Every now and then I get an idea for a recipe that I think will be a piece of cake (pun intended!) to develop. It never is.
The saga of my CARAMEL FILLED CUPCAKES began with an inspiration from Hostess Cupcakes and Cadbury Caramel Eggs. I envisioned biting into a firm cupcake filled with, not white fluff, but with creamy caramel. The recipes I found called for baking a chocolate cupcake, digging out divots from the tops, and filling with caramel sauce.
First of all, cutting out the divots seemed like a lot of messy work. Second of all, what to do with all the divots? (I hate waste!) So, I figured I’d just pour batter into the tins and drop in homemade caramel. FAIL! All that happened was the caramel blended with the batter during baking. Tasty, but not what I wanted.
I tried freezing the caramel into balls and adding it to the batter. Same result as before since it turns out caramel doesn’t freeze. (Who knew?) I tried dropping in the caramel at different times during baking. Same. Finally, I decided I needed to encase the caramel – like the Cadbury Eggs. It couldn’t actually be Cadbury Eggs, though, since not only are they seasonal, but they’re huge.
After scouring the candy departments of various stores (what I won’t do for my blog!), I had a eureka moment when I found Lindt’s chocolate covered caramels. They were just the right size and shape! Getting closer. I dropped them into the batter. They sank to the bottom, leaking caramel. I wanted the caramel in the middle – like Hostess Cupcakes’ fluff. How could I keep the balls suspended?
It finally hit me to bake a wee bit of batter in order to form a solid base for the balls, then add the balls, surrounding them with batter, and complete the bake. Yes!!! The last tweak was freezing the balls first so they remained intact.
NOTE: Just so you know, the many cupcakes that bombed were still eaten. I HATE WASTE!
CARAMEL FILLED CUPCAKES – makes 18 cupcakes
- 18 caramel filled chocolate 1″ balls (I use Lindt), frozen
- 3 oz bittersweet chocolate (I use Ghirardelli 60% bar – not chips)
- 1/3 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup hot coffee
- 3/4 cup (4-1/8 oz) bread flour
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 tsp distilled white vinegar
- 6 T vegetable oil
- 1¼ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (I use Ghirardelli 60% chips)
- 1/2 cup cream
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/8 tsp salt
The first thing to do is freeze the chocolate-caramel balls. (I store them in the freezer immediately when I buy them.) They need to be solid to prevent melting during baking.
Break up the bittersweet chocolate bar into small pieces (so they melt quicker) and put into a bowl (or better yet, a 6 cup or more spouted measuring cup – the spout makes pouring the batter into the cupcake tin much easier). Sift the cocoa powder (cocoa powder tends to get lumpy in storage) into the bowl. 
Pour in the HOT coffee. Immediately cover bowl with a plate to retain heat in order to melt the chocolate. Let sit for 5 minutes to soften, then stir until all chocolate is melted and mixture is well blended. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
Into another bowl combine the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
Line your muffin tins with 18 regular-sized cupcake papers.
Preheat oven to 350º Fahrenheit.
Into yet another bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, vinegar, and oil. 
Pour egg mixture into cooled melted chocolate and stir. (You don’t want the chocolate to be too hot or it could cook the eggs.)
Add in flour mixture and mix well – this is one instance where you want a little toughness to the cake so it holds up to the caramel. 
Pour 1 tablespoon into the bottom of each liner. Don’t put in more or the caramel ball will sit too high. This small bit of batter is going to form a barrier against the caramel, preventing it from seeping into the paper. 
Bake for 6 minutes (SET A TIMER!!!) in the preheated 350º F oven. Remove from oven. Set a frozen caramel ball on top of each baked cake bit, dead center (do your best).
Then pour batter around and on top of ball, 1/3″ from top of paper. (This is where a spouted measuring cup comes in handy! Use a spoon to catch the drips.) 
Return to oven and bake at 350º F for another 11 minutes. Remove from oven and keep cupcakes in hot muffin tin 10 minutes to set. Remove cupcakes – with papers – to a wire rack to completely cool.
To make ganache frosting, place chocolate chips, vanilla, and salt in a bowl. 
Heat cream until bubbles form along sides – don’t let it boil.
Immediately pour over chips, cover with a plate, and let melt for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. If the chips don’t completely melt, pour mixture into a small saucepan and, over a very low heat, stir until melted. Allow to cool completely so it thickens, stirring now and then. Pipe ganache on cupcakes, or just frost with a knife.
