Irish Creme Chocolate Caramel Cupcakes!

Irish is in my blood. Literally. And I love it. My great, great, Grandmother, Margaret McCleve Hancock immigrated here from Ireland with her parents and her siblings in 1856 in the pursuit of religious freedom.  (Read her full story at the bottom of this post)

Represent!

In honor of St. Patrick's Day and my Irish heritage, I've created a fabulous cupcake so that we may all enjoy a little taste of Ireland today. 

Get ready for a Irish Creme Chocolate Caramel Cupcake that will knock your socks off and spread Happy St. Patty's Day cheer to all!
The cake is super moist and the Irish Creme flavor is so creamy and hazel-nutty and just so divine.

We are cheating today and doing an enhanced box mix! Easy and Yummy! 

(Easy) Chocolate Cake:

Ingredients: 

1 box of Triple Chocolate Fudge cake mix

1 sm. package of Instant Chocolate Pudding mix

1 C. Sour Creme

1/2 C. Irish Creme Coffee Creamer 

1/2 C. Vegetable Oil

4 eggs

Directions: 

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. 

2. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix until well combined. 

3. Pour into 24 cupcake liners and bake for 16 min.

4. When the cupcakes are done, take them out of the cupcake pan so that they stop cooking.

5. Let cool completely

Irish Cream Buttercream:

5 C. Powdered Sugar - Sifted

1 C. Unsalted Butter - Completely Room Temp

1/2 C. (minus 2 Tbs) Cold Irish Cream Coffee Creamer

1 Tsp. Vanilla
1/4 tsp. Kosher Salt
1/2 tsp. Butter Rum Extract OR 1 tsp. Hazelnut Extract

                                

Directions: 

1. Beat butter in an electric mixer until nice and creamy. 

2. Slowly add in the sifted powdered sugar a little at a time, allowing it to incorporate between each                   addition. 

3. When all the powdered sugar is incorporated, add the Irish Cream Coffee Creamer and whip, starting on      low and working your way to high, until it is light and fluffy (about 2 min.) 

Ganache: 

Ingredients: 

1 C. Good quality semi sweet chocolate, chopped 

2 Tbs. Unsalted butter - Room temp

1/2 C. Irish Coffee Creamer

Directions:

1. Place chocolate in a large bowl and add butter.

2. In a small saucepan, bring the Irish Coffee Creamer to a simmer (Do not scald creamer)

3. Once the Coffee Creamer has come to a simmer, pour over chocolate and let sit for 30 seconds.

4. Stir with a wisk until everything is incorporated well. 

5. Let Ganache come to room temp before you drizzle it over the cupcakes. You don't want it warm at all or     it will melt the buttercream.

To Decorate the Cupcakes:

Core a hole in the top of each cupcake. Fit a pastry bag with your choice of caramel or ganache filling.  (If you don't want to core cupcakes, fit your filling pastry bag with an eclair tip). Fill a pastry bag fitted with the piping tip of your choice and pipe buttercream onto cooled cupcakes. 

Drizzle Ganache and store-bought (or home-made is even better) Caramel onto iced cupcakes.
Sprinkle with gold confetti sprinkles and enjoy!

For my family: Here is Margaret McCleve's Story down below:

Taken from familysearch.org website: (Contributed by Dixie H. Krauss)

Margaret’s childhood… 

Margaret McCleve, daughter of John McCleve Jr. and Nancy Jane McFerren, was born in Belfast, Ireland, on September 17, 1838. She was the third of ten children. Her father was one of the caretakers of a large estate situated near the ocean. Margaret spent a happy childhood roaming the beautiful grounds and enjoying the nearby sandy beach. These pleasant memories sustained her through the trials in the years to follow. When her parents joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, persecution followed. Margaret and three of her sisters were baptized August 26, 1850, in the Irish Sea after dark. Her parents finally took their family to America for religious freedom. Margaret’s two older sisters went first; then the rest of the family followed. They landed in Boston, Massachusetts, on May 23, 1856; then traveled by rail to Iowa City, Iowa. There they joined the second handcart company and started for Zion on June 11, 1856. When only seventeen years old, Margaret walked 1300 miles across the plains pushing the back of the handcart. She also helped care for her sick baby brother and shared her small portion of food with him. Margaret’s dear father succumbed to the hardships of the trek just two days from their destination. The fatherless family arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on September 26, 1856.

Marriage and family…

Margaret’s mother moved the family to Payson, Utah, and remarried the following year. Mosiah Lyman Hancock  met Margaret in nearby Spanish Fork. As she arose from her chair to shake hands with him, he heard a voice say, “Mosiah, behold your wife.” They were married on January 9, 1857.

Tribute to Margaret… 

She was a natural born nurse and an excellent midwife, delivering over 1500 babies into this world. Her interest in these children continued, and she claimed them as her own. “Though her trials were many, she was always firm in her faith and found comfort in bringing comfort to others. She had a very kind and sympathetic nature, charitable to those in need or in trouble. She was loved and trusted by all who knew her. It can truly be said of her that the world was a better place by her having lived in it.” —Rhoda P. J. Wakefield, granddaughter.

Frenchy Cakes and some Pink & Gold!

Here are some French-Bakery Inspired Cakes that I was able to create for the Lovely Loralee Lewis. I love when she needs a cake (or 3) because I LOVE her style! We get eachother. ;)

This cake is not so "French" but I was honored to create this pink and gold wedding cake for a magazine photo shoot a while ago. It was so fun and the talented photographer styled it so beautifully!

