Saint Patrick’s Day Cupcakes

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day to you all!

How are you today? Are you wearing a beautiful green outfit? 🙂 I am wearing green socks!! Today is a kind of national day in Ireland and I’m thrilled to show you what I’ve baked. It’s the same recipe from an earlier post but this time I’ve used green!!! (of course). These muffin/cupcakes are soft and delicious. The secret ingredient is buttermilk and it makes your treats moist and so soft that it seems as if you were eating clouds literally.

Today’s post is shorter because I’m baking Irish soda bread 🙂 and cooking sweet potato and mandarin soup. Sorry but the day is busy here today. I promise I will post my bread recipe very soon.

Just before the oven…

dough

After 12 minutes at 160ºC they turned into this:

cupcakeready

To bake these green cupcakes/muffins follow my 3 colour cupcakes recipe and add green food colour as much as you like (if possible use paste, avoid liquid colour).

Enjoy these cupcakes with an Irish coffee, for example, and have a wonderful GREEN day. Don’t forget to pinch those who don’t wear green, today’s allowed!!

Pink Maple

Spanish tortilla (potato omelette)

The other day I felt a lack of energy…I think it was because of the boring winter days we’ve been having lately. Every single day clouds, clouds and more clouds. Not even the cats of the neighbourhood have been climbing the roofs and coming to our garden. It felt quite sad to see the same sky everyday. Yeah, I know my husband always says that I’m so Spanish…and because of that I need sun. It is not true that I always need sunny days, but from time to time it doesn’t hurt.

I’m the kind of person that loves how the days are shorter and shorter in autumn with the beautiful fall sunsets, and on the contrary I seem to find summer plain and sad. Maybe I suffer from seasonal affective disorder, I don’t know. Or maybe I’ve had so many hot days in my life living in Spain… I have no idea. The thing is that a part of me was missing some warm weather and Spanish food… I even was looking at some beautiful places in Barcelona that I’m dying to go in April. YES! I’m going to Barcelona very soon :). I will visit my brother and if there’s time I will see more relatives that live there. Last time I visited Barcelona I was pretty young and I have almost no memories of it.

There’s a very beautiful café there called “El bosc de les Fades” and I can’t wait to go and have coffee. I’ve also checked for a cat café and there’s one!!!!! I still have to make a plan for this trip but definitely I will go to these cafés :).

Regarding the food I was missing it is included gazpacho, pan con tumaca, escalivada, croquetas…and TORTILLA!!!!!!!

IMG_4724_PPsmall

So I finished my chamomile tea and I went to the kitchen to prepare the ingredients. It is simple, easy and delicious with only: onion(s), eggs, potatoes, salt and spices.

Ingredients

-1 big onion

-600g potatoes, peeled and sliced or cubed

-6 eggs

-salt

-oregano

-olive oil

How to make it

  1. Peel the potatoes and wash them. With a knife cut the potatoes in small cubes or thin slices.
  2. Peel the onion and do the same as with the potatoes.
  3. In a pan add some olive oil and when it is hot fold in the onion first and stir them for 3 minutes. Never let the onion get burned. Once the onion is a bit cooked add the potatoes and cook them with lots of oil. Prevent the potatoes from getting stuck on the pan. Please use more oil if necessary. Also add some salt and other spices that you like.
  4. When the potatoes and the onion are ready, take them out of the oil (we don’t want extra oil in our potatoes) and put them in a big bowl.
  5. Beat the eggs in another recipient and add salt and the spices you like. I added oregano.
  6. Pour the eggs to the potatoes and with a spatula mix them well.
  7. In a pan add oil but not as much as before when cooking the potatoes and onion. We have to add oil but not too much, otherwise you can’t get burned when turning the tortilla. Do not let the tortilla get stuck on your pan. That would be sad and you would eat scrambled tortilla :(.
  8. Turn the heat on to medium heat and cook it on one side for a couple of minutes. Check with a spatula if it is getting stuck on the pan. If it does, don’t panic! Try to scratch it from the pan and when the sides of the tortilla seem cooked and the bottom too, then use a flat and bigger plate to turn it.
  9. Put the tortilla back to the pan and cook the other side, if your pan needs a bit of oil pour some. Cook it for a couple of minutes and use the plate to turn it again.
  10. Serve immediately.

We had tortilla de patatas with “pan con tumaca” (bread spread with fresh tomato, salt and olive oil) for dinner and my husband had it with some ham.

IMG_4727_PPsmall

Enjoy it! Please I would love to see your tortilla recipes.

XOXO Pink Maple

Salted Caramel Apple pie

The other day I made my third apple pie and it turned out great. I’m getting more confident in the kitchen, I can tell.

This pie in particular had a more intense flavour than my two first pies; it might be because of the lemon zest and the caramel sauce?!

