Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting

I've been a vegetarian for close to 20 years, and I always will be, but I'll probably never be vegan.  I usually eat 2 vegan meals a day, but I often have cheese with dinner, and it would be really hard to give up all my favorite baked goods... but being vegan is becoming easier and easier with vegan bakeries springing up all over the place.   It wasn't so long ago that no one could even pronounce the word vegan, now it's a regular part of the culture.

I've done a reasonable amount of vegan baking and sampling, and unfortunately, many vegan desserts taste vegan - that doesn't mean they're not yummy, but sometimes they just taste a little... different.  I don't think that's the case with these cupcakes though, especially if you eat the cake and frosting simultaneously.  Go ahead, invite your friends over and have a taste test!

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

Adapted from Martha Stewart - Makes about 20 cupcakes

2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup canola oil

1 tablespoon instant espresso powder dissolved in 1 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons cider vinegar

Preheat the oven to 375F.  Spray muffin wells with baking spray, or line with muffin wrappers.

Whisk together the dry ingredients:  flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar

In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, espresso, and vanilla.  Add to the dry ingredients, and whisk until completely mixed.  Add the vinegar, and stir quickly:  the baking soda and vinegar will begin to react, and you'll see pale swirls throughout the batter.

Pour the batter into the muffin tins - each one should be about 1/2 full.  Bake for about 12-15 minutes.

Vegan Vanilla Frosting

1/2  cup vegan margarine, soft

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1 teaspoon vanilla

3-5 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons water or soy milk

food coloring, optional

Beat the margarine and shortening together on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until very soft and smooth.  Beat in the vanilla (use clear vanilla if you want to keep the frosting pure white).  Add the sugar in 3 or 4 additions, beating well between each addition.  Beat in the water or soymilk.  The powdered sugar and water/milk measurements are flexible (and somewhat weather dependent) - add more powdered sugar if you want a stiffer frosting, and less if you want a creamier frosting.  You can also add water/milk to make the frosting softer and creamier.

Add a toothpick-full or more of gel food coloring if desired.

Yellow Cake with Raspberry Buttercream Filling and Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

My niece Kate turned 4 not so long ago.  This year, she had a family party and a kid party.  Clearly two birthday cakes were required.  The children’s party had a butterfly theme, and hence a butterfly cake.  And it had to be chocolate.  But more about that later.

For the family cake, we went with flowers.  Chocolate frosting was still an absolute necessity, but Kate decided to try something different for the cake itself.  We went with yellow cake, raspberry buttercream filling. chocolate buttercream frosting, and yummy vanilla flavored frosting roses.  Don’t worry, the buttercream can be made in one batch, then split up and flavored with raspberry and chocolate.  The roses can also be made a couple of days ahead of time. The raspberry and chocolate buttercreams are light and creamy and go together extremely well.  The yellow cake is very moist.

I was so worried about keeping the buttercream from melting during the 3 hour drive to New York City, that I totally forgot what a roller coaster the Taconic highway with its potholes and bumpy ridged roads can be.  Luckily, I had the cake in a bakery box, packed tightly into a soft cooler bag, placed snugly into a larger cooler, wedged between a suitcase and other assorted packages in the trunk of my car.  I was thrilled to arrive on the upper west side, cake unscathed.  Phew!

And most importantly, the birthday girl loved her cake!

Blogiversary: Almond Cake with Chocolate Raspberry Ganache Filling & Raspberry Buttercream

Happy Birthday to my blog!

It's been a great year!  I started my blog, my home bakery, I taught a 4-week baking course at Williams, and most importantly, I've done a lot of baking!  This weekend, I'm participating in the Northern Berkshire Food Festival in North Adams, so if you're in the area, stop by!

If you've been following my blog at all, you'll recognize the almond cake in this recipe.  I used it for my birthday cake this year with brown butter frosting, and with chocolate raspberry ganache and chocolate frosting for a client.  It's extremely versatile, and a great addition to your repertoire!  And this frosting may be my new favorite. It's not as heavy as some buttercreams can be. It's light and fluffy, with a beautiful pink hue and raspberry taste.  You may not want to make it without a stand mixer; there's probably a good 20-25 minutes of beating with the stand mixer.  But if you need any more reasons to get a stand mixer, swiss meringue buttercream is it.  No heavy, dense, sugary mouthfuls here, this frosting is more reminiscent of a smooth, high quality ice cream with a more subtle sense of sweetness.  You'll see this frosting again soon, I'm sure of it.

And now, to celebrate my blog's birthday, I'm off to make a cake of course!  A chocolate butterfly cake for my niece's 4th birthday tomorrow.  Happy baking!

p.s. Stop by my Zucchero Dolce facebook page for more pictures, or to become a fan. 

