Food and Things » cupcakes

Black Cat Halloween Cookies

Laura Weiss — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 11:15:45 +0000

While researching Halloween, Chef Renee Marton came across these Black Cat Cookies, a very easy way to make cookie with a black cat design.

For Candy C0rn Halloween Cupcake recipe, click here.

Black Cat Cookies
adapted from Betty Crocker’s Cook Book
for Boys and Girls, 1957

Ingredients

1/3 cup shortening
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten 
2/3 cup honey 
1 teaspoon vanilla 
2-3/4 cup flour 
1 teaspoon baking soda 
1 teaspoon salt 
flat bottomed glass or small rolling pin
chocolate peppermint wafers - round
semisweet chocolate chips 
toothpick

Thoroughly mix first 5 ingredients. Stir flour, baking soda and salt together and then add to mixture. Blend all together, but don’t overmix. Chill for one hour. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease baking sheet. Roll dough into balls the size of walnuts. Place on cookie sheet. Dip bottom of glass in flour. Use bottom to flatten cookies. Bake for about 8 minutes.

As soon as cookies are removed from oven, place a peppermint wafer slightly off center of each cookie (this will become the main body of the cat). Place two chips close together next to top edge of mint wafer and one at the center of the bottom edge of wafer. With toothpick, using a circular motion, stir the two top chips—one at a time—and drag the toothpick upwards to form the point of the cat’s ear. Repeat. On the bottom chip, with toothpick, shape the melted chocolate into a long tail by pulling the chocolate down and to angle.

Cupcakes: Baked By Melissa to Open on Upper West Side

Laura Weiss — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 13:40:05 +0000

Crains reports that mini-cupcake maker Baked by Melissa is opening an outpost on the Upper West Side. Yelpers give the bite-sized treats a generally solid rating.

The shop is slated to open at 2325 Broadway at 83rd Street. It’s the company’s fifth shop in Manhattan.

Cupcakes by Baked by Melissa.

Mother’s Day Cupcakes with Organge Buttercream Icing

Laura Weiss — Tue, 03 May 2011 01:31:44 +0000

Orange Cupcake. By abakedcre via flickr.

Chef Renee concocted these cupcakes, sure to please Mom on her special day. Combine with a gift certificate to a day spa, and you’ll have one happy mother.

Orange, Pecan and Toasted Coconut Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350°F.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tsp. baking powder

pinch salt

1 cup butter, room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup coarsely ground pecans (don’t overprocess, or they will become oily)

Zest of 1 orange

4 eggs

1/3 cup orange juice

1 cup shredded coconut, toasted (5-7 minutes at 350F)

1 cup chopped pecans, toasted (same as above)

METHOD

Line two cupcake pans with cupcake papers (24 cupcakes)

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, using an electric beater, cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy.

Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Reducing the speed of the mixer, alternatively add the flour with ground pecans and orange juice. Mix until just blended.

Portion the batter between the cupcake holders. Don’t overfill the cups– the cupcakes will rise, and you need room for the icing later. Bake 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Do not overcook.

Transfer cupcake pans to racks and cool for 15 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan and cool completely.

Fast Orange Buttercream Icing

8 oz. unsalted butter, softened

4 oz. granulated white sugar

2-4 oz. orange juice

1 egg yolk

pinch of salt

1 cup powdered sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

2 Tbsp Cointreau or Grand Marnier

Zest of 1 orange

In a food processor or with an electric mixer, add the butter, egg yolk and granulated sugar. Blend until well incorporated and fluffy. Slowly add powdered sugar and 2 ounces of orange juice in alternating amounts. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as you work. Add salt, vanilla, orange zest and liqueur.

If the mixture is not easily spreadable, add the other 2 ounces of orange juice, one ounce at a time. Mix well, and taste for seasoning.

Decorate each cupcake with the icing, and sprinkle with toasted pecans and toasted coconut.

Upper West Side: Cupcake Cafe Crumbs Moves into Shiny New Digs on Amsterdam Ave.

Laura Weiss — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 19:55:11 +0000

Cupcakes. Photo: CRUMBS Bake Shop

Not able to resist an apparently unstoppable trend, New Yorker’s continue to wolf down cupcakes. In fact,the Upper West Side branch of Crumbs has moved into shiny new digs. And the chain is expanding nationwide.

