Sundae Cupcakes

I'm finally posting the cupcakes I made for Cupcake Camp 2010 a few months ago. Aren't they pretty? I chose to make sundae cupcakes since I love making ice cream so much! I'm really looking forward to participate in the competition next year!

I used the devil's food cake recipe from David Lebovitz and the vanilla buttercream recipe below for the cupcakes. I made the Classic Hot Fudge from The Perfect Scoop and drizzled it on top of the frosted cupcakes after it had cooled a bit. Decorate with sprinkles and maraschino cherries!

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Sundae Cupcakes

Makes about 48 frosted cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcakes

Adapted from Annie's Eats, originally from David Lebovitz

18 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

3 cups cake flour

1 tsp salt

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

16 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 cups granulated sugar

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup strong coffee (or water)

1 cup whole or low-fat milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 4 cupcake pans with papers liners. In a medium bowl, sift together the cocoa powder, cake flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Mix in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions.

In a large measuring cup, combine the coffee and milk. Add half of the dry ingredients to the mixer and mix on low speed just until incorporated. Stir in the coffee-milk mixture and mix until combined. Add in the remaining dry ingredients, again mixing until just incorporated. Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners, filling the cups not more than 3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Vanilla Buttercream

Adapted from Milk and Honey Cafe

1-1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

3-4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp heavy cream

In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the butter at medium-high speed until smooth, for about 20 seconds. Add half the confectioners' sugar, beat at medium-low speed until most of the sugar is moistened, about 45 seconds. Scrape down the bowl and beat at medium-high speed until mixture is fully combined, about 15 seconds. Add the rest of the confectioners' sugar and mix again. Scrape the bowl, add the vanilla extract and heavy cream, and beat at medium-high speed until incorporated, about 10 seconds. Then increase the speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes, scraping down the bowl once or twice. Add more confectioners' sugar if you find your frosting isn't thick enough, or more heavy cream if you find it too thick.

Burnt Sugar Ice Cream

I have now realized that I cannot follow cooking groups. I feel really guilty calling myself a French Fridays with Dorie member since I participated for only the first two weeks! It's hard for me to make something that is chosen for me, especially when it involves cooking and not baking.

The good thing about cooking/baking groups is that you get to see everyone else's results who followed the recipes from the books. I had read a lot of good reviews about Dorie's Burnt Sugar ice cream from her book Baking: From My Home to Yours, so I had no doubt that this was going to be a successful one!

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Burnt Sugar Ice Cream

Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

Makes about 1-1/2 pints

1 cup sugar

3 tbsp water

2 cups whole milk

1 cup heavy cream

4 large egg yolks

Pinch of salt

1-1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Stir the sugar and water together in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. Place the pan over medium-low heat and cook until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat and boil, without stirring, until the syrup turns a deep amber color (be careful not to burn it!). Swirl the saucepan from time to time.

Lower the heat and add the milk and cream. Everything will bubble and seethe and the mixture will have some hardened caramel. Keep stirring and it will calm down and smooth. When the mixture is completely smooth, remove the pan from the heat.

In a medium heatproof bowl, whisk the egg yolks and salt together until slightly thickened. Still whisking (and never stop) drizzle some hot liquid inside slowly to temper (or warm) the yolks. Keep whisking and slowly pour the remaining hot liquid into the yolks. Pour the custard back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until the custard thickens and reaches between 170 and 180 degrees F on a thermometer. Remove the pan from the heat and strain into a clean heatproof bowl. Stir in the vanilla extract and cool over an ice bath.

Refrigerate the custard overnight (or until chilled, the more the better) and churn it in ice cream machine according to manufacturer's directions.

Salmon Mousse Appetizers

For this New Year's dinner, I unfortunately didn't get the chance to make any of the deserts I was planning to and looked for something rather quick.

My parents always buy smoked salmon but I prefer it on a bagel with cream cheese and believe it or not, I found this recipe on Annie's Eats where you make a mousse using cream cheese. You can use it as a spread or make it look a bit fancier by piping it onto crackers (I used rosemary ones). Next time I think I'll pipe it onto sliced cucumbers instead!

