Chai Cupcakes with Cinnamon-Honey Buttercream

So here is my fantasy (maybe a possibility): That I would be able to finish college, take a year off and then continue on to Medical School. But then somewhere after, in between, or even during I would open my own bakery. I don't know how or even if those two would work together, but hey, I want it ALL! And my best friend, Cherish, would finish up her film school program at USC and become a successful director/ producer in LA and we would live in a cute little apartment that we would make all our own. Back to the present day is where it begins, here, where I have been hired to bake cupcakes for her "310 purple" class screenings - and let me tell you the film shorts were fantastic and an honor to view! In total I baked 4 varieties, here is one: Spiced Chai with Honey-Cinnamon Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

These cupcakes were fantastic. I just received Sky High in the mail the other day, and I knew I HAD to make these cupcakes because one, I LOVE chai, and two, because I heard that her recipes were fantastic, mind-blowing, amazingness. And trust me they were indeed. I didn't use her frosting recipe as I wanted to use something that would hold its shape but I did use her notes of honey which added a nice touch. Make these NOWWW!

Chai Cupcakes with Cinnamon-Honey Swiss Meringue Buttercream:

Yields: an 8-inch triple-layer cake (serves 12 - 16) OR

Original recipe from Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes

Printable Recipe

For the cupcakes:

1 1/3 cup milk

6 chai tea bags

4 whole eggs

2 egg yolk

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 3/4 cup cake flour

2 cup sugar

4 1/2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. cardamom

1/2 tsp. salt

8 oz. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

For the swiss meringue buttercream:

2 egg whites

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 sticks of butter (12 tbsn.), room temperature

6 tbsn. honey

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat to 350 F. Line with cupcake liners, set aside. In saucepan, bring the milk to a simmer over medium heat. Add the tea bags. Remove from the heat and allow to steep for 5 minutes. Remove the bags and squeeze out the remaining milk. Let the milk cool completely. In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, yolks, vanilla and 1/3 cup of the chai milk. In the bowl of a mixer sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt. Beat on low for about 30 seconds, then add the butter and remaining chai milk. Mix on medium low speed until light and fluffy. Next, add the egg mixture in three additions, making sure to scrape the bowl well after each. Divide the batter among the cupcake tins, about 2/3 full, and bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely. For the frosting, place all ingredients into a stand mixer or food processor and incorporate well until smooth, making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl.

Tailored Tuesdays

I love this color palette; so rich. This seems like my perfect Saturday outfit for moseying around the Santa Monica boardwalk. Flats for comfort, a clutch for ease, sunglasses for the summer sun and a scalloped jacket for femininity and night breezes. 

1. Vivienne Westwood Red Label "Wool short jacket" 

2. Vivienne Westwood Anglomania "Agriculture striped dress"

3. Marc by Marc Jacobs "Taylor cutout leather ballerina flats"

4. Oliver Peoples "Bartley photochromic aviators"

5. Tory Burch "Vegan leather logo wallet"

all images can be found at net-a-porter.com

Spinach & Feta Orzo Salad

My sister bought this ginormous bag of baby spinach the other day and we didn't think we could finish it by just making salads alone... so she made this orzo pasta salad. Yum! Later we added some roasted chicken for some protein but it would be great with grilled shrimp too. This salad is really versatile with mix ins, so don't be afraid to add something new, most likely it will turn out to be delicious. 

Spinach and Feta Orzo Salad

Yields: 4 - 6 servings

Slightly adapted from here and here. 

Printable Recipe

1 lb. fresh spinach, washed and dried

1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

2 medium tomatoes, diced 

zest of 2 lemons

lemon juice, to taste

1 1/2 cups of orzo

24 basil leaves, torn

1 - 2 tbsn. olive oil

salt and pepper, to taste

Pile the spinach leave on top of each other and julienne them into thin strips. Prepare the basil leaves the same way. In a large bowl, combine the spinach, lemon zest and chopped tomatoes. Cook the orzo according to the directions on the box. Once the pasta is drained, pour the hot pasta into the bowl with the spinach to allow it to wilt and the tomatoes to warm. Drizzle the olive oil on top and add the basil, salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste. Toss and eat immediately or refrigerate and eat later (it can be eaten warm or cold).

