Rachel's Chocolate Salted Caramel Cupcakes

My friend Rachel celebrated her 21st birthday this weekend. And while the traditional gift (or baked good) should contain booze, I stumbled upon a version of this recipe and thought it would be perfect. Thanks to this recipe, from 20somethingcupcakes. I adapted it with my own version of caramel, and used my classic hummingbird bakery chocolate cupcake. A chocolate cupcake with salted caramel filling, topped with salted caramel buttercream frosting. Below are all the ingredients for the recipe, with links to my original posts for each step:

Chocolate Salted Caramel Cupcakes

Chocolate Cake Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups fine granulated, or caster, sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

a pinch of salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup whole milk

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Salted Caramel Filling:

1/4 cup water

1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Salted Caramel Buttercream:

2-3 cups confectioner's (powdered) sugar, sifted

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temp

2 tablespoons whole milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup caramel (leftover from filling)

Specialty Item:

Cupcake Corer, like this one from Williams Sonoma.

note: if you don't have one, you can always use a spoon to hollow out the cupcake (but be careful!), or just save the caramel to drizzle on top of the finished cupcakes.

Directions:

First create your salted caramel filling and let cool. You can find step-by-step instructions here.

Next, create your hummingbird bakery chocolate cupcake base. You can find the instructions here (now updated with pictures).

While the caramel and the cupcakes cool fully, prepare the salted caramel buttercream. I have adapted the hummingbird recipe for vanilla buttercream.

Beat the 2 cups of the confectioner's sugar and butter in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment on medium-slow speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed (use your pouring shield, or cut in the butter with a pastry blender by hand).

Combine the milk and vanilla in a separate bowl, then add to the butter mixture a little at a time (mixer on slow speed). One the milk is incorporated, turn the mixer up to high and beat the frosting until light and fluffy, at least 5 minutes.

Pour in 1/3 cup of caramel filling (make sure it is not hot, but also not rock solid) and mix in by hand. If the buttercream is too thin (mine definitely was, but I wanted full caramel flavor), add an additional 1/2 cup to 1 cup of confectioner's sugar. Still want to have a light and whipped texture (do not use my photos for reference!)

 Now to assemble. Use your cupcake corer to create a space for the caramel filling. I am so happy I invested $5 in this handy little tool--you can fill your cupcakes or muffins with anything you like! Plus you can use the cores to dip in caramel and buttercream to taste test!

 Fill the cupcakes with caramel filling.

Finally, decorate with the salted caramel buttercream, and sprinkle a little bit of sea salt on top for decoration (or cocoa powder).

And voila! Delicious, and decadently sweet cupcakes. Hopefully your buttercream will turn out a bit lighter and fluffier than mine, and they will look as fantastic as they taste.

Happy Snacking,

Antonia

Midnight Snack Series: Pizza

So for the final night of the Midnight Snack Series I made homemade pizza. Will and I are huge pizza lovers, and that is the real reason I decided to do this series in the first place!

Last week I was watching "Good Eats" (surprise surprise) and the episode Flat is Beautiful caught my eye. For the first time in a while, I wanted to try my hand at a yeast based dough. I always failed with the proofing of yeast, so with instant I could solve the problem, right? After watching the episode a few more times, I decided to go for it.

After my success with Alton's bread recipe, I figured pizza dough would be a piece of cake. Well, I can honestly say that my first attempt was a disaster! Maybe I was over-confident from my recent success, but my sad dough hooks couldn't live up to the kneading task. Or maybe I didn't time it right--I still don't know if I over or under kneaded the dough, but it just became a sticky pile of goo on my countertop. It was beyond saving--very unfortunate.

So I started over. For round two I used the same recipe, only I kneaded the dough by hand. It picked up a lot more flour because of this method, which made it tougher (also, I probably didn't knead it long enough). According to the Alton's recipe, the dough must do a slow-rise in the fridge for 24 hours to get maximum flavor.

Well, in the long run I don't think it helped much. For one, the dough got dried out along the edges (even though I wrapped it the way I was instructed). Second, the flavor wasn't any better than a regular pizza crust.

But I did the pizza toss, as instructed. And I topped it with a tasty trio of cheeses--mozzarella, cheddar, and parmesan.

The pizza stone was definitely a good investment. It did look pretty, and the crust was much crispier than previously baked pizzas.

