5 Tips to Baking the Perfect Cupcakes

By Dan A Ray  

Photo: 1.bp.blogspot.com

With National cupcake week closing in on us, what better ay to celebrate than with a gorgeous baking experience in your own home? With that in mind here are my top 5 tips for baking the worlds most delicious cupcakes.
1) Choose a good recipe
Use either the internet or your selection of cupcake books (which all home bakers should have), my favourite book is from Magnolia Bakery in New York. Search for a recipe that jumps out at you, you will usually find at least 1 that really tickles your fancy.
The basic recipe for making 12 cupcakes is:
125g butter
125g caster sugar
125g self-raising flour
pinch of salt
2 eggs
2 tablespoons of milk
2) Perfect the mixture
A decent mixer can take a lot of the hassle out of creaming or mixing your cake mixture, it can be a great investment if you are a regular baker. You can also use it for any large batches that you need to make (I do this to fulfil large orders).
When food processors and kitchen machines were tested a well known comparison magazine, each machine was tested to see how well it mixed batter, including variables such as speed, how evenly it was mixed, the volume in which the cake rose during baking.
3) Use a good cooker
One of the most overlooked factors of making a great cupcake is the oven in which it is baked. You'll get the best results in a decent oven in which the temperature is distributed evenly. Otherwise some of your batch may be burned while others are left gooey and uncooked (believe me, I learned this from experience).
Choosing a good oven is essential, to test your oven you can bake several strips of shortbread scattered around your oven to test heat distribution along with a large sponge cake to test how well a cake will rise (in terms of how even it rises and browns). You will know if you have a great oven if your cake is perfectly shaped and browned nicely.
4) Decorations
A huge factor in how good your cupcakes are is the decorations, a good decoration can change the whole shape and perspective of your cakes. Try to make them look pretty but looks are completely secondary to taste. There is nothing more disheartening than seeing people eating your cakes and scraping off your icing.
5) Cupcake makers
You can get a great cupcake maker (similar to a waffle maker) your general cupcake make will make a dozen cupcakes. They are simple to use, most do not even have an on button, simply plug them in and pour in your mixture, then the machine will bake them (almost to perfection). They will take around 10 minutes to bake your cakes and the majority of people wont even notice that they are not home baked.
I have tried out several machines and they basically all do the same job. These are for the lazy cupcake maker and on the record I do not endorse them (off the record, they can be amazing).

And finally if you want more information about cupcakes Leeds you can get more quality info at or website Cupcakes Leeds.
Dan Ray

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Easy Cheese Un-Burger Recipe

 By Jessica Gerald 

Photo: squidoo.com

Here is a twist on the traditional cheeseburger. I don't know why, but making meat patties for hamburgers or cheeseburgers is a task I just don't like to do. So I have devised a simpler way to make them that tastes just as good.
Basically what I do is to take the amount of ground beef or turkey that I would use to make burgers and brown it, as if I was going to make sloppy Joes. Here is the recipe.
Ingredients
2 pounds of ground beef or turkey
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
Optional ingredients are barbecue sauce or ketchup, mustard, pepper
Water
Directions
I have found that one envelope of dry soup mix for every two pounds of ground meat is a pretty good ratio. The soup mix is fairly salty, so I usually don't add any extra salt.
Brown the ground meat in a skillet over medium to medium-low heat, stirring and mixing frequently. When meat is completely browned and cooked through, sprinkle the soup mix over it and stir in well. Add just enough water to moisten the soup mix and keep the meat from burning or getting too dry. You don't want it to be watery or runny like a sloppy Joe would be.
Turn the heat to low and simmer for five to ten minutes, stirring occasionally.
What I like to do is add just a little bit of barbecue sauce to the meat mixture as it simmers on low. You may want to add ketchup instead, a little drop of mustard and some pepper. Or you may just prefer to have the ground meat and the soup mix without any extras.
I let it simmer uncovered until most of the liquid is cooked out and it is nicely browned, being careful not to let it cook dry or get burned.
Serve on hamburger buns with a slice of cheese on top. Add your favorite extras, such as sliced tomatoes, pickles, or onions.
Another variation is to sprinkle shredded cheese on top of the meat in the skillet at the end of the cooking. Let it melt into the top of the meat and then serve onto the buns.
This recipe is also good if you are having a get-together with friends, or simply need to keep dinner warm for a while. Transfer it to the crockpot, set on low, and people can serve themselves when they want to.

Visit Easy Dinner Recipes for more recipes, cooking tips, and recipe e-books. http://www.easydinnerrecipes.org

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Vegetarian Baked Kibbee - A Must Try!

