Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Nothing says ”Fall” quite like the flavor of Pumpkin in baked goods.  Now that the national pumpkin shortage is over and Libby brand canned pumpkin is back on the shelves it is time to indulge your taste buds!

Real Simple offered up a Cake Doctor-esque recipe for Pumpkin Cupcakes in their October Issue.  They really are a fabulous cupcake, and if you leave the icing off can do double duty as a richly moist ”muffin.”  My husband and children ate several for breakfast that way before I got around to icing them.   

I can’t resist tweaking a recipe, so here’s my version of Real Simple’s recipe(found in the link above.)  I also stuck with the cream cheese icing I always use instead of the one they provided.

Pumpkin Cupcakes and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Ingredients:

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350° F. (325 for Dark/Non-stick pans) Line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners.*
2.  Prepare the cake mix as directed but with the following change: substitute the can of pumpkin puree for the water called for in the package directions, add pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon.  If mixture is too thick or lumpy add up two tablespoons of water to help smooth it out.
3. Place half of the batter into one of the prepared muffin tins.*  Into remaining batter stir 1/4-1 cup of mini chocolate chips according to taste.  Place chocolate chip batter into remaining tins and bake all cupcakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, roughly 18 to 22 minutes. Let cool.

Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients:

• 1 block (8oz) of cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature
• four cups of powdered sugar, sifted
• two teaspoons of vanilla

1. Cream together butter and cream cheese until smooth and fluffy.  Add powdered sugar in one cup increments, beating on low until fully incorporated after each addition.  Add vanilla, increasing speed to medium and continue to beat the frosting until fluffy.
2. Frost cooled cupcakes and garnish with candy corn, pumpkins and chocolate drizzles.

* This recipe only made twenty cupcakes for me; when dividing the batter plan accordingly.

Sea Change by Aimee Friedman

Sea Change by Aimee Friedman

Off the coast of Georgia, reachable only by ferry, lies a chain of islands.  At the end of the line is misty, mythic Selkie Island.  Purportedly settled by a pirate who married a mermaid, in bold calligraphy an ancient warning warns those docking “Sailors, beware of Selkie Island! Here Be Monsters!

Miranda Merchant is amused by both the legend and the warning when her ferry docks, bringing her for the first time to the island where her mother spent summers as a child.  Come to help her mother sort through a surprise inheritance from a grandmother she never knew, Miranda plans to enjoy a week or two at the beach.  Sorting books and heirlooms and a small amount of manual labor seems a small price to pay for a needed change.

 Mystery seems to surround the island after all, though.  Miranda’s mother changes before her eyes into a woman she barely recognizes, complete with a past that Miranda can hardly comprehend.   Secrets from the previous generations collide with those of the current one.  As the case often is in such situations, Miranda learns a great deal about herself even as she discovers her own family history and struggles to divine the truth behind a very compelling myth.

Sea Change is a rich heady novel, evocative of the the charm found in areas of the Deep South like Savannah.  In addition to the charm of the Spanish Moss and summer mansions, author Aimee Friedman is  unafraid to tackle the class issues.  The divide that exists between the wealthy families who feel that Selkie is “their” island for the summer and the permanent residents who both work and live on the island year round perplexes Miranda even as she feels bound by it.

Friedman makes every word count.  In only 294 pages the novel covers heartbreak and betrayal, fashion and cliques, science and literature (the Rime of the Ancient Mariner crops up several times, and Miranda is a science junky,) the effects of divorce on family, the previously mentioned class divide and more.  All together it packs quite a punch.  It’s true what a sailor warns Miranda as she leaves with her mother “The island stays with you…”

Wings by Aprilynne Pike

Aprilynne Pike’sdebut novel is an eye-catching beauty.  The eye is drawn to it like a butterfly to nectar.  A book this lovely needs very little in the way of blurb to get me to bring it home, and although I’ve been stung in the past by this tendency, Wings did not disappoint.  In fact, the only disappointment connected to this book is the fact that I did not discover it.  In only it’s second week in print Wings hit the #1 spot on the New York Times children’s best seller list.  Since this honor is well deserved I shall commence to getting over the fact that I wasn’t ahead of the curve on this one.

