Black Forest Cupcakes

Happy Thursday, everyone!

I can tell it's going to be one of those days that just sort of drags on. I basically started counting down to my department's weekly 4 PM coffee hour as soon as I got to my desk this morning. Usually, I can tell what kind of day it will be by how early in the day I realize that it's Thursday and therefore, coffee hour day. On a good day, I make it to 3:45 and then remember "oh man! Thursday! Awesome!." On the less-than-great days, I realize that it is Thursday immediately and begin the 6 hour countdown. Ooof.

In honor of coffee hour, I'm bringing out another recipe that I made for one of our department functions - in this case, the MatSci holiday party. As much as I like making complicated, homemade recipes, sometimes I really just want to make things from a box. There's no better way to handle dessert if you're cooking for a crowd, especially a not-very-discerning crowd (aka a department of people who will eat just about anything) than dumping a bag of mix into a bowl and throwing in some eggs and water. There is no shame in this, as boxed cakes and brownies are almost as good as the real thing with a fraction of the effort. Fancied up cake mixes (e.g. adding pudding, chocolate chips, and the like) are one of the easiest ways to take something simple and give it a little bit of oomph.

This black forest cupcake recipe comes from my first foray into making filled cupcakes. I really wanted to make a simple, cherry-filled cupcake. Most every recipe on the interwebs seemed to have a compote component, unnecessary chopping, or nonsense like this involved. That sort of defeats the whole purpose of making something easy, no?

I decided to go semi-homemade here, and the resulting recipe is as easy as it gets. Cake mix. Pie filling. A little mixing to make a super simple whipped cream frosting. The results are amazing for how easy it is. You can say you made it from scratch. I won't tell. :)

Black Forest Cupcakes

Cupcake recipe/filling: S&C original
Frosting from Hoosier Homemade

Cupcakes
1 package devil's food cake mix (preferably with pudding in the mix or if not, add a small box (~3.4 oz) of chocolate pudding yourself)
20 oz can of cherry pie filling

Frosting
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, cold
6 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Red sprinkles and cocoa powder (optional, but awesome)

Instructions

Cupcakes

1. Line a regular-sized cupcake tin with baking cups. Prepare cake mix as recommended on the box. Pour into cupcake liners, and bake as directed. Let cool completely.
2. Using a knife or a cupcake corer, remove the center of each cupcake. (See my tutorial if you need help) KEEP THE REMOVED CUPCAKE CENTERS. You will put them on top of the cherries to prevent the filling and frosting from mixing and turning pink.
3. Fill each cupcake with about 1 tablespoon of cherry pie filling (2-3 cherries worth of filling). Gently press down on the filling to get it further into the cupcake.
4. Place the cupcake center removed in step 2 on top of the filling, and press it gently into place. It is okay if it sticks up a little bit.

Frosting

1. Pour whipping cream into a large mixing bowl, and beat on medium until it starts to thicken.
2. With the mixer running, add powdered sugar 1 tbsp at a time. Once all the powdered sugar has been added, beat on high until stiff peaks form, being careful not to overbeat the mixture.
3. Fold in vanilla extract.
4. Using a piping bag with a large tip (2A or 1A) or a gallon-sized ziploc bag with the corner cut off, pipe the frosting into a swirl on top of each cupcake. Top with red sprinkles and cocoa powder. Keep cold until ready to use to maintain integrity of the frosting.

Note: I would recommend making these at most one day prior to their consumption, as the cake will absorb some of the cherry filling overnight. You don't want them to get soggy!

Pick an Apple, Bake an Apple

I meant to post this recipe back in the fall, but since I'm a bit backed up in my posting and it is currently winter (albeit rainy and almost 50 degrees in Chicago?!), I thought I'd share it with you because it is awesome. And who doesn't like some warm baked apples on a chilly day?

Andy and I went apple picking twice in the fall on back-to-back(!) weekends, which yielded an abundance of apples. I still have no concept of what exactly a "peck" of apples means, but I qualitatively know that it means eating an apple at every meal for about two months. Also, pies.

Om nom nom.

