Love=Cocaine

Did you know that love is much like an addiction. 

Seriously.
We as human beings are designed to crave love.
Crazy, right??

Read on my ill informed friends..... 

I was doing some research and ran across this little gem. 

ASAPScience says that the brain of someone 'in love' is chemically similar to that of someone 'on cocaine'. 

Yes. You read that right. 

Love=Cocaine. 

Can you believe that shit?

 Basically, when you are involved with someone the threshold on your pleasure centers has become lower. Do know what that means?
It means that the gate your mind has constructed to keep you safe has been breached.
BREACHED my friends!!
 So when you are looking at a photo of this person that you "love" your traitorous brain releases a surge of dopamine and norepinephrine.
Let me repeat that.....

 Dopamine and Norepinephrine. The same chemicals that are released when you do COCAINE!
Those lovely, happy, feel good chemicals release even more so if you orgasm with this person. 

Awesome.

You know what else is like cocaine? 

Sugar.

So, when I am feeling glum I am make cookies. 

Cheers....here's some cocaine cookies.
The bad thing about baking when you are depressed is that the cookies taste sad.
Honest. Swear to god.
Read 'Like Water for Chocolate' and you will understand.  

I recommend a good moscato before you start and your favorite music to dance to.
Do it. Dance around because no one is watching. Trust me, you will feel AWESOME.

Funny side note...as I picked up sugar, flour, butter and vanilla from the store today both the people in front and behind me asked me if I was baking...
Uh no. I'm making steak.
Seriously. What else would I do with sugar, flour, butter and vanilla?
Anyway, here's the recipe. Bake 'em. Eat 'em in bed.
Cheers!


Broken hearted Sugar Cookies
Makes 5 dozen
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Directions
 In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth.
Beat in eggs and vanilla.
Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
 Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.
Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter.
 Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven.
Cool completely.

Yea, I didn't really frost mine before I ate like 2 dozen.
If I get around to it tomorrow I will frost some and post the pics.

Dating is like chocolate

You are probably a little confused. Why am I holding up chocolate covered hands? Well I'm going to tell you...obviously. It wouldn't be much of a blog if I didn't, would it? 

This recipe is for chocolate truffles. Here's the thing about truffles....you have to use chocolate. 

Here's the thing about chocolate....its SUPER temperamental. For these truffles, you have to temper chocolate. Basically that means that you are improving the consistency, durability or hardness of a substance by heating and cooling it. If that's not a metaphor for a relationship, I don't know what is! I mean think about it. In a relationship, you want to make it stronger. You want to change the durability of your love together. If your not careful and you put something out of balance, its hard to pull the whole thing together. You have to be really dedicated and motivated to making the whole thing be successful. If you don't keep the balance, something will go horrible wrong. 

Chocolate is temperamental. It can only handle so much heat. So much pressure. It's hard yes but it's also so delicate. And too much pressure, too much beating can cause it to separate. To breakdown. 

Relationships are lot like making truffles. What you put in is what you get out. If you don't take care of your chocolate, it will separate. It will get grainy. It will dry out. If you don't take care, it will harden. If you are not careful when you roll your truffles they will be misshapen. If you use too much pressure, they won't turn out. 

What You Need

For the Ganache 

Generous 2 cups heavy cream 21 ounces 

bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped 

Generous 1/4 cup Grand Marnier or Stoli Razberi vodka (optional)  

To enrobe the truffles 

18 ounces bittersweet chocolate, tempered 

18 ounces white chocolate, tempered  

To garnish the truffles 

2 cups Dutch-processed unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted 

2 1/2 cups shredded sweetened coconut, toasted (see note, below) 

About 2 cups toasted nuts, finely chopped (see note, below)

What You Do: 

Heat the heavy cream in a 2-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan until bubbles begin to form around the edge of the pan. Make sure that you have chopped the chocolate as finely as possible to allow it to melt quickly and easily. 

Place the chopped chocolate in a medium-size mixing bowl. 

