dark chocolate & espresso valentine cakes

Wowser, that was some blizzard we got!  Still digging out from the 3 foot snow that arrived the night of the 7th, but thankful we never lost power.  The last two nights I've fallen asleep still in my snow pants, and I'm thankful to have finally cleared most of the snow that the plows couldn't manage to reach, and the car is finally uncovered.  Bliss.  And now I'm behind on the Valentine express!

What goes together better than chocolate and coffee ?  That's what I thought, and I actually prefer these spongy little cakes to a chocolate bar, at least most of the time.  Intense flavor for a little cake like this, and the thought did cross my mind that whipped cream or buttercream frosting would sandwich nicely between a split cake, especially because they aren't super sweet.  An exalted Devil Dog, if you will, which I have eaten exactly twice in my life, but never forgot.  These could also be made as cupcakes, with a swirl of frosting, wouldn't that be cute?

Adapted from Muffins by Marie Simmons

2 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour

2/3 c. unsweetened cocoa

1/2 cup sugar

2 T. instant coffee or espresso powder

2 t. baking soda

pinch kosher salt

2 large eggs

1 cup milk

1/3 cup double strong brewed coffee

1/3 cup melted unsalted butter

2 t. vanilla

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F.

Grease medium heart shaped muffin tins.

In a mixer bowl, mix in the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda,salt,  and espresso or coffee powder.

In a medium bowl, mix the eggs, milk, coffee, melted butter and vanilla briefly, then add to the flour mix, mixing well.

Add the chocolate chips and mix briefly.

Using an ice cream scoop, fill the muffin cups. 

Bake for 20 minutes, or until the center of the muffin is slightly firm to the touch.

Let cool, then turn out onto a cooling rack.

This makes 15 heart shaped muffins.

Below is a picture of the snow from inside the front storm door.  There was so much snow I couldn't get the door open, so I had to raise the storm door panel and climb out to shovel:)

carrotcake cupcakes - and a four legged surprise

This morning I thought I'd see how my Easter Carrot Cake would look as cupcakes, sooooo, I pulled out my sunny yellow baking bins, where I stash all my pretty papers and doilies and found this mess you see above. A stylish Mrs. Mouse, no doubt, making a cozy new nest for her gazillion babies. This of course led to pulling out everything from under the sink and the neighboring cupboards, where I saw an inch wide gap; obviously, that was how she got in. I duct-taped it, and squirted some of that expandable glop, that looked exactly like whipped cream, and let it dry. Tidying the under-counter boxes: SHRIEK. A large, very fat mouse lept out of one of the boxes. I screamed for my cat, who sashayed in, took a look, and left. Tonight I plan to shut her in the kitchen, and that, I hope, will be that.

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Deep breath. The cupcakes came out very nicely, just as moist and tasty as the cake, and I swirled on some of that butter and cream cheese frosting everyone loves. So if cupcakes work better for a gathering this Eastertime, do give them a try.

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This makes 9 cupcakes.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Arrange cupcake liners in a regularly sized muffin tin.

I shred the carrots using my KitchenAid grater attachment.

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2 extra large eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil or light olive oil

1 1/3 cups King Arthur flour

1 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

1 t. cinnamon

1 cup packed finely grated carrots

1/2 cup sweetened coconut

Beat eggs, add the sugar, oil, and dry ingredients and mix well. Add the carrots and coconut and stir, then , using an ice cream scoop, scoop one scoop into each liner.

Bake for about 25 minutes, or until tops are firm when gently pressed.

Remove to cooling rack for a few minutes, then remove from muffin tins to cool further.

Let cool completely before frosting!

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Cream Cheese frosting with fresh lemon juice:

1 large package cream cheese

1 stick (8 T) unsalted, softened butter

about 2 T. fresh lemon juice

one box of confectioner's sugar

Beat in mixer bowl until creamy, then spoon into a pastry bag and swirl away.

You'll have some left over, which you can freeze for midnight snack attacks.

Happy Easter to all!

brown sugar banana cupcakes for the New Year!

Happy New Year to all! Above you see the grand and splashy sunset last night, with the sun going down between two mountains. I wasn't the only one that had the sudden thought to stand in a high place to wave goodbye to 2010 - there were four other people and two lively dogs, snuffling around in the snow, looking for - well, dogs always seem to find something exciting wherever they go.

