Vanilla cupcakes
1 C (2 sticks) butter
2 C sugar
4 large eggs
2 3/4 C flour (I used cake flour)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1 C milk
2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat butter on high until soft, about 30 seconds. Reduce speed to medium and add sugar, beat until soft and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Add eggs, one at a time, beat about 30 second between each egg.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Alternate adding flour mixture and milk/vanilla. Beat until just combined.

Pour batter into baking cups, filling no more than 2/3 full. Bake 22-25 minutes, until golden brown and cake tester comes out clean. Mine were perfect at 22 minutes.

Allow to cool completely on wire racks.


Cherry Filling
2 C cherries, pitted and chopped (fresh or frozen)
1/2 C water (*)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 C sugar
2 Tbs cornstarch

Mix cherries, vanilla, and water in medium saucepan, and heat over medium for about 10 minutes.

Add sugar and cornstarch, and cook until thickened, about 20 minutes.

(*) In a do-over, I’d pour the sugar over the cherries, let it sit, so the sugar breaks down the cherries, then heat it up, producing syrup that way, then add cornstarch as needed …

Buttercream Frosting
2 sticks (1 C) butter, room temperature
6-8 C sifted powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 C milk

Beat butter on medium high until creamy. Add half the sugar, milk, and vanilla. Beat until combined. Add remaining sugar until desired consistency and sweetness is reached.

(Okay, I cheated and used prepared vanilla frosting.)

Assembly
Dig out the center of cupcake. I did the “cone method” from Chockylit: Angle a knife and cut out an inverted cone from the center of the cupcake.

Fill the divot with with cherry filling, put the top of the cupcake back on top.

Frost.

Nom!

Extra commentary
I let everything cool completely before assembling, but I think if I made them again, I’d make the cherry filling last, and fill the cupcakes while the filling was still warm and syrupy, letting it absorb into the cupcakes. Hopefully it will soak in a little tonight, since right now it sort of glops out.

Also: Holy crap, these are tooth-achingly sweet.

I stumbled onto the picture earlier today, trying to move all my cupcake recipes to tumblr.  I was not a fan of this cupcake recipe, but I loved the styling.  Both chocolate or vanilla cupcakes, with a vanilla frosting.  Use pomegranate seeds as the fang bites, and then make a quick red sauce - I think I did a raspberry coulis? - but a pom juice mixed with sugar and corn starch would probably also work REALLY well.  Use a dropper or squeezy bottle (or a spoon) to make blood (sauce) trails from each pom bite mark. 

Ta-da!

Chocolate Cupcakes

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt (not actually called for in the original recipe, but we thought it would help them rise)
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
• 1 cup buttermilk (1 Tbs vinegar + milk to make 1 C total)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers. Set aside.

3. In a small bowl, sift together the flour and baking soda. Set aside.

4. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes.

5. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

5b. Add the chocolate, mixing until well incorporated.

6. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not overbeat.

7. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth.

8. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

8b. Let cool 10 minutes in pan, then remove to wire rack.

9. VERY IMPORTANT: Cool the cupcakes completely before icing.


Caramel Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp. cocoa powder (for color)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. caramel flavoring
4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
3 Tbsp. heavy cream

1. With an electric mixer, cream shortening and butter together in a large mixing bowl.

2. Add vanilla and caramel flavoring to mixture and beat well on medium speed.

3. Add cocoa powder and confectioners’ sugar (1 cup at a time). Beat on low to avoid powdered sugar from flying all over the place. Once everything is incorporated into the butter mixture turn the mixer to medium speed and beat for 30 seconds. Mixture will be dry.

4. Add cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, until a medium consistency is achieved. Keep beating for 5 minutes until frosting is light and fluffy.



To finish cupcakes:

Frost cupcakes. Garnish with marshmallows, nuts (we used almonds because we couldn’t find my pecans; and Rebecca doesn’t like peanuts with chocolate), chocolate shavings, and caramal sauce.

Cupcakes

• 2-3 apples, granny smith
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1/4 cup apple juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Wash and core apples, and place in baking dish.  Bake 30-40 minutes, until soft.  Allow to cool enough to handle, then remove peels (they should slip off, much like roasted beets).  Mash the apple flesh, and measure out one cup, allow to cool completely.

Combine dry ingredients and whisk to combine.  Then, separately, combine wet ingredients.  Combine all, and mix just to combined (remember, over beating leads to dense cupcakes).

