Chocolate Cupcakes

These beautiful little babies are your basic but sooooooo good chocolate cupcakes. They're the kind of thing that you continue to think about after you've eaten the last bite. Like four hours after. And if you're anything like me, you go back again and again, cutting about a third off of another one every half hour or so. As if it's better to eat another whole one if it's done in pieces over the course of an hour and a half.

The first time I used this recipe, it was to make a cake. At eight months pregnant, I had torn out a page from Better Homes and Gardens at my OB's office during one of my three hour very-much-worth-it-waits (for what I have to believe is the best doctor living here on Earth). The recipe was titled "Quick Chocolate Cake" and it said prep time was 5 minutes, bake time was 35. Done! Sounds wonderful. Let's rip this guy out and stuff it in my bag while no one's looking. Months later I came across the recipe and decided to try it. What did I have to lose? About 40 minutes and some basic pantry ingredients? And this was no loss. This was a find. A gem. A keeper. And what's more...I realized after the fact that it's vegan. That's right. Don't be dismayed. If you're skeptical or turned off right now, forget I mentioned it. If you need something to bring to your weirdo vegan friends' pot luck...you've come to the right place. Now, of course, let's be honest...I slathered fresh vanilla buttercream frosting all over the poor vegan cake. But you don't have to and the cupcakes will still be good. Promise.

The cake was a hit around the house with the husband, in-laws, etc. and I decided to use it for cupcakes. They were perfection. I made a batch of giant "we-have-no-shame" ones and a batch of smaller, more respectable ones. Both turned out beautifully. Serve with either the frosting of your choice or freshly whipped cream. Yum.

                    3 cups all purpose flour
                    2 cups sugar
                    2 cups cold water
                    2/3 vegetable oil
                    1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I like Rapunzel)
                    2 teaspoons baking soda
                    2 teaspoons white vinegar (wha?)
                    1 teaspoon salt
                    1 teaspoon vanilla

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients. Beat with an electric mixer on medium to high speed until well combined.

Pour batter into a greased muffin tin. For large cupcakes, bake 25-30 minutes. For small cupcakes, bake 20-25 minutes.

Serve frosted or with freshly whipped cream.

 

Makes 12 large or 24 small cupcakes.

From Better Homes and Gardens July 2009.

Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream

As much as I like Mexican chocolate, I've always preferred to nibble on a little piece rather than make hot chocolate with it, which is what it's most known for. The combination of dark chocolate, cinnamon, and coarse sugar is unusual and spectacular, but that should come as no surprise, since it was the Aztecs, after all, that gave chocolate to the world. They ought to have known a thing or two about what to do with the stuff. The Aztecs had adopted it from the Mayan Culture, and drinks made of chocolate combined with honey, nuts, seeds, and spices were used in rituals by priests and nobleman. Chocolate was so valued that it was even used as a currency. Naturally, the Spaniards fell in love with it (who wouldn't?), and upon taking it back to Spain, it became the official drink of the King. Europeans began preparing it with milk and sugar, and hot chocolate became all the rage.

This chocolate, with it's rustic and earthy appeal made for some incredible ice cream. If you're not familiar with it, you'll find it in the international aisle of most markets. It's sold under the name Abuelita or Ibarra, and comes packaged in boxes of discs that are made up of small triangles.

                    1 1/2 discs Mexican chocolate
                    2/3 cups sugar
                    4 large egg yolks
                    1 cup heavy cream
                    2 cups milk
           
Put the chocolate and cream in a large, heat-safe bowl. Set it over a saucepan of simmering water and stir occasionally until the chocolate has melted and is smooth. Remove the bowl from the heat and set a mesh strainer across the top.

In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and sugar over medium low heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

In a separate medium bowl, beat the egg yolks, then gradually add some of the warm milk-sugar mixture, whisking as you pour. Pour the warmed eggs back into the saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Strain the custard into into the chocolate mixture and stir until smooth.

Set the bowl over a large bowl of ice water. Stir the custard until cool, then cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled (3 hours or overnight).

Freeze in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Makes about 1 quart.

