Yellow Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting How sweet should life be

I love this quote by Michael Pollan (The Omnivores Dilemma and Food Rules);  he writes,“There is nothing wrong with special occasion foods, as long as every day is not a special occasion...Special occasion foods offer some of the great pleasures of life, so we shouldnt deprive ourselves of them, but the sense of occasion needs to be restored.”

I love being a baker, making cookies, cakes, cupcakes, and sweet treats.  However, I know that I cant make them all the time, nor can I just give them out at whim to any child.  Ive tried hard to model to Children that treats are actually treats, and we celebrate our family birthdays and special occasions with a small treat, but a treat is just that - something special that doesnt happen every single day.

If I ONLY baked for just the family birthdays, Id already bake five times a year.  Add the extended family who lives near us, Im already baking 11 times a year.  That averages out to about once a month.  With just the baking that I do for my family, Children will have access to a sweet treat once a month.  This is a treat that I really enjoy making, because I dont use a boxed cake mix, but try and source high quality, organic (if possible) ingredients, that I put together with my own two hands.

Add the baking that I do when I have guests over, which averages about once a month.  Thats now twice a month Children get a treat.  Add the additional invitation over to someones house where I offer to bring something and they request dessert.  Lets just call that on average, once a month.  Now were at three times a month, Children get a treat.

Thats a lot of treats already, and some with not necessarily the right sense of occasion.  There are invariably birthday parties where cake is served (usually store bought) and goody bags often filled with candy.  The treats, and special occasions keep adding up.  School treats, school occasions, birthday handouts, party handouts quickly add up, and suddenly, what was once or twice a month of treats becomes almost a thrice weekly thing.

Im not anti-treats.  Dont get me wrong.  Im anti-every-day-is-a-treat day.  Im also anti-other-people-giving-my-children treats.  Children get enough of treats, distributed by me, made by me, at home.  I dont offer them processed treats, and I make my own treats for them.  I also dont give out treats to other children, without the express permission of their parents, as their parent has the absolute right to monitor how much their child eats.

Im sure I dont have all the right answers.  I only claim to know what to do for my own kids.  I do know the United States leads the world in obesity, and if that statistic doesnt give you pause, Ill remind you that the burden of taking care of the unhealthy in this country is a collective one that falls on all of our shoulders.  As parents, we really need to revisit what is going into our childrens bodies.  If you ARE going to give a treat, one that is homemade is miles better than what you get in a store, which is why I do like to challenge people to try and make their own homemade cookies and treats.  If you refuse to buy processed packaged treats, and say that you will only make them, youd be surprised at how much money you save and how much fewer treats your children will actually consume.

I made these treats to celebrate a reunion with an old grad school friend and an old teaching colleague, both brilliant thinkers of education reform and thoughtful planners of educations future.  I made us all a lovely dinner, and each of our children got a single mini cupcake; the adults sat, savored our small treat and enjoyed the occasion of friendship.

Yellow Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes 24 regular sized cupcakes or 48 mini cupcakes

Yellow Cupcake
Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups superfine sugar, or regular sugar that has been processed in a food processor and made fine
2 large eggs (taken out of the fridge the same time as the butter)
3 large egg yolks
3 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
½  teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
½ cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method
Preheat oven to 350.  Line cupcake pans with liners.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.  Mix together milk, sour cream, and vanilla extract.  Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, blend softened butter and superfine sugar until thoroughly combined.  Add eggs, one at a time, add egg yolks, one at a time,and beat until well mixed, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl to ensure that everything is well blended.

Add half of flour mixture and mix until just combined, and add half milk mixture and mix until just combined. Scrape down sides of the bowl.  Add remaining half of flour mixture, mix until just combined and then add remaining milk mixture.  Mix until just combined.again.  At this stage, the less you mix the better for your cake.  (too much mixing makes for a tough cake.)

Scoop batter into cupcake pan.  Bake for 18-20 minutes (minis) or 22-24 minutes (regular size) until tops spring back up when tapped.

