Babycakes (33 page)

Authors: Donna Kauffman

Author Note

The research facilities mentioned in this story are fictional, but research centers just like them do exist on Georgia’s barrier islands and in coastal areas stretching from Virginia all the way down to the Florida Keys. The plight of the endangered sea turtle is very real and an ongoing concern all over the world.

If you are interested in learning more about these amazing (ah-mazing!) creatures, would like to contribute in some way, or perhaps even “adopt” a sea turtle of your very own, a good place to start is The Georgia Sea Turtle Center, a research and rescue facility on Jekyll Island, Georgia. Please take a peek at their wonderful website and learn more about their organization at:

www.georgiaseaturtlecenter.org
.

Alva’s Sweet Potato ’Tater Cupcakes

2½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger

teaspoon ground nutmeg

teaspoon ground clove

cup buttermilk
½ cup sweet potato puree
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 stick unsalted butter
¾ cup brown sugar
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners. (Yes, I know 18 is a pain, but that gives you an excuse to try that cute 6 cup silicone cupcake pan you got for Christmas! They work, too . . . but the cupcakes come out denser.)

1.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and spices with a whisk. Set aside.

2.
In a 2-cup sized measuring cup, stir together buttermilk, vanilla, and sweet potato puree. Set aside.

3.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

4.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape bowl as needed.

5.
In three additions, alternately add the flour mixture and the milk/puree mixture. Blend only until they are incorporated (or, as I call it . . . assimilated. Like the Borg.) Do not overmix or this will activate the gluten in the flour. (And the only gluten I need activated are the ones I sit on all day while I write.)

6.
Use an ice cream scoop to fill each muffin cup approx

full. (Does this ever work out for you? No? Me, either. There’s too much math in baking. I prefer to wing it. I figure, the Cupcake Size Monitoring Team isn’t coming to my house, so who cares if they are different sizes when done?)

7.
Bake for 20–25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Enjoy how great your kitchen smells right now!

Browned Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

1 stick butter, cut in half (¼ cup each)
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar
1–3 tablespoons milk, optional

1.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat ¼-cup butter until browned. (If you’ve read my cupcake blog, you know that whenever I activate a burner and melt anything, I keep my EMT on speed dial. He’s a very cute EMT though, which motivates me to try braver recipes. Don’t judge. Expanding one’s horizons is a good thing.)

2.
In a small bowl, cut up the other half stick of butter into small cubes. Pour the browned butter over them and stir until all are melted.

3.
In a mixing bowl beat the butter, cream cheese, vanilla and sugar until smooth and creamy.

4.
Add 1–3 tablespoons cold whole milk only if needed to thin to a spreading consistency. (Did you know that skim or low fat milk can make your powdered sugar taste dusty or flat? Use whole milk. I mean, come on, there’s a stick of butter in there and you’re going to skimp on milk?)

Makes about 4 cups.

Mamie Sue’s Peanut Pie

For this recipe, you need 1½ cups shelled, roasted, and partially crushed peanuts. You can use already roasted peanuts, but you know Mamie Sue would have roasted her own. If you’d like to try, the steps are below.

Roasting the Peanuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

1.
Place 1½ cups raw peanuts in a single layer in shallow sheet pan.

2.
For unshelled peanuts, bake 20 to 25 minutes.

3.
For shelled peanuts, bake 15 to 20 minutes.

4.
Stir once or twice during cooking time.

5.
Cook until slightly underdone. Please note! Peanuts continue to cook when removed from oven.

6.
Let cool completely before shelling and using in the pie recipe below.

7.
Crush the peanuts in large and chunky pieces, with some halves still almost intact. Put approximately ½ cup in a sealed bag (freezer bags are good) and roll over the bag with a rolling pin. Repeat with the remaining peanuts until all are done.

Making the Pie Shell

Make your own 9-inch pie shell. Sure, you can buy one premade, but do you think Mamie Sue did that? Give this a try:

1¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt

cup shortening
4–5 tablespoons cold water

1.
Whisk together flour and salt.

2.
Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening until pieces are pea-size.

3.
Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the water over part of the mixture; gently toss with a fork until moist. Move that moistened dough to the side and repeat, one tablespoon at a time, until all the dough has been moistened.

