A Grrl's Wrrld

Key Lime Cupcakes with Coconut Frosting

3 Aug

Last Sunday I did another Random Act of Cupcakes. In what has now become Random Act of Cupcake tradition, I had no plans to make cupcakes. Rather, I was cleaning out my closet and (finally) found my beloved Lilly Pulitzer scarf. That got me thinking about palm trees, then that got me thinking about key lime pie. Next thing you know I was at the grocery store looking for key limes and thinking up a way to make a coconut frosting.

I thought about my never-fail butter cream frosting, and thought that if I just swapped out the regular milk for coconut milk, it should do the trick nicely. I was right! Holy coconutty goodness!! When I was all done I had 18 insanely delicious key lime-filled cupcakes with coconut frosting. They were so good I had to share, so I took to twitter and withing minutes the hilarious @ALL_CAPS and I were arranging a delivery time! (BTW: If you aren’t following him on Twitter you should!)

I have to tell you, these cupcakes tasted so good actually I cried a little bit when I was eating one. I have received more compliments on these cupcakes than I have received in a very long time (and I get a lot of compliments for my cupcakes, let me tell you!)

So, if you’re looking for a cupcake that channels key west, break out your Lilly Pulitzer dress and serve up some of these babies at your next backyard barbecue. I have visions of serving these at a super-cute baby shower – the little lime slices just scream the kind of cuteness that a baby shower calls for!

Key-Lime Filled Cupcakes with Coconut Frosting

1 Large lime
3 egg yolks, plus 1 whole egg
1 pkg (18 oz ) Yellow cake mix
1 pkg ( 3.4 oz ) Vanilla instant pudding mix
1 1/4 cup Water
1/3 cup Vegetable oil
1 tsp coconut extract/flavouring

Filling
1 can Sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup Key lime juice (about 8 key limes)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Prepare the cupcake batter:
Zest the lime until you get 1 teaspoon of zest, and set aside. Squeeze the lime and reserve about two tablespoons of juice. Set aside.

Separate three of the eggs, placing the yolks in a mixing bowl along with one whole egg. Place the egg whites in a container and store in the fridge for another use.

To the eggs, add the cake mix, pudding mix, water, oil, coconut flavoring, lime zest and juice.

Blend with an electric mixer until the batter is smooth.

Scoop the batter into lined cupcake pans, and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and place cupcakes on wire racks to cool for 10-15 minutes.

Prepare the key lime filling:
Cut the key limes in half and juice until you get 1/3 cup. Key limes are pretty small, and they tend to vary in their smallness, so you will need about 6 or 8 key limes.

Place the sweetened condensed milk and Key lime juice in a small bowl and whisk together until combined. At first you will think that it is going to be far too runny, but the reaction between the milk and the juice makes the mixture thicken very quickly.

Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a medium tip. Press the tip 1/4 inch into the top center of each cooked cupcake and squeeze the bag to insert a generous amount of filling into the cupcake, lifting the tip out of the cupcake as you squeeze.

Pipe with coconut frosting and garnish with a key lime slice and sprinkle with a mixture of flaked, sweetened coconut and lime zest.

Coconut Frosting

This frosting is based on the Magnolia frosting that I use frequently.

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
6 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup coconut milk
2 teaspoons coconut extract/flavouring

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl.

Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the coconut milk and coconut extract. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes.

Gradually add the remaining sugar, and mix until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may need to add more or less of the icing sugar depending on the taste and consistency that you are looking for.

Comments 5 Comments
Categories Random Acts of Cupcakes, cupcakes, food, happiness is..., recipes
Author cupcakecowgrrl

Happy Anniversary, Ottawa!

