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Peanut Butter Torte

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This was my first torte, and according to my coworkers, it was delicious! In fact, one of the executives even called it wicked. As for me? Well, I don’t even like mousse-y type stuff and even I thought it was pretty good. Yes, I have a thing with textures and food. I’m weird like that.

Anyway, while this was easy to make, I found it quite time consuming. Lots of chopping and cleaning up Oreo cookie crumbs–oh wait, that was just me? The end result however, was magnificant. Everyone kept walking by asking if I really made it and said it was almost too pretty to eat.

I made a few modifications to the original recipe by omitting the coffee and nutmeg (hate hate hate nutmeg), and I used at least 30 Oreos for the crust. Other than that, I followed everything else. Photos of the process here.

Ingredients
1 ¼ c. finely chopped salted peanuts (for the filling, crunch and topping)
2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon instant espresso powder (or finely ground instant coffee)
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
½ c. mini chocolate chips (or finely chopped semi sweet chocolate)
24 Oreo cookies, finely crumbed or ground in a food processor or blender
½ stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Small pinch of salt
2 ½ c. heavy cream
1 ¼ c confectioners’ sugar, sifted
12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 ½ c salted peanut butter – crunchy or smooth (not natural; I use Skippy)
2 tablespoons whole milk
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate finely chopped

Preparation
Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch Springform pan and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.
Toss ½ cup of the chopped peanuts, the sugar, espresso powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and chocolate chops together in a small bowl. Set aside.

Put the Oreo crumbs, melted butter and salt in another small bowl and stir with a fork just until crumbs are moistened. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the spring form pan (they should go up about 2 inches on the sides). Freeze the crust for 10 minutes.

Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then transfer it to a rack and let it cool completely before filling.

Working with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, whip 2 cups of the cream until it holds medium peaks. Beat in ¼ cup of the confectioners’ sugar and whip until the cream holds medium-firm peaks. Crape the cream into a bowl and refrigerate until needed.

Wipe out (do not wash) the bowl, fit the stand mixer with the paddle attachment if you have one, or continue with the hand mixer, and beat the cream cheese with the remaining 1 cup confectioners’ sugar on medium speed until the cream cheese is satiny smooth. Beat in the peanut butter, ¼ cup of the chopped peanuts and the milk.

Using a large rubber spatula, gently stir in about one quarter of the whipped cream, just to lighten the mousse. Still working with the spatula, stir in the crunchy peanut mixture, then gingerly fold in the remaining whipped cream.

Scrape the mouse into the crust, mounding and smoothing the top. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight; cover with plastic wrap as soon as the mousse firms.

To Finish The Torte: put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Leave the bowl over the water just until the chocolate softens and starts to melt, about 3 minutes; remove the bowl from the saucepan.

Bring the remaining ½ cup cream to a full boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and, working with a rubber spatula, very gently stir together until the ganache is completely blended and glossy.

Pour the ganache over the torte, smoothing it with a metal icing spatula. Scatter the remaining ½ cup peanuts over the top and chill to set the topping, about 20 minutes.

When the ganache is firm, remove the sides of the Springform pan; it’s easiest to warm the pan with a hairdryer, and then remove the sides, but you can also wrap a kitchen towel dampened with hot water around the pan and leave it there for 10 seconds. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Recipe from Baking: From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan.

Paul’s Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Pound Cake

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Passover ends tonight (my family begins eating chametz at lunch–story for another time) and I wanted to bake something with flour! I had some sour cream leftover from the Passover brownies I made and was in the mood to try a new recipe so I flipped through my new cookbook and decided on this pound cake.

Speaking of this cookbook, it is a hoot! The author, Judy Bart Kancigor, included photos of family members throughout (including some very cute men–maybe she’ll hook me up!). There’s also an enormous family tree at the beginning so you can see who is related to whom. I love when cookbooks are personalized like that, it’s so much more fun.

OK, back to the cakes. Oddly enough, this is the third pound cake I have made that calls for a tube pan–what happened to the days of pound cakes in loaf pans? Or I am just imaging that? Anyway, I still don’t have a tube pan so I substituted two 9″ loaf pans instead and only baked the loaves for about an hour (during which my kitchen smelled ohsogood!).

These loaves are buttery, rich, and moist (unlike my previous pound cake disappointment) and the chocolate chips are definitely a nice, sweet addition! I can’t wait to bring these into work tomorrow for my coworkers to enjoy.

Photos of the process here.