In a recent story, the Wall Street Journal, wrote about New Yorkers’ obsession with the little frosted cakes. Personally, I don’t get it. I know they’re considered by many a cheap indulgence, but frankly, it’s kid food for adults.

If you’re looking for the new Upper West Side Crumbs, you can find it at 350 Amsterdam Avenue at 76th.

Gramercy: Red Velvet Cake at Duke’s Rocks…Maybe. And the Top 5 Red Velvet Cupcake Places in NY

Laura Weiss — Wed, 12 May 2010 20:37:50 +0000

My friend Charles and I have a longstanding tradition of ordering red velvet cake when we go out to lunch at Duke’s, the sports bar in Gramercy and Chelsea in New York. I think this all started when Charles helped me successfully pitch the Times a few years ago; we celebrated with huge slices of red velvet cake.

Red Velvet Cake. Photo: Southern Foodways Alliance.

These days, we head for the Duke’s on Third Avenue for our red velvet fix. Is it the best in town? The waitress told us some folks love Duke’s rendition. Others give it a hearty thumbs down.

Here’s what we thought about the door stopper-sized piece we were served:

Me: Maybe because it was refrigerated, the cake is heavy and dry. The frosting, which looked like it had been applied with a trowel, rocks. Does Duke’s really need to gild the lily with whipped cream?

Charles: The cake’s too dry, but the frosting’s great. (He took the leftovers; I guess he’s scraping the cream cheese icing off right now.)

Duke’s
560 Third Ave.
at 37th St.
212 949 5400

99 E. 19th St.
212 260 2922

Here’s Yelp’s top 5 places to get Red Velvet cupcakes in the city:

Two Little Red Hens

Sugar sweet Sunshine Bakery

Cake Man Raven

Make My Cake

Billy’s Bakery

Where to Get Holiday Cupcakes, Gingerbread Houses and More at Upper West Side Bakeries

Laura Weiss — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 12:00:41 +0000

Christmas cupcakes. Photo: CRUMBS Bake Shop.

Gingerbread brownstone. Photo: Bakery Soutine.

By Miriam Gottfried

Upper West Side bakeries are ramping up for the holidays, adding various seasonal items to their menus. Here’s a look at the December goodies at a few of them:

Bakery Soutine will be offering various gingerbread constructions, honey bourbon fruitcake, Royal Navy plum pudding, croquembouche and Buche de Noel. www.soutine.com

Buttercup Bake Shop will be selling special gingerbread cupcakes with pumpkin icing as a seasonal holiday treat. www.buttercupbakeshop.com

Holiday cupcakes, including a Christmas confection with green cream cheese frosting and red sprinkles, a blue-and-white Hanukkah rendition, and a treat topped with eggnog frosting are on the holiday menu at www.crumbs.com

Magnolia Bakery will have red velvet cupcakes, topped with edible chocolate disks bearing pictures of dancing Rockettes. Other seasonal cupcakes include ones decorated with snowmen and snowflakes, and the Sno-Cap—devil’s food cake with meringue-icing peaks. www.magnoliabakery.com

Among many other holiday items, Silver Moon Bakery makes jelly doughnuts and Star of David layer cake for Hanukkah, a fig tart and traditional Stollen bread for Christmas. There’s also a triple chocolate bavarois to help ring in the new year. www.silvermoonbakery.com

Halloween Recipe: Candy Corn Cupcakes To Wow Your Trick-or-Treaters

Laura Weiss — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 12:00:15 +0000

Photo: By tsaiware via flickr.

What could be a better Halloween treat than cupcakes crowned with candy corn “teeth?” Try these goodies from Upper West Side Chef Renee Marton on your young (and grownup!) ghosts and goblins:

Witch’s Teeth Halloween Cupcakes

Makes one dozen cupcakes.

INGREDIENTS

1 28-ounce can pumpkin, drained in a paper liner or towel lined strainer, for one hour
3 eggs
¾ cup canola oil
1/2 orange juice
2-1/4 cups light brown sugar
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup dried sweetened cranberries
pinch salt

METHOD

Cupcakes

Place cupcake liners in cupcake pan.

