May.
21

Totally -O- Chocolate Cupcakes

Posted by Em at: 12:46 pm | 1 Comment


I think I’ve mentioned a time or two that I’m not a huge fan of chocolate. Now, before you start flooding my inbox with hate-mail and nasty-grams, realize that I don’t **dislike** chocolate. It’s just not a real draw for me. But trust me, if a box full of cupcakes magically appeared and they were all varieties of chocolate, I would most certainly indulge (note, I didn’t say I’d eat *one* LOL!!). Tonight I made some chocolate cupcakes that were so far out of this world, I have to share with you how it’s done so that **you too** can have your very own “Totally -O- Chocolate Cupcakes”

I read a lot of blogs. As a food blogger, I think it’s my responsibility to (plus it’s a LOT of fun!!). If you’re into making cupcakes from scratch, I definitely suggest checking out this blog as inspiration. It definitely inspires me even though the recipes are far more complex than anything I’d really make or have a strong desire to attempt making. But you can pick up ideas anywhere and use them as a jumping-off point to create your very own masterpiece! And that’s how my Totally -O- Chocolate Cupcakes came about.

For the cake part I followed a rather simple recipe but here’s a few cupcake baking tips that I’ve picked up from others as well as from my own personal experience:

read and understand all directions before you start (I’m a dolt and read two or three times)
make sure you’ve added ALL the ingredients in the right proportions before filling the cups (when I made this recipe the first time, after the cupcakes were in the oven for about 2 minutes and I was cleaning up, I noticed I had a couple of eggs on the counter… eeep! I’d forgotten to add them so I quickly removed everything from the oven, poured the batter back into the mixing bowl, added the eggs and re-beat everything… easily avoidable disaster so don’t be like me! LOL!!)

fill cups no more than 2/3 full (for me, I can only fill them 1/2 full since my “eyeballing” what I think it 2/3 full always is too much and overflows making a big mess)

if using nut or souffle cups as cupcake wrappers, be sure to spray the insides with baking spray (otherwise you’ll never get those wrappers off… yes, I’ve had this happen a time or two… or ten! LOL!!!)

do not open the oven for the first 15 minutes of baking - resist all temptation – if you’re insanely curious turn on the oven light and peek thru the door but -do not- open it … leave your cupcakes alone and let them bake

Okay enough words of wisdom, let’s get on with the recipe

Totally -O- Chocolate Cupcakes
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups super fine or caster sugar (granulated sugar *will* work)
2 eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 375F
Measure flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder into a small bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.

Measure the milk then add the vanilla to it and combine. Set aside.

In a stand mixer cream butter until softened. Add sugar and cream until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes)

Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until well combined

Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture and combine well. Add about half of the milk/vanilla combo and combine well. Add another third of the dry ingredients and combine well. Add the remaining milk/vanilla combo and combine well. Finally add the remaining dry ingredients and combine well.

Fill cups one-half to two-thirds full. Do not overfill!! Turn oven temp down to 350F and bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out cleanly.

Cool in pan for 3-5 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.

While the freshly baked cupcakes are cooling, you can start on the icing. Recall that here I provided my favorite recipe for buttercream icing. In order to make this what-I-consider-to-be amazing chocolate buttercream icing, I used this basic buttercream recipe and added Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder. Now, I’m sure you *can* use other cocoa powders instead of what I used. How will it compare, you ask? Honestly, I don’t really know since I used Hershey’s Special Dark. If you use something else, write and let me know your results because I’m definitely interested :)

In the “How to Make Buttercream Icing” tutorial linked above, I mentioned the icing can be stored in the fridge. In writing the tutorial the other day, when I made that big batch, I didn’t use it, I just put it all in a big ol mason jar and kept it refrigerated. When I wanted to use it for these Totally -O- Chocolate Cupcakes, I just brought it to a bit colder than room temperature and it was ready to use. I scooped a couple/three cups of frosting into a separate bowl, and added in a total of *about* 3 heaping tablespoons of Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder and mixed by hand with a small icing spatula. I added the tablespoons one at a time to prevent a dark cloud of cocoa dust from descending over my kitchen (yeah, that’s happened a time or two… or five LOL!!). You can add less or you can add more depending on how chocolaty you want the icing to be. The taste was great -but- the resulting color was more grey than dark brown so I added a bit of Wilton Icing Color in “Brown” to get it to the shade I wanted. Flexibility – it’s a good thing :) If you’re unfamiliar with Wilton Icing Colors, check out this link here.

