Monthly Archives: April 2013

Apr 29

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Buttercream

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I just adore chocolate and peanut butter together. Whoever first came up with the idea to marry the two in dessert form deserves some of medal or prize. And since I needed something to bring to a potluck dinner this past weekend, I decided to whip up some super-rich, ultra-decadent chocolate peanut butter cupcakes.

Now let me warn you: These cupcakes aren’t for the faint of heart. There’s a lot of chocolate and a lot of peanut butter in there, which means these babies are in no way, shape, or form even remotely healthy. But they’re so delicious it almost doesn’t (shouldn’t) bother you.

Putting these cupcakes together takes a bit of time—time I really didn’t have but managed to come up with in the form of foregone sleep. (Again, worth it. ) Each of the steps involved is fairly easy, but the batter can be a bit tricky to work with (see below), and of course it just plain takes time to individually frost 24 cupcakes. (It takes even longer when you keep stopping to sample the frosting while refilling your piping bag.) But the end result is a pretty, indulgent treat that’s the perfect reward for all that hard work.

chocpbcup

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Buttercream
Cupcake recipe slightly adapted from Alida’s Kitchen

Ingredients:

For the cake:
2 cups granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups AP flour
1/2 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s Special Dark)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 cup water
1 cup skim milk
1/2 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the filling:
6 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature (the original recipe offers a lighter option, but I decided to go all in)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk (the original recipe calls for skim, and I’m sure that would be fine as well)

For the frosting:
1 and 1/2 sticks of butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup peanut butter
2 and 3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon milk (I used whole)

Method:

To make the cake:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups with liners and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, water, milk, oil, and vanilla. Fold the wet imxture into the dry ingredients until just moistened. Note that the batter will be pretty thin.
4. Fill prepared muffin cups halfway with batter and set remaining batter aside.

To make the filling:
1. Using a hand or stand mixer, beat the cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar, and milk until combined. Divide the filling evenly amongst the 24 cups, dropping a spoonful of filling in the center of each.
2. Cover each cup with the remaining chocolate batter.
3. Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
4. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan; then move the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely before adding the frosting.

To make the frosting:
1. In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the butter and peanut butter together on medium speed until the mixture gets nice and smooth.
2. Add the confectioners sugar and beat on low for about one minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
3. Add the tablespoon of milk and beat on medium for about another minute. If needed, add a little more confectioners sugar if you want your frosting to be thicker.
4. Use a spatula or piping bag to top your cupcakes once cooled.
5. Garnish with chopped miniature peanut butter cups if desired.

A few notes:
1. As mentioned above, the chocolate cupcake batter is pretty thin, which makes getting it cleanly into your muffin cups a bit of a challenge. I suggest using a batter/ice cream scoop but having a teaspoon ready underneath to catch stray drips.
2. I don’t tend to like tons of frosting on my cupcakes, and since these cupcakes are quite rich to begin with, I found that a small amount worked perfectly. But if you’re the type to pile on the frosting (and there’d be nothing wrong with that), you’ll probably want to make one and a half times the amount referenced above.

 

Apr 22

Vanilla Cardamom Shortbread Bars with White Chocolate Caramel Glaze

Just when it seemed like the weather was finally starting to get a bit warmer around here, bam—another cold front hit. Okay, it wasn’t exactly a cold front, but after several days of temps in the 60s and 70s (you know, actual spring weather), it went back down to the low 50s with a vengeance. Now I realize that 52 degrees isn’t actually freezing. But throw in cloudy, gray skies, a bout of rain, and, oh yeah, the fact that it’s late April, and all it took was a couple of cooler days to make me want to curl up in a blanket the moment I put the child to bed.

Of course, no couch potato moment would be truly complete without something freshly baked to accompany it, and so I decided to whip up some shortbread cookie bars. The base is very similar to that of the Samoa bars I made last week, only it incorporates a bunch of fall spices that jack up the flavor and work well with the caramel and white chocolate topping.

Now I have to say, I really love the way these babies turned out. But more so than that, they smelled absolutely amazing while they were baking up. Had I been able to somehow capture the smell and mass-produce a line of household products and candles to feature it, I would’ve found myself sitting on a goldmine. But alas, all I could do was enjoy the sweet aroma of vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom wafting through the air as the rain kept rapping against my windows and the wind howled in protest of spring.

vanshortbread

Vanilla Cardamom Shortbread Bars with White Chocolate Caramel Glaze

Ingredients:

For the shortbread cookie base:
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups Ap flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

For the topping:
1/2 cup Kraft caramel bits (or a half cup’s worth Kraft caramel candies, unwrapped)
1 tbsp whole milk
1/2 cup white chocolate, melted

Method:

To make the shortbread cookie base:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan, or line with parchment paper.
2. Cream together sugar and butter until fluffy.
3. Beat in egg and vanilla extract.
4. Gradually beat in flour, salt, and spices at low speed until mixture is crumbly.
5. Pour crumbly dough into prepared pan and press into an even layer.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until base is set and edges are lightly browned.
7. Cool completely on a wire rack before adding the topping.

To make the topping:
1. Combine caramel bits, milk, and white chocolate in a medium bowl.
2. Heat in the microwave for 30-second increments at 50% power, stirring the mixture in between. You’ll find that the caramel will melt before the white chocolate, so it’s important to keep stirring. When the white chocolate is mostly melted, vigorously whisk the mixture together to eliminate the lumps.
3. Drizzle the mixture over the shortbread base.
4. Allow to set in the fridge for an hour before cutting into bars.

 

Apr 17

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge

Ah, chocolate and peanut butter. That classic combination draws me in every time. This week, I decided to unite my chocolate and peanut butter in fudge form. I saw this recipe on Brown Eyed Baker, one of my favorite blogs, and decided to give it a shot.