Almond Cake (adapted from Rose Levy Beranbaum)

4 eggs
1 1/3 cups sour cream, separated
2 teaspoons almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/3 cups cake flour, sifted
2/3 cups finely ground almonds, toasted and preferably unblanched
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 sticks butter (12 ounces), room temperature

Preheat oven to 350F.  Spray 3 9" round cake pans with baking spray, line with parchment paper, and spray again.

In a medium bowl, stir together the eggs, 1/3 cup of the sour cream, and the extracts.  Set aside. Don't worry, it won't be smooth or pretty.


In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine all the dry ingredients - mix for 30 seconds.  Add the butter and the remaining 1 cup of sour cream, and mix on low until combined.  Mix on medium for 2 minutes to aerate batter.  Add the egg and sour cream mixture in 3 additions, beating 20 seconds after each addition.

 Split the batter between the cake pans, and smooth with a rubber spatula.  Bake for 30-40 minutes until a toothpick just comes out clean.  


Let the cakes cook in their pans for about 10 minutes, then turn on to cooling rack.  Cool completely, then wrap in plastic wrap and chill until ready to frost.

Raspberry Ice Cream Cake with Homemade Ice Cream

Are you finding it much too hot out to turn on the oven?  Time for ice cream cake!


Chocolate and Raspberry is one of my new favorite flavor combinations - doesn't matter the form: cakes, brownies, cupcakes, or ice cream cake like this one... Plus, I love that it's pink!


Ice cream cakes are great for entertaining, because so much of the work can be done ahead of time.  And guests are always impressed with homemade ice cream, though feel free to use store-bought if you don't have an ice cream maker.  You can even stir in the raspberry puree into store-bought vanilla ice cream, if you want to go the semi-homemade route.

Almond Cake with Chocolate Raspberry Filling & Chocolate Frosting

Do you own 6" cake pans yet?  I love mine!  If you like to bake, and don't want to gain 5 pounds, you should definitely invest in some 6" pans.  You can usually just half the recipe for a 9" cake, and make it as a 6" instead - no complicated math required! If you're intimidated by the thought of putting together a big layer cake, a 6" is also a little less scary. The smaller layers are less likely to break while you're assembling the cake, and frosting the 6" is just a little bit easier than a bigger, unwieldy cake.

I didn't get to eat any of this cake unfortunately (it was for a Zucchero Dolce order), so I don't have any shots of the inside.  I'll just have to make it again soon so I can get you some more pictures... yeah, that's the reason I need to make it again soon. Really it is...

Almond Cake (adapted from Rose Levy Beranbaum)

This recipe makes a 2-layer 6" cake.  Double the recipe to make a 3-layer 9" cake, a 3-layer 8" cake, or a 2-layer 9" cake if your pans are a full 2" tall.

2 eggs
2/3 cups sour cream, separated
1 teaspoons almond extract
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 2/3 cups cake flour, sifted
1/3 cup finely ground almonds, toasted and preferably unblanched
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons butter (6 ounces), room temperature

Preheat oven to 350F.  Spray 2 6" round cake pans with baking spray, line with parchment paper, and spray again (you can probably skip the parchment if you spray well).

In a medium bowl, stir together the eggs, about 1/4 (that's a little under 3 tablespoons) of the sour cream, and the extracts.  Set aside. Don't worry, it won't be smooth or pretty.


In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine all the dry ingredients - mix for 30 seconds.  Add the butter and the remaining 1 cup of sour cream, and mix on low until combined.  Mix on medium for 2 minutes to aerate batter.  If you don't have a beater blade, scrape down the sides of the bowl frequently with a rubber spatula.  Add the egg and sour cream mixture in 3 additions, beating 20 seconds after each addition.

Split the batter between the cake pans, and smooth with a rubber spatula.  Bake for 20-30 minutes until a toothpick just comes out clean.  (that's a big time window, but cooking time can vary drastically with different ovens, so it's best to keep an eye on it).


Let the cakes cook in their pans for about 10 minutes, then turn on to cooling rack.  Cool completely, then wrap in plastic wrap and chill until ready to frost.

Chocolate Raspberry Ganache Filling

3 ounces semisweet chocolate
3 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup raspberry puree*

To make the puree, I find it easiest to use frozen raspberries.  Thaw (or microwave) the frozen berries, and puree in the blender or food processor.  You'll need about 2 cups of berries to get 1/3 cup puree.

Melt together the chocolate and butter in a double boiler or in a microwave (short 30 second spurts, stir in between or you're likely to burn the chocolate).  Stir in the raspberry puree, and use to fill the cake.  If you make this ahead of time, you may need to microwave it very briefly to bring it back to spreadable consistency.

Chocolate Frosting (adapted from Chocolate Chocolate)

 

4 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter 

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled to tepid 

2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled to tepid 

Large pinch of salt 

1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract 

3-4 cups powdered sugar, sifted 

3 fluid ounces (3/8 cup) milk, heated to tepid

Beat butter on medium speed for 1-2 minutes.