You know that feeling at the end of a filling meal when you want just a little something sweet? TIRAMISU is the perfect solution. Although it looks rich and creamy, it’s actually very light. In fact, give me a fork and I could easily ingest the entire pan. (Thank goodness for will power.)
In the small bowl of your electric mixer, put the egg yolks. Beat on low speed about 5 seconds, just to break them up. 
Add in the sugar and salt. Turn mixer to medium speed and beat 1 minute. The yolks will turn pale and thick. 
Pour in the remaining 2 T rum and beat on medium 30 seconds. Add in the cold mascarpone and beat on medium for about 30 seconds, until there are no lumps. 
Empty mixture into a large bowl.
In the now-empty mixing bowl (you don’t have to clean it), pour the cream. Beat on high until soft peaks form. 
Stir 1/3 of whipped cream into mascarpone mixture to loosen texture. Fold in remaining whipped cream. 
Have ready an 8″x8″ pan (or it’s equivalent), the ladyfingers, and the coffee mixture. Holding a ladyfinger at the midsection, quickly dip one long, flat side into the coffee (submerge less than 1/4″ – don’t go midway), turn it over and dip the other side. Shake off any excess liquid. (The goal is to get just the outside portion of the cookie wet so it will remain crispy in the center – you want the coffee flavor, but not the mush.) 
Then place the dipped ladyfinger in the pan. Continue on, lining up the ladyfingers in the same direction, until the bottom is covered. By the time you get to the last one, they will have become somewhat softer. You can probably shove them together to make room for one more in each row. 
Cover ladyfingers with half of the mascarpone, smoothing evenly. 
Place 1 T cocoa powder in a small sieve. Stir the cocoa with a spoon to sprinkle cocoa evenly over mascarpone. (Cocoa tends to clump – the spoon breaks them up.)
Add the second layer of ladyfingers, dipping as above, laying them in the opposite direction of the first layer. Fit as many cookies as you can, although you may not need them all. Save the undipped ones for future use. 
Spread on remaining mascarpone evenly, then sprinkle on the remaining 1 T cocoa. 
Cover with plastic film and refrigerate at least 6 hours. (I make it the night before.) You’ll notice the cocoa will turn a deeper chocolate color due to condensation.
Keep TIRAMISU in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Is it possible to have too much chocolate cake? I ask this because in the last 2 weeks I’ve baked 4 chocolate bundt cakes.
Add in the coffee crystals and pour in the boiling water. Cover with a plate and let sit for 5 minutes to begin the melting process. After 5 minutes, stir. It probably won’t be completely melted yet. Cover with plate and let sit another couple of minutes. Stir again and let sit uncovered to cool. Stir in sour cream.
Into another bowl stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. (In the picture I’ve not stirred yet.)
Into the large bowl of your electric stand mixer put the brown sugar and oil. 
Turn on low to start (so the sugar doesn’t fly out), increasing to medium speed. Beat for 1 minute on medium. 
Add in vanilla and 1 egg. Beat for 20 seconds. Continue adding eggs one at a time, beating 20 seconds after each.
Dump in about 1/3 of the flour mixture (you can just estimate) and beat on low to blend.
Add in 1/2 of chocolate mixture and beat on low to blend.
Add in half of remaining flour mixture and beat on low. Add in remaining chocolate mixture and beat on low. Finally, add in remaining flour mixture, beating until there’s still a little flour showing. Add in chocolate chips and beat on low, blending until all of flour is incorporated.
Into a small bowl put the extra 
Using a pastry brush, coat the entire interior of bundt pan (even if it’s nonstick!). Use all of it – your cake will slide right out when done.
Pour batter into prepared bundt pan. TIP: Cover hole in bundt pan to prevent batter accidentally spilling into hole. The lid from a spice bottle works perfectly. So does a Dixie cup. REMEMBER TO REMOVE IT BEFORE PLACING PAN IN OVEN!!! (If you look carefully, you can see an indentation in my lid caused by me forgetting to remove it. I remembered after about 10 minutes in the oven. It melted a little, but is still usable for this purpose. And, more importantly, the cake was fine. 
Bake at 350º F for 45 – 55 minutes, gently rotating after 30 minutes. (Mine is done at 45 minutes, but your oven may not be as hot as mine.) Check for doneness with a toothpick. 
Because of the chocolate chips, there may be a little chocolate on the toothpick. Try another area to be sure it’s not raw batter (crumbs are okay). Let set 20 minutes in pan.
Place a rack on top and flip. 
Remove bundt pan – the cake will have dropped to rack.
Let cool at least 4 hours.