It really is a favourite at home now and I am planning to bake more soon. You don’t have to be afraid of the pie crust, believe me… because if I can make it, you can make it! How positive I do sound! Right? So many people have told me about their failure with the pie crust making but I suppose you have to work on it, experience that is the word! And follow a fair recipe! If you are thorough with the steps of this recipe, you will succeed. Just go ahead and surprise yourself 🙂

IMG_3886_PPsmall

First of all we are going to start making the pie crust. The recipe is exactly the same than the one I’ve made for the last pies.

Once your pie crust is shaped into discs and are taken to the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours, you will make the filling.

INGREDIENTS FOR THE PIE CRUST

Pie crust

INGREDIENTS FOR THE CARAMEL SAUCE

Adapted from Sally’s

-200g white sugar

-90g salted butter

-120ml heavy cream

-1 teaspoon salt

INGREDIENTS FOR THE FILLING

-6 apples, peeled, cored and sliced.

-2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

-60ml lemon juice

-31g all-purpose flour

-1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

– 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

-1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

-100g white sugar

-1 beaten egg

-pink sugar for decoration

How to make it

  1. Start with the caramel sauce. In a small pot add the sugar and cook it at medium heat. Stir it with a spatula. The colour will turn brownish after some time, so be careful and add the butter. Combine it well and continue stirring until no lumps are left. Lastly add the heavy cream and salt. The caramel sauce will boil and form bubbles, so stir it for 30 seconds and take the pot aside to continue stirring. It will look runny, but it will thicken easily.
  2. Now for the filling: grab a big bowl and toss the sliced apples, flour, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, grated lemon zest and lemon juice and combine well. Discard the liquid from the apples when adding the filling to your pie crust.
  3. After 2 hours or longer, take one disc of pie crust out of the fridge and with a rolling pin form a big circle and cover your pie form. At this point you are ready to fill your pie.
  4. Start adding some of your filling and alternate it with tablespoons of caramel sauce.

IMG_3869_PPsmall

In this picture above I had added the apple filling with the spices.

IMG_3873_PPsmall

And this is when I almost died of love. Incredible. This apple salted caramel filling is so perfect. Indeed my favourite pie in the world!

5. Having filled the pie form, there’s only one thing left: the lattice crust! Being my first lattice pie, I was nervous with this step, but I made it look beautiful. What I did was taking the second disc out of the fridge and used the rolling pin again and with a sharp knife I cut tears and I covered my pie with them carefully. I loved it! It looked so professional 🙂

IMG_3875_PPsmall

Please try it at home, do not wait until it is fall season, this is worthy all year round. Plus, you can save some money (on) room spray or air freshener because the smell of this pie is unbeatable!

IMG_3886_PPsmall

What is your favourite pie? Do you eat it only in fall and winter?

XOXO Pink Maple

Bagels

One of the goodies that reminds me of NYC is bagels…yes, those beautiful bready buns that look like donuts…mmm toasted with delicious cheese cream… it is the definition of heaven <3. In USA one can find them everywhere, warm and ready to take. It is amazing how well they spread the cheese with such a thick layer… In one of our trips last fall in Providence I had the pleasure to try a pink bagel, and it was pink because it had cranberries… hence, the colour! As I have probably told you in earlier posts I am learning to bake my favourite desserts!! My mother is a good cook but unfortunately she has never baked anything… it is funny to see her face when I show her my cupcakes, cakes, etc. via Skype. Astonished she says: where did you buy that?

People say you need a lot of experience with yeast. It might be true; we need so many trials, fails and so on. We learn best when seeing our fails, we need to learn lessons. So I can tell you not to worry about yeast! It is like any other ingredient. Treat it with love and you will bake wonderful treats!!

Look at these buddies… perfect for breakfast, lunch, merienda and dinner.

IMG_4709_PPc

For our recipe today we will need these ingredients: fresh yeast, sugar, butter, salt, flour and milk. The method we will follow is so simple too. Just go to your kitchen and grab your ingredients, let’s get it started!

This recipe is an adaptation from this one 🙂

Yield: 10 bagels. Time: 2 hours

Ingredients

-245ml bowling milk

-15g fresh yeast (minced)

-½ teaspoon salt

-25g white sugar

-50g butter

-1 egg white

-400g bread flour (in Germany “flour 812”)

-1 egg yolk for bathing (optional)

How to make it

  1. Start boiling the milk and pour into a mixing recipient together with the butter and sugar. Stir until the temperature is not boiling hot anymore (it should be lukewarm).
  2. Add the fresh yeast into the milk mixture and let stir it. Let it rest for 15 minutes until some bubbles appear.
  3. After the resting time of the yeast. Fold in the salt and the egg white into the mixture. Combine it.
  4. Last add the flour and mix it with a spatula. Knead your resulting dough on a floured board and put it back into the recipient.
  5. Cover your recipient with a lid or transparent paper and let it rest for about 1 hour on a warm surface. The yeast needs warmth.
  6. Once the time is up and your yeasty dough has doubled its size, bring a pot to simmer.
  7. Divide the dough into small balls and shape them like bagels.
  8. With a spatula bring the bagels into the water for 15 seconds each and quickly take them out and put them on a baking sheet. Repeat this with all the bagels.
  9. Preheat the oven to 200ºC (10 minutes).
  10. Decorate your bagels as you like, with sunflower seeds, poppy seeds, linseeds, etc.
  11. Take them to the oven and bake them for 17-20 minutes, until they get a bit brown.
  12. Let them rest for 10 minutes before eating.

