Chocolate Toffee Crunch Cake

I wanted to bake today. I know I’ve been slacking on the whole bake-n-blog scene. I needed to try something new (but I didn’t want to go to the store for any ingredients).

My pantry isn’t super stocked at this time. I have the basics and cocoa. So chocolate cake it is.

But of course I don’t want just plain chocolate cake… I wanted toffee chocolate cake.

So this cake is mostly an oops. I was hoping for it to turn out more like an upside down cake with the gooey caramel top once it was flipped.

As you can see, it didn’t really turn out that way.

However, this cake was way too tasty to waste. Those little crunchy bits of toffee on top are better than Heath bar pieces.

This cake is delicious when served with some ice cream or (if you’re lucky) crème anglaise. 

And for the cheap (or lazy) fans, if you really want to try it with crème anglaise but don’t want work for it, melt some ice cream. I’m told it’s not an exact replacement, but it works for me.

You definitely need to make this. On my next attempt I might mix some honey or corn syrup with the caramel. I know the juices that are in the fruit on an upside down cake have to play some role on the actual caramel. I imagine that using some sort of liquid sugar with the brown sugar will help keep the sugar from crystallizing so much.

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Chocolate Toffee Crunch Cake

(recipe loosely based on Martha Stewart cake)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 cup cold water

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In an 8 in baking pan (square or round), combine melted butter and brown sugar. Spread evenly on bottom of pan and set aside.
3. In medium mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients with a whisk. Add all wet ingredients at once and combine.
4. Carefully pour over the brown sugar mixture and spread evenly.
5. Bake 30-35 minutes or until done. Remove from heat and allow to cool in pan 8-10 minutes.
6. Invert onto cake plate, but leave the pan on the cake until it releases.
7. Remove pan and panic (or cry if that’s your thing). Pause. Try to come up with a plan. Grab a spoon or firm plastic pastry scraper and use it to scrape all the great gooey cake and crispy toffee bits onto the top of your cake.
8. Cut into 9 pieces and serve warm or at room temperature.

I always have a fan club. Sometimes it’s my friends and taste-testers. Sometimes it’s the strange people I call family. Most of the time, it’s just one of the kids…

 

Best Oops Cake Ever,

bleu

Aloha and Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes

At the coffee shop, we’re family. Dysfunctional to the max, but family no less.

I think it’s from dealing with all the crazies ordering onerous drinks (Who really drinks a double tall, almond milk, extra dry, sugar-free hazelnut cappuccino with the shots on top?). Or maybe because we tend to be baristas and babysitters in one fine location (The mall is the perfect daycare, right?).

No matter the cause of our kinship, we are siblings. And when little sister decides to move back to Hawaii, we hold no grudge. (Well, not a big one…) Instead, we combine two of her favorite flavors and bake.

Oh, yeah. Chocolate and Coconut. So tasty.

These chocolate cupcakes are bursting with coconut flavor. Coconut milk, coconut oil, coconut extract… 

Oh, my! They’re filled too?!  

Of course! That’s a snack size Mounds bar—dark chocolate coated coconut candy. So moist, chewy coconut-y goodness, baked in the middle of a super easy coconut chocolate cupcake and topped with a delicious coconut buttercream frosting.

Yes, PLEASE! 

I used my go-to chocolate cake recipe. It usually has buttermilk, but I substituted unsweetened coconut milk and added a 1/2 teaspoon of coconut extract. I happen to love the scent and taste of coconut more than the texture. You can add flaked coconut instead of extract, but I would recommend no more than 1/2 a cup, chopped fine. After filling the cupcake liners about two-thirds full, I dropped half a snack size mounds on top. (Next time, I won’t push it into the cake… I think that’s why they sank to the bottom.)

I grew up loving Wilton Buttercream. It’s sweet, but so easy to make and flavor. To make vegan buttercream, you substitute the butter with vegetable shortening (making sure to use vegan sugar and a vegan milk substitute).

Obviously, these cakes are NOT vegan. I had come across a vegan buttercream at some point in my research that used coconut oil and had been dying to have an occasion to use it. I’m making coconut cupcakes, so why not try a coconut oil frosting? Excellent decision. I used the remainder of the unsweetened coconut milk to help with consistency and added a splash of coconut extract. 
 

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Coconut Buttercream Frosting

(Adaption based on information gathered here)

                         

Ingredients:

1 cup coconut oil*

4 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon coconut extract

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2-4 tablespoons unsweetened coconut milk

1. Whip coconut oil on medium speed until fluffy.

2. Add powdered sugar and mix on medium-high for 2 minutes.

3. Add extracts and mix. Add milk to desired consistency.

4. Use quickly; this frosting stiffens as it sets.

*I used refined coconut oil. I’ve since read that unrefined might have stayed a bit more solid at room temperature.

