Dark Chocolate Pudding With A Creamy Cocoa Mascarpone Topping

Posted on February 18, 2015 by Janet

Oh….my….gosh. I never thought I’d be one to say this, but I’m ready for Winter to be over. Normally, I love Winter. I have said before that I love the coziness, the enforced couch potato-ness because you can’t go outside. But, right now, here… in Kentucky, we have an expected low of -14 for tomorrow with a high, a HIGH, of 6. Hello? God? This is Kentucky. I just wanted to throw that out there in case You’d forgotten. Thank you.

The last few days we’ve had all of our outside cats penned up in the garage to keep them safe from the cold. The garage now smells like the elephant cage at the zoo… after it hasn’t been cleaned for three months. FYI… it is impossible to keep a garage clean with five male cats locked up in it *shudders* We have ONE cat we haven’t been able to catch and I have been worrying myself silly over her. She was dumped here at some point (people just love to dump their unwanted animals in the country) and is almost completely feral now. She comes out to get food and water and pals around with one of my male cats (who is in the garage) but won’t come near us, so I couldn’t get her into the garage. So what have I been doing? Shoveling fourteen times a day to make paths to the porch for her, setting out food and water bowls in strategic places, changing the water bowls every time they freeze (like once an hour) and fretting myself into a nervous breakdown over her safety.

Lately I have been all about the creamy foods. I know, I know… I can hear some of you out there saying, “how is this different from every other day for you, Janet?”. But it is. Yes, I absolutely love my creamy foods, I completely admit that little fact. 😀 But recently, I’ve been craving things like rice pudding, meats with creamy sauces, and puddings like this one. I like to tell myself that it’s an attempt by my prehistoric brain cells to add a layer of fat to my body to keep warm. The problem being that if I add another layer of fat, I’ll have to turn sideways to get my hips through the doorways.

This pudding is oh so good. Very chocolatey, but not overly sweet, being as it’s a dark chocolate flavor. It definitely hits that “I need something creamy and chocolate” spot. And the topping I made? Oh, my. There was some left over after I topped the puddings and I may or may not have stood over the sink eating the rest of it plain. It’s creamy, yet surprisingly light and not too sweet or too over the top cocoa flavored at all; the perfect foil for this pudding This is originally from The Food Network, with the topping being mine and the addition of the Kahlua being mine.

You know the drill…

Mrs. Cupcake; who is sick of shoveling snow.

Dark Chocolate Pudding With A Creamy Cocoa Mascarpone Topping

1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons cornstarch
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
pinch salt
2 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
4 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons Kahlua Liqueur
4 ounces (1/2 cup) semi sweet chocolate, chopped
Topping-
4 ounces Mascarpone, room temp
3/4 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

In a large bowl, sift together the sugar, cornstarch, cocoa and salt. I just shake it through a fine mesh strainer. Add in 1/2 cup of the milk and whisk it, forming a thick paste. Whisk the beaten egg yolks into the mixture.
In a heavy bottomed saucepot, combine the remaining milk and the cream. Bring them to just barely a boil, then take off the heat. Slowly pour about half a cup of the hot milk over the cocoa mixture to temper the egg yolks. Then slowly whisk in the rest of the milk/cream.
Â Pour the pudding back into the pot you used for the milk. Whisk in the vanilla and the Kahlua. Cook over not quite medium heat, stirring constantly (a wooden spoon or silicone spatula works best), making sure to get to the edges of the pan. When the mixture starts to thicken up, about 5 minutes or so, remove from the heat. You want this to almost, but not quite, come to a boil. Drop the chopped chocolate into the hot pudding, stirring until it melts.
Now you have a choice. If you’re not worried about a few little lumps (I wasn’t) you can go ahead and divide this among your serving dishes now. If you want it lump free (truthfully, if you made sure to stir well while cooking, you really shouldn’t have any), you can pour this through a mesh strainer into a bowl and then put it into serving dishes. Do whichever makes you happy. This makes 4 8 ounce servings, 8 4 ounce servings, 16 2 ounce servings, 32…. sorry. I’ll stop now.
Cover each dish of pudding with plastic wrap to prevent a skin forming and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
When ready to serve, make your topping. In a medium bowl, combine the mascarpone, cocoa and sugar. Whisk to combine well. Pour in the cream and whisk gently (so you don’t wear cream) until combined. Then, whisk more vigorously until it thickens up to firm peaks, about 4 minutes.
Serve the pudding topped with the mascarpone cream and some shaved or grated chocolate.

