Midnight Cravings: Coconut cupcakes with Whipped White Chocolate Frosting

Growing up I never really liked anything with coconut and preferred dark chocolate over white chocolate, but lately I have found that I am craving both flavours more and more. Late one night, when my cravings usually take over, I was inspired to create a white chocolate coconut cupcake. The original recipe for the coconut cupcake is from Bon Appetit but I have modified it to my own liking. It is so good that I think I ate almost half of them before I even had the chance to frost them!

Coconut Cupcake:
2 cans coconut milk
2 c all-purpose flour
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c butter
1 1/3 c sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
Seeds from 1 vanilla bean (or another 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract)
1 tbsp Malibu coconut rum (optional)

1. In a large pot, bring coconut milk to a boil over medium-high heat then reduce to medium-low heat.
2. Reduce coconut milk to 1 cup.
3. Transfer reduced coconut milk to a container and cool completely.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F.
5. Cream the butter until smooth then beat in the sugar until fluffy.
6. Add 2 eggs, mixing well after each addition.
7. Add vanilla extract and seeds from vanilla bean and mix well, then add the last egg.
8. Add 1 cup of the flour, the baking powder and salt and mix until just combined.
9. Add cooled, reduced coconut milk and mix well to incorporate.
10. Add second cup of flour and mix until just combined.
11. Portion batter into prepared muffin tins.
12. Bake for 15-20 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.
13. Cool completely before frosting.

Whipped White Chocolate Frosting
1 c whipping cream
3 c chopped white chocolate

1. Using a double boiler, heat cream and chocolate over boiling water. Stir until white chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is completely smooth.
2. Cool mixture completely.
3. Using the whisk attachment of an electric mixer, whip white chocolate mixture until it forms stiff peaks and can hold its shape.

A Tale of Two Pie Crusts

It was the best of pies, it was the worst of pies. Well not really, but I thought I'd continue my salute to Charles Dickens. I guess this story really begins when a friend and I invited another friend over for dinner and he said that he would make a pie and be over in about an hour. I scoffed at him and said that there was no way in the world that he could make a pie in an hour. And so the challenge began: he had one hour to make a proper homemade pie and not a minute more. Exactly one hour later, I texted him to see if he was done yet. He was not. He was done about seven minutes later, which was still very impressive. Although he did cheat and use a canned pie filling, it was nevertheless quite tasty, most likely due to the crust. Apparently, it was a secret family recipe that had won many a pie contest. I did eventually get the recipe from my friend but was sworn to secrecy so it will not be posted here.

The first time I used this recipe was to make a pear pie for my dad's birthday. Not apple. Pear. Pear because my dad has always insisted that pear pie is better than apple pie and that he doesn't understand why apple pie is so popular. So I indulged him, and looked for pear pie filling recipes to use with my friend's pie crust. The one that I decided to use was published in the February 2005 issue of Bon Appétit. The full recipe can be found here: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pear-and-Almond-Tart-231612

Pear and Almond Filling

Pears:
4 Bosc pears, peeled
4 cups water
3/4 c sugar
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice

*It is very important to use Bosc pears. I did try using other pears such as Bartletts, but they were not as juicy or as sweet.*
**I reduced the sugar from the original recipe.**

1. Add water, sugar and lemon juice to a large pot and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Once the water is boiling, reduce the heat and add the pears.
2. Cook until the pears are tender and you can easily pierce it all the way through with a fork.
3. Cool in syrup until ready to use.

Almond Filling:
2/3 c blanched slivered almonds
1 tbsp flour
7 tbsp sugar
3/8 c unsalted butter, room temperature
1 egg
1 tsp almond extract

1. Add almonds, flour and sugar to a food processor and pulse until coarsely ground.
2. Add butter and blend until smooth.
3. Add egg and almond extract and mix until well blended.
4. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, cover and chill until relatively hard. This can be done for 30 minutes in the freezer or an hour in the fridge.