Aloha little sister, Ashley. Your Texas Nordy’s miss you.

But mostly, we’re all just jealous.

bleu

Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes

Happy (early) St Patty’s Day!

I know, I know.

March is supposed to be about Leprechauns and turning everything green and pretending you’re Irish.

But I didn’t want a green cupcake. I didn’t want green frosting. I’m already Irish (remember those Guinness Spice Cakes?) so I went a complete different route.

I went for the pot of gold.

I went for caramel.

Ooey, gooey, SALTED caramel.

Inside a super moist chocolate cupcake.

Topped with the absolute best brown sugar Swiss meringue buttercream.

My biggest regret in this is that I did not take a picture of the inside. I always take a picture of my filled cakes. But with these cakes, a silly little problem kept happening…

I would take my picture. Grab a knife. Accidently touch the frosting. Go to lick the frosting from my finger. And end up devouring the whole cupcake.

Like seriously. Happened twice. Then I gave up.

So you have to take my word on how gooey this caramel is. It’s a touch thicker than store bought sauce, but not quite to the caramel chew stage.

I did have to thin this recipe out. I originally cooked it to the specifications. Then I let it sit overnight.

When I went to try it the next day, it was solid. Like cut it into cubes and wrap ‘em in wax paper solid. But so DELICIOUS! I would scoop a nibble and walk away.

Then I’d think of some reason to go check on it again. And take another scoop. And maybe that happened a few times.

Then I decided it would be too thick in a fluffy cupcake.

I don’t know if there is really a good way to reheat a homemade caramel. You might have experience with this. I mostly just make everything up and hope for the best.

Through careful deduction and thoughtful deliberation, it was determined that a double boiler would heat it slow enough that it would not burn the caramel. So I tried it.

It worked. Slowly. So slow that I had to help it along. I used my electric tea kettle to boil some water and added that to the caramel. In total I used about 3/4 of a cup of water, added one tablespoon at a time.

For the sake of full disclosure, let me add that while I didn’t notice it at the time (or even the next few days that I was scarfing down these cupcakes), I think the water additions caused the sugars to crystalize. I saved the extra sauce in a squeeze bottle (Hello Ice Cream!) and now it’s a bit grainy. Granted, it could be the sitting on the counter that did it. Or the slight reheating I would do to cover that ice cream.

But it’s no biggie to me. It’s still CRAZY GOOD!

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Salted Caramel Sauce

(recipe from a Cake Central forum)

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

2 cups dark brown sugar, packed firm

1 cup light corn syrup

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

2 tablespoons heavy cream

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-2 teaspoons salt

1. Combine butter, sugar, corn syrup and condensed milk in a medium heavy bottomed sauce pan set over medium heat. Stir constantly.

2. Bring to a boil before adding cream. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan. Remain stirring.

3. Allow caramel to reach 230 degrees. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract and half of the total amount of salt. (How much salt depends on your taste and the type of salt used. I used kosher salt. And I ended up using two heaping teaspoons. But I like salt.)

4. Pour caramel into a glass bowl. Allow to cool at room temperature. Taste the caramel. Add remaining salt and stir well. Cover tightly and store. If stored in the refrigerator, allow two to three hours to return to room temperature before filling any cupcakes. It can sit at room temperature for several days.

For the cupcakes pictured here, I baked my favorite scratch chocolate cake recipe and made this brown sugarbuttercream.

I used a size 100 disher to scoop out the middle of a cooled cupcake. (This did get messy and required a lot of quick washes about every 4 or 5 cupcakes.) I then used the same disher to scoop caramel into the hole created. Using a Wilton 1M tip, I piped a swirl of frosting on top to seal the caramel in.

So this Saint Patrick’s Day, make something to wash that icky green beer taste away. Besides, it’s all about the pot of gold anyways.

Sláinte!

bleu

Split Decision Cupcakes

Vanilla is the love of my life. It’s creamy, complex floral aroma... It’s sweet, luxurious addition to any baked good… It’s uncanny ability to enhance the flavor of whatever else you use it with (coffee, caramel, chocolate)…

Yep, in this house, vanilla most definitely rules. 

But I’m not the only taster in this household. The other love of my life gets first dibs on most treats. And he’s just gotta be difficult and be a chocolate fan. (And he really prefers chocolate cake heated up and covered in butter…)

So what do you do when you want to make everyone happy, but not have to make four dozen cupcakes? Of course, Split Decision Cupcakes!

Now that’s satisfaction in cake form.

With the opposing sides of vanilla and chocolate, I needed a frosting that would go with both.

I love chocolate covered cherries. He loves chocolate and butter. I love maraschino cherries on vanilla ice cream. He loves chocolate and butter.

