The soccer team celebrated the end of a great season with a party a couple of weekends ago. The girls had a great time. They swam in the pond and paddle boated and went into the chicken barn and played in the cotton seed barn and ran through the irrigation system on the sod farm and jumped on the trampoline and took a hayride. (I'm tired just thinking about it.) The team also had a cookout at the end of the party and I had offered to bring cupcakes. I knew that I wanted to make something special but I really didn't know exactly what I wanted to make. My inspiration came from 3 bananas that had been sitting on my counter waiting to be used. My mind instantly went to banana splits. I spent an afternoon trying to figure out how to get all the flavors of a banana split into my cupcakes. In the end, I decided to bake a banana cupcake, topped with chocolate ganache, a scoop of whipped cream and a cherry on top. Banana Cupcakes 1 1/2 cups cake flour 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 banana 2 Tablespoons sour cream 3/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup butter 1 egg 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
Bake 18 minutes at 350. Cool on wire racks. Top with chocolate ganache. Ganache 1 cup heavy cream 1 tablespoon light corn syrup pinch salt 8 ounces semisweet chocolate In saucepan, combine cream, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a simmer. Remove from heat, add chocolate. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Cool to room temperature. Spread over cupcakes. Top cupcakes with a dollop of whipped cream. I made my own but you could also use cool whip. I used a small cookie scoop to get a dollop on top of the ganache. Top with a maraschino cherry. I tried drizzling a little strawberry syrup over the whipped cream but it didn't turn out very well. It made a sticky mess so I decided to leave it off. I bought some chopped nuts to sprinkle over the finished cupcake but I forgot all about them. It wasn't until a day later when I found the can of nuts that I even realized that I had left them off. (oops) I guess nobody else missed them either because nobody even mentioned nuts. I'm so happy with the way that these cupcakes turned out. They were beautiful AND delicious. Give these a try at your next cookout.
Ciao!
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I love to make eat chocolate covered bananas in the summer. It's definitely one of my favorite hot weather treats but now that the temperatures are dropping to the cooler end of the thermometer, I had to find other ways to enjoy my chocolate banana snacks. So of course, I turned my favorite flavor combination in to a cupcake. (I think I can turn anything into a cupcake.) I amped up the flavors a little bit by adding some Nutella to the mix too. I just love the flavors of the rich, dark, hazelnut chocolate frosting with the cool, moist banana cake. Now I'm going to have to figure out how to get Nutella into my frozen bananas for the summer. Banana Cupcakes with Nutella Buttercream Frosting 1 1/4 cups + 2 Tbsp all purpose flour 2 Tbsp cornstarch 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 3/4 cup mashed over-ripe bananas (from about 2 medium bananas) 1/2 tsp lemon juice 1/4 cup butter, at room temperature 2 Tbsp vegetable oil, divided 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar 1 large egg 1 large egg white 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 2/3 cup buttermilk Nutella Buttercream Frosting
Bake in preheated oven until toothpick inserted into center of cupcake comes out clean, about 18 - 22 minutes. Allow to cool in muffin tin several minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. These cupcakes are one of Ben's favorites. Ciao!
I am obsessed with pumpkin spice candles clearly - I am not alone. Stores in every mall in America this month are luring customers in by burning (and selling) pumpkin candles. Unfortunately, being aware of sneaky aromatic marketing tactics does not make me immune to them. I've been drawn into more than one store recently just because of the intoxicating smell. And I have to admit that I've bought my share of pumpkin candles to burn in my own house. My favorite burnable scent of the season is the pumpkin butter candle from Woodwick. It smells absolutely divine. Like so good that I wish I could eat it. Even though it was not my intention to create a recipe that smells like my favorite pumpkin candle - I feel like I've done just that. Baking this pumpkin granola in the oven will filled my house with an even more glorious aroma than my pumpkin candle. AND I can eat it!!! Pumpkin Granola 6 cups rolled oats 1 heaping cup sliced almonds 1 heaping cup pistachios (or other nuts) 1 heaping cup unsweetened flaked coconut 1 cup pumpkin puree 1 cup olive oil 1 cup maple syrup 2-3 teaspoons salt (see notes) 1-2 teaspoons cinnamon
Bake for 15 minutes at 350. Stir; bake for another 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest – it should start to crisp up. Serve. Top with a dollop of yogurt. If I were planning to sell my house this month - I would bake a batch of this pumpkin granola before every single showing. The cinnamon pumpkin aroma that fills the house while this is baking is absolutely irresistible. The good news is that is tastes just as wonderful as it smells too. This one is going on my list of Fall favorites.
Ciao! Last week was Elvis week. (I think I'm the only person who just learned out about Elvis week recently.) Just in case there are a few others out there who don't know what Elvis week is: it's a week long celebration of the music, movies and life of Elvis Presley. Most of the events take place at Graceland in Memphis but there are events that happen all over the country on the anniversary of his death. (August 16, 1977) Even in my little town of Monroe there was an Elvis celebration party! I decided it was time for me to get on board with Elvis week - even if I am a few days late. So how does a personal chef so support for a beloved star? By turning their favorite snack into a delicious cupcake of course. The idea of a banana chocolate chip cupcake is far from a new concept. Adding a swirl of peanut butter and milk chocolate frosting to the top takes that plain cupcake to a whole new level though. If If I dare say so - an Elvis worthy level. Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting Cupcakes ½ cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature ½ cup (100g) light or dark brown sugar ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar 3 large eggs, room temperature 1 and ½ cups mashed banana (about 3 large very ripe bananas) 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon salt ½ cup (120ml) buttermilk 1 cup (180g) mini or regular semi-sweet chocolate chips Milk Chocolate Frosting 1 and 3/4 cups (210g) confectioners' sugar 1/4 cup (32g) unsweetened cocoa powder 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature 2 Tablespoons (30ml) heavy cream or half-and-half* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract salt, to taste Peanut Butter Frosting 3/4 cup (185g) creamy peanut butter 4 Tablespoons (60g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature 3/4 cup (90g) confectioners' sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 Tablespoons (45ml) heavy cream or half-and-half
Bake each batch for 17-19 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
Frost cooled cupcakes with a piping bag/tip. So there you have it, Elvis inspired banana chocolate chip cupcakes with peanut butter and milk chocolate swirled frosting. I guess great music and classic movies wasn't the only way that Elvis left his mark on this earth.
Ciao! It's apple season in Georgia. And apple season would not be complete without an apple picking trip to the North Georgia mountains. And as you would probably guess, apple picking trips = LOTS of apples which means LOTS of apple recipes. They are soooo good. And a great way to highlight all of the delicious apples that we brought home from Ellijay. Apple Pie Cupcakes 3 cups sifted cake flour 1 tbsp. baking powder ½ tsp. salt 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 2 cups sugar 4 eggs 1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract 1 cup milk 3 tbsp. butter 3 tsp. cinnamon 4 tbsp. sugar 3 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced thin vanilla buttercream (I used 3/4 of a batch)
Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake liners, filling them about 2/3-3/4 full. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 to 22 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pans. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
Lower the heat to medium and stir in the apples. Mix well. Cook until the apples are somewhat tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. While the apple mixture is cooling, use the cone method to remove the center from each cupcake, making sure to leave a rim around the top of the cupcake. Eat the holes - yes, that is required. Brush the rim of each cupcake with butter and dip in cinnamon sugar. Fill the holes with the cooled apple mixture. To decorate, top each cupcake with a swirl of vanilla buttercream. There you go - the most delicious apple cupcake EVER!!!
Ciao! |
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