What time is it?

    Summertime!

 

 

Today marks the last day of elementary school for our son.  He woke up today feeling both happy and sad.  On the one hand, he is thrilled to be finished school for the summer. On the other hand, he is feeling pensive about leaving a school that he has attended since he was 4 years old.

It will be tough to say good bye to the teachers that have touched his life in so many ways.  What makes this day somber for me is the fact that he is our last child attending that school.  My son is not the only one saying good bye. I too must bid adieu to the staff that has made elementary school an enjoyable and educational experience for my children.

As a thank you, I decided to bake up a batch of decadent cupcakes.  Since teachers often put in long, thankless hours and spend many late nights preparing engaging and well planned lessons, coffee is a necessity.  When pairing coffee with the thought of summertime, the delicious, decadent Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino came to mind.  While I can't possibly supply an entire staff with Frappuccinos from Starbucks, I certainly can bake up a replica!

These cupcakes serve up the rich, satisfying taste of chocolate and coffee topped with creamy, indulgent whipped frosting.  Pure enjoyment - just the way a summer treat should be.

Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino Cupcakes

 

For The Cupcakes You Will Need:

 

1 box devil's chocolate cake mix

3-4 tbsp Starbucks coffee, black 

3 eggs

1/2 cup oil

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

 

•  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pans with cupcake liners
•  Sift cake mix into a small bowl and set aside
•   In a large bowl, combine eggs, oil, buttermilk, sour cream and vanilla extract
•  Stir in cake mix until batter becomes smooth
•  Add coffee and stir again to combine
•  Fill liners 3/4 full and bake for 16-18 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean

For The Frappuccino Buttercream You Will Need:

 

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup Starbucks coffee, black

1 tbsp milk

4 cups powdered sugar

Chocolate covered coffee beans

Cocoa powder

 

• Beat butter and coffee until smooth
• Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, alternating with milk until you reach your desired consistency
• If mixture becomes too thick, add more milk 
• Pipe onto cooled cupcakes and top with chocolate covered coffee beans and sprinkle with cocoa powder

 

Enjoy!

 

Thank you St. Pius Staff...

have a wonderful summer!

 

 

 

 



If you give a mom a cupcake...

 

Happy Mother's Day!

 

 

 If you give a mom a cupcake,

she will want a cup of tea to go with it.

She'll pour herself some,

but her daughter will want some too.

Once she puts the kettle on,

  she'll wipe the counter while she waits for it to boil.

As she wipes the counter with the dish cloth,

she'll remember that she has to do laundry.

When she brings the basket into the laundry room,

she'll realize that there are still clean clothes in the dryer.

As she folds the baseball pants and uniforms,

she'll start thinking about who has a game that night.

When she thinks about baseball schedules,

she'll start to think of something quick to make for supper.

Thinking about supper will remind her

that she has to go grocery shopping.

As she mentally begins to compose her shopping list,

she'll remember that they are almost out of milk.

Thinking about milk will remind her...

 that she was making a pot of tea.

As she brews the tea,

she remembers that she was going to sit down and have a cup.

And chances are... if she has a cup of tea,

one of her kids will have eaten the cupcake that went with it.

 

I made these for Mother's Day.

I hope you enjoy them along with the sweets of life.

White Chocolate Mocha Cupcakes 

 

 Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 6 Tbs. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup International Delights White Chocolate Mocha creamer
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup white chocolate chips

Instructions:

•  Preheat oven to 350 degrees
•  Line cupcake pan with paper baking cups (the fancier the better!)
•  With an electric mixer, cream together sugar and butter until light and fluffy
•  Reduce speed and add eggs one at a time followed by the 1/2 cup of International Delights   White Chocolate Mocha creamer
•  Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in separate bowl
•  Add to wet ingredients 1/2 a cup at a time and beat until just combined
•  Stir in white chocolate chips
•  Pour into baking cups
•  Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean

Frosting Ingredients:

• 8 Tbs (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 4-5 cups confectioner's sugar
• 1/3 cup International Delights White Chocolate Mocha
• white chocolate curls garnish (optional)

 

Frosting Instructions:

• With an electric mixer cream butter until fluffy
• Slowly add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until well combined
• Add International Delights White Chocolate Mocha creamer
• Add more powdered sugar for a thicker frosting and more creamer for a thinner frosting depending on your taste
• Pipe icing onto cupcakes and garnish to your heart's desire

enjoy!
(hopefully with a cup of tea!)

Home is where our story begins...

Home. A place to hang your hat, rest your tired soul, and surround yourself with all that makes you happy. 

Family. The word encompasses so much more than the truest sense of the word. It refers also to those who are not the immediate branches on our family tree, but the ones who are there for you through it all; the good, the bad, and the unbearable.  They say that you can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family. While that is true, I believe that for those of us who are lucky enough to find them, friends can become like family.  I am blessed, for I have such friends that I am lucky enough to call my extended family.