I hate wasting food! So, as the self-proclaimed Queen Of Freeze, I’m constantly freezing little bits of leftover this or that for future use. And it’s paid off many times.
Add in the Crisco and use the cutter to combine the flour and Crisco. 
Work until it resembles a coarse meal.
For the food processor method, put the flour, salt, and sugar in work bowl and pulse a couple of times. Add in the Crisco and pulse several times, until mixture forms a coarse meal. Empty into a mixing bowl. You are NOT adding the water in the food processor – your dough will be tough!!!
Form the dough into a tight ball and chill at least 30 minutes to make it easier to roll. 
Sprinkle flour, then 2 T graham crackers on a flat surface to prevent the dough from sticking. 
Place the dough ball in the center. With floured hands, push down the dough with one hand while pressing in the sides with the other. This will help keep the edges from fraying. 
Sprinkle some flour on the flattened dough and spread it around so the rolling pin doesn’t stick. 
Using a floured rolling pin, begin rolling the dough from the center out in all directions. When it gets to be about 8″ in diameter, push in the edges again – they’ll probably be fraying again. Lift up the edges and brush the graham cracker crumbs underneath. 
Roll until the diameter is about 12½”. Sprinkle 2T graham cracker crumbs over the top of the pastry and lightly press them in with your fingertips. (Don’t use the rolling pin – the crumbs tend to stick to it.)
Place the pie pan next to the circle. Fold dough in half towards you, then carefully lift it to pan. Unfold and center it, gently adjusting pastry so it fits into the corners. If the dough splits, just overlap it and press it together. Leaving a 1/2″ overhang border from the pie pan edge, cut away excess dough with kitchen scissors. Crimps edges by rolling this 1/2″ border in on itself, then pinching with thumbs and forefingers. 
Cut a piece of waxed or parchment paper about 2″ longer than diameter of pie pan. Place on top of pastry and fill with pie weights or raw beans (that’s what I use). Very gently work the paper and beans into corners so the beans weigh down the entire bottom. 
Parbake at 425º F for 7 minutes. Remove the paper and weights by pulling one corner of the paper slowly towards the center, then the opposite corner towards the center, then one of the other corners, and the final one. Grab all 4 and lift it out in a rolling motion – don’t pull straight up or the center may still be stuck. Bake another 5 minutes, then remove and cool.
Using an electric mixer or rotary egg beater, beat egg whites until frothy on medium/low speed about 30 seconds – just to break them up.
Cool on rack completely, then refrigerate at least 8 hours.
Once I fine-tune a recipe to my liking, I move on. However, I’m not a gal so set in her ways that I’m not willing to be flexible about revisiting a recipe. (This does NOT apply to household activities in which I’m constantly suggesting (okay, nagging) that my husband put his keys and wallet in the same spot so he doesn’t have to spend 15 minutes daily looking for them.)
In a small bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
Stir in cinnamon until blended. Then, using a large spoon, add in brown sugar, granulated sugar, oil, and vanilla, mixing until smooth.
Lightly beat together the whole egg and yolk, 
Stir in the flour mixture until most of flour is incorporated.
Finally, stir in oats and butterscotch chips.
Preheat oven to 375º Fahrenheit.
Bake at 375º F for 9-10 minutes. The key is to look at the edges, not the center. The edge should start to look baked, but the center should not be browned. Because the cookies will continue to cook on the hot sheet out of the oven, if you wait to remove them from the oven until they look baked, they’ll be overcooked.
Let cookies cool on cookie sheet before removing them to a wire rack.
Mardi Gras is filled with a number of traditions. A yummy one is King Cake – a rolled cake decorated with purple, gold, and green. Often a plastic Baby Jesus or treat is hidden in the cake for some lucky person to be served.
On its own, banana bread is delicious. Add in chocolate chips and you really up your game.
If you’re craving a rich, chocolate dessert, then look no further. WHITE CHIPS CHOCOLATE CRINKLE COOKIES will satisfy your urge, and then some! Warning: they’re a bit messy from the powdered sugar…so just wear white and you’re good to go.
I’ve been known to suggest (some might say ‘nag’) ALWAYS setting a timer when directions call for a specific amount of time. Even if it’s 5 minutes! It’s so easy to get distracted.
I’ve finally achieved my idea of the perfect blondie. (A blondie is a cross between a chocolate chip cookie and a brownie.) While there may not such a thing as a BAD blondie, there are definitely sub-par ones.
Vegetarian Cooking For Carnivores BLOG 