Strawberry Cupcakes with Fluffy Chocolate Frosting

  » By Keith Prickett

June 24th, 2008 - Posted in Cupcakes, Dessert | Leave/read a comment (1)

“These are the best cupcakes I’ve ever had!”  Those were the words of my beautiful wife after devouring one of these cupcakes I just whipped up.  That says a lot.  I really value her opinion when I cook but I have to say these little delights are SO GOOD!

I started with Amy’s Strawberry cupcake recipe, modified it a little, then topped it off with a fluffy chocolate frosting recipe from recipe zaar.  I ran to the store, but forgot to grab the yogurt so I used some homemade applesauce I made a few days ago.  I also snuck in some whole-wheat flour once again with nothing but perfection as a result.  Here’s what I did:

Ingredients for Cupcake:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1 egg
• 6 ounces Homemade Applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour (Remember I use King Arthur brand and have had trouble with other whole-wheat flours in my bread making)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• About 20 medium sized Stahlbush Island Farm’s Frozen Strawberries (thawed slightly) (Rachel brought them from work) cut into quarters.  I used large pieces of strawberries for the texture I desired.  I wanted big juicy pieces of strawberry in each cupcake.

Ingredients for Fluffy Chocolate Frosting

• 2/3 cup cocoa
• 6 tablespoons boiling water
• 1/2 cup butter (at room temperature)
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions for Cupcake:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Beat sugar and butter together until fluffy
3. Add your egg and applesauce and mix thoroughly
4.  Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl then add to your wet ingredients
5. Fold in strawberries
6. Place in lined cupcake baking tins (I made about 14, Amy says divide into 20)
7. Bake for 20 minutes or so, until toothpick comes out clean

Directions for Fluffy Chocolate Frosting:

1. Mix cocoa and boiling water thoroughly until a thick paste results
2. Beat in the butter until well combined
3. Mix in the sugar and vanilla
4. Blend until creamy and fluffy
5. Chill for at least 15 minutes before using as it starts out really runny!

Put it all together by spreading the frosting on each cupcake and topping with a half strawberry.

I hope you enjoy them!

Steamed Homemade Hot Chocolate with Real Whipped Cream

  » By Keith Prickett

June 20th, 2008 - Posted in Dessert, Drink | Leave a comment (0)

Heavenly!  Pretty much sums up this delicious cup up of rich, chocolatey goodness.  I have to admit, I am a coffee snob.  I like my coffee so I go to a lot of good coffee shops.  When I first saw someone order a hot chocolate at my favorite coffee shop downtown I was amazed to see them steam the milk and use REAL chocolate sauce.  To top it all off they put fresh whipped cream on top — something we didn’t have very often growing up.  I suppose it’s this attention to quality and freshness that makes Red Horse my favorite to begin with.  The point is, their hot chocolate amazed me!  I started noticing other coffee shops made it like that too and they were delicious!  Some still use the powder and water method which usually tastes either too watered down, not rich enough or slightly like tin.

Last night I felt the urge to have one of these hot chocolates.  Luckily Rachel bought me (us) an espresso machine for Christmas last year so I had everything I needed.  Most importantly, I had the steamer!  I made a cup for Rachel and I and we were truly in Heaven on Earth!  Here’s what I did:

Ingredients (per cup):

• 8 0z milk
• 2-3 tablespoons chocolate syrup (like Hershey’s)
• Fresh whipped cream (heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, vanilla extract)
• Dash of cinnamon

Directions:

1. Make the whipped cream (basically whisk heavy whipping cream with small amount of powdered sugar and vanilla extract in your mixer)
2. Prepare your steamer or espresso maker for steam
3. Steam milk and chocolate syrup together until the mixture reaches about 180 degrees Fahrenheit.  The mixture will about double in size with all the foam it creates so make sure to have a container big enough or do it in 8-oz batches like I did.
4. Pour the milk and chocolate mixture into your mug
5. Top with whipped cream
6. Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon and serve immediately.

For a holiday flare you can serve it with a candy cane, or anytime you can serve it with a chocolate stick (just like every drink at Red Horse!! YUM!)

Decadent Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

  » By Keith Prickett

May 18th, 2008 - Posted in Cookies, Dessert, General, Snacks | Leave/read a comment (1)

The other night my wife declared “I need some chocolate decadence!”  That was when I knew I had to get to work.  We had both been craving chocolate chip cookies lately so I got out the recipe.  These chocolate chip cookies come from an article we cut out of the Oregonian a year or so ago because my wife was trying to figure out how to make chewy, melt-in-your-mouth, decadent chocolate chip cookies.  At long last, this recipe is the end-all of this famous morsel.  I baked them for about nine minutes which was probably about one minute too short.  Due to this, the centers were soft, but I thought I had reached heaven every time I bit into one.

I think the brown sugar (more moist than white sugar) and cold butter and eggs make the difference when compared to other recipes.  When you beat the butter and it is cold, try chopping it into smaller pieces in order to blend it easier.   Needless to say, my wife loved them!  I even snuck in some whole-wheat flour so it didn’t feel all bad eating these!

I REALLY hope you enjoy them as much as I did.  I’d quickly like to announce that I am joining the FoodBuzz Featured Publisher Program.  I’m excited to have some new readers enjoying what I cook, so, welcome!  Here’s what I did:

Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/2 cups of brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup of cold unsalted butter
• 3 cold eggs
• 2 cups of regular flour
• 1/2 cup of whole-wheat flour
• 3 cups of quality chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch (up to 1 teaspoon) of fine sea salt

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit
2. Beat the butter and brown sugar together until it is fluffy
3. Beat in the cold eggs until well combined
4. Mix in the vanilla
5. Then mix in each of the flours, baking soda and the salt but only just until combined.
6. Gently stir in (with a wooden spoon) the chocolate chips
7. Spoon out by the tablespoon full (larger or smaller according to your taste) onto a greased cookie sheet with at least two inches between each cookie
8. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes
9. Remove from tray immediately and cool on a cooling rack then serve with a big glass of milk and go to heaven!

I hope you enjoy them!