500 cupcakes - cone cakes (take 2)

Happy Mother's Day!

Made these today for my MIL for Mother's Day...


And 'cause I knew the kids would get a kick outta them!

Finally got my little Silicone mini-muffin pan from Crate (it was on Sale, Ok!)

;-)

This particular batter is soooooo yum! It's so simple, too!

Not very many ingredients & you just mix them all together!

They're so cute and teeny-tiny! Mini!

Meanwhile, prepared my frosting.

I didn't have any heavy cream to make the frosting that this cone cake recipe calls for so I used the recipe from one of the 'Classic' cakes.

This frosting was sooooo good!

Just vanilla, butter & powdered sugar...

ahem, "Confectioner's sugar"... excuse me.

Like Buttah...

Sooooo cute!

Ok... So the only bummer -

The lil cakes make this top-heavy so they tip over easy!

Not sure how to solve that problem (other than just hurry & eat it)!

Other than that, they came out great and taste super yum!

The mini muffin pan works great and the lil guys fit into the cone perfectly!

The kids loved these!!! And I think MIL approved too...

:0)

500 cupcakes - cone cakes

Best laid plans...

I'd promised my lil niece I'd make her cupcakes as a "YAY!" for passing her GATE test...

And wanted to make her these cute Cone Cakes from the 500 book, but...

I needed a mini-muffin pan, which I didn't have!

So these ended up being just regular cupcakes... but still really yummy.

So basics for yellow cakes:

And butter frosting... It didn't call for chocolate but since lil niece LOVES the chocolate, I had to add it!

Mmm... This came out sooooo creamy and buttery (in consistency).
I could just eat spoonfuls of that.

Into the oven they go!

Meanwhile...

Made the frosting.

So here's the deal... I dunno why but my frosting is hit-or-miss, consistency-wise.

Taste-wise, the frosting is yum. But this frosting wasn't as thick as it probably should have been.

I'm learning that environmental temperature has a lot to do with a lot so I'm wondering if the house was too warm, therefore the frosting didn't thicken.

Or did I just not beat it long enough? I dunno...

Ding! Outta the oven... Mmmm...


So, again... here's my beef...

Cause our oven is a bit goofy, I've started setting the timer for shorter periods and then keeping a real close eye on 'em every 1-2 mins after that.

So, for example... Recipe calls for 20 mins baking time. I set it for 16 mins. Then, if they're not done yet, I just start watching it every min or so after.

Taking it out & checking it til the old toothpick comes out clean.

This is fine except that what's happeninig is that the four cupcakes in the center come out toothpick gooey... but the ones on the end come out toothpick clean!

I later learned (from my sis-in-law) that it's better to put the cupcakes on the middle rack in the oven, instead of on the top rack...

Duh! Totally makes sense (for more even baking).

I love that I learn somethin' new every week.

Needless to say, these came out totally yum. I cut this recipe in half so there was just enough for everyone plus a few extras for the Gate exam-passing niece!

Happy Campers all around!

500 cupcakes - chocolate mud cupcakes

We love Molten Lava cakes... anything that has warm liquidy chocolate in the center is ok by us.

So hubby suggested these be my next cupcakes!

I usually follow the Martha Stewart Everyday Food recipe and it's sooooo good!

Easy and fast!

I usually make those in little ramekins from my favorite store and they come out so nice and gooey!

It never occurred to me that making these in silicone might not come out as ooey-gooey... :(

I dunno... but let's see...

The chocolate chips and butter go in a double-broiler (or in a pan set in a pan with simmering water, if you have no double-broiler).

The chocolate & butter melts so nicely without burning!

Um, just serve me a martini glass of that...

Meanwhile...

Eggs & sugar are beat til smooth (did I mention the full recipe calls for FIVE eggs...)
Don't forget your CholestOff!

Then, fold in the flour.

This is what I struggled with and as you can see, I don't think I folded very well... (I even watched a how-to on YouTube and everything!)

Poured the melted chocolate chips + butter into the Sugar, Egg, Flour mixture and combined.

Poured into silicone cups.

Yes, I licked the spoon. No, I'm not ashamed.

Yum! They're done!

Ok people, so here's the deal.

Recipe called for baking at 325 for 20 mins. I thought that just sounded too long (considering the one's I make from the MS Everyday Food book call for baking at 425 for 10 mins).

So I took them out at 17 mins (as a compromise).

I did my toothpick test and the center row of cupcakes were totally ooey-gooey inside!

And like a soft brownie on the outside!

Yum, right?

Bummer... by the time my taste-tester had one (about 10 mins later - 5 mins cooling on baking sheet & then 5 mins cooling on rack), the center was solid! :(

What's the deal?! Some were actually gooey, like they were supposed to be, but others were just like soft cupcake/brownies (which actually is still ok)! ;-)

Overall, taste-wise, they came out delicious! Super yum.

But presentation or texture-wise, they didn't really come out 'lava' or 'mud'-ish.

I'd like to make these again but not in the silicone cups (just in my regular baking cupcake pan).

