Category: Chocolate

Cake Balls, Chocolate, cupcakes, Desserts, Halloween, Holidays, Vanilla

Cute Halloween Bat Cupcakes

by thebusyspatula3 Comments on Cute Halloween Bat Cupcakes

Cute Halloween Bat CupcakesI know I said I would post about my Rebels Party next, but today is Halloween. And if I don’t share this with you now, I would have to wait a whole year to post this! I have a little cousin, J (wait, can I call her “Little J” from now on? A la Gossip girl??), who asks me to make cupcakes for her classroom parties every year. Last year I made these cauldron cupcakes, but it wasn’t an original idea of mine. This year I was bent on doing something unique, and of course every time I thought something was new, Google told me I was wrong. After a solid week of thinking about spiders, cats, ghosts, graveyards, pumpkins, candy corn, witches and other Halloween themed items, I came up with these really cute bat cupcakes.
Cute Halloween Bat Cupcakes 3Start by tinting vanilla frosting to a blue that is similar to the night sky and add some edible gold stars. The bats are made with Oreo truffles which are one of the easiest desserts you can make. You basically mix Oreos and cream cheese and you get these tasty nuggets of goodness. Plus, I used cookie dough Oreos which made them that much more awesome. Stick on some candy eyes, chocolate wings and chocolate covered candy pearls and you’ve got a bat. The moon in the background is made with yellow candy melts sprinkled with sanding sugar to make it glitter. By the way, I hurried my butt to get a few shots of these before the sun went down and that’s the reason I’m lacking more photo content. I love me some fall, but I do not love the short days… no siree.

Halloween Bat Cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 ¾ c. all-purpose flour
2 c. sugar
¼ c. natural unsweetened cocoa powder
½ c. Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1. tsp. kosher salt
½ c. vegetable oil
2 extra-large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. strong, hot coffee

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 muffin pans with cupcake liners (24 cups in total).
  2. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix flour, sugar, both cocoa powders, baking soda, baking powder and salt until fully combined.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract until combined.
  4. With the mixer speed on low, add the egg mixture to the flour mixture until combined.
  5. Turn off the mixer. With a spatula, scrape the sides of the bowl to fully incorporate the two mixtures.
  6. Turn the mixer on low and slowly add the hot coffee to the batter. Once added, raise the speed to medium until completely homogenous.
  7. Fill cupcake liners with 2/3 full with batter and bake about 15-20 minutes. Checking at 13 minutes for doneness with a toothpick.
  8. Let stand for 5-10 minutes when done, then put onto a cooling rack to fully cool.

Night Sky Frosting

Ingredients:

2 c. whole milk
½ c. flour
¼ tsp. salt
1 1b. (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 c. sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
royal blue gel food color
violet gel food color

Instructions:

  1. In a saucier pan, put milk, salt and flour and whisk until combined on medium heat.
  2. Continuously whisk mixture until thickened to a pudding like consistency.
  3. Once thickened, strain through a mesh strainer into a bowl with a spatula to remove lumps.
  4. Place a piece of plastic wrap on top of the flour mixture and put into the fridge until fully cool.
  5. In a mixer bowl fitted with the whisk attachment, mix the sugar and butter on high speed until fluffy and pale about, 5-10 minutes.
  6. Add the chilled flour mixture and continue to whip on high speed until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture is no longer gritty, about 5-10 minutes.
  7. Add the vanilla extract and mix until combined.
  8. Add blue and violet gel colors until desired color is reached.

Yellow Moons

Ingredients:

yellow candy melts
yellow sanding sugar

Instructions:

  1. Melt yellow candy melts and pour into a squeeze bottle.
  2. On a sheet pan lined with wax paper, draw and fill in 1 inch wide circles with the squeeze bottle.
  3. Sprinkle yellow sanding sugar while candy melt is still melted.
  4. Let set until use.

Oreo Truffle Bats

Ingredients:

36 Oreos
8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
black candy melts
black candy pearls
small candy eyeballs

Instructions:

  1. Put Oreos in a food processor and pulse until fine crumbs form.
  2. Add softened cream cheese and vanilla extract, and pulse until blended.
  3. Shape into 40 small balls onto a wax paper lined sheet pan and chill until firm.*
  4. Melt the black chocolate candy melt in a tall and narrow bowl or cup and dip chilled truffles using a fork. Let excess drip back into the bowl/cup.
  5. Let the chocolate on the truffle set until firm.
  6. Pour melted chocolate candy melt into a squeeze bottle.
  7. On a separate sheet pan lined with wax paper, draw wings with squeeze bottle. Set aside.
  8. While the wings set, use the black candy melt to adhere candy eyeballs onto the chocolate truffle.
  9. Take a black candy pearl, dip it into melted black candy melt and adhere onto top of the bat’s head. Let set.

Assembly

You will need:

chocolate cupcakes, baked and cooled
night sky frosting
yellow moons
truffle bats
edible gold star glitter
large open star decorating tip

Instructions:

  1. In a pastry bag fitted with a large open star decorating tip, fill with night sky frosting and frost a tall swirl on a chocolate cupcake.
  2. Sprinkle edible gold star glitter all around the sides.
  3. Add a yellow moon towards the back of the cupcake and place a truffle bat (without its wings) onto the center of the cupcake.
  4. Take two wings and position it next to the truffle bat.
  5. Enjoy!

