German Chocolate by way of Italy

I signed up to feed the missionaries tonight and thought lasagna would be a great way to go.  Earlier in the week I had thought of what cupcakes to provide.  It's a staple dessert in our house.  My mom had asked for German Chocolate a few weeks ago and I thought, "why not?"  Italy and Germany could make a great meal!

And so the adventure begins.  I started with the cupcakes because I knew they would take more time.  It was similar to the Salted Caramel Mocha Coffee Frappuccino Cupcakes I did for my friend Hilary.  Multiple layers and lots of stuff to do.  Right up my alley! 

As I was gathering my supplies I decided it was too cold to let the butter soften on the counter (after it had been out for 45 minutes it was still hard) so I put it in the oven, were I had been toasting coconut and pecans.  Toasted coconut isn't as easy as it sounds.  I burned a few pieces.  A few different tries.  GRRRR.  I forgot that I put it in the oven.  And it was a bit beyond soft.  But I was out of unsalted butter so I put it in front of the draft of a window for a few minutes.  And continued.

Moving on.  As I was mixing the cake batter I thought, "Oh drat...I forgot to add the cocoa powder!"  So I dumped it in the batter.  AT THE WRONG TIME.  That cocoa powder was supposed to be sifted with the flour, etc.  Which hadn't been added yet.  And it doesn't stop there.  I finally get the rest of the ingredients in and mixed.  I pop the cupcakes in the oven to cook and start putting my supplies away.  When I get to the white sugar I think back...Oh, yeah, I didn't actually use that.  GRRRRRRR!!!

I get the chocolate glaze right and the topping done and when the cupcakes are cool enough I tried one. 

Tasted pretty dern good!

I ciontinued to clean up and put things away so I could work on the lasagna.  And then I saw it....

My first war wound!!!  I have no clue what happened or when but it didn't bleed and I didn't notice it until after I was cleaning.  I hate being clumsy!

Fast forward through a few more hours of no disasters and the result was the most fabulous cupcake since the Frappuccino experiment!

And the boys loved them.  "The angels in heaven are singing the praises of these cupcakes!"  Greatest review, ever!

Happy Baking!

German Chocolate Cupcakes (from food network)

Ingredients

• 1 Chocolate Cake recipe, recipe follows

Chocolate Glaze:

• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon prepared coffee

Topping:

• 3 egg yolks
• 12 ounces evaporated milk
• 1 1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
• 1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2 cups packed sweetened flaked coconut, toasted (if desired)
• 1 3/4 cups toasted pecans, chopped

Directions

Special equipment: silver/foil-lined muffin cups, 1 (2-ounce) ice cream scoop and 1 (1/2-ounce) ice cream scoop

Cook's Note: Make sure all of your topping ingredients are at room temperature, except for the shredded coconut which you should keep in the refrigerator or freezer just until needed.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 regular muffin pans with muffin cups.

Use a 2-ounce ice cream scoop and portion out the Chocolate Cake batter evenly into the muffin cups. Pop the pan in the oven and bake 25 to 30 minutes, turning the pans halfway through. You'll know it's done when a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cupcakes comes out clean. Let the cupcakes completely cool in the pan on a rack.

For the glaze: Mix the cream, chocolate, honey and coffee in saucepan on low heat. Stir until smooth. Let it cool a bit.

For the topping: Put the egg yolks, evaporated milk, brown sugar and butter in a separate saucepan. Place it over medium heat and cook until the sugar dissolves and the butter melts. Continue cooking, stirring constantly until thick, 8 to 10 minutes or so.

Take off the heat and stir in the vanilla, salt, coconut and pecans. Allow to cool.

Dip the cooled cupcakes in the chocolate glaze. Place on the rack and let the glaze harden. Scoop the topping on the cupcakes with a heaping 1/2-ounce ice cream scoop

Chocolate Cake:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 4 eggs, at room temperature for 30 minutes
• 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk (or 1 cup milk plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt together onto parchment paper. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, 4 or 5 minutes. Add your eggs, 1 at a time, mixing until completely incorporated before adding each additional egg. Mix in the chocolate and vanilla, making sure to combine really well. Turn the mixer to low and slowly add the dry ingredients, alternating with the buttermilk, in 3 batches, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Make sure to let it mix thoroughly.

