Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

My friends have been talking about cake all week. And I had just curbed my cake craving by making a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. But my word I fell right into it again. The more those girls talked about cake the more I wanted/needed it!

I figured that I would make cupcakes since I recently bought some very fancy (expensive) pans from William Sonoma. I knew I wanted chocolate cake but it took me a while to decided on peanut butter frosting. Then I had to decide on WHICH peanut butter frosting. (Nothing is simple). I decide on Ina Garten's frosting recipe because I find her trustworthy. She didn't let me down. The frosting is peanut buttery but light and fluffy and smooth as can be. Very wonderful.

I chose to make my normal chocolate cake from Cook's Illustrated, good stuff but I think next time I will try making Ina's cake into cupcakes and see how they turn out.

Chocolate Cupcakes
Source: Cook's Illustrated
Yield: 24 cupcakes or 2 round cakes

12 Tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, very soft, plus extra for greasing pans

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting pans

4 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1/4 cup dutch-processed cocoa powder

1/2 cup hot water

1 3/4 C sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon table salt

1 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 large eggs, plus 2 large egg yolks

Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat to 350 degrees.  Grease two 9-inch round by 2 inch high cake pans with butter; dust pans with flour and knock out excess.  Combine chocolate, cocoa powder, and hot water in medium heatproof bowl; set bowl over saucepan containing 1 inch of simmering water and stir with rubber spatula until chocolate ins melted, about 2 minutes.  Add 1/2 cup sugar to chocolate and stir until glossy, 1-2 minutes.  Remove bowl from heat and set aside to cool.

Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl.  Combine buttermilk and vanilla in small bowl.  In bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whisk eggs and yolks on medium-low speed until combined, about 10 seconds.  Add remaining 1 1/4 C sugar, increase speed to high, and whis until fluffy and lightened in color, 2-3 minutes.  Replace whisk with paddle attachment.  Add cooled chocolate mixture to egg/sugar mixture and mix on medium speed until thoroughly incorporated, 30-45 seconds, pausing to scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula as needed.  Add softened butter 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing about 10 seconds after each addition.  Add about 1/3 of flour mixture; followed by half of buttermilk mixture mixing until incorporated after each addition (about 15 seconds.)   Repeat using half of remaining flour mixture and all of remaining buttermilk mixture (batter may appear separated.) Scrape down sides of bowl and add remaining flour mixture; mix at medium low speed until batter is thoroughly combined, about 15 seconds.  Remove bowl from mixer and fold batter once or twice with rubber spatula to incorporate any remaining flour.  Divide batter evenly between prepared cake pans; smooth batter to edges of pan with spatula.

Bake cakes until toothpick inserted into center comes out with a few crumbs attached, 25-30minutes.  Cool cakes in pans 15 minutes, then invert onto wire rack.  Cool cakes to room temperature before frosting, 45-60 minutes.

Peanut Butter Frosting

Source: Ina Garten

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/3 cup heavy cream

Place the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolatey Ganachey Frosting

I'm sorry Mr. Spellcheck...is chocolately not a word?? No? How about ganachey?? No?

Well they should be.

At first I was super stoked about this frosting. When warm/room temp it is amazing. As it cools it does get pretty hard. I am in love with the cupcake though. Buttery and perfect.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting
Source: Annie's Eats
Yield: 24 cupcakes

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing pans
1½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting pans
1½ cups cake flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1¾ cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1¼ cups milk

For the frosting:
1 lb. semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
6 tbsp. Dutch-process cocoa powder
6 tbsp. boiling water
3 sticks (1½ cups) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
Pinch of salt


To make the cakes, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line the bottoms of two 9-inch round cake pans with parchment paper. Butter and flour the edges of the pans, tapping out the excess; set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder, and salt; whisk together to blend well and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed. Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in the vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with the milk. Beat each addition just until incorporated.

Divide the batter between the prepared baking pans. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until the cakes are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30-35 minutes. Transfer the pans to a wire rack and let cool 20 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pans to help remove the cakes. Invert the cakes onto the rack and peel off the parchment. Let the cakes cool completely before frosting. Level the cakes if necessary.