Blend in the melted chocolate, salt, vanilla, and 1 cup powdered sugar.

  

Add in the rest of the powdered sugar in three additions, alternating with the milk in two additions (begin and end with the powdered sugar). Add more powdered sugar for heavier (this may be necessary if you want to pipe your frosting) frosting, or more milk for a creamier frosting.  Use the frosting immediately.  If it starts to harden before you're ready to frost, re-whip, adding a small amount of milk if necessary to restore the creamy consistency.

 

Assembly

About 1 cup ground almonds (I like salted)

2-3 tablespoons toasted slivered almonds (toast at 300F for 5-8 minutes)

Raspberries, lightly coated with sugar

Be sure the cake is completely cool before frosting. I always chill my cakes to be safe, you don't want cake layers melting frosting and sliding every which way!).  

Place one cake layer on a serving plate or a cake board, and spread the chocolate raspberry ganache on top, leaving roughly a 1/4" border on the outer edges (the weight of the second layer will make the ganache spread to the edge).  Top with the second cake layer, and chill if you have time (not long, even a half hour would be good if your kitchen is warm; you can assemble the whole thing at once if it's not too hot out).  Cover the entire cake with chocolate frosting.  

Cover the sides of the cake with the ground almonds while the frosting is still smooth and creamy (if you wait too long, the frosting will begin to harden and the nuts won't adhere to the cake).  To cover with nuts, just scoop some nuts up in your hand and gently press in to the cake.  Many many nuts will fall down on to the platter. Just keep scooping them back up and pressing on to the cake until it's covered.  Work quickly, so the frosting doesn't harden.

Pipe chocolate frosting around the edge of the cake if desired.  Scatter the toasted slivered almonds on top, and to with raspberries.  Serve at room temperature.  Enjoy! 

Croquembouche - The Recipe

Photo by Amanda

Sorry to make you wait, here's the recipe for the Croquembouche with the Daring Bakers. As I mentioned, it didn't quite turn out to be the towering beauty I longed for, but after doing it once, I'll do it again - much sooner.  Amanda and I made this for her birthday (along with a raspberry ice cream cake); everyone seemed to have fun disassembling the pyramid.

Mint Chocolate Layer Cake

It's rare that you eat a piece of chocolate cake and feel as refreshed as if you had just brushed your teeth.  But mint does that, even when it's combined with lots of chocolate.  I've been using the chocolate and mint flavor combination a lot recently, and only by request, but I just may be coming around to this dynamic duo myself.

No picture of the inside of the cake, as it was an order - but I really like the look of the white filling against the dark cake layers.  And if you're really feeling adventurous, dye the filling green!

This recipe is for a 2-layer 6" cake.   You can double the recipe for a 3-layer 9" cake.

Chocolate Cake (adapted from Bon Appetit)

1 1/2 ounces fine-quality semisweet chocolate
3/4 cups hot brewed coffee* 

1 1/2 cups sugar  
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour  
3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch processed)  
1 teaspoon baking soda  
scant 1/2 teaspoon baking powder  
3/4 teaspoons Kosher salt
2 large eggs (use 3 eggs rather than 4 if you double the recipe)
3/8 cup (that's 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons, or 6 fluid ounces) vegetable oil
3/4 cup well-shaken buttermilk  
scant 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


*You can replace the coffee with half whole milk, half water if you're baking for kids.  The coffee flavor is barely discernible in the cake, it just enhances the flavor of the chocolate.

Preheat the oven to 300°F and spray 2 6" pans with baking spray. Line bottoms with rounds of parchment paper and spray paper as well (you can get away without the parchment paper if you spray the pans very well and if your pans are good quality).

Finely chop the chocolate and place in a medium bowl; pour hot coffee over the chocolate. Let stand for one minute, then stir until chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.

Whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

In another large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat eggs until thickened slightly and lemon colored (about 3 minutes with a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a hand-held mixer).

Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until combined well.

Add sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined well.

Divide batter between pans and bake in the middle of oven until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 50-65 minutes.

Cool the cake layers completely in pans on racks. Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert layers onto racks. Carefully remove parchment paper and cool layers completely.



Mint Filling

1 stick butter (4 ounces), room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon mint extract (or 1/4 teaspoon mint oil)
3 cups (about 12 ounces) powdered sugar
3-4 tablespoons milk


In a large bowl, cream the butter with an electric mixer.  Add the vanilla and mint extracts.  Gradually add one cup of sugar,  beating well on medium speed. Scrape the bowl.  Add the remaining sugar, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the sugar.


Add more powdered sugar to make the frosting stiffer, more milk or water to make frosting creamier.

To save time or to really overload on the chocolate, you may want to use the mint chocolate frosting to fill the cake as well. I personally like to cut the chocolate a little with a different filling.



