Author: C'est le Brie

Two sisters on opposite coasts, keeping in touch through travel and recipes.

Spicy Red Velvet Cupcakes with Spiced Rum Cream Cheese Frosting

Published on by C'est le BrieLeave a comment

by Myles Katherine

I’ve been watching The Cupcake Wars a litttttttle too much lately! In a recent episode, Florian Bellanger says he’s tired of Red Velvet Cupcakes so I decided to create one that I think he would change his mind over. I’ve been obsessed with Mexican hot chocolate lately and I couldn’t resist a little bit of spice in these cupcakes. Once again, I created this recipe by combining & altering a few different ones. Also, I didn’t have any red food coloring (thus why they are light brown…), but I didn’t mind. I’d rather my cupcakes be more natural anyway.

P.S. These are delicious.

P.P.S. I WILL own a cupcake shop one day….

Red Velvet Cupcakes
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
3/4 tsp red food coloring (or smaller amount gel food coloring)
1 cup buttermilk (if you don’t have buttermilk, just mix 1 cup of milk with 1 tbsp vinegar and let sit for 5 minutes. Voila!)
1/4 tsp red cayenne pepper (or 1/2 tsp if you love spicy treats like I do)

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
4. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in the egg and the vanilla extract. Sift in the cocoa powder and cayenne pepper, add in red food coloring and stir.
5. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add one third of the flour mixture followed by half of the buttermilk. Add another third of the flour mixture, followed by the remaining buttermilk and the last of the flour. Mix gently until there are no clumps.

Divide batter evenly into prepared muffin cups.
Bake for 18-21 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Makes 12 cupcakes.

Spiced Rum Cream Cheese Frosting
8-oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 and 1/2 to 2  mini bottles of spiced rum, to taste – 50 mL each (i used Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum)
2-3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup  brown sugar

In a large bowl, beat all ingredients except the confectioners’ sugar and flour. Gradually blend in the sugar until the icing is smooth and creamy. Spread or pipe onto cooled cupcakes. Dash with red cayenne pepper.

Avocado & Bacon Eggs Benedict on Polenta with Lime Hollandaise Sauce

Published on by C'est le BrieLeave a comment

by Myles Katherine

Oh… my gosh. I don’t think I’ve ever made a more delicious breakfast. All of my favorite things combined into one recipe. My sister and I are both obsessed with Eggs Benedict in any form so I decided to create my own version with bacon and avocado, while using some ingredients from my latest Portugal Try the World box. I was getting ready to leave town the following day so I was trying to use up some of the food in my house. I didn’t have lemon, so I used lime for the hollandaise sauce. What a good decision, because the lime complimented the flavors of the dish so perfectly. I’m 100% sure I’ll be making this one again. SO GOOD.

Avocado & Bacon Eggs Benedict on Polenta with Lime Hollandaise
(recipe serves 2 )

Ingredients for Eggs Benedict:
4 slices of polenta (1/2 inch thick – I used sun-dried tomato polenta)
4 eggs (poached)
4 slices of tomato
4 slices of bacon
1/2 avocado, sliced

Special Ingredients
(these items are optional, but make ALL the difference)
Sea Salt & Lemon
Caramelized Onions with Port Wine
Piri Piri Hot Sauce

(As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)

  1. Cook the bacon to your liking and set aside.
  2. If desired, grill the polenta and sliced tomato in the leftover bacon grease on medium high until slightly crispy, flipping once.
  3. Poach 4 eggs. I have a special poached egg dish that makes it super easy so I’d recommend getting one, or follow this recipe.
  4. Make the hollandaise sauce, using the recipe below.
  5. Stack your eggs bennie with polenta on the bottom, followed by your grilled tomato, poached egg, bacon slices and avocado.
  6. Top with hollandaise sauce, caramelized onions, a sprinkle of sea salt & lemon, and a few dashes of Piri Piri hot sauce.
  7. Voila! Easy.

Ingredients for Lime Hollandaise Sauce:
(adapted from here)
2 egg yolks
1/4 lime, juiced
1 pinch of salt
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1/4 cup salted butter

  1. Beat egg yolks, lime juice, salt, and cayenne pepper together in a microwave-safe bowl until smooth. Slowly stream melted butter into the egg yolk mixture while whisking to incorporate.
  2. Heat in microwave for 15 to 20 seconds; whisk.
  3. Drizzle on top of the eggs benedict.
  4. ENJOY!

