Strawberry Cupcakes and Why My Dad Thinks I'll Never Get Married

My dad often says that no guy will ever marry me. Why is that you ask? Because, I'm "not feminine enough". In some ways, I'd have to agree. I mean, I'm feminine in some ways - I love wearing dresses, I only wear high heels and I love makeup. So on the outside, I am very girly. But on the inside, I guess I am a lot more of a guy than you would think.So here are the reasons why I cannot attract a man (mostly according to my dad):

1) I love to eat. That's no secret. And I'm definitely not the type to order a soup and salad on a date. Hell No! When I eat, I really eat. I'm not dainty and I don't censor my habits around anyone - despite how cute they may be. My dad often yells at me and says that eating too much food will scare the boys away. I just laugh and stick out my tongue like a five year old. Its a ritual we've developed at the dinner table. My dad is very old fashioned, if you can't already tell. He thinks girls are supposed to be very quiet and obedient. That's how my mom was. He said that when they were dating, she never ate like I did and was very pleasant and shy. I'm sorry daddy but I can't be like mom.

2) I love action movies - the bloodier the better. I do enjoy romantic comedies and sappy love stories once in a while - but sometimes its just too much cheese for me, ya'kno? I've taken a liking to gangster films and old kung fu movies, which aren't very girly but who cares? I'd rather watch The Godfather then sit through the horrible acting that makes up Twilight.

3) I love to drink. I don't drink all the time, but when I do, I drink a lot and it takes a lot to get me drunk. I think I've only been completely wasted one time - and I never want to feel like that again. I can out-drink a lot of my guy friends and beat them at beer pong at the same time.

4)And the final thing that makes me such a guy and not the marrying type? My dating history. But that's a story for another time:)

Don't f*ck with me in the kitchen or I'll mess you up (according to my apron courtesy of Derrick)

My femininity is expressed in my baking. My friends say I'd make the perfect housewife when they come over and are greeted by the sight of me in a flowery apron with heels on and a plate of cookies in my hand. But like I said, I'm only feminine on the outside. I've learned to accept this and I've realized that I'm not going to change the way I act or think just to land me a husband, or more appropriately a boyfriend at this age. I am who I am and if you don't like it, I will gladly show you to the door:)

These girls know what a total guy I can be

These strawberry cupcakes are the picture of girliness. The cake base is soft shade of pink and the frosting is pale pink with specks of red from the strawberry puree. You can top it off with girly pink sprinkles too or a halved strawberry like I did. Serve these to your friends and they'll never suspect how un-feminine you actually are:)

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from Sky High Cakes by Alisa Huntsman
*This recipe yields a lot of cupcakes - maybe 36 OR a triple layer 9-inch cake. For less cupcakes, halve the recipe.

For the cake
4 1/2 cups cake flour
3 cups sugar
5 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups pureed frozen strawberries*
8 egg whites
2/3 cup milk
1 to 2 drops red food dye, if using (to make the pink color pop more)

Make the cake
1. Preheat the oven to 350»F. Line 24 cupcakes tins with paper or foil wraps or butter three 9-inch round or 8-inch square cake pans and line with parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper.

2. Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixer bowl. With the electric mixer on low speed, blend for 30 seconds. Add the butter and strawberry puree and mix to blend the ingredients. Raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes; the batter will resemble strawberry ice cream at this point.

3. In another large bowl, whisk together the egg whites, milk and red food dye, if using, to blend. Add the whites to the batter in two or three additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl well and mixing only to incorporate after each addition. Divide the batter among you prepared pans

4. Bake the cupcakes for 18-23 minutes or the cakes for 30 to 34 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let stand until completely cooled before assembling the cake, at least an hour.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

*Note - This was not the frosting used in the book. I chose to do something simple and just added a strawberry sauce to my usual cream cheese frosting recipe.

1 package cream cheese, softened
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
3-4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup Strawberry Sauce

For the Strawberry Sauce, macerate strawberries with about 1-2 tbs sugar for 15 minutes. Put strawberries in a small saucepan and heat under medium heat with lid on. Cook strawberries for approximately 15 minutes till strawberries cook down and become soft and saucy. Adjust sweetness with sugar until you get the desired sweetness. Using a hand blender, puree until you get the desired smoothness or chunkiness. Cool before using in recipe.

Bring cheese and butter to room temperature. Sift powdered sugar into a bowl. Beat butter and cheese at medium speed until creamy. Add half of the sugar, beat until combined. Add strawberry sauce until you achieve the right color and flavor but making sure not to add too much or the frosting will be too soft. Gradually add any remaining sugar until you get to the consistency and sweetness you like.

When the cupcakes have cooled, spread the frosting onto the cupcakes with a spatula or butter knife or pipe the frosting using a ziploc bag with a hole snipped at the corner and the piping tip of your choice.

