Marisa's Italian Kitchen

The Secret Ingredient Is Always Love

buttercream

Triple Chocolate Brookie Tart

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When brownie meets cookie a delectable Triple Chocolate Brookie Tart is born. Made with dark cocoa powder, raspberry chocolate and mini semi-sweet chocolate chips then topped with a luscious raspberry buttercream. This treat makes a delightful chocolaty and fudgy dessert for those special days when CHOCOLATE is absolutely the answer!

Triple Chocolate Brookie Tart

There are days when we ladies are faced with some really tough choices….right?

Sometimes its as simple as choosing the right colored lipstick or nail polish depending on our present mood. Should we make a bold statement and select a fiery cherry red or maybe we are feeling somewhat romantic and flirtatious and we decide to settle on a dusty shade of pink!

Other times, if your a foodie and a chocoholic like I am then our moods and thoughts consistently juggle on whether to have brownies or cookies to mark special occasions.

My friends, this crossover Triple Chocolate Brookie Tart will surely win you and your family over!

Triple Chocolate Brookie Tart

At first glance it may seem like a simple tart but one bite will transport you from simple to sublime with its dense, fudgy texture and a blissful chocolate raspberry taste!

Triple Chocolate Brookie Tart

Since no tart is complete without a little embellishment, I decided to top it with a yummy raspberry buttercream to compliment the chocolate raspberry and I pipped on some pretty swirls with the 1M tip! However, you can use any decorative piping tip and technique that you prefer.

Triple Chocolate Brookie Tart

You’ll need a 10 inch tart pan with a removable bottom to make this dessert but if all you have is an 8 inch tart pan then use that. Simply spread out the dough while filling the tart pan 3/4 way up and scoop up the remaining dough and bake a half dozen or so cookies on a separate baking sheet. Keep in mind to adjust the baking time accordingly!

Triple Chocolate Brookie Tart

Enjoy with your favorite hot cup of coffee, tea or simply with a cold glass of milk!

This recipe is a spine off from my Chocolate Raspberry Cream Cheese Cookies and the raspberry buttercream is the same used for in my Lemon Raspberry Spritz Cookies.

If you make this recipe remember to tag @marisasitaliankitchen on Instagram so I can see your creation!

Triple Chocolate Brookie Tart
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Triple Chocolate Brookie Tart

When brownie meets cookie a delectable Triple Chocolate Brookie Tart is born. Made with dark cocoa powder, raspberry chocolate and mini semi-sweet chocolate chips then topped with a luscious raspberry buttercream. Makes a delightful chocolaty and fudgy dessert.
Course Dessert
Servings 8 -10 slices
Author Marisa

Ingredients

  • FOR THE TART
  • 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
  • ½ cup 125 grams cream cheese, softened (in brick form)
  • ½ cup butter softened
  • 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 150 grams chopped raspberry chocolate pieces melted
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup baking cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt
  • 2/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • Icing sugar or powdered sugar for dusting
  • FOR THE RASPBERRY BUTTERCREAM
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup icing sugar plus additional 3/4 cup
  • 1 tablespoon seedless raspberry jam
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon whole milk I used almond milk

Instructions

  1. Instructions
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  3. You'll need a 10 inch tart pan with a removable bottom.
  4. Grease and set aside.
  5. In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat together the brown sugar, cream cheese and butter until light and creamy.
  6. Mix in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla until thoroughly combined.
  7. Stir the melted chocolate raspberry into the batter mixture.
  8. In a separate bowl combine together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
  9. On low speed mix the flour mixture into the batter mixture until combined.
  10. Stir in the mini chocolate chips.
  11. Scoop the batter into the prepared tart tin and smooth it out with an offset spatula until its evenly distributed.
  12. Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 to 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Take care to not over bake as the tart can dry out.
  13. In my oven, 20 minutes was sufficient and it had a soft yield to the touch. The tart will be puffed up slightly when ready and as its cooling it will deflate a little in the center.
  14. Transfer the tart pan to a wire rack and allow to cool completely before piping on the buttercream.
  15. RASPBERRY BUTTERCREAM
  16. In a small bowl beat ¼ cup of softened butter for 30 seconds on medium speed.
  17. Add ½ cup of icing sugar, 1 tablespoon of seedless raspberry jam and 1½ teaspoon of milk and beat until combined.
  18. Gradually beat in an additional ¾ cup of icing sugar.
  19. Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag with the 1M tip attached and pipe the buttercream around the edges of the tart.
  20. Dust with icing sugar then slice, serve and enjoy!

