Chocolate Wafer Cupcakes

Chocolate Wafer Cupcakes

It was my friend Tina’s birthday recently (I guess it’s birthday season?).  Tina is many fantastic things—an amazing singer, gorgeous, always bubbly and friendly—she deserved something equal to her levels of spectacular for her birthday. With a little internet inspiration and a lot of hope, I came up with these. They are again based on a smitten kitchen recipe, but I made a few changes.

And, if I do say so myself, they turned out amazingly well. They are so decedent and satisfying with the rich chocolate of the wafer, made fluffy and perfectly soft like little layers of cake by the whipped cream. The layered look of this little dessert is so elegant. And the best part—they are dead simple to make.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

Thus far, we’ve discussed the various ways that we can dress up boxed cake mixes. We’ve looked at a few different kinds of frosting and a number of ways to play with the batter.

 

Last week, my friend requested that I make her favorite cake for her birthday.  This cake is lovingly taken from Smittenkitchen.com, where I believe she makes the recipe according to a book called “Sky High Cakes” (speaking of birthdays…). This cake is perfect for Halloween with its fall colors and drippy ganache. It is called the chocolate peanut butter cake and it is exactly the type of dessert you make for the people who you want to have a fantastic birthday– frankly, its phenomenal.

 

 

The issue with frankly phenomenal things is they take a lot of time and effort. So if you are going to take the time to do this cake, be sure you have a few hours set aside. Excellence takes effort. It’s worth it though, I promise!

It turns out other people love cake too!

As many of you may know, I spend a lot of my time on the internet. Whether its doing research for school, browsing for cupcakes and other fluff, or just goofing off on facebook, I’m pretty much addicted.

In my many travels, I discovered this which has quickly become part of my all-time favorite internet finds. Right up there with various youtubed BBC comedy sketches, lolcats, and 1000awesomethings, this gem of internet fantastic-ness is called Hyperbole and a Half. It is a blog of the insane ramblings of Allie Brosh, a hyperactive and hilarious 20-something who recreates her most memorable life experiences in whatever is the mac version of MS Paint. Sometimes it makes perfect sense and sometimes it’s absolutely absurd. Either way, it is entertaining.

In one of her latest posts, Allie describes The God of Cake: “a thing of wonder – half toy, half cake and all glorious possibility”. But I’ll let her tell you herself. Go, click on the link above, and enjoy!

On vegan foods and functional cupcakes

Why, yes, I do take requests!

Sometimes, baking for others means catering to their dietary needs. For example, last year, one of the City Belles was a vegan. Week after week this Belle politely declined all baked goods. I felt bad; if I were in her situation, I wouldn’t have been able to resist. I did some research and found a few vegan alternatives for cupcakes on the web.  Here are some tried and true methods. It’s important to note, though, that not all box mixes are vegan—Ducan Hines mixes are, however, so I used them here.

Vegan Substitutes:

• 1 can of pumpkin puree (mine was 16 oz)
• About 2 cups apple sauce
• A can of diet soda
• Yogurt (as used before in the latte cupcakes)

I can hear the question now: You’re not vegan and none of your friends are—why would you want to have a vegan recipe on hand?

Well, not only is it something good to know in case you make a friend who is vegan or allergic to eggs, but these cupcakes are also low calorie and (if you use the pumpkin or yogurt) high in protein.  An easy sell for people who are watching what they eat, but still want something tasty for dessert.

Also, not all vegan substitutes are created equal. If you are making a lemon cake or a white cake, you probably will want to use a diet sprite or yoghurt. If you’re making brownies or anything chocolate, pumpkin puree or apple sauce will make a rich, fudgy texture. Furthermore, if it doesn’t have to be vegan, you might consider adding one egg white, just to make your batter a little fluffier.  Using these substitutes, the consistency might be a little different from what you are used to. There is a little trial and error that will be necessary for these projects.

I decided to make pumpkin spice cake cupcakes. I used a box of Ducan Hines spice cake, a can of pumpkin puree and one egg white.

Mix all ingredients together in a big bowl.

Spoon batter into cupcake liners.

Bake at temperature according to the box directions.

Take out, let cool, and frost when ready.

For the frosting, I used Paula Dean’s cream cheese frosting recipe, and made a few of my own modifications.

(In case you are curious, I do prefer cream cheese frosting to buttercream or royal icing. Why? I just like the taste better. It is smooth and creamy without the overwhelming taste of butter and it holds its shape really well.)

Creamy Dreamy Cinnamon Icing

8 ounces cream cheese

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter

1 lb sugar (or to taste, but have a pound on hand)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon cinnamon

A pinch of cocoa powder

Let the butter and cream cheese warm to room temperature. (Or, if you are like me and can’t remember to do that properly, dump the cold dairy products into the bowl you plan on making the frosting in—making sure it’s an oven proof bowl—and pop it into the still warm but turned off oven, monitoring closely until soft.)

