So after telling friends of all woes of baking and life in general to which most I got was laughter that I should share with everyone! So I will! And for my first post I'll share my cupcakes that I finished a few hours ago. Since I wasn't informed of the family coming to visit for the weekend I had to think fast for something sweet everyone would like! And since I knew that my mother was craving a mojito I was thinking something with rum. And thanks to the darling posters at cakeswebake.com I found a cake made with cream cheese AND rum! Best of both worlds right? Well since I'm a little crazy and take the road less traveled by (see I did pay attention in class!) I decided to try it out and see what I got.
The Creamy Rum Cake batter! I think that's a good name for it. This batter is really fluffy and I might have swiped a bit to taste and it was yum! I did make the chocolate version which just means I replaced 1/3 cup of flour with cocoa powder. But I also added 1 tablespoon of instant coffee which was really good. Before I baked the cupcakes the batter was really strong in both coffee and rum. The smell was to die for though!
As fluffy as the batter is I was worried about the cupcakes rising too much or not at all.
A little over baked. Even with the second set of pans I put in that wasn't over cooked when they came out the cupcakes had very flat tops which was a bit of a downer. Note to readers: make sure the puppy is outside before starting to cook or else you might have to clean up the chewed up pillows and burn things!
Kahlua Buttercream! I found this from a fellow blogger and you can find this recipe and many more here. But for the ease of everyone I will put the recipes up for your viewing pleasure. The frosting was a little dry when I made it so I just mixed in some more milk. Maybe a tablespoon or more. Not too much but I did notice when I was using the buttercream that I should have added a bit more as it was getting harder to spread as time when on a bit.
I'm really glad I decided to make two different frostings since one visiting family member isn't a fan of chocolate and the other loves it. But also when I was icing my cupcakes I was going to be a bit short on frosting to be able to finish. But the second frosting I used is for sure a chocolate lovers dream.
Chocolate Buttercream! This frosting is really rich and when I was looking at the cupcakes this morning this chocolate buttercream was still really shiny and soft which I love in a frosting. Nothing makes me not want to eat cupcakes with hard frosting on it. When you think frosting it's creamy and soft not a little crunch! The chocolate buttercream could be thinned a little more then what the recipe calls for to make a chocolate drizzle.
This chocolate frosting requires the use of a stove top and a little more cleaning then what some may want to do although it is only an extra pot and a spoon! The chocolate paste is added into a mixer and and mixed with powdered sugar and milk a little at a time.
Would I use the Chocolate Buttercream for anything but icing? Probably not. The issue with the not hardening in buttercream it that you cant make fancy designs like roses as easily as you could with say the Kahlua Buttercream.
Overall I really enjoyed the recipes I used. The Chocolate Buttercream is something I plan on using more often! The Creamy Rum Cake is something to use for cake decorating in my opinion as it comes out a little flat in my case at least. The Kahlua Buttercream it good for little garnish but has a strong taste so I won't being using a lot.
Creamy Rum Cake
1 1/2 cups softened butter
1 bar cream cheese
3 cups white sugar
6 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp rum
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease pans. Cream butter and sugar until smooth before adding sugar till fluffy. This should take about 5 minutes give or take. Add eggs one at a time until combined. Add vanilla. Sift flour and salt and add slowly to wet mixture mixing till just combined. Pour into prepared pans and bake until golden or toothpick comes out clean. Medium cupcakes take about 20 minutes and round 8" cake pans take about 45 minutes.
If you want to make this recipe with cocoa powder replace 1/3 cup of flour with 1/3 cup of cocoa powder. To make this with a more 'exotic' taste add 1 tbsp of instant coffee.
Kahlua Buttercream
1 stick softened butter
2-3 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp Kahlua liqueur
Cream butter in mixer. Add sugar until you get the consistency for spreading and piping. Add liqueur and mix till incorporated.
For a different flavor add an extract in place of the liqueur.
Chocolate Buttercream
4 ounces butter
1 1/2 cup cocoa sifted
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Melt butter in sauce pan. Remove from heat. Mix in cocoa powder until a chocolate paste. Add a third of the sugar and a third of the milk and mix. Keep adding a little at a time while mixing. Mix for 3-5 minutes.
For both buttercreams as always add more powdered sugar if too liquid for use or add more milk if its too thick.
But all in all I will be using these recipes again. The cake was beyond yummy and so far I have gotten high praise for the cupcakes. Until the next time!