*** This would also be great with pine nuts, red onion, olives or whatever!

Julie & Julia

I'm excited for this!

Mango Lassi

According to Wikipedia, a lassi is popular drink originating from North India. It's traditionally made with yogurt and spiced with cumin or cardamom but I made mine with buttermilk, since I had some left over from the Red Velvet cupcakes. I've always wanted to try a lassi, so I just tossed everything into a blender and it was yummmy in my tummy in a split second. Slightly spiced and super creamy!!

Mango Lassi

Yields: 1 serving

Printable Recipe

1 cup of diced mango, about 1 large mango

1 1/2 cups of buttermilk

1 - 2 tbsn. sugar

pinch of cardamom

pistachios, chopped and toasted (optional)

fresh raspberries (optional)

Blend everything in a blender until well pureed. Serve and enjoy! I like to serve mine with fresh raspberries, but some chopped pistachios would be great also!

The easiest way to cut mango for me is to cut around the seed, then use a spoon to scoop out the flesh. Don't forget the flesh around the seed too, there's a lot left over!

FFF (Friday Flickr Favorites)

A quickie, because being on the verge of death (no, not the swine flu but rather a horrendous combination of a simple cold and lack of sleep) does not allow the presence of a long-ie. Enjoy!

You can view the rest of my favorites here.

Tailored Tuesdays

If only I could afford such beauties... oh the dilemma! It's okay, a girl can always dream can't she?!? I absolutely adore this leather jacket!!! It's not too biker chic and looks uber soft and paired with those bubblegum pink Louboutin's... perfectly girly.

1. D&G "Leather biker jacket" 

2. Diane Von Furstenberg "Tedesca tiered dress"

3. Chloe "Paraty leather shoulder bag"

4. Christian Louboutin "New decoltissimo pointed pump"

all images can be found at net-a-porter.com

Mango Coconut Pancakes with Cardamom Cream

My favorite fruit of ALL time are mangos. They are sweet, juicy and oh so delicious! Out of the blue I had this sudden urge to make pancakes and my mom had just opened up some fresh coconut in the morning, and I couldn't resist making these. The recipe is so simple: just mix everything together and you are done! How did they taste you ask? Well... they were amazing. I recommend eating them after they have cooled which allows the flavors to meld a little. With the spiced whipped cream and even more fresh mango it was pure, blissful heaven!

Mango Coconut Pancakes with Cardamom Whipped Cream

Yields: About 15 - 20 5-inch pancakes

Slightly adapted from here and here.

Printable Recipe

For the pancakes:

1 cup flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tbsn. sugar

1 large egg, slightly beaten

1 1/4 cup buttermilk

1 1/4 cup coconut milk

2 tbsn. melted butter

1 medium to large mango, seeded, skinned and finely diced

the flesh of 1 fresh coconut, finely diced (1/4 cup shredded coconut can be substituted)

For the whipped cream:

1 cup of heavy cream

2 - 3 tbsn. powdered sugar

1/8 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. cardamom

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar. Then add the milks, egg, butter and fruit. Mix to combine. Heat a large pan over medium heat. Lightly grease with cooking spray or some butter. Using a small ladle, pour the batter onto the hot pan, making sure they are about 1 inch away from each other. Once the batter starts to darken at the edges and you see bubbles forming in the batter, about 4 -5 minutes, flip the pancakes over. Brown for about 2 more minutes and remove from the pan. Let cool. For the whipped cream, use a hand mixer or a stand up mixer to whip everything together until stiff peaks form, about 3 - 5 minutes. Serve the pancakes with the whipped cream, fresh mangos or whatever you'd like. Enjoy!

How to Make Candied Rose Petals

I made these to top some Ispahan cupcakes. But they are equally gorgeous on any other cake or cupcake. They are simple, easy to make, and pretty to look at. Edible too (not that they taste amazing though)!

What you will need:

Roses (about 2 large roses)

1 egg white

1 tsp. water

1 cup of sugar

1. First pick some pretty bloomed roses.

2. Remove the petals carefully, making sure to use the ones that are un-bruised and clean. Also, check for any bugs that have attached themselves to the petals. Lay the rose petals on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.