 

 

 

Italian Spumoni Cake

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Delicious flavors of the ever popular Italian ice-cream better known as simply Spumoni, is revisited in a three layered spectacular Italian Spumoni Cake that is sure to impress.

Italian Spumoni Cake

Crumbly cake layers of strawberry, chocolate and pistachio are stacked together while separated by strawberry preserves and pistachio cream. Frosted with a vanilla scented buttercream, sprinkled with some crushed pistachios and then decorated with spumoni flavored french macarons for a truly celebratory dessert.

Every once in a while hubby will surprise me with the latest Bake From Scratch Magazine, packed full of drool worthy baked goods that can easily be replicated at home. A true baker’s delight in every sense of the word.

This latest issue has some of the loveliest naked cakes or rather nearly naked cake recipes and the one that caught my eye was the Spumoni Cake. I love it for its pretty trifecta of colors which takes me back to those lazy hot summer days, happily sitting outside while enjoying some yummy spumoni ice-cream.

Italian Spumoni Cake

Although I’m not a baker by profession and have only ever baked a few layered cakes in my lifetime, I found this cake not difficult at all to put together and I’m sure you will too.

While you’ll basically be baking three separate layers, it’s really one cake batter divided among three separate bowls.

One bowl will have strawberry preserves folded into the batter, the second bowl will have cocoa mixture folded in while the third bowl gets some delicious pistachio paste.

Italian Spumoni Cake

You’ll want to begin assembling the cake directly on its serving platter lined with 2 pieces of parchment paper joined at the center. You then simply pull out the 2 sections when you’re done frosting for easy clean up.

Italian Spumoni Cake

Since decorating this beautiful Italian Spumoni Cake is where the fun really begins, do know that you can truly use your imagination here so feel free to add your special touch.

Although, the original recipe called for freeze dried strawberries to garnish the cake, they were really hard to find and I had absolutely no luck in finding them. However, I did come across some adorable french macarons looking simply perfect and I new they would adorn this cake quite beautifully.

I used a little dab of buttercream on one side of the macaron so that they adhered to the cake and I must say they added such a lovely touch to the overall look! Who would not want to sink their teeth into a slice of this delicious goodness…right?

Actually, hubby and I did just that! Day after day and just until there was not a crumb left. But please don’t judge, you would have done the exact same thing, I’m sure of it!

Italian Spumoni Cake

Worth mentioning here is how this cake actually tastes better the following days. Partially due to the preserves and pistachio paste nestled between the layers which keeps the cake very moist and also enhances the flavors of this visually stunning cake. As a result, this cake is an excellent make ahead dessert for those busy and extremely chaotic occasions which we all have from time to time.

Pistachio cream can also be made ahead and kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. You can therefore really pace yourself by making a few steps ahead of time which is always a win win in my book.

Most of all have fun.

Italian Spumoni Cake
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Italian Spumoni Cake

All the flavors of the ever popular Italian ice-cream better known as simply Spumoni, is revisited in a three layered spectacular Italian Spumoni Cake that is sure to impress.
Course Dessert
Cuisine Italian
Author Marisa

Ingredients

  • FOR THE CAKE LAYERS
  • 1 cup unsalted butter softened
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 3/4 cups cake flour
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour divided
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt I used fine sea salt
  • 240 grams or 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup strawberry preserves divided
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/4 cup boiling water
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • pistachio paste recipe below
  • vanilla buttercream recipe below
  • chopped pistachios for garnishing
  • macarons to decorate spumoni colors, chocolate, strawberry and pistachio OPTIONAL
  • PISTACHIO PASTE
  • 2 cups roasted pistachios
  • 2 tablespoons of honey
  • 1/4 water
  • VANILLA BUTTERCREAM
  • 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter softened
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt I used fine sea salt
  • 9 cups confectioner's sugar icing sugar
  • 6 tablespoons whole milk

