Lemon-Yogurt Cupcakes with Raspberry Jam

Originally I had intended to make these cupcakes for Easter Sunday and give them to my neighbors for an Easter treat. I had already made Easter cookies for my immediate family (they’re the same cookies I made for Valentine’s Day only a different shape, different color frosting and Easter-appropriate sprinkles) so I was off the hook there. But, I didn’t have enough cookies for the neighbors and I always think it’s a nice gesture for a holiday. I didn’t end up making these cupcakes for Easter either, sorry neighbors. It’s the same story as always, I was tired after work, and the recipe looked like it required more work and focus than I was willing to give. So, I held off for another week and took a nap.

I woke up “early” (8 am) Thursday morning and while my hubby was still fast asleep I was a busy little worker bee around the house. Since I figured he wouldn’t be up for a little while (he works later than I do, so he sleeps later too) I thought I would do a little baking to keep myself entertained before we ran around and took care of some errands.

As previously mentioned I had been putting this recipe off because it was going to involve a little work, starting with buttering and flouring the cupcake pans. It’s one of my least favorite things when it comes to baking. I don’t have any real reason other than using cupcake liners is so much easier and doesn’t require washing the cupcake pans after the baking is complete. Since this recipe said I would yield 24 cupcakes, I had to butter and flour (and wash) 2 cupcakes pans, not 1. No thanks.

My second reason for putting this off was I noticed I was going to have to use multiple bowls which again means multiple steps and more dishes to wash afterward. Something I wasn’t in the mood for on Easter Sunday. So, now that I had finally mustered up the energy to tackle these cupcakes I started by whisking together the dry ingredients and setting them aside.

Next up, whisking the egg whites into soft peaks. When I have to whisk egg whites, 99% of the time I use my stand mixer. It’s just so much easier. I can turn it on and let it do its thing while I work on something else. This case was no different, except that the recipe said to whisk the egg whites at medium speed. Of all the times that I can remember I’ve always whisked them at a higher speed, so I was a little concerned that medium speed wouldn’t get the job done. While the egg whites were whisking in a different bowl I worked on beating the butter with my hand mixer. I checked on the egg whites every minute or so to see if they were making any progress, and they weren’t. After letting them whisk about another minute on medium without any progress I decided it was time to increase the speed. My stand mixer goes from 0-12. I had started with 6, what I would consider medium, and ultimately increased the speed to 9, what I would consider medium-high. After a couple minutes I started to see some progress and was well on my way to properly whisked egg whites. Once the egg whites were at the right consistency I added in the sugar and continued whisking them on medium-high until stiff peaks formed. The recipe said to put the egg whites into another bowl, but rather than dirty another bowl, I just left them in the stand mixer until I was ready to use them.

I was hoping that after I was done with the egg whites the worst would be over, that was not the case. The most work came when it was time to combine the egg whites with the rest of the batter. The rest of the batter was pretty thick and stiff, and the recipe said to whisk in the egg whites by hand. This didn’t seem like the right approach based on the consistency of the batter, but in Martha I trust, so I went for it. It was tough and it took a while. When it was finally time to fold in the rest of the egg whites instead of whisk them, things were much easier and went much faster, but it still took a little work.

Now that the batter was done I filled each cupcake cup three-quarters full, or my best estimation of three-quarters full. They were probably a little fuller than they needed to be, but I always prefer a rounded cupcake to a flatter one. I just think they look nicer. I ended up with enough batter for 20 cupcakes, so I was 4 short of what the recipe said I would get, which meant I would have 4 cupcake cups lined with butter and flour that was now going to be baked into the pan and harder to clean. Hooray.

I baked each batch of cupcakes for 20 total minutes with a turn halfway through the baking time. They came out perfectly. They were more rounded than the cupcakes in the picture in Martha’s cookbook, but my guess is that’s because I used more batter. As soon as the cupcakes came out of the oven I ran a butter knife along the edges of each cupcake so they would be easier to remove once they were cooled. Then, I let them cool completely in the pan.

I decided to wait until the following day to put the cupcakes together. So on Friday while my hubby was playing FIFA I sliced and layered the cupcakes with raspberry jam. I used a teaspoon of jam per layer and ended up not having enough jam for all of the cupcakes (I bought a 12 oz. jar of Smuckers seedless raspberry jam). I think I had 2 cupcakes that went without jam, but honestly the cupcakes were really good on their own so I wasn’t upset about it. They were very light and fluffy, the flavor was vanilla with a hint of lemon. Yum! After the cupcakes were layered with jam I garnished the one I liked the best with confectioner’s sugar so I could photograph it. The rest I waited to garnish until later that night so they would be ready to take to work in the morning. Sometimes if you dust cupcakes with confectioner’s sugar ahead of time the sugar soaks into the cupcake and is no longer visible when it’s time to serve them. Now that I know that I try to wait to garnish with confectioner’s sugar until the last minute.

