Cupcake Kind of Day!

We were supposed to have friends over for a BBQ today but, alas, the weather turned sour so we had to cancel. Instead I'm going to make some Pasta e Fagioli from the wonderful cookbook my friend Jersey bought me, At Home with Magnolia, Classic American Recipes from the Owner of Magnolia Bakery. If you haven't visited the Magnolia Bakery, please do yourself a favor and run there the next time you're in NYC! I say run because this way you can work off the calories in advance of your cupcake consumption! *groan* (yeah, that's me eating my own Magnolia cupcake in my hotel room last August. I carried that cupcake box all over the city, protecting it with my life, lol!)


Recipe Photo: John Kernick
From: At Home with Magnolia, by Allysa Torey

Pasta e Fagioli soup has always been one of my favorite comfort foods. I have worked long and hard on a recipe worthy of my childhood memories, and here it is. (This is a great way to use up the small amounts of pasta you might have lying around in your cupboard—whatever kinds you use, it's important to use a variety of shapes and sizes.)

INGREDIENTS

* 1 pound dried great northern beans
* ½ cup olive oil
* 3 cups chopped yellow onion
* ¼ cup minced garlic
* 8 to 10 cups chicken stock
* Three 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes, with juice
* ¼ pound spaghetti or linguini, cooked al dente and cut into 1-inch pieces
* ¼ pound penne or ziti rigate, cooked al dente and cut in half
* ¼ pound fusilli or rotelle, cooked al dente and cut in half
* 1½ teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
* 1½ teaspoons salt
* ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* Freshly grated Locatelli Romano cheese, for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place the beans in a heavy large pot with enough cold water to cover the beans by 2 inches. Soak overnight for a minimum of 14 hours.

2. Drain the beans. Heat the oil in the heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is very tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add 8 cups of the chicken stock, the tomatoes, and beans and raise the heat to high. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until the beans are very tender, about 2½ hours. Working in batches (about 1 cup at a time), purée 6 cups of the soup in the blender until smooth. Mix the purée back into the soup in the pot. Stir in the cooked pasta, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Cook for 10 minutes more, uncovered, over medium-low heat, adding more chicken stock if necessary (but keep in mind that this is supposed to be a very thick soup).

3. Serve with a generous amount of Romano cheese. (When reheating this soup, add about ¼ cup chicken stock for each serving, because the pasta soaks up a lot of liquid.)


For dessert, I'm making cupcakes but instead of Magnolia's recipe I'm trying one from my latest cookbook addition, Cappucchino Chip Cupcakes with Mocha Buttercream Frosting from the Cake Mix Doctor. They smell heavenly, will definitely be difficult to resist!

Cappuccino Chip Cupcakes

24 paper lines for cupcake pans (2 1/2-inch size)
1/3 cup water
4 teaspoons instant coffee granules
1 package (18.25 ounces) plain yellow cake mix
1 package (3.4 ounces) vanilla instant pudding mix
3/4 cup whole milk
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips,
Mocha Buttercream Frosting
1/3 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips or cracked roasted cocoa beans for garnish

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Set the pans aside.

Place the water and instant coffee in a small glass liquid measuring cup and microwave on high power for 40 seconds. Remove and stir until the coffee is dissolved. Set it aside to cool for 5 minutes.

Place the cake mix, pudding mix, milk, oil, eggs, and coffee in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. The batter should look thick and well combined. Fold in 1 cup of the chocolate chips. Spoon or scoop 1/3 cup batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it three quarters of the way full. Place the pans in the oven.

Bake the cupcakes until they spring back when lightly pressed with your finger. 18 to 20 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the cupcake liners, lift the cupcakes up from the bottom of the cups using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the cups carefully with your fingertips. Place them on a wine rack to cool for 15 minutes before frosting.

Meanwhile, prepare the Mocha Buttercream Frosting (see below).

Place a heaping tablespoon of frosting on each cupcake and swirl to spread it out with a short metal spatula or the back of the spoon, taking care to cover the tops completely. Garnish with the remaining 1/3 cup chocolate chips or roasted cracked cocoa beans. The cupcakes are ready to serve.

Mocha Buttercream Frosting

1/4 cup milk
1 heaping teaspoon instant coffee granules
8 Tablespoons (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
2 ounces (1/2 bar) German's sweet chocolate, grated
3 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted
1 Tablespoon water, if needed

Place the milk and instant coffee in a small glass liquid measuring cup. Plan in the microwave oven on high power until the milk is hot enough to dissolve the instant coffee, 30 to 40 seconds. Remove and stir until the coffee is dissolved. Set aside to cool.