Remove from oven and allow to cool.  Frost with icing once cupcakes are completely cooled.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
½  cup of butter (1 stick), softened
8 oz of cream cheese, softened
3 cups confectioners sugar
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method
In a large mixing bowl, mix butter until it is softened and uniform.  Add cream cheese and beat together until it is uniform.  Add 2 cups of sugar and cocoa powder to the mixture and mix.  Add milk and vanilla extract and mix again.  Add remaining 1 cup of confectioners sugar.   Mix again until mixture is creamy and spreadable.  Add more sugar if necessary, otherwise frost completely cooled cupcakes.

Printable recipe

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Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting Bittersweet

To all the teachers and staff at the PJCC who have been with my family for the past 6 years, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Today was my last time preparing food for the teachers luncheon at the preschool where Son and Daughters have all attended for the past 6 years.  As I helped out at the luncheon today, I gave many of the teachers who have been with my family big hugs and held back tears as I almost wanted to lose it - repeatedly.

Different teachers came up and talked about special memories of my kids, with one teacher remembering how much Daughter #2 adored art and was so artistically inclined.  Others remembered Daughter #1s cute smile and inability to speak any English when she first arrived.  (Straight from Korea we stuck her in this school.)  Still others had a warm word to say to me, including, "Just have another baby and you can come back."  Which I actually would consider if I didnt feel my womb protesting.

The time with the teachers was nothing short of bittersweet.  There were were relationships in the room that Ive built up over this time, and so many wonderful teachers and administrators who have touched the lives of my children sincerely and lovingly.  I know that Son and Daughter had experiences here that I wouldnt change for the world.  They have been prepared for the future and watching their development, I have been blessed.

I just want to cry right now.  But I wont.  Ill only say to this wonderful preschool, I wish I could stay forever.

To celebrate (can one celebrate when your heart is breaking?) I made these lemon cupcakes for the teachers and staff to enjoy.

(one of Daughters teachers is retiring after many years at the school, and we decided to do a tiny little recognition of her - Thank You bunting)

Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting 
Makes 24 regular cupcakes, 48 mini cupcakes

Lemon Cupcake
Ingredients
2 cups regular sugar
2 tablespoon lemon zest
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
4 large eggs (taken out of the fridge the same time as the butter)
1¼ cup buttermilk
3 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Method
Preheat oven to 350.  Line either regular or mini sized cupcake tins.

In a food processor, pulverize together lemon zest and sugar.  (Doing so releases the lemon oils.)  In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, blend softened butter and lemon sugar until thoroughly combined.  Add eggs, one at a time and beat until well mixed, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl to ensure that everything is well blended.

Add half of flour mixture and mix until just combined. and add half of buttermilk and mix until just combined. Scrape down sides of the bowl.  Add remaining half of flour mixture, mix until just combined and then add remaining buttermilk.  Mix until just combined.again.  At this stage, the less you mix the better for your cake.  (too much mixing makes for a tough cake.)

Divide batter into prepared tins.  Bake for 20-24 minutes, or until cake springs back when gently pressed with finger tips.  Cool for 20 minutes, then remove cake from pans and cool on wire racks until completely cool.

Lemon Frosting
Insgredient
1 cup of butter, softened
8 oz of cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons lemon zest
5-6 cups of confectioners sugar

In a large mixing bowl, mix butter until it is softened and uniform.  Add cream cheese and beat together until it is uniform.  Add 3 cups of sugar to the mixture and mix.  Add lemon zest and 2 more cups of sugar.  Mix again until mixture is creamy and spreadable.  Add more sugar if necessary, otherwise prepare to frost cupcakes.  Use either a pastry bag and a piping tip (I like the Wiltons 1M since the lemon zest sometimes can clog other tips) or spread with a knife.

Printable recipe

Cute cupcake liners - love this brand.