To make the frosting, place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate has melted. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature, about 25-30 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the cocoa powder and boiling water in a small bowl; stir until the cocoa is dissolved.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, confectioners’ sugar and salt on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Add the melted chocolate; beat on low speed until combined, 1-2 minutes. Beat in the cocoa mixture until well blended. (Note: My frosting was still a bit runny for decorating at this point. I let it cool longer before frosting the cake so it could firm up slightly.)

To assemble the cake, place one of the cake layers on a serving platter. Top with 1 cup of the chocolate frosting and smooth over the top of the cake. Top with the remaining cake layer. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting as desired. Refrigerate, covered, for up to 3 days. Let come to room temperature at least 30 minutes before serving.

Valentine's Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes for Valentine's Day. I shared them with my baby's teachers and my coworkers. When I brought these to work, I dropped them off in the kitchen...walked back to my desk...attempted to open an email to announce that they were there...by the time I got the email up my cubie neighbor told me there was one left! They disappeared in about 5 minutes!

I love the cake part of these but wasn't fully satisfied with the buttercream. It was super sweet and too almondy for me. I'll try something different next time!

Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Icing
Source: Annie's Eats and Stetted
Yield: 24 cupcakes

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing pans
1½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting pans
1½ cups cake flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1¾ cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1¼ cups milk

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350F. Line or grease cupcakes pans. In a medium bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder, and salt; whisk together to blend well and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed. Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in the vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with the milk. Beat each addition just until incorporated.

Divide the batter between the prepared baking pans. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until the cupcakes are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 20-25 minutes. Transfer the pans to a wire rack and let cool 20 minutes. Let the cakes cool completely before frosting.

Buttercream

2 sticks butter, softened
6 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract

Beat butter until creamy. Add the sugar, milk and extracts and beat, slowly at first, and then until nice and fluffy..

Emergency Blender Cupcakes

Need chocolate cupcakes FAST? Well who doesn't really. I mean...when you need a cupcake...you NEED a cupcake! Wait, is that only me?

These are fabulous. The frosting is quite fudgey but quite delicious.

Emergency Blender Cupcakes
Source: Weekend Baker
Yield: 1 dozen cupcakes

1 cup flour
1/2 unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup hot water
1/2 cup canola oil
1 large egg
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Heat oven to 375°F. Line 12 regular-sized muffin cups with paper or foil liners.

Combine flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a blender. Cover with the lid and blend on medium speed until blended. Pour in the water, oil, egg, and vanilla. Cover with the lid and blend on medium-high speed until smooth and well blended, stopping to scrape down the sides once or twice. Pour into lined muffin cups, dividing evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of one cupcake comes out clean, 17–19 minutes. Transfer to rack to cool for about 10 minutes, and then carefully remove the cupcakes from the pan and set them on the rack to cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting:
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Pinch salt

Melt chocolate and butter in the microwave. Add condensed milk, corn syrup, vanilla and salt. Whisk until well blended. Set aside at room temperature, whisking frequently. It will thicken as it cools. When completely cool, cover with plastic wrap until ready to frost.

Humming Bakery Vanilla Cupcakes

I do enjoy all the new concoctions of flavored cupcakes going around. However, you'll find that I mostly stick with the basics. I suppose the pink lemonade cupcakes were a bit wild for me. To me, the simplicity of a vanilla cupcake with vanilla icing is perfection.

The recipe for these cupcakes came from Joy the Baker who posted the recipe from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook. I adore these sweet little cupcakes. They were a cinch to make and oh so delicious.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Icing
Source: Joy the Baker and Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook

Yield: 1 dozen cupcakes

1 cup all-purpose flour
a scant 3/4 cup sugar
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
pinch of salt
3 T unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 t vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and butter in a large bowl. Using a hand held mixer beat on a slow speed until the mixture is a sandy consistency and everything is combined. Gradually pour in half the milk and beat until the milk is just incorporated.

