Fit - {Grapefruit Poppy Seed Cupcakes with Strawberry Rhubarb Jam and Cream Cheese Swiss Meringue Buttercream}

My budget-friendly, no-name, strap-covered, lace-up, too-small work shoes have finally worn in. Over the past month, I've gotten used their song over the wooden floors of the office and become accustomed to the funky way they make me walk up and down stairs.


I've discovered the ever-flowing source of coffee in the back room and - thanks to the help of our office assistant, C - located its neatly organized accompaniments within the nearby drawers and cabinets. Today I even learned how to make a decent pot under coworker N's instruction.

So, have you guessed? I got the internship! I apologize for my absence in recent weeks, but work, school and friends have been keeping me busy - and pleasantly so. I think, however, that things will be easing up now and I should be able to resume my regular posting schedule from this point forward. Huzzah!

But, back to work:

The office is so friendly and relaxed that I don't feel like I'm "at work" while I'm there. It's more like I'm hanging out with friends who just happen to be collaborating on cool projects 24/7. Does that sound weird? I can't decide. Either way, it's amazing and I plan to enjoy every second of it.


I credit much of my comfort to the presence of humor in the office - which I appreciate more than I'm capable of expressing - and the fact that everyone is so helpful and accepting and nice and witty and... Wow. I sound like a suck up. I swear that's not what I'm going for, but it's difficult to share the details of this experience without feeling like I'm coming off that way!

I'm learning so much from everyone and finally seeing the ways that things I've studied in class can be applied to life. I was even able to help analyze the results of a focus group in the same week that we went over them in one of my classes. Maybe it means nothing to you, but it was incredibly exciting for me! So much so that I emailed my boss at 9:48 on a Saturday night to let her know how giddy I was that I had, at that moment, just finished reading about focus groups in my textbook.

You know, because cool kids read market research textbooks on Saturday nights.

I certainly haven't learned everything there is to know and I ask lots of questions (computer ones, lately. I'm a PC in an overwhelmingly Mac world), but I'm settling in - and I love it!


But, before I get back to the stack of textbooks lovingly calling out to me from across my uncomfortably disheveled bedroom (can't wait to cleannnnn), I want to thank all of you for sticking with me, both when I am and am not here! Also, thanks for your continued encouragement - this blog was a large part of the reason I got the internship, and I couldn't have done it without your help!

All the best,
Kaitlin

Grapefruit Poppy Seed Cupcakes with Strawberry Rhubarb Jam and Vanilla Cream Cheese Swiss Meringue Buttercream
I took these to work today and they were a hit! These cupcakes are tangy, bitter and sweet - definitely unique! Makes 15 cupcakes.

Printable Recipe

Grapefruit Poppy Seed Cupcakes adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

7/8 c (174g) sugar
zest of 2 grapefruit
1 1/3 c + 2 Tbsp (200g) flour
1/4 c cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp poppy seeds
1/4 c (60g) butter
1/4 c (52g) shortening
1 egg yolk
vanilla
3/4 freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, cold
2 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Preheat the oven to 325F. This recipe yields 15 cupcakes, so line the appropriate amount of cupcake tins and set aside.

Place the sugar and grapefruit zest in a small bowl and rub together with your fingers until it looks like wet sand and is very fragrant. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt and poppy seeds. Set aside.

In your mixing bowl, combine the butter and shortening and cream together until well combined, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and add the sugar. Beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Scrape the bowl again and add the egg yolk and vanilla. Beat until just combined.

Alternating, add the dry ingredients and the grapefruit juice to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Begin with 1/3 of the dry, then add 1/2 of the wet, and repeat. Set aside.

In another bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar to soft peaks. Be very careful not to over beat!

Take 1/3 of the whipped egg whites and fold it gently into the batter. Add the remaining egg whites and fold just until no streaks remain. Divide between the 15 cupcake liners and bake until the top springs back when pressed, 18-20 minutes. Cool pans on rack, de-panning the cakes after 2 minutes. Allow to cool completely.

Grapefruit Syrup

1/2 grapefruit, juiced
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp water

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and strain, reserving the liquid and tossing out any solids.

