Mini Banana Dulce de Leche Cupcakes

          In a way, mini cupcakes have a higher standard than regular cupcakes.  Those two bites have to have the perfect texture and flavor so that you aren't left with a feeling of disappointment. It's like what I learned in statistics class: the smaller the data sample, the more representative everything has to be or you'll get the wrong impression.  

         These cupcakes are fluffy ans moist, with a strong banana flavor because of the mashed bananas.  They are fluffier than banana muffins, and they are truly banana flavored.  There isn't any cinnamon or nutmeg to distract.  I made dulce de leche Swiss meringue buttercream with some left over dulce de leche I had from these cookies.  The caramel flavor added more intensity to the cupcake, I think.  I topped them off with candied walnuts, which added crunch and tied all the flavors together.  The walnuts are coated in caramelized sugar and so they add more of that caramel flavor.  

         They were some fine specimens of cupcake.  

First, cream together the butter and sugar. 

Beat in eggs and stir in 2 ripe mashed bananas (I pureed the bananas in a blender). Stir in baking soda that has been dissolved in hot milk.

Fold in the sifted dry ingredients.

Portion out the batter, filling the liners 3/4 of the way. 

Bake and they will get puffy. Then let cool. 

Make a Swiss meringue buttercream, following the normal procedure: heat egg whites and sugar over simmering water, beat until firm, cream in butter, and mix in flavorings (dulce de leche).

     Then just frost the cupcakes, top with candied walnuts, and enjoy! The cupcakes will keep at room temperature for a few days.  

Banana Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Buttercream

makes 3 dozen mini cupcakes, or 18 standard cupcakes

Ingredients

for the cupcake:

125g (4oz + 1 tbsp) unsalted butter

175g (6oz) sugar

2 eggs

2 large mashed ripe bananas

1 tsp Baking soda

2 Tbsp boiling milk

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

225g (8oz) flour

for the buttercream:

2-1/2 large egg whites

3/4 cup sugar

2 sticks unsalted butter, diced and softened

1/8 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4-1/2 cup of dulce de leche, room temperature 

candied walnuts, follow directions here 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325*F.  Line cupcake pan with paper liners.
2. Cream butter & sugar till light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Mix in mashed bananas.
3. Dissolve the baking soda in the hot milk and stir into the banana mixture.
4. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt and fold into the wet ingredients until incorporated.
5. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full with batter.  Bake in over for 10-12 minutes if you're making mini cupcakes, or 18-25 minutes if you're making standard cupcakes.  They should be light golden brown and a toothpick should come out clean.  Cool the cupcakes on a wire rack.
6. To make the buttercream, combine egg whites and sugar in a bowl placed over simmering water. Bring the mixture to 150 degrees F while whisking constantly.
7. Transfer mixture to stand mixer bowl, fitted with a whisk attachment and beat on medium speed until mixture cools and doubles in volume and forms firm peaks when the whisk is pulled up out of the meringue.
8. Add butter in one piece at a time, mixing to incorporate after each addition. Add salt and vanilla and mix to combine. Add dulce de leche and mix to combine.
9. Frost the cupcakes and top with candied walnuts.  Keep at room temperature. 

S'mores Cupcakes

       There's something about cupcakes that always makes me happy.  Maybe it's the cloud of frosting on top, or the fact that you don't have to slice it like a cake or pie; with cupcakes, everyone gets their own beautifully decorated dessert.  Or maybe it's the endless possibilities for the combination of cake, filling, frosting, and toppings.

         As you may tell, cupcakes are at the top of my list of favorite things to bake.  So when I decided to enter some baked goods into my county's fair, I was definitely going to bring some awesome cupcakes to the competition.  

