Vanilla cupcakes

This is a nice, simple cupcake recipe. I love making mini cupcakes, this recipe makes 12 regular or 24 mini.

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla, mix well. Combine dry ingredients and add alternately with milk, beginning and ending with dry. Fill muffin cups (lined) 3/4 full and bake at 350F for 22-24 minutes for full size, 12-15 for mini.

You can make these chocolate by replacing 1/2 cup flour with cocoa powder. They aren't as rich as my chocolate cupcake recipe, but are still very tasty.

You can ice these with ganache, or a simple buttercream icing. I sometimes get all fancy and flavour and colour small amounts of icing to have a variety (like a fancy cupcake shop)

Ganache

I was reviewing older posts and saw that I said I would post a recipe for a ganache icing. Ganache, for those of you who haven't discovered its silky marvelousness, is simply cream and chocolate. The proportions vary, depending on what you want to do with it. And if you add butter, you have truffles.

You need to start with the best dark chocolate you can get your hands on, and use heavy (whipping) cream.

12 ounces dark chocolate
1 1/4 cups cream

chop the chocolate into small pieces (less than 1 inch). Melt in the microwave at 30-50% power, checking every minute or so (don't scorch it!),it doesn't have to be completely melted. Heat the cream in a saucepan just until it simmers. Pour the cream over the chocolate, let sit for 2-3 minutes, then stir gently. It will take some time for it to come together, just keep stirring. If there are still chunks of unmelted chocolate after 10 minutes, zap it for a minute (med low power). You can pour it over your cake at this time, or let it cool until it thickens and is of a spreadable consistency. You can do this over ice water, stirring constantly, or in the fridge, stirring occasionlly.

You can also make a whipped ganache that is a bit lighter by using:
8 ounces of chocolate
2 cups of cream.

Refrigerate for at least 6 hours, then whip until it starts to thicken. Once it starts to thicken, it sets up quickly, so have your cake ready to ice.

Both of these make enough to ice a 8 or 9 inch layer cake. You can use the first one for a chocolate fondue.

Wacky cake

The very first cake I baked was this so-called Wacky cake. It was from a recipe book for kids that someone had given my sister. It has no milk or eggs, so I guess it is vegan.

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp baking soda
6 Tbsp cocoa
2 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp vinegar
10 Tbsp oil
2 cups water

Mix dry ingredients together. Mix wet ingredients seperately, then combine with dry. Bake in 2 9-inch round pans (greased and floured) for 30 minutes at 350F.

You can make this recipe without a mixer, or you can make half of it right in the pan (but you have to serve it out of the pan because it will stick. And I would do it in a 8-inch square).

Cheesecake

This is a classic recipe for New York style cheesecake. I often make it a chocolate swirl cheesecake (yes, shocking that I would add chocolate to something).

Crust
1 cup graham cracker (or Oreo) crumbs
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup melted butter

Mix dry ingredients with a fork, then pour melted butter over and toss to blend thoroughly. Pat evenly into the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan. I use a juice glass to pat it down so it is even.

Cheesecake
4 250 gram packages cream cheese (total of 2 pounds) at room temperature
1 1/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
4 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream

Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until light and fluffy, scraping down several times. Beat in vanilla and eggs, one at a time. Fold in sour cream by hand. If you want chocolate swirl, add 8 ounces melted dark chocolate to half the batter, being careful not to over mix. Pour mixture onto crust (for swirl, alternate large spoonfuls of each batter and run a knife through to gently blend). Bake at 325 for 60-70 minutes, then leave in turned off oven for at least an hour with the door closed. Best if refrigerated overnight.

I've read that for best results, cheesecake should be baked in a water bath, but I don't mind a few cracks so I don't usually bother. If you do want to, make sure you cover the outside of the pan well with foil, then place in a large roasting pan and pour about 1 inch boiling water in roasting pan (careful not to splash the cheesecake) and put the whole thing in the oven. It might take a bit longer to cook.

Chocolate Cake

This is a fairly simple recipe for a rich, moist chocolate cake. It is good with the mousse icing I posted last time, or with a ganache icing (I'll post that some other day) or even a simple buttercream.

1/2 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 ozs unsweetened chocolate (melted)
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 cup sour cream
1 cup boiling water

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then melted chocolate. Alternately blend in dry ingredients (1/3 at a time) and sour cream, beginning and ending with dry. Add boiling water and blend well.

Pour batter into 2 waxed paper lined 9 inch round cake pans. Bake at 350F for 35-40 minutes. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, remove and finish cooling on racks before icing.

I use Baker's unsweetened chocolate (in the blue box here in Canada). This is one time when I don't use European chocolate because I've never found an unsweetened one. You can't use a dark chocolate, even a high cocoa one, the cake just won't turn out right.

I have used this recipe for a long time, and always get raves. I have done shaped cakes with it, but you have to watch the baking times carefully.

Chocolate cupcakes

Made some cupcakes today for a BBQ with friends. I like to make them in a mini-muffin pan, so people can just have a taste if they feel guilty about eating sweets. Mind you, some people just eat three or four instead!

3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup sour cream

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well and scraping down bowl between each addition. Mix flour, cocoa and baking powder together, then add in three batches, alternating with sour cream (begin and end with flour mixture). Fill muffin tins 3/4 full, bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes for full size cupcakes, 14-16 minutes for mini size.

I have silicone muffin pans, but if you don't, I would recommend using liners. I found some mini liners at the dollar store.

I made a simple buttercream icing for my cupcakes tonight. I just take 1/4 cup butter, add about 2 tbsp cocoa powder, 1 cup icing sugar and 1 tbsp milk. When it is combined well, I add icing sugar and/or milk until I have the amount I want and it is the right consistency to pipe. I have a large piping tip with a flower-ish opening and I just use it to pipe a blob of icing on top of each cupcake.