Tasty Tuesday - Pink Velvet Cupcakes with White Chocolate Ganache

Ganache. It's like a secret code word for heavenly. Pink - I'm a girl, it's a rule. So I stumbled across this recipe about a year ago, and I've never made it, until now. But it's haunted me. I've dreamed about it. Then one day, I hunted the recipe down, and proceeded the hunt for the pink paste food coloring.

The culprits of the yummy goodness:

Butter, Vanilla, Sugar, Flour, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Eggs, Salt, Buttermilk, Heavy Cream and White Chocolate

 In a bowl, add the sugar, butter and food coloring. If you want to get creative, you can use some other color, as this stuff doesn't change the taste. Beat until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs, one at a time. And toss in the vanilla.

Now, you can be lazy like me, and add our salt, baking powder, and baking soda to the bowl your working in. That way you can just scoop the flour out of the canister and avoid washing an extra bowl. Or you can follow the directions and mix all that stuff in a separate bowl. Whatever floats your boat.

Now, add in the flour and the buttermilk alternately. Don't have buttermilk on hand, or don't want to buy it. Then just measure out your milk, and add a "splash" or about a 1 tsp to the milk. Let it sit, until it's thick and creamy. Viola! Instant buttermilk.

This is a fairly thick batter. Now...this is the most important step. Taste the batter. Don't look at me like that. Taste it. I was worried that the thickness meant I had done something wrong. So I tasted. Hmmm. It's okay. How disappointing. So in order to improve, I threw in some extra vanilla. And see that pink. That's the color I wanted after I added all the "white" remaining ingredients. You can always add more if you want to go darker.

Line your muffin tin. Sounds like an Army command. Line your tin soldier! Sir, Yes, Sir!

Get your batter in the tin. If you have a handy cupcakie - filler-upper then use it. Or an empty ketchup bottle works too. Just get the batter in the tins! Yes, Ma'am!

Now, you put them in the oven and turn yourself about and realize that your sink is full of dishes and that your too old to hokey pokey in your kitchen with a dog, and you discover that's what it's all about. It's been a long day.

Bake them cupcakes soldier. 25-27 minutes or until slightly golden and you poke a stick in them and the stick is still nice and clean. Then put the toothpick back in the container...think of it as recycling. Once the cupcakes are done, let them cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Then remove them and let them cool completely. Probably on wire racks, but if your like me and don't own wire racks, then just let them cool on your counter. You'll want them completely cool to ice them.

To make the Ganache. In a saucepan add your heavy cream. Bring it to a boil. Don't think, "Oh, I'll go do (insert activity here) and come back and check on the cream in a second. It's a trick. Don't do it.

There isn't much cream to start with, so it doesn't take long to bowl. I was washing the muffin tins and turned around it and it was boiling. It's fast. Pour over the chocolate and whisk until smooth. Then add in the butter, and keep whisking. You want it lump free. Now, taste it. Go on, you know you want to. Did you hear the angels sing too?

Now, the hard part, stick the ganache in the fridge. You'll want to leave it about 30 minutes, and try to remember to come by and stir it about half way through. If you happen to leave it in longer than that, just let it sit out and warm up some. I left mine in about an hour and just let it sit out and then you whip it. And whip it good. Soft peaks is what your looking for. It takes a bit, but not near as long as making whipped cream. Then frost those cuppycakes and decorate to your hearts content. 

Then pour yourself a nice big glass of milk and take a bite out of a mini piece of taste bud heaven. Then hide the rest, because you probably won't want to share. 

Pink Velvet Cupcakes with White Chocolate Ganache

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/8 tsp pink paste food coloring
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk

For the Ganache:

2 cups white baking chips
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp butter
pink coarse sugar and pink sugar pearls (optional)

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the food coloring and mix until incorporated. (You can add more color here if you aren't happy with your level of "pink". You still have lots of white stuff to add, so your color will be lighter than what you see right now.) Add eggs, one at a time and mixing well. Finally, add in the vanilla. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to the egg mixture alternately with buttermilk, mixing well after each addition.

Fill paper lined muffin cups. (The batter is fairly dense, so I did 3/4 of the way full and they came out fine.) Bake at 350* for 20-25 minutes or until slightly golden and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove to racks to cool completely.

Place white chips in a large bowl. In a saucepan, add the heavy cream and bring to a boil. Pour over white chips and stir until completely melted. Add in butter and continue to stir until incorporated. Chill for 30 minutes, stirring once.

