High Hat Cupcakes

You may notice that I am calling them high hat cupcakes rather than hi-hat cupcakes. This is simply because the English teacher in me refuses to cut corners. I made two batches of these cupcakes for Easter gatherings this past weekend. This was my first attempt at mastering this impressive form. I think I pulled off an okay final product. It was by no means the beautifully smooth mountain of swirly chocolate and frosting Martha Stewart boasts on her website, but it certainly tasted delicious. I definitely learned a thing or two that I will apply when I revisit these cupcakes in hopes that they will look just as lovely as Martha's someday.

For the cupcake, I used Martha Stewart's One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes recipe. It's a pretty simple recipe, and the cupcakes turn out moist and tasty, baking up with nice round tops.

For the first layer of frosting, I used a basic buttercream that I dressed up with some strawberry preserves and a touch of pink gel coloring to give it that Easter egg glow. I cut the tip off of a disposable pastry bag and swirled the frosting into tall peaks. I then gave the frosting time to set. If you have room, place the frosted cupcakes in the refrigerator to cool before you dip them.

For the chocolate coating on the frosting I melted one twelve ounce bag of Nestle Toll House White Morsels in a Pyrex measuring cup.  It took about two minutes total to achieve the consistency I needed for coating the cupcakes. There was a recipe for chocolate dipped strawberries on the back of the bag. I followed the instructions for the coating, adding a bit of vegetable shortening to the melted chips to keep them shiny.

I then took my chilled cupcakes and dipped them in the melted chocolate. I was initially worried that the sheer amount of frosting piled so very high on these cupcakes would not work well in a fully inverted position. How wrong I was. The frosting adhered to the cupcakes beautifully and even survived the dipping into the hot chocolate with ease. I quickly learned that if I wanted my coating to appear smooth, I would have to keep the cupcake upside down long enough for the excess chocolate to drip off back into the measuring cup.

The white chocolate, as it dried, turned out looking almost opalescent because it was just barely translucent, allowing some of the pink to show through. I tried coating one cupcake twice to make the chocolate appear more robust. This was a bit too much heat for my initial layer of frosting, and the lovely piled high design melted into more of a large, smooth hill. While this cupcake did turn a nice, opaque white, it did not have the swirl pattern indicative of a high hat cupcake. When I make these again, I will allow the cupcakes to fully cool in the fridge before attempting to dip them again.

The final product made a pretty centerpiece at our Easter meals. The chocolate cake was a delightful complement to the buttery frosting and the smooth white chocolate. The chocolate coating had just the right amount of firmness to make the texture combinations divine. I should have taken a picture of them cut open, but we ate them faster than we could photograph them.

For my next high hat experiment, I plan to use a butterscotch coating paired with banana cream frosting and a vanilla cupcake.

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St. Patrick's Day Cupcakes

I'm finally returning after a brief, busy, hiatus. My day job has been keeping me occupied planning for next year's students. It's an exciting time to be a high school teacher, but it has kept me away from a kitchen longer than I would have liked. 

Now- on to the cupcakes. These cupcakes were a great deal easier to make than the previous ones. While they did involve many steps, the prep time was much less and the ingredients were easier to work with.  I found this recipe on one of my favorite blogs and decided to give it a whirl. I enjoy an adult beverage from time to time, so, given the approaching holiday, these cupcakes were a perfect fit. I must warn you, however, that these cupcakes do have discernible alcohol in them and are not intended for children or gestating women.

I had a great time collecting all of the ingredients necessary for these cupcakes. It was like a scavenger hunt around Knoxville. If you don't have a stocked bar, I would recommend gathering all of your ingredients in advanced. Remember, if you live in certain parts of the South, you cannot purchase all of the ingredients on a Sunday.

My first stop was our friendly neighborhood liquor store. The clerk gave me the eye when I walked in. Perhaps it was because I was wearing one of Tee-fury's fine tees, and I didn't look the part of responsible liquor store patron. I had decided beforehand that I would simply purchase the airplane bottle size Bailey's, but I quickly changed my mind. I ended up getting the bottle you see in the picture above. It was much more expensive than the off brands the clerk steered me towards but, I think, well worth it. If you've ever tried the off brands, you'll notice a distinct grainy quality that the Bailey's, thankfully, does not have.  I was glad I didn't settle on the airplane size bottle because I wanted more frosting than the recipe recommended, so I would have needed more anyway.

My next stop was to visit a baker's fantasy store, Cook's Corner for a cookie cutter, sprinkles, and maybe some cool, St. Patrickey baking cups. Unfortunately, upon pulling into a prime parking space right in the door, I discovered that they were closed due to a random power outage. This was bizarre as I noticed that the surrounding stores all had power and were open for business. Given my proclivity for spending large quantities of cash in baking stores, this ended up being a blessing. Score one for unwilling self control.

I picked up the rest of the ingredients at Super Target and World Markets. I would have been able to finish my shopping at Super Target, but they do not sell Guinness by the bottle.