Laurell Sewell spent the formative years of her life living in a very small town on property that has been in her mother’s family for generations.  Homeschooling  never seemed so idyllic!  Now the family has relocated to a larger town where they own and operate a book store.  For the first time Laurell is thrust into a new public high school, an awkward misery that anyone who has ever had to change schools will appreciate.  In fact, feeling like a stranger in the proverbial strange land is a universal emotion that anyone who’s ever been in high school (or college) can relate to.  As if things weren’t awkward enough for poor Laurell a growth between her shoulder blades turns into a wing like blossom, at which point the novel really takes off!

Changelings are part of fairy lore throughout history.  The idea of fairies, or Fae, or Seelie has enchanted audiences for centuries.  From Shakespeare’s Midsummer’s Night Dream to modern offerings such as Frewin Jones YA series The Faerie Path or Laurell K. Hamilton’s very adult Meredith Gentry novels, fairies have been done and done again.  They’ve been portrayed as mischevious pixies in Peter Pan and as lucious vampire bait in Charlaine Harris’s Southern Vampire novels (upon which the television show True Blood is based.)  Considering all of these different variations on the myth, Wings really is “a remarkable debut” in that Pike gives us an entirely new take on fairies!

Without spoiling the reveal as to the origin of Laurell’s Wings, it is safe only to say that the author seamlessly lessons on biology with the action in her novel.  Rarely does magic have a scientific origin; that it is done so well here is thrilling! 

Wings is to slated to be a series of four novels, and the first one has already been optioned for film by Disney.

Rampant by Diana Peterfreund

Do you know what unicorns, teenager girls and Alexander the Great have in common?  No?  Clearly you need to delve in Diana Peterfreund’s marvelous new novel Rampant.

Astrid Llewelyn always thought her mother was more than a little nuts.  Besieged with a childhood of graphic tales about killer unicorns and ancestors responsible for the extinction of the race, Astrid has never been able to see the fanciful creatures as cute and cuddly.   Scepticism about her mother’s quirky research obsession turns to belief in one terrifying moment as Astrid’s potential prom date is gored before her eyes by a so called mythical beast.

Thus begins the adventure in Peterfreund’s Rampant.  A bit Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a bit Roman Holiday and yet very much it’s own unique creation, Rampant leads it’s readers on a journey into another land.  The city of Rome is it’s own character in the novel, along with girls from around the world who gather there to train to do battle against the reemergent Unicorns.  As for Alexander the Great, you’ll just have to read the book to see how he fits in.  You won’t regret it.  Rampant is the best new YA book I’ve read this year.

The Lost Quilter by Jennifer Chiaverini

The Lost Quilter is the 14th entry in the Elm Creek Quilt series writtern by Jennifer Chiaverini.  These novels have also inspired three books of quilting patterns and short stories while the 13th entry in the series (really more of a novella) is flush with recipes appropriate for various seasons of the year.

Like previous historical flashback style novels in the series, The Lost Quilter requires little knowldege of the modern day Elm Creek tales.  It can easily be read as a stand alone novel, but readers left hanging will enjoy the fact that it picks up on a tale first begun in 2002’s The Runaway Quilt (book 4.)   Runaway touched on a Pennsylvania family’s history with the Undergound Railway, sparked by the discovery of an antique heirloom quilt.  The Lost Quilter continues slave Joanna’s story, she who’s life so profoundly intersected with that of the Bergstrom’s in the earlier novel.  Runaway Joanna is captured and returned to the south on the eve of the American Civil War.  Sold away from the only family she knows, she finds herself making a new life in South Carolina and longing for the freedom she’d once been so close to.

Joanna’s tale is bracketed on either end by brief chapters set in present day Elm Creek.  Although it is nice for returning readers to be refreshed as to this story’s place in the history of series matriarch Sylvia’s family tree, and to catch a glimpse of characters who have become beloved friends to some, Joanna’s tale is strong enough to stand on it’s own.