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Mini Apple Cinnamon Pound Cakes With Crunchy Streusel

Posted on February 15, 2015 by Janet

Apple Cinnamon Pound Cake

I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus recently. I HAD been trying to post Monday through Friday, but some minor health issues have prevented that much posting. But… God willing, I’m back. Ok, so it’s not Monday yet, but I didn’t feel like waiting. Because I love you. And I wanted cake. Now. On a totally unrelated note, who had an awesome Valentines Day!? Neither my husband nor I are big on the whole “show your affection one day a year” thing, so I live vicariously through the roses and chocolates of others. I do however, tend to get small gifts for my kids on Valentines Day. I got the boys little boxes of chocolates for a buck apiece at Wal-Mart. Only young males could get those and then say “wow, this is awesome chocolate, momma. And it smells so good!” It takes a 5 pound box of Godiva to get that reaction from me.

I’ve said before that when it comes to cake, pound cake always tops my list. It’s buttery…since most of the recipes for it use about 42 sticks of butter. It’s rich; that could be that whole butter thing again. Yet, it’s not heavy and overly sweet as cakes with frosting can be. Which means you can eat more.

I got the original recipe for this from a Southern Living Magazine. No idea what month or year since it’s just a torn out recipe now. But it’s quite tasty. It didn’t turn out particularly pretty, nor did it rise as high as I’m used to pound cake rising, but it tastes really good and ultimately, isn’t that all that matters? This has a lovely apple cinnamon flavor and those yummy, crispity (yes, that’s now a word. Welcome to “Janet Language”) edges everyone loves. Plus, you get streusel and we all know how much I love streusel. it could be that whole butter thing with that, too. Butter is love. Butter is also big hips, greasy fingers and hardened arteries but I prefer to think of it as love.

You know the drill…. 😀

Mrs. Cupcake… who needs more pound cake.

Mini Apple Cinnamon Pound Cakes With Crunchy Streusel

1 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
3 cups sugar
6 eggs, room temp
3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup apple cider or apple juice
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Streusel-
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup chopped pecans
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
Glaze-
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 to 4 tablespoons of apple juice (can sub milk or water)

In a small bowl, combine all the streusel ingredients. Mix well and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350. Grease 6 mini loaf pans (the disposable foil ones are fine), set them inside a baking pan and set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the butter until fluffy. Add in the sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients; whisk well.
Alternately add the flour mixture and the apple cider (juice) to the butter mixture, starting and ending with the flour (third of the flour, half the juice, third of the flour, rest of the juice, rest of the flour). Beat just until combined after each addition. Mix in the vanilla.
Divide the batter between the 6 loaf pans. Sprinkle two to three tablespoons of the streusel over each pan (if you have any streusel left over, just bag it up and freeze it.).
Bake at 350 until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick of wooden skewer inserted into the cakes comes out clean, about 35 to 45 minutes.
Let cool in pans on a rack. Combine glaze ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Drizzle over the pound cakes.

Copyright Notice: From Cupcakes To Caviar images and original content are copyright protected. Please do not publish these materials anywhere without prior permission.

Buffalo Roasted Chickpeas (Blogger C.L.U.E.)

Posted on February 11, 2015 by Janet

Buffalo Roasted Chickpeas

Hey everybody! Time for another month of Blogger Clue. You remember… it’s a group I’m a part of on Facebook where we peruse the blogs of one other member in the group and pick a recipe from their blog; one that fits a certain theme. This months theme was “Red”. I mean, Valentines Day and all; makes sense, huh?

I was having a hard time finding something to fit the theme on the blog I was given, which was Lemon And Anchovies run by a lovely lady named Jean. Jean’s blog is wonderful; lots of great recipes I wanted to try… just not many with red, lol. There was a gorgeous raspberry tart in her blog, but I couldn’t afford the berries right now and I will try that one in Spring when berries aren’t as high as a mortgage payment and aren’t shipped from another planet somewhere in a different solar system..

But lookee what I found! I know, chickpeas aren’t red, but these are Buffalo Roasted Chickpeas and anything buffalo style is red, right? Of course right :-p Other than in hummus, it was only fairly recently that I started using chickpeas in things. I may be weird, but to me, they taste almost exactly like boiled peanuts. Since I love boiled peanuts, that means I also love them. And they are, nutritionally, a wonderful source of protein and fiber. But who cares about nutrition. They taste good. 😀 I’ve always loved buffalo wings. I have been known to make a complete glutton of myself with them. We won’t talk about the time my son Cameron and I had a wing eating contest at Hooters once. We’ll just leave it at I won by ONE wing.

But since I don’t want to weigh 500 pounds, I have to find alternate buffalo fixes. These fit the bill quite nicely. A bit spicy, a bit garlicky and with a nice crunch. I was out of olive oil, so I used all butter with this recipe. I think it worked well, as butter is what is usually used in wings. It made it a bit less healthy, but… ummmm… this is me. I also used a touch of onion powder and I increased the oven temp to 425. Jean mentioned that hers didn’t get as crispy as she’d like so I thought a slight jump in temp might take care of that. I think my theory may have been right, because these were wonderfully crunchy.