That’s it! That’s really all there is to making totally orgasmic chocolate cupcakes. I’m not even a huge fan of chocolate but these are amazingly good. DJ is a big chocolate lover and while I won’t tell you exactly how many in a row he scarfed down (okay, it was an odd number… more than 2 and less than 4) he loved them and raved enthusiastically these were the best chocolate cupcakes he’d ever had. THAT’S a compliment!

As a bit of a switch up (and to use up some extra icing I had from the PB&B cupcakes), I frosted a few with peanut butter buttercream. Topping off the chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter icing was goooooood :)

If you have a hankerin for some really good chocolate cupcakes, give these a try. And even if they’re not “totally -O-” for you, I think you’ll really like them – - – especially with the chocolate buttercream icing! M’mmm M’mmm Good!!!

Posted in buttercream icing, cupcakes, recipes | 1 Comment »

May.
19

Buttercream Icing

Posted by Em at: 12:00 pm | 39 Comments


One question I come across all the time is “does anyone have a really good recipe for Buttercream Icing?”. In response I’ve posted this recipe more times than I can count. If you’re looking for a stand-up-and-take-notice, rave-worthy, knock-it-out-of-the-park recipe for buttercream icing, bookmark this post right now because the one I’m about to share is what you’ve been looking for! This is the world’s best buttercream icing :)

Okay okay… maybe not world’s best… yet… but it will be. I’m confident that if you try this you will love it :) If not, well, then I was wrong… but I’m not… you will love this!

In another life, I was into cake decorating. I got into it by taking Wilton cake decorating classes thru the parks & recreation system. The classes were one weeknight each week at the High School down the street. We had full kitchen facilities though we never *baked* the cakes in class.

I found I really enjoyed it – and after I completed the Level 1 class I decided to continue to Level 2… and then Level 3. I’d make the cakes, decorate them and since I was single at the time, I’d bring them to work and let my colleagues devour them :) It wasn’t long until people were asking me to make cakes for them… and they paid me. I loved it, I really really did. Fast forward many years later… and while I no longer make cakes for customers, I still enjoy making them for family and friends…. and for me! I love cake. I really do :)

This recipe for buttercream icing is without a doubt the absolutely best Buttercream icing I’ve ever found. And it’s really pretty simple. It’s just butter, shortening, clear vanilla extract, confectioner’s sugar and milk. But don’t let the simplicity fool you into thinking this is just an ordinary, run-of-the-mill buttercream. The end results is positively fantastic! After all, this is the world’s best buttercream icing – at least in *my* world :)

Buttercream Dream Icing

Yields 4 cups


Ingredients
1 stick salted butter – room temperature
1 stick unsalted butter – room temperature
1 cup shortening
1 tablespoon Clear Vanilla extract
2 pounds confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar, 10x)
4-6 tablespoons very cold milk

Method
Cream the butter and shortening in the bowl of an electric or stand mixer. Add the clear vanilla extract and combine well. Begin adding in the sugar and mixing thoroughly after each addition. After all of the sugar has been added and mixed thoroughly, begin adding the very cold milk… one tablespoon at a time, combining very well after each addition (mixer on medium-high to high speed) until you reach the desired consistency.