*I added almond extract to the recipe to bring out more of the almond flavour.*

For the pie that I made for my dad's birthday, I used Bartlett pears and they were not as juicy so I decided to make it again with Bosc pears, which were the pears that the original recipe called for. I also made the pie with my friend's secret recipe, but I was interested to see how that crust compared with a more flaky pie crust. I was really interested to try a pie crust that I saw on America's Test Kitchen that they described as being fool-proof. So the following weekend, I made another two Pear and Almond pies, one with the secret recipe and the other with the ATK recipe, also this time with Bosc pears.

ATK Pie Crust:
2 1/2 c flour
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c cold butter, in 1/2 inch thick pieces
1/2 c cold vegetable shortening, in 4 pieces
1/4 c water
1/4 c vodka

*I reduced the salt from the original recipe because I thought the crust was a little salty.*

1. Add 1 1/2 c flour, sugar and salt to a food processor and pulse twice to aerate and mix.
2. Add the cold butter and vegetable shortening and process until the dough comes together.
3. Add the remaining cup of flour and give the mixture 4-6 pulses.
4. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and fold in the water and vodka.
5. Form the dough into a ball and divide it into two pieces. Wrap the pieces in plastic wrap and chill them in the fridge for at least 45 minutes.

Caution: This dough will feel completely wrong when you're making it, but trust me, it works. And it is completely fool-proof. There were a couple times when I was making it that I doubted it would turn out or thought that I had messed up, but the crust was perfect.

Assembly:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Generously flour your work surface and the top of one piece of dough.
3. Roll it out into a circle until it is big enough to fit your pie plate. This dough is relatively wet as pie doughs go, so don't be afraid to add more flour to the keep it from sticking.
4. Take out the chilled almond filling and with tablespoonfuls at a time, flatten it in between your palms and line the crust with the filling.
5. Cut the stewed pears in half lengthwise and cut out the stems and cores. Slice the pear halves crosswise and lay them on top of the filling in concentric circles.
6. Roll out the other piece of dough. You can either roll it out into a circle and cut out vents with a cookie cutter, or roll it into a rectangle and cut it into strips to make a lattice top.
7. Trim the edges and press them together to fuse them. You can also press the tip of a fork all around the edge to make it look nicer.
8. Bake for an hour until the top it nicely browned.
9. Cool and enjoy!

Both pie crusts were delicious but the ATK crust was more of a true flaky pie crust, while the "secret" crust was more like a giant cookie. I like both, but some people may prefer one or the other.

Piña Colada Cupcakes

My latest obsession has been the Piña Colada...not the syrupy slurpee-like monstrosity that you get at your local chain grill/bar/"restaurant," but the real thing made from pineapple juice, coconut milk, and of course, rum. It has been my drink of the summer and this obviously led to me to being determined to make it into a cupcake. Instead of making a pineapple and coconut cake with a pineapple and coconut icing, I decided to make a pineapple cupcake with a coconut frosting. The first batch of pineapple cupcakes that I made were good but was lacking in a strong pineapple flavour and could have been a little more moist. The icing also did not have as much coconut as I would have liked. So I proceeded to alter the recipe to add more flavour and more moisture. I boiled down pineapple juice until it became a thick syrup and added more crushed pineapple to the batter. For the frosting, I completely replaced the butter with concentrated coconut milk that had also been boiled down. The end result was a moist cupcake that really tastes of pineapple and is not too sweet. The coconut milk icing definitely tastes like coconut and its sweetness may be adjusted depending on how much the coconut milk is boiled down. Since the cupcake itself is not very sweet, a sweeter icing may add a nice balance, depending on your preference.

Here's my final recipe, hope you enjoy it!

Pineapple Cupcakes:
1/2 c unsalted butter
2/3 c sugar
2 tbsp crushed pineapple
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 c flour
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp half & half or milk
3 c pineapple juice (about 1 c can be drained from a can of crushed pineapple)
3/4 c crushed pineapple

Coconut Icing:
400mL can coconut milk
5+ c icing sugar

Cupcakes:
1. In a medium pot, boil pineapple juice until there is 1/3 c left. It should be thick and syrupy. Set aside to cool.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare muffin tins with cupcake liners.
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter then beat in the sugar until fluffy.
4. Beat in the first two tablespoons of pineapple until well incorporated.
5. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
6. Beat in the vanilla extract.
7. Add the flour and baking powder then mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
8. Add in the half & half or milk and 2 tbsp of the pineapple syrup. Mix well.
9. Stir in the remaining crushed pineapple.
10. Portion the batter into the prepared tins.
11. Bake for 13-15 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
12. Cool completely before frosting.

