Black Bottom Goodness

I tasted my first ever black bottom cupcake when I baked up a batch several months ago. The earlier version was covered in chocolate glaze and known by another name, cream cheese-stuffed chocolate cupcakes. From that first cupcake I knew I was a fan. Chocolate, cake in the form of a cupcake, and cream cheese, what isn't to love? This recipe got rave reviews on allrecipes, and truly couldn't have been easier. The recipe as it appears on allrecipes yields twice as much cream cheese filling as it does cake batter, so through trial I ended up making two batches of cake batter. Next time? I'll just make one double batch. Even with a double batch of cupcake batter, which ends up with about 30 cupcakes you still have a generous amount of filling in each cupcake. They were delish the first day, but after refrigerating them over night I thought they were even better. I don't know what it is, but something about cold chocolate cake, all moist and dense, it's hard to resist. Yum! Black Bottom Cupcakes Filling 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened 1 egg 1/3 cup white sugar 1/8 teaspoon salt 1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips Cake Batter 3 cups all-purpose flour 2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 2 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 2 cup water 2/3 cup vegetable oil 2 tablespoon cider vinegar 2 teaspoon vanilla extract Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line muffin tins with paper cups or lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, egg, 1/3 cup sugar and 1/8 teaspoon salt until light and fluffy. Stir in the chocolate chips and set aside. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, 2 cup sugar, cocoa, baking soda and 1 teaspoon salt. Make a well in the center and add the water, oil, vinegar and vanilla. Stir together until well blended. Fill muffin tins 1/2 full with the batter and top with a dollop of the cream cheese mixture. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes.

Halloween, The Recap

With all three of my children covered in fur and having four legs there was no trick-or-treating for us this year. There was also sadly no dressing up simply because I never found just the perfect costumes for my boys, and believe me, I searched. There is also an on-going debate in our house as to whether putting clothing on a dog for any reason other than warmth is appropriate. I say there are certain circumstances where it is suitable, such as they just look to freakin adorable not to dress them up. The Big Bad Dad? He has his feet firmly planted in the belief that dressing up a dog for more than warmth is completely stupid and degrading. Psssh, whateva. So, we were sans costumes and opted not to pass out candy to trick-or-treaters. And before you even think it. NO. I'm not the Grinch who stole Halloween. Having the doorbell ring and opening the door every five seconds would be pure and total chaos in my house. We would have had to lock the kids in their rooms in an effort to keep them from licking the trick-or-treaters to death. And Duncan. Well, let's just say Duncan would have lovingly stolen candy from each and every child who rang our doorbell. I had to get in on the holiday somehow though, and ever being the baker I use every occassion possible to whip up something sweet. I made a batch of chocolate cupcakes with buttercream, and some sugar cookies decorated with royal icing. All of which were old standby recipes, no experiments, but as my Big, Bad Dad says, sometimes ya just gotta leave well enough alone. So that I did. My weeks have been busy, looking back, I can never seem to remember with what, but nonetheless all my projects seem to leave me short on time lately, the cookies and the cupcakes included so they didn't turn out to be my most adorable or my most creative. But they tasted great and still received high praises.

Two Years Strong and Going

I'm a few days late celebrating the two year anniversary of the launch of my beloved blog. Okay, six days to be exact, but much better late than never right? I'm kind of sad that life is often so busy and rushed that milestone dates often slip my mind until after the fact. But I suppose a blog anniversary isn't quite the milestone that a wedding anniversary or a loved one's birthday is, so this isn't quite a tragedy. But, I digress. What better way to celebrate a birthday, anniversary or other special event than with cupcakes? Devils food cupcakes with chocolate coffee buttercream..I made these cupcakes for the first time last year as part of an article for A Nice Cuppa. The recipe comes from the book 500 Cupcakes. The book lives up to the name, but to my disappointment, most of those 500 cupcake recipes are slight, sometimes very slight, variations on a basic recipes. After hitting the two year mark with my blog it makes me wonder what lies ahead. I hope that my blog will be here for many years to come, that my skills in the kitchen will continue to grow and grow. That I will be able to build party planning and catering business into everything I dream of. Only time will tell, but you my dear readers, I thank for the last two years with me, even during the slow times when it seemed that I may have disappeared. Devils Food Cupcakes 2 c self rising flour 1 tsp baking powder 1 cup brown sugar 2 sticks butter, softened 2 eggs seperated 3 1/2 oz semisweet choc, melted 1 tsp vanilla 1/2 cup milk Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 18 medium size muffin cups with paper liners. Sift flour & baking powder together in medium bowl, set aside. In bowl of mixer, cream together sugar and butter. Add egg yolks, beat well. Add melted chocolate & vanilla, mixing well. Add flour & milk alternately, beating well with each addition. Beat egg whites in medium bowl until soft peaks form and gently fold into batter. Spoon batter into cups filling 2/3 full. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove pans from oven & cool 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan & cool on rack. Chocolate Coffee Buttercream 1 stick butter, softened 1 tbsp milk 3 1/2 oz semisweet choc, melted 1 tsp vanilla 2 c confectioners sugar, sifted 1 tsp hot coffee + 2 tbsp instant coffee granules Beat in milk until smooth. Stir in melted chocolate & vanilla. Beat in confectioners sugar until thick and creamy. Stir in cooled coffee mixture. Spread over cupcakes. Store unfrosted in airtight container for up to 2 days or freeze up to 3 months. The original frosting recipe called for 3/4 c confectioners sugar, but the consistancy seemed a bit thin, and honestly I like a generous amount of frosting on my cupcakes. The cupcakes themselves were pretty good, but not as moist and dense and I like. And considering that I had to seperate the eggs, beat the egg whites then fold them in, I think next time I would opt to use another cupcake recipe.

