Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Inouye's know the blessing of good food . . .
I have lots of food memories from my childhood: Grandpa Sashichi drinking from the spout of the teapot, Daddy (Charles Ichiro) coming home late from the farm and sitting at the kitchen table for only seconds before a plate heaped with food would be placed in front of him; waking up on Sunday morning to the sound of the Sunbeam mixer beating egg whites so that we could have Mom's (Bessie) wonderful pancakes, watching Grandpa (Sashichi) eat mochi after mochi on New Year's morning, the wonderful way that Uncle Henry would cut through his stack of three big pancakes all the way from top to bottom, then left to right, then in-between those cuts before he would pour the syrup over all those now bite-sized pieces, the egg and bacon sandwiches that we ate on opening day at Fishlake, teriyaki beef on a stick with potato pancakes for Dillon's favorite meal, going to Richfield to eat at the Rainbow cafe or Johnson's Hotel where Dwight always ordered a big steak, getting slushes in Richfield on a hot day, eating beautiful, ripe tomatoes with salt and pepper in front of the sink with Daddy (Charles Ichiro), being served a thick slice of cantaloupe with a big scoop of ice cream in the hole in the middle, raisin filled cookies from Parson's bakery, black licorice snaps from Alvins's Market, riding my bike with my Warren and Charles to the Sigurd Merc. to get penny candy . . . I could go on and on. Food was and is an important part of our family. And I love the way that we stay connected to our loved ones by continuing to make certain foods like Grandma's (Bessie) rhubarb pie and Auntie Ruthie's sekihan (happiness rice). So let's continue to share or food stories and recipes with one another through this blog. I'm anxious to hear from you all. AA
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We have been making cupcakes lately. Here are two very good recipes. Lindzi is here from Hawaii and is very enthusiastic about cooking. Aimee is our resident expert on cupcakes. I just love to bake so we have a great combination going. Here's the recipes: (sorry no pix - they all got eaten)
ReplyDeleteLemon Curd Cupcakes
Curd:
3 T. plus 1 1/2 t. sugar
3 T. fresh lemon juice
4 1/2 t. butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 t. grated lemon peel
Cupcake batter:
3/4 c. butter, softened
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla extract
1 t. grated lemon peel
1 1/2 c. cake flour
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
2/3 c. buttermilk
Frosting: (we used fresh whipped cream with a little lemon juice and lemon peel. We extruded it through the tips I gave some of you for churros - zigzag cut 1/2 inch opening. Looked great. Garnished the cupcakes with lemon zest.
2 T. butter, softened
1/2 t. vanilla extract
pinch of salt
2 c. confectioner's sugar
2 to 4 T. milk
grated lemon peel, optional
Make the curd first. In heavy saucepan cook and stir sugar, lemon juice, and butter until smooth. Stir a small amount of hot mixture into egg; return all to pan. Bring to a gentle boil, stirring constantly; cook minutes longer or until thickened. Stir in lemon peel. Cool for 10 minutes. Cover and chill until thickened.
Cupcake batter: In large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one. Add vanilla and lemon peel. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk.
Fill paper-lined muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until middle springs back when touched lightly. (We made 24 cupcakes which were only 1/2 filled. Bake only 15 minutes or so.)
Cut a small hole in the ziplock bag; insert a small round pastry tip. Fill bag with lemon curd. Insert tip 1 inch into center of each cupcke; fill with curd just until tops of cupcakes begin to crack.
Frosting: Combine butter, vanilla, salt, and confection's sugar and enough milk to achieve frosting consistency. Frost cupcakes. Or whip heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add confectioner's sugar, and grated lemon peel. Lindzi added a bit of lemon juice as well. Pipe this on top of the cupcakes in a circular motion. They look fantastic - like Martha Stewart herself made them.
These cupcakes were delicious, especially with the lemon curd in the middle. I have to send the next recipe in a separate entry because I can only have 4,000 words. See you. AA
Here's the second recipe:
ReplyDeleteFluffy Key Lime Cupcakes with Whipped Cream topping - 24 cupcakes
Cupcake batter:
2 1/4 c. cake flour (cake flour has less protein - you can substitute reg. flour but you may have a less tender cupcake)
1 T. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 1/4 c. buttermilk
4 large egg whites at room temperature (this makes the cupcakes a very white color)
1 1/2 T. fresh lime zest
1/2 c. unsalted butter at room temp (salted ok)
1 T. fresh lime juice
1 t. key lime extract (didn't have any so we used lemon extract - anxious to try key lime)
Preheat oven to 350. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together the buttermilk and egg whites in another bowl. Put the sugar and lime zest in a mixer bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter and with the paddle attachment beat at medium speed with a stand mixer until ingredients are light and fluffy. Beat in the extract and lime juice, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Mix in half of the buttermilk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the buttermilk and eggs, mixing until the batter is well mixed, then add the last of the dry ingredients. Continue beating the mixture for another few minutes to ensure that the batter is thoroughly mixed and well aerated. (I actually disagree with this. My philosophy is to barely stir when adding the flour so you don't develop the gluten.) Divide the batter evenly between the prepared liners, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake for 18-22 minutes. or until the cupcakes are well risen and springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (It only took 13 minutes for our cupcakes to be done. Allow to cool in the pans for a few minutes and then transfer to wire rack to completely cool.
While cupcakes are cooling, prepare the whipped cream. Using a standing mixer fitted with the balloon whisk attachment, whip the chilled heavy cream on high until it just holds soft peaks. Slowly sprinkle in the sugar until you reach a thick consistency. Add in the zest and whip until combined. Fill a piping bag with a fitted tip. Pipe on the whipped cream on top of the cooled cupcakes. Garnish with additional lime zest and lime slices.
These were delicious! I'm really not a cake fan, but these cupcakes were irresistible. Try them. Love to all, AA