[UPDATED:] Chocolate Caramel-Filled Cupcakes with [COFFEE] Whipped Cream Frosting

In case the title isn't exciting enough, here's a picture to get you drooling:

So my new years resolution was to give up the crutch of cake mixes, but I must admit I was just too exhausted this afternoon to make a mess with the flour and cocoa and whatnot. I will give up mixes, but for today the most important thing was to make something delicious.

The inspiration for these came from a recipe for a "caramel frappuccino cupcake"... but I don't know that this necessarily is the same thing. There's a hint of coffee in it, just because of the finely ground coffee (like way finely ground, powder... not grounds).

Needs:
1 box Betty Crocker Super Moist Chocolate Fudge cake (or your favorite box, or homemade cake batter!!)
3 eggs
1 1/4 c water
1/2 c vegetable oil
1-2 T coffee grounds/powder
Smuckers caramel sauce (or your own homemade.. I was lazy this week.)
2 c heavy whipping cream
1/4 c sugar

cupcake liners
beaters/stand mixer
melon baller/knife

Optional:
piping bag
fun piping tip

Do:
Cupcakes:

• Follow box directions for cake mixing. Then add coffee powder.
• Bake at 350 for 18-23 minutes
• Allow cupcakes to cool.
• Use knife/melon baller to remove some of the cupcake in the center.
• Fill with caramel.

• Place removed cupcake back on top of caramel filling.

Whipped Cream Frosting:

• Place beaters and bowl into freezer for about 5 minutes.
• Remove from freezer, and set up.
• Add in 2 c whipping cream.
• Start beating, quickly, and add in sugar.
• Keep beating, even when you think it's whipped, keep going. Remember to scrape the sides occasionally with a rubber spatula to get the stuff off of the sides and reincorporate it.

Final Preparation:

• Place a dollop onto the cupcake (or you could pipe it.. but like I said, lazy week.)
• Drizzle a bit more caramel sauce on top.
• And so we revisit the opening picture:

yum.

UPDATE:

After watching a bit of food tv I was inspired by Chuck's Day Off and turned my delicious homemade whipped cream into something divine: Coffee Whipped Cream.

Same directions as before, just add about a shot of CHILLED espresso (or 2ish oz. of very strong black coffee)

It enhanced the flavors of the coffee in the cupcake and really just balanced everything out. Coworkers were saying that it tastes better than what the people at "Major Coffee Chain" make. Chuck also recommended using confectioner's sugar because it's more delicate and will help stabilize the whipped cream better, and I could see how he may have a point, so feel free to try that if you're feeling extra fancy.

But as for the coffee whipped cream, forget fancy coffee drinks or cupcakes. Give me a spoon and a container of it and I am set. Best. Thing. Ever.

Buffalo Chicken Snackers

I apologize in advance that I don't have any pictures to accompany this post.

These delicious things are the results of an impromptu New Year's Eve grocery run. I was unaware that my fiance and I would be having friends over to his apartment to eat food (I knew they were coming over). So of course we had to make something to eat. I just made a bunch of snack foods like sweet potato fries and these things. They were DELICIOUS!

Needs:
1.5 lb chicken breasts (or tenders, or strips... just chicken you can cut up, friends.)
Buffalo sauce (I got 2 varieties, hot & very hot)
2 packages crescent rolls
Ranch dressing/Bleu Cheese dressing (personally I hate bleu cheese...)
frying pan
baking sheet
pizza cutter/sharp knife
bowls
spoons
serving plate & bowl


Optional:
toothpicks, to allow for easy dipping

Do:

• Preheat oven to crescent roll container's specified temperature. I believe my grocer's brand name ones said 375F.
• Cut up chicken into bite-size pieces
• Marinate chicken in chosen heat intensity buffalo sauce. Let sit for at least 20 minutes.
• Cook chicken in frying pan (or just any pan... basically get it fully cooked!)
• POP THE CRESCENT ROLLS!!!! so much fun.
• Roll out all the crescent rolls onto baking sheet. Like one big rectangle.
• Use pizza cutter/sharp knife to cut those triangles about in half. So like 2/3 skinny part, 1/3 fat part is about where the cut ends up.
• Place equal amounts of chicken in each cut mini-crescent. Mine averaged about 2 pieces/mini-crescent
• Go back and add about a tablespoon more of buffalo sauce to each mini crescent.
• Roll up. (I found making sure the end piece was on the underside was easiest)
• Bake for 9-11 mins until golden brown (or whatever your crescent rolls say)
• Place on serving surface, pour a side bowl of chosen dressing.
• ENJOY!

