Ruff(le)'s Up, Doc? (Carrot Cupcakes with Ruffled Frosting and Marzipan Carrots)

A few months back, P's cousin K asked me if I'd be willing to bake the cupcakes for her wedding (!!). This was the first time I'd been asked to contribute to someone's Big Day, and I was really touched by the request. And agreed right away, of course! K had her sights set on carrot cake from the start, which worked great for me. I loves me a client who knows what she wants =D. K's wedding doesn't actually take place until next October, but is it really ever too early to test run delicious carrot cupcakes? (Hint: the answer is "no!")

The weird thing about this carrot cupcake recipe is that I converted it into an all-apple recipe the first time I made it (that's just what I happened to need at the time). And I tell you what, the apple-fied version was so darn good that I couldn't resist re-converting it back to experience it in its full beta-carotene glory ^_^.

I also couldn't resist just a few tweaks here and there (swapping out some oil for the more flavorful melted coconut oil/butter, amping the spices up a touch, and so on...). What came out of the oven was to my mind the perfect basic carrot cupcake: delightfully moist but with no oily mouthfeel, packed with flavor from a balanced medley of spices, and boasting a subtle nuttiness and crunch from the toasted walnuts. Feel free to adapt this to your personal carrot-cake preferences! Like your carrot cake to have more nuts, no nuts, other nuts, coconut flakes, raisins, chocolate chips, whatever else? Go for it!

The only popular add-in that I'd expect any trouble from is pineapple chunks, since they'd add significant moisture to the batter. But I'm on a quest here, folks...I won't rest until I've found the perfect carrot cupcake for K's wedding day! And on the chance that the very best carrot cake contains pineapple, I'll be trying a recipe with pineapple in it next. Right now I'm eying this one, but please don't hesitate to speak up if you wanna share one better!

The Best Laid Plans (Cranberry Apple Tarte Tatin)

UPDATE: I've made some updates to the blog header and colors. I know a lot of you liked the bold red, but I was ready for a change. I'd love to know what you think of the new design!

I'll tell you straight up...I'd expected and hoped to be writing a different post today. A post dedicated as much to recounting a fun-filled reunion with my best friend N as to the delicious tarte tatin we'd have baked together. But Mother Nature clearly had other plans. Snowy slick wintry weather plans that crippled London's Heathrow Airport to a surprising extent and are thus keeping N and me just as far apart as we've been for the last 2 years.



While I agree safety should be their top concern, I can't help but feel an intense frustration for not only N and myself but also the thousands of other families and loved ones who're losing the precious time they'd planned to spend together. It boggles the mind a bit that such a major airport would be so ill-prepared for a little snow (at least compared to my area's "Snowpocalypse" last winter 8p).

But before you think I've gone Debbie Downer for good, let me assure you that the force the holiday spirit remains strong in this one ^_^. I trust the airport staff and British government are working their hardest to remedy the situation. On top of that, life is simply unpredictable and the essence of the holidays to me is to appreciate what we do have. For me that includes a delicious dinner with Mom tonight, Christmas with my boyfriend and his fun and generous family, then a long weekend visiting Dad and my adorable baby sisters.



Though I'm still desperately hoping to meet up with N for even a few hours, I clearly have a lot to be thankful for and look forward to. So with a warm and cheerful heart, I still made this lovely tarte tatin on the day N had planned to join me. As I took my first taste, I knew she'd have loved its warm spices and little bursts of tartness. I'll definitely be saving this recipe for whenever we do meet up, whether in a week or a year.



Do you also have someone you love but won't be able to see this winter? If so, is there something special you cook or bake to remind you of them?



Cranberry Apple Tarte Tatin [Printable Recipe]

Adapted from Waitrose and Good Housekeeping

Serves 6



XIAOLU'S NOTES: The original recipe called for 1 tsp of British "mixed spice." I don't have access to this, so I used some of its component spices instead. Feel free to use mixed spice if you have it. If you have a 9-inch ovenproof pan, you can use it to cook the fruit then spread the pastry directly on top. Dried cranberries will also work if you don't have fresh.