So cherry Swiss meringue buttercream works perfectly. He gets the buttery deliciousness to top his half. I get the cherry creaminess to top my half.

Normally I make everything using my Kitchen Aid stand mixer. It’s my underappreciated workhorse. The other other love of my life. But with two batters and a frosting to make, it’s not worth the time to wash it. I used a handheld mixer for these cakes, saving my stand mixer for the frosting.

But you don’t have to be like me. And if you like using multiple bowls just because you can taste test as you go, I won’t tell. It’s called “quality control” for a reason.

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Split Decision Cupcakes

For the vanilla cake: 
1 1/4 c all-purpose flour

1/4 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 c granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
1 T vanilla extract
1/2 c buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pan with paper liners.
2. In small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. In a medium bowl (or in a stand mixer), cream butter and sugar until pale yellow in color. Add egg and yolks, one at a time, beating well between additions.
4. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter/eggs. Scrape well and add buttermilk and vanilla. Add remaining flour mixture.

Set batter to the side and prepare chocolate cake.

For the Chocolate Cake: 
1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 c all-purpose flour
1 c granulated sugar
1/2 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/4 c vegetable oil
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 c warm water
1/2 c buttermilk
1 large egg (or 2 egg whites – from the vanilla cake)

1. In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients with a whisk or fork to remove any lumps.
2. Add all liquid ingredients. Mix on medium speed for approximately 3 minutes or until batter is smooth and glossy. (Batter will be considerably loose compared to the vanilla batter.) 
3. For better control, pour batter into a large liquid measuring cup. 

For divided cupcakes: 
1. Using either a small disher (size 100) or two spoons, fill cupcake liners with approximately two tablespoons of vanilla batter. Make an effort to keep the batter on one side of the cup.
2. Pour an equal amount of chocolate batter on the other side of the cup.

3. Repeat with remaining batter. If you use all of one batter before the other (I had extra chocolate), fill liners two-thirds full.
4. Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

I used this Swiss Meringue Buttercream (divided in half), with the substitution of 3

tablespoons of kirschwasser (or kirsch), a cherry brandy, for the vanilla extract.

So spread a little Valentine’s cheer. Keep you both happy.

bleu

Coffee or Tea?

Hot or iced?

Sweet or unsweet?

Being a professional barista, I ask these questions all the time. Sometimes it's hard to decide. I love it all: Hot, iced, sweet, unsweet, frozen, on the rocks, coffee or tea. But now I have a new question I can ask...

Dessert or Snack?

 

Hazelnut Mocha or Tea with Honey?

Mmm... Nutella. You know that fantastically addictive chocolate hazelnut spread? Pair that with a crispy, chewy coffee flavored macaron cookie... Pure delight.

But who doesn't like tea with honey? These used a combination of lapsang souchong (a smoked black tea) and breakfast tea. Filled with a sweet, custard-like honey buttercream, these macarons are dangerously delicious.

Buttercream 101

Before I get too far into these macarons, let's take a moment and learn about buttercream. 

When I first came across this recipe for honey buttercream, I had to research if it was possible. I had never heard of cooking egg yolks and then beating in butter. I quickly learned there are five types of buttercream: 

     American - a combination of powdered sugar, butter, sometimes shortening and flavor

     Swiss - egg whites and sugar that are heated in a double boiler to 140-160 F, then whipped into a meringue before adding butter

     Italian - sugar syrup heated to the soft ball stage and then drizzled into whipped egg whites before adding butter

     French - made the same way as Italian, except using egg yolks instead of whites 

     German (Bavarian) - egg yolks and sugar cooked until thickened, allowed to cool and then beaten with butter.

American buttercream is by far the sweetest of these. I've never tried a French buttercream, but the German is extremely rich, creamy and super spreadable. I still love my Swiss Meringue, but I might have found a new filling favorite. 

I've come across recipes for instant pudding in frosting, but I want to try a cook and serve pudding mix as a base to German buttercream. I'm going to apply my scientific method and research this. I'll let y'all know how it works out. 

Now back to macarons... 

I easily modified my macaron recipe for the Hazelnut Mocha Macarons by adding 2 tablespoons of instant coffee powder to the almond/powdered sugar mix. I piped them into 1 inch cookies and filled with a simple smear of Nutella.

For the Tea-n-Honey Macarons, I added the tea from three single cup servings of tea to the almond mix. I followed this recipe without any adaptions for the honey buttercream. 

I made the coffee macarons first and decided that the tea macarons needed to be a bit larger. These are roughly 1 1/2 to 2 inches across. (I really didn't measure and they've all been gobbled up by now) The macaron batter made exactly 30 cookies (that's 15 sandwiches). I was able to generously fill all the cookies and only had about a quarter cup of honey buttercream left over. 