         With these cupcakes, I brought in another one of my favorite things: s'mores.  I combined the versatility of cupcakes with one of the most perfect flavor combinations in the world.  The cupcake is composed of a graham cracker cupcake, marshmallow fluff filling, malted milk chocolate frosting, and toasted marshmallow frosting.  Then the cupcake is drizzled in dark chocolate ganache, topped with a ganache-dipped graham cracker, and lightly sprinkled with more graham cracker crumbs. 

          The cupcake was moist and soft, with a strong vanilla-graham cracker taste.  Originally, I wanted to make a cupcake out of graham flour, the actual flour used to make graham crackers, but since I couldn't find it, I used crushed graham crackers instead.  Very finely crushed graham crackers is a lot similar to flour.  

          Using the coning method, I filled the cupcakes with marshmallow fluff.

           The malted milk chocolate frosting was perfect for the cupcake.  It had a slight marshmallow-y taste, so it contributed a great s'more flavor.  The frosting is an easy-to-make buttercream with chocolate malt powder and melted milk chocolate incorporated.  

           The toasted marshmallow frosting is made with marshmallow fluff and oven-toasted marshmallows.  To toast the marshmallows, just turn on the broiler in your oven and place some large marshmallows on a baking sheet and put them in the oven for a few moments, watching carefully so that they don't burn.  Make sure to spray the baking sheet so that the marshmallows don't stick.  I like broiling marshmallows and sandwiching them in graham crackers just whenever I'm in the mood for a s'more.  

            To frost the cupcakes, I used a large French decorating tip.  I piped a dollop of chocolate frosting, and then a smaller dollop of marshmallow frosting on top of that.  Then I reheated some leftover ganache I had and piped it on top of the frosting in a zig-zag pattern.

             The only that makes me sad is that the appearance was ruined while I was transporting the cupcakes to the fair. The cupcakes tumbled around in the box, so I ended up with a cupcake with a mess of brown frosting on top (oops). It's fine though, and I also made two other things for the fair, which I will post in the future.  

              Enjoy!

S'mores Cupcakes

makes 12 frosted and filled cupcakes
cake recipe adapted from Bon Appetit, frosting adapted from Sweetapolita

Ingredients

For the graham cracker cupcake:
1-1/2 cups fine graham cracker crumbs (about 10 crackers ground in a blender or food processor)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup whole milk, at room temperature

For the malted milk chocolate buttercream:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
1/4 cup plus 2 tbs chocolate malted milk powder
1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
4 oz quality milk chocolate

1/4 cup heavy cream

For the toasted marshmallow frosting:
8 large marshmallows
1/2 cup confectioners sugar, sifted
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 jar (3.5oz) marshmallow fluff

For assembling:
4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup heavy cream
about 1/4 cup marshmallow fluff
graham crackers, cut into 12 small rectangles
more graham cracker crumbs, if desired

Directions

Make the cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 12 standard muffin cups with paper liners. 
2. Whisk graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking powder, and pinch of salt in medium bowl. 
3. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating to blend between additions. Beat in vanilla. 
4. Add graham-cracker mixture in 3 additions alternately with milk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with graham-cracker mixture. Divide batter among muffin cups.
5. Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center come out clean, about 22 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to rack; cool completely.

Make the malted milk chocolate frosting:

1. Cream together the butter and confectioners sugar until smooth and fluffy.
2. Add malt powder, vanilla and salt, and beat on low speed until well combined. Add the melted chocolate and beat on medium speed until smooth (about 2 minutes).
3. Add whipping cream and beat on medium-high speed for another minute.

Make the toasted marshmallow frosting:

1. Place marshmallows on baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil and sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Place on lower rack of oven, and broil marshmallows until nice and brown on top, between 30-60 seconds. Remove pan from oven and gently turn the marshmallows over, and broil until they are golden brown on both sides.  Watch carefully and make sure they don't burn.
2. Beat together the butter and confectioners sugar.  Add vanilla and beat for 3 minutes.  Add marshmallows and marshmallow fluff and mix for one minute on low speed.