Instructions

  1. CAKE LAYERS:
  2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
  3. Grease and flour 3 (9 inch ) round cake pans.
  4. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together at medium speed just until fluffy.
  5. This should take about 3 to 4 minutes and if your using a stand mixer, you'll want to stop and scrape the sides of the bowl a few times.
  6. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition.
  7. In a separate medium sized bowl, whisk together the cake flour, 1/4 cup all purpose flour, baking powder and salt.
  8. With your mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternating with the milk while starting with the flour mixture and ending with the flour mixture.
  9. Beat just until combined between each addition.
  10. Beat in the vanilla extract.
  11. Divide the batter evenly among 3 separate bowls.
  12. In the first bowl, fold in a 1/2 cup of well stirred strawberry preserves and the remaining 1/4 cup all-purpose flour.
  13. Combine the cocoa, 1/4 cup of boiling water and baking soda in a small bowl.
  14. Fold the cocoa mixture into the second bowl of cake mixture.
  15. In the third bowl of cake mixture, fold in a 1/2 cup of pistachio paste.
  16. Spoon the cake batters into the prepared pans and smooth the tops with an offset spatula.
  17. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.
  18. Test to see if its done by inserting a wooden skewer in the center of the cake. If it comes out clean then the cakes are ready.
  19. Allow the cakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.
  20. ASSEMBLING THE CAKE LAYERS
  21. Place the strawberry cake layer onto your serving platter and pipe a ring of vanilla buttercream all around the inside edge of the strawberry cake layer, creating a border.
  22. Spread the remaining 1/2 cup strawberry preserves over the strawberry cake layer making sure to stay between borders.
  23. Carefully place the chocolate cake layer over the strawberry layer and pipe a ring of vanilla buttercream around the inside edge, creating a border.
  24. In a small bowl stir very well together 1/2 cup of the vanilla buttercream with the remaining pistachio paste and spread this over the chocolate layered cake while staying within the border.
  25. Carefully top the pistachio cake layer over the chocolate cake layer.
  26. Spread the remaining vanilla buttercream over the top and sides of the 3 layered cake. (I used a buttercream icing smoother to create the naked cake look)
  27. Garnish with chopped pistachios and chocolate, strawberry, pistachio macaron cookies if desired.
  28. PISTACHIO PASTE
  29. Grind pistachios as fine as you can using a food processor or better yet a spice grinder if you have one.
  30. Stir together the grind pistachios and honey in a small bowl.
  31. Stir in 1/4 cup of water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the paste has a consistency of peanut butter.
  32. Pistachio paste can be made ahead and stored in an air tight container at room temperature up to one week.
  33. VANILLA BUTTERCREAM
  34. Place the butter in a large bowl and beat at medium speed just until creamy.
  35. Beat in the vanilla and the salt.
  36. Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the confectioners sugar.
  37. Increase the speed to medium and continue beating until smooth.
  38. Beat in the milk one tablespoon at a time until the buttercream frosting reaches a spreadable consistency.

Recipe Notes

Recipe is adapted from Bake From Scratch Magazine.

 

Sandwich Cookie Pops

by 51 Comments

 

sandwich-cookie-pops

This past week turned out to be pretty challenging for me. It has been quite hectic in my kitchen trying to finish dozens of chocolate cake pops and these yummy sandwich cookie pops…all for a good cause!

A few colleagues and I organize an annual bake sale to raise money for National Denim Day, a Canadian wide event which raises money for Breast Cancer Awareness. This year was exceptionally exciting because we had many co-workers who generously donated their time and talent to make this year’s fundraising a success.

Aside from making the much requested cake pops, I did want to switch things up a little and make something different…something fanciful and playful. It had to be a special treat and exciting enough to entice one to donate, however big or small the donation might be. These sandwich cookie pops were certainly it!

They are somewhat whimsical and sophisticated in appearance, appealing to both the young and older crowds.

This simple cookie dough is scented with vanilla and black raspberry liqueur. Once baked, the cookies are sandwiched together with a delicious buttercream, dipped in white chocolate candy melts and sprinkled with funfetti.

sandwich-cookie-pops

Now, a little about these sandwich cookie pops…yes, they are a little more work then a drop cookie, but only because there are a few more steps to follow.