Guinness Cupcakes
Makes about 24 cupcakes 
1 c. Guinness Beer
1 c unsalted butter cut into cubes (2 sticks)
3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 c. flour
2 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
2/3 c. sour cream 

Preheat your oven to 350 and line a standard size muffin pan with cupcake liners. 

In a medium sauce pan, simmer the Guinness and butter over medium heat until combined. Add the cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. 

Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of your mixer. In another bowl mix together your eggs and sour cream. I combined mine with a fork, beating vigorously, until they looked smooth and creamy. 

Add the egg mixture to the Guinness mixture, whisking to combine. It should have a milk chocolate color and look smooth, almost like a heavy mousse. Do not give in to the temptation to taste. Remember that you still haven't added the sugar and will be in for a tart, Guinness laden surprise.

Add the chocolate mixture to the flour mixture in your mixer bowl. Mix on a medium-low speed until combined. You may notice small bubbles in the batter. This is fine. It's simply the stout reacting with your other ingredients. Your batter will be a thin and liquidy. If you let it set for about five minutes it will firm up a bit. 


Dole out the batter into your lined cupcake pan, filling cups about 2/3 full. I used a measuring cup to dip out the batter without making a mess. Bake for about 17-19 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a cake comes out clean. I had some trouble with my cupcakes falling in the middle. I think this might be due, in part, to the fact that it was raining and humid when I baked them. If they do fall in the middle, it's not anything to worry about as you will be scooping our the middles for the filling. Place cupcakes on a rack to cool before filling with ganache.  

Chocolate Ganache
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate chips
2/3 c. heavy cream
2 tbs. butter, cubed and at room temperature
1-2 tbs Irish Whiskey

Heat the cream until simmering. Since I am a short-cut girl and like to dirty as few hand wash only dishes as possible, I heated the cream in the microwave. I know some bakers would frown at this, but it worked fine for me. In the microwave it took about a minute and ten seconds. Pour the cream over the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl. Let sit for one minute. Add the butter and whiskey. Stir until combined. Allow mixture to cool at to about room temperature. You want it to be pliable, but not runny or stiff so that you can pipe it into the cupcakes using a pastry bag. 

Bailey's Irish Cream Frosting
3/4 c. unsalted butter at room temperature (about 1 and a half sticks)  
1 lb. confectioner's sugar (about 4 cups)
4-5 tbs. of Bailey's Irish Cream 
Green sugar for garnish

Beat the butter in the bowl of your mixer until smooth. Add the confectioner's sugar a bit at a time. Add the Bailey's and beat to combine. This frosting recipe is approximate. If it appears too runny to pipe onto your cupcakes, add more sugar to achieve the right consistency. If it appears too stiff, add more Bailey's. Keep in mind that your flavoring and liquid component is the Bailey's. You can make this frosting as strong or as light as you like. 

Assembling the cupcakes


Using a sharp knife or small, round cookie cutter, scoop out the middle of your cupcakes to form what looks like a chocolate cake mini-well. Be careful to avoid scooping out too much as you want your cupcakes to have a bottom. Feel free to munch on the extra cake, as you won't be using it for these cupcakes. 


Load a pastry bag with the chocolate ganache and fill the wells until the ganache reaches the top of the cupcake. If you go overboard, use a small spatula to smooth out the filling. The recipe made the perfect amount of ganache for my 24 cupcakes. 


Load another pastry bag with the Bailey's frosting. I used Wilton tip #20 to achieve the ridges in the frosting. Swirl the frosting on the cupcake, forming a dome in the middle if desired. 


Sprinkle each cupcake with green sugar and enjoy. 


I took these cupcakes to a friend's birthday dinner, and they were a huge hit. While I noticed the flavor of the alcohol in them, many people commented that they did not detect a distinct alcohol flavor, but only the sweet notes of the Baileys. I will definately use this recipe again, especially the ganache and filling technique. The Guinness make the cupcakes dense and moist, and the filling is a nice surprise. If you're making these for St. Patrick's day, I would recommend trying to find a bright green cupcake liner. My local Target was sold out, so I had to go with blue.

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Chocolate Bacon and Toffee Cupcakes

 

Thanks to the suggestion of a coworker and at the request of my husband, I decided to venture into the unknown and explore bacon cupcakes. The idea of any meat in a dessert is admittedly more than a tiny bit disturbing.  Of course, if one were forced to select a meat that might enhance a dessert, it would have to be bacon. Bacon is simply delightful swimming in maple syrup next to golden-brown pancakes on a snugly Saturday morning, so it would reasonably follow that a cupcake with maple frosting is not a fry cry from this delectable breakfast scenario. 

Having selected the flavor, I set about looking for a recipe for bacon cupcakes. You might imagine this to be a difficult task, but it seems that there is a trend in the baking world towards using bacon in cakes. After looking over several recipes, I ended up using one from Cupcake Bakeshop. She has two recipes for bacon cupcakes, one that calls for fresh corn, and one more traditional, if you can imagine. I made a few, minimal alterations to the chocolate recipe. It follows below.

