chocolate – Page 2

March 5, 2015

Chocolate Cupcakes // From the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook.

Lately, I’ve been drawn toward simplicity – with regard to both life and baking. I have abandoned my pastry bags and tips. I’ve been longing for simple, not-too-sweet desserts. Also, I’ve been yearning for simple, sunny spring days [read: go away, winter].

These chocolate cupcakes come from The Hummingbird Bakery cookbook, which was gifted to me by my brother this past Christmas. I have been coveting this cookbook for awhile now, so I’m glad I finally received it [thanks, Nathan!]. The book has all kinds of different cupcake recipes, but these simple chocolate cupcakes are what first caught my eye and thus got added to “the baking queue.”

The cupcakes are chocolatey – but not overly so. There is actually not a lot of cocoa powder in them, so the cupcakes are almost like a German chocolate cake. Normally, I’m not a huge fan of cakes with less chocolate, but I’m also a chocolate fiend. Still, I did enjoy these cupcakes. They’re also not quite as sweet [Perhaps that’s a British baking thing? I’m not sure.], but the frosting adds a nice, creamy sweetness. I topped mine with simple chocolate sprinkles and used pretty, pastel liners for spring! So if you are also craving a simple, chocolatey treat that’s not too sweet, try out these chocolate cupcakes with chocolate buttercream!

Oh yeah, and let’s continue to cross our fingers for spring’s arrival!

cupcakes_afar — {I’m a huge fan of windowsill photos these days, as you may have noticed. I just love that light!}

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The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook’s Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe

Yield: Makes about twelve regular-sized cupcakes.

Ingredients:
For the Chocolate Cupcakes:
– 3/4 cup plus 2 TBS. all-purpose flour
– 2 1/2 TBS. unsweetened cocoa powder
– Scant 3/4 cup granulated sugar
– 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
– Pinch of salt
– 3 TBS. unsalted butter, at room temperature
– 1/2 cup whole milk [I used 2%, which works fine], at room temperature
– 1 egg, at room temperature
– 1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract

For the Chocolate Buttercream Frosting:
– 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
– 6 1/2 TBS. unsalted butter, at room temperature
– 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
– 2 TBS. whole milk [again, 2% is okay too]

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare muffin tins with twelve liners and set aside. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, add the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, salt, and butter. Using a paddle attachment, beat on slow speed until a sandy consistency is achieved, and everything is combined.
2. In a small bowl or pitcher, whisk together the milk, egg, and vanilla. Then slowly pour about half of this mixture into the flour mixture. Mix to combine and then turn the mixer up to high speed to beat until lumps disappear.
3. Next, turn the mixer back to slow speed and slowly pour in the remainder of the milk mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed, to ensure that all of the unmixed ingredients are incorporated. Continue mixing the batter for a few more minutes until it’s smooth, but be careful to not over mix it.
4. Divide the batter among the liners until they’re about 2/3rds full, then bake in preheated oven for about 22-26 minutes, or until the tops of the cakes bounce back when touched. Or, a toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean when they’re done.
5. Allow the cupcakes to cool for a few minutes in the muffin pan, then place them on a wire rack to cool completely.
6. To make the buttercream frosting, beat the butter until light and fluffy, and add in the cocoa powder and powdered sugar. Beat until fluffy, and add in milk as necessary to smooth it out.
7. Once cupcakes are totally cooled, spread frosting on and decorate as desired. Enjoy!

February 20, 2015

Nanaimo Bars.

Have you ever heard of Nanaimo bars? Unless you’re Canadian, you probably haven’t. Personally, I had no clue what they were up until about four weeks ago. The dude I’m currently dating asked me to make them for him, and I’m pretty sure I gave him a blank stare when he said the word “Nanaimo.” His mother’s side of the family is Canadian, so he’s grown up having these tasty treats. I’m glad I finally learned what the heck they are, because they’re absolutely addicting!

Nanaimo bars – for those of you who don’t know – are a no-bake, triple-layered, Canadian bar type of dessert. They get their name from a city called Nanaimo, which is in British Columbia. There are quite a variety of ways to make Nanaimo bars, but the standard layers go as follows: bottom layer: chocolate with graham cracker or wafer cookie, and some kind of nuts (usually pecans or almonds). The middle layer is a creamy, custard type of filling. Finally, a chocolate ganache layer covers the top to complete the three layers.

These Nanaimo bars are very sweet, and quite rich. But the flavors of all of the ingredients balance out together quite nicely, I think. The graham cracker in the bottom layer mixed in with the chocolate and pecans just makes an absolutely delicious combination. I’m looking forward to making them again in the near future, and trying out some different varieties for each layer. The possibilities are endless!

