Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes

Last night, my coworker friend Rob invited a group of us downtown to watch the Lost season finale at his place. Inspired by the island theme, Giovanna and I volunteered to cook. She made delicious pulled pork tacos with cabbage and a mango avocado salsa. She also made black beans which went very well with my coconut rice (Monkey's recipe). Too lazy to make guac, I picked some up at Whole Foods, along with our favorite salsa. Everything was delicious and I was absolutely stuffed by the time I finished eating.

But of course, there was room for dessert. Just barely.

I originally wanted to make black and white cookies (good vs evil themes in Lost) but then Giovanna suggested cupcakes which made me remember this intriguing recipe I saw several weeks ago on the cooks illustrated website. They're called Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes and they're stuffed with ganache and frosted with meringue buttercream.

Um, yes please.


The chocolate ganache was a piece of cake (pun intended). Just heat in microwave, stir, and pop in fridge to cool. The batter was also a cinch. Basically melt chocolate and then dump everything together. Next, I filled up the cupcake wrappers and dropped a dollop of ganache in the center of each one. Then it was into the oven for 16-17 minutes.

Now onto the buttercream. Oh the buttercream. My first batch was a disaster. I was too impatient and didn't let the butter soften to room temperature. Therefore my frosting coagulated into a gross cottage cheese like mess. Into the trash. My second batch was much better. I took the time to actually cream my butter beforehand, just to be sure it was soft and fluffy before I mixed in with the egg whites. I also cooked the egg whites for an extra couple of minutes. No reason. Just felt like doing it.

My reward? A light fluffy smooth frosting. Hallelujah.


Of course, I ate a cupcake asap (stuffed one in Badge's mouth too). Wow. Seriously wow. These cupcakes are damn good. I'm not a die hard cupcake fan but I'm now a die hard fan of this recipe. Not too sweet, sinfully chocolate-y, ooey gooey in the middle.


Make it. Your loved ones will thank you.



Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes with Ganache Filling
Courtesy of CooksIllustarted.com
Makes 12 cupcakes

Ganache Filling
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate , chopped fine (see note)
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar

Chocolate Cupcakes
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate , chopped fine (see note)
1/3 cup (1 ounce) Dutch-processed cocoa
3/4 cup hot coffee
3/4 cup (4 1/8 ounces) bread flour
3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 recipe Frosting

1. FOR GANACHE FILLING: Place chocolate, cream, and confectioners’ sugar in medium microwave-safe bowl. Heat in microwave on high power until mixture is warm to touch, 20 to 30 seconds. Whisk until smooth; transfer bowl to refrigerator and let stand until just chilled, no longer than 30 minutes.

2. FOR CUPCAKES: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard-size muffin pan (cups have ½-cup capacity) with baking-cup liners. Place chocolate and cocoa in medium bowl. Pour hot coffee over mixture and whisk until smooth. Set in refrigerator to cool completely, about 20 minutes. Whisk flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.

3. Whisk oil, eggs, vinegar, and vanilla into cooled chocolate-cocoa mixture until smooth. Add flour mixture and whisk until smooth.

4. Divide batter evenly among muffin pan cups. Place one slightly rounded teaspoon ganache filling on top of each cupcake. Bake until cupcakes are set and just firm to touch, 17 to 19 minutes. Cool cupcakes in muffin pan on wire rack until cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes. Carefully lift each cupcake from muffin pan and set on wire rack. Cool to room temperature before frosting, about 1 hour.

5. TO FROST: Mound 2 to 3 tablespoons frosting on center of each cupcake. Using small icing spatula or butter knife, spread frosting to edge of cupcake, leaving slight mound in center.


Creamy Vanilla Frosting
Makes about 2 1/4 cups.

The frosting can be made up to 24 hours in advance and refrigerated in an airtight container. When ready to frost, place frosting in a microwave-safe container and warm briefly on high power until just slightly softened, 5 to 10 seconds. Once warmed, stir until creamy.

1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large egg whites
Pinch table salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter , softened and cut into 1-tablespoon pieces
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Combine sugar, egg whites, and salt in bowl of stand mixer; place bowl over pan of simmering water. Whisking gently but constantly, heat mixture until slightly thickened, foamy, and registers 150 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 2 to 3 minutes.

2. Place bowl in stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Beat mixture on medium speed until consistency of shaving cream and slightly cooled, 1 to 2 minutes. Add butter, 1 piece at a time, until smooth and creamy. (Frosting may look curdled after half of butter has been added; it will smooth with additional butter.) Once all butter is added, add vanilla; mix until combined. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until light, fluffy, and thoroughly combined, about 30 seconds, scraping beater and sides of bowl with rubber spatula as necessary.

3. If final frosting seems too thick, warm mixer bowl briefly over pan of simmering water. Place bowl back on mixer and beat on medium-high speed until creamy.

Macro

My coworker lent me his 105mm macro lens. The detail is amazing.