4.
Work the moistened dough into one ball with your hands.

5.
Place ball on a lightly floured surface and use your hands to flatten, then use a rolling pin to roll the dough from center to edges into a circle approximately 12 inches in diameter.

6.
Wrap the pastry around the rolling pin, then unroll it over a 9-inch pie plate. Gently press the pastry into the pie plate without stretching it.

7.
Trim around the pastry to leave approximately a ½-inch ring beyond the edge of the pie plate. Fold the extra pastry under and crimp with your fingers.

Making the Pie Filling

3 eggs ½ cup granulated sugar

1½ cups dark corn syrup ¼ cup butter, melted

¼ teaspoon salt (if you are using already shelled, salted peanuts, eliminate the salt from the recipe or reduce to taste)

½ teaspoon vanilla

1½ cups shelled and roasted peanuts

9-inch unbaked deep-dish pastry shell—use one you made (or a premade shell)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

1.
Beat eggs well, until you see foam. (Yes, foamy eggs are good.)

2.
Add in the following one item at a time, mixing each until incorporated, but do not overmix: sugar, corn syrup, butter, salt, and vanilla.

3.
Stir in the peanuts.

4.
Pour the peanut mixture into the unbaked pastry shell.

5.
Bake at 375 degrees for 50–55 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting.

Makes one pie.

Lilly’s Ah-mazing Turtle Cupcakes

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers. Set aside.

1.
In a small bowl, sift together the flour and baking soda. Set aside.

2.
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water on low heat for approximately 5–10 minutes. Stir occasionally until completely smooth and no pieces of chocolate remain. Remove from the heat and let cool to lukewarm, 5–10 minutes.

3.
In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes.

4.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

5.
Add the chocolate, mixing until well incorporated.

6.
Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not overbeat.

7.
Pour mixture evenly into cupcake papers and bake for 20–25 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely.

8.
Note: While oven is still warm, toast the pecans used in the frosting on a cookie sheet. See recipe below.

Cutest Sea Turtle Frosting Ever

Pecans:
7 dozen (approx 3 Cups) pecan halves, toasted

Ganache:

4 ounces dark chocolate

½ cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons light corn syrup 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Caramel Sauce:

2 cups sugar

½ cup water

½ cup heavy cream, heated to lukewarm in microwave (30 seconds)

2 tablespoons butter, cubed or cut up in small pieces

¼ cup heavy cream, heated to lukewarm in microwave (30 seconds)

Making the Ganache:

1.
Chop chocolate into small pieces. Set aside.

2.
In a small, heavy saucepan over low to medium heat, warm the cream until it begins to steam. Remove from heat and pour over the chopped chocolate, stirring until the chocolate is completely melted.

3.
Add corn syrup and vanilla, stirring until completely mixed. Let sit and cool to room temperature, stirring as needed.

4.
Frost cupcakes, keeping a cup of frosting in reserve.

5.
Arrange 5 pecans on the top of each cupcake, to form a turtle head, and four flippers, pressing gently into the frosting. (The flippers will touch in the middle. The head butts up against the top two flippers.)

Making the Caramel Sauce:

1.
In a medium saucepan, add sugar and water. Stir.

Cook the ingredients on medium-high heat. Carefully watch the sugar syrup change colors to an amber-brownish color around the outer edge, or if using a candy thermometer, heat to 350 degrees F.

2.
Remove from heat immediately and, using a wooden spoon or whisk, quickly stir everything to keep the sugar water from burning. It should be a gold-amber color.

3.
Continue stirring, while adding ½ cup of warm heavy cream and butter bits. (NOTE: When the cream comes into contact with the syrup it will start bubbling violently.) Continue to stir until the sugar crystallization dissolves.

4.
Add the remaining warm heavy cream (¼ cup) until caramel sauce is nice and smooth.

5.
Pour into heat-proof measuring cup and let cool slightly.

Finishing the Cupcakes:

1.
Spoon 2 teaspoons soft caramel on top of the center of the pecans. Let the caramel set for a few minutes to firm up.

2.
Heat remaining Ganache if necessary to soften. Drop a teaspoon of Ganache on top of the caramel to finish off the turtle shell.

As Miss Lilly would say . . . these are ah-mazing! Enjoy!

Makes 24 cupcakes.