Back from the dead and a super simple drink recipe!

I am ashamed to admit that the last post I put on here is from when it was still snowing. However, the temperature is in the 60s today in Chicago, so we can pretend that it's more spring than summer, right?

I'm just trying to make myself feel better. :)

The past couple of months have been crazy, mainly because I am in the process of writing my dissertation. I am hoping to graduate with my PhD in a few months, so I'm writing, looking for jobs, and still running experiments.

It's a crazy life.

One of the things that keeps me going is my herb garden.

I love having to be creative when you have a bunch of an herb you need to deal with. Herbs always seem to come in droves. You can never just get one sprig of basil. You get an entire bush.

On that note, I have been making a bunch of simple syrups to mix into various beverages for a little touch of summer. Simple syrups require basically no effort, use up tons of herbs, and last for weeks in the fridge. Here is a white iced tea recipe that is super easy and builds on my recipe for lavender simple syrup from a few posts ago. Cold brewing the tea means that this recipe is almost completely hands-off. Also, cold brewing results in a mellower tea that complements the floral notes of the lavender. The taste is light, sweet, and perfectly summer.

Lavender Iced White Tea

A Science & Cupcakes Original

Serves 4

6 bags of white tea
32 oz water
2-3 oz (or to taste, depending how sweet you like your tea) lavender simple syrup

Directions:

1) Add water to a large pitcher. Add the tea bags, making sure to get them completely wet and letting the string and tag hang over the edge of the pitcher. Place the lid on the pitcher (or cover with plastic wrap/aluminum foil if your pitcher doesn't have a lid), securing the strings. This keeps the tea bags in a bunch, making them easier to remove.

2) Place the pitcher in the refrigerator. Let the tea steep overnight or up to 12 hours so that the tea can cold brew.

3) After the tea has brewed, remove the tea bags and discard. Add the lavender simple syrup and stir to combine. Enjoy!

Bridal Shower!

I'm a little late on this one, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention the AMAZING bridal shower that my bridesmaids and family hosted for me on the 16th of August. I went into the shower not knowing anything about the day, but I think that made it all the more awesome because everything was a surprise. 

The best surprise was the cookbook that all the attendees compiled for me with family recipes and the special stories behind them. I can't wait to make all the recipes and share in the memories of the recipes. :)

All photos are courtesy of Dad, who is officially a shutterbug ever since he got his new camera.

Wearing my snazzy bow hat that Jess made for me.

Carmeline's handmade favors.

The bridal party!

Cheers!

Andy joined the party after the ladies had all the fun.

Andy's mom made cookies (including the lovely Lola cookie in the middle)!

I <3 sunflower decorations.

It was a wonderful day, and I felt so loved. I can't believe it's only 46 days until the wedding!!

I'm back! (and lavender simple syrup)

Friends, friends, friends. I am back from the depths of conferences and wedding planning to bring you a recipe that is entirely summer: simple and fresh. Things have been super crazy here at S&C, as I've gone to two conferences, spent a weekend back in PA, gone on a mini-vacation to Portland and run two 10Ks and an 8K. Phew! This weekend was very low-key, and I'm grateful for the chance to take it easy!

One of my favorite parts of summer is growing herbs on our back porch. Andy and I are really lucky that we are able to have a little bit of our own outdoor space in the middle of a city. We can eat outside at our patio table and enjoy our garden and a nice breeze.

This year, we are growing cherry tomatoes (bruschetta!), basil (pesto!), peppermint (flavored water!), Thai basil (stir frys!), rosemary (everything!), lemon thyme (cake!), and lavender (?!). Lavender is totally new to me, but I figured it would be a fun challenge to use it in my cooking. So far, I have made lemon-lavender tea cakes that were devoured by my labmates as well as lavender simple syrup, which I am going to share with you.

Why was I not aware that simple syrups are so...simple? And that you can flavor them with WHATEVER you want! We have a SodaStream, and I can't wait to make my own lavender soda. And lavender lemonade. And lavender everything.

Lavender Simple Syrup

Science & Cupcakes Original

Makes 1.5 cups

Ingredients

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
1.5 tablespoon fresh lavender flowers/buds (you could also use dried lavender if you don't have fresh)

Instructions

Combine water, sugar, and lavender in a small saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil. Lower heat and let simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and let cool slightly. Using a fine strainer, remove the lavender leaves from the syrup. Let syrup cool completely, and store in an airtight vessel.

Raspberry Truffle Cupcakes

I have a confession.

I had never been to Sprinkles Cupcakes until a few weeks ago.

As a person with a blog called "Science and Cupcakes," I was ashamed. A long standing wrong has finally been righted.

After a lovely orchestra concert in Millennium Park one Friday night, a few friends and I headed over to Sprinkles' Chicago location at the request of my friend Elizabeth. It was after hours, but never fear!