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Nanaimo Bars.

Ingredients:
Bottom Layer:
– 1/2 cup salted butter, diced into pieces
– 1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
– 3 TBS. cocoa powder
– 1 large egg, lightly beaten
– 1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
– 1 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
– 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut (I actually had unsweetened coconut on hand, so I used it.. and I’m glad I did. These do not need any additional sugar.)
– 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans or almonds (I used pecans.)

Filling:
– 1/3 cup salted butter, softened
– 1/4 cup heavy cream
– 2 TBS. custard powder or vanilla/white chocolate instant pudding mix (I used instant French vanilla pudding mix that I had leftover.)
– 2 cups powdered sugar

Top Layer:
– 4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
– 2 TBS. salted butter

Instructions:

1. Grease an 8×8″ square baking dish and set aside. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Remove the pan from the heat, and add the brown sugar and cocoa powder into the pan. Whisk the ingredients well together until they are evenly combined. While continuing to whisk vigorously, slowly add the beaten egg.
2. Return this mixture to the heat and cook for about 1-2 more minutes, or until mixture has thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
3, Add to this mixture your graham cracker crumbs, coconut, and pecans, then toss until they’re evenly coated. Press the mixture into your greased pan. Cover with plastic wrap, then refrigerate for 40 minutes, or freeze for 20 minutes.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer [or using an electric hand mixer], whip the butter, heavy cream, and pudding mix until it’s smooth and fluffy. This should take approximately two minutes on medium speed. {Note: The mixture may seem dry and crumbly at first, but it will come together.} Spread the creamy mixture over the top of the chilled graham cracker base. Cover with plastic wrap again, and freeze for another 15 minutes (or refrigerate for 30 minutes).
5. Melt the semi-sweet chocolate and butter in a heat proof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, or a double boiler. Once melted and smooth, spread an even layer over the chilled creamy layer. Cover the bars with plastic wrap again, and chill in the fridge for another 10 minutes, or until the chocolate has set. Cut into squares, and store in an airtight container.

+Recipe from Cooking Classy.

February 14, 2015

Heart-Shaped Chocolate Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing.

I don’t generally give Valentine’s Day too much thought. It’s a good day, especially if you’re in a relationship with a special someone. But I guess my philosophy has always been that we should show our loved ones that they’re loved every day. I don’t need a dang holiday for that!

Still, I’m not gonna lie: it’s fun to indulge in cute heart-shaped projects [HEART SHAPED ALL THE THINGS!]. I do love hearts, after all. So I made these chocolate sugar cookies, and cut them into heart shapes. Then I topped them with royal icing. The result is a soft chocolate cookie with vanilla-y royal icing. It’s kind of like a fancy Oreo!

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Chocolate Sugar Cookies.

Yield: This is a pretty small batch of cookie dough, but it’s hard to say how many it will yield. It all depends on the shapes and size of your cookie cutters.

Ingredients:
– 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
– 1/3 cup Dutch process cocoa powder [Note: You can use regular cocoa powder, but the Dutch process really makes these cookies dark and rich!]
– Pinch of salt
– 6 TBS. (3 oz.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
– 3/4 cup powdered sugar
– 1 large egg
– 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Instructions:
1. Whisk together the dry ingredients [flour, cocoa powder, and salt] in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until they’re light and fluffy; about 2-3 minutes.
3. Add in the egg and vanilla to the butter/sugar mixture.
4. Add the dry ingredients into the wet, and mix {on low speed} until the batter is incorporated, and no flour or butter streaks remain.
5. Roll the dough into a disc shape, and wrap it tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough until it’s firm – about 1-2 hours.
6. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Line a few baking sheets with parchment paper or a Silpat.
7. Roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Using cookie cutters, cut out your desired shapes. Place cookies on prepared baking sheet, and bake for 10-12 minutes, or just until they’re set.
8. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Decorate them as desired with royal icing, or with a vanilla buttercream/chocolate buttercream frosting! Enjoy.

– Chocolate sugar cookie recipe from Annie’s Eats.
– Royal icing recipe from Bake at 350.

These mini hearts are my favorite!

January 30, 2015

Fudgy Dark Chocolate Cupcakes for Two.

