Brooklyn Blackout Cake

The Beats! 

  

After my tamed down playlist last week, I received an email from a friend telling me to bring back the hip hop.  Ok, twist my arm (sorry Mom).  But in an attempt to be a little more moderate I've mixed in some reggae, leaving you with an awkward mix of offensive, crude hip hop with chill, peace-loving island tunes.  Oh, and then there's the song as a mash up of Jimi Hendrix and JayZ.  If you find this to be musical travesty, I'm sorry, I still think it's sweet.  I needed something a little more fun anyway, because fun music means fun food and I needed this cake to be GOOD.  Plus, the birthday recipient had the unique experience of being one of my housemates in college so he's already numb to my musical taste.  Well, I don't think anyone has recovered from the time the sound system in the kitchen, streaming music from my computer, blasted the first few lines of R. Kelly's Bump 'n Grind.  I promise I had no idea that was even in my musical library.  My mind's telling me no, but my body, my body's telling me yes ...

The Treats!  

  

Hmmm, I don't quite know where to begin on this one.  I wanted to try a new birthday cake, so instead of going to my tried and true strawberry banana or guinness chocolate cakes I gave this one a try.  If you like rich and you like chocolate ... sold.  I didn't think the cake was bad, but I just don't know if it was worth the amount of work and the spoon sacrificed in the process.  I guess it's worth noting that I do think it tasted better the second day, after spending the night in the fridge; however, I'm also the girl that likes pizza for breakfast and cold, plain pasta for dinner ... leftovers are awesome.  Annnyway, if you have an afternoon and evening to kill, give it a try.  Worst case scenario - you'll break a spoon and cement a cornstarch mixture to the bottom of your bowl, but come out with a pretty dank cake.  And I'm not using the Merriam-Webster dictionary of dank here, more like the urban dictionary version (Adjective meaning "good".  Can I have that in a sentence please?  Well urban dictionary, probably the most intellectual site on the interweb, provides this profound example: "That burrito was dank as f@$*").  I'm done.

Brooklyn Blackout Cake   (makes 10-12 slices)              

From Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook

What you'll need ...

 
For the cake:
6 1/2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup whole milk (or whatever you have)
 
For the custard:
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 Tablespoon light corn syrup (syyyyyyyyyrip!)
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups cornstarch (whoa! is right ...)
5 1/2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
 
Three 8" round cake pans, lined with wax paper

 
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.  

 

I guess there are plenty of ways to line your cake pans, but it's key for a layered cake unless you want a layer of metal along with your icing.  Here's how I do it ... Use a knife to trace the outline of your cake pan onto the wax paper and punch out the cut out.  Put the cut out in the bottom of your pan, then spray bottom and sides with cooking spray.  Do this with each pan.  Okay, enough with prep, it's time to bakey bake, no?

Put the butter and sugar in a freestanding mixer (or hand held mixer) and cream until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well and scraping any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula after each addition.  Turn the mixer down to slow speed and beat in the vanilla (vanilli, vanilli!), cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well mixed.  Add half the flour, then all the milk, and finish with the remaining flour.  Mix until everything is well combined.  

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans and smooth over.  Bake in the preheated oven 25-30 minutes.  Let the cake layers cool slightly in the pans before turning out to cool completely.







So, here's where things got awkward.  The custard started off looking like the homemade gak mixtures I concocted as a kid (you know, with water, cornstarch, and food coloring to make sure you ruined everything it touched?).  Then it quickly turned into cement.  I stubbornly attempted to keep stirring, which only broke my spoon (pictured).  So I added a cup of water, total, and it seemed to do the trick ... kinda.  Here we go - Put the sugar, corn syrup, cocoa, and 2 1/2 cups water into a large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking occasionally.  Mix the cornstarch with 1/2 - 3/4, whisking briskly as you add the water.

The mixture should be the consistency of thick glue (ha!) so add more water if it's too thick (this is where I used one full cup).  Whisk gradually into the cocoa mixture in the pan over medium (not high) heat.  Bring back to a boil, whisking constantly.  Cook, whisking constantly, for a few minutes until quite thick.  Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla.  Pour the custard into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and chill until very firm.




