Friday, May 25, 2018

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes (but Better!) - Chocolate Cupcakes with Brownie Base, Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse, and Peanut Butter Swiss Meringue Buttercream




For me, and likely this is not news to most of you, the worst part of asking someone's opinion is that they actually give it to you. I walk around at any given time with ideas for possible cupcakes bouncing around in my head (sometimes I even remember to write them down), but when you've gone ahead and allowed a friend to make a request, you sort of need to honor it. "Yes, of course, I know you asked for a chocolate-peanut butter cupcake, but wouldn't you rather have this sour-cherry almond one instead?" That's just tacky.

I'm not being fair in this case. Jen didn't actually request this cupcake. I just asked her what kind of flavors she liked. Which really, I should know, since we've been friends for a quarter of a century at this point. We're the kind of friends that go for years without a visit, then pick up right where we left off. I love those friends. In this case, I'm going to be better about seeing her more often since 1.) she lives two hours away from me and 2.) she lives two miles away from my mother, so I haven't any excuses. Plus I have great plans to shove cupcakes in her face for years to come. That's friendship!

So, anyways, Jen and I decided to get together after a long separation, and of course I wanted to bake something for her, so she gave me some options, including citrus and...peanut butter and chocolate. Which is a problem for me. See, I've made a chocolate and peanut butter cupcake and I thought...eh...it's okay. I thought that the filling was too heavy and I don't at all like peanut butter American buttercream. It's too...dry? Cakey? Sweet? I wasn't going to inflict this on Jen - I wanted her to know how important she is to me. Also to impress her a little. Maybe a lot.

So what to do? The cake needed to be rich but not too sweet. Okay, great - there is a marvelous chocolate cake recipe from King Arthur Flour that I absolutely love and adapted for these cupcakes (I've linked to the base recipe because that cake is easy, delicious, and besides which raspberries are in season). I wanted it to have a bottom layer (homemade chocolate wafers! More on that later). The previous "buckeye-style" filling was right out - I wanted a more grown-up filling with the playful feel of chocolate and peanut butter. And there's no better way to gussy up a frosting than to turn it into a Swiss meringue buttercream. It takes the overpowering density of a regular buttercream and makes a silky, classy version of itself. Of course, then I tarted it all up with ganache and mini peanut butter cups, but no one says that you have to.

Good plan, right? Sure! Just give yourself a couple of days if you want to recreate this. Can you make it all in a day? Of course you can. I just know that I would be grumpy if I tried it. Start day one by making the cookie bottoms and the cupcakes, then make the filling and frosting the following day, and you'll be fine (and also won't be sick to death of the chocolate and peanut butter aromas wafting through your kitchen).

Hi Jen! I love you!

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cupcakes (makes 30) 

(no, I'm not kidding)

Chocolate Cookie (Brownie) Base

This is actually a recipe for chocolate wafer cookies, the kind that you'd use to make a pie crust or an icebox pie. When you bake them in a muffin tin this way the texture becomes more of a fudgy brownie. Any leftover dough can be rolled up and then frozen, so you can slice and bake off your cookies as needed in the future.

1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup salted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon espresso powder
1 extra large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
1/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder

In a medium-sized bowl, beat together your sugar, butter, salt, baking powder, and espresso powder.

Beat in the egg and vanilla, the add in the flour and the cocoa. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill for at least half an hour.

While the dough is chilling, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line enough muffin tins with cupcake liners to make 30 cupcakes (I used two 12-count and a 6-count and baked the cupcakes in batches).

Divide the chilled dough into 1-ounce portions and roll into balls. Place one ball into each cupcake liner and smash the dough down flat (you can use your fingers for this, but I found that a squeeze bottle worked really well and made for a faster process). Repeat until all of the cupcake liners have an even layer of cookie dough.
Bake the dough-lined muffin tins for about 10 minutes. You just want the dough to start to firm up; it's going to baked again later. Set aside to cool.

Shall we get going on the batter, now?

