Week 15: Egg Cupcakes!

Hello Everyone and Happy Belated Easter!  Easter weekend I was just getting over a nasty cold and got to spend a lovely day with the LaFlamme Family for Easter.  Since I didn’t have much time, I wasn’t able to make the cupcakes I really wanted to for Easter weekend.  I figured why not make them this week as I wanted to see if the idea would really work.  Well it worked however it was a very long process to make it and when you eat the cupcake your like, that’s it? Lol The cake recipe I will definitely use and make again as they were amazing!

I got the original recipe and idea from: http://www.cupcakeproject.com/2011/04/easter-cupcakes-baked-in-real-egg.html

Egg Cupcakes!

Yields: 20 Egg Cupcakes

Ingredients:

20 large eggs (Only two will get used in the cake.  The rest are just used for the shells)

1 Cup flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

a pinch of salt

1 Cup sugar

1/2 Cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 tsp lemon extract

1/2 Cup sour cream

Carefully poke a small hole in the top of each egg.  I used a small knife, but you would use the pointy end of wine opener.  Be very careful when making the hole!

Once you have poked a tiny hole, peel back the edges of the hole to expand it a bit.  The hole should e able to fit the tip of piping bag in it.  You can always make the hole larger later when your ready to fill, as its better to have a tiny hole than a big hole.  

Turn the egg upside-down to empty out the contents.  You will now need to carefully get the insides out and its not easy as one would think.  If you can get some of the egg white out, use something pointy and pull down on the egg white.  It help pulls the insides out easier.  You will also have to break the egg yolk inside to get it out.  Keep the contents of two eggs separate to use in the cake recipe. See at the end of the recipe what I did with the remaining 18 eggs. 

Rinse the insides of the eggs out thoroughly over the sink, rinsing at least three times.  I say three times as when I was little my aunt was teaching me how to do dishes and I will never forget her saying, dishes need to be rinsed off three times to make sure they are rinsed and clean.  To this day I always rinse things three times.  Once you rinse the eggs out, immerse them in saltwater for thirty minutes. 

After thirty minutes rinse the egg shells on cold water and lay the eggs hole side down on a paper towel to dry. 

While they are drying you can make the cake mix.  Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a mediums sized bowl and set aside.  In a large bowl, mix two eggs and sugar until light and creamy.  Add the butter and lemon extract and mix until fully integrated.  mix in the dry ingredients until just combined.  Add the sour cream and mix until smooth.  

Place the prepared dry egg shells into a cupcake tin.  Use aluminum foil to help them stand upright.

Load the batter into a fitted piping bag with a round tip.  Make sure the tip can fit all of the way inside the egg hole.  If it can't, just simply expand the hole by breaking off small pieces until the tip fits.  Fill your eggs about 3/4 full with batter.  If you under fill the eggs, you won't get a complete egg shape.  if you overfill the eggs, cake will overflow out of the egg during baking.  *Aka its better to overfill than under fill!  (Mine ended up overflowing) 

Bake the eggs at 350 F for about 20 minutes. 

If the eggs overfill, then simply pick it off (I ate it) and clean the shell wit ha damp towel before serving! 

Let cool, crack and then enjoy! 

*Now one thinks what do you with 18 eggs, you make breakfast burritos.  A while I got this awesome breakfast burrito recipe, where you pre-make the burritos and freeze them until needed.  It is a nice healthy quick breakfast for those who don’t have a lot of time.  Here is the link to the recipe, though you honestly could add whatever you wanted into it. http://www.hotcouponworld.com/2012/01/freezer-meal-breakfast-burriotos/

Love always, aloterella :)

Week 14: Devils Food Cupcakes with Roasted Strawberry-Balsamic Buttercream

Hello!  So this week I felt like it was time to try something totally different as I feel like I have been making pretty traditional cupcakes.  I wanted something you wouldn’t find too often together and thanks to pinterest I was able to find something!  I felt that roasted balsamic strawberries wasn’t such a normal combination that you would find together or on a cupcake.  And to be honest I was a little nervous of what the taste would be like but figured it was worth a try.  

Of course it came out to be an amazing cupcake.  You get the hint of balsamic with some bites but not every which is just enough.  I also am not normally a fan of butter cream but this cupcake may have changed that!  This cupcake is now at the top of my list of the 14 cupcakes I have made.  It was funny when people asked me what this week’s cupcake was, as it was such a mouth full and I always had to think of what it was called before I told anyone.  :)

I got the original recipe from: http://stickygooeycreamychewy.com/2012/02/15/sinfully-good-devils-food-cupcakes-with-roasted-strawberry-balsamic-buttercream/.  I however altered a few things.

Devils Food Cupcakes with Roasted Strawberry-Balsamic Butter-cream
Yields:20-24 cupcakes

For the cupcakes:

• 1 box Devil’s Food cake mix
• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons dark cocoa powder
• 1 cup brewed, black coffee
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare the cupcakes according to the instructions on the back of the cake mix box, adding the cocoa powder and coffee for 1 cup of the water.  Bake for 18-20 minutes.  Remove from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool.