Zucchini Flowers

One of my classmates doesn't do dairy.  I asked what her favorite kind of cake was and she said something with zucchini so off I went to search for a dairy free recipe.  Pinterest did NOT come to my rescue this time around.  So I did a search for zucchini cupcakes and came up with a great sounding recipe for zucchini muffins.  Which is just another name for CUPCAKE!  And they don't include dairy! 

I blew out my hand mixer with last week's brownies.  I sold some books on Ebay and was able to buy a new hand mixer.  I'm in love with an appliance.  I'm not afraid to admit it.  I think it's the cute, dark, silent type.  I might need an intervention.

They turned out so wonderful!  Light, fluffy, not a heavy zucchini flavor and some walnuts to boot!  I have commissioned myself to make some cupcakes for a birthday party on Friday and was asked if I could do vegan, gluten free.  I said sure!!!  I had no idea what that meant.  But, I decided I would try the vegan cream cheese frosting (with one eyebrow raised the whole time).  Then I tasted that frosting and oooohhhhhhh, YUMMY!

What's that frosting tip you used and the name of the design, you ask?!  I have no clue.  I picked a tip and started piping away.  I realized I had to turn the tip a little as I squeezed the bag, but I think they turned out like zucchini flowers!

Zucchini Muffins  (from serious eats)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups sifted cake flour (I used all-purpose flour and did not sift)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup coarsely chopped toasted walnuts
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup safflower or canola oil
• 2 cups (firmly packed) grated zucchini--use largest holes on box grater
• 1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Procedures

1. Preheat the oven to 350°.
   
2. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, spices and walnuts. Whisk well to blend.
   
3. In a mixing bowl beat the eggs, sugar and oil for 2 to 3 minutes or until very smooth. Add the zucchini and beat just until smooth. Add the dry ingredients and optional raisins and beat until completely moistened.
   
4. Scrape the batter into greased and floured (or paper cup-lined) muffin tins, filling each cup 3/4 full. Bake 20-25 minutes, until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes. Unmold onto the rack. Cool completely and wrap airtight.

I made them in mini-muffin pans.  I baked for 4 minutes, roated the pans and baked for an additional 5 minutes at 325.  I also added 1Tbsp extra cake flour.

Lucy’s Gluten-Free Vegan “Cream Cheese” Icing (Lucy's Vegan Icing)
This easy to make icing spreads beautifully and tastes great.  The most important tricks for success are careful sifting of the powdered sugar, and adequate blending of ingredients with a heavy duty mixer and whisk attachment.

2 cups Organic Palm Oil Shortening
One 7 oz. container of Vegan Cream Cheese
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 ½  teaspoon Orange Extract
3/16 teaspoon Salt
About 7 cups Gluten Free Powdered Sugar (Sifted thoroughly!) (This is about one 2 lb bag!)
(You may want to add more or less powdered sugar, depending on the taste and texture you prefer for your frosting.  You can also adjust the flavorings and salt to suit your tastes.)

Combine the shortening, vegan cream cheese, salt, vanilla and orange flavoring together the mixer and whisk on high speed for about one minute until smooth.  Then gradually add the sifted powdered sugar on slow speed until blended, running mixer at about 20 to 30 second intervals.  Lastly, whisk the finished mix on high speed for added fluff. 

This makes a large amount of icing so you are sure to have a beautiful cake, no matter how thick you like the icing.  You may decide to reduce the recipe in the future if too much is left over.

Happy baking!!

Brownie Bites

I've never made brownies from scratch.  Until tonight.  And I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out.  As usual, there's a story.

One of my classmates was my hero last week for a couple of reasons.  She was given the option to choose what we would be enjoying this week.  Brownies...she's not a cake person.  And anything chocolate.  Off I went in search of the perfect brownie recipe.  And Pinterest came to my rescue again.

The recipe looked easy enough and it said prep time was 30 minutes.  IF YOU HAVE ALL INGREDIENTS NEEDED!!!  I thought I had dark chocolate baking squares.  They were semi-sweet.  And my eggs weren't room temperature.  Off to the store I went.  Mixing, melting, whisking, folding, and not over mixing were the things I had in store.  After melting the first few ingredients together, I stuck my finger in it to check the temperature.  Then put said finger in my mouth...EEEWWWWW!  Unsweetened chocolate and butter.  I had to wash that taste away and quick!

I moved through the recipe and decided to do bite-sized brownies instead of the pan version.  Once they were out and cooled I tried one, of course.  Ummm, yeah.  I wasn't sure how it was all going to work out.  To complicate things, I tried a new chocolate frosting recipe.  Not too sure about that one.  Once it all came together, of so fabulous!!!!