Chocolate Cupcakes

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (sifted, if necessary)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup hot, strong coffee
3 teaspoons vanilla
3 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Stir together the flour and other dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer.
 
In a medium bowl, combine the oil, buttermilk, coffee and vanilla. Add to the dry ingredients and beat at medium speed for 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until the batter is smooth.
 
Scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl, then beat in the eggs, one at a time. Continue to mix on medium speed for another minute, or until the batter is smooth.
 
Divide the batter among the prepared muffin tins. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cupcake comes out clean. 

Let the cupcakes cool in the pans for five minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse Filling

8 ounces dark to bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (I eyeballed this and so can you!)
4 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 cups heavy whipping cream

Place chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl and heat in 30 second intervals, stirring between each, until melted and smooth.
Place peanut butter in a microwave-safe dish and heat for 15-30 seconds, or until runny. Stir into melted chocolate.
Place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in a heat-safe bowl (I used my metal stand mixer bowl, and check out how silly it looks). Boil two inches of water in a medium saucepan and set the bowl on top. Make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the boiling water. Whisk egg white mixture continuously until sugar has dissolved, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat.

Whip egg white mixture on high speed with an electric mixer (I used my stand mixer with the whisk attachment) until glossy and stiff peaks form.

Fold meringue into the melted chocolate/peanut butter. (The mixture will be thick and your arm might get tired from stirring!)
Clean stand mixer bowl and whisk attachment (or use a separate bowl and a hand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment). Add heavy whipping cream to bowl and mix on high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold whipped cream into the meringue mixture.
Continue folding until the filling is smooth and uniform. And now it's time to fill the cupcakes.

To fill the cupcakes, cut out a cone shaped portion out of the top of each cupcake. Cut off the extra cake until just the flat top remains (just like a little hat). Put about a tablespoon (use your common sense and put in enough of the mousse until the cupcake is almost full. Remember that you have to put the hat back on the cupcake). Recently, I've been using a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip to fill the cupcakes. It's quicker and far less messy, but just using a spoon works perfectly well.

Replace the top onto each cupcake and put the cupcakes in the refrigerator to let the mousse set up.
Of COURSE these are overfilled. It's mousse! Plus I'm going to be covering all of that with frosting.
 Since the cupcakes are setting up in the fridge, you can get to work on the buttercream.

Peanut Butter Swiss Meringue Buttercream

5 large egg whites, room temperature
Generous cup of granulated sugar
pinch of salt
1 pound (four sticks) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons and at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup creamy peanut butter


With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the butter a few tablespoons at a time, mixing well after each addition. Once all butter has been added, whisk in vanilla. Switch to the paddle attachment, and continue beating on low speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add in the peanut butter (and taste to adjust the flavor - this is your frosting!), then scrape down sides of bowl with a spatula. Continue beating until the frosting is completely smooth.

See how pretty? This was before I added the peanut butter.
To frost the cupcakes, use a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip and just swoop it on. Garnish with chocolate ganache drizzle and mini peanut butter cups (the ones from Trader Joe's are particularly good).

Not sure how to make ganache? It's easy. Also terrifying. Just watch!

Bonus recipe: Chocolate Ganache

7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup heavy cream

Combine the two ingredients into a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in 30-second increments until the chocolate is mostly melted. Stir gently until the mixture is smooth and glossy and the chocolate is melted completely. Behold the panicked four stages of chocolate ganache made in a microwave:
Oh no.
Oh no oh no come ON
Oh HEY!
Yes!
I used a squeeze bottle to drizzle the ganache over the cupcakes, but you can use a pastry bag or a spoon. Top the cupcakes with a few mini peanut butter cups if you really want to. Done!

Keep these in the refrigerator, covered, but bring to room temperature before serving. Yes, I'm serious. The buttercream is MUCH better if it's not cold enough to come off in one piece.

Now go share with your dearest friend.

Full disclosure: my mother, who is neither a peanut butter nor a chocolate person, tried these and said, "These were really good. I didn't think they would be."