Assemble:

1. Make a bittersweet ganache by bringing 1/4 cup heavy cream to a simmer.  Pour the hot cream over 4 oz chopped chocolate and let sit for 30 seconds, then mix until all the chocolate is melted and smooth. 
2. Cut a cone shape out of a cooled cupcake and fill the hole with about 1 tsp marshmallow fluff. Press the cone shape back in place.
3. Pipe some chocolate frosting on top of the cupcake, and then pipe marshmallow frosting on top of that.
4. Pipe the ganache on top of the frosting in a thin, zig-zag pattern. Dip graham cracker pieces in remaining ganache and place in the cupcake frosting.  Sprinkle cupcake with graham cracker crumbs, if desired.

Banana Split Cupcakes

     
     Getting little kids to behave is difficult.  Especially when you're dealing with my little bro, Aideng.  I've managed to gain some respect from him, though, and he kind of listens to me sometimes.  After four years of taking him to the playground and battling him with Nerf swords, we're like best buds.

       I have this reward system going where Aideng gets a sticker to put in his sticker book every time he does something good, and when he gets ten stickers, he gets a prize.  This time I got him a water slide, because I remember I loved those when I was younger.  With that added to the water guns he's collected and the water balloons he's been treasuring for so long, it was the perfect time for a water party on my front lawn.

      So Aideng and his little four-year-old buddy spent an afternoon sliding around a sixteen-foot waterslide and pelting each other with water balloons.  Afterwards, they ate these cupcakes.

      These cupcakes are perfect for Aideng, because he loves chocolate and sprinkles and cherries.  I think he liked them, because he actually finished a whole cupcake this time.  I made these cupcakes to reminisce a banana split, which I actually haven't had in a long time.  They just look so cheery and make me think of summer.

      These are banana cupcakes filled with a fudge brownie, topped with strawberry whipped cream frosting, dipped in semisweet chocolate ganache, rolled in crushed graham crackers, and then topped with more frosting, sprinkles, and a maraschino cherry.  It has all the flavors you would expect to find in a banana split, and all you need is the ice cream.  Trust me, it's not as complicated as it sounds.  Here's what you do:

First, you make a batch of fudge brownie batter. I used half of the Baked brownie recipe, which is my favorite.  It's the same brownie I used here for the nutella swirl brownies I made, except without the nutella part and I took out the espresso powder.

Then, half bake the brownies in a mini muffin pan. Just bake them for five minutes, until the edges are a little dry.  You only need 18 brownie bites, so the rest of the batter you can fully bake for delicious brownies.  These are literally half-baked, so to fully bake them, just double the baking time to 10 minutes.

Flip the pan over and tap it a few times to get the brownies out. Let them cool for a couple of minutes, then place them on some wax paper and freeze them until solid.  

Next, make the banana cupcake batter.  Sift together the dry ingredients. 

Puree or mash ripe bananas. 

Cream together butter and sugar, and then beat in milk, eggs, and vanilla. 

Alternate stirring in the flour and banana to the butter mixture. 

Then, fill liners half way with batter.

Take a cold brownie and place it on top.  Freezing the brownie keeps it from  over-baking the second time in the oven so that it stays fudgy and moist, like the hot fudge in a banana split.  The banana cupcake batter is also thick enough so that the brownie won't just sink to the bottom of the cupcake.

Put another scoop of cupcake batter on top so that it covers the brownie.  

Bake the cupcakes until golden brown.  No sign of the brownie, see?

And let them cool.

To make the strawberry whipped cream frosting, start by creaming together cream cheese, sugar, salt, and stawberry jam. Then whip whipped cream in a separate, chilled bowl to stiff peaks. 

Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture until thoroughly combined.  The frosting is the consistency of ice cream, and tastes like the whipped cream and strawberry sauce you find on a banana split. 

Next, make a simple chocolate ganache with semi-sweet chocolate. 

Crumble some graham crackers (I had a few left over from my recent camping trip).