Whisk the egg, vanilla and remaining milk together in a separate bowl for a few seconds, then pour into the flour mixture and continue beating until just incorporated. Scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side or the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Continue mixing until the batter is smooth. For just a few minutes. Don’t bother overmixing.

Spoon the batter into paper lined muffin tins, dividing evenly between 12 cups. Bake for 20 minutes, rotating half way through or until lightly golden and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool slightly in the pan, then cool on a wire rack completely before frosting.

Vanilla Buttercream

2 cups powdered sugar

5 T unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 T milk
1/4 t vanilla extract

Beat the powdered sugar together in a medium sized bowl with an electric mixer on medium low speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed. Turn the mixer to low. Combine milk and the vanilla extract and slowly stream it into the butter and sugar mixture. Once incorporated, turn the mixer to high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, at least 5 minutes. The longer the frosting is beaten, the fluffier and lighter it becomes. When you reach the desired consistency, frost the cooled cupcakes.

Faux SMBC

Don't know what SMBC is? It took me forever to figure out what that stood for! I was reading this girl's blog about flour frosting and she kept referencing SMBC. Huh? Then it all came together...Swiss Meringue Butter Cream. This is a cheaters way of making something similar to it.

My first attempt at SMBC was for my birthday when I made my own cake. I couldn't believe that I had never had frosting like that...it was amazing. Very light, fluffy, but buttery and devilish. The down side to SMBC is that it is a lengthy and complicated (for some) process. If you want to whip up a batch of frosting for those cupcakes you just made then SMBC isn't the answer. Neither is this one either. It is easy to make but took a bit longer than my standard frostings. This one involves boiling milk and sugar and then letting it cool to room temp. Then whipping it.

Speaking of whipping it...don't be deterred by this frosting if it doesn't come together quickly. My Kitchen Aide was going to town and I checked on it after 2 minutes and all I had was this curdled mess. 2 more minutes...similar situation. At that point I was ready to throw it out and do something different. BUT it does come together after another couple minutes.

The cake part of these beauties is Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake. My prefered chocolate cake recipe.


Faux SMBC
Source: Obsessed with Baking Blog
Yield: frosts one cake or 24 cupcakes

1 cup milk, divided into 3/4 cup and 1/4 cup
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup butter, cut into tablespoon sized chunks at room temperature, but not too soft

Heat 3/4 cup milk, 1 cup sugar and a pinch of salt in a pot over medium heat until sugar is dissolved but do not let it come to a boil.

Make a slurry with the starch and remaining 1/4 cup milk. Stir to get rid of lumps

Pour starch slurry into milk and sugar mixture and continue heating over medium heat. Stir , but not vigorously or else the starch mixture might liquefy. After 1 minute, tiny bubbles will appear on the side and mixture should thicken. Continue heating for 1-2 minutes to get cook out the flour taste. Mixture should be thickened by now. Don't let mixture come to a rolling boil or else the starch granules might break.

Pour thickened mixture into a bowl of standing mixer and cool until room temperature by leaving it out on the counter or in the fridge for 1 hour. Don't let it get cold or else it will take forever for the butter to incorporate with the mixture.

Cut butter into tablespoon chunks. On medium low speed, add the butter by the tablespoon until it is all incorporated. Increase the speed to medium or medium high and beat until it comes together (approx 5 minutes). During these 5 minutes, the frosting is going to transform from a curdled mess into a fluffy and soft frosting. If it takes a longer time to come together, just be patient and continue whipping until it gets fluffy.

Add vanilla and continue mixing at low speed for 1 minute.

Vegan Coconut Heaven

I made these for football night a few weeks ago. THESE. ARE. AMAZING. The coconut flavor is awesome, the frosting is the bomb, and to boot...they are vegan. This is one of those recipes that I am going to make for the rest of my life. I don't need to look for another coconut cupcake recipe. This is it.

Seth even requested this cake for his birthday. I added toasted coconut to the top for both flavor and color. I doubled both the cake and frosting recipe to make a two layer cake. I can't say enough good things about this cake...you must try it!!

