I started a family cookbook using photos when I first got a digital camera, how many years ago? At first it was only for family but then my husband wanted to share it with friends. It started out as the family Top Ten Recipes, but soon grew, especially the dessert category. My husband kept saying I should do a blog to update recipes. I finally have spent all I want to spend on copies for cookbook updates for all my dear friends and family and they will have to endure my blog to get the newest recipes. I will also include ones I already put in the cookbook. Maybe that will inspire them to pull the book out and try something new. My sister Joni started a food blog - Red Couch Recipes. It is so inspiring. She always said she had no creativity!
Check out her blog. She got into blogging recipes because her daughter wanted a blog. Check her blog out too - Polka Dot Pantry Sweets.
I planted violets just so that I could do candied violets. Have you checked out the price for ready made ones? Every year I seem to miss them as the violets are on for just a short time. This year I not only candied them, but did it several times and taught one of the young women in my neighborhood. She went home and taught her sisters and they made these Lemon Supreme Cupcakes for their mother for Mother's Day.
frosting lover, and I usually eat just the top half of a cupcake. Inspired by these beautiful cupcake wrappers made by Wilton which I found at JoAnn Fabrics, I made the cupcakes, removed them from their original
cupcake cups, split them in half and filled them with Lemon Curd, put them back together,
gently placing them in the Wilton Cups then frosted them with my own recipe for Lemon Curd Frosting and
finished it off with the most beautiful sugared spring flowers.
Sugared Flowers
Just Whites (powdered egg whites, found in your baking section)
Granulated sugar
Fresh edible flowers that have no pesticides
Reconstitute egg whites according to package directions. You will probably want the equivalent of just one or two egg whites. The egg whites are really sticky and take a minute to dissolve in the water. Be patient with it and get all of the lumps out. Gently wash the flowers. Dip the clean flowers one at a time into the egg whites. Blot excess off on a clean paper towel. Holding the flower by the stem end, gently spoon granulated sugar on the front of the flower and then on the back. Lay on parchment paper to dry overnight. If there is too much egg white and the sugar seems too thick, just rinse the sugar off and start over.
Lemon Supreme Cake
1 lemon
3 C. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 C. milk
1- 6 oz. container lemon yogurt
1 tsp vanilla
1 C. butter, softened
1 3/4 C. sugar (Baker's sugar is a finer grain and gives you a finer grain in your finished cake, but it is opt.)
3 large eggs
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Zest the lemon, you should have about 1 tablespoon.
In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt
In a small bowl whisk the milk, yogurt and vanilla.
In mixer bowl, beat butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, scraping the bowl after each addition and beating well after each addition.
On low, beat flour mixture into butter mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk mixture. Beat well and scrape bowl after each addition. Fold in the zest.
Spoon into prepared pans - use 2 - 8 inch pans or 18-20 muffins. I used jumbo muffin cups in regular muffin pans and filled about half full. This gave me a taller muffin. I later discarded that muffin cup.
Bake 25-30 minutes for the 8 inch pans and 20-25 minutes for the cupcakes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes and then remove from pan.
When doing a round cake, cut parchment paper to fit the bottom and don't grease the sides of the pan. When the cake has cooled for 10 minutes, run a sharp knife around the edge of the cake. Your cake comes out perfectly this way, and doesn't dome up in the center.
Lemon Curd Frosting
1/2 C. butter, softened
1 -10 oz jar Lemon Curd ( I like Dickinson's which you can find in many grocery stores in the jam section. If you have a Trader Joe's, theirs is wonderful. Don't use any that are bright yellow. They can be bitter)
4 C. powdered sugar
1-3 T. water
Cream all together, adding water as needed until soft and creamy.
Assembly
Remove cupcakes from cups, split and spread with a little lemon curd. Put halves back together. Place in Wilton Cupcake Wrappers. I found these at JoAnn's Fabric or you can find them on line. Etsy.com has a great selection. I also tried making my own with a 6 1/2 x 6 1/2 inch piece of paper which I pleated over a narrow glass that I had turned over.
Place frosting in a frosting cone with a large plain tip or in a Ziploc plastic bag with the corner cut off. Frost in a circular motion from the outside to the center.
I brought these to a shower and then to a charity auction and they were huge hits.
Well, that's all for my first blog ever. My friends can't believe I am finally a blogger!