The honest title of this post should be: Fudgy Dark Chocolate Cupcakes for One. If you’re me, anyway. Yeah, that’s right. I made two cupcakes just for myself. To be fair, I did eat only one shortly after photographing them. Now I’m finishing this post from the train, so the second cupcake will be my little train snack in an hour or so. [It may or may not be my second breakfast…]

I’m really loving small batch baking recipes these days. While my coworkers and friends usually reap the benefits of my baking projects, sometimes it’s just nice to not have to bake 24 cupcakes, you know? Sometimes I just want to bake [or in this case, I was craving chocolate], but I’m not in the mood to make a bunch of something. And sometimes – I will be bold and admit this – I just don’t feel like sharing [sorry Brian!].

However, I do have to say that I think these cupcakes would be perfect for Valentine’s Day. That’s why I went with heart sprinkles on mine. You might notice that I have mini hearts on one cupcake, and even more miniature hearts on the other cupcake. Totes adorbs. [Can’t believe I just said that. Ha!]

So if you’re craving cake, or if you’re craving chocolate, but you don’t want to overindulge, may I suggest that you make these?

I tried to frost mine with a new technique I’m teaching myself – one that doesn’t involve piping tips and bags. I used an offset spatula to frost mine, and while I don’t think I’m quite there with the other decorating methods, I like how they turned out. Perhaps even more important, they taste great, too. They are deeply rich and chocolatey, and the buttercream is just a nice touch to the chocolate cake. Personally, I love chocolate buttercream frosting on chocolate cake, so these hit the spot.

cupcakebite
Chomp!

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Fudgy Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream
Yield: Two regular-sized cupcakes.

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:
– 3 TBS. all-purpose flour
– 2 TBS. granulated sugar
– 1 1/2 tsp. dark cocoa powder [Note: I get my Dutch-processed cocoa powder from King Arthur Flour. If you can’t find Dutch processed, you may use regular cocoa powder; it just won’t be as rich/dark.]
– 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
– pinch of salt
– 2 TBS. water
– 1 TBS. vegetable oil
– 1/8 tsp. of vanilla extract [I used about 1/4 tsp., but that’s just me.]
– 1 TBS. chocolate chips (optional)

For the chocolate buttercream:
– 2 TBS. unsalted butter, very soft
– 1 TBS. dark cocoa powder
– 4-5 tablespoons of powdered sugar

Instructions:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with two liners.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
3. Make a small well in the center of the bowl, and add the wet ingredients: water, oil, and vanilla. Mix all of the ingredients together until smooth.
4. Scoop the batter into the liners, and top them with chocolate chips, if desired. Bake the cupcakes for about 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Note: Mine were done in about 16 minutes, but oven temperatures vary. Remove cupcakes from the oven, and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.
5. While the cupcakes are cooling, make the buttercream: add the cocoa powder to the softened butter and stir until combined.
6. Using a spoon or small whisk, add the powdered sugar to the cocoa/butter mixture, one tablespoon at a time. Continue mixing until the frosting is thick and creamy.
7. Frost cooled cupcakes as desired, and enjoy!

Recipe from The Baker Chick.

If you make two cupcakes for yourself, I won’t tell anyone. 😉

January 23, 2015

Peanut Butter Blossoms.

Peanut butter blossoms are a classic cookie that I’m pretty sure 95% of people love. I’ve been a peanut butter blossom fan since I was a child. They’re just good cookies; I mean, if chocolate and peanut butter are involved, what’s not to like?! {Unless you’re allergic to peanut butter and/or chocolate… Then yeah. I guess you wouldn’t like them.}

I’m just now noticing that the tops of my Hershey kisses got a bit burnt. Whoops. Oh well, they still tasted great, and there was no burnt flavor!

I have made peanut butter blossoms many times in my life, and I guess I always assumed that most people probably have a recipe for them. They’re simple enough, right? Yeah, well… When I first made peanut butter blossoms [most likely when I was about fourteen years old], I recall using shortening [aka Crisco] and Bisquick mix. Now, I’m generally not about shaming people for using boxed mixes [I will probably shame you for using Crisco; sorry! ;)], but dude. These 100% from scratch/all real butter cookies are SO much better than whatever whack peanut butter blossoms I was making as a teenager.

These peanut butter blossoms are soft, rich, and bursting with peanut butter. In fact, one person reported that they were “too peanut buttery,” but between you and me, I think that person is cray cray. Peanut butter blossoms are supposed to taste like, well, PEANUT BUTTER. And they’re supposed to be rich, sugary, and delicious. These, my friends, are my favorite peanut butter blossoms. Make them any time. For realz.