4 Tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar, soft

2 to 3 large firm apples, peeled, cored, and quartered (I used Ambrosia and Gala)

1 1/4 cups fresh cranberries

1/2 cup pecans, lightly toasted

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground coriander

1/8 tsp ground allspice

Pinch each of ground nutmeg, ginger, and cloves

Pastry Dough (Recipe below)



Melt the butter in a large frying pan until foaming. Add the sugar and apples, and cook gently over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until the apples begin to soften and the sugar is dark and syrupy. Stir in the cranberries, pecans and spices and continue cooking for another 5 minutes (some cranberries will break open).



Transfer the buttery apple mixture to a 9-inch round shallow cake pan (not springform) or tarte tatin pan. Allow to cool.



Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Roll the pastry dough into a disk, roughly 10 inches in diameter, to fit the top of the pan. Lay the pastry over the top of the apples, trim away any excess and tuck the pastry in around the sides. Chill for 5 minutes.



Place the tart on a baking sheet and bake in the center of the oven for 25 to 35 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown.



Remove the pan from the oven and let cool in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes. To turn out the tart, place a serving plate over the top of the still-hot pan and invert, taking care to protect your hands from the extremely hot liquid caramel. Cut into wedges and serve with scoops of vanilla ice cream or lightly sweetened cream, sour cream, or Greek yogurt.



Pastry Dough

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

6 Tbsp (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut up

2 Tbsp trans-fat free vegetable shortening

1 tsp lemon zest

4 to 5 Tbsp ice water



In a food processor, with knife blade attached, blend flour and salt. Add butter and shortening, then pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pulse in lemon peel. Sprinkle in ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing after each addition, until large, moist crumbs just begin to form. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm enough to roll, 1 hour to overnight. (If refrigerated overnight, let dough stand at room temperature 30 minutes before rolling.)

Apple Cherry Pie

Homemade apple pie. There aren't many desserts more All-American than this one, don't you think? This means of course that, me being me, I had to find a twist to this classic. Luckily, I think I hit the jackpot right off with this recipe for apple pie with dried cherries.

Ever since I made those black forest cupcakes last month, I've harbored a growing fascination for cherries. As luck would have it, Sam at Oh! Nuts (a great online seller of bulk nuts, dried fruits, and more) offered me some free product samples. Before I knew it, a pound of dried sour cherries (plus some nuts I'll tell you about later) rested in my hot little hands. Man, were these good! Juicy and flavorful straight from the resealable package, they plumped up beautifully when baked with juicy apples in pie.

This recipe is so wonderful though that I'm sure any dried cherries or even cranberries would taste great. My personal touch was to add just a splash of cherry brandy to highlight the naturally intoxicating flavor of cherries. It's a little off the beaten path, I realize, but please give this pie a try. Slightly warmed and topped with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream, this was, as my boyfriend put it, "everything I could want in a pie."

P.S. - If any of you has tips for making pie crust by hand/pastry blender, please share them in the comments! Probably due to the shortening, this crust turned out flaky despite my mistakes. But I'd really like to improve my technique.

Apple and Tart Cherry Pie [Printable Recipe]
Adapted from Bon Appétit
Serves 8 to 10

XIAOLU'S NOTES: I recommend using a combination of tart and sweet apples for pie. According to Cooks Illustrated, good tart apples are Granny Smiths, Empires, and Cortlands; good sweet apples are Golden Delicious, Jonagolds, and Braeburns.

2/3 to 3/4 cup sugar
4 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cardamom
Scant 1/8 tsp ground cloves
3 to 3 1/4 lb. apples, peeled, quartered, cored, and sliced crosswise
3/4 cup dried tart cherries
1/4 cup cherry preserves
2 tsp Kirschwasser (cherry brandy)
2 Easy Pastry Dough disks (Recipe below)
1 egg, beaten to blend (for glaze)

Position rack in lowest third of oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Stir first 5 ingredients in large bowl. Mix in apples, dried cherries, preserves, and Kirsch.

