Being a big food nerd means you do some things that "normal" people don't do.
You find yourself sending thank you cards to the manager of the produce department at your local grocery store, insisting on talking about your latest food find even though your friends eyes glazed over 5 minutes ago, and getting excited about organizing your stash of flours...O.K. maybe thast just me.
But one unifying characteristic in the family of food nerds is blog reading. Chances are if your reading this you are , in fact, a gastro geek. If you are not a gastro geek you are either in denial or someone Ive badgered into reading my blog.
(Hi Dad!).
If you are in the first category chances are your already well aquainted with creator Cheryl Porro's new website cupcake bakeshop (formerly chokylit bakeshop).
Scratching your head and making a dumb face? Well then, stop reading this schlop I've written and check it out.
Not only does Cheryl come up with some of the most innovative concepts in cup-cakery since the invention of red velvet cake, but she has benevolantly posted an entire section of troubleshooting techniques and general baking instructions if your less familiar with the dark art. These are based on the second best selling girls scout cookies (the first being thin mints), and do not actually involve the cookies themselves. This means you you can enjoy them all year long.
This recipe first came to me by way of the s.f. chronicle's article on cupcakes.
Lady gets READ..ok?!
I recently made these for my sister's birthday.
Before I repost a reposted recipe, let me say that if youve never made caramel from scratch before know that you could be taking your life in your hands.
Sometimes I insist on making everything from scratch .
Part of that is curiousity and the other part is straight up machisimo.
There is baking and then there is BUTCH baking.
woof.
But don't get lulled into thinking homemade caramel is anything short of perilous. Hot melted diamond sugar might sound all sugar plum fairy but its more like a clingy hell imp bent on singeing your unsuspecting arm hair and torching your finger tips.
I think the experience is best described by this short snipett of a conversation I had with my dear friend Rebecca.Though not exactly about sugar it illustrates the problem with any hot sticky substance.
"...I was eating a lean pocket, some kind of cheese and broccoli something...and when I bit into it cheese erupted onto my chin. Of course, your first instinct is to wipe what's burning you off of your chin with your hand. But then your hand is burning. They are tasty but you need to beware. Hot pocket should be called scalding pocket. It could change your life for the worse. suddenly you become suspiscious of anything in pocket form...empanadas...jamaican meat patty's...mcdonalds hot apple pies..."
sage advice.
I mean really, who wants to muddy up the joy that is Mcdonalds hot apple pie?
Some paths are best left untread.
Sweet table sugar morphs. It becomes goopey and angry.Popping like a cap gun it will spit at you and call you names.
With every stir it lurches closer and closer to your knuckles.
It's like a B movie only ironic,not funny ,and scarey.
Life is hard enough without being attacked by mundane house hold goods.
In a pinch I have used caramel straight from a jar.
Subdued and tame it is just as good, and it will save time.
It might just also save your life.
consider yourself warned.
If you choose to brave it use a tall pot for protection.
Ive considered experimenting with plopping square caramels directly in the center but am unsure of how they will melt or if they will stay gooey. they might prove to be a better option then ice cream carmel which ive used in the past. this works out well for the first few hours but if you plan on keeping these for a day or two the cupcake absorbs the carmel.
If anyone tries the carmel squares let me know how it works out.
also , the basic brown sugar cupacake recipe is awesome. It alsways comes out beautifully brown and gently sweet.
Ganache can be made well in advance and frozen in the freezer.
I've made these a few times from my own notes , and looking over the recipe I just realized that the chocolate ganace is actually suppose to go in the center of the cupcake. Not the caramel. This makes sense - cupcakes with a ganace filling would better imitate the taste of a samoa as they have a layer of chocolate underlying each cookie. This would also solve the problem of the greedy cupcake absorbing the carmel.
I had been filling them with caramel centers and leaving a layer of ganache under the coconut icing. I havent gotten any complaints .
Samoas Cupcakes
by Cheryl Porro of cupcake bakeshopcupcake bakeshop.
INGREDIENTS:
The Cupcakes:
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup whole milk
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
The Chocolate Ganache:
2 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (i used dark Ghirradeli)
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
The Frosting:
2 1/2 cups shredded, sweetened coconut
2 eggs
10 ounces evaporated milk
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper cupcake liners.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Stir vanilla into milk.
Using an electric mixer, beat butter on high until soft, about 30 seconds. Add sugar, and beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 30 seconds and scraping down the sides of the mixing bowl after each addition.
Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with 2 additions of milk. Scrape down the sides in between, and mix until fully combined.
Scoop the batter into the muffin cups, filling each about three-quarters full.
Bake for 20-22 minutes or until the top of the muffins springs back when lightly touched, and a wooden toothpick inserted in the cakes comes out free of uncooked batter.
Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes before transferring them to wire racks to cool completely.
For the ganache filling: Place chocolate in a heat-proof bowl.
Heat cream until bubbles form around the edge of the pan, then pour over the chocolate.
Let stand for 1 minute, then stir until combined. Add vanilla and stir until incorporated.
Let cool to room temperature.
To fill the cupcakes: Fill a pastry bag with the chocolate ganache and insert the 1/4-inch metal tip into the top of each cupcake, squeeze the bag until you feel a slight pressure, which should put approximately 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons of chocolate in each cupcake. You should only squeeze for a couple of seconds. Alternatively, cut off the top of the cupcake, scoop out a bit of the center and replace with 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons of the ganache.
*(my substitution : as pictured cut out a small hole in the top of the cupcake and lift out a pinch of the center. drip some carmel in the center with a teaspoon and place the cut out piece back on top. cover the top with a thin layer of ganache)*
Save remaining chocolate to garnish tops of cupcakes with stripes.
For the frosting: Preheat the oven to 350°.
*(i use dto think toaster ovens were teh most useless thing in teh world but one would come in hany here)*
Spread the coconut on a sheet pan. Toast in oven, stirring frequently to prevent burning, until the coconut is an even brown color, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
Meanwhile, crack the eggs into a small saucepan and beat lightly to break up. Add the milk, sugar, and butter. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until thick, bubbly, and golden, about 15 minutes.
Press mixture through a fine metal sieve and into a bowl to remove any lumps. Add 2 cups of the coconut, reserving the remainder for garnish, and stir to combine. Let the mixture cool, and spread generously over tops of cupcakes.
With a fine-tipped pastry bag, or the edge snipped off a plastic bag, pipe stripes of chocolate ganache over the top of the coconut icing to look like a Samoas Girl Scout cookie. Garnish with remaining toasted coconut.
Yields 12 cupcakes
PER CUPCAKE: 550 calories, 7 g protein, 62 g carbohydrate, 32 g fat (21 g saturated), 133 mg cholesterol, 275 mg sodium, 1 g fiber.
