Peppermint Mocha Cupcakes

Living in Seattle, coffee is everywhere. I take it for granted that there is a coffee shop on every third block. I'm often surprised when I visit other cities and all that's there is a starbucks. In my neighborhood, I counted, there are about 13 coffee shops, in a 6 block radius. when i visited new york city this last spring, i went on a jog for blocks and blocks trying to find a coffee shop, and ending up running for quite a while. I was shocked: no decent coffee on every other block? What is this world coming to? I eventually found a coffee, so all was well in the end.




But it's fair to say that there is quite a coffee culture here, and I've definitely been sucked into it. I started drinking coffee was I was 11, which wasn't unusual in my class at all. My addiction has only grown stronger since then, until the point that I tried a sludge cup: drip coffee with shots in it. Any self-respecting-Seattlite-coffee-addict drinks drip coffee strong. Very strong. However, I overestimated my caffeine tolerance and tried a triple-shot sludge cup before an exam. Let's just say I was a little jittery and didn't get much sleep that night, even though I had the drink at 8:00 AM.



I've recently been coffee-sober for 2 weeks, which is a new record, as I often can't go a day without it.

Mocha Cupcakes

4.25 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 cup AP flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter; softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon coffee extract (only if you have it, not crucial if you don't)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder

Preheat oven to 350F.

Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over simmering water. Stir until melted. Remove from water and let cool.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl.

In a large bowl, mix the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. On low speed, add the melted chocolate until incorporated. On medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla and beat until the mixture has changed to a slightly lighter color. Mix in the yogurt until completely blended. Dissolve espresso powder into water and pour into batter. Mix on low speed just until smooth. Line a muffin tin with paper cups and spray the whole pan with vegetable oil [to prevent sticking]. Fill each cup almost to the top. Bake regular sized cupcakes for aprox. 14 minutes, minis for 10 (depending on your oven.)

Peppermint Buttercream

2 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon salt
Couple drops peppermint oil (to taste)
couple drops spearmint oil (to taste)
Sprinkles

In a stand mixer, beat softened butter and powdered sugar, then salt, and mix thoroughly. Add in lemon oil and mix. Transfer to a piping bag and pipe onto cupcakes. Sprinkle!

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Espresso Chocolate Cheesecake

First of all, sorry for the lack of posts. The last couple of weeks have been pretty tough at school. There isn't a lot of time for baking when there's homework to do, friends to see, going to the gym, etc. But now I'm on winter break, so there should be more time for holiday baking. We just got together our holiday cookie bags, so hopefully I can get a couple shots of those up soon.




We had a holiday party at my house for my mom's work group; I was asked to do a chocolate dessert. I hadn't made a cheesecake in a while, and I wanted to do something creamy. I've always thought coffee or espresso flavored cheesecakes were just the best. I'm definitely a fan of the plain with graham cracker crust, but it's not terribly exciting. I haven't made anything chocolaty in a while, so this was the perfect chance. Also, I don't have a ton of occasions where I get to make one big dessert for a lot of people, which was exciting.



I also got to use one of my favorite techniques: chocolate transfers. I think this technique adds a lot to the dessert's visual tastiness, without over-decorating it or making it look cheesy, in the style of grocery store cakes.

I hope everyone is baking and having a happy holidays!

Chocolate Cookie Crust

9 oz chocolate shortbread-type cookie
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt

Combine ingredients in a food processor until a coarse meal. Using fingers or a spoon, press into an even layer on the bottom of a 10" spring form pan, and however high up the sides you wish. Refrigerate while making the filling.

Filling

4- 8oz packages of cream cheese (organic, if you like), room temperature
1 1/3 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons Kahlua
2 tablespoons light molasses
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a stand mixer bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth and soft. Add sugar until thoroughly combined. Beat in eggs one at a time, then the flour.

In a small bowl, mix together the vanilla extract, Kahlua, molasses, and instant espresso powder until everything is dissolved.

Pour into the chilled crust, and smooth out using a spatula.

Bake for around 40 minutes, but watch carefully after about 30 minutes. There should be cracks on the surface, and wiggle a little in the center when it is done.

Remove from oven and let sit for 20 minutes before removing from the pan, running a knife around the edges first. It will have sunk down a fair amount. Let cool for 1 hour.