Ingredients
Unsalted butter or unflavored vegetable cooking spray, for greasing the pan
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus exra for dusting the pan
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
6 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups (9 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Grease a 10-inch tube pan with removable bottom, dust it with flour, and tap out the excess.
2. Combine the flour and baking soda in a bowl. Stir well, and set it aside.
3. Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping the bowl after each addition. Then beat in the vanilla until smooth.
4. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in four additions, alternating the with the sour cream in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Fold in the chocolate chips.
5. Scrape the batter into the prepared tube pan, and bake on the center oven rack until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack.
6. Run a knife around the center tube and the sides of the pan, and lift the tube from the outer pan. Gently slide the knife between the bottom of the cake and the pan, and lift the cake off the pan. Cut the cake into slices, and serve.

Recipe from Cooking Jewish by Judy Bart Kancigor.

Gooey Chocolate Cakes

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Yummy!

Oh wait, you were expecting more? Well then. These are moist and delicious and gooey and really, the only thing that could have made them better is ice cream. Of which I had none. Alas, that didn’t stop me from eating one while it was still piping hot and oozing chocolate.

Speaking of oozing, prior to making these, I read that other people weren’t getting runny insides. Fortunately for me, they came out beautifully (quite unlike the ugly photo). Also, I made them in the afternoon and brought them to a friend’s house later that night. We just popped them in the microwave for a bit and they were perfect!

Photos of the process here.

Ingredients
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, 4 ounces coarsely chopped, 1 ounce very finely chopped
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
6 tablespoons sugar

Getting Ready
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter (or spray - it’s easier) 6 cups of a regular-size muffin pan, preferably a disposable aluminum foil pan, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Put the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

Sift the flour, cocoa and salt together.

Set a heat proof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, put the coarsely chopped chocolate and the butter in the bowl and stir occasionally over the simmering water just until they are melted - you don’t want them to get so hot that the butter separates. Remove the bowl from the pan of water.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and yolk until homogenous. Add the sugar and whisk until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add the dry ingredients and, still using the whisk, stir (don’t beat) them into the eggs. Little by little, and using a light hand, stir in the melted chocolate and butter. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups and sprinkle the finely chopped chocolate over the batter.

Bake the cakes for 13 minutes. Transfer them, still on the baking sheet, to a rack to cool for 3 minutes. (There is no way to test that these cakes are properly baked, because the inside remains liquid.)

Line a cutting board with a silicone baking mat or parchment or wax paper, and, after the 3-minute rest, unmold the cakes onto the board. Use a wide metal spatula to lift the cakes onto dessert plates.

Serving
These should be served as soon as they are put on plates. The cakes are not meant to be served alone - they need something to play off their warm, gooey, soooooo chocolaty interior. Ice cream is the most obvious choice and, to my mind, the best in terms of texture and, of course, temperature. Any chocolate-friendly flavor will be good. Circling the cakes with crème anglaise is another good idea and, for those for whom too much is not enough, circling the cakes with crème anglaise and running a ring of bittersweet chocolate sauce through the custard is an even better idea.

Storing
Although the whole point of a warm, runny cake is to eat it when it is warm and runny, the cake is still delicious, but different, the following day. If you wrap the cooled cakes in plastic wrap and keep them at room temperature, the next day the texture of the center of the cake (the part that was once gooey) will remind you of ganache. Eating the cake will be like enjoying a bonbon: it will be firm on the outside and creamy within.

My Notes
I used a disposable aluminum muffin tin. I also used semi-sweet instead of bittersweet chocolate.

Recipe from Baking: From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan.

Red Velvet Cake Balls

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Pictures of the process here.

First of all, YUM. Secondly, YUM. Thirdly, YUM.

Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, I have to tell you that I have a newfound respect for people who dip chocolate by hand. What a pain in the ass. Lesson learned: Spend the extra money and buy the dipping chocolate in the little containers you find next to the strawberries in the produce section of the market. The one I used is called Dolci Frutta Fruit Dip Chocolate and it was delicious and you will thank me for it later! I got it at Pavilions which is owned by Safeway, in case you have a hard time finding it. This chocolate is so cool, once you dip the balls in it (yes, you may giggle) it hardens sorta like Magic Shell (please don’t tell me you’re not old enough to remember Magic Shell) and about five seconds later they are ready to eat.

So, not only are these good, they are easy! And I’ll even admit to using a box mix and canned frosting. I know, for shame! Am I still allowed to have a baking blog? Perhaps we can keep this admission on the down low. Thanks.