COME SAY HI!!

COME SAY HI this Saturday (the 15th)! I have been invited by the International Cake Exploration Societe to be a guest demonstrator at their annual "Day of Sharing" at Baker's C & C in Murray, UT. Please come by and say hi! There will be lots of learning and some hands-on classes. The fee is $25.00 and lunch is included! Call today to reserve your spot!

Grandma's Lemon Cake

To see me share this story and demo how to make this cake, click here:

 http://studio5.ksl.com/?nid=126&sid=28959372 

This is such a special post for me. Everyone that knows me knows that I am such a sap when it comes my family and my family history. I think I get my love of family history from my sweet, beautiful, super intelligent sister, Rebecca. She is a certified genealogist and she knows my heart. For Christmas last year, she sent me this beautiful, original, hand written recipe from my 4th great grandmother, Cynthia Abbot Fife. When I opened it, I just lost it. I went into the "ugly cry". I was so overcome with emotion when I saw the words "Lemon Cake" and the photo of my Grandmother. I live for those connections to my family and this did not disappoint. It was so fun learning more about her through the baking process.

What a beautiful addition to my kitchen! Thank you sister; I just love you. ;)

My sister, being the amazing, impeccable family record keeper that she is, even included this little bio on the back of the frame: 

I was beyond excited to get in the kitchen and taste this Lemon Cake. In order to get the full effect of this cake, I made the cake, put the kids to bed, poured myself a cup of herbal tea and sat myself down to watch some Downton Abbey!! It was so fun. I know it sounds silly but it really helped me connect with her time period (even though the dates are about 20 years off. ;) 

It had a delightful, crumbly and dense texture. Almost like a scone! 

Keep scrolling for the recipe as well as how I altered the recipe. :)

Grandma most likely baked this cake in a regular cake pan or "tin" as she called it. The bunt pan tends to have a crust that is too hard on it. The cake baked in the regular cake pan has a better texture, I think. I also think that the cake slice that comes from the cake pan is probably more authentic to what might have been on the plate that she served her guests. 

Old Fashion Lemon Cake Recipe for the "Purist":

I C. Butter

3 C. White sugar

5 eggs (separated) 

5 C. Flour

1 tsp. soda (baking soda) dissolved in milk.

1 C. Sour Milk (you can make sour milk by adding a Tablespoon of lemon juice to one cup of milk. Let it set for at least 5 min.)

1 1/2 lemons, grate the rind and squeeze in (a) little juice.

Directions: 

Beat the whites separate. Put in last before the flour. Bake in tins half hour.

*These were the only directions on her hand-written recipe so I will elaborate: ;) 

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. *The original recipe does not specify a temperature to bake       the cake. The ovens in the late 1890's were pretty complicated. I guessed and set my oven       to 350 and it turned out great. :)

2. Separate egg whites from yolks. Set the egg yolks aside.  Whip the egg whites until soft           peaks form. Set aside. 

3. Beat butter and sugar together until soft, fluffy and lighter in color.

4. Add the egg yolks into the butter and sugar mixture, one at a time until well incorporated. 

5. Add in the lemon zest and juice. Stir until combined. 

6. Dissolve the baking soda in the sour milk. Set aside.

7. Add in the flour and the sour milk alternating between the two, mixing well between each         addition, starting and ending with the flour. 

8. Gently fold in the whipped eggs whites just until incorporated. 

9. Butter and flour two 9" cake pans. Divide batter evenly between the two pans, leaving at least a 2" of space from the top of the pans. Do not over-fill. Bake at 350 for about 30 min. 

Here is the recipe with my alterations highlighted in red (for those that like light, fluffy cake): 

Lighter Lemon Cake: 

I C. Butter

3 C. White sugar

5 eggs (separated) 

1 tsp. Vanilla (*Vanilla was a luxury ingredient in the late 1890's. It is the most expensive spice right after saffron.)

3 C. Flour (I took out 2 whole cups!!)

1 tsp. Kosher Salt

1 tsp. Baking soda (To make it light and fluffy.)

1 tsp. Baking Powder

1 C. Sour Milk (You can make sour milk by adding a Tablespoon of lemon juice to one cup of milk. Let it set for at least 5 min.)

1 tsp. Soda (baking soda) disolved in milk.

2 lemons, grate the rind and squeeze in the juice of one lemon.

Directions: 

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Separate egg whites from yolks. Set the egg yolks aside.  Whip the egg whites until soft peaks form. Set aside. 

3. Beat butter and sugar together until soft, fluffy and lighter in color.

4. Add the egg yolks into the butter and sugar mixture, one at a time until well incorporated. 

5. Add in the lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla. Stir until combined. 

6. In a separate bowl, sift the flour and add the salt and baking soda.

7. Add in the flour mixture and the sour milk alternating between the two, mixing well between each addition, starting and ending with the flour. 

8. Gently fold in the whipped eggs whites just until incorporated. 

9. Butter and flour two 9" cake pans. Divide batter evenly between the two pans, leaving at least a 2" of space from the top of the pans. Do not over-fill. Bake at 350 for about 30 min. 

Happy Caking everyone!! Enjoy! (And watch some Downton Abbey. I promise it will taste better if you do. ;)