You know the drill…

Buffalo Roasted Chickpeas

(My changes in parentheses)

2 15 ounce cans chickpeas ,drained, rinsed and dried well.
1 teaspoon melted butter (I used 1 1/2 tablespoons butter and no olive oil)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon granulated garlic (garlic powder not garlic salt)
(1/4 teaspoon onion powder)
Pinch salt
4Â½ tablespoons Frank’s Red Hot Sauce (or your favorite hot sauce)

Preheat oven to 400 (425 is what I did). Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl; toss to coat.
Lay in a single layer in a pan and bake for 40 to 45 (only took 30 in a 425 oven) minutes, until browned and crispy.
Hide them from everyone else and eat them all.
Go to Jeans blog and tell her she’s wonderful.

Here are all the participants in this months Blogger C.L.U.E. Go check out what they made. Somewhere in there you’ll find one that made a recipe form little old me. Be scared for them. Be very scared.

Copyright Notice: From Cupcakes To Caviar images and original content are copyright protected. Please do not publish these materials anywhere without prior permission.

Participating Bloggers:

Bacon & Cheddar Savory Bread Pudding BitesÂ by Lisa from Authentic Suburban Gourmet
Banana Cranberry White Chocolate MuffinsÂ by Aly from Cooking in Stilettos
Blood Orange MojitoÂ by Anna from Anna Dishes
Buffalo Roasted ChickpeasÂ by Janet from Cupcakes to Caviar
Cherry Almond Coconut BarsÂ by Jean from Lemons and Anchovies
Dark Chocolate Pomegranate Bark by Ramona from Curry and Comfort
Garlicky Roasted TomatoesÂ by Azmina from Lawyer Loves Lunch
Love Potion #9 w/ Raspberry Chambord Ice Cubes by Christy from Confessions of a Culinary Diva
Madam Wong’s Pizza RollsÂ by Kelli from Kelli’s Kitchen
NegroniÂ by Kate from Kate’s Kitchen
Paloma Naranjada Cocktail by Stacy from Food Lust People Love
Pomegranate-Lime GranitaÂ by Debra from Eliot’s Eats
Raspberry Amaretto Bundt CakeÂ by Liz from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
Raspberry-Strawberry Puff Pancake by Alice from A Mama, Baby and Shar-pei in the Kitchen
Red-Hot Currant-Glazed Pork ChopsÂ by Stacy from Food Lust People Love
Red Velvet CupcakesÂ by Lea Ann from Cooking on the Ranch
Roasted Asparagus by Kim from Liv Life
Strawberry Chia Jam w/ Chia Seed PancakesÂ by Heather from girlichef
Strawberry Vanilla SconesÂ by Christiane from Taking on Magazines
Tomato Herb Compound Butter by Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm

Peanut Butter Banana Cake With Chocolate Chips And Streusel

Posted on February 9, 2015 by Janet

Peanut Butter Banana Cake With Chocolate Chips And Streusel

Have I mentioned lately how much I adore all of you? Well, if nothing else gives it away, this post should. I have made absolutely NO secret of my distaste for peanut butter 😛 I think I burned out on it as a kid cause I just don’t much like it now. I do however love weird flavored ones, like Jifs smores one or a few flavors from Peanut Butter & Co. And I even get a craving for a PB&J like twice a year. But do I have the love for it that I hear many people talk of? Do I have a spoon permanently stuck in a jar of Skippy? Do I make recipes and then rhapsodize over the intense flavor of peanut butter? Do I make plans for a secret wedding and honeymoon in the Bahamas with a jar of Kroger brand? Ok, so maybe I haven’t really heard of anyone doing that, but give it time… give it time. I have a few peanut butter loving friends who are single.

But I realized I was being unfair to you, my faithful readers, my glorious compadres, my pals, my besties, my… sorry. I’ll stop now. Many of you like peanut butter. I have no idea why, but nonetheless, you do. 😀 And I love you in spite of this fatal flaw. So this is for you… and you.. and you. Out of my love for you, I suffered through the scent of baking peanut butter. I may now need intensive therapy (I’m pushing this, aren’t I?)

Moving on now… I adapted this from a cake in my Bon Appetit cookbook. I know the combo of banana, peanut butter and chocolate is popular, so I thought we’d go there.Â According to my husband, who likes peanut butter (and I also keep him too, in spite of this fatal flaw), this isn’t a heavy peanut butter flavor. I tried a bit (SEE how much I love you?) and I disagree. I tasted peanut butter, banana and then there’s the chocolate chips. I like chocolate chips. 😀 This is a nice tender snack style cake, one of those that would go great at a church pot luck or t share with the neighbors. It has a nice texture thanks to the streusel.