Mint Chocolate Frosting

4 1/2 tablespoons butter (2 1/4 ounces)

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate

2 ounces semisweet chocolate

A pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon mint extract (or 1/4 teaspoon mint oil)

3 cups (about 12 ounces) powdered sugar

3 ounces (1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons) milk, heated to lukewarm

Beat butter on medium speed for 1-2 minutes.

Blend in the melted chocolate, salt, vanilla, mint, and 1 cup powdered sugar.

Add in the rest of the powdered sugar in three additions, alternating with the milk in two additions (begin and end with the powdered sugar). Add more powdered sugar for heavier (this may be necessary if you want to pipe your frosting) frosting, or more milk for a creamier frosting.  Use immediately.

Assembly

Be sure to chill the cakes before frosting.  Place a layer of chocolate cake on a plate or cake board, and place scraps of parchment paper between the cake and plate/board.  Spread a thick layer of mint frosting on top, leaving a 1/2" border at the edge (the weight of the second layer will cause the frosting to spread towards the edges).  You may have some filling left over.  Freeze for a later use (you can use it in place of the mint layer of chocolate mint brownies).  Top with the remaining cake layer, and chill while you prepare the chocolate frosting.  Frost the cake as soon as the chocolate mint frosting is done - if you can't, you'll need to rewhip the frosting, and you might need to add some milk.

Decorate with shaved chocolate and mint leaves, if desired.

Butterflies & Birthday Cakes

Wow, April has been a busy month, can't believe it's almost over.  Have you noticed how many birthdays there are in the last half of April and first weeks of May?  I swear there must be more Tauruses out there than other signs.  My birthday was this past weekend, and I'll have pictures and recipes up soon:  I made a raspberry ice cream cake and an almond cake with chocolate praline ganache filling and brown butter moscato d'Asti frosting.

In the meantime, however, here are some pictures of a cake I did for a client last week.  It's a simple chocolate cake with vanilla frosting.  The birthday girl's dad emailed me the next day to say that the kids wouldn't let him put the cake away, they just sat at the table and looked at it, kept smelling it.  So cute!

Baking Class Project: A Cornucopia of Cupcakes

 Well, ok, only 3, but I've always loved the word cornucopia.  These cupcakes were made by Jared, and they were gorgeous!  Here's the menu:
 
Coconut Cupcakes with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache Filling & Peanut Butter Frosting

Recipes after the jump...

Math & Cake: Chocolate Cake with Chocolate-Nutella Filling and Brown Butter Frangelico Frosting

Last week, I gave a talk about Math and Cake.  Ok, I had a fancier title, but my "side hobby" in mathematics is an area called fair division.  At some point in your life, you probably needed to fairly divide a candy bar or some other yummy treat between you and a friend:  one of you cut the treat in two, and the other got to choose first.  Fair!  But what do you do if there are three people? Or more?  My college adviser asked me this question on my very first day of college.  He does research in the area, and got me interested in the subject.  Extremely interesting mathematically, but also when else do I get to show pictures of all sorts of cake during a math lecture?!    See my book if you'd like to learn more about fair division and cake-cutting.

This is the cake I made for my talk.  It was sort of a prop, but I figured it'd give the audience something to look at if they zoned out for the math content!  No pictures of the inside of the cake unfortunately, but it went over very well.  Not a crumb left.

Chocolate Cake  (from Epicurious)
3 ounces fine-quality semisweet chocolate
1 1/2 cups hot brewed coffee (I used hazelnut coffee)
3 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch processed)
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons Kosher salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 300°F and spray 2 10" pans with baking spray (I used 2 9" pans and made an additional 3 inch cake; I've also used just the 2 9" pans before). Line bottoms with rounds of parchment paper and spray paper as well. 
 

Finely chop the chocolate and place in a medium bowl; pour hot coffee over the chocolate. Let stand for one minute, then stir until chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.

Whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

In another large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat eggs until thickened slightly and lemon colored (about 3 minutes with a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a hand-held mixer).  Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until combined well.  Add sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined well.

Divide batter between pans and bake in the middle of oven until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Cool the cake layers completely in pans on racks. Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert layers onto racks. Carefully remove parchment paper and cool layers completely.

This is a tall cake!



Chocolate & Nutella Frosting   (adapted from Chocolate Chocolate)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled to tepid
1/3 cup Nutella, depending on taste (the Nutella taste is somewhat mild)
Large pinch of Kosher salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 1/2 - 4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup milk, heated to tepid

Beat butter on medium speed for 1-2 minutes.

Blend in the melted chocolate, Nutella, salt, vanilla, 1/3 cup milk, and 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar.

Add in the rest of the milk; beat for 1 minute.

Add the rest of the powdered sugar; beat for 1 minute. Use more powdered sugar for a stiffer consistency, less for a softer consistency.

Refrigerate the frosting for 1-2 hours until spreadable.



