What is it about cupcakes?

I've always had a sweet tooth and when I was younger cake certainly fell into the category of sweets I loved. As I got older however, cakes fell low on my list of beloved sweets, something I could easily pass up. In the last few years, there has been a cake revolution, specifically a cupcake revolution. The craze has gone wild. There are even cupcake bakeries which sell nothing but those little hand held cakelets. While I think they are a fun small means of creative expression, I was still not bitten by the cake bug. Then this year, my daughter wanted cupcakes with cream cheese frosting for her birthday cake. So I got out my trusty chocolate cake recipe and did a test run, because she wasn't really sure she would like the cream cheese frosting after her request was placed. So we did a trial run, and she gave them the thumbs up. Turns out they were really quite delicious, and the white and dark contrast was visually pleasing, too. Her birthday came and went and with it the chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.

Recently we were invited to spend a glorious weekend skiing with my husband's work, 30 people in a great big house on the slopes of Copper Mountain here in Colorado. Each family takes a turn with a meal and we were assigned a lunch. So I thought it would be something fun to add cupcakes as my dessert. I packaged up the cupcakes and icing separately and piped on the frosting right before serving. This cream cheese frosting is so great because it actually pipes on better cold. Perfect! I thought the cupcakes would be well-received, but they were swooned over! I felt like a dessert hero for the day! So, in spite of the fact that I'd choose another sweet over a cupcake pretty much any day, I was clearly in the minority on that trip. Give them a try and see what your friends and family think. Maybe you'll get to be the dessert hero at your next gathering. The cake recipe **makes about 24 standard cupcakes, filling 2/3 the way and baking at 350 degrees F for about 12-15 minutes, until just moist crumbs stick to a toothpick inserted into the center. DO NOT OVER BAKE! The lovely cream cheese frosting follows, from one of my favorites, Ina Garten.

Cream Cheese Frosting

adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Parties

12 oz. cream cheese, softened

8 oz. unsalted butter, softened

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

16 oz. powdered sugar, sifted

I like to make this in my food processor, but a mixer will also work well.

1. Combine butter, cream cheese and vanilla in bowl of food processor fitted with metal blade. Process in short bursts until smooth and well combined.

2. Add powdered sugar to mixture in bowl. Pulse in very short bursts initiall until almost combined , then a few longer bursts to enusre all is mixed well. Use immediately, or scrape into a bowl, cover and refrigerate until needed. You may have to increase recipe by one half to have enough for 2 dozen cupcakes depending on how much frosting you'd like on each.

Note: if using for carrot cake, add a little orange zest. If using to frost banana cupcakes, try just a touch of grated lemon zest. Experiment to your liking!

** High altitude directions for cake: decrease sugar to 2 cups, decrease baking soda and baking powder to 1 1/8 tsp each, increase flour by 1 Tbsp + 2 tsp and add 2 Tbsp unsweeend applesauce to milk.

Greek Yogurt and Cake

Several days ago I watched a Barefoot Contessa episode on the Food network where she made a lemon yogurt cake with blueberry sauce. I am a big fan of her recipes. They are delicious, work beautifully and are usually very straightforward. I had never tried her lemon cake from Barefoot Contessa Parties and so I thought I'd do a bake-off to see which one I liked best.

I am also a huge fan of Greek yogurt, especially the Fage brand. If you have never tried it you must. I always buy the non-fat kind. It is thick and creamy with a nice pleasant tang. When berries are plentiful I eat a dollop with fresh berries for breakfast. It is completely transformed with even the slightest drizzle of honey, but honestly I like it straight from the tub, too. It is surprisingly rich and yet so good for you! It could easily stand in for sour cream as a garnish on anything.

Anyhow, I got to work on my lemon cakes, using the Greek yogurt on the yogurt version and soon had 2 golden and fragrant loaves emerging from the oven. My kids were begging for a piece before we had let them cool. I tortured them by making them wait! Once cooled and iced we cut into them. They are both good in different ways. The original version has a very delicate crumb and a subtle lemon flavor. I threw in a teaspoon of poppy seeds just for fun. The yogurt cake was more moist and dense with a more assertive lemon flavor. My kids preferred this one, but after a few more tastes I think I prefer the original. However, my all-time favorite Lemon cake is from the original The Silver Palate Cookbook, and I haven't made that one in a while, so I think I might get that one out and give it a try again soon. I so love lemon...if nothing chocolate is available!

Turns out after all that I still had some yogurt left-over so I decided to try Ina Garten's Sour Cream Coffee Cake recipe also from Barefoot Contessa Parties subbing the Greek yogurt for the sour cream. I make this cake often, and we eat it morning noon and night, so it never lasts long. We all adore it (I love the ribbon of streusel that winds its way through the moist buttery crumb, and the maple glaze on top is addicting)! It came out great with the yogurt. It's not so much that I care about making it healthier because when it comes to sweets I am all about using the real stuff- butter, sour cream, sugar....I can eat a bowl of salad later if I've over-indulged my sweet tooth. It was just fun to try something new with another ingredient I am crazy about to see how it worked....like a charm!