Since I do not recommend this recipe to any novice baker, I am only providing the link and not repeating the steps here. I wouldn't say the final night of the Midnight Snack Series was a disaster--the pizza was tasty. And it taught me what not to do. At least till I get my hands on that KitchenAid--this recipe was made for a certain method. If you don't follow Alton's steps to the letter, the project can easily fall apart.

In the future, I think I will not go for the overnight rise in the fridge, but stick to a standard 2 hour rise in a warm place. I'm gonna try a new recipe that a friend recommended as well. Keep an eye out for a post!

I did top off the evening with a pretty fantastic treat. Last week I froze my leftover pound cake, so I cut off a slice, heated up my caramel, and added a huge dollop of whipped cream. Who says leftovers can't be as fabulous as the originals?

Happy Snacking!

Antonia

Midnight Snack Series: Flourless Chocolate Cake with Salted Caramel Sauce

Note: What follows is a rather long post, and a three part recipe for Flourless Chocolate Cake with Salted Caramel Sauce and Whipped Cream. All made from scratch. A first for my kitchen.

I've noticed that I have two approaches to baking. One method starts when I sit down and weigh out what skills, limitations, and tools I have to start a new project. The other approach is purely spontaneous. Occasionally I will have an urge to try baking something--just because it sounds fun. In fact, this method is the reason I started baking in the first place. It produced my baklava, my pumpkin pie, and my eclairs.

So when Will and I were craving something rich and chocolately, I thought to peruse my favorite recipe sites. Martha hit gold--flourless chocolate cake! Recently we went to Bistro Aix in the Marina and had the most decadent flourless cake with a rich chocolate sauce on top. And since I've had a recent foodie crush on Alton Brown (well, his recipes), I decided to seek out his assistance.

Using the search words "Alton Brown Flourless Cake," I stumbled upon this amazing idea from Curly Girl Kitchen. A flourless chocolate cake with salted caramel sauce. Bingo! So I decided to use Martha's recipe, with Curly Girl Kitchen's fabulous salted caramel sauce. Ok, so Alton didn't supply the recipe this time, but at least he pointed me in the right direction with my computer's search parameters!

Oh Alton. You and I share a thirst for knowledge and caramel.

So after baking bread and tackling my proofing phobia, I found a recipe that would help me take on my other two great fears--meringue (or rather, in this case, folding in egg whites!), and making a candy that normally requires a candy thermometer. And I can admit it wasn't the smoothest evening of baking.

I was mostly focused on the caramel. I had never worked with corn syrup before and, more importantly, I do not own a candy thermometer. Sorry Alton (ps: do watch his video, at least to see the steps of caramel production)! The only thing that made me feel I could do this was the fact that the recipe I had picked did not specify a thermometer, and gave me handy time approximations. So I tried it.

And I am not ashamed to admit that I screwed up the first batch royally. Anyone like super-burnt caramel sauce? My main mistake was that I didn't watch the pot religiously. They say a watched pot never boils, but I can tell you that an unmanned pot can boil over!

if your caramel is this dark, it's burnt.

If this is your first time cooking caramel, err on the side of "underdone." It will continue to boil when removed from the heat--even as you add the cream. Once it turns from amber to brown, it's toast. Yet I'm happy to say I learned by trial and error, and the second batch actually turned out quite yummy! Perhaps it's time to tackle that Caramel Chocolate Popcorn...

Here are the steps for the caramel, courtesy of Curly Girl Kitchen:

Ingredients:
1/4 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:
In a large saucepan combine the sugar, water, and corn syrup. Dissolve the mixture over low heat, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the sugar is dissolved, turn the heat up to medium/high.

Let the mixture boil, without stirring, until the sugar becomes an amber color (5-10 minutes). Do not let the mixture burn!

Remove from the heat and pour in the cream--it will bubble up. Stir vigorously, incorporating the cream. Return to the stove and stir over low heat to dissolve any leftover lumps. Stir in the butter one piece at a time.

Finally stir in the salt and vanilla until all ingredients are incorporated. Remove from the stove and let set. Can be refrigerated for up to one month.

mmm...

Next I tackled the flourless cake. Simple ingredients, but the cake was more difficult than I had anticipated. Looks like I need more practice folding egg whites.. The cake took longer to cook than the directions specified, and there were a few areas of the cake that didn't mix together all the way. Those areas were just meringue. I had to ditch about half the cake, but what survived was actually really tasty!

dense and light at the same time...an unusual paradox

Here is the recipe, courtesy of Martha Stewart.

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
6 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup fine granulated sugar

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease the bottom and sides of a springform pan.

