Green Tea Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

March 11, 2018March 13, 2018 ~ Max ~ Leave a comment

Time for another cupcake! This time green tea with cream cheese frosting. The pairing is unique

Ingredients:

For the cupcake

1.5 cups cake flour
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp matcha powder (I use vanilla matcha from David’s Tea)
1 tsp kosher salt
1 stick butter, room temperature, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

For the icing

8 oz brick of cream cheese, room temp
1 stick butter, left out for 30 minutes
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

For the Cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350˚F and line a muffin tin with paper liners.

Directions:

For the Cupcake:

Preheat the oven to 350˚F and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.

Mix first 5 dry ingredients in a mixmaster.

Add in butter, one cube at a time, until combined and mixture looks like coarse sand.

Add eggs, one at a time at low speed.

Add milk and vanilla slowly and beat for 2 minutes.

Fill liners.

Bake for 15-20 minutes.

For the Icing:

With a paddle attachment, cream butter and cream cheese. Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time.

Add the tsp of vanilla and mix slowly. If it is too thick at 1/2 tsp of milk at a time until you have the right consistency.

Science Fact of the Week:

I often asked what makes cake flour so special? Why do we use it? Now I’ve found the answer! It actually relates to protein! Cake flour has less protein in it, giving it a softer texture.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

February 25, 2018February 13, 2018 ~ Max ~ Leave a comment

I have made this recipe a few times, originally from Ina Garten. There are a lot of steps, but you end up with a delicious soft red velvet cupcake thats worth it.

Ingredients:

For the Cupcakes

1 stick butter, softened
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp gel food colouring (+1 tsp water) or 2 tbsp liquid food colouring
2 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 cup buttermilk
2 1/4 cup cake and pastry flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp white vinegar

For the icing

8 oz brick of cream cheese, room temp
1 stick butter, left out for 30 minutes
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

For the Cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350˚F and line a muffin tin with paper liners.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy

In a small bowl, mix gel food colouring with 1 tbsp of water and cocoa powder. Mix with a fork until it becomes a paste.

Add cocoa food colouring mixture to the butter mixture and beat until combined.

Add eggs and mix well after each addition.

Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

Add vanilla to buttermilk. I didn’t have any buttermilk on hand so I made a substitute at home. I put 1 tbsp lemon juice in a 1 cup measuring cup and filled to the top with 1% milk.

Add dry and wet ingredients, alternating between the two until well incorporated.

In a separate bowl mix baking soda and vinegar. The two will bubble (similar to your grade 7 science experiment). Mix until it stops bubbling and add to the batter. Mix well.

Transfer to muffin liners.

Bake for 15-20 minutes.

For the Icing:

With a paddle attachment, cream butter and cream cheese. Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time.

Add the tsp of vanilla and mix slowly. If it is too thick at 1/2 tsp of milk at a time until you have the right consistency.

Science Fact of the Week:

As you can probably guess, seeing as this recipe relates to a classic middle school science experiment, it seemed important to explain the science of mixing baking soda and vinegar. The mixing the reaction generates carbon dioxide gas. This is an example of an acid base reaction. It helps the red velvet rise well to make a light and airy cupcake.

Earl Grey Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla “Buttercream”

August 27, 2017August 27, 2017 ~ Max ~ 1 Comment

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Building on my last post, I’ve been on a little bit of a tea-kick. David’s Tea Cream of Earl Grey is one of my favourites, and incorporating it into some of my favourite recipes has been a unique challenge. I modified my vanilla cupcake recipe I’ve been using for nearly 10 years to add the strong earl grey flavour, giving these cupcakes a unique depth.

It took a few tries until this experiment was a success! After all, this is why we chose to call this blog The Science of Baking.

Ingredients:

For the Cupcakes:

1/2 cup earl grey concentrate (2-3 tbsp. earl grey tea and 1/2 cup boiling water)
1 3/4 cup cake flour
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks) nondairy margarine, room temperature, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
4 eggs
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

For the icing:

1 cup (2 sticks) nondairy margarine (softened)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° and line cupcake pan with cupcake liners.

1) Steep Earl Grey tea (in filter) with 1/2 cup boiling water. Allow to cool
2) Add the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix on medium speed until well combined (about a minute).
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3) Add margarine, a few cubes at a time until mixture resembles coarse sand.
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4) Add eggs one at a time
5) Slowly pour in almond milk, vanilla and earl grey concentrate. Beat for 2 minutes until smooth (works best with a mixer), scraping sides of bowl as needed.
6) Fill liners 2/3 full (about 1/4 cup batter) and bake for 15-20 minutes until tops are golden brown and centre is set.
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Allow to cool completely before frosting.
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7) Make the Frosting: Cream margarine. Add vanilla and gradually add sugar, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add almond milk and beat until fluffy. If desired, add food colouring. FullSizeRender 26.jpg
Makes 24 cupcakes. These freeze well unfrosted in a ziploc style bag. As well, the batter can be made in a 9 x 13 sheet pan (bake for 35-45 mins) or 9-inch circular pans (bake 25-35 mins) to make a cake.

Science Fact of the Week:

Similar to our friends the blueberries, Pure Vanilla Extract is rich in anti-oxidants such as vanillin. Using imitation vanilla decreases the anti-oxidant quantity, and therefore decreases potential health benefits. Vanilla has been shown to be anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory,and anti-bacterial. As a result, it may reduce one’s risk of certain cancers.