8.14.10 Raspberry Chocolate Cupcakes

 Warning: very rich cupcakes ahead!

I must say that as I made these beautiful cupcakes, I was very happy that my two sisters were not around.  I love them very much, but they are incomplete-cake-hounds.  Sarah is a "cake crumber."  She steals pieces of cake that have been trimmed.  Anyone who has made shaped cakes knows that you use icing to spackle those crumbs & pieces on with to fix & shape.  Sarah will also go after the batter.  Erin, on the other hand, is an "undercooked thief," and seems to stick with the cake batter & the icing.  Erin is much sneakier.  Where Sarah will ask as soon as I start filling the cake pan if she can have some, Erin just waits until my back is turned and swoops in for a finger-full of icing.  I've caught her plenty of times...it's just that I wonder how many times she's gotten away with it.  I will give bowls, spatulas, beaters, & crumbs up...at the end...and with this recipe, I feel that fingers would have been constantly dipping into the chocolate batter that has coffee in it, the raspberry buttercream icing, and the rich, chocolate raspberry ganache.  There are just too many good components to this one!

If you decide to make this recipe, be prepared for a super rich, & flavorful cupcake.  You'll be able to taste all of the powerful flavors: chocolate, coffee, raspberry, & buttercream.  Don't say I didn't warn you. 

Raspberry Chocolate Cupcake Recipe (Adapted from The Doctor's Dishes, Desserts, & Decor)

Cupcakes:
9 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup strong coffee
1/2 cup skim milk

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners. 
2. In a small bowl sift together the cocoa powder, cake flour, baking soda, and baking powder. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions. 
3. Add half of the dry ingredients to the mixer and mix on low speed just until incorporated. Stir in the coffee and milk, and mix until combined. Add in the remaining dry ingredients, again mixing just until incorporated. 
4. Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners, filling the cups about 2/3-3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Raspberry Filling:
1 (12 oz.) bag frozen raspberries, thawed
¼ cup sugar
1 tbsp. cornstarch

1. Puree the raspberries in a blender or food processor. Place in a saucepan. Whisk in the sugar and cornstarch, and heat, stirring frequently until the mixture boils. Once it has thickened, remove the pan from the heat. Cool to room temperature before using.
2. I removed the seeds from the puree.  This isn't as difficult as it sounds!  Pour small amounts of the puree into a strainer (I used a small one that fits over a coffee mug).  Use a rubber spatula to press the puree against the screen.  The pulp drops through to the mug & the seeds stay behind.  You'll need to scoop out excess seeds from time-to-time to keep the puree moving.

 

         3. Once cupcakes & filling are cool, inject 1-2 tsp of filling into the cupcakes. I used a long cake decorating tip to inject into the cupcakes.

Raspberry Chocolate Ganache:
5 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
1/3 cup heavy cream

Place the chocolate and jam in a small heatproof bowl. Bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate and jam. Let stand for about 3 minutes. Whisk together gently until smooth. If any unmelted lumps remain, microwave a few seconds and whisk again. Let the ganache cool a bit until it has thickened slightly. Spread a small amount onto each filled cupcake.

Raspberry Buttercream Frosting:
2 sticks (16 T) unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 cups powdered sugar (I actually used a little less than 5 cups; the original recipe calls for 6)
3/4+ cup seedless raspberry jam

Place the butter and jam in the bowl of a stand mixer. Cream on medium-high speed until well incorporated. Add the powdered sugar in 1-2 cup increments and mix until smooth after each addition.

Raspberry Buttercream

For Sarah & Erin  =)

 Garnish cupcakes as desired.  I used fresh raspberries, but chocolate chips or sprinkles would be cute, too.

8.12.10 Beach Cupcakes

In my search to find a Key Lime Pie Cupcake to make this week, I came across a recipe for a "Beach Cupcake" from The Cupcake Project.  This is a graham cracker and lime cake with lime cream cheese frosting.  Overall, I'm disappointed with this recipe.  The texture is the main problem; it is incredibly dense & lacks flavor.  You catch the graham cracker taste only as an after-taste.  The icing, however (recipe below), is phenomenal.  I added lots of lime zest so that you could see green speckles.  I'm not making this recipe again, but I've posted it just in case anyone wants to try it.  Who knows, maybe it was operator error & not a bad recipe.

