Yellow Cupcakes

I was inspired by the summer and my amazing job at The French Bouquet. So I made them my favorite cupcakes and decorated them with white chocolate daisies. I love my job, I love flowers, and I love cupcakes.

Cupcakes:

1 1/4 cups flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cups sugar

6 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup milk

Icing: (Hershey's. It's delicious, and I can't make better.)

1 stick butter, melted

2/3 cup cocoa

3 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

To make the decorations:

1 to 2 cups of white chocolate chips or white almond bark

1 teaspoon cream/half and half/milk (optional)

yellow icing dye (Don't use food coloring. It causes the chocolate to seize because it's water-based.)

Lay out a large sheet of wax paper on a sheet pan or flat surface. Melt the chips in the microwave or with a double boiler, stir in the cream, and set aside a small amount to dye yellow (for the centers of the flowers). Using a spoon, ladle petal-shaped white chocolate onto the wax paper. Do the same with the yellow chocolate but form circles instead of petals. Allow the chocolate pieces to chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. When ready to decorate, carefully remove from the wax paper and place on cupcakes.

Cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In one bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, cream butter an sugar for 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, add the vanilla, and mix well. Alternate adding dry ingredients and milk, ending with dry ingredients. Mix only until combined and try not to overmix for the best texture. Pour the batter into a paper cup-lined standard muffin pan and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for a few minutes and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Icing: Place cocoa in a bowl. Add melted butter and mix well. Alternate adding powdered sugar and milk. Stir in vanilla. (It makes about 2 cups, so if you plan to double the cupcake recipe, you'll have enough icing for both batches for sure.) Frost cupcakes with the icing and decorate with the white chocolate by arranging the pieces in the shape of a flower.

My Great-great-grandmother Clara's Chocolate Cake

My family got together for Memorial Weekend at the lake, so I made this family cake recipe.

2 cups flour

1/3 cup cocoa

1 stick butter

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 by 9-inch cake pan. Dissolve baking soda in the buttermilk. Combine flour and cocoa in one bowl. In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time and mix well. Alternate mixing in dry ingredients and buttermilk. Add vanilla and boiling water and mix until just combined. Pour into prepared pan and bake at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes. I just used my favorite chocolate icing recipe (Hershey's), which is on the back of the cocoa jar and in my yellow cupcakes post.

Srawberry Apple Tart

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1 1/2 sticks butter, cold, diced

1/2 cup ice water

4 Granny Smith or Golden Delicious apples

1 small package of fresh strawberries

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 stick butter, diced

Place flour, salt, and sugar either in a mixing bowl or a food processor. Add the stick and a half of butter by pulsing the food processor or cutting in with a butter knife, until the pieces are pea-sized. Mix in the ice water until the dough comes together. Place on a floured surface and quickly knead into a ball. Wrap the ball of dough and chill for an hour.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or wax paper. Roll the dough to about a 10 by 15-inch rectangle and place on the prepared sheet pan back in the refrigerator.

Peel the apples and cut into 1/4-inch slices. Overlap the edges of the apples as you arrange them in whatever pattern you choose, leaving space to add the strawberries later. Sprinkle the 1/2 cup sugar over the apples and dot the pieces of butter over the tart. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes.

While the tart bakes, rinse and cut the strawberries into thirds. After 30 minutes of baking, remove the tart from the oven and place the strawberries in the leftover space (or on top of some apples if you didn't leave space). Bake for 15 to 20 more minutes (no more than that unless you like squishy strawberries). When you remove the tart, be sure to slide a spatula under the pastry to make sure it doesn't stick to the parchment paper as it cools.