Saturday, November 4, 2017

Chocolate-Salted Caramel Cupcakes with Chocolate-Caramel Mousse Filling, Espresso French Buttercream, and Caramel Drizzle






Have you ever had a co-worker who, in spite of the fact that the job was maddening and ridiculous, made it almost okay to go in to work every day? That's my friend Liz. She and I sat side-by-side on the front lines (read: the lobby) of classified advertising in our local (albeit corporately-owned) newspaper. We were together through real estate ads ("Why do I need to put in the location?" "So that people know where the house is?"), employment ads, and...my own favorite...yard sale advertising ("I thought that the ad was only $15!" "Yes, ma'am...for three lines. You just listed everything in your garage and took up 50." "But it's says $15!").

Liz is kind, and patient, and reminded me what a satisfying term "fathead" can be. She is given to arm-waving and desk-slapping and head-on-desking, and really, in the world of classified advertising, you need to have all of that.

She is also a good friend. And these are her birthday cupcakes.

This may be one of the most high-maintenance cupcakes I've posted. I feel as though I always say this...none of the components are difficult, but you do need to pay attention. And if you are going to make a French buttercream, you have to have a candy thermometer. I also will warn you that the filling does contain uncooked eggs, so if you have a compromised immune system, you may want to use pasteurized eggs, or a different filling altogether. Since I live in a magical house, I can consume uncooked eggs, cake and cookie batter, and pink pork with abandon...and I do. Just take the time to read the recipe through, look at the pictures (that's why I put them there!) and go one step at a time. It will be worth it, I promise.

These cupcakes are complicated, over-the-top, and very, very good. Just like Liz. Happy birthday, my dear friend.

Are you ready? Let's begin with...

~Chocolate-Salted Caramel Cupcakes~
(adapted from Brown-Eyed Baker)

½ cup cocoa powder
½ cup hot water
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¾ cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 22 standard-size muffin pans with paper liners (you could probably get 24 out of this too if you distribute the batter absolutely evenly. I don't think I'm capable of that).

In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and hot water until smooth. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside for now.

Make sure all of your ingredients are ready to go.

Combine the butter and sugar in a medium saucepan set over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is smooth, and the butter is completely melted. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of your stand mixer and beat on medium-low speed until the mixture is cool, about 4 to 5 minutes.

Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition, and scrape down the sides of the bowl with each addition. Add the vanilla and then the cocoa mixture, and continue to beat until smooth.
Reduce the mixer speed to low, and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the sour cream, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix each addition until just incorporated. Do not overmix!

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared liners, filling each about two-thirds full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Go ahead and rotate the pans at the 10-minute mark. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.


Ta-da! This was the easy part.

~ Chocolate-Caramel Mousse Filling~
(Adapted from David Lebovitz's recipe)

(and if you don't know who David Lebovitz is and you like desserts, you really ought to look him up. He is one of my culinary heroes.)

1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons salted butter, cubed
3/4 cup heavy cream
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
4 large eggs, separated (if you're looking carefully at the photo you'll see I used 5, because my eggs were more on the medium side)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Mise en place! In other words, get your stuff together!
 I can't emphasize enough how much easier this process will be if you just take this step.
Why yes, that is a battery-operated Star Wars light-saber pepper grinder in the background.
We also have the matching salt grinder. And stick blender, but I digress...

Spread the sugar evenly over the bottom of a wide saucepan. Heat the sugar over medium heat. As it begins to liquefy at the edges, use a heatproof spatula to very gently drag the melted sugar toward the center. Watch carefully, so as not to burn the sugar. 

Continue to cook, stirring very gently, until all the sugar is melted and begins to caramelize. When the caramel is a deep amber color and starts to smoke, wait for a moment for it to smell just slightly burnt, then remove it from the heat and quickly whisk in the butter, stirring until melted. 

Gradually whisk in the cream and stir until the little bits of caramel are completely melted (any that absolutely will not melt can just be strained out, so no worries).

