BAD LITTLE TREAT AKA BLT CUPCAKE

BLT Burger

470 6^th Ave, Greenwich Village

After a delicious filling meal at BLT Burger, I decided to further splurge and get a cupcake.  The chocolate cupcake looked amazing and was only $3.00.  It was a dark chocolate cake covered in marshmallows and chocolate sprinkles.  It was an average cupcake, tasting like it came right out of the box.  Very disappointing, I had such high hopes, it was topped with such delicious accessories.  What could I expect, I guess, from a restaurant whose menu is based on poultry.  Good try, BLT Burger, good try. 

CUPCAKE HEAVEN

I know, I know...I have been slacking majorly on this blog.  Too busy baking/consuming cupcakes.  Well, I'm back!  Mostly due to inspiration from my fellow blogger and fabulous/really pretty friend Dana.  Anyway, lets get back to those reviews!

Café Angelique Express

Prince Street, Soho

My friend and I stumbled upon this cupcake stand after skipping many other dessert places. I realized, coincidentally, that Café Angelique had been on my to do list for quite a while but I hadn’t bothered to stop there just yet.  The display had so many fun flavors.  After much deliberation, I decided on the Anna Banana Cupcake which only set me back $3.20.  The cupcake was phenomenal.  One of the best cupcakes I’ve ever had.  It was a banana cupcake filled with creamy strawberry custard and topped with strawberry whipped cream garnished with a banana slice.  I will be returning SEVERAL times so I can try each and every cupcake Café Angelique has to offer.

peace, love, and cupcakes

michy

BLUE DOG WINS THIS SHOW

Blue Dog Café

101 W 25th St, Chelsea

I walked into this cute little café after a one of the big winter snowstorms and I needed something delicious and sweet to warm me up. Since so many people were looking for a break from the slush and snow outside, the small café got pretty packed very fast. They acknowledged this and offered everyone free coffee…which was really nice. I politely declined because I am one of the few people who don’t like coffee with their sweets (I like my coffee really sweet and it kind of negates the sweetness of the cupcake). I decided on the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cupcake which cost $2.98. It was a chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting. It was topped with peanut butter chips, mini chocolate chips, and a ½ a mini Reese’s Peanut Butter cup. It was really yummy. The garnish added just a little more peanut butter kick…you can never have enough peanut butter. I would definitely stop by again to try another one of their cupcakes. Good job, Blue Dog!

peace, love, cupcakes
michy

CHOCOLATE & WHITE CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY CUPCAKES

CHOCOLATE AND WHITE CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY CUPCAKES
with Raspberry Mousse Filling and Raspberry Wine Buttercream Frosting topped with Raspberry Drizzle

White Chocolate Cake
Makes 18 cupcakes

Ingredients:
8 ounces imported white chocolate, chopped
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups whole milk

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 12 cupcake tins.
2. Stir white chocolate in top of double boiler set over simmering water until melted and smooth. Leave white chocolate in pot; turn off heat.
3. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into medium bowl. Using a mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl until well blended. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk in 3 additions, blending well after each addition. Add warm white chocolate and beat just until blended.
4. Place batter into cupcake tins. Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 18-22 minutes. Cool cupcakes in pans on racks 20 minutes.

Chocolate Cake
Makes 12 cupcakes

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

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pan with 12 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 fully combined. Set aside to cool until just warm to 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 in remaining flour mixture and whisk batter until it is homogenous and thick.
5. Divide batter evenly among muffin pan cups. Bake until skewer inserted into center of cupcakes comes out clean, 18-20 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 frosting, about 30 minutes.

Raspberry Mousse

Ingredients:
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
2 tbsp water
1 1/2 tsp unflavored gelatin
2 large egg whites, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream

Directions:
1. In a small saucepan, combine water and gelatin. Let stand for 2 minutes to soften gelatin. Add raspberry jam and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently to dissolve gelatin. When mixture just comes to a simmer, remove from heat and let cool to room temperature in a small bowl, about 15 minutes.
2. Beat egg whites to soft peaks in a medium bowl. Gradually add in the 1/4 cup sugar, continuing to beat the egg whites until they reach stiff peaks and all sugar has been dissolved. Give the raspberry mixture a stir to loosen it up if it is beginning to set, then drizzle it into the egg white mixture and beat until everything is well-blended.
3. In a small bowl, beat heavy cream to soft peaks. Fold whipped cream into the raspberry mixture. Fill cupcakes with mousse using the core method.