Here’s a tutorial in words and pictures…

Put one cup of shortening in the bowl of an electric or stand mixer…

… add one stick of salted butter and one stick of unsalted butter each at room temperature…

… cream together the butter and shortening…

… This is Clear Vanilla Extract and it’s what you want to use for white icing. The reason you want to use clear vanilla extract is because it creates WHITE icing. Now, if you’re going to color your icing a darker color, you can probably get away with using regular vanilla extract which is brown. But if you want white buttercream as your end result or if you want to color your icing a pale color, you definitely need to use **clear** vanilla extract. And speaking of coloring your icing, use gel or powder colors, don’t use liquid food color because it will change the consistency of your icing…

… add one tablespoon of Clear vanilla extract… see how it’s like a very pale light yellow color? This won’t effect your icing color at all :)

At this point, you want to mix in the vanilla. I didn’t take a picture of this step but you can figure it out :)

… next you want to start adding the confectioner’s sugar. Don’t add it all at once or your kitchen will be covered in a white cloud of powdered sugar… not that I’ve ever done that or anything! LOL. I use a 2-pound bag and usually add the sugar about 1/4th of the bag at a time…

… this is what it will look like after you’ve mixed in the first amount of confectioner’s sugar…

… continue adding in more sugar and mixing very well after each addition…

… finish adding in all of the confectioners sugar and mix very well… I love this shot because you can see the paddle attachment just flying!

… now that you’ve mixed in all the confectioner’s sugar, start adding the milk, one tablespoon at a time and mixing well after each addition…

… after adding about 4 tablespoons of milk this is what it will look like… you might decide it’s perfect this way and if so, you’re all done…

… if you decided to add more milk, after 5 tablespoons this is what it will look like… again, you might decide it’s perfect and you’re all done…

… but sometimes you decide you want to add all 6 tablespoons of milk and if so this is what your buttercream will look like… it’s light… it’s fluffy… and best of all it tastes terrific.

The important thing is to work slowly when adding the milk. You can always add more… but you can’t take it away if you add too much and the icing is too thin. You want it to be thick enough to set up well… but you don’t want it so thick that you can’t pipe it out of a pastry bag or spread it with a spatula.

Yes, this recipe does make quite a bit but keep in mind you can refrigerate the icing in a covered bowl. I usually make a whole batch of it, transfer to a large mason-style jar and just leave it in the fridge. When I need to use it, I just take it out, bring it to room temperature and give it some mixing by hand.

I hope you found this tutorial helpful. If you need to make buttercream, I urge you to try this recipe. Honestly, it’s the absolute best I have ever found. Heck, even if you don’t NEED to, you might just WANT to… and now that you have all this fantastic buttercream icing, you’ll need some cupcakes or a cake to use it on, right? Right. Why not try the recipe I posted here for tropical cupcakes (just use the basic cupcake recipe) or the one I posted here for Dorie Greenspan’s Perfect Party Cake (just make the basic cake recipe).

Have a delicious day!

Posted in buttercream icing, recipes | 39 Comments »

May.
18

Yogurt and granola

Posted by Em at: 11:20 am | 1 Comment


I’m a creature of habit. If I like something, I can eat it every day. Some people think that’s boring, but I don’t. I mean if you like it a lot why would you *not* want to eat it every day :) And although I *can* eat the same thing every day, sometimes it’s nice to jazz it up a little!

See this here? It’s my typical breakfast… a container of Weight Watcher’s yogurt with about a tablespoon of granola mixed in. Not terribly exciting, but I like it. I like the different textures; I like the creaminess; I like the crunch; and I like that it isn’t high in calories. Now before you get all weirded-out about me choosing a WW brand product, consider the fact that 1) it’s $0.54 per carton at my store (as opposed to close to $1ea for other brands) and 2) it’s got added fiber which brings down the point count (and fiber is good for ya anyway). 

Like I said, I’m a creature of habit when it comes to certain things. Oh sure, it may take me quite a while to find that one special thing but once I do, I’m happy with it. And then I go thru phases. For a while I ate Honey Nut Cheerios and 1% milk every day. Every. Single. Day. I had to have my Honey Nut Cheerios or I was an unhappy camper. Unless of course the reason I wasn’t having my Honey Nut Cheerios is because I was having pancakes. 