Now normally I’m not the biggest fudge fan. Well, I shouldn’t say that. I happen to think fudge is delicious, albeit kind of insanely sweet. But usually I’ll go for a brownie or cookie or (generous) slice of cake before opting for fudge. Still, something about this recipe called out to me, so I figured I’d mix things up a bit.

The fudge itself didn’t take long to prepare, but let me tell you, I got a bit of a workout while making it thanks to Step #5 below. But it was still totally worth it. And besides, this way I felt justified helping myself to an extra piece.

pbfudge

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge
Recipe from Brown Eyed Baker

Ingredients:

2½ cups granulated sugar
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 cup evaporated milk
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
½ cup unsalted butter, divided, with 2 tablespoons set aside
½ cup peanut butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method:
1. Butter an 8-inch square pan and line the pan with parchment paper.
2. Combine the sugar, cocoa powder, evaporated milk, and corn syrup in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until all the sugar dissolves.
3. Add the 2 tablespoons of butter into the mixture and stir until the butter melts. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover and boil for 3 minutes.
4. Remove the lid and continue to let the mixture cook, without stirring, until it reaches 234 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove the mixture from the heat and, without stirring, add in the remaining butter, peanut butter, and vanilla. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes.
5. Using a wooden spoon, beat the fudge until it thickens and begins to lose its gloss. This took me about 6-7 minutes, though the original recipe states that it can take up to 15. Um, yikes, considering that my arm felt like it was about to fall off at the 3-minute mark. You can also use a stand or hand mixture to tackle this step, but you have to be careful not to overbeat.
6. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Allow the fudge to come to room temperature and then cover the pan with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge until it sets (at least 2 hours).
7. Use the parchment paper to lift the fudge out of the pan. Slice and enjoy.

Apr 11

Funfetti Cake Batter Bark

When it comes to candy, I’m a total kid at heart. Sure, I can indulge in a box of sophisticated truffles. But sometimes I like my candy to be bright and fun. Case in point: cake batter bark. I was in the mood for something different and decided to whip up a batch of fun, sprinkle-infused candy.

This stuff is sweet and tasty, and it’s incredibly easy to make. The bad news is that it’s also incredibly easy to eat…

cakebatter

Funfetti Cake Batter Bark

Ingredients:

12 ounces semisweet chocolate
12 ounces white chocolate
3 teaspoons Funfetti cake mix
¼ cup rainbow sprinkles, plus more for topping

Method:

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Melt the semisweet chocolate in the microwave at 50% power for 30-second intervals, stirring in between. Once melted, pour the chocolate onto the prepared baking sheet. Refrigerate until set (approximately one hour).
3. Once the semisweet chocolate has hardened, melt the white chocolate using the same method in the step above. Once melted, stir in the cake mix and ¼ cup rainbow sprinkles until well-combined.
4. Pour the white chocolate mixture over the semisweet chocolate. Use an offset spatula to spread the mixture evenly (or, if you don’t have one or get lazy, just use the back of a regular spoon).
5. Scatter additional sprinkles over the white chocolate layer as desired.
6. Return to fridge and let set for at least an hour before breaking up into individual pieces.

Apr 10

Samoa Bars

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted a recipe. That’s what happens when life gets in the way of baking. But this is a good one, promise.

Ever since my Girls Scouts cookies were delivered back in March, I’ve been indulging on a pretty much regular basis. But this year, I decided to be conservative and only order one box of Samoas—my favorite. So when it came to my attention that I was starting to run out of my beloved Samoas, I decided to take matters into my own hands by whipping up some homemade Samoa cookie bars.

I’ve seen a few different recipes for these bars, some of which involve dipping the bottoms in chocolate. Since I didn’t have a ton of time, I opted to skip that step and instead just drizzle chocolate on top of the bars—a little less Samoa-like, but delicious nonetheless.

Although this recipe is incredibly simple, there are several steps involved, and you need to wait for each layer to cool/set before moving on to the next. But as long as you leave yourself enough time, you should have no problem throwing these together over the course of an afternoon.

Samoabars

Samoa Bars
Recipe from Baking Bites

Ingredients:

For the shortbread cookie base:
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups Ap flour
1/4 tsp salt

For the topping:
3 cups shredded sweetened coconut
12 oz chewy caramels (I used Kraft)
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp milk (I used whole)
10 oz semisweet chocolate

Method:

To make the shortbread cookie base:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan, or line with parchment paper.
2. Cream together sugar and butter until fluffy.
3. Beat in egg and vanilla extract.
4. Gradually beat in flour and salt at low speed until mixture is crumbly.
5. Pour crumbly dough into prepared pan and press into an even layer.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until base is set and edges are lightly browned.
7. Cool completely on a wire rack before adding the topping.

To make the topping:
1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.
2. Spread the coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet and toast for about 20 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until coconut is golden. Let cool and set aside.
3. Unwrap your caramels and place them in a microwave-safe bowl along with the milk and salt. Cook on high for about 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt evenly. Once smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula.
4. Pour dollops of the coconut-caramel topping over the cooled shortbread base. Using your spatula, spread the topping into an even layer.
5. Let topping set at room temperature until cooled, about 1 hour.
6. Melt your chocolate – I used the microwave method. Place chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and cook on 50% power in 30-45 second intervals, stirring in between.
7. Once melted, drizzle chocolate over the tops of the bars (it won’t cover them completely).
8. Let the chocolate topping set before cutting the bars, either 2 hours at room temperature or 1 hour in the fridge. Once cooled, use a sharp knife to cut into individual bars.