BECAUSE YOU ALWAYS WANT S'MORE

I recently bought myself the greatest birthday gift of all time-a pink Kichenaid Artisan Mixer.  Thoughts of cupcakes galore jumped through my head and I had to make something immediately.  A perfect ending to a summertime BBQ....graham cracker crust, super chococolate filling, and gooey marshmellow frosting.

From Annie's Eats
 
* makes about 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the graham cracker crust:
1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
¼ cup sugar
5 1/3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped

For the cake:
2 cups plus 2 tbsp. sugar
1¾ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup plus 1 tbsp. cocoa powder
1½ tsp. baking powder
1½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
½ cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water


For the frosting:

8 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
½ tsp. cream of tartar
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:


Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners.

In a small mixing bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs (NOTE: I put a bunch of graham crackers in a closed zip-lock bag and mashed it up-this also gets out pent up agression!), sugar and melted butter; mix well with a fork. Drop approximately 1 tablespoon of the graham cracker mixture in the bottom of each cupcake liner and press down to line the bottom. Sprinkle a small amount of the chopped chocolate on top of the graham cracker crusts. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, and maintain the oven temperature.

 

To make the cake batter, sift together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on low speed just to combine. In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs, milk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract; whisk together. Add to the dry ingredients and mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the boiling water and stir just to combine. The addition of the water will make the batter very thin.

Divide the batter evenly amongst the cupcake liners, filling each about ¾ of the way full. Return the pans to the oven and bake about 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, rotating the pans halfway through baking. Allow to cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then remove and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, combine the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar in the top of a double boiler. Heat the mixture, whisking frequently, until it reaches 160° F with an instant-read thermometer. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk starting at low speed and gradually increasing to medium-high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form. Mix in the vanilla until combined. Frost cooled cupcakes as desired. Garnish with chocolate and graham cracker segments (optional).

                         

   

The final step-Enjoy! Be prepared to want some more :) 

peace, love, and cupcakes
michy

NOBODY PUTS CUPCAKE IN THE CORNER

Cupcake Corner

61 New Hyde Park Road, Garden City

This is the first Long Island location I’ve reviewed thus far…which is kind of sad since Long Island is my home!  But I keep hearing about new cupcakery openings on the island so watch out for more reviews this side of the East River :)  Cupcake Corner is another nostalgic bakery decorated with cupcake paintings and pink cupcake signs.   There are little tables for the little ones and crayons for coloring.  If I were 5 years old, I’m pretty sure I’d hang out there all day.  The first time, I got the Banana Joe cupcake which was made with chocolate, peanut butter, and banana.  What a great combination!  Not the best texture but great overall taste.   I returned with a friend a few months later and got the cookies and cream cupcake-so good.  It tasted just like an Oreo cookie.  I took a bite out of my friend’s peanut butter cupcake…again, delicious.  They sure know how to work their cookies and peanut butter!  The cupcakes are a very fair price even for Long Island standards-$2.50 for a pretty large cupcake.  I’m happy to have this cupcakery so close to home.

Peace, love, and cupcakes

Michy

C IS FOR CUPCAKE, NOT COOKIE

Eleni’s Cookies  
75 9th Ave @ Chelsea Market

Located in the heart of Chelsea Market, Eleni’s Cookies is a child’s playground. You can’t help but smile when you walk inside. An abundance of cookies and cupcakes sprawl the entire space. Tons of colors and sprinkles surround you. But do not let the glitz and fun fool you. The storefront looks 10x better than the cupcakes taste. Generally, Eleni’s has every cupcake flavor imaginable. I had gotten there later in the evening so I didn’t have the full selection at my disposal. The regular vanilla cupcakes looked very underwhelming so I had a chocolate cupcake with chocolate ganache icing for $2.50. The size/price proportion was just fine. The cupcake was pretty, but very bland. The presentation of the cupcakes is perfect, but the recipe-not so much. I think Eleni should focus more on putting the right flavors and textures into the cupcake rather than designing the perfect store.  It's always better to have a few delicious cupcakes than many tasteless ones.  It is very unfortunate…Eleni’s Cookies is ironically in the Food Network Headquarters and should be flawless. So disappointing.


