Chai Tea Cupcakes

I'm not much of a coffee drinker, but I do love me some good tea, especially a chai latte. So I decided to see if I could alter the spices of the cinnamon cupcakes from my last post to create a masala chai flavor. I'm not sure I really succeeded in evoking "chai tea" with this one, but it was still a tasty spiced coffee cake (tea cake?).

The cake is the cinnamon swirl sour cream cake used with my maple turkey-bacon cupcakes, but in addition to cinnamon, I added ground cloves, cardamom, ginger, pepper and nutmeg. At the last minute, I realized I forgot to add the tea component of a chai tea, and so I was light on that flavor as I tried to add in some black tea without changing the batter consistency too much. It would be easier to steep black tea in milk, so I will probably need to revise the recipe to replace sour cream with milk or cream.

The streusel on top contains the same spice combination, and the icing is made with black tea-infused whipping cream, powdered sugar, a bit of butter, and the same spices. Without this icing, I think the cupcake would have just tasted like a cinnamon streusel cake. Although I didn't quite achieve "chai tea" flavors, there was definitely something je ne sais quoi about this cupcake. I'll post a recipe once I've had a chance to tweak and optimize.

Maple-Bacon Cinnamon Cupcakes

These cupcakes are inspired by Hollis Wilder from Cupcake Wars. I love her ideas, and love that she brings her culinary experience to the pastry world. The cake is a cinnamon swirl sour cream cake, that is moist and fluffy, and much like a coffee cake. The key to the pop of cinnamon flavor is to fold in a brown sugar-cinnamon mixture, without fully blending. See swirls below.

The frosting is a strawberry cream cheese with maple butter, and the topping is maple-glazed turkey bacon, with maple sugar sprinkled on top. Maple butter and maple sugar are pretty amazing (but pricey)—check your local health food store to find those items!

Cinnamon Cupcakes
Makes 16 cupcakes (or 40 minis)

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (no need to use cake flour for this one)
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups sour cream
• 1 T. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (loosely packed)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a mixer bowl, with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and then add the vanilla and one egg at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture and sour cream, alternating between the two, beginning and ending with the flour.
4. Mix the cinnamon and brown sugar together in a small bowl and fold by hand into the batter. Do not fully mix into the batter, it should be swirled in.
5. Fill regular sized cupcakes, bake for 26-28 minutes or until golden and baked through.
6. Once cooled, top with cream cheese frosting (mix 1 pound cream cheese, 4 tablespoons maple butter, 1/4 cup strawberry jelly and 1/4 cup fresh strawberries, hulled, and finely diced), turkey bacon (cook as usual until crisp, then lightly coat with maple syrup and continue cooking over low heat until slightly caramelized), and maple sugar.

Firecracker Cupcakes - Starting Off the Year with a Bang ( . . . or a Pop Rock)

I love the Firecracker bonbons and chocolate bars by Chuao Chocolatier (one of the things I will miss about San Diego), and decided to make a cupcake variation. Unfortunately, I don't have any special-order connections to get my hands on bulk unflavored popping candy. So, of course I went on Amazon.com, and found the next best thing: Pop Rock's limited edition milk chocolate covered pop rocks! I was worried that by not having a dark chocolate coating, these pop rocks would be inconsistent with the rest of the cupcake, but it achieves a similar effect and offers a nice color contrast.

These are the Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes with Ganache Filling (my go-to for chocolate cupcakes now), topped with chipotle-infused ganache and dipped in milk chocolate pop rocks. The snap crackle and pop of biting down on the pop rocks is a fun contrast to the rich bittersweet chocolate cake. I went a bit too mild on the chipotle, so I think the kick got a bit lost in the dark chocolate flavor. The next time around, when I'm not rushing to bake at midnight or right before going to work, I'll fine-tune the proportions and work on the decoration.

Prosecco & Chambord Cupcakes - Happy New Year!

