peach cupcakes.

Last month we celebrated M. Next month we'll celebrate B. This month we celebrated C. I may not care for summer temperatures, but I'm so grateful for summer birthdays that have given me these dear friends.

For C.'s birthday last year, we had a lovely birthday brunch. This year's celebration did not, thankfully, involve me juggling a still-warm quiche and large braided bread on the bus; instead, we had dinner and drinks at Village Whiskey, followed by drinks at the Franklin. Sense a theme? Indeed. We like our quality cocktails.

In between two of our favorite Philly institutions, we stopped off for surprise cupcakes in the park. (I'd stashed them with the hostess on the way into the restaurant. Sneaky! I love surprising people with baked goods.) We lit candles, sang "Happy Birthday," embarrassed C. in the process, and had a wonderful, slightly messy time. (I'm not including photos of me licking up my arm to remove/savor the frosting that transferred from the cupcakes to the box to me. That doesn't mean they don't exist.)

Most photos by MT, who is therefore not in them. Boo.

Peach cupcakes. Brown sugar cream cheese frosting. How could these not be delicious? The recipe, from the ever-reliable smittenkitchen, makes 24-28 cupcakes. I didn't need that many cupcakes, but I also generally avoid halving baking recipes because you never know when the chemistry will be thrown off. So I made a dozen cupcakes and a 9" cake. Then I halved the frosting recipe and used it for the cupcakes; I sprinkled some sugar across the top of the cake before baking and ate it plain for breakfast. And mid-afternoon snack. And dessert. I also adjusted the sugar so that most of the sweetness in the cake comes from the peaches. So excited to buy peaches for the first time this summer!

The recipe below will make 2 dozen cupcakes or 1 dozen cupcakes + 1 9" (or 8") cake. The frosting is enough (barely) for 1 dozen cupcakes. The green letters are tinted white chocolate: I melted a handful of white chocolate chips in the microwave with about 1 tsp. milk, stirred in two drops of green food coloring, let it cool for about 5 mins., then piped letters onto waxed paper with a small icing tip. After about 30 mins. in the fridge, they'll firm up and peel right off the paper, as long as you're somewhat gentle. I didn't want to pipe directly onto the spiky frosting, so this worked nicely.

Peach Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting
adapted from smittenkitchen


Cupcakes
3 c. cake flour*
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
Pinch of nutmeg
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 c.) unsalted butter, room temp.
scant 3/4 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. buttermilk OR sour cream OR yogurt (*I used about 1 1/4 c. buttermilk and 1/4 c. Greek yogurt - the combination worked very well)
6 small or 3 large peaches, peeled and cut into small cubes

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Butter/line 24 muffin cups (or 12 muffin cups + 1 9" cake pan).

2. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg; set aside.

3. Cream together butter and two sugars, beating until fluffy; scrape down sides of bowl. Add eggs half at a time, beating until combined and scraping down sides each time. Add vanilla, then gently mix in buttermilk/sour cream/yogurt. (The batter will look curdled. That's ok.) Stir in dry ingredients, then (gently!) chopped peaches.

4. Divide the batter among the muffin cups (and cake pan, if using). Bake 18-22 mins., until spring to the touch or toothpick in center comes out clean. (If you're baking a dozen cupcakes and a cake, the cake will take about 26-28 mins.) Cool in pan for 5 mins., then turn out onto wire rack and cool completely.

Frosting
[makes enough for 12 cupcakes; double for 24]
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 c. powdered sugar
8 oz. (1 package) cream cheese, room temp.
4 tbsp. butter, room temp.
1/4 tsp. vanilla

5. In small bowl, stir together brown sugar, cornstarch, and powdered sugar. Make sure you get any lumps out. Set aside.

6. Beat together cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Scrape down sides, then add brown sugar mixture and vanilla and beat until light and smooth. Chill in refrigerator for about 30 mins.

7. Spread or pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes.

♥

halloween treats.

I tend to get a lot more excited about holidays like Christmas than I do for Halloween. I didn't dress up this year; after last year's Joan Holloway, nothing seemed quite as fun. However, a handful of us did band together to brave a 70s-scary-movies night, featuring Carrie and The Omen. Good friends, good beer, good snarky commentary on the movies. Plus, a good excuse to try a few new recipes: applesauce cupcakes and molasses cookies with lemon glaze. And though these treats weren't spooky, they were autumnally yummy.

Applesauce Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
from SmittenKitchen, adapted slightly


This recipe is actually for a 9" square cake; because I a) don't own a square cake pan and b) thought cupcakes would be fun, that's what I did. The recipe makes about 14 cupcakes, and there's plenty of frosting for all of them.

I'm a little bit addicted to making applesauce at the moment, so this was the perfect use for a jar. Plus, this cake is quite delicious.

For the cake:
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 c. packed light brown sugar (*the original calls for 1 c.; I found 3/4 sufficient)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce
zest of 1/2 lemon

For the frosting:
5 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. confectioners' sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350F; line cupcake pan with paper liners. (*This cake is quite moist, so I used paper inside foil liners to avoid sogginess.)

Make cake:
2. In small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.

3. With an electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, and vanilla at high speed until fluffy, about 2-3 mins. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then add applesauce and zest and beat until combined.

4. At low speed, add flour mixture until just combined. The batter will look curdled, but that's ok.

5. Distribute batter into cupcake tins, filling about 3/4 full. (You'll have some left over; bake the rest after the first batch is done.) Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 25 mins. Cool on wire rack.

Make frosting:
6. Beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla mixture at high speed until fluffy. Sift confectioners' sugar and cinnamon on top, then beat at medium speed until incorporated. Spread frosting on cooled cupcakes.



Chewy Molasses Cookies with Lemon Glaze
from TheKitchn


Yum. I really liked the combination of the dark molasses cookies with the tart lemon glaze. The recipe makes about 3-4 dozen (sometimes I get overly enthusiastic and end up with larger cookies) and they last fairly well for a handful of days, which is nice.

For the cookies:
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, very soft
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1/4 c. dark molasses
3/4 c. brown sugar, packed (*the original calls for 1 c.)
1 egg
2-inch knob of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
2 1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper
granulated sugar, for rolling

For the glaze:
2 lemons, juiced (about 1/4 c. fresh lemon juice)
1/3 c. granulated sugar
1 c. confectioners' sugar

Make the cake:
1. Preheat oven to 350F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. With a stand mixer, beat butter, oil, molasses, and brown sugar until lightened and fluffy. Then beat in egg until smooth, then add the grated ginger.

3. In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and spices; add to butter mixture and mix at low speed until combined. The dough will be quite soft; turn it out onto plastic wrap and wrap it tightly, then refrigerate for at least an hour. (*The original recipe says to refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour. I had the dough in the freezer for 45 mins. and it was still quite soft in the middle, almost unmanageable.)

4. Pour about 1/2 c. granulated sugar into a shallow bowl. When the dough is firm enough to handle, divide it into four parts. Divide the first part into 12 walnut-sized chunks and roll each into a ball, rolling the balls in sugar before placing them on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat for the second quarter of dough.

5. Bake for 12 mins., rotating the sheets halfway through. Remove from oven and let cool 5 mins., then transfer cookies to wire rack and repeat rolling and baking process for the rest of the dough.

Make the glaze:
6. When the cookies are cool, whisk together the lemon juice and sugars. Dribble over the cookies with a fork or a pastry brush; let glaze cool and dry until hard.