Happy (Belated) Mother's Day Everyone!

This Mother's day I thought it would be a wonderful touch to give something from the heart (in addition to their actual gifts of course. you shouldn't be a cheap ass on mother's day) so I made miniature individual cakes and apple martini cupcakes to give to some of the most important people in my life. They were a HUGE unexpected hit, and it made them all feel extra special and loved just to know that this thoughtful token of appreciation was made by me. On to the goodies...

How adorable is that?! Also I am super psyched because I discovered the most amazing yellow cake recipe in the world! Sound the trumpets! My take over of the world is imminent! This cake is super moist and flavorful and about as perfect as you can get in regard to a yellow cake. I torted it (that is what you call it when you split the layers. don't hate, I learned that in class last week) with my trusty cake leveler and to make it even more remarkable I filled it with vanilla pudding, and I swear I don't think I've ever been so pleasantly surprised in all my life as when I took that first bite (I secretly hated yellow cake because I'm all about the chocolate, but I am now reformed). I closed my eyes in bliss at the soft fluffy mounds of goodness floating over my tongue, and that says a lot considering I'm a chocoholic. You are going to thank your blessings and want to kiss my toes (and possibly suck them. not that I like that. that stuff is for freaks, and I'm all about wholesomeness here) due to the fact that you came upon this perfection on my fantabulous blog. I guarantee it will be your "go to" yellow cake from now on. I added some red food coloring to the buttercream to make it pink, practiced my borders on it, and added colored sugar and sprinkles and VOILA! Sweet pink perfection. My family was so impressed they must have told me a at least a dozen times they didn't even want to eat it because it was too perfect to cut! Now on to the dangerous desserts...

Here you have it, the star of the night. The apple martini cupcake! I stumbled upon them on Cuptails and I "heart" cupppycakes, and I knew I had to make them for Mother's day. I made some changes as always and sort of combined both recipes, but how absolutely awesome is it?! Never in all my life have I even seen so many gasps of shock and excitement as when I unveiled the apple martini cupcakes. Of course the first question out of every one's mouth was "do they have vodka in them?!" Ah family. They put the func in dysfunction and I love them for it. Of course! I exclaimed, and after all the excited screeching had calmed down. I pondered the mystery of how alcohol can turn a simple cupcake into a life altering goodie. I'm not kidding people were more excited about alcohol infused cupcakes than dinner! I don't know how they tasted because I'm not a drinker, but I heard that they were "good enough to sell your body for" so I'm taking that as a compliment. Make these. I wouldn't want to see you wondering the highway one night pulling over truck drivers trying to get your fix. Who would read my blog if you all did that?



XOXO

Stay Sweet;)


Amazing yellow cake
Source: Foodnetwork.com

I'm going to list the original recipe which is a white cake along with the changes I made *shock* in parenthesis;)

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour (I used cake flour)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 large egg whites (3/4 cup) (I used 3 large eggs)
3/4 cup milk (I used evaporated milk, and added a packet of instant vanilla pudding to the mix)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For filling:
One cup of jello vanilla pudding


2 (9-inch) diameter by 1 1/2-inch deep layer pans or 1 (13 by 9 by 2-inch) pan (I used 2 6" pans and had some batter left over, but I was too lazy to do anything with it so I just trashed it), buttered and bottoms lined with parchment or waxed paper.

Set a rack at the middle level of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt (and pudding). Set aside. Combine egg whites (or eggs), milk and vanilla extract. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to butter mixture then add half the milk mixture. Continue to alternate beginning and ending with flour mixture. Scrape bowl and beater often. Pour batter into prepared pan(s) and smooth top with a metal spatula. Bake cake(s) about 25 to 30 minutes (I have no idea how long mine cooked for but definitely longer than 30 minutes), or until a toothpick inserted in the center emerges clean. Cool in pan on a rack for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a rack, remove paper and let cool completely. Torte cake and fill with vanilla pudding.

Variation:

For classic yellow cake substitute 3 large eggs and 1 egg yolk (I just used the 3 eggs because using yolks grosses me out) for all of the egg whites above.

Buttercream recipe

1/2 c. shortening

1/2 c. butter

1 tsp. vanilla

4 c. sifted powdered sugar

3-4 tbsp. milk (keep adding milk until you achieve the desired consistency)

1 tsp. light corn syrup

1 tbsp. Meringue Powder

pinch of salt to taste (it helps to make it less sweet)

3 drops of red food coloring



Apple "so good you'll sell your body for them" Martini cupcakes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs (room temperature)
3/4 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons of Apple Martini mix (I used Stirrings)
1/3 cup of Apple juice
3 drops of green food coloring gel

For frosting:

3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
Pinch of salt
A stick of room temperature butter
1 1/2 tablespoons of Apple Schnapps
1 tablespoon of apple martini mix
6 drops of green food coloring gel
Apple flavored glass rimming sugar


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with cupcake liners. Sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a bowl and give it a quick stir to combine. Place eggs, sugar and vanilla in a bowl and beat on medium with an electric mixer until light and foamy. About 2 minutes. Melt butter (about 1min in microwave) and pour over eggs and sugar whilst beating. Add Apple Martini Mix to eggs, sugar and butter mixture then turn mixer to low. Add half the dry ingredients to the mixer. Add half of the apple juice. Add remaining dry ingredients and finish with remaining apple juice. Continue mixing until remaining dry ingredients are combined (no more than a minute) being careful not to over mix the batter. Immediately divide batter equally among the 12 cupcake liners. I like to use an ice cream scoop to do this. Helps keep each cupcake uniform size. Bake for 22 minutes or until a toothpick stuck into the middle of the cupcakes comes out clean, with no crumbs. The apple-y scent is so delicious when you open the oven door! It’s so refreshing since a sweet apple scent doesn’t often flow through the kitchen. Turn onto a cooling rack to cool to room temperature. Frost cupcakes and either sprinkle them with the rimming sugar or roll them in it.