Make a ganache by pouring about half of the hot cream over the chocolate and letting it sit for 30 seconds to melt the chocolate. Then slowly whisk until smooth and homogenous. 

Do not add all of the hot cream to the cold chocolate at once; the shock of the temperature extremes would cause the fat in the chocolate to separate. 

As the chocolate melts, you will see some elasticity if there is no fat separation. This means the chocolate still has an emulsion; the fat molecules are still holding together. 

If the ganache separates, it loses its elasticity, collapses, and becomes very liquid. Use a hand-held immersion blender to ensure a smooth ganache and to keep the emulsion of the chocolate. 

Add the remaining cream gradually and mix until all of the hot cream is incorporated and the ganache is smooth and homogenous. 

If the ganache separates, it is very easy to fix. Simply add a small amount of cold cream and whisk well. 

This will bring the ganache back together. The ganache should be thick, shiny, and smooth. 

Add the desired flavoring and mix until fully incorporated. 

Pour the ganache onto a plastic wrap-covered baking sheet and spread evenly with a rubber spatula. 

Cover the ganache with plastic wrap and allow it to cool for at least 4 hours at room temperature. 

As it cools, it will thicken and set. 

When the ganache has cooled to the consistency of toothpaste, scrape it into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip. 

Do not stir the ganache when you do this. Incorporating air by stirring will cause the ganache to harden. 

Pipe 1-inch-diameter mounds spaced 1 inch apart on a parchment paper-covered baking sheet.

 To pipe the mounds, hold the pastry bag at a slight angle and allow the tip to touch the parchment as you begin to pipe. 

Once you have formed the mound, stop squeezing and lift the tip straight up, leaving a small tail on the top of each mound. 

You can also use a spoon and drop small mounds of ganache onto the baking sheet.

 Let the truffles harden at room temperature for a couple of hours (or in the refrigerator for 15 minutes), until they are hard enough to roll with your hands. 

 To roll the mound into a ball, place a truffle between both palms, squeeze slightly, and roll between your hands. 

The truffles will look nicer if they are as round as possible. 

When all the truffles are rolled into balls, they are ready to be coated. 

If they have become too soft, place them in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours until they are firm enough to dip. 

You can use either a dipping fork or your hands to dip the truffles in chocolate. 

To use the fork, drop the truffle into the bowl of tempered chocolate and then retrieve it with the dipping fork. 

Hold the fork over the bowl for several seconds to allow the excess chocolate to drip back into the bowl. Gently scrape the bottom of the fork against the side of the bowl to remove any excess chocolate and roll the dipped truffle in the desired garnish. 

Place on a parchment paper-covered baking sheet. 

If you use your hands, dab some chocolate in the palm of one hand. 

Roll the truffle in that palm to completely coat it with chocolate. 

Place the enrobed truffle on the baking sheet. Repeat for the remaining truffles. This method is very quick but it can also be extremely messy. 

When all of the truffles have been coated once, repeat the enrobing procedure. 

This is necessary only when you enrobe the truffles by hand rather than with a fork. 

The truffles are usually more evenly coated when dipped with a fork. 

As soon as each truffle gets a second coating, immediately roll it in the desired garnish. 

You need to do this before the chocolate sets or the topping will not adhere. At this stage, it is good to have a friend help because it is hard to dip and roll at the same time. 

Place the truffles on a clean parchment paper-covered baking sheet and allow them to set, about 5 minutes. The truffles will keep for up to 2 weeks at room temperature, when stored in an airtight container. 

To Make Coconut and Nut Topping: 

Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Spread the coconut on a baking sheet and place in the oven for about 3 minutes. Remove from the oven and stir to keep the sugar in the coconut from burning. Return to the oven and toast until golden brown, about 3 more minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and cool on a wire rack. To toast nuts: Preheat oven to 300°F (148°C). 

Spread the nuts evenly on a baking sheet and place in the oven. 

Toast for about 30 minutes, until they are golden brown. 

You will be able to smell the nuts when they are ready. 

A good test is to break a nut in half and check to see if it is light brown on the inside. 