Place the butter in the large mixing bowl and add the coffee and grated chocolate. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until the mixture has softened, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and add the confectioners' sugar. Blend with the mixer on low speed until the sugar is incorporated, 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 1 minute more. Blend in up to 1 tablespoon water if the frosting seems too stiff.

Use to frost the cupcakes of your choice.

I'd Rather Be Baking!

Thanks to my dear friend Jersey, I now have my very own Magnolia cookbook and a super-cute new apron named Betty! Ever since these lovelies arrived on my doorstep I've been dying to put them to use but, alas, there hasn't been the time. Today I am sorely tempted to call in sick (sniffle, cough, sniffle) and spend the morning in heavenly baking bliss, but my conscience (and a dwindling bank account) convinces me otherwise.



The minute I get home from the office, though, I'm headed straight for the kitchen to whip up some cupcakes! I know, I am no longer indulging in goodies but that shouldn't stop me from treating others, right?

Anyone want to stop by for tea & cupcakes this afternoon? The castle's open, come on in!

Magnolia Bakery's Orange Vanilla Cupcakes
from At Home with Magnolia by Allysa Torey

Yield: about two dozen cupcakes (depending on the size of your cupcake papers and muffin tins)

Cupcake Ingredients

* 1 ½ cups self-rising flour
* 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
* 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
* 2 cups sugar
* 1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest
* 4 large eggs, at room temperature
* 1 cup orange juice (use a variety without pulp)
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting Ingredients

* 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1 cup whole milk
* 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* Unsweetened shredded coconut, for garnish (optional)

To make the cupcakes:

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.

2. In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and zest gradually and beat until fluffy, about three minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

4. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the orange juice and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended.

5. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

To make the frosting:
1. In a medium-size saucepan, whisk the flour into the milk until smooth. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes very thick and begins to bubble, 8 to 10 minutes. Cover with waxed paper placed directly on the surface and cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

2. In a large bowl, on the medium-high speed of an electric mixer, beat the butter for three minutes, until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the sugar, beating continuously, and mix until fluffy, for three minutes. Add the vanilla and beat well.

3. Add the cooled milk mixture and beat for five minutes, until very smooth and noticeably whiter in color. Add a few drops of red food coloring to give a pink tint to the frosting, if desired. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes (no less and no longer—set a timer!). Use immediately to frost the cupcakes. If you like, garnish with the coconut (or do some with coconut and some without).

On My Hearth: Magnolia Cupcakes

You know I couldn't leave New York without my own Magnolia Cupcake/Sex and the City Moment! Ever since tasting those little sweeties (more on that later) I've been dying to make my own, and today's the day!


Magnolia Vanilla Cupcakes
Recipe from: More From Magnolia
by Allysa Torey, Photographs Zeva Oelbaum
Cookbook Heaven at Recipelink.com

Everyone is always asking us which is the most popular cupcake at the bakery.
Most people are surprised that it is what we call the vanilla vanilla - the vanilla cupcake with the vanilla icing (and the most popular color for the icing is pink).

Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes (depending on the size of your cupcake papers and muffin tins)

CUPCAKES:

* 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
* 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
* 2 cups sugar
* 4 large eggs, at room temperature
* 1 cup milk
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* ICING:
* Vanilla Buttercream (recipe follows) or Chocolate Buttercream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.

3. In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.

4. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

5. Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing. At the bakery we ice the cupcakes with either Vanilla Buttercream or Chocolate Buttercream.

Note: If you would like to make a layer cake instead of cupcakes, divide the batter between two 9-inch round cake pans and bake the layers for 30-40 minutes.

Magnolia's Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

The vanilla buttercream we use at the bakery is technically not a buttercream but actually an old-fashioned confectioners’ sugar and butter frosting. Be sure to beat the icing for the amount of time called for in the recipe to achieve the desired creamy texture.

Makes enough for one 2-layer 9-inch cake or 2 dozen cupcakes

* 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
* 6 to 8 cups confectioners’ sugar
* 1/2 cup milk
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.) Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

*Note: If you are icing a 3-layer cake, use the following recipe proportions:

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
8 to 10 cups confectioners’ sugar
3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

P.S. In case you're like me and not proficient at cupcake frosting, here's a quick video from Magnolia to help you out:


Enjoy!