Celebrating the Boy who Lived

I can't believe its over.

For those of you who did not get into Harry Potter at a young age, you can still appreciate the 7th and final movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2. But for those of us that did get sucked into that world, watching the last movie was like closing the final chapter of our childhood. They got it right when they said it was the end of an era...

For this reason, I decided to bake "Harry Potter Cauldron Cakes" prior to the midnight premiere of the movie (which I had tickets to, of course). I mean, after 14 years (yes, it's been that long) of following the series, I think it at least deserves a cupcake and post on my blog. I'm going to try to stick to the recipe alone, without rambling on about the political subtexts of the books - which is part of the reason why HP has my heart.

Ok, here goes...

Cupcake:             HP Cauldron Spice Cakes

Frosting:              Cream Cheese Frosting

*Music:               Harry Potter 7 Soundtrack. Duh.

 

**Disclaimer: There are two versions of Cauldron Cakes online - One is a chocolate cupcake made to look like a cauldron; the other is a spice cupcake, which is the one described here**

 

Ingredients/Equipment Needed:

• 2 cups flour
•  1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 1 cup milk - I used soy milk because I can.
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
•  3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ginger

Instructions:

1.     Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.     Mix eggs, sugar, butter, cinnamon, ginger, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and whip for two minutes.

3.     Mix other solid ingredients and milk in gradually in the large mixing bowl until evenly blended.

4.     Put batter in the muffin tins until 2/3 full (I didn't do this and filled them all of the way up, which caused them to look more muffin-like than cupcake-like...oops).

5.     Bake for 25 minutes (I only baked mine for 18 minutes and they were just fine).

 
6.     Decorate with sprinkles and frosting if desired. I frosted them with a homemade cream cheese frosting and put a yellow lightening bolt on the top.  

So, I finish the cakes and head to the movie theater, with the newly-engaged Tory and Josh, along with Ryan and Abby.

I had to kindly talk the theater security into letting me bring the cupcakes into the theater, which is never a problem. After waiting in line, finding seats, and enjoying our Cauldron Spice Cakes, the moment had come.

 For those of you who have yet to see the movie, I won't say give anything away, but it was EPIC. The supporting characters made the movie worth watching, in my opinion. Perhaps in another post, I'll ramble on about my obsession with Harry Potter, but not here.

Albus Dumbledore: "I always surprise myself on my ability to turn a phrase. Words are, in my not so humble opinion, the most inexhaustible source of magic; capable of both inflicting injury and remedying it."

 

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Until next time, comrades!!

Love, Meg

Starting with the Classics

Cupcake:             Classic Chocolate Cupcake

Frosting:              Vanilla Buttercream

*Music:                 Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers Greatest Hits

  *Music always make the baking experience a bit more enjoyable*

                For my first baking experience, I chose to go with a Classic Chocolate Buttercream cupcake (slight variation from the frosting recipe labeled in the book). My best friend and favorite baking assistant, Tory, helped me with the project and also let me use her kitchen. Thanks love!

Ingredients/Equipment Needed:                                                                                       

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened 
•  1 cup sugar
• 1 ½ cups self-rising flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 4 tbsp. cocoa powder
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

• 18 paper baking cups and cupcake pans
• 2 cans of Buttercream frosting
• Fondant and colored dyes
• Cookie cutters
• Decorating tips and pastry bags (2 each)
• Sprinkles

Instructions:

1.     First, you preheat the oven to 350°F – this is somewhat important so don’t forget this step.
2.     Place the 18 baking cups in the cupcake pans - may require additional assistance <sarcasm>
3.     Combine all ingredients – butter, sugar, flour, baking powder, cocoa, eggs, and vanilla – in a bowl and mix with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes.  I noticed that the batter itself was extremely thick at this point (no milk in the recipe) but went with it.  

4.     Spoon the batter into the cups until each is 2/3 full. Although we didn’t have one at the time, I would highly recommend using a large ice cream scoop for this step, so that each cupcake liner is equally full.
5.     Bake for 20 minutes. Because the cakes turned out to be extremely dry (think a whole gallon of milk needed to put down one cake), I would recommend two things: A) add chocolate pudding or milk to the batter mixture, or B) bake for 15 minutes and check to see if done.
6.     Remove pans and cool on a wire rack until room temperature. If you don’t let them cool long enough, the frosting may begin to melt and slide off of the cake.

 Decorating:

1.     Take three pieces of the fondant (think 2/3rds of a golf ball) and roll into balls.  Push your thumb into one ball, making a small indent, and add a small amount of dye to the center. This is the part where we should have put on gloves, but I forgot to buy them. Instead, we used sandwich bags which worked just as well. 

