Monthly Archives: June 2011

S’mores Cupcakes, Vol II

2 Replies

Today I made the best s’mores cupcakes ever. They taste precisely like a s’more transformed into a cupcake should taste. Better than the other time I made s’mores cupcakes. Sorry Bakerella! They key to success in these nuggets is graham cracker cake and…. dare I say it?? …. FLUFF. Oooey gooey not-so-sure-what-it’s-made-of old fashioned marshmallow fluff. The reason fluff is necessary, (rather than real marshmallows) is marshmallows disintegrate into the cake batter when baked, while fluff just gets fluffier! Culinary genius, at it again.

So here’s what you do. Make graham cracker cake batter. Dollop some of it into a cupcake liner, followed by a teaspoon of fluff, followed by another dollop of cake batter.

And then you bake them and abracadaba alakazam… fluffy cupcake with MALLOW SURPRISE. You should also know the cakes have almost no fat in them, which you would never taste…but your thighs might thank you ;)

And then you obvi top them with the most scrumptious chocolate buttercream ever. So good that I ate 19 spoonfuls straight out of the bowl.

Does anyone want to talk about how perfect this cupcake is? What a cute little chocolate buttercream cloud.

Here’s the recipe!

Graham Cracker Cupcakes (adapted from Bakerella)

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 1 cup milk (I used soy milk)
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1/4 cup oil
  • 1/4 cup applesauce
  • ~1 cup marshmallow fluff
  • mini marshmallows and chocolate bars, for decoration

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners.
  2. In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and graham cracker crumbs.
  3. Add milk, eggs, vanilla, oil, and applesauce. Stir with wooden spoon until incorporated.
  4. Put ~3 tablespoons batter into prepared liners. Top with 1 teaspoon fluff. Top with remaining batter so that each liner is 3/4 of the way full.
  5. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.
Chocolate Buttercream
Ingredients
  • 2 sticks butter (1/2 cup), softened
  • 6 cups confectioner’s sugar
  • 6 tablespoons milk
  • 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
  • 4 ounces milk chocolate
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions
  1. Place chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval, until completely melted. Allow to cool to room temperature.
  2. Beat butter, sugar, salt, and milk on medium-high for 3-4 minutes, until light and fluffy.
  3. Add chocolate and cocoa powder, beat on medium-high for 1-2 minutes until fluffy.

Last one

Leave a reply

I know I’ve been inundating you with Maine pics recently, but here’s one last one I needed to share! The panorama app is my new favorite toy.

You can click the picture to make it larger and better experience Maine’s beauty :)

 

Emily in Boston!

3 Replies

My sister Emily came to visit me in Boston last week - here are some of our adventures!

Red velvet cupcakes at Sweet

Beautiful flowers and strawberries at the Harvard Square farmer’s market. And octopus. Which we ate. It wasn’t so bad as long as I didn’t think about it..

Boston skyline from the red line

We did some necessary baking: red velvet brownies and tie-dye cupcakes.

And finally, dinner at Top of the Hub. Awesome views of Boston!!

Maple Pecan Praline Blondies

10 Replies

Sometimes I feel confident that I am a culinary genius.

This is one of those times.

I spent the past weekend in Maine (just WAIT till you see this week’s Wildlife Wednesday) relaxing, enjoying nature (and its silence!), searching for moose, and partaking in quite a few maple syrup enhanced treats. Whoopie pies included.

Naturally I came home with a bottle of Maine maple syrup and proclaimed that I would be baking something maple-inspired the very next day.

True to my word, I woke up this morning and, without leaving my bed (True Life: I Don’t Remember Life Before My iPhone), immediately started googling maple blondie recipes.

So I’m perusing recipes (still in bed, hellO summer vaca!), and they’re all “add one teaspoon maple flavoring“ and I’m all “no thank you please”. There is no way Aunt Jemima is coming anywhere near my kitchen. Not now, not ever. It’s possible that my maple syrup snobbery stems from the blueberry elitism.

I searched my cabinets and found oh, three bottles of maple syrup, as well as these TDF pecan pralines. Have you ever tried these? If not, DON’T. Don’t do it. They are more addictive that crack and you will find yourself handing over the last of your paycheck to the nice cashier at Trader Joe’s just so you can buy out the entire supply. Trust me.

And that is how the most delicious blondies in the history of deliciosity were born.

These babies are rich, buttery, and decadent, with just enough maple flavor. The praline melts into the blondie and results in little pockets of sweetness throughout. I dare you to eat just one.

Maple Pecan Praline Blondies (adapted from Martha Stewart)

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup + 1 tablespoon flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup pecan pralines (regular pecans would work too)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 8×8 pan.
  2. Whisk butter and brown sugar until combined and smooth.
  3. Add the maple syrup and egg; whisk till incorporated.
  4. Add flour and salt; stir until just combined.
  5. Gently fold in pecans.
  6. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, until edges are golden brown and center is just set.

Confession

Leave a reply

I’ve never successfully baked a cake*.

Sad, but true. As the RHONJ/NYC/OC say… own it, gurl.

SO, when Domenica’s birthday was coming up, and I knew her favorite baked good was chocolate cake… I owned my lack of cake-baking expertise, guuurrrl (or boy). And went with what I know: cupcakes. Transformed into mini layer cakes.

Culinary genius or serious cop-out? You be the judge.

*from scratch, obvi. I am a Funfetti expert.