Apple Pie

So in celebration of Choosuk and the first day of fall, I made a journey to a friend's apt on the upper east side to make my first ever apple pie.

We made three different kinds, but only 2 are pictured.
The little ones house a bit of scotch :)

Jamie to town!

Sooo the apt is slowly coming together, and the best part is entertaining :)
Pink flowers for Ms. Jamie and chocolate cupcakes with classic vanilla icing


























Also had a chance to pick up baby plants from my parent's home this weekend :) We're still deciding on names for them, but they sure do look lovely against the grey wall :)

Triple Layer Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Rum Frosting

Happy Birthday, darling.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter and Strawberry Frosting

So, for the last few days I was stuck at home with good old food poisoning. What better way to celebrate it by making cupcakes I can't eat? I've been wanting to try this recipe for a while, but finally got a mini muffin pan so i can make bite-sized cupcakes :)

Chocolate Cupcakes
http://cupcakeblog.com/
























INGREDIENTS
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temp
2 1/2 cups sugar 4 large eggs, room temp
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350degrees.
Beat butter until softened.
Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating until well combined.
In a small sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder
In a separate bowl, stir the milk and vanilla
Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar and beat to combine. Add about a half of the milk/vanilla and beat to combine. Continue adding, alternating between dry and wet and finishing with the dry.
Fill the cupcakes up until half way. Turn oven down to 325 degrees and bake cupcakes for about 18 minutes.









































Strawberry Frosting

INGREDIENTS
cup freshly cut strawberries, stems removed
sugar to taste
1 pkg creamcheese (8oz) at room temp
1/2 stick unsalted butter at room temp
4 cups sifted confectioner's sugar
2 1/2 tbsp strawberry sauce


INSTRUCTIONS
strawberry sauce
Soak strawberries with about 1-2 tbs sugar for 15 minutes
Place strawberries in a small saucepan and heat under medium heat with lid on.
Cook strawberries for approximately 15 minutes till strawberries become soft and saucy. Adjust sweetness with sugar.
With a blender, puree until you get the desired smoothness or chunkiness Cool before using in recipe.

frosting
Beat butter and cheese at medium speed until creamy.
Add half of the sugar, beat until combined.
Add strawberry sauce until you achieve the right color and flavor, making sure not to add too much or the frosting will be too soft.
Gradually add remaining sugar until you get to the consistency and sweetness you like.

I realized later that I put too much strawberry sauce and my frosting turned into an icing :(

Peanut Butter Frosting

INGREDIENTS
1 stick butter - room temperature
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup sifted confectioner's sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream

INSTRUCTIONS
Beat butter and peanut butter with an electric mixer.
Add sugar and beat until evenly incorporated.
Add heavy cream, beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Enjoy :)

Green Tea Frosting

Since my matcha supply has almost come to an end, I decided that I would celebrate it by creating it into a beautiful green frosting.

I took a simple cream cheese frosting recipe and added the matcha in hopes that they would pair well together. Luckily, this experiment worked and voila, matcha frosting :)

INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
3 tsp matcha
4 tbsp unsalted butter (1/2 a stick)
8oz cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS
In a medium bowl, whisk the confectioner's sugar and matcha together
In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to blend together butter, cream cheese, and vanilla.
Slowly incorporate the sugar/matcha mixture while using the mixer.
When fully incorporated, beat on medium for approx 5 minutes.

Green Tea Cookies

I remember the first time I tried these scrumptious little morsels. It was my first year in college and during break I went to the little bakery that everyone was raving about. I fell in love with Panya and their green tea cookies.

Recipe from imbibemagazine.com

























INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
5 oz. unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 large egg yolks
1 1/2 Tbsp. matcha (powdered green tea)
1 cup granulated sugar (for coating)

INSTRUCTIONS
Whisk sugar and matcha together in a bowl.
Add sugar mixture and butter to bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
Mix until smooth and light in color. Add flour and mix until well combined.
Add egg yolks and mix just until eggs are fully incorporated and a mass forms.

Form dough into a disk and refrigerate until firm (about 30 minutes).


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Roll dough out to 1/2-inch thickness.
Cut with a small leaf cookie cutter (or whatever you prefer).
Toss each cut cookie in a bowl of granulated sugar to coat.
Place cookies on a parchment-lined pan.
Bake 12–15 minutes, or until slightly golden around edges.
Makes about 25.