Perfect Chocolate Cupcakes

I’ve been striving for the perfect chocolate cupcake.  Impeccable chocolate flavor, super moist and intoxicatingly indulgent.  I have an extraordinary challenge approaching fast – I’m making all of the desserts, including the wedding cake for my brother’s wedding (stay tuned for other test approved recipes!).  So finding the perfect chocolate cupcake wasn’t just fun experiments anymore, it was necessity. 

Previous batches have been dry, crumbly, not sweet enough, too sweet, you name it, I baked it.  So I was on the hunt, again, for that perfect chocolate cupcake.  Several recipes I came across called for coffee.  Why do all of these recipes call for coffee?  I know.  I know.  Coffee might enhance the flavor of the chocolate, making it richer.  I think you can add cocoa powder or melted chocolate to achieve that really rich chocolate flavor, right?  More chocolate flavor - yes please.  I’m sorry to all of those coffee lovers, but I don’t like the taste either.  Coffee flavored desserts just aren't my style, and if I’m going to consume the calories, I want it to be on something decadent and worthwhile.  Don’t get me wrong, coffee desserts do have a time and a place, just not usually in my kitchen. 

After several trials (and errors) and a few tweaks, the results were magically delicious.  The bride and groom want one of their cupcake varieties to be chocolate with Oreo buttercream frosting.  Easy.  I have the cake part down now, and I’ll turn to my classic buttercream frosting, adding crushed Oreo’s.  Wowza.  After this last batch, I think I’ll stop.  Success is mine. 

Perfect Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients:
2 Cups Flour
2 Cups Sugar
3/4 Cup Ghirardelli Cocoa Powder
2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
2 Large Eggs
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Cup Buttermilk
1 Cup Vegetable Oil
1 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Cup Boiling Water


Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F  Mix all ingredients with the paddle attachment on medium speed until blended.  Pour into cupcake tins (pour batter 3/4 high).  Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Test with a cake tester.


For a 9x13 in cake - bake for one hour.


Let cool on wire racks.  Frost and decorate.


My Vanilla Buttercream:
2 pounds confectioner's sugar (1 package)
2 sticks butter (European style preferred), softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Milk, as needed for consistency 
*Add as many crushed Oreo's as needed for an Oreo buttercream

Food and Wine Classic in Aspen

Wow.  That’s all I can say.  This event was unbelievable.  Celebrity chefs, delicious cocktails and –oh my goodness- the most delectable food EVER.

Thanks to my wonderful job, I was able to attend the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen.  This was the best food and wine event I’ve ever gone to.  Nothing holds a candle to this one.  We arrived on Thursday and started the weekend off with a bang attending the kick-off party.  We began at the St. Regis for a cocktail hour, running into Gail Simmons, Laura Werlin, Jennifer Carrol, Richard Blais, Top Chef Season 9 winner, Paul Qui, and many other Top Chef stars.  How could the night get better?  Oh, and it did followed by a private party in a lovely Aspen home with scrumptious nibbles and the most enjoyable Presseco lime infused bubblies. 

We were off to a great start on Thursday, imagining what the rest of the weekend would hold for us.  Our wildest dreams were about to come true, and we didn’t even know it.  Friday we started by attending a cooking demonstration with Chef Tim Love.  If you haven’t seen him – you should.  He definitely has personality.  Absolutely hilarious, and great grilling tips too!  Now it was time to work – off to the Grand Tasting to man our booth space.  Our afternoon seminar was the Melted Cheese Master Class with Laura Werlin.  She’s my hero when it comes to all things cheese.  Cooking with cheese, pairing cheese, talking cheese, you name it, Laura Werlin is master.  We couldn’t wait to see what the evening would bring.  After the Grand Tasting Sessions we attended a pre-party hosted by Stella Artois.  Then took a lovely ride to the top of the mountain to the Publisher’s Party with FOOD & WINE Publisher Christina Grdovic for A Taste of New Orleans at the Sundeck on top of Aspen Mountain.  What a view!  Absolutely breathtaking.  And then I met Emeril!  And the food was to die for, so delicious.

After several cocktails we were off to the Late Nite Dessert Bash hosted by Gail Simmons for sweet treats, more cocktails and a dance floor.  This party was unbelievable.  If you’re a dessert fan – you would have been in heaven!  So many decadent desserts to choose from.  We ate, drank and danced the night away.  This late night party was my favorite of the weekend!  You can’t beat watching Gail Simmons breaking down on the dance floor!

Friday was so wonderful and surreal we weren’t sure what Saturday would bring.  After the Grand Tasting we attended the Bobbly Flay Parisian Flair seminar.  The food looked and smelled amazing – I only wish we were able to taste it!  Our afternoon session was a second cheese seminar with Laura Werlin – pairing cheeses with wine.  These cheeses were unbelievably delicious.  Unfortunately, some of them were so unique we can no longer purchase them.  After the day of seminars and Grand Tastings were over, we were on our way to the 30^th Anniversary Party. More amazing food from chefs like Mario Batali and Jose Andres.  To end the night, Elvis Costello performed.  Seriously.