Slice a thin layer off one cake, put in a food processor (I got by finely chopping with a knife), and process into crumbs.  Put one layer on a cake stand (or pizza pan if you're not classy like me) and spread one-quarter of the chocolate custard over it.  Place a second layer on top and spread another quarter of the custard over it. 

Top with the last layer and spread the remaining custard over the tops and sides.  Cover and chill for 2 hours.  I went ahead and made an attempt to hide my classy pizza pan with fresh berries, but it kinda gives of a July 4th look, huh?  Oh well ...

Coconut Cupcakes

The Beats! 

  

My mom visited last week and as we sat at the table, neck and neck for the 2nd night of a 3 game Scrabble series (this is boosting my street cred I'm sure), listening to the playlist from my last post, she broke her concentration to say "I don't think I like this music."  I said, "Oh, the hiphop?"  And she replied, "Well, I guess.  I didn't know I didn't like it, but I guess I don't."  And with a little reflection and a lot of tissues, I've decided I'm ok with that.  I would be more worried if Little Momma loved hip hop.  If in the middle of the game she had laid down the lyrics to Farewell Wenches I probably would have passed out.  I don't really understand why I like hiphop either actually.  I moved to Wyoming in 3rd grade and soon-after my best friend and I make an unspoken decision to be undercover thug for the rest of our lives.  Anyway, this post isnt' supposed to be about hiphop because to appease my mother and make the rest of the Scrabble game enjoyable (see how thug is that?), I created the following playlist ...  which I should add, has some of my most favorite songs despite their non-hiphop genre.  I like all music ... it just happens that yes, I have a crush on Ludacris, yes I've watched the documentary on Tupac's Resurrection, and yes I've been splashed with Lil' Jon's crunk juice.  Oh, wait, this post isn't about hiphop ...

The Treats!  

  

As you can probably guess by this post, I'm slowly beginning to understand the cupcake fad.  That doesn't mean I understand paying almost four dollars for one, but I think I grasp the appeal of making something easy, relatively small, and "cute".  You don't have to fight, knife in hand, over cutting the cake unevenly.  You don't have to fret that the guest of honor's birthday wish will leave every other persons serving covered in germs.  And sometimes you can get away without washing a plate and fork for every person at the party.  We're not talking about being lazy, we're talking about being smart, ok?  So for the second time this week I'm making cupcakes.  I'm always kind of mesmerized by desserts decorated with coconut flakes because it reminds me of snow ... and I love snow, and the flavor reminds the of the sunscreen I used as a kid on the beach - really, it's the best of both worlds. So here's a recipe for coconut cupcakes.  The cupcake itself is a dense,  moist cake that tastes more of vanilla than coconut (at least to me), but I've made some changes to pimp out the coconut flavor in the icing.   

Coconut Cupcakes   (makes 18)              

From Bon Appetit Magazine

What you'll need ...

Reduced coconut milk:
2 13- to 14- ounce cans unsweetened coconut milk

Cupcakes:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
1 1/3 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup reduced coconut milk (see above), room temp

Frosting:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup reduced coconut milk (see above), room temp

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut, lightly toasted for garnish

Cupcake tin and liners!

To make the reduced coconut milk, bring coconut milk to boil in large deep saucepan over medium-high heat (coconut milk will boil up high in pan). Reduce the heat to medium-low; boil until reduced to 1 1/2 cups (I know this is annoying since it leaves you pouring in & out of a measuring cup, so I just "got close"), stirring occasionally, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to small bowl, cover and chill in refrigerator (coconut milk will settle further as it cools).  I also read a review for which the reader skipped this step entirely and just used the recipe amounts (1 1/3 cups) straight from the can ... up to you. Reducing the milk just creates a more dense, moist cake.

For the cupcakes, position rack in center of oven; preheat to 350°F. Line eighteen muffin cups with liners. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar; beat on medium-high speed until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add 2 eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Beat in vanilla and remaining egg. 

Add half of flour mixture; mix on low speed just until blended. Add 1 cup reduced coconut milk; mix just until blended. Add remaining flour mixture; mix on low speed just until blended. Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake cupcakes until tops spring back when gently touched and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer cupcakes in pans to rack; cool 10 minutes. Carefully remove cupcakes from pans and cool completely. 

Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar, 1/3 cup reduced coconut milk, vanilla extract, and salt. Beat on medium-low speed until blended, scraping down sides of bowl. Increase to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy.  I added one cup of non-toasted sweetened coconut flakes and 1/4 teaspoon almond extract into the frosting to bring out the flavor as well ...  To toast the coconut, layer flakes onto a cookie sheet and heat in oven at 350 degrees.  Watch carefully and stir the contents occasionally to prevent burning.  


Top each cupcake with frosting. Using spatula or knife, swirl frosting over top of cupcakes. Sprinkle with coconut (I topped them with both toasted and un-toasted coconut flakes as well as a half raspberry for garnish).  Keep refrigerated until you're ready to devour ... 

Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

The Beats! 
  
A few weeks ago I went to Sin City with one of my favorite people to celebrate her upcoming wedding.  The last time I'd been I was 18 and let me tell you, the experience is a little different when you're above the legal drinking age.  After several days we returned to Seattle to recover, but the song Barbara Streisand by Ducksauce was lodged in my mind (I dare you to learn the words ...).  We'd heard it several times while we were there, but I can't tell you where, since that's breaking the LasVegas code, right?  If you guessed the Public Library you're wrong.  But anyway, I think it's time to bring a little Ducksauce to the table, along with some of my most favorite awful hip hop songs ... So enjoy!

The Treats!  
  
Well, speaking of the special bride-to-be ... it was her 26th birthday last week so I made a batch of these for the special occasion.  They're from my favorite cookbook, but this recipe was a new one, not one of their six cupcake recipes that I'm already a fan of ... so now we can make it seven.  I'm not huge on cheesecake (otherwise I probably would be huge?) but these cupcakes remind me more of a light "cakey" fruit cobbler with a cream cheese frosting on top.  They're easy, despite my drawn out instructions below, and are fun looking as well - especially when you add a ridiculously bad-ass star candle on top.  So ... go ahead, get busy.  

Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes   (makes 12)              

From Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook

What you'll need ...

1 cup all-porpoise flour (not really, just regular type) 
3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Pinch of salt

3 Tablespoons unsalted buttah, room temperature

1/2 cup whole milk (or whatever is in the fridge)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

12 strawberries, chopped into small pieces

6 1/2 oz graham crackers (or several full crackers)

Cupcake tin and liners!

And for the icing ...

2 1/3 cups confectioners' sugar

3 Tablespoons unsalted buttah, room temperature

4 oz. cold cream cheese

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.  Put the flour, sugar, baking pow (pow!), salt, and butter in a freestanding electric mixer (or use your handheld mixer) and beat on slow speed until you get a sandy consistency and everything is combined.


Pour in the milk and vanilla and beat on medium speed until all the ingredients are well mixed - make sure to scrape any unmixed ingredients from the bottom and sides of bowl with a rubber spatula.  Add the egg and beat well for a few minutes to insure the ingredients are well mixed.

Divide the chopped strawberries between the paper cases.  Spoon the batter on top until 2/3 full (I just go until the batter is gone because wasted batter is taboo in my kitchen) and bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes.


The cakes should be light golden and bounce back when touched, or a skewer inserted into the center should come out clean.  Let the cupcakes cool slightly in the pan before turning out to cool completely.



Roughly break up the graham crackers (I just put them in a ziplock sandwich bag and started beating it with my fist, which the neighbors loooove).  "Process" until finely ground.  When the cupcakes are cold ... it's time for the frosting.




Ok, so the last time I made frosting I decided I didn't want to go to the hassle of cleaning up my Kitchenaid mixer when I was done, so in a moment of ingenuity, I pulled out my handheld mixer and a shallow bowl, filled it with powdered sugar and a little butter and cream cheese, and then turned on the mixer.  Bad idea.  I covered the entire kitchen, myself, the walls, my Kitchenaid nearby, the floor and filled the air with a million particles of powdered sugar.  But I'm stubborn.  So did I stop?  No, I showed that powdered sugar who is boss and then spent the next fifteen minutes cleaning up.  Moral of the story ... use a stand up mixer or dig out the deepest bowl you own.


Beat the confectioners' sugar and butter together in a freestanding mixer (see that's the part I ignored) on medium-slow speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed. Add the cream cheese in one go and beat until completely incorporated.  Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed.  Continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy, several minutes. 