As you will glean from my sporadic blog posts, this year has been one of many challenges.  I am relieved and happy to say that I feel I've reached the light at the end of the tunnel.  My mixing bowls are out, my measuring cups are at the ready and my apron strings are once again tied.  It feels good to be back in the kitchen. It feels good to be home.

Home. It truly is where our story begins and my family, both immediate and my extended branches, are going to help me tell my tale.

These cupcakes are absolutely decadent.  The coffee infusion serves as a reminder of all the late nights spent juggling the duties of being not only a wife and a mother, but also a middle aged student.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.  For me, the pleasure comes not with the first bite, but from the therapeutic rhythm of following the recipe.

Enjoy!

. 

Mochaccino Cupcakes 

                     

3 eggs

 3/4 cup butter

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1/2 cup strong brewed coffee, cooled

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup dark, bittersweet, or semisweet chocolate pieces

1 recipe coffee infused butter cream icing

30 creme-filled rolled wafer cookies, such as Pirouettes

Unsweetened cocoa powder or ground cinnamon (optional)

 

Directions:
 

1. Allow butter and eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Grease and flour thirty 2-1/2-inch muffin cups (or line with paper bake cups). In a medium bowl stir together flour, the 1 cup cocoa powder, the baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a 2-cup glass measuring cup combine milk and coffee. Set aside.
 

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time, beating on medium speed until combined. Scrape sides of bowl; beat for 2 minutes more. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Alternately add flour mixture and milk mixture to butter mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Stir in chocolate pieces.
 

3. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each about three-fourths full. Use the back of a spoon to smooth out batter in cups.
 

4. Bake about 18 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly touched. Cool cupcakes in muffin cups on wire racks for 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes from muffin pans. Cool completely on wire racks.
 

5. Using a pastry bag fitted with a star tip, pipe coffee butter cream onto cupcakes. Insert wafers. If desired, dust with additional unsweetened cocoa powder. Makes 30 (2-1/2-inch) cupcakes.

Coffee Infused Butter Cream Icing

                   

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup butter
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons strong brewed coffee, cooled
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• extra strong brewed coffee, cooled (optional)

 

Directions:

1. Allow butter to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Gradually add 1 cup of the powdered sugar, beating well. Beat in the 3 tablespoons brewed coffee and the vanilla. Gradually beat in the remaining powdered sugar. If necessary, beat in additional brewed coffee until butter cream reaches spreading consistency.

 

Double, double toil and trouble...

 

  This decadent recipe is a sublime combination of two of my favourite things; coffee and chocolate.  That said, it also happens to be the perfect recipe for Halloween ~ minus the eye of newt and the other disagreeable ingredients of course!

"Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.
Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,"
     ~William Shakespeare; Macbeth
   
     Double chocolate, double layers of cake and a cup of Tim Horton's double-double coffee; this recipe combines it all to make one delicious cake!  Not familiar with a double double? It's Canada's most popular Tim Horton's coffee with double the cream and double the sugar. Double your pleasure!

Double-Double Chocolate Cake

You will need:

2 oz  bittersweet Baker's chocolate
2 cups  all-purpose flour
1 ¼ cups  granulated sugar
½ cup  cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp  baking powder
1 tsp  salt
1 cup  buttermilk (*see recipe below)
½ cup  vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp  pure vanilla extract
1 cup  double-double coffee from Tim's

• Melt the chocolate in the microwave according to package directions.  Stir until the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool.
• Preheat the oven to 350°f (180°c). Butter and flour two 8-inch (20 cm) round cake pans.
• *To make  buttermilk ~ place a tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup.  Add enough milk to bring the liquid up to the one-cup line.  Let stand for five minutes.
• Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Mix together the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla in the bowl until well combined.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients with the mixer on low speed. Add the melted chocolate and the double-double coffee and mix just until combined.
•  Pour the batter into the pans, spreading evenly.
• Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of a cake comes out clean. *Cool the cakes in the pans until they are easy to handle, then move them to a wire baking rack.

 For the chocolate icing:

2 oz  bittersweet Baker's chocolate
1 cup  unsalted butter, softened
2 cups  icing sugar
¼ cup  whipping cream

• Melt the chocolate in the microwave according to package directions. Stir until the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool.
• Whip the butter in the bowl with a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Add the melted and cooled chocolate and mix until combined.
• Slowly add the icing sugar to the chocolate mixture.
•  Add the whipping cream.
•  Continue mixing until the icing is smooth and thoroughly combined.
• Whisk on high for 1 minute more or until the icing is smooth and spreadable.

When cakes are cooled, invert one layer onto a cake platter. Spread the top with chocolate icing. Place the second cake on top of the icing. Spread the remaining icing evenly over the top and sides of the cake.

*Recipe from The Harrow Fair Cookbook: Prize-Winning Recipes Inspired by Canada’s Favourite Country Fair by Moira Sanders and Lori Elstone with Beth Goslin Maloney (Whitecap 2010).

 

Enjoy!