This morning, I decided to make what is now becoming a tradition - New Year's cupcakes, but this time I chose to make a fluffy, moist banana and brown sugar cupcake (divine), and lots of that pale, shell pink cream cheese icing everyone loves so much. So even if the day is a little gray and gloomy, these cupcakes are waving their sprinkles and tooting their horns.

To make cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Place cupcake papers in a traditional 12 cup muffin tin,

although this recipe makes only 7 cupcakes.

Adapted from Cupcakes, by S. Kaldunski

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1 1/4 cups cake flour

3/4 t. baking soda

3/4 t. baking powder

pinch of kosher salt

1 large or two small ripe bananas

1/4 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. lemon zest

2 T. sour cream

1 T. milk

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 extra large egg

1/2 t. vanilla extract

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Using a sieve, sift together the flour, baking soda and powder, and salt into a bowl and set aside.

Mash the bananas, sour cream, milk, lemon zest, and cinnamon together in a small bowl and set aside.

In a mixer bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar together until fluffy, then add the egg and vanilla.

Add the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture and mix on low.

Fold in the mashed banana mixture gently.

Using a regular size ice cream scoop, fill cupcake liners about 3/4ths full.

Bake approximately 25-30 minutes, or until cupcakes are firm to the touch when gently pressed in the middle of their tops.

Let cool five minutes, then remove cupcakes from cupcake tin to a cooling rack. Let cool for at least an hour before frosting.

The Cream Cheese frosting:

4 ounces cream cheese, softened ( the smaller size)
1 stick ( 8 T.) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 t. fresh lemon juice
2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 drop red food coloring

Beat all the ingredients together until very creamy. Scrape into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and , beginning at the edges of the cupcakes, squeeze the frosting round and round, pulling up at the end. Sprinkle with pretty edible doodads.

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So, what's up with your brand new life? Musings, meditations, job searches? I suspect in addition to all of those, this may be the Year of the New Dog, having accidently picked up now THREE books about women and their dogs; the universe must be trying to tell me something.
Blessings and love to all, and hopes this will be a wonderful year for you, full of love, joy, and walking the dog.

The dog books:
let's take the long way home by gail caldwell
scent of the missing ( search and rescue dogs) by susannah charleson
and abigail thomas' a three dog life

happy birthday cupcakes!

February is a big month in our family for birthdays - it's even my blog's birthday! Feeling in a festive mood, I whipped up some of these sour cream cupcakes with my favorite pink frosting, then gave them away to friends. It must be the child in all of us, because everyone chuckled and smiled as I gave them out. So what better way to celebrate February? And if I could hand one to Bode Miller and the rest of our Olympic medal winners, I would. It's been an exciting Olympics and I'm proud of our team!

To make about 15 medium cupcakes:

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

2 cups King Arthur flour

1 t. baking soda

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1 cup sour cream, room temp

2 t. vanilla

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Preheat oven to 350F.

Place paper liners in medium cupcake tins.

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Cream the butter and sugar and beat until fluffy and light.

Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each egg is added.

Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together, then add to the butter and sugar mixture.

Add the sour cream and vanilla and beat briefly.

Using a regular size ice cream scoop, place scoop of dough into each paper liner.

Bake about 35 minutes, or until golden on top and gently firm on top - or you can use a kebab stick to insert in the middle of a cupcake. It should come out clean.

Remove to cooling rack for a few minutes, then remove cupcakes from tin to another cooling rack. The cupcakes need to be completely cool before frosting.

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The Frosting:

one 8 oz. bar of cream cheese, room temp

2 sticks unsalted, room temperature butter

1 box confectioner's sugar

1 T. fresh lemon juice

1 t. vanilla

Decors and sprinkles for tops

Beat all ingredients until smooth and creamy, then scoop into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Starting at the outside of each cupcake, swirl the frosting generously onto cupcakes.

Enjoy - and Happy Birthday to all you February babies!