Melt the butter and the chocolate in a large saucepan on or bowl (either on the stovetop or the microwave). All the ingredients will eventually end up in this bowl. Let cool slightly, then whisk in the egg yolks.

Use a stand mixer to beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar and continue beating till glossy stiff peaks form.

Whisk 1/4 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then gently fold in the remaining egg whites.

Pour batter into the springform pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake 45-50 minutes (for me, 55-60), until the cake pulls away from the sides and the center is set. Cool completely on a wire rack before removing the sides of the pan. 

Finally I made some homemade whipped cream.

Here's a recipe adapted from Alton Brown:

Combine 2 tablespoons of sugar, vanilla, and heavy whipping cream. Whisk together until the cream reaches stiff peaks. This can also be done with a stand or hand-held mixer.

Finally all three elements were complete. I really did have to stand back from the project in order to see what I had accomplished. I was prepared for adequate. Yet I specifically waited for Will to come home before I tasted all of the pieces together. It was worth the wait.

Never before has the phrase "death by chocolate" seemed so fitting. Whipped Cream, Salted Caramel, Chocolate Cake--I've eaten decadent desserts before, but this one...dare I say...takes the cake. Will and I split this gorgeous piece and practically passed out afterwards. Now I would say that my patience and hard work had paid off. Successful spontaneity in the kitchen! Although I still need to improve my technique, I am proud of the tasty treat I prepared. Looking forward to making it again.

Happy Snacking!

Antonia

Midnight Snack Series: Bread!

my bread. fresh out of the oven. phew!

I have three ultimate baking fears: yeast, candy thermometers, and meringue. Well this week I am trying to overcome them! As you can see from the photo above, I succeeded in making bread. So this is kinda like telling you a love story when you know the main characters get together. But isn't it really about the journey? So here goes...

Yeast has always been my number one baking fear. Sure, I've worked with it before, but I could never get it to rise properly. It became frustrating, especially when my very basic bread would turn out dense and have that yeasty taste. Ick. And not having a Kitchenaid made it more difficult--my mixer doesn't have a paddle attachment, and the dough hooks (yes, there are two. and they are not that much different from the beaters) does not mix the dough easily. I know I can knead by hand, but there is always more room for error--especially with the addition of all that extra flour.

So when it came down to it, I just let yeast dough go. And I missed out on a whole world of tasty treats. Breads, croissants, bagels, pastries. Sigh. Then one day I was watching Good Eats (a new obsession), and started discussing instant yeast. It doesn't need to proof ahead of time--it can be tossed straight in with ingredients to make the dough. Well, I thought, how hard could that be?

So I set out to make Alton's Very Basic Bread Recipe, which was featured on the episode Dr. Strangeloaf. And though I will repeat the ingredients and instructions below, with my notes, I highly encourage you to all watch the episode to get the full story.

Ingredients:
1 pound bread flour (I used a scale, but you can find an online chart to convert to cups)
1 teaspoon instant, or rapid rise, yeast
2 teaspoons honey
10 ounces filtered water
2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 quarts hot water
Vegetable oil, for greasing rising container
2 tablespoons cornmeal
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
note: some sort of pizza stone is required for this step. If you don't have one, Target sells this Bialetti for $15 (and it comes with a pizza cutter!). If you don't want to spend that much, you can do what Alton does: use an unglazed terracotta saucer from the hardware store (still costs about $7).

Directions:
The first step is to create the pre-ferment. This should be done the night before, unless you want to bake bread at midnight (which, coincidentally, I did!). Combine 5 ounces of the flour, 1/4 teaspoon of the yeast, the 2 tablespoons of honey, and the 10 ounces of filtered water. Cover loosely and refrigerate for 8-12 hours. I was nervous and hoped that this science worked!

My pre-ferment seemed fine after 8 1/2 hours, and so I proceeded to the next step. In the large mixing bowl of a stand mixer, combine the remaining 11 ounces of flour, the 3/4 teaspoon of yeast, and 2 teaspoons of salt with the pre-ferment. Use a dough hook to knead the mixture on low for 2-3 minutes. The mixture should just come together. Cover the dough in the bowl with a towel for 20 minutes.

Uncover the dough and knead with dough hook for 5-10 minutes on medium speed. For me, this was a little more complicated with my dough hooks. As you can see, it tends to flatten the dough out instead of move and knead the dough around the bowl. But I used my spatula to keep it going, and prayed to the bread gods to let it work. I used Alton's membrane test to check and see if the dough was ready (see the video).