Chocolate Bacon and Toffee Cupcakes

Makes about 18 regular cupcakes

1/2 c. butter at room temperature

1 c. + 2 tbs. sugar

2 large eggs at room temperature

3/4 c. flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/8 tsp. salt

1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 c. whole milk

1 tsp. vanilla

4 slices cooked bacon cut into chunks

1/3 c. chopped chocolate covered toffee

Beat the butter until softened. I cut mine up into pats and then creamed it. Add the sugar and beat until thoroughly incorporated. Add the two eggs, blending until well combined. 

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Mix the vanilla and milk in a measuring cup. Alternate adding the dry and wet ingredients to your butter mixture, ending with the dry. When the batter is well mixed it will be thick, the consistency of a brownie batter. 

Fold in your bacon and chocolate covered toffees. 

Place cupcake liners in your pan and add batter until each cup is about 2/3 full. Bake for about 21-25 minutes at 350, or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

2 packages of cream cheese

1/2 c. butter at room temperature

5-8 cups sifted powdered sugar

3 tsp. maple flavored extract

Cream together the butter and cream cheese. Begin adding powdered sugar a cup at a time. Doing this slowly will prevent powered sugar clouds from taking over your kitchen. Add the maple extract and mix until smooth. Taste the frosting to ensure you have achieved the right strength of maple flavoring and it is the proper consistency. 

Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes using a pastry bag and large round tip.

These cupcakes were mild and delicious. The bits of bacon in the cake complemented the maple cream cheese frosting nicely. I felt that the toffee flavor, unfortunately, disappeared when competing with the chocolate and bacon combination of the cupcake, but my husband was able to distinguish and appreciate its subtle flavor. I will definitely revisit the toffee flavor, but I believe it merits a cupcake all to itself. The frosting, because it was in large part cream cheese, was light and creamy with just the perfect level of sweetness. Its taste and consistency was very similar to that of the frosting on an Italian Cream Cake. My husband described these cupcakes as brownies with bacon- the bacon being an added bonus.

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Chocolate Chai Cupcakes with Cinnamon Almond Frosting

 

I had the good fortune of getting a long weekend due to snow in my area, so I decided to try another recipe, meeting my two recipe a month goal for January. I absolutely love Starbuck's Chai Tea Lattes, and these cupcakes were inspired by that beverage. There are myriad recipes out there for various types of chai cakes, but I ended up using one of my own creation. This is the first time I have ventured out into the realm of crafting my own recipe, and I was quite pleased when the kitchen did not explode or the cupcakes catch on fire. 

Candace's Chocolate Chai Cupcakes

Makes about 28 cupcakes

2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature 

1/2 c. cocoa powder

1/4 c. powdered sugar

1 3/4 c. granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract  

4 medium eggs 

1 c. chai tea concentrate 

2 1/4 c. all purpose flour

1 tbs.  baking soda 

 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tbs. honey 

1 tbs. cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare your cupcake pan. 

In your mixer bowl, cream together the butter, cocoa, powdered sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla. Mix until the butter appears incorporated into the sugars. Add the eggs and mix until the batter is the consistency of wet sand. 

Add the chai tea concentrate, honey, and cinnamon, mixing on medium speed. I used the Tazo tea brand concentrate because that's what they use at Starbucks. Your mixture will now be runny. Gradually add in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Do this in stages, adding a bit and then mixing. This will prevent the flour from getting everywhere. Mix until the batter is thick, almost a fudgey consistency. 

Fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 full. Be careful not to overfill the liners as this batter tends to rise a great deal. Bake for about 20 minutes, testing with a toothpick to ensure they are baked all the way through. 

Cool cupcakes on a wire rack and then frost. 

Just a quick note. I made these cupcakes during the middle of a very damp snow. The moisture in the air might have contributed to the way the cupcakes rose in the oven. You may want to experiment with the amounts of batter you put in the liners. I found that I needed less batter to end up with a perfectly sized cake. 

Cinnamon Almond Frosting

1 stick butter at room temperature

8 oz. cream cheese at room temperature

3 tbs. chai tea concentrate

1-2 tbs. milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. almond extract 

32oz bag confectioner's sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

In your mixer bowl combine the butter, cream cheese, chai tea, milk, vanilla and almond extracts. Gradually add the confectioner's sugar, mixing on medium speed. If mixture appears too thick, add either more milk or tea depending on how strong you want the chai flavor. Increase mixer speed and mix until icing is smooth. Add cinnamon to taste, mixing in on low. 

Prepare a pastry bag using a medium round tip. Fill the bag with icing and ice the cooled cupcakes beginning on the outer edge and swirling inward.

 

These cupcakes were incredibly tasty with a subtle hint of spicy chai. I would have preferred a stronger chai flavor because I really enjoy the spicy sensation of the drink. Next time I make them, I will use more chai mix and additional spices like cardamon and cinnamon.

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