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Chocolate Surprise Cupcakes

August 13, 2010 2:01 PM   |     |   Print
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Chocolate Surprise Cupcakes

Photo and Recipe Re-posted with Permission by:

You probably can't stop staring at the photo of this cupcake.  I know I can't.  I've been following Kelly's blog on Twitter for about two years. She uses this photo as her avatar and I'm usually haunted by it and craving chocolate long after I log off of my computer.  I finally broke down and asked her for the recipe. . . and now I feel complete.  

Please visit her website for more amazing recipes... including more "evil" cupcakes in numerous flavors like a vanilla cupcake with chocolate filling!

Dark Chocolate Mocha Cupcakes

  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
  • 4 TBSP butter, melted
  • 1/3 cup buttermilk
  • 1 large egg, beaten with
  • 1 egg white
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3 TBSP strong coffee 

Method:

  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees and line a 12-cup cupcake/muffin tin with liners.
  2. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, sugar and salt.  Mix well.
  3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the melted butter, buttermilk, eggs, vanilla and coffee.  Blend until there are only a few small lumps left.
  4. Scoop into lined cupcake tins and bake for 20 minutes or until the centers spring back when lightly pressed.
  5. Cool for three minutes in the pan before removing the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cream Filling: Enough to fill and decorate 24 cupcakes

  • 2 tsp very hot water
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 (7 oz) jar marshmallow cream
  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 1/3 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla

Method:

  1. Dissolve the salt in the hot water and allow to cool.
  2. Whip the marshmallow cream, shortening, powdered sugar, and vanilla until it begins to get fluffy.  Add the water and whip well.
  3. To fill the cupcakes, use a wide star tip (size 21) attached to a coupler on a piping bag.  Just lightly push the tip into the top of the cupcakes and press approximately a tablespoon of filling inside.  If you do not have a piping bag, you can just cut out a little bit of the cake from the top, make a hole, fill the hole with filling then top with cake you cut out.
  4. Prepare the frosting

Dutch Chocolate Frosting:  Yield - Frosting for 20 cupcakes

  • 6 TBSP butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup dutch processed cocoa powder
  • 2 1/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 4-6 TBSP milk or half & half

Method:

  1. Cream the butter and cocoa powder until smooth.
  2. Add the vanilla, powdered sugar and milk.  Mix until smooth.  If the frosting is too loose add more powdered sugar by the 1/4 cup until it reaches the desired consistency.
  3. Frost as desired.


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Giant Grilled Overstuffed Portabella Mushrooms

August 13, 2010 10:50 AM   |     |   Print
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Giant Grilled Overstuffed Portabella Mushrooms

Recipe and photo submitted by 
Chef David Wells "Grandma Dave"


Ingredients for Step 1: Mushroom Marinade

  • Six portabellas, stems removed (save for filling) and black parts under cap gently scraped
  • 1 TBSP fresh chopped garlic
  • 1 TBSP Miso Mayo *optional
  • 2 ounces white wine
  • 2 ounces rice vinegar
  • juice from 1 orange
  • 2 ounces good quality extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Marinade Method:
  1. Combine all ingredients and marinade for two hours.
  2. Grill mushrooms over medium heat while basting with marinade several times.
  3. If there is marinade left, let the mushrooms cool in it (reserve for filling)
  4. Set aside and make filling.

Ingredients for Step 2: Portabella filling:

  • 1 TBSP good quality extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion, diced small
  • 2 medium carrots, diced small
  • 2 medium parsnips, diced small
  • 4 celery stalks, diced small
  • 1 glass of white wine (plus one for you!)
  • Residual marinade and basting liquid (if any left)
  • 1 bunch fresh chervil, chopped
  • 1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped
  • 8 large tomatoes, (dropped into boiling H2O for 8-10 seconds to remove skin then halved and seeds removed and diced concasse* or small dice)
  • One quart fresh tomato coulis
  • Fresh basil chiffonade** for top of tomato concasse
  • 6 ounces plain yogurt of choice (in squirt bottle for sauce design swirls)

Method:
  1. Heat olive oil in skillet
  2. Saute onion, carrot, parsnips and portabella stems until lightly caramelized (5-7 minutes on medium heat)
  3. Add celery and deglaze with wine and residual marinade. Simmer until reduced by half.
  4. Fold in have the tomato concasse (reserve the rest for topping the mushroom at the end) then add parsley and chervil.
  5. Season well, let stand for an hour before filling giant grilled mushrooms.