Serve them with a glass of cold milk, if you like! It’ll help cut the richness. {Of course, anyone who knows me knows that I never drink cow’s milk by itself… Blech. That glass had chocolate Ovaltine powder added as soon as I was finished taking pictures! Haha.}

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Peanut Butter Blossoms

Yield: This recipe makes approximately 48 cookies; it’s also super easy to cut in half to make just ~24 cookies. I do that a lot.

Ingredients:

– 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
– 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter [Just use Jif for this; “natural” peanut butters aren’t the best for baking, yo.]
– 1 cup granulated sugar
– 1 cup packed brown sugar
– 2 eggs
– 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
– 3 1/2 cups flour
– 2 tsp. baking soda
– 1/2 tsp. salt
– 2 TBS. milk
– 1/2 cup granulated sugar, for rolling
– 2 bags Hershey Kisses (you only need ~48), unwrapped

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Using a stand mixer [or by hand/with an electric mixer], cream the butter and peanut butter together. Once the

3. Once they’re smooth, add the sugars and cream again for 2-3 minutes.

4. Add in each egg, one a time, and beat the mixture until combined. Stir in the vanilla extract.

5. Next, add in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until just combined [the dough might be a bit crumbly; this is okay], and then add in the milk.

6. Cover the dough and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes, or up to two days.

7. Roll the cookies into one inch balls, then roll them in the granulated sugar. Lay each cookie on a baking sheet lined with a Silpat or parchment paper; make sure cookies are about one inch apart from each other.

8. Bake at 375 degrees for 5 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven; press a Hershey kiss down into the middle of each cookie. Return the cookie sheet to the oven, and allow to bake for 2.5 additional minutes. After the second baking, remove the cookies from the oven, and allow to cool completely. Or dig in when they’re warm and melty but not so hot that they’ll burn your mouth. Enjoy!

Recipe from Jessica of How Sweet Eats.

pbholding Mmmm… Warm peanut butter blossom. You know how the Hershey kiss gets all melty? That’s the bees knees, man.

December 27, 2014

Tiramisu.

Tiramisu is one of those desserts that looks all fancy schmancy. It has intimidated me ever since I learned what it was.

Admittedly, it’s not one of my favorite desserts – despite the fact that I do enjoy coffee – so therefore, I’ve never had much motivation to make it for myself. However, it is one of my dad’s favorite desserts. I realized a few months ago that I have never bothered to make it for him. {I have baked all kinds of treats for my dad in the past, so I’m not a bad daughter, I swear!} Finally, this Christmas, I decided it was time to take the tiramisu plunge.

I started with a [simple enough] recipe from the Use Real Butter blog. And you know what? Making tiramisu really isn’t that difficult. Of course, I fumbled through a few steps, but overall, it’s not that difficult to make. The most difficult part of making the tiramisu is making the custard portion. And then it just takes some time to assemble. {Note: See my recipe notes after the recipe itself; I’ve shared several “first time lessons learned” below.}

This tiramisu is light, fluffy, and rich. But it’s not too sweet. It’s got a nice cocoa flavor and a subtle espresso flavor, but even for people who aren’t coffee fans, it’s not overwhelming. I’d give it an 8.5 out of 10; would make again. I only wish mine turned out a bit prettier – I wanted to pipe the top layer of filling on top, but alas, it still tastes great. 😉

tiramisuvertical Tiramisu makes a good post-Christmas dinner dessert.

Dem layers doe.

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Tiramisu!

Yield: I used an 8×8″ square glass pan and got about 8-10 servings. You can use an 8×8″ or 9×9″ pan and you should be fine.

Ingredients:
– Four [4] egg yolks
– 1/4 cup granulated sugar
– 1/4 cup Kahlua or other coffee liqueur
– Pinch of salt
– 8 oz. mascarpone cheese
– 1 cup heavy cream
– 3 packages lady fingers/savoiardi [I used three 5 oz. packages of lady fingers.]
– 2 cups hot brewed espresso [I used Medaglia D’Oro instant espresso powder brewed in hot water.]
– 2 TBS. unsweetened cocoa powder or grated bittersweet chocolate [I used cocoa powder this time.]

kahluaespresso Instructions:

Make the Filling:
1. In the top of a double boiler over simmering water, place the egg yolks, sugar, Kahlua, and salt. Whisk the ingredients constantly for about six minutes, or until the mixture becomes thick. When lifting the whisk out, you should be able to leave a “ribbon” on the surface. {Note: If you’re concerned about egg safety, check the temperature of the “custard” – the temperature should reach 160°F. I like to live life on the edge, so I didn’t bother checking it.}

2. Remove the custard mixture from the heat, and set the bowl on ice to cool. Be sure to stir it occasionally.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer [or in a bowl with an electric hand mixer], mix the mascarpone cheese and heavy cream together. Then beat the cheese/cream mixture together until heavy peaks form.