You'll see below that you will have 5 egg whites left over.  I hate to throw that much egg away, so I made myself an egg white scramble with feta cheese & Italian seasoning for lunch.  YUMMY!  I still had to toss some of the egg whites away, but it was a little better.

Beach Cupcakes (click to follow link)                      

1/2 C butter (room temperature)
1 C sugar
3 eggs
1 C milk
1 C flour
1 1/2 C graham cracker crumbs (about 1 package inside a box)
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1/8 t salt
5 egg yolks
1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 C lime or key lime juice

1. Beat the butter for about 30 seconds until creamed.
2. Add the sugar and mix for 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time, being sure to beat for 30 seconds for each egg.
4. Use food processor or a potato masher or whatever you have on hand to grind the graham crackers into tiny crumbs and powder.
5. Sift the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking soda and powder, and salt. (I didn't actually sift the graham cracker crumbs. While mine were small, I don't think they would have fit through the sifter.)
6. Add about 1/4 of the mixture to the butter mixture.
7. Add some of the milk.
8. Continue to add the ingredients in a dry - wet - dry method, ending with the dry.
9. Mix until just combined.
10. In a separate bowl, mix the egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk, and lime juice. (FYI - If you want to make an amazing key lime pie, just mix the ingredients in this step, dump it into a pie shell and bake at 375 for 15 minutes. It's the easiest recipe ever! The pie won't be green and it shouldn't be. Lime juice isn't green.)
11. Dump the key lime mixture into the graham batter and lightly stir. Do NOT fully integrate the key lime and graham batter. You should have clumps of batter in a key lime soup.
12. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full. Make sure each liner has a nice distribution of key lime liquid and graham clumps.
13. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until top bounces back when touched. 

Lime Cream Cheese Frosting

1 stick (8T) of unsalted butter, room temp
1 8oz. package of cream cheese, room temp (I used reduced fat)
2+ T lime juice
2+ tsp lime zest (I used almost an entire medium lime)
4-5C powdered sugar


Cream butter and cream cheese together.  Add lime zest and juice and mix well.  Add powdered sugar 1C at a time and mix until blended; the amount you use will depend on the texture and taste you desire.  I only used 4C because I wanted to taste the lime more.

8.7.10 Honey Wheat Bread

Since I made two types of cupcakes last week, I decided that I could skip a week & bake something else instead; I chose to make Honey Wheat Bread  from All Recipes.  I've made this bread once before, and it is a very forgiving recipe.  It seems like you can alter the amounts of flour & honey with success.  The only thing that I should mention is that although the recipe says that it makes 3 loaves, I seem to only get 2 loaves out of it, which is fine with me because we don't go through bread that quickly.  Since homemade bread doesn't last very long, I took one of the loaves after it had risen, punched it down, wrapped it in foil, placed it in a freezer bag, & then froze the loaf for later use.  When I was ready to bake the loaf, I put it in the refrigerator for 24 hours.  Then, I let the loaf rise (I sit it outside with a tea towel over it...it's nice & hot here in NC) and baked it according to the directions.  Steve thought that this second loaf tasted a bit drier than the 1st.  It may have to do with the freezing, but it may also be that I baked it a couple of minutes longer.  It's still good, though, and if you've never baked bread from scratch, this is a great recipe to start with!

Honey Wheat Bread

On a side note, a thick slice of this bread with a generous helping of local honey spread on top is beyond DELICIOUS!  The honey soaks into the bread making it great for breakfast or dessert (Steve figured this one out...nice!).

Simple Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

3 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
1/3 cup honey (I was a little heavy handed with the honey & it tasted great)
5 cups bread flour
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup honey (again, I was heavy handed)
1 tablespoon salt
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons butter, melted

1. In a large bowl, mix warm water, yeast, and 1/3 cup honey. Add 5 cups white bread flour, and stir to combine. Let set for 30 minutes, or until big and bubbly (make sure you don't use too hot of water because it'll kill the yeast & your bread won't rise).
2. Mix in 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1/3 cup honey, and salt. Stir in 2 cups whole wheat flour. Flour a flat surface and knead with whole wheat flour until not real sticky - just pulling away from the counter, but still sticky to touch. This may take an additional 2 to 4 cups of whole wheat flour. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with a dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled.
3. Punch down, and divide into 3 loaves. Place in greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans, and allow to rise until dough has topped the pans by one inch.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes; do not overbake. Lightly brush the tops of loaves with 2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine when done to prevent crust from getting hard. Cool completely