Decorating the cupcake is like making a banana split.  First, scoop some ice cream onto the cupcake and  spread it around.  Refrigerate the cupcake for about ten minutes. 

Dip the frosting into the warm ganache. 

Roll the edges of the cupcake in graham cracker bits.  Then, refrigerate the cupcakes until the chocolate sets.

Pipe some some frosting on top.

And then just add sprinkles and a cherry.

      Enjoy!

Banana Split Cupcakes

makes 18 decorated cupcakes

banana cupcake recipe adapted from Baking Bites, brownie recipe adapted from Baked

Ingredients

For the brownie:

1/2 cup plus 2 tbs all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbs dark unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces

5.5 oz dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

3/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

3 eggs, at room temperature (technically, you should use 2.5 eggs, but 3 eggs is fine)

1 tsp vanilla extract

For the banana cupcake:

2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp milk
1 1/4 cup mashed or pureed banana (about 2-1/2 large bananas)
For the strawberry whipped cream frosting:
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
2 cup confectioners sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup strawberry jam
2 cups heavy whipping cream

For finishing:

4 oz semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

3 graham crackers, finely crumbled

rainbow sprinkles

18 maraschino cherries 

Directions

1. Make the brownie. Preheat the oven to 350*F. Spray a mini muffin pan with nonstick spray. Whisk together the flour, salt, and cocoa powder in a small bowl.  In a large heat-proof bowl, melt the chocolate and butter over a pot of simmering water, stirring until smooth.  Turn off the heat.  Gently stir in the sugars, then take the bowl off the pot.  Stir in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.  Fill 18 cups of the muffin pan with about a teaspoon of batter, and bake for 5 minutes, until the edges are a little dry but the center is still moist.  Flip the pan over onto a cooling rack and tap to remove the brownies.  Let brownies cool, then place on wax paper and freeze for at least one hour.  For extra batter, bake in muffin pan for 10 minutes.
2. Make the cupcake batter. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon; set aside.  In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.  Then beat in the eggs, one at a time, and stir in the milk and vanilla. Add half of the flour mixture and stir until combined.  Stir in the banana puree, and then the rest of the flour until no streaks of flour remain.  
3. Bake the cupcake.  Preheat oven to 350*F.  Line a standard muffin pan with paper liners.  Fill liners halfway with cupcake batter.  Then place a frozen half-baked brownie on top.  Cover the brownie with another scoop of batter.  Bake for 18 minutes, until golden brown, and then place on a cooling rack to cool completely.
4. Make the frosting.  Place a glass bowl in a freezer for at least ten minutes, or until chilled.  Place the whipping cream in the chilled bowl and whip on high speed until stiff.  In a large bowl, cream together the cream cheese, sugar, salt, vanilla, and jam, until well combined.  Fold in the whipping cream.
5. Prepare the assembly.  Place the semisweet chocolate in a small bowl.  Bring the heavy cream to a simmer, and then pour over the chocolate.  Stir until smooth and set aside.  Place the crumbled graham crackers in another small bowl.  
6. Assemble. Take a small scoop of frosting and spread on a cupcake in a mound shape; repeat with the rest of the cupcakes.  Refrigerate for 5-10 minutes.  Dip the frosting into the warm chocolate ganache, then roll the edges of the cupcake in graham cracker crumbs. Refrigerate for a few minutes, until the chocolate sets.  Pipe a small swirl of frosting on top of the ganache.  Decorate with sprinkles and a cherry. Refrigerate until serving.

Book Food: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

     

     It bothers me when people bring in food for a final project that is not meaningful or inventive in any way.  

     I mean, people who know nothing about cooking or baking should not just decide to make food for their project and end up picking a bunch of recipes off the internet which vaguely resemble the ideas found in a book, right?  

     Let me just say that I've looked through thousands of food magazines, recipes, and blogs, and I've read cookbooks cover to cover, soaking in all the new techniques.  I've also experimented a lot in my own kitchen in order to learn skills so that I can be creative.  And I put a lot of effort into everything I bake.