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Salmon Mousse
Adapted from Annie's Eats
Makes about 25-30 appetizers

8 oz. smoked salmon, flaked with a fork
8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 tsp fresh dill, finely chopped

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 clove garlic, finely minced

Splash of lemon juice
25-30 crackers

Combine all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse repeatedly until all the ingredients are blended and the mixture is smooth. Taste and add more cream cheese, fresh dill or lemon juice if you like, depending on your taste. Pipe or spread onto crackers and garnish with fresh dill.

Homemade Ferrero Rocher

I looove Ferrero Rocher truffles! Since I saw the recipe for homemade ones on Blue-Eyed Bakers, they've been on my ever-growing to do/bake list.

They don't taste exactly like Ferrero Rocher but they still are delicious! Next time I would put a toasted hazelnut in the centre of each truffle and would just make them a bit smaller. If you love the combination of hazelnut and chocolate (and Nutella!) you should definitely give these a try!

Oh and I almost forgot! Happy New Year!!! See you in 2011!

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Ferrero Rocher Truffles

Adapted from Blue-Eyed Bakers

Makes about 16-18 truffles

100 g hazelnut wafer biscuits, crushed

1 cup hazelnuts

2/3 cup Nutella

1-1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and toast them for 8 to 10 minutes. Let the hazelnuts cool and remove the skins by rubbing them with a paper towel. Place them in a food processor and grind until they are finely chopped. In a bowl, add the crushed wafer biscuits, chopped hazelnuts and Nutella, and stir to combine. Refrigerate the mixture for about 20 minutes.

Onto a baking sheet lined with parchement paper, use a small scooper to scoop little balls of the cooled mixture. Put the baking sheet in the freezer for 15 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the freezer and shape the balls with your hands to make round smoothe balls. Place the baking sheet in the freezer for another 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, fill a medium-sized saucepan halfway with water and heat until the water simmers. Place a heatproof bowl on top of the saucepan with water and place the semisweet chocolate chips in the bowl. Stir until the chocolate has completely melted and turn the heat to very low. Coat the chilled truffles in the chocolate and place them on a banking sheet lined with parchement paper. Allow chocolate to set at room temperature for an hour. Truffles can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

If you have some melted chocolate left you can use it to dip 0ther things you have home. I dipped pretzels and pieces of clementine!

Panettone

Merry Christmas everyone!!

This year, I decided not to make gingerbread men like I always do and try something different. My boyfriend really loves panettone, especially the chocolate chip one, so I tried making orange chocolate chip panettone! And to tell you the truth, I don't really consider what I made panettone, since it's supposed to be sort of fluffy and light on the inside and mine turned out a bit dense. Kind of like a cake :(

I'm still posting the recipe in case any of you want to give it a try. I made a few changes since I didn't want to add dried fruit. But I'm sure I did something wrong mainly because after the 15 hours of rising, my dough hadn't rised! I searched online to see what can be the cause and there were a few alternatives:

1) The yeast is dead (or expired).

2) Proofing is done in a cool place.

3) The dough wasn't kneeded enough.

I thought maybe my oven was too cool for the rising, so I preheated it a bit, let it cool and placed the dough inside for another 5 hours (first rising). It did rise a bit, but not even close to triple the size. I still decided to continue with the recipe and bake it to see the ending result. It wasn't bad at all, just not a panettone!

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Slow Rise Panettone

Adapted from Andreas Recipes (Gourmet Magazine 2008)

Makes one 6x4-inch panettone

3-3/4 cups all purpose flour

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp active dry yeast

Zest of one orange

1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

3 large eggs, at room temperature

2/3 cup lukewarm water
1 tbsp warm honey

12-1/2 tbsp unsalted butter (10-1/2 tbsp softened and cut into tbsp, 1 tbsp melted, 1 tbsp chilled)

3/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

6x4-inch panettone mold

In the bowl of a mixer, combine flour, sugar, salt, yeast, orange zest and seeds of the vanilla bean and mix at low speed. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, 2/3 cup lukewarm water and the honey.

While the mixer runs at low speed, pour the egg mixture into the dry ingredients slowly. Increase speed to medium-high and continue mixing. Add the softened butter, 1 tbsp at a time, mixing completely after adding each tbsp. Increase speed to medium-high and mix until the dough is smoothe and elastic, about 8 minutes.

Melt the 1 tbsp of butter, let it cool and mix it into the mini chocolate chips. Stir the chocolate into the dough with a wooden spoon.

