Recipe – Page 2 – Will Bake for Shoes

Cocktails

Brunch for Dinner with ZICO Part 2 – Zico Cocktail Recipes

Posted on October 21, 2014by Brandy Saldana

As part of the Brunch for Dinner with Zico, our Brunch featured some delicious cocktails featuring the new Zico Chilled Juices. The Orange Chilled Juice is perfect paired with champagne for a spin on the classic mimosa, but try out these other delicious, and simple, recipes perfect for any upcoming party!

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ZICO Sunset in Paradiseby Naked Kitchen October-21-2014Ingredients1 Oz. Gin1 Oz. Sake Nigori2 Oz. ZICO Chilled Pineapple Mango Juice Blend1 Dash of Angostura bitters1 1/2 Oz. Lime Cordial (Recipe Follows)4 Limes, zested and juiced (keep zest and juice seperate)1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar1/2 Cup Boiling WaterInstructionsCombine all ingredients in a shaker, shake with ice, strain and serve in a chilled cocktail glass.
Combine zest and sugar in a mortar and pestle, and grind until sugar resembles wet sand. Add water to dissolve sugar. Strain, chill, and add reserved juice. DetailsPrep time: 8 mins Cook time: Total time: 8 mins Yield: 1 Serving

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ZICO Spicy Orangeby Naked Kitchen October-21-2014Ingredients1 Oz. Vodka1 Oz. Champagne2 Oz. ZICO Chilled Orange Juice Blend1 Dash of Free Bros Old Fashioned Bitters1/4 Oz. Ginger Syrup (recipe follows)3 T. Grated Ginger1/2 Cup Sugar1/2 Cup WaterInstructionsCombine vodka, syrup, coconut water, and bitters in a shaker. Shake with ice, strain into chilled cocktail glass. Top with champagne.Ginger Syrup:
Bring mixture to a boil to dissolve sugar, strain, chill. Makes about 1 cup.DetailsPrep time: 8 mins Cook time: Total time: 8 mins Yield: 1 Serving
Let me know if you try either of these out. My favorite of the two was the Spicy Orange, but I am impressed with how versatile these juices are to work in both a cocktail drink and in a jam! I am thinking of incorporating one in a cupcake recipe, but we’ll see how far I get with that idea. Thanks to +ZICO for hosting this sweet event at the Naked Kitchen in SF!
Hope you are having a great week. Until next time,

Brunch for Dinner with ZICO Part 1 – Coconut Pineapple Jam Recipe

Posted on October 19, 2014by Brandy Saldana

A couple of weeks ago, a couple of my blogger friends and I were invited by Zico to taste their new chilled juice blends and to enjoy Brunch for Dinner. The dinner party was held at the Naked Kitchen in the Mission and featured a delicious menu by head chef Anthony Yang.

For starters, we enjoyed mini beet buttermilk pancakes topped with goat cheese and edible flowers. The presentation of the mini pancakes was really cute and they were in fact tasty.

I sat next to Chanda and Zico Rep. Kelly Curran, and enjoyed the rest of my brunch for dinner talking restaurants with these foodies. The menu for the evening consisted of:
Homemade Coffee Granola with Organic Straus Yogurt, and Coconut Pineapple Vanilla Jam Featuring Zico Chilled Pineapple Mango Juice Blend
Smoked Salmon, Cauliflower Puree, Chopped Capers, Toasted Mini Everything Bagels
Koshihikari Rice Porridge, Poached Egg, Braised Togarashi Pork, Homemade Pickles
Black Truffle Waffles
The food was fantastic! If you are in the Bay Area, you can always check out Naked Kitchen for upcoming events, but for a taste of Anthony Yang’s delectable brunch, you can get more info here. I loved everything, but the two must-haves from the menu are the porridge and waffle dishes. If you don’t live in the Bay Area, but want to get a taste for the menu, I was lucky receive a copy of the recipe used to make the jam in the yogurt in case you would like to try if for your next brunch (or brunch for dinner!)