Alton lets his dough rise in an uncovered (and lightly greased) container in the oven (not turned on). Pour the 2 quarts of water in to a shallow pan and place it on the bottom rack of the oven, with the container of dough above it. This allows the dough to rise in a warm and humid environment for 1-2 hours. It took 1 1/2 hours for my dough to double in size.

This waiting process was the most difficult for me. And I admit I was shocked to find that my dough had actually risen! Once it has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured counter top or cutting board. Now the final knead (again, see video). Press the dough out with your knuckles, redistributing the air bubbles, then fold it into thirds. Press the dough out again and repeat the folding process. Cover dough with a towel for another 10 minutes.

Flatten the dough once more with your knuckles, then fold the dough in on itself to create a "jellyfish" (really, what you are looking for is a nice sphere with a taught outer skin). Place the dough on the counter and roll gently between hands. Move the dough onto a pizza peel (cookie sheet or cutting board will suffice) dusted with the cornmeal. This will make it easier to transfer to the pizza stone in the oven.  Cover once more with a kitchen towel and let bench proof for 1 hour (the final rise).

Place your pizza stone in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Add more water to the shallow pan if it has evaporated in the oven. Combine the cornstarch and water in a small bowl.

Once the dough has risen for 1 hour, uncover and glaze the surface with the cornstarch mixture (for a crispy crust). Slash the top surface of the dough in a box pattern. This allows the bread to expand in the oven (approximately 1/2 inch deep). Slide the dough off of the pizza peel onto the stone. Bake for 50-60 minutes. Do not open the oven during this time.

I baked my bread for a solid 55 minutes. When it was done, I was shocked at how beautiful it looked! Had I made bread? I took it out of the oven and followed Alton's last, and very important, direction: let sit on a cooling rack for 30 minutes.

By 1:30 am my bread was done! Will had arrived 15 minutes earlier, and we sat with our mouths watering waiting for the bread to finish. I cut into the loaf and it was perfect on the inside. We covered our slices with butter and ate. And it was bread! It was crunchy crust and fluffy warm inside. There was no hint of a yeasty taste!

I couldn't quite believe my luck. With some discipline and the right tools, I had finally made a decent bread. My fear of yeast was conquered! Well, almost. I plan to replicate this recipe on Thursday, so here's hoping it was more skill and less of a happy accident. Alton's recipe deviates from the normal bread making instructions, but it worked. I recommend this to anyone who wants to get serious about making bread.

Happy Snacking!

Antonia

Midnight Snack Series: Eclairs

This week is a fun one! Besides making awesome forts, Will has been staying up here working late calls at the Magic. So I've filled my days with writing and baking! The best thing to do is make some awesome midnight snacks for Will and I to share when he gets home. Last night I made my famous eclairs at his request.

So this week's posts will be dedicated to some awesome foods that may take a bit of time out of your day, but at midnight you'll have a delicious treat!

 

Antonia's Famous Eclairs
This recipe was born out of curiosity. Sometimes I like to peruse allrecipes for new ideas. I love the hidden gems on allrecipes, hidden among the mediocre and sometimes strange recipes. I was looking for a fun summertime dessert and found the recipe Eclairs II.

I had always thought that eclairs were a difficult treat to make but this was surprisingly simple! Maybe I'm not doing it "right" but they sure taste good. And with a few tweaks to the filling and the chocolate topping, I have perfected my treat and want to share it with all of you.

Shell Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup water
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 eggs

Custard Filling:
1 (1 ounce) package Jell-O instant vanilla pudding mix
1 1/2 cups cold milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons fine granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Chocolate Topping:
1 cup Ghirardelli Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
3 tablespoons butter

You can, of course, use any brand of chips and pudding--you can also make your pudding from scratch if you like. Also, if you don't want to whip your own whipped cream, you can sub in with cool whip (still tastes great).


Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Farenheit. Grease a cookie sheet.

For the shells, combine 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup water in a medium saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring till the butter melts completely. Reduce heat to low, adding in the salt and flour. Stir the mixture until it begins to form a stiff ball, leaving the sides of the saucepan. Add the eggs one at a time, incorporating completely after each addition.

To create your eclair shells, you can do a few different things. You can pipe eclairs with a pastry bag, spoon them into 2" strips, or use my method. The eclairs are pretty big and if you want to take this recipe to a party (without doubling it), make them into cream puff sizes instead!

