baked goodies perfect for a tea party!

ummm... so, i sort of hosted a mini tea party at work this week. any excuse to bake some yummy baked goods, right? i'm not big on tea or anything, but i'll take all the goodies that come with it. :)

for our initial afternoon tea party kick-off, i settled on some coffee nutella macarons as well as some lemon cream cheese macarons (thanks to all the lemons in my garden), some mini lemon cupcakes with lemon icing, multi-berries scones, jam thumbprints and what better way to top it off then your not-so-typical savory bites, spam musubi. yup, you heard that right. we didn't have cute little tea sandwiches. we opted for spam musubi instead and those were delish! spam musubi is quite a hit with my coworkers and me. we'll take it any time of day, any day of the week, just as we'll take any of the other baked goodies.

anyway, the recipes are below if you'd like to bake any for your tea party or any party or just because. yeah, when you think about it, who needs an excuse to bake? i sometimes just bake because i wanted to. okay, enjoy and happy baking! :)



multi-berries scones
recipe adapted from smells like home's blueberry scones

ingredients:

• 8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, frozen whole
• 1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen berries (i used a mix of blueberries, blackberries and raspberries)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the work surface
• 1/2 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
• 1 egg, for egg wash

directions:

1. adjust an oven rack to middle position and preheat to 425° F. grate the frozen butter on the holes of a large box grater. if using fresh berries, place the berries in the freezer until needed. whisk together the milk and sour cream in a medium bowl; refrigerate until needed. combine the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon zest in a medium mixing bowl. whisk to combine. add the grated butter to the flour mixture and toss with fingers until thoroughly coated.
2. add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and fold with a spatula just until combined. transfer the dough to a generously floured work surface. dust the top of the dough with flour, and knead with well floured hands, 6-8 times, just until the dough holds together in a ragged ball. add small amounts of flour as needed to prevent sticking.
3. roll the dough into a 12-inch square. fold the dough into thirds like a business letter (a dough scraper really helps with these steps). fold the short ends of the dough into the center in thirds, to form an approximate 4-inch square. transfer the dough to a plate lightly dusted with flour and chill in the freezer for 5 minutes.
4. return the dough to the floured work surface and roll into an approximately 12-inch square again. sprinkle the berries evenly over the surface of the dough, and gently press down so that they are slightly embedded in the dough surface. using a dough scraper, roll the dough up to form a tight log. lay the log seam side down and press the the log into a 12 by 4-inch rectangle. using a sharp, floured knife, cut the rectangle crosswise into 4 equal rectangles. cut each rectangle diagonally to form 2 triangles. transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet.
5. brush the tops of the scones with the egg wash and sprinkle lightly with sugar. if freezing ahead of time, flash freeze on the baking sheet for 20 minutes, then wrap individually and store in a freezer bag until needed. bake until the tops and bottoms are golden brown, 18-25 minutes. transfer to a wire rack and let cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

makes 12 scones (or however big/small you cut it)




mini eggless lemon cupcakes
recipe adapted from yum'e'licious

ingredients:

for the cupcakes

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup buttermilk (or do what i do; add 1 tbsp lemon juice to 1 cup of milk, stir, and let it sit for 5 minutes before using)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• zest of 1 medium sized lemon
• few drops of yellow color, optional

for the lemon icing drizzle

• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

directions:

1. if you don't have buttermilk, this is when you mix the lemon juice and milk together and set it aside while you do everything else.
2. preheat oven to 350°F. then sift the flour, baking powder and the baking soda in a good size bowl and set that aside.
3. in another bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. then add in 1/3 cup buttermilk and beat again until fluffy. repeat again with another 1/3 cup. then add the lemon zest and lemon juice and mix well. now, if you want to use some yellow food coloring, this is where i add it in.
4. now add in the dry ingredients and mix well before adding in the remaining buttermilk; mix again until incorporated.
5. fill the mini cupcake cups to 2/3 full (makes about 20-24) and bake it in the oven for 14-15 minutes. or if you'd rather do a loaf cake instead, pour the batter into a greased loaf tin (9"x5") and bake it for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
6. let the mini cupcakes (or loaf) cool completely before drizzling the icing over. to make the icing, just mix the powdered sugar and lemon juice together. if it's too runny, just add more powdered sugar; and if too thick, add more lemon juice.

makes about 20-24 mini cupcakes or one loaf




other goodies you can find recipes for:

