Katcakes #1: Strawberry Cupcakes

This summer I have started baking A LOT because 1.  I love food, 2.  I love cupcakes, 3.  I love cake, 4.  I love cookies, and 5.  I don't have anything better/more productive to do.  A couple weeks ago a friend and I decided to make strawberry cupcakes....AND THEY WERE FANTASTIC.  So I decided to share the recipe, a couple pictures, and a hint or two to make them a little better.

WELCOME TO Katcakes.

Recipe found on page 146/147 in Martha Stewart Cupcakes

What you need for the cupcakes:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature.  Margarine is acceptable replacement.
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 large whole eggs plus 1 egg white
1 cup milk (I used skim but use 2% if you want them creamier)
2 cups finely chopped fresh strawberries

These ingredients make approximately 34 cupcakes...I halved the recipe and had enough for a few days.

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.  Sift together both flours, baking powder, and salt.

2.  With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter, sugar, and vanilla until pale and fluffy.  Add whole eggs and the white, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.  Reduce speed to low.  Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the milk, and beating until well combined.  Fold in chopped strawberries by hand.

3.  Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full.  Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.  Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 15 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto rack and let cool completely .  Cupcakes can be stored up to 1 day at room temperature in airtight containers.

4.  Top with buttercream frosting and strawberry slices.  We topped our frosting with the leftover strawberry tops and they looked super cute.

What you need for the frosting:

1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries, coarsely chopped
4 large egg whites
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) of butter

These ingredients make about 5 cups of frosting, we 1/3 the recipe and had plenty.

Directions:

1.  Puree strawberries in a food processor.  Combine egg whites and sugar in the heatproof bowl of a standing electric mixer set over a pan of simmering water.  Whisk constantly by hand until mixture is warm to the touch and sugar has dissolved (the mixture should feel completely smooth when rubbed between your finger tips).

2.  Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Starting on low and gradually increasing to medium-high speed, mix until stiff (but not dry) peaks form.  Continue mixing until the mixture is fluffy and glossy, and completely cool (test by touching the bottom of the bowl), about 10 minutes.

3.  With mixer on medium-low speed, add the butter a few tablespoons at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Once all butter has been added, scrape down sides of bowl with a flexible spatula and switch to the paddle attachment; continue beating on low speed until all air bubbles are eliminated, about 2 minutes.  Add strawberries and beat until combined.  Stir with a flexible spatula until the frosting in smooth.  Keep buttercream at room temperature if using the same day, or transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 1 month.  Before using, bring to room temperature and beat with paddle attachment on low speed until smooth again, about 5 minutes.

DECORATE

ENJOY

Happy Baking!
Kat

Thoughts on the First Week of Summer

I was REALLY excited to go home for summer this year.  To chill, relax, run, sleep way more than normal....but right before I left school and continuing into my first week of summer I have come to a couple conclusions:

1.  This summer is not so much about the hellos as it is about the goodbyes.
2.  People grow. And change. And .....
3.  I'm not going to have an actual summer.
4.  At this point in the summer everyone has hit cruise and I'm still pulling off of the brakes.

Conclusion #1:  This summer is not so much about the hellos as it is about the goodbyes.

Saying goodbye to my friends from school was exceptionally difficult.  We've gone through a lot together...lots of amazing moments and a few hard times.  Living together definitely brings another level to a friendship and I'm so grateful that I was able to bond with so many people.

While saying hello to all of my friends from home has been nice, for me it has been greatly overshadowed by the fact that at the end of the summer I will be saying goodbye for a lengthy period of time.  Yes.  I'll be home for Thanksgiving.  I'll probably be home for part of winter break.  Maybe, I'll be home for spring break.  But I don't think I'll be coming back for the summer.  Chances are great that this is the last time that I will be spending large amounts of time with people from home.

This is my last summer at home.  My last opportunity to strengthen my relationships with the people I grew up with.   My last time to create bonds and get things straight.  To in a way find closure in relationships.  After this summer all of these relationships are up against time.  We move in the direction of Christmas card friends, checking up only with important news and or a yearly Christmas update.  It's kind of depressing that the relationships that I've been fostering for the last 19 years hinge on the next 3 months.

Conclusion #2:  People Grow.  And Change.  And .....

A lot of the people that I've grown up with have changed.  It isn't bad or good change.  It's just change. They've had different experiences then I have.  They have new sets of friends that have influenced them.  They hang out with different people and value different things in friendships.  I've come to realize that I don't have any control over these situations and it's best to accept what's happening and move on.  Another thing that has influenced me this summer is that I no longer care about the people who don't care.  If people want to make and effort to hang out, then I'm willing to hang out with them and make the effort back.  However, I'm not going to go out of my way to contact people who don't care.

Conclusion #3:  I'm not going to have an actual summer.

I finished my last final on Thursday, June 7th at 5 pm.  Caught a flight home at 9:21 am on Friday, June 8th, and was in the office from 9 am to 3 pm on Saturday, June 9th.  My normal work schedule (7am-3pm M-F) began the first Monday I was home....meaning that unlike everyone else who got 3 to 4 weeks to chill and SLEEP before starting their summer jobs, I went directly from school to work and then will go directly back to school in the fall.  I'll be moving back into NU on the Saturday after my last Friday of work (I think we're at 78 days?)!

Complaining but not really.  This is real life.  No more long breaks where you chill for endless hours and spend a whole day deciding what to do just because you can waste that much time.  That's for spring break....duh (and middle/high schoolers).

Adulthood here I come.

Conclusion #4:  At this point in the summer everyone has hit cruise and I'm still pulling off of the breaks.

All of my friends were home for a good 3-5 weeks before I even finished my last final.  Meaning that they've all caught up with each other, talked about their year at school, and are utterly bored by sitting around for hours doing nothing.  ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE SHINY AND NEW TO ME!!!  I want to lay in my bed for hours sleeping.  I don't care about staying out until 3 am in the morning because that's what the school year is for!  This is summer.

People have started to get a little restless.  College is a constant experience where every moment is something new and exciting.  Being at home is chill.  Everything is familiar and you can only enjoy the calm and quiet for a little before it gets a little tedious.  I'm not at that point yet, which is a stark contrast to lots of my friends from home.

Keep it chill.
Kat