K.I.S.S.

The Best Piña Colada Cupcakes You’ll Ever Have!

Seriously though… the coconut cream and the pineapple hibiscus on top? Superfly.

I adapted Carrot Top Mom’s absolutely fantastic coconut cupcake recipe after making it with my roommates! I had done a bake sale the week before with sold out piña colada cupcakes, but I wasn’t done trying new things so after having experienced the nirvana of Carrot Tom Mom’s recipe, I decided to put my own twist on it! 

Another neat trick? DIY cupcake stand! 2 plates and a cup couldn’t be happier! Mismatch them or find similar colours, it all looks great! 

You’ll need a can of coconut milk (ideally full-fat is best). If you can put it in the fridge the day before, that’d be great, if not, 20 min in the freezer will suffice as coconut milk/oil has a low-temp state of change. You basically want the cream in the milk to separate from the water, giving you a beautiful glossy cream to work with and a flavourful coconut water to add to the cupcakes. So now you’re probably waiting and I’ll give you the DL on it!

Preheat oven to 350*F

Ingredients:

• 2 c. flour (all purpose is just fine)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 sticks of butter
• 1 1/3 c. granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 can of coconut milk (leftover from frosting—see below)
• 1/2 can of pineapple chunks (juice sieved out or patted dry)
• 2 c. powdered sugar (for the frosting)
• Maraschino cherries with stems 
• 1 whole pineapple 

Let’s get started on the cupcakes!

• Sift together the flour, salt & baking powder
• In a separate bowl, cream the butter and granulated sugar together. Add one egg at a time as you mix and then add the vanilla. 
• Into the wet mix, alternate adding 1/3 of the dry mix and 1/2 of the coconut water from the can and mix—do not over mix! Just mix until the flour is all incorporated. You should finish by mixing the last 1/3 of the dry mix in. 
• Good work! Now you batter is thickened and ready for the pineapple aspect of the cakes! Get the pineapple chunks that you’ve patted dry and FOLD them in with a spatula. Try not to mix too much! You don’t want to ruin the batter. Fold until evenly incorporated. 
• Get your batter into the cupcake liners & tins now. I recommend going 2/3 up. 
• With your oven preheated to 350*F, put the tins in and bake for 10-15 min or until an inserted toothpick comes out fairly clean.

Frosting!

• Now that you’re patiently waiting for the cupcakes to happen, go ahead and work on the frosting. Get the cream that you’ve collected from the can and whip it with an electric mixer until fluffy. Introduce about 2 cups of powdered sugar and whip it in. Taste as you go, just in case you don’t want it too sweet. Also feel free to add more. If you’re not frosting them right away, go ahead and put the frosting into the fridge. 

When the cupcakes have cooled remove a small section in the middle to fit the maraschino cherry (you can use a grapefruit spoon or a small melon-baller). Now you can frost them using a spatula or a spoon. Insert the cherry and then when adding the pineapple petals, insert the cherry’s stem through the hole you made in the flower. Voila!

Continued: Macarons!

As I trek down the weary path that is macaron perfection, I’m reminded by beads of sweaty frustration that run down my ego’s temples, wearing grooves into my culinary brow. It’s a tough job trying to take on one of the most difficult pastries with amateur cooking & baking experience. I have the internet before my chipped polished fingernails and a slew of Target-grade materials at my disposal. My liberal arts degree allows me to recite cooking terminology and technique not much further than I can throw an oven.

The variations of recipes for macarons out there is what drives me. That, and my love for underdog stories. When I first heard stories of professional patisseries surrendering to the meringuey-cookie, I knew that should I triumph, I will have achieved something great! 

For this round, I’m experimenting with oven temperatures. One key to success is not giving up—cliche, but very true. Something that being in university taught me is to ALWAYS be learning, whether it’s through research, internal processing, trial & error or conversation. I did some googling and discovered, after batches of horridly and overly-hollow macarons, that some pastry chefs have crazy methods to heating their ovens for the cookies—I saw a step-by-step method that was more than 8 different temperature adjustments for ONE BATCH. That involved cranking it up to 350* and dropping as soon as you put the tray of piped batter in. Not to mention Martha Stewart’s shove-a-spatula-in-the-door method that allows humidity to escape (I actually tried this and have found use in it). 

My thinking for the thousands of macaron approaches is simply variation in ovens. For example, I’ve learned that the oven in my current domain has it’s hotspots in the back, and oddly, in the front corners. Other ovens have their hotspots in the centre. Variations can also include the ability to heat up very quickly, heat up from the bottom or heat up from the sides. It all depends on the manufacturer.

So far, keeping the oven at 350* had resulted in cracked tops for me (when the shells are exposed to a high temp, the shell hardens immediately and any air in the macs expands quickly, cracking the shell). I’ve actually succeeded in getting some good-textured macarons at a weirdly-low 275*… I’m not sure what to think. I must confess, however, that higher temperatures have been more successful with the cakey insides (as opposed to the hollow gumminess that can result). The trick seems to be getting the air in the macs to expand as soon as possible with a high temperature, but not so high as to pop the surface of the shell. A median temperature of 320* helped with that, but then my macs had measly little feet!

Finally today, I went in and tried the multi-step method. Initially bumping up the oven to 350* seemed to work. I popped them in (after waiting for a skin to form) for a few minutes before propping the door open with a wooden spatula (this allows some steam to escape). Once the macs rose, I pulled the spatula out and let it bake at a lowered temp of 310*. This process allowed me to have smooth tops, nice cakey insides AND feet! Some of the BEST macs I’ve seen yet! Pictures to come later!

Also, after trial and error, I’ve concluded to agree with chefs that say macarons are better matured. Maturation just means setting aside the filled macarons in the fridge for a couple days before feasting on them! Patience is a virtue in not only baking these suckers but waiting to eat them as well! More to come later! 

Sincerely,

Your Neighbourhood Chez-n00b

Matcha Madness!

Matcha has other purposes besides being used in baked goods. Although it’s super fine and pure, I don’t think snorting it is  a golden idea.

• 1 1/2 c flour
• 1 1/2 tbsp matcha powder 
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 stick of unsalted butter, softened (1/2 c)
• 3/4 c granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temp
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 sour cream or plain yogurt

My friend Steven made matcha-frosted cupcakes filled with azuki (bean) for his birthday. Beautiful, no?  One of my favourite treats with matcha are these suckers:

Yes, matcha macarons! Catherine of TheFoodCult gang helped me (literally) whip up this batch and they were brilliant! Another plus: these babies are gluten-free—almond flour is traditionally used to make macarons rather than all-purpose flour! To add matcha to your macs, just sift it in with the dry mix. Use enough to change the colour of the mix (the colour will also enhance during baking). If desired, you can mix matcha into your ganache, but I highly recommend “dissolving” it in the heated heavy cream first (dissolving it in water will make the fats in the ganache freak out—it’s not worth the mess or the emotional distress) as opposed to adding it later.