Fill cupcake papers - about 3/4 full (fuller papers leads to bigger domes for filling later).  Bake 20-22 minutes/until toothpick comes out clean.  Allow to cool completely.

Cream Cheese Filling

• 4 oz cream cheese
• 2 Tbs (1/4 stick) of butter, room temperature
• 2 C powdered suger
• 1 tsp vanilla

With electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter.  Add powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth and glossy.

Assemble cupcakes:

Cut off top of cupcake.  Use melon baller/ cookie scoop to hallow out cupcake. 

Fill each cupcake with cream cheese mixture.  Replace tops. 

Caramel Topping

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 3/4 C sweetened condensed milk
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream (AMN: I used regular 1% milk)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Bring butter, sugar, corn syrup, and condensed milk to a boil over medium heat.  Add cream (milk) and continue to boil and stir constantly until caramel reaches 248 F.

Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and salt.  Continue to stir for 2-3 minutes, to cool slightly. 

Final Assembly:

Working quickly, spread caramel over cupcakes.  Chocky suggested putting them in the freezer to help stop drips. 

I burned myself quite quickly, so we then put the cupcakes on a tray, and just spooned caramel over the top.  It dripped down the papers.  Alas. 

Commentary:

The cupcakes were awesome by themselves - a lot like an apple muffin, which was a nice contrast given the sweetness of the filling and the topping.

There was WAY more caramel than needed, and I was sad to throw it away. I wish I had prepared better, and could have made little individual caramels.  Homemade caramels ROCK.  I don’t think I’ll ever be able to go back.

1 3/4 C flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 (heaping) tsp garlic salt
5 Tbs cold butter
1 C shredded cheddar (I used aged white)
1 C milk

1/4 C melted butter (optional)
1 clove minced garlic (optional)

Preheat oven to 400F.

Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. Cut in butter (annoying as it is, for a light, delicate biscuit, a pastry cutter is a priceless tool) until you have a coarse crumbly mix (butter bits should be about the size of small peas).

Make a well in the flour-butter mix, add cheese, and stir in milk (about 1 Tbs at a time) until you have a sticky dough. I think I used just over 3/4 milk.

Drop spoonfuls of dough on lightly greased baking sheets. Bake 12-15 minutes, until lightly browned. Optional: Brush tops of hot biscuits with garlic-butter (I skipped this step).

Make ahead options: Make one day before and refrigerate, pop directly into oven. Make more than one day ahead and freeze, defrost, and pop into oven.

3 pounds beef brisket, fat trimmed to 1/4 inch layer (NOT corned beef!)
3 Tbs flour
1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth
1 C dry red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon)
1 bay leaf
2 Tbs unsulfured molasses
1 12-oz bag cranberries
1 16-oz bag frozen pearl onions

Preheat oven to 350, with rack in lowest position. Season brisket with salt and pepper while heating a 5-qt Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add brisket (fat side down) and cook until browned, 8-10 minutes, rotating once. Transfer to a plate while adding stuff to the pot.

Add flour to the pot (with beef drippings) and whisk, 30 seconds. Add broth, wine, bay leaf, molasses, HALF of the cranberries, and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil (I waited for the cranberries to start popping), then return brisket to the pot and cover. Transfer to oven, and bake for 3 hours.

Stir in onions, cover, and return to oven for another 30 minutes. Stir in remaining cranberries, and return to oven uncovered, and cook until brisket is fork tender, about 30 more minutes. Discard bay leaf before serving.

Commentary - They didn’t have brisket, so I used a 1 pound flat iron steak, which I had to fold over to fit in my dutch oven. We halved everything except the cooking time (it didn’t occur to me to that less meat would take less time to cook). We added all the cranberries at the beginning, didn’t add the 1 C of water until the 3 hour mark. So it’s really a pretty foolproof recipe. Also, at the 3 hour mark, I accidentally stabbed it with a spoon (trying to stir in onions), and it was terrifically tender then.

1 egg
1 C pumpkin puree
1/2 C buttermilk
2 T butter, softened
1 C brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 C flour
1 1/4 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix first 5 ingredients (egg through brown sugar). Blend well. Sift in remaining ingredients and stir just until combined.