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Chocolate Banana Pancake with Cream Cheese Frosting or Chocolate Ganache I sweat

Husband has made several comments in recent weeks about my lack of posts.  I just havent posted much.  In fact, I think this month, I posted only 33% of my average monthly posts. Husband said, "Your readers are going to forget you."

Have you forgotten me?  I suppose I cant blame anyone, because quite truthfully, this month, I think I may have forgotten myself.  How can I expect other people to remember me, take note of me, read me, when I cant even remember to do that for myself?  The month of June has physically and mentally been one of my harder ones, where I have been slammed with work, pushed to the edge with commitments both at Daughters and Sons school as well as church, and personal demands to take care of Fathers birthday and my family in general have pushed me well beyond what I consider my normal limits.

The thing of the matter is however, I hate for people to see my weakness.  I hear it all the time, "How do you do it all?"  and my response, with a smile is always, "Oh, I dont do that much."  Never let them see you sweat has always been my motto, but these days, my sweat shows.  Im worn down, Im tired, and Im cranky.

So here is my confession.  Ive not had a good month.  Ive been exhausted and tired and overworked.  And the smile that youve seen on my face has often hidden the clench of my teeth and the fatigue of my spirit.   As much as Id like to think that I CAN do everything, I know that I cant.  I took on too much, tried to do too much, and didnt leave enough time for me - for me to pray, to rest, to think, to relax, and just to remember who I am.   So the blog had to take a step aside, as I tried very very hard to just complete everything else I had taken on.

Thankfully July is a much smoother and easier month, filled with tons of gaps where I am usually slammed with things to do.  I intend to cook slower, cook new things, and try out new things that I normally dont get to try out.  I want to have time to create new dishes, explore new things (there is this char siu recipe Im going to try), and all in all - just go back to space where I can rest a bit more.  I want more time with Children, where we just all lie down in a space and read, or ride bikes or relax in the sun.  I dont want to freak out about their math, their piano practice, and their table manners.  I just want one month, July, of a relaxing summer.

I see a month full of cake and fun summery potluck type foods.  Let me start you off with this one.  This is a banana chocolate cake, baked in a pan that you can transport easily and serve tons of people.  Ive tried it with two different finishes - a chocolate ganache topping and a cream cheese frosting topping.  Both have met with rave reviews, but Im slightly leaning towards the chocolate ganache because it is easier, and it just tastes yummy.  Its gilding the lily, but who doesnt like a little extra chocolate on their banana.

Chocolate Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes 9x13 cake, serving about 15 people

Chocolate Banana Cupcake
Ingredients
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup Dutch processed cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, taken out of the fridge same time as butter
2 ½ cups mashed ripe bananas (about 6 medium)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream

Method
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour 9X13 pan. Set aside.

Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, using paddle attachment beat butter at medium speed until creamy, about 1 minutes. Gradually beat in the sugar and beat at high until well blended, about 2 minutes. At medium speed, beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the mashed bananas and vanilla extract and mix at low speed until blended. Add the flour mixture at low speed in three additions, alternating it with the sour cream in two additions. Avoid over mixing by using a spatula to mix the batter at the end.

Pour mixture into prepared 9X13 pan. Bake for 40 minutes until toothpick or tester in the center comes out cleanly.  Allow cake to cool completely before frosting or pouring ganache.

Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
1 cup of butter, softened
8 oz of cream cheese, softened
3-5 cups of confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Method
In a large mixing bowl, mix butter until it is softened and uniform. Add cream cheese and beat together until it is uniform. Add 3 cups of sugar to the mixture and mix. Add vanilla extract. Add more sugar if necessary. Mix again until mixture is creamy and spreadable. Add more sugar if necessary, otherwise prepare to frost cake.

Chocolate Ganache
Ingredients
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), chopped (In a pinch you can use semi sweet chocolate chips)
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Method

Place chopped chocolate in medium bowl.

