Maple Baconator

Somewhere along the line we started a running joke at work that we were going to have a bacon party. Literally just pounds and pounds of bacon cooked in a variety of ways. Last night, our jokes turned into reality as 15 people joined together to create the most epic of dinner parties. We had Bacon beer mac n cheese, Lobster mac n cheese, Bacon wrapped Tennessee whiskey chicken, Candied bacon, Bacon wrapped stuffed mushrooms, Bacon vegetable cheddar soup, Bacon cheddar chive biscuits, and finally Maple bacon cupcakes. It was awesome. Someone even found Bacon soda, which was literally the only bad tasting item on the table. 

While searching for a starting point for maple cupcakes, I was continually redirected to Vanilla Garlic's website (original recipe found here). It was said to be the best maple cupcake on the web, so I had to try it with a little twist of my own. I doubled the recipe and made minis for the party, which cranked out about 70ish little cakes. 

Maple Bacon Cupcakes
Makes 12-16 / 350F oven

9 tablespoons butter, (room temp)
1 tablespoon bacon drippings (solidified)
2 egg, beaten (room temp)
10 tablespoons brown sugar
8 tablespoons Grade B maple syrup
2 1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
minuscule pinch kosher salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup minced bacon, cooked and drained (extra for garnish, if desired)

Start with the butter and bacon and whip it....whip it real good. Once it looks incorportaed and whippy, add the two beaten eggs, followed by the brown sugar and syrup.

In a seperate bowl, add and sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. If you are broke like me, simulate sifting by gently tossing the ingredients with a fork. 

Slowly add the flour and buttermilk, alternating between the two in 3 batches. Once the batter looks thick and well mixed, gently fold in the bacon. 

Divide the batter into cupcake liners and bake for 8-9 minutes (**I am using minis AND I am baking in high altitude). Check the cakes by inserting a toothpick and praying it comes out clean. Set those puppies aside to cool. 

Maple Frosting

8 tablespoons butter (room temp)

1 tablespoon bacon grease (solidified)
5 tablespoons Grade B maple syrup
2 cup of powdered sugar

Whip the crap out of the butter and bacon grease. Add the maple syrup and let the frosting and continue to beat on high for about 2 minutes or until it there is a good amount of air incorporated. Lower the speed and slowly add the powdered sugar. I believe once I added all the sugar, I let the frosting beat on high for about 3 minutes to get a really fluffy batch. 

Finally frost and garnish with Bacon.

I dipped my bacon in chocolate and wished I had large sea salt to add. Either way, the final product was awesome. 

Till Next Time

Peanut Butter Chocolate Awesome

Once during my senior year in high school, a teacher made a comment about how chocolate was better than sex. She stated that "chocolate is better than sex because you know chocolate never disappoints." Besides this being completely inappropriate it has fueled my desire to make a better than sex cupcake. And I think I've finally nailed it (pun intended). 

I used my favorite chocolate cake recipe, the Guinness cake from a previous blog. I found the peanut butter frosting recipe online after a bit of digging. You can see the original recipe on Beyond Frosting's Wordpress.

Chocolate Cupcake:

1 C buttermilk 
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

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line out 24 cupcake tins with liners. Combine buttermilk and butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in coco powder until mixture is smooth. Set the saucepan aside.

In another bowl mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set it to the side. In a large bowl beat eggs and sour cream till combine. Add the chocolate butter mixture, then slowly add the dry ingredients and mix till incorporated. 

Fill the cupcake liners two-thirds full with the batter. Pop them into the oven for about 15-17 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Set the cakes to the side and allow them to cool. 

Peanut Butter Frosting:

1 1/2 C unsalted butter (room temperature)

1 C peanut butter 

3 C powdered sugar

1 Tbsp heavy whipping cream

First, whip the crap out of the peanut butter. I kept adding peanut butter to the bowl so it was roughly 1 1/2 cups. Beat the peanut butter until it is fluffy. There will be a color change and the texture will look like whipped butter. Slowly add the butter to the mixture and continue to beat on high. You really want to fill the frosting with air. Once everything looks nice and light, lower the speed of the mixer and begin to add the powdered sugar. Finally, after the sugar is well incorporated add the heavy whipping cream and continue to beat the frosting until you reach a desired consistency. 

 Give them nice full tops so that when you add the chocolate cap it will have a nice billowed look. 

Once frosted, put the cupcakes into the fridge. The frosting is going to need to be chilled in order to hold up to the caps. 

Chocolate Cap:

2 C chopped semisweet chocolate

3 Tbls vegetable oil

Prepare a double boiler. In the top bowl add the chocolate and oil. When the chocolate begins to melt whisk the mixture until the chocolate is smooth and completely combine. Transfer the chocolate into a cup deep enough for dipping the cupcakes in to cap the chocolate. Remove the frosted cakes from the fridge and begin dipping.  

    

Then, muster up all the patience you can and wait for the caps to harden.

