Chocolate Cupcakes

0

by

 Cindy

I always want an excuse to make something chocolate, so I made chocolate cupcakes for a meeting that I went to.  All cooks want people to love the foods they make, so I always try to pick something I think everyone will like.   These cupcakes were delicious and looked beautiful.  This recipe called for dutch processed cocoa and chocolate extract.  I did use the dutch processed cocoa but couldn't find any chocolate extract at 3 different grocery stores.  Walmart looked like it was out of the extract, and Fresh Market and Schnucks didn't carry it.  I think the dutch processed cocoa has a deeper chocolate flavor.  I don't keep superfine sugar, so I just used regular granulated sugar.  You may want to double the frosting recipe, because I didn't have enough to finish all the cupcakes.  The cupcakes were tender, rich, and moist, and I put a generous amount of icing on top.  You can sprinkle them with chopped chocolate or chocolate sprinkles to make them look even more appetizing.  It is an easy recipe to follow, but if you want a shortcut just use a box chocolate cake mix and make this frosting to go on top. 

Chocolate Cake

makes 24 cupcakes

1 cup Dutch process cocoa

2 cups boiling water

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups superfine sugar

4 large eggs

2 3/4 cups all-purpose soft-wheat flour

1 t baking soda

1 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

1 t chocolate extract

paper baking cups

vegetable cooking spray

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine cocoa and boiling water in a large heatproof bowl, stirring until blended and smooth; cool completely.

2.  Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating until blended.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition.

3.  Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; add to butter mixture alternately with cocoa mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.  Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition.  Stir in chocolate extract.

4.  Place paper baking cups in 2 (12-cup) muffin pans, and coat with cooking spray; spoon batter into cups, filling two-thirds full.

5.  Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes.  Cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks, and cool completely.

Chocolate Frosting

makes 3 cups

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/3 cup whipping cream

1/8 t salt

1 (16 oz.) package powdered sugar

1.  Beat first 4 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.

2.  Gradually add powdered sugar, beating at low speed until blended.  Beat at high speed 2 minutes or until creamy.



recipe by

Simply Sweet

Best Cupcakes Ever!

Oxmoor House

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Banana Bread Cake

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By Christy

I recently came across a grocery store in east Nashville (thank you, Piggly Wiggly!) that bundles a bunch of ripe bananas and sells them for like 50 cents. While I am sure most people just walk on past, these little brown speckled delights sent a light bulb off in my head saying “How Genius!!! Now I will never have an excuse not to make banana bread EVER again!”.  Usually the lack of having ripe bananas deters me from making banana bread when cravings strike me because ripe bananas are essential to good banana bread.  But as I stood there in the grocery store starring down perfect banana bread worthy ripe bananas I had absolutely no excuse not to go straight home and bake….. Which is exactly what I did! LOL I have posted my favorite banana bread recipe on the site before so I wanted to mix things ups,  but how? I LOVE banana bread. I LOVE icing! So why have I never attempted to put those things together? That is when I decided to make Banana Bread Cake and boy do I wish I had tried making it sooner! It was sooo delicious! The brown butter icing perfectly complimented the moist, slightly sweet and banana flavored bread. We had it for dessert, for breakfast, as a snack…. Once it was made we couldn’t find any excuse not to eat it. Enjoy and if you make the recipe let me know what you think!!!

Banana Bread Cake

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup (1 stick) softened butter

2 eggs

4 ripe bananas

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt (unless you use salted butter)

1/2 cup walnuts or pecans (optional)

Brown Butter Icing

1/2 cups (1 stick) butter

4 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3 tbsp milk

Directions:



Can you see the chucks of banana? YUM!

Preheat the oven at 375. Spray cake pan with baking joy or grease and flour (depending on how thick you want the cake to be, choose pan size accordingly. I wanted mine to be more like cake bars so I used a 10X15 pan). In a large bowl, beat together sugar, sour cream, butter, and eggs until creamy. Blend in the bananas and vanilla extract. While mixer is still going, slowly add the flour, baking soda and salt and blend for about 1 minute. Add nuts. Spread batter evenly into pan and bake for 25 minutes and golden brown.







While the cake is baking it is a good time to make the icing. Heat the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until boiling. Let the butter turn a delicate brown and remove from the heat immediately. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla and milk. Stir until smooth and spread the brown butter frosting over the top of the cake while it is still slightly warm. Cut an serve.







