Vanilla Celebration Cake

So can you guess where I'm headed this Fall? PITT.

I made this cake immediately after we returned home from visiting the PITT admissions office. It was such a thrilling and exiting day! We talked to an admissions counselor and I got to learn a lot about the school. And that night, I put in my enrollment deposit. Did you know the deadline to basically pick what college you're going to is May 1st? Yeah, well this decision was made round-abouts April 21nd? Yeah, cutting it pretty close.... But ultimately I feel like PITT is the best choice for me!

My ephiphany came one afternoon (April 16th?) while I was driving around Oakland in dowtown Pittsburgh (where PITT's campus is) with my friend Vinnie. As we were driving I would point out places and streets and name things for him. I'd show him some places I love going to or wish I could go to. Eventually he stopped me and said, "Sherry. Why aren't you going to PITT?" I have an obvious love for Pittsburgh. I can't explain it. The culture, the theater, the arts, the food, the people. It's home. It's not that I'm afraid to leave and be on my own, it's that I'm already where I need to be. Trust me, I'm more than ready to be on my own!

I love the atmosphere of downtown Pittsburgh and I can't wait to be immersed in it everyday=) Sure my parents only live 15 minutes away, but being in town is a completely different world. And, staying close to home will allow me to keep in touch with my cousins, aunts and uncles, and sister, who are all major parts of my life.

Now you may be wondering what I plan to study while I attend PITT. Well, I'll save that for another post;) Now let's talk about cake!

I don't often make celebration cakes. They are big and my family is small. And this cake was BIG. And I probably ate half of it. No lie. It was SOOO good. As you may have noticed, the layers are HUGE. Yeah, that was a surprise to me as well. I put the batter in 2 9-inch round pans, and seriously these things puffed up like crazyyyyy. Now, they may look a little brown on top, but the inside is perfect! I was worried when I saw the tops, but one bite immediately set aside my fears. That said, a longer baking time was needed. The frosting recipe I choice was my go-to vanilla frosting recipe from Martha Stewart. Absolutely perfect. In fact, the frosting just barely covered the sides of the cake and I was worried with how thick the cake was if the frosting would be balanced enough. And guess what? It was perfect!

The cake is a tight crumb and oh so moist. It's going to be my go-to vanilla cake recipe from now on. It is incredibly easy to work with and yeilds amazing results! Use this recipe if your making a vanilla cake for a celebration because you'll certainly please everyone!

Vanilla Cake

from Smitten Kitchen

Yield: Two 9-inch round, 2-inch tall cake layers, and, in theory, 22 to 24 cupcakes, two 8-inch squares or a 9×13 single-layer cake

4 cups plus 2 tablespoons cake flour (not self-rising)

2 teaspoons  baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon table salt

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

4 large eggs, at room temperature

2 cups buttermilk, well-shaken

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans and line with circles of parchment paper, then butter parchment. (Alternately, you can use a cooking spray, either with just butter or butter and flour to speed this process up.)

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well and scraping down the bowl after each addition. At low speed, beat in buttermilk until just combined (mixture will look curdled). Add flour mixture in three batches, mixing until each addition is just Incorporated.

Spread batter evenly in cake pan, then rap pan on counter several times to eliminate air bubbles. (I like to drop mine a few times from two inches up, making a great big noisy fuss.) Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes, then run a knife around edge of pan. Invert onto rack and discard parchment, then cool completely, about 1 hour.

 

Fluffy Vanilla Frosting1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 pound (4 cups) confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions
1) With an electric mixer, beat butter on medium-high speed until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes.

2 )Reduce speed to medium. Add the confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl as needed; after every two additions, raise speed to high and beat 10 seconds to aerate frosting, then return to medium-high. This process should take about 5 minutes. Frosting will be very pale and fluffy.

3) Add vanilla, and beat until frosting is smooth. If not using immediately, frosting can be refrigerated up to 10 days in an airtight container. Before using, bring to room temperature, and beat on low speed until smooth again, about 5 minutes.



Lemon and Vanilla Cupcakes

Yes, pumpkin week is coming up very soon here on my blog. Just hang in there a bit longer! Here's another summer clean out post for you in the mean time.


A while back, I broke my icing piper=( It was a sad, sad day. My cupcakes have never been the same. I've certainly tried to make due as you can see here, here, and here. This time was no different, but I attempted to create a make-shift piping bag. It's pretty rough... I know. But I knew the people I was making these for wouldn't mind my "rustic" piping job.


This was for one of my family's closest neighbors. My parents are friendly with the parents and their daughter is like my BFF. They love my baking, so they asked me to provide cupcakes for a low key 50th birthday they were having for the Mister. Knowing what I do, I decided to make his favorite, lemon. Along with that I made vanilla to appease everyone, and myself hehe.


