Cupcakes 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Cocoa Powder
1/2 cup boiling water
1 cup buttermilk
1 & 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 & 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 & 1/2 sticks of butter
1 & 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350. Line 24 muffin cups with paper or foil liners.
2. Put the cocoa powder in a medium heat proof bowl. Add the boiling water and whisk until smooth. ***I recommend using an actual spoon to "whisk" the cocoa and water together. I used a whisk and the mixture was so thick it stuck to the whisk badly.
3. Stir in the buttermilk until smooth.
4. In a medium bowl, sift the flour with the baking soda, baking powder and salt. ***if you don't have a sifter, just use a fork to sift and mix the ingredients thoroughly.
5. Separately, in a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat 1 and 1/2 sticks of butter, with he granulated sugar, until light and fluffy. The mixture will take on a light yellow color.
6. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
7. Beat in the dry ingredients in two batches, alternating with the cocoa mixture.
8. Carefully spoon the batter into the muffin cups, filling them about half to 2/3 full.
9. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the center comes clean with a toothpick inserted in the center.
10. Let the cupcakes cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then transfer them to wire racks to cool. I completely.
Peanut butter filling ingredients:
1 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup confectioners sugar
1 cup heavy cream
Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, beat the peanut butter with the 3 tablespoons of butter until creamy.
2. Sift the confectioners sugar into the bowl and beat until light and fluffy, about two minutes. ***i didn't have a sifter, so I just added the sugar in small amounts and beat each amount into the mixture.
3. Beat in the heavy cream until smooth and creamy.
4. Spoon all but 3 tablespoons of the filling to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4 inch star tip. ***I didn't have a pastry bag, so I put mine in a gallon size bag and sealed it. Then I snipped a small bit off one of the bottom corners.
5. Holding a cupcake in your hand, plunge the tip into the top of the cake, pushing it about 3/4 inch deep.
6. Gently squeeze the pastry bag to fill the cupcake and repeat until all of the cupcakes are filled.
***If using just a basic gallon bag as I did, use a paring knife to carve a hole in the center of each cupcake, then fill as if you were using a pastry bag.
7. Once you have made the frosting and iced the cupcakes, use those other three tablespoons of filling to pipe onto the cupcakes as a yummy decoration.
Chocolate buttercream frosting:
1/2 cup salted butter, at room temperature
3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 pound powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the butter and cream cheese at medium speed until creamy.
2. Gradually add the powdered sugar, beating at low speed until blended.
3. Increase speed to medium, and slowly add milk and vanilla, beating until smooth.
4. Microwave the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl on medium for 1-2 minutes, or until melted and smooth, stirring at 30 second intervals.
5. Gradually add the melted chocolate to the mixture, beating until blended and smooth. ***I found that the chocolate chips were still kind of thick after 1-2 minutes, so either heat them longer or just put all it in and blend at a higher speed to smooth it all out.
6. Use the icing to frost the cooled cupcakes.
A few recommendations:
Get all your ingredients out on the table and organized based on what part of the recipe you are using them for.
Pull out three bowls - a medium size heatproof bowl, a large bowl for the cupcakes and a medium bowl for the filling.
I just rinsed out the large bowl once the cupcakes were in the oven and reused it for the icing, because you will have a lot of icing when you are done.
On the parts that called for butter, I softened it in the microwave before I added it to the recipe, to make the mixing easier.
I used a gallon size zip-lock bag for the filling, but I recommend having a pastry bag with a tip on hand. Even with cutting only a small hole in the corner, the filling tended to seep out whenever I had to put it down for any reason.
A birthday isn't complete without gifts. Want to know what every Cool Dad needs to have in his kitchen? Here's Doug's birthday wish list...
1. Sportula ( hey every guy needs to have their favorite team with them- even when they are cooking!) http://sportula.com
2. An instant read meat thermometer (hey: you can't tell if the meat is done without one!) I recommend and drool over this one from Thermoworks. Yes, I know it is a little expensive but it will be the only one you will ever need to buy if you take care of it. That's an investment in your kitchen! http://thermoworks.com/
3. A hinged cooking grate for you charcoal grill ( this makes it easier to place wood chips on the fire)
4. Chef knife: find one that fits your hand and is of great quality (and that you can afford). We highly recommend:
http://www.amazon.com/Wolfgangpuck-Piece-Cutlery-Set-Black/dp/B00ADVJN04/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379948704&sr=8-1&keywords=wolfgang+puck+knives
5. A seriously manly apron. Doesn't matter if it's your favorite sports team, tv show, or just a Kiss the Cook apron. Cool Dads wear aprons! Here are a few we like:
http://www.amazon.com/Bang-Theory-Bazinga-Apron-09869/dp/B00AFLHJJ4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379948776&sr=8-1&keywords=big+bang+theory+aprons
http://www.amazon.com/NFL-Chicago-Bears-Chef-Apron/dp/B001A8H4A0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379948818&sr=8-1&keywords=chicago+bears+apron
How do you celebrate birthdays with your families? Any special recipes, or any kitchen tools you can't live without? We love hearing from our fans!
Stay Cool,
The Cool Dads Crew
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