4. Once the egg custard mixture has cooled completely, fold it into the cream and cheese mix until it’s evenly combined. Set aside the filling until you’re ready to assemble.

tiramisufilling Dat filling doe.

Assemble the Tiramisu:
1. One at a time, dip each lady finger into [cooled] espresso. Arrange them in a single layer on the bottom of the pan. Spread about one third of the filling evenly over the lady fingers. Dust the top of the layer with cocoa powder.
2. Repeat step one for the second layer.
3. For the third layer, you can either spread the remaining filling on top, or pipe it all pretty over the lady fingers. Finally, dust with cocoa powder.
4. Place the tiramisu in the refrigerator for twenty-four hours so that it can firm up and allow all of the flavors to meld together. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes/”First Time” Lessons Learned:
– On lady fingers: Apparently, there are two different varieties of lady fingers at the store. There are softer ones, and crunchy ones. My dad could only find the soft ones at Kroger, so I took them out of the package and let them get a little dried out for a day or two. I think that was a good choice, because even after being dried out, they still got a bit too soggy in places from dipping them in the espresso. Next time, I’ll probably just make my own crunchy lady fingers. They seem fairly easy to make from scratch.
– On layering/dipping the lady fingers: Be careful not to get the lady fingers too saturated with espresso. If they become too soggy, they will make the final product a bit “soupy.” Soupy – in this case – is gross.
– Cooking the custard: To make the filling, I made a “makeshift” double boiler. A makeshift double boiler is just a sauce pan filled with simmering water, over high heat. Then I just place a heatproof bowl on top, and put the custard ingredients in to whisk/cook.
– On the cocoa powder: If I were in my own kitchen when I made this, I would have used a sieve or sifter to dust the cocoa powder on each layer. However, I didn’t have access to those tools, so I just used a strainer to sort of “sift” it over. It didn’t turn out as pretty, but it worked well enough.

Tiramisu recipe from Use Real Butter.

Tiramisu also makes a nice breakfast, along with a cup of hot, black coffee. 😛

PS: This blog post is dedicated to my dad. I’m glad you enjoyed my first ever homemade tiramisu! 🙂

December 23, 2014

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with Bailey’s Buttercream.

I never knew that it was possible to love a boozy cupcake as much as I love these. Holy crap. I first had one that was made by a fellow baker/coworker – Kelley – at a party awhile back. And it was just love at first sight.

You might be wondering what it is about using a stout beer in cake that makes the cake so amazing. I don’t know the exact science behind it, but something about that stout added with the cocoa powder adds an extra depth of flavor and richness to the final product. It’s hard to explain; it’s just one of those things that is awesome.

I have made these cupcakes several times, but I recently made them again for an ugly sweater party with some friends. Usually I prefer to use one of St. Louis’ local brewery’s stouts in these cupcakes – 4Hands’ Chocolate Milk Stout – it’s seriously one of my favorite stouts. This time, however, I opted for another local brew: Schlafly’s Coffee Stout. I think that the coffee in the stout really added another nice depth of flavor to the cupcakes; coffee and chocolate are always a good pair. Of course, you could use a common stout, such as Guinness. I’m just a fan of using local products in my final baked goods wherever possible, and the 4Hands and Schlafly stouts are solid choices. 🙂

Since these cupcakes were for a Christmas party, I got pretty festive with them. I have an overabundance of sprinkles, so I used some of my Christmas-y sprinkles. I then added these cute little plastic pine tree cupcake toppers to several of them. I think they turned out pretty well, and that’s my absolute favorite part of baking: when treats turn out tasting delicious AND looking awesome. It’s just the bees knees.

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Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with Irish Whiskey Chocolate Ganache Filling + Bailey’s Buttercream Frosting

Yield: 24 regular sized cupcakes. I actually cut the recipe in half for the Christmas party, which is easy to do with this recipe.

Ingredients:

For the Cupcakes:
1 cup stout beer [such as Guinness, or opt for an awesome local stout if you can]
1 cup [2 sticks] unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder [preferably Dutch-process]
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

For the Ganache Filling:
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate [I used the Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate bars]
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 TBS. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 to 2 tsp. Irish whiskey [Optional – I used Jameson.]