This was a pretty simple job. I can make the vanilla cupcakes in my sleep, and with my new easy zester, lemon baked goods are easier than ever! (That really sounded like an infomercial there...) But it really was easy. So these are just Martha Stewart's lemon meringue cupcakes, minus the meringue. Instead, I made a lemon cream cheese frosting. I added lemon heads to the top for decoration. I do have some class.


These cupcakes, not so much class. But they never fail in the taste department. All the cupcakes were devoured with joy and we all lived happily ever after. =)

Hit up Martha Stewart for the recipes!

Tropical Birthday Cupcakes!

I have mentioned my friend Maria numerous times on my blog. If you don't remember hearing about her, then obviously you need to go back and read my earlier posts. Duhhh. But yeah she's an awesome friend who I have really come to trust in, even though we go to different schools. We still manage to see each other which is great. She is also someone I could really confide in when it came to a very risky business venture I'm exploring. It's new, it involves cupcakes, and I blush and get somewhat uncomfortable/embarrassed when I talk about it, but she's been supporting me along the way and helping me get over my fears=) It's still early for me to talk about, but eventually I'll give you guys all the deets.


Story time:
So Maria was turning 18 (woot woot) and her mom came to me with the idea that as my gift to her, I could make her cupcakes! I was speechless! I was honored she'd trust me to make them and I knew it would make Maria very happy. I now had all kinds of planning to do, but it was all fun. As to what kind of cupcakes to make, I decided to keep it very basic. I had to keep in mind that it is a birthday party and many people aren't open to exotic flavors and just prefer classics. So that meant vanilla and chocolate.

I haven't really made a chocolate cupcake before so it was a little nerve-racking, but it all went fine!

I knew the party theme was tropical, and her mom had plenty of those little umbrellas for drinks. So... umbrellas in the cupcakes? I think yes. I did have the option of playing with frosting left. No crazy flavors there, I decided. Plus, I wanted to show these guests what a real buttercream frosting is like. So I did a fluffy vanilla buttercream frosting and then colored it.


This was my first time doing a big food dye job. I'm not gonna lie, it was a ton of work. The weather was of no help either because it was soooo hot and they would start getting melty so fast that I would constantly be taking them in and out of the fridge. The frosting was a huge project, but it was my first time and now I know what to expect.


Though it was a lot of work, it was all worth it. Maria was surprised when she saw them because I snuck them inside and she thought they tasted great! Of course at an 18th birthday party you have a ton of teenage girls who are all worried about indulging in sweets and gaining weight, but still, a lot of cupcakes went!

(Do you see the 18?!)

Through this whole process, I had a great time. I loved every aspect. From baking the cupcakes, playing with frostings, sampling cupcakes (shh..), and seeing the end result and the happy "customer"; it was all great. I enjoy (love) doing this, and hopefully I'll have many more opportunities to make people happy with my baking!

Fourth of July Cupcakes

Happy belated 4th of July!

My day was spent at the wave pool with my cousins, where we happened to find five dollars at the bottom of the pool! The tricky thing was the fact that the waves were going on as we were trying to catch it. So every time a wave came by the dollar would move and we would get washed over. It was really funny, but slightly aggravating...

We all then headed over to our cousins house for some grub and cupcakes. This was the first time I've baked something not in my own kitchen. It's interesting because you are using all new bowls, measuring equipment, mixers, and an oven that you aren't accustomed to. In the end, the cupcakes turned out wonderful! We were going to divide the batter into three and dye them red, white, and blue in true spirit, but that would have called for more dishes to clean up. Instead, we divided the icing into three and dyed them red, white, and blue. Yeah, I realize this is still using dishes, but it was done at my other aunt's house so the mess was more dispersed.

We left some cupcakes at my one aunt's house and these one's to my other
aunt's house. We were one short of an (almost) perfect flag!

We made these cupcakes especially for my cousin Jeffery. He recently had back surgery so he couldn't spend the day with us. We decided to surprise him and show up with cupcakes. We had a great evening and he said, I quote, "Those cupcakes were AWESOME!!!!!" That is very (unusual) high praise coming from him. We ended the evening with illegal fireworks in the backyard. =) Hehehe.

For the cupcakes I used Martha Stewart's vanilla buttermilk cupcakes with her fluffy vanilla frosting. You can find the recipe HERE. I'm actually completely in love with these cupcakes. I am a purist. I will pick vanilla over chocolate any day and everyday. Most people call me crazy for this, but I find it completely sane. So I have to say I just love these to death.

Around the World Cupcakes!

Try and test your flag knowledge!

