Cupcakes Manhattan Style

I happen to adore cupcakes. They are the perfect-sized personal cake. While living in New York, I was surprised to find out about the cupcake craze of the early 2000s. (Apparently frozen yogurt is all the rage now :))There are tons of cupcakeries all over the city. Crumbs is by far my favorite. They specialize in huge cupcakes with mounds of frosting in tons and tons of flavors. I have had tried, unsuccessfully, to recreate those massive cupcakes. After finally finding a jumbo cupcake pan that I liked, I had my first baking experiment with jumbo cupcakes this weekend. I used a simple recipe for a vanilla cupcake with buttercream frosting. Now, I prefer a cupcake that has a nice browned crust all over, not just on top, so I decided to forgo the cupcake liners and just put the batter directly into the pan. Now, bnecause the cupcakes are made from scratch, they are a lot more dense. I could only eat about a third of one at a time, but it was oh so worth it.

Vanilla Cupcakes

1 stick butter
1.5 cups sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large egg whites

Preheat oven to 350 and butter and flour jumbo muffin pan.

1. soften butter in the mixer on high speed
2. drizzle the sugar in with the butter and beat until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes
3. sift flour, baking powder, and salt together
4. measure out milk and vanilla
5. add the flour mixture and milk mixture to the butter/sugar in 3 parts alternating between flour and milk and beating well after each addition
6. set aside incorporated mixture
7. in a clean mixer bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form
8. fold egg whites into cake batter until incorporated
9. scoop batter into the prepared cupcake pans
10. bake in the 350 degree oven for approximately 20 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

1.5 sticks butter
3 cups confectioners sugar
1 T. Vanilla
1 T. heavy cream
3 drops purple food coloring

Mix butter and sugar on high speed until combined. Add in vanilla and food coloring and mix until fully incorporated. Add in cream until desired consistency. Frosting should be stiff but workable. Fill pastry bag with frosting. using a number 8 tip, pipe a liberal amount of frosting on top of cooled cupcake.


Makes 10 jumbo cupcakes.

Strawberry White Chocolate Cheesecake

So, this was my first major success in the kitchen. I spent six months living in Manhattan, and frequently my friends and I would meet up for our ritual slice of Devils Food Cake Cheesecake from Juniors, one of the best Cheesecakes in the world. So, I am ever in search of that perfect homemade cheesecake recipe. I found this recipe on one of my favorite food blogs, Cannelle et Vanille. The base was originally a pistachio base, but I discovered it was incredibly difficult to find pistachio paste in rural Idaho, so I adapted the recipe using something a bit easier to come by, strawberries. The result was a slightly dense cheesecake with beautiful coloring. I apologize in advance for the photography. My photographer friend recently moved, so my photos will be lacking for a while until I can find a replacement, or until Andrew decides to come back.

So, here's the recipe, from Cannelle et Vanille and adapted for us Idahoans


Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake

Cookie Crust

2 cups / 180 g short dough crumbs
1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted
2 tbsp. / 24 g sugar

Cheesecake Base

3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature
1 cup / 210 g sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)
1 bag frozen strawberries, sweetened
1 cup white chocolate chips

Chocolate Ganache
10 oz semisweet chocolate
1/2 c. heavy cream

Preheat oven to 320F. Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

Mix together the crust ingredients and press into springform pan. Set aside.

Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice to the cream cheese base and cream until smooth.

Divide the cheesecake base into two bowls. Add the strawberries to one and mix well.

Pour strawberry base half way up into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the pan that holds the ring molds.

Bake 15 minutes, until it is semi set but not completely baked. While base is baking, melt white chocolate over double boiler, stirring until smooth. Swirl white chocolate into vanilla cheesecake batter, but do not incorporate fully. Remove from oven and pour the remaining vanilla cheesecake batter on top of the. Tap gently and return to oven and finish baking for another 30 minutes or so. Set cheesecake aside to cool for 30 minutes.

For chocolate ganache, melt chocolate and cream over a double boiler. Pour mixture over slightly cooled cheesecake.

Let the cheesecake cool in the springform pan and refrigerate overnight before unmolding.

The Idea

I have a boring job. I'm in between school right now. I just finished my undergrad in April, and I start my grad program in September. That left me with about five months of nothing to do. I found a temporary job working for an out of control attorney in a small firm in Idaho Falls, ID. The job pays well, and the attorney makes my life interesting, but it leaves something to be desired. It is also a slow time of year, and I find myself sitting at my computer looking for things to occupy my time. After coming to the realization that there really wasn't anything I could possible do one day, I began looking at cooking blogs online. About a month ago, my boyfriend went out of town for a family vacation, and I was left alone and bored. Whilst pondering my lonely situation and surfing the net at work, I had an overwhelming craving to make cupcakes. I went straight to my favorite baking blog and browsed the recipes, searching for a simple but delicious looking one. My first attempt was a bit of a disaster truth be told, but I didn't give up. In the past month, I have tested out a few different recipes, and had favorable results. I love the feeling that I get once I cut into the dessert and taste it for the first time. There is apprehension and hope that it will not only taste alright, but will taste good enough to be proud of. I've decided to start my own baking blog to chronicle my failures and successes in the baking world. I figure that once I start grad school, far away from my friends and boyfriend, I'll be in need of something to occupy my time on the weeknights. Wish me luck :)