I hope you all enjoy this wonderful cupcake recipe and come visit me over at Mrs. Mama.
Now for the wonderful and tasty cupcakes!
For the Cupcake:
1 cup (2 sticks) sweet butter, softened
1 cup superfine sugar
2 cups self-rising flour
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
For the Topping:
1 cup heavy cream
4 tbsp. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 cups sliced strawberries
4 tbsp. strawberry jello-o
1 tbsp. water
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350. Place 18 paper baking cups in muffin pans. Combine all the cupcake ingredients in a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and pale, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Spoon the batter into the cups. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove pans from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Then remove the cupcakes and cool on a rack. For the topping, whisk the cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla in a small bowl until soft peaks form. Spoon onto the cupcakes and arrange the strawberries on top. In a small saucepan heat the jell-o and water until melted. Brush the mixture on top of the strawberries. Chill until ready to serve.
I’m Ashley from Mrs. Mama and I’m here with you today to share an amazing recipe from my 500 Cupcakes book. I live in southeast Arkansas (way down in Monticello), have a wonderful husband who is an EMT and going to school to become a paramedic, and we have a 5 month old named Jack. My days are spent working as an elementary librarian and in my free time I blog. Mrs. Mama is about my life as I work to become the best wife and mother I can be.
This is the kind of soup that feeds your eyes before it fills your stomach, usually hand crafted over stovetops by some of the best Vietnamese home cooks, over many years handed down and around, scooped and shared for all to have a bowl to sip and slurp. The Crab and Asparagus soup is a specialty soup that has been a constant, just a little off the center – piece of our greater Vietnamese family gatherings, especially during milestones and celebrations such as engagements, newborn introductions, and over holidays.
This soup came from the French, who occupied Vietnam for many years. You many not know that many other Vietnamese dishes have a French history or influence as well. But the ingredients here are probably used universally in many different cuisines. Lately, the more I explore food of other cultures, the more I find that many of the ingredients are often the same.
So I wanted to share this crab, corn, and asparagus soup that I love. I can eat soup all year round. Even today as the temperature reached the mid – eighties, my husband stared at me in awe as he entered our home to see me under a blanket in my velour tracksuit. Eating soup.
This soup has both corn and asparagus because I spared no expense. In Vietnamese Home Cooking, a book by a James Beard Foundation award winner, Charles Phan (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/vietnamese-home-cooking-charles-phan/1108307676) said that typically the soup is made with whatever is in season. If it’s asparagus in season, you use asparagus. If it’s corn, then corn. I love Arkansas, and I have much gratitude for having been placed here when our family immigrated from Vietnam, because here we can have both corn and asparagus!
So if you love spring vegetables, if you love soup, and if you love to try new things, here is a simple Vietnamese soup to try in your home. It doesn’t even have to be a special occasion! You can serve the crab and asparagus soup up in a large bowl as a meal on its own, or in smaller bowls as a precursor to your meal. Be sure to top it with plenty of fresh chopped green onions and cilantro.
I was really happy to find fresh corn in the husk at Kroger. It’s very economical, and just 2 cobs yielded plenty of kernels for the soup. It’s a little addictive, too. Once you get on a roll, it’s hard to stop. I really wanted more corn to shuck! Do it yourself, and let me know if you feel the same, will you??
Ingredients:
4 Cups of seafood stock, or chicken stock
2 Fresh cobs of corn
8 oz. Lump crab meat
1 Bunch of asparagus, trimmed and chopped
Chopped green onions and cilantro for garnish
1 tsp. Cornstarch
2 tbsp. Water
1 Egg, beaten
Directions:
Shuck the corn and slice the kernels off with a knife, reserving the cobs.
Heat the seafood stock in a small Dutch oven until boiling. Add the cobs and reduce heat to a low simmer, covered for 20 minutes.
Add the asparagus and corn and continue to simmer about 5 more minutes.
Add the crabmeat.
Combine the cornstarch and water, then add the mixture to the Dutch oven.
Stir the beaten egg into the soup while stirring with a spoon, then allow the soup to set and thicken slightly before serving.