*If mixture is too soft to shape into balls, spoon 40 small separate mounds on a wax paper lined sheet pan and chill.  Once chilled, you should be able to form them into balls.

Chocolate cake recipe adapted from Ina Garten.
Oreo truffle recipe adapted from Kraft.

Chocolate, Cookies, Desserts, Macarons

Domo Macarons (Chocolate Chestnut Macarons)

by thebusyspatula8 Comments on Domo Macarons (Chocolate Chestnut Macarons)

Domo Macarons (Chocolate Chestnut Macarons) 3I’m a sucker for anything kawaii. Stick a cute face on a character and I’ll fall for it. There used to be a Morning Glory very close to my middle school and I used to spend all of my lunch money there on Monday only to starve the rest of the week. The call of the stuffed animals, sticker pictures and stationary was too hard to resist.
Domo Macarons (Chocolate Chestnut Macarons) 2

Many years later, I’m proud to say I quit my Morning Glory addiction but I still have moments of weakness for adorable things. The first time I laid my eyes on Domo-Kun I fell in love. The round beady eyes and his wide mouth with his sharp little teeth won me over instantly. And when I thought of decorating a chocolate macaron, I figured that his simple yet distinctive face would be perfect for it.
Domo Macarons (Chocolate Chestnut Macarons)

Macarons are the perfect vehicle for using leftover fillings and frostings. I had a bunch of leftover chestnut pastry cream from my Groot cupcakes, and chestnuts and chocolates go surprisingly well together so I suppose it was meant to be. What wasn’t meant to be was taking these photos. For some odd reason, I lost a ton of photos while transferring files from my camera to my computer. This includes the step by step pictures that I took.  No one is more disappointed than me. Boo. 😦

Domo Macarons (Chocolate Chestnut Macarons)

You will Need:
chocolate macarons, filled with chestnut pastry cream (recipe below)
black fondant
white fondant
red fondant
pastry wheel/ sharp knife
water
thin paint brush (used for food only)

Instructions

  1. Roll out black fondant thinly and using the end of a thin straw or a small, plain round pastry tip punch out little black circles for eyes. After punching it out, slightly push the circles down to flatten and smooth out the edges.
  2. Roll out red fondant thinly, and using a pastry wheel or a sharp knife, cut out ½ in. rectangles for Domo’s mouth.
  3. Roll out white fondant and using a pastry wheel or a sharp knife, cut out thin strips of white fondant. Then cut triangle shaped teeth by running the pastry wheel diagonally cross the rectangle.
  4. Let fondant pieces dry out for an hour or more to firm up.
  5. Take four “teeth” and attach it to the red rectangle by using a thin paint brush to moisten the edges with water.
  6. Place black eyes on the top quarter of the macaron and attack the completed mouth to the bottom half.

Chocolate Macarons

Ingredients:
184 g. almond meal
184 g. powdered sugar
56 g. Dutch-processed cocoa powder
172 g. egg whites, divided to 82 g. and 90 g (aged, if possible)
236 g. sugar, plus a generous pinch
158 g. water

Instructions:

  1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
  2. In the bowl of a food processor, add the almond meal, cocoa powder and powdered sugar and pulse until thoroughly combined.
  3. Sift the mixture over a large mixing bowl, throwing out the lumps as they appear.  Add 82 g. of the egg whites and stir until you get a thick paste.
  4. In a small pot attached with a candy thermometer, combine the sugar and water over medium heat and boil until the syrup reaches 200˚F.
  5. Once the syrup reaches 200˚F, start whipping the remaining 90 g. of egg whites with a generous pinch of sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer with the whisk attachment on medium speed until soft peaks form.
  6. Once the syrup reaches 248 degrees, remove the pot off the heat and slowly pour the syrup down the side of the mixing bowl with the egg whites on medium speed.
  7. Once the egg whites are fully incorporated, increase the speed to medium high until egg whites form glossy, stiff peaks.  Add two drops of the yellow gel food color and mix until batter turns a light shade of yellow.
  8. Mix a ⅓ of the egg white mix to the almond mixture and stir together until the batter is slightly lighter and less pasty.  From then on, fold in ⅓ of the egg white mixture at a time until the mixture “flows like magma”.  The mixture should be smooth and run thick ribbons off the spatula.
  9. With a pastry bag fitted with a ½ in. plain tip, pipe 1¼ – 1½ in. rounds.
  10. The piped batter may have peaks but should smooth away in a minute or two.  Let the batter stand until the tops of the macaron batter are dry to the touch, about 30 mins to 1 hour.
  11. Preheat the oven to 275-325˚F.  If your oven tends to run hot go for 275˚, if not then 325˚.
  12. Bake 10-13 minutes, until the feet are formed and the tops are smooth.  The batter is done when you slightly wiggle it and it starts to come off of the parchment paper / silicone mat.
  13. Let cool and fill.