Once the mixture is smooth, add the chocolate, stirring gently until it has fully incorporated into the caramel. Scrape the mixture into a large bowl and let it cool to room temperature. Once it's no longer warm, whisk in the egg yolks. Set that aside for now.

In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until stiff. Fold 1/3 of the whipped whites into the chocolate mixture, and sprinkle in the salt. Fold in the remaining beaten egg whites just until no streaks of white remain. 
Just keep moving the melting sugar around, gently.
Getting there...
Okay, all melted in. Use your senses...
Stand back!
This is what you want to see once the cream has been mixed in.
Add in the chopped chocolate...
Chocolate is nicely melted in...
Mixture with egg yolks
Whipped egg whites. You're supposed to be able to invert the bowl over your head and the egg whites stay put if they are properly whipped. I did do that, reluctantly, but I'm not sharing a photo. Upend the whites over your own head.
Just keep folding, gently.
And here you have your mousse.

To fill the cupcakes, cut out a cone shaped portion out of the top of each cupcake. Cut off the extra cake until just the flat top remains (just like a little hat). Put about a tablespoon (use your common sense and put in enough of the mousse until the cupcake is almost full. Remember that you have to put the hat back on the cupcake). Replace the top onto each cupcake and put the cupcakes in the refrigerator to let the mousse set up.
I always look at these scraps and think, "I really ought to use these to make cake pops."
Then I remember that I don't really care for cake pops.

You are going to have extra mousse. That's great! Spoon your leftover mousse into serving dishes and put in the fridge to set up alongside the cupcakes. That way, when someone asks you later what's for dinner, you can say, "Leftovers (because you've been working on these dang cupcakes all day)...and chocolate-caramel mousse!"
Second dessert!

~Espresso French Buttercream~

1 1/2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
2 tablespoons hot water
1 cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons water
10 large egg yolks
2 cups unsalted butter, cubed, and brought to room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Yes, you really ought to cube the butter and have it ready ahead of time.
This picture is probably going to send my mom into a fit...
...especially when she sees that this is what I actually used.
Hi Mom!

Dissolve the espresso powder into the hot water. Set aside to cool.

Combine sugar and the 6 tablespoons of water in a medium-sized saucepan. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, over low heat until the sugar has dissolved and the syrup is clear. Increase the heat to medium-high and allow syrup to come to a boil.


In the meantime, place yolks in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat until thick and foamy.

Once the syrup has come to a boil, begin to monitor the temperature with a candy thermometer. Cook until the syrup reaches 238 degrees, then immediately remove from heat. With the mixer running, slowly drizzle the hot syrup down the side of the bowl into the yolks (pouring the hot syrup directly into the eggs may cause the eggs to scramble, and pouring the syrup onto the whisk could result in said syrup flying right into your face and sticking there).
The egg yolks with the syrup should look like this...no curdling!
Once all the syrup has been added, keep mixing until the bottom of the bowl feels cool to the touch and the pâte à bombe (also known as your yolk-and-syrup mixture) has cooled down to room temperature.

Begin to add the butter, one or two cubes at a time, and mix well after each addition (do not panic at any point in this process. You're likely to. I do, every time I make this kind of buttercream. It may look like it's curdling. It may look like you've somehow evaporated all the egg yolks and are just creaming straight butter to put on your cupcakes. Just keep adding and mixing. You'll be fine). Once all the butter has been added, add in your espresso mixture and vanilla and mix for another 5 minutes, or until the buttercream looks smooth and creamy.
Not a Glamour Shot by any means, but you get the idea.
Frost your cupcakes with a pastry bag fitted with the 1M tip (or just swoosh it on with a handy butter knife). This is not the time, though, to pile on the frosting. I hear you..."But I love frosting!" I'm sure you do. Think, though, for a moment, about the ingredients you just used, and have a light touch.

Okay, now you've got nekkid cupcakes. Let's fix that.

~Caramel Drizzle~

2 cups granulated sugar
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, cubed and at room temperature
1 cup heavy cream, room temperature
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Add the sugar in an even layer over the bottom of a medium (2 to 3 quart) saucepan. Heat the sugar over medium-high heat, whisking it as it begins to melt. You’ll see that the sugar will begin to form clumps, but that’s okay. Just keep whisking and as it continues to cook, they will melt back down.