Thanh Rasico is the author of www.redkitchenrecipes.com, where she shares recipes ranging from the classsics to the classics with a twist, originating anywhere from Vietnam to Arkansas and beyond. She is a Southern girl who speaks Le Creuset, as well as Vietnamese with a Southern accent!
I am a die-hard Hemingway fan, so you’ll just have to endure another stretch title for this post. The thought, though, is for us to think for a moment in the opposite direction of most Foodie Friday posts: about scarcity, depravation and the absence of food. Sounds awful, doesn’t it?!
Let’s ease our way into the conversation with just the idea of giving up something you enjoy from time to time: For many, this is the season of Lent. It is observed by different religions in different manners, but I was raised to choose a well-liked item or habit and refrain from it between Ash Wednesday and Easter. Many religious denominations observe this forty day period of “fasting, repentance, moderation and spiritual discipline set aside for reflection.” Whether you are religious or not, I’ve found that this annual period of abstaining gives me better health, focus, clarity and a feeling of spring cleaning my life, in a way.
Likewise, many cultures and religious denominations around the world occasionally participate in a fast or period of abstinence for health, holiday, spiritual or other reasons. It has become more and more commonplace for diets or new year’s resolutions to kick off with a cleanse (our friend Fawn recently blogged about her motivation and experience doing a three day cleanse).
My good friend Srividya who was born in India and now lives in northwest Arkansas recently shared with me the Hindu approach to avoidance of eggs, garlic and other foods. I’m intrigued by the world’s vastly differing approach to food and learning about new ways to season or prepare meals.
That’s Ainsley discovering her affinity for Indian food at Ms. Srividya’s house.
I’ll share the details of the meal over on The Food Adventuress!
If in love absence makes the heart go fonder, the same can be said of food. In the past, my forty days have included abstaining from chocolate, bread (definitely my heart grows fonder on both those counts) and soda (in which case I remember why it is not a healthy habit in general).
Whether you have given up certain types of food in the past for spiritual, health, cultural or other reasons, would you tell us about your experience? What did you discover, what was your approach or what permanent tweaks have you made? What does a healthy relationship with food look like for you?
In having this discussion, it’s also important that we remind ourselves of our great fortune in having such a conversation. The ability to abstain from a food usually indicates its abundance and our own fortune. Food scarcity, food insecurity and utter depravation are also normal throughout the world.
There are countless noble philanthropic organizations throughout our state and nation, but as Arkansas Women Bloggers it’s important to note that Arkansas is home to two phenomenal organizations that combat hunger: Heifer International and the Arkansas Rice Depot. Dozens of charitable organizations across the state such as the Samaritan Center work to ensure that children who may not have access to three meals a day on weekends or school holidays receive support.
As you consider your own healthy choices, less-than-healthy past choices and developing a life that includes a healthy relationship with food, consider your good fortune in having rather than having not.
Tell us all about your thoughts on this subject in the comments below, please!
A great thing about keeping chickens is all the fresh eggs. A challenging thing about keeping chickens is all the fresh eggs. See, day after day, new eggs keep showing up. Whether you need them to or not. And if you are not proactive, they will take over your refrigerator. That is when the yoke hits the pan so to speak, and you have to decide: What are we going to do with all these eggs?
One of the ways our family gets out of the house in a timely fashion in the mornings is through a balanced division of labor: the kids feed the animals and the adults feed the kids. This means that during the work week Sweet Man makes the school lunches and I make the breakfasts. It seemed a natural progression then that I should be the one to find a way to use the majority of our eggs. However there is a slight glitch: I don’t move so fast before my second cup of coffee, which I don’t have until I get to my desk at work, so whipping up a hot breakfast every morning, over the stovetop, just isn’t going to happen, no matter how much earlier I back up my alarm. But still, there are all these eggs. So I rummaged around Pinterest, did some thinking and came up with a few easy egg-centric recipes that I can prepare ahead of time, or in the mornings-but quickly and while I am still half asleep.
One of our favorites are these Easy French-Toast Cups. I think the boys like them primarily because they can add syrup or honey to them and who doesn’t like that? I like them because I can make a couple of batches on Sunday afternoon and we can reheat them easily for breakfast several times during the week. If I do get up early enough to throw these together, I can pop them in the oven and then myself in the shower at the same time, knowing that by the time I am clean, they will be done!
