Cupcake Happenings

So after the crazy week of CANstruction I decided that I should say thank you to everyone at work who donated over $600 in a little under an hour so we could get the cans we needed to finish the Turkey.

Long story short our Wal-mart order didn’t go through so we found a food lion that was willing to put in a last min order to arrive the day of the build. However as much as I hate wal-mart sometimes their prices were much cheaper so the same order was going to cost aver $600 dollars more. So within one hour L was able to convince everyone to donate at least $10 to make it happen. I took the cash and headed back to Virginia Beach to pick up the remainingcans and set out in search of 349 more cans of Van Camps baked beans (they got the order in but it was not correct). So after 4 Wal-Mart trips and another team member hitting two more we were ready to build.

The build went wonderfully but I felt I needed to do something to thank all the generous people willing to make up for our mistakes... And in my mind that meant 6 dozen cupcakes decorated to look like turkeys.I knew I wanted to use two of my favorite cake recipes. One carrot cake and one double chocolate chocolate mouse.

I had a few ideas for the tails. Mostly leaning towards chocolate, but I forgot to get squeeze bottles while I was at Michaels and all of my improvising techniques didn’t seam t be working. I settled on the idea of cookies and headed back to the store for some pre-made cookie dough. Some may call it cheating but I think the using boxed cake mix every now and then and a few remade ingredients can be just fine. This time however I was determined to make these cupcakes the best I had ever done before.

I started with the Carrot Cake cupcakes with Cream cheese icing and roasted Pecans

Best Carrot Cake Ever (my version)

6 cups grated carrots

1 cup brown sugar

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup crushed pineapple, drained

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ginger (or 1/4 c. ginger preservers for a spicier cake)

1/4 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp nutmeg

Directions

In a medium bowl, combine grated carrots and brown sugar. Set aside for 60 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

-In a large bowl, beat eggs until light. Gradually beat in the white sugar, oil and vanilla. Stir in the pineapple and ginger preserves (optional). Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and spices, stir into the wet mixture until absorbed.

Finally stir in the carrot mixture. Pour evenly into the prepared pans.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes (for cakes about 15-18 min for cupcakes) in the preheated oven, until cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan. When completely cooled, frost with cream cheese frosting.

Link to original recipe:

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/best-carrot-cake-ever/Detail.aspx

Cream cheese icing

-2 packages cream cheese

-1 stick butter (can use less)

-About 2 c. powdered sugar (I just add until it is the sweetness I am looking for

-2 tsp vanilla extract (I like to use crushed vanilla beans because I like the way the flecks look in the icing)

Mix and ice

Top with chopped roasted pecans. I always seem to burn the pecans but roasting them makes a huge difference. Put them on a cookie sheet in preheated oven for a little over 5 min WATCH CAREFULLY!

Now I know it is a pain but grating fresh carrots is what makes these cupcakes great. It is worth the effort. It also can help to dry the carrots for just a bit before you mix in the brown sugar.

Now that the carrots are marinating I can start the Chocolate cake

This is one of my favorite chocolate cake recipes and I rarely deviate from it. The cake is moist with a rich chocolate flavor. It is also great to stir in a cup of mini chocolate chips right at the end

http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,176,157191-244200,00.html

Deep Dark Chocolate Cake with Mouse

2 c. sugar


1 3/4 c. all purpose flour


3/4 c. Hershey's cocoa


1 1/2 tsp. baking soda


1 1/2 tsp. baking powder


1 tsp. salt


2 eggs


1 c. milk


1/2 c. vegetable oil


2 tsp. vanilla extract


1 c. boiling water

-In large mixer bowl, combine dry ingredients.

-Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Beat in medium speed 2 minutes.

-Remove from mixer; stir in boiling water (batter will be thin).

-Pour into 3 round 8-inch pans, greased and floured.

-Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

-Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans. Cool completely. Prepare DOUBLE RECIPE of chocolate mousse (below).

…And the best part

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE: (single recipe)


1 tsp. unflavored gelatin


1 tbsp. cold water


2 tbsp. boiling water


1/2 c.sugar


1/4 c. Hershey's cocoa


1 c. chilled whipping cream


1 tsp. vanilla extract

To double recipe, use 1 envelope unflavored gelatin and double remaining ingredients. Use large COLD mixer bowl.

-In small mixer bowl, sprinkle gelatin over cold water; let stand 1 minute to soften. Add boiling water; stir until gelatin is completely dissolved and mixture is clear. Cool slightly.

-In small COLD mixer bowl, stir together sugar and cocoa; add whipping cream and vanilla. Beat at medium speed, scraping bottom of bowl occasionally, until stiff peaks form.

-Pour in gelatin mixture and beat until well blended

So after getting the first batch of chocolate cup cakes in the oven I started on the “Turkey Parts” so to say.

I rolled out the sugar cookie dough to about ¼” thick and used one of my fondant flower cutters to cut it into flower shapes. I cut each of these in half and placed them on the baking sheet. This made the feather shape pretty nicely and even the edges browned a bit to give some color variance.

Next were the turkey heads. I simply molded these out of the dough. Watch the oven closely though these cook very quickly.

Next I was ready to start decorating, I melted some white chocolate with some orange food coloring and used this to attach one chocolate melt to each tail.

The carrot cake cupcakes were topped with the roasted pecans and the chocolate cupcakes were topped with mini chocolate chips. All in all I think they turned out well. So after about 7 hours and three trips to the store I had 6 dozen cupcakes to sere with my fellow employees who helped raise the money for a good cause. Needless to say I ma not be baking again until thanksgiving…witch is only a few weeks away!