Happy Belated St. Patrick's Day

So...I know St. Patrick's Day has come and gone, but I wanted to post these cupcakes Izzie and I made to celebrate the Irish in us.  I used a red velvet cupcake recipe from Paula Deen (love, love her).  Normally I would top off the cupcakes with cream cheese frosting but I found this recipe I just had to try.  One of my favorite blogs is thepioneerwoman.com.  Pioneer Woman is Ree Drummond and she is seriously amazing.  I can't even begin to describe all the recipes, stories, photography and crazy fun on her blog.  You just have to check it out for yourself...Anyway...Pioneer Woman also has this site tastykitchen.com and that is where I was introduced to this most unusual frosting.  I just had to try it...

Izzie showing off her sassy side in her new apron

She can pose while mixing.  That's my little multi-tasker.

Yes, we did use a whole bottle of green food coloring. 

Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and
mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Lovely and Green

What do you think Izzy?

"It's Green!  I love it"

Pop them in the oven and let them do their magic.


20 minutes later...

The frosting was delicious.  It was sweet and light.  The flavors were perfect.
I will definitely be making this frosting again to top a rich chocolate cake.

 YUM!

Here's the are the recipes:  

Red Velvet Cupcakes--adapted from Paula Deen

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 heaping tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons red food coloring (for green cupcakes use 1 bottle green food coloring)
• 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a hand held electric mixer.  Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through.  Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness.  Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

That's The Best Frosting I've Ever Had--missydew at tasty kitchen 

Ingredients

• 1 cup Milk
• 5 Tablespoons Flour
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 cup Butter
• 1 cup Granulated Sugar (not Powdered Sugar!)

Bake your favorite chocolate cake and let it cool.

In a small saucepan,  whisk flour into milk and heat,  stirring constantly,  until it thickens. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature.  (If I’m in a hurry, I place the saucepan over ice in the sink for about 10 minutes or so until the mixture cools.)  Stir in vanilla.

While the mixture is cooling, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Then add the cooled milk/flour/vanilla mixture and beat until it all combines and resembles whipped cream.

Grab a spoon and taste this wonderful goodness.  If there is any left after your taste test, spread it on a cooled chocolate cake. Cut yourself a piece and put it on a pretty plate.  Grab a fork and prepare to experience the most divine pairing you can imagine.  This frosting on chocolate cake is to die for.  Sure, the recipe sounds strange — it has flour in it — but it’s sublime.  Try it, you’ll see.  You’ll love it so much you won’t go back.