Birthdays and Cupcakes and Brownies, oh my!

For special occasions, I’ve recently started making my friends food instead of buying gifts.  Food tastes good.  Food always fits.  You don’t have to worry about a gift receipt when you give someone food.  Also, I don’t like the pressure of an occasion gift. If I see something *perfect* for you in August, I’ll buy it and give it to you just because I like you…I won’t wait till Christmas.  On the flip side, you probably won’t get a Christmas gift from me unless I happened to find that gem during the month of December.  As an added bonus, when you give someone food, they almost always share it with you. 

I have lots of friends with springtime birthdays.  I did a lot of baking in May.  For two of my friends, the inspiration (read: entire recipe) came from here and here.  (Thanks, Joy the Baker!) 

(I also made these cupcakes in their full-size glory for Cinco de Mayo – what can I say…when you’re a housewife you have to make your own party sometimes – and they were literally the best cupcakes I’ve ever made!)

Jodi turned 30, so I made her 30 mini cupcakes for her 30^th birthday.  I took them with me when I went to get my hair cut and colored (before we became friends she was my stylist).  She shared them with all her co-workers, and of course (coupled with the fact that I brought this guy) I was the most popular girl there.

Dulce de Leche Cupcakes

makes about 2 dozen cupcakes

Borrowed from Joy the Baker who adapted it from The Gourmet Cookbook

For the Cupcakes:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cup buttermilk

For the Frosting:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup dulce de leche, plus more for drizzling

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 to 3 cups powdered sugar

Place racks in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.  Line two cupcake pans with paper or foil liners.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add butter and sugars.  Beat on medium speed until fluffy and pale brown, about 3 minutes.   Stop the mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl and add one egg.  Beat on medium for one minute.  Add the remaining eggs, one at a time, beating for one minute between each addition.  Stop the bowl and scrape down the sides as necessary. Beat in vanilla extract.

Add half of the flour mixture to the egg and butter mixture.  Beat on low speed and slowly drizzle in the buttermilk.  Beat until just incorporated.  Stop the mixer, scrape down the bowl and add the rest of the dry ingredients.  Beat on low speed until just incorporated.  Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and finish incorporating with a spatula.  Try not to over mix the mixture.

Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake pans, filling each liner about two thirds full.  Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.  Let rest in the cupcake pans before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.  Cupcakes should be completely cooled before frosting.

To make the frosting:

Place cream cheese in the bowl of an electric stand mixer.  Beat on medium speed for about 30 seconds, until very soft and pliable.  Stop the mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the butter and dulce de leche.  Beat on medium speed until well incorporated.  Stop the mixer and add the salt and powdered sugar.  Beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until fluffy and lighter in color.  Generously spoon frosting on top of cupcakes, or use a large frosting tip to pipe on frosting.

For garnish, I heated a few spoonfuls of dulce de leche of a low flame until just pourable.  Then I drizzled it over the cupcakes and topped with a few sprinkles.  Add a few sprinkles of fine sea salt if you're feeling fancy.  I stored the cupcakes in the fridge for an hour to chill the frosting slightly.  

I like to enjoy my cupcakes within two days of preparing them.  Feel free to wrap and refrigerate them because of the cream cheese in the frosting.  Let come close to room temperature before serving.

*The first time I made the frosting I needed about 6 cups of powdered sugar (it was hot and kind of humid outside) to make it pipable.  The second time I only needed the 2-3 cups. 

I decided to make brownies for Steph for her birthday last week.  I decided she should get one moist, delicious brownie for every year we’ve been friends.  That’s a significant amount of years.  We’ve seen each other through some significant stuff.  And these were some significant brownies.

S’mores Brownies

Borrowed from Joy the Baker who adapted it from Bon Appetit, October 1991

1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

5 large eggs

1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup graham cracker, roughly crushed with your hands

12 big marshmallows  (I also diced 6 additional marshmallows and stirred them into the batter. These marshmallows dissolve when baked, so you can leave them out, or throw them in.  Up to you!)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 9x13-inch baking pan with 2-inch-high sides. Combine first 3 ingredients in small bowl. Stir butter and chocolate in a medium sized bowl over a  heavy  saucepan of simmering water.  Stir chocolate and butter in this double boiler until melted and smooth.

Beat eggs, sugar and vanilla in large bowl to blend. Stir in warm chocolate mixture, then dry ingredients. Fold in graham crackers.  Pour batter into prepared pan. Dot with 12 large marshmallows.  Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 30- 40 minutes minutes.

Marshmallows will be browned and puffy but will deflate as the brownies cool.  Cool for at least 20 minutes than slice with a sharp knife, cleaning the knife with hot water if it gets too messy and sticky.  Serve or wrap individually in wax paper for storing.