Assembly:
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
  2. Fill the mushrooms by spooning filling mixture onto caps.
  3. Place onto baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes until hot.
  4. Simmer tomato coulis and spoon 2-3 ounces onto a serving plate.
  5. Place hot filled mushroom on top of coulis.
  6. Toss reserved tomatoes with basil chiffonade and gently place on top of the mushrooms.
  7. Draw a ring of yogurt around the mushroom and swirl with a toothpick.
* Concasse' (pronounced Kon-Kah-SAY) means to remove the skin and seeds of a tomato and chop

** Chiffonade means to cut a vegetable or herb into long strips.  Fine Cooking Magazine has good photos showing the proper method

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Poached Eggs with Shiitake Mushrooms, Wilted Arugula and White Truffle Cream

April 7, 2010 7:58 AM   |     |   Print
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Poached Eggs with Shiitake Mushrooms, Wilted Arugula and White Truffle Cream

Recipe and Photo Reprinted with Permission by:
Viviane Banquet Farre


In my quest to find the “best” recipes, I’ve been so fortunate to discover incredibly talented professional and home chefs and bloggers.  And many of them have been so willing to share their recipes and techniques with me and the readers of this site.  Chef Viviane Banquet Farre is even more generous then most.  Whenever I visit her website I am captivated with the mouth-watering photos and elegant combination of ingredients.  Everything is beautiful and flavorful.  Even the design of the website is inspirational and will remind you of the finest gourmet magazines.

As a big fan of brunch, I swooned when I saw this refined vegetarian  “eggs benedict style” dish on Viviane’s website.  Fortunately for me (and you) Viviane continues to be gracious and sharing so I didn’t even have to beg to add it here as one of the “best” recipes for an elegant sunday morning brunch.  Thank you V!

Serves 4

For the white truffle cream

For the balance of the ingredients
  • 1 TBSP unsalted butter
  • 4 large shiitake mushrooms - stemmed
  • 1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 oz baby arugula
  • 4 large eggs
  • sea salt to taste
  • freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 3 TBSP white wine vinegar
  • 4 - 1/2” thick slices whole grain or sourdough country bread - cut into 3” rounds with a cookie cutter

Step 1:
Place the stock, cream and salt in a medium saucepan.  Stir well and heat over medium-high heat.  Once the mixture reaches boiling point, reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 15 minutes until the mixture has reduced by 2/3rds and has slightly thickened. Remove from heat, whisk in the Tartufata/white truffle cream until well blended.  Transfer to a bowl, set aside and cool.
Cooks note:  The sauce can be made up to one day ahead and refrigerated (after one day, the truffle cream starts losing its flavor.)  Bring to room temperature before serving.  The sauce doesn’t need to be reheated before serving.

Step 2:
Heat a large non-stick  skillet over high heat.  Add the butter.  Once the butter has melted, reduce heat to medium-high and add the mushrooms gill-side down.  Saute’ for 2 to 3 minutes until golden-brown while applying a little pressure to the mushrooms with a fork or small spatula as they cook (this is ensure even browning.)  Flip the mushrooms and saute’ until golden-brown on the other side, continuing to apply a little pressure.  Transfer to a plate and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper to taste.

Step 3:
Return the pan to the heat.  Add the olive oil and the arugula.  Toss well and quickly toss the arugula for about 30 seconds to 1 minute until barely wilted.  Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Step 4:
Fill a wide saucepan with 4” of water.  Bring to a boil.  Once boiling, stir in the vinegar.  Break an egg into a small bowl and tip it on itself into the boiling water.  Repeat with the balance of the eggs, working as quickly as you can.  Boil the eggs for 1 1/2 minutes to 2 minutes, depending on how done you like your eggs (at 1 1 /2 minutes, the whites of the eggs will still be a big wobbly. At 2 minutes, the whites will be more firm, but the yolks will still be runny.)  As soon as the eggs are done, scoop them out with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels (can can trim the uneven edges of the eggs to make a cleaner shape if you’d like.)

Step 5:
To assemble the dish - quickly toast the bread under a broiler until golden brown on both sides.  Place each slice in the center of the plate.  Top with a spoonful of the wilted arugula, a mushroom cap (gill-side up) and a poached egg.  Drizzle the white truffle cream on top of the eggs and around the plates.  Sprinkle with plenty of freshly ground black pepper and serve immediately.

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Read Full Post Poached Eggs with Shiitake Mushrooms, Wilted Arugula and White Truffle Cream.

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