Just a quick note to let you know that my blog has a new home: My Madison Bistro. For an index of recipes, simply click on this link: Recipes
Here is just a sampling of the recipes on the new site – click on any of the links to take you directly to the blog post and recipe.
Weekends with Julia: Brown-Braised Onions
Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with White Chocolate Buttercream, aka the best cupcake I’ve ever had in my life!
Weekends with Julia: Beef Braised in Red Wine
Categories: Breakfast · Dessert · Holiday · Low-Carb · Main Course · Side Dish · Vegetarian
Tagged: Barefoot Contessa, blackberries, blueberries, braised onions, cake, Cheese, chocolate, comfort food, cupcakes, Julia Child, kiwi, lemon, lime, mushrooms, pasta, pastry cream, peanut butter, pot roast, pudding, raspberries, rice, strawberries, tomatoes, Vegetables
I became intrigued by Red Velvet Cake after watching an episode of Throwdown (one of Bobby Flay’s shows) a couple of years back. This was right around the time I was plotting to take out Sprinkles with my own cupcakes, so intrigue soon turned into borderline obsession.
I made red velvet cake a few times over the past couple of years, mostly when the color matched the holiday. At the time, I was set on using butter in my cupcakes, and I sought out recipes for red velvet cake that used butter, rather than oil. Over and over again, I was not all that happy with the results (too dense, a little dry).
A couple of things happened over the past two weeks that had me rethinking the butter thing. First, I watched an old episode of Good Eats that talked about chiffon cupcakes, and how the original recipe came from someone looking for a lighter-textured cupcake…which was achieved by using oil, not butter. Second, I decided to test-drive Terri Wahl’s recipe from the Throwdown episode. Finally, I was reminded of my red velvet fascincation when I saw Nicole’s recipe for red velvet cupcakes on Pinch My Salt, and I decided to revisit this dessert. Terri’s recipe reviews were mixed; some thought the cupcakes were overly greasy, others said the cupcake papers absorbed excess oil just fine. I decided to take my chances, and oh my, am I glad that I did!
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About three years ago, I decided I would come up with a cupcake to rival Candace Nelson’s. There were a couple of problems with this plan. First, I’d never actually had a Sprinkles cupcake. Second, I certainly wasn’t what you would call a cupcake master; up to that point, every cupcake I’d made had come from a mix (shameful, I know).
Nevertheless, I set out on my cupcake journey. I’ve made many, many cupcakes during that time. Some I’ve been happy with, some, not so much. There’s a balance needed between fluffy cake and moistness, and I discovered it’s not always the easiest to achieve.