Roll out 1 dough disk on a lightly floured surface to a 13-inch round. Transfer dough to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish (I used Pyrex) by folding in half and then in half again, then centering and unfolding it over the pie dish. Make sure the dough closely lines the pie dish. Lift the dough at the edges to adjust it if necessary, but do NOT stretch it or it will shrink back when you bake it. Brush the inside and top edge of the crust with egg glaze. Spoon the filling into the crust.

Roll out the second dough disk on a floured surface to a 13-inch round. Cut out small hole from the center or whatever decorative shape(s) you like (I used heart-shaped aspic cutters). Tranfer this dough the same way as the bottom crust and center it over the filling. Seal the top crust to bottom crust at edge. Trim double crust overhang to about 3/4 inch. Fold under and crimp edge. Brush crust (except edge) with glaze. You can cut additional decorative shapes from re-rolled pie dough trimmings and attach them now if you'd like. Make sure to then brush these with glaze as well.

Place pie on a baking sheet and bake until the apples are tender, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Check the pie at 50 minutes to 1 hour. If it looks to be browning too quickly, cover the top with foil and continue baking. Once out of the oven, cool the pie completely on a rack. This pie can be made 1 day ahead and stored covered at room temperature.

Easy Pastry Dough
Makes 2 crusts

XIAOLU'S NOTES: I stubbornly insisted on making this the old-fashioned way "by hand" using a pastry blender and ran into a few issues of my own making. I'm sure if you follow these directions, it will in fact be an easy dough to make =).

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup frozen vegetable shortening, cut into large pieces
1 large egg
3 tablespoons (about) ice water

Blend first 4 ingredients in a food processor for 10 seconds. Add shortening; process just until very coarse meal forms. Beat egg with 2 tablespoons water; add to processor. Blend until large moist clumps form, adding more water if too dry. Gather dough into ball; divide in half. Flatten each piece into disk. Wrap in plastic; chill at least 1 hour. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled. Let dough soften slightly before rolling out.)

Spiced Apple Cupcakes with Brie Frosting

UPDATE: Iron Cupcake voting is now open HERE through Friday, December 4 at noon. Please go check out all the wonderful apple cupcake creations and vote for your 3 favorites!

Most days during the fall, I love nothing better than to bite into the sweet, crisp flavor of a fresh apple. We've all heard the old adage: "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." As it turns out, apples are quite full of heart-healthy antioxidants, fiber, and flavonoids (WHFoods). In Norse mythology there was even a magic apple said to bestow eternal youth. Now I wouldn't bet on that last bit. But I can at least pat myself on the back whenever I enjoy my daily snack. With such a love of the fruit and new found appreciation for its benefits, I was excited (though not really surprised) to hear that the November Iron Cupcake challenge ingredient was apple.

Pairing apples with sweet, warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves just feels right for fall. Like diving into a big pile of leaves feels right...or putting on your favorite mittens. I used an apple-carrot cake as my point of departure. The carrots in the original were quickly replaced by more grated apples to maintain the purest apple flavor and out-of-this-world moistness. Throw in a few grinds of fresh black pepper and my base was complete.

Now came the subtle twist: brie and cream cheese frosting. Odd-sounding at first, this pairing really isn't surprising when you consider all the fruit and cheese appetizers we enjoy. I actually added about half the brie specified in the recipe below. Its flavor was barely distinguishable but added that "something special" that made people take notice. In fact this creation produced one of the nicest compliments I've ever received for my baking: a friend told me the day after eating one that she couldn't get it out of her mind.

I loves me some brie though, so I'll up the amount next time. Has anyone else tried frostings made with unconventional cheeses (not cream cheese or mascarpone)? I'd love to hear about them. =)

Voting for Iron Cupcake will begin at this site no later than Friday, November 27th at 8 p.m. and will be open through Thursday, December 3 at 12 noon. And please show some love to our generous IronCupcake:Earth prize providers by visiting their sites!

