Fallen Chocolate Cake

Today I took my Mother to get her wisdom tooth removed. We walked into the dentist office and what better to be on television than Food Network. And who better to be on in a dentist office (or any medical office for that matter) than Paula Dean. Deep Fried banana foster french toast...okay not exactly deep fried, but I've never seen my french toast float in that much butter (and if it happens at Cracker Barrel I don't want to know). After that, Ina Garten comes on. As much as I dislike her warm and sunny disposition I can't help but love her food. Today was plum tart. Then I progressed to an Bon Appetit magazine and stumbled on the motherload. I think my mouth even dropped open as I gawked at the food porn. It was wonderful.
When I saw this cake recipe, I instantly thought of my friend/old roommate Mark. About halfway though our summer, he discovered he could no longer enjoy the world of gluten (and then some). So, Mark, if you are reading this you should make this cake. It is amazing. Seriously.

To everyone else, this cake is epic and completely worth every ounce of work put into it. I am still in shock at how flippin delicious this was. I would have paid $5.95 for this and tipped the crap outta the server that recommended it.

This is the recipe right out of the magazine. My tweak was toppings and making individual cakes. I took a large cupcake tin and placed a piece of buttered parchment paper in each. I tried my best to shove the paper down that it lie smoothly, but it was difficult. Also, make sure the batter touches the side with the butter.

Cake
1/2 C unsalted butter (softened) plus a little extra for greasing pan
3/4 C plus 2 Tbls Sugar (separated) along with extra for dusting
10 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
6 eggs
2 Tbls coco powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp salt

Topping
1 C chilled heavy cream
1/2 C mascarpone (room temp)
3 Tbls powdered sugar

9"- diameter springform pan

Start, as always, by preheating your oven to 350 F. Lightly butter the springform pan and dust with sugar, tapping out the excess.
  Combine chocolate, oil, and 1/2 C butter in a large heatproof bowl. Set over a saucepan of simmering water and heat, stirring often, until melted. Remove from heat.
  Separate 4 eggs, putting whites in yolks in separate medium bowls. Add coco powder, vanilla, salt, 1/4 C sugar, and remaining 2 eggs to bowl with yolks. Whisk till smooth. Gradually whisk yolk mixture into chocolate mixture, blending well.
  Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites on high until frothy. With mixer running slowly add 1/2 C sugar and beat till firm peaks form. (You can test peaks by turning off mixer, putting beater into egg whites, and lifting. If a peak forms and stays then your firm. If it starts to sag, it is soft.)
GENTLY fold egg whites into chocolate mixture in 2 batches, folding until incorporated between additions.

It should look something like this.

 

Scrape batter into pan, smooth the top and sprinkle with remaining 2 Tbls sugar. Put in the oven and bake till the top is puffed and starting to crack. The cake should be pulling away from the edge of the pan (about 35-45 minutes). If your having doubts, use the toothpick test. When done, transfer to a wire rack and let cake cool completely in the pan (sadly, the cake will collapse in the center and crack further).

 

The rise

 

And fall

 

If you put the in the muffin tins like me, let the cake cool for about 10 minutes. CAREFULLY lift the cakes from the tin, lifting from the parchment paper. Let those cool on the wire rack COMPLETELY. Very slowly and carefully peel the parchment paper from each cake (if you are serving and not saving them).

 

The naked cake

 

Topping is pretty simple. Using an electric mixer on Med-high speed, beat the chilled cream, mascarpone, and powdered sugar in a medium bowl until soft peaks form. Remove sides of springform pan from cake. Mound whipped cream mixture in center of cake.

 

I suggest adding some fruit. I used raspberries but strawberries would be good too. It is a nice contrast for such a rich cake.

I got real fancy and whipped up a chocolate sauce to drizzle over top. Chocolate syrup would do just as well.

 

Epic goodness. No joke.

 

Until Next Time



 

Firecracker cupcakes

In Northern Michigan there used to be a small cafe that served sandwiches, salads, all that good stuff, but they also made their own ice cream. I vividly remember one ice cream flavor in particular, chocolate chili. It was wonderful, cool, rich, chocolaty, and finished with a suprising kick. I've been trying to recreate this combination since and although it is St. Patrick's Day, I figured my last post sufficed for my Irish (along with my red curl and pale skin).

So we start with the cake, which is from the base of the Guinness cakes.