Now, I like pies, I really do, and while they are delicious, they are admittedly quite a bit of work. And then you have to WAIT while they cool, or it gets all soggy and weird. The solution? Apple crisps that come together in a fraction of the time!

The original recipe from Spoon Fork Bacon is made for four, but I halved the recipe since it is just the two of us. This recipe is quick and tasty, and if you squeeze as many apples into the ramekin as you can, it's almost like eating an apple cake or dumpling. Remember to cover it liberally in whipped cream or ice cream for the ultimate apple experience.

Individual Apple Crisps

Slightly Modified from Spoon Fork Bacon
Makes 2 servings

Ingredients:
Streusel topping:
1/4 cup old fashioned oats
1/4 cup flour (I use half whole wheat and half AP flour)
3 tbsp light brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into tiny cubes

Filling:
2 apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (I use 1 granny smith or other tart apple and 1 sweeter apple like a gala)
2 tbsp light brown sugar
3/8 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1/4 tsp cinnamon + 1/8 tsp nutmeg)

ice cream or whipped cream for topping (optional, but let's be serious here, it's not really optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease 2 individual sized ramekins with cooking spray or butter. Set aside.
2. For streusel: Place oats, flour, sugar, cinnamon, and brown sugar in a mixing bowl, and stir together.
3. Cut in butter until a coarse meal forms.
4. For filling: Combine all filling ingredients into a large mixing bowl, and toss together until apples are evenly coated. Divide filling mixture into prepared ramekins, compacting the mixture into the ramekins if necessary. It is okay of the filling is a little taller than the ramekin because it will shrink as it cooks down. Set aside.
5. Divide streusel between the ramekins, pushing down on the filling if necessary.
6. Place crisps onto a baking sheet, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Allow crisps to cool for 7 to 10 minutes before serving each with a dollop of whipped cream or scoop of ice cream on top.

Good for You Chocolate Lava Cake

I'll get right to it: chocolate lava cakes are awesome. However, they have never had the reputation of being good for you. Even if you make them at home, the average lava cake will have hundreds of calories for an itty bitty serving. What's a chocolate-loving girl to do about this conundrum?

After much searching of the internet, I found this recipe for a "Guilt Free Lava Cake for One," and unlike most "healthy" recipes you see around these days, I could make it with the ingredients I had on hand. Glorious!

I really don't like using the word "guilt" when it comes to food. I don't think we should ever feel guilty about eating. Our bodies need need food, after all. However, healthy isn't exactly the right word for this dish, either, because despite what the internet might tell you, desserts aren't exactly health food, even if they contain whole grains, coconut oil, powdered unicorn horn, or what have you.

I'm going to call this recipe "Good For You Chocolate Lava Cake" because it is nutritionally MUCH better for you than traditional lava cakes and let's be real - chocolate just makes you feel good inside.

The cake is lava!

I can't wait to try this recipe with flavored yogurt instead of plain yogurt. Raspberry? Coffee? Vanilla? The possibilities are endless. This recipe makes one cake, but it can easily be doubled, quadrupled, etc. to make as many cakes as you have ramekins.

Good For You Chocolate Lava Cake

Modified slightly from Girl Who Bakes

Yields one cake

1 tablespoon white whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 heaping tablespoon cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons non-fat milk
1 tablespoon non-fat Greek yogurt (or any non-fat yogurt)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together flours, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.

3. In a separate bowl, mix milk, yogurt, and vanilla, making sure to get rid of any yogurt lumps.

4. Pour wet ingredients into bowl of dry ingredients, and stir until combined and smooth.

5. Generously spray an individual-sized ramekin with cooking spray. Pour batter into ramekin. Place on a cookie sheet, and bake for 12-16 minutes (I usually need about 14 minutes) or until edges and top of cake are set. The center will still be a little jiggly to the touch.

6. Let cake cool for 1 minute. Place a small plate on top of the ramekin. Invert the plate and gently lift off the ramekin.

7. If desired, garnish with berries, whipped cream, or ice cream. Enjoy!

Raspberry Truffle Cupcakes

I have a confession.

