Orange Spice Cupcakes with Orange Coconut Cream Cheese Icing

Celebrating My Birthday Together
12/16/2010

I can tell you where the months went since the last recipe post. They were swallowed up by time. Time spent preparing for a working cruise in Hawaii. Time spent being with my mother as much as I possibly could, and then time spent flying my mother to her final resting place in Pennsylvania on July 15, 2011. Time spent with the most profound grieving I never could have imagined. Time spent in Hawaii working. I'm back now. My thoughts and sadness still gravitate to my mother daily and how I am missing my best friend. And I realize that life does go on, and each day there is perhaps a little less sadness and a little more peace of mind. So, here I am with the newest offering on the blog since this past April, something spicy, perky, sweet and perfect for the fall season.  My mother would have thought these cupcakes were gorgeous.

ORANGE SPICE CUPCAKES

2 1/2 cups of flour

2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. cardamom

1/4 tsp. salt

Stir these dry ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.  Now, as many of you know, I have a jar of cardamom that I've been trying to utilize and justify the cost ;-)  Yes, it was expensive, but amazingly I am nearly finished with the jar!!! (I've used the better part of it sprinkled into my coffee grounds before brewing, excellent.)  If you do not have cardamom and don't want to invest, then don't add it.  Replace it with cloves, or nothing at all.

1/2 cup softened butter

1 1/4 cups light brown sugar

3 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. orange extract (buy it where you buy vanilla)

1 1/4 cups of milk

With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition.  Beat in the vanilla and orange extracts.  Stir in the flour mixture and the milk alternately into the butter/sugar mixture, stirring only well enough to combine, ending with the milk.  You don't have to use a mixer for this.  Divide the batter between approximately 16-18 paper-lined muffin tins, filling about three-quarters full. Bake for 20 minutes or less in a preheated 350 degree oven or until a cake tester comes out clean, or when the cakes spring back when you touch them.  Makes around 1 1/2 dozen.

ORANGE COCONUT CREAM CHEESE ICING

1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened (you can use light)

1/2 cup butter, softened

4 cups of powdered sugar, sifted to get the lumps out

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. orange extract

1/2 cup flaked coconut

1 Tbs. milk

Beat together the softened cream cheese and butter.  Stir in the salt and the extract.  Add the powdered sugar a cup at a time, adding a drop or two of milk each time.  It's amazing how little milk you actually need to make an icing consistency.  Don't overdo it, or you'll be adding more powdered sugar to compensate for your soupy icing.  Stir the coconut in last.

If you like toasted coconut as a garnish, spread a nice handful on a piece of tin foil and stick it in your toaster oven on, what else... toast.  Watch it so it doesn't burn, and stir it every couple of minutes until it is a nice toasty color!

I brought these to my hair salon today and gave them to my awesome son, Evan, for beautiful hair color, and to Melrose, for the greatest cut.  They shared!  

Make these and let me know in the comment section how you loved them.

Carrot and Coconut Cupcakes with Marmalade Buttercream Icing

Why, you must think I've gone nuts making batches of mac and cheese and the like, for who? Just me? Seriously, I am NOT eating all of this stuff.  Like today, for instance, I wanted to bring something to my therapist who is helping me with my..... oh, you thought I was going to say my head, didn't you? She's an occupational therapist, a hand specialist, and she's helping me get the use back in my hand that had surgery in three different places.  I like to bring her things that show my appreciation. I'm bringing her cupcakes today!  Using ingredients I have on hand, I put together a basic cupcake recipe and added some of my favorite things to it, especially in the icing, orange marmalade....  Now, I got a little overly zealous dividing the mixture.  This recipe should really make a dozen cupcakes. But I had two things going against me.  Firstly, I had jumbo cupcake liners and secondly, I didn't want them to look skimpy so I added a little too much batter to each one.  I have more like 8 jumbo cupcakes instead of 10 to 12 regular cupcakes.  When you make them, buy regular sized cupcake liners and divide the batter accordingly.  Enjoy! And let me know if you try them, or if you'd like me to make them for you..... Ask me, I might!

CARROT AND COCONUT CUPCAKES 

WITH MARMALADE BUTTERCREAM ICING

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup finely chopped carrot

1 cup coconut

1/3 cup raisins

1/4 cup oil (not olive oil)

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 eggs

1 cup flour

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• I chop the carrots first in my food processor. If you have one, do the chopping in it. It produces a very small chop, perfect for the cupcake. If you don't own a processor, then chop away. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, stir together the first seven ingredients, the sugar through the raisins.
• Using a hand mixer, beat in the oil and butter.
• Continuing to use the mixer, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Lastly, add the flour and beat with the mixer for another minute or two. (like you would a cake mix).
• Divide the mixture among at least 10 to twelve regular cupcake liners set in a muffin tin. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and dry. Remove from the muffin tin and cool on a rack completely before frosting.

MARMALADE BUTTERCREAM ICING

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup orange marmalade

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 to 2 tsp. milk

1/4 cup finely chopped pistachio nuts, optional

Very simply, cream the butter, marmalade and vanilla together. Sift the powdered sugar over the top and stir until starting to become incorporated. Add the milk a teaspoon at a time until the desired spreading consistency.  Wait until the cupcakes are completely cooled before frosting. If you like, sprinkle the tops of the frosted cupcakes with the chopped nuts.  Wow, enjoy!