Chocolate Ganache

1 cup heavy cream
4 oz finely chopped bittersweet chocolate

Place chocolate in a heat proof bowl. Heat cream until steam rises off it. Pour over chocolate and let sit without stirring for 2 minutes, then stir until chocolate is melted.

Assembly

Place cooled cheesecake back in its pan, and line the pan sides with acetate. Snap the pan closed. Pour ganache on top, and let drizzle down the sides if there is space between the cheesecake and the acetate.

Place in the refrigerator at least 2 hours. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.

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Halloween Cupcakes

These halloween cupcakes were very last minute. I made the the chocolate vanilla "ghosts" on Thursday night and the pumpkin spice ones on Halloween itself. I think that with Halloween, there has to be a little chocolate, and pumpkins are basically the symbol of Halloween, so you've got to have that. I've found that people tend to enjoy the mini cupcakes the most. First, they're irresistibly cute and they just pop into your mouth so easily.




When a regular size cupcake is presented to someone they will most likely eat it, but feel rather sick afterward. To avoid that bad feeling being associated with cupcakes, I usually make these little guys. The frosting/cake ratio also seems to work a little better with the minis.

Chocolate Cake

4.25 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 cup AP flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter; softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over simmering water. Stir until melted. Remove from water and let cool.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl.

In a large bowl, mix the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. On low speed, add the melted chocolate until incorporated. On medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla and beat until the mixture has changed to a slightly lighter color. Mix in the yogurt until completely blended. Dissolve espresso powder into water and pour into batter. Mix on low speed just until smooth. Line a muffin tin with paper cups and spray the whole pan with vegetable oil [to prevent sticking]. Fill each cup almost to the top. Bake minis for about 10 minutes.

Vanilla Buttercream

1-1-½ stick unsalted butter
1 cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1-1-½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Sanding sugar or sprinkles

In a stand mixer, beat softened butter and powdered sugar, then salt, and mix thoroughly. Add in vanilla extract and mix. Transfer to a piping bag and pipe onto cupcakes. Sprinkle with orange sprinkles or any other decorations of choice.

Pumpkin Cake
Adapted from Martha Stewart

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin puree

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Beat butter, sugar, eggs, and pumpkin puree in mixer until thoroughly combined.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Mix together well. Add to the wet mixture. Do not overmix.

Butter and flour mini muffin tins. Fill each cup 1/2 way with batter. Bake for 10 minutes, until the cakes are firm to the touch.

Remove from oven and let cool.

Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting

1 stick butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Mix ingredients together in mixer until smooth and creamy. Transfer to a piping bag and pipe onto cooled cupcakes.

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Chocolate Caramel Tarts

I can't even believe how long it's been since I've been able to put up a post. I missed it, trust me. What with going to school, playing sports, and staying social, the time to bake, photograph, and blog is very limited. But I had some time this weekend, and because baking is a calming thing for me, I decided that was what I was going to do. I chose this recipe by looking through Donna Hay magazine. Yes, my friends make fun of me for reading Donna Hay and Martha Stewart, but I love those ladies! The food styling in Donna Hay magazine is to die for. I buy every $10 issue from Australia because it is just so beautiful to look at, let alone make recipes from it. I guess this post goes to my favorite women in the industry, too perfect for their own good.




I decided just to put up a little quad of an apple pie I made with some butter pecan ice cream. I won't be putting a recipe up, but I thought it captured the autumn spirit, so enjoy the cold weather (woo hoo!).

Short crust pastry
from Martha Stewart

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg yolk

In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix flour, sugar, and salt on medium-low speed to combine. Add butter, and continue mixing until coarse crumbs form. Add egg yolk; mix just until dough comes together. Form into a ball and place in plastic wrap. Tightly wrap sides. Use a rolling pin to flatten as much as possible, without pushing to dough out of the plastic wrap. Chill for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

On a floured work-surface, roll the dough 1/2" thick. Press into tart pans and place in freezer for 20 minutes. Line with parchment paper and weights and bake for 13 minutes. Let cool.

Caramel Filling

396g can sweetened condensed milk
60g unsalted butter
2 tablespoons corn syrup

Combine ingredients in a medium saucepan on low heat until melted. Let thicken slightly, then pour into cooled tart shells. Let sit in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Chocolate Ganache

200g dark chocolate
2 1/2 tablespoons heavy cream

Combine in a small saucepan until melted and pour on top of chilled caramel filling, spreading if needed. Sprinkle lightly with fleur de sel and let chill just until serving.

