In The Kitchen With…Bailey! And Birthday Giveaway #4

by Mlissa | Feb 23, 2012 | cupcakes, Pink Buttercream Frosting

My first book from Samhain Publishing was a fun, naughty little title, Pink Buttercream Frosting. The title alone garnered quite a bit of publicity. It’s catchy, cute…

In the book, the heroine, Bailey is a divorced baker who’s opened a small bakery on the bottom floor of her work/live townhouse. One of the things she’s trying to perfect, is the color of her buttercream frosting. She wants pink. A delicate, very pretty, pale pink… She wants to frost dark chocolate cake with it. I can understand this. I love brown and pink together. Brown and blue. Brown and green. Brown and purple. Pastel colors against a dark brown. I think it’s both warm and whimsical at the same time. Bailey did as well.

She’s a lot like I am. She bakes when she’s stressed. She bakes when she needs to work through something. It’s a passion and a release for her. It’s that for me , as well.

I thought I’d share with you a recipe for fudge cupcakes, followed by a recipe for buttercream frosting. I made some myself for Valentine’s Day and they were delicious…and, gone within a couple of days.

Fudge Cupcakes (from 125 Best Cupcake Recipes by Julie Hanson)

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted**
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used 1/3 cup mini morsels instead)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with paper or foil liners.

In a small bowl, mix together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.

In a large bowl whisk together sugar, oil, egg and vanilla until smooth. Alternately whisk in flour mixture and buttermilk, making three additions of flour mixture and two of buttermilk, beating until batter is smooth. Stir in chocolate chips.

Scoop batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 22 to 27 minutes or until 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. Top cooled cupcakes with frosting.

These are the most tender cupcakes on the inside. Light and just delicious.

The frosting I use is one I learned in cake decorating class. It’s not fat free, sugar free, cholesterol free, calorie free, etc… It’s not free at all. It’s loaded with sugar and butter and shortening. But, it’s delicious. I use shortening in my frosting because it keeps longer and makes for a stiffer consistency when piping. I love making strictly buttercream frosting, but it must be refrigerated.

This recipe is from Wilton. I made a few modifications. I use half and half to thin it out toward the end. I add real vanilla extract, not clear and not imitation. I don’t use butter flavoring, I use real butter.

Buttercream Frosting:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened (I use unsalted butter and then add a pinch of salt at the end to cut some of the sweetness)

1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract (I use pure vanilla extract)

4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar (approximately 1 lb.)

2 tablespoons milk

Makes: About 3 cups of icing.

Instructions:

In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed (I use a Tablespoon of Merigue Powder in this stage because it helps the frosting whip up fluffier). Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use.

For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use. Refrigerated in an airtight container, this icing can be stored 2 weeks. Re-whip before using.

For thin (spreading) consistency icing, add 2 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk (this is where I use half and half).

For Pure White Icing (stiff consistency), omit butter; substitute an additional 1/2 cup shortening for butter and add 1/2 teaspoon No-Color Butter Flavor. Add up to 4 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk to thin for icing cakes.

For the coloring, I use Duff Goldman Icing Colors

And this is my pride and joy…

Fun and delicious on all counts!

Desire: Blend sinful with sweet. Whip to perfection. Don’t forget to lick the spoon…

Aidn Greer is a much-sought-after Dominant in the BDSM lifestyle with an unusual problem. He hasn’t owned a submissive in more years than he cares to think about. He’s bored with unchallenging women, yet mentoring other Doms and training subs has left him cold as well. He’s craving something other than plain old vanilla—a taste of something sinfully sweet that, for once, he can really sink his teeth into.

Professional cake baker Bailey Harris wasted ten years bored to tears with her marriage, enduring a job she hated, and harboring a secret desire for something passionate, fulfilling and dark. Then she found it…in the world of BDSM. Exploring on her own brought the kind of mind-opening experiences that led her to declare her independence—and exposed a yearning to find the one Dom for whom she’s willing to kneel. Permanently.

When Aidn and Bailey meet, it’s fire and ice. Sugar and spice. And an experience that satisfies every detail of both their fantasies. Almost. While the big, beautiful sub is everything Aidn wanted, her fierce independent streak could be more of a challenge than he bargained for…

Warning: This book brings together scorching-hot counter sex, decadent pink frosting, and no-holds-barred BDSM play for a spanking good time. Be sure to bring an ice-cold drink along…

Now, the giveaway…

One of my favorite people in the book business is an author by the name of Dakota Cassidy. She’s got several NY series: Accidental series, Hell series, and the awesome Ex-Trophy Wives series. Dakota is hilarious, snarky, sweet as pie, open, and one of the least standoffish women I’ve met. She’s down to earth and she’ll have you rolling with laughter until you have tears streaming from your eyes. And then, you’ll come back for more!

So, because I think she’s just fabulous, I am going to give one of you 3 books in her Accidental series, or the 3 books in her Ex-Trophy Wives series.

To enter, comment here and tell me which author you’d love to meet… Leave me your email address when you comment. You’ve got until Saturday, February 25th at 6pm EST!

~lissa