Bring cream just to boil in heavy medium saucepan. Pour over chocolate.

Let stand 1 minute, then stir until ganache is melted and smooth.

Let ganache stand at room temperature to cool about 15 minutes. Pour ganache over cooled cake. Allow chocolate to set up on cake for another 15 minutes.

Printable recipe

Still figuring out how to do everything and still have my cake and eat it too/

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Vanilla Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes They grow too quickly

I made these cupcakes for Daughter #2s 8th birthday, and it struck me as I made them, that children grow up so fast.  Children keep begging to be older and most days I wish theyd just stay babies.  The questions, the expectations, and the demands of older children, Im just not equipped to answer.  Even though I work with older students all the time and I know much of what is to come in terms of behavior, puberty, and adolescence, there is something markedly different about having these things happen to your own children.

Im in denial, I think, about how quickly children grow and change.  They grow up more quickly than Id like, and every year when their birthday hits, I think, WAIT!!!  How can he/she already be 4 or 6 or 8 or 10?

This year as #2 hit birthday 8, I did not accept the reality of her growth into 8-hood well.  After all - her clothes are still tiny, her arm span tiny, her feet super tiny - how can this tiny thing already be 8? But she is 8.  All tiny of her, shes a ferocious 8 year old with a mind of her own and a voice that tells me what she wants.

It seems like yesterday that her voice was squeaky, her body small enough to tuck in my arms, and her personality more mellow and trusting. When I mentioned thatI would make her some cupcakes for her birthday, she asked, "Do you think you can do something different instead of just making the same thing again?"  The bigger part of me simply just wanted to say, "You get what you get" but a small part of me said, shes only 8 this one time, and shes only asking for different cupcakes, you can do this.  I said, "Ill try."

I kind of tried.  I took my standby favorite cupcake recipe, and flipped it into these cake ice cream cones, which ended up really changing the experience of eating a cupcake as well as the texture.  They ended up being a huge hit, and newly-8-year old daughter ended up really loving them.  

And that is what matters the most at the end of the day.

Vanilla Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes
Makes 16 cones, or 12 cones plus a couple of regular cupcakes

Cake
Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
½  vanilla bean, seeds scraped out  (The other half will be used in the frosting)
1 ½  cups + 2 tablespoons flour
¾  teaspoons baking powder
¼  teaspoon salt
½  cup milk

Method
Preheat oven to 350.  Lower oven rack so that cones will be centered in the oven, and not too high up in the oven.  In a regular muffin pan, place 12 cake (flat-bottomed) cones.

Beat butter until softened.   Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating until well combined.  Add seeds from scraped out vanilla bean.  Mix again.

Measure the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and whisk to combine.  Add half of flour mixture to batter and add milk.  Finish with the rest of flour mixture.  Beat until just combined.

Scoop batter into cupcake cups about ¾ inch from the top (a little bit less than ¼ cup of batter). (Overfill and the cupcakes won’t dome but instead spill out the sides.)  Bake cupcakes for about 28 to 33 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean or the tops spring back.

Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
(enough for 16 cupcakes)
½  cup (1 stick)  of unsalted butter, softened
8 oz pack of cream cheese, softened
½ vanilla bean, split open with a knife and vanilla beans scraped out (Amazon.com has 16 beans for $15)
2-3 cups confectioner sugar (I try and use as little as I can, but making sure its pipeable)

Method
Cream butter and cream cheese together on medium speed until texture is uniform. Add 1 cup of confectioners sugar and beat on low speed until sugar is all incorporated. Add 1-2 more cups and again mix on low speed until sugar is all incorporated. Add scraped vanilla beans (get every last bit) and mix on medium speed for 8 minutes, occasionally scraping down sides. The key to really creamy frosting is to NOT beat too much air into the frosting but rather, on a medium speed, beat it until it is creamy.

Pipe frosting on top of cupcakes (1 M or 2D Wilton’s tip) and add sprinkles if desired.   
Printable recipe

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