Tuesday, February 14, 2012

A Box of Chocolates (Strawberry, and Champagne) - Happy Valentine's Day

Milo's Bonbons three-ways for Valentine's Day! Now if I could just get that to arrive in my next Birchbox . . .

Vanilla Cupcakes with Strawberry Meringue Buttercream: An oldie but a goodie.

Champagne Cupcakes with Champagne Buttercream: Another repeat, this time with Martini & Rossi Asti to really deliver the sweet champagne flavor. I think the Swiss meringue buttercream had a stronger champagne flavor and a sturdier texture as I reconstituted the meringue powder with the sparkling wine directly, instead of using water.

Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes with Frangelico: These chocolate cupcakes have a Frangelico-infused chocolate ganache filling and frosting. Frangelico is a hazelnut liqueur, and the folks at BevMo! tell me that you should chase a sugar-coated lemon slice with equal parts Frangelico and vodka. Apparently this "Chocolate Cake" shot is a real winner. While that remains to be tested, I can say that Frangelico does magically evoke chocolate, and is a great addition to dark chocolate ganache.

Monday, February 6, 2012

Guinness, Chocolate and Potato Chips - Super Bowl Sunday!


Hope everyone had a fun Super Bowl Sunday! The game ended on an exciting note . . . but of course you know I was only watching for the commercials, and for an excuse to bake more cupcakes.

These two cupcakes draw inspiration from Chuao Chocolatier again, this time from one of their newer flavors, the "Potato Chips in Chocolate" bar. This first cupcake is a simple chocolate cake. I tried to work with an even simpler recipe than my prior chocolate cupcakes, in case I ever needed to pull it together with basic ingredients, and I think this one worked out well enough. The frosting is a Swiss meringue milk chocolate buttercream frosting, topped with crushed potato chips and some added sea salt. Mildly sweet with a bit of crunch.


Chocolate Cupcakes
Makes 21-22 cupcakes (or 54 minis)
  • 3 ounces finely chopped bittersweet chocolate
  • ¾ cup Dutch-processed cocoa (2 ¼ ounces)
  • 1 teaspoon espresso powder
  • 1 ¼ cups boiling water
  • 1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (7 ½ ounces)
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 ½ cups sugar (10 ½ ounces)
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
  2. Combine the chocolate, cocoa, and espresso powder in a large bowl. Pour the boiling water over the chocolate mixture, cover, and let sit for a few minutes to help melt the chocolate. Whisk until smooth, then set aside to cool slightly, about 2 minutes. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together.
  3. Whisk the sugar, eggs, and vanilla into the cooled chocolate mixture. Slowly whisk in the oil. Whisk in the flour mixture in two portions, mixing gently until most of the lumps are gone (do not overmix).
  4. Bake for 20-22 minutes for regular cupcakes, or about 10 minutes for mini cupcakes.
Milk Chocolate Frosting
Makes 2 ¼ cups
  • ⅓ cup (2 ⅓ ounces) granulated sugar
  • 2 large egg whites
  • pinch table salt
  • 12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 6 ounces milk chocolate, melted and cooled
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
  1. Combine sugar, egg whites, and salt in bowl of stand mixer; place bowl over pan of simmering water. Whisking gently until sugar is completely dissolved and mixture is slightly foamy.
  2. Place bowl in stand mixer with whisk attachment. Beat on medium speed until stiff peaks form. Add butter, about 1 Tbsp at a time, and beat until smooth. Then add cooled melted chocolate and vanilla; mix until combined. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until light, fluffy, and thoroughly combined.
The second cupcake is a Guinness draught chocolate cake with a Guinness cream cheese glaze, topped with a potato chip dipped in milk chocolate. Because of the Guinness, this cake is a bit more bitter, but that makes for a nice contrast to the sweet glaze and salty-crunchy topping. 


Guinness Cupcakes
Makes 21-22 cupcakes (or 54 minis)
  • 1 cup of Guinness® Draught
  • 1 stick plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 cups dark brown sugar
  • ¾ cup sour cream
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 ½ teaspoon baking soda 
  • Pinch of cinnamon
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
  2. In a large sauce pan over low heat, combine Guinness® and butter, stirring until butter melts. Remove pan from heat and whisk in cocoa powder and brown sugar. 
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together sour cream, eggs and vanilla. Combine with beer mixture. 
  4. Sift together flour and baking soda, then fold into batter.
  5. Bake for 20-22 minutes for regular cupcakes, or about 10 minutes for mini cupcakes. 
  6. Make the glaze. With a mixer, whip 8 oz. cream cheese until smooth. Sift 1 ¼ cups confectioner’s sugar into cream cheese, and beat. Add ⅓ cup Guinness®, and beat until smooth. Note: The recipe I found stops there; however, I added a stick of unsalted butter to provide for a sturdier frosting. Dip the top of cupcakes into this glaze/frosting and twist when lifting for a smooth coating.