Mounds of Vegan Joy

On my way out to Denver I decided I wanted to make an Almond Joy inspired cupcake. The first attempt was such an awful fail that I stepped away from baking for a few days. It was awful. So once I got the confidence to try again, I decided to do a vegan twist. I disliked the heaviness of the first vegan cake I made so I searched out a fluffy vegan recipe for coconut cake. I tried a cake from Chloe Coscarelli  and was not disappointed. Her original recipe can be found by following the link, below is what I used. The changes are noted by an asterisk.

Coconut Cake:

1 3/4 C all-purpose flour

1 C sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 C coconut almond milk*

1/2 C canola oil

1 Tbls vanilla extract*

1 Tbls coconut extract*

1 Tbls white or apple cider vinegar 

1 C shredded coconut*

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line out the cupcake pan. 

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, whisk the coconut milk, oil, extracts, and vinegar. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk until combine. Don't over mix, it will lead to flat lifeless cakes. 

Fill the cupcake liners two-thirds fill and bake for about 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cakes cool and start to work on the frosting. 

Chocolate Almond Frosting:

6 Tbsp soy margarine

3/4 C cocoa powder

2 2/3 C organic powdered sugar

1/3 C chocolate almond milk

1 tsp almond extract

Combine cocoa powder and powdered sugar in a bowl. In a separate bowl cream the margarine. Add the dry ingredients and almond milk, alternating between the two. If you want a fudgier consistency, add more milk. Beat in the almond extract. 

Now, get to frosting. 

Baked?

This is not a post about a baked good. I wanted to let the world know that I haven't abandoned blogging or baking, I just needed to get some other things taken care of before diving back into a cupcake excursion. Financial priorities or something like that. Anyways, I've been stalling on painting my room for some time now. I was on a search for an overhead projector because the image I wanted to put on my wall is too intricate for me to free hand. Luckily, I found one this week and decided to stall no more. 

This is the original photo

This is my naked wall

This is the end of day one. 

 I am stoked to see how this turns out. 

Also, here is a picture of a chocolate filled croissant from dinner the other night. Boom, baked goods :)

Velvet Is the new Chocolate

I tackled a Red Velvet cupcake with a bit of apprehension. Prior to a week ago, I had never eaten a Red Velvet cupcake and never had much of a desire for one either. But, upon the request of someone at the gym, I thought I should give it a try. I started my cupcake exploration at a German bakery outside of town. And it sucked. More suck than eating last year's Halloween candy on Easter. Yes, that disappointing. I've never had a desire to eat Red Velvet cupcakes because I've never understood what it was meant to taste like. It seemed like this whole red drink purple drink issue but in cake form. This disappointing cake only fueled my decision that Red Velvet cake was a waste of flour. When my roommates took me to Yogurtland the next day, I tried the Red Velvet and realized how sad I was that I had missed out on this for 24 years.

I started searching online and figured my best option was to just dive right in. I stumbled upon this gem from the parsley thief and thought I would test it out. 

Spoiler alert, it was amazing.

Cake
1 cup plus 2 TBLS flour
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 TBLS unsweetened cocoa powder
2 TBLS red food coloring
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 TBLS water
4 TBLS {1/2 stick} unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cups sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp distilled white vinegar

Preheat the oven to 350F and line out the cupcake pan. Combine the dry ingredients (flour and salt) and set them to the side.

In another small bowl, mix the coco powder, red food color, vanilla extract, and water with a spoon until it is smooth and looks like a very thin paste. If you run out of food coloring (like I did) you can substitute a little bit of yellow and use water as the rest of the filler. I think I ended up using a 1/2 TBLS red, 1/2 TBLS yellow and 1 TBLS water. Set this weird red paste to the side.

Beat the butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy then add the egg and beat until it is incorporated. Add the red paste to the batter and mix it on a medium speed until it is well combined. Add the buttermilk and dry ingredients, alternating half and half and beat until smooth. Add the baking soda and white vinegar, beat once more until smooth. I've never baked with these two ingredients, but I combined mine before adding them into the batter and it worked out pretty well. Follow the beat of your own heart.

Finally, divide the batter between the liners and bake for about 15-20 minutes, checking with a toothpick or knife to see if it comes out clean. Let them cool, despite the deep desire to ingest immediately.

Frosting
8 TBLS {1 stick} unsalted butter, room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 to 1 TBLS vanilla extract

Add your butter and cream cheese to a bowl and beat until combined (about 5 minutes). SLOWLY add the powdered sugar and the vanilla extract to your liking. Beat until light and fluffy. I trust that most of you have made frosting and have full faith of your capabilities to make frosting.

Frost your cakes and decorate as you wish. Or just eat at 12 of them in your PJs and tell no one after, your choice.

Until Next Time

Vegan ventures

I decided to take on the challenge of making a vegan cupcake. Really, I wanted to thank the guys at my gym for hooking me up with such an amazing deal when I signed up. What better way to show my appreciation than with baked goods. So I was given the vegan stipulation and set to work.
Since it is Summer I really wanted to do something light, which then turned into I want to make something edible cause I have no clue how this vegan business is gonna work.