    For my English project where I had to represent the 4 book units we covered over the year, I chose baked goods as my medium for conveying the themes.  

        Up there you see a representation of the first book I read in 9th grade English, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (or H2G2 for short) by Douglas Adams.  H2G2 was hilarious, by the way, and I really enjoyed reading it.  I hope you've read it before too, but if you haven't, I'll try not to spoil it in this post.  Same for the other books I'll be posting about.  

        I made a black tea cupcake with lemon honey buttercream.  I wanted to make a black tea cake to reflect the speaker's bitter outlook, as well as the randomness in the book.  Black tea is bitter and tea molecules are well known to move around randomly.  I also wanted either lemon or honey frosting, because those compliment the black tea flavor and represent themes of their own.  Lemon again symbolizes the speaker's cynical, sour tine and the honey conveys the mellow "Don't Panic" theme. 

         I remember coming across this recipe for black tea cupcakes years ago, thinking, "ew, who would put tea in a cake?"  I didn't like tea back then, though I do enjoy it now.  Surprisingly, the cupcakes turned out delicious.  They weren't overwhelmed with black tea flavor, though the tea gave the cake a nice subtle "fragrance," I should say.  The cupcakes were tender and moist, and rose beautifully.  

          The frosting was very good and hit another tone which blended with the flavor of the black tea.  There was a strong lemon flavor from the lemon juice, while the sourness was balanced by the sweet, distinct flavor of honey.  The cupcake even exceeded my expectations. 

Here's how I made the cupcakes:

Steep tea in hot milk until the milk cools.  Then remove and reserve the bags.

Sift together the dry ingredients.

Blend in pieces of butter.

Stir in the milk and fold in tea leaves.

Divvy up the batter in 12-15 cups.  

Bake. 

If you chose to make 12 cupcakes, the cupcakes will turn out to be very tall and domed.

Then make the frosting and frost the cupcakes when they are cool.

      I made three other baked goods, which I will share with you soon.  To give you a hint, the books are Macbeth and Oedipus Rex (combined into one dessert), Night, and To Kill a Mockingbird.

      These cupcakes would be perfect for a variety of occasions.  Darla, the author of this recipe, made it to commemorate a singer's birthday.  You could also make them just to help you get the hang of those pesky Thursdays :)  Enjoy!

Black Tea Cupcakes with Lemon Honey Buttercream

recipe from Bakingdom

makes 12-15 cupcakes, you may run out of frosting if you make 15

Ingredients

For the Cupcake:

1/2 cup hot milk

3 black tea bags

2 eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

1-1/2 cups (180g) cake flour

3/4 cups sugar

1-1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into pieces

For the Frosting:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups (8oz, 250g) confectioners sugar, sifted

2 tbs honey

1 tbs fresh lemon juice

1 tbs heavy cream

1/4 tsp grated lemon zest

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (180 C). Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, steep the tea bags in the hot milk for at least 10 minutes. Allow the milk mixture to cool to room temperature. Once cooled, whisk in the eggs and vanilla until combined; set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the butter pieces, one at a time, then increase mixer speed to medium low. Once the butter is fully incorporated, increase speed to medium and beat until well combined (about 30 seconds).
4. Reduce mixer speed to low and add half of the milk mixture. Mix until just combined, then increase speed to medium high for about 30 seconds. Repeat with the remaining milk mixture. Fold in some black tea leaves from the tea bags, if desired.
5. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full.   Bake for 18 minutes, or until the edges are light golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a crumb or two clinging to it. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.
6. To make the frosting, Beat the butter on high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in half of the sugar until combined. Stir in the vanilla and honey. Beat in the remaining sugar. Add the heavy cream, lemon juice, and lemon zest, whip on high speed for 6 minutes.  
7. Frost the cupcakes and enjoy!