My original plan to gift cupcake assortments for the holidays didn't quite pan out. Milo's Bonbons went on a brief hiatus while we relocated, and baking supplies were packed away. But, we're back for 2012!

These mini champagne cupcakes are made with Prosecco, with half of the cupcakes topped with champagne Swiss meringue buttercream, and the other half topped with Chambord Swiss meringue buttercream.

Champagne Cupcakes
Makes 20 cupcakes (or 50 minis)

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (or 3 cups + 1 Tbsp. cake flour for a finer texture)
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2/3 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup champagne (or in this case, Prosecco)
• 6 egg whites

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 
3. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together, and then blend into creamed mixture alternately with champagne.
4. In another bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the whites into batter to lighten the batter, then fold in remaining egg whites. 
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes (or 10-12 for minis), or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
   

Pumpkin Chocolate Tiramisu - Happy Thanksgiving!

This three-layer tiramisu is a holiday variation of the traditional tiramisu, using pumpkin, chocolate and amaretto instead of espresso and rum. Based on a Cook's Illustrated recipe, and inspired by a Martha Stewart recipe, the mascarpone layers are flavored with pumpkin puree, with the middle layer additionally flavored with melted chocolate. The ladyfingers are brushed/dipped with cocoa and amaretto. The top is dusted with cocoa and cinnamon, with chocolate decorations.

This recipe creates a very light and soft mascarpone layer. For a denser, thicker cake, use less whipping cream.

Pumpkin Chocolate Tiramisu
Serves 10-12

Ingredients

* 9 tablespoons amaretto
* 6 large egg yolks
* 2/3 cup sugar
* 1/3 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/2 lbs mascarpone cheese (about 3 8-oz. tubs)
* 1 1/2 cup heavy cream
* 36-48 ladyfingers
* 1 to 1 1/2 cans pumpkin puree (15-22 oz.)
* 6 oz. semisweet chocolate
* 3 tablespoons cocoa + 1 tablespoon for dusting
* 1 cup hot water
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon for dusting

Directions

1. Stir hot water, cocoa and 5 tablespoons amaretto in bowl until cocoa dissolves; set aside.
2. Beat egg yolks in a standing mixer (whisk attachment) until just combined. Add sugar and salt and beat at medium-high speed until pale yellow (1.5-2 minutes), scraping down the sides. Add remaining 4 tablespoons amaretto and beat until just combined (20-30 seconds). Add mascarpone and beat at medium speed until smooth (30-45 seconds). Transfer to a large bowl.
3. In the same mixer bowl, beat 3/4 cup heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Fold into mascarpone mixture. Fold in pumpkin puree.
4. Combine chocolate and remaining 3/4 cup heavy cream, and microwave until chocolate is melted. Stir until smooth. Transfer 1/3 of the pumpkin mixture into a separate medium bowl, and fold in chocolate mixture.
5. Cover bottom of pan or baking dish with ladyfingers dipped in cocoa-amaretto mixture (dip each side very quickly). Top with pumpkin mixture. Add another layer of ladyfingers, and top with pumpkin-chocolate mixture. Add another layer of ladyfingers and finish with remaining pumpkin mixture. Combine 1 tablespoon cocoa with cinnamon and dust over top.

Unfortunately, the tiramisu did not survive heavy Thanksgiving road traffic and accidents. Fortunately, we made pumpkin cookies with brown butter icing as back-up!

UPDATE: I've been asked about my pumpkin cookie recipe, so here it is. I arrived at this recipe through experimentation after tweaking a couple other recipes. Hope it works well for you all!

