Cake Batter & Crumbs

Italian Meringue Buttercream - Birthday Cupcakes

Well, the office move is officially completed. We’re in our new building, and I’m happy to finally have my own office with a nice view. But—on to more important things… cake!

We threw a birthday party over the weekend for our friend Dave. The party planning detail that I of course, was most interested in, was what kinds of treats to serve. I wanted to do a twist on the usual cake and ice cream menu, so we had a make-your-own sundae bar along with vanilla cupcakes topped with Italian meringue buttercream icing.

I was under pressure to get everything ready, so I just used a box cake mix. The icing recipe came from The Baker’s Field Guide to Cupcakes. This is a really great “idea” book as every cupcake is pictured in full color. I’m a sucker for photographs, so that’s what sold me on the book!

This icing recipe was the first I’ve made from the book, and it was quite tasty. For me though, it’s just not style of icing I love though. I, unlike a lot of people out there, adore the really sweet and rich, heavy icings. They’re not very good for you, but hey, it’s all about moderation, right? Anyway, this was a very smooth, delicate and not-too sweet icing.

The recipe as listed in the book is a basic version and it’s suggested to add flavorings to create different icings. I split the batch in two and added a little vanilla to one and some cocoa powder to the other. I dusted the tops of the chocolate ones with some additional cocoa powder, just to make them look prettier. I kept these in the fridge and let them come to room temperature before serving.

   

Ingredients:

Scant 2/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
¼ cup water
4 large egg whites, at room temperature
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into small pieces   

Directions:

Place 2/3 cup sugar and water in small pot. Stir to wet sugar. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, swirling pan occasionally. Dip pastry brush in cold water and wash down sugar crystals from the sides of the pot once or twice. [I didn’t have a pastry brush and just used the spoon] Turn down heat to simmer gently.   

Place egg whites in mixing bowl and whip until frothy on low speed using balloon whip attachment. Add cream of tartar and turn speed to medium-high. When soft peaks form, add remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar gradually. Continue whipping until stiff, glossy peaks form.

Bring the sugar-water mixture to a rapid boil and cook until it reaches 248°-250° F. As syrup cooks, look for visual clues to assess the temperature. It starts out thin with many small bubbles over the surface. The water will begin to evaporate, and the mixture will become thicker. The bubbles get larger and sticky and pop more slowly. At this point the syrup looks thickened, but it has not begun to color. If you drop a bit of the syrup into a glass of cold water, it will form a ball. This is the firm-ball stage and the syrup is ready. 

Pour a thin steady stream over meringue, without pouring any on the rotating whip or the sides of the bowl. Whip meringue on high speed until cool. When the bowl is no longer warm, stop the machine and touch the surface of the meringue with your finger to check that it is cooled. With mixer on medium speed, add the butter, a couple of tablespoons at a time. Keep beating until the buttercream is completely smooth. Any flavorings may be added at this point.

Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Cake & Chocolate Frosting

My husband's birthday was this past Saturday and is traditional for us, we spent the day at Hershey Park. I can't think of anything better to go with amusement park rides than chocolate! Actually I think chocolate nicely compliments just about anything.

In honor of our day at Hershey, I decided to make some cupcakes using Hershey's baking cocoa. I looked through my Hershey's cookbook that I purchased last time we were there and also did a recipe search on their site. In the end I decided on the Perfectly Chocolate Cake & Chocolate Frosting that was actually listed both in my book and on their website.

This was my second time making a recipe from the Hershey's website and I've been really impressed with each so far. I really think this is probably the best chocolate cake I've ever made from scratch. Sometimes the chocolate cakes can get a little dry, but not this one. The texture is really great, more on the light side, and it has a nice moist crumb. And, as the name suggests, the chocolate flavor is just perfect.

I followed the variation for cupcakes and halved the recipe to get around a dozen cupcakes. The recipe notes that the batter will be thin, and was it ever. It seemed like I was scooping chocolate sauce into my cupcake liners rather than chocolate cake batter. In the end though, it made some awesome cupcakes. I will definitely be using this cake recipe again.

The chocolate icing took the cupcakes to the next level of chocolaty heaven. I am a huge chocolate lover, so these were a perfect combination for me. I can see how some might prefer something different--less chocolaty. I used the recipe suggested on the website and added a little salt to bring out the flavors more.

All in all, these were a huge success, surely satisfying any cravings for chocolate. As for my husband's birthday cake, in his typical fashion, he requested an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen, made his way, with no chocolate crunchies in the middle. He can have his chocolate-less crunchie ice cream cake, but I'll stick with my over-the-top chocolate cupcakes.

Our trip to Hershey Park, was a fun one. Even though the park was insanely crowded, our group had a great time, and it's so true when they say, Hershey is definitely the sweetest place on earth.

HERSHEY'S "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:            

    

• 2 cups  sugar
• 1-3/4 cups  all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup  HERSHEY'S Cocoa
• 1-1/2 teaspoons  baking powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons  baking soda
• 1 teaspoon  salt
• 2   eggs
• 1 cup  milk
• 1/2 cup  vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons  vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water
•    "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING(recipe follows)

   

                

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F.  Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING. 10 to 12 servings.
         
VARIATIONS:
ONE-PAN CAKE: Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350° F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.

THREE LAYER CAKE: Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.

BUNDT CAKE: Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost.

CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.


"PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or margarine
2/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes

In celebration of my mom’s birthday tomorrow, I decided to make her favorite, chocolate cake with peanut butter icing. Chocolate and peanut butter, what’s not to love? These turned out beautifully, and I can’t wait to deliver them to her tomorrow night. Maybe I should give her a carton of milk with a bow on it as well, because these go so perfectly together! 

 

 

I found these cute birthday cupcake liners at a local store, but unfortunately the chocolate cake made the birthday pattern hard to see.

 

 

The cakes were made using a slightly modified recipe from the Cake Mix Doctor’s Cupcake book. I chose the Chocolate Almond cupcake recipe and swapped the almond extract for vanilla extract. I wanted a good chocolate base recipe, and this seemed to fit the plan for a mid-week bake when time is at a premium.

 

 

To make the icing, I used a recipe from Allrecipes.com for Fluffy Peanut Butter Icing. It got a large number of high reviews, so I figured I’d give it a try. I was delightfully pleased with the icing. It had a creamy texture and I didn't think they were too sweet or rich. Although  my husband and father-in-law always think any icing is too sweet. I, however, thought it worked well with the chocolate cake. I topped the them with chopped Reese's peanut butter cups. Yum.

 

 

 

Fluffy Peanut Butter Icing

 

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3 tablespoons milk, or as needed
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar

   

1. Place the butter and peanut butter into a medium bowl, and beat      with an electric mixer. Gradually mix in the sugar, and when it starts to      get thick, incorporate milk one tablespoon at a time until all of the      sugar is mixed in and the frosting is thick and spreadable. Beat for at      least 3 minutes for it to get good and fluffy.