And I'd like to take out earlier.

Definitely a redo...

but don't worry... they did all get eaten... ;-)

500 cupcakes - chocolate & chili cupcakes

Who DOESN'T love the movie Chocolat...

(um, and who DOESN'T love Johnny Depp!) ;-)

This latest recipe from the 500 Cupcakes book calls for some teaspoons of Chipotle Chili Powder, which made me think of the movie and so I've been dying to try these...

Needless to say... they came out AWESOME!

So, I've been trying to apply some of the things that I've been learning as I go... and I think it's really helping! (I think it's contributed to the ultra-yumminess of these latest cakes).

One of the new things I tried:

Swans Down Cake Flour

This came per the recommendation from one of hubby's co-workers (who is a master baker).

Also, after reading up on Joy of Baking, it seems All Purpose or Cake Flour is the way to go (not Self-Rising). Good to know! :)

Frosting ingredients... recipe calls for "Tia Maria"... I had no idea what that was! After researching it, it seems Kahlua would also do the trick. ;-)

Yummy!

So other things I did:

Again, thanks to Joy of Baking, I spooned my cake flour into the measuring cup (as opposed to using measuring cup to scoop flour out of the box/bag...which is what I used to do!).

Since flour's already packed, no need to pack it again! Hence, spooning!

(Those 'lumps' are whole chocolate chips! YAY!)


And thanks to What's Cooking America, I used my unsweetened cocoa powder (since I can't find Dutch-Process ANYWHERE) and added a lil baking soda, per substitution chart!

While the guys were baking, I made the frosting.

The recipe called for putting all ingredients (just butter, Tia Maria (Kahlua), cocoa powder & confectioner's sugar) in food processor and processing...

It came out soooooooooo nice and thick and creamy and yummy!

Soooooo good (and it doesn't hurt that I added extra Kahlua) ;-)

Mmmm... I'd eat that just like that...

Ding! Outta the oven.

I ended up taking 'em out a couple of minutes early cause the toothpick test came out good.

Cute...

Oh geez... This is making me hungry for one...

These came out sooooooooo good and I'd absolutely make them again!

The Chipotle Chili Powder adds an interesting kick, which I really like!

The other yummy fabulousness is that the batter calls for adding whole chocolate chips before baking. Extra Yum!

These pics are courtesy of hubby who commandeered the camera...

500 cupcakes - classic chocolate buttercream cupcakes

Well... last week's Vanilla Cupcakes came out soooooo yummy, I was really excited to try something new this week...

Hubby loves chocolate (as does our lil niece) so I thought I'd try the basic chocolate with chocolate frosting, to see if I can master that... Halved the recipe again since, if I'm gonna be making weekly cupcakes, I need to cut down on 'em since I'll literally eat them all!

Recipe is exactly the same as the Vanilla Cupcake recipe and in addition, calls for 4 tbsp. Dutch-process cocoa powder.

They didn't have Dutch-process cocoa powder at the store (or I didn't see it) so I thought Ghiradelli's would do.

I realize now that this may have contributed to this batch not coming out so good.... Will get into that later.Mixed it all up!
This batter came out creamier than vanilla cupcake batter.

Where that batter was thicker, this batter was creamier.

Not bad or good, just interesting.Kinda looks like frosting!

Put it in the oven for 20 mins and let 'em bake!

Meanwhile:


Prepared frosting...
Melted butter, chocolate chips in pan with some milk, on low heat.

Ding!

Cupcakes done!

They look good! They smell great! Whoa, nelly! That one rose a lot!

Chocolate chips, butter & milk melted and mixed!

Mmmm... I could just drink this as-is...
Once cooled, frosted my cupcakes!

Shiny!

I was worried that my frosting was a bit too runny... But it definitely thickened up as it cooled...

It almost looked like chocolate donut bar-frosting (um, which is fine with me, by the way...)!

;-)

So, the big bummer...

These didn't come out bad. They just didn't come out great.

The problem is... they aren't as light and airy as the Vanilla cupcakes!

These came out more bread-y... more muffin-ish.

At first I thought it was the switch from All-Purpose Flour (which I used last week in Vanilla cupcakes) vs. Self-Rising Flour, which these recipes actually really do call for, and which I used today.

I've read a few things online about Self-Rising vs. All-Purpose or even Cake Flour.

Self-Rising doesn't seem to get a good word.

But after reading up on Dutch-Process Cocoa, I think that's what did me in.

According to Joy of Baking, when the recipe calls for Dutch-Process, it really does mean use dutch-process!!!

Cause the:

"Dutch-Processed or Alkalized Unsweetened Cocoa Powder is treated with an alkali to neutralize its acids. Because it is neutral and does not react with baking soda, it must be used in recipes calling for baking powder, unless there are other acidic ingredients in sufficient quantities used. "

Anyway...

I was thinking of doing the Banana Cupcakes (p. 39) but I'm thinking I might try these again next week and go on the hunt for actual Dutch-Process Cocoa and also get my All-Purpose Flour back!