Chestnut Pastry Cream

Ingredients
2 c. milk
¼ c. sugar
2 egg yolks
1 egg
¼ c. cornstarch
¼ c. sugar
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
320 g. chestnuts, roasted and peeled
¼ c. heavy whipping cream

Instructions:

  1. In a medium saucepan, bring milk and ¼ c. sugar to a boil.
  2. In another medium bowl, mix egg yolks, egg, cornstarch and ¼ c. sugar until a paste forms.
  3. Using a ladle, drizzle a ladleful of milk while continuously whisking the egg mixture. Continue to drizzle in hot milk a little at a time until you mix in ¾ of the milk.
  4. Take the egg milk mixture and pour it into the saucepan with the remaining milk.
  5. Cook the mixture while stirring constantly over medium heat until mixture is thickened and pudding like.
  6. Remove saucepan from heat and mix in butter and vanilla extract. Set aside.
  7. In a food processor, puree chestnuts until very fine.
  8. Add the pastry cream and process until a smooth paste forms.
  9. Add the heavy whipping cream and process until completely mixed in.

Chocolate macarons adapted from Bouchon Bakery by Thomas Keller, Sebastien Rouxel

Chocolate, cupcakes, Desserts, Disney, Holidays, Parties, Vegetables

Groot Cupcakes (Mont Blanc Cupcakes)

by thebusyspatula15 Comments on Groot Cupcakes (Mont Blanc Cupcakes)

guardians of the galaxy cupcake 2Remember how I gushed about Guardians of the Galaxy a couple of posts back?* Apparently, I wasn’t done with it. (Wait, have you watched it yet?  Can you please? It’s totally awesome. Thanks.) The latest Marvel movie had me racking my brain for a dessert idea and naturally I started with my favorite character of the group, Groot. To be honest, I thought that the idea of Groot was silly. Really, a talking tree that only says, “I am Groot” exclusively in that order? But as the movie went on, the simplest character became the most interesting and loveable of them all.
guardians of the galaxy cupcake 3A Mont Blanc is a chestnut flavored dessert. The chestnut cream is traditionally piled high and topped with powdered sugar which resembles a snow capped mountain. Hence the name, Mont Blanc, just like the mountain that borders France and Italy. The tan color of the chestnut cream is similar to the color of tree bark so instead of piling up the cream in a circle, I decided to turn it into Groot’s face.  
Groot Cupcakes (Mont Blanc Cupcakes) 2This particular Groot cupcake starts with a syrup soaked genoise cake. It is then filled with chestnut cream and dipped in a perfectly shiny chocolate ganache. (Seriously, so shiny.  I couldn’t keep my eyes off of them.) It is then topped with more chestnut cream, only this time it is piped with a multi-hole pastry tip in the shape of Groot’s face.
Groot Cupcakes (Mont Blanc Cupcakes) 1A few fondant additions later, you have your very own mini swarm of Groots.** Super cute and perfect for a Marvel, Guardians of the Galaxy or Superhero themed party, I hope you give it a try for your next gathering.
guardians of the galaxy cupcake 1Groot Cupcakes (Mont Blanc Cupcakes)

Genoise Cake

Ingredients:
5 large eggs, room temperature
⅔ c. sugar
½ tbsp. corn syrup
1 ⅓ c. cake flour
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. butter, melted
2 tbsp. milk
2 tbsp. vegetable oil

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 325˚F and line muffin tin with cupcake liners.
  2. In a bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs until homogenous.
  3. Add the sugar and corn syrup to the eggs and mix on high speed until thickened, lightened and a ribbon forms when whisk is lifted.
  4. Sift the cake flour into the egg mixture and fold until no traces of the flour remain.
  5. In a separate bowl mix vanilla extract, butter, milk and vegetable oil and mix into the flour mixture.
  6. Fill the cupcake liners with batter and bake 12-15 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
  7. Cool on a cooling rack.

Simple Syrup

Ingredients
¼ c. sugar
¼ c. water

Instructions

  1. In a small pot, heat sugar and water until sugar is completely dissolved. Set aside and let cool.

Chestnut Pastry Cream

Ingredients
2 c. milk
¼ c. sugar
2 egg yolks
1 egg
¼ c. cornstarch
¼ c. sugar
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
320 g. chestnuts, roasted and peeled
¼ c. heavy whipping cream

Instructions

  1. In a medium saucepan, bring milk and ¼ c. sugar to a boil.
  2. In another medium bowl, mix egg yolks, egg, cornstarch and ¼ c. sugar until a paste forms.
  3. Using a ladle, drizzle a ladleful of milk while continuously whisking the egg mixture. Continue to drizzle in hot milk a little at a time until you mix in ¾ of the milk.
  4. Take the egg milk mixture and pour it into the saucepan with the remaining milk.
  5. Cook the mixture while stirring constantly over medium heat until mixture is thickened and pudding like.
  6. Remove saucepan from heat and mix in butter and vanilla extract. Set aside.
  7. In a food processor, puree chestnuts until very fine.
  8. Add the pastry cream and process until a smooth paste forms.
  9. Add the heavy whipping cream and process until completely mixed in.

Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients:
8 oz. good quality dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces
¾ c. heavy whipping cream
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 pinch kosher salt

Instructions

  1. Bring whipping cream and sugar to a boil in either a saucepan or microwave.***
  2. In a medium bowl, pour hot cream mixture over the chopped chocolate.
  3. Let it rest for 5 minutes, then whisk mixture until smooth.
  4. Add the butter and salt and mix until fully incorporated.