For the Bailey’s Frosting:
3 1/2 cups (14 oz.) powdered sugar
1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
6 to 8 TBS. Irish cream [I used Bailey’s… Creamy beige!]
8 oz. (1 block) full-fat cream cheese, COLD and cut into 6 to 8 chunks

Instructions:
Make the cupcakes!
1. Line 24 regular muffin tins with liners, and preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Over medium heat, bring the stout and butter to a simmer in a saucepan. Add the cocoa powder, then whisk the mixture until it’s smooth. Allow it to cool slightly.
3. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl: flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer [or with an electric hand mixer], beat the eggs and sour cream until blended. Add the stout-chocolate mixture to the egg mixture, and beat until it’s just combined.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and beat briefly on a low speed. After that, use a rubber spatula to fold the batter until it’s totally combined.
6. Fill the cupcake liners about 2/3rds to 3/4ths of the way full, and bake the cupcakes until a toothpick comes out clean, about 17 minutes [mine only took 15 minutes, but oven times vary]. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely on a rack.

Make the Filling + Fill the Cupcakes:
1. Chop the chocolate [or use chocolate chips], and transfer it to a heatproof bowl.
2. In a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream until it’s simmering. Then pour the cream over the chopped chocolate. Allow it to sit for a minute, then stir it until it’s smooth. Add softened butter and the whiskey, if using, and stir until combined. Allow the ganache to cool until it’s thicker but still soft enough to pipe. [You can put it in the fridge to speed up the process, but you will need to stir it every 10 minutes.]
3. While the ganache is cooling, you have two options for preparing the cupcakes for filling: either use a Wilton No. 230 tip to fill them [it is a tip that kind of resembles a bird’s beak, used for filling cupcakes], or cut the centers out of the cupcakes and spoon ganache into them, then replace the tops with the cake you cut out of the top. For a more detailed post on filling cupcakes, this post on Annie’s Eats is a good one.
4. Fill the cooled cupcakes with the ganache, then prepare them for frosting!

Make the Frosting:
1. Into a small bowl, sift the powdered sugar. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter, 1 1/2 cups of the powdered sugar. Mix until it’s fluffy and thoroughly blended.
2. Next, add more of the powdered sugar along with 3 TBS. of the Irish cream, and mix again until combined. Add the rest of the powdered sugar, the remainder of the Irish cream, and the vanilla extract. Mix until evenly incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
3. Finally, turn the mixer up to medium high speed, and then add the cold cream cheese a chunk at a time. Wait about five seconds after each addition so that the mixer can incorporate each. Turn the mixer up to high speed and beat the frosting for about one minute, until it’s smooth. Be careful to not over beat.
4. Frost the cupcakes using a piping bag and tips or spread on with a knife. Be sure to use the frosting within 30 minutes or it may become too soft.

Recipe Source: This recipe was given to me by one of my former coworkers, Kelley. I think the chocolate stout cupcake + Irish whiskey ganache recipes are from Smitten Kitchen. I’m not sure where the Bailey’s buttercream recipe comes from, so if you know… please tell me!

lightscupcake One more photo for good measure: some bokeh from the Christmas tree in the background, plus my friend Katie being an awesome hand model!

December 1, 2014

Mini Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream.

There is a time for fancy, labor-intensive desserts. And then there are times for simple desserts. Prime example: A few weeks ago, I was really in the mood for some simple chocolate cupcakes.

I searched high and low for something that wasn’t overly complicated – which is harder than it sounds. There are times where I have no desire to melt chocolate, and sometimes I’m too lazy to even add boiling water to a batter for chocolate cake.

Luckily, I found these simple chocolate cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting, and the recipe is scaled down to make ten mini cupcakes. Brilliant. [I know they look fancy, but they’re actually quite simple and came together very quickly.]

Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to take fancy pictures of these little guys, since they were for the photographer from my little photo shoot.

But I think these pictures will do for now.

Yo dawg, I herd u like pics of food, so I took pics of food AND someone taking pics of food. 😛

These little cupcakes are moist, rich, and chocolatey. They’re perfect when you need a little chocolate pick-me-up [which is at least once a day, every single day – if you’re me], but there aren’t too many of them, so no feeling guilty about indulging. They are also perfect to share with someone. Heck, if I had a special someone, I’d be baking them all the time for said someone. But until I find that elusive “special someone,” I’ll happily bake them for friends and for myself. These cupcakes are so easy to whip up, and I even piped the light, cocoa-y frosting on ’em in a jiffy. And of course, I had to add pretty sprinkles! Don’t they look just darling [can’t believe I just said that, haha] on my new jadeite cake stand? I love that cake stand. So pretty.

