Savory Cupcakes - Fig, Goat Cheese, and Onion

Have you ever thought you were going to drink Sprite, only to find that your server had mistakenly refilled your glass with water?  While water can be satisfying, if caught unaware, the sip can be strange and unnerving.  Likewise, when you hand someone a savory cupcake, you have to warn them to not expect a sugar rush (although with my savory cupcakes, the onion on the top should be a bit of an indicator).  Once savory cupcake tasters have clear expectations, they can settle in and enjoy a unique culinary experience.

My friend Danielle best described these fig, goat cheese, and grilled onion savory cupcakes as follows:

It tastes like dinner.  You know how after you've had a good meal, you are left with a sweet satisfied feeling in your mouth?  That's this cupcake.

The cupcakes were dense and biscuit-like, and while I chose to top them with a light spread of fig and goat cheese frosting, they would also be well received served naked (the cupcakes - not you) during a cocktail party.

Focaccia Bread Recipe - Quick and Easy to Make

Focaccia bread seemed daunting to make. Maybe it was the fact that the focaccia bread recipe called for rolling the dough (I couldn't just stuff the focaccia dough into a pan and call it done), or maybe it was the focaccia bread's many dimples (imagine each one hides an eyeball and try to sleep at night).  My focaccia bread fears, however, were unfounded. Focaccia bread, I learned, is easier to make than many other breads and it is fast to prepare (well, fast for bread).  Because it's not a tall bread, it only needs to rise for thirty minutes. 

Grilled Onions with Balsamic Vinegar and Brown Sugar

Grilled onions are the sweet cousin of the bad boy, make you cry raw onions.  Grilled onions still have an edge (as your breath will attest to), but grilled onions are sugary enough to make their way into a cupcake.  Sometimes, however, sweet things can be made even more appealing.

See what I mean?  Well, for grilled onions, balsamic vinegar and brown sugar do the trick.

Peach Cobbler Cupcakes

Cobblers seem so Fall to me; brown sugar, cinnamon, and big chunks of fruit make me want to snuggle under a blanket with a loved one.  But, peach cobbler is so much better in the summer when it can be made with fresh fuzzy peaches (I happen to adore the fuzz) rather than the uniform slimy ones from a can.

Cookie Spread - Review and Giveaway (12 winners!)

Imagine using a Biscoff cookie as you would use peanut butter.  You could smear it on bread, dip veggies into it, eat it by the spoonful, or, in my case, use it as a frosting.  Imagine no more, my friends; such a thing exists.  It's called Tamarin spread and it's the cinnamon cookie lover's Nutella.  I think my dad summed up this product best when he said, "You'd better take this away from me, I could eat way too much of this stuff."

I know that Tamarin spread is no health food (you're spreading a cookie on bread) but I love that it has a simple ingredient list: flour, sugar, rapeseed oil, baking powder, soy lecithin (for smoothness), salt, and spices.  When I talked to my contact at Tamarin, who sent me the free spread, he told me that they actually make the speculoos (the generic name for Biscoff) cookies in the traditional way, then smash them to a powder to make the spread.  Neat! 

Tamarin spread has been available overseas since 2008, but the company is currently trying to break into the U.S. market. While you can buy Tamarin spread online, it may not available at your local shop (check here to see if they sell it near you). 

The folks at Tamarin were nice enough to give me one dozen jars of the spread to give away.  Here's how you can win:

• I'll randomly choose six winners from people who leave a comment on this post. Tell me why you want to try the Tamarin spread and be sure to include your email so that I can contact you.
• I'll choose the other six winners randomly from people who join my newly created Facebook fan page and comment on the status update where I talk about this contest.  I'm really excited about my new Facebook page and I hope that it becomes a fun interactive extension of this blog.

Details:  The contest is open to U.S. residents only and ends on Tue., July 27 at 11:59 PM CDT.   No one can win more that once, but you can enter two times - once on the blog and once on Facebook.

Update: The blog winners are listed below.  Check the Facebook page for the Facebook winners. Congratulations to all the winners!

• Vivian mac, who said, "Sounds yummy! I'd make a biscoff sandwich with Tamarin. :)"
• Rebecca, who said, "I love Nutella, especially on a crepe with bananas and whipped cream. I wonder if this would taste equally as good?"
• Jeff and Corrine, who said, "yum...I must try this!"
• Sourkraut, who said " Holy cow! I absolutely must win this! My family is German so even though I grew up in the states we were frequently treated to German delicacies, especially around the holidays. One of my favorites was always Spekulatius, which is, you guessed it, the German version of speculoos. Even if I don't win this contest I'll have to track down a jar of this fantastic-sounding stuff. It'll bring back a taste of my childhood!" 
• Anonymous, who said, " I want to try it as I love cinnamon and sugar and have never been a fan of Nutella..but wanted my own spread w/o chocolate!"
• Anonymous, who said, "This is the first i have ever heard of this spread and it sounds amazing. Speculos cookies are a family tradition. my mom has learned these from her mom who brought the recipe over straight from belgium. If i win this, i would actually give it to my mom b/c of her love of these cookies and it would be great for her to have another happy memory of her mother."