Fondant Pieces

You will need:
green fondant
black fondant
white fondant

Instructions

For the leaves:

  1. Pinch off tiny pieces of green fondant and form shapes of leaves by molding one end narrower than the other side.

For the eyes:

  1. Roll out black fondant ⅛ in. thick. Cut out circles that are ¾ in. in diameter.  (I used the end of a fat bubble tea straw.)
  2. Pinch off tiny pieces of white fondant and make tiny circles to press flat onto the black fondant. Remember to place the pieces off center to avoid deadpan eyes. (I placed mine to in the north east quadrant of the eyes.)

Assembly

  1. With a pastry brush, brush the tops of cooled cupcakes with the simple syrup.
  2. Let it rest 5 minutes and go over it once more with the simple syrup.
  3. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a narrow plain pastry tip with half of the chestnut pastry cream; fill each cupcake with about a tablespoon of pastry cream.
  4. Dip the tops of the cupcake with the chocolate ganache, and let set in the freezer for about 5 minutes.
  5. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a multi-hole pastry tip, with more chestnut pastry cream.
  6. Using a stead pressure, draw Groot’s face using an up and down motion. Make sure you go over the each area several times to give it a 3D effect.
  7. Carefully place the fondant eyes in the center of the face and arrange the fondant leaves at the top of the head. Remember the fondant WILL melt in time, do not place the fondant pieces until you are ready to serve or as close to the serving time as possible.

*If you don’t know by now, I’m into the geek/nerd culture.  I wouldn’t say I’m fully immersed it in, but maybe waist deep.
** Warning about the fondant addition.  Because the fondant is resting on top of a pile of pastry cream, the fondant will melt with time.  I would give you a solid hour before it starts to melt.  Tread lightly and be aware. 🙂
*** If using the microwave, be careful not to overheat it.  It will bubble over, leaving you a large mess to clean… not that this happened to me.  No, it totally did.  Don’t be like me.

Chocolate ganache recipe adapted from recipe girl.

Chocolate, Cookies, Desserts, Macarons, Vanilla

Chocolate Frosted Flake Macarons

by thebusyspatula13 Comments on Chocolate Frosted Flake Macarons

Chocolate Frosted Flake Macarons 2I tend to pair certain foods with particular people.  Frosted Flakes is one of them.  My grandmother started every morning with a bowl of frosted flakes while doing her daily Bible reading with her red pen.  I woke up particularly early yesterday morning and that certain memory came to mind.  Plus, the weather was unusually cool and dry and perfect for macarons.   Call it fate, but that’s how this macaron flavor was born.Chocolate Frosted Flake Macarons 7I know, I know.  Frosted Flake macarons?  It sounds odd, but it’s really good!  I even brought them out with me yesterday and someone noted that it might’ve been the best macaron he ever had.
Chocolate Frosted Flake Macarons 3It starts with a vanilla macaron base.  (The speckles are from the almond skins my almond flour had.)  Then, it’s filled with a salted milk jam* filling, to mimic that sweet milk you get when you eat Frosted Flakes.  The tops are dipped into melted sweet chocolate and garnished with a few Frosted Flakes.  Chocolate Frosted Flake Macarons 1I really love how the Frosted Flakes stand up and add an architectural look to them.  They’re pretty to look at and they’re grrrreat to eat.
Chocolate Frosted Flake Macarons 5

Chocolate Frosted Flake Macarons

You will need:
yellow vanilla macaron shells
salted milk jam filling
semi-sweet chocolate, melted
frosted flakes

Basic French Macarons

Ingredients:
212 g. almond meal
212 g. powdered sugar
172 g. egg whites, divided to 82 g. and 90 g (aged, if possible)
236 g. sugar
158 g. water
yellow gel food color

Instructions:

  1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
  2. In the bowl of a food processor, add the almond meal and powdered sugar and pulse until thoroughly combined.
  3. Sift the mixture over a large mixing bowl, throwing out the lumps as they appear.  Add 82 g. of the egg whites and stir until you get a thick mixture.
  4. In a small pot attached with a candy thermometer, combine the sugar and water over medium heat and boil until the syrup reaches 200˚F.
  5. Once the syrup reaches 200˚F, start whipping the remaining 90 g. in the bowl of your stand mixer with the whisk attachment on medium speed until soft peaks are reached.
  6. Once the syrup reaches 248 degrees, remove the pot off the burner and slowly pour the syrup down the side of the mixing bowl with the egg whites on medium speed.
  7. Once the egg whites are fully incorporated, increase the speed to medium high until egg whites form glossy, stiff peaks.  Add two drops of the yellow gel food color and mix until batter turns a light shade of yellow.
  8. Mix a ⅓ of the egg white mix to the almond mixture and stir together until the batter is slightly lighter and less pasty.  From then on, fold in ⅓ of the egg white mixture at a time until the mixture “flows like magma”.  The mixture should be smooth and run thick ribbons off the spatula.
  9. With a pastry bag fitted with a ½ in. plain tip, pipe 1¼ – 1½ in. rounds.
  10. The piped batter may have peaks but should smooth away in a minute or two.  Let the batter stand until the tops of the macaron batter are dry to the touch, about 30 mins to 1 hour.
  11. Preheat the oven to 275-325˚F.  If your oven tends to run hot go for 275˚, if not then 325˚.
  12. Bake 10-13 minutes, until the feet are formed and the tops are smooth.  The batter is done when you slightly wiggle it and it starts to come off of the parchment paper / silicone mat.
  13. Let cool and fill.