31 Jul

Eleven years ago I set out in a beat-up old Toyota Corolla bound for The Nation’s Capital. I had never actually planned on moving to Ottawa – it was far too dull…

It was 1999 – the glory days of high-tech boom; I had just finished-up a dream workterm with one of the big high-tech heavy-weights of the day, and had enough ego to get me to the moon – or at least Toronto. Coming from a marketing/advertising background, Toronto would be my logical destination, but the geek inside me was easily swayed by the promise of a job in the company’s Kanata office. I ended up stopping 5 hours short of Toronto, and settled in Ottawa. Those were the days! Nortel was stealing employees from every company in town and Rebel.com wasn’t yet a laughing stock.

I will never forget the day I left St. John’s. The bumper on my 1986 Toyota Corolla was tied on to the car with a piece of rope and the muffler was braced into place with a bright yellow ponytail ring (I’m like MacGyver, I tell ya). There was so much stuff squished into the car that I’m sure the rims of the tires pressed against the pavement. Oh yeah, and I had my cat. And his litter box. And the stereo didn’t work. Family members actually waged bets on whether or not the car would survive the climb up Kelly’s Mountain when we got off the ferry and hit the mainland – err, Cape Breton. I don’t think I have ever prayed so hard in my life as I did on that ascent. Once we made it to the top, I knew everything would be smooth sailing from then on.

The memory of my arrival in Ottawa still comes flooding back to me every time drive past the split westbound on the Queensway. If you’re familiar with Ottawa you know the place I’m talking about. There’s a tiny hill on the highway and it is where newcomers get their first sight of the Peace Tower. For years I had only seen the Peace Tower on television and on my money – whenever I was lucky enough to actually have any! It was a Saturday, and the air was thick with humidity. I was sad, excited and terrified all at the same time. I missed home. As I took in my first sights of the Nation’s Capital – the Peace Tower, Museum of Nature, Corel (!) I shed a tear for what I had left behind, and for what was lying ahead of me that was yet unknown. If only I had known…

My Tuesday (it was the August 1st long weekend) got off to a good start – I got dressed, went in to the office to meet my future co-workers, see my new digs, and get my bearings. Things were looking good! A few days later I received a call from the company telling me that my position had been given to someone else – the HR Director’s daughter. It was then that I got my first taste of what Ottawa could be like. I could’ve gotten upset, I could’ve fought for the position that was rightfully mine, but instead I decided to make the most of the situation, and within two weeks I was starting an entry-level copywriting/ad production job at a marketing agency and I never looked back.

From that moment I have ridden what I call the Ottawa roller coaster – fast and furiously. Ottawa can be a city of beauty, of creativity, and of opportunity. It can also be a very difficult city to feel at home in – especially if you are not from here. I have often said that the people of Ottawa are like planets in orbit – each revolving in a circular motion – you have the natives, the diplomats, the tourists, and those who aren’t from here who have decided to make it their home. Sometimes the planets come into contact with one another, but if left to their own devices, they’re completely oblivious to one another. That’s the part that was hardest for me. I never really felt like I belonged in any of the circles.

I did lead a good life, though. I built a small circle of close friends, married and bought a house, had a good job and went to yoga on Tuesday nights. Then my life fell apart. In typical fashion, I managed to pick up the pieces and got my life back together, but somehow things just didn’t seem to fit, and finally in 2008 I decided I’d had enough. I needed a fresh start after that emotional roller coaster, and I felt like Ottawa was closing in on me. I packed up and I headed West. Within days of my arrival in Alberta I found myself longing for the life I had left behind – for the shops, the festivals, and for the friends - the friends I didn’t even realize I’d had. It turned out that Ottawa had become as much a part of my life as anything I’d taken comfort in up to then.

In the 6 months I lived in Alberta I did everything I could possibly do to get back to Ottawa, and finally did last May. My homecoming was bittersweet: I was eternally grateful to be back here, but I had to eat a lot of crow in the process. None of that mattered, though, the minute I pulled up to my friend Jodi’s house to pick up my apartment keys. I slipped back into my life in Ottawa like I had never left – with one exception – this time around I was grateful to be here. I found myself driving past landmarks and thinking to myself that I was lucky to be living in such a great city. I was making a point of spending time with my friends on a regular basis. I got out and experienced what the city had to offer, and I loved it!