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Zico Coconut Pineapple Jam Recipeby Naked Kitchen October-19-2014Ingredients2 Cups plus 2 Tbsp. Zico Pineapple Mango Juice Blend1 Vanilla Bean, Split and Scraped1 Tsp. Agar Agar (or gelatin)1 Tsp. SaltInstructionsBring juice and vanilla bean to a boil. Add agar and whisk in vigorously. Season with salt and immediately cool down mixture in refrigerator. Transfer to blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Serve with yogurt, granola and bits of pineapple and enjoy!DetailsPrep time: 5 mins Cook time: 6 mins Total time: 11 mins Yield: 2 ServingsAs part of the event, we also enjoyed yummy cocktails made with the Zico’s new chilled juices. I’ll be sharing those recipes in my next post, so tuned for Part 2.
Until next time,
Brandy| BLOGLOVIN | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM |TUMBLR | TWITTER |

Photos by Ashley Batz

Cupcakes

Margarita Cupcakes

Posted on September 16, 2014by Brandy Saldana

I made Margarita Cupcakes for Cinco de Mayo, but did not have a chance to share photos or the recipe since I was in the middle of my 40 Days of DVF series. Since today is Mexican Independence Day, I thought it would be a good idea to share the recipe for these. It might inspire you to make them to enjoy them after a Taco Tuesday dinner tonight.

I wanted to make cupcakes using good tequila so that I had an excuse to add another bottle to my bar cart. A lot of the recipes I found online and in my books had margarita cupcakes made without tequila though, which made me think they don’t typically come with Tequila. I stumbled upon this great Margarita Cupcake recipe by the Brown Eyed Baker, and she was just as disappointed with other recipes since they didn’t have booze. So she came up with a recipe that includes tequila in not just the cupcake, but also in the frosting! While most alcohol bakes off, the trick to having these taste like tequila is brushing on some while the cupcakes are cooling off. Of course, you can always omit tequila from the recipe, but here are the ingredients and directions for making some really boozy cupcakes. I used Silver Patron Tequila, but it is not necessary to use the same tequila. However, it is recommended to use a Blanco (silver/white) tequila for this recipe. Now let’s get to baking!

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Margarita Cupcakesby Brown Eyed Baker September-16-2014Ingredients1 1/2 Cup All-Purpose Flour1 1/2 Tsp. Baking Powder1/4 Tsp. Salt1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter (room temperature)1 Cup Granulated Sugar2 Eggs (room temperature)2 1/2 Limes (Zest and Juice)2 Tbsp. Tequila1/4 Tsp. Vanilla Extract1/2 Cup Buttermilk1 – 2 Tbsp. Tequila (To brush cupcakes)1 Cup Unsalted Butter2 3/4 Cup Powdered Sugar2 Tbsp. Lime Juice2 Tbsp. TequilaPinch of Coarse Salt Sea SaltInstructions1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
3. In an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter and sugar together until pale, light, and fluffy (about 5 minutes).
4. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and add the eggs one at at time, mixing thoroughly after each addition.
5. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the lime zest, lime juice, vanilla extract and tequila. Mix until combined. (The mixture may start to look curdled at this point, but don’t worry, it will all come back together.) If you omit the tequila, you don’t need to add anything else in its place.
6. Reduce the mixer speed low. Add the dry ingredients in three batches, alternating with the buttermilk in two batches. Mix only until just incorporated, using a rubber spatula to give it one last mix by hand.
7. Pour batter into liners until each cup is about 2/3 full. Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until just slightly golden and a toothpick shows only moist crumbs attached. (It was recommended to rotate the pan at the halfway point, but I didn’t do that and they turned out fine.)
8. Allow cupcakes to cool for 5 to 10 minutes, and then remove to a cooling rack. Brush the tops of the cupcakes with the 1 to 2 tablespoons of tequila. Set the cupcakes aside to cool completely before frosting them.
9. To make the frosting, whip the butter on medium-high speed of an electric mixer using the whisk attachment for 5 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium-low, and gradually add the powdered sugar, mixing and scraping the sides of the bowl until all is incorporated. Give it a mix on medium speed for about 30 seconds. Add the lime juice, tequila and salt mix on medium-high speed until incorporated and fluffy. If you prefer frosting without tequila, add 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract to the frosting instead. If the frosting appears a bit too soft, add some additional sugar, one spoonful at a time until desired consistency is reached.
10. Frost cupcakes and garnish, if desired, with lime zest, an additional sprinkling of sea salt and a lime wedge.
DetailsPrep time: 25 mins Cook time: 25 mins Total time: 50 mins Yield: 12 Cupcakes