Place the dough in a large bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and let it rise in a cold oven with the door closed for about 12 to 15 hours, until the dough has nearly tripled in volume.

Rub your hands with flour, sprinkle the dough lightly with flour and turn it onto a floured board. Sprinkle a little more flour onto the dough. Fold the edges into the centre and place seams side down into the panettone mold. Cover with a damp tea towel and let it rise in a draft-free spot at room temperature for about 3 to 5 hours, until the dough is just above the top of the mold.

Place the rack in the lower third of the oven (closer to the bottom than the top) and preheat it to 370 degrees F. Place the mold with the dough onto a baking sheet. Use a serrated knife to score an X across the entire surface of the dough and place the 1 tbsp chilled butter into the centre of the X.

Bake for about 1 to 1-1/4 hours, until a wooden skewer inserted in the middle of the panettone comes out moist but not wet. The top of the panettone will be dark (but not burnt). (I covered it with foil paper after 1 hour in the oven so the top won't burn.)

Pierce the skewers all the way through the panettone and through the papers. (This part I found weird!) Hang the panettone upside down over a large pot or between 2 objects of equal height. Cool completely, then slice into wedges for serving.

Cupcakes for a Celebration!

My boyfriend's niece was baptized a few weeks ago and her mother had asked me to make some cupcakes for the reception. Me? Make cupcakes for a baptism? I was so honoured!!

She wanted vanilla cake with three types of icing. After a few hours of searching blogs and a bit of brainstorming I came up with these three:

Vanilla bean buttercream with heart-shaped fondant cutouts (S for Sofia)

Chocolate buttercream topped with purple flowers

Strawberry buttercream

You can click on the links under the photos to be directed to the recipes! I didn't follow all the buttercream recipes to the letter. When I made the strawberry one, I found that the strawberry purée didn't give the frosting a strong taste so I added some strawberry flavour. For the chocolate and vanilla bean, I added more milk or powdered sugar until I got the consistency I wanted.

Sofia and her family really loved the cupcakes. Ok maybe not Sofia, she still only has milk! But I have to admit my favorite was the one with chocolate buttercream!

Candycane Ice Cream

December: the best month for baking. And how better to start the holiday baking than with another ice cream? I am obsessed, I know. I don't really like flavoring ice creams with extract, but since I found this Candycane ice cream on Simply Recipes inspired by David Lebovitz, I had to give it a try!

It is simply a vanilla ice cream (a little different from how David Lebovitz makes it in his book but also very good) in which peppermint extract is added, and crushed candycanes as well in the last minute of churning. I also added two drops of pink food coloring to get a pink color. A perfect way to welcome Christmastime :)

Here is the recipe!

Oatmeal and Raisin Ice Cream

Accounting projects, quizzes in finance, case reports in organizational behavior... it's been a long semester. I try to keep myself motivated by thinking of the pastry program I'll be attending after my accounting bachelor's. I bumped into one of my friends at Cupcake Camp 2010 event a few weeks ago who studied human relations and she told me that she had just started the Professional Pastry Making program at ITHQ! I'm so jealous!! I was asking her all sorts of questions about her classes, teachers and what she was learning now (crème anglaise). She even has her own KitchenAid in her practical classes!

I've been talking to a lot of people about my future plans and many have told me that baking for a hobby and baking for a job are completely different. Yes I won't be able to take my sweet time but how different can it be? Baking everyday and learning something new everyday? That would be awesome!

So I borrowed the book Culinary Careers: How to Get Your Dream Job in Food with Advice from Top Culinary Professionals and it is an amazing book. It tells you everything about the culinary schools (in the US), how to make a resume and find your first job, the kinds of jobs in the culinary arts, etc. My favorite section is where some top culinary chefs are interviewed and answer questions like what their salary is like, advice for people who want to achieve a similar career, what they like most/least about their job, how many hours a week they work... These are things I've wondered. When I finish my pastry diploma, where will I work? Will I like it? David Lebovitz also mentioned in The Sweet Life in Paris and there is also a section in this book about it, that it is important to work in the field before going to culinary school. This way I know if I truly like working in pastry and that I will be committed to my program. I think this is a great idea, except I don't know who would be willing to hire (or accept a stagiaire) without any working experience or schooling in the industry! I think I will ask at a few large hotels in Montreal and maybe a few bakeries. There's no harm in trying!