Coconut Heaven Cupcakes
Source: Vegan with a Vengeance
Yield: 12 cupcakes

1 cup flour
1/2t powder
1/2t soda
1/4t salt
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup coconut milk
2/3 cup sugar
1t vanilla
1 cup shredded coconut


FROSTING
1/4 cup nonhydrogenated margarine at room temp
1/4 cup coconut milk
1t vanilla
2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 cup shredded coconut


Preheat oven to 350 and line muffin tin.

Sift flour, powder, soda and salt. In another bowl combine oil, milk, sugar, and vanilla. Pour dry ingredients into wet and mix until smooth. Fold in coconut. Fill tins 2/3 full. Baked for 20 minutes and cool completely before frosting.

Cream margarine until light and fluffy. Add milk and vanilla and combine. Add sugar and mix until smooth. Add coconut. Frost cupcakes and devour.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Buttermilk Icing

I posted on Facebook that I was going to be making these and people expressed a lot of interest! I wish I could have delivered some to each of my friends but some of them are just too far away (Tennesee and Texas!). I was able to catch my friend Bruce before he left his shift at work. I think he liked them...he ate both before I left, a great compliment to a baker.

My friend Anna mentioned that she was looking for something more cake like than muffin like. These are really wonderful little cupcakes. Definitely more cakey than muffiny and topped with a simple tangy icing. The recipe says that you can top them with cream cheese frosting if you want but I like the simplicity of the icing, it doesn't take away from the pumpkin flavor of the cupcakes.

I think you will really like these my foodie friends!

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Buttermilk Icing
Source: Chow
Yield: 48 cupcakes (I halved this recipe)

4 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups canned pumpkin purée
1 cup whole milk (I used buttermilk)
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Buttermilk Icing
2 cups powder sugar
3 tablespoons buttermilk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange the rack in the middle. Line muffin pans with cupcake liners. Sift together dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Whisk together pumpkin and milk in a separate bowl and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Add eggs one at a time, beating and then scraping the bowl down after each addition. Add vanilla and beat until smooth. Add dry ingredients in three batches, alternating with pumpkin-milk mixture, mixing on low speed, and scraping the bowl down between additions. When all ingredients have been added, mix batter 30 seconds on medium-high speed until uniformly combined.

Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 full with batter and bake until a tester inserted in cupcake centers comes out clean, about 18 to 20 minutes.

To make the icing just whisk together the three ingredients.

Remove cupcakes from the oven and allow to cool 5 minutes before removing from the pans. Let cool completely on a rack, decorate with icing, and serve.

Pretty in Pink!

I love pink. My kitchen is mostly pink. The Komen Kitchenaid line; I have most of it on display for all visitors to see. I used to hate pink. Black was my favorite color and it is still one of my favorites. Pink, to me, represented little girls and immaturity. It was the color that you put your baby in to identify its sex. The color of sticky sweet annoyance. Now it represents something completely different for me, cancer. Power. Hope.

I've heard cancer survivors and cancer patients express their hatred toward the pink ribbon. I get it. It is overdone. It’s everywhere and after awhile doesn't it start to lose its meaning? Sort of like saying I love you or I'm sorry over and over again. To some it probably does. To me it doesn't, I still notice every pink ribbon. When a company has a pink ribbon on their packaging, I notice it. I read it to see which organization they support and I think it is cool.

I sport pink because I want everyone to know that I have a passion for breast cancer education. I want people to ask. I want to tell my mother's story. I want to educate people and I want to answer questions. Pink is my power. It is me showing that after all that my family has been through; I have hope for the future. I will succeed. I will be healthy. I am educated.

Let’s talk pink cupcakes.

It has been extremely humid in Maine lately. We had a few nights where it cooled down and it was so comfortable to sleep. Now we are back to this muggy weather. I attribute my cravings for something lemony to the humidity. I was Googling lemon cupcakes and lemon buttercream when I came across these. Lemony AND pink!!