End result? Strawberry cupcake with Basil Lime buttercream.

Strawberry cake

4 C all purpose flour
3 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 C sugar
1/2 safflower oil
2 C pureed fresh strawberries
1/2 C coconut milk
2 tsp strawberry extract
2 tsp vanilla extract
Red or pink food coloring

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt into a bowl and set aside. In another bowl combine sugar and oil, then the puree. Add the remaining liquids (and yes, use the food coloring!) Once well mixed slowly add the dry ingredients and be cautious of over mixing. I threw in some sliced strawberries at the end for the texture and color. If you choose to, fold them in gently before dividing batter into cupcake tins.

Next, get your handy ice cream scooper and fill your lined cupcake tins with this epic pink gooey mess. Bake for about 12-15 minutes. *disclaimer, my baking times are all goofy in the altitude so just do a quick check at about the 12 minute mark using a knife or toothpick.

Basil Lime frosting

1/2 C vegan butter (room temperature)
2ish C powdered sugar
2 TBLS coconut milk (room temperature)
Fresh basil (to taste)
1 lime (squeezed)
splash of vanilla extract

Start with the butter soften in a bowl. Here it awaits the powdered sugar. SLOWLY add your powdered sugar to the bowl while beating the butter (just like regular buttercream). Alternate between adding the powdered sugar, coconut milk, lime juice and vanilla extract until you have a smooth creamy consistency for the frosting. Feel free to add or omit powdered sugar based on how you prefer frosting. Here is the "to taste" part. Fresh basil, roughly chopped, and folded into the buttercream awesome. I think total I used maybe 6-10 leaves, all in various sizes. This part is totally up to you, but don't be shy. It is a good contrast to the tart lime and sweet buttery sugar you have just whipped up.
*Another disclaimer, this was originally going to be a different frosting instead of a heavy buttercream but in my vegan fail I returned to what I knew. Hope to have an update soon with a non vegan version of this.

From here, you know the drill. Let the cakes cool and frost that cake top like it's your day job. USE A WIDE TIP, otherwise the basil gets stuck. And that is just no fun.

Till next time!

Baked French Onion Soup

This new elevation has completly messed with my baking. I attempted to make Guinness cake last week and the bake time was all screwy. With mouths full of cake my new roommates said it was great, but I walked away a bit discouraged. I plan on jumping back on the baking horse soon with some cool stuff, but it will be in a few weeks.

Other news, we make homemade meals around here like it is a hurricane party. So, tonight I thought I would share my baked french onion. I used a Tyler Florence recipe from Food Network and slightly altered a few things (noted with *).

1/2 cup unsalted butter
4 onions, sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 bay leaves
*2 sprigs fresh thyme 
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup red wine, about 1/2 bottle
3 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour
*1.5 quart beef broth
*1 baguette, sliced and cubed for croutons  
*5 slices Gruyere
*5 slices swiss

Start by finding a giant pan. One with enough depth to hold all of the above mentioned items. Melt the butter over medium heat and add the epic amount of onions, garlic, bay leaves, fresh thyme, and salt and pepper. Let the onions cook down and caramelize (the original recipe says 25 minutes, but mine took at least 40). 

Start your croutons by cutting thick slices of bread and then cubing them. You can either toast them as is in an oven at 350 for about 10 minutes, flip and bake for another 10 OR you can throw them in a bowl, add a good drizzle of olive oil, some oregano, salt, and pepper and then bake them on a cookie sheet for about 10 minutes, flip and bake for another 10 minutes. I suggest option number 2. Just set those bad boys to the side once baked and return to the onions.

Once everything is golden and soft, add the wine (I went with a Burgundy) bring it to a boil, drop the temp to a simmer and cook until all the wine is gone. 

Florence says the onions will be dry, but just try to get most of the wine cooked out and toss out the bay leaves. Next, dust the onions with some flour. I used less than 3 Tbsp and sifted it over the onions with a fork while my roommate stirred. Cook for another 10 minutes to get rid of the raw flour taste. If your pan is big enough, go ahead and add the beef broth. If not, quickly transfer all of it to a larger pan and add your broth. If you notice, I use less broth than the Florence recipe but it is just because I really enjoy a stoupy consistency vs brothy in some of my soup. Let the soup rest on a low heat for about 10 minutes before taking on the final steps of the dish. 

I used 5 10oz ramekins for this. You may use whatever you like, just make sure it is oven safe. first, ladle the soup into the dish, top with homemade croutons (enough to make a layer of bread on the top of the soup) and finish with the cheese (get all fancy and set the swiss slice like a diamond and the Gruyere slice like a square). Place the ramekins on a cookie sheet and pop them into the oven at 400 for about 5-10 minutes.

I wanted my cheese to really melt, not just burn on the top so I might have given it a bit more time. Finally, right before serving, crank the oven to broil and watch your cheese till it is brown and bubbly. Turn off the oven, use tongs to transfer the dishes onto a room temp place and remember that dish is hot.

We had an awesome Caesar salad, along with a great bottle of red wine and a nice fire. 

Until Next Time