You know the drill… 😀

Peanut Butter Banana Cake With Chocolate Chips And Streusel

2 1/4 cups flour
2 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 cup peanut butter (creamy)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup mashed bananas (about 2 large)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon banana flavoring
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Â 1 12 ounce package chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13×9 inch baking pan.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, peanut butter and butter. Use a heavy spoon to mix well until it is blended and crumbly. Scoop out one cup of this mixture and set aside.
Add the eggs, milk, mashed banana,baking powder, baking soda, vanilla and banana flavorings to the bowl. Beat on low speed with a hand mixer until moistened. Then increase the speed and beat until well blended, about 3 minutes, scraping bowl as needed. Stir in one cup of the chocolate chips. Pour batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with the reserved streusel, then with the remaining chocolate chips.
Bake at 350 until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes.
Let cool in pan. Cut and serve. Store loosely covered at room temp.

Copyright Notice: From Cupcakes To Caviar images and original content are copyright protected. Please do not publish these materials anywhere without prior permission.

Cinnamon Sticky Buns

Posted on February 8, 2015 by Janet

Cinnamon Sticky Buns

I always get confused when I see how nervous some people are about the idea of working with yeast. I mean no disrespect by that. I also get confused by at least 948 other things every day. It’s just that I started making yeast breads and pastries when I was still a fairly novice cook. Now I’ll look at recipes that seem pretty straightforward and they’ll have warnings about “Once you master this, you can move on to harder things like danish pastry and croissants”. Hmmmm… one of the first things I ever made were homemade croissants. I didn’t know that, as a beginner, I wasn’t supposed to be able to make them or that I was supposed to be scared to even try. I could read, therefore I could bake.

Point being, that’s what I want for all of you. If you can read and have any cooking ability at all (I qualify that because if opening a can of Chef Boy-Ar-Dee is beyond your skill level and you only come to blogs to send the recipes to your mom, I make no promises 😛 ), you can make yeast raised baked goods with no problem. They take a little more patience is all and a little more with certain things, like the temps of liquids. Too hot and you can kill the yeast. Too cold and it won’t activate at all. But all you need is an instant read thermometer and you’re good to go. Bake enough and you won’t even need that. You’ll be able to test the temp with your finger and know if it’s right.

I first made these sticky buns in about 1990 or so and have been making them ever since. More or less. It occurred to me the other day that I have never made them for my husband and he and I have been together over seven years. Seven years with no sticky buns!!? What was I thinking?! So it was time. And I am so glad I did. Tender, slightly sweet pastry with a buttery, sweet and cinnamony filling, all smothered in a sticky, teenie tiny bit chewy glaze. These are wonderful fresh out of the oven. These are wonderful room temp. These are just wonderful; period. These are done with a stand mixer and I’ll give directions that way, but you can always, always do yeast doughs by hand.

You know the drill…. 🙂 and no fear is your motto!! Well, that and “I’m going to eat a pan of sticky buns all by myself!”

Cinnamon Sticky Buns

dough- 2 packages dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (between 110 to 115 degrees)
1 cup milk, warmed to about 120 degrees
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
3 eggs, room temp
5 to 6 cups flour (it will vary each and every time due to weather, humidity, moisture content of the flour, etc)
filling-
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
2 tablespoons cinnamon
2/3 cup sugar
glaze-
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
1 1/2 cups brown sugar (whichever you prefer; I like to use dark)
3 tablespoons dark corn syrup (this provides the “sticky” part; don’t omit it. Corn syrup is NOT the same thing as HFCS)
3/4 cup lightly toasted chopped pecans