You don’t have to be an avid quilter, or any sort of seamstress to appreaciate the fine stitching of historical fact and artistic fancy in this inspiring tale of a woman’s courage in the face of constant adversity.

Previously reviewed: Circle of Quilters by Jennifer Chiaverini

Strawberry Shortcake Cake

This cake was made for the same birthday party as the Banana Pudding cake in my last post.  I’d been wanting to try Pioneer Woman’s recipe since the first day she posted it and this event was the perfect excuse.   The leftovers for both cakes were sent home with us because the party hosts were starting South Beach the next day.  We took them in to church with us the morning after and shared the wealth.   Last night alone I had four requests for this recipe, which I think is a good sign…

Pioneer Woman’s Strawberry Shortcake Cake

I made a few changes, of course, because I can’t resist.  First up was the cake pan: I didn’t have one deep enough so I split it into two.  This works fine, but you’ll want to go over the top of the cooled cake with a fork and prick it a lot to create holes for the strawberry juice to soak through before you put them on.  I think I also came close to doubling the smashed strawberry mixture since what was called for did not cover both of my cakes.  Also, remember to reserve a few strawberries for garnish.

The other big change I made came because I wanted something a little more whipped creamy than the straight cream cheese icing P-Dub made for her creation.  I  came up with a sort of amalgalm  cream cheese - whipped cream icing:

Ingredients

4 ounces cream cheese

1 stick of butter

 1 box powdered sugar

1 cup of marshmallow cream or fluff

2 cups of heavy whipping cream

2 Tablespoons of sugar

Vanilla

Directions:

In a cold bowl whip the heavy cream, the two tablespoons of sugar and one teaspoon of vanilla until thick and fluffy.  Refrigerate until needed.

Cream together the 4 ounces of cream cheese and one stick of butter, when smooth add a box of powdered sugar and beat till smooth and creamy.  (You can sift the sugar first if you’re feeling ambitious and want it to be super smooth.)  To this basic cream cheese icing add the cup of marshmallow cream and continue beating until combined.  Fold in half of the whipped cream until fully incorporated.  Allow to set in the refrigerator at least five minutes before icing cake.

Assemble cake according to directions.  Heap or pipe an inch of icing onto bottom layer.  Refrigerate or freeze for a few minutes, then top with remaining layer.  Ice top of cake with remaining icing, leaving sides bare.  Refrigerate again until icing is set.  Before serving use remaining whipped cream and reserved strawberries to garnish.  I also put some strawberry preserves in a baggy, microwaved it for maybe fifteen seconds and snipped a very small bit off of the corner to drizzle across the cake for a bit of color.

Keep cake refrigerated before and after serving.  Enjoy!

Banana Pudding Cake

I never thought I would “create” a recipe, but found myself inspired this past Friday evening.  I’d offered to make a cake for my neighbor’s birthday party on Saturday but wasn’t sure if the one I planned on making would be enough for all of the guests.  So I decided to make two cakes.  I had also meant to make banana pudding for my father in law and, in addition to the other ingredients,  had a whole cluster of ripe bananas on the kitchen counter.  The bananas are what caught my eye.  They really begged to be used for something and I was suddenly reminded of a banana cake recipe I’d bookmarked awhile back.  It only took a bit of monkey business before cake and pudding collided with great success!

For the cake I used The Cake Bible’s Banana Cake recipe* .  I baked the layers  in Williams and Sonoma’s fun “Cookie” cake pans which gave them lovely sculpted edges.  I also crushed some vanilla wafers and spread them on top of the batter in the cake pans, but the wafers didn’t seem to be noticeable in the final product, so you might as well skip that step.

The banana pudding is a southern style pudding made with Eagle brand milk and real whipped cream.  It is hands down the best banana pudding I have ever had the pleasure of eating.  It is also thick, more like a mousse than a pudding, which makes it perfect for filling a cake.