These were so delicious and so easy! I would absolutely encourage you to do these for your next get-together of friends. And I came up with these all on my own. No link to original recipe needed!

Chocolate Mousse: What to Do With Leftover Egg Yolks

Before we get into the deliciousness that is chocolate mousse, I must confess I messed up. My habit of not reading the directions well, happened again. (well the first time that the blog knows about) I made the chocolate part of the mousse but neglected to read that whipped cream had to be incorporated before serving (which in retrospect i really have to wonder where my brain was because it seems so obvious now...) So the picture is what you get, but really you need to stir it really fast to incorporate the 2 and get the desired product.

Also, I made a double batch because of how many yolks I had.

Needs:
8 egg yolks (or my leftovers from angel food cake, just less about 2T or so)
1/2 c granulated sugar
5 c whipping cream (separated into 2 c and 3 c)
1 12 oz bag choc chips
beaters/stand mixer
relatively large pot (website says 2Q)

Do:

• Beat egg yolks. Probably for about 3 or 4 minutes with a hand mixer. They'll start to get a little fluffy and foamy. (not to the extent as the egg whites, but it's noticeable)
• Once foamy, mix in sugar gradually.
• Heat 2 c of whipping cream until just barely boiling.
• Pour about half of the hot mixture into the cold bowl of yolks and stir. Then add back into the big hot pot on the stove. (basically so you don't totally shock the egg yolks, it's more of a gradual warm up)
• Cook on low heat for about 5 mins. until it thickens up. Be patient, I mean it about the 5 minutes. Don't let it boil. That's when things touching the sides of the pan start to burn.
• Gradually stir in chocolate chips. It'll get sort of glossy, but not quite as beautiful as the ganache. Make sure to scrape the sides and stir well.
• Refrigerate the whole thing. Not like in individual tins, the WHOLE mixture. (this is the step where I went wrong) For about 2 hours... until chilled. My directions said to stir occasionally, and I see how this could have been helpful, but it may not be essential.
• Once chilled, stick a metal bowl in the freezer for a few minutes. Then pull it out as well as the whipping cream left over (3 c). Beat whipping cream till it forms stiff peaks.
• Fold whipping cream into chilled mousse.
• Serve, enjoy!

This was definitely a great learning experience for me. I didn't know egg yolks could get all foamy, so it's something to keep in mind when you need a heavier creamy foam instead of the super light unstable foam egg whites make. Also I saw on Iron Chef America that Chef Batali made a similar product with egg yolks and cream and he used a double boiler-type method... so if you're not a diligent stirrer I suggest you do that instead.



recipe courtesy of the awesome betty crocker cookbook again.

Angel Food Cake, or There's No Substitute for Actual Egg Whites

(see, it's ugly because i didn't grease it.)

Here's the scoop on egg whites:

You need the real deal. I tried egg beater's egg whites. It was a major fail. The contents of the "egg beaters" where clearly chemically very different. Egg whites are known for being fluffy/foamy and a little bit unstable, so I knew nearly instantly that the non-foaming "egg whites" were duds. So I dumped them, went through the egg white/yolk separation which was gross but shockingly fun. I also got to use the leftover egg yolks for chocolate mousse (the next post).

