Cupcakes!

By far my favorite thing i've done in LA... a 3 Hour baking class on Cupcakes at The Gourmandise School in Santa Monica.

I originally wanted a cupcake shop in a 'Cold Stone' format... where people would be the owner of their creations with fillings, cakes, icings, and garnishes; i figured this would be a good place to start. I left with 4 dozen cupcakes and knowing that i do NOT want a cupcake shop-way too much butter goes into these things.  I would feel bad feeding people this every day so i'll stick to the 80% 'healthy living' with 20% indulgence idea that i prefer.

We made an AWESOME Carrot Cake and you're encourage to make it your own and do things the way you would at home so i added coconut, ginger, and raisins to the batter. We garnished with Candied Pecans.

NEXT, we made the best chocolate cake i've ever tasted... it was rich and super moist. We made a chocolate ganache to go with it that i added coffee extract because coffee and chocolate go together deliciously... then we whipped it in a kitchen aid so it turned into an 'icing'.

We flavored the buttercreams with freeze dried fruit ... i made an apricot, vanilla bean, and raspberry buttercream for different takes on the plain chocolate-cream cheese cupcake.

Carrot Cake  

Ingredients

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking powder

2/3 cups vegetable oil

1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts or pecans or pistachios

1 2/3 cups of sugar

1 2/3 cups bread flour

1 tsp baking soda

3 large eggs

2 cups grated carrots

Method

1) Preheat the oven to 350 F.

2) Sift the sugar and salt into a bowl and set aside.

3) In another bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and baking powder and set

aside.

4) In a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip the eggs on medium speed, scraping down

the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed, until thick, about 3 minutes.

5) Increase speed to high and continue whipping until the eggs fall in thick ribbons from the

whisk, about 4 minutes.

6) Gradually add the oil while continuing to whip until evenly blended.

7) Add the sifted sugar mixture slowly to the whipped egg mixture while continuing to whip at

medium speed until blended.

8) Add the sifted flour mixture to the batter, mixing on low speed until just incorporated.

9) Fold in the carrots and walnuts by hand using a rubber spatula.

10)Pour the batter into prepared cupcakes pans. Bake 20-25 minutes.

Chocolate Decadence

2 sticks butter

2 cups water

pinch of salt

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/4 cup crème fraiche or sour cream

1 3/4 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 tsps baking soda

2 eggs (3 eggs for taller, cakier cupcakes)

1) Place butter, water and salt in a microwave-safe dish and heat on high for 1 minute or melt in a

saucepot. Remove and stir until all the butter is melted in the water. Whisk in the cocoa powder

and set aside.

2) In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and baking soda.

3) Using a wooden spoon, add the butter mixture to the flour and stir until just incorporated.

4) Whisk in the eggs and stir until well incorporated. Add the crème fraiche and mix until no

streaks remain.

5) Pour into parchment-paper lined pans. This recipe makes about 2 dozen cupcakes.

6) Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Egg White Meringue Buttercream

5 egg whites

pinch of salt

1 lb. butter, cut into pieces

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla or ½ vanilla bean

1) Place a medium saucepot filled 1/3 of the way with water and bring to a simmer.

2) Place the sugar, salt and egg whites in the bowl of stand mixer. Holding the bowl over the

saucepot, whisk the mixture until it feels warm to the touch.

3) Place the bowl on the stand mixer and beat with the whisk attachment until stiff peaks form.

4) Once the bowl is cool to the touch, add the butter, small pieces at a time.

5) Add the vanilla. Switch to paddle attachment to smooth out the buttercream.

Variation: Cream cheese Buttercream: After you have added the butter add 4 oz cream cheese.