Toasting nuts brings out their natural flavor. Remove them from the oven and allow to cool completely on the baking sheet on a wire rack. 

Notes: 

If you decide to roll the truffles by hand, it is important to make sure your hands are cold. A good trick is to dip your hands in ice water for a few seconds and then dry them. Do this immediately before rolling the truffles. If your hands are too warm and the truffles begin to melt while you are rolling them, redip your hands in the ice water, dry them, and proceed.

Recipe from:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chocolate-Truffles-233316

Happy late Valentines!

Lets chat about the lovely tea party that my sister throws each year in February.

Each year, she does something different. One year it was chocolate themed, last year was cupcakes and this year is Greek! I took some lovely picture and am so excited to post later the chocolate fountain, watermelon salad and other tasty bites!

As you can see from last years lovely tea party we had a martini bar.

Complete with strawberry ice cube hearts!

And like 18 types of cupcakes! Both savory and sweet! My favorite was the peaches and Cream cupcake with the Vanilla Peach Buttercream Frosting. YUM!!!! Until I post the Grecian Goddess Party from this year, this should tide you over.


What You Need:
1 1/4 C flour
1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
2 large eggs
1 C sugar
1/2 C unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 t vanilla extract
1/2 C sour cream
2 C peaches and cream blended into a mush, or 1 C peach jam (high quality jam with lots of real peach pieces)

What You Do:

1. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium-sized bowl and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs and sugar for about 2 minutes, or until light and creamy.
3. Add the butter and vanilla and beat on low speed for about 1 minute, or until well blended.
4. Beat in the dry ingredients on low speed until blended.
5. Add the sour cream and beat until smooth and well blended.
6. Mix in peaches and cream or peach jam.
7. Divide batter evenly among 12 cupcake liners.
8. Bake at 350 F for about 23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean and the tops are firm.

Vanilla Peach Buttercream Frosting

What You Need:
3 C confectioners' sugar (add more until it reaches your preferred consistency)
1 C unsalted butter, room temperature
2 t vanilla bean paste
4 T peach jam (high quality jam with lots of real peach pieces)


What You Do:
1. Mix together sugar and butter until they are blended and creamy.
2. Add vanilla bean paste and continue to beat for another minute.
3. Mix in peach jam until just combined.

Lessons from Mr. Rocky Road

It took me a few weeks to realize what Mr. Rocky Road had been telling me the whole time, that while I'm working on all the stuff I have to work on....well I should focus on that and not on dating. For the last year I've been back in school, working full time, writing a work of fiction with my sister and trying to have a personal life.

All burners on, all the time. And I'm exhausted.


This leads me to make decisions not based on facts but on only emotion. And emotion led me to think that making out with one of my closest male friends was a good decision. Which it wasn’t.

I didn’t really listen to him and I kept trying to convince him that what he needs is me. That what is best for him is if he and I date. This seemed logical in my mind. I mean, he and I had great conversations that could go on for hours, we could tease each other and make each other laugh. I could be honest with him like I've never been honest with someone before. I was sure that if he could just see me like I see him, that we would be happy.

Cut to me crying about how he didn’t like me. While I'm knee deep in some ice cream and a glass of wine.... I have this faint little glimmer someplace deep in my mind that I shouldn’t focus on men right now. It's small but it's there.


Around this time, my book club started reading 'How to Love an American Man' by Kristine Gasbarre. The book is about this young adult who returns home to help her Grandma Glo who is recovering from the death of her husband of sixty years.

The author is a lot like me, lost when it comes to men. So while I'm trying to figure out why I keep picking men who don’t want to date me, I get hit with the wisdom of an eighty year old woman.

I read the whole thing like a fish needs water. And it changed what I thought about how I dated. Basically, I've been getting it all wrong.

I do want love and I do want to get married and I do want kids.

BUT I also want to travel, I want to see plays, I want to be IN plays, I want to hike, I want to have lunch with my friends, I want to cook, I want to go to baseball games and football games and I want to experience all I can in this short amount of time that I have in this life.

