Week 38 ~ October 19, 2014 ~ Chocolate Vanilla Swirl Cupcakes

I wish I could take creative credit for these cupcakes but they didnt not come from my brain even a little bit. I mean I guess I can take credit in that some of the components are things I have made before but that's about it. I do take requests but they are usually broad but nope not this one. This is pretty much a direct quote- " I want a vanilla cupcake filled with chocolate pudding and topped with chocolate ganache and vanilla mascarpone whipped cream swirled together, are you taking notes?". I can really only take credit for the execution and they did come out excellent. And if it didn't want to do it then I wouldn't have! This is a perfect chocolate and vanilla cupcake and a more sophisticated approach to a classic. I will say it was difficult to get the whipped ganache and mascarpone to come out at the same time because the ganache is a lot heavier but I eventually got the hang of it. I had to squeeze harder on the chocolate side but once it got going to was easier. 

This recipe makes 12-15 cupcakes:

For the Chocolate Pudding: 

• 2 cups whole milk or half-and-half, divided
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• Pinch of salt
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a medium saucepan, stir together 1¾ cups of the milk, the sugar, chocolate and salt, and place over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate is completely melted.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining ¼ cup milk and cornstarch until no lumps remain. Pour the cornstarch mixture into the saucepan and whisk to combine. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens and begins to boil. Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook for an additional minute, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and whisk in the vanilla extract.

3. Pour the pudding mixture into a clean bowl, and press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate the pudding until completely chilled, at least 4 hours.

For the Vanilla Cupcake:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 
• 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
• 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 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
3. Add ¾ cup sugar and continue to beat on medium speed 
4. Add vanilla and oil and beat on medium speed 
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 Chocolate pudding.

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.

For the Vanilla Bean Mascarpone:

• 8 oz Mascarpone cheese
• 1 cup of heavy whipping cream
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 1/2 cup of sugar

In a bowl of an electric mixer, whisk the mascarpone cheese, heavy whipping cream and vanilla bean. Gradually increase the speed over a few seconds till on medium-high.  Slowly pour in the sugar. Beat on medium-high until soft peaks form--this should not take more than a minute or 2...gradually lower the speed until you turn off the mixer.

Now comes the super technical part! You need:

•  two 12' pastry bags
• one 16' pastry bag
• a pastry tip- I used Wilton 1M 
• You don't NEED it but a large coupler makes it easier

First fill the 2 12' pastry bags with the two frostings and then set up the larger bag like you would normally and then cut the tips off the bags filled with frosting and carefully place them in the larger bag next to each other. Test the bag and squeeze until both frostings come out at the same time! It is like a soft serve swirl ice cream in frosting form! It is honestly not that hard and it looks cool...Though you could also pipe the ganache first and then the whipped cream on top. I do wish I topped the cupcakes with jimmies or chocolate curls but oh well! 

Week 32, September 8,2014 ~ Pumpkin Praline Cupcake

This could quite possibly be the PERFECT fall cupcake! This was my kick off to the "I wanna bake all the fall things" season. If fall was a flavor it would taste like this cupcake. It is a upside down pumpkin pecan cupcake with a praline topping and cinnamon mascarpone whipped cream. If you only make one pumpkin dessert this season MAKE IT THIS CUPCAKE!!! you won't regret it! This definitely won't be the last pumpkin cupcake I bake this season! If you want to take these cupcakes to a whole other level you could definitely add bacon to the praline mixture! but maybe thats just me!

This recipe makes 12 cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350 and either spray the muffin tin with non stick spray or line with foil liners for less mess!

For the praline topping:

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped

1. Place butter, heavy cream and brown sugar in a small saucepan on the stove.  Heat on medium heat until butter is completely melted and ingredients are combined.  
2. Take off stove and stir in pecans.  Distribute praline mixture evenly amongst the liners.

For the Pumpkin Pecan Cupcake:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 can pumpkin puree (freeze the rest in a baggie for next time!)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. Set aside.
2. In the mixer, cream together the sugar, oil, vanilla and pumpkin. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each. 
3. Add the flour mixture and blend until well incorporated. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the bowl and make sure it's all mixed in.
4. Put a large spoonful of pumpkin cake batter in each muffin tin on top of the praline mixture. Make sure to only fill the cupcakes 2/3rds full or the praline mixture will bubble over and get messy. But its not the end of the world if this happens.
5. Bake for about 20 minutes until tops spring back when lightly touched. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes before removing to rack to cool completely.

For the Cinnamon Mascarpone Whipped Cream:

• 8 oz Mascarpone cheese
• 1 cup of heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• splash of vanilla
• 1/2 cup of sugar

1. in a bowl of an electric mixer, whisk the mascarpone cheese, heavy whipping cream and vanilla extract. Gradually increase the speed over a few seconds till on medium-high.  Slowly pour in the sugar and vanilla. Beat on medium-high until soft peaks form--this should not take more than a minute or 2...gradually lower the speed until you turn off the mixer.
2. Frost cupcakes and try not to eat all of them!

