Pistachio Raspberry Cupcakes

I'll just start off by saying these are my absolute favorite cupcakes. And I've had my fair share of cupcakes over the years, we tend to make a habit out of planning trips around good places to eat. The cake is moist, buttery, sweet, and all around delicious and then you'll get a bite with a juicy raspberry and the silky cream cheese frosting and that puts it right over the edge it pure bliss.

Another reason these are so delicious is because they are a luxury. I don't make them very often because unfortunately they are a bit costly (both pistachios and raspberries are fairly expensive in terms of baking ingredients, but when raspberries are in season it's easier to get them on sale). Also, if you buy the pistachios at wholesale at places such as Costo or BJs they are less expensive too. 

   

This is a Martha Stewart recipe, which I like to pair with a cream cheese frosting 

• 
  
• 1 cup whole unsalted pistachios, plus 1/4 cup slivered or chopped 
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups fresh raspberries

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Process whole pistachios, sugar, and salt in a food processor until finely ground. Add butter, vanilla, and eggs, and process until smooth. Add flour, and pulse until just combined. 
   Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each halfway. Sprinkle with raspberries and slivered or chopped pistachios. Bake until firm and pulling away from liners, about 28 minutes. Let cool in tins on wire racks. Yields about 15-18 depending on the size. 
   Cream Cheese Frosting 
   • 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
   • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature
   • 1 cup confectioners' sugar
   • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
   
   
   Cream the butter and cream cheese with a mixer. Add sugar a little at a time, mix until smooth. Add vanilla and stir to combine. 
   
   
   *I halved the recipe for the frosting when making the cupcakes because I only had one package of cream cheese and it provided plenty of frosting to spread of thin layer of frosting on the cupcakes. I don't like too much frosting on mine since the cupcakes themselves are already pretty sweet. 

Mixed Berry Ice Cream

Ever since we were little kids we have made homemade ice cream. We have had one of the old fashioned ice cream makers that consists of a bucket and a core and churner for as long as I can remember and I do love it, however sometimes it is quite a production to get all the ice, rock salt and parts together. Because we wanted to get into ice cream making again, but without all the hassle, we purchased an ice cream bowl attachment for the KitchenAid, essentially it is a bowl that freezes in the freezer and a churner component that allows you to turn your KitchenAid into an ice cream maker! Once I actually figured out how it worked (thanks Corey for helping point out some important directions!) it has been really fun and easy to use.

For ice cream recipes I turned to our trusty Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Book, again which we have had for as long as I can remember. In addition to having great recipes, it gives cool stories about how Ben & Jerry got their start. Did you know that they originally thought about opening a bagel shop but then found out the bagel machinery cost too much so turned to ice cream?! My undying love of Berry Berry Extraordinary thanks the fates of the universe for the cheap[er] start up costs of an ice cream business. 

My family has voted the Mixed Berry Ice Cream as the favorite of the ice creams that I have made so far (others being peach ice cream and blackberry sorbet). 

Most ice creams start out with a base and then you can pretty much add whatever you want to them. For this ice cream I started out with the traditional cream base and then added strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries -- hence the mixed berry!

Sweet Cream Base 

2 large eggs 

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 cup milk

Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, until completely blended, about 1 minute more. Pour in the cream and milk and whisk to blend.

For the fruit: Put 2 cups of mixed berries (I used blackberries, strawberries, and blueberries), 1/3 cup sugar, and juice of 1/2 lemon in a bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour. Lightly pulse in a food processor until desired consistency, I chose to leave some chunks of fruit and not completely purée it. Add this to the Sweet Cream Base right before putting it into the ice cream maker. 

Freeze according to the specific ice cream maker's directions. 

Blackberry Sorbet

• 2 1/2cups fresh blackberries pureed with 1/2 cup cold water until smooth
• 1cup granulated sugar
• 2tablespoons lemon juice from 1 large lemon
• 1tablespoon vodka (I used unflavored, but feel free to experiment with various flavors, etc.) 

1. Combine berry puree, sugar, lemon juice, and alcohol in large bowl. Stir on and off for several minutes until sugar has dissolved. (Or, to speed chilling process in next step, combine ingredients in a metal bowl set over a larger bowl filled with ice water.) Rub finger along bottom of bowl to see if sugar has dissolved.

1. 2. Pour mixture into small container. Seal and refrigerate until mixture is no more than 40 degrees. (If mixture has been stirred over a bowl of ice water, it may already be cold enough, and this step may be omitted.)
2. 3. Pour chilled mixture into container of an ice cream machine and churn until frozen, about 20-30 minutes depending on your ice cream machine.
3. 4. Scoop frozen sorbet into a container. Seal and transfer container to freezer for several hours to allow sorbet to firm up. (Sorbet can be kept frozen for up to 3 days.)
   
   
   The alcohol in the sorbet allows for a very creamy, smooth texture; however, the sorbet will never be very hard, even after freezing for several hours. This is a great sorbet, albeit very sweet, you could try and modify the sweetness by adding less sugar, just keep in mind that some of the sweetness will be reduced when freezing.  

