Archive | June, 2011

Chocolate on Chocolate Cupcakes

30 Jun

As you have probably noticed, I’ve been on a major cupcake kick lately. All I think about is different cake and frosting combinations. Some of them are pretty basic and some are way out there. I want to try making Earl Grey Misto cupcakes which would be a recreation of the flavors in one of my favorite hot beverages. Maybe next week I will throw up a poll on Facebook so you can help me decide what flavor to make next!

This recipe is a fairly basic one, but it is my all time favorite way to make chocolate cake. Adding the cocoa to boiling water helps to “bloom” the flavors of the chocolate and you wouldn’t believe what a difference it makes in the final result. Talk about moist and flavorful. Try it ASAP.

  
Ignore the fact that I didn’t do the GREATEST job stirring the cocoa mix into the rest of the batter, hence the small white spot in the cake. I contemplated grabbing a different cupcake but that means taking a bite out of another cupcake. Which means eating the rest of another cupcake. Which means bumping my jeans up a size…or two.
Did you know that I do all my own cupcake biting? I really should hire someone for else this job, my thighs would thank me.
Chocolate Cupcakes:
1/2 cup Cocoa Powder
1 cup boiling water
1 1/3 cups Flour
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Butter at room temperature
1 cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1 Tsp Vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line muffin tins with 16 paper liners.

Boil the water in a small pot, once boiling add the cocoa powder and stir until smooth. Turn off the heat and let this cool completely.

In another bowl sift together the four, baking powder and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, until smooth. Beat in Vanilla. Add the flour mixture and beat until just barely combined. Add the cooled cocoa mixture and hand mix untik smooth.

Fill each muffin tin with an equal amount of batter. Bake unti 16-20 minutes. They are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Chocolate Butter Cream Frosting:

1 cup (two sticks) butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
1/4 cup milk

Cream butter in an electric mixer.

With the mixer on low add the cocoa and powdered sugar, alternating with milk.

You can control the consistency by adding more or less milk. If you are planning on piping the icing on the cupcakes you would want to keep it thicker but you can thin it if you are spreading it on the cakes.

My New Favorite Thing

29 Jun

A friend of mine introduced me to these little babies. If you like coconut then you will love them. If you don’t love coconut then you probably won’t like them at all and in that case, you might as well just get out of here because I don’t think we can be friends anymore.

Just joking. We can still be friends but I don’t think I will ever feel the same way I did before I found out this awful news.

Anyways,  Coconut. Specifically Oskri Coconut Bars.

I looooooveeeee coconut. Especially coconut rum.

 
They are available in a number of different flavors, this one is mango but they also have pineapple, strawberry, cherry, almond and good ol’ plain coconut. 
Not only are these super yummy but they are also Gluten Free, Kosher, Vegan and Lactose free. The only ingredients in these bars are Coconut, Rice Syrup and Fruit if you choose one of the fruit flavored bars.

You can grab some of these here.

P.S This isn’t a paid advertisement, I just like these bars. Trust me, Oskri has no idea who I am.

Birthday Cake Cupakes

28 Jun

It has been a hungry week, let me tell you.

This past weekend I was busy making bread, drinking wine, and doing this with the Baguette I made.

Not to mention making two different kinds of cupcakes in one day. Actually, I had made two different kinds of cupcakes and two different kinds of frosting before Mr. Delish even woke up on Sunday morning. He likes his sleep. I, on the other hand, am 80 years old and can’t sleep past 7:30 most mornings, even when I don’t have to get up that early.

I like to have my quiet time in the morning, I told you I was 80! I make a pot of coffee and watch the food network. Especially on Sunday, food network has the best shows. Saturday, on the other hand, is a sad sad day on Food Network, it’s just a parade of silly competition shows. Cupcake wars? Really? Don’t get me wrong, I like me a cupcake, but I don’t care to watch people “battle it out for cupcake supremacy.”

Now that you know how I REALLY feel about Food Networks weekend programming, lets get to these cupcakes shall we?

We know its going to be a good recipe when these are included…

Sprinkles! These are really what makes these “Birthday Cake” cupcakes.

  
 
YUM!
You gotta make these babies, they will make you very, very, happy.
Birthday Cake Cupcakes:

1/2 cup Butter at room temperature
2/3 cup Sugar
3 Eggs
1 Tsp Vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 Tsp Baking powder
1/4 Tsp Salt
1/4 cup Milk
1/3 cup Rainbow Sprinkles plus more for decorating.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a muffin tin with 12 paper liners.

In an electric mixer cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Mix in vanilla extract.

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

With the mixer on low, alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk. Mix until combined. Remove the bowl from the mixer and gently stir in the sprinkles.

Fill the muffin cups with an equal amount of batter and bake 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool while on a wire rack.

Vanilla Butter Cream Frosting:

1 cup (two sticks) butter
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp Vanilla
1/4 cup milk

Cream butter in an electric mixer.

With the mixer on low add the powdered sugar alternating with milk.

You can control the consistency by adding more or less milk. If you are planning on piping the icing on the cupcakes you would want to keep it thicker but you can thin it if you are spreading it on the cakes. Top with more sprinkles!

Homemade Baguette

26 Jun

Today I did something I haven’t done in a while. Went to the gym? No silly, I didn’t do that. Cleaned the bathroom? That would have been a good idea, but no. Took off the nail polish that looked pretty bad last week and looks even worse now? Nope. I made bread.

Yes, I made bread, real bread. The kind you have to mix and knead and rest and knead and rest and bake and rest. The kind you have to have patience and time for in order to have a remote chance of not ending up with a brick, shaped like a loaf of bread.

I would say 98% of the times I have attempted to make bread, it ended up being a giant failure. Lets just say I have no patience and I don’t measure things properly. But today I had lots of time and not much to do, so I gave the bread making another shot.

Semi Whole Wheat Baguette:
1 1/2 Tsp Dry Instant Yeast
1 Tsp Sugar
1 1/2 Cup Warm Water
2 Cups White Bread Flour (plus more for dusting)
2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
2 1/2 Tsp Salt
Sprinkle yeast and sugar over warm water in a large bowl. Let this sit until frothy, approximately 5 minutes. Add in the white flour and mix until combined. Add the whole wheat flour and salt and mix until it forms a heavy dough. Pour out on a floured surface and knead for 7-8 minutes until soft and elastic. Lightly oil a large bowl and add the dough ball, turn to coat the ball and then cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place for an hour and a half. It should double in size.
After the dough is rested, punch it down and then roll into a long (approximately 20 inch) roll and either leave like this or you can do what I did and cut it in half so you have two half size baguettes. Set on a lightly oiled baking sheet and let it rest for another 30 minutes.
Once rested for the second time (you are starting to see why I don’t like this) make diagonal slices across the loaves. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. Once done, remove to cool on a wire rack.
If I can do it, you can too!

What I found in the Laundry

24 Jun

Doing the Laundry can always be an adventure in our house because Mr. Delish tends to leave things in his pockets. Usually little nuts and bolts, pocket change, tissues, receipts, sometimes a paycheck, and one time, a pocket knife that opened up and cut holes in my yoga pants and two of my favorite tank tops. So I just thought I would share with you what I have found in the laundry this morning.

A screw, a bolt, some type of teeny tiny light bulb which I am sure no longer works after being washed and dried, a clamp and a dime. Look how clean and shiny they are.

Welcome to my life.

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