Finally, taste test time! I did actually try a cupcake right after it came out of the oven before it was raspberry jammed (technical term). I was curious as to what the cupcakes would taste like before the jam and they were delicious. I would have happily eaten all of them without the jam, but that’s not the point. They were even better with the jam and so much prettier. I love how they turned out, especially when you can see the inside and the layers of jam. I think they’d be even prettier with a whipped cream garnish instead of just confectioner’s sugar, or maybe a little drizzle of glaze. I might try that next time if I decide to make them again. I also made my hubby try them because I like to get his opinion and I figured he wouldn’t be scared to try these (some flavors he just doesn’t dig) and he really liked them. One of his favorite treats is Entenmann’s Raspberry Danish Twist and he said these cupcakes tasted like that. Needless to say he’s eaten more than the one I made him try. So far I’ve managed to restrain myself and have only eaten 1, however there’s a good chance that stat doesn’t make it through the day. I can’t let them go to waste, can I?

Chocolate-Spice Cupcakes

Hoppy Easter! Get it? Hoppy... like a bunny? My brother texted me that this morning and I thought it was clever. In honor of the holiday I suppose I should have made something better suited for the occasion, but I didn't. Well, that's not entirely true. I made "bunny bait" for my future in-laws a couple days ago (my parents get flowers, Dad really loves them) and shipped it to them so they'd have it in time for the holiday, but I didn't document it. Forgive me. Hope you enjoy the holiday in whatever way you choose to celebrate it, along with these chocolate-spice cupcakes (no link on Martha's site... I'm sensing a theme).

I was looking forward to these cupcakes because I haven't made anything chocolate in awhile and people like chocolate. So, when I took these to work I knew people would eat them. People are skeptical when you say you have chai-tea mini cupcakes. People are less skeptical when you say you have chocolate cupcakes. Human nature I suppose. But, the more cupcakes I can get rid of, the less I eat. Everyone wins. The only thing I wasn't really excited about when it came to these cupcakes was having to butter and flour the pan. Only this time instead of using flour I had to use cocoa powder. Wanna know what really makes a mess? Lining a cupcake pan with butter and then dusting it with cocoa powder.

Making the batter was easy, however messy, or perhaps splattery would be a better term. I didn't enjoy that part very much. Because I have a high-powered hand mixer (even when it's on the lowest setting) I know that certain things are going to make a mess. For instance, for the last couple recipes I've made, small pieces of butter and brown sugar have flown about when I mix them. But, they're for the most part solid substances so it's not so much of a mess. However, once I had mixed the butter, brown sugar and egg I added the molasses and water combined with baking soda to the bowl and as soon as I realized the consistency of what I had, I knew I was in trouble and there wasn't any way to avoid it. So, I did my best to put my arm around the bowl to try to hold in as much liquid as possible. Thankfully my t-shirt took the brunt of the mess and the walls, countertop and items sitting on the counter were left fairly unscathed. I don't enjoy cleaning up messes so I try to keep them as contained as possible.

Since the recipe told me I would only get 12 cupcakes from the batch I only buttered and cocoa powdered one cupcake pan. If I had a significant amount of batter left over I was just going to use liners for the rest. I really don't like making cupcakes without liners, it makes such a mess. The recipe said to fill the pans halfway. Confession. I filled them more than halfway. Again, since I was only supposed to get 12 cupcakes I figured using all of the batter on one batch would be okay. It was okay, but most of the cupcakes ended up being bigger than I wanted them to be, and some were a pain to get out of the pan after they were baked. Next time around I would probably not force all the batter into one batch. Had I not this time, I probably would have gotten around 14 cupcakes. The cupcakes were baked for 20 total minutes with a turn halfway through the baking time. I let them cool for 15 minutes in the pans and then removed them and let them cool on the wire racks while I made the ganache.

I have made this chocolate ganache glaze many times, but this time I was extra careful to very finely chop the semisweet chocolate because I didn't want any lumps in my glaze. Last time I made it I had some small lumps. While it was fine, I didn't like the look of the lumps. I wanted it to be silky smooth this time, and it was. Success! I spooned the glaze over the top of each cupcake and let it set.

The only thing left to do was add the candied ginger garnish. Does anyone need any candied ginger? If you do, I'm your girl. I have a ton of it. I knew candied ginger would be the hardest thing to find at the grocery store, but I was able to find it. Of course it was in a decent sized tupperware (like the size of a tub of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter), cost $4.79 and was labeled as crystalized ginger so I may have bought the wrong thing. I don't really know. But it looked right. The worst part is I only used the garnish for one cupcake, the one in the photo above. I didn't want to garnish all the cupcakes because I didn't want anyone at work to be scared away by the ginger garnish. My mission is to always get rid of the treats so I don't eat them. And in my rule book, as long as I make at least 1 cupcake from the batch exactly how the recipe says I have successfully completed said cupcake. I did that in this instance therefore, in my eyes, I successfully conquered these cupcakes.