Sweet Cherry Pie

Another successful Cooks Illustrated recipe! This Sweet Cherry Pie turned out great and was a hit at my house. 

• Sweet Cherry Pie  
• 2red plums, halved and pitted
• 6cups (about 2 pounds) pitted sweet cherries or 6 cups pitted frozen cherries, halved (see note)
• 1/2cup sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
• 1/8teaspoon table salt
• 1tablespoon juice from 1 lemon
• 2teaspoons bourbon (optional)
• 2tablespoons instant tapioca, ground (see note)
• 1/8teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
• 2tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1large egg, lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon water

1. Adjust oven rack to lowest position, place baking sheet on oven rack, and heat oven to 400 degrees. Process plums and 1 cup halved cherries in food processor until smooth, about 1 minute, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Strain puree through fine-mesh strainer into large bowl, pressing on solids to extract liquid; discard solids. Stir remaining halved cherries, sugar, salt, lemon juice, bourbon (if using), tapioca, and cinnamon (if using) into puree; let stand for 15 minutes.
2. Transfer cherry mixture, including all juices, to dough-lined plate. Scatter butter pieces over fruit. Roll second disk of dough on generously floured work surface (up to ¼ cup) to 11-inch circle about 1/8 inch thick. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll over pie, leaving at least ½-inch overhang. Flute edges using thumb and forefinger or press with tines of fork to seal. Brush top and edges with egg mixture. With sharp knife, make 8 evenly spaced 1-inch-long vents in top crust. Freeze pie 20 minutes.
3. Place pie on preheated baking sheet and bake 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue to bake until juices bubble around the edges and crust is deep golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes longer.
4. Transfer pie to wire rack; let cool to room temperature so juices have time to thicken, 2 to 3 hours. Cut into wedges and serve.
   
   
   Be aware that if you are not patient and wait until it is cool to serve it or it will not congeal and have the "typical" pie consistency. (We might have not been so patient and it was a bit hard to serve, but delicious nonetheless.)
   
   

More Pasta!

I love how something as simple as pasta can take on so much character. This recipe from Cooks Illustrated literally has three ingredients: all purpose flour, eggs, and water. It's great because we almost always have eggs and flour on hand in the kitchen so whenever we feel like making pasta its easy to whip up. The hard part is deciding what type oI have tried various ways of mixing the dough (entirely by hand, with a KitchenAid mixer, and with a food processor) and I think that the food processor is my favorite. 

2 cups (10 oz) all purpose flour

3 large eggs 

water

1. 1. Pulse the flour in the workbowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade to evenly distribute. Add the eggs; process until the dough forms a rough ball, about 30 seconds. (If the dough resembles small pebbles, add water, 1/2 teaspoon at a time; if the dough sticks to the side of the workbowl, add flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, and process until the dough forms a rough ball. See figures 1 through 3 below for tips on judging moisture level in dough.)
2. 2. Turn the dough ball and small bits out onto a dry work surface; knead until the dough is smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for at least 15 minutes and up to 2 hours to relax.
3. 3. Using a pasta machine, roll out the dough. Lay the pasta out on floured baking sheets until ready to cook. 
   
   
   4. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add the pasta to the water and cook until al dente, only about 3-4 minutes. 

Here we decided to serve the pasta with zucchini, squash, and chicken, in a lemon sauce. I don't really have a recipe for this as we sort of made it up as we went, but it turned out delicious all the same. 

Malibu Mojitos

When life gives you an over abundance of mint, you make mojitos, right? My mom planted mint in her garden last year and it spread everywhere, so in addition to giving lots of mint away we are finding various ways of using it. My friend Gabby and I sort of made up this mojito recipe and it turned out really well, and my mom has had me make it for several of our family parties since. I used coconut rum because that is what we had on hand and it makes for a smoother drink, which I prefer. Paired with the sweetness of the Sprite it makes for an excellent and refreshing summer drink. 

Here is the recipe for one mojito and for a whole pitcher. Trust me, if you are having a party you might as well make the pitcher otherwise you'll be stuck bar tending all night. 

One Mojito

Juice of 1 lime 

Couple of fresh mint leaves

1 shot of Malibu Coconut Rum (any coconut rum really, we just had Malibu on hand)

Sprite 

Ice

Muddle the mint leaves with the juice of the lime. If you don't have a muddler, anything with a flat bottom will work. Put the mint in a glass and add 1 shot of coconut rum and then add ice, and top off with Sprite. Stir, and enjoy.

Pitcher of Mojitos 

2 cups of lime juice (takes about 15 limes, I suggest using a juicer if you have it) 

Handful of fresh mint leaves

3 cups of Malibu 

Sprite (about 2 liters)

Ice 

Muddle the mint leaves with the juice of just 1/2 - 1 lime. If you don't have a muddler, anything with a flat bottom will work. Add the juice, coconut rum, and mint to a pitcher. Right before guests arrive top off with the Sprite so it doesn't get flat. If you don't have a pitcher that will holder all of the liquid, you can do it in two batches. Serve with ice on the side so it doesn't get watered down.