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 9, March 31st 2014 ~ Heath Bar Crunch Chocolate Chip Cookie Cupcakes

It is always best to keep the boss happy! So when the boss mentions he likes heath bars and I should make a cupcake using them then that's obviously what I am gonna do! It also helps that I love toffee too! I was originally going to just make chocolate cupcakes and use toffee chips but then I thought "eh, been there done that..."I have made a lot of chocolate cupcakes so far. So then I thought of the chocolate chip cookie cupcakes I made a while ago and thought those would go good with the toffee...and that was a correct assumption on my part! The chips melted into the cake and made it moister and made the whole cake taste like toffee. Then I topped the cupcake with a layer of chocolate and broken up pieces of health bar and a salted caramel buttercream! Side note I think this might be the first cupcake I didn't fill with anything during this challenge!

This recipe made 12 cupcakes

• The base of the cupcake is a recipe adapted from annies-eats.com. Visit that website for her chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes-which are amazing!
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• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cups light brown sugar, packed
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (semisweet or bittersweet)
• 1/2 cup toffee baking chips (They are with the chocolate chips in the grocery store)
• dark cocoa candy melts --you can also make your own ganache or use chocolate almond bark, I just used what I had
• 3 Heath Bars 

1. To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and brown sugar. Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. 
3. Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
4. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir together to blend. 
5. Add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl on low speed, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, mixing each addition just until incorporated. Blend in the vanilla. Fold in the chocolate chips and toffee bits with a spatula.
6. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
7. One cooled crush the heath bars and put on a paper plate and melt the candy melts as directed or use a ganache. I melted then in a container big enough to dip the cupcakes straight into.
8. Dip each cupcake into the chocolate and then into the candy and put back on the wire rack. While the chocolate sets prepare the buttercream.

For the Salted Caramel Buttercream:

• 2 Sticks unsalted butter; room temperature--you could use salted but just omit the additional salt
• 3 cups confectioners sugar
• 1/3 cup caramel sauce --store bought or homemade (you could use the salted caramel recipe I used for my salted caramel mocha cupcakes  if you are feeling ambitious) 
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt

1. Whip the butter for 3-5 minutes until light and fluffy
2. Add the confectioners sugar one cup at a time until fully encorporated
3. Add the caramel sauce, vanilla, and salt and beat for another 4-5 minutes until fluffy and it wouldn't fall out of the bowl if you tipped it upside down...try it its fun!
4. Taste and add more salt or caramel if you want---I ended up adding a little more of each 
5. Garnish with leftover toffee crumbs or caramel if you want!

I piled the frosting up pretty high on these...I just couldn't get enough of it!

For the fun pic of the day....the best coffee mug of all time! I love it!

Week 1, January 26th 2014 ~ Salted Caramel Mocha Cupcakes

My Salted Caramel Mocha Cupcakes--not the best photo I know!

I take my inspiration from everywhere! This time I took it from work! I was bringing them to a work event so I thought "How cute will this be!" I sometimes think I am a riot! So I present for you the first cupcake of the challenge: The Salted Caramel Mocha Cupcake! I love salted caramel anything; especially in the salted caramel mocha beverage form so I thought it would make the perfect cupcake. I had found this recipe long ago and pinned it to my pinterest (another addiction of mine! if your interested my name there is cait815 ) and finally was able to bust it out and it was perfect! I got this recipe from www.bakerdom.com I didn't really do anything different to it I liked just the way it was! I am in no way trying to take any credit for this recipe. That site has lots of amazing recipes on it! 

Salted Caramel Mocha Cupcakes 

Makes 30 cupcakes

Ingredients

FOR THE CUPCAKES

• 2 cups strong brewed coffee, hot
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

FOR THE WHIPPED VANILLA BUTTERCREAM

Makes 24 ounces

Ingredients

• 1 cup  unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 pound (about 4 cups) confectioners' sugar
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

FOR THE SALTED CARAMEL

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon corn syrup
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt, crushed (omit 1 teaspoon for regular caramel sauce)

FOR THE COFFEE ICING

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup confectioner's sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 to 2 tablespoons brewed coffee

In a medium bowl, or a two cup measuring cup, stir the cocoa powder into the hot coffee until dissolved. Set aside until cooled to room temperature, or place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

Once the cocoa/coffee mixture has cooled, preheat oven to 350 degrees (180 C). Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners; set aside.

In a medium bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

In a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until combined; stir in the vanilla. Sprinkle 1/3 of the flour mixture over the bowl and mix until just combined. Add 1/2 of the chocolate mixture, mixing again until just combined. Repeat with reamining flour and chocolate mixtures, ending with flour. Mix only until flour is just incorporated. Do not over mix.

Place 3 tablespoons of batter in each cupcake liner. Bake for 20-23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs clinging to it. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

While the cupcakes are baking/cooling, place about 3/4 cup of salted caramel sauce in a small sauce pan and bring to a low boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for 3 to 5 minutes to thicken the caramel slightly before using it to fill the cupcakes.

Once cooled, fill each cupcake with about 1 teaspoon of the thickened salted caramel sauce, ice with Coffee Icing (optional), and frost with whipped cream, Garnish with more caramel sauce.

WHIPPED VANILLA BUTTERCREAM

In a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer, whip the butter for 6 minutes on medium speed, until the butter is light in color and creamy.Add the sugar and cream and mix on low speed until combined, about 1 minute. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla. Increase mixer to medium speed and whip the mixture for another 8 minutes, until the frosting is very light and creamy.

SALTED CARAMEL SAUCE

Place the sugar, water, and corn syrup in a small saucepan, stirring to combine. Without stirring, bring to a boil over high heat, swirling the ingredients in the pan occasionally. Continue boiling until the mixture reaches an amber color (not too dark, or red). Remove from heat and very carefully (the mixture will quickly expand and sputter) add the cream in a slow steady stream, being sure to stir constantly. Once combined, add the salt and butter and continue stirring until both are completely melted and combined. Cool to room temperature before using.

COFFEE ICING

In a medium bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Stir in the vanilla until combined. Add the coffee until desired consistency is reached (I only used 1 tablespoon). For more coffee flavor, add more coffee, but you may need to add additional confectioners' sugar to keep a good consistency.

Ice the cooled cupcakes with the coffee icing. Allow to sit for 15 to 20 minutes, then top with cream cheese frosting.

Here is the link to the original blogpost:

Homemade Salted Caramel Mocha Latte, Frappuccino, and CUPCAKES!

I never said these cupcakes weren't a lot of work. It was totally worth it though! I would highly recommend adding the cupcake icing it really amps up the coffee flavor! The stuff on its own is amazing I could of just eaten it straight out of the bowl!  The frosting was so light and fluffy and perfectly balanced out the rest of the cupcake! In addition to putting caramel on the top I also added a sprinkling of sea salt!