Blend together with an electric mixer. Add in the vanilla and mix until fully incorporated. Slowly add in the powdered sugar, to taste. Then begin to mix in the cinnamon. The cocoa powder is just for color, so you can recognize it is cinnamon frosting, rather than a speckled cream cheese. You can leave it out if you like.

Frost the cupcakes, and cover with fun sugar sprinkles.

Delicious!

Making Brownies

Brownies are crowd pleasers. They are quick and easy and full of chocolate goodness. Brownies are basics—the little black dress of my dessert wardrobe.

But the things that make an LBD stand out are your trimmings—do you wear the kickass heels or the feminine shawl? Do you add a punch of color or smooth, cool, metal details? Brownies are the same way—it’s all about how you accessorize.

You can display them classic and plain if you want, but why not accentuate the awesome?

Here are some ways to dress up brownies:

1. Add a teaspoon of extract—I favor orange, but coffee is also an excellent choice. Coffee and chocolate complement each other superbly.
2. Cutting squares is messy—why not pre-portion your brownies in cupcake liners? This gives you a very neat and clean presentation.
3. Add in a sauce or jam—pour your batter into the tin and then drizzle any kind of ice-cream sauce (like caramel, hot fudge,  strawberry jam, chocolate sauce, pineapple jelly, peanut butter) and swirly in through the batter in pretty patterns.
4. Sweeten cream cheese with powdered sugar to taste and then spread over a cooled pan of brownies. You may also want to drizzle on top of this with a strawberry or raspberry jam. And then top with chocolate chips/chunks. Yes, I know that sounds like a heart attack. All I’m saying is enjoy responsibly. Be sure to pop the cream cheese covered brownies back into the fridge to firm up before cutting them into squares.
5. The brownie sundae’s from last week’s post are still on my to do list, but even dressing up a regular cut brownie with ice cream would be delicious.

So there you have it, five new ways to dress to impress with brownies.

As for me, I unwrapped and strategically placed Hershey kisses into my brownies.

Delightful!

Dreaming in Cupcakes (Episode 1)

As we hit the fifth-week in the semester and I find myself drowning in papers and exams, I have been having frequent dessert daydreams. Here are some of the things I would make if I had the time, equipment, time, materials, and most importantly time.

Raspberri Cupcakes’ Two Melon Mousse

http://raspberricupcakes.blogspot.com/2010/09/two-melon-mousse.html

Guh.

LOOK AT THAT. My Dad always taught me you eat first with your eyes and the presentation on these babies is phenomenal. It looks so light and fluffy, like you’d be eating a pastel colored cloud. One day, when I own more than a mediocre hand mixer, these will be a regular part of my dessert repertoire.

Joy the Baker’s Brownie Bottom Ice-Cream Cupcakes

http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2009/04/brownie-bottom-ice-cream-cupcakes/

I love how versatile cupcakes are and the ways you can use them to be surprising.  Plus, bite sized brownie Ice-Cream Sundaes? Sign me up! You could even made the brownie base, then set up stations for an ice-cream bar and have people decorate their own sundae! What a great idea.

And finally:

Two Peas’ Moijito Cupcakes with Lime Cream Cheese Frosting http://twopeasblog.wordpress.com/2010/09/21/mojito-cupcakes-with-lime-cream-cheese-frosting/

One of the perks of being 21 is finding was to use alcohol in baking. Yes, I have found a way to combine all joys of my youth with my 81-year-old grandmother tendencies. These look like a lot of fun to make, with their spunky frosting spikes and…the spiked nature of the cake itself. Hmmm…anyone have a birthday around the corner?

The Ultimate Appetizer

Mmmm!

The Ultimate Appetizer: Mexican Hot Dip

Every now and again, I trade in sweet for salty and savory. This is one of those times.

One of my best friends describes this dish as “awesomeness wrapped in awesomeness with a side of awesomeness.”  I first made it for the Great Ashwood Iron Chef Competition of 2008. It quickly became a group favorite. Not only is it ridiculously simple to make, but it is the perfect combination of sweet, tangy, and creamy goodness.

Chai Tea Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Fall has arrived! The first golden, crunchy leaves are available for stepping on and classes are in full swing. Autumn is my favorite season, with its gorgeous colors and crisp weather—and the return of the Starbucks pumpkin spice latte. However, when I returned to campus, Starbucks still didn’t have my drink of choice, so I decided to try something new. The Chai Tea Latte was everything I didn’t know I wanted and more. Spicy and sweet, creamy and hot—it was love at first sip.

I thought to myself, what only thing that could make that better?

A cupcake version, clearly.

The finished product

Chocolate Cupcakes with Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream

I love cupcakes.

They are the perfect size (particularly the bite-sized ones) and a combination of all my favorite, delicious things.  In this blog, we will discuss cupcakes (and other delectable desserts) frequently.

This week, I got a little bit extra creative and decided to branch out from my typical buttercreams or chocolate ganaches. City Belles, the women’s acappella group on campus, was starting up again, and that would require something spectacular… and pink.

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