I want.

Healthy Dinner

Tonight I made a healthy salad that was really a mish-mash of whatever was leftover in the fridge. On hand, I had mixed salad from the CSA, along with red onion, edamame, cranberries, and roquefort cheese. I made candied walnuts and balsamic vinaigrette, and tossed it all together. Not bad, the cheese was a bit overpowering for the combo of ingredients I had, but overall, a great semi-healthy dinner. To accompany our meal (because it makes so much sense), I cooked some shrimp to eat with cocktail sauce. Badge has been requesting cocktail shrimp for a while now so I finally delivered.

Unfortunately, I've been very MIA on the yoga front. I went last Sat which was the first time in two weeks! I meant to go yesterday AND today but work got in the way. At least, I went running yesterday and I will be sure to go again tomorrow and Friday. My running has been better. I can run 3 miles continuously again and my side aches are less frequent. Encouraged by this, I decided to keep up the motivation by signing up for the Carlsbad Half Marathon again. Training won't start until fall so I'll have plenty of time to get back in the groove before then. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with yoga at the same time.

Extra Misc

This will be a misc post of few words. I am lazy.

On Sat night, we went to Hane Sushi, followed by Extraordinary Desserts, then Iron Man 2. Sushi was tasty but not spectacular, would try it again though. For dessert, I had some fried doughy thing (forgot the name) topped with fruit and lemon meringue ice cream. A bit too tart for me but good in it's lightness.


Badge had bread pudding with ice cream. I liked his better.

Check out this amazing parking job. I insisted this space was too small but Badge proved me wrong. What a man.


Garden is truding along.


Tomato seedlings are growing quite slowly, but at least they're not dead.


Sage and catnip are finally taking off.


Peaches still peachy.


Dianthus is bursting with flowers.


This particular patch of alyssum is doing well, though the ones in the sunny bed are looking dry and crispy.


General lusciousness.


Amazingly, the dahlia plant I thought was long dead has emerged. God bless it's little plant soul.


All the garden pics were taken with the 18-200mm zoom. To demonstrate the zoom power, check out this general view from my sofa.


Now zoomed in on a fern outside. Look at that detail!


Another view from sofa (forgot to take off flash).


Zoomed in on Fred hiding behind shoes.


Besides taking pics, we finally got our butts to Aaron Brothers to frame some of our pics from Taiwan. Here are two (love the one of my uncle with his granddaughter). We also got two pics blown up and custom framed. Not cheap but we had a 30% off coupon. Should get them back by end of month. Can't wait!


And finally, some cat pics for your amusement.

French Potato Salad

Hooked on the French potato salad Monkey made last Friday, I decided to make it again last night. The ingredients list is pretty straightforward. I modified according to what was available at TJ's: omitted the chervil and tarragon, substituted red onion for shallots and red wine vinegar for white wine vinegar. Sadly, I undercooked my potatoes, foolishly not tasting them before taking them out of the pan. Poo. Nevertheless, the dressing was delicious. The roquefort cheese was delicious. I can't wait to make this again.


Look at that delicious mold.


To pair with the potatoes, I made a salad of baby spinach, radishes, cranberries, and candied walnuts, dressed with Newman's honey mustard dressing (surprisingly tasty). I used the same candied walnuts recipe that Monkey made Friday, and I swear I'll be making candied walnuts for the rest of my life. I could eat these like popcorn. Nuts are suppose to be good for you right?


Be sure to keep an eye on these suckers as they could burn quickly if neglected. Stir stir stir, and thou shalt be rewarded.


Lastly, I leave you with this picture Badge took on the D40 of one of his lonely hearts meals while I was in Philly. Look at that setup. So proud, so proud...


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French Potato Salad with Dijon Mustard and Fines Herbes
Courtesy of Monkey

If fresh chervil isn't available, substitute an additional 1/2 tbs of minced parsley and an additional 1/2 tsp tarragon. For best flavor, serve the salad warm, but to make ahead, follow the recipe through step 2, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Before serving, bring the salad to room temperature, then add the shallots and herbs.

2 lbs small (about 2-inch diameter) red potatoes, unpeeled, scrubbed, and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
2 tbs salt
1 medium garlic clover, peeled and threaded on skewer
1 1/2 tbs champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
2 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 small shallot, minced (about 2 tbs)
1 tbs minced fresh chervil leaves
1 tbs minced fresh parsley leaves
1 tbs minced fresh chives
1 tsp minced fresh tarragon leaves

Place potatoes, 6 cups of cold tap water, and salt in large saucepan; bring to boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium. Lower skewered garlic into simmering water and partially blanche, about 45 seconds. Immediately run garlic under cold tap water to stop cooking; remove garlic from skewer and set aside. Continue to simmer potatoes, uncovered, until tender but still firm, about 5 minutes. Drain potatoes, reserving 1/4 cup cooking water. Arrange hot potatoes close together in a single layer on rimmed baking sheet.

