Cake Pops, Bite Sized Goodies!

Would you look at that! It's only the 7th and I already have 3 posts for the month. Looks like I am sticking to my New Year's resolution to bake and post more often :)

Anyways, last nigh was Tuesday night which meant Mike's weekly poker night aka I'm bored and have nothing to do night. Earlier in the day I was thinking about baking something but didn't want to commit to anything intensely time consuming since I have been pretty tired lately. That's when cake pops popped (haha, no pun intended) into my mind. I was still debating on whether or not I really wanted to bake anything when Jen (you'll remember Jen, my new sous chef) said she'd come over and help me, so it was decided for me!

In case you are one of the few people left in the world that doesn't know what a cake pop is, have no fear for it is the simplest thing ever! A cake pop is a little cake ball on a stick (i told you it was simple). Essentially you bake a cake, crumble it up and mix with frosting. Then form little balls (you can make crazy shapes but we'll get to that in another post), push a stick in and dip it in melted chocolate. That's it!

As a disclaimer, I know in the past I have voiced my strong objections to boxed cake mixes and canned frosting but I must say that when it comes to cake pops I go with the pre-made stuff. You're just going to mush it all up anyways so whats the point... 

Here's what you need

Cake mix - I used Duncan Hines Lemon Supreme

Frosting - I used Duncan Hines Creamy Home Style Cream Cheese

Popsicle Sticks

Melting Chocolates in assorted colors - I used pink, purple, and dark chocolate 

Styrofoam block (optional but necessary if you want to keep your cake balls round, otherwise they'll be flat on top)

I have previously gone over the steps to make cake pops in an earlier post so i won't bore you all with that again but I will say that while making cake pops isn't necessarily the hardest thing to do, it can be labor intensive and it's probably going to take a few tries to master a system that will work for you. 

Here is what I learned this time around:

1. Add a teaspoon of vegetable oil to the chocolates as you melt them. It will make the consistency of the chocolate slightly thinner and perfect for coating the cake balls. I also found that it helped keep the chocolate from thickening up again quite as quickly.

2. To get a smooth coat of chocolate that looks seamless, first dip the cake pop straight down into the chocolate about halfway and quickly pull it back out. Then, while holding the cake pop at an upright angle, spoon chocolate on the rest of the cake pop and slowly spin the it to allow the chocolate to coat the entire cake ball.

Remember my sous chef, Jen? She's back!!

You can decorate the cake pops any way that you'd like but we decided to splash chocolate in different colors for a fun, messy look.

These cake pops were soooo good! I took 27 of them into work today (I think only 10/11 people were working) and all but 4 were gone by the end of the day. Remember the coworker that once said to me "OK, freakin' yum!"? This time she came out of the break room and said "that was a party in my mouth!", LOL. If ever i feel self conscious about my baking I just need to take my treats into work because they always praise my baking and make me feel awesome!

Cookie Dough, Anyone?

My friend, Michelle, recently told me about a blog that I am now obsessed with: MyBakingAddiction.com. Not only does this blog have an amazing list of recipes to try (Nutella, Chambord, and Heath Bar cupcakes!!) but it also has a handy section with great tips (ever needed to know how to skin a hazelnut or the correct way to measure out flour??) Anyways, I spotted a mouthwatering cupcake that I had to try first: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes. Essentially, its a chocolate cupcake with a cookie dough center (yummy!!) topped with sweet buttercream frosting and cookie. Sounds like heaven, right?

The original recipe calls for pre-made cookie dough and a store bought package of devils food cake mix. While I have no problem with the semi-homemade Sandra Lee style, i didn't want to do that because that, in my opinion, defeats the purpose of what I'm doing. I love to bake and find it almost therapeutic. At the same time, I love that by baking everything from scratch I am finding awesome recipes and learning new tricks of the trade. Granted, sometimes my recipes fail but that too is knowledge that I find invaluable. So, I decided that I would compromise by using a store bought tub of Nestle's Toll House cookie dough but make my own devil's food cake cupcakes with a recipe from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes.

Once I finished baking them, I posted 2 pictures on Facebook and within seconds, literally, I had several thumbs ups and comments pleading that I bring them into work the next day (which was my plan all along). I even got a text message from my sister-in-law requesting that I save one for her. That is what I enjoy about baking!