I bought about 4 limes for zest and garnish and did not use any of mine for the juice. Instead I bought a bottle of lime juice and put in about 2 tablespoons. If your lime juice is concentrated, use a little less since it might be too strong.
And there you have it! Hope your cupcakes come out looking as pretty (and tasty) as these. My coworkers thought that these really tasted like margaritas thanks to the tequila and sea salt. They are the perfect treat at the end of a warm day, and you don’t need it to be Cinco de Mayo or Grito de Dolores (Mexican Independance Day) to enjoy these.
Salud! And until next time,

Cupcakes

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cupcakes

Posted on June 14, 2013by Brandy Saldana

I shared photos on Instagram earlier this week of some Peanut Butter and Chocolate cupcakes and after some requests I decided to share the recipe I used to make these. I feel like I don’t post cupcakes on this blog often enough, but part of that reason is that I have been busy/ focused on the Fashion and Events portion of my blog. Then there is the constant closet clean out that makes my small, studio apartment feel claustrophobic since not all of my clothes are hanging in a closet. I hate admitting I have piles of clothes scattered throughout the apartment that I am working on selling because I consider myself a neat freak, but I blame Armando for taking up 1/3 of our closet. (Side note: he probably doesn’t even have that much space and I am probably just a clothes hoarder.)
Since I am sharing the skeletons inside (and outside) of my closet, whenever I make cupcakes I typically do not make them from scratch. (Gasp!) Shocking I know, but sometimes it is either that or no cupcakes at all and making no cupcakes is sometimes unacceptable! And who doesn’t like Betty Crocker anyway?
While I used the store-bought cake mix, I did add some unique touches that you are welcome to try (and change) to improve the cupcake.

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Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cupcakesby Brandy Saldana June-14-2013Ingredients1 Box Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix4 Large Eggs1 Cup Buttermilk (substitutes water) 1 Cup Reese’s Peanut Butter Chips1 Can Vanilla Frosting1 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter Chocolate Sprinkles (optional)InstructionsFollow the directions on the box substituting the water listed on the box with a cup of buttermilk. If you are like me don’t have buttermilk readily available sometimes, you can substitute by adding a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk. Let it sit for 3-5 minutes so that the milk curdles a bit. I add buttermilk to box cake mix for a denser cake which is useful when doing a lot of elaborate decorations. (If you prefer a moister cupcake, you do not have to follow the directions of adding buttermilk and an extra egg, but I thought I’d share what I did to make it firm.)

With the oven preheated to 350 degrees and the cake batter mixed well, fill up 2/3 of the paper liners in your pan with batter. I added the Reese’s Peanut Butter Chips after I filled the liners and tried to mix them in each liner to spread out evenly using a toothpick. I prefer adding small items like this at the end to spread them out evenly in each cupcake. Mixing them in the bowl first could result in the chips ending up at the bottom and leave some cupcakes without any.

While you bake and let the cupcakes cool, you can prepare the frosting. I placed half the frosting in a small bowl and half of the peanut butter. I listed 1/2 Cup total, but more can be added depending on how strong you want the peanut butter flavor. While I know how to make frosting from scratch, this is definitely easier and not as time-consuming. If you ever need to bake in a rush but still want a unique flavor, this is the way to go.

For the swirl on the cupcake I used a Wilton 1M swirl tip. I tend to not overwhelm my cupcakes with frosting so I swirled a generous amount of frosting starting from the outside going in. I do have bags by Wilton that I use for the frosting, but you can also use 1 gallon freezer bags and cut the right size hole at one of the corners to also get the job done. Add the sprinkles if you like before the frosting hardens, and then you are done!DetailsPrep time: 16 mins Cook time: 16 mins Total time: 36 mins Yield: 24 Cupcakes

My co-workers and I tested them and everyone approved so I hope they tickle your taste buds too. (I displayed them in my cubicle on a pastry plate that I purchased at Ikea.) I really hope you enjoyed my first recipe post for cupcakes and I am inspired to share more in the future. Let me know if you try this recipe or how you put your own spin on it.