Saturday, May 14, 2011

Bi-Winning


There is no such thing as an unmixed blessing. For every upside, there is a downside. It's part of the physics of life.

For example, if I were to win the lottery (which I won't because I don't buy tickets) and trade in my amazingly large mom-mobile and drive off the lot a brand new sexy Porsche, my insurance rates would go up, I'd probably get tons of speeding tickets, and my husband would be cross because my Porsche couldn't haul a half sheet of ply from Home Depot.

The Bible tells us that children are a blessing, and that's true. But along with the blessing part comes the bleary-eyed, awake all night, baby screaming, poopy-diaper-that-leaked-and-soiled-the-whole-outfit part. And just because they grow up doesn't mean the poop stops.

Going on a dream vacation to the tropics also means that you have to deal with the TSA, time changes, rental hassles, lost luggage, and possibly bringing home a tropical disease as a souvenir.


Recently, though, I think I might have found a crack in this otherwise iron-clad rule.

Ice cream is one of my favorite things about summer. I keep my ice cream maker humming busily all summer long. But that means that the egg whites pile up in my refrigerator. Since I pay out some big bucks to buy free-range organic chicken eggs, I'm not about to just toss out those egg whites! But what is one to do with 5 egg whites?

In another post, I explained what to do with 6 egg whites, but it was with glee that I found a delicious way to use 5. Angel Food Cupcakes. And the best part for me is that cupcakes are so easy to share! You can put 6 in a box and it's an extravagant gift. Try putting 6 slices of angel food cake in a box. Not so impressive.

So now you know. 5 egg yolks will make fabulous ice cream. Try lavendar, almond cherry chocolate, double mint, blueberry, lemon gelato, or my favorite, chocolate. (I have made a ridiculous amount of ice cream, haven't I?) Then with the extra whites, you can make these beautiful, airy, lightly tangy, totally delicious cupcakes.

In the words of Charlie Sheen, it's bi-winning!

(This video makes me giggle every time I watch it)


Lemony Angel Food Cupcakes
- adapted from Baking Bites

3/4 cup superfine sugar*, divided
1/2 cup sifted cake flour
5 large egg whites, room temperature
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
zest of one lemon


* If you don't have superfine sugar on hand, you don't need to run to the grocery store for it. Just throw regular granulated sugar into your food processor and run it till the sugar is fine. Not too long, though, or you'll end up with powdered sugar!

1 - Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

2 - In a small bowl, sift together cake flour and 1/4 cup superfine sugar.

3 - In a large bowl, beat room-temperature egg whites until foamy, then add in cream of tartar and salt. Gradually add in the remaining 1/2 cup of superfine sugar while the mixer is on high speed, beating the egg whites to soft peaks. With a rubber spatula, gently fold in the vanilla and lemon zest.

4 - Fold in flour mixture, adding it in two or three additions.

5 - Divide evenly into prepared muffin tins. Fill them almost full.

6 - Bake for 16-18 minutes, until golden brown. The tops will spring back when lightly touched.

7 - Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove the cupcakes to the wire rack to cool completely.

Lemon Icing Drizzle

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
Confectioner’s Sugar


Add enough confectioner's sugar to the lemon juice to make a drizzling consistency. Whisk until smooth. Drizzle on top of cooled cupcakes.

Makes 12 - 16 cupcakes. (The recipe says it makes 12, but mine made 15, I think because of the size of my farm eggs.)

10 comments:

The Cutting Edge of Ordinary said...

Yum. Perfect little snack! Oh and about the pooping part...my kids (now teenagers) all set there, but now the dog starts! It never ends! LOL!

Mindy said...

Yea, poop definately still happens. :) Love your bloggy stories. Thinking about buying an ice-cream maker for summer and wondering how you stay so adorably thin with all these goodies you make!

Alina---Explora Cuisine said...

These cupcakes look great!

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Angel food cakes and meringue are the two best ways to use those whites. I love the compact size of these cakes the perfect foile for a few seasonal fruits.

We Are Not Martha said...

These are totally bi-winning! They look so amazingly light and fluffy :)

Sues

Barbara said...

I adore ice cream, so always have egg whites in the fridge. Usually I make an omelet with them....boring. Now I will make cupcakes. And then put ice cream on top! :)

Elle said...

Cute cupcakes and bet they would be great with some strawberries and whipped cream...strawberries on the brain right now...but Dorie Greenspan's perfect party cake will use up three egg whites if you divide em up that way when making the ice cream. Lucky friend who gets a box with 6 of these little beauties!

grace said...

i love seeing things not go to waste. i also apparently love using really twisted grammar. i don't think i've seen angel food in cupcake form, but it's grand!

Unknown said...

That's such a perfect snack. I made cupcakes when I made chiffon cake, and now I make them as cupcakes exclusively :)

Unknown said...

That's such a perfect snack. I made cupcakes when I made chiffon cake, and now I make them as cupcakes exclusively :)