Stop whisking once all of the sugar has melted, and swirl the pan occasionally while the sugar cooks.

Continue cooking until the sugar has reached a dark amber color. Just at the moment that the caramel is starting to smell burnt, add in all the butter at once (this is not the time to check your email. Park yourself in front of the stove and use your senses). The caramel will start to bubble up, as it should. Whisk in the butter until it is completely melted, and remove the pan from the heat.

Slowly pour the cream into the caramel. There will again be bubbling. Stand back a bit and don't panic. Whisk until all of the cream has been incorporated the sauce is smooth. Add in your salt and whisk to incorporate.
This? Does not look promising.
'Lil better..
One thing I forgot to mention...
DO NOT IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT IS HOLY STICK YOUR FINGER IN THIS...
at least, not if you value your skin.

Let the sauce cool cool for 10 to 15 minutes, pour into a heatproof container, and let cool to room temperature. The caramel can be refrigerated for up to 1 month.

Drizzle some of the caramel sauce (I used a squeeze bottle but you could use a pastry bag or a zip-top plastic bag with the corner snipped off) onto each cupcake.

Keep the cupcakes in the refrigerator for storage, but please bring them to room temperature before serving (biting into cold French buttercream is a great deal like gnawing on a sweet stick of butter. Unless, of course, you like that sort of thing - then by all means, go ahead).

Makes 22-24 overwrought cupcakes.


Friday, August 11, 2017

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Cookie Crust, Cheesecake Filling, and Salted Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream


Wow. Those are really pretty. Now check out the inside:

Cheesecake! Cheesecake baked into a cupcake? Do you know what this means?

That I'm going to bake cheesecake into every cupcake? Well, no. I mean, I could. But what it really means is that it works, and when I started on these cupcakes I wasn't sure that it would. I'll explain in a sec, but I need to talk about something else first.

This is Odile.
Well, that was Odile, and sometimes when I think of her, it still is Odile. You might see her more like this:
Or this:
Odile is my niece, and I just love her. These cupcakes were her birthday cupcakes. I am a very lucky Auntie, because my oldest niece is sweet and smart and kind and beautiful and she loves food, which makes her a kindred spirit, in my book. She got to spend her birthday in San Francisco with her mother, her Aunt Kory, and her Nana, and while I am terrifically jealous, I do hope she enjoyed her cupcakes. 

In the spirit of fairness, I do have two other wonderful nieces, but one is not particularly into chocolate (hi, Lily!) and the other's mama probably wouldn't let me feed her such a thing anyway (hi, Savannah!). And I love them both as well.

Okay, okay. On to the cupcake. But just look at that face! Isn't your day better now? I know mine is. Carrying on...

This is going to seem like a complicated cupcake (oh, don't they all?) and while, sure, there are a few steps and it may take awhile, you can do them over a few days so you don't have to kill yourself to get them done. I promise that it will be worth it. I do recommend that you use the very best ingredients you can, because that's going to affect the final cupcake. I used Ghirardelli chocolate, solid and cocoa, and really good coffee (Nevada Black, whee!) because I wanted to make these as delicious as I could. 

Let's start out with the crust - I decided on this because I wanted to do the cheesecake and I was hoping to mimic a cheesecake crust. What I did, though, is used some chocolate cookie dough that I already had rolled up and chilling in the fridge - Dorie Greenspan's World Peace chocolate cookie dough, and if you haven't tried it I seriously recommend that you do, tout suite. Half of a recipe was enough to line the bottom of 24 cupcakes, and them you have a whole 'nother roll of chocolate cookie dough that you can slice and bake and gloat over! You can find the recipe here: World Peace Cookies

So, get your oven preheated to 350 degrees, then line 24 muffin tin cups with cupcake liners. Put about a tablespoon's worth of cookie dough into each cup, then press it out to completely cover the bottom. The dough is crumbly, so this won't be too hard. 

