Week 28, August 15, 2014 ~ Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Cupcakes

I am sooo far behind! Work has been consuming my life and I am finally getting back into me normal routine. Considering I have spent more hours at work than home the past few weeks I am proud of myself for even finding time to make cupcakes. Week 28 was my birthday (Happy first 29th Birthday to me!) so I had to make something extra special obviously! I was really wanting an extra chocolatey cupcake and I love all things sweet and salty and peanut buttery! I used my favorite Guinness chocolate cake recipe,I think I like it better than chocolate cupcake recipes that use coffee, and filled them with a peanut butter sauce and topped them off with a whipped chocolate ganache, all atop a pretzel crust. For decoration I kept it simple with a pretzel and peanut butter drizzle. The chocolate ganache was kind of amazing and gave the cupcake a more sophisticated look than a plain ganache may have. I definitely think this cupcake is a top 10 contender! I am about 4 weeks behind on posts so I will just get on with it!

This recipe makes 2 dozen cupcakes!

For the Pretzel Crust:

• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 heaping cup crushed pretzels

1.In a medium bowl, mix together the three ingredients

4. Drop about a tablespoon of the crust mixture into the bottom of each cup. Use a small glass to pack down the crust.

For the Guinness Chocolate Cake:

• 1 1/2 cups Guinness
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
•  3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder - I use Hershey's Special Dark
• 2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 egg
• 1 1/3 cup sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Bring the Guinness and butter to a simmer in a heavy, medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cocoa powder and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
2. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl to combine. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sour cream on medium speed until combined.
3. Add the Guinness-chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and beat just to combine. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture and beat briefly.
4. Divide the batter among the cupcake liners. Bake until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Cool the cupcakes on a rack.

For the Peanut Butter Filling:

• 2/3 cup peanut butter
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar

1. Combine all three ingredients and mix until smooth.

2. Fill each cupcake with about a tablespoon of the mixture. I injected mine with a pastry bag and bismarck tip.

For the Whipped Chocolate Ganache:

• 2 2/3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/3 cups heavy whipping cream

1. Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan until it begins to simmer. 
2. Pour the heavy cream over the chocolate chips. Let it stand for a couple minutes to melt the chips and then stir until smooth.
3. Let it cool to room temperature then whip with a mixer until it is firm enough to hold shape.
4. Pipe on the cupcakes any way you want

Top cupcakes with a pretzel and peanut butter drizzle (I used wilton peanut butter candy melts.

Week 10, April 7th, 2014 ~ Boston Cream Cupcakes

I don't really have a whole lot to say about these cupcakes. They are a pretty standard Boston Cream flavor. Vanilla cupcakes with homemade pastry cream and a chocolate ganache. These were a sister request that I finally gave into...not that I don't also love Boston Cream; I was just saving them for a lazy week and I was feeling pretty lazy this weekend! These were a success as I finally found the perfect vanilla cupcake recipe! The cream filling turned out to be more work that I was planning. I actually had to make it twice because the first time it basically gelatinized...not cute! The second time came out better I think...well at least it didn't solidify! If you wanted to make your life easier you can just use vanilla pudding or a custard. This decoration made up for the time consuming filling though so it was ok in the end! 

This recipe made 15 cupcakes! 

If making your own pastry cream you should make it first as it needs a couple hours in the fridge to cool and set.

For the Pastry Cream Filling:

2 cup milk 1/4 cup white sugar 2 egg yolk 1 egg 1/4 cup cornstarch 1/3 cup white sugar 2 tbsp butter 1 tsp vanilla extract  In a heavy saucepan, stir together the milk and 1/4 cup of sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat. In a medium bowl whisk together the egg yolks and egg. Stir together the remaining sugar and cornstarch then stir into the egg mixture until smooth. When the milk comes to a boil drizzle into the egg mixture in a steady stream while whisking continuously so the eggs don't cook. Return the mixture to the saucepan, slowly bringing the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly so the eggs don't curdle. When the mixture comes to a boil and thickens, remove from the heat. Stir in the butter and vanilla, mixing until the butter is completely blended in. Pour into a heat-proof container and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled before using.

For the Vanilla Cupcake:

• 1 1/4 cups cake flour or Canadian bleached all-purpose flour - I used regular all-purpose and they came out fine
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup canola oil (vegetable or extra light olive oil also work)
• 1/2 cup buttermilk 

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a cupcake/muffin pan with cupcake liners.

