A day at Friend's Lake, with friends who like cupcakes!

   

My best friend asked me to make these for the graduation of her Childbirth Education Class. She lives in the coolest log cabin on a nature preserve called Friend's Lake, right outside of Chelsea Michigan. She and her Husband are caretakers and will stay on over the winter.  The cabin they live in is idyllic to say the least and felt like an absolutley magical place to bake. Yes, the light really looked like this!

 The entry way to the kitchen......

This is the little pathway leading to the lake and the cabin.  Those windows are the windows of the kitchen!  Did I mention how much I love this place?? 

Okay, I think it may be cupcake time and for a big thanks to Angela for letting me post these photos of her place. xoxo

Lavender Cupcakes with Honey Orange cream cheese frosting

There is a quite not so uncommon belief out there that cream cheese frosting cannot be piped.  This is because conventional cream cheese frosting calls for butter and superfine sugar to be mixed with the cream cheese.  This leaves the frosting too soft to really stand up to piping.  After being what one might call, 'terrified' of butter for about 3 years of my life, I figured out a way to make cream cheese frosting with coconut oil instead.  Coconut oil melts at body temperature which makes it a better overall contender for piping.  What I found to work best, is mixing 1 to 1/3 coconut oil and honey.  Which is how I made this and what the recipe is below.  Enjoy!!

Preheat oven to 350

Ingredients

1 1/2 c. flour

1 c. evap. cane juice

1 tsp. salt.

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 c. veg. oil

2Tb. orange juice

2 eggs

1 1/2 T. Fresh Lavender flowers

Frosting

3 8 oz. cream cheese

1 c. honey (RAW) if possible

1. c coconut oil

zest of 2 oranges

 

 Mix dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl and set aside. Soften cream cheese prior to use by leaving at room temperature for 1 hour.  If you forget, don't fret! Place the cold cream cheese in a bowl with hot water and let sit for 10 minutes.  Mix wet ingredients, then pour into dry.  Mix this well until the batter is smooth.  This batter is on the wetter side.  Do not add more flour if it seems to thin.  This is the correct consistency.  Place in prepared cupcake tins and bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

In medium mixing bowl, combine, soft cream cheese, honey, zest, and melted coconut oil.  Beat with mixer on medium high until frosting has come together and looks smooth.  Make sure to check the blades of the mixer to see if there is any zest stuck to them.  Wipe down and add back into mixture if necessary.  Let this frosting cool and harden in fridge for 30 minutes before putting in piping bag.  Or put it in before but make sure you have something underneath the nozzle as it will drip straight through.  Then place prepared piping bag in fridge to cool and harden. About 30 minutes.

* I used a 1 Ml. wilton tip to make the rosed design.

When cooled, frost as desired and Share with Loved ones

Banana Coconut Cupcakes with Vanilla SMBC

 Yummy! I had 2 very ripe bananas on the counter and coconut it the cupboard.  Need I say more?

 There were also a few sliced almonds and a smidgin' of Green& Blacks Organic Baking cocoa hanging around too. 

Okay...So I suppose one more photo, and then the recipe!

 Preheat oven to 350

Prepare muffin tins with cupcake liners or butter and flour

1 1/3 C. Pastry Flour

1 1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2   tsp. baking powder

1/2   tsp. salt

2/3 C. unsweetend coconut

1 egg

1 C. unrefined cane juice (sugar)

2 tsp. vanilla

2 very ripe bananas, mashed

1/4 C. apple juice

1/4 C. half&half (organic)

1/2 C. (one stick) butter

In a medium sized bowl, cream butter and sugar.  When mixed, add egg.  Whip until light and fluffy.  In a small bowl mash bananas and vanilla together with a fork.  Add to the creamed egg and sugar mixture. Now add remaining wet ingrediets, the half&half and the apple juice.

In a seperate medium sized bowl, sift in all dry ingredients.  Add cocounut last.  Mix wet ingredients into dry.  The batter should be thicker than pancake batter but much thinner than oatmeal.

Spoon cupcake batter into liners.  There should be about half to 1/4 of the liner showing.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden.

Vanilla Swiss Buttercream

2 egg whites

1/2 C.+ 2 Tbl Butter (cold)

1/2 C. Sugar

1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla

On double boiler, stir egg whites and sugar until you can no longer feel sugar granules between your fingers.  Remove from heat.  Whip egg whites and sugar until it reaches the consistency of thick, glassy, soup.  Sugar soup.  Cube cold butter, and add little by little.  The buttercream should come together after awhile.  Don't fret! Just keep whipping.  When the frosting is complete add the vanilla.

Put in Piping bag and frost as desired.

Share with Loved Ones