blue artichoke

After ending my ban on sugar, flour and other processed foods, I've gone a bit overboard making up for lost time. So far, I've eaten a dark chocolate cupcake with vanilla buttercream frosting, a lemon square, a molten-chocolate cake, a key lime bar, a peanut butter-chocolate cheesecake bar, a gooey turtle brownie and a piece of white cake with vanilla frosting. Yikes!

I made the cupcakes for a friend's birthday. When I finished making the frosting, I licked the beaters (as every good cook should). I don't know whether it was because that was my first sugar in a month or if the frosting was just that good, but my legs started shaking! The cupcakes were good, but the icing was spectacular. Here's the recipe:

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

This recipe does not double very well. Cupcakes made from a doubled batch and baked side by side in the oven yield a slightly compromised rise. It's best to make two separate batches and bake each separately. Store leftover cupcakes (frosted or unfrosted) in the refrigerator, but let them come to room temperature before serving.

I measured some ingredients by weight, and some by volume, which might have given me a skewed ratio. I also substituted plain nonfat yogurt for sour cream. These two changes may have made the cupcakes a bit dry. They were pretty easy to make, though. And even easier to eat!

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa (1 1/2 ounces)
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (3 3/4 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar (5 1/4 ounces)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 cup sour cream (4 ounces)

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard-sized muffin pan (cups have 1/2-cup capacity) with baking-cup liners.

2. Combine butter, chocolate, and cocoa in medium heatproof bowl. Set bowl over saucepan containing barely simmering water; heat mixture until butter and chocolate are melted and whisk until smooth and combined. Set aside to cool until just warm to the touch.

3. Whisk flour, baking soda, and baking powder in small bowl to combine.

4. Whisk eggs in second medium bowl to combine; add sugar, vanilla, and salt and whisk until fully incorporated. Add cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Sift about one-third of flour mixture over chocolate mixture and whisk until combined; whisk in sour cream until combined, then sift remaining flour mixture over and whisk until batter is homogenous and thick.

5. Divide batter evenly among muffin pan cups. Bake until skewer inserted into center of cupcakes comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes.

6. Cool cupcakes in muffin pan on wire rack until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes. Carefully lift each cupcake from muffin pan and set on wire rack. Cool to room temperature before icing, about 30 minutes. (To frost: Mound about 2 tablespoons icing on center of each cupcake. Using small icing spatula or butter knife, spread icing to edge of cupcake, leaving slight mound in center.)

Makes 12 cupcakes
Cook’s Illustrated, March/April 2005

Easy Vanilla Bean Buttercream
If you prefer to skip the vanilla bean, increase the extract to 1-1/2 teaspoons. Buttercream frostings can be made ahead and refrigerated; if refrigerated, however, it must stand at room temperature to soften before use. If using a hand-held mixer, increase mixing times significantly (at least 50 percent). This recipe can be doubled to make enough for a two-layer cake.

I used a whole vanilla bean, because it was sort of dry and difficult to scrape out the seeds. I also used a hand mixer, but didn't increase the mixing time. The frosting may have been lighter and fluffier if I had, but I had plenty and the texture was fine. It would have made for a nice arm workout, though, to beat the frosting twice as long.

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise
1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar (5 ounces)
pinch table salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon heavy cream

In standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat butter at medium-high speed until smooth, about 20 seconds. Using paring knife, scrape seeds from vanilla bean into butter and beat mixture at medium-high speed to combine, about 15 seconds. Add confectioners' sugar and salt; beat at medium-low speed until most of the sugar is moistened, about 45 seconds. Scrape down bowl and beat at medium speed until mixture is fully combined, about 15 seconds; scrape bowl, add vanilla and heavy cream, and beat at medium speed until incorporated, about 10 seconds, then increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down bowl once or twice.

Makes 1 1/2 cups, enough for 12 cupcakes
Cook’s Illustrated, March/April 2005

I also made the peanut butter-chocolate cheesecake bars for a Super Bowl party last night. It was sort of short notice and I was pressed for time, so I used the recipe on the back of the bag of milk chocolate-peanut butter swirl chips. The bars were pretty good, though the crust was a bit crumbly. They definitely were not the star of the show, though. Other people brought lots of dessert treats, and most were better than my bars (though most of my bars were gone by the end of the night, so I guess they weren't that bad!).

I'm still trying to curb my sugar/flour intake, but I just can't resist trying every goody presented to me. Professional interest. If I ever have a key lime bar snackdown, I need to include the recipe for the bars I had last night. They were perfect, in flavor, texture and appearance.

I must admit, though, that I didn't feel so great last night. I thought I'd have a sugar-high with lots of excess energy to burn, but I skipped the sugar high and went straight to the crash. I might have dozed off a bit during the Super Bowl, but it also wasn't very exciting until the last quarter. I rallied for that (with help from the molten chocolate cake). After binging on all that sugar, I didn't feel sick-bad or guilty-bad, but dirty-bad.