In keeping with the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day (you know, the whole pot of gold at the end of the rainbow theme….), I decided to get crazy with the food coloring gels just a bit and make these colorful cupcakes.  It was an idea that I had seen floating around for a while, but I never had the chance to try it.  A few hours later (and some pretty stained fingertips, I might add….I seriously don’t know how I get the gels all over me-I try so hard not to, yet I inevitably will end up with it all over my hands and face.  Good times.), I had some psychedelic and festive-appearing cupcakes on my counter top, just begging to be sprinkled.

As far as the cake goes, use your favorite white cake recipe, divide the batter into several small bowls, and color each bowl with your desired food coloring gels.  I decided to try a white cake recipe from King Arthur for this recipe, but, in all honesty, I will most likely go back to my favorite from Baking Illustrated (see the recipe here) because I like the spongy texture (and the more potent almond flavor.) better.   And for the frosting?  I was running low on vanilla extract, so I threw in some butter flavoring instead.  Holy moly.  If you want a buttery buttercream (and who doesn’t, really?), try this if you happen to have some on hand.  It’ll knock your socks off.

Over the Rainbow Cupcakes

Servings: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

2 and 3/4 cups cake flour

1 and 2/3 cup superfine sugar (*you can just pulse regular granulated sugar in your food processor for a few seconds.)

1 tablespoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 1-tablespoon pieces

4 large egg whites, plus 1 whole large egg

1 cup whole milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon almond extract

Food coloring gels

For the frosting:

1 and 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon butter flavoring

Sprinkles, if desired.

Instructions

1. For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Line a cupcake pan with the liners of your choice.

3. In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt until well-mixed.

4. On medium speed, add the butter pieces, one at a time, until the mixture is soft and crumbly, like coarse sand.

5. Add the egg whites, one at a time, mixing well after each addition, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

6. Add the whole egg, mixing well.

7. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the milk, vanilla, and almond extract.

8. Add the milk mixture in one-third increments to the dry ingredients, mixing 1-2 minutes after each addition.

9. Divide the cake batter into several small bowls (depending on how many colors of batter you will want.)

10. Add your desired amount of food coloring gel to each bowl and mix thoroughly.  (Look out for small bits of concentrated gel.)

11. Working with one color of batter at a time, drop about 1-2 teaspoons of cake batter into each prepared cupcake liner (do not stir).  Layer with remaining batter colors.

12. Bake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes.  Let cool completely before frosting.

13. For the frosting: In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer) cream the butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.

14. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the powdered sugar, about 1/2 cup at a time, until thoroughly mixed.

15. Add the butter flavoring and mix well.  Pipe as desired onto your cupcakes.

Sources:  Cupcakes adapted from King Arthur Flour.  Frosting adapted from Martha Stewart.

I’m on a little bit of a quest to prove that you don’t need to put meat into everything to make it taste better.

Here’s my proof.

Saint Patrick’s Day is right around the corner, and I have already been feeling a little festive with the Guinness.  (see here.)  So, I knew it was only a matter of time before I tried to make a hearty, filling, healthy, and (gasp!) meatless stew that even a carnivore could love.  After scrolling through several bookmarked and saved recipes, I landed upon one I particularly liked.  I increased the vegetable quotient and served it with some fresh-from-the-oven soda bread (recipe to follow in a couple of days.)

With all stews, it was delicious on the first day but even more so after an overnight chill in the fridge.  I ate this for several nights as leftovers since I made a large portion of this (feel free to cut it in half).  The Guinness?  It was definitely in the background, but it wasn’t overwhelming.  The end result?  A fantastic vegetarian alternative to a great winter meal.  I’m celebrating St. Patrick’s Day early this year.

No-Meat Guinness Stew

Servings: about 6 large portions

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 large onions, peeled and chopped

6 small celery stalks, chopped into bite-sized pieces

16 ounces (1 lb) button mushrooms, cleaned, de-stemmed, and sliced

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

One 11.2-ounce bottle of Guinness Stout***Some people say that Guinness is not vegetarian based on its processing.  If you are a strict vegetarian or vegan, please use another brand of beer.

4-5 medium carrots, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces

3 lb (about 3-4 large) Russet potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon vegetable base (I used Better Than Boullion.)

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

4 cups water

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1.  Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering.