Rolled Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Butter Icing
20-24 cookies

Ingredients

* 2 3/4 cup flour
* 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon ginger
* 1/2 teaspoon cloves
* 1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
* 1 cup brown sugar (packed)
* 2/3 cup canned pumpkin puree
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 1 egg

For the icing (makes 1 cup) - from Martha Stewart:

* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
* 2 cups confectioners' sugar
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 2 tablespoons milk

Directions

1. Beat together butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Add egg and continue beating until incorporated.
2. Sift/whisk dry ingredients together in medium bowl. Then add flour mixture to butter/sugar mixture in two to three portions, beating after each addition until just incorporated.
3. Fold in pumpkin puree. The cookie dough should still be thick.
4. Divide the dough into two portions, wrap in plastic wrap, and flatten into discs. Chill dough overnight or place in freezer for at least a couple hours.
5. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.
6. Remove chilled dough from fridge/freezer, roll out to 1/8-1/4 inch thickness, cut into desired shape with cookie cutter, and place on lined, non-stick baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. The cookie will not brown much at all, but should spring back slightly when pressed with finger.
7. As the cookies are cooling, prepare the brown butter icing: Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, swirling occasionally until nut-brown in color (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat, pour butter into bowl, leaving any burned sediment behind. Add sugar, vanilla and milk to brown butter, stirring until smooth.
8. After the cookies have cooled, dip and twist the surface into the icing. Allow the icing to set -- it won't quite harden, but it will develop a dry surface.

Tips for success:

• Work quickly, and keep the unused half of the cookie dough chilled while working with the first half. 
• When rolling out the dough, place the dough between two sheets of waxed paper dusted with flour. Sandwiching between wax sheets helps prevent the dough from sticking to the rolling pin and otherwise making a mess. I would also suggest dusting the dough disc with flour. Also, consider taping the bottom sheet of wax paper to the table to avoid slipping and sliding. 
• Use non-stick foil (my recommendation) or parchment paper to line the baking sheet.
• Be liberal with the spices.
• Consider doubling the icing recipe to make the icing dipping process easier.
• The icing may separate -- stir to re-emulsify, and add a little extra milk if necessary to thin the consistency.

Spaghetti Cupcakes - Trick or Treat!

The idea for these spaghetti cupcakes comes from the book Hello, Cupcake!, and I was inspired after seeing my sister-in-law make them for April Fool's Day. Instead of using canned frosting, I decided to better complement the strawberry jam (the marinara sauce) with white chocolate flavoring.

This white cake is filled with strawberry meringue buttercream, and topped with a thin layer of white chocolate whipped ganache, and then covered with white chocolate buttercream noodles. White chocolate and butter both have a pale yellow color, so that no food coloring needs to be added to mimic cooked noodles.

A Ferrero Rocher hazelnut chocolate serves as the meatball, tossed in low sugar strawberry preserves (the low sugar variety has a more realistic red shade than regular preserves). Finally, grated white chocolate serves as the parmesan cheese. By the way, I love Ferrero Rocher chocolates. I'm going to have to try a cupcake version of them one day.

These "trick" cupcakes were complemented by my pumpkin cupcakes as the "treat." Happy Halloween everyone!

Coconut Cupcakes 2-Ways - Lemon & Curry Ganache

Last weekend, I made two coconut cupcakes. The first is a fluffy coconut cupcake (lightness achieved with whipped egg whites), with lemon curd filling, and topped with a coconut-lemon buttercream. This cake recipe was taken from a Cupcake Wars episode and easily makes my favorites-list. The curd and buttercream were light and creamy, and complementary in taste and texture.

The second cupcake had a similar cake recipe, minus the whipped egg whites, and plus ground coconut. This cake (on the left) was more golden and had more texture.

I filled it with a coconut buttercream, and topped with whipped curry ganache. Unfortunately I was a bit short on ganache, so I used a comb to create some texture and then "blinged-out" with decoration (pearlized dust and toasted coconut). The flavor combination is perhaps less conventional, but yummy and memorable.

I didn't used to be a coconut fan, but the more I explore pastries and baking, the more interesting I am finding the taste of coconut. While I don't really like the texture of coconut flakes in my desserts, I may be a convert with respect to flavor!