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1¼ cups cake flour (or Canadian flour), 1¼ tsp baking powder, ½ tsp baking soda and ½ tsp salt. Set flour mix aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat 2 eggs with the whisk attachment on medium speed (15-20 seconds).
3. Add ¾ cup sugar and continue to beat on medium speed (30 seconds).
4. Add vanilla and oil and beat on medium speed (1 minute)
5. Reduce mixer speed to medium/low and slowly add about half of the flour mixture. Add half of the buttermilk, then the rest of the flour mix and the rest of the milk. Beat until just combined and smooth, scraping down the sides of the mixing bowl. The batter should be thin.
6. Pour batter into a lined muffin pan. Fill to about ½ full.
7. Bake for 12 -14 minutes at 350°F. Let them cool in the pan for a couple minutes, then remove.
8. Once cool fill with the pastry cream.

This recipe came from http://natashaskitchen.com

For the ganache:

• 6 ounces semi sweet chocolate
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

1. Put in a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 minute increments until smooth and glossy.
2. carefully dip the cupcakes into the ganache and coat evenly.
3. top each cupcake with a maraschino cherry! 

Week 7, March 17th, 2014 ~ St. Patty's Day Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

Now these are some boozy cupcakes! I made them for people that greatly appreciate their liquor! Especially their Irish liquors. I usually make green velvet cupcakes for St. Patty's but I wanted to do something more interesting. I also want to make more alcoholic cupcakes! So whats better than Irish car bomb cupcakes for St. Patricks Day! I definitely went a little heavy handed on the alcohol! Especially with the Jameson chocolate ganache. So I would suggest adding less if you don't like the stronger liquor flavor like I do. I did find it wasn't as strong once it settled into the cupcake though. For those not familiar with an Irish car bomb (shame on you!...lol) it is a shot of Jameson and Baileys dropped into a glass of Guinness. So this cupcake is a Guinness chocolate cake filled with a Jameson ganache and topped with Baileys Irish Cream Frosting. The cake part was really moist and not too heavy but really chocolatey. The Guinness almost enhances the chocolate flavor and I am guessing the slight fizzyness from using a freshly opened beer contributed to the lightness. I have heard using soda in cupcakes has a similar effect. I do want to try cherry cola cupcakes eventually. Now I am not the biggest fan of Baileys. Had a not great experience where I drank it warm once and it was truly disgusting. It has been a while so I took one for the team and tried it again, and I enjoyed it much more in a frosting! You can't tell by looking at them since I doused them in sprinkles but I deviated from my usually Wilton 1M tip and used the Wilton 2D tip. It almost looked like frilly ruffles, which was kinda fun. The ganache was really chocolaty and had a strong whiskey flavor; which from eating the my sister has learned she probably doesn't like whiskey! She liked it as a whole though. So I would say proceed with caution!

This recipe makes 24 cupcakes (I only made 12 so if you half it half everything but the baking soda)

For the Cupcakes:

• 1 cup Guinness
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ¾ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder - I use Hershey's Special Dark
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1½ teaspoons baking soda
• ¾ teaspoons salt
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Bring the Guinness and butter to a simmer in a heavy, medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cocoa powder and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
2. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl to combine. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sour cream on medium speed until combined.
3. Add the Guinness-chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and beat just to combine. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture and beat briefly.
4.  Using a rubber spatula, fold the batter until completely combined. 
5. Divide the batter among the cupcake liners. Bake until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Cool the cupcakes on a rack.

For the Whiskey Ganache Filling:

• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup Jameson

1. Place the chocolate and butter in a bowl. In a sauce pan bring the cream to boil then pour the hot cream over the chocolate and butter. Let it sit for about 2 minutes. Stir until thick and glossy. Add in the Jameson and stir. Refrigerate for 5 min, and stir. Repeat this until the ganache is cool and is like a thick chocolate sauce.
2. Core your cupcakes- I have a couple different gadgets for this. I have one from Wilton but it is pretty small. It works best for mini cupcakes I think. Then I have one I got from Bed Bath and Beyond that is made by Chicago Metallic. That one is pretty big, I am still undecided on that one. You can also just use a knife, apple corer, or a pastry tip. Then I slathered some across the tops of the cupcakes. You could skip this part if you don't want so much of the ganache.

For the Baileys Frosting:

• 2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 5 cups powdered sugar
• 2- 100mL bottles Bailey's Irish Cream (this is .84 cups so use your best judgement if you are using a normal bottle
• splash of vanilla extract

 Beat the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Reduce the speed to medium-low and gradually add the powdered sugar until its mixed well. Add the Baileys and vanilla, beat on medium-high and whip for another 2 to 3 minutes, until it is light and fluffy. You may need to add extra powdered sugar if it is too liquidy. I think I ended up adding another 1/2 cup. Then decorate as you wish!

On a side note I was at Home Goods and saw this gem of a deal:

Why would anyone spend 1,000 bucks on a large vase covered in safari animals? And at one point they wanted 1,500 for it! Though at $500 off I probably should of snatched it up! What was I thinking?