I used my ice cream scoop to spoon out the puffs. They are bite sized and I can get 16 eclairs out of the recipe. The perfect serving to take to parties or long tech days!

Bake for 15 minutes at 450 degrees F, then reduce the head to 325 degrees F and bake for an additional 20-24 minutes. Note: the larger your shell, the longer the bake time will be. To test the eclair shells, lightly tap them on the bottom--it should sound hollow. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

While the shells cool, prepare the filling. Follow directions on the box of the instant pudding and let chill for 20 min in the fridge. With a stand mixer (or a wire whisk), beat the heavy whipping cream together with the vanilla and sugar until soft peaks form. Note: I like my custard filling to be less sugary. I only add 2 tablespoons to the mix and let the rest of the sugar come from the pudding. If you want a sweeter filling, add 1/4 cup sugar.

Combine the pudding and the whipped cream, mixing with a rubber spatula until completely incorporated. This is your custard filling. Cut the eclairs in half lengthwise, spooning the custard in to the eclairs (you may also be able to inject the custard, for a less messy approach to eating them! I haven't tried this yet) and replacing the tops.

To create the chocolate topping, melt the chocolate chips and butter in a saucepan over low heat (also can use double boiler method). Spread the warm chocolate over the completed eclairs. Let cool and cover completely. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

Enjoy these tasty morsels with a glass of cold milk at midnight. The next day you can have them for afternoon tea or with coffee. Or just take them to tech :)

Relax and enjoy!

Antonia

Mother's Day Buttermilk Pound Cake

I had a sweet mother's day yesterday. No, literally. I surprised my mom with a huge supply of baked goods to keep our sweet teeth satisfied. I started brunch off with homemade cinnamon roll waffles and later in the day we had Old-Fashioned Buttermilk Pound Cake, topped with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.

When my mom and I go to Georgia to visit our family there, one of our favorite things to do is eat the amaaazing desserts we find. So for Christmas, my aunt gave my mom this amazing cookbook, called Sweet Auburn Desserts, by Sonya Jones, who owns the Sweet Auburn Bread Company in Atlanta. My mom had met her at the Marietta Square farmer's market and had tried some of her fabulous pies. Chef Jones' catalog of desserts is incredible, and I asked my mom which recipe she'd like best if I could make it. She decided upon a pound cake.

courtesy of Pelican Publishing

First off, there were a lot of recipes to choose from--chocolate buttermilk, brown sugar, old fashioned...etc. Traditionally, a pound cake got its name from the choice of ingredients: a pound of sugar, a pound of flour, a pound of eggs, and a pound of butter. Today's recipe is a little more sophisticated than that, but it certainly does have a lot of ingredients baked in to one cake. Its very dense and very sweet. I decided upon the Old-Fashioned Buttermilk Pound Cake recipe, mostly because I had all the ingredients in the house already (and I needed to use up the rest of that buttermilk!)

So here is the recipe, courtesy of Chef Jones and Sweet Auburn Desserts:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter (at room temp)
1 cup vegetable shortening  
2 cups fine granulated sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup buttermilk
4 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

note: based on what I had in the kitchen, I changed this to 3/4 cup shortening and added an extra 2 tablespoons of butter to the recipe. I also had 3/4 cup buttermilk and subbed the last 1/4 cup with half & half. Both alterations worked well.

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube or bundt pan (like my Ikea model).

In a large mixing bowl, cream together sugar, butter, and shortening until it is light and fluffy. Add eggs in one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and beat until well combined.

Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda in a separate bowl. With your mixer on medium, alternate between adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk into the creamed mixture (begin and end with flour mix). Mix well after each addition.

Pour batter into the prepared tube pan. Bake for 75 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted 1 inch from the edge comes out clean. Allow the pound cake to cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes.

Turn out on to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving

Now you could do anything you like for topping. I decided upon fresh strawberries and whipped cream (super easy, just ask Alton Brown! Whip heavy whipping cream together with a few tablespoons of sugar and a few drops of vanilla until soft peaks form). I like a less sugary whip cream--its smooth creaminess offsets the sugary cake and tart strawberries. However, you could also make Chef Jones' chocolate glaze, which I have listed below:

Chocolate Glaze:
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In the top of a double boiler, combine the chocolate chips, butter, and corn syrup. Stir until the chips are melted and the mixture becomes smooth. Remove the double boiler from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Drizzle the warm glaze over the top of pound cake and serve.

Whatever you chose to do with the pound cake, it will be delicious. Enjoy!

Happy Snacking!

Antonia