Okay, go on with yo bad self and make these cupcakes. They are a tasty little no-fuss treat. And that’s that sh*t I DO like. 😀

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Simple Mini Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Yield: About 10 MINI cupcakes.

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:
– ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
– 2 TBS. unsweetened cocoa powder
– ¼ tsp. baking soda
– ¼ tsp. baking powder
– ¼ tsp. instant espresso powder [Optional – but this does deepen the rich, chocolate flavor… I get that most people probably don’t have it on hand, but I do, so I used it!]
– 4 tsp. canola oil
– ½ tsp. vanilla extract
– ¼ cup lightly packed light brown sugar
– ⅓ cup low-fat buttermilk [Don’t have buttermilk? That’s cool, neither do I. I used an easy buttermilk substitute of 2% milk plus some white distilled vinegar. It works, yo.]

For the chocolate buttercream:
– 4 TBS. unsalted butter, at room temperature
– ¾ cup powdered sugar
– ¼ tsp. vanilla extract
– 2 TBS. unsweetened cocoa powder
– splash of milk, if necessary
– cute sprinkles [NOT optional! Haha.]

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a mini muffin tin with 10 mini cupcake liners [or just grease the cups real well if you don’t have mini liners].
2. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl [flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and espresso powder].
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the canola oil, vanilla extract, brown sugar, and buttermilk until they’re well combined.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients, and mix until just combined. Don’t overmix!
5. Fill each cup with the batter, and bake the cupcakes for about 8-11 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out with moist crumbs. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for a minute or so, then move them to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
6. Make the frosting by beating the butter and powdered sugar with a hand mixer [or stand mixer if you have one]. Start out on low speed unless you want to be covered in powdered sugar.
7. Once the butter and powdered sugar are combined, add the cocoa powder and vanilla extract. Beat well until combined and fluffy; add a splash of milk if it seems too dry.
8. Frost the cooled cupcakes, then add pretty sprinkles and serve to a lucky someone [or yourself, I won’t judge]!

Recipe from Christina of Dessert for Two.

Me being super hipster-y with the cupcakes in a coffee shop in STL. Yup.

October 28, 2014

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate + Peanut Butter Swirled Frosting.

Oh man, these cupcakes are just… in one word: magical. I remember the first time I made them back this past spring. I took them to work to share, and I got some great feedback from coworkers.

One of my former coworkers [who also enjoys baking, so we can clearly trust her judgment] said that the frosting was “to die for.” And another coworker’s response to the cupcake was, “holy butt nugget.” {I’m not sure what that means, but hey, it was meant as a positive response. Haha.}

I decided to make these glorious cupcakes again for my doctor’s office a few weeks ago. That’s probably kind of weird – a patient bringing baked goods to her doctor and staff – but they actually requested it once they found out that I bake. They were pretty excited when I walked in with a bright pink bakery box at one of my appointments.

These are moist, rich chocolate cake, topped with pretty and even more rich chocolate peanut butter swirled buttercream frosting. I couldn’t get my icing to look quite as pretty as Bakerella does in her photos, but I’m no Bakerella. To be fair, though, it is actually rather difficult to get two different types of frosting in a piping bag. I did my best, but the colors got a bit muddled together [which doesn’t always look appetizing, if you know what I’m sayin’… ha].

Also, in my experience, peanut butter sometimes does weird things to the consistency/texture of buttercream and baked goods. I probably didn’t add enough milk to my peanut butter frosting, so it looks slightly dried out. Don’t be like me.

I guess we can’t always decorate cupcakes perfectly. That’s okay. The important part is that they’re super rich and super delicious. Just make them. Even your doctor will [probably] approve. 😀

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Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Chocolate Swirled Buttercream

Yield: Makes about eighteen cupcakes.

Ingredients:

For the Chocolate Cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1 tsp. vanilla
2/3 cup milk
2/3 cup hot water

For the Frostings:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
2 tbsp. milk

Instructions:
Make the Cupcakes!
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line your cupcake pan with pretty liners (or just plain ones; I guess that’s cool too).

2. In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together [flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt].

3. Add eggs, oil, vanilla, and milk and mix with the dry ingredients until combined. Next, add the hot water and stir the batter until it’s completely combined. It will be a very liquid-y batter; that’s okay.

4. Fill the cupcake liners about 2/3rds of the way full with the batter. Bake cupcakes for about 15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack.