Inspried from The Girl Who Ate Everything

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Florida Eats and Good Treats

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By Christy

Last week mom and I got the privilege of going to a destination wedding for one of our close family friends in Marco Island, Florida. It was a fabulous wedding all around: Great people, beautiful views, a fun wedding, and awesome food.  Obviously the good food is something we felt we had to share. lol One of the most delicious things on the agenda was the rehearsal dinner at Cafe De Marco. We got to feast like the locals at the locally owned restaurant chowing down on things such as crab stuffed mushrooms, shrimp cocktail, artichoke dip, lobster bisque, oysters, lobster, grouper, scallops, crab cake, key lime pie… it was someone from an inland state's seafood dream and probably one of the best seafood meals I have ever eaten. 

The food at the wedding located at the Marriott's Marco Island Resort,was just as good and we got things such as mini beef wellingtons, coconut chicken, miniature loaded potatoes, coconut grouper, jerk chicken, and shrimp alfredo and italian sausage marinara pasta. 

Another delicious meal we had was in Port Charlotte, FL at Laishley Crab House. Even though mom almost got attacked by birds on the patio in at attempt to steal her fries, still didn't change the fact we left quite satisfied. We got Sea Scallop Sliders and a Asian Grouper Salad. They were both awesome and now that we have been away from the coast a few days I am craving some of these delicious entrees as we speak. No seafood in Nashville puts a candle to some of the great meals we had on our short vacation. 

Do any of you all have any great local eateries in your hometown or a favorite dining location when you are on vacation?

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Banana Pudding Cupcakes

3

by Cindy

We're having a birthday at the office today, and that always gives me a great reason to try out a new recipe.  Kim wanted a fruit flavored cake, so Christy and I talked about what ingredient we wanted to bake with this week.  Bananas it is.  

 

This banana cupcake tastes soft and light, and the banana curd in the middle is the pudding part of the cake.  It's not overwhelmingly sweet and has a very natural banana flavor.  I would have liked more banana curd in the center of the cupcakes, so next time I'll squeeze in a little more.  Kim said she liked the fact that nuts were not added to the cake.  She said that usually with banana flavored recipes there are usually nuts included.  That is so true. Everyone in the office gave this cupcake high marks, and I loved it too. 

If you wanted to make some short cuts, cool whip could be used instead of fresh whipped cream. A cake doctor type recipe with bananas would probably work too.  As I always say, it's always about the icing and in this case the filling too.    

Banana Pudding Cupcakes

1 recipe Banana Cake

1 recipe Fresh Banana Curd

1 recipe Fresh Whipped Cream

Topping: vanilla wafers, fresh banana slices

1.  Prepare Banana Cake as directed.

2.  Insert the end of a wooden spoon or dowel into the center of each cooled cupcake to make a hole.  Fill a zip-top plastic freezer bag with Fresh Banana Curd.  Use scissors or kitchen shears to snip about 1/4 inch from one corner of bag; insert bag into the hole of one cupcake.  Squeeze gently until filling comes to the top of the cupcake.  Repeat with remaining cupcakes.



3.  Frost each cupcake with 2 T Fresh Whipped Cream, using a piping bag and metal tip No. 12 or a zip-top plastic freezer bag with one corner snipped off.  Top each with 1 vanilla wafer and banana slice just before serving.

 

Banana Cake

1 1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas

2 t lemon juice

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups sugar

3 large eggs

3 cups all-purpose soft-wheat flour

1 1/2 t salt

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

2 t vanilla extract

Paper baking cups

Vegetable cooking spray

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine bananas and lemon juice in a small bowl; set aside.



2.  Beat butter and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition.

3.  Combine flour, baking soda, and salt.  Add to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture.  Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition.  Stir in vanilla and reserved banana mixture.



4.  Place paper baking cups in  2 (12 cup) muffin pans, and coat with cooking spray; spoon batter into cups, filling two-thirds full.



5.  Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks, and cool completely.

Personal note:  It actually made 7 or 8 more cupcakes.  I only needed half of the banana curd so half the recipe.  I needed  more whipped topping.  I had enough for 24 cupcakes but not enough for the extra cupcakes it made.  I would have loved to put more whipped topping on each cake, but I didn't have enough to be very generous.  Make whipped topping using at least 2 cups of whipping cream.  I also added a little more powdered sugar to the whipping cream.   

Fresh Banana Curd

4 large ripe bananas

4 T butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 T fresh lemon juice

4 large eggs

1.  Mash bananas in a large bowl with a fork until creamy.



2.  Combine mashed banana and remaining ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat.  Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture thickens and coats a spoon.  (Do not boil.)  Cool completely.



Note:  Store any leftover curd in an airtight container in refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Fresh Whipped Cream

makes 3 cups

1 1/2 cups whipping cream, chilled

2 t vanilla extract

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1.  Beat whipping cream at high speed with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.  Add vanilla and sugar, and beat until stiff peaks form.



2.  Store in refrigerator until ready to use.



recipe from

Simply Sweet

Best Cupcakes Ever!

Read More »