Shake Shake and Momofuku Milk Bar - Part... God I've lost count

So I had a couple of people visiting NY this weekend (Hi Embert!) and as when any tourists are in town, us NYers feel compelled to pretend we actually walk instead of taking cabs everywhere. What was supposed to be a where's where of the city, ending up being somewhat of a "Eat Your Way Downtown" or "Tourists Eat Manhattan" situation.

We started out with Shake Shack - I've eaten at Shack Shake a dozen times but never without a line. I checked the Shack Cam to make sure the line was short and we walked our way over to Madison Sq. Park. Mind you, this was supposed to be a pre-dinner "snack" which by our definition meant splitting our food instead of eating it all ourselves. I ended up with fries, a Shake Shack Burger (which is essentially just a burger with a special "Shack Sauce"), and a diet coke. I gotta say, it's as good as I remember. The patty was juicy and the pun was toasted but still soft. Yummers. It's on the smaller side which is good when you are obese and putting yourself on a diet like me. The fries are the skinny shoe string kind - since I'm a fan of the crispy fry this really works to my advantage. The only thing that sucked was it was so frigid and the heat lamps weren't working. Nuts! Here is a pic of me, Embert, and his gf Janice:














Next stop.. uhhh.. more food? I had to walk them to the east village to visit Momofuku Milk Bar again. I know. Again. Apparently I have more of a sweet tooth than I thought I did. Also, we were supposed to eat dinner in like an hour. Oh, and walking off our burgers at Shake Shack. Oops.

Anyway, we got the crack pie (which I've had before but was a little too cracktastic for me) and I tried the Chocolate Chip and Passion Fruit Cake. At first glance it reminded me of the Carrot Cake that I literally fantasize about. It was actually super delicious -it had this cream cheesey frosting that had a hint of passion fruit tanginess to it. The rest of it was a typical cake - nice and fluffy and covered in chocolate chips. Oh and it was ginormous:


















On that note, apologies for being absent lately. Let's just say I haven't been doing much cooking or eating - I've been a liquid diet.

I'm getting back in the kitchen this week so stay tuned - plus, look for my Top Chef recap tomorrow evening. SO EXCITED.

New Favorite Cupcake :: Carrot Cake Cupcake with Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting

So sorry for the hiatus in blogging - John Mayer (cat version) has been sick and I've been a worried mother. I didn't want you think IBP was suffering a similar fate as Carmen's Best Week Ever.

In any case, I stayed home from work today to keep an eye on Mayer - I was stressing myself out so I decided to bake/cook to calm my nerves. I've been meaning to try this simple cupcake recipe and I already had all the ingredients in my apartment so it perfect.

I made a few adjustments to this recipe - I added a little extra ginger (about 1/2 teaspoon) and a tad bit less sugar (about 1/4 cup) to the frosting. I also added walnuts to the carrot cake batter - I love the extra crunch and nuttiness (PS I hate the word "nutty"). I would probably add some nutmeg in the future as well.

In any case, here are some pics of the results - they are actually really pretty and you can decorate them however you want. I kept mine simple:






































I gotta hand it to Epicurious - this is a sure-fire crowd pleaser.

Here is the recipe.. .enjoy!

Carrot Cupcakes with Ginger-Cream Cheese Icing

Batter:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups finely grated peeled carrots
• 1/4 cup drained canned crushed pineapple in juice

Icing:

• 2 3-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons finely grated peeled fresh ginger

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line twelve 1/3-cup muffin cups with paper liners. Sift first 5 ingredients into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, oil and eggs in large bowl until well blended. Add dry ingredients to egg mixture in 2 additions, beating until well blended after each addition. Mix in carrots and pineapple. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each 3/4 full.

Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Turn cupcakes out onto racks and cool completely. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; store at room temperature.)

Icing Directions:

Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl until smooth. Add powdered sugar and ginger; beat until fluffy and smooth. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Bring to room temperature, then beat until fluffy before using.)

Spread top of each cupcake with scant 3 tablespoons Ginger-Cream Cheese Icing.

DELICIOUS!

My favorite food ever : Carrot Cake

If I was stranded on a dessert island with only 3 things, it would probably be James Franco, my DVR, and Carrot Cake. I make this about once a year at home where my mom has a ton of great baking equipment.

I'm not sure if its the delicious cream cheese frosting, the cinnamon, or walnuts (I'm nuts about NUTS!) but Carrot Cake is my FAAAAAAVORITE thing ever. I want it to be my wedding cake and when I make this, it's usually gone in like 3 days (at the expense of my daily caloric intake). Thought I'd share the recipe and spread the love..

This recipe has no raisins cause there is nothing i find more disgusting than raisins. I've had a lot of carrot cake in my day, but this is by far the best recipe:

Carrot Cake

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups shredded carrots (about 5 medium)
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 package (8oz) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 to 3 teaspoons vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease the bottoms and sides of one 13x9 inch pan or two 8 or 9 inch round pans with shortening ; lightly flour. In a large bowl, beat granulated sugar, oil, and eggs with electric mixer on low speed about 30 seconds or until blended. Add flour, cinnamon, baking soda, 1 teaspoon vanilla and the salt; beat on low speed 1 minute. Stir in carrots and nuts. Pour into pan(s).

2. Bake 13x9 inch pan for 40-45 minutes, round pans 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely (about 1 hour).

3. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, milk, and vanilla with an electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Gradually beat in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, on low speed until smooth and spreadable. Frost 13x9 inch cake or fill and frost round layers with frosting. Store in refrigerator.

Thats the recipe as is but I add more walnuts on the side of the cake for decoration and also because, well, walnuts are delicious.

Try this!