I love baking for my family. First of all, it is a very easy way to provide birthday gifts without putting too much money into what to buy. Second of all, I have a theory that some family members tolerate me mostly so that they can get treats.
However, in the past few years I have acquired a second family to cook/bake for! When there is a dinner with my boyfriend's family, I have become the first to offer to bring dessert. This may be because once there was no dessert available, because it was assumed that I was bringing (oops!). But I love it because baking for the Tennenhouses and baking for the Reinblatts allows me to practice completely different things.
You see, when it comes to baking for my family, I know exactly what to make for each member of the family, regardless of the time of year or occasion.
For my big sister Lauren, I make Apple Pie. Whether it is her birthday, a tea party, a treat sent in the mail, or Laur feeling peckish around midnight - I make her pie. Over the years the recipe has evolved; i.e. mile-high pies, deep-dish pies, caramelizing the apple juices... but the general idea stays the same. My pie crust, apples, sugar, and cinnamon. Always a win.
However, in the past few years I have acquired a second family to cook/bake for! When there is a dinner with my boyfriend's family, I have become the first to offer to bring dessert. This may be because once there was no dessert available, because it was assumed that I was bringing (oops!). But I love it because baking for the Tennenhouses and baking for the Reinblatts allows me to practice completely different things.
You see, when it comes to baking for my family, I know exactly what to make for each member of the family, regardless of the time of year or occasion.
For my big sister Lauren, I make Apple Pie. Whether it is her birthday, a tea party, a treat sent in the mail, or Laur feeling peckish around midnight - I make her pie. Over the years the recipe has evolved; i.e. mile-high pies, deep-dish pies, caramelizing the apple juices... but the general idea stays the same. My pie crust, apples, sugar, and cinnamon. Always a win.
For my little sister Shira, Nutella Cheesecake. I feel she will see this and scold me, saying I have only actually made it once, but it is requested every time I offer to make her a treat. The request is often quickly redacted when she remembers how many calories go into one bite of this dish.
Mommy - well, she doesn't like sweets. But to make both her and Pops happy: Oatmeal Cookies. They each get different versions of the same cookie - I sneak more sugar and butter into my dad's (I still haven't figured out if chocolate or raisins are necessary...).
And finally, Bubie gets Banana Bread, and it has to have chocolate chips. Once I tried something new by adding a fried banana on top of her cupcake. She spat it out. Noted, Bubie -- stop changing a good thing. Now she tells me that I'm the best baker ever. I refuse to claim bias - I shall take her at her word.
When it comes to the Reinblatts, I have yet to pinpoint exactly what everyone likes. This means that with every birthday/holiday, I get to test out a new recipe that I have been itching to make! For example, I know that Karen likes fresh fruit, which is why this berry cake came into being, as well as the Passionfruit Passover Pavlova. The following year she mentioned how much she enjoyed an espresso frosting I made, and so I tried out my first Opera Torte!
Now, one of the real reasons that I am never quite sure what to make for Evan's family is because Evan and his brother can make some random requests. One year, for his birthday, Evan told me that he does not want a specific cake, but he wants cream cheese frosting. Um... ok?
So I made Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting on Chocolate Cake, Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting on Red Velvet Cake, and Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting on Carrot Cake. All hits.
The following year, Evan requested "Mocha Peanut Butter." That was nonsense, and very fall-aparty. Luckily, I filled it with bottles of beer, so the flimsy structure was not noted.
So I made Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting on Chocolate Cake, Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting on Red Velvet Cake, and Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting on Carrot Cake. All hits.
The following year, Evan requested "Mocha Peanut Butter." That was nonsense, and very fall-aparty. Luckily, I filled it with bottles of beer, so the flimsy structure was not noted.
And finally! Last week, when I asked Jeremy what cake he would like for his birthday, he said "Something with fruit. But also butterscotch!" I learned yesterday that this was only because he was campaigning for butterscotch pudding for the staff at camp; he did not know that he likes butterscotch. So this is where my butterscotch + fruit filling + black forest cake + iPhone pinterest search came into play.
So Behold!!
Social Media Pinspired Raspberry Filled Butterscotch Cupcakes!