To do this right, I have to focus less on trying to find him. He might never come and that's ok. I want to be a full person without out him. I want to be how Kristine Gasbarre puts it, “a woman who has goals, who knows herself and what she wants." Lucky for me, I pretty much already am and do. I just need to focus more on that!

Now, I know I won't be able to make this huge shift right away. That it will take practice and it will take time. But the thing is, I want to be the person who is free and who knows what she wants. I want my goals to take center stage and I want to be proud of who I am.

And I think I'm getting there.
In honor of my friend Mr. Rocky Road who apparently knows me better than myself, here's a recipe for Rocky Road ice cream. It will always be one of my favorites.

Rocky Road Ice Cream
Makes about 1 quart

What you need:
2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup whole milk
¾ cup sugar
Pinch of salt
5 egg yolks
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1 cup walnuts
½ cup chocolate chips

What you do:
1. Warm 1 cup of the cream with the cocoa powder in a medium saucepan, whisking to thoroughly blend the cocoa. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer at a very low boil for 30 seconds, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate, stirring until smooth. Then stir in the remaining 1 cup cream. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, scraping the saucepan as thoroughly as possible, and set a mesh strainer on top of the bowl.
2. Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in the same saucepan. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
3. Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula (and reaches 170 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer). Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the chocolate mixture until smooth, then stir in the vanilla. Stir until cool over an ice bath.
4. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. (If the cold mixture is too thick to pour into your machine, whisk it vigorously to thin it out.) Once the ice cream has finished churning, fold in the marshmallows, walnuts and chocolate chips


http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2010/06/18/rocky-road-ice-cream/

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Like all great things, this cheesecake is a classic with a bit of the unexpected. I adapted this recipe from the pumpkin cheesecake on the 'The Pioneer Woman' blog. If you haven't checked it out, do so! I loved her story of how she and her hubby met. It was a blend of messy real life and romantic love.
**Sigh**
Isn't that how it should happen? A bit reality with a bit of magic?
I guess this pumpkin pie is a bit of how my search for Risotto Man is going. I hate to tell you but I'm putting that on the back burner for a bit.Searching for him has been a little tricky lately. I keep thinking that I've found something that could turn into something better but I guess I'm just REALLY not that good at reading people. I see only the good and have trouble seeing the bad in people. Which is fine. I mean, I can pet the 'lost puppy dog' I just don't have to bring him home.
Back to the cheesecake!
The thing that I love about this cheesecake is that the flavors are so unexpected. I typically find that traditional pumpkin pie is a single layer of flavor. A classic for sure but but not too much going on anywhere in the pie. Let me break this down for you this way if pie was guy,
(BOOM, you didn't know I was a poet did ya?)
Pumpkin would be the hunky gym guy you've been looking at. When you finally work up the nerve to talk to him you realize that his favorite thing to do is drink beer, watch football for the cheerleaders and lift weights. Classic meat head.
Pretty to look at, you might want to take a bite every now and then but that single layer of personality will always trip you up.
This pumpkin cheesecake is a lot like that guy that you run into in Barnes and Noble all the time. He's quiet and shy but has a really great smile. You think that all he does is sit at home and watch Star Trek. But when you finally talk to him you realize that he's more Star Wars (this is my fantasy) has arms that could bend steel, hangs at the bar to spend time with friends instead of hitting on everything that moves and loves football for the game.
This pumpkin cheesecake is like that. Unexpectedly sexy, wonderfully familiar and perfectly balanced all at the same time. In fact, I'd like to think that I'm a lot like the female version of this pumpkin cheesecake!!
To really bring out the flavors, I recommend a salted caramel sauce instead of the traditional caramel. But then again, that's me. Traditional with a hint of flavor.
Enjoy!


