Carrot Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

So, I usually start these things off with a little song and dance about what I made and how I love it so much but today I thought I'd get right down to business. Today I made Carrot Cupcakes, I am a huge fan of Fall colors and flavors and since it's pretty obvious that summer in Georgia is over, this is a perfect recipe to start the season with. This recipe makes 24 cupcakes and without further ado.....

Cupcakes:

2          cups all purpose flour

2          tsp baking soda

1          tsp salt

2          tsp ground cinnamon

½         tsp ground nutmeg

1          tsp ground ginger

2          cups sugar

1¼       cups extra light olive oil

4          large eggs

3          cups grated peeled carrots 

Frosting:

2          (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1          stick unsalted butter, room temperature

2          cups confectioners’ sugar

2          tbsp dark brown sugar

¼         cup pure maple syrup

Note: For the grated carrots, I usually buy a bag of shredded carrots and then I run those through my Ninja food processor. I never buy whole carrots, peel them and then run them across a grater...takes way too much time for me personally.

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line 24 cupcake molds with papers.
2. Whisk flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger in medium bowl to blend. 
3. Whisk sugar and oil in large bowl until well blended. Whisk in eggs 1 at a time. 
4. Add flour mixture and stir until blended. Stir in carrots and then divide batter among cupcake molds, filling 3/4 of each.
5. Bake cupcakes for 15 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center of one comes out clean because oven times do vary! Cool in pans for five minutes or so and then transfer to a cooling rack. Make sure that the cupcakes are completely cooled before icing, else the icing will just slide right off.
6. **While the cupcakes are baking**:  In a medium, deep bowl, cream the butter and cream cheese together using an electric mixer until fluffy.
7. Gradually add in the confectioners' sugar and continue mixing.
8. Add in the brown sugar and maple syrup and chill the frosting for 10 to 20 minutes, until it has set up enough to spread smoothly

Lemon Souffle with Blackberries and Raspberries

Hi there! It's that time of the week again where I post another recipe from The Cookbook and this week I decided to adapt the Lemon Souffle with Boysenberries recipe. I pretty much love every single berry on Earth except blueberries and I love making desserts that use berries. Sadly the hubby doesn't really like berries so that's mean more desserts for me!

Souffles can be tricky little beasts because a successful souffle is one that rises in the oven and stays risen as you serve it. I've had my ups and downs with these things but there are two tricks that will lead to awesome souffles most of the time if not all of the time. Trick #1 is to really whip the egg whites well. Don't overwhip them into super stiff and dry peaks but whip them until they form soft peaks and you can tip the bowl over without the egg whites spilling out. Trick #2 when mixing the egg whites in with the custard, gently fold them into each other with a rubber spatula. Do not stir them and do not use a mixer. I must admit....I had to make these twice because the first time, I underwhipped my egg whites and my souffles sunk faster than the Titanic.
   

Before Baking(top) and After Baking(bottom)

6     tsp seedless blackberry preserves

12   frozen blackberries

12   frozen raspberries

2     tbsp finely grated lemon peel

¾    cup sugar, divided

1     tbsp cornstarch

¾    cup whole milk

3     large eggs, separated

2     tbsp butter

4     tbsp fresh lemon juice

       Powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter six 3/4-cup ramekins; coat with sugar. Spoon 1 teaspoon of preserves, 2 frozen blackberries and 2 frozen raspberries into bottom of each ramekin. Place on baking sheet. 
2. Mash lemon peel and 1/2 cup sugar in heavy medium saucepan; whisk in cornstarch, then milk and yolks. Add 2 tablespoons butter. Bring to boil over medium heat, whisking constantly. Boil until thick pudding forms, whisking constantly, about 1 minute. Transfer to large bowl; mix in lemon juice. 
3. Using electric mixer, beat egg whites in medium bowl to soft peaks. Gradually beat in 1/4 cup sugar; beat until stiff but not dry. Fold whites into warm lemon pudding. Spoon mixture atop berries; fill to top. 
4. Bake until puffed, set, and golden around edges, about 14 minutes. Sift powdered sugar on top if desired and serve immediately.

Sooooo delicious....

Note: If you plan on making these for a dinner party or something then you can make these up to 4 hours in advance. Just follow steps 1-3 and then place the ramekins in the fridge until you are ready to bake them.

Enjoy!

-DJ