Icing:
1. In a saucepan, boil coconut milk until nice and thick. Set aside to cool.
2. Once cooled, mix in icing sugar 1 c at a time for the first four cups. After this, add 1/3 c at a time until the desired consistency is reached.

This icing may be a little sticky and hard to spread on a cupcake. If you are not icing the cupcakes with a pastry bag and tip, it is easiest to spoon a little into your hand, roll it into a ball, then flatten it directly onto the cupcake. This also has the added advantage of making the icing look smooth and shiny.

Enjoy!

Banana-Choco-PB Cupcakes

I recently started taking cake decorating classes given by Wilton at my local craft store and for one of the classes we had to bring in cupcakes to practice filling and decorating. Thinking of my friend Megan, I decided to make banana cupcakes and fill them with chocolate ganache, then top them with peanut butter frosting. We also learned how to make a shaggy mum out of buttercream and that is what is on top of peanut butter frosting swirl.

I found the banana cupcake recipe on Martha Stewart's website:
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/desserts_E0308WELD_T

1/2 c unsalted butter, melted
4 ripe bananas, mashed
1 1/2 c flour
3/4 c sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare muffin tins with cupcake liners.
2. Combine dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.
3. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add in melted butter, mashed bananas, eggs and vanilla extract into the well.
4. Stir until combined. Make sure you don't overmix the batter.
5. Using an ice cream scoop, divide the batter amongst 12 cupcakes.
6. Bake for 20 minutes, checking to make sure an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
7. Cool on a cooling rack.

While the cupcakes were cooling, I started on the chocolate ganache. The key to working with chocolate is to use good quality chocolate. Do not use chocolate chips because they will not melt properly.

6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2/3 whipping cream

1. Place the chopped chocolate into a medium mixing bowl.
2. Heat the cream in a saucepan until it begins to boil. Pour it over the chopped chocolate and let it sit for 3 minutes.
3. Whisk the chocolate and cream together until the mixture becomes smooth.
4. Allow the ganache to sit overnight.

The next day, I filled the cupcakes with the chocolate ganache using a piping bag and a #230 tip.

I made peanut butter frosting to top the cupcakes with:

1/2 c unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 c creamy peanut butter
2 c icing sugar, maybe more
milk

1. Beat the butter until creamy.
2. Add the peanut butter and beat until fully incorporated.
3. Mix in the icing sugar a cup at a time.
4. The mixture will be very stiff. Mix in milk a teaspoon at a time to get the right consistency. At this point you can add in more sugar or peanut butter or milk in order to get the right amount of sweetness or flavour and the right consistency that you want in your frosting.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

One of my favourite treats at Starbucks is their Red Velvet Cupcake, which unfortunately seems to be a seasonal item that is brought in for Valentine's Day. It is because of this cupcake that I have become obsessed with Red Velvet, which I will always choose when given the choice of cupcakes. And when I say obsessed, I mean that I have made a ridiculous number of cupcakes with the intent of perfecting the recipe. I'm not completely sure that my final recipe is perfect but it's pretty close. Let me know what you think!

2 1/2 c cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp instant coffee
2 oz red food colouring
1/4 tsp red icing colour
1/2 c unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 c sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp white vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare muffin tins with cupcake liners.
2. Into a medium bowl, sift cake flour, baking powder and salt.
3. In a small bowl, mix cocoa powder, instant coffee, red food colouring and red icing colour together into a smooth, thin paste.
4. In a large bowl, beat butter for a few seconds then add sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
5. Beat in eggs, on at a time then add vanilla and the red cocoa mixture. Mix until well incorporated and remember to scrape down the bowl.
6. Mix in one third of the flour mixture then add half of the buttermilk. Make sure each addition is well mixed before adding the next. Add the second half of the flour mixture, mix, then add the rest of the buttermilk and mix. Finally, add the last third of the flour mixture and mix. Make sure to scrape down the bowl.
7. In a small bowl, mix baking soda and vinegar which will fizz, and quickly add it to the batter. Mix well to combine.
8. Portion the batter into the cupcake liners using an ice cream scoop. This recipe can make 22-24 cupcakes.
9. Bake for 15 minutes then check to see if an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Make sure you don't overbake!
10. Cool cupcakes completely before icing and decorating.