What you need:
Crust
12 ounces, weight store bought Gingersnaps
1/2 cup Chopped Pecans
6 Tablespoons Butter, Melted
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 dash Salt

Filling
4 packages (8 0z. Packages) Cream Cheese
1-1/2 cup Sugar
1 can 15-ounce Pumpkin Puree, not Pumpkin Pie Filling
2 ½ Pumpkin Pie Spice (I used Penzeys Pumpkin Pie spice)
4 whole Eggs
2 Tablespoons Heavy Cream

Top that thing off!!
Caramel Topping
Chopped Pecans
Crushed Gingersnaps
Spiced whip cream (heavy cream with pumpkin pie spice whipped till soft and fluffy!)

What you do:
For the crust:
If you have one, crush the gingersnaps in a food processor. If not you can use a ziploc bag. Add the pecans, melted butter, brown sugar, and salt, and mix until thoroughly combined. It should all come together and look somewhat like chunky wet sand. Press into bottom and sides of a 10-inch springform pan. Chill for 20-30 minutes. Chilling is VITAL so that the crust stays firm.

For the filling:
In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add pumpkin and spices and mix again. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until each egg is incorporated. About 20 seconds between each egg. Add cream and mix until just combined. Remove crust from fridge. Gently pour cheesecake filling into pan. Even out the top with a flat spatula. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour 15 minutes. The cheesecake should not be soupy but should still be somewhat jiggly. Cool on counter for 30 minutes. Cover and chill cheesecake for another four hours or overnight. The cheesecake will pull away from the sides of the pan and you will be able to remove the rim from pan and slice. Sprinkle each slice with the caramel sauce, crushed gingersnaps, pecans and spiced whip cream.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/11/caramel-pumpkin-gingersnap-cheesecake-so-there/

Sour Cream Coffee Cake Muffins

While sitting at work today, one of my co-workers and I discussed how freakin' happy we were that tomorrow is a half day for us. And that such joyful moments deserve celebration ...hence the Sour Cream Coffee Cake Muffins

I was going to make egg shaped sugar cookies as well but I drove all over looking for an egg shaped cookies cutter without any luck. So I came home and made these instead.

I'm pretty excited to chow down on them in tomorrow morning's meeting!!

What You Need:

1 cup Butter softened

1 cup Sour Cream (best if cold cold cold)

4 Extra Large Eggs

2 1/4 cup Sour Cream

1 TBS Baking Soda

1 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 Tsp Salt 1/2 Tsp Vanilla

Topping-

1/2 cup Sugar

1/2 cup Flour

2 TBS Cinnamon

1/4 stick butter, melted

What You Do:

Preheat the oven to 375 Grease and flour the cupcake pan....unless your using muffin tins Mix sugar, eggs, sour cream, vanilla and butter until well blended
In a second mixing bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix wet ingredients with dry ingredients until smooth Fill the muffin tins halfway full

To make the topping

Mix all ingredients until they look pebbles. Sprinkle the yummy goodness on the uncooked batter Cook the muffins for 10 min. But keep an eye on them. They will be done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Extras !!!
*Instead of vanilla in the batter try almond or orange extract

*To glaze the muffins, I used a mixture of powdered sugar and milk. Whisking it together with butter flavoring and vanilla.

Pie for Sunday

Sunday is always such a bittersweet day. Its the end of a weekend but the start of a new week. I cant ever really be sad about the start of a new week as a new week is always filled with possibility. This weekend has been a super busy way fun time that I spent volunteering at a film festival in Scottsdale. So, even though I'm excited to see what next week is going to bring, the end of such a fun weekend and the fact that so many of the new friends I made will be winging their way back to other places makes me a bit sad. So what's a girl to do? Make a pie!!

Cherry pie is always so comforting and eaten when it's still warm lifts my spirits!

What You Need

1 1/4 Cup All Purpose Flour

1/4 Teaspoon Salt

1/2 Cup Butter , chilled and diced

1/4 Cup Ice Water

What You Will Do

In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt.

Cut in the butter with a fork or a pastry cutter until it resembles course crumbs

Stir in the water a Tablespoon at a time until a ball forms

Refrigerate for four hours or over night

Heat the oven to 350

Roll out the dough to fit a 9 inch pie pan and gently lay the dough into a greased and flour dusted pan

If you have pie weights, use them. If not you can use beans

But, please please please...be careful when you pull the crust back out of the oven. Its so hard to pick hot legumes out of a hot stove... Bake for about 15 minutes

Add whatever filling you would like, I want cherry. It seems so comforting tonight!