• coffee nutella macarons
• brown sugar salted caramel macarons
• coral french macarons with citrust buttercream filling
• jam thumbprints
• blood orange cranberry scones
• blueberry cream scones
• traditional english scones
• cranberry scones
• white chocolate biscottis

mini vanilla cupcakes with lemon curd + vanilla buttercream

so far this year we've had 3 people leave us at my work place. and this most recent one will be missed a whole lot. let's just say lunches aren't quite the same without him or the overall vibe isn't quite the same without him. he's fun and has quite the personality anyone would love to have around. so as a little farewell whatever-you-call-it, i made him some mini cupcakes. i asked him what he'd like but he couldn't decide and said for me to bake whatever. and cupcakes it was.

below's the recipe for one of the cupcakes i made. i've always been a fan of amy sedaris's vanilla cupcake recipe so i took her recipe and adapted it a little bit for my little take on her vanilla cupcakes. the overall result? the mini cupcakes turned out great. very nice and moist and with the lemon curd and buttercream combo, they were scrumptious. oh, and yes, i made others as well. you'll see there are mini red velvets with cream cheese frosting and another vanilla with chocolate coffee frosting. but these mini vanilla cupcakes with lemon curd and vanilla buttercream toppings are getting the feature in this post. they really are good. i absolutely love that hit of tartness from the lemon curd as you plop that one-bite mini cupcake in your mouth. seriously, the combination of sweet and sour is just perfect.

so go ahead and make some. you can even make your own lemon curd or use store-bought ones. hey, even a favorite jam could work too. but i say the whole lemon and vanilla combo is the way to go if you're up to making the whole cupcake from scratch. give it a try and let me know what you think! enjoy and happy baking. :)


these mini vanilla cupcakes are delicious. i absolutely love amy sedaris's vanilla cupcake recipe and the lemon curd pairs perfectly with it.


everyone at work enjoyed these goodies. who doesn't like one-bite mini cupcakes?! :)


mini red velvets w/ cream cheese frosting + vanilla w/ chocolate coffee frosting + vanilla w/ lemon curd + vanilla frosting: these were some tasty cupcakes and they made the perfect mini going away gifts.


yes, i instagram everything and lately it's been a lot of food photos. this was my instagram shot of the goodies i gave to my going away coworker.

mini vanilla cupcakes with lemon curd & vanilla buttercream frosting
cupcake recipe adapted from amy sedaris

cupcakes:

• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• a pinch of salt
• 2/3 cup buttermilk

vanilla buttercream frosting:

• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• cream or milk

directions for cupcakes:

1. preheat oven on to 375°F.
2. in a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.
3. put butter in mixer and beat at medium speed until somewhat smooth.
4. pour in sugar and beat well. add in the egg and mix well.
5. then add: vanilla, the dry ingredients and buttermilk. beat until it looks like it is supposed to and pour into individual baking cups, until they are about 2/3 full.
6. bake for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown.
7. let cakes cool completely before topping it off with the lemon curd and frosting.
8. makes 20-24 mini one-bite (or two?) cupcakes. or 6-8 regular ones (i can't guarantee the exact amount though because i only made mini ones).

directions for vanilla buttercream frosting:

1. cream butter in electric mixer for 1-2 minutes until fluffy.
2. slowly add in the sugar, vanilla extract and beat until light and fluffy; and has reached the right consistency; about 3-4 minutes. add cream or more sugar as necessary to achieve proper consistency.

enjoy! these mini cupcakes are best enjoyed within a day or two. happy eating! :)

you can check out these recipes as well:

• sprinkles-inspired mini red velvet cupcakes
• eggless vanilla cupcakes w/ chocolate buttercream frosting
• meyer lemon curd

peach with cream cheese crumb bars

i haven't been baking the last few days or week… actually, i can't remember the last time i baked before making these peach cream cheese crumb bars here. i just know it has been a while in my book. that's because i can't seem to find any time to bake! or want to bake. i'm always exhausted at night (that's when i usually do my baking). anyway, somehow i managed to get myself to make these crumb bars. i wanted to try out a recipe i saw on interest but didn't have any strawberries on hand. plus, i needed to use up the rest of whatever fruit we had in the fridge before it all spoiled.

so, the results? ahhh, yeah, these peach cream cheese crumb bars. the recipe below is really just martha stewart's blackberry crumb bars recipe that i've made many times in the past, but i just added a new layer to it, the cream cheese. it turned out pretty good. i do love my cream cheese. i think the cream cheese definitely added another layer of yumminess to this crumb bar recipe.

below's the recipe should you want to try and make it yourself. trust me, if you make it, you won't be disappointed. all that crumb toppings with the peach and cream cheese filling in the middle, then the bottom cake layer all together… mmmm…. so good. enjoy and happy baking and eating! :)


the crumb topping in this recipe is just delicious. i love how it adds a nice sweet crunch to the bars when you bite into it.