Ingredients
1 box red velvet cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)
1 can cream cheese frosting (16 oz.)
chocolate for dipping

Preparation

1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.
2. Mix thoroughly with 1 can cream cheese frosting. (It may be easier to use fingers to mix together, but be warned it will get messy.)
3. Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50.)
4. Chill for several hours. (You can speed this up by putting in the freezer.)
5. Melt chocolate in microwave per directions on package.
6. Roll balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm. (Use a spoon to dip and roll in chocolate and then tap off extra.)

My notes:

• I used a small cookie scoop.
• Buy the dipping chocolate!
• I made the balls then refrigerated them overnight (covered with Press N Seal) and dipped them the next day with no problems.

Recipe from Bakerella.

Brown Sugar Pound Cake with Caramel Glaze

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I copied this recipe from the food section of the LA Times a couple of months ago and finally got a chance to make it. I had some leftover milk (I never have milk in my house) and a ton of powdered sugar, so I figured why not continue fattening up my coworkers right before Thanksgiving. They’re always up for sweets.

This is good. It’s dense, moist, and has a wonderful flavor. And it’s a little after 9:00 a.m. and one of the loaves is already gone. I think it’s safe to say it has the coworker seal of approval.

Cake Ingredients
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, softened, plus additional for greasing the pan
1 (1-pound) box dark brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
5 eggs

Cake Preparation

1. Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt and stir with a fork; set aside. Into a small bowl, pour the milk and add the vanilla; set aside.
3. With a mixer, beat the butter at high speed until light and fluffy. Add the brown sugar in three batches, then add all of the white sugar, beating after each addition. Add the eggs one by one, beating well after each addition.
4. Reduce the speed to low and add half of the flour mixture and then half the milk, beating until the flour or milk has disappeared into the batter. Add the rest of the flour and the rest of the milk in the same way. Quickly scrape the batter into the tube pan and bake until the cake is nicely browned at the edges, springs back when lightly touched at the center and a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 10 minutes.
5. Remove the pan from the oven and leave it on a wire rack for 20 to 30 minutes. Loosen the cake from the pan with a table knife and turn it out onto a wire rack or plate, then leave it to cool completely. When cool, glaze with caramel glaze.

Glaze Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons half and half (I used whole milk)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze Preparation

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter.
2. Add milk and brown sugar, stir to combine.
3. Boil vigorously for 1 minute.
4. Remove from heat and beat in 1/2 cup powdered sugar.
5. Cool slightly then beat in the vanilla and remaining powdered sugar, adding more milk if necessary.
6. Quickly spoon over cake before glaze sets.

Cake recipe from the LA Times, August 22, 2007 (sorry, can’t find the link in their archives).

Glaze recipe from Cupcake Bakeshop.

My notes:

• I don’t own a tube pan, so I used two loaf pans instead.
• I didn’t have dark brown sugar, so I used golden brown sugar.
• The LA Times recipe included a caramel glaze, but it called for evaporated milk which I did not have in my kitchen, so I searched online for a different glaze recipe.

Leftover Halloween Candy Cupcakes

My coworkers had some leftover Halloween candy, so I had the brilliant idea of bringing more sugar to the office via leftover Halloween candy cupcakes! Because how can candy and a cupcake together possibly be bad? Well…

I found a recipe for candy cupcakes and it said to chop the candy and stir it into the batter. Since I’m not a huge fan of crunchy cupcakes, I had the brilliant [at the time] idea of chopping the candies into thirds and putting a piece directly in the batter, like I did for the cookie dough cupcakes.

Unfortunately, I didn’t take into consideration that the heat from the oven would melt the chocolate and caramel, thus causing it to stick to the bottom of the wrapper. Ooops.

I’m pretty sure my coworkers will still eat them.
- - -
As you probably did not notice, although I feel the need to share anyway, I now have a Flickr account solely for this blog, which can be found here. This means each recipe is sorted into its own set, and all sets of the same type of recipe are all part of a collection. Did that make sense? Maybe this will make it easier. Yes, I am slightly obsessive when it comes to organizing things.

I’ve moved most of my baking pictures over, but I am still in the process of adding captions and recipe links, so in the meantime, all of the previous posts still link to the pictures on the old Flickr stream.

That is all.

Happy (Early) Halloween

Sorry for the lack of new recipes, it’s been crazy here lately! I’ve been out a lot, and when I wasn’t out, I was glued to the TV and worried about my parents and friends down in San Diego who had to evacuate because of the fires. Everyone’s fine, but it’s been a super scary week.

Speaking of scary…

OK, not so scary. And yes, I forgot to add the mouths. Oops. Happy Halloween!