Ingredient’s (makes 12 regular muffin sized cups. My boys eat 2-3 each so if I want this to last more than 2 days I will make a double batch.)
¼ Cup Milk
2 pc of bread
2 tsp Vanilla
2 tsp Cinnamon
5 Eggs
1/2 tsp Salt
Non-Stick Spray
Pre-cooked sausage or bacon crumbles
(You might not think of sausage or bacon being a part of French Toast, but because my boys are always dipping their breakfast meats into the syrup anyway, I went ahead and threw some in for extra fortification and flavor.)
Directions
Mix together the eggs, milk, vanilla, salt and cinnamon
Whisk briskly with fork or whisk and then set aside.
Spray muffin tin with non-stick spray ( I use olive oil) and fill each with three to four pieces of torn bread- almost any sort will do. I use sandwich bread most days.
Next, cover the bread with the egg mixture, not quite filling up each cup. Finally, drop a few crumbles of sausage or bacon on top of each.
Bake in a 350 degree oven until the eggs pouf up and the cups no longer jiggle like Jello. In my oven this is about 10 minutes, or as long as it takes me to get in and out of the shower.
Serve hot (or warmed up!) with butter and your favorite syrup or honey.
Now it’s your turn. Do you have an easy egg-centric breakfast recipe I can add to my repertoire
Jerusalem Jackson Greer is a crafter, writer, former pastor, blogger, nest-fluffer, speaker and farm-gal wannabe. She lives with her husband and two sons in a 1940s cottage in Central Arkansas with an ever-changing rotation of pets, including a hen house full of heritage chickens and an English Sheep Dog mutt. As a family, they are attempting to live a slower
version of modern life. She blogs about all of this and more at jerusalem.greer.com
International Women’s Day was first celebrated on March 19, 1911 at a time when women were pressing for their right to work, vote, be trained, hold public office and end discrimination. It wasn’t until 1975, during International Women’s Year, that the United Nations began celebrating International Women’s Day on 8 March. This year’s theme commemorates the fight to end violence against women.
The article above includes an excellent infographic on violence against women. Of course, International Women’s Day is also about celebrating, lifting one another up and cheering the accomplishments made by women everywhere. A fun article published in the Perth, Australia news celebrates women from 10 – 111 and brings a little more “international” to our own review of the day.
Source: TheGraphicsFairy.blogspot.com
So what on earth does that have to do with Foodie Friday? (I really like to stretch the themes, don’t I?!)
Simple: it’s cause for celebration, which always involves good food! Today, we challenge you to take a can of preserves (homemade or straight from the shelf) to a female neighbor, invite a young colleague out to lunch, offer a nibble of dark chocolate to the woman you encounter every day who drives you absolutely batty or simply extend the hand of kindness (with or without food in it) to a woman in your life.
Source: TheGraphicsFairy.blogspot.com
Here in Arkansas, we are fortunate to have the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas working every day to elevate woman with the belief that an educated woman can lift an entire family out of poverty. Executive director Lynnette Watts once told me that she believes “as women, we should be lifting one another up rather than feeling threatened when another woman succeeds.” Similarly, I think women can be singularly responsible, if they so choose, for the happiness of their household, neighborhood and community. It’s a lofty aspiration, but I’m up for the challenge. Are you?
We’d love to hear how you will reach out to another woman today with a Foodie Friday spin. After all, it’s the ticket to everyone’s heart, right?
Today is George Washington’s birthday. Last week, we shared a little about what on earth Presidents’ Day has to offer a foodie and how it was established to celebrate the birthdays of Washington and Lincoln.
“Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.” ~ Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, 19th century gastronomer
I also loved the next line on the food timeline website: Indeed, there is no better measure of personal taste than the food one eats.
Of course, if this is the case, then I am a giant pile of melty French cheese, bread, excessive hummus (because it’s so “healthy,”) and steaming plates of pasta. However, in my defense, I’m also made from real fruits and vegetables carefully chopped by hand and meals predominantly cooked at home in my cozy kitchen. My kids are made of lunches they pack themselves, and only small portions of each member of our family are made up of carefully-sneaked chocolate.
