Mixed Berry Cupcakes with Mixed Berry Buttercream

So...I am obsessed with homemade buttercream frosting!!  This time was for the Super Bowl party.  I started again with a cake mix, this was a strawberry flavored mix that I added real fruit to.  I had frozen mixed berries in the freezer so I thawed them out and added them to the mix along with the required ingredients (3 eggs, 1 1/4C water and 1/4C oil).  To make up the water I drained the berry juice and added water to reach 1 1/4C so the cakes would have extra berry flavor and not too much artificial strawberry flavor.  I reserved about 1C of the berries for the frosting.   After mixing the cake batter I gently folded in the thawed fruit so I didn't break up the berries too much.  I then scooped the batter into 24 prepared cupcake liners and baked for 20 min at 350.  Once they were done I let them cool completely before I made the frosting.

To make the frosting I thawed the remaining berries in the microwave for about 2 minutes.  I drained them and discarded the juice.  I placed the berries in a sieve over a small bowl and used a spatula to smash them through.  I wanted to get as much pulp from them as possible.  There were black berries and raspberries in my mix and I didn't want those giant seeds in my frosting.  Similar to my green tea frosting I creamed the berry puree and butter before adding in the powdered sugar. 

These turned out so pretty and yummy! 

I don't think I will ever buy canned frosting again-and I'm out cupcake liners!

Green Tea Cupcakes with Green Tea Buttercream

I wanted to make this recipe for a friends birthday and the idea just popped into my head. I found several recipes online, but I opted for the easier way out and didn't make the cupcakes from scratch. These were a hit with everyone, even the guys who tend to not like things they dont know about.

Cupcakes-makes 24 large cakes:

1 box of white cake mix and ingredients required on box (3 egg whites, 1 1/2C water and 1/4C oil)

3-4T Matcha green tea powder (instant mix, found in asian food stores and online here: http://www.asianfoodgrocer.com/ ) I added 4T because I wanted the flavor to stand out more, for a more subtle flavor use less.

butter flavored cooking spray

24 cupcake liners

Preheat oven to 350, prepare cupcake pans with liners and I spray each one with a little butter spray.

I mixed the water with the tea powder and then combined the ingredients for the cakes and scooped them into the prepared pan and cooked for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Once the cakes are done, let them cool completely before frosting.

Green Tea Buttercream:

1 1/2 sticks softened butter

3T green tea powder

3T milk or water

5C powdered sugar

Mix the water and the green tea powder to make a paste. I used my stand mixer and put the butter and the green tea paste in and mixed them until combined. Gradually add 1C of sugar at a time until you read your preferred consistency. I wanted it stiff so I could pipe it out. Once it is all combined load it into a prepared piping bag with the type of tip you want.

I looked for advice online on how to frost cupcakes and found some tips to keep the frosting/piping bag still and move the cake in a circle starting on the outside and working your way in. I found for me it was easier to hold the cake and sort of twirl it around and move the frosting around the cake in an outside in fashion. I also wanted to use some cute decorator candies to embelish.

Also I have to say these turned out such a pretty green color. They may not show it in my pictures. I'm still working on my photography skills.

Coq a Vin

This is Alton Brown's recipe and it is pretty time intensive, but so worth it! We also increased it to 6 chicken thighs, because it was going to take so much time we wanted to make sure we had lots of left overs!


24 to 30 pearl onions (we used the frozen ones)
4 chicken thighs and legs, or 1 (5 to 7-pound) stewing chicken, cut into serving pieces
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 to 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons water
6 ounces salt pork, slab bacon, or lardon, cubed
8 ounces button mushrooms, quartered
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 (750-ml) bottles red wine, preferably pinot noir
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 medium onion, quartered
2 stalks celery, quartered
2 medium carrots, quartered
3 cloves garlic, crushed
6 to 8 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
2 cups chicken stock or broth
Directions
Cut off the root end of each pearl onion and make an "x" with your knife in its place. Bring 2 to 3 cups of water to a boil and drop in the onions for 1 minute. Remove the onions from the pot, allow them to cool, and then peel. You should be able to slide the onions right out of their skin. Set aside.


Sprinkle the chicken on all sides with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place the chicken pieces, a few at a time, into a large (1 or 2-gallon) sealable plastic bag along with the flour. Shake to coat all of the pieces of the chicken. Remove the chicken from the bag to a metal rack.

Add the 2 tablespoons of water to a large, 12-inch saute pan over medium heat along with the salt pork. Cover and cook until the water is gone, and then continue to cook until the salt pork cubes are golden brown and crispy, approximately 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the salt pork from the pan and set aside.

In the same pan, using the remaining fat, add the pearl onions, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and saute until lightly brown, approximately 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the onions from the pan and set aside. Next, brown the chicken pieces on each side until golden brown, working in batches if necessary to not overcrowd the pan. Transfer the chicken into a 7 to 8-quart enameled cast iron Dutch oven.

Add the mushrooms to the same 12-inch saute pan, adding the 1 tablespoon of butter if needed, and saute until they give up their liquid, approximately 5 minutes. Store the onions, mushrooms and pork in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Pour off any remaining fat and deglaze the pan with approximately 1 cup of the wine. Pour this into the Dutch oven along with the chicken stock, tomato paste, quartered onion, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf. Add all of the remaining wine. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Place the chicken in the oven and cook for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until the chicken is tender. Maintain a very gentle simmer and stir occasionally.

Once the chicken is done, remove it to a heatproof container, cover, and place it in the oven to keep warm. Strain the sauce in a colander and remove the carrots, onion, celery, thyme, garlic, and bay leaf. Return the sauce to the pot, place over medium heat, and reduce by 1/3. Depending on how much liquid you actually began with, this should take 20 to 45 minutes.

Once the sauce has thickened, add the pearl onions, mushrooms, and pork and cook for another 15 minutes or until the heated through. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary, remove from the heat, add the chicken and serve. Serve over egg noodles, if desired.

Cook’s Note: If the sauce is not thick enough at the end of reducing, you may add a mixture of equal parts butter and flour kneaded together. Start with 1 tablespoon of each. Whisk this into the sauce for 4 to 5 minutes and repeat, if necessary.

* As another note we've made this before using bacon and it had the same taste and was much easier to work with than the salt pork. If you are using the salt pork it might be easier to freeze it lightly and be able to cut it into smaller pieces.

Again overall a great recipe that takes quite a bit of prep but the end result is amazing!