I had never been to Sprinkles Cupcakes until a few weeks ago.

As a person with a blog called "Science and Cupcakes," I was ashamed. A long standing wrong has finally been righted.

After a lovely orchestra concert in Millennium Park one Friday night, a few friends and I headed over to Sprinkles' Chicago location at the request of my friend Elizabeth. It was after hours, but never fear!

Cupcake ATM to the rescue!

If you get a hankering for a cupcake after the Sprinkles storefront is closed, there's a cute little kiosk just outside the entrance where you can buy a cupcake from a refrigerated vending machine-type apparatus. It comes in its own adorable little box, and you get to watch it being plucked from the shelf when you buy it.

Andy got a raspberry cupcake with raspberry frosting, and I got the vanilla milk chocolate cupcake with chocolate cream cheese frosting and chocolate sprinkles. Oh my gosh. They were moist, rich, and delicious. Other favorites among our purchases included chocolate marshmallow and black & white.

After finishing our desserts, Andy commented that it would be awesome if the raspberry frosting was on a chocolate cupcake instead of just a regular raspberry cake.

Behold, inspiration!

After consulting The Google, I found this recipe for raspberry truffle cupcakes, which I modified slightly based on what I like/what I had around the kitchen. I used a different buttercream frosting and used Fage Total 0% Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. They were decadent and delicious, and I think I polished off most of them by myself. Who would want to share when they came out so well?

P.S. I am working on a tutorial on how to make filled cupcakes, so look for an instructional post coming soon!

Eat ALL of the chocolate.

Raspberry Truffle Cupcakes

Modified from Kitchen Simplicity
Makes ~18 cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcakes

1.5 cups all-purpose flour (I used white whole wheat)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1/2 cup low fat buttermilk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, sift flour, sugars, baking soda, and salt through a fine-mesh sieve. Set aside.

Place chopped chocolate, butter, and cocoa into a large bowl. Pour boiling water over ingredients, and without stirring, let sit for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, stir until smooth. Whisk in vanilla, yogurt, buttermilk, and eggs until well combined. Add dry ingredients, whisking until smooth.

Spoon 1/4 cup batter into regular-sized muffin tins prepared with cupcake liners. Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool 5 minutes before removing to cool on a wire rack. Cool cupcakes completely.

Raspberry Ganache

5 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup seedless raspberry preserves
1/3 cup heavy cream

While the cupcakes are baking, put the chocolate and preserves in a small bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream to a gentle boil, and then pour over the chocolate and jam. Let stand 3 minutes. Stir until smooth (this might take a little extra effort to get rid of any chocolate chunks!). Allow to cool to room temperature before using. If making ahead, ganache can be stored, covered, in the fridge. If the ganache solidifies too much, it can be reheated in the microwave on medium power for 15 second segments, stirring after each interval.

Raspberry Buttercream Frosting

Recipe halved from The Baking Robot's raspberry buttercream

1/2 cup salted butter, softened
1/4 cup seedless raspberry preserves
2 cups powdered sugar

In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat butter and preserves together until smooth and well-combined. Gradually add powdered sugar (about a 1/3 cup at a time), beating after each addition, until frosting has reached a spreadable consistency, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Assembly!

Once cupcakes have cooled completely, cut a small cone in the top of each cupcake. Keep scraps for another use (I made cake balls!) or discard. Fill cupcakes with chocolate ganache to the top cupcake surface, spreading to make even with the cake (see picture below).

Frost generously with raspberry buttercream, and garnish with a fresh raspberry if desired. Devour.

Dining Danish: Koldskål

A few weeks after coming back from Denmark, I found myself pining...for Danish food. In order to quiet my Danish food cravings, I decided to attempt to replicate some of the recipes of my favorite foods in Denmark, especially those that were particularly unique to the country.

When the weather finally got warm in Copenhagen, grocery stores exploded with displays of quart containers and pre-made cups with cookies in the lid of this stuff called koldskål. I decided to buy a cup of it, not actually knowing what it was (as was the case most of the time when I went grocery shopping in Denmark).