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes
Source: Simply Sweet Bake Shop
Yield: 9 Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
Pinch salt
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. vegetable oil
2 egg whites
1/3 c. thawed frozen Pink Lemonade Concentrate
1/4 c. buttermilk
Pink food coloring

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin pan with liners. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, egg whites and lemonade concentrate. Alternately whisk in flour mixture and buttermilk, making three additions of flour mixture and two of buttermilk, beating until just smooth.
3. Add just enough food coloring to turn the batter a light shade of pink.
4. Scoop batter into liners (fill about three-fourths full). Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack. Top cooled cupcakes with frosting (see below).

Lemonade Buttercream:
3 c. + 3 Tbsp. confectioner’s sugar
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
1/8 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. pink lemonade concentrate
Pink food coloring

1. Add the butter, confectioner’s sugar, salt, lemon juice, and a few drops of food coloring to the stand mixer and mix on low using the paddle attachment until combined.
2. Turn the speed to med-high until the buttercream is fluffy and uniformly pink. Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes.

A Studio Opening

I felt very privileged and honored when Tess J. of Tess J Photography asked me to bake some sweet treats for her studio opening. She and her partner in life and professionally, Andrew Houser of Houser Fine Art, opened a new studio in the Dana Warp Mill to do shoots and had some of their fabulous work on display. I've done two boudoir shoots with Tess, an engagement shoot, and she and Houser did our wedding photos. They continue to amaze me with their work. Check out Tess' sites:

http://www.tessjphotography.com/ (mostly boudoir photos)

http://www.weddings.tessjphotography.com/ (yeah that me!!)



And Houser's:

http://www.houserfineart.com/ (artsy nudity warning)

http://www.houserphotography.com/ (landscape photography)



In my opinion these are the two best photographers in the state of Maine.

For the studio opening I made vanilla cupcakes with my "fluffy cupcake frosting" and brownies. I had been using a Magnolia Bakery knock off recipe and decided that it wasn't THE ONE. My birthday is next month and I had been looking for a birthday cake recipe. I found this one on the Williams Sonoma site. THIS IS THE ONE! Moist but it stays together with a lighter crumb. I adore these vanilla cupcakes.



I have also found that this brownie recipe is THE ONE! I'm completely in love with these. Called On the Fence Brownies because they are a little fudgy, a little chewy, a little cakey. They will satisfy every brownie desire. I've received great compliments on these.


Though my week was quite terrible, perhaps the worst of the year, we had a great time at the opening.

And I came home with this print for our redecorated bathroom.



Williams Sonoma Birthday Cake
Yield: 2 9 inch round cakes or 24 cupcakes
Source: Williams Sonoma

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 Tbs. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 1/3 cups milk

Preheat an oven to 350°F.

Grease 2 round cake pans with butter.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter, granulated sugar and vanilla on medium speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each one is added. Turn off the mixer, add about one-third of the flour mixture and beat on low speed just until blended. Pour in 2/3 cup of the milk and beat just until blended. Repeat, adding about one-third of the flour, the remaining 2/3 cup milk and then the rest of the flour, beating after each addition just until blended.

Pour half of the batter into one prepared pan and the other half into the second pan. Using the rubber spatula, spread the batter evenly and smooth the top. Bake 30 to 35 minutes.


On the Fence Brownies
Yield: 2 dozen brownies
Source: King Arthur Flour


1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 cup (6 ounces) chocolate chips
1 teaspoon espresso powder
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

In a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl, or in a saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter, then add the sugar and stir to combine. Return the mixture to the heat (or microwave) briefly, just until it's hot (about 110°F to 120°F), but not bubbling; it'll become shiny looking as you stir it. Heating this mixture a second time will dissolve more of the sugar, which will yield a shiny top crust on your brownies. Stir in the cocoa, salt, baking powder, and vanilla.


Whisk in the eggs, stirring until smooth; then add the flour, chips, espresso powder, and nuts, again stirring until smooth. Spoon the batter into a lightly greased 9 x 13-inch pan. Bake the brownies in a preheated 350°F oven for 28 to 30 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, or with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. The brownies should feel set on the edges and in the center (barely). Remove them from the oven and cool on a rack before cutting and serving.

Twilight Cupcakes

Team Jacob!!