2.     Work the dye into the fondant until the color is solid and no white can be seen. I’m not going to detail just how much dye you should use, because really, you should figure this out yourself. Like my grandmother always says, real recipes that taste the best are never measured exactly.
3.     Using a rolling pin (which we also did not have), roll out the colored fondant and use the cookie cutters to make flower and butterfly cut-outs. Set aside and let harden.

 
4.     Take ½ cup of the buttercream frosting (I used “Decorator’s Frosting” – available at Michael’s) and dye it yellow. Place this in the pastry bag (with the tip inside). I would highly recommend not forgetting to put the tip in before the frosting, because that gets messy and frustrating real quick.
5.     Fill the second pastry bag (with tip inside) until capacity with the white buttercream frosting.
6.     Swirl your cupcakes with the white frosting. Use your imagination here! You can go with a single swirl (think Meijer cupcakes) or a triple swirl (think the infamous Gigi’s Swirl). I chose to compromise and a finished with a double swirl, using a Wilton 1M tip.
7.     Sprinkle to your heart’s desire.
8.     After the fondant has hardened, place on the cupcakes in a whimsical manner.

Optional: Assemble a miniature cupcake tower (holds 13 cupcakes) and place finished cupcakes in designated areas.

Tory and I: “Let’s use the mini screwdriver that came with the kit to assemble the tower!”
Josh Cope: “That’s not a screwdriver, that’s called a wrench” 

 

 
Conclusion:        

Overall, the cupcakes turned out to be really cute and a fun way to celebrate the summertime, aka the "horrible heat index outside that makes you feel like you’re having a heat stroke before you make it to the mailbox". Unfortunately, the cakes themselves turned out to be a little on the dry side (think Sahara desert). I would recommend altering the recipe to include a splash of milk, cream, or chocolate pudding to make it a bit more moist.

Next Up: Soy Milk Muffins

My Opinion on Important Worldly Matters:

Britain, not even a serious phone hacking at the News of the World can make your politics interesting enough for me to care.                  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-14131555

Hasta luego camaradas!                  
 
Meg                                                 

So, this blog thing...

          I grew up in a large family, where the kitchen was the epicenter of activity. We baked when were happy, sad, grieving, coping, celebrating - you name it, we had a recipe to fit the occasion. So needless to say, baking is a staple in my life. However, I wasn't really expecting to revisit my family traditions at 23 years old.

My life took a few unexpected twists and turns in the past year, and I ended up finding a part-time job at Gigi's Cupcakes as a Cupcake Decorator (check them out at gigiscupcakesusa.com!!). Landing this job was the real reason that I started to remember how great it felt to bake. Holding a spatula in my hand, mixing together a batter is a huge stress-reducer for me; similar to someone who jogs in order to relax (except not nearly as healthy - I create calories while runners burn them). 

I remember watching the movie Julie and Julia and still remain fascinated by Julie Powell’s dedication toward cooking her way through Julia Child’s cookbook (and then blogging about it!!!). I watch in awe when Candace Nelson judges cupcakes on TV, as if I’m watching an Oprah Winfrey episode in all of her glory; not to mention the joy I find watching Sophie LaMontagne and Katherine Kallinis on DC Cupcakes. And boys, the art of cake decorating isn’t restricted to females only. Look at Duff Goldman (Ace of Cakes) and Buddy Valastro (better known as “Cake Boss”).     

What I’m trying to say is, I find myself inspired by these entrepreneurs and connoisseurs in a similar manner as I’m inspired by the powerful political figures of our past and present. After spending four years earning my bachelor’s degree in political science and another six months in a graduate program that I despised, I dropped out and took a six month break to unwind before beginning a new graduate program. My intentions were to spend this time expanding my knowledge of the intricacies of international relations theory, delving into feminist ideologies, and memorizing the entire history of Latin America by heart. Of course I am inspired by the work of Hans Morgenthau, Betty Friedan and Che Guevara, for example (and yes, I just put those three individuals in the same group) – but I just haven't found the comfort in reading about these historical figures that I find in baking.

After working at Gigi's for a few months (and loving it), I started watching more shows on the Food Network and reading less. I’m not necessarily proud of my lack of self-discipline, but nevertheless, I have thoroughly enjoyed a six month break from the frustrations of structured education. Temporarily, I have decided to replace the pencil with the spatula and try my hand at baking (I swear if I see any comments that are anti-feminist, I will physically hurt you). This is not to say that I’ve turned away from my love of politics, feminism, or Latin America; these will be incorporated oh-so-objectively into my baking blog as well. =)

I have two months until I start graduate school, so my goal is to bake as many fun, tasty little treats as I can and document them here on my blog. Don’t expect an eloquent, well-written post on-the-daily either – I’m saving that energy for my thesis.

So, I have a book entitled, “500 Cupcakes”, which offers cupcake recipes ranging from classic flavors to special-diet recipes. My recipes will come from this book.

Let’s get started.