*The only alteration I would make to this recipe is instead of broken graham crackers in the brownie, I would break off large chunks and put them on top (kind of slide them in under the gooey marshmallow) when there's about 5 minutes of baking time left.  The grahams inside the brownie went soft, and I would like to see them add some crunch.

Happy baking!

The Bomb Banana Shake!

Hey friends –

My cute little girl had to do a project for school and we decided it would be fun for her to be a guest on my new blog.  She’s totally adorable and is a superstar in the kitchen.  This is Emma.  Isn’t she cute?

Take it away, Emma!

Hello, my name is Emma.  I have two sisters and two brothers.  One of them is named Elliott.  He is so cute. My older sister is 11 years old and her name is Cassidy, and I have a little sister named Jane.  We call her Jane-Jane.  My like, brother, Corbin, is 6 years old. I’m 9.  I love cheesecake and mostly anything with potatoes.  My favorite type of cheesecake is plain with fresh strawberries.  And I can’t stand olives.  Not even a tiny bit.

For my class (I’m in 3^rd grade Spectrum) I had to read a cookbook for my non-fiction.  The cookbook I read was The Children’s Step-by-Step Cookbook by Angela Wilkes. 

Rachelle: Why did you choose to read this book?

Emma: Because I love to cook stuff.

Rachelle: How come out of all the fun recipes in this book, you chose to make this recipe?

Emma: It would be the yummiest and easiest thing.

Rachelle: So you’re into working smarter, not harder?

Emma: Yes. And plus, everyone loves milkshakes.

Rachelle: Well, let’s get to this then! J

Ingredients:

1 banana

1 Tbsp Honey

1/2 cup yogurt

1 scoop vanilla ice cream

1 cup milk

Wash your hands.  Make sure you have a grownup with you when you make this. Measure all ingredients and add them to a blender.  Mix it until it isn’t lumpy. Pour into a glass and enjoy the deliciousness of a homemade milk shake.  P.S. It works much better with whipped cream and sprinkles on top! And maybe a little cherry. But we didn’t have a cherry to try it out.

Rachelle:  So Emma, after trying this recipe, would you recommend this book to your friends?

Emma: Yes! Because if they read the book they could try new foods and plus maybe do it for their own genre project.  And they could make something new, too!

The Best Banana Muffins (Nutella or Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins)

Weekday mornings, I often find that we have a kid or two running a little slow to get ready.  By the time we are finally in the car, I've been yelling  letting the kids know that we're "walking out" for about 10 minutes and surely there's a kid or two who hasn't had time to eat.  Rather than freaking out (my natural instinct), I've found that having a stash of frozen muffins is a quick, easy, stress-free solution to a hectic morning. And they're totally more delicious and nutritious than a bowl of Captain Crunch.  I pop a couple in the microwave for 45 seconds and we're on our way.

Without further ado, here are the muffins that are currently in the lead as the favorite breakfast treat in the Bowden household.

Ingredients:
Wet -
5-6 ripe bananas, smashed (the browner the better.  I usually just put them in the stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, then turn it on medium until there is mostly banana goo with a few little chunks)
3/4 cups sour cream
3/4 cup Nutella or peanut butter (or any combination of both)
4 large eggs
1/2 cup melted butter, cooled to lukewarm
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1 cup granulated sugar
(those last two aren't wet, but they get mixed with the wet before the dry goes in)

Dry-
(In a large mixing bowl, sift/whisk together the following:)
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1-2 tsp cinnamon
1/2-1 tsp nutmeg

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (any sweetness - I prefer semisweet), set aside

This can be done in one muffin tin.  I prefer to use two, because otherwise it feels like you're doing nothing but lining and filling for 2 hours.  So, line two muffin tins with paper or foil liners.  Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, add the banana, sour cream, and Nutella/peanut butter and mix until well combined.  Add eggs, one at a time, and mix until well combined.  Add sugars, butter and vanilla and mix again.

Make a well in the bowl of your dry ingredients, then dump the wet ingredients in the center.  With a rubber spatula, fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just incorporated.  Do not over-mix.  Add the chocolate chips and fold again.

Fill muffin cups until about half full.  Bake (one pan at a time) at 350 degrees 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the middle muffins comes out clean or with a few crumbs.  Cool slightly in the pan (only until cool enough to quickly handle...think "hot potato"), then transfer muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.  This recipe yields a LOT of muffins (about 40).  Place any leftovers in freezer-safe containers (I use gallon size Ziploc bags) and store in freezer.  They're good for a few days (2 or 3) when kept covered, and they freeze beautifully.  I would guess they'll keep in the freezer for a few months, but ours never last more than a couple of weeks.