an overhead shot of the peach cream cheese crumb bars

peach with cream cheese crumb bars
recipe adapted from martha stewart

ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted, and 1/2 cup (1 stick), room temperature, plus more for pan
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 1 bar (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 4 medium size peaches, cut up into tiny pieces (or you can slice them if you like – if you do that, maybe you might not need as many?!)

directions:

1. preheat oven to 350°f. butter an 8-inch square baking pan. line bottom with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides; butter and flour paper, tapping out excess.
2. make topping: in a medium bowl, whisk together melted butter, brown sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; add 1 cup flour, and mix with a fork until large moist crumbs form. refrigerate topping until ready to use.
3. make cream cheese layer/filling: in a separate medium bowl, mix together the 1/4 cup granulated sugar and cream cheese together until blended. then add in one egg and mix until everything is incorporated. set aside.
4. in another separate medium bowl, whisk together remaining 3/4 cup flour, baking powder, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt; set aside. in a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat room-temperature butter, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy; add the two eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. reduce speed to low; mix in flour mixture. spread batter evenly in pan; then pour in the cream cheese filling and spread evenly. once that's done, sprinkle with peach pieces, then chilled topping.
5. bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 40 to 45 minutes. cool completely in pan. using paper overhang, lift cake onto a work surface; cut into 16 squares.

note: while you prepare the cake, refrigerate the crumb topping. this will help give it a nubbly texture once baked. to store, keep in an airtight container at room temperature, up to 3 days.

12 days of christmas baking - day 6: chocolate cream cheese cupcakes

for this 6th day of christmas baking i decided to bake those delicious chocolate cream cheese cupcakes i made a while back (click through for the recipe). these are really good! unfortunately, this time around i missed one step or didn't do it quite right. instead of filling the center of the cake with the cream cheese filling, i spoon it on top. i didn't realize how they'd look until after they were all baked. instead of getting these yummy filled looking cream cheese cupcakes, i got spotted dalmatian-like cupcakes. oops. but hey! they still taste delicious, with or without frosting added. i chose to frost these instead. to go with the whole christmas theme, i frosted half of them with peppermint frosting and the other with good old chocolate frosting. you really cannot beat chocolate on chocolate.

okay, that's all for now. enjoy the photos. should you be interested, check out the recipe from the link above for the cupcakes. oh, the peppermint frosting recipe is below. enjoy! :)







peppermint buttercream frosting

ingredients:
2 sticks of butter, softened
3-4 cups powdered sugar
1 tbsp peppermint extract
up to 4 tbsp heavy cream or milk
red food coloring (optional)*

directions:
beat butter for a few minutes with a mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed (or you can use a hand mixer). add in the powdered sugar and turn your mixer on the lowest speed (so the sugar doesn’t blow everywhere) until the sugar has been incorporated with the butter. increase mixer speed to medium and add peppermint extract, and 2 tablespoon of milk/cream and beat for 3 minutes. if your frosting needs a more stiff consistency, add a little more sugar. if your frosting needs to be thinned out, add remaining tablespoons of milk, a little at a time until you've reached the right consistency. makes 2-1/2 cups. :)

*note: if you want to pipe the frosting with that decorative red strips as seen in the pictures above, just be sure to use a paint brush and paint some red lines in your piping bag. make sure they're spread out (3-4 lines) before filling your bag with the frosting. you'll see the swirls as you pipe out the frosting.

sprinkles-inspired mini red velvet cupcakes

i am still experimenting with different red velvet cupcake recipes. upon doing a quick search on the web for red velvet cupcake recipes, i came across sprinkles' red velvet cupcake recipe. these cupcakes here (the recipe i did in the end) were derived from that famous cupcake shop in los angeles. i also came across a whole bunch of others such as magnolia, ina gartin and martha stewart's but opted for this one instead. maybe sometime next week if i'm brave enough (more like have some time to make them) i'll try those other three and see which one(s) i like best. otherwise, this one may have to be the one.

now, having made these, i'm not sure if i've found one that i really like yet, but so far this one here is pretty close. i think i baked it a tad too long for my liking though. typically i bake all my cupcakes for only 17-18 minutes. with these, i accidentally set the timer to 20 minutes, then instead of resetting it, i told myself i would check the timer before the 20 minutes was up. well, i never did and sure enough, the cupcakes were in there a bit too long. they still turned out great, but personally, i wished i had taken them out at "just" the right time. oh well, will have to make these again and do it properly next time. now, everyone in the office did loved them, so you can say these were a success nonetheless. the cream cheese frosting with these were superb!

below's the recipe should you be interested in baking your own batch. i actually halved it because i only wanted to make 24 mini ones, not the entire recipe. enjoy! ;)


these cream cheese frosted mini red velvet cupcakes are so cute!


