Robb + Jessie Married & in the Badger State
Cupcake Taste-Off
I was inspired to try out a few chocolate cupcake recipes to help me decide what is a critical component in a cupcake. I selected a recipe from Molly Wizenberg’s recent book and a recipe from Nigella Lawson’s earlier book.
The hands down winner was Molly Wizenberg’s Chocolate Cupcakes with Bittersweet Glaze. Her recipe had an unfair advantage by using yoghurt and coffee to enhance the texture and flavor. Not to mention the bittersweet glaze was nothing less than melted bittersweet Ghirardelli chocolate. (Photos of the final product are forth coming). We shared these scrumptious treats with our friends Erin and Tony who agreed, these were the best cupcakes, ever. Who needs piles and piles of too-sweet buttercream frosting? Not I.
Unfortunately it was a one sided battle. Nigella’s cupcakes didn’t even resemble cakes. I must point out that I followed her recipe exactly so that it would be a fair competition. (Usually I tweak recipes as I bake). The poor cupcakes (or fairy cakes) were either over beaten or did not contain enough flour. I am not sure what to do with them now. Perhaps load them up with frosting? Or a scoop of ice cream? But don’t blame Nigella… she taught me to make brilliant cupcakes.
In conclusion, my results do not help me decide what the “critical component” actually is. I suppose one could speculate that having a good recipe is the critical component, but that is just silly. Further research is necessary to better understand this question. (I can’t say no to that and neither can Robb.)
I Don’t Like Cake
Well, that is no longer true because I discovered that I like the cake that I make. Recently we have celebrated some birthdays so I thought I might share with you my cakes:
Jeremiah’s Sour Cream Chocolate Cake
I made Nigella Lawson’s recipe for her Sour Cream Chocolate Cake (from How to Be A Domestic Goddess) for Jeremiah’s birthday. At first I halved the recipe but soon realized that to be a proper cake I needed to make both layers. I have been told by my fans that this cake was unbelievably good. I was a bit disappointed because the cake was a bit dry, but nothing I can touch up next time.
Anne’s White on White Cake
Anne is traditional when it comes to her cake of choice. White on white. I turned to my trusty Joy of Cooking to find the ultimate white cake recipe. For this, I halved the recipe (which called for three 8-inch layers), and baked a single (but very plump) layer and dressed it with a simple white icing. Can we say delicious? (Yes).
Kim’s Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes
Kim is a child at heart. She loves her ice cream cone cupcakes. I caved and bought the Betty Crocker mix instead of making my own batter, but I did make a simple icing that we dyed pretty spring-time colours. But now let me tell you that Betty Crocker is not that intelligent when it comes to how to bake the cups. I followed her directions to a T (for the first dozen). She tells us to “Place ice cream cone upside down on batter in each cup.” If you do this, you end up with a very small mound of baked cake at the top of the cone. I followed my intuition and baked the cones right side up in a muffin tin and they filled the cone from the top to the bottom with wonderful cake-y goodness.
Nigella’s Cranberry Upsidedown Cake (from How to Be A Domestic Goddess)
Now I think Nigella used a smaller, less sloped cast iron pan in her recipe but it still tasted delicious. (If you remember our trip to the Cranberry Festival last year, I used some of our remaining — frozen — berries for this cake). Once again our fans thoroughly enjoyed this tasty treat.
Nigella’s Chocolate Cloud Cake
A few weeks ago I stumbled across a site with all the episodes from Nigella’s various TV shows. I was particularly interested in her adapatdation of a flourless chocolate cake. Typically flourless cakes tend to be small and dense (delicious, still). Nigella uses egg whites (whipped) to add extra volume and lightness to the finished cake. No wonder why it’s so delicious.
Note, this photo was taken directly after pulling the cake out of the oven. After it cooled, the center sank (as it is suposed to) and we dolloped fresh whipped cream in the center and enjoyed!
A.B.’s Cocoa Brownies
Alton Brown is my favourite Food Network personality. His show Good Eats is a combination of science, humour, anthropology, and culinary know-how. All in all, you learn more than how to make the food, but how the food works and turns from ordinary ingredients into … Good Eats. [Cue theme song.]
Anyway. A few weeks ago, Robb and I were craving something deeply chocolatey. In the past, I have turned to AB’s Cocoa Brownie recipe from foodnetwork.com. But having stumbled upon more than one comment directing bakers to the recipe he provided on Art of Darkness II: Cocoa television episode, I decided to unlock the secret myself by searching on YouTube.
Now, having done the work for you, make these brownies:
Cocoa Brownies
Good Eats
Preheat Oven 300ºF
Gather Hardware 8” x 8” non stick pan* + cooking spray + parchment (cut a piece to lay in the bottom of the pan and act as a “handle” to remove brownies) + stand or hand mixer
* Note I use a spring-form pan (that is why my brownies look like short cakes) and I disregard the parchment because the it is so easy to pop the brownies out of the spring-form.
Recipe
Beat together:
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4 large eggs together until light in color and texture at high speed.
Sift together and add at low speed to eggs:
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1-1/4 c cocoa (Dutch processed)
1 c brown sugar
1 c granulated sugar
1/2 c all purpose flour
1/2 t kosher salt
Add slowly at low speed:
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8 oz (1 stick) melted butter
2 t vanilla extract
Spread in prepared pan. Cook in center rack in oven for 45 m.
Immediately take out of the pan (using handy parchment “hand”) and slice (use a pizza cutter) before they become soggy. Enjoy.