Bake the cookie filled cupcake tins for about 8-10 minutes or until just starting to turn golden around the edges. Once you can really smell them, they are done. Set them aside to cool while you prepare the cupcake batter and the cheesecake filling. And now, on to the cupcakes.

~ Chocolate Cupcakes ~

  • 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
  • 2/3 cup dark cocoa powder
  • 1 tablespoon espresso powder
  • 1 1/2 cups hot coffee
  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla

~ Cheescake Filling ~

  • 10 oz, cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Combine chocolate, cocoa, espresso powder in a medium mixing bowl and pour hot coffee over. Let sit until chocolate is melted. Stir to combine; set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. To chocolate mixture add vinegar, oil, eggs, and vanilla; mix well with fork to combine. Pour over flour mixture and stir well. Set this aside for just a moment.

For the filling, beat the cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and salt with a handheld mixer until creamy and smooth. Ready to assemble now?

Pour the batter into the lined muffin tin, just covering the cookie layer - the batter will be thin. Using a tablespoon measure or a disher, plop the cheesecake mixture on top of the cupcake batter. Carefully cover up the cheesecake with more cupcake batter (your batter is going to get frighteningly close to the top of the cupcake liner. Just go with it, but don't overfill them). Bake at 350 for 15 - 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool for about 10 minutes in pan and then cool completely on a wire rack.
This made me really nervous...
But see? It worked out fine!


And now, we are moving on to the buttercream. But first we have to make a caramel. Easy, easy - just don't put your fingers in it.

~Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream~

  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • 12 ounces unsalted butter, softened, and cut into tablespoon-sized pats
  • 5 large egg whites, room temperature (save the yolks for lemon curd! Or custard!)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Bring 3/4 cup of the sugar and the water to a boil in a heavy medium saucepan. Cook, undisturbed, until the caramel is dark amber. Remove from the heat, and slowly add in the cream, stirring with a wooden spoon until smooth. Let cool before proceeding.
This is how it starts.
Don't touch it!
Something's happening - no touchie!
TAKE IT OFF! TAKE IT OFF!
Whew!
What? Your own caramel-making doesn't feel like that?

Now that your caramel is cooled, place the egg whites and the remaining 3/4 cup of sugar in a heatproof mixing bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Whisk until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to 160 degrees on a candy thermometer.

Remove the egg white mixture from the heat, and attach the bowl to the mixer. Whisk on medium speed for 5 minutes. Increase the speed to medium high and whisk until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 6 minutes. Change to the paddle attachment, and add in the butter, one pat at a time, mixing until each is completely incorporated before adding a new pat. Whisk in the salt and vanilla.

(Now, sometimes when you do this, the mixture starts to look curdled. Don't panic, and keep mixing. I don't know why this happens. Maybe Alton Brown can tell me. All I know is, 4 times this will go just fine, and the 5th time it looks curdled. Just keep mixing and it will smooth out. I promise).

With the mixer on low speed, add caramel, and beat until smooth.

With a piping bag fitted with the star tip, pipe the frosting onto the filled cupcakes (or just swoop it on with a butter knife). You should have just enough frosting for the 24 cupcakes.

And now, because I can't leave well enough alone, you can make a ganache to drizzle over the top. You certainly don't have to, but it's easy, and you can then use the rest to top ice cream, your left over cookies, your finger...I'm certainly not going to judge. Ganache is easy.

~Chocolate Ganache~

  • 3/4 cups heavy cream
  • 2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Put the chocolate chips and the salt into a bowl. Heat the cream in a heavy pot over meium heat until bubbles are starting to form. Pour the hot cream over the chips and then whisk the mixture until the chocolate is melted and all is smooth. Pour into a piping bag, or a squeeze bottle, or use a spoon and drizzle the ganache over the frosted cupcakes.

Store these in the refrigerator, but make sure you let the cupcakes come to room temperature before serving. Makes 24.

Happy, happy birthday, my Odile!