In a large bowl and with an electric mixer, blend together the strained pumpkin, eggs, oil, orange juice, and sugar. Beat until well blended.

Sift together the dry ingredients and mix into wet mixture, blending until smooth. Don’t overmix or the cupcakes will be tough. Fold in cranberries. Fill liners three-fourths full with batter. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Cool on a rack.

Cocoa Frosting

½ cup butter, softened
½ cup cocoa powder (Dutch process)
2.5 cups powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons orange juice

orange candy sugar, for sprinkling

1 bag large or regular size candy corn.

Mix butter and cocoa powder together until well blended. Add powdered sugar alternating with orange juice. Use an electric mixer so you can “fluff up” the icing by incorporating some air—this will make it easier to spread on the cupcakes.

Immediately, place the icing in a Ziploc bag. Squeeze the icing into one corner of the bag, and press out the air before you seal the bag. Snip off one corner and squeeze out the icing in a zig zag pattern until the tops are completely covered. Don’t go over the edges of the cupcake. The icing should be thick enough so it can hold the candy corn in place. If you use regular size candy corn, place the “teeth” into the frosting any way you think witch’s teeth would grow. Sprinkle with the orange candy sugar. Do not refrigerate or the frosting will develop a “skin.” Serve the same day.

If you want to get a little fancier, put a star pastry tip into the corner of the ziploc bag, and swirl in a clockwise direction as you squeeze the frosting onto the top of the cupcake.

Best Cupcakes in New York Area? Greenport’s Butta’ Cakes Delivers Bliss

Laura Weiss — Tue, 12 May 2009 15:05:46 +0000

Update: Butta’ Cakes Birthday Cakes: The Best in NY Area?

If you’re looking for a great cupcake–one of the best I’ve sampled–you’ll have to drive a couple of hours to Greenport on Long Island’s North Fork. There, you’ll find vineyards laced with vines just beginning to bud. But the sumptuous cupcakes at new Greenport Bakery Butta’ Cakes are more intoxicating than the local wines. In fact, for pure carb delight, I’d go with these cupcakes over a glass of North Fork vino any day of the week.

In Greenport, the charming seaport town on the spine of land that’s flanked by Peconic Bay and Long Island Sound, owner Marc LaMaina just opened up Butta’ Cakes on Main Street this past weekend. Now, the heavenly treats are rolling out of the new bake shop’s ovens.

Owner LaMaina spent the last several years working at a bakery in South Carolina, and his pastry chef, Christine Thompson, attends a local community college culinary school. At one point, she was a cake decorator for the bakery section of a supermarket. But this woman is much more than a grocery store baker.

One Butta’ Cakes cupcake I’ll come back for is composed of vanilla cake with Italian meringue butter cream frosting. Airy, yet rich the cake was the perfect complement to the luscious buttery frosting. Other combinations include Belgian chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream frosting, Guinness cake (yes, it’s made with the beer), and a luscious looking lemon cake topped with a lemon-vanilla frosting.

As we stepped outside the shop onto Main Street, three beefy guys were standing nearby, each one downing fistfuls of cupcakes. “Mmmm,” they sighed with each bite, rolling their eyes heavenward.

The cupcakes are priced at 2.75 each, with one dozen for $30.

LaMaina says they’ll be offering up cookies soon. Breakfast is being planned as well, with selections consisting of fresh croissants, danish and muffins. By summer, the bakery hopes to to offer a simple menu of egg sandwiches made on their fresh baked bread. A cheese and dessert fondue menu will be on tap soon, from 7 pm-11 pm.

Butta’ Cakes

119 Main St.

Greenport, NY

631 477-6666

RELATED

Obama Cupcakes.

Upper West Side: Magnolia Bakery.. .Without the Cupcakes

Upper West Side: Buttercup Bake Shop

Obama Cupcakes

Laura Weiss — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 20:51:33 +0000

Many people have asked to see an image of the Obama cupcakes I wrote about for Huffington Post. I can’t upload the picture to the original post, so I’m posting it here. These cupcakes were produced by the Little Cupcake Bakeshop in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn to honor Obama’s inauguration.