Needs:

12 oz. egg whites (About 12 large eggs)

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 cup cake flour or all-purpose flour (I used all-purpose minus a tiny bit)

1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

a tube pan (I used a bundt pan, I guess it worked ok)

a mixer

a light greasing agent for the pan (even though it says not to)

a bunch of spare bowls

something to store the leftover yolks in

Do:

• Separate out egg whites & yolks. Place egg whites in mixing bowl.
• Move the oven rack to the lowest position. Heat the oven to 375°F. 
• In a medium bowl, mix the powdered sugar and flour; set aside.
• Add the cream of tartar to the egg whites; beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until mixture looks foamy. 
• On high speed, beat in the granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time; add the vanilla, almond extract and salt with the last addition of sugar. Continue beating until meringue is stiff and glossy. Do not underbeat!! STIFF AND GLOSSY FRIENDS, STIFF AND GLOSSY!
• Sprinkle the powdered sugar-flour mixture, 1/4 cup at a time, over the meringue. To fold in, use a rubber spatula to cut down vertically through the batter, then slide the spatula across the bottom of the bowl and up the side just until sugar-flour mixture disappears.
• Pour into very lightly greased pan. Use a knife to slowly break up any big air pockets. Only a few turns around the pan.
• Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until cracks in cake feel dry and top springs back when touched lightly. Immediately turn pan upside down onto a heatproof funnel or bottle. I used a bottle of cooking sherry because the neck was thin enough. Let cake hang over what you plan to serve it on, just in case, until completely cool.
• Use a knife to separate cake from pan when you're ready to flip it onto the serving plate

Raspberry sauce:

Needs:

10 oz. frozen raspberries, thawed

1/3 c simple syrup (aka 1/3 c hot water, 1/3 sugar fully incorporated)

2T  cornstarch

spatula

saucepan

Do:

Set syrup in raspberries, let mellow for a few minutes. Then add 1/3 c  of simple syrup and 2T cornstarch. Bring to a boil, let simmer for about 5 minutes. Then add raspberries and remove from heat. Once cooled, enjoy!

All recipes courtesy of the Betty Crocker cookbook my grandmother got me for Christmas. Because, you know, I'm gonna "have" to be all domestic and such when I get married. Angel Food Cake, Raspberry Sauce

Chocolate Ganache

The first thing anyone ever trying to make anything delicious needs to know is how to make chocolate ganache, and how unbelievably easy it is.

Needs:

1 12 oz. bag of chocolate chips

1 c heavy cream

1 saucepan

1 spatula/stirring implement

Optional:

an extra bowl

Do:

In saucepan, bring cream to a boil. Once it is boiling dump in chocolate chips, remove from heat, and stir. (or use optional extra bowl)

It'll be kind of ugly for a few minutes, but then this magic moment will happen where it gets shiny and beautiful and look just like melted heavenly chocolate. 

Then, you can go one of three ways with it.
Option 1: Glaze
Option 2: Whip (my personal favorite)
Option 3: Pipe

Option 1: Glaze
Let cool, but do not refrigerate, then pour over cake/cupcake/whatever you wish.

Option 2: Whip
Refrigerate mixture. Stick your mixing bowl in the fridge (or if you're absent-minded like me, the freezer last-minute) Once entirely cool/cold, pour mixture into mixing bowl and use mixer to whip like it's nobody's business. Then place in a piping bag, or spoon onto desired dessert. The picture is an example of whipped ganache on cupcakes. DELICIOUS!

a note: never scrape the bowl to get the last little bit, this makes more than enough for 24 cupcakes/a whole cake. however the stuff on the side of the bowl isn't as good, or as airy, as the stuff in the middle of the bowl. i usually scrape the side of the bowl and put it in a tupperware container in the fridge to snack on when i want a little bit of chocolate.

Option 3: Pipe
Allow to set up in the fridge, then pipe onto cupcakes or cake. Pretty easy.

Chocolate ganache is pretty hard to mess up, and it's a great way to make something look unbelievably more fancy. No one ever has to know that it was so easy!



and because i like to be on the up & up, my first try at this came from right here.

Introduction

This blog is started at the urging of one of my best friends, Ryan. She brought the idea up at lunch today when I was telling her about my latest attempt at making something delicious. It seems that my efforts to follow recipes and make really delicious mistakes would be well-received by some peers.

So, this will most likely be by majority baked goods, however tomorrow I have another friend teaching me to knit. On top of all of this I'm engaged and slowly but surely planning a wedding. So there could be other little side projects that show up here too.

For now I'll get started by posting past projects.