Milk Chocolate Mini Bundt Cakes

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My sister bought me this mini Bundt pan for my birthday, and I have been wanting to use ever since. The gift also gave me an excuse to try yet another Dorie recipe. Fortunately, this time, I was not disappointed.

Not only does my kitchen smell amazing, these little cakes are moist and delicious. The only negative is the glaze–I couldn’t get it anywhere near the right consistency, and after tasting the cakes with it, I wish I had just dusted them all with powdered sugar. Oh well, next time.

Ingredients
For the Swirl
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
2 tsp unsweetened cocoa
2 tsp sugar

For the Cake
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole milk
7 ounces milk chocolate, melted and cooled

For the Glaze
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 tsp light corn syrup

Preparation
Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat oven to 350F. Generously butter a 6-mold mini Bundt pan.

To make the swirl: Toss the nuts, cocoa and sugar together in a small bowl.

To Make the Cake: Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitter with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed. Add the egg and beat for 1 minute more, then beat in the vanilla. Don’t be concerned if the mixture looks curdled–it will smooth out soon. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add half the flour mixture, mixing only until it is incorporated. Add the milk, and when it is blended into the batter, add the remaining flour mixture, again mixing just to incorporate. Finally, add the melted chocolate and mix to blend.

Fill each of the mini Bundt molds with a little batter, then divide the swirl ingredients evenly among the molds and top off the Bundts with the remaining batter.

Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the centers of the cakes come out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and allow the cakes to rest for 5 minutes, then invert them onto the rack and let them cool to room temperature.

To make the glaze: Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of water. Stir in the corn syrup. Using a small offset metal spatula or a table knife, spread the shiny glaze over the tops of the Bundts, then scatter the nuts, if you’re using them, over the glaze. Let glaze set at room temperature; it will take about 15 minutes.

Makes 6 mini Bundt cakes (1 cup) or 12 really tiny Bundt cakes (1/2 cup).

My notes:

• My mini Bundt pan makes 12 tiny cakes rather than 6 small cakes so I only baked mine for about 17 minutes.
• I skipped the swirl part entirely.
• I omitted the nuts.

Recipe from Baking: From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan.

Pound Cake

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I had some time to kill and wanted to bake, but I didn’t have many ingredients in my house. Quite an embarrassing admission from someone who loves to bake, but I hope to remedy that problem sometime this week. Anyway, after sorting through recipe after recipe, I decided on a pound cake.

Well, I’m sad to say that once again, I’m disappointed by a Dorie recipe. The cake’s flavor is good, but it’s way too dry and crumbly. At first I thought I may have done something wrong, but after reading other people’s reviews, I’m not alone. Have no fear though, there are more Dorie recipes to be tried!

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour or 2 ¼ cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preparation
Center a rack in the oven and preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9×5-inch loaf pan or an 8 ½ x 4 ½ -inch loaf pan. Put the pan on an insulated baking sheet or two regular baking sheets stacked on top of each other.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar on high speed until pale and fluffy, a full 5 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and beater and reduce the mixer speed to medium. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 to 2 minutes after each egg goes in. As you’re working, scrape down the bowl and beaters often. Mix in the vanilla extract. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, mixing only until it is incorporated – don’t overmix. In fact, you might want to fold in the last of the flour, even all of it, by hand with a rubber spatula. Scrape the batter into the buttered pan and smooth the top.

Put the cake into the oven to bake, and check on it after about 45 minutes. If it’s browning too quickly, cover it loosely with a foil tent. If you’re using a 9×5-inch pan, you’ll need to bake the cake for 70 to 75 minutes; the smaller pan needs about 90 minutes. The cake is properly baked when a thin knife inserted deep into the center comes out clean.

Remove the cake from the oven, transfer the pan to a rack and let rest for 30 minutes.

Run a blunt knife between the cake and the sides of the pan and turn the cake out, then turn it right side up on the rack and cool to room temperature.

My notes: I used cake flour and the 9×5-inch pan.

Recipe from Baking: From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan.

Diet Coke Cupcakes With Vanilla Glaze

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Yes, seriously, Diet Coke. And no, you can’t taste it whatsoever.

I went back to Weight Watchers (about ten pounds from goal!) a few weeks ago and have since heard a zillion people gushing about these cupcakes and decided I had to give them a try. And well, they’re not too bad. Definitely a different texture than cupcakes with the regular ingredients, but nothing to complain about.

If I ever find myself with a major cupcake craving, I might make them again. Of course, they’re not as good as the real thing.

Cake Ingredients
1 box cake mix
1 egg white
1 can Diet Coke

Cake Preparation
Remember, you are substituting the Diet Coke and egg white for the ingredients the box mix calls for–do not add the eggs, oil, etc.