So get out there and caffeinate your dessert. Or snack. Really it just depends on when you attack these babies...

 here's to choices!

bleu

 

I heart Spring Macarons!

This Easter, I was asked to make some treats. I love making sweets for friends, but my family doesn't always get to sample my eats. 

Mom requested sugar-free cupcakes... preferably lime.

My Aunt wanted something gluten-free.

I wanted to make something colorful.

I'll post some other day about the lime cupcakes. Today is all about these delicious macarons!

Now, macarons are not to be confused with macaroons. I'm talking about the delicious french pastry, not those coconuty weird things that everyone hates. These are crispy on the outside, cake-like on the inside and just sweet enough to make you want more.

I researched for ages before finally making a macaron. Every recipe I found used weights to keep the liquid to dry ratio consistent. I bake. A lot. But I do not own a scale. I know, they aren't super expensive. I'm just too lazy to buy one.

I finally found one recipe that was by volume. I also found quite a few troubleshooting guides online that help with any questions that come up. This one is my favorite. I'm not going to try to help with all of the problems that come up while making macarons-- I'm just not qualified. I will let you know my problems as I go though the recipe.

To begin, I doubled the basic recipe, then divided it in thirds. I couldn't decide how much to make, but a full batch seemed like too much and this is where I ended up. I used a store bought lemon curd and raspberry jam. I used my vanilla bean buttercream that I had stored in the freezer.

These things are so tasty, it won't matter if they're pretty or not. To help make them as pretty as possible, use a pencil and an inch circle to mark the back of the parchment paper. It will give you something to aim for while piping those cookies. Make sure to set up a large piping bag with a 1/2 inch (1 cm) tip.

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Basic Macarons
adapted from A La Cuisine 

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups powdered sugar
4 oz (1 cup) almond flour or finely ground almonds (blanched, slivered - skinless)
¼ cup plus 2 tbsps egg whites at room temperature
pinch of salt
¼ cup granulated sugar

Method

1. Use a pencil to draw 1-inch circles about 2 inches apart on parchment paper. Flip each sheet over and place each sheet on a baking sheet.

2. Mix the almonds and icing powdered sugar in a food processor. Sifting it after this step makes for smoother cookies, but won't alter the taste.

3. In a large clean, dry bowl whip egg whites with salt on medium speed until foamy. Increase the speed to high and gradually add granulated sugar. Continue to whip to stiff peaks – the whites should be firm and shiny.

4. With a flexible spatula, gently fold in almond/sugar mixture into egg whites until completely incorporated. The mixture should be shiny and ‘flow like magma.’ (thick, gooey and as few strokes as possible) When small peaks dissolve to a flat surface, stop mixing. Folding in the almonds is the weirdest part. Too much folding and the cookies run and loose shape (or turn out hollow), but they still puff and make delicious cookies.

5. Fit a piping bag with a 1/2-inch (1 cm) round tip. Pipe the batter onto the baking sheets, in the previously drawn circles. Tap the underside of the baking sheet to remove air bubbles. Let dry at room temperature for half an hour or so to allow skins to form. The cookies should lose most of their shine, but it might not happen if it is too humid.

6. Bake in a 325F oven for 10 to 11 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Some days take longer to bake than others, so test a cookie by trying to move it on the parchment. If it sticks, smears, or squishes, keep baking checking every 2 minutes.

7. Remove macarons from oven and transfer parchment to a cooling rack. When cool, slide a metal offset spatula or pairing knife underneath the macaron to remove from parchment.

Orange Macarons

I added the zest of an orange to the almonds in the food processor. I also added a couple of drops of orange extract to increase the orange scent and a ton of orange food gel.

The filling is a chocolate ganache (equal parts chocolate and heavy cream) that I whipped in the mixer. I added some extra cream to make it the right consistency for piping.

Raspberry Macarons

These cookies actually have no flavor. I just added a few drops of red food color.

The filling is raspberry jam. I used 1/4 cup of jelly and heated it with a package of gelatin and chilled it to firm it up. I wanted it to stay in the middle of the cookies. Using a small star tip pipe a ring of frosting then fill the center with raspberry.

Lemon Macarons

I added the zest of 3 lemons to these cookies. And a lot of yellow food gel. I piped and filled them the same way as the raspberry, just using lemon curd straight from the jar. 













Macarons are best when allowed to rest (or cure) for 24 hours. Stick 'em in the fridge, but bring them to room temp before eating. If they last that long, store for them an airtight container.

These cookies will make your week. So, hurry up and go make some. And enjoy them tomorrow. ;-)

we heart macarons,

bleu