Cupcake Test 7, White Chocolate with White Chocolate Buttercream

I couldn't handle the seeming failure of last weeks cupcake test, even though they were gone in no time flat.  So this week, I redid my White Chocolate cupcakes with White Chocolate Buttercream Icing.  There's no link, as this was off the top of my head.  The cupcakes were simple - a French Vanilla box mix, with some of the white "chocolate" ground in my food processor mixed in -about 6 ounces.  (This is the block of stuff that I request from Mom each Christmas!)  Then, because I couldn't leave well enough alone, I dolloped a bit of jam in pre-baking.  I wanted to do lemon, but got talked out of that, and I still think it could really work.  Instead I did a half dozen each of cherry, blueberry, and peach and left a half dozen "plain".

Notes the first:  The cupcakes were sticky in the trays and didn't want to let loose when it was time to remove them. They also didn't rise very much.  The jam and any larger chunks of chocolate simply sank to the bottom of the cupcake.  The white chocolate chunklettes actually got a little brown in the bottom of the cups.  If I were to do these, yet again, I would skip adding the chocolate and jam to the cake batter, and instead do a soft white chocolate ganache to pipe in as a filling.  Maybe something like this?

Then came the frosting.  I looked online and there a bazillion ways to make a buttercream frosting.  Some use eggs, some don't.  The ratio of chocolate to butter to sugar varies from recipe to recipe.  After looking and figuring, and knowing what I personally like, this is what I came up with:

White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

8 oz of white chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli), melted in top of a double boiler

1 cup of salted butter, softened

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

4 1/2 cups of confectioners sugar, more or less

Heavy whipping cream, as needed.

Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler.  Once the chips are smooth and creamy, take them off the heat and let them cool for a bit.  You don't want it to harden, but if it is too hot it will melt your butter.  While you are cooling the chocolate, go ahead and cream the butter in/with your mixer.  You want it to be light and fluffy.  Then, pour the still warm chocolate into the butter and immediately start the mixer on high.  My butter melted just a bit, but once it was whipped up, everything solidified.  Add in the vanilla, and then start adding the confectioners sugar, one cup at a time.  You may use more or less of the confectioners sugar, depending on how stiff you want the frosting to be.  If it gets too stiff, you could whip in some heavy cream, one teaspoon at a time, to loosen it back up again.

Notes the second:  I prefer the double boiler to the microwave as you can see what's happening the whole time and there is less chance of burning the chocolate.  Also, it's easy to "make" a double boiler if you have a metal bowl larger than one of your pots - just don't let the bottoms touch, or let the bottom of the bowl touch the boiling water.  Most recipes use unsalted butter, but I prefer the bit of salt found in salted butter.  It's kind of like adding salt to caramel.  This frosting piped out of the bag just like a dream. Although I tried to make chocolate curls, all I got was shards.  That would need more practice.

Tasting Notes:  Me - I was able to try the cherry and blueberry, and as I said above, I'd skip the jam and chocolate and just do a ganache filling instead.  The chocolate was not noticeable in the cupcake. The frosting was fabulous. Although still recognizable as a buttercream, it had enough chocolate in it to taste like you would expect a white chocolate buttercream to taste.

Mark - This was wrapper licking good.  The white chocolate buttercream made him moan and he has declared it by far his favorite.  But he is a huge fan of white chocolate.

Work - These disappeared even faster than the last batch.  Even though the delivery dates were Monday and Friday. 

An Update:  StO and I looked for the ingredients in the Chai Cupcakes linked to earlier and we could not find any Instant Chai.  BtB, can you send me the recipe you had when I visited?  I still think they sound really tasty.

Whales and Tales

StO came with her family last week for a visit over spring break.  A good time was had by all.  The adults went to Napa one day, we took the boy-o's to San Francisco for a look-see, and spent the sole sunny morning on the water on a whale watching tour. 

The kids spent a couple days playing x-box and had a blast sliding or rolling down the hill.

StO and I made some straight-from-the-box French Vanilla cupcakes and attempted to make the White Truffle Frosting to go with them.  Fail.  Either my white chocolate wasn't melted enough or it cooled too quickly and we ended up with some unforeseen chunkiness in the frosting that clogged up the piping tip several times.  It was tasty though.  Backup plan - frosting in a can.  Since StO has taken the Wilton class at her local Michael's, we spent more time playing with the piping tips than worrying about the flavor profile.  We decided that a large tip and a simple swirl were working the best.   No evidence (they looked bad - mostly!), but Mark said they were long gone from work by lunch time.  He also said that I was getting a reputation for fancy cupcakes.  Yikes.  So a second version is in my plans - a white cupcake with white chocolate shrapnel (a la "S'mores") topped with a White Chocolate Buttercream and if I can get it working right, some chocolate curls. 

The deck is seeing progress, although it seems a bit stalled right now.  We've gotten quite a bit of rain the past week and a half, and it's not supposed to let up until Monday.  But that's okay ~ Ralph is working on the hand rails at his shop, and they even cleaned out the gutters for us yesterday.  I think they were protecting all their hard work, but extra cupcakes for them next time.  Look - I have the frame for a pergola!