Sprinkle the 2 packs of yeast over the warm water. Let sit for 3 minutes or so to dissolve. When you go to get it, it should be bubbling and foamy. If not, your yeast may be dead and you should probably use different yeast. Better to do that than waste an entire recipes worth of ingredients.
Combine the milk, sugar, salt, butter, vanilla extract and eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle. Mix on low just long enough to combine. Add in the yeast and 2 1/2 cups of flour. Change over to the dough hook and beat until smooth.Â Add in 2 1/2 cups more flour. Beat until it is a shaggy mass. It may still be somewhat sticky. Add in another 1/4 cup of flour at a time if needed and beat to incorporate. You want a final dough that is SLIGHTLY tacky, but doesn’t leave dough on your fingers when you press into it. This batch took a full six cups of flour for me. Other times, I’ve used about 5 to 5 1/2 cups.
Turn your speed up to 2 or 3 and let the dough hook do the kneading work for you. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes; work that gluten! 😛
Turn dough out into a lightly oiled bowl. Turn to coat both sides, then cover the bowl with a clean towel and set in a warm place to rise. Let the dough rise until it is about doubled in size.
Meanwhile, make your glaze. Combine all the glaze ingredients and combine until totally mixed and no streaks of butter show. Divide mixture between 2 9 inch cake pans, using your fingers to pat it all the way across the bottoms of the pan. Sprinkle with the toasted pecans. Set aside and start your oven preheating to 350 degrees.
When the dough has risen, punch it down and turn out onto a lightly floured board or counter. Roll it into about a 24×12 rectangle. Don’t stress if it’s not perfect.
Break up the 1/2 cup softened butter and scatter it across the dough. Use your fingers to spread it all over the dough, right to the edges. Sprinkle with the 2/3 cup sugar and then the cinnamon.
Roll the dough tightly from a long end into a cylinder. Trim off the uneven edges (trust me; you’ll have uneven edges) and do what you want with them. You can bake them up in a small pan or I have heard that dogs adore raw dough. Go figure. Cut the dough into 16 pieces with a sharp knife. Lay the slices in the prepared pans, 8 per pan. Let rise again until just about doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes or so.
Bake at 350 degrees until the tops of the rolls are golden brown and you can see the glaze bubbling around them, about 25 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes to set the glaze somewhat, then invert the pan onto a rimmed plate or serving dish.
These are best warm and fresh, but if you don’t use them all, just wrap them tightly and store on the counter. You can reheat them easily in the microwave. For the record, you can let them rise in the pan, then freeze a pan for another time if two pans is too much. Just wrap the pan tightly with foil and freeze. When you want to bake them, let them sit in the fridge overnight to thaw and bake them as directed above. They may take a bit longer is all.

Copyright Notice: From Cupcakes To Caviar images and original content are copyright protected. Please do not publish these materials anywhere without prior permission.

Easy Red Velvet Cupcakes- (Recipe Re-do)

Posted on February 6, 2015 by Janet

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Sometimes I look back on my old photos. Then, I start to cry. Followed by hysterical laughter, embarrassed under the bed hiding and vows to pretend I don’t know who I am if I ever meet myself in public.

Mind you, I’m still far from a world class photographer. Bon Appetit isn’t going to be printing any of my photos anytime soon. Heck, sometimes I refuse my own photos and send myself haughty emails saying “don’t call us, we’ll call you”. But all of that aside, I like to think I’ve gotten a wee bit better over the years. Aside from all of that though, I have a couple dozen more readers than I did back when I started. Maybe. On a good day. And some of the things I did back in the day were quite tasty, but one would never know it based on the photos. I actually bake some of the goodies I made back when I started. So I’ve decided to periodically redo some of my older recipes. If they need revamped, I’ll do that. If they don’t, I’ll simply remake them and hopefully give them better photos.

The latter is the case today. I made these Red Velvet Cupcakes Christmas and Valentines Day are the times when everyone goes Red Velvet happy. I didn’t do anything red velvet for Christmas, so Valentines Day it is. Chocolate is the perfect food for romance and love. I know, some say oysters are, but I want one person to explain to me how something that looks like a lump of snot is romantic. Wait… too blunt and kinda gross? Sorry. But seriously (heh… *I* used the word seriously. Me. Feel free to giggle.), chocolate is romantic.

Are cupcakes, though? I think that depends on ones manners. if you are the type to eat daintily and offer bits to your s/o. maybe. If however, you shove the whole thing in your face and then burp and giggle, you may want to make alternate plans for your Saturday nights. Just sayin’

These are yummy cupcakes and easy as boxed mix. Wait. They are boxed mix. Guess what. They can also use Cool Whip in the frosting. That one is optional. You can also sub real freshly whipped cream. I’ve done both and prefer the whipped cream because it makes the frosting less sweet. But these are intensely chocolatey cupcakes with a rich, creamy frosting. Chocolate…romance…love… just leave oysters out of it. And burps.

You know the drill… 🙂

Red Velvet Cupcakes

1 box red velvet cake mix
1 4 ounce box of instant chocolate pudding
1 8 ounce package of cream cheese, room temp
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
1 cup whipped cream or cool whip

Preheat oven to temp suggested on cake mix box. Line 20 muffin cups with liners, or grease them well.
Prepare cake mix as package directs, adding in the box of instant pudding and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla extract. Beat well for two minutes. The mixture will be thick. It will also be tasty…. don’t eat too much. 😀
Â Fill the prepared cups about half full. Don’t overfill; this batter rises like crazy. If you need to use more cups, just line more. But I got 20.
Bake according to package directions. When done, turn out onto a rack to cool.
While they cool, prepare the frosting. In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, butter and remaining vanilla extract until light and fluffy looking. Add in the powdered sugar; here is where I usually stir it with the beater OFF, just to prevent being covered in sugar dust. When it’s mixed, turn the beater to high and beat until the mixture is thick and creamy, about three to five minutes.
Spread or pipe frosting onto the cooled cupcakes. Decorate as desired.

