California Stormy Night with Banana Cupcakes

On this stormy night*, I baked Banana-Walnut Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting. I have been baking my way through Martha Stewart's 100 Cupcakes book and this I believe is cupcake #6. I have a long way to go. M-Stew's recipe is actually Banana Pecan cupcakes, but I didn't have pecans and I didn't want to make caramel butter frosting.

I think this may be my favorite cupcake so far, although they are a lot like muffins. I don't know when M-Stew came up with these recipes, but I like to think she did them when she was in the slammer. White collar slammer where I'm sure she made someone her bitch.

Here's the recipe for M-Stew's Banana Pecan Cupcakes with Buttercream Caramel Frosting.
(I substituted a couple of things because it's what I had on hand. Instead of pecan, I used walnuts, instead of buttermilk I used heavy whipping cream, instead of caramel frosting I made vanilla).

*By the way, when I say storm, I mean "California storm." No snow, no typhoons or hurricanes. Just a lot of rain and some wind.

Day 15: Fall Back

It's daylight savings today and although I love the extra hour of sleep, it's always strange feeling like it is later than it should be.

In complete contrast to yesterday, today was cloudy and rainy but I didn't mind this weather either. I love   spending rainy days indoors in my sweats watching movies or shows-- not that this is different from a lot of my regular non-rainy days--but when it's wet outside, being lazy inside is justified.

Another perfect rainy day activity is getting together with a friend to have some cocktails... err.. I mean bake cupcakes.

These are Chocolate Guinness cupcakes (recipe from a previous post) and Maple cupcakes (recipe from Martha Stewart).

What's your favorite rainy day activity?

I tried to have my (cup)cake and eat it too (PB&J Cupcakes)

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches. A staple in every American family -- except mine. I had my very first ever PB&J at the age of 22. These are PB&J cupcakes. They're the best of both worlds (in regards to flavor) for me: sweet and salty.

I am the daughter of a Preacher man. My dad has been a pastor for about 20 years. You could imagine that a strict Christian household would be filled with rules of "Thou shalt not." Add Filipino immigrant parents (and children including myself) to the mix and you get rules of "Thou shalt not, or you'll end up like these bad American kids." That is the household in which I was raised. My parents were appalled at how my classmates behaved. Corporal punishment was not allowed in school, kids were allowed to wander around the classroom and students would talk back to their teachers. To my parents, this was the type of behavior and environment conducive to the makings of a future gang banger, prostitute and probably even a terrorist. Filipino schools were very regimented, almost militant. Students were to raise their hands a certain way, never talk back to their teachers and corporal and unusual forms of punishment was welcomed. I remember in first grade at the Good Shepherd Christian School in Manila, my teacher punished the class by making us stand with both arms stretched out in front of us. We did this for a long period of time as we struggled to keep our little 6-year-old arms afloat.

The ingredients for a PB&J cupcake are: 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, 1/4 tsp. baking soda, 3/4 tsp. of baking powder, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, 1 1/3 cups sugar, 2/3 cup of creamy peanut butter, 3 large eggs, 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract, 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup strawberry jelly or jam

Despite my parents' best efforts to keep what they deemed was American culture and evil worldly things from infiltrating my soul, by the time I was in the 7th grade, I had become a full-blown terror to my parents. I'll save my junior high years for another post. For now, I'll share certain events that are tell-tale signs of how my adolescent life would spiral toward a of world sneaking around, so to speak. It all began with 90210 and Color Me Bad.

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Meanwhile, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until it's pale and fluffy. Reduce the speed of the mixer to low and mix in peanut butter. Add the eggs one at a time. Mix in vanilla and gradually add the flour mixture. Add the sour cream and peanuts (optional). 

