Chocolate Stout Cupcakes

These cupcakes are rich and chocolaty, the Guinness stout enhancing its chocolate flavor.  The light and fluffy cream cheese frosting is similar to the top of a frothy beer.  Dust with cocoa or festive sprinkles and they are perfect for St. Patrick's Day!

 

 

 

Recipe

3/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa

2 cups sugar

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

1 bottle Guinness Stout beer

1 stick butter, melted

1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract

3 large eggs

3/4 cup sour cream

1 8 oz pkg cream cheese, room temp

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 lb. box confectioners sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 24 muffin cups with liners or grease muffin tins.  Sift flour and cocoa into a large bowl, add and whisk together sugar,  baking soda and salt.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the stout, butter and vanilla.  Beat in eggs, 1 at a time.  Add sour cream and blend until thoroughly combined and smooth.  Add the dry ingredients and blend until incorporated.  Divide batter equally between muffin tins, filling each 3/4 full.  Bake for about 18 mins total, rotating pan halfway through baking, until they are set in the middle but still soft and tender.  For icing:  beat the cream cheese on med speed until light and fluffy, gradually beat in the heavy cream.  Add the confectioners sugar and beat until incorporated and smooth.  Pipe icing onto cupcakes and dust with cocoa powder or garnish with festive sprinkles.

 This recipe is a winner with rave reviews, and the original can be found here on the Food Network, by Dave Lieberman:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/dave-lieberman/chocolate-stout-cupcakes-recipe/index.html

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Traditional Creamy Vanilla Icing

I'm on a mission to find the best Red Velvet recipe.  The cake is becoming so popular and the beautiful red hue with white frosting is striking and very festive for the holidays. I've tried many from some great cookbooks and sources ~ but none were quite right, all tending to be on the dry side.  While Red Velvet is supposed to be a dense cake, is it supposed to be dry?  This recipe is a combination of recipes from Country Living and Food.com which reference the original Waldorf-Astoria recipe.  From Wikipedia: "The cake and its original recipe are well-known in the United States from New York City's famous Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. However, it is widely considered a Southern recipe.^[3] Traditionally, the cake is iced with a French-style butter roux icing (also called ermine icing), which is very light and fluffy but time-consuming to prepare. Cream cheese frosting and buttercream frosting are variations which have increased in popularity." I use the traditional cooked vanilla icing here, its taste and consistency is similar to whipped cream.  I think it adds lightness to the cake as opposed to a cream cheese frosting.  This recipe yielded a bright red cake that had the best flavor so far, and was lighter and moister than others.  Is it the best??  Could it be moister? -perhaps.  I don't know ~ the verdict is still out and I would appreciate your feedback.  I will tweak as I go along until I get the perfect red velvet cake. One trick I have learned is be careful to not overcook, check the cake just before time is up, if it is set and a toothpick comes out clean remove it from oven, let cool a few minutes then remove from pan.

Cake - makes 24 cupcakes 
1 stick unsalted butter, room temp
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa (not dutch processed)
3 Tbsps red food coloring
1 1/2 tsps pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp salt
2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp white vinegar
Frosting
3 Tbsp flour
1 cup whole milk
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp

For Cake:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners.  Beat the butter and sugar in the bowl of stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, on med, until light and fluffy, about 5 mins.  Add the eggs and continue to beat for 1 more minute.  Stir the cocoa, food coloring and vanilla together in a small bowl.  Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the cocoa mixture, it will make a thick paste. Combine the buttermilk and salt in a measuring cup.  Add the flour by thirds, alternating the the buttermilk mixture.  Mix the baking soda and vinegar together in a cup and add to the batter, beating until smooth.  Using a 4 oz cookie scoop, measure a full scoop (not overflowing) into each paper cup.  Bake for 17 -19 mins - depending on your oven, just until set and toothpick comes out clean, (rotate pans 1/2 way through for even baking).  Let cupcakes cool a few mins then remove from pan.  When completely cool ice with frosting.
For Frosting:  Whisk the milk and four together in a med saucepan until smooth.  Set on med heat and cook, stirring constantly - to avoid scalding, until thickened - 4-5 mins.  Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.  While cooling, beat the butter and confectioners sugar in a med bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, on high until light.  Reduce speed to medium, add the vanilla and blend, then slowly add the cooled milk mixture and beat until blended.  Switch to a whisk attachment and beat for 1 more minute until smooth.  Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes.  Decorate with decorations as desired.  For these I used Wilton white sparkling sugar,  and Christmas sugar decorations - ordered through www.countrykitchensweetart.com

I made mini bundts too, these required a little less time in the oven.