peace, love, and cupcakes
michy

THERE'S NO POISON IN THIS IVY

Ivy Bakery
278 87th St, Brooklyn

A couple weeks ago, my friend and I headed to Ivy Bakery in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn for the bakery’s 3rd anniversary celebration. We stepped inside the charming bakery and faced the wide array of baked treats: cookies, cupcakes, and brownies. We were greeted by the baker and owner herself! She was so sweet and seemed really passionate about her sweets. She has an interesting background-she started the bakery online with little experience and eventually branched out to a storefront location. You can tell she puts a lot of love into everything she bakes. All her goodies are made without preservatives. I’m a little wary when bakers decide to exclude anything from their ingredients. In my eyes, it usually affects the cupcake very negatively. But not in this case. My friend and I shared a hazelnut crunch cupcake that only cost $2.30. It was absolutely delicious-sweet, crunchy, and moist. I would absolutely splurge on having these cupcakes delivered to my house.

Peace, love, and cupcakes
Michy

CIAO FOR NOW, CUPCAKE

CIAO FOR NOW
523 East 12th Street, East Village

My friends and I stumbled upon this place after a delicious dinner at 7a Café. I walking in expecting a regular bakery but boy was I surprised with what I saw. The place was actually ½ bakery/café and ½ store. There were random items for sale, mostly recycled and eco-friendly knick knacks. I headed to the café area where there were only 2 cupcakes on display: red velvet and carrot cake. I am not sure if this is their typical selection, but it was severely lacking. I decided on the red velvet cupcake. It was a mini cupcake that cost me $1.25. Apparently, they usually offer larger cupcakes for $2 but they were out. I guess everything happens for a reason. I took a bite of the cupcake not knowing what to expect. The cake was very sweet and very dry. There was also too much cocoa, it made the cake taste kind of chalky. The frosting was good but still, I don’t know if I would rush back here. It’s probably Ciao forever to you…

Peace, love, and cupcakes
Michy

WASHINGTON DC, DISTRICT OF CUPCAKES

This past weekend, I visited my friend in Washington, D.C. She was nice enough to accompany me in my quest to visit the essential cupcakeries of the capital. We made 3 stops.

First stop-Hello Cupcake in Dupont Circle. You think puppies and babies are cute? Well, this place beats those as most adorable. The entire bakery is surrounded by a floral pink and brown design. They even have a delivery truck with the SAME design. I wish they delivered to NY. Anyway, I had a “Prima Donna” cupcake which was a chocolate cupcake with strawberry frosting. The frosting was a little bit too sweet for me, but otherwise it was really yummy. It was a good combination-reminded me of Neapolitan ice cream (minus the vanilla). It was a decent size for the $3 price tag.




                                        

Second stop-Baked and Wired in Georgetown. This place has a totally different feel than any other bakery. It is more like a small, coffee shot suitable for studying or reading. Although the décor is tranquil, it definitely does not mean that their cupcakes are too. They had so many interesting options like Pretty Bitchin’, Razmanian Devil, Smurfette, and Vanilla Latte. After quite the predicament, my heart told me to choose The Unporked Elvis”. Best decision of my life. It was a banana cupcake topped with peanut butter frosting and drizzled with chocolate. All my favorite things combined into one cupcake. It was an expensive cupcake at $3.85 but it was huge-enough for two servings and worth every penny.

Third and last stop-the infamous Georgetown Cupcake. The line was reminiscent of the original Magnolia Bakery. It was out the door and very slow moving. They need to work on their service. A local Washington DCer that I had met the night before insisted that I get the red velvet cupcake, and, I did. The cupcake came out to an odd $3.03-I would’ve understood if it was $3 or $3.05, but $3.03? Can’t they even if out just like every other place? Anyway, back to the important stuff. The  perfect puff of cream cheese frosting that topped the cupcake was absolutely delicious, but the cake was a bit dry. Still, I was happy with my cupcake decision.

Washington D.C. may be the country’s capital but NYC is still the Cupcake Capital. Which city can beat us? I’ll just have to wait and see. Country Cupcake Tour to be continued….


Peace, love, and cupcakes
Michy