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Almost Fat–Free Chocolate Cupcakes

By Bryn Kirk on March 16, 2011 | Comments (0)

Some things get “lighter” in spring. My mood gets lighter, my appetite gets lighter, and as I shed my heavy winter sweaters, my clothes get lighter!

Here is a recipe for something lighter in fat calories…

Almost Fat–Free Chocolate Cupcakes

• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup cinnamon applesauce
• 1 egg
• 1 egg white
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2/3 cup skim milk
• Powdered sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda and salt. In a separate bowl, beat the next six ingredients until combined, about 1 minute. Stir in flour mixture alternating with milk until just combined.

Pour batter into muffin cups. Bake 22-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from pan; cool on wire rack 30 minutes. Sprinkle with sugar, if desired.

Enjoy!

Categories: chocolate recipes
Tags: chocolate dessert, cupcakes

Chocolate Adventure Contest

By Bryn Kirk on March 10, 2011 | Comments (0)

Chocolate pairs well a lot of things, and Stout Beer is apparently one of them.

According to the Fourth Annual Chocolate Adventure Contest® winner, chocolate and stout beer make a $10,000 cupcake.

Contest rules state that participants must create an original cupcake recipe using both Scharffen Berger chocolate and one or more “adventure ingredients.”

A list of adventure ingredients is presented each year to complement the Scharffen Berger chocolate blends. Here is a sample of some of the adventure ingredients:

• Adzuki bean
• Almond flour
• Bee pollen
• Beet (fresh)
• Buttermilk
• Coconut butter, cream or milk
• Fresh or whole dried chili pepper
• Meyer lemon
• Molasses (light, dark or blackstrap)
• Ricotta
• Saffron
• Stout Beer (any variety)
• Sumatra coffee bean
• Sweetened condensed milk

The $10,000 Prize went to “You Make Me Want To Stout” by Elaine Barbee from Missouri. She made a rich chocolate cupcake using only the stout as her adventure ingredient. Her recipe was chosen as the winner over 2,000 other entries.

Cupcakes were judged on creativity, spirit of adventure, ease of preparation, appearance and flavor.

The reason stout makes a winning combination with chocolate is that it adds depth of flavor without overwhelming it.

My mouth is already watering for the 1st place cupcake but check out the descriptions of second and third place. First, grab a napkin to catch all the drool.

Second place cupcake: “Spicy Dulce de Leche and Chocolate Cream Stout Cupcakes with Chile Ganache and Candied Serrano Chiles.”

Third place: “Beer Bellies, a Cocoa-Stout Cupcake with Beer-Malt Frosting and Spicy Pretzel Crumbles.”

Yum!

Categories: chocolate in the news
Tags: beer, cupcakes, Scharffen Berger

Chocolate-Banana Swirl Cupcakes

By Bryn Kirk on November 17, 2010 | Comments (0)

Here a delightful combination of chocolate and banana, in a cupcake form.

For a delicious variation of this recipe you can replace the banana with your favorite winter squash or pumpkin!

Chocolate-Banana Swirl Cupcakes

• 6 tbsp butter, softened
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 ¼ cup flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (approx. 1 large ripe banana)
• 3 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted over a double boiler

Preheat oven to 350. Use a non-stick muffin tin, or grease and flour a regular muffin tin.

Mix butter, sugar, and salt on high speed with an electric mixer for about 1 minute. Then add eggs and vanilla and mix for about 4 minutes on high or until the mixture is light and fluffy. Mix flour, baking soda, and baking powder together. Fold this gently into the egg mixture. Don’t over mix. Divide the batter in half. Mix in mashed bananas to one half, and melted chocolate to the other half.

Spoon the chocolate and banana batters into muffin tins. You can either put them side by side or put one on top of the other. To make a swirl, use a knife and swish back and forth through the batter to make a marble appearance.

Bake for about 18-22 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the middle of the cupcake comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Categories: chocolate recipes
Tags: banana, chocolate dessert, cupcakes

Black Bottom Cupcakes

By Bryn Kirk on November 10, 2010 | Comments (0)

Black Bottom cupcakes are chocolate cupcakes with a cream cheese center. This cupcake is super dense, rich, and moist.