The picture above shows you how to make a lattice on top of the pie. Its pretty easy. Use tin foil to cover the edges of the pie as you don't want them to burn

Brush the pie with an egg wash and to make it particularly pretty...sprinkle raw sugar on the top!

YUM! Serve with vanilla ice cream and all your Sunday night blues will fade away.

Right now, I'm enjoying a Russell Brand comedy special as well pie.... I really don't think it gets better!

White Chocolate Cupcakes

One of the gals at work got married this past weekend. Because it was so close to the holidays, as a group we decided to throw her a work party after the wedding. I got so excited to take on the challenge of throwing her a work party! I knew I wanted to do cupcakes because when you do something at work its much easier and faster to have cake in cup. And honestly ... .who doesn't love cake??!!? When I asked her if she wanted chocolate or vanilla she responded 'white chocolate' and I went 'YAY! Something new!!'

I searched and searched and found the perfect recipe.


White Chocolate Cupcakes


For the cakes:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
8 ounces high-quality white chocolate, chopped bar or chips
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
5 large egg whites

For the frosting:

6 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
4 1/2 ounces high-quality white chocolate, chopped bar or chips
Up to 2/3 cup confectioners' sugar, to taste (see note)



Position an oven rack to the center of the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners, 12 in one and 6 in the other.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla until very light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.



Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler. When it's just warm to the touch, stir it into the butter mixture on low speed, just until combined--it may separate a bit, but it will come back together. With the mixer on low, alternate adding the flour mixture and the coconut milk in three batches until well-blended. Transfer the batter to a medium bowl.

Clean and dry the bowl of the mixer. Whip the egg whites on medium high speed until they reach soft peaks, about 4 minutes. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter in three additions.

Fill the muffin cups no more than 3/4 of the way full with the batter. Bake one tin at a time until a toothpick just comes out clean and the tops spring back when lightly touched, about 20 minutes. Invert the cupcakes onto a cooling rack, then turn them right side up and let them cool completely.



To make the frosting, beat the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and salt together until light and smooth. Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler and cool until it is just warm to the touch. Scrape the white chocolate into the cream cheese mixture and beat to combine. Taste the icing and check the texture--if you like your icing sweeter and with a bit more body, add in some confectioners' sugar. If the frosting is too soft to spread, refrigerate it for about 20 minutes and then whip it for 30 seconds before using. Ice the cupcakes generously and decorate as you wish.

The iced cupcakes can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days

Link to original recipe
http://pieceofcakeblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/white-chocolate-cupcakes.html

An Old Standby in a New Way

Yummy!!!!
I was asked by someone at work to be part of their Christmas cookie exchange. She said it was because (and this is a direct quote) "I'm going to make something great. You make great cookies and I don't want just the broke ass cookies that some people might make."

So to keep my reputation pristine and provide something that would knock their socks off, I searched and searched. Finally finding something in the December issue of Food and Wine that fit what I was looking for.

My sister Laura and our good friend Randi (who I prefer to call Randizzle, cause she's the human equivalent to sparkles) came over and I hoodwinkned both of them into taking pictures while I made these. I poured some wine and started on the project




Peanut Butter Filling

1. 7 1/2 ounces white chocolate, chopped
2. 1/4 cup heavy cream
3. 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
4. 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
5. 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Chocolate Cups

1. 1 1/2 pounds bittersweet chocolate, chopped and tempered (see Note)
2. Fifty 1 1/4-inch-wide, sturdy foil cups
3. 2/3 cup seedless raspberry jam
4. Maldon salt, for garnish



1. MAKE THE FILLING: In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave the white chocolate in 20-second bursts until softened. In a small saucepan, bring the cream and corn syrup to a simmer; stir the cream mixture into the white chocolate. Stir in the peanut butter and salt. Transfer the filling to a piping bag fitted with a medium tip.



