Gluten-Free Chocolate Cupcakes

My friend Amy saw my French Toast and Bacon CupKates the other week and was so bummed she couldn't have one because she is allergic to wheat. Well, this past weekend, we all had a picnic and I decided to try making gluten-free cupcakes.

Very interesting.

I never realized how complicated a gluten-free life can be! Gluten can show up in some of the unexpected of ingredients: soy sauce, tomato soup, beer, pudding.... Read more about it here. It used to be that in order to create gluten-free baked goods, you had to mix half a dozen types of flours in precise proportions and add some kind of gum to simulate the texture that gluten produces. Luckily, now there are brands of "all-purpose" gluten-free flour mixes that take out the guesswork. But the finished product between a cupcake baked with regular flour and one baked with gluten-free flour is often still detectable. But what an adventure!

Turns out that the chocolate cupcakes tasted pretty good. (I think Amy had two and took one to go!) They were moist, but noticeably more crumbly than regular cupcakes. And they didn't rise with little mounds like regular cupcakes do. They did rise but were pretty flat on top.

When following the recipe below, it's important to not fill the cupcake liners too full because they will rise over the cups and will be impossible to remove without destroying them.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter
• 2-1/2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
• 2 cups gluten-free flour mix (I used the 365 brand from Whole Foods--$3.99/16 oz.)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup dark cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon instant coffee powder
• 1-1/2 cups milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/4 cup Hershey's syrup

Directions:

1. Beat butter until softened. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
   Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
2. Combine the gluten-free flour, baking soda, salt, cocoa, and coffee powder into a medium bowl.
3. Measure the milk, vanilla, and chocolate syrup into a small bowl.
4. Starting with the dry ingredients, alternate adding the dry mixture and milk mixture to the butter/sugar while mixing, finishing with the dry.
5. Fill cupcake molds about 2/3 full.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30-35 minutes or until tester comes out clean.
7. Let them cool completely before frosting them.

I frosted mine with vanilla mousseline buttercream and a royal icing dot.

What to Do With Leftover Egg Yolks?

With all the mousseline buttercream that I had been making, I kept ending up with extra egg yolks. What to do with them that would be yummy?

Pastry cream.

I have a really great recipe that virtually guarantees no lumps (thanks Baking Illustrated!) The trick lies in tempering the egg yolk mixture with the hot milk before adding the whole thing back into the saucepan to continue cooking. Because of this technique, I didn't even have to strain my pastry cream and it came out perfectly smooth.

Pastry Cream (Makes about 3 cups)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups half-and-half
• 1/2 cup sugar
• Pinch salt
• 5 large egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 4 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Heat half-and-half, 6 tablespoons of the sugar and the salt in a saucepan over medium heat until simmering, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar.
2. Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks and remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar in a medium bowl until sugar begins to dissolve. Whisk in the cornstarch until combined and the mixture is pale yellow and thick.
3. When the half-and-half mixture reaches a full simmer, gradually whisk half of that mixture into the yolk mixture to temper it. Stir to ensure even mixing. Return the mixture back to the saucepan; whisking constantly until a few bubbles burst on the surface and the mixture is thickened.
4. Remove from heat and whisk in the butter and vanilla. (If needed, strain through a fine-mesh sieve).
5. Let cool thoroughly, at least 3 hours.

Then what? So I ended up making cream puffs to go with the pastry cream. Here they are puffing in the oven:

Bacon Adventures: Delicious or Disaster?!

Let me say it: Absolutely Delicious!

Throughout the project, which my roommate Meaghan and I collaborated on, I kept convincing myself, "It's gonna be great; it's gonna be fine. Bacon makes everything better!" I have to admit, I had reservations. But as we added ingredient after ingredient, it made less and less sense that the recipe would turn out to be a disaster. Eggs? Flour? Sugar? Cinnamon? Nutmeg? Vanilla? Butter? Bacon fat? Who has any objections to these things? As it turns out, no one should.