If you do try the recipe please come back and let me know what you think, also I'd love to hear your tricks and successes with baking red velvet treats

Cookie Dough Stuffed Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

I had a recent request for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes.  While I was excited for the challenge and am a lover of cookie dough, I was worried about the safety of eating it raw.  Well wouldn't you know on one of my daily library trips when we were out of power and cable due to Hurricane Sandy ~ I stumbled upon a little gem of a book, called "The Cookie Dough Lovers Cookbook" by Lindsay Landis.

This genius invented the perfect cookie dough that is egg-free and safe to eat raw and use in many many recipes from cookies, cakes, candies, frozen treats and more.  This book is packed with cookie dough lovers dream desserts!  And yes it had a recipe for cupcakes.  If you are a cookie dough lover you must have this book, available here:

 http://astore.amazon.com/rosscoubak-20/detail/1594745641  
 


Now onto the cupcake recipe.  Basically you bake a cupcake, it could be chocolate or vanilla, cut out a wedge from top, and fill with cookie dough, put top back on and garnish with cookie dough buttercream and chocolate chips.  Use your favorite chocolate or vanilla cake recipe or the one below.

Recipe: 

Cupcakes ~ 
1 cup flour
1/3 cup dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup whole milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
Cookie dough ~ 
1 stick unsalted butter @ room temp
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips, divided
Buttercream ~ 
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, @ room temp
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
reserved cookie dough mix from above (see instructions)
Milk

Instructions:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 12 cup cupcake pan with paper liners.  In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment mix together the flour, cocoa, sugars, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Make a well in the center and add the milk, oil, vanilla and eggs.  Beat until just combined, scraping bottom of bowl as needed.  Fill the cupcake liners with a little less then 1/4 cup batter, they should be just under 2/3 full.  Bake for about 18 mins or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool, while cooling prepare cookie dough and buttercream.  When cooled, use a paring knife and cut a cone shaped piece, approx 1 in from the top of each cupcake, cut off cone and save top. See pic below.
Prepare cookie dough - In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle beat together butter and sugars on med until light and fluffy about 2 mins.  Add milk and vanilla and beat until blended.  Add flour and salt and mix on low until incorporated.  Set aside 1 cup of this mixture for the buttercream.  Add to remaining mixture 1/3 cup of the chocolate chips and blend.
Buttercream - In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter until fluffy, add powdered sugar a little at a time and beat until smooth.  Add the reserved plain cookie dough and mix on med-high until light and fluffy.  Add milk by tablespoons if too dry until desired piping or spreading consistency.
Assembling, fill cupcake holes with about 1 tsp cookie dough, then replace topper and frost with buttercream.  Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips on top.

Enjoy!

Hummingbird Cupcakes

I discovered Hummingbird cake when reading through Magnolia Bakery cookbook, it looked delicious but sounded very busy.  Last weekend when visiting in the city I stopped at Magnolia Bakery and saw this cake in cupcake form, so I had to try one, Magnolia describes it: "Bananas, pineapples and pecans make up this classic southern cake with sweet cream cheese icing,"  Country Living describes it as: "Hummingbird cake is a banana-pineapple creation that has been enjoyed throughout the South since the mid-nineteenth century." Well one bite later I discovered my new favorite cake and had to recreate it at home.  The flavors enhance each other making a very moist and sweet cake!  On the nutrition side I would estimate you are getting one full serving of fruit with each piece of cake, so don't worry about the fat and carbs :)  Here is the recipe:

Hummingbird Cupcakes

Cake:
1 8oz can crushed pineapple in unsweetened juice
3 cups AP flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp grd cinnamon
1 tsp salt
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
3 large eggs
2 cups very ripe mashed bananas (about 5)
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chopped toasted pecans

Cream Cheese Frosting:
12 oz cream cheese, slightly softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
5 cups sifted confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 350.  Line 2 12 cup muffin tins with paper liners.  Drain pineapple, reserve 1/4 cup juice for later.  Sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and set aside.  Beat sugar and oil in a stand mixer with paddle attachment on medium until smooth.  Add eggs one at a time beating about 2 mins.  Reduce mixer speed to low and add the pineapples, reserved pineapple juice, bananas and vanilla and mix until just combined.  Add the flour mixture in 2 parts, beating after each addition and scraping down bowl.  Stir in 1/2 cup of pecans.  Fill each cup a little over 3/4 full and bake about 20 mins or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool and prepare frosting.  Combine cream cheese and butter in mixer and beat until smooth. Add vanilla and gradually beat in confectioners sugar until smooth.  Frost each cupcake and sprinkle with remaining pecans.  This recipe can also be made as layer cake using 2 9 inch cake pans. Enjoy!

Enjoy!