl
2. Add butter to bowl and mix orange zest, OJ (one half of an orange should give you ~1/4 cup of juice), and alcohol
3. Add powdered sugar slowly, mixing 1/2 cup at a time
4. Add extracts and mix one last time

Remember this is a glaze, so it will be runnier than a buttercreme frosting

5. Add glaze to the top of cooled cupcakes and enjoy. If you’re not eating them right away, I recommend keeping them in the refrigerator until serving so the glaze does not melt

Best served in a sunflower field with Old Bay and a Boh

 

 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcakes

Is anything better than chocolate and peanut butter? Yes, so many things – my wife, NPR, coffee – to name a few. But in the world of desserts, this combination sits at the top of the list. I typically opt for a chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting. Here I present a remixed recipe with peanut butter cake and chocolate frosting.

Peanut butter gets a bad reputation for making desserts dry. These cupcakes are cautious of that possibility by avoiding other ingredients that tend to make desserts too crumbly – like eggs – allowing these little cakes to have a perfect balance of moistness and peanut butter flavor.

Peanut Butter Cupcakes (Makes 24)

• 2 cups almond milk (or your favorite milk)
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter (about 1/2 of an 18 oz jar)
• 2/3 cup canola oil
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

A note: If you don’t have a stand mixer (pictured below), that’s fine! I’ve done this before with a whisk and a mixing bowl and these turned out just as good.

1. Pre-heat oven to 350°F
2. Add apple cider vinegar to milk. Set aside for at least 5 minutes to curdle – homemade buttermilk!
3. Place peanut butter, canola oil, sugar, vanilla, and buttermilk into mixing bowl and mix together.
4. Sift in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to your current mixture and mix until batter is smooth and no lumps remain

   

   Your final batter!

5. Add 1/4 cup of batter to lined cupcake pans 
6. Bake for 23 minutes
7.  Allow cupcakes to cool before frosting

   

   Waiting to decorate is the hardest part

The chocolate frosting was inspired by this Hershey’s spread:

I love all things like this – cookie butter, nutella, dark chocolate peanut butter. If it’s something that you probably shouldn’t be eating out of a jar with a spoon, then I want in. I thought that this would be great to give the chocolate frosting a more subtle chocolate-y flavor, to allow the peanut butter cake to really be the star of the show. Plus – now I have leftover Hershey spread…

Hershey Chocolate Spread Frosting (Will frost 24 Cupcakes)

• 4 tablespoons Crisco
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter – must be room temp – DO NOT MELT
• 2/3 cup Hershey chocolate spread (about 1/2 jar)
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• Almond / your favorite milk as needed

Unlike the cupcakes, this recipe will not work as well by hand. Use an electric hand or stand mixer.

1. Cream together Crisco shortening and butter
2. Add Hershey spread and mix
3. Gradually add one cup of powdered sugar at a time, adding splashes of milk as needed if frosting gets too thick. You want the consistency to be smooth, but not runny. Repeat until you’ve added all 3 cups of sugar

Your final frosting!

Add frosting to cupcakes and enjoy!

If you are not eating the cupcakes right away, I recommend storing them in the fridge so your frosting doesn’t get melty. Take them out 30 minutes before serving to let them come to room temp, if preferred.

Happy Thursday, y’all.