Cupcake ATM to the rescue!

If you get a hankering for a cupcake after the Sprinkles storefront is closed, there's a cute little kiosk just outside the entrance where you can buy a cupcake from a refrigerated vending machine-type apparatus. It comes in its own adorable little box, and you get to watch it being plucked from the shelf when you buy it.

Andy got a raspberry cupcake with raspberry frosting, and I got the vanilla milk chocolate cupcake with chocolate cream cheese frosting and chocolate sprinkles. Oh my gosh. They were moist, rich, and delicious. Other favorites among our purchases included chocolate marshmallow and black & white.

After finishing our desserts, Andy commented that it would be awesome if the raspberry frosting was on a chocolate cupcake instead of just a regular raspberry cake.

Behold, inspiration!

After consulting The Google, I found this recipe for raspberry truffle cupcakes, which I modified slightly based on what I like/what I had around the kitchen. I used a different buttercream frosting and used Fage Total 0% Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. They were decadent and delicious, and I think I polished off most of them by myself. Who would want to share when they came out so well?

P.S. I am working on a tutorial on how to make filled cupcakes, so look for an instructional post coming soon!

Eat ALL of the chocolate.

Raspberry Truffle Cupcakes

Modified from Kitchen Simplicity
Makes ~18 cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcakes

1.5 cups all-purpose flour (I used white whole wheat)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1/2 cup low fat buttermilk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, sift flour, sugars, baking soda, and salt through a fine-mesh sieve. Set aside.

Place chopped chocolate, butter, and cocoa into a large bowl. Pour boiling water over ingredients, and without stirring, let sit for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, stir until smooth. Whisk in vanilla, yogurt, buttermilk, and eggs until well combined. Add dry ingredients, whisking until smooth.

Spoon 1/4 cup batter into regular-sized muffin tins prepared with cupcake liners. Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool 5 minutes before removing to cool on a wire rack. Cool cupcakes completely.

Raspberry Ganache

5 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup seedless raspberry preserves
1/3 cup heavy cream

While the cupcakes are baking, put the chocolate and preserves in a small bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream to a gentle boil, and then pour over the chocolate and jam. Let stand 3 minutes. Stir until smooth (this might take a little extra effort to get rid of any chocolate chunks!). Allow to cool to room temperature before using. If making ahead, ganache can be stored, covered, in the fridge. If the ganache solidifies too much, it can be reheated in the microwave on medium power for 15 second segments, stirring after each interval.

Raspberry Buttercream Frosting

Recipe halved from The Baking Robot's raspberry buttercream

1/2 cup salted butter, softened
1/4 cup seedless raspberry preserves
2 cups powdered sugar

In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat butter and preserves together until smooth and well-combined. Gradually add powdered sugar (about a 1/3 cup at a time), beating after each addition, until frosting has reached a spreadable consistency, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Assembly!

Once cupcakes have cooled completely, cut a small cone in the top of each cupcake. Keep scraps for another use (I made cake balls!) or discard. Fill cupcakes with chocolate ganache to the top cupcake surface, spreading to make even with the cake (see picture below).

Frost generously with raspberry buttercream, and garnish with a fresh raspberry if desired. Devour.

Dining Danish: Koldskål

A few weeks after coming back from Denmark, I found myself pining...for Danish food. In order to quiet my Danish food cravings, I decided to attempt to replicate some of the recipes of my favorite foods in Denmark, especially those that were particularly unique to the country.

When the weather finally got warm in Copenhagen, grocery stores exploded with displays of quart containers and pre-made cups with cookies in the lid of this stuff called koldskål. I decided to buy a cup of it, not actually knowing what it was (as was the case most of the time when I went grocery shopping in Denmark).

Koldskål (literally translated as "cold bowl") is a traditional Danish dish served in the summer (thus, the increase of product when the weather got warm). It's kind of hard to describe, but it sort of resembles a lemony, buttermilk-yogurt soup. That doesn't sound appetizing, but trust me, it is unique and delicious. I saw people eating it on the train for breakfast, but I ate it as a dessert with strawberries and nut granola on top. The things in the container lid are a type of cookie called kammerjunker (you can't make these words up if you tried), which are akin to a vanilla wafer.

I used the recipe below and served my koldskål with blueberries and vanilla wafers. Enjoy a little taste of summer in Denmark!

Om nom nom

Koldskål
Adapted from Secret Pocket Blog

1 cup yogurt (I used nonfat plain Greek)
4 tablespoons sugar
3 cups buttermilk (I added a little bit of milk, too, to get the consistency to my liking)
zest of one lemon
juice of half a lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine the yogurt, sugar, and lemon zest in a bowl. Using a mixer or whisk, mix together until the sugar dissolves. Mix in the rest of the ingredients until blended. Keep in a pitcher in the fridge. Serve with fresh berries, granola, and/or vanilla wafers.