Devil’s Food Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
October 28, 2012 at 12:28 pm | Posted in cupcakes, sweet things | 14 CommentsTags: baking, cupcakes, dessert
I needed a little weekend baking project to help take my mind off the Frankenstorm that’s coming our way. Spooky. It’s time for Halloween cupcakes anyway…I make them every year, mostly to use my orange and black sprinkles. I think devil’s food is appropriate for Halloween, and it helps that it’s my favorite species of chocolate cake. I have a particular fondness for oil-based devil’s food like this one from Zoë Bakes. So moist, oh my gosh. And isn’t cream cheese frosting good on just about any cake? Looking forward to eating one of these from the fridge tonight.
Happy Halloween, and stay safe (and dry)!
Devil’s Food Cupcakes- makes 3 dozen
from Zoë Bakes
Steph’s Note: I made one-third of the cupcake recipe below to get one dozen cupcakes, but I still used the full amount of frosting.
3 cups granulated sugar
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/8 cups cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-processed), sifted if lumpy.
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups milk or buttermilk
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup hot coffee
1/4 cup rum or brandy (or replace with extra coffee)
–Heat the oven to 350°F and prepare 3 dozen muffin tins with papers
-Combine all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl and whisk until combined, set aside.
-Whisk together, eggs, milk, oil and vanilla until well combined. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. Slowly add the hot coffee and rum to the batter and whisk until totally blended and smooth, about 2 minutes. The batter will be quite runny.
-Fill a measuring cup or pitcher (you can fill directly from the mixing bowl if you have a steady hand) with the batter and then fill the muffin cups about 2/3 – 3/4 full.
-Bake the cupcakes for about 18-20 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
-Allow to cool completely on a cake rack, removing the cupcakes from the tin after about 15 minutes, and then frost with cream cheese frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
from Zoë Bakes
Steph’s Note: I used the full amount of frosting to decorate 12 cupcakes.
1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese, softened
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup confectioner’s sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon golden syrup (can substitute with honey)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
-Combine all the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and cream together until smooth. (I used a hand mixer for this.)
Tuesdays with Dorie BWJ: Bagels
October 16, 2012 at 12:01 am | Posted in breakfast things, BWJ, groups, savory things, tuesdays with dorie, yeast breads | 12 CommentsTags: baking, bread, breakfast
I eat my fair share of bagels. Frankly it’s hard not to when you live in New York City and there are bagel shops all over the place (Bergen Bagels being my favorite close-to-home joint). I’m not just a bagel-eater, I’ve actually made a lot of bagels, too, at my first restaurant job where we’d get slammed with weekend brunch crowds who all seemed to want the smoked trout with quail egg and a mini bagel….so Lauren Groveman’s recipe wasn’t totally Greek (or should I say Yiddish?) to me.
There were a couple of things I did differently than the recipe, just out of old habits. After boiling the bagels for about a minute on each side, I removed them from the water and placed them on a cooling rack set over a baking sheet. I baked them on the rack as well, because it allows the oven heat to circulate underneath the bagels. I didn’t bother brushing them with the egg white glaze before baking. They may not have been laquer-shiny, but they still browned very nicely and the toppings held in place. Also, in the bagel dough, I used half sugar and half barley malt syrup for the sweetener, which Groveman did on the TV show, but did a little differently in the book (which calls for only sugar).
I wasn’t super-prepared in the toppings department, so I just went with poppy seeds on some and grey salt on others. The salt ones were my favorite. I stirred some dill and chives into cream cheese to jazz up my schmear a bit. These were chewy and had a nice crust….with a cup of coffee, these bagels made for a perfect New York breakfast.
If you’ve never had a super-fresh, warm bagel before, you can really make great ones at home, so give it a go! You can make the dough the night before and it’s ready to shape and cook off the next morning. For the recipe, see Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan or read Heather’s Bytes (it’s also here). And there’s even a video of Julia and Lauren making bagels together. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
Deviled Eggs for Jessica’s Bridal Shower
October 3, 2012 at 6:00 am | Posted in other savory, savory things | 14 CommentsTags: eggs, party food, savory
I love a good party, and I’m so happy to have been invited to a virtual bridal shower for Jessica from My Baking Heart! I’ve gotten to know Jessica through TWD. She’s an amazing baker (and cook, too)…clearly C knows that he’s a lucky guy.
Nikki from Pennies on a Platter organized this big celebration, and we are going to have a fabulous table of drinks, snacks and sweets prepared by a list of incredible ladies. I decided to bring along deviled eggs. They are one of my favorite cocktail snacks, and I just love how retro they are. The recipe below is for deviled eggs at their most basic, but you can jazz them up an infinite number of ways with spices and fresh herbs. I used a French curry mayo that I bought at the fancy mayonnaise shop here in Brooklyn (I was just too intrigued by the strangeness of a mayonnaise shop not to stop in and buy something), and sprinkled over smoked paprika and chives. Of course I piped my filling in with a star tip because it’s a special occasion.
Please visit Jessica to say congratulations and head over to Nikki’s to see the whole party spread. Cheers to Jessica and Chris!
Deviled Eggs– makes 12 halves
6 large eggs
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon sour cream
1/2 teaspoon white wine vinegar or squeeze of lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
-Place eggs in medium saucepan, cover with 1 inch of water, and bring to boil over high heat. Turn off the heat, cover and let stand 10-12 minutes. Meanwhile, fill a medium bowl with water and ice cubes. Transfer eggs to ice water with slotted spoon and let cool 5 minutes.
-Peel eggs and slice in half lengthwise. Put the yolks in a fine-mesh sieve and use a spatula to press them through sieve and into bowl. Add remaining ingredients, and stir vigorously until smooth.
-Arrange whites on serving platter and mound with the yolk mixture, either using a spoon or a pastry bag and tip. Serve immediately.
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