Our last day kicked off with none other than the Classic Cook Off with Food and Wine host Sissy Biggers.  The Cook Off pitted Bobby Flay and Michael Symon against Jacques Pépin and his dear friend Jean-Claude Szurdake.  We had front row seats for this in a culinary race against the clock, sitting right in front of Michael Symon and Bobby Flay.  Words will not do this even justice.  The duos were absolutely hysterical.  And Sissy Biggers made you laugh with every other comment.  And the dishes they created!  I wish I could create amazing dishes like that on the fly.  They looked absolutely amazing.  The winners were Jacques Pépin and Jean-Claude Szurdake.

Quite the event.  I hope I’ll have a chance someday to return.  Truly an amazing experience, one I’ll never forget.

Peanut Butter Morsels

I heart peanut butter. Okay, I more than love it. I have an obsession. I probably shouldn't admit this, but sometimes I eat it right out of the jar, on a giant spoon. Not just the teaspoon, the next size up. You can't tell me you never do it.  Favorite candy, Reese's Cups, hands down.  Peanut butter surrounded by chocolate, what's not to love?

The big question was, instead if eating it off the spoon, what dessert can I create with it?  I opted to try a peanut butter cookie.  Can I incorporate some form of a delicious Reese's candy?  Reese's Pieces - I'll add the two together!  A perfect harmony - peanut butter cookies with extra peanut butter and chocolate crunch.  What's to lose?  

For regular peanut butter cookies skip the Reese's Pieces and flatten the cookie dough with a fork prior to baking.

Peanut Butter Cookies


Ingredients:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 - 3/4  cup creamy peanut butter (depending on how you want them to taste)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
12-16 ounces Reese's Pieces


Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  


Cream together the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla.  Stir in the eggs and then blend in the peanut butter. Stir in the flour, baking soda and salt until a smooth dough is formed. 


Form the dough into tablespoon-sized balls and place on cookie sheet 2 inches apart.  Bake one sheet at a time for 8-10 minutes.  Cool on a rack for at least 10 minutes.  


Yield: About 24 cookies

B-A-N-A-N-A-S

Life happened.  Work, traveling, can't complain, but needless to say, it got in the way of the blogging world.  This should have been posted months ago to honor my dear friend's birthday celebration.  In honor of the birthday festivities I whipped up something delightful.  He requested bananas – “anything banana.”  Your wish is my command!  I asked my sister what she thought would be a fun birthday dessert with bananas – something different.  She immediately said – “can you do a Boston cream donut, but a banana cupcake version?”  Fabulous idea!  Why didn't I think of that?  A banana cupcake with a  custard like filling and a buttercream frosting.  Done.

I wanted the banana cupcake to be impeccable, super moist, but full of that delicious banana taste.  This recipe is actually almost like banana bread or muffins.  At least there is just a slight tweak on the banana bread recipe I use religiously.  I wanted the filling to leave you wanting more, but it needed to be delicate, not to over-power the cupcake.  I decided to use banana pudding.  An excellent additional banana flavor, enhancing the extreme burst of banana I was trying to achieve.  Now that I have the intense banana flavor covered, I wanted to top it off with a classic buttercream frosting.  I used my traditional vanilla buttercream, but rolled the cupcakes in cinnamon graham cracker crumbs.  These cupcakes went from a Boston cream donut to now almost resembling a version of a banana cream pie with a graham cracker crust.  Delicious.

Result - RAVE reviews.  The birthday boy even had two!  And our waitress at the restaurant took away the leftovers.  I guess they even looked too good to pass up!  I’d chalk this recipe down as a huge success.  Now I want to make another batch to relive the experience all over again.  Now that's bananas!

Ingredients

Cupcakes:

• 2 1/2 cups flour

• 1 tablespoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/8 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup European style unsalted butter, softened

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

• 2 large eggs, room temperature

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 4 very ripe bananas, mashed

• 3/4 cup plain yogurt

Filling:

• 1 package instant banana pudding

• 2 cups milk

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting:

• My Vanilla Buttercream

• 2 pounds confectioner's sugar (1 package)

• 2 sticks butter (European style preferred), softened

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Milk, as needed for consistency 

Garnish:

• 2 cups crushed cinnamon graham crackers

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners. In large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.  Set aside.  In another large bowl, with electric mixer, cream butter with granulated sugar and brown sugar until light.  Add eggs, one at a time, then vanilla.  Add flour mixture alternately with bananas and yogurt, mixing on low speed just until moistened. 
2. Fill each muffin cup about three-quarters full.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.  Cool cupcakes 5 minutes in pan, then remove cupcakes to wire rack to cool completely.
3. Meanwhile, prepare filling and frosting.  Mix banana pudding with milk according to package directions, adding vanilla.  Chill for at least 30 minutes.  For frosting, mix all ingredients until creamy. 
4. Once cupcakes are cool, insert a paring knife into top of each cupcake, making a small hole in the center.  Spoon filling mixture into the hole in the top of each cupcake.  Swirl frosting on top of each cupcake; roll in graham-cracker crumbs.  Keep chilled.