Copyright Notice: From Cupcakes To Caviar images and original content are copyright protected. Please do not publish these materials anywhere without prior permission.

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Mocha Cheesecake

Posted on February 4, 2015 by Janet

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Mocha Cheesecake

Hey everyone. Sorry about the rather long hiatus from here. I’ve been ill. Nothing earth shattering. You’re not getting rid of me that easily. Just been having some “I had a stroke a few years ago and it likes to come back and bite me in the arse at times” issues. So you’re still stuck with me. I was just too drained to be cooking and couldn’t balance well, which could have caused trouble, lol.

I tried making a cheesecake anyway while I was down and oh my, talk about a disaster. I have been making cheesecakes since my oldest son, now almost 29, was an infant. SO I have a wee bit of experience. But oh….my….heavens. I put what was a delicious batter in the oven and it wouldn’t cook. It puffed and overflowed all over my oven. It was greasy, grainy, watery; you name the bad adjective when it comes to cheesecakes and that cheesecake wore that adjective proudly, like a badge of honor. Once it overflowed, I had hopes that it would at least be salvageable for the family, since it certainly wouldn’t work as a post. But…ummmm…no. Totally…and completely…disgusting. I scraped the sodden gritty mess into the garbage and tried not to whimper like a 3 year old denied a chocolate bar. Or a 50 year old who just had to trash about 12 dollars worth of ingredients *whimpers*

Then today I tried again. I think I turned the oven light on 72 times and peeked into the oven to see what was happening. And lo and behold, I haven’t lost my skills. WooT!! Yay for non disgusting cheesecake! So, I’ve mentioned before that I’m not a huge coffee drinker. When I drink it, it has to be highly flavored and creamed. I’m one of those “I like a little coffee with my cream and sugar” people. But strangely enough, I love coffee flavored desserts. Coffee ice cream, tiramisu, anything mocha flavored. I’m all over them.Â So I decided to play with that flavor idea in the cheesecake. But I wanted a mild coffee flavor, not an in your face caffeine punch from cheesecake. So I made a raspberry mocha… in cheesecake form. 😀

This is a pretty wonderful cheesecake. Creamy, rich, but not heavy. It has a mild chocolate/coffee flavor on first bite. Then you get some of the raspberry preserves with those flavors and that explosion of tart berry. THEN some of the chocolate curls and fresh berries;so good! Talk about happily confused taste buds. 😀

Don’t freak at the long instructions here. It’s mostly me jabbering on with some cheesecake tips that will help ANY time you make a cheesecake.

You know the drill… 🙂

Mrs. Cupcake… who wants more cheesecake and then NEEDS five hours on my exercise bike.

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Mocha Cheesecake

Crust-
2 to 2 1/2 cups vanilla wafers
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar
Filling-
2 8 ounce packages cream cheese, room temp
1 8 ounce package mascarpone cheese, room temp (can use another cream cheese instead, but the mascarpone is decadently creamy)
2/3 cup sugar
3 eggs, room temp also
1 10 to 12 ounce package chocolate chips (I used bittersweetÂ Ghirardelli’s ), melted according to package directions
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon instant coffee granules or espresso powder (use a teaspoon or so more if you want a heavier coffee flavor)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup raspberry preserves
Boiling water for the water bath
Fresh raspberries and chocolate curls for garnish