After frosting, finish with a sprinkling of your ground graham crackers.  Eat 'em!

Malt Whisky Truffles

The Beats!

When I talked to Dad a couple days ago to ask him what his upcoming birthday plans were, he responded "You mean the beginning of my birthday season?".  Oh right, the birthday season.  Well Dad, here's to the official day one of many days of celebrating your birth ... and I hope it's a great one.  In your honor, I created a playlist that reminds me of you.  Whether is cruising around in "The Bomb" listening to Oldies or rockin' out to the Rolling Stones while you're out by the grill ... I'm not sure what kinda dance moves you can combo with this playlist - I just sung really loud.  On with the beats ...

The Treats!  

Well, a friend recommended I post the good, the bad, and the ugly - and these fall somewhere between the bad and the ugly ...  It's the first time I've made this recipe - which seems basic, and I'm not even sure it was a failure.  It's just not what I had in mind.  The truffles seem more like "mousse balls".  Although they taste fine, they are fluffy on the inside and not quite holding their shape on the outside.  Right now they're packed into the freezer until I decide what to do with them.  At this point, I don't think they're being flown to California for my dad as I'm pretty sure they would arrive as a puddle.  Anyway, with that pep talk, I'm sure you're all dyyyyying to make these, so on with the treats.

Malt Whisky Truffles                 

From The Chocolate and Coffee Bible

What you'll need ...

7 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

2/3 cup heavy cream

3 Tbsp malt whisky

3/4 cup confectioners sugar

cocoa powder, for coating

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl, set over a pan of simmering water, stirring until smooth then cool slightly. 

Using a whisk, whip the cream with the whisky in a bowl until thick enough to hold it's shape (this took me only a few minutes). 

Stir in the melted chocolate and confectioners sugar.  Leave to firm up a little (this is where I started to get worried/annoyed - and where I ended up leaving the mix in the refrigerator over an hour to firm up "a little").

Dust your hands with cocoa powder and shape the mixture into bite-sized balls.  Coat in cocoa powder.  Refrigerate for up to 3-4 days if necessary and pack into "pretty" boxes (if you're lucky).

Chocolate Oat Bars

The Beats!
I'm still on a bit of a Sasquatch kick from a few weeks ago.  So today's a mix of finds from this year's festival, as well as a few favorites from last year.  There's bound to be something everybody hates ... (hopefully you'll enjoy at least one?).  The important part is to get the trance dance down at the right moment, and no, you don't need to be saturated with drugs to master it.  Just put your head down and move your hands in front of you, almost like a DJ spinning tracks in slo mo.  Make sure not to smile, apparently that takes away all your street cred.  Ok, there, you got it, nice.  On with the beats.



The Treats!  
Last weekend I climbed El Dorado Peak in the North Cascades with a couple of friends and I wish I'd had these along.  They're great for backpacking, camping, climbing ... or sitting at your kitchen table.  I'm tucking a few of these in my bag for Baker this weekend, a few more in my pals bag before she heads off to Nepal for the summer, and the rest will go in the freezer until I decide to start sneaking them out (probably before they're frozen through).

Chocolate Oat Bars
From the Joy of Cooking: 75th Anniversary Edition


What you'll need ...
1 c + 2 Tbsp butter 
2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp + 1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 cups rolled oats
2 cups (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
A baking pan close to 10" x 15"


Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream 1 cup butter (at room temp, pop it in the microwave 10 seconds if not) with the brown sugar. Beat in eggs and 2 teaspoons of vanilla. In another bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt and stir in oats.  Pick a fair sized bowl so you don't create a big mess like I did.

Over low heat, combine chocolate chips, condensed milk, 2 tablespoons butter, and salt. Stir chocolate mixture until smooth, then add nuts (if you choose) and 1 teaspoon of vanilla.

Combine egg and flour mixtures and press about two-thirds of it into a 10" x 15" pan. It's easiest if you grease a spatula to spread the mixture ... or just use your hands. Spread chocolate mixture over the batter, then dot the top with the remaining batter. 





                





Bake for about 25 minutes. When cool, cut into 1" x 2" bars.  Stick them in the refrigerator or freezer to solidify, if needed.