Category Archives: Chocolate

Red Velvet Cupcakes

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Just in time for Valentine’s Day another Brown Eyed Baker Recipe!  After a while she’s going to think I’m stalking her.  I just love her recipe choices and flavors. I am pretty sure we have the exactly the same tastes. This recipe makes 12 regular sized cupcakes.  I doubled the recipe.  I also found the icing to sweet so I added twice the amount of cream cheese and 1 more cup of powdered sugar to make the frosting more tangy and less sweet. Enjoy!

For the Cupcakes:

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2½ tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 3 tablespoons red food coloring
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup buttermilk
  • 1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1½ teaspoons distilled white vinegar

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

  • 4 ounces butter, at room temperature
  • 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 2½ cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a standard muffin/cupcake pan with liners.

2. On medium-high speed, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to high and add the egg. Scrape down the bowl and beat until well incorporated.

3. In a separate small bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, vanilla extract and red food coloring to make a thick paste. Add to the batter and mix on medium speed until completely combined. You may need to stop the mixer to scrape the bottom of the bowl, making sure that all the batter gets color.

4. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add half of the buttermilk. Add half of the flour and mix until combined. Scrape the bowl and repeat the process with the remaining milk and flour. Beat on high until smooth.

5. Again, reduce the mixer speed to low and add the salt, baking soda and vinegar. Turn to high and beat for another couple of minutes until completely combined and smooth.

6. Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners and bake for about 20 minutes, or until a thin knife or skewer inserted into the center of the largest cupcake comes out clean.

7. Cool for 10 minutes and then remove cupcakes from the pan and place them on a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

8. To make the frosting: Using the whisk attachment, whip the butter and cream cheese on high speed for about 5 minutes, scraping the bowl down as necessary. Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the powdered sugar until all is incorporated. Add the vanilla and mix to combine. Increase the speed to medium high and whip for a few minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy, scraping the bowl as necessary.

*Note: This recipe can be doubled to make an 8 or 9-inch layer cake.

(Recipe adapted from Joy the Baker, originally from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook).

 

Genomic sequence cupcakes!

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Today is my first day of class for my Intro to Genomics and Proteomics course and it is also my 40th birthday (yes…I’m getting old).  So I had to make my new students something special to celebrate. I baked on of my favorite recipe- the Fudgy Chocolate Sour Cream Cake with Mocha Ganache (see below).  Then I decided to decorate the tops with DNA nucleotides:  G, C, A or T. Hopefully they will like them and me!  I always get nervous the first day of class. Anything to break the ice like chocolate cake should work!

Cake

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups cake flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
  • 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Ganache

  • 1 cup whipping cream
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 16 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour two 9-inch round cake pans with 2-inch-high sides. Whisk first 4 ingredients in large bowl to blend. Bring 1 cup water to simmer in heavy small saucepan. Remove from heat. Add 2 tablespoons espresso powder; stir to dissolve. Add chocolate; whisk until chocolate is melted and smooth. Cool slightly.
In another large bowl, whisk vegetable oil, sour cream, eggs and vanilla to blend. Add chocolate mixture and whisk to blend well. Add 1/3 of chocolate-sour cream mixture to dry ingredients and whisk to blend. Add remaining chocolate-sour cream mixture in 2 more additions, whisking well after each addition. Divide batter equally between prepared pans or cupcake cups. Gently tap each filled pan atop counter to burst any air pockets.

Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30-35 minutes (DO NOT overbake). If making cupcakes 25 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes. Run knife around sides of cakes and turn out onto rack. Cool completely.

For ganache:
Bring first 6 ingredients to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat, stirring until butter melts. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Whisk in vanilla. Pour ganache into large bowl; cool until thick enough to spread, stirring occasionally, about 1-2 hours. Sometimes I stick it into the fridge to cool faster. I often make the ganache first before the cakes so it has time to cool to the right thickness.

I also wanted to show a photo of a sculpture of me that my father, Michael Skop, did a few days after I was born in 1972.  It has always been one of my favorites.  

Buckeyes

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Yummy buckeyes

When I was a kid growing up in the Cincinnati area, Buckeye candies were all the rage. It is Ohio’s state tree and Ohio State’s mascot.  Every Christmas we made them and neighbors who gave us cookies and candies each year made them.  They were a staple of my childhood.  I found a few recipes online that cuts the sugar down a bit and I think I found a really good one that not too sweet but just right. If you love Reese’s cups then these are for you. Enjoy!

Yield: 36 to 42 tablespoon-sized candies

  • 1/4 cup (2 ounces) cream cheese, softened
  • 1 1/2 cups peanut butter (smooth)
  • 1 cup graham cracker crumbs (from about 14 graham crackers)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3 cups confectioners’ (powdered) sugar
  • 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks or 5 ounces) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 12 ounces dark chocolate (60 to 72%), coarsely chopped
  • 1/3 bar of Gulf wax or paraffin (firms up the chocolate and gives a nice sheen)

Make the filling: In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and peanut butter together until combined. Add the graham cracker crumbs and beat for 10 seconds. Add the sugar and butter, and mix on the lowest speed until it stops floating off everywhere, then increase the speed until the ingredients are combined. Scrape down the whole bowl well, then mix again. The mixture will be quite sturdy and a little dry — perfect for shaping.

Assemble the candies: Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Scoop out slightly more than one tablespoon’s worth of filling and use your hands to form it into a ball. Place the ball on the prepared sheet and repeat the process until all of the candies have been shaped. They can sit close to each other but make sure they are not touching.

Freeze for 20-30 minutes while you prepare the coating. This will allow the chocolate coating to solidify faster when dipping.

Make the coating: Melt the chocolate and 1/3 bar of paraffin either over a double boiler, stirring until it is completely smooth. Put the coating in a small deep bowl so that you will get a depth enough to cover the peanut butter balls.

Using large skewer, dip each ball into the chocolate and roll it about so that almost the entire candy is coating, leaving a small circle uncoated.

Chill or freeze the buckeyes until they are set, about 30 minutes.

Do ahead: Buckeyes will keep in the freezer for a month.  It’s best to hid them here or they will disappear quickly!

A real buckeye