Brown Butter Frosting (enough to frost/decorate a tall 9" 2-layer cake or a 3-layer 8" cake)


3 sticks butter, browned
1 1/2 pounds powdered sugar
6-8 tablespoons heavy cream
6-8 tablespoons Frangelico
Pinch of Kosher salt (optional)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Brown the butter, pour through a fine meshed sieve into a heatproof bowl, and set aside to cool.  Wait for it to cool completely.

Pour the cooled brown butter into mixer bowl (paddle attachment).  Add about 1/3 of the powdered sugar, and beat.  Add the caramel syrup, and continue beating. Add half the remaining powdered sugar, and beat. Add the 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) of heavy cream, and beat until smooth.  Add more cream if you'd like the frosting to be softer, and more powdered sugar if you'd like it to be stiffer. Add salt if desired.

Refrigerate until ready to use.  Re-whip the frosting right before use. If it's been in the fridge awhile, you might need to let it sit at room temperature for an hour or so until it's soft enough to whip.


Assembly

Lay one of the chocolate cake layers on a cake board or plate.  Spread the chocolate frosting over the surface, leaving a half-inch border all around the outside.  You can also spread just half the frosting on this layer, and spread the rest on top.  You'll still cover the whole thing with the brown butter frosting.
Place the second cake layer on top of the first, and cover the whole cake with a crumb coat (very thin layer of frosting).  Be careful not to let your offset spatula touch the cake, or you'll get tons of chocolate crumbs in your frosting.  Place the cake in the fridge so that the crumb coat sets. You should be able to touch the cake gently without leaving any impression in the frosting.  Frost the cake again; it'll be easier this time with the crumb coat in place.  Use any leftover frosting to pipe shells, and/or tint some of the frosting and make roses. It's a good consistency as is, but if necessary (if it's very hot or humid out), add some more powdered sugar to make the frosting stiff enough for roses.

For instructions on how to do a crumb coat and how to decorate your cake, see King Arthur's online cake decorating tutorials.

For information on how to pipe roses, see Wilton's tutorial.  Or, take a class at your local Michael's.

 

School Pride Cupakes & Vanilla Bean Paste

Purple and Gold. Those were my high school colors.  They're also the colors of Williams College, where I teach now.  I can't escape them!  It's been a long time since I wore that little purple and gold skirt to dance at halftime... these days I show my school spirit a little differently.  With cupcakes!  Congratulations to the Williams College basketball team for making it to the Div 3 NCAA Championships!
 
You've seen this chocolate cake recipe before, it's my go-to chocolate cake.  I have several other recipes I'd really like to try, but it's hard to make myself stray. What are the chances that I'll like those more than this one?  I only came to this one after spending 3 hours one day reading pages and pages of an egullet thread on the best chocolate cake recipe ever.  It's like when you're at a restaurant, and although several tasty dishes try to pull you to commit, you end up ordering the same thing you did the last 20 times you ate there.  Granted, I don't have that problem all too often, since most restaurants offer only a few vegetarian options - but I do tend to order the "usual" even when I do have choices.  Hell, the baristas at my local coffee shop start pouring my iced tea before I even get to the counter!

Ok, but let's talk about the real wow factor in these cupcakes - it's the vanilla bean paste in the frosting.  Have you ever used vanilla bean paste?  It's much less scary than an actual vanilla bean, but much more flavorful than extract.  The frosting tastes almost like vanilla ice cream, and it's beautifully speckled with vanilla throughout.

if you don't go crazy with the butter, the frosting is light and creamy, not overly sweet like powdered sugar frosting can sometimes be, without making you feel like you've just eaten an entire stick of butter.  I know what you're thinking, but no 4 sticks of butter is not going crazy with the butter, given the amount of whites in the recipe. This makes a lot of frosting. If you have extra, store it in the fridge for a few days or freeze for up to a month.  If you are of the Paula Deen, butter is better, ilk, throw in another half a stick, and add a smidge more vanilla too. 

For the Cupcakes:  makes ~30 cupcakes  (adapted from Epicurious)

3 ounces fine-quality semisweet chocolate
1 1/2 cups hot brewed coffee (I used hazelnut coffee)
3 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch processed)
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons Kosher salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 300°F and line muffin tins with cupcake wrappers (or just spray with baking spray, I often skip the wrappers).

Finely chop the chocolate and place in a medium bowl; pour hot coffee over the chocolate. Let stand for one minute, then stir until chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.  Cover with plastic wrap to keep liquid from evaporating.

Whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

In another large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat eggs until thickened slightly and lemon colored (about 3 minutes with a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a hand-held mixer).  Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until combined well.  Add sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined well.

Fill muffin tins about 2/3-3/4 of the way full.  I got about 36 cupcakes. Bake until a toothpick just comes out clean, about 12-15 minutes.  Cool completely.

