Tag Archives: Dessert

February 23, 2010 · 7:51 pm

What’s good, Cupcake?

A brilliant thing has been happening to me. I’ve been getting paid to bake. You heard me. PAID. To BAKE. It’s unheard of and I am loving it. This past weekend I baked a batch of cupcakes for the cast of the show that my good friend Becca is working on. She told me I could go nuts – so I thoughts nuts. Peanuts.

On the menu: Chocolate cupcakes with chocolate peanut butter ganache frosting
(this recipe is c/o Cupcakeblog.com – I just added the peanut butter)

Makes 24 cupcakes

5.4 ounces dark chocolate (I used 50% cocoa Lindt bars)
22 tablespoons butter
1 and 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
6 eggs
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
4 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder, unsweetened
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350. Melt chocolate and butter over a water bath. Add sugar and stir, let mixture cool for 10 minutes. Beat in an electric mixer for 3 minutes. Add one egg at a time, mixing for 30 seconds between each. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and a pinch of salt into the mixture and mix until blended. Scoop into cupcake cups and bake at 350 F for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Ganache

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
5 ounces semisweet chocolate
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Tbsp butter (room temperature)
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter

Chop chocolates and transfer into a heat proof bowl. Heat cream until bubbles form around the edge of the pan, pour cream over the chocolate. Let sit for 1 minute then stir until combined. Add butter and vanilla and stir until combined. Transfer to the bowl of an electric mixture and let cool for 10 minutes. Sift powdered sugar into the mixture and beat until combined. Continue to beat with an electric mixer until lighter in color and slightly stiffened. Beat in peanut butter until combined.

I can not say enough about how amazing Cupcakeblog.com is. I aspire to be this woman.

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February 9, 2010 · 10:00 pm

Sauce is better with booze/Sweets are better with salt

I realize this is post #3 and once again it’s alcohol-centric. Whatevs.

Last week I went to Celeste’s swank new apartment to catch up over carbs and wine, cause that’s how we do. Somehow our meetings always revolve around creamy pasta. And that’s alright with me.

On the menu:
Penne alla vodka
Fleur de sel brownies

We searched all the usual sites for recipes but ultimately came back to one of our favorite places ever, Luxirare. No one knows who Luxirare is. As far as we know, it’s a she. And she makes unbelievable creations. Just take a peek and you’ll be hooked. And her penne alla vodka looked incredible so while she doesn’t provide a recipe, we used the ingredients and our intuition as our guide.

Key ingredient in penne alla vodka: penne. Don’t let anyone tell you anything different. I’m Italian. I know.

Another key ingredient: vodka. No lie.

That’s Celeste. Celeste works for Behind the Burner, and even though she claims to not really enjoy cooking, she looks mighty happy right here. We ate more sauce from the pot than we did over pasta. Ain’t no shame.

Parmesan cheese, braseole (an air dried Italian meat, less salty than a pancetta but totally holds its own in this dish), fresh basil, half and half, vodka, garlic, San Marzano tomatoes, and a sprinkling of chopped onions. How can something so simple be so unrelentingly delicious? Who cares.

Sometimes the oven stops working and you have to bake brownies in the toaster oven. And then sometimes they come out like batter in the middle and crispy on the outside and you eat them anyway because you are a little drunk and they are goooo-ood.

We made these particular brownies with a basic brownie recipe and upped the amount of salt to a teaspoon and a half of fleur de sel, also sprinkling some on top. The combination of sweet but bitter dark chocolate and the salt is perfect.

Warning: this meal is not low calorie. In fact, you may have just gained a couple pounds reading this post. I’m not really that sorry about it.

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