Koldskål (literally translated as "cold bowl") is a traditional Danish dish served in the summer (thus, the increase of product when the weather got warm). It's kind of hard to describe, but it sort of resembles a lemony, buttermilk-yogurt soup. That doesn't sound appetizing, but trust me, it is unique and delicious. I saw people eating it on the train for breakfast, but I ate it as a dessert with strawberries and nut granola on top. The things in the container lid are a type of cookie called kammerjunker (you can't make these words up if you tried), which are akin to a vanilla wafer.

I used the recipe below and served my koldskål with blueberries and vanilla wafers. Enjoy a little taste of summer in Denmark!

Om nom nom

Koldskål
Adapted from Secret Pocket Blog

1 cup yogurt (I used nonfat plain Greek)
4 tablespoons sugar
3 cups buttermilk (I added a little bit of milk, too, to get the consistency to my liking)
zest of one lemon
juice of half a lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine the yogurt, sugar, and lemon zest in a bowl. Using a mixer or whisk, mix together until the sugar dissolves. Mix in the rest of the ingredients until blended. Keep in a pitcher in the fridge. Serve with fresh berries, granola, and/or vanilla wafers.

Post-Qual & Baking with Ricotta

Hello, good people of the internet!

I know, it has been a good long while since I've posted anything. I have an excuse, I promise. At the beginning of February, I had my qualifying examination, which basically determined whether or not I got to become a PhD candidate. Gulp. I wrote a 20+ page qualifying document and presented a 30 (plus interruptions) min talk on what I've done, what I plan to do, and why I should be kept around for the duration of my PhD. Also, I shamelessly bribed my committee by making my crowd-pleasing whole wheat cherry scones.

I am happy to report that I passed(!) my exam, and Northwestern is stuck with me for a few more years. Woo! Since then, I've been keeping busy with lots of research stuff. There's no rest for the weary!

While I was working on my qual, I developed a habit of "stress baking" where when I just couldn't look at my paper anymore, I would go bake something. My research group gratefully accepted my offerings, as you can imagine.

The most exciting adventures during this time involved, of all things, ricotta cheese. I had a bunch of ricotta leftover from a Skinnytaste baked pasta recipe because when you buy ricotta cheese, it has to be in a half pound container or larger, even if you only need a 1/4 cup. Blah. Fortunately, I was inspired to use up the cheese, which led to the two recipes below.

I brought the orange ricotta muffins with me to Bloomington, IN where I visited my friend Lindsay for a weekend post-qual. They were met with rave reviews, so you have assurance that they are delicious from a non-biased source. The lemon cookies were one of the offerings that my lab received, and the cookies I brought in were gone in a matter of hours. I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I did!

Side note: I finally joined Pinterest against my better judgement. I'm addicted. :) Click on the link above to follow me!

Orange Ricotta White Chocolate Chip Muffins

Yield: 12 muffins
Adapted from Two Peas & Their Pod

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
Zest of 1 orange (I bought navel oranges, so I had A LOT of zest. To me, this is a good thing.)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup white chocolate chips

For the glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
2 tablespoons orange juice

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a small bowl, add the sugar and orange zest. Rub the orange zest and sugar together with your fingers.

3. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar and orange zest mixture together until light and fluffy, about two minutes. Add the ricotta cheese and beat until smooth. Beat in the egg, orange juice, and vanilla extract.

4. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just blended. Stir in the white chocolate chips. Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups.

5. Bake muffins for about 18-20 minutes, or until the tops are slightly golden brown. Let muffins cool completely.

6. While the muffins are cooking, make the glaze. In a medium bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, orange zest, and orange juice. Drizzle glaze over muffins. Let the muffins sit until glaze hardens.

Lemon Ricotta Meltaways

Yield: About two dozen cookies
Adapted from Secret Life of a Chef's Wife


Cookie:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup gran­u­lated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tea­spoon almond extract
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3/4 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tea­spoon bak­ing powder
1/2 tea­spoon bak­ing soda
1/4 tea­spoon salt
zest from 1 lemon

Lemon glaze:
1 cup pow­dered sugar
2 table­spoons fresh lemon juice
Instruc­tions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

Cream together the but­ter and gran­u­lated sugar in a mix­ing bowl fit­ted with a whisk. Add the egg and mix well. Add the ricotta cheese, almond extract, and the lemon juice. Blend well.