3. Add 1 teaspoon of water to 1 large egg white, whisk well. Using a pastry brush, cover the rose petals lightly with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar immediately.

4. Lay back on the parchment paper and allow the rose petals to dry completely overnight for 24 hours. The rose petals will harden overnight and can be stored and safely used for up to 3 weeks. Enjoy!

Here on the finished Ispahan cupcakes:

Ispahan Cupcakes

When I got hired to make cupcakes for a birthday party, I offered a couple of different options to try. I threw out ideas all the way from lemon meringue cupcakes to raspberry white chocolate. She decided on Ispahan cupcakes and I was uber excited! Then a couple seconds later, a shot of fear ran through my veins... did I bite off more than I could chew?!?! I wanted something where the lychee flavor was really present and something that was of course beautiful.

I finally decided on a lychee butter cake from Dessert First and I planned to top it with a stabilized raspberry whipped cream and possibly fill it with a lychee mousse. No, no, no.... definitely did not work out! The stabilized whipped cream tasted fantastic but it must have been the mashed berries or something because it was hideous! So instead I decided to fill them with this instead which is kind of similar to a mousse (what I had planned to fill it with), so it worked out better this way! Yay I love it when things work out! For the frosting I wanted something that wasn't too sweet (as lychees are sweet by nature) and that I could pipe into stable shapes, so I decided to use a swiss meringue buttercream and it worked out perfectly! Topped with some candied rose petals (tutorial coming soon), fresh raspberries, some edible glitter and we are FINALLY done folks!

Yummy, creamy lychee batter:

Lychee Rosewater Butter Cake

Yields: 12 - 14 cupcakes

Original recipe from Dessert First, which can be found here.

Printable Recipe

1 14 oz. can of lychees, reserve the liquid

2 cups of cake flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

5 tbsn. rose water

2 tbsn. reserved lychee water

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare a cupcake pan with liners, set aside. Drain the lychees and cut into small pieces, set aside. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a small bowl, set aside. In a mixer cream the butter and sugar until well blended and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, making sure to scape the sides of the bowl as you move along. Next add the vanilla, rose water, and lychee water. Mix to combine. Lastly, toss the diced lychees into the flour mixture and mix with the wet mixture, mix to combine. Pour into cupcake pans and bake about 15 - 20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

They are waving 'Hello' to you!

Stabilized Raspberry Whipped Cream Filling

Yields: enough for 12 cupcakes

Slightly adapted from Art of Dessert, original recipe can be found here.

Printable Recipe

1 tbsn. water

1/4 envelope of unflavored gelatin

1/2 cup of heavy cream, cold

2 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

1/8 cup sugar

pinch of salt

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup of mashed raspberries

In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the water. Let the gelatin bloom/ absorb the water for a couple of minutes. Add a dash of the heavy cream and microwave for a minute to allow the gelatin to dissolve, set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, on low, beat the cream cheese until nice and fluffy. Add the whipped cream, sugar, and salt. Whip everything till soft peaks form, then add the gelatin mixture and the vanilla. Whip until stiff peaks form, then fold in the mashed raspberries. Refrigerate for 15 - 20 minutes. You can use the cone method or simply pipe these into the cooled cupcakes.

Pink raspberry cream stuffed inside the cupcakes:

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Yields: enough for 12 cupcakes

Original recipe is from Smitten Kitchen, which can be found here.

Printable Recipe

2 large egg whites

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 sticks of butter (12 tbsn.), cut into 12 pieces

1- 2 drops of food coloring (optional)

Put the egg whites and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer. Place the bowl over a pot of boiling water making sure the bottom does not actually touch the water. Stir the egg whites until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and place into the mixer stand. Beat until it becomes white and doubles in size. Add the vanilla on low speed, then add the butter, one piece at a time, making sure it is well mixed after each addition. Do not worry if it looks curdled, it will take some time for it to come together. Continue beating for 5 - 10 minutes until everything comes together. Spread/ pipe/ smother onto your cupcakes and enjoy!!

If you don't want to make candied rose petals, you could also decorate them like this:

The final cupcake order, all packed and ready to go!