Salted Milk Jam Filling

Ingredients:
1 c. dulce de leche (either from a jar or homemade)
1 batch of vanilla frosting (recipe below)
a generous pinch of Maldon salt

Instructions:

  1. Mix dulce de leche, vanilla frosting and Maldon salt until combined.  If the filling is too soft to pipe, chill in the freezer for about 5-10 minutes.  Checking every 3 minutes for the correct consistency.

Basic Vanilla Frosting

Ingredients:
½ c. whole milk
3tbsp. flour
⅛ tsp. salt
4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions:

  1. In a saucier pan, put milk, salt and flour and whisk until combined on medium heat.
  2. Continuously whisk mixture until thickened to a pudding like consistency.
  3. Once thickened, strain through a mesh strainer into a bowl with a spatula to remove lumps.
  4. Place a piece of plastic wrap on top of the flour mixture and put into the fridge until fully cool.
  5. In a mixer bowl fitted with the whisk attachment, mix the sugar and butter on high speed until fluffy and pale about, 5-10 minutes.
  6. Add the chilled flour mixture and continue to whip on high speed until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture is no longer gritty, about 5-10 minutes.
  7. Add the vanilla extract and mix until combined.

Assembly

  1. Dip half of the macaron shells into the melted semi sweet chocolate.
  2. Place about 3 Frosted Flakes on top of each chocolate dipped macaron shell.
  3. Let set in freezer for about 5 minutes.
  4. While the chocolate macaron shells are chilling, fill the other half of the macaron shells with the salted milk jam.
  5. Top the milk jam macaron shell with chocolate macaron shell and enjoy!

*I always thought that milk jam was a lighter, less caramel version of dulce de leche.  But after searching the internet, it turns out they’re the same thing.
**Basic macarons adapted from Bouchon Bakery by Thomas Keller, Sebastien Rouxel

Caramel, Chocolate, Cookies, Desserts

Salted Dark Chocolate Caramel Cookies

by thebusyspatula10 Comments on Salted Dark Chocolate Caramel Cookies

Salted Dark Chocolate Caramel Cookies 6I hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend!  If you follow me on Instagram, you probably saw I had some good eats during my weekend.  I know many of you are on diet mode for the upcoming swimsuit season and I’m sorry to do this to you, but you must make these cookies, especially if you love salty/sweet desserts.
Salted Dark Chocolate Caramel Cookies 2What makes this cookie so great is the sum of its parts.  First, you have the moist chocolate cookie base.  The secret to having it so deliciously soft is by under baking it.  10 minutes! No more!  Second, you have the cocoa nibs that cut the sweetness and have a satisfying crunch.  Think of it as a more cocoa-y nut alternative.  Third, you have the perfectly melted caramel center.  Personally, I love caramel and you can use regular caramels instead of Rolos.  However Rolos have the chocolate coating that enhances it.
Salted Dark Chocolate Caramel Cookies 4Finally, the sprinkling of Maldon salt finishes the balance of the cookie.  Some of the delicate flakes melt into the cookie fusing their salty goodness while the larger chunks withstand the heat and sparkle when you take them out.
Salted Dark Chocolate Caramel Cookies 3The recipe makes 12 large cookies.   You can easily double it, but I kept my body conscious readers in mind as I baked this.  It’s definitely not healthy food, but as the saying goes, “a balanced diet is a cookie in each hand”.
Salted Dark Chocolate Caramel Cookies 5Salted Dark Chocolate Caramel Cookies
Makes 12 large cookies

Ingredients:
4 oz. butter, room temperature
½ c. sugar
½ c. brown sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
⅓ c. Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 c. all purpose flour
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. kosher salt
¾ c. cocoa nibs
12 Rolos, unwrapped
Maldon sea salt

Instructions:

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, sugar and brown sugar until lighter in color and fluffy.
  2. Add egg and vanilla on medium speed and mix until glossy.
  3. Add cocoa and mix until homogeneous.
  4. Change the speed to low and add the flour, baking soda, and salt.  Mix until just combined.
  5. Fold in cocoa nibs.
  6. Chill dough in refrigerator for 1 hour.  This step will make it easier for you to roll the cookies.
  7. Preheat oven to 350˚F and line large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  8. Form two, 1 tablespoon balls of cookie dough.
  9. Sandwich a Rolo in between the two balls of cookie dough and completely encase the Rolo by rolling it around in your hand.
  10. Repeat steps 8 and 9 until all of the dough and Rolos are used.
  11. Sprinkle Maldon salt over the tops of cookie dough balls.
  12. Bake for 10 minutes, rotating the pan 180˚ halfway.
  13. Let cool and enjoy.
Cakes, Chocolate, cupcakes, Desserts, Ice Cream

Hi Hat Cake Cones

by thebusyspatula6 Comments on Hi Hat Cake Cones

Hi Hat Cake Cones 3The weather is finally starting to warm up and these ice cream cones were screaming to be used.  I originally used them for my ice cream cone macarons, but I had half a box that was sitting on my counter looking useless and forlorn.  I wanted my next post to be hi hat cupcakes, so I stuffed it into a cone.
Hi Hat Cake Cones 1It’s ridiculously fun and easy to eat.  The crisp chocolate coating breaks into the soft marshmallow frosting and rich chocolate cake.  You can also sprinkle it with different combinations of toppings and change the color of the candy melts to suit the occasion.  I used Swedish pearl sugar and sanding sugar as toppings, but you can use anything you want to top it.  It also looks very cute with sprinkles.
Hi Hat Cake Cones 2On another note, why is the weather cloudy 80% of the time I’m trying to shoot photos?  Can’t a sista catch a break once in a while?  Every time I start conjuring up an idea for a project, the forecast is bound to be cloudy or rainy.  If you are into photography, you know the value of natural light and can understand my frustration.   If you’re not, then please excuse this rant of mine.
Hi Hat Cake Cones 4Hi Hat Cake Cones