This is how I divided the dough and how I shaped them 🙂

IMG_3761_PPcIMG_3763_PPc

Here you can see how I dunked the bagels into the warm water for 15 seconds

IMG_3765_HDRc

I tossed poppy seeds, linseeds and sunflower seeds for the topping and I bathed the bagels with the egg yolk that worked as a kind of glue for the seeds 🙂

IMG_3764_PPcIMG_3770_PPc

After the baking they turned out like this:

IMG_3780_PPc

How do you fill your bagels? Do you normally have them for breakfast?

Pink Maple xoxoxo

3 Colours Cupcakes

Last Friday I went to Rewe (a supermarket in Germany) and I bought this colour paste in blue. In comparison this brand is more economic than another one I like.

IMG_4691_PPc

So far I hadn’t baked anything with the desired colour and I knew there was something wrong…now I know, that was the liquid food colour. (Don’t use them) Spend some money and buy quality, and speaking about money my new colour paste’s brand is amazing and way cheaper than other brands. There is no need in using the whole colour tube as I used to do with the liquid colours; you only need 2 or 3 drops maximum.

The reason I stopped by in the baking aisle was because my husband’s birthday is coming and I want to bake him a carrot cake and cookie monster cupcakes and other colourful cookies!! Yes, we like sweets! :). To my surprise the marzipan carrots were sold out and I discovered the blue food colour and this time in paste. Undoubtedly I grasped it and I put into my basket and with a smile I headed to the queue to pay. I still have to come back for the marzipan carrots and more stuff, but that will be next Friday.

So, after my dentist appointment yesterday I decided I wanted to bake something I had always wanted to make but never had the right food colour type and I did these beauties:

IMG_4065_PPc

I baked only 12 cupcakes in my cupcake form and my husband and I ate 4 with coffee in the afternoon. They were so fluffy and smooth and I could have eaten 4 only myself. First batch and total success, I will make them again. And I’m already looking for new recipes to bake tomorrow. My cupcakes will be gone by tomorrow…

I haven’t prepared any frosting, so maybe this post could be renamed to colourful small muffins or something. Next time I make them I will prepare a vanilla cheese cream frosting! But I can say that this time I’ve enjoyed them with no topping and they were perfectly soft and delicious!

The recipe is super simple and it is a version of this recipe, but I chose 2 colours pink and blue and left the third one neutral.

Let’s go with the recipe.

Ingredients

-120ml buttermilk (room temperature *)

-115g unsalted butter (softened at room temperature)

-156g all purpose flour

-3g baking powder

-1/8 teaspoon baking soda

-1/8 teaspoon salt

-100g white sugar

-2eggs (room temperature)

-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

-2 drops of pink and blue food colour in paste

*Don’t you have buttermilk? Don’t worry! You can make it yourself. In a glass pour 120ml of milk and add two teaspoons of lemon juice and stir. Let it rest for 15 minutes.

How to make it:

  1. Take the butter, buttermilk and eggs 1 hour before you plan to bake. They need to be at room temperature and you cannot cheat by using the microwave.
  2. In a small recipient toss the sifted flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside.
  3. In a larger recipient whisk the butter with an electric mixer for 2 minutes. Then add the sugar and repeat for 3 more minutes. Once it is well mixed, add the eggs (one at a time) and mix. Proceed and add the vanilla extract and mix again.
  4. Start mixing the wet ingredients with the dry ones and mix. Alternate this step by adding the buttermilk at times, and continue with the dry ones until everything is well combined.
  5. Divide the batter into 3 different bowls and proceed to colour them. I used 2 drops of pink for one bowl and 2 drops of blue for the blue colour. I didn’t colour the third bowl.
  6. Preheat the oven for at least 10 minutes at 200ºC.
  7. Prepare your cupcake form with the cupcake liners and with 3 different spoons pour 1 spoon of pure batter, another one of pink and another one of blue. Combine the colours as you like it. Do NOT stir the colours or you won’t have the beautiful contrast. Check here, this is how they looked, I love the 3 colours, it is so girly!!!: IMG_4059_PPc
  8. Take the cupcakes to the oven and lower the temperature to 160ºC. Bake them for 5 minutes with up and down heat and after that time just heat from the bottom of the cupcakes for 4 minutes. Finally change back to up and down heat for 3 more minutes and your cupcakes will be baked. Insert a toothpick to see they are ready. Total time will be 10-13 minutes.
  9. Allow them to cool down and frost them or eat them without frosting. IMG_4062_PPc

I will have some later and I will think about how I can make my palate dance with funny treats!

What could I make next?

xoxo Pink Maple