Vintage 1900s gorgonzola cheese image via TheGraphicsFairy.blogspot.com
So, as we follow up the foodie fun on Presidents Washington and Lincoln, here are some more fun food tidbits.
Please note that all the information below is gleaned and summarized from the interesting research of Lynne Olver and copyrighted by the aforementioned Food Timeline website, which I highly recommend you check out… more on that below!)
Vintage cherries from TheGraphicsFairy.blogspot.com
George Washington
Associated with cherries.
Loved a wide variety of fruits, nut and fish.
Preferred simple meals over fancy ones.
Lived in a home (Mount Vernon) that was completely self-sufficient with extensive farms, orchards, meat preservation facilities and animals.
“Ate heartily, but was not particular in his diet, with the exception of fish, of which he was excessively fond. He partook sparingly of dessert and… drank from four to five glasses of Madeira wine.”
Often enjoyed a relaxed breakfast prepared by Martha Washington of tea, coffee, small plates of sliced tongues and dry toast, bread and butter.
Family recipes were recorded in Martha’s Booke of Cookery (reprinted by Columbia University Press).
More cherries from TheGraphicsFairy.blogspot.com
Abraham Lincoln
Was a hearty eater who never lost his taste for things that a growing farmer’s boy would like.
Had a particular fondness for apples, hot coffee and bacon.
Was a gentleman at the table and was uncritical: “He ate what was before him, making no complaint.”
Grew up on the frontier, where he ate very plain food such as corn dodgers (cakes made of coarse cornmeal), wild game, cornbread, eggs, milk and so forth.
Was partial to honey, a great delicacy for him at the time.
Breakfast might be a single egg, and lunch might be a biscuit and some fruit or grapes.
Was often so preoccupied he gave little thought to food, eating irregularly and in small portions and preferring to nibble on fruit.
Often frustrated Mary by dining in a spartan fashion and left food all but untouched on his plate.
Told a story of his mother getting sorghum and ginger to make gingerbread, which he took to eat under a hickory tree and shared with a poor neighbor boy, observing that he seemed to like gingerbread. The boy replied “Abe, I don’t s’pose anybody on earth likes gingerbread better’n I do–and gets less’n I do.”
My recommendation would be that you whip up some gingerbread (here’s another blogger’s recount of the story with a recipe), spread some melty butter on it and find some time this weekend to settle in and read some more of the interesting stories of food and presidents on the Food Timeline website.
Do your eating habits mirror those of a particular president? Are there any recipes you plan to sample?
Where else? TheGraphicsFairy.blogspot.com
Note: The vast majority of the information in this post comes from the Food Timeline website and the research of Lynne Olver, copyright 1999. Our intent in sharing snippets of it is to refer you to the full body of work, not to take credit for it in any way or present it as original. You might be interested to learn that “FoodTimeline library owns 2000+ books, hundreds of 20th century USA food company brochures, & dozens of vintage magazines (Good Housekeeping, American Cookery, Ladies Home Journal) and ready access to historic magazines and newspapers.” They encourage you to inquire into their culinary research and ask questions. Happy reading, food bloggers!~ Beth
Does that seem like an odd topic for Foodie Friday? Well, stick with me! We’re going to chat about food and presidents on TWO Foodie Friday.
Image from Facebook.com/snapshotsofthepast via Wikipedia
Here’s the layman’s version of what you need to know to participate: Abraham Lincoln’s birthday was February 12, and George Washington’s Birthday was February 22. In 1968, Congress passed the Monday Holidays Act (of which you can most certainly find in-depth details via The Google), and the two have been somewhat jointly observed since on the third Monday in February. This tidbit (via infoplease.com) is actually rather intriguing:
The third Monday in February can only occur between February 15 and February 21, meaning that the holiday is always after Lincoln’s birthday and before Washington’s birthday, without ever coinciding with either. Huh! The things you learn from Arkansas Women Bloggers and our esteemed sources…
If it seems like celebrating either of these days with food would be a drag and a stretch for even the most creative food aficionado, let me paint you a picture:
About a decade ago, I was asked to be a speaker for a local Alpha Delta Kappa group – an international honorary organization of women educators. The gathering was to be held at the home of the Reagan sisters: Agnes, Betty Lynn and Mary Sue. These women and their family have an intriguing history of their own, captured in part by the University of Arkansas Libraries Special Collections. At the time, what I knew of them was that two or more of the sisters lived in an old home in historic downtown Rogers, approximately five blocks from the c. 1905 home my husband and I had just bravely (naively) purchased. I was a little cranky about leaving my still newish husband, our one year old daughter and that big new home for an evening commitment.