Press garlic through garlic press or mince by hand. Whisk garlic, reserved water, vinegar, mustard, oil and pepper in a small bowl until combined. Drizzle dressing evenly over warm potatoes; let stand 10 minutes.

Toss shallot and herbs in small bowl. Transfer potatoes to large serving bowl; add shallot/herb mixture and mix gently with rubber spatula to combine. Serve immediately

Variations:

#1. Follow above recipe, omitting herbs and tossing dressed potatoes with 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped, 4 oz Roquefort cheese, crumbled and 1 small bunch arugula, washed, dried, and torn into bite sized pieces along with shallots in step 3.

#2. Follow above recipe, omitting herbs and substituting 2 tbs minced red onion for shallot. Toss dressed potatoes with 2 medium red radishes, thinly sliced, 1/4 cup capers and 1/4 cup cornichons, thinly sliced, along with red onion in step 3.

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Candied Walnuts
Courtesy of Bon Appétit

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 cup walnuts (about 3 1/2 ounces)
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Generous pinch of cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray baking sheet with nonstick spray. Combine walnuts and all remaining ingredients in medium bowl; toss to coat. Spread nut mixture on prepared baking sheet (some nuts may clump together). Bake until nuts are deep golden and sugar mixture is bubbling, stirring occasionally to break up clumps, about 15 minutes. Cool completely on baking sheet. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Store in airtight container.)

Philly: Part 2

The day after Monkey's defense, we hit the streets for some serious shopping. The weather was gorgeous, about 75 degrees. Everyone was dressed for summer.

After several hours, we found ourselves with a nice stash of booty. For myself, I got a pair of shorts, three shirts, and some undergarments. Not bad not bad. Though I didn't see anything at Anthropologie I wanted, we did stumble across the cutest softest stuff animals, so we bought two for my cousins in Taiwan. I should have bought a bunny for myself. Oh wait, I'm 28...


After all that walking, we stopped at a gelato store for a nice treat. I got Irish Creme coffee and chocolate hazelnut.


My mom got Thai coconut milk and my sister got grapefruit campari.


There was some serious gelato eating.


I mean, no nonsense gelato eating.


That night we ordered pizza (Ferret came over to partake) and hung out. My mom did a lot of chatting on Skype with our relatives in Taiwan. At some point, Monkey bounced into action and baked up some banana bread which we enjoyed with vanilla ice cream. Mmmm.


On Friday, we ran some errands and went grocery shopping at TJ's. That night, we went over to Ferret's to cook up an early Mother's day feast. Since he only lives a block away, it was easy to transport all our groceries over.


The Menu: baked shrimp scampi with angel hair pasta, french potato salad, green beans with candied walnuts, and chocolate pudding with whipped cream. The original plan was to make tiramisu but alas, we could not find ladyfingers and TJ's did not carry marscapone (I've since confirmed the TJ's in UTC carries this - Philly you suck).

As it turns out, dinner was a success! The candied walnuts on the green beans were so addicting. If someone set a big bowl of these in front of me, you can bet your horses it'd be empty in the blink of an eye.


The shrimp scampi was quite tasty and went well with the angel hair which really held the sauce. I didn't broil it at the end (optional). Next time, I will definitely try this since it felt unnatural to have un-crispy panko.


The french potato salad was also a hit with my taste buds. The dressing, the roquefort cheese, the perfectly cooked tators, everything was perfect!


And of course I've blogged about the chocolate pudding before. Mmm pudding.


Thanks for hosting Ferret! Note:I think this is Ferret's first appearance on this site. Doesn't he look like Harry Potter (not from the movie, but from the book covers)?? Apparently, the Penn librarians refer to him as such.


On Saturday, I was off to the airport to return to SD. I wish I could have stayed longer. I really can't wait till Monkey moves back to the west coast and we can do this more often. Till next time Tony.


Till next time.


Many more pictures from the trip can be found here

D90

So I pulled the trigger on a D90.

It's amazing.

I've only started fiddling with it yesterday and I already love it. The quality of the pictures is top notch. I passed on the kit lens (body-only) and got the 18-200mm vibration reduction (VR) lens and the 50mm f1.8 lens.

Thus far, I've mostly been playing with the 50mm. I got this lens to use in low-light situations because I hate hate hate flash. Hate it. I also love shallow depth of field so it was like a two-for-one. Verdict?

Love it!

My living room is not bright lit by any stretch of the imagination, but check out these pictures. It's like daytime (well not really but you get the idea).





Each picture is nice and crisp. Also, check out how nice the camera makes Badge's skin look (not that he doesn't have nice skin already). Here he is stealing the Penn shirt we got for my cousin in Taiwan.


This weekend I will hit the garden with the 18-200mm lens to see what it's made of. And of course I'll certainly be serving up some food pics in the very near future. In the meantime, I'll be slowly wading through the big user's manual and hoping some of the information is retained.