 A fat free cupcake? I must be dreaming.  Did you know that angel food cake has zero butter, oil or fat? I love that. The problem is that I love them even more when you add a really fattening whipped cream cheese frosting to the top.  I've made angel food cupcakes in the past and I've always had a problem with them shrinking once they came out of the oven. They pull away from the paper liners and then they just look awkward. I finally came up with a new recipe I thought might just solve my shrinkage problem. Not to mention the fact that these cupcakes are topped with THE BEST whipped cream cheese frosting!!!  Angel Food Cupcakes 3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp (194g) granulated sugar 1/2 cup (68g) cake flour 1/8 tsp salt 6 egg whites (192g), at room temperature 2 1/2 Tbsp warm water 1/4 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 tsp almond extract 3/4 tsp cream of tartar 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream 6 oz cream cheese, softened 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp powdered sugar 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1/2 tsp almond extract Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, pulse sugar until super fine, about 2 minutes. (If you don't have a food processor caster sugar will also work.)  In a mixing bowl, sift together half of the sugar, the cake flour and the salt.  Whisk together egg whites, water, vanilla and almond extract and cream of tartar until well combined, about 2 minutes.  Whip mixture on medium speed while slowly adding remaining sugar to mixture, until medium peaks form.  Sift just enough of the flour mixture in to evenly dust the top of the egg white mixture and using a spatula gently fold flour layer into egg white mixture and continue this process until all of the flour mixture has been incorporated.  Divide batter among paper lined muffin cups, filling each cup nearly full.  Bake in preheated oven 19 - 22 minutes until golden and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
 For the Cream Cheese Whipped Cream Topping: In a mixing bowl whip heavy cream until soft peaks form.  In a separate mixing bowl, whip cream cheese until light and fluffy  Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract and almond extract to cream cheese.  Whip cheese mixture into cream until stiff peaks form. Store in refrigerator.  Cool completely then pipe Cream Cheese Whipped Cream over cupcakes just before serving and top with rainbow sprinkles.
   These cupcakes could not be easier to put together. And as I look at it - I can eat twice as much frosting since the cupcake is fat free. (That makes sense, right?)
Ciao!
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 Making angel food cupcakes is all about whipping the egg whites correctly. If you can master the egg whipping lingo (soft peaks, firm peaks, fold, foamy, curl), you can create beautiful angel food cupcakes. Don't worry - I'll walk you through it. It's easier than you might think.  Angel Food Cupcakes 1 cup cake flour 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar 1 1/4 cups sugar 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon lemon zest 1 1/4 cups egg whites (about 8) 1 teaspoon vanilla Combine flour, 1 c. sugar and salt. Beat egg whites on medium until foamy. Egg whites are foamy when they start to get bubbly and turn more opaque. 
Stir in lemon juice, zest and vanilla.  Sift in 1/4 of flour and fold in. Use the spatula to carefully lift the mixture from the bottom to incorporate the dry ingredients. If you stir to aggressively, you will deflate the air in the egg whites and your cakes will be dense instead of light and airy.  Repeat 3 more times. 
Bake mini bundt cakes for 16 minutes.  Cool on wire racks.  Voila - now you're an egg beating expert. These little cakes are really good with fresh fruit or whipped cream or yogurt spooned over the top.
Ciao!
 Ben and I celebrated our 24th wedding anniversary this week. We both prefer a quiet celebration over something really extravagant so we opted for dinner at our favorite Atlanta restaurant. For us, celebrating the anniversary of our wedding day is about spending time together. This year our anniversary fell on a Monday but anniversary dinner is one tradition that we don't skip - even if it does fall on a Monday. We ordered appetizers, wine and dessert which made it feel more special than an ordinary meal.
Just in case you're looking for a yummy dessert to celebrate something or someONE special in your life - this carrot cake cupcake recipe is for you. I reworked my old carrot cake cupcake recipe into these vegetable packed, moist but not oily - cupcakes. I think you will agree that these cupcakes are divine.
Carrot Cake Cupcakes 1 1/4 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg 1 1/2 cups finely shredded carrots (about 2 carrots) 2/3 cup sugar 1/3 cup brown sugar 2 eggs 1/4 cup applesauce 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 cup vegetable oil
Scoop batter into jumbo cupcake pans and bake 22 minutes at 350.  Cool on wire racks.
Frost with cream cheese frosting.
Adding a vegetable to a cupcake makes it healthy right? That might be a stretch but it certainly doesn't hurt. If you are a carrot cake fan - you need to give these cupcakes a try. They are extraordinary.
Ciao!  I woke up this morning absolutely convinced that it was Friday. Wouldn't that be nice? A three day head start to my weekend. A few more Saturdays and less Tuesdays and Wednesdays in my week would be just fine with me. Anyone else? But since I only get one Saturday a week - I have to make the most of it. That to me means spending as much time as I can with my family. My baking business quite often keeps me busy on the weekends so carving out family time can be a challenge. When I have one of those extra busy baking weekends - quick and easy meals are the name of the game. The goal is to get out of the kitchen and around the table in the shortest amount of time possible.  This Chicken Spinach Stromboli Ring is a great way to enjoy a delicious Saturday afternoon lunch or evening meal while maximizing family time. I can put this meal together in under 15 minutes and everyone loves it.  Chicken Spinach Stromboli Ring 12 ounce pizza dough 1 Tablespoon olive oil 2 garlic cloves, minced 10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed 1 cup part skim ricotta cheese 1/4 cup parmesan cheese 1 1/2 cups shredded chicken breast, cooked 1 cup spaghetti sauce
 Slice and serve with a bowl of marinara for dipping. 
 A tube of refrigerated pizza dough, a rotisserie chicken and jar of spaghetti sauce makes this meal come together in a snap. I've convinced myself that the addition of spinach makes this a "healthy" meal so not only is it quick and easy to bake - it's healthy!?!
Ciao!  It can be hard to stay on your healthy eating track when you're trying to eat nutritious food but you're craving something really yummy and satisfying. Shrimp fried rice is one of my very favorite things and one of the first thing that I crave when I decide to go on a more strict healthy eating plan.  The good news is that I found a healthy alternative to my beloved shrimp fried rice that won't derail my eating plan. Riced cauliflower takes the place of the traditional rice in this shrimp fried cauliflower rice and its so good that Ben didn't even realize that he wasn't eating rice! It's seriously delicious and it's basically guilt free so go ahead and indulge in this tasty dish.  Shrimp Fried Cauliflower Rice 3 Tablespoons olive oil 10 oz. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined 5 eggs, lightly beaten 1 cup sliced green onions, sliced thin 16 ounces frozen riced cauliflower 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1/4 teaspoon salt
Heat 2 T. oil in skillet. Add 3/4 c. green onions and cauliflower. Cook 5 minutes without stirring, until browned. 
Add shrimp and remaining green onions to each bowl.
 In the interest of full disclosure - Ben and I were the only ones home to eat this delicious meal. The kids missed out but Im really curious to know what their reaction to would have been to the riced cauliflower. I am going to have to make this again and let them try it. I suspect that they will love it just as much as we did.
Ciao! |