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

1 1/2 c (100g) strawberries, chopped
1 1/2 c (150g) rhubarb, chopped
1 Tbsp grapefruit juice, freshly squeezed
1/4 c (50g) sugar

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer, uncovered, over medium low heat until most of the liquid has evaporated and the jam is quite thick. Set aside to cool.

Cream Cheese Swiss Meringue Buttercream

3 (100g) egg whites
2/3 c (130g) sugar
10 Tbsp (142g) butter, cubed and at room temp
1 tsp vanilla
4 oz (113g) cream cheese, cubed and at room temp


In the base of a double boiler, bring water to a simmer. In the top bowl (or just a bowl to place over a pan of simmering water) combine the egg whites and sugar and whisk constantly until the mixture is hot to the touch (160F on a candy thermometer if you want to be completely accurate), about five minutes depending on the original temperature of the eggs. When the mixture has warmed sufficiently, pour it into the bowl of your stand mixer and whip on high speed until the bottom of the bowl is room temperature, ten to fifteen minutes. When the bowl is no longer warm, turn the mixer to medium-low and begin adding the butter piece by piece. Let each chunk incorporate completely before adding the next and don't rush the process!

After all of the butter has been added, add the vanilla and turn the speed back to high. Whip for about 3 minutes or until the buttercream comes together. Turn the speed down to low and add the cream cheese, then mix on medium to fully incorporate.

Assembly
Grapefruit Poppy Seed Cupcakes
Sharp knife
Spoon
Grapefruit Syrup
Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
Cream Cheese Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Piping bag, piping tips, sprinkles and gum paste flowers to decorate, if desired

Using a sharp knife, cut a cylinder in the cupcake about 3/4s of the cupcake's height deep. Using a spoon, core out the center in one piece. Flip over and trim off part of the bottom.

Drizzle a little grapefruit syrup into the cavity, then drop in a spoonful of Strawberry Rhubarb Jam. Top with the circle of cupcake you cut out previously. Pierce the cupcake with a skewer and drizzle with a little more grapefruit syrup.

Top the cupcake with Cream Cheese Swiss Meringue Buttercream and decorate as desired.

Fit - {Grapefruit Poppy Seed Cupcakes with Strawberry Rhubarb Jam and Cream Cheese Swiss Meringue Buttercream}

The Process - {Sweet Potato Ginger Spice Cake with Toasted Marshmallow Filling and Brown Sugar Maple Buttercream}

I've learned a lot of things in college. Some about the world, some about laundry, some about people, some about science... You get it.

Thankfully, not everything I learn gets pounded in my head. To the delight of students everywhere, profs - generally - seem to understand that not every little bit of information they share with us is something that necessarily needs to be committed to memory.

But if I have learned anything, it's that when an instructor repeats themselves - blatantly or not - you'd better take note. Pepper that definition in the margins and season your textbook with fluorescence; repetition means at least one of the following:

a) it's on the midterm
b) it's on the final
b) it's just plain important


So, to save my poor future self the headache, I do my best to just memorize the important stuff as it's delivered. It's the only way to be safe.

Which means that when prof started dropping dates and advice at least twice a class in regard to an upcoming career and internship fair, I made myself a note. Multiple notes on multiple notebooks and devices that I saw whenever I switched classes, sent a text, checked my email, or turned on my computer. That date was there, which I knew meant I would be, too.

But after sharing the date, prof would share his favorite line of advice with the class:

"First impressions are the most important."

Um. Duh. He threw out the tip as all-knowingly as he was able - a skill the man had truly mastered - and went about sharing tactics for being memorable. His rhetoric was laughable and simplistic as he carried on in that monstrous lecture hall; an endless stream of advice about standing too close and standing too far away and watching your language and not bad-mouthing other bosses and maintaining eye contact and being honest and - woah. Really, dude? I felt like I was sitting on on some sort of Remedial Basic Human Functioning course.

Naturally, I pulled my phone from my pocket and texted H about going shopping for an outfit to wear to the career fair later that evening.