I like this recipe because of the added chocolate chips, only I prefer the mini-chocolate chip size. The texture is great, too. I could eat these everyday – yikes!

Black Bottom Cupcakes

• 12 ounces cream cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1 2/3 cups sugar
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (can use mini-size)
• 1 1/2 cups flour, sifted
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup cooking oil
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°. Arrange 24 cupcake liners in muffin tins.

Blend together the cream cheese, eggs, and 2/3 cup of the sugar in a large bowl. Stir in the chocolate chips. Sift the remaining sugar, the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt into a mixing bowl. Stir in the water, oil, vinegar and vanilla; beat until smooth.

Fill cupcake liners 1/3 full with the chocolate batter; spoon the cheese mixture on top. Bake until the cakes test done, 30 to 35 minutes for cupcakes. Let cool 10 minutes before turning out on wire racks to cool completely.

Enjoy!

Categories: chocolate recipes
Tags: chocolate dessert, cream cheese, cupcakes

Cappuccino Cupcakes

By Bryn Kirk on November 1, 2010 | Comments (0)

I suppose using a brownie mix is cheating, but sometimes you need a delicious tasting recipe that is also fast and easy.

Cappuccino Cupcakes

• Brownie mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup of water
• 1/3 cup cooking oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons instant coffee
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Whipped topping

Preheat oven to 350°. Place foil cupcake liners (large or small) on a cookie sheet. Combine all ingredients except whipped topping. Fill small liners with 1 tablespoon of filling. Fill large liners with 1/4 cup of mix.

Bake small cupcakes 12-15 minutes. If you chose the larger option, bake for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Cool completely. Garnish with a dollop of whip cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon before serving.

Enjoy!

Categories: chocolate recipes
Tags: cappuccino, chocolate dessert, coffee, cupcakes

Cupcakes Rule!

By Bryn Kirk on May 1, 2010 | Comments (0)

A couple weeks ago I attended an event that included a lunch buffet. I love buffets, especially the all-you-can-eat-dessert part of a buffet.

After eating my lunch, I elbowed my way through the crowd that had swarmed around the desserts. I stared at the table. <gasp> It had an abundance of cupcakes, the most diverse assortment of beautifully decorated cupcakes I had ever laid eyes on!

The first cupcake I enjoyed was a deep, rich, red velvet with cream cheese frosting. My second cupcake was a dark chocolate with an equally dark and creamy chocolate frosting.

I better stop now. I can’t tell you how many I had (and still respect myself)!

To my surprise, I learned the cupcakes were made by a friend of mine who turned her passion for making cupcakes into a booming Milwaukee business. The Milwaukee Cupcake Company makes, correction, crafts scratch-baked cupcakes.

There are a number of classic varieties available, but it’s the unique and exotic that I can’t stop thinking about…

Here are just a few of the sensational cupcakes to choose from:

The Botanical Gardens
Delicate lavender rosewater cupcake, with orange zest, topped with fluffy vanilla buttercream, and sprinkled with crystallized sugar and lavender.

The Hog
Dark chocolate cupcake with baked-in bacon bits, dipped in luxurious ganache, and topped with bacon bits.

The Lake Park
White chocolate cake with a raspberry reduction ribbon running through it, topped with white chocolate cream cheese butter cream, a fresh raspberry and a white chocolate drizzle.

The Rishi Matcha
Green tea cake made with Rishi’s Matcha Japanese Green Tea, which is antioxidant-rich and award-winning. The light, fluffy, buttercream is made with Rishi’s Sweet Matcha powder, which produces a beautiful color and delicate taste. Then it’s garnished with crystallized ginger.

You can order all you want from the Milwaukee Cupcake Company website, but if you need instant gratification, and happen to be in the Milwaukee area, visit their new retail counter (opening in May 2010) at 316 N. Milwaukee St. in the Third Ward… in the same building as the Coquette Café and Petaluna Floral.

I can’t wait to show off these beauties at my son’s upcoming confirmation party. All I have to do is resist eating the whole darn tray before the guests arrive!

Categories: fine foods & beverages
Tags: chocolate cake, chocolate dessert, cupcakes

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