When the show Beverly Hills 90210 first came out, I was completely seduced by Dylan, Brandon, Steve, Brenda, Donna, Kelly, David.. but umm.. maybe not Andrea (let's face it, she was way too old and way too poor to be a student at West Bevery High). If you are under the age of 25, I'm not talking about the current 90210 that's on the CW. That show pales in comparison to the original. I was only in elementary school when 90210 first came out but I loved it. I may not have gotten a lot of the references or innuendos but I was intrigued by rich high school kids involved in love triangles, drugs and scandals. Unfortunately for me, my mom had suddenly decided to watch an episode or two and saw that Brenda was sleeping with Dylan, then Dylan was sleeping with Kelly, Kelly sleeping with Steve or Brandon and Andrea sleeping with no one and so forth. She said something to effect that these kids were like prostitutes and that I was NEVER to watch this show EVER AGAIN. I was crushed. I didn't watch the show for a while, until my parents made the mistake of trusting me with a TV in my room. I figured, hey they gave me a TV, they must want me to watch it! So, watch it I did. I sat close to the TV because I had to turn down the volume so no one would know that I was watching contraband. It was thrilling! I got to watch Donna Martin graduate.

Fill the cupcake tins about two-thirds of the way and cook for 22 minutes rotating half way. The cupcakes are extra light an fluffy when they're just out of the oven. Let cool


To make the Creamy PB frosting, you'll need 6 oz. cream cheese (room temp.), 1/3 cup of powder sugar, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 cup creamy PB, 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract and 1/2 cup heavy cream.

In the early 90s, I got most of my music by taping songs off the radio. My parents at the time disapproved of us listening to secular music, so, I didn't have any albums. Fortunately for me, cassette tapes were still around. My stereo was always loaded with a blank cassette tape ready just in case my favorite song was on the radio. I had amassed a collection of R&B, hip-hop and pop hits. On this one particular cassette, I had songs from Tevin Campbell (and for those of you too young to know who that is, he was like the Jutin Bieber of the early 90s; young, boyish good looks and a voice often mistaken for a girl), Boyz II Men, Salt N Peppa and Color Me Bad.

One day, my mom decided to listen to my stereo. When she hit play, blaring out the speakers was Color Me Bad singing the words "I wanna sex you up, tick tock you don't stop." My mom was furious and said that someone my age should not be listening to poison. No, not poison the band or the Bel Biv Devoe song -- poison like arsenic for my soul. She then took the tape, and her hands -- her soft, loving, warm hands that have nurtured me from birth -- transformed into the jaws of life and split the cassette tape in half! Just when I thought the worst was over, she demanded, "Where's the rest of your tapes?" That's right. She took away all of my cassette tapes that I had spent hours and hours waiting for the DJ to play on the radio. Like a tornado, she tore through my room searching for my tapes and she didn't stop there. She then went into my older brother's room and took his too! Needless to say, my brother was very very pissed at me and I think I got a pretty good punch from him on my shoulder. I. Was. Devastated.

A couple of months later, I found my tapes under boxes in the garage and snuck them back into my room. I hid them well and only listened in headphones or when my parents weren't around. I was careful not to start belching out lyrics like "Ahh, push it, push it real good!" when they were around.

So, at the age of about 10, I knew that I had to make a change in my life. I had to start getting better at hiding things from my parents.

For the PB frosting, with an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and powder sugar until pale and fluffy. Add salt and PB and beat to combine. Add vanilla. In another bowl, with an electric mixer, whisk cream until medium-stiff peak forms. Fold into PB mixture. 


When frosting the cupcake, leave a well in the middle for jam or jelly.

This was the only photo I got using my cell phone. I forgot my handy dandy camera. This doesn't look good, but it was delish. Sarah D. helped with the cupcakes and so did Molly. We made two other types of cupcakes, but I didn't get a picture. We buy our way into our co-workers hearts by serving them cupcakes.

P.S. Over the years my parents became a little less strict and I didn't have to hide so much anymore. I turned out to be a model citizen. I recycle, reduce and reuse. I shower everyday and I occassionally open the door for old people.

Brownie Heart Cupcakes for the first boy I ever kissed

I've decided to jazz up my posts by sharing a little something about myself. I'm sorry to say that you will find just how ordinary -- even dull -- my life is. These brownie cupcakes are dedicated to the first boy I ever called "boyfriend," the first boy I ever shared a real kiss with and the first boy ever to break my heart.

