Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes

BOO!

Can you believe it's already time for Halloween? It feels like it should still be sometime last winter. Or early spring, at least. 

What are y'all doing for Halloween? We don't really celebrate it, except for helping out with Trunk or Treat at church. But I just HAD to get sick, so I didn't get to rock my cute 50s outfit. Too bad. :(. Maybe someone will decide to have a party at the last minute.I guess I'm a little old for trick or treating ;).

 

Speaking of treats, let's talk about these cupcakes!

Pumpkin spice frappucinos and  lattes are my absolute favorite part of fall, besides football.  And cupcakes are one of my favorite little things in life. So naturally they had to be married and have a baby. And what a yummy baby it is.  

Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes

( Cake adapted from Eat, Live, Run, icing adapted from a church cookbook)

1/2 c whole wheat flour

1/2 c all purpose flour

1/2 15 oz can pumpkin

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 1/2 tbsp coffee grounds

3/4 c packed brown sugar

1/2 c oil

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp molasses

Preheat oven to 350. Mix dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients. Then add to the dry.  Spoon into lined cupcake tins and bake 25-30 min. Let cool completely before icing. 

Pumpkin Spice Frosting:

1 stick butter or margarine, or 4 oz cream cheese, or shortening, or whatever 

2-3 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 box powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

milk

Cream butter. Add sugar, vanilla, spices, and 1 tbsp milk, mixing well. Add more milk a little at a time until you reach the desired consistency.

Questions of the day:

What are you going to be for Halloween? And what's your favorite part of fall?

Happy weekend/Halloween!

Mellie

Orange Marmalade Cake

Sorry this post has been so long in coming. Guess what? School starts Friday. (wah wah wah) Yes Friday. Don't even ask, because I really don't know. Nothing in our town makes sense. School starts on a friday. The fair comes this week, when it is waaay to hot to be outside, especially while eating hot funnel cakes. We have 3 clothing stores and 1354 restaurants. Nothing here makes sense. Nothing. 

Well, anyway, let's talk about this cake. It's nothing short of amazing. Three layers of yummy, moist yellow cake with orange zest, soaked in a delicious orange glaze, with orange marmalade in between the layers, and a fluffy sour cream icing to top it all off. The icing balances out the intense sweetness of the cake. And I love that it has a glaze AND an icing-it's like the best of both worlds.

This cake only gets better with age, but it doesn't last that long. But maybe your family is not as obsessed with desserts as mine, so you get to enjoy it for a long time. 

Oh, one more thing. Butter and flour your pans. Don't use cooking spray. I used it, out of habit, and it wasn't pretty. It's cake, people, it's not supposed to be low cal.

Here's the recipe!

Orange Marmalade Cake

(From Jan Karon's Mitford Cookbook and Kitchen Reader)

Cake:

1 c unsalted butter, softened

3 1/4 c cake flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 2/3 c granulated sugar

5 large eggs, at room temp

4 large egg yolks, at room temp

2/3 c canola oil

1 tbsp grated orange zest

2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly butter and flour 3 9in round cake pans. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Sift a second time into another bowl. With an electric mixer, beat butter till light in color, about 4 minutes. add the sugar in a steady stream while mixer is still running. Beat till light and fluffy, about 4 min. Add eggs and yolks, one at a time, beat well after each addition. Continue to beat on medium speed for two more minutes. With mixer on low speed, add oil and beat for 1 minute. In a small bowl, combine zest, buttermilk, and vanilla. Using a rubber spatula, fold half the dry ingredients into the butter mixture. Scrape down the sides, and half the buttermilk mixture. Repeat. 

Pour batter into remaining pans. Bake 30-35 min, or till toothpick comes out clean. Let cakes cool in pans on racks 20 min.

orange syrup:

1 c fresh orange juice

1/4 c sugar

stir till sugar is dissolved. While cakes are still in pans, poke holes and pour the glaze on top.

Filling:

1 12 oz jar orange marmalade

heat in small saucepan over medium heat till just melted. cool 5 min.

Icing:

1 c heavy cream, chilled

4 tbsp granulated sugar

1 c sour cream, chilled

Whip cream and sugar till stiff peaks form. Add sour cream, a little at a time, and whisk till mixture is spreadable.

To assemble: 

Invert 1 cake layer onto a plate, spread 1/3 of the marmalade on top. Repeat till all the layers are stacked. Top with orange marmalade, leaving a 1 1/4 in border around the edges. Frost sides and top border with sour cream icing. Or, frost the whole cake, and garnish with marmalade. Chill for at least 2 hrs before serving. Yield: 12-14 servings

 

QOD: What's your best birthday cake? This was DEFINITELY my best tasting one. The cutest one was...hmm...when I turned 11, I had cupcakes decorated to look like mini individual cakes. We also had mini burgers and hot dogs with small cheese slices, baby pickles, and grape tomatoes.

Have a good day!

Mellie

Southern Charm

The other day, I wanted to bake, but I didn't go to the internet, or to our endless supply of old Taste of Homes.   Instead, I went an even better direction, one I don't go nearly enough.

 This is my grandmother's recipe box. All the recipes are written in her lovely old-fashioned handwriting, and all of them are 100 times better than anything modern. Last week, I made her pound cake. This is the best pound cake I've ever eaten, hands down.

There's something nice and old-fashioned about pound cake, isn't there? It seems like something Scarlett O'Hara would nibble on, sitting under a magnolia tree, surrounded by young men.

(Don't be hatin' on Gone with the Wind just because it's 75 years old and over 700 pages long. It's my favorite book, and I don't care how old it is.)

I had high hopes for this cake. It's only the 3rd scratch cake I've ever baked all by myself. And it fell. I cried when I opened the oven and saw.  And I'm not ashamed.

Here are some reasons it could have fallen:1. i didn't use a really good pan, 2. I had to chill the batter before baking, and 3. I forgot to flour the pan.

Here's the recipe. It is the richest, most delicious cake you'll EVER eat!!

Pound Cake

3/4 lb butter, at room temp.

6 eggs, at room temp.

1 8 oz pkg cream cheese

3 c sifted flour

3 c sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Cream butter and cream cheese. Add sugar. Add eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla and flour. Bake in a greased, floured bundt pan at 325 for 1-1 1/2 hrs. Makes: one large cake.

oh my my my. :)

Have a good night,

Mellie