1. Preheat oven as directed on box.
2. Beat cake mix, egg white, and one can of Diet Coke.
3. Fill lined cupcake trays.
4. Bake as directed on box. (I set the timer for a couple minutes less and checked on them. They were done.)
5. Remove cupcakes from tray and let cool.
6. Drizzle glaze over cupcakes, allow glaze to set.

Glaze Ingredients
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Glaze Preparation
Mix powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. If glaze is too thick, add more milk.

Note: If you’re using a white or yellow mix, use Diet 7-Up or another clear diet soda.

Toffee Cupcakes With Caramel Frosting

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There are good, but not great. The cupcakes are quite moist, but pretty bland. The frosting is super sweet, and sort of overpowers the simplicity of the cupcake. The cupcake recipe suggested making either caramel frosting, buttercream frosting, or chocolate fudge frosting. I think if I were to make these again, I’d use chocolate frosting.

[Edited to add: My coworkers give these a thumbs up. Apparently I'm in the minority.]

Also, the frosting recipe said to stir 10 to 15 minutes or until thickened. However, I couldn’t get it to thicken very much, and was afraid if I kept it on the heat the caramel would burn. Consequently, it ended up more of a caramel ice cream topping consistency than a frosting consistency. But it still tasted good, albeit really sweet.

Cupcakes
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
2 egg whites
2/3 buttermilk
2/3 cup toffee bits

1. In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. In a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together brown sugar and butter until well combined. Add egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternately beat in flour mixture and buttermilk, making three additions of flour mixture and two of buttermilk, beating until smooth. Add toffee bits, beating until smooth.
3. Scoop batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 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.

Yields one dozen.

Frosting
1 cup whipping (35% cream)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 tsp salt

1. In a heavy saucepan, combine cream, brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, and salt. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring, for 2 minutes or until sugar is dissolved and butter is melted.
2. Reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring often, for 10 to 15 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir until smooth and pour into a bowl. Let cool in bowl, stirring occasionally. Caramel will thicken further as it sits and cools.
3. Stir cooled caramel well and spread or spoon over cooled cupcakes.

My notes:

• Make the frosting before the cupcakes so it has time to cool.
• Don’t be lame like me and put the frosting in an aluminum bowl to cool. Duh.

Recipes from 125 Best Cupcake Recipes.

Toll House Crumbcake

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Flipping through my cookbooks, I decided to try this recipe based on the awesome looking picture and the crumb topping. Well, I’m sad to say that a) my finished cake looks ugly and absolutely nothing like the picture; b) I somehow messed up the crumb topping; and c) I didn’t read the recipe thoroughly and used regular sized chocolate chips instead of minis (all the while thinking, wow, mini chips would probably be better here).

Regarding the crumb topping–it well, didn’t, “crumb.” It sort of mushed instead. Then after it was baked, it sort of got soggy. Yeah I know, sounds delicious. And since that wasn’t enough of a disaster, my non-crumb crumb barely covered half the baking dish (perhaps because I omitted the nuts?) so I ended up making more topping with the same non-crumb result.

While the cake is really ugly, it’s also quite moist. I can’t really comment on the taste as I have some temporary taste bud loss due to the tonsillectomy and anything sweet tastes metallic-y to me at the moment. Would I make it again? That depends on how well it goes over at the office tomorrow.

Ingredients
Topping
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Morsels

Cake
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 taspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 13 x 9 inch pan.
2. For topping: combine brown sugar, flour and butter in small bowl with pastry blender or two knives until crumbly. Stir in nuts and 1/2 cup morsels.
3. For cake: combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat granulated sugar, butter and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add flour mixture alternately with sour cream. Fold in remaining morsels. Spread into prepared baking pan; sprinkle with topping.
4. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack.

Recipe from The Baking Bible.

As Promised…

I finally used my cupcake courier over the weekend, and it is awesome! So much easier than filling up a bunch of Tupperware containers! See for yourselves…

If you’re interested in purchasing one, you can find them here.

Buttermilk Cupcakes with Praline Icing

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I was so looking forward to these, but they didn’t exactly come out right. The cake ended up slightly undercooked, and the frosting was just an all-around mess, setting the second I turned the mixer off. By the time I put the frosting on the spatula, it was already too hard to spread. I ended up going back to the mixer and adding a bit of milk each time I frosted about four cupcakes, just so I could get it temporarily back to spreading consistency.

More pictures coming soon. (Flickr is acting up.)

