Chia Seed Pudding +Raspberries +Hazelnuts +Drizzled Agave Nectar

My workday breakfast of choice… chia seed pudding parfaits!  This healthy light option has so many nutrients in it.  I whisk 2% greek yogurt (I can’t do 0% greek yogurt, it tastes chalky to me), almond milk, vanilla bean paste + chia seeds in a bowl and let them sit overnight.  Sometimes I drizzle agave nectar on top, depending how sweet the fruit I put in it is.

Very Vanilla Cupcakes with a Pumpkin Twist

After attending a Thai cooking class I purchased vanilla bean paste- something I did not know existed until attending the class and could not leave without buying!

I was looking for a recipe to bring out the delicious and expensive ingredient and turned to Sally’s Baking Addiction blog.  I found an awesome recipe for vanilla cupcakes and substituted the vanilla extract for vanilla bean paste.   I made buttercream frosting with the same substitution.  These cupcakes were awesome and surprisingly did not go stale for days.

Since I love pumpkin themes for October I decided to add a pumpkin filling into the cupcakes.  Then for decoration I topped the cupcakes with marizpan pumpkins.  Getting the right color and sculpting took some patience and I don’t have detailed instructions for how they eventually resembled pumpkins.  I would just recommend starting this project a few days in advance and working on each area an hour or two each day.  It was relaxing to sit and do in front of the TV. 🙂

Ingredients:

VANILLA CUPCAKES

• 1 and 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 2 egg whites
• 1/4 cup vanilla greek yogurt 
  
• 3/4 cup vanilla almond milk
• 2-3 teaspoons bean paste (depending how much you like vanilla)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt butter in the microwave. Stir in sugar – mixture will be gritty. Stir in egg whites, yogurt, milk, and vanilla extract until combined. Split 1 vanilla bean down the middle lengthwise. Scrape seeds from half of the vanilla bean into batter. Reserve other half.
3. Slowly mix dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until no lumps remain. Batter will be thick.
4. Divide batter among 12 cupcake liners (or 24 mini) and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Bake for 8-9 minutes if making mini cupcakes. Allow to cool.

VANILLA BUTTERCREAM

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3-4 cups powdered (confectioners’) sugar
• 1/4 cup heavy cream or half-and-half (see note above about substituting milk)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean extract
• salt, to taste

Directions:

To make the frosting, beat softened butter on medium speed with an electric or stand mixer. Beat for about 3 minutes until smooth and creamy. Add powdered sugar, cream, and vanilla extract with the mixer running. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 full minutes (the longer you beat, the creamier the frosting). Add more powdered sugar if frosting is too thin or more cream if frosting is too thick. Add salt if frosting is too sweet (1/4 teaspoon). Frost cooled cupcakes and top with sprinkles. There may be leftover frosting depending how much you use on each cupcake.

PUMPKIN FILLING

• 1/2 cup of pumpkin filling
• 1/4 cup of cream
• Cinnamon or nutmeg as desired (1 teaspoon or so)

Whip together ingredients.  Cut out center of cupcakes and part of the cake, place filling inside.  Replace cupcake top and add buttercream frosting.

MARZIPAN DECORATION

• Almonds – 100gms
• Powdered sugar – 1/2 cup
• Almond essence – 2 tsp
• Water – very little at a time,  a few tablespoons approximately

Directions:

1. Bring a pan of water to a boil. Drop the almonds in; boil for 1-2 minutes. Drain.

2. Peel the skins off the almonds. They should easily slip off.

3. Spread the skinned almonds onto a baking tray and allow to dry under a medium-hot grill (180 degrees C) for 8-10 minutes.

4. Cool, and then grind in a coffee grinder into almond meal. Do the grinding in short spells, & stir each time to avoid it becoming pasty

5. Turn the meal into a bowl; stir in the sugar, followed with the almond extract.

6. Now add cold water, 1 tbsp at a time, to get a play dough like consistency. Knead till smooth.