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Chocolate Coffee Ice Cream Bars

The Seattle weather is finally back. It's overcast and cold. My favorite. This last Friday was the last day of my 5 week art program. I'm said to say goodbye to some of the amazing people I met, and it was overall a great experience. My class' work will be up at the Seattle Art Museum starting in September or October, so you should take a look. There are some really talented young artists in the class. I will get a more specific date soon. Now that I have more time, I will try and make up for the dwindling number of posts that went up this last month. I figured a good place to start would ice cream sandwiches. I wanted to do something less like a sandwich, so I did a layer of brownie on the bottom, coffee ice cream layered on top of that, and covered in a dark chocolate shell. I've made something similar to this in the past, but I changed one big thing: the coffee flavor. So often in coffee ice cream, I feel like I'm only getting a little taste of coffee, with some cream. I wanted this ice cream to scream, "This is coffee ice cream!". I think I got a nice flavor in the end, and these are a great summer treat. The days are getting colder, so make them while you can.

Brownies

2 sticks unsalted butter
5 1/2 oz unsweetened chocolate; chopped
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup AP flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a square cake pan with walls, flour the sides. Line with parchment, leaving a 2" overhang on the long side of the pan. Grease and flour the parchment. Spray sheet-pan with nonstick spray, line with parchment, spray parchment. Melt butter and chocolate in a double broiler. When melted, set aside and let cool to room temp. Meanwhile, beat the eggs and sugar until mixture is thick and lemon-colored. Next, add the vanilla. Fold the cooled chocolate mixture into the eggs and sugar, mixing thoroughly. Sift flour and fold gently into batter, mixing just till blended. Pour into prepared pan, and bake for about 12 minutes, depending on your oven. Allow brownies to cool in pan for 20 minutes before taking out of pan.


Coffee Ice Cream

1 cup whole milk
6 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
2 teaspoons coffee extract
2 cups heavy cream

In a saucepan over medium heat, warm the milk until steam begins to rise from the surface.

In a heatproof bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and salt until blended. Gradually add 1/2 the hot milk, whisking constantly until fully incorporated. Transfer the mixture back to the saucepan and set over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or spatula, until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon and leaves a clear trail when a finger is drawn through it, do not allow the custard to boil.

Whisk the instant espresso powder into the cream until dissolved. Pour the custard through a fine-mesh sieve set into cream and stir in the vanilla and the coffee extract. Refrigerate until cold [at least 2 hours]

Transfer the custard to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.



Chocolate Coating
6.5 oz bittersweet chocolate
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Melt chocolate in microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring in between until melted. Stir in vegetable oil thoroughly. Let cool

Assembly

Once the brownies are cool, use a knife to loosen the edges from the pan, and remove from cake pan. Place back inside cake pan. Once ice cream has gone through the ice cream maker, spread evenly on top of brownies in cake pan. Freeze overnight.

When the ice cream has hardened, make the chocolate coating. Take the cake pan out of the freezer and remove brownie/ice cream onto a cutting board. Cut into even squares, then return to freezer for 15 minutes. Prepare a pan lined with parchment and a cooling rack resting on top. Place ice cream bars on the cooling rack and ladle chocolate coating on top of bars. Top with crushed almonds if desired.
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Cupcake Duo

This was definitely one of the more frantic baking orders I've done. It's all thanks to this darn heat. It's not supposed to get this hot here. Several things went wrong, starting with the frosting. Seeing as it rarely goes above 70 degrees here, I didn't plan on any difficulties with making buttercream frosting at 2:00 in the afternoon. Wrong. I made two batches of peach frosting, using my delicious, ripe peaches from Pike Place Market, only to find the butter breaking down. I didn't figure that out until the second batch of frosting. I'd already made the cakes earlier in the day, before it got too hot, but I couldn't make the frosting until late at night when it cooled off. I also needed to make recipe cards, as it was for a little in-office cook off at the University of Washington, for my aunt. It was too hot to do anything (for me, at least), so I slept. Then I realized I hadn't made the recipe cards, and did so frantically. They were all printed and ready to go when I realized I would have to make different frostings because of the heat and my wasted peaches :( . I quickly made new ones, after I had frosted my cupcakes with their final frostings: chocolate peanut butter and lemon (with drops of peach puree on the cake). While the recipe cards ended up being kind of ugly, due to it being 12:30 at night, the cupcakes turned out well, which is what mattered in the end.