I was all for Edward until I finished New Moon. I haven't started the third book yet so don't give me any spoilers! (I looked back at this after a minute and rolled my eyes at myself. Am I a tween??)

I Googled "Twilight Cupcakes" to see what came up and there were these super cute ones with different sayings. One said, "Bella is my homegirl." I thought that was hilarious. I saw these on Annie's Eats and decided to make them for our staff meeting at MMSA tomorrow. In my opinion these cupcakes are more for show than for devine taste. They are good but definitely not one of my favorites.

I included a photo of a topless (!!!) cupcake so you could see what the cone should look like. I then cut the tip off to create a cap to put over the filling. Becareful not to add too much filling. I did on a few and it spilled over the side while frosting and it looked more like a massacre than the bite of a vampire.

Twilight Cupcakes
Source: Annie's Eats
Yield: 16 cupcakes

2 cups cake flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large egg whites
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk

1 can cherry pie filling

7 oz. pure white chocolate, coarsely chopped
6 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 14 cups of muffin tins with paper liners. In a small bowl, combine the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir together with a fork. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the sugar and butter and cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in the egg whites one at a time, scraping down the bowl between additions. Stir in the vanilla extract. Add in the dry ingredients in three additions alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Stir just until combined, being careful not to overmix.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared muffin cups. Bake for 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pans for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.

To prepare the filling, puree the can of cherry pie filling using an immersion blender, blender, or food processor.

Once the cupcakes are completely cooled, cut a cone out of the center of each using a small paring knife. Cut off the point side of each cone, leaving a thin disc of cake to replace over the filling. Spoon just enough of the cherry filling into the hole to fill it, and cover by replacing the disc of cake on top. Repeat with remaining cupcakes.

To prepare the frosting, in a double boiler, melt the white chocolate, stirring constantly, until smooth and creamy. Let stand until just warm to the touch. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until smooth and blended. Add the melted chocolate and beat again until smooth.

Frost the cupcakes immediately. Using a bamboo skewer dipped in the left over cherry filling, poke two holes into the top of each cupcake to resemble bite marks. Trace a line of cherry filling from each hole to the edge of the cupcake to resemble dripping blood. Repeat with remaining cupcakes.

Tax Day Cupcakes

We've all heard it. Time and time again over the past months. "These are tough times." These tough times have led to a 20% cut in my job. I love my lifestyle and was having a hard time envisioning a cut in my fun money. Would I give up going out to eat or dance class? Pilates or wine on the weekends?

I asked around and asked my family to pass on the word that I was looking for part time work. Just something to supplement my lost income. Enter my mother-in-law. She pulled some strings and was able to offer me part time work at the accounting firm she works with. I never knew there would be such a huge difference between a non profit office and a business office. I'm not talking work. I'm not talking office procedures (although there are differences). I'm talking personalities. They play music in this business office. All the different offices and cubicles all have music going! They have a Sponge Bob basketball hoop. They play games! They have fun and laugh and sometimes...they even swear!

Today was tax day and at the end of the day they have a party with mini golf around the office and snacks in the conference room. MIL asked me to bring cupcakes and and I was sure the frosting needed to be green. MONEY MONEY MONEY! I didn't have a vanilla cupcake recipe that was my go to recipe. I do now! Supposedly this recipe comes from Magnolia Bakery in NYC. I found it fantastic. The frosting is my own recipe that I use for most of my cupcakes. Just powdered sugar, milk, shortening, Fluff, and vanilla.

Vanilla Cupcakes

Source: Food Network

Yield: 20 cupcakes

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line 2 (1/2 cup-12 capacity) muffin tins with cupcake papers.
In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.
In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
Cool the cupcakes in tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

Car Bomb!

Oh how I love my ladies. I've been looking forward to this month's BKT baking day all week. We had set the date and the project at our last get together a month ago. We had all seen Smitten Kitchen make the car bomb cupcakes and were so excited to try them ourselves. We always have lunch at our gathering and decided to have pizza on this dreary day. The photo portion of this post is divided into two parts, lunch and the cupcakes.

