Saturday, April 7, 2007

This is not a political blog (chocolate cherry cupcakes)


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Remember that acid trip you took as a kid ? It was sort of Muppet's meets the Ren Faire?
No?
Oh well it was called Labyrinth.
Anyway , at one point in the film a pair of door knocker's gives the main character a kind piece of advice , "one of us always tells the truth , and one of us always lies..."


good advice.
nice knockers.

Some would argue that the same could be said of the George's.
This is not a political blog . But circumstances being what they were I couldn't help but post this image.

While daydreaming on my drive to work about what sort of confection to make for a close friends' birthday I barely remembered to pay the toll . I handed the attendant a 10 spot and he placed this gem in my hand with a smirk.
lightning hit and
HUZZAH!
I had my inspiration.


Add together presidents day and this dawdled piece of George on George slander and what do you get?

Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes.


remember that whole cherry tree incident? "I cannot tell a lie?"


The recipe comes from Nigella Lawsons , how to be a domestic goddess, and please don’t judge so harshly. It is my first post and really who doesn't want to be a domestic goddess?.
This is the tunnel and bridge version kid's.
I made them a little trashy , a little gaudy and a little more like your stiletto wearing aunt Rita , having spread just a little rum on the top .
(If you don't have an aunt Rita think leopard print leotard).


I had extra batter so I made a small cake having dug a runt of a pan out from the dark recesses of the cabinet . it was seriously small. I think it may be from our second easy bake oven as kids, the first having burnt down into a lump of melted plastic in an unfortunate incident that involved my sister and too many pine needles.
they make great kindling.
who knew?


The cupcakes were mercilessly devoured and so the cake was all I had to photograph.


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the original recipe on Nigellas' website is here.


Slight Substitutions were made.


I didn't have self rising flour as the book calls for so I substituted 3/4 cup all purpose and then added 1 tsp baking powder , 1tsp salt and 1 tsp baking soda. Turns out her web site actually forgoes the use of the self rising flour called for in the print version and calls for slightly different measurements . Three cheers for Nigella on making her recipe's more accessible then some of her immortal hearth harpee contemporaries .


I also substituted Morello cherries for maraschino cherries I'd been soaking in rum.
my boy likes Bacardi.

I added in about 1/2 cup of dark cherry and half sweet jam.

However sweet as cherries may be I gave them black hearts.
Retrieving leftover truffles from the fridge i popped one in the center of each cupcake minion before baking and studded the top of my easy bake cake with about six. Afterward I sent them on their way to work dark magic .
Initailly i wanted to sput a white chocolate ganache on top but ran out of time.
i did not ice them but a lite dusting of powdered sugar wouldn't hurt.


If GW wasn't so busy talking trash he might be gnoshing on one of these bad boys.