Firecracker Cupcake

1 C milk (buttermilk is a good option too)
1 C butter (room temp)
3/4 C coco powder
2 C flour (all-purpose)
2 C granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
2/3 C sour cream1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 Tbls chili powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
3 grinds of pepper

This is literally the exact recipe from last post (with a few tweaks).
Preheat your oven to 350 F and line out 24 cupcake tins with liners. Bring your milk and butter to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk and add your coco powder until combine and smooth. Set aside and get to work on the dry ingredients.
Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, all the spices, and salt in a bowl and set aside. In a large bowl beat eggs and sour cream until they are combine. Slowly add the chocolate/butter/milk mixture and beat until incorporated. SLOWLY start to add the flour mixture. Once everything looks decently incorporated, switch to a spatula and start to fold. Once everything looks well folded and spicy fill your cupcakes and bake for about 15 minutes, but as always, know your oven and keep your eyes peeled.

Overcooked cupcake suck.

 

Red Hot Frosting
8 oz cream cheese (softened)
1/2 C butter (room temp)
2 C powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbls Red Hot candies (any HARD cinnamon candy will work)
   I'm guessing a bit here, I had a small box of candies left over from Halloween but it was an individual packet and I just used the whole thing.

First, chop your red hot candies in a food processor until powdered or as close to powder as you can get. I still had some small bits but lacked further patience. Set that to the side. Beat your butter and cream cheese until loosely combined, then add the vanilla. Slowly add your powdered sugar and your pulverized candies, whipping the frosting until your reach the consistency you desire.

Frost and consume. This is not a cake I recommend for anyone that doesn't like spicy food. It has a nice bite to the end, and the cupcake goes really well with ice cream or some red wine.

 

Until Next Time

Irish Car Bomb pubcakes

Irish Car Bomb Pub-cakes

I originally found this cupcake recipe online and jumped at the opportunity to turn my Irish boyfriend's favorite beverage into an equally yummy cake. It was a slam dunk to say the least. I'm gonna digress for a minute and take you back to a fat kid day in the past. I could consume some sweets and cake was one of my favorites. My mom was going to school so often the Bill Cosby "cake for breakfast" thing was easy to pull off. Point is, I have had my fair share of cake. And this cake is easily the most moist and lush combination of sweet malt, smooth chocolate, and bite of hops that has graced my tongue. Yeah, that good.

There are three essential parts to this cake: Guinness cake, Jameson Irish Whiskey, and Baileys Irish Cream frosting. You can definitely take this recipe and conquer the greatest sweet tooth in the world.

Guinness cake
1 C Guinness stout
1 C butter (room temp)
3/4 C coco powder
2 C flour (all-purpose)
2 C granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
2/3 C sour cream

Whiskey Ganache
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2/3 C heavy cream
2 Tbls butter (room temperature)
2 tsp Irish whiskey

For the Baileys Frosting:
2 C unsalted butter (room temperature)
5 C powdered sugar
6 Tbls Bailey's Irish Cream

Start with your cake. Now, in my picture you can clearly see that these are NOT cupcake papers, but in fact pub glasses. I really wanted to make his something cool (which probably turned out to be more for myself that him but oh well) so I figured why not toss them into glasses. Here was the trick. But we will get to that.

Guinness Cake:
Preheat your oven to 350 F and line out 24 cupcake tins with liners. If your feeling more adventurous and want to put them into glasses, then hold off on preheating. Bring your Guinness and butter to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk and add your coco powder until combine and smooth. Set aside and get to work on the dry ingredients.
Combine flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a bowl and set aside. In a large bowl beat eggs and sour cream (or if your poor like me whisk ferociously) until they are combine. Slowly add the Guinness/chocolate mixture and beat until incorporated. SLOWLY start to add the flour mixture. Once everything looks decently incorporated, switch to a spatula and start to fold. If you are working quickly the batter should still feel warm which is awesome for the glass method. If your using cupcake liners, well then I scoff at your lack of adventure. Either way, divide the batter evenly into whichever baking vessel you prefer. TIP! If you are using glasses, remember to leave room for your cake to grow.

• Bake in paper liners like you normally would for any cupcake. Roughly 15-17 minutes. Check it out with a toothpick or knife.
• Baking in glasses: Place each glass on a cookie sheet, spaced enough that the glasses are not touching. Put them into a cool oven and allow the cake to preheat with the oven to avoid breaking the glass. This, along with the shape of your glass, will alter your bake time so go for around 12 and check out your progress. I think mine baked around 15.

After the bake, remove and cool.