The Demy™ by Key Ingredient
Hello, Cupcake by Karen Tack & Alan Richardson
Bella Cupcake Couture
Cupcake Stackers by Gourmac
The Cake Mix Doctor Returns! by Anne Byrne

Spiced Apple Cupcakes with Brie Frosting [Printable Recipe]
Adapted from Sunset Magazine
Makes 12 to 15 cupcakes

XIAOLU'S NOTES: I found that I could grate the apples with the skin on using my box grater. The McIntosh apples I used became quite juicy and mushy when I grated them, so I drained off some of the excess juice before using. This amount of brie resulted in a fairly mild-flavored frosting that still tasted much like regular cream cheese frosting. If you want a stronger brie flavor, you should be able to increase the ratio of brie to cream cheese up to 1:1 with good results.

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons apple juice concentrate, defrosted (optional, increase oil to 1/2 cup if not using)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 generous cup packed coarsely grated tart apples (about 2 medium-large)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped toasted walnuts
Brie and Cream Cheese Frosting (Recipe below)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a standard muffin tin with 12 paper liners and set aside. Sift flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, spices, pepper, and salt together into a large bowl. Whisk to ensure they are combined.

In a separate bowl, combine the oil, apple juice concentrate, vanilla, and eggs. Add the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, and stir until almost combined. Stir the apples and walnuts into the batter.

Divide batter among cupcake liners and bake until a toothpick or thin knife inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out mostly clean, about 16 to 20 minutes. Let cakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Transfer them to wire racks and let cool completely before frosting. Frost cupcakes as desired.

Brie and Cream Cheese Frosting
6 ounces (1 cup) cream cheese (low-fat is fine), cool room temperature
4 ounces (about 1/2 cup) brie, softened and with rind removed
1/4 cup (2 ounces or 1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 to 2 1/2 cups sifted powdered (confectioner's) sugar

In a large bowl beat the brie, cream cheese, and butter until softened and smooth (but do not overbeat). On low speed beat in the vanilla and powdered sugar. Start with 1 1/2 cups of sugar and add more to achieve desired sweetness and stiffness. Finally, beat on high speed for a few moments until smooth.

Dragon's Almond Apple Cake

It seems like apple recipes have been popping up everywhere these days! And with the colder weather (finally) making a return around here, I had a very particular craving for a fruit and spice-filled snack cake. The first time I saw this beauty on Dragon's Kitchen I was struck by its simple elegance. Now that I've made it almost a year later, I'm impressed by the balance of flavors and can think of few better ways to kick off the apple season. Apple and almond are definitely partners that I will match up again and again from now on.

The original cake is surely amazing (Dragon's made it over 100 times so it's gotta be!) but I couldn't resist sprinkling some spices into the batter itself and not just the topping. This extra boost is still subtle and doesn't overpower the almond flavor. Next time I also plan to add 1/4 cup applesauce for an additional layer of flavor, plus super moistness. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe, Dragon. Your home is definitely not the only one this cake is well-loved in!


Almond Apple Cake [Printable Recipe]
Adapted from Dragon's Kitchen

XIAOLU'S NOTE: My apples were pretty large, so I was afraid to weigh down the cake with the whole mountain of slices and left some off. But I shouldn't have because they totally shrunk down during baking, so don't be be afraid to pile it all on there!

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 large eggs, room temperature
2/3 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 apples, peeled and thinly sliced
1/4 cup almonds, sliced
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-inch springform pan (I lined the bottom with parchment paper and only buttered the sides). In a bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, ground spices, and salt.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Mix in the yogurt, butter, and extracts. Stir wet ingredients into the flour mixture until just combined. Pour batter into the prepared pan and arrange the apple slices over top of the batter.

About to go into the oven

For the topping, combine the almonds, sugar, and cinnamon. Sprinkle the topping over apples. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick (or very thin knife in my case) inserted in the center comes out clean.