these cupcakes were a hit! yay! ;)

Red Velvet Cupcakes
adapted from Sprinkles Red Velvet Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
a pinch of salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 tsp red gel food coloring (you can use 1 tbsp liquid red food coloring if you prefer)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 recipe cream cheese frosting, recipe follows

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350° F.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder and baking soda, set aside. In a separate large mixing bowl, with an electric hand mixer on medium speed, whip together butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add in eggs one at a time stirring after each addition. (Now stand back and change out of any nice shirt you have on and) Add red food coloring and vanilla extract and mix until combine. Add milk and flour mixture to cupcake mixture, alternating in two separate batches, mixing until combine after each addition. Divide batter evenly among 15 paper lined muffin cups, filling each cup about 2/3 full. Bake in preheated oven 18-21 minutes until toothpick inserted into center of cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool about 2 minutes in muffin tin, then transfer to wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then transfer to an airtight container to cool completely (this just helps them retain more moisture). Once cooled completely, spread generously with Cream Cheese Frosting. Enjoy!

Makes 15 regular cupcakes or 48-52 mini cupcakes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:
1/2 cup salted butter, softened
6 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Milk or cream if necessary

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, using and electric mixer, whip together butter and cream cheese until pale and fluffy (about 1 minute on high speed, then 3-4 minutes on medium high speed). Mix in vanilla extract. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth.

dessert table for a first birthday party

i just wanted to share a photo i took with instagram. i really think my first attempt at a dessert table this past weekend turned out beautifully. you can't really go wrong with mini cupcakes and macarons; oh, and of course, the full birthday cake. everything was lovely and cute as can be for a little girl having her first ever birthday (party).

so how was the party and goodies? a big successful! ;)

for the (similar) recipes shown in the pictures above, you can access them here:

- eggless vanilla (and chocolate) mini cupcakes
- coconut and raspberry macarons (coconut macaron recipe to come – no recipe posted yet. but you can get other macarons recipes here)
- martha stewart one-bowl chocolate cupcakes

enjoy!

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UPDATE: a few more photos from the party ;)


not only are these mini vanilla and chocolate cupcakes so cute and adorable, they're egg-free and perfect for any no-egg diet!


i had been meaning to make these coconut macarons and i think they turned out great! so yummy, and the raspberry ones are just as good.


so here's a (similar to my instagram) photo of the dessert table (this one was taken with my canon). i love how cute this dessert table turned out!

chocolate cream cheese cupcakes

yes, i made some cupcakes last night! finally got around to trying out a recipe i pinned on pinterest (here and here). these are delish! you can have them as is (without the frosting). i added in that extra frosting because i personally have taken to liking my baked goods extra sweet. i know, it's awful huh? but yes, i really think the extra white chocolate frosting on top is just right. either that or the next time i make these again i must add in an extra spoonful of the cream cheese filling.

below's the recipe should you be interested in baking these yourself. they're super easy to make and the cake comes out moist and delicious. enjoy!

Chocolate Cream Cheese Cupcakes
recipe adapted from here

INGREDIENTS:

For the filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
Pinch of salt
1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

For the cupcakes:
3 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2/3 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 cups of water
2/3 cups vegetable oil
2 tbsp. white vinegar
2 tsp. vanilla extract

white chocolate frosting:
1 cup white chocolate chips
1-2 tbsp butter
1 cup powdered sugar
milk

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare muffin pan by lining with muffin liners or by spraying with cooking spray.

In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the ingredients for the filling (except the chocolate chips) until light and fluffy. Gently fold in the chocolate chips. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add in the water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla extract. With a whisk or wooden spoon, mix together the dry with the wet ingredients until well combined.

Fill muffin cups with 2/3 full of batter then spool 1 level tbsp. of filling into the center of each cupcake. Repeat until all batter and filling have been used up. Bake 20-25 minutes or until cake portion comes out clean with a toothpick (Personally, I usually just bake mine for 17-18 minutes only and they turn out fine). Let cupcakes cool in pan for 5 minutes before removing and transferring to wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, you can choose them to frost if you like!

Make frosting: Heat the white chocolate chips with the butter in the microwave for 30-40 seconds until melted. Then beat until mixed/smoothed and add in powdered sugar. Mix again to incorporate the sugar. At this point you'll want to add in a few tablespoons of milk to thin it out so it's not so stiff where you can actually mix it. Make sure to not add too much milk or it'll get runny. Once you find the right consistency, beat until it looks good and you should be all sit!

Store in airtight container.

Makes 24-30 cupcakes. Enjoy! :)