Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes for Two

Posted by: Maggie

Hey guys...we started a Facebook page! It would make our day if you'd go over there and "like" us! Please and thank you :) 

Moving along...

Remember back in August when I made Jessica's brilliant Vanilla Cupcakes for Two?

They were awesome, and I've showed a remarkable amount of restraint with this recipe. I thought that knowing how to make two delicious cupcakes would lead to doing so every day, but fortunately for my bottom I was incorrect.

However...I've had it in the back of my mind since first making the recipe that I wanted to try my hand at turning it into some different flavors. Well, Jeff was tired of listening to me whine about pumpkin shortages, and brought me a can. I immediately decided to come up with a pumpkin version of cupcakes for two, and 3 batches later I have a winner!

The first batch was awful, the second batch was mediocre, and the third batch was like a party in my mouth. This cupcake is moist and tender, with a light pumpkin flavor and a lot of fall spices. Top it with cinnamon buttercream, and shove it in your face hole. You will thank me.

Here's what you'll need:

For the cupcakes:

1 egg white
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons canned pumpkin (not pie filling)
1/4 cup cake flour
1/4 heaping teaspoon baking powder
1/2 heaping teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
pinch of ground cloves
pinch of salt
1 1/2 tablespoons whole milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line your muffin tin with two liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together egg white and sugar until thoroughly combined. Whisk in oil, vanilla, and pumpkin until fully incorporated. In a small bowl, combine cake flour, baking powder, spices, and salt. Gradually stir dry ingredients into wet until just combined. Lastly, stir in milk. The batter will be very liquidy.

Divide the batter between two liners filling slightly more than 3/4 full. You will have a small amount of batter left that you can eat with a spoon, or just throw away, depending on how afraid of salmonella you are. Bake for 15 minutes, or until cake is set and a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs attached. Cool completely before frosting.

For the cinnamon buttercream frosting:

1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted after measuring
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Beat together butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in cinnamon until throughly incorporated into frosting. Makes enough to generously frost two cupcakes.

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Cupcakes heavily adapted from How Sweet Eats, and frosting is by me!

Seasoned Sweet Potato Chips

Posted by: Annie

I have Yam versus Sweet Potato confusion. 

Growing up, I was a very difficult child and hated baked potatoes. As a result, my mom would always make me what I thought was a baked yam. They were orange in color, sweet tasting, and in my opinion far surpassed the baked potatoes that everyone else was eating.

This week, I bought potatoes that were labeled yams and had the following text exchange with Maggie:

...and then I was very concerned. Was I making yam chips? Sweet potato chips? I then went to the most excellent source of information ever - Google. I read this and now believe that I possibly bought sweet potatoes that were mislabeled as yams. Nevertheless, these chips are awesome, and fallish, and make me very excited for the crisp fall weather that has begun.

What you will need:

2 medium-sized sweet potatoes, scrubbed clean and sliced into 1/8" slices
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon paprika

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Add sweet potato slices and oil to a re-sealable bag or large tupperware and shake to coat. In a small dish, combine the seasonings and add to the sweet potatoes. Shake again to evenly coat. Lay potato slices on a foil-lined baking sheet, and bake 12-14 minutes (around 12 minutes mine were getting dark, so keep an eye on the potatoes while cooking!)

Remove the potatoes from the oven and flip. Cook for an additional 10 minutes until crisp. Place potatoes on a wire cooling rack to cool (they crisp up more while cooling.)

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Source: Simple Comfort Food

Sweet Potato Ice Cream

Posted by: Maggie

I know what you may be thinking...sweet potatoes? In ice cream? Blech.

Hear me out.

I cannot find any canned pumpkin in Alexandria, Virginia. Actually, let me rephrase. I cannot find any Libby's canned pumpkin in Alexandria, Virginia. The other brands are watery and worthless when it comes to baking. "Give me Libby's or give me death!" - Patrick Henry. Yep, pretty sure our Founding Fathers are all rolling over in their graves as I type this.

I used my one single can of Libby's pumpkin (purchased last fall) on pumpkin bread and pumpkin oatmeal a couple weeks ago. I didn't know at the time that I would have so much trouble tracking it down this fall. Jeff lives 40 minutes away from me, and was supposed to bring me a can last weekend, since apparently there is no shortage out where he lives.

Welllll, he forgot. I got sad. I turned to my second favorite orange fall food for comfort, the humble sweet potato. I stopped being sad when I remembered bookmarking We Are Not Martha's Sweet Potato Ice Cream last year, back before I had an ice cream maker.

This stuff is so delicious that I barely miss pumpkin. Sure, I'll buy it if my grocery stores ever get their acts together and stock the shelves. I have about 300 pumpkin recipes starred in my Google Reader after all.

Note: If you use the very popular Cuisinart ice cream maker for this, keep an eye on it as it churns. This recipe makes slightly more than 1 quart of ice cream, and mine overflowed a bit!

Here's what you'll need:

2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
5 egg yolks
1 cup sweet potato puree (see recipe for instructions, or buy it pre-made. I used 3 small sweet potatoes and had a bit of leftover puree.)
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

To make the sweet potato puree, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil, stab potatoes several times with a fork, and bake for 60-90 minutes (depending on size of potato), or until fork tender. Let cool completely, then cut in half and scoop out the flesh.

Add the sweet potato flesh and 1 tablespoon of water to a food processor, and process until completely smooth. Measure out 1 cup, and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, heat the cream, milk, and sugar until the sugar has dissolved completely and the mixture is hot.

In a medium-sized heat resistant bowl, lightly whisk egg yolks. Slowly pour half of the cream mixture into the egg yolks, whisking the entire time. Next, pour egg/cream mixture into the remainder of the cream in the saucepan, whisking the entire time. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly for 6-8 minutes, or until mixture has slightly thickened and coats the back of a spoon. Do not let it boil!

Pour the mixture through a mesh strainer into a medium-sized heat resistant bowl. Whisk in the sweet potato puree and spices until thoroughly combined.

Cover, and refrigerate the bowl for at least 12 hours before churning in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. It took about 20 minutes in my Cuisinart. Freeze for several hours before serving. Let it sit for about 10 minutes before scooping for the best texture!

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Source: We Are Not Martha, originally from Sweet Bytes