Mocha Cupcakes

And so begins the Valentine's Day desserts. 

I absolutely LOVE Valentine's Day. It's a win-win. I get presents, flowers, chocolates, AND dinner! Sorry to all guys out there, although I am low-maintenance most days of the year, Valentine's Day is definitely not one of them. Luckily, I have a wonderful boyfriend that coooompletely understands ;) These cupcakes are perfect: the icing is fluffy and light and mimics the coffee undertones in the cupcake. Plus, sprinkles make everything more amazing.

Oh, by the way, about a week ago, I applied for a research assistant position offered by the one and only Tucker Max. He's a comedy writer who has written titles such as I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell and Assholes Finish First. He is absolutely HYSTERICAL, and I jumped at this wonderful opportunity to work for him. I made it to the second cut, and I will hear back (or not) by January 30th. I'll be sure to keep y'all updated!

I didn't have espresso powder or a small sieve, so I used a larger sieve and filtered the coffee-infused milk through 5 times before adding to the sugar mixture. As you can see, there were still coffee granules in the batter, but it didn't make a difference in the end product. This recipe makes 12 perfectly sized cupcakes, but if I made it again, I would definitely double it. 

Chocolate Wasted Cake

My boyfriend's 21st birthday was this past weekend, and this cake seemed totally appropriate. It's chocolate on top of chocolate on top of even MORE chocolate! It's insane. I had to choose between this cake and an Oreo cake, but I really just wanted to go crazy and throw tons of chocolate on a cake. Seriously, that's what you do. And what could be better? Also, chocolate has phytochemicals, which are good for you. Trust me, I'm a Nutrition major ;)

Sadly, my first wonderful cake fell. I waited too long after adding the baking soda to the wet ingredients (about 12 minutes; I was hastily buttering the pans and cutting out parchment rounds) and the baking soda reacted before I had a chance to put it in the oven. I had to resort to box mix for the cake layers, but feel free to try the original cake layer recipe. It has had many good reviews on the original website. All cake batter photographs are from the original cake recipe, not the box mix version. (I used Betty Crocker Super Moise Triple Chocolate Fudge mix).

Espresso Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies

These cookies are. so. addicting. I ate one nonchalantly and before I knew it, I had eaten 6. SIX. In less than ten minutes. Thank goodness I had a lot left to take to my family reunion that day. They are buttery, melt-in-your mouth, chocolately delicious. Perfect for parties, potlucks, hoarding, whatever. Oh, and be on the lookout for Halloween specials! I will post at least 5 Halloween-themed desserts! What would you like to see?

I didn't have any espresso powder on hand, so I used instant coffee. If you're looking for a deeper intense coffee flavor, use the instant espresso powder and toss in some Kahlua.

The Best Brownie Ever

I was paging through my town's food section in my local newspaper when I saw the PERFECT brownie recipe. I'd seen others out there, but they just didn't seem up to par. "Why spend all this time making typical brownies when I can just make box mix?", I pondered. But then I saw this recipe which introduced an entire new level of complexity to me- instant espresso powder. It was the step up that'd I'd been looking for, so I cut the recipe out and edited it to my liking! Also, I accidentally made my brownies in a 9X9 pan; if you do so, lengthen the cooking time from 25 minutes to 45-50 minutes. 

I'm working on converting all of my prep bowls, mixing bowls, etc. to glass so that the ingredients are more visible. I also just realized 2 photographs from the end of this recipe how to use my SB-400 external flash. I didn't realize that the flash part would tilt up so that I could bounce the light off of the ceiling to look fuller and more natural! So look for extremely improved photographs in the coming weeks.

My Nana raises chickens, and some of her Bantam chickens lay sky blue eggs. I thought it'd be fun for those of you who didn't know that there were colors other than brown and white!

I really should've used a bigger mixing bowl, but I had just bought this one that morning and thought it was so cute that I couldn't resist.

The cut is in the pan of brownies because I took them out of the oven at 25 minutes, and I didn't realize that they weren't done until I saw the batter on the knife. I took this picture with my newly discovered bounce flash!

When I saw this adorable bird nestled in these apples from my apple tree, I had to take a picture.


The "Baked" Brownie
Adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking


INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 11 oz dark chocolate (60-70 percent cacao), chopped
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
• 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9 by 13 inch light colored metal or glass baking pan and line the bottom with with parchment paper.
• Sift the flour, salt, and cocoa powder together in a medium bowl.
• Place the chocolate, butter, and instant espresso powder in the top part of a double boiler over simmering water, or in a large bowl and set it over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth. Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl (or pan) over the water and add both of the sugars. Whisk until completely combined, then remove the bowl from the pan. The mixture should be at room temperature.
• Add three eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Add the remaining eggs and whisk until combined. Add the vanilla and stir until combined. Make sure to not over beat the batter or your brownies will be cakey.
• Sprinkle the flour mixture over the chocolate mixture. Using a spatula, fold in the flour mixture until just a bit of the flour mixture is visible.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the brownies comes out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it. Let the brownies cool completely, then cut into squares and serve.
• Cover with plastic wrap; the brownies will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days. Yield: 24 brownies.