Whiskey Ganache:
If you bought an 8oz bar of chocolate, chop it finely and put it in a heatproof bowl. I cheat and buy the Ghiradellia bittersweet chips (10 oz bar = left over chocolate) so no chopping here. Heat the cream to a simmer and carefully pour the white magma over the chocolate. Let it set for a minute and slowly stir until the chocolate is melted into a smooth creamy mixture. Add your room temp. butter and whiskey, stirring until combine. Let the ganache cool until thick, but not so thick it cannot be piped.
Find something tubular and hollow. You can use a piping tip to cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes (for the glasses I used a metal straw) and go down about 2/3 of the way down. Fill a piping bag (or use a Ziploc and cut a corner) with the ganache and fill the holes in each cupcake all the way to the top.

Baileys Frosting:
This is really a basic frosting recipe so it is pretty straight forward. Whip the butter until it seems airy/fluffy. Slow your mixer down and begin to add the powdered sugar until it is all incorporated. Add the Baileys and whip it until the frosting is fluffy. I always buy the mini bottles if I don't have any of the booze hanging around and there is a little bit more than 6 Tbls in the bottle. Don't be scared, use it all.

Frost your cupcakes however you desire and enjoy.

Until Next Time!

Samoa Cupcakes

      Can you just dive into a blog without doing an intro post? Yes, yes you can.

I love Samoas. As a kid, I could successfully eat an entire box of those sinfully delecious treats if my parents hadn’t already noticed my fat kid tendencies. 20 years later, I’m in the living room with a bunch of friends drinking wine and playing a board game when out came the Samoas. Girl Scout season was upon us and the cookies were devoured in haste. So I dug up some recipies and devised a plan for for a cupcake that could attempt to reach the supreme excellence of those damn cookies.
I settled for a white chocolate cake from The Fig Tree and got my “coconut salsa” from Katrina’s Kitchen and her homemade cookies.

Samoa cupcakes

White Chocolate Cake

• 1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• 1/2tsp salt
• 1/3 C unsalted butter (room temp)
• 3/4 C granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 6 oz good quality white chocolate, chopped and melted
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 1 C + 1 TBLS milk

First, set the oven to 325 degrees and line your cupcake tins (I made about 21 cupcakes). Basic cake drill, combine the dry (flour, baking powder, and salt) and set to the side. Prep your chocolate to be melted whichever way you choose (double boiler, microwavy, heat vision) and get to work. Next time I make these, I’ll try heating my milk and using THAT to melt down the chocolate but I figured first time I make them, I better follow my instructions. While that is working, cream your butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy. One at a time, add the eggs until incorporated. Then add the melted chocolate (the original recipie calls for 4, but I like to live on the edge).

Here is a hint for those of you who, like myself, find half used bags of chocolate chips around the house. Don’t.Use.The.Chips. Seriously. Invest in some good white chocolate because trying to melt old white chocolate “morsals” will not only make you gag as they shine in the heat, but will also make you wonder how much of this chip is actually wax. It’s enough to ruin Toll House for anyone.

 

After your chocolate is added, toss in the vanilla and mix at a medium speed for about 2 minutes. After, start to add your flour and milk, alternated and scraping the sides to ensure maxium batter production. With everything combine, fill your tins. I like to use an old ice cream scooper so I don’t have an array of baking times. Bake until a toothpick or knife inserted into the center comes out clean (about 22 minutes). Let them cool and toast your coconut.

Coconut “Frosting”

• 2 C shredded coconut (packed)
• 12-oz chewy caramels
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp milk
• 4 oz. chocolate

What do I mean by 2 C packed? You know how you would pack brown sugar into a measuring cup? Similar to that but, this time, with shredded coconut. I chose to toast my coconut in a pan since the last time I attempted to toast something in the oven (almonds) it ended in a pan full of ashes. Toast (a little over low heat) and toss often and eventually, you’ll get a nice brown pan coconut disguised as hasbrowns.
Remove from heat and let it cool. In a sauce pan add your milk, salt, and unwrapped caramels, stirring occasionally over low heat. I went from wooden spoon to whisk until it was melted. I also added more milk to thin down the sauce (personal preference) so use some judgement here. Once all the caramels are melted into sauce form, fold in the coconut (about 1/2 C at a time) till you are satisfied with the caramel to coconut ratio. I ended up using all the coconut and had I toasted more, I might have used that as well.

Here comes the fun part. Remember those cupcakes you let cool? Now you get to spoon hot magma coconut salsa onto them. Let the frosting cool for a minute, then use about a spoonfull on each. Try to work quickly cause the caramel mess is easier to manipulate while warm.

In a microwave safe bowl, add your chocolate and a spash of milk. Microwave at 10 second intervals, stiring in between, until chocolate is melted and smooth enough to drizzel. Once again, I found old chocolate bars in the pantry and decided to put them to good use (about 3oz milk chocolate and 1oz semisweet).

 

 Once melted, drizzel chocolate over the tops of each cupcake.

 

Until Next Time