Easiest & Best Fresh Blueberry Pie

Oh joy.... blueberries are back in season again. An opportunity to make this pie.  This recipe came from my mother, who I believe got it from our next door neighbor many moons ago. She was an expert pie baker, our neighbor. Once you make this, you will never look at another recipe for blueberry pie. I'm serious. Just to show you how serious I am, I'm offering a money back guarantee.  Wait a minute. I'm not selling you anything. How can I offer a money back guarantee?  Listen, July 4th is around the corner. Good excuse to make this. But don't wait until then. Make one now and see for yourself. The combination of fresh and cooked berries with the slightly tart taste of lemon.....all poured into a pre-baked and cooled deep dish pie crust, then topped with toasted coconut, and chilled!  I never met a frozen pie crust that I didn't like. Of course, if you're a purist then roll out your own crust from scratch.  Fifteen or twenty minutes from start to finish (except for the chilling time), the pie serves six generously or eight not so generously.

EASIEST AND BEST FRESH BLUEBERRY PIE

3/4 cup sugar

2 1/2 Tbs. cornstarch

1/4 tsp. salt

2/3 cup water

3 cups blueberries, divided

2 Tbs. butter

1 1/2 Tbs. lemon juice (about half a lemon)

1/3 cup coconut, toasted (optional)

Spread the coconut onto a sheet of foil and toast in a 350 degree oven, stirring occasionally, until browned and sweet smelling. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Mix the sugar, cornstarch, salt, water and 1 cup of the blueberries together in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook until the berries have "popped" and the mixture is thickened, bubbly and dark purple in color. Remove from heat and stir in the butter until melted, then stir in the lemon juice and then fold in the remaining two cups of berries.

Pour into a pre-baked, cooled pie crust, one that you've slaved over yourself, or a frozen deep dish pie crust.

Sprinkle the toasted coconut over the top of the pie. Chill until firm. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Sesame & Panko Crusted Tofu with Toasted Coconut & Pineapple Rice

This dinner idea came to me in bits and pieces. I had all the ingredients but wasn't quite sure how I wanted to put them together. The tofu I bought several days ago. It was calling to me to please do something with it or throw it out. This is what I came up with.... And I should start by saying, please give tofu a try! It's soy, it's good for you, it's high in protein, it's low in cholesterol, low in carbs, economical, a great alternative to meat,  it goes well with everything, just like that neutral shade of lipstick you have. (I'm talkin' to the girls now....)

THE MARINADE:
1 pkg. extra firm tofu, drained and blotted dry. I wrap the whole block of tofu in paper towels and press it until most of the packaging liquid is removed from it.
2 green onions, finely chopped
Fresh ginger, 1 inch finely chopped (use powdered if you don't have fresh, to taste, probably 1/4 tsp.)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Sesame oil, 2 Tbs.
1 8 oz. can pineapple chunks. Open the can, drain into a cup, and use half the juice for this marinade. The other half of the juice you will use for cooking the rice (below). The pineapple chunks you'll use in the rice also.
1 tsp. salt
Ground black pepper

Cut the tofu into five slices. Cut each slice in half the long way, then cut it into 4 pieces. You should wind up with about 40 pieces of tofu. (In other words, you should get 8 chunks from one slice of tofu.) Throw those into a large zip-lock bag and add the above marinade ingredients. Refrigerate.

THE CRUST MIXTURE:
Using three bowls, place a couple handfuls of flour in one, 1 egg plus a little water in another bowl, and in the third bowl place 1 cup of Panko breadcrumbs, 2 Tbs. toasted sesame seeds, salt and pepper to taste. I buy the sesame seeds and toast them myself in a dry pan for a few minutes until browned.

Get some canola or another light oil hot in a pan, not olive oil. Place half the tofu chunks into the flour, stir to coat, shake off the excess flour. Then place the pieces into the egg/water mixture and stir to coat, then drop them into the third bowl of Panko/sesame seeds/salt and pepper. Fry on medium to medium-high heat, turning until nicely browned. Remove to paper towels to drain.  Repeat the process with the other half of the tofu, adding a little more oil to the pan if necessary. They turn out crispy on the outside, soft in the middle and just downright excellent.

THE RICE: 
Brown or white rice, you'll need 1 cup of raw, whichever you choose
1/4 cup or more of coconut, toasted in your toaster oven for a few minutes until nicely browned.
Pineapple chunks (from the can that you opened for the juice in the marinade)

I used brown rice. I made 2 cups of it, using mostly water and the rest of the pineapple juice to measure 2 cups of liquid for 1 cup of uncooked rice, and I added a few drops of sesame oil. Cook according to the package directions.

When the rice is done, remove it from the heat and stir in the pineapple chunks and the toasted coconut, reserving a sprinkle to garnish the entire plate. I chopped the chunks of pineapple smaller too.

You are ready to plate!  I am serving this with a simple saute of the three vegetables that I had on hand, but it certainly was a good choice; red pepper, yellow pepper, zucchini, a clove of garlic, salt and pepper. The combination of those vegetables was delicious, but you can use whatever you like or have on hand.

Listen kids, I know this sounds like a lot of work. It was. Nothing that a cocktail won't smooth out :-) The whole process was really NOT that serious. And the end result was well worth a bit of effort. If you just can't handle the thought of tofu, then there'll be no convincing you otherwise. For the rest of you, please try the recipe and then let me know what you think. If nothing else,  just leave me a note and let me know you stopped by.