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What I'm reading:

Strange Terrain: A Poetry Handbook for the Reluctant Reader by A. Fogel

pretty little coconut cupcakes with lime curd

A week or so ago I found a beautifully illustrated cupcake book, Cupcakes, at the book store, which I bought with huge excitement. It really is an amazing addition to my baking library, because her cupcake presentation goes far beyond any baking book I have.

When I tried her coconut-lime cupcakes, I was a little disappointed. I didn't like the texture of the frosting at all, and really preferred my own cupcake recipe. That's what makes cooking interesting, right? For me, it's probably just personal preference. What I adored was her concept of flavors, and "building" the cupcake. You scoop out a little hole in the baked cupcake, and fill it with lime curd, then cover it with a fluffy frosting.

To make her cupcake: ( I didn't feel it tasted super coconutty, so maybe add extract?)

1/3 cup sweetened shredded coconut, plus 1 cup for garnishing

1 cup King Arthur flour

1 1/4 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

3/4 cup sugar, plus 2 T more sugar

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

1 large egg

1 large egg white

1 t. vanilla ( I would use coconut and vanilla extracts)

1/2 cup coconut milk ( the liquid, unsweetened kind)

Preheat oven to 350F.

Place cupcake papers in regular size cupcake tin.

In medium bowl, toss coconut, flour, baking powder, and salt. In mixer bowl, beat the sugar and butter until fluffy.

Add the egg, egg white, and vanilla and/or coconut extract and beat. Add the flour mixture in two addiitions, alternating with the coconut milk.

Using an ice cream scoop, fill each muffin hole up to 3/4 full with batter. It made 9 cupcakes in my tin.

Bake about 29 minutes, or until tops are sfirm when you gently press on tops.

Remove and cool tin 15 minutes on rack, then remove cupcakes to cooling rack for another 45 minutes.

Lime Curd

6 T. fresh lime juice

1/2 cup sugar

4 large egg yolks

salt - pinch

4 T. unsalted butter, cut in pieces

2 t. grated lime zest

In heavy-bottomed nonreactive pan, whisk together the juice, sugar, egg yolks, and salt. Cook over medium heat, wisking constantly until curd thickens and coats a spoon. Remove from heat and set aside. This was really good!

When cupcakes are cool, hollow out a 1 1/2 inch piece from each muffin. Fill with lime curd.

Frosting ( this is my cream cheese frosting recipe)

1 large package cream cheese, softened

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

1 t. coconut extract

1 t. fresh lemon juice

1 box confectioners sugar.

Beat together until fluffy, then tint as wished. Using a star tip and pastry bag, pipe frosting in a circle from the outer edge to the center, then pull up. Sprinkle each cupcake with shredded coconut and serve.

happy new year cupcakes!

These are beginning to be a tradition! A buttery batter with a tinge of lemon, and cheerful pink frosting sprinkled with whatever fancies you have, it's a lovely way to welcome the New Year.

The batter:

2 sticks ( 1 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

zest of one lemon

2 cups King Arthur flour

1 t. baking soda

2 t. baking powder

pinch of salt

1 c. sour cream

2 T. vanilla (yes)

Preheat oven to 350F.

Grease two Texas size muffin tins .

Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy.

Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until absorbed.

Add the lemon zest.

Mix in the flour, baking powder and baking soda, and the pinch of salt.

Add the sour cream and mix.

Add the vanilla and mix.

Using an ice cream scoop, add two scoops to each muffin cup.

Bake about 25 minutes, or until tops are somewhat firm to the touch.

Place on cooling rack. After five minutes, unmold and let cool completely, or the frosting will melt.

The frosting: ( I got this from the Magnolia Bakery in NYC)

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup milk

6-8 cups confectioner's sugar

2 t. vanilla

Whip in bowl until creamy. I started with 6 cups confectioner's sugar, but the frosting wasn't thick enough , so I kept adding more until the consistency was what I wanted.

Add food coloring until you have the shade you want. You can also divide the frosting into bowls and make several colors - just make sure you have enough pastry bags!

Scrape the frosting into a pastry bag, fitted with a star tip. Squeeze bag, beginning in a circle around the edge of the cupcake, then circling in until the tope of the cupcake is covered. Pull up tip, and make a smaller circle of frosting right in the middle of the cupcake. Decorate as you wish.

A joyous New Year to all!