Biscoff Cookies - From Scratch Recipe

"Biscoff cookies, peanuts, pretzels?" asks the friendly flight attendant. "Biscoff cookies, please," I reply - as if there were any question.

Southwest Airlines is my favorite U.S. airline; so much so that I dressed as a 60's Southwest flight attendant one year for Halloween.

Before there was baby Myles, there was my poodle, Scruffles.

But, Delta offers Biscoff cookies, and in doing so, they won a piece of my heart.

Biscoff cookies are a simple cinnamon/sugar biscuit-type cookie with an ingredient list that doesn't contain any funky chemicals or high fructose corn syrup! 

When browsing one of my favorite food blogs, Coconut and Lime, I discovered that Biscoff cookies are actually branded  Belgian biscuits called speculoos.  Biscoff stands for "biscuit" plus "coffee" (it's served with coffee - it's not not coffee flavored).  I decided that I had to make some myself.

I used a speculoos recipe that I found on Matzoh and Rice.  Most tasters thought that the flavor was spot on for a Biscoff cookie, but the texture was slightly off - there wasn't as much crumb.  It was close enough for me. I would eat them on a plane.  I would eat them in the rain.  I would eat them in a house.  I would eat them with a mouse.  I would eat them here or there.  Say!  I would eat them anywhere!

But, How Did You Brand The Homemade Biscoff Cookies With Cupcake Project?

Banana Split Cupcakes for Paula Deen

This month, I created banana split cupcakes for Paula Deen.  I was glad to see that one of her readers already made them and left the following comment on her site:

I made these this past weekend and they were a hit. I have been trying out different recipes for an upcoming birthday party and I think that these will be the perfect addition/ centerpiece for that occasion. The taste was magnificent! And the whipped topping was the perfect icing on the cake I have ever made. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Melissa of Laredo, TX on July 12, 2010 11:36 AM

Head on over to Paula Deen's site for the cupcake details!

The Flavor Bible Review and Giveaway

Update: This contest is now closed.  I'll be announcing the winners at the end of the month.

All bakers are supposed to have shelves and shelves of yellow, dog-eared cookbooks.  Well, I don't.  When seeking out new recipes or recipe inspiration, I seldom turn to printed material; rather, I typically look to my fellow food bloggers. I browse sites like Foodgawker and Tastespotting and use Food Blog Search.  I also rely heavily on Google and shared recipe sites like All Recipes.  

My online searches, however, have never led me to anything even remotely like The Flavor Bible.  The Flavor Bible is not a traditional recipe-laden cookbook.  It is a guide to flavor combination that makes coming up with your own recipes so much easier! Since receiving a free copy of it, I've used it several times a week!   Remember my pistachio cupcakes with rosemary?

Watermelon Cupcakes - Attempt One

 

Update: I've now posted my second watermelon cupcake attempt.

I've been dreading writing this post. It's torture to write about projects that don't work. It forces me to relive the trauma.  Deep breath.  Here we go...

It started with a birthday. Our friend's son was turning one and he was having a watermelon-themed party.  I offered to bring some cupcakes (just 24 - a much easier task than others that I've undertaken).  My goal was to make watermelon cupcakes that tasted (rather than looked) like watermelon.

Both the watermelon syrup and watermelon butter that I prepared as cupcake ingredients had a strong watermelon flavor.  When baked into a cake, however, any semblance of their watermelon flavor disappeared in in the oven like lost socks in the dryer.  My bright red syrup produced a cake so yellow that it may as well have come from a Duncan Hines box - no red color and no watermelon taste.  Even the watermelon glaze that I topped the cupcakes with was a bust; it vanished into the cupcakes as if it never existed.

Luckily, I found some cute watermelon candies at the oldest and most esteemed candy shop in St. Louis, Crown Candy Kitchen.  Without the watermelon candy, no one would have ever known that my cupcakes were supposed to be watermelon-flavored.  Although, perhaps not knowing would have been better - everyone loves a good yellow cake.

Homemade Soda

Homemade soda is our household's favorite drink.  We occasionally purchase store-bought sodas, but there are so many more soda options when you make homemade soda.  Plus, you can make homemade soda as sweet (or sour) as you like.

We make all of our homemade soda using our Sodastream.  I LOVE Sodastream and I assure you that they did not pay me to write this nor did they even send me any free stuff (I'll  always tell you if something was sent to me for free). 

Sodastream is a simple gadget that sits on the counter and carbonates water.  Sodastream sells lots of soda mixes that you can add to the carbonated water to make homemade soda, but (and now you'll know for sure that they didn't sponsor this post) I think there is no need to buy them.  You can make your own homemade sodas by pouring the fizzy water into a glass and mixing in a splash of your favorite juice.  I drink a ton of apple soda (apple juice + carbonated water) and orange soda (orange juice + carbonated water).  Sure, these homemade sodas don't taste as sweet as store-bought sodas, but they are just as refreshing.