We have such a great time when we get together. We were at Toria's today and we all work so well together. Each of us does some of the dishes...we all read the recipe...we each take initiative for parts of the recipe. We are a great team. While the pizza was cooking we watched a Will & Grace rerun which is always sure to leave me in stitches. Got to love Jack McFarland. Of course there was a bit of animal harassment. Toria has two cats, Lola and Baxter. Baxter had the pleasure of getting a dab of ganache (loaded with Irish whiskey) on his nose. He proceeded to the living room to pass out. Sammy S. is on this list for harassment next month!

These cupcake were so good. I will admit that I may have gone a wee bit overboad with the whiskey in the ganache filling. It is a bit strong. But really...what harm can a little extra whiskey do? The frosting is wonderful. I love the flavor of the Irish cream. These came together much faster than I thought they would. I can't wait to have another.


Of course we all had to take our turn cleaning the bowl!

The prettiest Jewish girl I know!!

Kacey made these delicious pea and mushroom dumplings. I sort of have a thing for vegetable dumplings. I had them once in San Francisco and haven't been able to find many around here. These were really good! The extra one even ended up on our pizza!! (look at those pretty pink finger nails!)

It appears to be the hip thing to put egg on pizza, pasta, and salads lately. I've been wanting to try egg on my pizza and Kacey was willing to try but Toria wasn't all for it. I think it was the runniness of the egg that got her. We ended up cooking the egg too long so it wasn't so much runny as it was gummy. Yummy none the less.

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes
Yield: 20 to 24 cupcakes
Source: Smitten Kitchen

For the Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes
1 cup stout (such as Guinness)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

Ganache Filling
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 to 2 teaspoons Irish whiskey (optional)

Baileys Frosting
3 to 4 cups confections sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperatue
3 to 4 tablespoons Baileys (or milk, or heavy cream, or a combination thereof)

Special equipment: 1-inch round cookie cutter or an apple corer and a piping bag (though a plastic bag with the corner snipped off will also work)

Make the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling them 2/3 to 3/4 of the way. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, rotating them once front to back if your oven bakes unevenly, about 17 minutes. Cool cupcakes on a rack completely.

Make the filling: Chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then stir until smooth. (If this has not sufficiently melted the chocolate, you can return it to a double-boiler to gently melt what remains. 20 seconds in the microwave, watching carefully, will also work.) Add the butter and whiskey (if you’re using it) and stir until combined.

Fill the cupcakes: Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped (the fridge will speed this along but you must stir it every 10 minutes). Meanwhile, using your 1-inch round cookie cutter or an apple corer, cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes. You want to go most of the way down the cupcake but not cut through the bottom — aim for 2/3 of the way. A slim spoon or grapefruit knife will help you get the center out. Those are your “tasters”. Put the ganache into a piping bag with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.

Make the frosting: Whip the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, for several minutes. You want to get it very light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a few tablespoons at a time.

Ice and decorate the cupcakes.

Chocolate Cupcakes

Last week I was in a mood. I was sitting at my office thinking about laying on my couch in the sunshine with a cat on my lap, reading a book, eating one of these with (ideally) a glass of whole milk. Not much of that happened. I got to have one of these after work with a glass of skim milk. I'll take what I can get.

These are so sinfully chocolaty. If you need a chocolate fix whip up a batch of these. Previously I had always made this as a cake but it much easier to share cupcakes as opposed to cake. I brought two to my in-laws, two to my office mates, and one to my pal Kacey. I later found out that my MIL didn't get her designated cupcake so she got a special delivery. The MIL and the DIL. We take care of each other. :)

Don't mind the Halloween cupcake liners. I don't discriminate.


Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake
Source: Hershey's (of course)
Yield: 30 cupcakes

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Heat oven to 350°F. Line cupcake tin with papers. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water. Pour batter into pans. Bake 22 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

Hershey's Chocolate Frosting
Yield: 2 cups

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla.

Oh, Rats!