You will need:
1 batch of chocolate cake batter (recipe below)
1 batch of marshmallow frosting (recipe bleow)
white candy melts
pink candy melts
blue candy melts
pink sanding sugar
Swedish pearl sugar
mini ice cream cones

Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. sugar
1/3 c. Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. kosher salt
¼ c. vegetable oil
1 extra-large egg, room temperature
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. strong, hot coffee

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and put one mini ice cream cone in each cup of a mini cupcake pan.
  2. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix flour, sugar, both cocoa powders, baking soda, baking powder and salt until fully combined.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract until combined.
  4. With the mixer speed on low, add the egg mixture to the flour mixture until combined.
  5. Turn off the mixer.  With a spatula, scrape the sides of the bowl to fully incorporate the two mixtures.
  6. Turn the mixer on low and slowly add the hot coffee to the batter.  Once added, raise the speed to medium until completely homogenous.
  7. Fill mini ice cream cones½ full with batter and bake about 10-13 minutes. Checking at 10 minutes for doneness with a toothpick test.*
  8. Let stand for 5-10 minutes when done, then put onto a cooling rack to fully cooled.

Marshmallow Frosting

Ingredients:
4 egg whites (120 g.)
1 c. sugar
a pinch of cream of tartar
a pinch of salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions:

  1. In a small pot fill about 1 in. of water and let it come to a simmer.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and salt until homogenous.
  3. Once the water comes to a simmer, place the bowl on top of the pot and whisk the egg white mixture until the sugar is completely dissolved and no longer grainy.
  4. Move the bowl to your standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and beat on high speed until glossy and stiff.
  5. Add the vanilla extract and mix completely.
  6. Fill a piping bag fitted with an open star tip.

Assembly:

  1. Pipe a swirl of frosting onto cooled cake cone.
  2. Put into the freezer for 15-30 minutes until completely cold.
  3. In two separate bowls, melt white and pink candy melts and blue and white candy melts.
  4. Remove the cake cones from the freezer and dip the frosting portion into the melted chocolate.  Do not be afraid, the frosting will not fall off if sufficiently cooled.
  5. Before the chocolate sets, sprinkle sanding sugar and Swedish pearl sugar.
  6. Let chocolate set and enjoy.

* The toothpick test: insert a toothpick into the cake and if the toothpick comes out clean or with a few crumbs clinging to it, it is done.

Chocolate, Cookies, Desserts, Fruit

Chocolate Chip Raspberry Meringues

by thebusyspatula4 Comments on Chocolate Chip Raspberry Meringues

Chocolate Chip Raspberry Meringues 1Happy National Chocolate Chip Day!  Chocolate chips are such a simple concept yet so pivotal in the world of baking.  It’s so versatile and can be subbed for chocolate in a lot of recipes.  I always wondered if Ruth Graves Wakefield kicked herself for exchanging her invention for a lifetime supply of chocolates. Chocolate Chip Raspberry Meringues 2I know chocolate chips are synonymous with chocolate chip cookies, but since I just posted a recipe involving a cookie cake, it seemed redundant.  Usually chocolate conjures up rich, heavy and decadent desserts and I ran the opposite direction with it this time.  It’s a light chocolate chip studded meringue cookie sandwiched with fresh whipped cream and raspberries.  It melts in your mouth, but still has a chewy middle.  It’s so yummy and easy to make, yet fancy enough to serve to guests.  In other words, a win-win-win.Chocolate Chip Raspberry Meringues 3Chocolate Chip Raspberry Meringues

Meringues

Ingredients:
4 large egg whites, room temperature
1 c. sugar
pinch of cream of tartar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. mini chocolate chips, divided

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 200˚F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
  2. In a small pot, fill it with an inch of water and let it come to a simmer.
  3. In a bowl of a standing mixer, whisk egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar.
  4. Place bowl over the small pot and whisk until the mixture reads 160 degrees.
  5. Whip with a stand mixer until stiff, glossy peaks form.
  6. Add in the vanilla and fold in ¾ c. mini chocolate chips.
  7. In a piping bag fitted with a plain tip, pipe half of the batter as 2“ round, flat bases and the other half as 2” round, domed tops.
  8.  Bake in oven for about 30 minutes or until the cookies are firm and dry to the touch.

Whipped Cream

Ingredients:
1 c. heavy cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. confectioner’s sugar

Instructions:

  1. In a bowl of a standing mixer with the whip attachment, add the heavy cream and whip on high speed until soft peaks are just about to form.
  2. Add the vanilla extract and sugar and whip on medium speed until stiff peaks form.
  3. Do not over whip! The cream will turn into butter.

