Summer Fun and a Giveaway

Summer is ending, but I am not ready for fall to come. This summer has been a crazy mix of work and wishing for August to arrive so I could go on vacation. For many years my parents have been vacationing on the island of Nantucket for the month of August. My brother and I got to visit them this year for a few days each. We stay in this little Wild Rose cottage and this year we had the added pleasure of having my cousins and their children living in the cottage behind ours.  Every morning we ate outside together, the only table large enough for our family. We packed lunches and spent the day hanging out on the beach. There are some awesome beaches in Nantucket, but my favorite was Dionis beach were we found some amazing shells in the warm water.

As I go through the hundreds of pictures that I took on my 4 day vacation, I am trying to keep the summer break alive here in Indiana. I am still baking and cooking summery foods despite the supermarket aisles filled with apples and pumpkins. I had found this recipe last year and flagged it for a awesome summer treat. These cupcakes were the perfect summer Labor Day sweet for my friends at work.

 And speaking of treats, I have an awesome giveaway for you this week. I can't even believe how cool it is! UPrinting.com will be sending one lucky winner these cool custom business cards. You really need to check out UPrinting.com if you haven't seen their custom die print cards before. The amazing shapes and crisp colors are awesome and totally unique. 

One lucky person will win:

250 Die Cut Business Cards for One (1) Winner

2 x 3.5”, 2 x 2” (square card) or 1.75 x 3.5” (slim card)

Die cutting options available: Rounded Corners, Leaf, Rounded One-Corner, Half-Circle Side, Circle

Paper Type: 14pt Cardstock Gloss, Matte, or High Gloss; 13pt Cardstock Uncoated       

Color: 4Color Front, Blank Back; 4Color Front, Black Back; 4Color Both Sides            

                   

To Win:
all you have to do is leave a comment about your favorite summer or fall memory. It can be anything from your first day of school, vacations and  making apple pies. To double your chances at winning please follow Calamity KateK on either facebook or on the tab to the right. Good luck! 

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

from Love & Olive Oil

Makes 12 cupcakes

Cupcakes:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup oil
1 cup full fat coconut milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Butter Cream:
2 ounces of fresh strawberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large egg whites
6 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons lemon juice (approximately 1 large lemon)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


Preheat the oven to 350˚F

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add sugar and brown sugar and mix. Whisk together oil, coconut milk, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix until relatively smooth. Fill cupcake liners with a scant 1/4 cup of batter (should be just under 2/3 of the way full). Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden, and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

To make frosting, first wash and hull strawberries and toss them into a food processor. Puree strawberries and set aside.

Add sugar and egg whites into a mixer bowl or another large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a plan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like shiny marshmallow cream. Remove the bowl from the heat.

Using the whisk attachment on a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes.

Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter a tablespoon at a time, beating until smooth. Once all the butter is in, beat the butter cream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes. Don’t freak out if your butter cream curdles or separates, keep beating and it will come together again.

Once the butter cream is thick and smooth, gradually beat in the lemon juice on medium speed, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then the vanilla. By this point you should have a shiny smooth, velvety, pristine white butter cream. You can stop at this point if you want to stick with lemon butter cream. For strawberry butter cream, gradually add in strawberry puree, beating on medium speed until well incorporated.

Winner will be announced on Calamity KateK and on Facebook,  Tuesday September 21, 2010.   Limited to US residents only  18 years old and above. UPrinting.com will give 250 custom business cards to Calamity KateK.