I may try these again, but will definitely add milk while mixing the frosting.

Cake Ingredients
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
1 egg white
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup low-fat buttermilk

Cake Preparation
Preheat oven to 350F. Line 18 muffin cups (you’ll probably need two trays) with cupcake wrappers.

Combine the sugar and butter in a large bowl, and cream together with an elextric mixer until light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes. Beat in the eggs and egg white, one at a time, followed by the vanilla.

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Add the 1/3 of the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and stir well, followed by 1/2 of the buttermilk. Add in another third of the flour mixture, followed by the rest of the buttermilk and the last of the flour. Stir only until no streaks of flour remain.

Divide the batter evenly into the prepared pans, smoothing the surface with a spatula. Bake at 350° for 18-22 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and the top springs back when lightly pressed.

Cool completely on wire rack before frosting.

Frosting Ingredients
1 cup brown sugar, packed (light, dark or golden)
6 tbsp low-fat milk
1 tbsp corn syrup (light or dark)
1 tsp butter
dash of salt (1/8 tsp or so)
2 cups powdered sugar

Frosting Preparation
Combine the brown sugar, milk, corn syrup, butter and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat, and simmer for 5-6 minutes. Pour syrup mixture into a large bowl and let stand for about one minute. Add powdered sugar and the vanilla, then beat with a mixer at medium/high speed until smooth. Cool for 2-3 minutes (icing will be thin but thickens as it cools) before frosting, mixing for a few more seconds with the mixer to smooth it out.

Frost cupcakes and let them stand at room temperature until ready to serve so the frosting can set.

Makes 18 cupcakes.

Recipe from Bakingsheet.

Super Cool Product Alert

If you make cupcakes as often as I do, you’ll find this new cupcake courier a must buy as well! I’ll report back on how well it works when I use it. I can’t wait, I’ve been looking for something like this for a long time!

Peanut Butter Cupcakes

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I was having a party and wanted to make a few different kinds of mini cupcakes. Since I had already found amazingly delicious recipes for chocolate and vanilla cupcakes, I decided to give this peanut butter recipe a shot. My guests loved it; I thought it was just okay. Then again, I’m not a fan of nuts in baked goods, and this recipe calls for crunchy peanut butter. I think if I were try it again, I’d use smooth. Anyway, the cake definitely has a peanut butter flavor, but it’s not overwhelming and the chocolate frosting compliments it quite well.

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2/3 cup milk

Preparation

1. Prehead oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pan with paper liners.
2. In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking powerder and salt.
3. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together granulated and brown sugars and butter until well combined. Add peanut butter, beating until smooth. Add egg and vanilla, beating well. Alternately beat in flour mixture and milk, making three additions of flour mixture and two of milk, beating until smooth.
4. Scoop batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 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.

Makes 12 cupcakes.

Notes: I used mini cupcake tins so I ended up with about 36 cupcakes. Also, I used this chocolate buttercream recipe.

Recipe from 125 Best Cupcake Recipes by Julie Hasson.

Yummy

I was getting tired of looking at my last post so I figured I’d put up a picture of these red velvets I made over the weekend.

I haven’t tried any new recipes lately, hence the lack of new posts. Stay tuned though…good stuff is coming soon!

Vanilla Cupcakes

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I’ve tried a slew of vanilla cupcake recipes and usually end up with a bland, dense cake. So when I came across this recipe for “Almost Cake Mix Vanilla Cupcakes,” I was skeptical. But I am happy to report the name is right on! Not only are these cupcakes delicious, they are moist and light as well. And of course, I used my favorite buttercream frosting recipe.

Ingredients
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup Crisco shortening, room temperature
2 cups sugar, ground in the processor until fine (measure before processing)
4 large eggs
2 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon almond extract or lemon extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 3/4 cups cake flour or all-purpose flour (or combined together)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup warm half-and-half cream or full-fat milk (this is important, warm the milk!)

Preparation

1. Set oven to 375 degrees (will reduce oven temperature just before baking cupcakes).
2. Line 24 muffin pans with paper cupcake liners.
3. In an electric mixer, cream butter and shortening until fluffy.
4. Add in the eggs (one at a time) and the extracts and beat about 3-4 minutes on high speed (the mixture will seem to be a bit lumpy but will even out when you add in the sugar).
5. Add in the sugar; beat well (another 3 minutes) until sugar is COMPLETELY combined.
6. In a bowl, sift together flour, salt and baking powder.
7. Blend into the creamed ingredients, along with the warm milk until smooth (about 3 minutes).
8. Fill the prepared pans about two-thirds full.
9. IMMEDIATELY, reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.
10. Place the cupcakes in oven, and bake for about 20-24 minutes, or until the cupcakes test done.