Back In Action

Hey y'all! As I sit here writing this it really sinks in to me how long it has actually been since I blogged - since I've been able to blog. I haven't abandoned my blog out of sheer laziness or even lack of desire to share recipes. I've been ill - I'm not talking a bad case of the flu ill. I spent months in the hospital, sometimes not knowing if I would make it home, and as I finally turned the corner on the road to recovery, I spent weeks aching to be home, wondering when the day would finally come. I don't want to go into further details, but believe me when I say I thank the Lord for each new day - now more than I ever have. And I'm so glad to be back on my feet able and wanting to be in the kitchen. Last Friday night was the most fun I've had in the kitchen in a very long time. A friend came over so I could help her bake cupcakes for her boyfriend's birthday party. I can proudly say I'm often the person my baking-challenged loved ones turn to for help when they want to show lovin' with something from the oven. The verdict from the party-goers was that our Cream Cheese-Stuffed Chocolate Cupcakes from "Chocolate & Vanilla" by Gale Gand, were a hit. We certainly enjoyed them during our tastetest! The cupcakes were incredibly moist and rich with chocolatey goodness. My only complaint was the tiny amount of cream cheese filling in each cupcake. I would definitely repeat this recipe, but next time I would double the cream cheese filling recipe. The frosting recipe made a HUGE and I do mean huge batch. We had a ton leftover. Try these out and let me know what you think! Cream Cheese-Stuffed Chocolate Cupcakes for the filling 4 oz. cream cheese, softened 1 large egg yolk 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1/3 c. sugar 2/3 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips for the cupcakes 3 c. all-purpose flour 2 c. sugar 1/2 c. cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-processed 2 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. salt 2 c. hot water 3/4 c. vegetable oil 2 tsp. white vinegar 1 Tbsp. instant cofee crystals (optional) 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract for the chocolate frosting 8 Tbsp. unsalted butter 1 1/2 c. superfine sugar 1 1/2 c. cocoa powder, preferabley Dutch-processed Pinch of salt 1 c. heavy cream 1 tsp. instant coffee crystals (optional) 1/2 c. sour cream 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract To make the filling, in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until fluffy, about 5 minutes, scraping the bowl often, and then blend in the egg yolk and vanilla. Add the sugar and chips and mix for a few seconds on low to fold them in. Preheat the oven to 350. Line 2 (12 cup) muffin tins with cupcake paper liners. To make the cupcakes, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. In a large measuring cup, combine the water, oil, vinegar, instant coffee, and vanilla. Pour the mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined (don't worry if there are a few lumps). Fill each cupcake liner two-thirds full of batter. Drop a heaping tsp. of the cream cheese filling into the center of each. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the cupcakes have puffed on top and are firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and let cool completely in the tins. To make the frosting, melt the butter in a large saucepan. Stir in the sugar, cocoa, and salt. The mixture might look grainy or sandy and this is fine. Whisk the cream and instant coffee into the cocoa mixture and cook over low heat, while stirring to dissolve the sugar grains. The mixture should get hot to the touch but never simmer or boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the sour cream and vanilla. Let cool until the frosting thickens an becomes spreadable, about 1 hour. If it seems too thin, stir in some powdered sugar. Remove the cupcakes from the tins. Spread the frosting on the tops of the cupcakes.

Hay, hay! It's Donna Hay

Time for another fun food blogging event!! This event is hosted by winosandfoodies and is centered around Donna Hay, the wonderful Australian domestic goddess, and her self frosting cupcakes. I absolutely LOVE her, so of course I was excited & jumped at the chance to participate in this event. She has a fabulous style. All her books & recipes are so elegantly simple, I just love that! So the idea of this event was that everyone participating follow the same basic recipe, either exactly how Donna Hay created it or add their own little twist to it. The recipe is featured in her book Modern Classics 2. The original calls for peanut butter as the "frosting", but as many bloggers before me have done I chose to use Nutella as my "frosting" and believe me I didn't go wrong with that decision. The cupcakes were delicious! I tried them out on my usual test group - the family, with the focus as usual on my niece & nephew. Not a crumb was intentionally left, but they are 3 & 6 years old, so a few crumbs ended up on the floor I'm sure..lol I sent the remainder of the cupcakes to school with my nephew the next day for his snack time and have been told they were a big hit, even with the teacher. I will definitely make these again, experimenting with different "frostings", I'm thinking I'll try apple butter next time. Maybe substitute brown sugar for some of the granulated sugar, maybe add some cinnamon. YUM-O! That would make a nice winter snack no?? I think yes!! My only complaint, I think I got a little generous with the Nutella in a few of the cupcakes because I notices a few of them split & looked a tad bit hollow in the very center. I think the Nutella is to blame for that. Recipe taken directly from Modern Classics 2. Self-Frosting Cupcakes aka Nutella Cupcakes (Originally known as Peanut Butter Cupcakes) 6 oz butter, softened 3/4 c. superfine sugar 3 eggs 1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour, sifted 2 tsp. baking powder Nutella (can substitute jam or peanut butter) Preheat the oven to 324 F/160 C. Place very soft butter, superfine sugar, eggs, sifted all purpose flour and baking powder in a bowl and mix, using electric beaters, until smooth. Line 12 muffin tins with paper cases. Spoon in the mixture and swirl 1 1/2 tsp Nutella (can also use jam or peanut butter) through each cake. Bake for 20 minutes. Makes 12 standard size cupcakes.