Lemon, Peach & Blueberry Cupcakes

Vanilla Blueberry Buttercake

1 stick unsalted butter
1- ¼ + 2 tablespoons cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole milk
1 cup fresh blueberries
2 medium peaches

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a muffin tin, or mini muffin tin with paper liners. Sift 1-1/4 cups flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and whisk thoroughly. In a stand mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well in between. Add the vanilla and beat for 2 minutes. On low speed, add the flour mixture in 3 parts, and the milk in 2 parts, starting and ending with the flour. Beat just intil combined. Toss the blueberries in 2 tablespoons of flour to coat. Add the batter and mix in by hand. Fill each cupcake liner to the top (whether standard or mini sized). Bake standard cupcakes for about 18 minutes and minis for 12 minutes.
In a food processor, puree peaches until liquid consistency. Pour through a sieve to remove chunks. Spoon ½ teaspoon of peach puree on tops of cupcakes.

Lemon Buttercream Frosting

1-1-½ stick unsalted butter
1 cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1-1-½ teaspoons lemon oil
Sanding sugar (for sprinkling)

In a stand mixer, beat softened butter and powdered sugar, then salt, and mix thoroughly. Add in lemon oil and mix. Transfer to a piping bag and pipe onto cupcakes. Sprinkle sanding sugar.



Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Chocolate Cake

4.25 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 cup AP flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter; softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

Preheat oven to 350F.

Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over simmering water. Stir until melted. Remove from water and let cool.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl.

In a large bowl, mix the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. On low speed, add the melted chocolate until incorporated. On medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla and beat until the mixture has changed to a slightly lighter color. Mix in the yogurt until completely blended. Dissolve espresso powder into water and pour into batter. Mix on low speed just until smooth. Line a muffin tin with paper cups and spray the whole pan with vegetable oil [to prevent sticking]. Fill each cup almost to the top. Bake regular sized cupcakes for aprox. 12 minutes, minis for 8 (depending on your oven.)

Peanut Butter Frosting

1 stick unsalted butter; softened
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1- 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Combine butter and peanut butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar and mix thoroughly.
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Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes

It just hit me today that I only have 1 more day of school left until summer. This school year seemed to go by so quickly; I can't even believe it. It will be nice to have lots of time to bake delicious summery treats. I leave on Sunday for some East-Coast college touring, so no baking next week, but after that, I'm around for a while, so there will most likely be a lot of desserts. I bought some really fragrant nectarines today, and I'm dying to make something with them.

I decided on these salted caramel chocolate cupcakes because I find that combination really irresistible. However, I've never had a cupcake that was those flavors, and I wanted to try it. Caramel is one of my favorite candy/dessert flavors, but I didn't want to make caramel cake. I wasn't sure how the buttercream would hold up, with the caramel mixed directly into it, but it worked just fine.



Chocolate Cupcakes

4.25 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 cup AP flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter; softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

Preheat oven to 350F.

Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over simmering water. Stir until melted. Remove from water and let cool.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl.

In a large bowl, mix the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. On low speed, add the melted chocolate until incorporated. On medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla and beat until the mixture has changed to a slightly lighter color. Mix in the yogurt until completely blended. Dissolve espresso powder into water. Add flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the water, in 2 parts. Mix on low speed just until smooth. Line a muffin tin with paper cups and spray the whole pan with vegetable oil [to prevent sticking]. Fill each cup almost to the top. Bake regular sized cupcakes for aprox. 12 minutes, minis for 8 (depending on your oven.)

Caramel Buttercream

1/4 cup water
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter; softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Fleur de Sel

In a heavy saucepan, combine sugar and water over medium heat until dissolved. Once dissolved, let boil without stirring, only swirling the pan to mix. Add salt. Once amber colored, remove from heat.

In a mixer bowl, beat softened butter just to break down. Add powdered sugar slowly. Pour in caramel until thoroughly mixed. Add more powdered sugar if the consistency is too thin. Transfer to a piping bag and evenly pipe onto cupcakes. Sprinkle with fleur de sel, should you like.


