blue(berry) light special

Summer is that fleeting season where blueberries are sweet, fat, and not considered an aspirational purchase. I buy the antioxidant-packed little balls of happiness in multi-pound containers, so after I saw this recipe on Food Porn Daily, I had to whip up a version of my own.
Blueberry Peach Cornmeal Bread
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 cup sugar
1/8 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup egg whites
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 cup blueberries
1 peach, peeled and chopped

Preheat oven to 350. Mix together butter, sugars, buttermilk, and egg whites. Stir together flour, cornmeal, and baking powder and slowly add to the butter mixture. Slowly pour butter, sugars, buttermilk, and egg whites into dry ingredients. Fold in blueberries and peaches.
Pour batter into a greased loaf pan and bake for about 35 minutes or until knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool, slice, and modestly accept massive praise.
Baking tunes: "Blueberry Hill" by Fats Domino. Obvi. Inspired in part by Richie Cunningham.

super sweet 16 (plus 19)

Here's what I remember about turning 25: aside from the random guy my friend met in the toothpaste aisle at CVS that afternoon showing up to my birthday dinner, I recall freaking out about hitting the arbitrary milestone that is quarterlife. So I drank. I can't imagine what kind of frame of mind I'll be in when I celebrate the tenth anniversary of my 25th, as my friend recently did. In addition to libations, some serious frosting will be required, like these cupcakes that I made for her very civilized, (sort of) grownup birthday dinner at Beast.
Punk Cakes
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 12 muffin pans with paper liners. Cream butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in flour, salt, and baking powder. Spoon batter into muffin tins and bake about 25 minutes.
(recipe adapted from cooks.com)
Buttercream Frosting
1 cup margarine or butter, softened
3 tablespoons milk
4 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
Food coloring (optional)

Cream the butter with an electric mixer and add sugar and milk. Add more confectioners sugar or milk for a thicker or thinner consistency. Add food coloring if desired (I added a few drops of yellow).
The essence of punk cakes lies in the spiky decor. Add enough powdered sugar so that the frosting is on the thick side, then spoon it into a plastic pastry bag and snip about 1/2 inch off the end (no attachments necessary). Squeeze blueberry-sized blobs and pull up to create a point. I got this idea from the delicious genius of Lola Cookies & Treats in Leesburg, Virginia.
Baking tunes: In honor of the birthday girl's new Brooklyn digs, "Electric Feeling" by MGMT. It just makes you happy. Unless there's something wrong with you.

cupcake grande

As a woman, I'm genetically programmed to find miniature versions of everyday objects adorable. Espresso cups, Mini Coopers, airplane bottles of Sutter Home... Howevs, I cannot deny my fascination with comically gigantic versions of common items, like humongous cupcakes.
Still, as delightful as I find the giant cupcake, there's one problem: it's...giant. And isn't the beauty of a cupcake the fact that you don't have to share?

america, f*ck yeah!

In honor of Hillsies' triumphant return from the Chile, I made her the most obnoxiously American dessert I could think of: Cool Whip Flag Cake. In the Midwest, Cool Whip is practically a food group, so this was an excellent opportunity to share my culture. What goes with flag cake? Wine. Lots and lots of Chilean wine.
Instead of the heinous-sounding combination of sliced pound cake and Jell-O with suspended fruit, I whipped up this lemon cake from joyofbaking.com. Then I spread on a thick layer of Cool Whip and topped with sliced strawberries and blueberries. That’s all the instructions I’m giving, because if you can’t figure out flag cake, then you probably can’t be trusted around kitchen appliances.

bake like it's 1986

Maybe it’s a result of growing up amid the fluorescent flash and permed excesses of the ‘80s, but I have a serious obsession with kitschy novelty items. My namesake, who not only is aware of my penchant but encourages it (see purple plastic dangly airplane earrings from Thailand), sent me a link to HeyYoYo. Shockingly, the oh-so-'80s merchandise lives up to the the awesomeness of the name with its quirky cupcake toppers and decorations, which, if I was a few decades younger, would totally double as Barbie home accessories. Let's get our New Wave bake on.
Pop cans on sticks! That's right -- not soda, pop. And pop so vintage it pre-dates Crystal Pepsi.
Sigh. Reminds me of acid washed jeans and sweaty-handed couple skates at Ohio Skate, Toledo's pulsing pinnacle of preadolescent romance.
I totally would have wanted to link these boxes of cereal and assorted carbs to my charm necklace. In fact, I might...

not live fish

In anticipation her trip to Korea (read: many weeks of eating unidentified fish), my friend requested a last dessert of sorts: a batch of simple, choco-tastic brownies. I opted for this arrogant-sounding recipe from my mom. 맛있는 (delicious).

The Very Best Brownies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups sugar
7 tablespoons cocoa
4 eggs
1 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips (or nuts, both optional)

Heat the oven to 350F F. In a medium-size bowl, mix together the butter, sugar, and cocoa.

Add the eggs one at a time, blending after each addition. Add the remaining ingredients and mix them together just until well combined.

Pour the batter into a greased 9-by-13-inch pan.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow them to cool for 15 minutes before cutting.
Baking tunes: Uber American. Think Bryan Adams John Cougar Mellencamp. That's right -- the Cougar stays.

coco-nutty

For my friend Heather's birthday picnic, I decided to give a nod to Ziggy Marley with these coconut cupcakes from Simply Recipes.

Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

Here are the ingredients:

Cupcakes

• 3/4 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/4 cup of sugar
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup of canned coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups of flour
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/2 cup of sweetened desiccated coconut

Frosting

• 1/2 cup of butter , room temperature
• 8 oz of cream cheese , room temperature
• 1/2-1 cup of powdered sugar (or more for consistency)
  
• 1/4 cup of sweetened desiccated coconut
• a few drops of yellow food coloring (optional)

The recipe advised against using light coconut milk. I didn't read that part until coming back from the grocery with light coconut milk. Still good.
I prefer to fold in the coconut by hand instead of using a mixer. Because I'm old school like that. Instead of making 20 small cupcakes, I opted for 12 big guys and six minis. To share.I added a little yellow food coloring to the frosting to make them a little more festive for Heather's 3.1.
After frosting, roll edges in a plate of coconut flakes. For the minis, just sprinkle on top.

Baking tunes: Ziggy's papa ("Sun is Shining") and various Virgin Islands mainstays, i.e. music that reminds you of suntan lotion, beer with lime, and charming inefficiency.