Triple Threat Chocolate Cheesecake!

One day my sister-in-law, Janette, and I had been talking cheesecake and I texted her this recipe.  She then asked if I was going to make said cheesecake.  I told her I wasn’t because I didn’t have a spring form pan.  Well, about 2 weeks before my 33^rd birthday I got a package with a spring form pan and a note that said, “May your cheesecake and your life turn out exactly the way you want it to”.  I love Janette.  And I set out to make my very first cheesecake for my birthday cake.  This is what it looked like when all was said and done.  Not too shabby for a first try, eh? (It tasted amazing too).

Well, then I got to reading cheesecake recipes and decided to get adventurous.  I sent this message to a couple of friends who I knew would appreciate it, “I’m making another cheesecake.  Chocolate Triple Threat.  Cookie crust, layer of chocolate cheesecake, vanilla with chocolate flakes, then the top layer is vanilla/chocolate marble.  Since this is only my second cheesecake I really hope it turns out.  It may have been too soon to improvise…”  And there you have it.  This is my Chocolate Triple Threat.  Please note that the filling needs some TLC but that it’s totally worth it in the end.  There may be an easier way to do this but I’m pretty new to the cheesecake realm.

Recipe adapted from a number of cheesecakes found on Mel’s Kitchen Café website, as well as a few I found on allrecipes.com.

Ingredients:

Crust:

½ stick butter, melted

15 (yes, exactly.  I counted) chocolate graham crackers (the whole graham – unseparated)

1 Tbsp granulated sugar

Filling:

4 bricks (8 oz. each) cream cheese – softened to room temperature (spreadable room temp)

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp flour

1 cup + 1/3 cup sugar (divided)

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream, at room temperature

4 oz unsweetened chocolate (I just use the Baker’s chocolate squares)

6 oz chocolate (I used semi-sweet, but you could use milk or bittersweet depending on how sweet you like it), chopped (so it’s kind of little chunks and flakes – or you could use chocolate chips, if you like a more uniform texture.  I liked the difference of just chopping the chocolate)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. (You’ll need a 9- or 10-inch spring form pan for this one)

For the crust: Break the graham crackers a bit before adding them to the bowl of your food processor.  Pulse with the sugar until you have fine crumbs.  Add butter and incorporate into the crumbs.  Press into your spring form pan (mine is non-stick so it needed no extra prep.  If you have a regular metal one, you may need to lightly grease it) going half to three-fourths they way up the pan.  Bake for 5 minutes (or less.  Just enough so your kitchen smells like chocolate cookies).

Remove from oven and let cool.

For the fillings:  While the crust is cooling, cream your cream cheese in the bowl of your stand mixer (fitted with the paddle attachment) for approx 30-60 seconds (or until it is no longer lumpy).  Add the 1 cup sugar.  Beat until creamy (approx 1 more minute).  Add flour, vanilla, and eggs, one at a time, and incorporate completely on lowest speed.  Finally, add the sour cream until incorporated.

Melt your baking chocolate by either putting it in a double boiler or a microwave-safe bowl (melting 1 minute at first, stirring, then checking/stirring it at 30-second intervals).  Heat until just melted, add and incorporate your 1/3 cup sugar, then let cool for 5-10 minutes.

**WARNING** It's about to get high maintenance up in here.  Separate batter into 3 bowls by pouring 3 cups into the first bowl and 2 cups into the second, then by leaving the remaining batter in the mixing bowl.  To the first bowl (3-cups), add your melted chocolate mixture.  Fold to incorporate, then pour only 2 cups of batter into the prepared crust (thus reserving 1 cup for later).  To the second bowl (2 cups), add the chopped chocolate and fold until incorporated. Pour on top of the bottom chocolate layer.  Gingerly spread the remaining plain batter (mixing bowl) on top.  Drop the remaining chocolate batter sporadically on top, then take a butter knife  and make swirls (inserting knife into batter no more than one inch).  If possible, work by folding the top layer so that the marble effect is deeper than just the surface.

Bake at 325 degrees for at least one hour, then check for proper doneness every 5 minutes after that first hour (I ended up doing 1 hour 20 min).  I got some valuable advice from a baker friend of mine who told me you want your cheesecake to look soft but not jiggly (so shake it a bit). When the cheesecake is soft, crack your oven door and turn off the heat.  Let it cool for 30-45 minutes in the oven, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Since a cheesecake takes a few hours to cool thoroughly, then a little longer to chill, you’ll want to cover it and refrigerate overnight in the pan.  Remove your outer pan when you’re ready to serve.  Slice, top with whipped cream and more shaved chocolate, and shove in your face.  Then go take a nap.

I didn't focus on the frills...I just dug in. :)