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Wrap a 9 inch springform pan in two layers of heavy duty foil, each layer going in a different direction to make sure the whole pan is well covered. Lightly grease the pan and place inside a large baking dish. In your food processor, pulse the cookies until they are fine crumbs. Add in the sugar and 6 tablespoons melted butter. Pulse until well combined. Alternately, you can crush the cookies in a ziploc bag and then combine the ingredients in a bowl.
Press the mixture over the bottom and a little bit up the sides. Bake at 325 for 8 minutes; just long enough to set the crust. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, mascarpone and sugar. Beat at medium speed until creamy.Â Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, scraping the bowl as needed.
Add in the melted chocolate and beat on low speed just until combined.
Pour the instant coffee granules into the cream; stir to dissolve. Whisk the cream and the melted butter into the batter. Trust me on the whisk. You use the beater and you’re going to be wearing cream.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Microwave the preserves for about ten second, just enough to thin them out a bit. Dollop the preserves onto the top of the cheesecake batter. Use a butter knife to drag through the preserves, spreading the preserves decoratively through the batter.
Place the baking dish with the pan in the oven and carefully pour boiling water around the springform pan, going about an inch up the sides of the pan. Carefully push the rack in, being careful to not splatter water into the cheesecake pan.
Bake at 325 for between 65 to 85 minutes (I have gone to both extremes for some reason; cheesecakes are finicky). When it is looking set up to about midway into the cheesecake, stick a instant read thermometer carefully into the middle of the cheesecake. You are looking for a temp of about 150 degrees. If it is that, turn the oven off, prop the door open with a dishtowel or something, and leave the cheesecake completely alone to finish cooking in the turned off oven. The final temp needs to be between 160 to 165. Any higher and you will most likely end up with a huge crack down the middle of the cheesecake. Plus, letting it sit in the slowly cooling oven helps protect from quick temp changes which can also cause it to crack. When the oven has completely cooled, take the cheesecake out and let it come to room temp. Then chill until cold, preferably overnight. They slice sooooo much better that way.
When ready to serve,Â garnish with fresh raspberries and chocolate curls. Slice with a sharp knife dipped in hot water and dried in between cuts.

Copyright Notice: From Cupcakes To Caviar images and original content are copyright protected. Please do not publish these materials anywhere without prior permission.

Cheaters Easy, Creamy Chicken & Dumplings

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Janet

Cheaters Easy, Creamy Chicken & Dumplings

I was never a fan of chicken and dumplings growing up. It was a very heavy dish the way my mom made it. As southerners would say, “Bless her heart… she was a lovely woman, but she might could do something other than cook”.

I’ve said before, my mom made good lasagna considering she was a depression era southern woman. She also made excellent lemon meringue pie. And her fried chicken is something I still haven’t been able to match. But she had her flops too. Say “Garbage Soup” in my or my brothers presence and we’re likely to recoil away and gag. As for her chicken and dumplings, looking back, I can see why it turned out greasy and heavy. Mom just boiled up that chicken until it was tender and then made her Bisquick dumplings right on top, without getting rid of the grease.

While I’d give my right arm to eat her cooking again, I do make most things differently than she did. I used to make chicken and dumplings for the family her way and I could never eat it. So I started cheating. I had some leftover chicken and just started tossing things in a pot with it, then topped it with, yep, Bisquick dumplings. I love those far more than I do the rolled out ones. Over the years, it’s morphed into this dish and I finally can eat chicken and dumplings again. Plus… it’s so darn quick because you use either leftover chicken or a store bought rotisserie one!

You know the drill…

Cheaters Easy & Creamy Chicken & Dumplings

1 rotisserie chicken, skin and bones removed, chopped into bite sized pieces (or about 4 cups of leftover chicken, chopped up)
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 stalks celery, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 14 ounce cans chicken broth
2 10.75 ounce cans cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1/2 cup heavy cream or half and half
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
3 cups biscuit mix (Bisquick)
1 1/4 cups milk
Black pepper to taste

In a large pot, saute the chopped onion and celery in the 3 tablespoons butter until they are soft and limp, about 7 minutes. Pour the chicken broth and soup in with the veggies. Whisk to combine.
Add in the chicken and poultry seasoning. Bring to a boil, then simmer over medium heat for ten minutes or so; long enough to heat everything up nicely. Stir in the cream and turn the heat up enough to bring the soup to a boil.
Combine the biscuit mix and milk in a medium bowl. You’ll have a thick pasty sort of mixture. Use a large spoon to drop large balls of dumpling dough onto the hot soup. You should get about 8 to 10 dumplings. Snuggle them all in there right next to each other.
Cover the pot and cook until the dumplings are tender and fluffy and cooked throughout, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Serve with plenty of black pepper and there may be some out there who want to add some salt. I personally find it salty enough without adding extra.

Copyright Notice: From Cupcakes To Caviar images and original content are copyright protected. Please do not publish these materials anywhere without prior permission.

Creamy Chocolate Banana Bars With A Toasted Marshmallow Meringue

Posted on January 27, 2015 by Janet

Creamy Chocolate Banana Bars With A Toasted Marshmallow Meringue

I’ve decided to become a street mime. I’m not sure how this will work in my rural area, though. The only ones who will see me “miming” (yes, that is actually a word; go figure) would be the 7 outside cats, some hawks and vultures and maybe a coyote or two if I mime at night. Do they carry cash to tip me with or would I need to carry a credit card machine with me everywhere? These are the things one must think about when contemplating a second job… or third in my case. Should I buy the typical black outfit or go the modern route and wear pink sequined leotards and a polka dotted blouse?