Oh-My-Goodness. There are no words to describe just how much I love pancakes and maple syrup. And they don’t have to be gourmet, high end pancakes or real Vermont maple syrup. Nope. In a pinch, when they’re the only kind available I’m pretty okay with eating microwaveable frozen pancakes topped with store brand imitation maple-flavored syrup. What can I say… I don’t have an uber-refined palate :) I have a recipe for Blueberry Mascarpone Pancakes that I’ve been dying to try. And I can’t wait to make them. But… trying to watch my weight (amid all of the cupcake reviewing which is starting to reek havoc between me and the scale) I attempt to be a “good” girl and stick to my current normal daily breakfast of yogurt w/granola. 

Usually I just rip the top off the yogurt, throw a tablespoon of granola in, mix it all together and make a few “nom nom nom” happy noises as I eat at my desk while working. This is convenient. I keep a bag of granola in my desk drawer at work and bring my yogurt in my insulated lunch tote with me to work (along with my Lean Cuisine entree for lunch but that’s another story for another day… and probably at some point another post! LOL). But sometimes when I’m home, I like to use a bowl and be all, yanno, civilized-like :) I know… it’s hard to imagine… but yeah, I do like to pretend to be a real adult once in a while. Especially when DJ’s kids are with us and I’m expected to (yeah, go ahead and laugh now… get it out of your system before continuing to read) SET AN EXAMPLE (hahahaha yup, I understand, it’s hard NOT to laugh when thinking of me setting an example for anyone! hahahahahahah).

Whew… okay, now that we’re both done clutching and rolling and laughing (as my girl Scarlet likes to say)…. let’s move on, shall we? :)

While I admit to usually being a common straight-outta-the-container breakfast eater… who sometimes tries to perpetrate as a civilized example-setter… on even more rare of an occasion I like to be downright refined when it comes to eating my yogurt and granola. And such was the case when I snapped the picture below. I even left my lil home-based photo studio (hahahaha yeah, we’re clutching and rolling and laughing again, aren’t we? hahahahah I sure am!!!) and went out in the backyard to attempt a rather artsy-fartsy shot. I’m actually quite pleased with that picture. Yes indeedy I am! My friend Allison saw it and said “Beautiful! …looks like it’s straight from the pages of Bon Appetit!” Awwww isn’t she just the sweetest? (and Allison, if you’re reading, the check is in the mail, girlfriend!! mwaaaaah!).

I know everyone’s wondering how it’s done. I mean just how *do* you make a yogurt granola parfait. Looks complicated doesn’t it? So, how about a recipe for my world-famous yogurt and granola parfait? That sounds like a good idea! And I say it’s world famous because readers of this blog are located all over the world and I just know you’ll be telling your inner circle of close friends about this fantastic recipe. And they’ll tell other people too. Soon, the Food Network will get wind of it and offer to let me host my own show… all about, you guessed it, the yogurt granola parfait! ! I know! I know! Amazing, isn’t it? See how one little recipe can change your life? ;-)

Em’s World Famous Yogurt Granola Parfait

INGREDIENTS
6oz yogurt
3oz granola

DIRECTIONS
Prepare your favorite champagne flute by washing with sudsy dishwashing liquid and water, then drying with a lint free towel

Take 1/4 of the yogurt and spoon it into the prepared champagne flute
Take 1/3 of the of the granola and spoon it over the yogurt layer
repeat, alternating the yogurt and granola until the glass is full

Enjoy!!

Posted in breakfast, recipes | 1 Comment »

May.
16

Shrimp Fra’diavolo

Posted by Em at: 1:40 pm | No Comments


Shrimp is one of my favorite foods. Remember the movie Forrest Gump? I love how Bubba knew all different ways to cook shrimp. Now, I haven’t seen the movie in a while but I don’t seem to remember Bubba saying anything about Shrimp Fra’diavolo. No worries because I’ve got a sure fired hit of a recipe for it!