2. MAKE THE CHOCOLATE CUPS: Spoon the tempered chocolate into a piping bag fitted with a small tip. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set half of the foil cups on the sheet and fill them with chocolate. Tilt the cups to coat them completely, then pour the excess chocolate into a bowl. Turn the coated cups upside down on the baking sheet and let stand for 30 seconds; turn the cups right side up and let stand until the chocolate is firm, about 10 minutes. Repeat to make the remaining chocolate cups.



3. Half-fill the cups with the peanut butter. Spoon a rounded 1/2 teaspoon of jam over the filling. Pipe chocolate on top of the jam; tap gently to level the chocolate. Top with a few flakes of Maldon salt. Let stand until set, about 15 minutes. Store for up to 1 week.



Taste Test....

These are AMAZING! The white chocolate cuts the peanut butter and makes it a touch sweeter with a lovely depth of flavor.

I should have used a mini muffin pan but I used a regular one. which pretty much created crack in a cup. I ate a whole one. I couldn't stop, I even thought "Oh, this is big. I'll just have a bite." But once I got started I couldn't stop!!

15 min later I was like the tasmanian devil! I could feel the energy running through my veins! It was nuts! The lack of ability to concentrate on anything was totaly worth it though~

(link to Food and Wine recipe)
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/peanut-butter-and-jelly-cups

Happy Friday!!

There is no love sincerer than the love of food.
~George Bernard Shaw

This cake is wonderful! Its pretty time consuming but so worth it in the end. If you can find a really good desert red wine, a slice of this and a glass of that will help you get ready for your weekend. If you can get your hands on a bottle of Pacific Rim Framboise ,which is a dessert red, I suggest you pair the two together. The wine is sweet and has wonderful notes of raspberry.

Holy hell...that sounds so pretentious!! Let me try again ... get a bottle of Pacific Rim Framboise, throw a straw in and go to town while you eat the whole cake. Hee-hee.


Cake
6 cups cake flour
5 1/4 cups sugar
2 1/4 cups Hershey.'s Cocoa
2 tablespoons baking soda
4 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cup butter
12 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Butter Cream
2/3 cup water
4 tablespoons meringue powder
12 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 1/4 cup shortening
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon clear almond extract
1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
1 teaspoon colorless butter flavor

Directions:

Cake: Heat oven to 350 F. Grease three 10-inch springform pans. In mixing bowl, stir together sifted cake flour, sugar, Hershey.'s Cocoa and baking soda. Add butter and mix well. Add milk, eggs and vanilla. Mix thoroughly. Pour about 5 cups of the cake batter into each prepared pan. Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in cake center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before you remove the cake from the pan. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Butter Cream: Combine water and meringue powder; whip at high speed until peaks form. Add 4 cups of sugar, one cup at a time, beating after each addition at low speed. Alternately add shortening and remainder of sugar. Add salt and flavorings; beat at low speed until smooth. Thin out 1/2 of the frosting with a little extra water. The thinned frosting is used as the filling between layers.

To Assemble: Place one 10 inch cake on a large round plate or a large round cake platter. Spread 1/2 of the thinned frosting on top. (Only frost the top of the cake) Sprinkle very lightly with semi-sweet chocolate chips. (There are very few chips on this layer, usually only 1 or 2 per wedge, so sprinkle very very lightly). Place the second cake on top of the first. Frost the top with the remaining thinned frosting. Sprinkle with semi-sweet chocolate chips. (You can be a bit more generous with this layer). Place the third layer on top of the second. Frost the top with all of the Butter Cream that was not thinned. This is a thick layer of frosting so pile it on. Try to get the top as smooth as you can. Sprinkle with semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Cut the cake into wedges, as you would cut a pizza. Using Hershey.'s chocolate syrup, create a design on your dessert plate. Place the wedge of chocolate lasagna at the 11 o'clock position on your dessert plate with the point facing down. (So that you can see some of the syrup design. Serve.