Once chilled, beat on high until soft peaks form and frosting is light and fluffy. Frost cupcakes, and decorate with pink sugar and sugar pearls if desired. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Makes 2 dozen

Inspired by Taste of Home

Tasty Tuesday - The Case of the Disappearing Strawberry Walnut Torte

I love summer. The awesome fruits and vegetables that are in season. Peaches, cherries, grapes, apricots, and strawberries. Okra and squash, oh my!!

I usually eat several cases of strawberries each year. They are awesome all alone, or with whipped cream. So when I stumbled across a recipe for a torte, I knew the addition of strawberries would make this an awesome experience.

And awesome it was. The heavens opened up and the angels rejoiced.  Until I discovered a pile of dishes to wash. Baking can get so...dirty.



Strawberry Walnut Torte - Awesomeness!

The list of suspects:

Strawberries, Vanilla, Walnuts, Strawberry Preserves, Eggs, Cream Cheese, baking powder, salt, heavy cream, flour and sugar.

Crank up the fire. We want to bake those suspects! 350* should do it. Grab some parchment paper, and line those pans, then spray and lightly flour (or use Baker's Joy) to make the suspects easy to remove. Toast your nuts. Toast them until they are lightly toasted and nutty smelling. Your kitchen should smell like you have stumbled into a walnut farm.

Beat your whipped cream. To make things go faster, freeze your bowl and your beaters before hand, but you can be like me and whip your cream until the cows come home because you forgot this handy dandy time saver.

Make sure you get stiff peaks. Not wimpy peaks. You want to beat in into submission...or you know....stiff peaks.



Wimpy! Wimpy Wimpy!                          Stiff  Stuff!

In another bowl, beat the eggs and the sugar (and attempt to make a face with the eggs and said sugar). Add vanilla and beat. In another bowl add the rest of your dry ingredients. Fold the egg mixture alternately into the dry ingredients with the whipped cream. Pour into the prepared pans. Mixture is fairly thick, don't panic, it will all work out in the end.

For frosting: beat cream until stiff peaks form. Beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and salt until all mixed together. Make them become friends. Beat them into submission. Fold in the whipped cream. Using a long knife, or dental floss, or whatever tool you think might cut the cake in half without causing you to weep.

Place a cake layer on a serving plate; spread with 1/2 cup of frosting. Add a layer. Top with whipped cream and half of the preserves. Then wash, rinse, repeat. Without the washing and rinsing.

Frost the rest of the cake. Arrange the strawberries over the top. And if you had way too many like I did, arrange them on the sides, on the bottom, the top, pretty much everywhere they will stick. Then those preserves you saved, well melt them in the microwave and brush them over the top of the strawberries. It makes a glaze and it just adds an extra layer of strawberry yumminess.

Poke the whole thing in the fridge until your ready to serve. Make sure you let everything set up some before you serve it, as the longer it sits out the more....melty it becomes. Then it becomes more like a strawberry pudding with cake. I let it sit out while I took the pictures and taste tested the awesomeness and it wasn't pretty.

Enjoy!



Strawberry Walnut Torte

3/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted and cooled
1/4 cup plus 1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
3 eggs
3 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

FROSTING:
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 pkg. (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
1 jar (12 oz) strawberry preserves
4 cups halved fresh strawberries

Crank up the fire to 350*. Line the bottom of two 9 inch round baking pans with parchment paper; grease and flour paper. Add the walnuts and 1/4 cup sugar into a food processor; pulse until nuts are ground and crumb like. In a small bowl, beat cream until stiff peaks form. (Hint: For less beating time, place bowl and beaters in freezer and then whip!) Set aside.

In another bowl, beat the eggs and remaining sugar until thick and lemon colored; add vanilla. In another bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and walnut concoction. Fold into egg mixture alternately with whipped cream.

Divide the batter between the two pans. Bake at 350* for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pans for about 10 minutes, then remove the paper and place on wire racks. Let the torte's cool completely.

To make the frosting: in a small bowl, beat cream until stiff peaks form. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and salt until blended. Fold in the whipped cream.

Using a long serrated knife (or dental floss), cut each cake horizontally in half. Place one layer on a serving plate; spread with 1/2 cup frosting . Top with a second cake layer. Save 2-3 tbsp. preserves for later. Spread half of the preserves on top of cake, but leave a 1/2 inch area around the edge bare. Repeat the layers.

Frost the sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. Arrange the strawberries over the top of the cake. In the microwave, melt the reserved preserves (10 second intervals and stir until glaze like consistency), brush over the strawberries. Refrigerate until serving.

Note: don't leave setting out for too long, as the frosting starts to "melt" and things get interesting.

Enjoy!