To decorate these cupcakes I used a Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 c (12 oz) cream cheese, at room temperature
2/3 c unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 c icing sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla extract

1. Beat cream cheese and butter until well mixed and softened.
2. Add 2 cups of icing sugar, one cup at a time and mix thoroughly.
3. Start adding icing sugar half a cup at a time until you get the consistency and flavour that you want. You don't want the frosting to taste like cream cheese and I personally do not like my icing too sweet. Make sure you taste the frosting after each addition. Towards the end you should be adding less and less each time.
4. Add vanilla and mix until smooth.

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Awhile ago, my boyfriend told me that he wanted fried chicken and biscuits for dinner so I decided to attempt to make Cheddar Bay Biscuits, like those that Red Lobster is famous for. A Google search for a Cheddar Bay Biscuit recipe mostly resulted in ones that called for adding shredded cheddar cheese and garlic powder to Bisquick biscuit mix. Since I am morally opposed to box mixes, I began a crusade to find the perfect recipe for garlic cheddar biscuits. The best biscuit recipe I found comes from America's Test Kitchen and produces fluffy, delicious, fall-apart biscuits. The trick is to add cold buttermilk to melted and cooled butter, which makes the butter clump into little pieces. This is an ingenious, fool-proof method of cutting in the butter and is what makes the biscuits so light and fluffy.

Since I normally do not buy or use buttermilk, I add a tablespoon of lemon juice to a cup of milk and let it sit in the fridge, allowing the milk to curdle and imitate buttermilk. To replicate Cheddar Bay Biscuits, I just added shredded cheddar cheese, garlic powder and parsley flakes (for colour) to the recipe:

1 c cold buttermilk
1/4 c unsalted butter, melted and slighty cooled
1 c shredded cheddar cheese (or more, depending on how cheesy you like it...I usually end up with a cup and a half of shredded cheddar)
2 c all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp garlic powder (or more!)
1 tbsp dried parsley flakes

1. Preheat oven to 475°F.
2. Mix together dry ingredients with the shredded cheese.
3. Slowly add buttermilk to cooled, melted butter while mixing.
4. Add butter mixture to the dry ingredients and gently mix to combine. Try not to overmix to avoid forming gluten, which can make the biscuits tough. The dough should be a little sticky.
5. Form biscuits about a 1/4 cup in size. You can use a greased 1/4 measuring cup and drop the biscuits onto the baking sheet, however I find it easiest just to use my hands. Again, be careful not to overwork the dough and just loosely form the biscuits. There is no need to waste energy packing it.
6. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until golden.
7. Cool and enjoy!

These biscuits are incredibly easy and quick to make and so delicious, especially fresh from the oven. They can be reheated in a toaster oven the next day. I hope you like them!

Chocolate Almond Macaroons

With the help of my beautiful new Kitchenaid Artisan mixer that I was given for Christmas, I have finally been able to perfect my recipe for Chocolate Almond Macaroons. Of all the cookies I make, these are my father's favourite because they're relatively healthy. They contain no butter/shortening/oil, no flour and minimal sugar but are nevertheless delicious.

2oz bittersweet chocolated, melted
2 1/2 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup sugar
3 egg whites*
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp almond extract
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 325C.
2. Add almonds, sugar, egg whites, vanilla extract, almond extract, baking soda and baking power to a large mixing bowl.
3. Mix on the lowest speed until the dough just comes together.
4. Add the melted chocolate and continue mixing on low until the chocolate is incorporated.
5. Measure out dough using a teaspoon and gently shape into a ball. Make sure you do not squeeze the dough or they will not expand properly in the oven.
6. Slightly flatten into cookies, gently.
7. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the tops of the cookies crackle and slightly firm to the touch.

Remember: the key to this recipe is to be gentle!

*If using liquid egg whites, use 1/4 cup

Optional: Add 1/3 cup chopped dried cranberries and only 2/3 cup sugar.