Frosting

Ingredients:
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3-4 cups confectioners’ sugar
6 tablespoons raspberry wine
1 teaspoon raspberry extract
A drop of pink or purple food coloring

Directions:
1. Cream butter with a mixer on high for 1-2 minutes, until fluffy.
2. Slowly add 1 cup of sugar and mix on low until smooth. Continue adding ½ a cup of sugar a time, mixing well after each addition.
3. Add wine, extract, and food coloring, and mix on medium-high speed until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes).

Raspberry Drizzle

Ingredients:
6 ounces seedless raspberry jam
Simple syrup (2 parts sugar, 1 part boiling water)


Directions:

Thin raspberry jam with simple syrup to achieve desired sweetness and consistency. Drizzle over cupcakes.

WON'T BE GOING HERE DAILY

Made Fresh Daily
226 Front St., Financial District

Since I am never really in the financial district, I forced my friends to stop at Made Fresh Daily one day when we happened to be in the area. The décor, both inside and out, was very simple. White everywhere, including the tables. I approached the counter and saw two sets of cupcakes, regular sized and mini. They only had 1 type of large left, but 2 minis so I opted to have one of each of the minis. They were $1.50 each, even more expensive than Baked by Melissa! I tried the chocolate butterscotch and the chocolate cheesecake. The chocolate butterscotch was chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream topped with chocolate ganache. Not sure how they incorporated the butterscotch, but I tasted it only slightly. The chocolate cheesecake was chocolate cake with “cheesecake” (tasted just like cream cheese) frosting on top and topped with graham cracker crumbs. The only cheesecake-like part of the cupcake was the graham crackers. Both were average, overall. Now I know there’s no (good) reason to return to the Financial District for cupcakes.

peace, love, cupcakes
michy

LEAVE THE GUN, TAKE THE CANNOLI (CUPCAKE)

Cannoli Cupcakes

Adapted from Sugarcrafter
Makes 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

For the cupcake:
2 and 1/2 cups flour
2 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp Marsala wine
1 cup milk
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 tsp orange zest
2 Tbsp powdered sugar
1 cup chocolate chips

For the frosting:
3 sticks butter, softened
2 tsp vanilla extract
6 cups powdered sugar
3 Tbsp milk
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

Directions


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, and line two muffin pans with 24 cupcake wrappers. Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.

In another bowl, mix together the butter, eggs, vanilla, Marsala wine, and milk. Add in the ricotta cheese, orange zest, and powdered sugar. Mix in the dry ingredients, and then stir in the chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into the cupcake liners. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the pans and allow to cool.

Meanwhile, you can make the frosting. Place butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until creamy. Add in the powdered sugar, one cup at a time until well incorporated and frosting has stiffened. Add in vanilla extract. Mix in the milk, and then the vanilla from the vanilla bean.

Once cupcakes have cooled completely, frost them and decorate with chocolate chips.

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Cupcakes

These cupcakes are perfect for the holiday season.  You can add various ingredients to make them more festive (such as egg nog, cinnamon, nut meg, peppermint).  Here is the basic recipe...adjust to your heart's desire.

Makes 18 cupcakes

Ingredients

For the crust:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons white sugar
4 tablespoons butter, melted

For the cheesecake:
3 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons flour
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For dulce de leche:
1 (8 oz.) can of sweetened condensed milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Pour the can of sweetened condensed milk into a small pan. Cover tightly with tin foil and place the small pan into a larger pan. Pour water into the large pan so that it surrounds the small pan, but does not seep into the top of it. Place in oven and leave for about 90 minutes. The condensed milk should be a golden brown color when finished. If it’s not, put it back in the oven until ready. Remove from oven and allow to cool.



2. Reset oven to 325 degrees. Line cupcake tins with 18 wrappers.

3. In a medium bowl, combine graham crackers crumbs (you can put about 4 full size graham crackers in a food processor or manually grind in a ziplock bag), sugar, and melted butter. Press one tablespoon of the mixture into each wrapper.

4. In a stand mixer, beat cream cheese until creamy. Stir in sugar and flour; mix well.

5. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and vanilla extract together. Pour egg mixture into the bowl with the cream cheese. Stir on low just until combined and there are no visible lumps.

6. Fill cupcake wrappers with the cheesecake batter (the cheesecake will not rise much, so you can fill the wrappers almost to the top). Bake for 15 minutes or until centers are firm but not completely baked. Turn off the oven, open the oven the door a little, and leave the cheesecakes in there for another 30 minutes. Allow to cool and top with dulce de leche.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

peace, love, and cupcakes
michy