I was also told by a coworker or 2 that these were the best cupcakes they've ever had. Now, that is a very lovely compliment, but I'm not quite sure if I believe that it's true. As a lover of cupcakes, this was not the best cupcake I've ever had. Even though I made it I can still be objective. Though I suppose everyone has different preferences when it comes to cupcakes. It was quite yummy, but not the best. I'd say that maybe the cupcake I'll be making next week has the potential to be the best. But, between you and me, I looked ahead to see what it is, and there's pretty much no way that's going to happen. And just to keep you in suspense and to keep you coming back for more... I'm not going to tell you what it is!

Apricot-Glazed Black and White Cheesecakes

As a kid I hated cheesecake (calm down), but it was, and still is (along with blueberry anything) one of my dad's favorite desserts. It was often found at our house, or my grandparents around the holidays. Each year I would try it again, and each year I would take one bite and that was it. At some point my taste buds changed, or I finally came to my senses and realized what I had been missing all that time. While I enjoy cheesecake from time to time these days, at the moment I have 15 apricot-glazed black and white cheesecakes (no link, or anything remotely close on Martha's website) on my hands that I'm not willing to eat all by myself. Due to the wedding now being 6 months away (yikes!) and my current shedding for the wedding extravaganza being in full force I need to unload these bad boys. Any takers?

My favorite part of cheesecake is the graham cracker crust. I could honestly eat just that straight from a bowl, but I don't because I would judge myself the entire time. These cheesecakes however were to have a chocolate cookie crust... works for me! Martha suggested using Nabisco Famous Wafers for the crust, so that is what I set out to find at the grocery store. I have looked for these before for some other recipe and couldn't find them. I was afraid that was going to be the case again. I was standing in the cookie aisle looking up and down and getting frustrated because I couldn't find what I wanted. I was seriously thinking about buying Oreos or some other creme-filled cookie and just splitting them, scraping off the creme and then crumbling the cookies to make the crust. Yes, it would have been a lot of work, but I needed a crust.

Finally, a light shone down from the heavens and there they were, hiding from me on the top shelf in a skinny little package. And, with a stroke of luck they were even on sale! It was a great day. I knew I needed three-quarters of a cup of crumbs, and I wasn't sure how many cookies that would take. I stood for awhile deciding it I should get 2 packages of cookies because I didn't want to get started and not have enough. But even on sale, the cookies were almost $4 per box and I'm on a strict wedding budget. I got one package and kept my fingers crossed that it would be enough. As I sit here writing this, and snacking on the extra cookies I can tell you one package was enough. I only needed about half the package to get the amount of crumbs I needed.

First, I crumbled the cookies using my food processor. It is an annoying cleanup, but it's much more efficient than putting the cookies in a Ziploc bag and crushing them with a rolling pin. And since I was feeling lazy I just put the processor parts in the dishwasher after I was done. That's what it's for, right? I started to melt the butter for the crust in the microwave. I put it in for 30 seconds and then stopped halfway through to give it a swirl. Of course when I grabbed the dish it was in it was extremely hot and burnt my fingers. I couldn't believe the dish had gotten that hot in only 15 seconds. After I cursed and ran my fingers under some cold water I decided it would be better to just melt the butter in a pan on the stove. That way I wouldn't burn the butter, or any more of my fingers. It took a little longer, but it was the right way to go. I firmly pressed 1 tablespoon of the crust mixture into each cupcake liner. I ended up with enough crumbs for 16 cupcakes and I baked them each for 7 minutes with a turn halfway through.

While the crusts were baking and cooling I worked on the batter. I had remembered to let the cream cheese sit out overnight so it was room temperature and easy to mix. Other than almost forgetting to add the vanilla, everything came together well. The batter was just liquidy (technical term) enough for me to use my Pyrex measuring cup to pour it into the cupcake pan. I filled the liners as full as I could because that's what Martha said I should do, and baked each for 22 minutes with a turn halfway through the baking time.

Once the cupcakes were done I let them cool completely on the counter in the tins and then refrigerated them (while still in the tins) overnight. The following morning I worked on the apricot glaze, which wasn't really much work at all. Martha said that I should use apricot jam. Stop and Shop had apricot preserves. Whether or not they're the same thing I don't really know, but in the end the preserves worked. I heated the preserves until it was "loose" which to me just meant smooth, and I put it through a sieve so there weren't any chunks. I used my teaspoon and put a dollop of the glaze on each of the cheesecakes. Once the cheesecakes were dolloped (another technical term) they reminded me of a perfectly cracked egg, with the apricot glaze being the yolk. I think they would be really cute for an Easter dessert. I also think the apricot glaze could be swapped out for raspberry, strawberry or even blueberry (my dad would love those!) which is something I would probably like better as well. I didn't hate the apricot glaze though. It was quite good, as were my perfectly sized little cheesecakes. They are portion control at it's finest, right up my alley!