(I need a snappier name)
Cake Recipe:
- 1 1/3 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 baking soda
- pinch salt
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup Greek yogurt (no flavouring)
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- 1 cup butterscotch chips, dusted with flour (*this prevents the chips from sinking to the bottom of the cupcake)
Combine all of your dry ingredients.
Whisk the brown sugar directly into the melted butter, until there are no lumps. Mix in the rest of the wet ingredients.
Without over-mixing, combine the wet and dry ingredients, then fold in your floury butterscotch chips.
Fill a lined or cooking-sprayed cupcake pan 3/4 full with your batter.
Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes.
This should make exactly 12 cupcakes.
Filling Recipe:
- 1 cup raspberries (frozen or fresh work)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp flour
- 2 tbsp water
Combine all of the ingredients in sauce pan until the berries break down and are thickened by the flour. I opt not to add sugar to these, as the cupcakes themselves are already rather sweet. Contrasting the tart berries, with the sweet cupcakes, and creamy frosting create a really balanced dessert.
Whipped Cream Frosting Recipe:
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 4 tbsp icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
Whip the frosting until it holds its shape. Fold in the icing sugar and vanilla. Feel free to adjust these measurements to your taste.
Once your cupcakes have cooled, cut out a hole in the top to fill with your berry filling. I like to seal the filling in with the top of my cupcake. Using a piping bag (or a plastic bag, if you are ghetto like me) with a star-tip, pipe a dollop of whipped cream frosting on top. Now you can drizzle with melted butterscotch chips, or top with a cupcake topper! I went with hand piped chocolate iPhone icons.
If you decide to make chocolate cupcake toppers, use pre-coloured Merckens chocolates. Adding your own colours to chocolate can make the mixture seize up and get gross if not careful. My iPhone toppers were drawn freehand, with a piping bag, over parchment paper. Once they cooled (approx. 15 minutes) they popped right off the paper! Do not refrigerate chocolate decorations as they will sweat once removed from the fridge. I kept mine out on the counter for 2 days and they were just fine!
- 1 1/3 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 baking soda
- pinch salt
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup Greek yogurt (no flavouring)
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- 1 cup butterscotch chips, dusted with flour (*this prevents the chips from sinking to the bottom of the cupcake)
Combine all of your dry ingredients.
Whisk the brown sugar directly into the melted butter, until there are no lumps. Mix in the rest of the wet ingredients.
Without over-mixing, combine the wet and dry ingredients, then fold in your floury butterscotch chips.
Fill a lined or cooking-sprayed cupcake pan 3/4 full with your batter.
Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes.
This should make exactly 12 cupcakes.
Filling Recipe:
- 1 cup raspberries (frozen or fresh work)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp flour
- 2 tbsp water
Combine all of the ingredients in sauce pan until the berries break down and are thickened by the flour. I opt not to add sugar to these, as the cupcakes themselves are already rather sweet. Contrasting the tart berries, with the sweet cupcakes, and creamy frosting create a really balanced dessert.
Whipped Cream Frosting Recipe:
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 4 tbsp icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
Whip the frosting until it holds its shape. Fold in the icing sugar and vanilla. Feel free to adjust these measurements to your taste.
Once your cupcakes have cooled, cut out a hole in the top to fill with your berry filling. I like to seal the filling in with the top of my cupcake. Using a piping bag (or a plastic bag, if you are ghetto like me) with a star-tip, pipe a dollop of whipped cream frosting on top. Now you can drizzle with melted butterscotch chips, or top with a cupcake topper! I went with hand piped chocolate iPhone icons.
If you decide to make chocolate cupcake toppers, use pre-coloured Merckens chocolates. Adding your own colours to chocolate can make the mixture seize up and get gross if not careful. My iPhone toppers were drawn freehand, with a piping bag, over parchment paper. Once they cooled (approx. 15 minutes) they popped right off the paper! Do not refrigerate chocolate decorations as they will sweat once removed from the fridge. I kept mine out on the counter for 2 days and they were just fine!
Really, whether I am baking traditional favourites for my family, or inventing new traditions with Evan's family, nothing makes me happier than seeing reactions from my loved ones like this:
PS If you want the recipes for the other desserts mentioned in this post, shoot me a comment and I can add them to the blog!