Week 29, August 19, 2014 ~ Ooey Gooey Toffee Cupcakes

I am not entirely sure I would call these cupcakes, they are more like individual cakes (but I guess that's all a cupcake is). I did find that this cupcake was best served warm straight from the oven so maybe they would be better for serving them at a dinner party. Either way they were an explosion of toffee goodness! I topped them off with a salted caramel mascarpone whipped cream; which has quickly become my go to cupcake topper! And now that Market Basket is back up and running I can stock up again since it is half the price there than anywhere else! I got the idea for this cupcake from a list I saw on BuzzFeed for the best recipes from Disney World that you can make at home. This one stood out to me because I had never heard of it before but that's probably because I don't go to many of the full service restaurants and this Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake can be found at Liberty Tree Tavern in the Magic Kingdom...adds that to places to visit next trip. The only thing I would have done differently is used foil cupcake liners or just sprayed the cupcake tin with nonstick spray instead of using paper liner because it was hard to peal off since the cupcake is so sticky. 

This recipe made 16 cupcakes

For the bottom layer:

1 cup granulated sugar

1½ cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1/2 stick butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350 and prepare cupcake tins

2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.

3. Add the egg and melted butter and mix all the ingredients together-I found it easiest to use my hands. The mixture should be like wet sand.

4. Distribute evenly amongst the cupcakes tins and pack firmly-about 2 tbsp per tin. Set aside and prepare top layer.

For the top layer:

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 3/4 + 2 tbsp powdered sugar

1/2 stick butter, melted

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup Heath bar pieces

1. Beat the cream cheese until smooth. 

2. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Add the powdered sugar, a cup at a time, beating to make sure it's well combined.

3.  Slowly drizzle in the melted butter. 

4. Fold in the chocolate chips and Heath bar pieces. 

5. Distribute the mixture evenly amongst the cupcake liners and make 20-25 minutes. the cupcakes should be gooey but not liquidy.

6. Let cool completely before frosting.

For the salted caramel mascarpone whipped cream:

• 8 oz Mascarpone cheese
• 1 cup of heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup caramel sauce
• 1/4 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
• 1/2 cup of sugar

1. in a bowl of an electric mixer, whisk the mascarpone cheese, heavy whipping cream, caramel sauce and salt. Gradually increase the speed over a few seconds till on medium-high.  Slowly pour in the sugar. Beat on medium-high until soft peaks form--this should not take more than a minute or 2...gradually lower the speed until you turn off the mixer.
2. Frost the cupcakes and top with more Heath bar bits.

Week 24, July 14,2014 ~ Dulce de Leche Cupcakes

This was one fancy cupcake! When I was at Disney World is was in Epcot Mexico and happened upon Mexican Vanilla! I had heard it was really good but it is not that easy to come by in the states so I just had to buy it at Disney. It was pretty cheap for pure vanilla, only $10 bucks for a decent size bottle. 

So I knew I wanted to use it but I didn't know what to make. I decided to go with the theme and make a vanilla cupcake filled with Dulce de Leche. Then I made a mascarpone whipped cream with cayenne hot fudge I had left over from my cayenne cupcakes. I will be honest I couldn't tell a real difference between the Mexican Vanilla and the Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla I normally use. If I was using my noggin I would have made cupcakes with both and done a taste test. I probably would have been able to tell that way. Oh well, that's a project for another day. The Dulce de Leche was "semi homemade" in that I made it from a can of sweetened condensed milk. Dulce de Leche is just caramelized milk and sugar. It was time consuming but super easy and everyone said it was good (I had nothing to compare it to but I like caramelized anything!) I think that is all there is to say about these...

The recipe makes 12 cupcakes!

For the Dulce de Leche 

-1 can sweetened condensed milk

- kosher salt

1. Preheat oven to 425. Empty the contents of a can into an oven-proof dish; sprinkle with some kosher salt and tightly cover it with foil.

2. Place the covered dish in a larger casserole pan and fill it up with water until it reaches three quarters of the up the covered dish to create a water bath. Bake for 60-90 minutes, checking the water every 30 minutes. I ended up cooking mine for 90 minutes but I probably could have taken it out around the 70-75 minute mark. 

It is ready when it takes on a brown and caramel-like appearance. Remove from the oven and whisk to smoothness. Let cool before filling the cupcakes. I ended up having a like extra so you probably could have melted it down and thinned it out with milk or something and drizzled it on top of the cupcakes at the end. 

For the Vanilla Cupcake:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 
• 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 Mexican vanilla extract--or whatever you have
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 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 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 Dulce de Leche.

For the chocolate mascarpone whipped cream:

• 8 oz Mascarpone cheese
• 1 cup of heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup hot fudge (the recipe for my Cayenne hot fudge is below)
• 1/2 cup of sugar

In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk the mascarpone cheese, heavy whipping cream and hot fudge. Gradually increase the speed over a few seconds till on medium-high.  Slowly pour in the sugar. Beat on medium-high until soft peaks form--this should not take more than a minute or 2...gradually lower the speed until you turn off the mixer.

This frosting is not good to leave out--it will melt so you should refrigerate these--especially if it's summer!

For the Cayenne Hot Fudge:

The original recipe made 2 cups which was way too much so unless you want extra for ice cream or something the recipe below is just for a cup which is plenty for 12 cupcakes.

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 tbsp light corn syrup
• 4 tbsp Lindt chili chocolate bar-chopped
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Add all the ingredients to a medium sauce pan, except for the vanilla, and cook over medium heat. Whisk occasionally until mixture comes to a low boil and then whisk continuously until the mixture thickens and looks like fudge. Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla. Store in a mason jar and use once cool.