I'm not a big water drinker, but I don't want all of the calories from a tall glass of juice; I'd rather save the calories for cupcakes!  So, I tend to make my homemade sodas with 80% fizzy water and 20% juice.  You can play around and find your own perfect ratio! 

One of my new favorite homemade sodas is watermelon soda (shown at the top of this post).  I make it by adding just a few tablespoons of homemade watermelon syrup to a glass of carbonated water.

 Aside from the flavors that I've already mentioned, some of my other favorite homemade sodas have been:

• Lemon or lime (fizzy water + juice from half a lemon or lime + 2 Tbsp of sugar)
• Lingonberry (fizzy water + a few Tbsp of lingonberry concentrate)
• Pineapple (fizzy water + pineapple juice to taste)
• Mojito (fizzy water + a few Tbsp of mojito syrup - I made the syrup for my pomegranate mojito cupcakes and had some left over.)

Have you made homemade soda?  What's your favorite flavor?

Watermelon Syrup and Watermelon Butter

Watermelon Jolly Ranchers do not taste like watermelon.  The same applies to watermelon blow pops and watermelon licorice. To me, the flavor of these candies is as close to the taste of a real ripe watermelon as a McDonalds burger is to an all beef hand-formed hamburger patty.   Likewise, you don't find many watermelon cakes and cupcakes that taste similar to watermelon.  Most so-called watermelon cupcakes are cupcakes that are designed to look like a watermelon - not taste like one.

I wanted to make a true watermelon-flavored cupcake.  

Step 1:  Make a watermelon syrup.

I found a small article by Kate Mullins on a webpage about recipes from the past that described the process for making watermelon syrup.  Kate had made the syrup and suggested that it might work well in a baked good.  I decided to give it a try.

Sadly, the watermelon syrup did not make my cupcakes taste like watermelon (more on that in a future post), but that doesn't mean that the syrup wasn't a success.  The watermelon syrup captured in a little red bottle the true essence of one of summer's top fruits. It tasted just like real watermelon - which isn't surprising, since watermelon is the only ingredient.

As Kate suggested, homemade watermelon syrup would make a great gift for a foodie friend.   Use watermelon syrup on pancakes, in popsicles, in oatmeal, or anywhere you would use a sweetener.  However, my favorite use is watermelon soda.

Here's how to make watermelon syrup, plus details on the watermelon syrup byproduct that may be even better than the syrup itself.

Mocha Fudge Pops for TLC

Only the true Cupcake Project stalker may have noticed the new TLC Cake Crew Badge on the lower right side of my blog.  A while back, I was asked to be part of a small group of bloggers chosen by TLC - The TLC Cake Crew.  I was highly honored to be asked - check out the list of Cake Crew bloggers (many of whom I stalked even before joining the crew).  This month, TLC sent each Cake Crew member a Flip video camera and asked us to share a favorite summer dessert with TLC.com.  I say this somewhat nonchalantly, but you have to imagine me jumping up and down with excitement.  I'd wanted a Flip for quite some time and had almost purchased one.  Plus, my video was going to be on TLC (I know, it's the dot com and not the TV channel, but it's a step).  Woot!

After MUCH deliberation, I decided to make mocha fudge pops for my TLC video. Unlike standard popsicles, these mocha fudge pops are actually frozen cupcakes on a stick.  Not all cake works frozen.  I considered making cheesecake (if you haven't tried frozen cheesecake, you should), but I settled on a flourless chocolate cake with a splash of Kahlua that essentially tastes like frozen fudge (a true fudgsicle).

Below, you'll find the video that I made for TLC.  TLC will be choosing their favorite Cake Crew video based on creativity, appearance, and online feedback.  So, if you like the mocha fudge pops, please leave comments on this post. Thanks! The winner of TLC's contest will get a 15 minute interview with the Cake Boss, Buddy Valastro.  If I win, I'd share the love by soliciting questions from you!

I've included the mocha fudge pop recipe beneath the video.

And the Winner Is...

Voters had the following things to say about the winning cupcake in this year's Ice Cream Cupcake Roundup:

• All I have to say is--this looks awesome!
• I wish I had a dozen to snack on right now!
• Yum, can't wait to make this!
• Beautiful presentation--obviously made by a wonderful, loving chef that really knows cupcakes!!
• OMG, this is mouthwatering.. I'm going to go out and make this right now.
• Sounds super tasty, but not too out there! And perfect all year round.
• Very creative, appealing, and perfectly executed cupcake!
• This one makes me drrrrroooooool.
• Its Sooo tempting... i wish i could just eat it out of my screeen :)
• one of the best combos in a cupcake, my mouths watering just thinking about it
• this cupcake looks like a little party in my mouth and I want to make them.

Still wondering which cupcake it was?  These comments might help: