Barefoot Contessa - Chocolate Cupcakes with Espresso Frosting

What can I say...

My affair with Barefoot continues!

I can't even begin to tell you how yummy these turned out!

Made these for a party in my honor (celebrating the longest graduation in history!).

And since it was my party, I made what I wanted!

Everyone loved these, esp. hubby and BFF, both who love their coffee!

The Sour Cream & Buttermilk really give it a kick of moistness!

Yeah... I'd eat that just as it is...

Mixed this up and added it!

So, I went a lil crazy with the frosting...
Not only did I add coffee, but I also added Espresso powder.

Perfect! They're yum even without frosting!

Oh yeah... the frosting did call for Peanut Butter but I thought coffee and espresso would be better... ;-)

Happy Graduation to Me!!!

P.S. - I've been trying so many Barefoot Contessa recipes, I need a whole new/different blog for that!

Tonight, it was Tuscan Lemon Chicken and Roasted Tomatoes...

Both from Back to Basics and both deliciously fabulous!

martha stewart - yellow butter cake (with chocolate frosting)

Happy Easter!

Ok... I know this isn't 'cupcakes' but think of it as one BIG cupcake!

We celebrated Easter at our place this year and since everyone was over, we also celebrated lil niece's b-day and my MIL's b-day!

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I thought this Martha Stewart Yellow Butter Cake sounded good and seemed easy enough, and since I'm short on time these days... It was perfect!

Recipe was easy to follow. The ingredients are all the basics.

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Buttered my 9 inch round pans. Cut a piece of parchment paper into circle-shape and put at the bottom of the pan. Buttered that too! Sprinkled with flour.

Was in a bit of a hurry that day so...

Fast forward to cakes are done!

Recipe called for 30-35 mins cook time but I started checking at 20 mins.

My main concern was that I had one dark pan (which bakes quicker) and one light pan (which bakes longer)!

Sure enough, the dark pan came out at about 20 mins and the light pan came out at about 30 mins.

Thank God for the cake tester!

Cooled 'em on the rack...

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Meanwhile, made the frosting...

3 sticks of buttah... unbelievable!

Mmmm...

There's all that crazy butter...

Oh geez... this frosting came out soooooo good! Nice and creamy! I was worried since my frosting is a bit 'hit-or-miss' but this came out perfect!

Yay!!!

This cake came out sooooooooo yummy!

Everyone loved it, esp lil niece who loves the chocolate!

I really feel like all of the things I've learned so far really paid off with this cake...

• Putting the stuff on the center rack to bake
• spooning flour into measuring cup
• checking cooking time consistently
  
• not over-beating my eggs
• thinking things thru 1st... I know this last one sounds silly but you wouldn't believe how easily I forget something once I start baking... (same goes for cooking... Thank God I don't cook as much!)
  

:)

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...