For the Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream

7-8 egg whites (a little over a cup, about 8.5 ounces)
2.5 cups sugar
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
4 sticks butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste (you can use extract if you don't have paste)


In a large heatproof bowl set over (but not touching) simmering water, whisk together egg whites and sugar until sugar is melted and mixture reaches 140-150 degrees on a candy thermometer, 7 to 10 minutes.

Transfer mixture to the bowl of an electric mixture fitted with the whisk attachment; beat on high until stiff peaks form, 12 to 15 minutes. Add cream of tartar and beat for one minute more.  If the bowl is still warm to the touch, continue beating.

Make sure your butter is soft, but not melted.  I usually microwave each stick for about 15 seconds, and then squeeze it to make sure it's pliable.  Reduce the mixer speed to medium and add the butter, a few pieces at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla; beat until well combined, about 2 minutes.

 

Baking Class: Cheesecakes

 Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake with Oreo Crust

Baking Class has been over for awhile now, but I still have lots of goodies to post from it.  During the last week of class, we made cheesecakes.  This is a recipe adapted from the Daring Bakers; the students made a lot of different varieties.  It's a very adaptable recipe - so have fun and design your own flavor combination!

 Anna & Jen

Graham Cracker Crust

1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons melted butter
1/8 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Spray the springform pan with baking spray.  Stir together the crumbs, sugar, and melted butter until it begins to clump.  Press into the bottom (and up the sides if desired) of the prepared pan, and bake for 8-10 minutes until set.  Cool completely.

Sean, Andrew, & JC

Oreo Crust

1 ½ cups oreo cookie crumbs
4 tablespoons butter, melted
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Spray the springform pan with baking spray.  Stir together the crumbs, sugar, and melted butter until it begins to clump.  Press into the bottom (and up the sides if desired) of the prepared pan, and bake for 8-10 minutes until set.  Cool completely.

Batter Mixing

Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake Batter - Before Baking

Cheesecake

24 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 tbsp liqueur, optional

Be sure to have all ingredients at room temperature, especially the eggs and cream cheese. This will help keep cracks from forming in the top of the cheesecake.

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Put a kettle of water on to boil for the waterbath. Wrap springform pan in 3-4 layers of aluminum foil to prevent (or lessen at least!) leakage.

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese at medium speed for about 4 minutes, until soft and creamy. Add the sugar and beat for another 4 minutes, until the cream cheese is light. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well (about 1 minute) and scraping sides of bowl after each addition. Beating at low speed, add the heavy cream, lemon juice, and vanilla. Stir in the liqueur, if using. The batter will be thin.

(Note: If you're using a hand mixer, you will want to increase the mixing times).

Bake the cheesecake for about 80-90 minutes in a water bath; it should hold together, but there will still be a lot of jiggle in the center. Turn the oven off, and leave the cheesecake in the oven for another hour. After one hour, remove the cake from the water bath, and let it finish cooling on the counter top. Refrigerate overnight, and bring to room temperature before serving.

Lemon Cheesecake

Flavor Variations

Lemon:  Replace liqueur with fresh lemon juice, and stir in 2 teaspoons lemon zest.

Coffee:  Dissolve 2/3 tablespoon espresso powder into 1 tablespoon very hot water, and cover until using.  Add to batter at the same time as the vanilla extract.  Omit the lemon juice, and use Kahlua for the liqueur.

Chocolate Swirl:  In a separate bowl, stir together about one-third of the batter and 3 ounces melted semisweet chocolate. Pour the plain batter on top of the cooled crumb crust. Drop the chocolate batter mixture on top of the other batter in spoonfuls. With a knife, gently swirl the chocolate batter through the plain batter.

Coffee with Nutella Swirl : See my previous post.

Pumpkin:  See my previous post.

Coffee Cheesecake with Chocolate Swirl

Baking Class Project: How to Make a French Buche de Noel

 

Another final project from my baking class:  Peter made a beautiful French buche de Noel.  This was a Daring Bakers project about a year ago if you want to look for other interpretations, but I'm not sure you'll fine a prettier one.  He did a great job!

Oh, and did you know that this Friday, February 5th, is World Nutella Day?  Come back then for a Hazelnut Cake with Nutella Mousse and Chocolate Dipped Florentines.

 

  

Baking Class: How to Make Choux Pastry

Done with cakes.  Next up in baking class, choux pastry:  cream puffs and eclairs.  Coming soon:  meringues, pies, and tarts.  And all sorts of spectacular final projects are being planned, wait til you see them!

A few things to keep in mind with choux pastry:

* Be sure to let the batter cool before you start adding eggs.  If it's too warm, your puffs will not puff, and you will be very sad!

* It's not clear how many eggs you'll need.  Try 4, but be ready to add more.  If you add too many, the batter will be too runny, and you won't be able to pipe it.  But you want to add as many as the batter can take to get the most rise in your pastry.  In our class, one group used only 4, one used 5 1/2.  As soon as the batter closes back in on itself fairly quickly when you swipe your finger through it, it's ready!