When I arrived, I was relieved I was dressed professionally, on time and had been raised to know how to conduct myself. Each woman in attendance was given a small tray to hold our tea and a saucer for the small treats served alongside. On each tray was a miniscule gold frame barely large enough to hold a postage stamp bearing a stamp – I believe mine was Lincoln. There were, of course, doilies and beautiful linens as well.
The Reagan Sisters in 1991 (photo via the Rogers Historical Museum)
These elderly women brought a silver tea service out and proceeded to pour each of us hot tea, offering one lump or two. Here was a predicament: I was also raised to offer my seat and my assistance along with my respect to someone of their generation, but I knew better than to so much as protest as they poured and served with obvious delight.
I shared the topic I’d been asked to address, and lost all track of time as I enjoyed their home and the items they prepared for us. I was aware enough to understand that I would not have many more moments with women like the Reagan sisters. As I left, I noticed the rickety, already-antique looking motorized chair for ascending the stairs, and I noticed that the house was immaculate. Honestly, I noticed many other things that have affected my kitchen, food service and general life outlook.
And so, while Presidents’ Day may pass unnoticed by many who don’t have a work or school holiday and certainly can’t think of a reason to celebrate, it stands out to me as a testament of excellent hostessing, attention to detail, good food and beverages but even better service and company. It sings of selflessness and charity for me.
Won’t you tell us a little bit about attention to detail you’ve paid or been paid, or a time when the tiniest things said much for you in the company of others?
We’d like to issue a little advance challenge to all of you, foodie or not: give staying in for Valentine’s Day some consideration!
So often, we all sign on to the idea that we have to compete for a babysitter or a parking space, get dolled up or skulk around in our PJs or otherwise fall into some acceptable behavior surrounding the supposed “feast of St. Valentine.”
Whether you’re an enthusiastic sap or more prone to grumbling not so quietly about Valentine’s Day being a scheme of the greeting card companies, let’s agree on one thing: everybody loves a feast!
So plan now to gather up the one or ones you love – whether a significant other, kiddos, parents, siblings, friends, neighbors or random strangers – and focus on pouring your love on them.
Decide now to be bold, and plan a simple but decadent feast of your own. Here are a few ideas:
1. Plan hors d’oeuvres, snacky dinner, appetizers or whatever you’d like to call it – it will be a hit for two, for a crowd and certainly for your smallest valentines. Suggestions: summer sausage, prosciutto, salami, sliced ham and turkey; cheeses like cheddar, brie and edam; an array of crackers, croissants or French bread; sliced pears, apples, mangos, kiwi and grapes; vegetables such as tomatoes (try Zimas or Kumatos from Sam’s Club) or avocados; a relish tray including various pickles and olives etc. Add some spreads – fig preserves are great with breads and cheeses.
You get the picture – be creative! Grab a mismatched batch of plates, platters and/or trays and some saucers or appetizer plates. Arrange your delicious spread, and set it up somewhere besides the dining room table – be creative! This sort of meal begs for chit chat between bites. Don’t do all the work – arrange the cheeses and fruits/veggies on cutting boards and add a knife. Everyone can slice as much as they’d like and the rest can be put back for another round. This has become the most popular and in-demand meal at our house!
2. Worry more about presentation than content. Shocking, isn’t it? If you’re preparing a meal for two or a smaller group, go to an antique store and find some beautiful but mismatched items such as china plates, saucers and tea cups, silverware, linens and stemware. Then unabashedly pick up a quiche, salad or prepared meal from your favorite market, butcher, specialty grocer or even someplace like Atlanta Bread Company or Panera where you can find salads, fresh breads and other goodies. Arrange a beautiful spread, and let your guests take their special, personal place setting home as a memento. You’ll still spend less than you would for reservations, sitters, parking and everything else to hit the popular spot where everyone else in town will be to enjoy a meal that will be quickly forgotten.