My husband and his friend Walter have the coolest and best punk/folk/country band in the state. Years ago they were part of a band that made it pretty big in the state called Marks the Spot. This was long previous to meeting him. A year or so ago he and Wally decided to start a new project called Oh, Rats!. They write a lot of their own music and have done a couple covers, one Blink 182 song and Lefty Frizzel's "Long Black Veil". I'm not sure if my favorite is "Tell her to aim lower" or "Not if I see you first". Both very different songs and both excellent. These are some talented guys. Check out their music at http://www.myspace.com/ohratsjamz.

Tomorrow night they have their first gig in 5 years. They are playing at Higher Grounds in Hallowell with Glen Theory and Mike Hale, both signed. This is big for the small drunken town of Hallowell where they rotate local artists. Everyone I know is looking forward to this show. It is going to be amazing...just like my husband.

I am the designated Merch Girl (mostly self designated) and thought that you can't have Mrs. Sweet Cheeks running a merch table without selling cupcakes. My dear friend Kacey and I brainstormed and came up with the idea to make Oh, Rats! cupcakes. We had so much fun today making these. I won't post a recipe because they are just boxed cake mix (curse me if you want) and buttercream icing.

Of course we had company while we baked the cupcakes. He loves hanging out with the girls. Even though Kacey put a bag over his head and he fell off the island.


I love this picture of the icing we had just colored.

We tried to make rats on the cupcake but found they look more like mice or gerbils. One of mine looked like a sleeping cat. Whatever.

This little mouse/rat has a tramp stamp to show her support of breast cancer awareness!

Of course we had to make a couple for ourselves...and taste test!

Faux Hostess Cupcakes

**Carrie Bradshaw voice** Hello Lover.


I recently bought my first Food Network Magazine. A subscription soon followed. I thought it was going to be a joke since you can find all their recipes online and you can watch chefs make the stuff right on TV. Why do they need a magazine? I don't know. But they do. I destroyed it, tearing out page after page to add to my recipe binder.

Today was a half day of work due to a huge snow storm hitting Maine. I knew when I left work what I was going to bake on my snow day. These faux hostess cupcakes from Lulu's Bake Shoppe in Boston, MA. I'm not quite sure how I've never been to this bake shoppe. It is located in the North End which I tend to frequent for a black and white cookie at Modern Pastry. Maybe the occasional lobster tail at Mike's Pastry.

These cupcakes are unbelievable. Probably one of the best things to ever come out of my kitchen. The filling is phenomenal. It's sweet and smooth, creamy. I definitely needed a moment after my first bite. Even the cat wanted to lick off the frosting!

Lulu's Cupcakes

Food Network Magazine

Yield 24 delicious cupcakes

For the Cupcakes
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
11/4 cups granulated sugar
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

For the Filling
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 cup marshmallow creme
For the Ganache and Icing
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
21/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon milk
2 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350. Place paper liners in two 12-cup muffin pans.

Prepare the cupcakes: Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Bring the sugar and 1 cup water to a boil in a saucepan, stirring until the sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. Pour into a large bowl; add the chocolate and butter and let sit, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture has cooled slightly. Stir in the vanilla. Using a mixer, beat in the eggs, then mix in the dry ingredients.
Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans (about 1/4 cup batter per cupcake) and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool in the pans for about 25 minutes, then transfer cupcakes to a rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling: Using a mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Beat in 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar. Add the vanilla and 1 tablespoon heavy cream; beat until smooth. Beat in the remaining 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar and 2 tablespoons heavy cream in batches, alternating after each addition. Beat in the marshmallow creme; set aside.

Prepare the ganache: Place the chocolate in a stainless-steel bowl. Heat the cream and 1 tablespoon butter until just boiling, then pour over the chocolate; let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Add 2 teaspoons vanilla; let stand until cool but still glossy and liquid.
Spoon the filling into a pastry bag with a medium tip. Insert the tip into the center of each cupcake top; fill until the cupcake is heavier (do not overfill). Dip the cupcake tops in the ganache. Chill for at least 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the icing: Using a mixer, beat the remaining 1 stick butter, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla, the milk and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Spoon into a pastry bag with a small tip; pipe onto the cupcakes to decorate.