I was feeling confident when we left the mall; one trip to the grocery store poorer and one dress richer. I had decided not to buy new shoes and accessories in the interest of practicality, choosing instead to wear what I had at home in addition to the professional robing that I had, until then, lacked. Everything was set, it seemed, until sleep began to lace my eyes. It was at that moment that prof's advice began replaying in my mind - each time louder than the last. It made me nervous, and understandably so, certain that his tedious repetition and over-explanation must have been of some importance. Suddenly apprehensive, I lost a lot of self-confidence in a matter of seconds.

When I woke up in the morning, I was distraught. The hair framing my face was at an awkward length - somewhere between barely ponytail-able and kinda cute left loose - and I had awful circles under my eyes. My mascara did that annoying thing where it leaves a trail of dots on your eyelids.

An unfortunately red zit had made a home on the side of my nose.

Outside it was stormy and cold, but I stumbled into my dress and only pair of black shoes - the ones that I had forgotten added 4 inches to my 5 foot 8 inch self - and stepped into the driver's seat of my impressively/embarrassingly old car. Of course, I'd incorrectly assumed I had an umbrella in my car, so I walked into the building with slicked-back hair and smeared makeup; a complete mess sporting a cheap binder with a pair of [thankfully dry] resumes waiting inside.


When I approached the booth of the company I most wanted to work for, I felt severely unprepared. I was awkward and choppy, and though I planned to avoid mentioning that I had never been to a career fair before (as prof had suggested many times), I found the words somehow floating in the air. He'd told us to appear confident so as to make ourselves more appealing, but it wasn't happening. He told us to speak eloquently and clearly, but... That wasn't happening. His common sense tips for respecting personal space and being honest came to me naturally, but other than that... Prof had done nothing but stress me out.

So I took matters into my own hand.

Instead of talking about only work and job experience, we talked about bacon. And breakfast. And blogs. I'm pretty sure she could tell I wasn't sure of myself, which probably helped make the irrelevant conversation more comfortable, but just talking about familiar things made me feel better AND sound like I wasn't a total moron. It was a quick exchange, no more than five minutes, but I dropped off my resume and headed home a little less stressed, and still positive of nothing.

But I did learn something. The last-minute stressing didn't do much good for me. In the end, if the company wanted me, they'd let me know. If not... Well, there'd be other opportunities. But in order to make their decision easier, I realized that the most important thing to do was to just be myself.

Which, for some reason, is something prof neglected to mention.

Autumn Delight Cake slightly adapted from Sweetapolita
I know it's no longer autumn, but we've been enjoying a mild winter for a number of weeks, so I'm keeping the autumn spirit alive with this cake. It's a combination of dense, fluffy and smooth that I'm sure you'll love. The toasted marshmallow filling is my favorite component!

Printable Recipe

Sweet Potato Ginger Cake

2 lbs (908 g) sweet potatoes (about 3 large)
2 c (230 g) cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
2 c (400 g) sugar
4 eggs, room temp
1 1/4 c (315 ml) sunflower oil (or vegetable, safflower, canola oil)
2 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp brandy or dark rum
3/4 c (120 g) crystallized ginger chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Oil and line two 8" cake pans and set aside.

Place the sweet potatoes on a microwave-safe plate and pierce them with a fork. Microwave until they are tender throughout, about 7-8 minutes per side, and allow to cool. When they are cool enough to handle, remove the skin and mash into a coarse puree. Set aside.

In a medium size bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Set aside.

Combine the eggs and sugar in the bowl of your mixer and beat together with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the oil and beat to incorporate. Add the cooled sweet potato puree, vanilla and rum, then mix until well combined.

Sift the mixed dry ingredients over the batter in one addition and mix gently to combine, scraping the sides of the bowl. Fold in the crystallized ginger chips.

Divide the batter between the two prepared pans and smooth the tops with an offset spatula. Bake until the top springs back when gently pressed, about 40 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on a rack for ten minutes, then remove from pans and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in the fridge to cool completely.

Brown Sugar and Maple Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Please click here for a step-by-step guide to making Swiss Meringue Buttercream and troubleshooting tips!

