Red Velvet Cupcakes

I have always wanted to make red velvet cupcakes, but never came around to do it. This weekend however I made some for friends at work, and they came out cute and delicious (the cupcakes, not my friends...). I thought that they were very moist as well, which is always good. As you could have guessed, this wonderful recipe comes from my book Cupcakes (Collection Cuistot). I think next time I will add more cocoa powder to enhance the chocolate favour, but they were good nonetheless.

Ingredients for cupcakes:

80 g unsalted butter, RT

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 cup flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 tablespoon cocoa powder

1/3 buttermilk*

1/2 teaspoon white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

red food coloring*

Ingredients for cream cheese frosting:

80 g cream cheese, RT

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup icing sugar

* If you do not have buttermilk, you can substitute it using the following recipe: for each cup of milk, add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice. Let sit for 10 minutes prior to using.

* For the food coloring, you could use the liquid type, but I prefer to use the gel food coloring (e.g. Wilton has many colors) because only a small quantity is required for an intense color.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Place muffin liners in cupcake pan.

2. Lightly beat the egg, and add in the butter and sugar. Mix until mixture is light and fluffy.

3. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder. Whisk ingredients to combine.

4. Add this mixture to the butter preparation. Mix thoroughly.

5. Add the buttermilk, red food coloring, white vinegar and vanilla extract. Mix until preparation is creamy.

6. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full and bake for 10-15 minutes for miniature cupcakes. For large cupcakes, bake for 15-18 minutes.

7. For the frosting, beat together the cream cheese and vanilla extract until mixture is unctuous. Gradually add in the icing sugar. Wait until the cupcakes have cooled down completely, and spread the frosting on each cupcake. Enjoy!

Yield: 24 small cupcakes (or 8 large cupcakes)

Sausage and Peppers Soup

If there is one thing that I love about the cold weather of autumn and winter apart from baking, it is surely to make some delicious warm and hearty soups. This recipe comes from one of my favorite cookbooks thus far, Better Homes and Gardens - Comfort Food Family Dinners. What I just love about this soup beyond its simplicity to make is that, apart from the warmth provided by all soups, it also has some heat brought by the addition of cayenne pepper, which is perfect for chilly nights. It is the first soup I make that has potatoes in it, and I really loved the texture and taste that they provided. Excellent soup for all to try.

Ingredients:

3-4 Italian sausages

1 red pepper, chopped

1 yellow pepper, chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

6 cups chicken broth

3 tomatoes, chopped

1 1/2 cups potatoes, diced

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. In a large pan, cook the sausages, peppers, onion and garlic in a bit of oil on medium heat for 5 minutes, or until sausages have almost completely cooked. Remove surplus oil.

2. Add the chicken broth, tomatoes, potatoes and basil. Bring to a boil.

3. Decrease the heat to medium-low and let simmer for 10-15 minutes, until potatoes are tender.

4. Add the cayenne pepper and enjoy!

Mocha Cake

For my mom's and dad's birthdays, I decided that I would make them both a combined cake. Since my mom generally doesn't like homemade goods (weird, no?!), I tried to go for something simple: a mocha cake. To my great surprise, she really liked the cake. Or so she said. Either way, I really like this cake recipe, from 100 vedettes, 100 recettes - Centraide, because of its deliciousness combined with simplicity.

Ingredients for cake:

3/4 cup unsalted butter, RT

1 2/3 cups sugar

4 eggs

4 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted*

2 1/3 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

walnuts, chopped (optional)

Ingredients for frosting:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, RT

5 cups icing sugar

4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

6 tablespoons prepared coffee

pinch of salt

* To melt the chocolate, it is easy to do so by chopping coarsely and heating in the microwave for 30-second intervals, mixing the chocolate between each. A double-boiler could also be used.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter two round 9-inch pans.

2. Cream together the butter and sugar until mixture is light and fluffy.

3. Add the eggs, ensuring to mix well after each addition.

4. Pour the melted chocolate in the butter mixture and blend well until a homogenous mixture is obtained.

5. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the chocolate butter mixture, alternating with the addition of milk.

6. Add the vanilla extract.

7. Divide the cake mixture equally in the two round pans and bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

8. For the frosting, cream the butter, and add the icing sugar and cocoa powder. Mix well. Incorporate the liquid coffee and salt.

9. When the two layers of the cake have cooled down, spread a layer of icing on top of the bottom layer, and carefully place the other layer of cake on top of the frosting. Proceed to spreading frosting on the top of the cake as well as on the sides. Garnish with walnuts if desired.