Sunday, June 13, 2010

Hello Cupcake :)

At long last some blue skies and sunshine have aligned with our weekend hours. I am anxious to get out there and go for walk along the river! However, first I am baking cupcakes for my Mom's birthday -- the house smells amazing! When I get back from my walk I will fill and ice these yummy morsels.

I found this recipe a while back on the Internet, but have adapted it to be lower in sugar, higher in cocoa and with the addition of baking soda -- replacing some of the baking soda. No birthdays in your world for a while? Why not celebrate the summer sun, a random happy moment, or wonderful, delightful, party and pastry-worthy YOU? Hope you will try, enjoy in good health and let me know how you like them.

Cream Filled Chocolate Cupcakes

Batter Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 cup canola oil
1 cup milk
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. sea salt
3 cups all purpose unbleached flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
2 - 2/3 cups granulated white sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda

Combine eggs, water, oil, milk, vanilla and salt in a large bowl, beating until well-combined and slightly frothy. Mix the remaining ingredients together in a mid-sized bowl and add the dry mix gradually to the liquid to form a smooth batter. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and line 24 muffin tins with paper liners. Ladle batter into the cups and bake for 20 minutes.

Allow to cool completely and then pipe in creamy filling using a pastry bag (filling recipe follows). To fill, first make a cross cut in the top of each cupcake with a sharp knife, then insert the pastry bag tip and squeeze until the cupcake swells slightly at the crown. Ice with favorite icing or use my Easy Chocolate Glaze (recipe follows filling).

Creamy Cupcake Filling
1/4 cup softened butter
1/4 cup shortening
dash of sea salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups icing sugar
3 Tbsp. milk or cream

Beat together butter and shortening, adding in salt and milk (cream). Add in vanilla and gradually mix in the icing sugar to form a creamy filling. Pipe into cooled cupcake centers using a pastry bag with steel tip.

Easy Chocolate Glaze
1-1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 Tbsp. canola oil

Microwave in small glass bowl on High setting for 2-3 minutes, stirring after the first minute and each 30 seconds thereafter. Watch carefully as chocolate can easily scorch and the time needed to melt/combine will vary from one microwave to another. Drizzle or spread while lukewarm over cooled and filled cupcakes. This glaze will harden and be glossy -- also nice to use for dipping fresh fruit or animal crackers for a quick dessert.

Yield: 20 - 24 medium to large sized muffins. Based on 24 muffins, the calories per are 294, 14g fat per, and 24 mg cholesterol per. Enjoy!

January 31, 2010

Last day of January -- can't say I am sorry :) This week is my daughter's birthday and I am excited to go shopping for her presents etc. today. She loves to bake pies and has asked for rolling pin (if you can believe that!) for her birthday.

Wine not?
I use a cylindrical wine bottle (Italian brand) when I make pastry -- and my girl thinks Mom is a bit kooky/ghetto ;) It works great and you can pile ice cubes inside to keep the dough cool while rolling -- just like the old-fashioned glass rolling pin my mom and grandma used. However, I will seek out something a bit more conventional/typical for my daughter. She is still thinking about what she wants to do as far as furthering her education/career choices etc. Maybe a pastry chef is about to be born, who knows?

Mmmm.... Cake!
We are going to a restaurant for my daughter's birthday dinner and this place gives the "birthday kid" an amazing piece of ice cream cake that has all of the top favourites covered: chocolate, toasted almonds etc. However, she will be disappointed if I do not make some kind of cake for home also. We also have a tradition of waffles for breakfast on birthdays -- with strawberries and whipped cream of course (oink!).

Decisions, decisions...
So, I am searching through recipes this weekend, trying to decide on a great cake or cupcake recipe for the big day. To be continued.... xo