Read the recipe through first and when your are ready to make them, pace yourself. Prepare the dough the day before, let it chill in the fridge then proceed with the recipe the following day. Bake them in the morning, fill them in the afternoon and dip them in the evening. Simple enough!

sandwich-cookie-pops

When working with candy melts I highly recommend you thin the chocolate with some vegetable oil as this will do 2 things for you. First, it will make the sandwich cookie pops easier to dip and secondly, it will render the chocolate melts less sweet.

sandwich-cookie-pops

The best part with these sandwich cookie pops, if one is an avid baker, they can be adapted to suit many different occasions or themed parties such as baby and bridal showers, as well as birthdays or holidays such as Mother’s Day!

And on that note…Buona Festa della Mamma to all amazing moms!

sandwich-cookie-pops
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Sandwich Cookie Pops

These sandwich cookie pops are vanilla sugar cookies with a raspberry buttercream filling dunked in white chocolate candy melts and sprinkled with funfetti.
Course Dessert
Servings 50 cookie pops
Author Marisa

Ingredients

  • COOKIE DOUGH
  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup butter softened
  • 3/4 granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon black raspberry liqueur or milk
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 50 lollipop sticks
  • 1 1/2 pounds candy melts flavor of your choice (I used Wilton candy melts)
  • Funfetti or any sprinkles of your choice optional
  • RASPBERRY BUTTERCREAM
  • 1/2 cup softened butter
  • 2 1/2 cups icing sugar
  • 2 tablespoon seedless raspberry jam
  • 1 tablespoon black raspberry liqueur or milk

Instructions

  1. Stir together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in a medium sized bowl. Set this aside.
  2. In a larger bowl beat the softened butter on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.
  3. Add the granulated sugar and beat until it turns creamy and smooth. Occasionally scrape down the sides of the bowl.
  4. Beat in the liqueur or milk if using, and the vanilla extract.
  5. Next, beat in the flour mixture until everything is combined.
  6. Once combined, cover and chill the dough for 30 minutes.
  7. Remove the dough from the fridge and divide into two equal portions. You may want to use a scale for this.
  8. Roll out each half into a 12 inch rope.
  9. Wrap up each roll in saran wrap and chill for about 4 to 24 hours.
  10. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  11. Line two cookie baking sheets with parchment paper. If you have four all the better.
  12. Slice the rolls into 1/8 inch pieces.
  13. Place 50 lollipop sticks about 1 and 1/2 inch apart on your prepared cookie sheets.
  14. Place a dough slice, centered on one end, of each lollipop stick.
  15. Bake for about 6 to 7 minutes or until the edges are a light golden brown.
  16. Bake the rest of the cookie slices without the lollipop sticks.
  17. When ready, let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for one minute, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
  18. Meanwhile, prepare the buttercream.
  19. RASPBERRY BUTTERCREAM
  20. In a medium sized bowl, beat 1/2 cup of softened butter with an electric mixer on medium-high speed for 30 seconds.
  21. Beat in 1 cup of the icing sugar, raspberry jam and the liquor (or milk).
  22. Gradually beat in the remaining 1 1/2 cups of icing sugar.
  23. Spread about a teaspoon of the raspberry buttercream on the bottom part of each cookie with the stick.
  24. Top with the remaining cookies bottom side down, pressing down gently to sandwich together. Set aside while melting the chocolate.
  25. Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl on 50% power for 1 minute. Stir well and continue to microwave at 30 second intervals until smooth and completely melted.
  26. At this point the candy melts will need to be thinned in order to make them more fluid and not overly sweet.
  27. Stir in some vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon at a time making sure it is well incorporated. ( a good rule is 2 teaspoons per 12 oz of candy melts.) It should give a ribbon like pouring consistency.
  28. Pour the melted chocolate in a wide rimmed coffee mug. Stir again.
  29. Hold each cookie pop by the stick and carefully dip into the melted chocolate to coat all over and let excess chocolate drip off back into the mug. You can also tap the cookie stick against the rim of your mug to help it along, turning the stick over and over as you tap. This helps to achieve an even coating.
  30. Place on a waxed or parchment lined baking sheet and sprinkle with funfetti.
  31. Repeat with remaining cookie pops.
  32. Keep them flat on baking sheet till chocolate is set.