Mix the dry ingre­di­ents and lemon zest together in a separate bowl, and and add them to the butter mixture. Mix until incor­po­rated without over-mixing.

Roll dough into balls, and place about two inches apart on cookie sheet. Using the bottom of a glass covered with flour, flatten each cookie into a circle.

Bake for 14 minutes. (The original recipe only called for 8 minutes, but my cookies were raw at that time. I needed a much longer baking time, but be sure to check on your cookies periodically for doneness!) The cook­ies will begin to brown on the bot­toms, but not the tops.

Let rest 2-3 minutes on sheet, and then remove to cooking rack. Let cookies cool completely.

For the glaze:
Mix ingredients together in a bowl, and driz­zle on cooled cook­ies.

(Source)

Pumpkin Bonanza!

Well, folks, it was a late night in the lab yesterday. I had to run a long furnace experiment (and had to go into lab today to finish it blah), and while I waited, I decided that I should tell you good people about all of the delicious fall baking I've been doing lately. I noticed that even though I included cupcakes in the title, my blog is definitely lacking in baked goods. Worry not...this sad fact will change in the coming chilly months.

My research group had coffee hour last week, which I always use as an excuse to go a little crazy with the baking. I made some apple cinnamon muffins (not as interesting) as well as a few pumpkin dishes (more interesting).

These pumpkin pie bars are a fun, easy twist on pumpkin pie. They're sort of halfway between pumpkin pie and pumpkin cheesecake. The only modification I made was to decrease the amount of the topping/crust to 3/4 of the original recipe. Since they turned out so well, I made another bunch for a "practice Thanksgiving" that my friends Lauren and Kellie had at their place on Saturday. Our lovely hosts made the turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing, and everyone else brought sides, desserts, and appetizers. There were great friends, great food, and great times all around. :)

Even though the bars were well received, the star of the show was something I made on a whim: pumpkin spice puppy chow. No, not like the stuff by Purina. This kind of puppy chow (aka muddy buddies in some places). If you haven't had it before, a very important piece of your childhood is missing, so go make yourself some. Right now. I'll wait.

The recipe for the pumpkin spice version replaces the peanut butter with Biscoff spread. However, since I couldn't find that, I used Trader Joe's Speculoos Cookie Butter, which is basically heaven in a jar. Seriously, the clouds will open up and angels with trumpets will appear when you first taste it. Couple that with some white chocolate and pumpkin pie spice, and you have a deliciously addictive snack. (I may or may not have eaten all of the puppy chow left over from coffee hour...but you have no evidence of this, do you? Mwahaha.) Puppy chow is super easy, and this version really seemed to be a crowd pleaser. Try it at home!

A little bowl of heaven

Also, not quite as heavenly as speculoos butter but still quite delicious is Trader Joe's Pumpkin Butter. (I swear I'm not paid by TJ's in any way) It's like apple butter...but with pumpkin. I'm really digging it stirred into Greek yogurt with some granola.

The triumvirate

Once I discovered exactly how nutritionally sparse the PSL from Starbucks is, I've tried to avoid them (sigh). Thus, I sought to make my own. This recipe from Skinnytaste is an excellent substitute which uses the pumpkin butter...and it's super easy! Also, I can make mine more pumpkin-y if I want to without having to learn the language of Starbucks to get my order across. Be your own barista!

Starbucks, eat your heart out!

To use up the last of my pumpkin as well as some walnuts and applesauce I had lying around, I made a small batch of pumpkin nut muffins. They are moist and delicious and a festive way to use up any extraneous gourd you may have hanging out in your fridge.

As much as I love pumpkin, I'm super excited for the next season in line: peppermint! I think I saw some seasonal items popping up on menus already, so it's just around the corner! What's your favorite seasonal flavor?