These cupcakes were a fun project i decided to do for my AP World Literature class for our end of the year party. As I mentioned in a previous post, everyone in my AP class chose a country to spend time on all year blah blah blah.. I already talked about this. But for our party, I decided to showcase a more decorative side of my cupcake making abilities. My class already knew I was a seasoned cupcake baker, but I wanted to show them I could get a little more playful as well.

Our lovely party spread. Flip side crackers, a cookie cake, brownie bites, and my cupcakes! All on a Disney princess table cloth.

Our party theme was "Everybody Wang Lung Tonight". I'll explain. We read this crazy novel titled "The Good Earth". It was extremely long and a tad pointless. I don't wanna bash it too much, as there is now a special spot in my heart for it. So the main character's name is Wang Lung, and the song is Wang Chung. Yepp, I thought of it all by myself=) But for the cupcakes... I racked my brain constantly on what I could possibly do with them. Themes, flavors, and shapes were all put into consideration. And judging by the pictures I'm sure you can guess what I came up with.

Do you know what countries these are?

I like making people feel special. People like being made to feel special. Who doesn't like when someone specifically creates something for them? So I made a cupcake specifically designed for each member of my class. The base was a simple vanilla buttermilk cupcake by the Queen herself. I've made so many of her cupcakes but had yet to make her simple vanilla ones! I paired it with her suggested fluffy vanilla frosting. I halved both the recipes. Then, I got creative.

The lovely cookie cake bought by my friend Roman. She said the cake decorator gave her some pretty strange looks. I can't imagine why.

I went scouring the town for some fondant to work with and ended up finding it at this cute cottage-like house that was a cake supplies store. I then bought icing markers to use on it. So I would take a chunk of fondant, roll it into a rectangle shape, then color on my flag pattern. Were these time consuming? Umm.. if they were, I didn't seem to mind. It was such fun to make!

Best friends=)

Vanilla Buttermilk Cupcakes

3 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/4 cups sugar
5 large whole eggs plus 3 egg yolks, room temperature
2 cups buttermilk, room temperature2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together both flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

2) With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to medium. Add whole eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add yolks, and beat until thoroughly combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and beating until combined after each. Beat in vanilla.

3) Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until cupcakes spring back when lightly touched and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.


Fluffy Vanilla Frosting

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 pound (4 cups) confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
1) With an electric mixer, beat butter on medium-high speed until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes.

2)Reduce speed to medium. Add the confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl as needed; after every two additions, raise speed to high and beat 10 seconds to aerate frosting, then return to medium-high. This process should take about 5 minutes. Frosting will be very pale and fluffy.
3)Add vanilla, and beat until frosting is smooth. If not using immediately, frosting can be refrigerated up to 10 days in an airtight container. Before using, bring to room temperature, and beat on low speed until smooth again, about 5 minutes.

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream With My New Ice Cream Maker

I got my brand new ice cream maker! I was surprised how fast it was shipped to me, actually. It's just taken me a bit to getting around to using it... I'm a busy girl, ya know? Then there's the whole matter of posting about it. But I got around to it!

I definitely knew I wanted to make a vanilla ice cream because it's simple and the best way to tell if the ice cream maker's legit or not. This one was completely legit.


The Deni ice cream maker worked wonderfully. I've never used one before, obvi, but this was super easy. It says to let churn for anywhere from 5-30 mins. I think going the full 30 gets you to that ice cream state and not just soupy goodness. 'Cause trust me, even before it's actually ice cream, it tastes HEAVENLY!

I am so thankful to the CSN Stores for giving me this opportunity! I have always wanted an ice cream maker and everyone in my family is so excited!

We all thought the ice cream was superb! It is so much more cost effective as well. Not to mention no preservatives or other chemicals. And you can control what you put in it!

The recipe I used was one given in the pamphlet I received with my product. It produced great results. However, I may not return to some of the others because they use a lot of 'light', 'reduced fat', 'skim', or 'egg beater' ingredients. I'm all for the more fat or more natural the better.

I didn't skimp on the vanilla ;)

Nice and thick=)

French Vanilla Ice Cream
Ingredients:
3 eggs
1 cup of sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
2 cups of heavy cream
2 tsp. vanilla

Method:
1. Beat eggs and milk together in a large saucepan.
2. Add sugar and cook over low heat, stirring constantly until thickened (approx. 10 mins).
3. Mixture should coat the spoon.
4. Cool, then add cream and vanilla.
5. Mix well and refrigerate to chill thoroughly.
6. Slowly pour contents into your already spinning ice cream maker.
7. Leave running for about 30 minutes.
8. Allow to freezer in your freezer until desired hardness.

Graham cracker base, homemade vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, whipped topping. Missing: Dark chocolate brownie (I didn't get a photo of that one=/)