* All purpose flour is fine, but if you have bread flour, use it.  It browns a little more, and the extra protein allows the batter to hold a little more egg - so more puff!

* The batter's not particularly tasty, don't worry.  And, in fact, the pastry cream doesn't even smell very good when you finish it (very eggy). But it gets better after it chills (and especially after you add the flavoring). The final product is totally yummy.  (and I'm sure some people even like that eggy taste...)

Pastry Cream

2 cups milk
1/4 cup cornstarch
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
4 egg yolks
4 tablespoons butter (2 ounces), cut into several small pieces
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Dissolve cornstarch in 1/2 cup of the milk. Combine the remaining milk with the sugar in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat.

Beat the eggs and yolks into the cornstarch mixture. Slowly pour the milk/sugar mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly (you don't want to cook the eggs). Strain.

Return to heat (medium/high flame), and continue whisking until the cream thickens. After the cream comes to a boil (little blips, not an active boil), cook one more minute; keep whisking!

Remove from heat, and stir in the butter and vanilla and melted chocolate. Cool completely in the refrigerator or over an ice bath. The ice bath will cool the cream more quickly.

Flavor options:

Vanilla:  Leave as is.

Chocolate:  Stir in 3 ounces melted semisweet chocolate when you add the butter.

Coffee:  Dissolve 1 ½ teaspoons espresso powder in 1 ½ teaspoons boiling water; let cool.  Whisk into pastry cream with butter.

Almond:  Replace 1 teaspoon vanilla extract with 1 teaspoon almond extract.

Kate, Peter, Andrew piping away

Choux Pastry

3/4 cup water
6 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour (all-purpose is fine, we used bread flour)
4-5 eggs (approximately)

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Combine water, butter, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. When the mixture starts to boil, remove from heat and stir in flour.

Return to heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixtures dries slightly and begins to leave the sides of the pan. Transfer to a bowl, and let stand for 5 minutes to cool; if using a stand mixer, beat for one minute to cool.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time; be sure to wait until each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next. You might not need the entire fourth egg; you might need another half egg. The dough should be stiff enough to pipe; if you swipe your finger through the dough, it should close up on itself fairly quickly.

Immediately pipe the dough into the desired shape (try some cream puffs and some eclairs) and bake for about 10 minutes or until well-risen. Lower the oven temperature to 350°F and continue baking until completely dry. It should be completely firm when you take it out of the oven or it will collapse; usually it needs another 20 minutes in the oven after it starts to look done.

Baked puffs and eclairs

Chocolate Sauce

1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
12 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla (or Kahlua)

Bring the cream and sugar to a boil over medium heat.  Remove from heat and stir in corn syrup, chocolate, salt, and vanilla/Kahlua.  Let sit for one minute; stir until smooth. 

The Makings of A Chocolate Sauce

Fill and Decorate

When puffs/eclairs are completely cool, use the tip of a sharp knife to poke a hole in the bottom of each puff; for eclairs, poke one hole on each side of the bottom of the eclair.  Use a pastry bag to pipe the pastry cream.

Dip the top of each pastry into the chocolate sauce.  Drizzle with melted white chocolate, if desired.  (Heat the chocolate sauce in short intervals if it's already begun to set.)

Glazed puffs and eclairs

Sean's coffee cream puff

Baking Class for Winter Study! And a genoise recipe.

Williams College has this wonderful tradition called Winter Study.  Williams students are overloaded with courses, sports, extra-curricular commitments, and who knows what else during the fall and spring semesters.  During January, for 3 1/2 weeks, they get to relax - just a little.  There are academic courses offered for those who are so inclined, but a majority of students participate in the type of course that would not be offered as a regular college offering.  In the past I've taught a course called Pilates:  Fitness, Physiology, and Philosophy.  Other courses offered include Atheism, Wine Tasting, Contemporary Movie Criticism, Mathematics of the Rubik's Cube, The Philosophy of Chess, and so many more!  I am absolutely thrilled this year to be teaching a course called The Art & Science of Baking.

The dining services staff have been absolutely wonderful, and we've been allowed to use the College Bakeshop.  We're meeting for 36 hours (in 3 hour increments, though they often stretch longer) over the course of the month, baking up all sorts of yummy concoctions.  It's such a learning experience to bake in a professional kitchen, even though we're not touching most of the heavy machinery (I want the students to be able to bake in their own home kitchens when this is all over with afterall).  I've been planning this course for the past year, and it's so worth it.  I can't wait to do it again.

Though much of class time is spent with aprons on, hair pulled back, and flour flying, we've been reading about the science of baking in Shirley Corriher's Bakewise. It is completely fascinating, and I'm sure my copy will be covered with chocolate and dried batter soon, despite my best attempts to keep it clean.