5 egg whites
1 1/4 c (250 g) light brown sugar
1 1/2 c (340 g) butter, room temp and cut into cubes
2 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp maple syrup

In a double boiler, cook the egg whites and sugar over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture is hot, about five minutes (test by rubbing some between your fingers. If it's completely smooth, it's done). Pour into another bowl (a stand mixer is preferable) and whip on high speed until room temp. Then, on a medium-low speed, add the butter, waiting until each piece is completely incorporated before adding the next. The buttercream may turn into a soupy curdled mess during this process, but if you continue beating it for a few minutes it will become light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and maple syrup, then beat to combine.

Whipped Toasted Marshmallow Filling
This is best used immediately (but it keeps fine in the cake), and should be kept at room temperature until needed for assembly. Also, it tastes amazing. Try to save some for the cake ;)

12-16 standard-size marshmallows
1 c (227 g) butter, room temp
1 c (125 g) confectioner's sugar, sifted
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
7.5 oz Marshmallow Fluff
pinch of salt

Turn on your broiler and arrange marshmallows on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Place tray in lower rack of oven and broil until browned on top, keeping a close eye on them. Remove the tray and carefully flip the marshmallows. Return to the oven and broil until the other half is browned. Cool on a wire rack.

Whip the butter with the paddle attachment until very light and fluffy, about 8 minutes.

Add the confectioner's sugar, milk, vanilla and salt and mix slowly to incorporate, then beat for another 6 minutes.

Add the cooled toasted marshmallows and marshmallow fluff, mixing on low speed for about 2 minutes.

Assembly
Click here for a tutorial for assembling layer cakes, and here for my preferred frosting method.

2 x 8" Sweet Potato Ginger Cake
Whipped Toasted Marshmallow Filling
Brown Sugar Maple Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Remove the chilled Sweet Potato Ginger Cakes from the freezer and level them. Cut each in half horizontally.

Set one layer down on your serving plate and top with 1/3 of the Whipped Toasted Marshmallow Filling. Spread evenly from the center out to the edges. Place another layer on top, and add another third of the filling. Spread to the edges and repeat one more time. After placing the last layer of cake on top, crumb coat the entire cake with the Brown Sugar Maple Buttercream to seal in any stray crumbs. Frost as desired with remaining buttercream.

The Process - {Sweet Potato Ginger Spice Cake with Toasted Marshmallow Filling and Brown Sugar Maple Buttercream}

Review - {Stollen}

The beginning of this year was rough for me; passing with a flood of tears and confusion. After a breakup in February, Mom picked me up from my apartment with chocolates and tissues waiting for me on the passenger seat of her silver SUV. The next day, Dad listened to me cry over breakfast at Shirley's. Every moment preceding, inbetween and following was filled with help from S, R, H and others; all helping bring out the emotions that would force me overcome my blindness and get through it all.

I thought, at that point, that this would be the worst year of my life, but I was wrong. It's been a year of growing confidence and shedding fears. Taking chances and trusting my gut. I didn't know it until I sat down to write this post, but this has really been a very memorable year for me. Sure, it had it's rough moments, but I wouldn't have changed a thing.


My old roommate, S, and I packed up our cozy apartment in May and went our separate ways. She was headed for law school in DC, and I was headed for Sandusky, Ohio.

I spent the summer on "The Fun Coast" living with 5 strangers-turned-crazy-roommates and chasing wayward Go-Karts around the track in Challenge Park for minimum wage and no respect. I went out dancing with friends and went on a few dates with a cutie from Columbia who spoke English about as well as I speak Spanish (which is not so good ;P). I tried to shed my intense fear of looking like an idiot in front of people I do and do not know, which made dancing fun and dating less scary.

In those months I met and befriended people from all over the world, picked strawberries, hung out at the beach, spent hours in coffee shops and went to bonfires at 2 in the morning.

I got flipped in a canoe with one of my best friends, by one of my best friends.

I had an appearance on the news.

I went camping with R, H and their puppy Kona.


