Japanese Slipper Cupcakes

This month's Baking with Spirit Challenge over at Cake of the Week is Midori.  Well, um...Let me see.  Midori.  Never tried it and not in the BIWB liquor cabinet.  What to do?

First, immediately go to BevMo, get a bottle and taste it.  Check.

Second, search the Midori web site for cocktail and recipe ideas.  Check.

Third, pick a cocktail that seems fun and feminine.  Japanese Slipper.  Check.  {Please note: Midori has no baking recipes.  That had me a bit scared.}

Fourth, search the internet for baking recipes using the Japanese Slipper as inspiration.  Check.

So, believe it or not, there is only ONE recipe on the web that I could find for a Japanese Slipper Cupcake.  The Lone Baker.  Nice name, killer photo.

Once I had the idea and a good graphic, I set to work creating a solid recipe that I thought would bring out the 3 flavors of this cocktail: Midori, orange (Triple Sec) and lemon.  I knew that baking with Midori might be tough, so I decided to just use it in the frosting.  That left the cupcake to be the showcase for the orange and lemon flavors, with the addition of Triple Sec of course.  

Found my cupcake recipe "base" on Paula Deen's website.  I know...Think what you like.  But, you have to admit, she does have some very good recipes.  I needed something to bring out the citrus flavors and hold up with the Triple Sec.  Check.

Scored on her recipe for an orange creamsicle cupcake that infuses the citrus zest into the sugar.  Great technique and something I will bring to all my citrus baked goods.  

And, I will tell you, this Midori Seven Minute Frosting has changed my life.  

I had no idea this frosting was so easy and so delicious.  We never had this when I was a kid because we didn't have a stand mixer and there was no way my mom was going to stand with a hand mixer for 7 minutes.  Lower in fat, too, than buttercream frosting.  A good thing!

Thank god for my Kitchen Aid mixer, Bella!  And, now I also have no fear of my future with Swiss Meringue Buttercream.  

These are a shocking light green color and I love the pop of orange in the liners and sprinkles on top.  Super moist and so full of citrus flavors.  A very nice cupcake version of the Japanese Slipper Cocktail.  Super festive, too!!

And, please check out all the other Midori-inspired baked creations this month at Cake of the Week.

Enjoy!

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Pistachio and Orange Liqueur Cake {Watergate Cake}

Okay, so raise your hand if you were alive when President Richard Nixon resigned?  How many of you watched his speech on TV?  Ah, even fewer...Okay, how many of you (or your parents) saved the newspaper announcing the resignation?  As I thought...Not a lot of you.

That's okay my friends, because we have the Watergate Cake to bring back that very pivotal time in political history.  And, just for the record: I can answer "yes" to each of those questions.  Yup, I'm that old.  :)  This single event in our history was my first real introduction into politics at a very young age.  We were living in Northern Virginia at the time of the Watergate Scandal and I was learning about U.S. History, so this had real meaning for me as a young history geek.  I'll never forget those times...

So, most of you don't know that I am a history geek.  Yeah, I read those really long and fairly dry presidential biographies and such.  The people on my commuter bus just roll their eyes when they see my books...I've received some flack for my geekness.  It could be worse...

This cake was developed by the folks at Jello when they introduced pistachio pudding.  The date coincided with the Watergate Scandal, so coming up with a name was pretty easy.  It's quite likely the only green cake widely known, but I think most folks have lost its original name.  So, pretty cool for me that this cake covers both my hobbies: the blog and reading history books...A true win-win for this geek.

Blog baking lore has it that this cake is so aptly named Watergate cake because Jello's pistachio cake was filled with nuts and covered in fluff much like the Nixon administration has been admonished.   Go ahead...Roll your eyes...

Watergate Complex, U.S. National Register on Historic Places

I really wanted to try a pistachio cake for a while, just sounded so good...This one is easy and the ingredients are simple.  I used salted pistachios which really added a huge pistachio flavor.  Very moist and holds up well to all that frosting. 

I used the ombre' frosting style that you see all over Pinterest.  I learned how to make the ombre' frosting from a video by Stephanie at 52 Kitchen Adventures (link below).  I highly recommend watching her video if you are a visual person, like me. 

You'll see this cake again sometime soon in its "scratch" version.  I bought myself a cookbook for my birthday this year: Vintage Cakes.  So, the cake is really "Part 1: Watergate Cake" with its "scratch" cousin coming soon. 

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Cosmopolitan Cupcakes

I threw a girls' night cocktail and dinner party for my mixer, Bella, which was custom painted by Nick Dinardo of Un Amore Custom Designs.  I also made these very special cupcakes for the party...Everyone loved them, moist, vodka-soaked cranberries surrounded by rich lime flavored cake and topped with Cosmopolitan frosting.  What more can I say?  

Bella's party companions were: Melanie, Jacqueline (my BIWB partner extraordinaire), Dorothy (Iron Blogger), Peggy, Nancy, Holly, and Hayley (Blogger Phenom).  All great friends who listened very patiently over the long, long months waiting for Bella to return.  After several delays, including a trip to Michigan to get fixed, she arrived a few weeks ago.  I couldn't be more happy with Nick's design and finished art work.  I am truly luck to have Bella in my home.

And, a very, very special thanks to Peggy for allowing me to borrow her "extra" KitchenAid while Bella was away.  I couldn't have baked a thing or blogged these last few months.  Most especially, there would have been NO Xmas cookies for my 30 friends and family.  I could not thank Peggy enough...Really.  If you bake and you have a KitchenAid, you know I mean.  :)


So you see what Bella is holding?  Take a close look...It's a cosmopolitan!  As the artist, Nick, was putting the finishing touches on Bella, we had to decide what she would be holding.  Rose, wooden spoon, glass of wine?  Wait, wait!  I am known among my friends for making a killer cosmo.  It was only fitting that Bella should be enjoying one for eternity, too.  And, see that bling...Swarovski crystals baby!  Nick's very special gift just for Bella!!

More on Bella later as I'm developing her signature cupcake...Just be patient cuz' you're going to LOVE it!

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Props to Our 1st Guest Baker, Mrs. Carolyn Murphy!

We've been sharing our new blog and booze-infused goodies with friends and co-workers.  Our friend and co-worker, Colleen, is SO LUCKY because her mom, yes her mom!, bakes yummies for Colleen's office at least TWICE a week.  I've sampled a few of Mr. Carolyn Murphy's exceptional baked goodies and am proud to present her as our 1st Guest Baker at BIWB. 

Her rendition of my

Drunken Monkey Bread: