Zest (ingredient) | Cafe Carol

I am a scone fanatic, so when I saw this recipe over on Two Peas & Their Pod a while back I just knew I had to try it. I absolutely LOVE this website…the photography is beautiful and I haven’t seen a recipe yet that I don’t want to try. Take a look for yourself and you will see what I mean!

Strawberry Ricotta Scones

(from Two Peas & Their Pod)
1 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk (I used lowfat)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup ricotta cheese (also lowfat)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons lemon zest
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small cubes
1 cup chopped fresh strawberries
milk or heavy cream, for brushing the scones (I used fat-free half-and-half)
turbinado sugar, for sprinkling on the scones

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat baking mat and set aside.

Whisk together the egg, buttermilk, lemon juice and vanilla in a medium bowl. Add the ricotta cheese and whisk until combined. There will still be a few lumps. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the sugar and lemon zest. Rub together with your fingers until fragrant. In another large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon sugar mixture. Add the butter pieces to the flour mixture and toss with a fork just until the butter is coated with flour. Using a pastry cutter, fork, or your hands, cut the butter into the flour until you have a mixture of pea-sized clumps of butter and flour.

Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir with a spatula until just combined. Do not overmix the dough. Gently fold in the strawberries. Turn out the dough on a lightly floured surface and gently knead the dough briefly. If it is too sticky, you can add a little bit of flour as you knead. Pat the dough down into a disk, about 1/2 inch thick. Cut the dough into 8 wedges.

Transfer the scones to the prepared baking sheet and brush with milk or heavy cream. Sprinkle scones with turbinado sugar. Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until scones are golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack and serve.
The sweet, juicy chunks of strawberry and the lemon zest give these scones a wonderful flavor. Surprisingly, you can’t even taste the ricotta cheese. These strawberry ricotta scones would be the perfect breakfast for Mother’s Day!

Until next time,
Muncho Mom

Today is National Carrot Cake Day! How are YOU celebrating? Carrot cake is one of my husband’s most favorite desserts, so I celebrated by making these wonderful cupcakes by Martha Stewart.

Carrot Ginger Cupcakes
(Martha Stewart Living Magazine, November 1999)
Ingredients:
2/3 cup pecan halves
6 carrots, peeled
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread pecans in a single layer on an ungreased baking pan. Transfer to oven, and roast until toasted and brown, about 8 minutes. Give the pan a shake midway through roasting to make sure they roast evenly. Remove pan from oven and let stand until completely cool. Finely chop pecans and set aside. Line muffin tin with cupcake liners.

Using the smallest holes of a box grater, grate carrots to yield 1 3/4 cups.

Place grated carrots, eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, sugar, vegetable oil and ginger in a large bowl and whisk until well combined.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

Using a rubber spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the carrot mixture until just combined. Fold in toasted pecans.

Fill each cupcake to the top of the paper liner. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, rotating the pan halfway through, 20 to 25 minutes.

Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

These cupcakes would not be complete without the perfect frosting, so here it is…

Orange Ginger Frosting
(Martha Stewart Living Magazine, April 1999)
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3 bars (8 oz each) cream cheese, room temperature
3 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest
2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
Pinch of salt

Place butter in bowl and beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add cream cheese, and beat until well combined and fluffy, about 2 minutes more. Add sugar, orange zest, ginger, and salt, and beat for 5 minutes.

Now, for the lowdown:

This is a Martha Stewart recipe. Need I say more? Meaning, it’s slightly more complicated than your average recipe. Nothing too difficult for the average person, just more time-consuming steps. Was I crazy to try it? I don’t think so. However, I can say that I have never, ever grated carrots using the smallest possible holes on my box grater. Fortunately I made it through that task (which took FOREVER) with all of my knuckles intact!

Toasting the pecans is another added step, but trust me, you will be so glad you did. The aroma that filled our house while they were toasting in the oven was unbelievable.

Oh, and let’s not forget about the fresh ginger. Yes, I like to keep ginger root on hand, but I did not anticipate having to use all of it to get 2 teaspoons of grated fresh ginger. But, at least it didn’t take as long as grating the carrots.

The frosting – simple and easy to make. The freshly grated orange zest makes it sublime.

My final verdict is that these cupcakes are absolutely, fantastically fabulous!!! They are everything you would want in a cupcake – moist, flavorful, and purely delicious. Worth every minute of the excessive carrot grating. Totally, totally worth it. Enjoy!