In case it isn’t readily apparent, I’m in what we at our house simply call, “a mood”. A mood can mean anything form “I’m having a crappy day. Come near me, talk to me or breathe in my direction and I’m liable to bite your head off” to “maybe that second beer wasn’t such a good idea on an empty stomach since now I’m waltzing around the house singing, “I’m Soooooo hurtttt” to “I’m in a very warped mood today due to far too much caffeine and am planning to become a mime”. I’ll let you guess where we’re at today.

I vacillated on this dessert so much that I probably came across like John McCain when it comes time to decide which political party to work for. First, I wanted to do lemon; then I wanted to do chocolate, then I thought maybe butterscotch, then lemon again. I finally settled on chocolate, if only to shut up all 14 of my inner voices. The arguing was getting on my nerves.

When I made the marshmallow meringue for this, it suddenly popped into my head to turn it into toasted marshmallows. They’re one of my favorite snacks, though I don’t actually have them often.

These bars are quite good, if I do say so myself. A crisp crust, topped with banana slices and a dark, sweet chocolate pudding, then followed up with a fluffy marshmallowy meringue. They’re also fairly easy. The most time consuming parts are when you have to stir the cooking pudding and then whisk the heating meringue. Don’t let the stovetop parts scare you away from this. If you can stir, you can make this dessert.

You know the drill….

Mrs. Cupcake, who needs to give her 6 year old a bath because he got marshmallow topping in his hair.

Creamy Chocolate Banana Bars With A Toasted Marshmallow Meringue

Crust-
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup ( a stick and a half) unsalted butter, room temp
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate filling-
3/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
4 ounces chopped unsweetened chocolate
4 egg yolks, lightly beaten (hold onto the whites)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 to 3 bananas, sliced (don’t slice them until you’re ready to pour the pudding in or they will get brown)
Marshmallow Meringue-
4 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 inch square pan with non stick foil.
Prepare your crust- In a medium bowl, combine the softened 3/4 cup butter, 3/4 cup sugar and vanilla extract. Use a heavy spoon to mix them until they are smooth. Add in the flour and mix until it is a cohesive, somewhat crumbly mixture. There shouldn’t be any dry flour in the bottom of the bowl. Press the mixture onto the bottom and about 1/2 inch up the sides of the prepared pan. Bake at 350 until it is golden brown around the edges, about 17 to 20 minutes.
While the crust bakes, make your pudding- combine the milk, cream and chopped chocolate in a microwave safe bowl or measuring cup. Microwave for 90 seconds, stir and if the chocolate isn’t fully melted and combined with the milk, microwave for another 30 seconds.
Combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium saucepot.Â Whisk well. You don’t want any lumps of cornstarch in the mixture. Slowly add in the milk/ chocolate mix. Start slowly, then you can pour quicker once you get about 1/3 of it in there.
Whisk a few spoonfuls of this into the beaten egg yolks, one spoon at a time. This is just to temper the yolks in case the milk is warm enough that it might scramble the eggs. Then pour the eggs into the milk mixture, whisking the whole time.
Place the pot over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the pudding bubbles and thickens. Whisk in the butter and vanilla extract. Pour the pudding into a bowl and cover the top of it with plastic wrap, making sure it is touching the top of the pudding. Refrigerate and let chill until cold, at least an hour.
When chilled, layer the sliced bananas over the crust. then pour the cold pudding over them. If planning to serve right away, make your marshmallow meringue. If not, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
Marshmallow meringue- Start a pot of water simmering. Combine the egg whites, cream of tarter and sugar in a smaller pot. Place over, but not touching, the pot of simmering water. Whisking constantly, heat the egg white up until, when you place a finger in it, it is just on the verge of uncomfortable, about 115 to 120 degrees. Stir in the vanilla extract
Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl (you can use a hand mixer or a stand mixer with the whisk attachment) and beat on low speed until it is very foamy, then turn the speed up to medium and beat until it stand in peaks that droop slightly but don’t drip off of the beater
Spread the marshmallow meringue over the chocolate pudding, making decorative whorls in it. Using a kitchen torch, holding it close to the meringue, lightly brown the top of the meringue.Â Serve immediately and refrigerate the leftovers.

Copyright Notice: From Cupcakes To Caviar images and original content are copyright protected. Please do not publish these materials anywhere without prior permission.

Game Day Foods!

Posted on January 26, 2015 by Janet

Hey there everybody! While I don’t like football, I know that many of you do and are looking for snacks, sweets and the like to serve to the hungry hordes that will be descending on your home next Sunday. So I thought I’d throw together a post.

You all enjoy the game! I’ll be the one over here watching Downton Abbey and eating junk food.