The cake was light and moist, with an enveloping aroma of ... Christmas (because of the freshly grated nutmeg and cinnamon)! It was like breakfast french toast, only better. The bits of bacon in the cake were like a tastebud surprise, the saltiness of which contrasted so perfectly with the actual cake.

I'd mentioned in my last post about ambitions to create a mousseline buttercream from maple syrup. It was work. And the whole time, I kept thinking, "This will either be totally awesome or totally disastrous." Totally awesome if the maple syrup can reach a high enough temperature (240 degrees F) without burning. Totally disastrous if it burns into a black mess. It took a long time, but it finally did reach barely 240 degrees. And as always, the mousseline recipe never fails.

French Toast with Bacon CupKates (Yields about 16)

Ingredients:

• 10 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp bacon drippings (solidified in refrigerator)
• 1 ½ cups cake flour, sifted
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup milk, at room temperature
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature, separated
• 1/4 cup of crumbled bacon pieces

Directions:

1. Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Line the muffin pan with paper cupcake liners. Fry 8 slices of bacon to a crisp, reserve 2 tbsp of the drippings. Crumble the bacon and save for later.
2. Combine the butter, bacon drippings and sugar and mix on low speed with a mixer until just incorporated. Raise the speed to high and mix until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes. (Occasionally turn the mixer off, and scrape the sides of the bowl down with a rubber spatula.)
3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, maple syrup and vanilla, and also set aside.
4. Add the egg yolks to the creamed butter one at time, waiting for each one to be fully incorporated before adding the next. Reduce the speed of the mixer to low. Alternately, add the flour mixture in 3 additions and the milk mixture in 2 additions, waiting for each to be fully incorporated before adding the next (scrape the bowl down occasionally). Raise the speed to medium and mix briefly until a smooth batter is formed. Transfer the batter to a large bowl. Sprinkle in the bacon bits and stir to incorporate.
5. In another clean (oil/grease-free) bowl, whip the egg whites until stiff peaks are formed. Working in 3 batches, using a rubber spatula, fold the egg whites into the batter, until just incorporated. Fill each cupcake liner 3/4 full of batter.
6. Bake, rotating the pan once, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
7. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and cool completely. Frost with Maple Syrup Mousseline Buttercream. Garnish with a piece of bacon.

Maple Syrup Mousseline Buttercream

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened but cool (about 65 degrees F)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup of maple syrup, Grade A Dark Amber
• 3 large egg whites

Directions:

1. Make sure your mixing bowl is very clean and free of grease or oily residue. To be sure, you can wipe your bowl down with a teaspoon of vinegar. Set the bowl aside.
2. In another mixing bowl, beat the butter until smooth and creamy, set aside in a cool place.
3. In a small heavy saucepan, heat the maple syrup over low to medium-low heat. Watch out that it does not boil over. Very important.
4. Start beating the egg whites, when they reach soft peaks, gradually add the sugar and beat to stiff peaks. If using a stand mixer, leave it running on the slowest speed to keep the egg whites from deflating.
5. Increase the heat under the syrup and cook until a candy thermometer reaches 240 degrees F (the soft ball stage). Be patient. It takes vigilence to make sure that the syrup heats and thickens without boiling over or burning. It may take up to 30 minutes over low heat.
6. Once 240 degrees is reached, immediately remove the syrup from the heat. If using a handheld mixer, beat the syrup into the whites in a steady stream with the mixer running. Don't pour the syrup on the beaters or they will throw all the syrup on the sides of the bowl. If using a stand mixer, pour 1/4 of the mixture over the whites with the mixer off. Immediately beat at high speed for 5 seconds. Continue with the remaining syrup. Lower speed to medium and beat until completely cool.
7. Beat in the butter 1 Tbs at a time. At first the mixture will seem thin and will look curdled, but keep adding butter and mixing well, you may need to increase the speed a bit.

I promise you will love it!

Next adventure!