Just look at that yummy cookie center!!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes
recipe adapted from MyBakingAddiction.com


For the cupcakes
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup hot water
3 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp course salt
1 1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 1/4 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream

For the frosting
3 sticks unsalted butter
pinch of salt
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 lbs powdered sugar
4-6 tbsp heavy cream

For the garnish
1 tub of Nestle's Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Mini Chocolate Chips

1. First, bake small cookies that will be used for the garnish using approximately 1 tsp sized ball of dough.


2. Once the cookies are cooling, preheat oven to 350F and line cupcake tin with liners. Whisk together cocoa powder and hot water until smooth. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.


3. Melt butter with sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat, and pour into a mixing bowl. With an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat until mixture is cooled, 4 to 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add vanilla, then cocoa mixture, and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the sour cream, and beating until just combined after each.


4. Spoon a small amount of batter into lined cups. Then drop a ball of cookie dough into the center of each liner. Divide remaining batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three- quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 15 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely.


5. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter until fluffy. Slowly add in powdered sugar and continue creaming until well blended.


6. Add salt, vanilla and 3 tablespoons of heavy cream. Blend on low speed until moistened. Add additional tablespoons of heavy cream until the desired consistency is reached. Beat at high speed until frosting is smooth and fluffy.


7. Frost cupcakes with desired piping tip, then sprinkle with mini chocolate chips (do this immediately before the frosting forms a hard outer layer). Finish by placing cookie on top of each cupcake.

Mudslide!!

Over a year ago a group of my friends and I decided to start a book club. The idea was simple: we'd get to read books that we otherwise wouldn't have read and it would be an good excuse to get together and hang out (and of course drink).  That's right, I said drink. My friends and I can drink with the best of them. So when it was time to meet up for our most recent book club meeting I thought it was appropriate to make some boozy cupcakes, yet again. 

As I was looking through one of my favorite blogs, The Cupcake Project, I saw a recipe for pumpkin mudslide cupcakes and was intrigued. I still want to make them, but a couple people said they though the mixture of pumpkin and mudslide sounded weird so I decided to make a regular mudslide cupcake with a Kahlua cream cheese frosting. A few months ago I made a White Russian cupcake and was really disappointed with the result because I could hardly taste any of the alcohol flavor which sort of is the point in a White Russian cupcake. So this time, i decided I was going to amp up the alcohol factor... 

Another fun fact, I finally got to use the whisk attachment on my Kitchen Aid Mixer Stand! As a result, the cupcakes turned out super light and fluffy and rose perfectly. In fact, a coworker of mine declared these cupcakes were the best she'd ever had in terms of the cake consistency.

The recipe I found for the mudslide cupcakes called for a Kahlua buttercream but I love cream cheese frostings so much more so I decided to switch it up and the end result was delicious! The cakes had a hint of the mudslide alcohol flavor. Nothing too strong, but it was definitely there. The frosting was not too overly sweet and had a great Kahlua flavor. Together, the cupcake and frosting tasted like I was drinking a mudslide! 

This is what SUCCESS looks like!! And one last happy picture of a happy baker...

Mudslide Cupcakes

recipe adapted from HandleTheHeat.com

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup coffee, room temperature

1/2 cup Kahlua

1/2 cup Bailey's Irish Cream

3 large eggs, separated

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup light brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pans with liners.

2. Whisk together the flour, cocoa, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Combine the coffee, Kahlua and Bailey's in a liquid measuring cup.

3. Add the egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-low speed until foamy. With the mixer still running, gradually add the granulated sugar. Once incorporated, increase the mixer to medium-high speed and continue beating until stiff peaks form. The egg whites should be glossy, not dry.

4. Transfer the egg whites to another bowl and clean our the mixer bowl (or use a second bowl, or use a hand-held electric mixer). With the paddle attachment, cream the butter and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks, one at a time. With the mixer on low speed, alternatively add the flour and the coffee-Kahlua mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Use a rubber spatula to fold in egg whites.

5. Divide batter evenly between cupcake pans, filling each about 2/3 - 3/4 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the cupcakes spring back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the cupcakes cool for 5 minutes then remove to rack to cool completely. 

Kahlua Cream Cheese Frosting

recipe adapted from LovinTheOven.com

Ingredients

5 oz cream cheese

6 tbsp unsalted butter

3 tbsp Kahlua

16 oz powdered sugar

1. Cream together cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Mix in Kahlua, then powdered sugar in one cup increments until frosting reaches desired consistency.