Shopping Spree:)

I would like to think that I'm very good with money. I try not to buy things I don't need and I rarely go out to eat... but I have a weakness for baking/cooking supplies. I only spend my money on food and food related things - and since I've started working, I always have money from tips I made in my pocket which makes me want to buy things. So I splurged on a couple of things a few days ago which I couldn't be happier with:)

1) A Bright Pink Pure Komachi 2 8 Inch Chef's KnifeThis knife is so girly, I know - but I couldn't resist! And I didn't buy it solely based on the color. It's a super thin and sharp blade made of high carbon stainless steel and it feels really light in my hand. I've been looking for a knife for a while and this seemed to be the perfect choice.

2) A Victorinox Fibrox 8 Inch Chef's Knife

I was debating between getting the pink knife or this one so I bought the pink one for myself and this one for my daddy for Father's Day. Lilly has this knife and I love it. It's lightweight and super sharp as well and chopping onions just seems so much more satisfying with it:)

3) The Sweet Spot:Asian Inspired Desserts by Pichet Ong & Genevieve Ko

I've already bookmarked a bunch of recipes in this book and I've made the Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies which turned out great!! I'm definitely going to use this book to cook for family parties because they don't like super tooth-achingly sweet American desserts.

4) Ready For Dessert: My Best Recipes by David Lebovitz
Smitten Kitchen loves David Lebovitz. I love Smitten Kitchen. And therefore I love David Lebovitz. The recipes in here look great too, I wish there were more pictures though. I like David's philosophy on baking - that it should taste great without the addition of necessary adornments or fussy frostings, because I can't decorate!! So everything I make is labeled "rustic" so it doesn't have to look pretty:)
So expect a lot of recipes from these two books, and pictures of me posing with my knife(hehe jk that's a little creepy right??)

But even after this splurge I still have a Lust List which includes:
A Bundt Pan
A new 12x17 Baking sheet because Steven lost mine T_T
A 9 inch Springform Pan so I can make cheesecakes!
Ramekins for souffles
Baked:New Frontiers in Baking
A Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer (which I cannot justify purchasing right now because of its excessive pricetag and the lack of money in my bank account)

I guess I better start working for those tips if I wanna make all these purchases right?? Come visit Sweet Retreat and tip me!! And then tell the manager how great I am so he can give me more hours:)

The Baked Brownie

Up until I got to college - I always used premade mixes whenever I baked anything. Yes, I did always doctor up my cake mixes with extracts and toppings - but essentially they still came from a box. It was only when I got to college that I started really baking everything from scratch. This was when I really got into food and started reading blogs obsessively and caring about what I ate. And I found that making things from scratch always proved a lot more rewarding and delicious than a boxed mix. Plus, i like knowing that the things I bake have only the simplest ingredients - eggs, butter, sugar, flour and chocolate and not things like preservatives or partially hydrogenated oils.
I do have a guilty pleasure though - I love the texture of brownies from the mix. It always bakes up perfectly with a nice chewy consistency and fudgy flavor. Me and lilly had some a couple of weeks ago from the bake sale and we just could not stop eating them! I spread some peanut butter frosting over it and was amazed at how good it was. So yes, I know that chewiness was probably achieved through some combination of chemicals but damn that shit was good!
So even though every time I make brownies, I make them from scratch, if there happens to be a plate of boxed brownies around, I would not be opposed to eating ALL OF THEM!!

My Guilty Pleasure:)

I do have a go to brownie recipe that is delicious though. If you're gonna have only one brownie recipe, I suggest you use this one. Dense, rich with a nice crackly top, these brownies from the Baked guys in Brooklyn really have it all. And if you're feeling extra indulgent, drizzle them with some salted caramel, dark chocolate and white chocolate like I did.

They don't have the uber-chewiness of Betty Crocker but are still the best brownies I've ever had. If you want them chewier, I guess you could baked them in a larger pan so that they aren't as thick, but I haven't tried it out yet so I can't make any guarantees.

The Baked Brownie
Adapted from Baked:New Frontiers in Baking

Baked Note
A great brownie is easy to make, but here are a few pointers: (1) Use a dark unsweetened cocoa powder like Valrhona. A pale, lightcolored cocoa does not have enough depth. (2) Make sure your eggs are at room temperature, and do not overbeat them into the batter. (3) Check your brownies often as they bake. An even slightly overbaked brownie is not a Baked Brownie.

• 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa powder
• 11 ounces dark chocolate (60 to 72% cacao), coarsely chopped
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
• 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the sides and bottom of a 9-by-13-inch glass or light-colored metal baking pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and cocoa powder together.

Put the chocolate, butter, and instant espresso powder in a large bowl and set it over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth. Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water and add the sugars. Whisk until completely combined, then remove the bowl from the pan. The mixture should be room temperature.

Add 3 eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Add the remaining eggs and whisk until combined. Add the vanilla and stir until combined. Do not overbeat the batter at this stage or your brownies will be cakey.

Sprinkle the flour mixture over the chocolate mixture. Using a spatula (not a whisk), fold the flour mixture into the chocolate until just a bit of the flour mixture is visible.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it. Let the brownies cool completely, then cut them into squares and serve.

Tightly covered with plastic wrap, the brownies keep at room temperature for up to 3 days.