Instead of layering things in a bowl as the pudding recipe calls for I spread a little bit of pudding onto the cake and placed  sliced bananas on top of that until the whole layer of cake was covered.  Then I spread  just enough pudding on top of those to act as glue for a layer of vanilla wafers.  Cover the whole cake with cookies ( The wafers look best sticking out a bit from the cake and filling)  then top with more pudding.  Place the second layer of cake over that and spread remaining pudding on top and smooth out.  Pop it into the fridge for a bit to firm things up.  You can then garnish however you want: I went with piped rosettes of whipped cream around the outside.  Each one was topped with half of a vanilla wafer.  A few fresh banana slices were artistically in the center just before I took it next door to the party.  It made a really breathtaking cake and I had the pleasure of hearing someone ask if it came from the Cheesecake Factory!

Amuse Books’ Banana Pudding

Ingredients:

One 14-oz can Eagle brand condensed milk

1 1/2 cups cold water

One  3 1/2 oz package instant vanilla pudding mix

2 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped, extra for topping if desired

bananas

vanilla wafers

 Directions:

In an cold bowl combine two cups of heavy whipping cream, four tablespoons of sugar and two teaspoons of vanilla.  Beat on high until thick and fluffy; store in refrigerator until needed.

Combine milk & water. Add pudding mix and beat until well blended. Chill 5 minutes.

Fold whipped cream into pudding mixture.

Spoon 1 cup pudding mixture into bottom of glass dish. Top with 15 - 18 vanilla wafers, and 1 1/2 sliced bananas. Spoon 1/2 of remaining pudding mixture on top, then 15 - 18 vanilla wafers, and 1 1/2 sliced bananas. Top with remaining pudding. Garnish with a few vanilla wafers if desired. You can add more bananas or wafers if you like.

You know you want a slice

* The Cake Bible website does not allow linkage directly to this recipe, but you can type “banana cake” into their search feature and it will take you directly to it.

A Work In Progress

Welcome to Amuse Books. This is a brand spankin’ new website and work in progress. There may not be much new content until the actual “grand opening” - complete with custom design! - but I welcome you to browse any of the imported reviews from the old blogger site.

Please come back soon.

Amuse Bouche

French: to amuse the mouth; a small bite before the meal begins, served to excite the taste buds.

Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon

This debut novel from Cindy Pon has received a lot of buzz from a surprisingly diverse set of authors. I first heard about the book from Sherwood Smith, author of the Inda high fantasy series and then again from Meg Cabot, best known for The Princess Diaries. These women, whom I admire, both praised Pon for creating a wonderful new fantasy adventure that accurately Eastern myths and fairy tales instead of Western ones.

Silver Phoenix is the tale of Ai Ling a young woman who lives in a small town in the Kingdom of Xia. Her father is a scholar who once advised the Emperor before being exiled in disgrace. Ai Ling’s mother was an orphan. Due to unusual circumstances her parents were able to marry for love in a society where marriages are usually arranged, often at a very young age. Raised in such a household our seventeen year old heroine is leery about entering an arranged marriage. She flees her household when an unscrupulous fellow tries to force her to become his fourth wife while her father is away on business.

It is once Ai Ling’s adventures on the road begin that Pon’s tale becomes more fantastic. Demons, monsters and other mythic creatures out of Chinese lore begin to appear as Ai Ling herself becomes aware that she has a special talent of her own. Allies and traveling companions enter the scene and Ai Ling’s search for her father rapidly escalates into an epic quest to save her realm.

While there are times when the narrative seems a bit disjointed or things too convenient Silver Phoenix remains a fantastic debut novel. Cindy Pon paints a lush environment full of sights, smells, tastes and feelings. The descriptions of the food alone made my mouth water, and I always appreciate it when the characters on epic quests get tired, dirty and hungry. Colors are vividly described in terms of jade, celadon, cinnabar and ivory: terms that are more uncommon in the west and help root the tale even more so in it’s Eastern heritage. I enjoyed this glimpse into another culture and think this book would appeal to fans of anime series such as Inu Yasha as well as to any reader who loves a good coming of age tale in a fantasy setting.