 By Shaw Rabadi 

Photo: 3.bp.blogspot.com

This dish is simply amazing for vegetarians. Period. It is tasty, flavorful, full of nutrient rich ingredients, and doesn't sacrifice that "hearty meal feel" whatsoever. This is a dish that you can play around with once you are comfortable with this recipe. Add or take away to suit your specific tastes and/or needs and make a dish to call your own.
Vegetarian Baked Kibbee BiSanieh
Ingredients:
− 2 cups minced onion
− 1 ½ cups chopped onions
− 3 tbsp olive oil
− 1 ½ cups fine bulghur wheat
− 1 medium eggplant
− 3 lbs. potatoes
− 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
− 1 tsp allspice
− ½ tsp sumac
− 2 tbsp chopped parsley
− ¼ cup cooked chick peas
− ¼ tsp cinnamon
− ½ cup cold water
− ½ cup pine nuts
− Salt to taste
Method:
Stuffing:
− Sauté 1 ½ cups chopped onions into 3 tbsp olive oil until tender.
− Add pine nuts until they turn light golden color.
− Add allspice, cinnamon, salt and pepper...mix well, remove from heat
− Add chickpeas and parsley to the sautéed onions and spices mixture, stirring well; set aside to cool.
− Peel eggplant and cut into long slices (¼ inch thick).
− Oil the base of a baking sheet and add a layer of eggplant brushed with olive oil and bake until soft and tender (8-10 minutes in 350° oven).
− Repeat this step to bake all of the remaining eggplant.
− Boil potatoes until firm yet tender.
− Peel and cut ½ of the cooked potatoes in to very small pieces.
Kibbe:
− Peel remaining potatoes and mash in processor.
− Add 1 tsp of oil and a splash of water to the potatoes to moisten.
− In a mixing bowl, soak bulgur wheat with enough water to dampen and set aside for 15 minutes.
− Mix mashed potatoes with minced onions, then combine with the new softened bulghur wheat and mix thoroughly.
− Work the mixture with your hands (clean hands of course) and then add the remaining spices and knead into a soft doughy mixture.
− Divide the mixture in half.
− Oil the bottom and sides of a 9 by 12 inch baking pan, spreading half the potato and bulgur mixture on the bottom.
− Place one or two layers (your preference) of baked eggplant over the mixture and sprinkle with sumac.
− Add the stuffing mixture, spreading evenly over the eggplant.
− Add the rest of the potato bulgur mixture, smoothing the top using a few drops of water.
− Score the top by cutting the layers into square or diamond shapes.
− Sprinkle with pine nuts.
− Bake in a preheated oven at 350° for 25 minutes.

Shaw H. Rabadi, restaurant owner/chef/author, invites you to Eat, Drink, and Be Mediterranean with him for a happier, healthier life!
Visit http://www.TheMediterraneanDigest.com for information on his newly released story-cookbook, "Savor the Spices of Life" and more info on eating, cooking, and living a heart healthier life.
Eat Better, Fresher, Smarter!

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Cauliflower Pizza Crust

By Andrea Wyn  

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A couple of times this week I made this fabulous cauliflower pizza crust. What is so great about this vegetable pizza is that it's a gluten free pizza crust and it can also easily be made as a delicious vegan pizza recipe.
I first heard of cauliflower pizza crust last week while at a class learning how to make regular pizza crust. I had my doubts but after making it and there not being a crumb left I knew this was a winner, and so easy to make!
Ingredients for this gluten free pizza crust:
About 1/2 lb of cauliflower
1 egg - to make it a vegan pizza recipe use 1/4 cup egg substitute
1 teaspoon of oregano
1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese or mozzarella cheese (For the vegans, I used Daiya cheddar cheese in my crust and then the mozzarella cheese for the topping.)
Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cook the cauliflower until firm but not too soft. Let cool and then either grate it, blend it or place the cauliflower in a Cuisinart to finely chop it (also known as cauliflower rice). Should come out to 1 cup of cauliflower rice.
Place cauliflower rice in a bowl and mix it with the egg or egg substitute, oregano and 1 cup of cheese or cheese substitute. Note, I also chopped up some fresh spinach into the mixture to get a little extra vegetables! Mix ingredients well and then spoon it onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
You want to pat down the mixture on the baking sheet so that it is about the same depth of a regular pizza crust and form your cauliflower pizza crust dough into a round pie shape.
Bake your gluten free pizza crust in the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes. You want the top of the crust brown with the sides crispy. Start watching the crust after about 15 minutes to be sure it gets brown and crunchy without burning.
Let the crust cool and then remove the parchment paper by sliding the cauliflower pizza crust onto the cookie sheet. Note, if the middle of the crust is a bit soft, you will need to use a large spatula to help transfer the crust off of the parchment paper.
To finish your pizza, add your favorite pizza sauce and toppings. (I used fresh chopped mushrooms, spinach and Daiya cheese to make this a vegan pizza recipe.)
Place the pizza back in the oven until cheese is melted and bubbling. Take out, plate and serve.
What I loved about this gluten free pizza crust is that it's light and healthy plus you are getting your vegetables!
Until next time, remember the Budget Bash mantra: make it simple, stylish, fun and economical for all!

Andrea Wyn is owner of A Wynning Event http://www.awynningevent.com, a Los Angeles wedding and special event management company. She is a marketing & special event planner with over 15 years of experience and for the past ten years, she has been the event planner for the Screen Actors Guild Awards(R). She has taken her knowledge and special event experience and written an easy-to-read book called Budget Bash http://www.budgetbashbook.com where you can find more ideas and helpful tips on event planning including menus, decor, budgets, timelines, florals and more.

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