This city has seen a lot with me – it has seen great success, harsh failures; it’s seen me burn bridges, and build networks; seen me love and have my heart broken; and this year, it has seen me lose my bestfriend – someone from Ottawa who let me into her orbit. These days I spend more of my time on the other side of the river, but it still doesn’t stop me from enjoying Ottawa. I savour every minute and I call it home – coming from a person from Newfoundland, that’s a pretty big statement.

So, Ottawa – the town that fun forgot. Thank you for 11 amazing years! Thank you for being hard on me; and thank you for being gentle. I love you more and more with every day that passes.

xo

Comments 2 Comments
Categories happiness is..., life in the grrl's wrrld
Author cupcakecowgrrl

Saturday night

13 Jul

After 16 years of waiting I finally got to see Hole (er, Courtney Love) live in concert on Saturday night. It was better than I ever imagined it could be.

My friend and I had VIP tickets at the Sound Academy. BTW: If you ever get a chance to check out a show there you should. It is a fantastic venue for live music.

Here we are hanging out after the show. I am very sweaty and my heavy eyeliner is smudged… just like it should be after a Hole show.

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Categories happiness is..., life in the grrl's wrrld
Author cupcakecowgrrl

the one where she trades in her apartment for a gypsy caravan…

7 Apr

my horoscope for 2008 said that I would spend the year traveling. No kidding. I spent new years eve in a snow bank outside of Fredericton, remember…

So life has brought me to a point where I have to decide if I should stay or go. F and I are leaving in three weeks to head to Romania (I know that doesn’t sound very romantic, but seriously, if you’ve ever been there you will understand my love for the god-forsaken place, if not…I’m afraid you will just have to take my word for it!)

We go back there to take possession of a vineyard that we started the buying process on two and a half years ago. I have to give you some background: F’s grandfather had a small vineyard in a tiny village in what is essentially wine country. After the war ended, communism took hold in their country; F’s grandfather refused to join the system and decided to resist. That wasn’t such a good thing for him, in that every time he built his house the government would tear it down. After harvest, the government would take his crops; so this went for many years. Eventually, realizing that he would not give in, the government took away his land and gave him the worst land in the village.

F, a young boy at the time, promised his grandfather that one day he would take the vineyard back. On summer breaks during his university years he worked to save enough money make his promise a reality. Eventually he saved enough to buy back most of the land, but his grandfather died before that happened.

Two years ago when we went to Romania we bought the final piece of the puzzle, as it were. Essentially it was the hill and valley that joined the pieces of land that he had slowly collected, and with this final piece, F’s grandfather’s vineyard would be restored. We bought it for about $5000 Canadian.

Two years later the paperwork is finally complete. Apparently it takes that long to trace land that has been stolen, sold and resold. It is a beautiful piece of land bordered by cyprus trees, and in the summer, filled with sunflowers. Seriously, Frances Mayes could not have written a prettier landscape. With this land comes a tiny house that is just over 200 years old. It is this little house that will be my home base for the month of May. We will be spending the month re-planning the vineyard (we have hired two helpers, and we will be planting about a thousand organic vines) and I’m going to learn how to keep bees! I’m very excited. Oh yeah, and there are about 200 litres of last year’s wine waiting for us there!

Once we return from Europe we start our nomadic life in Canada travelling from East to West visiting with friends, and trying to figure out just where we will settle for the next year (until I finish school.)

This brings me back to where I trade my apartment for a gypsy caravan…a sparkly pink one at that;) There is something so exciting about not knowing exactly what the future holds. Of course, I know what some of it holds…the control freak in me could never let me fly by the seat of my pants; but that being said, the idea of not being quite sure what is coming at a specific point in time is a very exciting concept for me right now. I don’t know exactly where I will end up, but I’m pretty sure it’s going to be one hell of a ride!