Photography Competition Entries

Hey everyone! I am entering the Arts Council of York County's annual photography competition. I have shown work in two of the previous competitions, and I am once again entering several of my photographs for judging. Since the photographs from my Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes post turned out so well, I decided to enter them. First place is $1,000 so I certainly hope that I win!

Let me know what y'all think!

Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes

This is a copy of my first ever guest post from yesterday on Coupon Savings in the South:

Hey everyone! I'm Kara from A Dessert a Week, and this post marks a very special milestone in my blogging life! It is my first guest post and this is also my blogiversary post! I knew I had to make something super special for it, and after searching through countless desserts online and in cook books, I found the perfect, easy recipe. These lemon blueberry cupcakes are the perfect way to welcome a celebration, whether it is a blogiversary, a graduation, or the beginning of summer. The frosting has the perfect tang of lemon without being overwhelming, and the juicy blueberries offer the ideal sweet contrast. They were so perfect, in fact, that I actually ate two within the first five minutes. Trying to stay fit is difficult when I am always around so many delicious desserts!

Lately, I’ve been getting into the local food movement. I am a Human Nutrition major, and much emphasis is placed on eating fresh, locally-sourced produce. A fantastic place to go if you are in upstate South Carolina is the Bush-N-Vine. It is located in Filbert, South Carolina and is run by the Hall family. For the past several weeks, I have been picking up buckets of their delicious strawberries to use in recipes such as strawberry lemonade, strawberry soup, and double-crusted strawberry pie. I will have a recipe for the strawberry lemonade up very soon, so be sure to check back. They were fresh out of blueberries, but I did manage to pick up some reasonably priced lemons.

Cupcakes are generally very easy to make, and this recipe was no exception. I beat the sugar, butter, and lemon zest, then added the eggs, vanilla, and lemon juice. I alternated the milk and flour mixture, and then gently folded in the flour-dusted blueberries. I used a standard ice cream scoop to place the batter in the cupcake papers and into the oven they went.

Also, if anyone has any summertime favorites they’d like to see featured on A Dessert a Week, please don’t hesitate to let me know via my Facebook page or through e-mail (kelowman@gmail.com). I love to test out new recipes!

I used to skip the step about flouring fruit before I placed it into cakes or cupcakes, but after having one too many desserts come out where all of the fruit sank to the bottom, I decided to pay attention to that part of the recipe. It works so well!

 The eggs in the above photograph are pale blue/green in color. They came from my nana, which has several different breeds of chicken on her farm, and some lay blue eggs. They are absolutely beautiful in person, and the yolks are a deep orangey yellow hue from their diet. I also have three white Chinese Silkies at my house, but their eggs are way too small to use in baking recipes.

I normally don’t work with cream cheese frosting, so icing these cupcakes was a bit of a challenge for me. Also, I couldn’t find my favorite large star tip, so I had to use a plain tip. Cream cheese frosting doesn’t hold up as well as buttercream frosting, but I got the hang of it. However, you may want to refrigerate the cupcakes as quickly as possible if you are working on an extremely hot day because they may melt just a little bit.

These are my second favorite cupcakes I have ever made, the first being myGanache-Filled Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes. I actually just ate another one while writing this post ;)

Thank you to Shannon for letting me guest post this week on Coupon Savings in the South! If you would like to see more recipes weekly, please check out my Facebook page, A Dessert a Week, and my website, www.adessertaweek.blogspot.com. Enjoy!

Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes

Barely adapted from Annie’s Eats

Yield: about 16 cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

For the cupcakes:

• ¾ cup plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour, divided
• ¾ cup cake flour
• 1½ tsp. baking powder
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• Zest of  1 lemon
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• ½ cup plus 2 tbsp. milk, at room temperature
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

For the frosting: 

• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 5 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Zest of 1 large lemon
• Additional fresh blueberries, for garnish

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the ¾ cup all-purpose flour, the cake flour, baking powder and salt; whisk together and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter, sugar and lemon zest. Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and lemon juice. With the mixer on lowspeed, mix in half of the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Blend in the milk. Mix in the remaining dry ingredients, beating just until incorporated.
• In a small bowl, toss the blueberries with the remaining 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour. Using a spatula gently fold the berries into the cake batter. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared liners, filling each about ¾ full. Bake 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pans 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Mix in the lemon juice and lemon zest. Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar until totally incorporated, increase the speed and then beat until smooth. Frost cooled cupcakes as desired. (I used a large plain tip to frost these cupcakes.) Garnish with fresh blueberries.

Strawberry Lemonade

Here is a quick and easy recipe for restaurant-quality strawberry lemonade! Simple syrup and club soda add complexity, and fresh local strawberries and lemon juice add sweetness with a kick. Feel free to substitute lime juice to make Strawberry Limeade! I halved this recipe, and it was the perfect amount for me and my best friend.

Strawberry Lemonade

From Food Network

Ingredients

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
• 1 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 pint fresh strawberries, halved
• 2 cups cold club soda
• Ice
• Mint sprigs, garnish
• Whole strawberries, garnish

Directions

• In a medium saucepan, bring the water and sugar to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. Add the lemon peel and lemon juice, stir, and remove from the heat. Let cool completely, then strain into a clean pitcher.
• In a blender, puree the pint of strawberries and add to the pitcher with the lemon juice. Stir well to combine and refrigerate until well chilled.
• Add the sparkling water and stir well. Pour over glasses filled with ice and serve, garnished with mint and strawberries.