A very happy birthday

I have to begin this post by raving about my friends. I don't know where I'd be without them, other than a very unhappy and not fun place. My boyfriend is also kind of the coolest person I know. They are without a doubt the greatest birthday present I could ever receive, and I get to have that gift all year long! The second greatest present I could receive (besides a trip to Paris, which I don't expect anyone to get me because that's ridiculous) is...

THIS BAD BOY

Let's just say that I was more than a little excited and speechless, and I'm really glad I didn't have to get married in order to register for this Kitchenaid mixer as a gift. Seems like a lot of trouble for an appliance, but it certainly crossed my mind...

I'm going to save you my ravings about it and simply say this - it is the single most useful thing a person who bakes can own. I've had a hand mixer for a long time, but this will expand my baking escapades considerably!

My birthday was a spectacular weekend spent at home with friends and family and in Napa with my two best girl friends. In celebration (and because I really wanted to try this experiment), I made two different kinds of cupcakes. It was a very successful endeavor and I will definitely be keeping these in my cupcake arsenal! I love summer fruits and berries, and my two absolute favorite are raspberries and peaches. There was no other logical choice than to bake with both of them, and I created raspberry cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting and "peach cobbler cupcakes" (cinnamon and peach cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting). I used the same white cake and cream cheese frosting base for both of them, and added ingredients as needed after both were made. Light, refreshing and absolutely fantastic :)

White Cake base 

Makes about 12 cupcakes

 

1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 C sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk (or milk + 1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice)

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, beat together sugar, butter and eggs until smooth. Add vanilla extract. Alternatively beat in flour mixture and buttermilk, making three additions of flour mixture and two of milk.

For RASPBERRY cupcakes: Rinse about two cups of fresh raspberries and pat dry. Add to batter and beat until berries are slightly broken up and the batter has turned light pink.

For PEACH cupcakes: Skin a ripe peach and cut into small cubes. In a food processor, puree the fruit. Add peach puree and 1 tsp cinnamon to the batter and beat until incorporated.

Scoop batter into prepared pan. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean and tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack. Frost.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes enough frosting for about 12 cupcakes

16 oz cream cheese (2 packages), softened

1/2 C butter, softened

2 C powdered sugar, sifted

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions: Beat together cream cheese and butter. Add powdered sugar gradually until frosting is formed. Beat in vanilla extract. You can refrigerate/freeze this as needed!

For LEMON frosting: Beat in approximately 1/4 C lemon curd (to taste).

For CINNAMON frosting: Beat in approximately 1 tsp cinnamon (to taste).