Bake in a 9x5 loaf pan for 1 hour/until toothpick in center comes out clean. Cool, and slice. 12 servings.

makes 4 burgers

• 2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• ¾ cup panko bread crumbs
• 2 tbl chopped sun-dried tomatoes
• 1 tbl fresh rosemary, chopped
• ¾ tsp kosher salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• pinch chili flake
• 1 large egg

Pre-heat your oven to 375*F

In a large bowl or a food processor add the beans. Mash them up a bit while still maintaining some bits of bean. Add to this the remaining ingredients except for the egg. Taste for seasoning then add the egg. Let this sit for 15 minutes or so. During this time the bread crumbs will soak up a bit of the moisture. The mixture will be wet but still able to form a patty, similar to ground meat actually. If the mixture feels dry at all add a bit of olive oil to moisten.

Line a sheet pan with parchment and a bit of oil or pan spray. Form four patties and place in a 375*F pre-heated oven. Bake 10-15 minutes on each side. Serve on crusty bread or a hamburger bun with spicy mustard, pickles, and greens.

—-

I made these today, and something just seemed off. First, I had to add second egg, because with just one egg they were super dry - two eggs was just right.  The original blog said it made 4 burgers. I made 8 perfectly reasonable sized burgers (2.5 oz each, cooked - I went and weighed them because I started to wonder if I have a weird portion size thing going on). It was a little small for regular sandwich bread, but would have fit perfectly on those thin sammich rounds.

I’m sort of obsessed with math.  On the basis that each burger was 2.5 oz, that means I had 20 oz of burger material total. A serving of meat is supposed to be around 3 oz, so I would have gotten 6.667 burgers that way.  You could also think of it via what the nutrition label on the can considered a serving: 3.5 servings of beans per can - or 7 total. And a serving of beans has a respectable 7 g of protein (same as an egg) and 4 g of fiber. A five ounce cooked burger just seems rather large.

So all the math aside, I wondered if I shouldn’t have upped the rosemary and sun dried tomatoes. The flavor in the cooked burger is very delicate (although smells awesome), and after reading the original blog about enjoying them with stone ground mustard, arugula, and pickles I figured a smear of dijonaise and pickles would be fine — but it completely overwhelmed the burger. I knew it was there - it had a delightful creamy texture, but all I tasted was wheat bread, dill pickle, and dijon. On the one hand, I guess it’s nice to be able to dress up the burger however you want (add guac and bbq sauce, or arugula and a lemon vinegrette, or mayo and mustard - it would all work).

I ate a second burger plain, wondering if it was my toppings - too much pickle or something. There was more of a flavor, but just very delicate, subdued. I’m not sure how I feel about it. They’re good - don’t get me wrong, and I’m sure I’ll make them again (mixing it up, getting away from my usual quinoa burger). Should I double the salt/peppers/garlic/rosemary/tomato? Maybe 1.5x? Or maybe pan fry with a drizzle of garlic herb olive oil?

On an unrelated note: I have got to stop using my camera phone to photograph food.  Yeesh! I should be ashamed of that photo.

• 4 chicken breasts
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 C mayonnaise
• 1 1/2 Tbs chopped fresh tarragon leaves
• 1 C small-diced celery (2 stalks)
• 1 C green grapes, cut in 1/2

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Set aside until cool.

When the chicken is cool cut the chicken into a 3/4-inch dice. Place the chicken in a bowl; add the mayonnaise, tarragon leaves, celery, grapes, 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and toss well.

Let stand overnight.

***

I’ve made this one several times, it’s kind of bland if you serve it right away - letting it stand brings all the flavors together really nicely.

adapted from Ina Garten recipe

For the vinaigrette:

• 1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
• 5 tablespoons good olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the salad:

• 2 ripe Hass avocados
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 bunch arugula, washed and spun dry [spinach is also great]
• 1 1/2 pounds cooked lobster meat, cut in 3/4-inch dice [I always use faux crabmeat]
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half or quarters
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 pound lean bacon, fried and crumbled
• 1 lb pasta shells, or similar bite sized pastas

For the vinaigrette, whisk together the mustard, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.

For the salad, cut the avocados in half, remove the seed, and peel. Cut into 3/4-inch dice and toss with the lemon juice. If the arugula leaves are large, cut them in half crosswise.

Put the lobster and tomatoes in a bowl. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper and toss with enough vinaigrette to moisten. Add the diced avocados, crumbled bacon, pasta, and arugula and toss again. Serve at room temperature.