Healthy & Easy Lemon Lavender Shortbread Cookies Using the Cutest Squirrel Cookie Cutter

Published on by C'est le BrieLeave a comment

by Myles Katherine

(As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)

lemon lavender shortbread cookies

I picked up some culinary lavender from the farmer’s market on Saturday and couldn’t wait to use it in a recipe. I’ve actually never cooked with lavender since my husband thinks it’s too “flowery”. But I did catch him sneaking a few bites of the dough so he must not hate it that much!

These cookies were perfect for a breezy Sunday. I’ve also recently gotten into drinking matcha tea instead of coffee, and the cookies were a perfect treat to have on the side. The only downside is that I couldn’t stop eating them! But I made myself feel better by reminding myself that lavender is supposed to lessen anxiety and help calm the nervous system.

I was also looking for a recipe that didn’t include granulated sugar, and the maple syrup adds a lovely flavor to the cookies. You can pick up an adorable squirrel cookie cutter here!

INGREDIENTS

  • ½ cup butter, at room temperature OR coconut oil, softened
  • ½ cup maple syrup {or liquid sweetener of your choice}
  • ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • dash of salt – I used a Sea Salt and Lemon blend
  • 2¼ cups flour (I used a combination of millet flour – for a more powdery texture – and unbleached all purpose flour)
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 1/2 to 1 tbsp culinary lavender (depending on how flowery you’d like your cookies – I used a whole tbsp!) – I got mine from Dancing Light Ranch

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Prepare a rolling area with two additional sheets of parchment paper for that, and have your cookie cutter(s) handy.
  2. Place butter in a large mixing bowl and whip it with a mixer until it’s creamy. Add sweetener, vanilla extract, lemon juice and salt and mix once again to combine. Add in flour, lemon zest, and lavender (I used a mortar and pestle to grind the lavender first to bring out the flavor), and use a wooden spoon to mix. Then get in there with your hands and mix everything together by working the dough until you can shape it into a ball {note: as depending on the flour mix you use there may be a slight variance, know that the consistency of the dough should not be sticky but should press together when pinched — be sure to knead it really well first for some time — if it’s a little sticky, add a little more flour (try 1-2 tbsp); if it’s a little dry add a little more sweetener (try 1 tbsp)}. Shape the dough into 2 balls and then flatten each into a disk.
  3. Roll out one of the dough balls between two sheets of parchment paper to ⅓” – ½” thickness. Use a cookie cutter to cut out the cookies. Carefully transfer to a prepared cookie sheets, spacing them ½” apart {they won’t spread as they bake}. Gather up any dough scraps and repeat until all dough is used up. Repeat the process with the second dough ball. Sprinkle the uncooked cookies with a sea salt and lemon blend.
  4. Bake in a pre-heated oven for approximately 10-12 minutes, until the edges just begin to become golden. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack. {Note: cookies will harden a little within minutes of cooling, so don’t overbake}. Allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes and enjoy!

Recipe adapted from the Unconventional Baker

You can find this cute matcha bowl here and the fun Kate Spade cake plates here!

Healthy Whole Wheat & Rye Almond Pistachio Biscotti

Published on by C'est le BrieLeave a comment

During the pandemic I built up quite a collection of different kinds of flour because I was baking so often. Now I’m in dilemma because they’re all reaching their expiration dates right around the same time! So I’ve been making it a point to bake with the flour thats on its way out. Thus, why I created these biscotti! Plus, I’m a MAJOR morning coffee / afternoon tea person and if I don’t have *something* to dip in my beverage, I lose my mind. It doesn’t make sense to me to have tea or coffee without a little treat on the side. These are PERFECT with tea or coffee. Crunchy, slightly sweet, nutty and DELICIOUS. If you’re a fan of biscotti that are a tad sweeter, I’d recommend adding in dried fruit or candied ginger. I prefer when they aren’t too sweet, because I do my best to limit my sugar. Honestly, I’m obsessed with biscotti. My husband doesn’t get the whole biscotti thing, but he tries to eat it plain with NO tea or coffee on the side, which, obviously, is not the correct way to eat a biscotti. I’ve tried to tell him…