Recipe Notes

Recipe adapted from Better Homes and Garden Magazine

 

Lemon Raspberry Spritz Cookie

by 48 Comments

lemon raspberry spritz cookies

Once in a while, one comes along which transcends all others. At a mere glance your knees weaken, your lips quiver and you can resist no longer. You succumb to it’s alluring temptation and ever so gently take the first bite of these lemon raspberry spritz cookies.

Of coarse I am talking about these rose shaped spritz cookies, sandwiched together with a luscious raspberry buttercream.

What were you all thinking about? Hmmmm!

I have always baked for pleasure, spurred on by the shear joy it is to watch my family and friends devour delectable home baked sweet treats. And yet three weeks ago, I could never have imagined baking again, as such was the overwhelming sadness after my dad lost his battle with lung cancer.

Yet bake I must, it is embedded in my soul. Having this creative hobby helps to shift my focus elsewhere, away from loss and sadness.

I was working on some new recipes just before my dad entered the hospital. One was a gluten free muffin, a new biscotti recipe and these pretty lemon spritz cookies. My dad would have gotten a kick out of these! He and my mom both loved lemon scented desserts, so this month I will be featuring lemony sweets in their honor.

Lemon raspberry spritz cookieLemon raspberry spritz cookie

I was inspired to come up with my own rose shaped cookie after I saw them first on I Am Baker blog by Amanda. She so happens to be the very first blogger I followed just a few years ago. She made hers in the neapolitan colors (vanilla, strawberry and chocolate). She is amazing so go check her blog out but please do come back !

raspberry sandwich cookie

I used a piping bag with the 1M tip to shape the cookies into roses but alternately you can use a cookie press if you have one. If using a piping bag, fill it with about 1 cup of cookie dough at a time. The dough will be much easier to pipe this way. Trust me I learned the hard way!

Also if you are new to piping and mess up on a few roses, simply scoop the rose back into the piping bag and try again.

Lemon raspberry spritz cookie

These lemon raspberry spritz cookies are deliciously tender and have a subtle lemon kick which pairs beautifully with the silky smooth raspberry buttercream. I find they are elegant enough for any special occasion and irresistible for any day of the week.

The raspberry buttercream was adapted from Better Homes and Garden Magazine. I halved the portion measurements for you because that is all you will need to fill the 20 to 22 sandwich cookies, depending on the size of your rose.

Lemon raspberry spritz cookies

I initially wanted to use lemon oil to flavor these lemon raspberry spritz cookies but could not find any and then I came across the Treatology Meyer Lemon Flavor concentrate. It has a sweet, citrusy taste and a little goes a long way so use sparingly. Not only can you use it in  desserts but it is also great in drinks. I will definitely be using it again.

Lemon raspberry cookie

 For best results chill the piped spritz cookies for about 30 minutes or freeze for a few minutes before baking. This will help the rose cookies retain their shape.

Check back soon for more lemon desserts!

lemon-raspberry-spritz-cookies
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Lemon Raspberry Spritz Cookie

A tender lemon spritz cookie sandwiched together with a raspberry buttercream.
Course Dessert
Servings 20 to 22 sandwich cookies
Author Marisa

Ingredients

  • COOKIE DOUGH
  • 1 cup unsalted butter softened
  • 2/3 cup icing sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon Sweet Meyer Lemon flavoring I used Wilton or 1 teaspoon lemon extract
  • 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • a pinch of salt
  • RASPBERRY BUTTERCREAM
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter softened
  • 1/2 cup icing sugar plus additional 3/4 cup
  • 1 tablespoon seedless raspberry jam
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons of black raspberry liquor or whole milk

Instructions

  1. LEMON SPRITZ COOKIE
  2. Preheat oven to 350*F
  3. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
  4. In a large bowl beat together the softened butter and the icing sugar until it is light and fluffy.
  5. Next beat in the egg, vanilla, lemon flavoring and lemon peel until combined for about 1 minute.
  6. The dough will look somewhat curdled because of the alcohol in the lemon extract or lemon flavoring and that is o.k. Do not over beat.
  7. Add the flour, pinch of salt and beat until combined.
  8. Transfer the dough, one cup at a time to a pastry bag with a star tip (I used the 1M tip)
  9. Alternately, you can also use a cookie press.
  10. Pipe dough in a circular motion starting with a center and working your way outward forming a rose shape. (Space the cookies 1 inch apart on the cookie sheet)
  11. Bake at 350*F for 8 to 10 minutes until the bottom is light golden brown. Let cool completely.
  12. RASPBERRY BUTTERCREAM ICING:
  13. In a small bowl beat 1/4 cup of softened butter for 30 seconds on medium speed. Add 1/2 cup of icing sugar, 1 tablespoon of seedless raspberry jam and 1 1/2 teaspoon of black raspberry liquor or milk and beat until combined. Gradually beat in an additional 3/4 cup of icing sugar.
  14. Spread a generous teaspoon of icing on the flat bottom side of half of the cookies and sandwich together with the remaining cookies. (I used a piping bag with a round tip)
  15. Dust with icing sugar.