3. Get take-out, in. Playing on the idea above, why not call your order in at the restaurant you don’t want to miss? If you have the interest and proximity and the restaurant is obliging, it can be far more fun to grab good food to go. From local sensations to more mainstream spots such as P.F. Chang’s, Mimi’s and hibachi grills, most are more than happy to let you take your food to go. We’ve done this while traveling and made a big fuss out of picking up a great bottle of wine or champagne, grabbing the food to go, putting on PJs, dimming the lights and enjoying the “atmosphere” of the “great place we discovered.”
The moral of the story – whether you grab one of the ideas above, substitute your own or go with the popular choice of going out, is to have a little fun and be a little creative. Try something different, and let us know if you have a little more fun, a little less stress and a few more memories.
We’d love to hear how you celebrate or shun the feast of St. Valentine!
Originally, I intended to offer up some really deep thoughts on the symbolism of The Twelve Days of Christmas. I could do that. Yes, I could. But I changed my mind.
Sandy Hook Elementary happened. The Twelve Days of Christmas just didn’t seem all that important.
Then I wrote this long epistle on school safety and why teachers should NOT, in my very strong opinion, be permitted to carry concealed weapons in the classroom. But it was too soon and too sad. I changed my mind. Again.
I took a walk down to the pond just to clear my head and these fellows showed up. My smile returned, and I knew that I just had to tell you their story.
They are a strange pair. They are what they shouldn’t be. They are fast friends.Two Musketeers. Buddies. Mallard drakes who are totally loyal and bonded to one another.
Sometime last September these two appeared on the pond behind our house. They were there among a dozen or so others – mallards, wood ducks, gadwalls, not sure but a bunch nonetheless. We were excited to see them even though we knew that their stay was only temporary. They would be moving on to feeding grounds in other places. Their brief stay was a gift that we would enjoy while it lasted.
One by one the hens and drakes left with the Canada or snow geese migrating on to the rice fields beyond our pond. Except for these two. They stayed. They shouldn’t have, but they did.
I decided to take a chance with some cracked corn. To my total astonishment, they ate from my hand. These wild creatures took a chance on me. They gave me a precious gift and admitted me into their fellowship.
As the days and weeks passed, I continued to feed them intermittently. We were so often away from home. They didn’t give up on me though. It was if they knew I would return. They expected me to return. But they were not dependent upon me.Only each other.
And still they stayed.
For some time we thought that maybe they couldn’t fly. Or, at least, we thought that the larger one couldn’t. It was obvious that he had been injured. One wing just isn’t right. His right chest wall just doesn’t seem full. Yet, he is the dominant one. The leader. The smaller one fell in line and followed without hesitation.
By now they had names. Frick and Frack. The larger one we called Frack because he was fractured. Handicapped. Frick is his unlikely companion. He’s the healthy one who could easily abandon his sidekick. But he doesn’t.
But they can fly. We’ve seen them. Why, then, are they staying? These two mallard drakes which, by all reason, should not be paired the way they are and should have been long gone.
I think sometimes in life we are given really valuable gifts in small measures. We don’t always recognize or appreciate them at the time they are given.
These two wild creatures have reminded me of the value of loyalty and friendship. And even love.
Of course, I can’t say that they love one another. But I choose to believe that they do.
I also choose to think that I can become the kind of friend that these two odd fellows have shown me that I need to be. A friend who knows appearances aren’t a measure of a person’s value. A friend who can be trusted to be there whatever the circumstances might be. A friend who will lead. And yet, a friend who can follow. A friend who knows that loyalty is golden.
Some might say that I have tamed my duck friends. I think not. I think it is I who has been tamed.
Because you are my friends and because this is one awesome lemon cake, I’ll share.