Makes 24 cupcakes.

Notes:

1. I used ultrafine sugar.
2. I used cake flour.
3. I used whole mik.
4. I used lemon extract.
5. After adding the eggs to the butter, the batter is very lumpy and kinda funky looking.
6. The cupcakes were done after 18 minutes, so you may want to check them early.
7. I usually get 30 (very nicely sized) cupcakes, not 24 like the recipe states.

Recipe from Recipe*Zaar.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

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I found this recipe (don’t know where I got it, but I would love to give props to the appropriate person) and made it for my mom’s birthday (which was during Passover). It was surprisingly good, and I will be making it again this year. The recipe calls for whipped cream and raspberries to top it, but we did a slight variation–ate the cake warm with ice cream and hot fudge…how can you go wrong? I think this year I may try a chocolate or raspberry glaze for the top, we shall see. Here it is:

Flourless Chocolate Cake
2 cups chocolate chips
3/4 cup unsalted butter or margarine
7 large eggs, separated
2/3 cup sugar, divided
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups sweetened whipped cream or whipped cream substitute (optional)
1 pint raspberries (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a 9 inch springform pan and line with parchment paper. Heavily grease the parchment paper.

Melt the chocolate and butter together in a medium heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Beat the egg yolks and 1/3 cup sugar in a large bowl for three minutes, or until the mixture thickens and turns a pale yellow.

Fold the chocolate mixture and vanilla into the egg yolk mixture and set aside. Using very clean beaters and a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add the remaining 1/3 cup sugar and beat until medium-stiff peaks form.

Carefully fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture a quarter at a time, until all of the egg whites have been added and the batter is uniform in color. Do not overmix.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth evenly. Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out with moist crumbs rather than batter.

Cool the cake thoroughly in the pan (the cake will fall dramatically).

Remove the cake from the springform pan and place on a serving plate.

Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Beat the heavy cream with the sugar and then spoon into the center of the cake. Top with the raspberries and refrigerate for up to 12 hours, or serve immediately.

Makes 12 servings.

Cookie Dough Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

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Yellow cupcakes with chocolate chip cookie dough in the middle. Yum!

Cupcake Ingredients
1 package (18.25 ounces) plain yellow cake mix
1 package (3.4 ounces) vanilla instant pudding mix
1 cup whole milk
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 package (1 pound) frozen cookie dough

Cupcake Preparation

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Set the pans aside.
2. Place the cake mix, pudding mix, milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. The batter should look well blended.
3. Spoon or scoop a heaping 1/4 cup batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it two thirds of the way full. (You will get between 22 and 24 cupcakes; remove the empty liners, if any.)
4. Cut the frozen dough pieces in half to make 24 pieces. Place a frozen cookie dough piece on top of each cupcake. Place the pans in the oven.
5. Bake the cupcakes until they are golden and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 23 to 27 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool before frosting. They may sink a bit in the center.

Frosting Ingredients
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
3 to 5 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Frosting Preparation

1. Place the butter and cocoa powder in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until the mixture is soft and well combined, 30 seconds.
2. Stop the machine and add the confectioners’ sugar, 3 tablespoons of the milk, and the vanilla. Blend with the mixer on low speed until the sugar is incorporated, 1 minute.
3. Increase the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 1 minute more.
4. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons more milk if the frosting is too stiff.

Store these cupcakes, in a cake saver or under a glass dome, at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Or freeze them, wrapped in aluminum foil or in a cake saver, for up to 6 months. Thaw the cupcakes overnight in the refrigerator before serving.

Note: Make sure the dough is frozen, not refrigerated. This is so that the cookie dough remains gooey instead of completely baked. Trust me, it’s good!

Cupcake and frosting recipes from 52 Cupcakes.

Chocolate Surprise Cupcakes with Chocolate Fudge Frosting

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Bittersweet chocolate cupcake with melted marshmallow inside and chocolate fudge frosting.

Cupcakes
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 egg whites
1 tsp. vanilla
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
2/3 cup buttermilk
2 tbs.s chocolate cream liqueur
12 large marshmallows

In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together sugar and oil until well combined. Add egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and melted chocolate. Alternately beat in flour mixture and buttermilk, making three additions of flour mixture and two of buttermilk, beating until smooth. Beat in chocolate liqueur.

Scoop batter into 12 muffin cups lined with paper liners. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven 20 to 25 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in pan on rack for 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan.