For the buttercream:

• 5 large egg whites
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup roasted, fresh or frozen strawberries, pureed.

*This recipe made quite a bit of frosting. I would recommend to maybe cut it in half if you don’t want to waste or have extra frosting.

Combine egg whites, sugar, and salt in the heatproof bowl of a standing mixer set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly by hand until mixture is warm to the touch and sugar has dissolved (the mixture should feel completely smooth when rubbed between your fingertips).  The temperature on an instant-read thermometer should be 150-160 F.

Attach the bowl to a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Starting on low speed,  and gradually increasing to medium-high speed, until the mixture is fluffy and glossy, and completely cool (test by touching the bottom of the bowl).  This should take about 10 minutes.

For the Chocolate Drizzle:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup heavy cream

Set the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl. Warm the milk until it's steaming and pour it over the chocolate. Let this stand for a minute, then mix until they form a thick, glossy paste. Using either a spoon or squeeze bottle, drizzle chocolate on top of the cupcakes.  

The cupcakes are best served the same day, but can be kept in an airtight container for up to 3 days.  If refrigerated, bring to room temperature before serving.

Love always, aloterella :)

Week 13: Boston Creme Cupcakes!

This week I was stuck in a rut of what to make.  I have I don’t know like 175 cupcake pins on Pinterest, you think picking one would be easy!  While trying to decide I got an idea while thinking about my weekend plans.  I decided to make Boston Crème Cupcakes in honor of my girl’s weekend with my college roomies in Boston.  Here is the one and only picture of us girls (and I of course have devil eyes):

I quick looked at the recipe, well glanced and made my shopping list prior to my weekend away so I could stop at the store on my way home.  I got everything and then when I got home, really really looked at the recipe.  I didn’t realize however that I would be making a homemade pudding/crème that wasn’t out of the box.  It was definitely something new, but didn’t realize how easy it was! 

I got the original recipe from: http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-boston-cream-cupcakesrecipes-from-the-kitchn-168053

Boston Cream Cupcakes
Makes 24 cupcakes
For the cupcakes:
3 cups cake flour
3 teaspoon baking powder
1teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cup white sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup buttermilk

Heat the oven to 375°F. Line cupcake tins with cupcake liners. Spray the top of the muffin top with non-stick coating.Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.

With a standing mixer fit with a paddle attachment or with a handheld mixer, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until they turn light yellow and look like frosting. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla.

With the mixer on medium-low speed, beat in 1/3 of the flour until the flour is just barely combine. Beat in half of the buttermilk. Continue alternating between the flour and the buttermilk, ending with the last of the flour.  It should look like this: 

Divide the batter between the cupcake liners. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the cupcakes are domed and beginning to turn golden. Let them cool in the muffin tin for a few minutes, and then turn them out onto a wire rack. Make sure the cupcakes are completely cool before assembling.

For the pastry cream filling:
1/2 cup white sugar
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large egg yolks
1 1/3 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Have a strainer over a heat-proof bowl standing ready near the stove.

Whisk together the sugar, flour, and salt in a small bowl. Whisk in the egg yolks to form a sticky paste.
Warm the milk in a small sauce pan just until you see it beginning to steam. Remove it from heat and pour a little into the egg mixture. Quickly whisk the eggs to thin out the paste. When you see no more lumps, slowly pour the rest of the milk into the eggs while continuing to whisk.

Pour the milk and egg mixture back into the saucepan and set over medium heat. Whisk constantly. At first, the mixture will feel very loose and liquidy, but it will start to thicken in a few minutes. It's important to keep whisking so the eggs on don't cook. When the pastry cream has thickened to the consistency of pudding, stop whisking and check for bubbles. If you see large bubbles plopping on the surface, the pastry cream is done.
Remove the pan from heat and whisk in the vanilla.

 Pour the pastry cream through the strainer set over the bowl, stirring until it has all fallen through. The strainer will catch any eggs that started to curdle. Press a piece of plastic wrap or wax paper directly to the surface of the pastry cream and refrigerate until completely chilled.

For the chocolate ganache:
2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup heavy cream

Use a paring knife or cupcake corer cut cones or holes from the center of each cupcake.*I would recommend making bigger holes than I did to balance out the cupcake.  This however will mean you need to make more filling! 

Fill the hole with a tablespoon or two of cooled pastry cream:
 

To make the ganache, set the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl. Warm the milk until it's steaming and pour it over the chocolate. Let this stand for a minute, then mix until they form a thick, glossy paste. Pour a generous spoonful of ganache over each cupcake, spreading it with the back of the spoon to even out the top.

The cupcakes can be eaten immediately while the ganache is still warm, or you can wait an hour or two until the ganache has set.  Keep refrigerator if not eating right away, but allow them to reach room temperature before serving.

Love always, aloterella :)