Ok, now for this oatmeal and raisin ice cream. This is an ice cream that takes a bit of preparing since you have to make the oatmeal praline and whiskey-soaked raisins before preparing the custard, but it is worth every minute!

You basically follow the usual steps of making a custard except you place some brown sugar and cinnamon along with the cream in the bowl with a strainer (where you will add the custard before cooling it all over an ice bath). Then a few minutes before ending the churning, you add the oatmeal praline and raisins. I used a vanilla bean because I find it gives a richer taste than vanilla extract but it's a matter of preference.

This is one of my favorites and I would definitely make it again just as it's written in The Perfect Scoop. The only thing I changed was the amount of whiskey with the raisins (I used 1/2 tsp whiskey instead of 2 tsp).

Cupcake Camp 2010

My first foodie event!! I really didn't expect there to be that many people at Cupcake Camp 2010! There was a huge lineup, starting outside, continuing down the halls of the Queen Elizabeth Hotel and leading upstairs! I even bumped into a few friends there! I have never seen that many people go crazy over cupcakes... And the event turned out to be a huge success according to their website. Isn't that amazing? A completely volunteer run event that raised over 34,500$, shared 25,000 cupcakes with 2,500 people for the Kids Help Phone and La Tablée des Chefs!!

Two chefs from the Food Network: Nadia G. from Bitchin' Kitchen and Ricardo Larrivée from Ricardo and Friends. They were both really nice and let me take pictures!

There was also a cupcake competition. Take a look at these cupcakes! Amazing!

These are some of the cupcakes I got to take home. This one my friend made (yes, she donated over 200 cupcakes!!) and it was one of my favorite: white velvet with pomegranate filling and white chocolate frosting if I remember correctly!

This one I didn't get to try. I only had the fondant jalapeño and my sister decide to eat it cause she thought it was chocolate and got a nice surprise! Apparently it was quite hot!

I can't wait for next year's event! My friend and I really want to participate in the competition but we're going to have to work hard to come up with something creative. I'll make sure I post the cupcakes I donated soon!

Cinnamon Rolls

It's increasingly difficult for me to find time to bake nowadays. Projects are due, finals are ahead and so is Cupcake Camp 2010!! I am so excited, I've been thinking of what cupcake to make for a long time. I can't wait to finally assemble it this weekend! By the way, Ricardo is supposed to be there... THE Ricardo from television! I think it's the first time I'll be seeing a celebrity chef in real life!

Ok enough excitement for now, let's keep some for Sunday! I made these cinnamon rolls out of the blue. I woke up early one morning, and as I updated myself in the blogging world, I fell upon some delicious looking Cinnamon Rolls. I always have this fear of working with yeast for some reason, but I thought, what the heck! They were supposed to be knock-off Cinnabons but I found them to have turned out 10 times better!

Cinnabon Knock-Off Cinnamon Rolls

Adapted from Tartelette

Makes 12 rolls

For the dough:

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (1/4 oz. size or 1 pkg.)

1 cup warm milk (105 to 110 degrees F)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

4 cups all-purpose flour

Dissolve yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl. Mix together the sugar, butter, salt and eggs in a mixer bowl. Then add the flour and milk (with yeast) and mix well. Knead the dough into a large ball using your hands lightly dusted with flour. Put it in a clean bowl, cover and let it rise in a warm place for about an hour or until the dough has doubled in size (I left it for about an hour and 20 minutes).

Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll it until it is approximately 21 inches long and 16 inches wide, about 1/4 inch thick.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and position rack in the middle of the oven.

For the filling:

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon

1/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Spread the softened butter evenly over the surface of the dough (I didn't use it all) and sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar evenly over the surface.

Form the rolls:

Working carefully from the top (a 21-inch side), roll the dough down to the bottom edge. Cut the rolled dough into 12 slices of equal thickness (about 1 3/4 inches slices) and place 6 at a time, evenly spaced, in 2 lightly greased baking pans. Let the rolls rise again until doubled in size (about 30 minutes). Bake for 10 minutes or until golden on top.

For the icing:

Adapted from Michael Smith

1 tbsp vanilla extract

4 tbsp cream (or more depending on the consistency you like, I added more to make it runny)

1 cup powdered sugar

Stir together all the ingredients for the icing and when the rolls have completely cooled, drizzle the icing over them.