This morning, we woke up to a small surprise.  One of the trees up the hillside from the house decided to go on walk-about.  It's a pin oak that was planted in what is, at least now, some very soft ground.  It was  root ball failure, not Sudden Oak, which is an issue around here.  It obviously grazed the house - made it to the front door and torqued some gutters - but I don't think it did any real damage.  Looks like we have firewood for next year and Ralph has some more work!

Cupcake Test 6, Toasted Almond with Caramel Frosting

Toasted Almond Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting were the tested cupcake for the week.  When I read that, I expected a cupcake that reminds me of an Almond Shortbread Cookie - buttery, full of almond and butter flavor and a little sandy in texture.  And Caramel Frosting - sweet, sticky, a bit salty, tasting of browned sugar and butter.  Like the Fleur de Sel Caramels I've been making the past couple of Christmas seasons. 

I'm afraid these cupcakes are not what I expected.  But, let me not get ahead of myself.

Process Notes:  Toasting the slivered almonds is key to the flavor profile of the cupcake and it takes just a blink to go from mildly toasted to burnt.  I had my almonds in the oven for just 5 minutes, not the 6-10 recommended.  I immediately removed the almonds from the hot sheet and allowed them to cool for 15 minutes where they continued to darken before grinding them coarsely in my mini-chopper.  I then began the cake mix, allowing the nuts to cool just a bit longer before folding them into the batter. 

I added a bit more powdered sugar to the brown sugar/butter frosting mixture, hoping for a lighter color and texture.  I even pulled out my second hand mixer to try and whip it into shape.  The frosting crystallized quite quickly, making it very difficult to work with, despite repeated infusions of milk.  I was only able to frost 21 cupcakes with the amount per the recipe. 

Tasting Notes:  Me - The cupcake itself is quite delicate, perfumed with the hint of almonds.  Since you start with a white cake mix, there is not much in the way of a butter flavor.  I believe that if I had ground the almonds finely, I wouldn't have even noticed that they were in there.  The frosting is where this whole thing goes squirrelly.  If I were in charge of naming it, I would have called it a "Brown Sugar Brûlée".  It's gritty and totally overwhelms the fragrant almond cupcake both in taste and aroma.  If I were to redo the cupcakes, I'd try this Salted Caramel recipe, if I had to go with Caramel frosting.  I'd also increase the almond amounts (both ground nut and extract) and start with a yellow butter cake mix.  I might change the frosting to a whipped chocolate ganache (without the cinnamon) as found here.  Although the Toasted Almond with Caramel sounds like a great combination, I'm afraid this recipe is just a jumping off point to something else you'd rather have.

ETA:  When I give up my preconceived ideas, these aren't bad cupcakes.  The almond flavor comes through as the cupcake cools and the frosting is quite tasty.  I still think that the frosting sets up far too fast, however, how can you go wrong with brown sugar and butter?

Mark - Came home last night and dinner wasn't quite ready, but the cupcakes were.  He split one with me and declared it quite yummy.  He liked the lightness of the cupcake and the sweet frosting.  So much so, that he decided he needed another one.  That's a resounding success.

I haven't delivered these out for other folks to taste yet, but I'll update my post as soon as I hear something.
ETA:  The deck dudes both thought the cupcakes were "awesome".  Mark's co-workers were mixed in their opinions - some thought the frosting was too sweet, others liked the gritty texture - made them think of old fashioned ice cream.  "Not my favorite" was a common comment.

Up...Down...Up....

First off, they are still working on the deck.  Although I've been taking progress pictures along and along, it doesn't look like much has changed from day to day.  Lay out wood, secure wood - it's a lot of work, but visually, they look about the same.  Added to that, we lost a couple of days due to illness and supply runs.  I'll put together a comprehensive post sometime in the near future.

Yesterday was a roller coaster kind of day. I loaded up the back of the truck with recycling.  It's been a long while since I hauled any off and it was starting to get intrusive.  So off to the recycle center.  Unload $183 worth of cans and bottles.  Wahoo!  Get back in the truck to get out of there - I've got errands to run - and the engine won't turn over.

Now this is not a surprise, it's an older truck and we keep jumper cables in it just in case.  I pop the hood and get out, cables in hand, and one of the very helpful and friendly workers comes over to assist.  Except he doesn't really know what he's doing.  And he crosses the streams.  Arc welding ensues.  One of the terminal post turns to slag.  The ring connector dissolves.  And fortunately, the main breaker is fried.  I say fortunately, because I can only imagine what would have happened to the electrical system if it hadn't blown.  Horror stories of exploding batteries and acid showers were shared by passerbys.  Friends, let this be a lesson - learn how to jump start your car yourself.  Although I had the basic idea, I allowed the enthusiasm to sway me into letting someone else do it for me.  A phone call to AAA, 2 hours and $148 later, I'm back on the road.  Sigh and hang (or bang) head.