Assembly:

  1. On a round, flat meringue cookie base, arrange raspberries around the circumference of the cookie.
  2. Put about 2 teaspoons of whipped cream in the center of the cookie.
  3. Finish with a domed meringue cookie top.
Cakes, Chocolate, Desserts, Flowers, Holidays, Parties

Rose Cake

by thebusyspatula5 Comments on Rose Cake

rose cake 2This weekend was crazy busy for the Park family.  We had a graduation, Mother’s Day and my dad’s birthday lined up 3 days in a row.  We ended up celebrating Mother’s day and my dad’s birthday in one go, and I tried to think of a birthday cake that would serve both occasions.  I suppose the mauve color of the cake was a little too feminine for a man’s birthday, but my mom didn’t get any flowers for Mother’s day so I hope this made up for it a bit.
Rose cake 1Like many celebration cakes, this cake takes a long time to decorate but isn’t necessarily challenging.  What takes the most time is rolling out the petals and chilling the petals in between steps.  I wanted to use 100% modeling chocolate for the cake, but something went wrong during the process and I had to add about 30% fondant to make it useable.  Do not fight the weather, as soon as your modeling chocolate/fondant starts to lose its shape, stop and chill it in the freezer.  This will save you a lot of frustration and heartache down the line.
rose cake 3It does have a certain eye opening charm and it’s very flexible in terms of the variation of celebrations and colors.  An all-around crowd pleaser.
rose cake 4Rose Cake
You Will Need:
14 oz of modeling chocolate or a mixture of fondant and modeling chocolate
1 batch of vanilla buttercream
1 8” cake, layered and filled
a set of round cookie cutters 
round ended fondant tool

Instructions:

  1. Frost your cake with vanilla frosting into a dome shape.*  (Pic 1)
  2. Mold a 1½ in. cone with modeling chocolate and place in center of the cake. (Pic 2)
  3. From this point on, the modeling chocolate will be rolled out to 1/8-1/16 in. thickness.
  4. With your 1.75 in. round cutter, cut out 2 pieces of modeling chocolate and mold it to a petal shape using a round ended fondant tool.
  5. Wrap the cone with the 2 petals with some buttercream, overlapping each other to form a bud. (Pic 3 and 4)
  6. With your 1.75 in. round cutter, cut out 3 pieces of modeling chocolate and mold it to a petal shape using a round ended fondant tool.
  7. Wrap the bud with the 3 petals with some buttercream, overlapping each other at the edges. (Pic 5 and 6)
  8. With your 2.25 in. round cutter, cut out 5 pieces of modeling chocolate and mold it to a petal shape using a round ended fondant tool.
  9. Wrap the bud with the 5 petals with some buttercream, overlapping each other at the edges. (Pic 7 and 8)
  10. With your 2.5 in. round cutter, cut out 5 pieces of modeling chocolate and mold it to a petal shape using a round ended fondant tool.
  11. Wrap the bud with the 5 petals with some buttercream, overlapping each other at the edges. (Pic 9 and 10)
  12. With your 2.75 in. round cutter, cut out 5 pieces of modeling chocolate and mold it to a petal shape using a round ended fondant tool.
  13. Wrap the bud with the 5 petals with some buttercream, overlapping each other at the edges. (Pic 11 and 12)
  14. With your 3 in. round cutter, cut out 5 pieces of modeling chocolate and mold it to a petal shape using a round ended fondant tool.
  15. Wrap the bud with the 5 petals with some buttercream, overlapping each other at the edges. (Pic 13)
  16. With your 3.25 in. round cutter, cut out 7 pieces of modeling chocolate and mold it to a petal shape using a round ended fondant tool.
  17. Wrap the bud with the 7 petals with some buttercream, overlapping each other at the edges. (Pic 15)
  18. Cut 2-3 in. wide strips of molding chocolate and curl the edges with a straw, about 8-13 pieces.
  19. Chill in the freezer to set, about 1-3 minutes.
  20. Use some frosting to wrap the cake with the strips, overlapping at the edges and curled edge pointing up.  (Pic 16)

* This is what I did.  In hindsight, you could do the regular sharp corners, it shouldn’t make a difference.

Appetizers, Cakes, Chicken, Chocolate, Desserts, Dinner, Drinks, Fruit, Holidays, Parties, Pie, Pies, Soup, Star Wars

Star Wars Day 2014

by thebusyspatula12 Comments on Star Wars Day 2014

Star Wars Day 2014 1This is the third year I’ve hosted a Star Wars Day party.  It involves good food with punny names, watching SW movies and SW themed board games.  The first SW party I threw was just a small surprise for a special someone but through the years it’s evolved into a bigger celebration.  I can’t say that I’m a huge fan of Star Wars, but I can say that I love throwing themed parties.  So in a way, I do love Star Wars Day.
Star Wars Day 2014 2Star Wars Day 2014 4This year‘s party theme was Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, so all of the food and activities were centered on Episode 1 characters and settings.  Here are the things we made for SW Day*:
chicken pod piechicken pod pie 2Star Wars Day 2014 7 Star Wars Day 2014 8obi wontons obi wontons 2padme parfaitpadme parfait 2quail gon jinn 1 quail gon jinn 2watto's wings 1 watto's wings 2The centerpiece of the table was my Darth Maul-ble Cake, a marble cake with chocolate frosting and a chocolate transfer of Darth Maul.   There was a small chorus of “wows” when I revealed it.  Chocolate transfers can take a bit of time, but it is straight forward and simple to do.  I used the same technique for this piece and it turned out fabulous.
steps darth maulI think Darth Maul is quite scary.  To be completely honest, I got a wee bit frightened trying to find the right photo for the transfer.  Filling in the chocolate parts was no walk in the park either, he was just as scary.  I know it sounds silly, but if your imagination runs as wild as mine does I’m sure you understand. Revenge of the Six-th indeed. 🙂
Star Wars Day 2014 19Darth Maul-ble Cake