 

Red Velvet Cupcakes

by 9 Comments

IMG_1460

A colleague of mine started a new tradition at work. Rather than collecting money for a birthday cake on someone’s special day, the “birthday person” gets to bring a cake or treat. Since baking is right up my alley, it works just fine for me. The difficult part was in deciding what to bake! I have no qualms in baking my own cake, I have even ordered my own birthday cake on one occasion…but that’s another story!

I love Red Velvet Cake!!! Rather than baking a whole cake I decided on mini red velvet cupcakes topped with my favorite buttercream icing. It is my birthday after all! But enough about me. Let me say, these cupcakes were a hit! With a deep rich red color and tender texture…simply irresistible!!!

The addition of vinegar to the batter boosts the red coloring. I promise you won’t even know its’ there.

The recipe calls for 1 cup of buttermilk, but if your like me and almost never have it in the fridge, here is a simple substitution. Pour 1 tablespoon of white vinegar into a measuring cup and pour in enough milk to make 1 cup. Stir and let stand for about 10 minutes and use as buttermilk.

Cupcakes

  • 1 cup  buttermilk
  • 1 tsp   pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp coarse salt
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup red food coloring
  • 2 tbls dutch processed unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 1/4 cups  cake flour, sifted
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tbl  white wine vinegar

Preheat the oven to 350*F.

Place 26 small parchment baking cups, divided on 2 baking sheets. You can also use standard muffin pans, in this case you will need a 12 cup pan and a 6 cup pan sprayed with nonstick cooking spray or lined with cupcake liners.

For the cupcakes: In a small bowl combine the buttermilk, vanilla and set it aside.

In a large bowl mix the butter, sugar and the salt on medium-high speed just until it is light in color and looks creamy, about 2 to 3 minutes. If you are using a stand mixer you will need to scrape down the bowl about half way through. Beat in the eggs one at a time.

In another small bowl, combine the food coloring and the cocoa together, stir to form a paste. Beat the paste into the butter-sugar mix until combined.

Next, start adding the flour and the buttermilk mixture in tree batches by starting with the flour and ending with the flour. Let the batter stand for 15 minutes.

Stir together the baking soda and the vinegar in a small bowl. Let it stand until it starts to foam then fold into the batter. Divide the batter among the baking cups.

For best results, bake one pan at a time for about 18 to 23 minutes. Because I used smaller baking cups, I found 18 minutes was sufficient. If you are using standard baking cups you may need to bake them a little bit longer. Use the 18 to 23 minutes as a guide line. When the cupcakes spring back when gently touched, you’ll know they are ready. You can also insert a toothpick in the middle of the cupcake, if it comes out clean then it is ready. Cool completely before frosting.

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Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:

4 cups    icing sugar, sifted (also known as confectioner’s sugar)

2/3 cup   unsalted butter at room temperature

1/4 cup   whole milk

1/4 tsp    pure vanilla extract

Beat the icing sugar and butter together on medium-low speed until well mixed.

In a small bowl, combine the milk and vanilla extract. Add it to the butter-sugar mixture a bit at a time, beating on low speed until incorporated. Then turn the mixer to high speed and continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy for at least 5 minutes. The longer you beat the frosting, the lighter and fluffier it becomes.

Frost the cupcakes with the Vanilla buttercream using any technique you prefer. I used a pastry bag fitted with a large pastry tip, the 1M from Wilton to form the rosette on top.

Yields 18 standard cupcakes or 26 mini cupcakes.

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The Cupcake recipe was adapted from The Sono Baking Company Cookbook.

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