This cupcake recipe I found in Martha Stewart's cupcake book. It calls for 3 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 1 1/2 tsp. coarse salt, 1 cup (2 sticks) of room temp. butter, 12 oz. of unsweetened chocolate coarsely chopped, 3 cups of sugar, 6 large eggs (room temp) and 1 tbsp vanilla extract. (yields 24 cupcakes plus 24 hearts)

I was in the 7th grade and we had a P.E. class together. Every month when we were assigned a spot to do our stretches, I desperately prayed that I would get a spot close to his. Of course with my luck I never did. However, from where I stood, I was able to catch a few glimpses of him while we did our daily warm-ups and that was enough to get me through the day. Then of course in my head I meticulously timed and mapped out routes to my classes to increase my chances of running into him in the hallways.

I didn't have a clue if this guy noticed me. Our exchanges were limited and no one in the world knew that I was pining for him.

He had dark stringy hair that went down to his eyes and was often parted in the middle. He was thin, average height -- think of a typical Asian kid. He occasionally wore glasses. His daily wardrobe consisted of pants that were five times larger than his size and some type of oversized sports jersey. My heart would melt every time I saw him swagger down the hall wearing a football jersey so big that it draped down to his knees. I was nonchalant on the outside, but every ounce of me inside swooned.

To make the cupcakes, spray pans with non-stick spray. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Heat butter and chocolate in a microwave stirring occasionally, then add sugar. With an electric mixer on med-high, whisk until mixture is smooth. Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and beat for 3 more minutes. Reduce speed to low then gradually add two thirds of the flour mixture, beat until combined. Remove from mixture and add rest of the flour by folding it in by hand. Smooth tops after putting mixture into the cupcake molds. Bake cupcakes for 17 min. (rotate halfway through), and bake the square pan for 25 min. Let cool.

One morning, God took pity on me and answered my plea. While we were waiting for the bell to ring, this girl who he is friends with approached me and asked me "What is your opinion of him?" I was so taken aback by that question that I couldn't find the right words to answer. The question was so odd. Then I see from a distance, he is intently watching us talk! Blood suddenly rushed to my head and it's as if I could feel my face turn bright pink. She then said, "Well, he likes you and wants to know if you'll go out with him." At the time "going out" of course meant automatically being boyfriend and girlfriend not actually physically going out on a date. I thought, be cool, don't be a dork and start giggling. I calmly replied, "Umm, sure." She walked back over to him and relayed the message and I saw that he was pleased! I was walking on clouds. The bell rang and we all dismissed for class. I did not see him the rest of the day. He called me later that night.

To make fluffy vanilla frosting, use 3 sticks of butter (room temp), 4 cups of powdered sugar and 1/2 tsp. of vanilla extract. With an electric mixer beat butter until creamy, add sugar half a cup at a time. Then increase speed for 10 seconds to aerate frosting, then return to medium speed. This process should take 5 minutes. Frosting should be pale and fluffy. Add vanilla and some red food dye and beat until frosting is smooth.

To our friends, we made a great looking couple because we both literally dressed alike. I was going through my phase of dressing like a boy. I too wore very baggy pants and my older brother's sports jersey's to school. For some reason the boys I went to junior high with were attracted to girls who wore clothes they could borrow. It must be early indications of narcissism that fully develops when they become full grown men. I can imagine for a junior high boy, it would take up some courage to start hanging out with your girlfriend instead of your buddies during passing periods. We would hold hands and kiss before classes and after school. That was our routine. We did that for two months and it all came to an abrupt end. I hadn't seen him in school for a while, he was indifferent towards me and he was short with me on the phone. So, much like the way our relationship began with a message from his friend, our relationship ended with a message from his friend telling me he wanted to break up. I was shocked and devastated but I don't think I cried. To be honest, I cannot remember the reason he gave for the break up, but I think he transferred schools a couple of months later and I never saw or heard from him again.

Brian, these cupcakes are for you wherever you may be.

Chances are he's probably happily married with kids, but instead I'm going to think he's either miserable and alone or in jail. No. I'm not bitter about a silly junior high romance. Not bitter at all.

Use heart shaped cookie cutters on the sheet of brownies and place on top of the frosted cupcakes.
(I used a mini heart shaped cookie cutter and make sure the brownies are cool before adding the buttercream frosting because it will melt. If  you use semi-sweet chocolates, use less butter and sugar for the frosting as the cupcake will become too sweet.)

I fed my Brady bunch family these cupcakes and they were a hit. Of course my oldest sister teased and asked if I was going to blog about them. I said of course. She's such a hater.