The way I do it calls for a *lot* of garlic.. you can see all the minced garlic bits in the picture. But don’t worry, this recipe is easily adaptable and you can certainly use less garlic if you’re not a big fan. You can also use fresh herbs in place of the Italian Seasoning that I use cuz, well, sorry – no herb garden on the grounds of my lovely chateau (haha!). The recipe will make about 4 portions… especially if you serve it over rice or pasta :)

Shrimp Fra’diavolo
adapted from Giada De Laurentiis’ recipe

INGREDIENTS
1 pound raw large shrimp, peeled, deveined
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes (do not drain)
1 cup dry white wine
3-4 tablespoons minced garlic
3-4 tablespoons Italian Seasoning

DIRECTIONS
Toss the shrimp in a medium bowl with a pinch of salt and the red pepper flakes. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet. Add the shrimp and saute on high heat for about 1 minute the begin continually tossing until the shrimp are just barely no longer pink, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove shrimp from skillet and set aside. Reduce heat to medium-high on the skillet and add onion and about one more teaspoon of olive oil to the pan, if necessary. Cook until the onions are translucent. Add the can of tomatoes, wine, garlic, and italian seasoning. Simmer until the sauce begins to thicken just a bit. Add the cooked shrimp to the pan and toss to coat. Cook for a couple of minutes, if desired add salt and pepper to taste, and serve either alone or over rice or pasta.

Have a delicious day!

Posted in food, recipes | No Comments »

May.
14

Pizza Bianca

Posted by Em at: 12:24 pm | 2 Comments


There’s a restaurant relatively close to where I work. I’ve been there a couple of times and while their food is very good, it’s the bread they bring to your table that’s most memorable. I came across this recipe for Pizza Bianca and it’s the closest I’ve found to it. Don’t let the name fool you… it’s really not “pizza” – at least not in my book. I mean, there’s no sauce and no real toppings… just crust, olive oil, spices… and a whole lot of M’mmmm. I made this last week and it was devoured in record time.
I think I’ve mentioned before that making yeast breads is one thing I find very intimidating. So many steps and that gives me so many opportunities to screw it up! LOL. I mean, my water is either too hot (which kills the yeast) or too cold (which doesn’t activate the yeaast) or I’m too impatient during the rise(s)… something. I’m trying to get over the intimidation factor and I really think the only way to do that is to **make** yeast breads. Over and over and over again until it’s no longer intimidating and I gain enough experience to do it well :)

I was cruising the blogosphere a while back and came across this recipe on SmittenKitchen. It reminded me of the bread at that restaurant near work and I really wanted to give it a try. But it takes time… and patience. It involves yeast… and it involves more than one rise… but… undaunted… I was going to make it!! I gave it a whirl and was pleasantly surprised to find this wasn’t as complicated as I thought – I just had to be patient and trust that if I followed the recipe, things *would* work out successfully. I did… and it did. And you should too :)

Pizza Bianca
adapted from SmittenKitchen’s recipe for Jim Lahey’s Pizza Bianca

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon instant dry yeast
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
garlic powder, rosemary, oregano, black pepper, salt… all to taste

Combine flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of an electric mixer, and slowly add 1 cup cold water. Mix on low speed until ingredients begin to combine, increase speed to medium-high, and continue to mix for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth, elastic, and cleanly pulls away from the sides of the mixing bowl.

Lightly grease a large bowl with EVOO, place dough in bowl, cover with clean towel, set away from heat or drafts and allow to rise between 2 and 4 hours… or at least until the dough has doubled in size.

Separate the dough into two equal portions. Roll each into a log shape.

Place each log on a generously floured surface, and allow to rise until each has doubled in size (about 1 hour).

Using a floured rolling pin, roll out each log to about 1/4″ – 1/2″ thick. Use your fingers to create dimples. Transfer to a baking sheet either sprayed with olive oil or sprinkled with semolina (I did it both ways and was happy with the results of each).

Drizzle with olive oil and brush it around to evenly coat the surface of the dough. Sprinkle on the desired amount of garlic powder, rosemary, oregano, black pepper, salt… or hey, whatever seasonings strike your fancy :) I even made one of mine with minced garlic!

Place the baking sheet in the oven… and bake for about 10-12 minutes at about 520 degrees. If your oven doesn’t go this high, use the broil setting. Either way, keep an eye on it.

Remove from oven… let rest for about 3 minutes… slice, enjoy and repeat :)

Posted in bread, recipes | 2 Comments »

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