When school started again, I got to leave CP housing for my new apartment in East Lansing. I spent all my free time with S and H; partaking in some combination of cooking, watching movies and shopping every single night and weekend.

Profs increased homework and reading requirements to a whole new level of annoying, meaning I spent more and more time on a couch with piles of textbooks as the semester went on.

In early September, H helped me find a dress to wear to a career fair and gave me enough courage to combat my awkwardness and insecurity to actually make me go. The event was a little scary and I wasn't quite sure what to do, but, in the end, I got the internship I wanted. Huzzah!

Just as winter began to show itself, R and H moved to begin their post-college life on sandy beaches in Florida, leaving S (for now!) and I to freeze our butts on in Michigan.

And now, I'm on break; enjoying a little R & R before I get back to school and catching up on all the things that have gotten away from me over the course of the year. I promise I'm done reminiscing. I dunno if these are highlights or just a little look back, but, either way you spin it... This has been a good year.


Thanks a ton for sticking through it with me. You guys are the best!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Stollen adapted from Poires au Chocolat
Printable Recipe

1/8 c (30 ml) lukewarm water
1 tsp honey
About 4 tsp (13 g) active dry yeast
1/2 c (120 ml) milk, room temp
70 g unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 c (355 g) flour, plus extra for rolling
3/8 c (57 g) brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 egg, room temp
1 vanilla bean, seeds only - pod reserved for another use (such as brewing with your coffee)
2 handfuls (57 g) candied orange peel, to taste (I ended up making my own following the recipe here for candied lemon peel, substituting orange peel and halving it)
2 handfuls (57 g) glace cherries, quartered and to taste
2/3 c (80 g) whole almonds, sliced and to taste
1 egg yolk or a few Tbsp of cream

Combine the lukewarm water and honey in a bowl, then sprinkle over the yeast. Let set five minutes, then stir to dissolve. If the yeast is not foamy, start over and try again.

Combine the milk and butter in a small saucepan. Place over medium heat and stir occasionally until the butter has melted. Remove from the burner and allow to cool briefly.

In the meantime, combine the flour, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger in a the bowl of your mixer. Set aside.

In another small bowl, beat together the eggs and vanilla seeds to combine.

Add the egg mixture, the milk mixture and the yeast mixture to the dry ingredients and mix with the paddle attachment to combine, about two minutes. Cover with a damp cloth and let rest 10 minutes.

Switch the paddle attachment to the dough hook (or put the dough on a floured surface) and knead for six minutes (8 by hand). The dough should be soft, smooth and not terribly sticky. Add the orange peel, cherries and almonds and knead briefly to combine. Transfer dough to a very big oiled bowl, cover well with plastic wrap and move to the fridge. Let rise overnight.

When you are ready to bake, oil a 9" cake pan or line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Remove the dough from the fridge and let warm for about two hours before shaping.

Punch down the dough into one 28"ish by 9"ish rectangle or divide in half and form into two separate 14"ish by 5"ish rectangles. Roll the rectangle(s) tightly to form a snake. Join the ends together as best as you can, pinching to seal. Place the roll into the oiled pan or place both smaller rolls onto the lined sheet. Use scissors to cut incisions around the edge of the wreath. Cover tightly with cling film and leave in a warm place to rise for about 2 hours or until they have nearly doubled in size (I often place the dough in the oven with the heat off and put in a pan of boiling water to speed the process). When the dough has risen, preheat the oven to 350F (180C) and brush all over with the yolk or cream. If baking one large loaf, bake for 40-45 minutes. Bake the smaller loaves for 30-35 minutes. Either way, rotate the loaves halfway through. They should be a deep brown and sound fairly hollow when knocked on the bottom.

Remove from the rack and let cool.

Quick Glaze

Splash of milk
Powdered sugar
Almond extract
Vanilla extract

Pour the milk into a bowl and add a little powdered sugar at a time, whisking to combine. Add powdered sugar until the glaze is desired thickness, then whisk in extracts.

If you like the glaze thick, pour it on loaves that are completely cooled. For a thinner glaze, pour it on warm loaves.

Review - {Stollen}