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Neapolitan Cakes

Phew! It is getting hot here. Hot for me anyways. Being a native Seattle-ite, I despise weather over 65 degrees and overcast is always a plus. But hot weather does create some good inspiration for ice cream treats. When I was really little, I would go to this outdoor pool with friends and I always wanted a neapolitan ice cream sandwich. Such a good combination: the chocolate cake/cookie(?) and the chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry ice creams. I wanted to make this a little differently, as I now despise the milky chocolate ice cream. I also wanted to make a thin flourless chocolate cake. Since the chocolate cake was so chocolatey, I decide to forgo the dark chocolate ice cream, as it seemed like overkill. These started out as cakes, but since their size seemed a little scary on their own, I made some half sized ones as well.

The chocolate cake recipe is from a past daring bakers challenge that I didn't participate in, but the recipe looked so good, I had to try it.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

16 ounces (1 pound) (454 grams) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams total) of unsalted butter
5 large eggs separated

Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.

While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your sheetpan and line with parchment, then butter the parchment.

Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.
Whip the egg whites in a grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed, making sure not to overwhip, as this dries out the cake.
Beat the egg yolks together. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.

Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. {link of folding demonstration}

Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan's bottom, and bake at 375F/190C for 8 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes on a rack. Once cool, remove the cake from the pan onto a clean work surface. Let cool for at least 1 hour. After an hour, use a circular cutter and cut as many shapes as possible from your sheet.



Strawberry Ice Cream

1 cup whole milk
6 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
2 cups hulled strawberries
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups heavy cream

Wash and hull 2 cups of strawberries. Place in a food processor until you get a smooth puree.

In a saucepan over medium heat, warm the milk until steam begins to rise from the surface.

In a heatproof bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and salt until blended. Gradually add 1/2 the hot milk, whisking constantly until fully incorporated. Transfer the mixture back to the saucepan and set over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or spatula, until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon and leaves a clear trail when a finger is drawn through it, 8 to 10 minutes; do not allow the custard to boil.

Pour the custard through a fine-mesh sieve set over a clean bowl and stir in the strawberry puree and vanilla. Nestle the bowl in a larger one filled halfway with ice and water and cool the custard to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Refrigerate until cold [at least 2 hours]

Transfer the custard to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer the ice cream to a sheetpan lined with parchment and spread in an even, thin layer. Freeze until firm, at least 3 hours or up to 3 days, before serving. Makes about 1 quart.



Vanilla Ice Cream

Use the same instructions and ingredients above, but omit the strawberry puree. Split and scrape one vanilla bean. Put the seeds and pod into the milk when first heating. Make sure to remove the vanilla bean just before pouring into the ice cream machine. Use 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.

Assembly

Using the same cutter as you did for the cake, cut circles from the sheets of ice cream. Place on top of each other in alternating order.
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Two Types of Tarts

Phew. Busy week. Really no time to bake at all. But the weekend is here, which means I have a little more time. It's the end of my semester, so all the work is starting to pile up. But after that is spring break, so for a week there will be baking galore. This weekend I really wanted to make tarts and mousse. I decided to combine the two and make mousse tarts (genius, I know). I made one that was fruity and one chocolate. I haven't had a chance to show off my new camera, which is amazing, so I'm excited to put up this post. Have a good weekend!

Orange Curd Mousse Tart with Blackberry Sauce

Orange Curd
Adapted from The Secrets of Baking

2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons finely grated orange zest
3 eggs
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter; chilled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Combine sugar and orange zest with a fork in a small bowl until very fragrant. Combine orange sugar, eggs, and egg yolks in a heatproof bowl and whisk together for 30 seconds. Place the bowl over simmering water and immediately begin whisking, continuing for 15 seconds, until the sugar is dissolved. Add the lemon and limes juices and cook, whisking continuously for about 5 minutes. Insert a thermometer. The curd is done when it has a consistency of sour cream and a temperature of 160 degrees F. Whisk in the butter cubes. Strain through a sieve and set in an ice bath to cool. Cover with plastic film to prevent a skin from forming.

Orange Curd Mousse

1 cup orange curd
1 cup heavy cream

Whip the heavy cream to firm peaks. Fold in orange curd. Refrigerate until use.

Sugar Dough

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 stick of butter
1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups AP flour; sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream the butter with the sugars. Beat in the vanilla, eggs, flour, baking powder, and salt. Chill the dough 3-4 hours before rolling.

Blackberry Sauce

2 cups blackberries
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Combine ingredients in a food processor. Don't over-process, since the sauce is best a little chunky.