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, plus 8 Tablespoons melted
1/2 cup whole blanched almonds
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon fine salt
1 1/3 cups plus 2 Tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk at room temperature
2 Tablespoons lemon extract
zest and juice of 2 Meyer lemons
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 8 1/2” x 4 1/2 “ x 2 3/4” loaf pan, a Bundt or tube pan with 1 Tablespoon of butter. Lightly flour (I always use Wondra.). Tap out excess. Set aside.
Grind the almonds in a food processor until very fire; set aside. Do not overgrind or you will end up with almond butter.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
Put the remaining butter in a large mixing bowl; add 1 cup of the sugar. Mix on low speed until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating just long enough to incorporate. Add the flour mixture and milk in alternating batches; mix well scraping sides as you do.
Add the lemon extract. Fold in the ground almonds and lemon zest.
Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 60-65 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool in the pan on a cooling rack.
Combine the remaining sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Do not boil.
Brush the glaze over the hot cake. The excess will be absorbed as the cake cools. Once the cake has absorbed all of the lemon mixture, turn it out onto a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
Once it is completely cool, wrap in plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 24 hours before serving.
If you don’t have Meyer lemons readily available, use regular lemons. I also add an extra 2 Tablespoons of regular lemon juice to the batter because we like ours with more tartness.
Maple syrup and pecans – a classic combination, right? Maple Pecan Cupcakes are intensely flavored and fittingly festive for holiday entertaining. And the best part – the few basic ingredients needed to create these heavenly cupcakes are likely already in your pantry.
Don’t let the three-part recipe dissuade you. Really, this is simple. But read the entire recipe before you start, and dole out the ingredients in little bowls like the Barefoot Contessa. It really is more fun and efficient. You don’t want to get to the sticky caramel part and realize you have no parchment paper….
Cupcake
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
¼ cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup pure maple syrup, dark
2 eggs, room temperature
1 cup self-rising flour
½ cup roughly chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350F. Beat the butter and brown sugar together until creamy. Add maple syrup and continue beating. Beat in eggs one at a time. Scrape down the sides of your bowl if needed. Fold in flour and nuts. Easy. Especially with a Kitchenaid.
Spoon into cupcake liners. I use an ice cream scoop. No mess.
Bake in the preheated oven for 17 minutes until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center cupcake is clean. Cool on a wire rack.
Frosting
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup, dark
1 ¼ cups confectioners’ sugar
Beat the butter, maple syrup and confectioners’ sugar until pale and fluffy. (Note the adorable measuring spoon… a 50th birthday gift from one of my BFFs.)
Ice the cupcakes only after they have completely cooled… This frosting is amazing on spice cake and chocolate cupcakes. Don’t forget to lick the spatula.
Decoration
½ cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water
12 pecan halves
To make the caramelized pecans, gently heat the granulated sugar in a saucepan with water. Stir, stir, stir until the sugar melts. Gradually increase heat and continuing stirring until the mixture turns a pale brown color. About 5 minutes. Spread the pecan halves on a sheet of parchment paper and spoon a bit of the caramel over each nut to individually cover. Let cool. Top each cupcake with a caramelized pecan half.
Makes 12. But they won’t last long…
A note about butter and flour…
Make sure your butter is room temperature (the texture and feel of Crisco – soft but not too soft). This is important because room temperature butter has structure. When the recipe calls for ‘creaming’ the butter, the sugar crystals are actually cutting up the butter and making tiny holes that help incorporate the other ingredients. The holes also make for a better texture (fluffy, light, flaky) when baking.
Spoon the flour into your measuring cup. If you scoop it straight from the bag with your measuring cup, it will pack down and you will end up with way more than needed. (If a recipe calls for 3 cups and you scoop it, you may end up with 4 cups in your dish, which will totally affect the outcome.)
(Recipe adapted from Maple and Pecan Cupcakes, Cupcake Heaven, Susannah Blake)
Talya was raised on a cotton farm in Northeast Arkansas. She enjoys writing, gardening, yoga, reading and cooking. Follow her humorous and heartfelt stories at Grace Grits & Gardening and on Facebook. A blogger for the Lakewood-East Dallas Advocate, she is working on her first book and a collection of short stories.
Jerusalem Jackson Greer is a crafter, writer, former pastor, 
