Sunday, June 10, 2007

Prepping for a small tea party


Saturday was spent baking nonstop from 9AM, grocery shopping for more ingredients at 3 different places (I didn’t know baking could be SO expensive!), and skipping a free concert at Bimbo’s the bf had won. To think I was gonna take a break!

Here are some fruits of my labor. More piping/baking to do tomorrow AM. Meanwhile, I'm gonna give the bf some well-deserved kisses for helping out in the kitchen.



Matcha green tea cupcake
with petal frosting


Petal frosting = frosting with a hint of rose and hibiscus
merely created to fulfill my desire for a green and pink dessert


Raspberry macarons






Raspberry thumbprint


12 ain't enough


...but 12 more lemon thumbprints
is just right








Full-fledged matcha cupcakes
My personal favorite


Honey lavender macarons


These will be paired with vanilla bean buttercream
which offsets the pungent lavender flavor (I hope!)




Coconut cupcakes


Done for the night (AM really)
Nights!



6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Fabulous cupcakes! Yummy:) Can you share this recipe? Thanks in advance.

Danielle Bumblebee said...

hi anonymous. thanks for the compliment :)

i adapted the matcha cake recipe from suki's green tea layer cake recipe but modified it a little to suit my tastes. in suki’s recipe, she had asked for 3oz of cream cheese which i promptly corrected with 8oz since 1 package in the u.s. calls for 8oz. aside from that, i also baked it in less time (approx 18-20mins instead of the allocated 30) since they’re cupcakes.

once the batter is ready, fill cupcake liners to lil' less than ½ full. they will rise just enough for you to spread the petal frosting evenly on top. Then stick 'em in the oven and prepare frosting on the side. instead of adding matcha powder to the frosting mixture, add splashes of rose geranium to your desired taste. this creates a pretty pink like you see in the picture. if you prefer, you can use rose water too. for this batch, i also added some hibiscus syrup which i made through steeping hibiscus flowers in water and sugar.

let me know if this helps. i can't wait to hear how ur cupcakes turn out!

Anonymous said...

thanks alot, Danielle!! i can't wait to bake. Will keep you posted once im done. Have a good day :)

M said...

Where are the recipes? It all looks sooooo good. The coconut cupcakes, the macaroons, all of it. Please share!

And it all looks absolutely lovely, by the way. You did a great job. If they taste as good as they look, your loved ones will be very happy with those treats!

Danielle Bumblebee said...

M: i don’t usually post recipes cause it takes so much time but am definitely open to sharing them when asked :) for the most part, i adapt existing ones and modify them to suit my needs.. here's a brief outline:

petal matcha cupcakes: see comment above

coconut cupcakes: ina garten’s recipe
.. i filled the cups ¾ full for smaller cupcakes and cut the frosting recipe by ½.. u really don’t need that much frosting!

macarons: recipe from "bouchon" by thomas keller (not unlike this recipe by clement at alacuisine.org). for the hibiscus version, i made a hibiscus syrup by steeping dried hibiscuses in hot water.. then i poured the syrup into the batter just enough to create color and taste as well as added it to the buttercream.. as for the raspberry version, i used a raspberry jam fill as opposed to the usual buttercream.. lavender was the easiest.. i used lavender sugar (u make this by putting dried lavender in a jar of sugar for weeks) instead of regular n dropped 2 lavender petals on each macaron before baking..

let me know if u encounter any problems.. i'll be selling these goods made-to-order soon.. so it’s perfect that u live in the bay area. stay posted!

M said...

Thanks Danielle,

I desperately want to buy the variety pack box. I hope you'll make those to sell! I hope I get a chance to try even one of these recipes soon! (I can't bake as much or as fast--or as well--as you do, not even close!