...And I do mean adventure: French Toast and Bacon Cupcakes! While image-researching ideas for my next birthday project (birthday cupcakes for Lauren), I came across a curious picture of cupcakes with a piece of bacon stuck on top. [See: here.] After cringing a little, then dawning on the admission that I love bacon with maple syrup, I thought, "Why not?"

Loving the idea, but not married to the recipe, I plan on making it my own. Rather than having bacon merely as a garnish, I took an idea I got from a waffle house I had visited where the bacon went into the waffle batter. Next, there will be no extract of maple in my buttercream. In my house, we'll be going for the real thing. I am thinking that the maple syrup can be cooked to a hard ball stage and incorporated into a mousseline, just like regular sugar syrup. Here's to hoping...I'll keep you posted!

Mission Accomplished!

I think she liked the cake (or at least somebody did!)

It was a day of nonstop meetings and I had to rush back home from DC before walking with the cake to the Metro stop, where I picked up a Zipcar to drive over to deliver it at Angela's house.

Let me tell you something I quickly discovered in the short 10-minute walk to the Metro station: 8 inches of flour, sugar, and eggs starts to feel like a ton! My arms were starting to shake by the time I arrived. Also, Angela called while I was walking, and that meant one-hand cake supporting, while walking, while talking on the phone. I had visions of my graceful self swandiving over invisible sidewalk cracks as I heroically sacrifice my entire body to save...the cake. Thankfully, such visions never materialized and cake and I arrived safely at the Metro station.

In the car, I turned on the A/C full blast and drove with one hand on the cake over to BF's house, where he--as the passenger--was delegated full time cake-protection duty. You should have seen the look I gave when he innocently asked whether he should put the cake in the back seat. If looks could talk, mine said, "WHAT?!!!!!111eleventymillionWHAT?!" So we drove on, with him protectively holding the cake box on his lap, shivering under the arctic A/C blast. We all arrived safely at Angela's and had a delicious spaghetti dinner, and the cake for dessert. Yum!

Happy birthday, Angela!

Happy Birthday Angela!

I decided to go with simple and elegant for Angela's final cake design. The cake is now iced in pistacchio green with ivory swiss dots. I also trimmed it with a grosgrain ribbon that puts some extra color on the cake. I hope she likes it!

Quick Update: Angela's Cake

I've decided to ice the cake in mousseline buttercream because after testing out the leftover ganache (yum!), I found that it does not hold up great at room temperature. Plus, the cake is not likely to be eaten all at once, so it needs to be refrigerated at some point after I give it to her. So fondant is out.

As for color scheme, I think I'm going to go with pink, to accent the strawberry cake. Yes, I know, I should have thought about this before I crumbcoated the cake in white.... Wish me luck.

Cake for Angela

My friend Angela's birthday is coming up and I have spent the entire week beforehand planning, researching, and finally making the cake. It's not quite done yet, but I'm just getting to the really fun part. She's a huge fan of chocolate. Chocolate with fruit. So my idea was to make her a two-layer cake: the bottom layer is chocolate, the top layer is strawberry. Yes, strawberry! I've filled it with whipped chocolate ganache. Right now it is chilling, ah pun intended, in my refrigerator, with a crumb coat of vanilla mousseline buttercream. I'm torn about how to decorate it though. I can't decide between frosting it with more mousseline (in which case, I'd have to make another batch of frosting) or covering it with fondant. Decisions decisions.... I want to try fondant because I've only done it once before, 3 years ago, with some modest success. But I'm worried that the ganache filling will fall apart, since a fondant-covered cake can't be refrigerated. Maybe I should go off to research what will happen to the ganache if I leave it at room temperature. Preliminarily, several sources have stated that ganache can be left at room temperature. However, lest you be mistaken, the whipped ganache I have used is only about 1 part cream to .8 part chocolate. Which leads me to think that I might not have used enough chocolate to keep the ganache stable at room temperature. I'm really not sure.