The Baked Brownie (from Brown Eyed Baker)

Yield: 24 brownies
Prep Time: 30 minutes | Bake Time : 30 minutes
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa powder
11 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup packed light brown sugar
5 eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the sides and bottom of a 9×13-inch glass or light-colored baking pan. Line the pan with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and cocoa powder together.
3. Put the chocolate, butter and instant espresso powder in a large bowl and set it over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth. Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water and add the sugars. Whisk until completely combined, then remove the bowl from the pan. The mixture should be room temperature.
4. Add 3 eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Add the remaining eggs and whisk until combined. Add the vanilla and stir until combined. Do not overbeat the batter at this stage or your brownies will be cakey.
5. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the chocolate mixture. Using a rubber spatula (not a whisk), fold the flour mixture into the chocolate until just a bit of the flour mixture is visible.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it. Let the brownies cool completely, then lift them out of the pan using the parchment paper. Cut into squares and serve.
7. Store at room temperature in an airtight container or wrap with plastic wrap for up to 3 days.

Frosting recipe...I can't seem to find it again.  It contained cocoa powder, flour, sugar, milk, butter and semi-sweet chocolate chips.  It's pretty creamy and way buttery.  And there was some sifting that was supposed to happen, yeah right.  I over mixed it on the stove and it was super thick.  Then I didn't let it cool enough.  I always have fun in my kitchen!  If I find it, I'll post it.

My changes:
add 2 tsbp flour (for altitude)
add 1/3 chopped walnuts
no parchment paper
scoop into mini muffin pan
bake for 10-12 minutes
makes 58ish brownie bites

mmmmm, brownie bites

Ummmm...New Favorite Cupcake

Chocolate Cocount...HEAVEN!!!!! 

I decided to use my new nursing student friends as my new guinea pigs.  We have lunch with our instructors the first Thursday (and often every Thursday) of the month.  Perfect opportunity to try new recipes.  Not that my family doesn't mind, but every once in a while I hear a grumble about an expanding waist line. 

Off to school my cuppies go!

As I was talking with my lab partner, who told me he didn't like coconut, it occurred to me that not everyone does.  SO, I thought I would leave some without the coconut.  And then I was stumped.  Here's what they looked like.

Not too bad looking but I kept wondering how to make the frosting flatter.  But, I set that thought aside and started rolling the others in coconut.  Um, yeah, no choice, people.  Eat it or don't because they look so cool with the coconut!

They remind me of snowballs

I'll let you know what the reviews are!  In the mean time, happy baking!!

Coconut Cupcakes:

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups sugar

9 egg whites

4 cup flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup cornstarch

1 can coconut milk (13.5 oz)

½ cup buttermilk

1 ½ teaspoon vanilla

1 ½ teaspoon coconut extract

Coconut Buttercream:

¼ cup butter, softened

6 oz cream cheese, softened

1 ½ teaspoons coconut extract

3 cups powdered sugar

Chocolate Buttercream:

½ cup butter, softened

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup unsweetened cocoa

3 cups powdered sugar

Shredded Coconut for decorating

Directions:

1.     Preheat oven to 370 degrees and line pans with cupcake liners. (Yields 30 cupcakes)

2.    Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, be sure to scrape bowl.

3.    Mix in egg whites one at a time on slow until fully incorporated.  Be sure to scrape bowl constantly.

4.    In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cornstarch. 

5.    Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture.  Mix only until combined. 

6.   Add coconut milk, buttermilk, coconut and vanilla extract. Mix.

7.    Add remaining flour mixture.

8.   Scrape bowl down, batter should be sort of fluffy. 

9.   Fill cupcake liners ¾ full and bake for 17-22 minutes, or until an inserted knife comes out clean. 

10.Coconut Buttercream:  Beat cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy.  Add coconut extract and powdered sugar.  If too thick, add milk.  If too thin, add powdered sugar. 

11.   Fill a piping bag with the coconut buttercream, then use the same mixing bowl for the chocolate buttercream, no need to clean it! 

12.  Chocolate Buttercream: Beat butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy.  Add vanilla extract, cocoa and powdered sugar.  If too thick, add milk. If too thin, add powdered sugar

13.  Assemble cupcake by piping onto cooled cupcakes.  First top with a layer of chocolate buttercream.  Then coconut buttercream.  Then roll it in shredded coconut!
(from your cup of cake)