Make the frostings:
1. Chocolate Frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat 1/2 cup of unsalted butter until creamy. Add in 1 tsp. of vanilla, and mix it together again. Slowly add 2 cups of powdered sugar and the cocoa powder. Beat until combined.

2. Peanut Butter Frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat 1/2 cup of unsalted butter and 2/3 cup peanut butter until creamy. Add 1 tsp. vanilla, and mix it together again. Slowly add 2 cups of powdered sugar, and mix until combined. Add 1 tbsp. or more of milk and combine until the frosting is creamy and smooth.

3. Pipe the frostings: Using a spatula, carefully place chocolate buttercream in one half of a piping bag fitted with a pastry tip, and peanut butter frosting in the other half. Pipe frosting onto cupcakes.

Recipe from the infamous Bakerella.

October 6, 2014

Baked Cookies ‘N Cream Chocolate Donuts.

[Cookie graphic designed by José Manuel de Laá, from The Noun Project. Graphic colored/edited by me.]

Real talk of the day: I’m not a big fan of Oreos. And oddly enough, I don’t recall ever eating them all that often when I was a kid.

Now, before you write me off as crazy, let me be specific: I don’t hate Oreos or anything. I mean, they never did anything to me [except they kind of leave a stain on my teeth/around my mouth after I eat them]. But I’ve just never understood what all the fuss is about.

Despite the fact that I’m not exactly wowed by Oreos, I get the occasional strangely fierce craving for anything related to that “cookies ‘n cream” combination. I don’t know why; I guess I’m just a weirdo. But honestly, what’s not to like about the quintessential cookies ‘n cream combination? It’s a pretty glorious combo, even if you – like me – don’t necessarily love Oreos.

I guess one of my random cookies ‘n cream cravings must have kicked in recently. Because when I saw these baked cookies ‘n cream chocolate donuts on Tessa’s blog, I instantly added it to my Pinterest board. And I added them to my “to bake” queue, then I made them top priority. That was definitely one of my more wise decisions. 😉

Baked donuts are just so fun to begin with, and these donuts are rich and chocolatey, so that makes them exponentially more awesome. The icing is thick and sweet, and it pairs well with the donuts for that awesome cookies ‘n cream taste combination. The crushed cookies on top just take these donuts to the next level of awesomeness. So if you’ve got a donut pan, you need to make these as soon as humanly possible. And if you don’t have a donut pan, get yourself one so you can make baked donuts!

One other note of importance, then we’ll get to the recipe: back in August, the roomie’s sister got her a mini donut pan for her birthday. I had the honor of using it first for these donuts. Now we’ve got awesome miniature donuts plus regular-sized donuts! Awesome? Awesome. [Side note: I’ve used the word “awesome” a lot in this post… I think I need to work on expanding my vocabulary a bit. Haha.]

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Baked Cookies ‘N Cream Chocolate Donuts
Yield: The original recipe says twelve donuts, but I got more than that. I did regular-sized donuts and miniature donuts. Maybe my regular donut pans have smaller cavities? I’m not sure if the pans are universally sized.

Ingredients:

Donuts:
– 2/3 cup cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-process
– 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
– 1 cup packed light brown sugar
– 1 teaspoon baking powder
– 1 teaspoon baking soda
– 3/4 teaspoon salt
– 2 large eggs
– 3/4 cup milk
– 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
– 2 teaspoons white vinegar
– 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Glaze + Topping:
– 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
– 4 tablespoons milk
– 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
– 8 Oreo cookies, crushed

Instructions:

Make the Donuts!
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F, and grease two standard (six cavities per pan) donut pans. [Note: I find that it’s important to grease the pans well, or you will have issues getting the donuts out once they’re baked.]

2. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl (cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt). Mix together the wet ingredients (eggs, milk, vanilla, vinegar, and butter) in a medium bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and stir until combined.

3. Put the batter into a piping bag [or a Ziplock bag with the corner cut off] and pipe it into the donut cavities, filling them about 3/4ths of the way full. Gently tap the pan on the counter to get the batter to settle a bit.

4. Bake the donuts for 12 to 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the donuts to cool for several minutes, then pop them out of the pan to cool on a rack.

Make the Icing!
1. Add the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla in a medium bowl and whisk until combined. The icing will be very thick – this is okay. Dip the tops of the donuts into the icing, or spread a thick layer on them.

2. Sprinkle the donuts with the crushed Oreos. Stand back and admire these glorious donuts. [Note: these donuts will keep in an airtight container for up to two days. You can also nuke them in the microwave for about fifteen seconds to refresh them.]

Recipe from Tessa at Handle the Heat.

Yaaaaasss.

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