You will need:

1 Chocolate Marble Cake – Recipe Below
1 Batch of Chocolate Frosting – Can be found here
Black Candy Melts
Red Candy Melts
Yellow Candy Melts
White Candy Melts
A mirrored image of this printout in a black circle

Instructions:

  1. Tape the printout onto a baking sheet or any desired flat surface.
  2. Tape a piece of parchment paper over the printout making sure it covers the entire image.
  3. Melt a small amount of black, red, yellow and white candy melts (do not meld the colors together).
  4. Remember, chocolate transfers are all about layering.  Each time you fill out the next step, you will be going over the previously filled portion.
  5. Using either a toothpick or a piping bag fitted with either a #1 or #2 round tip, fill in the pupil of the eye with the black candy melt. (As shown in the above photo.)
  6. Mix the yellow and white candy melt to get a light ivory hue for the horns. Fill in. (As shown in the above photo.)
  7. Once the pupil is set, fill in the iris with the yellow candy melt.  Let set. (As shown in the above photo.)
  8. The outer edge of the iris has a red outline.  Carefully, trace a red border around the yellow candy melt. Let set. (As shown in the above photo.)
  9. Fill in the sclera with the white candy melt.  (As shown in the above photo.)
  10. Fill in the white edge of the hood while the sclera sets. (As shown in the above photo.)
  11. Using the red candy melt, start filling in the mask like patterns on the face.  Try not to lose the detailed edges because that’s what makes the image pop. (As shown in the above photo.)
  12. Once the red candy melt is set, melt some black candy melts.  Make sure it is not piping hot because you will lose some detail if it is.
  13. Smooth over the entire circumference with the black candy melts.  Let completely set.
  14. Place on top of frosted cake and you’re done!

Chocolate Marble Cake

Ingredients:
1⅔ c. all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. kosher salt
4 oz. unsalted butter, melted
1 c. sugar
1 egg, room temp
¼ c. Greek yogurt
¾ c. + 1 tbsp. milk, divided
1 tsp. vanilla extract
¼ c. unsweetened cocoa powder

Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F and prep a 9” cake pan by coating it with nonstick spray and lining the bottom with parchment paper.
  2. Mix melted butter and sugar in a mixing bowl.  Set aside.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt until combined.
  4. Add the egg, Greek yogurt, ¾ c. milk and 1 tsp. vanilla extract to the butter mixture and mix until homogenous.
  5. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and fold until smooth.
  6. Transfer ½ of the mixture to another bowl, mix in 1 tbsp. milk and cocoa powder until a thick chocolate batter forms.
  7. Put half of the vanilla batter into the prepared cake pan and spread out.
  8. Pour all of the chocolate batter on top of the vanilla mixture.
  9. Pour the rest of the vanilla batter over the chocolate batter.
  10. Using a toothpick or a butter knife, make swirls all over the cake. Be careful not to over swirl, or you will lose the marbling.
  11. Bake 18-25 minutes until golden brown or a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Cake recipe adapted from sally’s baking addiction.

* If you would like detailed info on any of the food I’ve prepared, don’t be afraid to leave a comment or shoot me an email!

Cakes, Chocolate, Cookies, Desserts

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cookie Cake

by thebusyspatula7 Comments on Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cookie Cake

cookie cake 5First thing I need to say is… this Sunday is Star Wars Day!!  You can be sure that I’ll have a post on all the goodies I’ll be making for this year next week.  Now back to the cookie cake, this cookie cake is everything I would want in a cookie: sweet, salty, crispy, chewy, marshmallow-y… I could go on about it.  The last time I served this was during this year’s Super Bowl and while people ate this, it was very quiet.  It was that good.
cookie cake 2To be honest, this recipe is like my baby.  This cookie recipe has been over 5 years in the making!  I almost didn’t want to write it down because well, it’s mine and I didn’t want to share.  But I figured someone must be having a day somewhere and this cookie would be sure to cheer them up.  So whip up a batch, and make yourself or someone smile because a smile is free therapy.
cookie cake 6Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cookie Cake

Makes one 9” cookie cake

Ingredients:
6 oz. butter, divided
½ c. sugar
¾ c. brown sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tbsp. cornstarch
¾ c. chocolate chips
¾ c. mini marshmallows

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350˚F and line a 9” cake pan with parchment paper along the bottom and the sides.
  2. In a small pot, brown 5 oz. of butter.
  3. While the butter is browning, mix sugar, brown sugar and kosher salt in a medium mixing bowl.
  4. Once the butter is brown, add the remaining 1 oz. of butter and stir to get the brown bits off the bottom of the pot.
  5. Add the hot browned butter to the sugar mixture and stir.  Let cool for 5-10 minutes.
  6. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract until glossy and homogenous.
  7. Fold in flour, baking soda, and cornstarch until just combined.
  8. Fold in chocolate chips and marshmallows until just combined.
  9. Bake 15-20 minutes until center is set and slightly underdone.
  10. Let cool 15 minutes before serving.