INGREDIENTS

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup rye flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp almond extract
4 eggs
1/3 cup chopped pistachios
2/3 cup chopped almonds

  1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Whisk together the whole wheat flour, rye flour, coconut flour, baking powder and salt.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat together the sugar and eggs for 2-3 minutes. Add in the almond extract and beat for one more minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the flour mixture. Mix at low speed until combined. Add the chopped pistachios and almonds (I like to chop mine in a food processor for about 10-20 seconds). The dough will be a little sticky.
  4. Scrape out half of the batter onto the baking sheet. Moisten your hands with water and form a log, 12 inches long by about 2 1/2 inches wide. Repeat with the other half of the batter. The logs can be on the same baking sheet, but leave at least 2 inches of space between them.

5. Bake for 50 minutes, until lightly browned and dry. Remove from the oven and let sit on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes. Place the logs on a cutting board and slice thin, about 1/3 inch, straight across or on the diagonal.

6. Place the cookies back on the baking sheet and place in the middle rack of the oven. Bake 15 minutes. Flip the cookies and bake for another 10-15 minutes until hard and lightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
7. Store in a tightly closed container for 2-3 weeks. But hopefully you’ll enjoy them all before then. They definitely taste best right out of the oven, but isn’t that always how it goes? 🙂

Enjoy! ❤

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting (AKA the best cupcakes you will ever eat)

Published on by C'est le BrieLeave a comment

Guys. I made the most delicious cupcakes in the entire world and want everyone to make them and eat them and love them as much as I did.

Last winter, Sprinkles in Washington, DC offered different cereal-based cupcakes and I tried the Cinnamon Toast Crunch one and fell head over heels in love with it. Sadly, these were only weekly specials and were discontinued. So I looked up recipes online for an attempt to recreate the magic of these cupcakes and came upon a recipe that tasted even better. I made these for my boyfriend’s birthday in August and even though he always claims he “isn’t a dessert person” – a phrase that I will simply never understand – he ended up loving them too!

The recipe I used was adapted from here and I followed the recipe very closely. I don’t even mind that they aren’t entirely made from scratch (it requires boxed cake mix), but I’m sure you could improvise if you know a recipe for a standard cake you like to make!

One thing I was surprised about and had never considered was dipping the top of the cupcake (before frosted) into butter then cinnamon sugar. This was seriously a game changer and gives these cupcakes a churro-like taste as well. It can’t be beat!

ACS_0179

Ingredients for 24 Cupcakes

  • 1 box, French Vanilla Cake Mix
  • 1 small box (3.4 oz) vanilla instant pudding mix
  • 1 1/4 cups milk
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Cinnamon Sugar Coating:

  • 4 tablespoons salted butter, melted
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting:

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened
  • 8 oz (1 block) cream cheese, softened
  • 2/3 cup heavy cream
  • 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 6 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 cups Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, for garnish

Baking Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 and line 24 muffin tins.
  2. In the bowl of your mixer, combine cake mix, pudding mix, milk, vegetable oil, sour cream, eggs, and cinnamon. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Scrape the sides of the bowl and increase mixer speed to high. Beat for 2 minutes.
  3. Stir a few times with a big wooden spoon, then fill prepared muffin cups 2/3 of the way full.
  4. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes, until tops spring back when lightly touched in the center. Remove from oven and let cool in the pans for 5 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.
  5. In a small bowl, combine granulated sugar and ground cinnamon. In another bowl, add the 4 tablespoons of melted butter.
  6. Dip the top of a baked cupcake in the melted butter, then dip into the cinnamon sugar mixture. Repeat with remaining cupcakes. Set aside remaining cinnamon sugar for topping.
  7. For the icing, beat butter and cream cheese on medium speed until smooth and combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl. Add vanilla and heavy cream, beating on medium speed until smooth. With the mixer on low speed, slowly and carefully add powdered sugar until just barely combined. Increase mixer speed to high and beat for two minutes.
  8. Generously frost cupcakes. Top with a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar and stick cereal into frosting as you wish.
  9. Keep these cupcakes refrigerated if they are not served immediately.
  10. Enjoy these amazing cereal cupcake creations!

ACS_0180.jpg