Week 1:  Cakes

We baked butter cakes, oil cakes, combination cakes, a flourless chocolate cake, and a genoise cake.  They were covered with powdered sugar frosting (aka American Buttercream), chocolate frosting, chocolate ganache, cream cheese frosting, and buttercream frosting.

Peanut Butter Cake with Chocolate-Peanut Butter Ganache and Cream Cheese Frosting

(Recipe/more pics here):

Kate & Aom's peanut butter cake

Peter & Cake

Yellow cake with Raspberry Jam & Chocolate Ganache

 (Recipe coming soon)

Genoise with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Rob and Jared and their almond scented genoise with chocolate buttercream

Anna & Christina's chocolate and peppermint genoise roulade

 

Sean, Andrew, and JC and their perfect creamy buttercream 
(which turned out way better than mine!)

For the Genoise Cake:  (from Shirley Corriher)

6 large eggs
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
3/4 cup cake flour
3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Spray a 10" x 15" jelly pan or a 9" round pan with baking spray; line with parchment paper; spray again.

Preheat the oven to 400F; set an oven rack in the middle of the oven.

Set a medium saucepan of water on the stove, with about 2-3" of water; bring to a boil.  Keep at a simmer.

Whisk the eggs, yolks, salt, and 1/2 cup sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Place over the simmering water (the water should not touch the bottom of the bowl).  Whisk constantly for about a minute - you just want to heat the mixture to lukewarm - not hot.  If you heat it too long, the cake will be dry.

Remove from heat, and attach the bowl to the stand mixer.  Beat on medium-high with the whisk attachment until the mixture is cool (the outside of the bowl should be completely cool) and has tripled in volume. This will take several minutes.

While that's whipping, whisk together the cake flour, cornstarch, cocoa, and 1 tablespoon sugar in a dry bowl until the cocoa is full incorporated.

When the egg batter is ready, sift about 1/3 of the flour mixture over the batter, and gently fold it in with a rubber spatula.  Repeat two more times.  Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, and smooth the top with an offset spatula.  Bake for about 10-12 minutes.  It will be firm to the touch and just begin to pull away from the sides of the pan.  Don't overbake or it will be dry.

Let cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then flip onto a piece of parchment paper on a cooling rack.  

Genoise cakes can often be dry.  I like to pour a little flavored simple syrup over the cake before frosting.  We used almond extract, frangelico, or peppermint extract to flavor the syrup.

Chocolate Buttercream

4 large egg whites (or 4.5 ounces egg whites)
1 cup sugar
3 sticks butter, softened
2 1/2 tablespoons Frangelico or Kahlua or Amaretto (or water)
4 ounces semi-sweet or bitter-sweet chocolate, melted (do not use chips)
1 teaspoon vanilla (or other) extract

Whisk the egg white and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer (or in another heat proof large bowl if using a hand mixer).  Set the bowl over simmering water, and whisk constantly until the sugar is dissolved and the egg whites are hot (if you touch the whites, you'll need to immediately remove your finger).  Remove from heat, and attach the bowl to your stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment.  Beat on medium until the bowl is room temperature (it should feel like it was never on the pan of simmering water).  This will take 5-10 minutes or so.

While you're waiting, dissolve the espresso powder (if using) in the liqueur (or water if you don't want to use alcohol).

Remove the whisk attachment, and put on the paddle (or my favorite, the beater blade).  Be sure that your butter is softened (you can microwave it just a little, or squeeze it with your hands if it's already room temperature).  On medium speed, add the butter, and beat until smooth.  This will take about 3-5 minutes.  Beat in the liqueur/coffee mixture and the extract, then the melted chocolate.

You really want your meringue cooled completely and your butter soft - this will speed up the beating process, and keep your buttercream from breaking.  If it does break (appear curdled), don't throw it out! It's not ruined. If it's curdled before you add the chocolate, the warmth of the melted chocolate may fix it.  Add the chocolate while still somewhat warm, in a few additions, if this is the case.

The frosting should be very light and fluffy now.  Add food coloring if desired.

Variations

Chocolate:  Omit coffee from recipe.

Vanilla (plain):  Omit espresso powder and chocolate from recipe.  Add 2 teaspoons vanilla extract.

Coffee:  Omit chocolate from recipe.





Almond:  Replace vanilla extract with almond extract.  Use Amaretto for the liqueur.

For a chocolate genoise and a mocha buttercream recipe, go here.

Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Mousse Filling and Chocolate Frosting

Jen and her chocolate cake layer

Chocolate frosting (recipe here)

I don't have pictures of the final products for this one - let's just say (and I've said it before), be sure your cake is completely cool (and preferably even chilled) before frosting!  For more ideas of what to do with this versatile chocolate cake, go here or here.

Vanessa, Jen; Aom, Kate

 

Anna & Christina