Assembling the tarts
Roll out the sugar dough very thinly, about 1/8" - 1/16" thick on a floured work surface. Using a tart ring or a tallish cutter, cut out a circle of the dough. Place it on a parchment lined sheet pan. Cut a long strip the same height as your cutter and wrap around the inside as the wall of your tart. Lightly press into the bottom circle. Using foil, cover the entire surface area of your tart and fill with pie weights/rice. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place in freezer for 30 minutes. Remove from freezer and bake for 9 minutes (depending on your oven). Remove faux-filling and bake additional 4 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes before removing from tart ring. Let the shells cool at least 2 hours before adding a filling.

Just before serving:
Spoon 1/2 tablespoon of blackberry sauce into bottom of tart shell, spread the back of a small spoon. Spoon mousse into tart and garnish with blackberries.


Chocolate Mousse Tarts with Almond Crumble

Sugar Dough
(same as above, along with assembly)

Chocolate Mousse

155 grams whipping cream
85 grams bittersweet chocolate

Melt chocolate in a double broiler. Whip cream to firm peaks, reserving 1/3 of cream to pour into melted chocolate to make a ganache-like mixture. Pour chocolate mixture into cream and whip on low speed for 15 seconds.

Almond Crumble

85 grams of unsalted butter; chilled, cubed
85 grams of flour
80 grams of sugar
135 grams of almonds

Combine flour and sugar in a food processor. Add butter cubes until cornmeal consistency. Add the almonds and pulse, but don't make it into almond flour, you want the chunks. Spread on a sheet pan and freeze for 20 minutes. Bake in a 425 degrees F oven for 5 minutes. Use tongs to move around the crumble and bake for additional 3-4 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool at least one hour before using.
Sprinkle on top of your tarts.
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Bumblebee Cake

One of my favorite places in the world is San Francisco. More specifically, the Ferry Terminal Building. Home to Miette Pâtisserie, Schaffen Berger chocolate, and other independent organic farmers. It's basically a foodie heaven. Miette Pâtisserie is my all-time favorite place to get a sweet. It combines beautiful designs with really delicious flavors. One of their cakes I've always thought looked super moist and tasty was their Bumblebee cake- A buttery vanilla cake with chocolate frosting. Not an unusual cake, but this one is just so pretty and classically scrumptious. A friend of mine has a birthday tomorrow, so I thought I'd make this cake, which he mentioned he loved the flavors of.

I'm not thrilled with the photos I took, mainly because I had to shoot them at night. I didn't finish the cake until then, and I won't be home when it next gets light. However, an exciting update: I just ordered my Canon Rebel Xsi and 50mm/1.8 lens. I am so excited I can barely contain myself. The new camera will take my photos to the next level, so don't be shocked! :)

For the buttercake:
Adapted from Cupcakes! by Elinor Klivans

2 1/2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 sticks butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 8" cake pan bottoms and line with parchment. Grease parchment and flour. Sift the cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In your mixer, beat the butter and sugar until combined and creamy (about 2 minutes). Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until each is blended into the batter. Add the vanilla and beat for 2 more minutes. ON low speed, add the flour mixture in 3 additions and the milk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture ad mixing just until the flour is incorporates and the batter looked smooth. Fill the cake pans equally and shake to smooth top. Bake for about 30 minutes, depending on your oven. [Having a convection oven really helps in this case.] When the cake tops are dark-golden brown and a tester comes out clean, remove from oven and cool for 15 minutes before removing from pan. After at least 2 hours, you can slice the domed tops of the cakes off, and split the layers.


I am a believer that the best buttercream has very little powdered sugar. It should be soft, and not ridiculously sweet. I get compliments about my frosting all the time about how it doesn't give people a head-rush from all the sugar and isn't stiff as a brick.

For the chocolate buttercream:

3 sticks unsalted butter; soft
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Beat butter in electric mixer until smooth. Add powdered sugar and cocoa powder in small increments as slowly as possible [if you start the mixer too high, your frosting will end up on your kitchen walls]. Increase the speed after it looks like your frosting won't fly everywhere.

Dark Chocolate Ganache

Combine equal weights of chopped chocolate and heavy cream. Heat cream in a small saucepan to a simmer. Pour over chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Let it sit and cover the chocolate for 2 minutes, then stir.
Wait until the chocolate is room temperature before you pour it over your iced cake. Don't put it in the fridge or it will form a crust on the surface.
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