While cupcakes are still hot, using a spoon, scoop a hole in the top of each cupcake, scooping down to the center. Push a marshmallow into each hole. Don’t worry if marshmallows stick up a bit from top of cupcakes. The heat of cupcakes will soften marshmallows. (Discard scooped out cupcake or save to nibble on.) Let cool completely on rack. Top cooled cupcakes with Chocolate Fudge Frosting. Makes 12 cupcakes.

Frosting
In a food processor fitted with metal blade, process 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted, 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, 2 tablespoons chocolate cream liqueur, 1 tablespoon strong brewed coffee or milk and pinch salt until smooth, scraping down sides if necessary. Spread frosting on cooled cupcakes. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Note: The recipe says to let the cupcakes cool in the pan for five minutes before scooping out the center. Don’t wait–I did on the first batch and by then they were too cool to melt the marshmallows. Just scoop straight from the oven.

Red Velvet Cupcakes With Cream Cheese Frosting

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I used the Magnolia Bakery red velvet recipe as well as their cream cheese frosting recipe.

I also finally experimented with fondant, which was really cool. I realize I need to invest in a smaller cookie cutter, as the heart I used is not proportional to the cupcake.

Cupcakes
3 ⅓ cups cake flour (not self-rising)
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 ¼ cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
6 tablespoons red food coloring
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 ½ cups buttermilk
1 ½ teaspoons cider vinegar
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and lightly flour three 9 x 2-inch round cake pans, then line the bottoms with waxed paper.

To make the cake: In a small bowl, sift the cake flour and set aside. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a small bowl, whisk together the red food coloring, cocoa, and vanilla. Add to the batter and beat well.

In a measuring cup, stir the salt into the buttermilk. Add to the batter in three parts, alternating with the flour. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not overheat.

In a small bowl, stir together the cider vinegar and baking soda. Add to the batter and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl, making sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth.

Divide the batter among the prepared pans. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the layers cool in the pans for 1 hour. Remove from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack.

When the cake has cooled, spread the frosting between the layers, then the ice top and sides of the cake with frosting.

Makes one 3-layer 9-inch cake. (Or about three dozen cupcakes.)

Frosting
1 pound (two 8-ounce packages) cream cheese, softened and cut into small pieces
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and cut into small pieces
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
5 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and beat well. Gradually add the sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating continuously until smooth and creamy. Cover and refrigerate icing for 2 to 3 hours, but no longer, to thicken before using.

Makes enough for one 2- or 3-layer 9-inch cake.

Fondant Notes:

• If you cut out cute little hearts and place them in an airtight container, you should really layer wax paper between them otherwise they stick together.
• To get the gel color to spread evenly, you have to knead the softened fondant.
• It picks up fingerprints like you wouldn’t believe.
• Powered sugar helps keep it from sticking to the rolling pin.

Cupcake Notes:
Since I made cupcakes instead of a cake, I baked each tray of cupcakes for about 20 minutes.

Recipe from More From Magnolia.

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

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I saw this recipe in my new 125 Best Cupcake Recipes book by Julie Hasson. It reminded me of the cupcakes kids brought into school for their birthdays in elementary school so I just had to try them. I used her white cake recipe and of course, my favorite buttercrean frosting recipe.

As expected, they were delicious, looked very cute, and were a huge hit with my coworkers.

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon almond extract
2/3 cup buttermilk

Preparation
Prehead oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together sugar and butter until well combined. Add egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in almond extract. Alternately beat in flour mixture and buttermilk, making three additions of flour mixture and two of buttermilk, beating until smooth.

Fill muffin pan with flat-bottomed ice cream cones. Fill each cone three-quarters full of cake batter. Bake in preheaded oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until tops of cupcakes are golden brown and a tester inserted in center comes out clean.

Let cool completely in pan on rack. Top cooled cupcake cones with frosting. Sprinkle with garnishes.

Cupcake Notes:

• I hate almond, so I used vanilla extract instead.
• The cones end up a little soft due to baking. This is normal.

Buttercream Frosting
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup butter flavor Crisco
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup milk

In a large bowl, cream margarine and shortening until light and fluffy. Add salt, vanilla, confectioners’ sugar and milk. Beat well.

Frosting Note:
The first time I made this frosting, I used regular water based food coloring and the colors came out extremely muted. Since then, I’ve used gel color and the colors have looked great.

Recipe from 125 Best Cupcake Recipes by Julie Hasson.

Chocolate Cupcakes

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Simple and delicious chocolate cupcakes with buttercream frosting.