The main reason for the whole trip over the hill in the first place was that I ordered a new grill from Lowes online and needed to pick it up (along with several other things!).  When I finally get there, I present my confirmation and customer service tells me that they don't have any in the box any longer, they've all been assembled. Which, I've got the truck, that's all good.  And because they've been sitting outside assembled, they have a little superficial rust on them.  Okay, not surprising, and just makes the need for a grill cover more obvious.  So, we'll give you 30% off of the price you paid.  You mean, you'll assemble it and give me $75 for doing it?!?  DEAL!

So now all I need to do is put some oil on the cast iron portions to stop it from rusting further - like you would season a skillet. There's some slight rust on a couple of nuts and one of the handles, I need to figure out what, if anything, can be done to stop that. 

And now, I need to go bake cupcakes.  I think Toasted Almond this week.  And Chai Latte next week.

Working on a new deck

So the deck that I fell through earlier this year?  Mark & I are not rebuilding it ourselves. When we redid the floor in the "add-on" room, we worked with a great contractor, Coastline Construction, Inc., and we've asked them to come back and do a deck redeaux.  Mark & Ralph went under the deck to find out just how much work needs to be done and we found out that not only was the surface rotten, but many of the posts and girders were as well.  Yikes. The chuff from the surrounding trees was getting stuck between the planks and basically acting as a sponge holding water to help destroy the underlying support.  The redwood tree is not only girdled (oops ~ sorry tree!), but the base has pushed some of the posts out of plumb.  

So earlier this week and early this morning, I managed to pull all my plants and patio furniture off the deck.  It looks so much larger without all my stuff on it.  Ralph & Sean will be taking the deck down to the concrete footings and rebuilding it from the ground up.  We're widening the deck in front of the dining room and putting a second stairway in from that end. They are also going to square up the corner between the redwood and apple trees.  I have dreams of exterior planter boxes, seating and some large planters with a drip watering system.  Maybe even a trellis near the living room.  And I already have my new grill picked out.  I don't think everything will be coming back on the deck - I rather like the clean look it could have.

The view at noon today

Cupcake Test 5, "Strawberry-Cream Cheese Cupcakes"

The Bride to Be sent off a quick email last week, and let me know her next three choices.  Since I found fresh strawberries at the market, I went with the "Strawberry-Cream Cheese Cupcakes".    Now, from the get-go, these aren't Strawberry Cheesecake cupcakes, these are quite clearly Cream Cheese Cupcakes, even though I think Cheesecake sounds like a mighty fine idea, and if there's another recipe, I'd highly recommend trying it.  (If I pulled the wrong recipe, Miss BtB, please let me know and I will be happy do another batch.  The only other Strawberry Cupcakes I see are the Strawberry & Cream, made with Strawberry Soda.)  These are instead, a lump of cream cheese in the middle of a sour cream cupcake, with some jam on top.  Doesn't sound very appetizing when I put it like that, however, they smell really delish ~ they are cooling as I start to write this.  They will get topped with a swirl of cream cheese frosting and a garnish of fresh fruit, which should make them oh so tasty.

Process Notes:  Since they are topped with some jam, I decided to go with some of my homemade preserves from last summer - I made half the cupcakes with strawberry and half with blueberry.  I have some cherry that I think would be tasty as well.  I didn't realize that they made cream cheese in 3 oz pkgs (why?), so I diced up my 8 oz package into 24 bits for the cupcakes.  And, instead of the chintzy 1/4t of jam, I went with a full teaspoon per cupcake.  Which, hey!, I got 24 cupcakes AGAIN with the use of the magical ice cream scoop!  Although I bought some canned cream cheese frosting, I wanted to make some homemade cream cheese frosting, so I used the recipe in the back of the book. Oh, the canned only frosted 11 cupcakes, but I was generous with it.  The recipe made more than enough for the other dozen cupcakes.  I topped the "stay-home" cupcakes with some fresh fruit, but I don't think that will travel well. Or look good for an extended period of time.  I think a sprinkle of colored sugar would be sparkly.

Ugly Duckling

Tasting Notes:  Me - The cupcake is very moist, tender and quite flavorful with just a bit of crumb.  I prefer the homemade cream cheese frosting to the canned kind, but the canned is not bad.    I think that mixing some sweetened condensed milk with the cream cheese, prior to baking, would make these more of a cheesecake cupcake and actually, taste better.  My lumps, based on the 8 oz block vs. the 3 oz block, were kinda big and well, lumpy.  I liked the flavor, but it was more of a distraction than an enhancement.

Mark - No cupcake this time, just frosting.  You can still taste the confectioners sugar in the homemade frosting, so the canned frosting was a bit smoother.  However, not much real difference between the two.

Ugly duckling

Outsiders - Ralph & Sean (my deck dudes!) ~ Sean says they taste great.  Ralph said his kids loved them, but his wife was wondering about the cream cheese.  Ralph personally, thought they just fell apart in his hands - too tender. All preferred the blueberry to the strawberry.