Chocolate Puddle Cookies

 

What better way to celebrate the end of our refined sugar fast, than by baking something sweet for my honey on Valentine's Day weekend? If you don't live under a rock, surely you've noticed that for the last several weeks you cannot turn around without bumping into a decadent dessert. Because it's February, the recipes for sweet treats have been ubiquitous. I was torn between a couple of persuasive recipes for "mini chocolate desserts" in this month's Sunset, and about 47 other beautiful ideas found on the many fantastic food sites I love to read. In the end, I decided on this recipe for "Chocolate Puddle Cookies" from one of my favorite sites, 101 Cookbooks. What intrigued me about these, was that they are flourless and butterless. That's right - cookies free of flour and butter. How is this possible? Because they have an indecent quantity of confectioner's sugar. The description read that they are somewhere between a fudge brownie and a soft meringue. That did it for me. It took me all of about 3 seconds to think, "Hmmmmmmm, OKAY!" 

These were a complete success, but I have to stress that not under or over baking here is key. If you underbake, they will stick to the parchment paper and fall apart as you try to remove them after they've cooled. If you overbake, the tops will be too crispy. As amazing as they were, I must admit they were just a tad too sweet for my taste. If you love chocolate and really sweet cookies, you won't be disappointed. They'd also make a great dessert for someone who doesn't eat gluten or dairy.

                     3 cups walnut halves, toasted & cooled
                     4 cups confectioner's sugar
                     1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
                     scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
                     4 large egg whites, room temperature
                     1 tablespoon high-quality vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 320F degrees and position racks in the top and bottom third. Line three (preferably rimmed) baking sheets with parchment paper. Or you can bake in batches with fewer pans.

Make sure your walnuts have cooled a bit, then chop coarsely and set aside. Sift together the confectioner's sugar, cocoa powder, and sea salt. Stir in the walnuts, then add the egg whites and vanilla. Stir until well combined.

Spoon the batter onto the prepared sheets in mounds of about 2 tablespoons each, allowing for PLENTY of room between cookies. These cookies really expand. Don't try to get more than 6 cookies on each sheet, and try to avoid placing the batter too close to the edge of the pan.

Bake until they puff up. The tops should get glossy, and then crack a bit - about 12 -15 minutes. Have faith, they look sad at first, then really blossom. You may want to rotate the pans top/bottom/back/front.
Slide the cookies still on parchment onto a cooling rack, and let them cool completely. They will keep in an airtight for a couple days.

Makes 18 large cookies.

From 101 Cookbooks.

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Dan and I went through an intensive natural frozen yoghurt phase last summer and consequently our ice cream maker has been on sabbatical. Until this weekend. I had been looking forward to making this delightful treat ever since my dearest Libby told me about it months ago. Every now and then I fantasize about something so often, I inadvertently build castles in the sky, believing that when it finally happens it will be the GREATEST THING EVER. And then it's not. Woolgathering, so to speak. Well, folks, let me just say that this was not the case here. This was the pot at the end of the rainbow. Seriously.

I omitted the food coloring the original recipe called for (soooo much prettier), and used bittersweet chocolate exclusively (as well as a little less) rather than half semisweet and half bittersweet. The mint came off a fresh plant that has been existing peacefully on our window sill for the last couple of weeks. The results were magical.

                       6 egg yolks
                       3/4 cup sugar
                       2 cups whole milk
                       2 cups fresh mint leaves, loosely packed
                       1 cup heavy cream
                       6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

In large bowl, whisk together egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar.

In heavy medium saucepan over moderately low heat, stir together milk, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and mint. Heat until steaming but not boiling, then remove from heat.

Ladle about 1/2 cup hot milk mixture into egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly to prevent eggs from cooking, then slowly stir the egg mixture back into the hot milk, whisking constantly. Place over low heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens enough to coat back of spoon (finger drawn across spoon will leave clear path), 5 to 6 minutes total (do not let boil or custard will curdle). Strain through fine-mesh sieve into large bowl, pressing on and then discarding solids. Whisk in heavy cream.
Cover and chill until cold, at least 6 hours or overnight.

Process custard in ice cream maker, adding chopped chocolate during last minute of churning. Transfer to airtight container and freeze until hard, about 3 hours.

Makes about 1 1/2 quarts.

Adapted from Isaac Mizrahi's Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, Epicurious, September 2007.