2. Add the onion, celery, and about 1/4 of the mushrooms, stirring frequently until softened, about 10 minutes.

3. Add the flour to the mixture and stir to coat and cook for another 2 minutes.

4. Carefully pour the bottle of Guinness over the mixture, and stir to scrape up any browned bits.

5. Add the remaining vegetables and ingredients and bring the mixture to a boil.

6. Decrease the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for about 45 minutes.

Source:  Adapted from The Kitchn.

I have never really celebrated Valentine’s Day….believe it or not.  I never thought that I was the type of girl that would get worked up over flowers and chocolates and all things red and pink.  I do have fond memories of my dad giving me and my sisters (and my mom, of course) boxes of chocolate candies and cards.  It was a special holiday for me as a little girl.  But not really as a grown-up.  And, as silly as that may sound, my warm fuzzies on Valentine’s Day comes from the excitement I had as a little girl and feeling like a total Daddy’s girl on that day.  I’m excited because this year will be the first year that I am semi-celebrating…with someone very nice.

So, even if I don’t go all out and get all mushy wushy on V-day, I have always had a love for sugary, bite-sized holiday treats associated with the day.  Especially those treats that involve a little dose of chocolate…and some form of pink or red decor.

I had some extra red candy melts that I hadn’t used over the holidays, so I figured this was a great opportunity to use them up.  And, what’s better than making some cake truffles?  I know I’ve done this before, but the little heart cookie cutter in my baking box was calling my name. I figured this was an easy and festive way to celebrate this year.

Looking for some other V-day treats?  Here are some of my favorite other ideas:

Sugar Cookie Bars with Buttercream Frosting

Red Velvet Cake Cookies

Chocolate Hazelnut Tartlets

Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Devil’s Food Cupcakes

Pink Velvet Cake Truffles

Sugar Cookies

Cherry Almond Brownie Bites

Mini Chocolate Cupcakes (cupcake base recipe is vegan)

Valentine Cake Truffles

Servings:  About 24 cake truffles (I had lots of leftover cake because I used such a small cookie cutter. Feel free to use more candy melts if you want to make more.)

Ingredients

For the cake:

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 and 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 large eggs

1 and 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

For the frosting:

One 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature

16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 tablespoon vanilla

3 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup raspberry preserves**Use whatever you have on hand. Cherry would be awesome!

For the candy coating:

Two 12-ounce bags red candy melts (I use Wilton brand)

Instructions

1. For the cake:  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

2. Generously butter a 9×13-inch cake pan with butter.  Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, flour, and salt; set aside.

4.  In a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, combine the chocolate chips and butter and melt, stirring frequently, until smooth. Let cool slightly.

5. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and vanilla.

6. Very slowly and carefully, whisk the melted chocolate into the egg mixture until smooth.

7. In a 2-cup measuring cup (the liquid will bubble up), combine the buttermilk and the baking soda.

8.  Whisk the buttermilk/baking soda into the chocolate mixture until  combined.

9.  Next, whisk the buttermilk/chocolate mixture into the dry ingredients, whisking until smooth and no lumps remain.

10. Evenly pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes.  Let cool at least 1 hour.

11. For the frosting: In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine all of the ingredients, mixing until smooth.  Set aside.

12.  For assembly: In a large bowl, break apart the sheet cake using a large spoon and mixing until it is completely in crumbs.

13.  Add the frosting, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing with a large spoon until a thick paste forms.  **You may not use all of the frosting.

14. At this point, I find it helpful to chill the “cake dough” for at least an hour, so that it firms up a bit.

15. Once the cake dough is firm, transfer it to a clean and flat surface, and using a rolling pin, roll the dough into an even 3/4-inch thick layer.

16. Using your desired cookie cutter (I used a small, 1.5-inch heart shape), carefully cut out your desired shapes, rerolling and recutting the dough out as necessary and place them on a cookie sheet.

17. Let the cake bites chill in the fridge until you are ready to dip them.

18. In a large heatproof bowl over a bowl of simmering water, melt the candy melts until smooth.  (I am quickly learning that it is best to do this in batches to keep your candy coating smooth and avoid it from seizing.)

19.  Very carefully, dip each cake bite into the candy melt, and slowly coat it thoroughly.  (*I like using a small spoon for this.)

20. Place each dipped cake bite onto a cookie sheet, decorate with sprinkles, and chill until ready to serve.

Sources:  Chocolate sheet cake from Cooks Illustrated.  Frosting adapted from Life’s Ambrosia.