Turkey & Chocolate Mole Chili

For those of you starting to wonder if I live solely off of cupcakes, I bring you this unique chili recipe that I tried last night. I made some alterations to the original recipe found in October's issue of Fitness Magazine due to a lack of supplies. What I wound up with is a delightfully surprising combination of chili powder and cocoa, just like what you get in a mole sauce. Delicious with ground turkey and a variety of vegetables thrown in the mix. My only wish is that I'd had the cup of frozen corn called for in the original recipe as I think that would be a perfect addition. I've included it in the recipe below for your convenience.

Let me know if you give this one a try as I suspect it will become one of my winter evening staples.

Turkey & Black Bean Chili
Recipe adapted from Fitness Magazine
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 green or red bell pepper, diced
1 pound lean ground turkey
1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1 10-ounce can enchilada sauce
1 cup frozen corn
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1 ounce semisweet chocolate, cut into tiny pieces

1) In a soup pot, heat the canola oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and bell pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes or until slightly softened.

2) Add the turkey and saute 5 minutes or until no longer pink, crumbling the meat with a spoon as it cooks. Add the beans, tomatoes, tomato sauce, enchilada sauce, corn, chili powder, cocoa powder, and oregano. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, stir in the chocolate, and simmer 15 minutes. Ladle into bowls and serve.

Prep time: 12 minutes
Cook time: 23 minutes

Vampire Cupcakes

I don't know what it says about me that the first thing I think of when I see a blood bank is vampires. Fortunately I also have an altruistic bone conveniently located right next to my morbid bone so my next thought is usually, "I should go and donate blood."

It's been a while since I last donated blood, which is something I feel guilty about since I think it's an important and easy thing to do for others. Who knows when I or one of my loved ones will need blood? It will only be available if others are generous and donate theirs. When I saw that a local ice cream shop was hosting a mobile blood bank last Sunday with the offer of "a pint for a pint" I knew I had to go. And not just for the free ice cream, although that was a lovely bonus. Surely I could spare an hour of my time and a few days of recovery to help out others.

You may be wondering what a post about donating blood has to do with Hoosier Homemade's theme of "summertime fun." Maybe I don't get out of the house often enough or maybe that pint of raspberry truffle ice cream went straight to my head, but I actually had fun there. The folks working the blood drive were great, they were fun to hang out with, and they made the process easy and relatively painless. I went home feeling good about myself and with a free pint of ice cream to boot. Ice cream and bloodletting - is there a better summertime combination?


I found some fun ad campaigns online from the Red Cross featuring vampires, so I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who makes that connection. My "blood"-filled cupcakes are a tribute to anyone who shares my morbid sense of humor and I've included little printouts of some of those ad posters to help get the word out about donating blood. The chocolate vampire bats are made from chili chocolate melted and piped into bat shapes.


The cupcakes themselves are a chili-spiced cake with white chocolate chips, a "bloody" cherry pie filling, and cinnamon whipped white chocolate ganache on top.

White Chocolate Chili Cupcakes
Recipe adapted from 125 Best Cupcake Recipes by Julie Hasson

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle chili pepper powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 egg
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup white chocolate chips

1) Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 12 cupcake wells with paper liners.
2) In a small bowl, mix together flour, chili powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.
3) In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, melted butter, and egg until smooth.
4) Alternately whisk flour mixture and buttermilk into the sugar mixture, making three additions of flour mixture and two of buttermilk, beating until smooth. Mix in chocolate chips.
5) Scoop into prepared pan and bake for 22 to 27 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack.

Whipped White Chocolate Ganache
Recipe adapted from Vanilla Garlic

12 ounces white chocolate (good quality)
3/4 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of salt

1) Chop chocolate and transfer to a heat proof bowl.
2) Heat cream until bubbles form around the edge of the pan. Pour cream over the chocolate.
3) Let sit for 1 minute then stir until combined.
4) Add butter and vanilla to the chocolate and stir until combined.
5) Whisk together sugar, cinnamon, and salt in another bowl until combined.
6) Pour the sugar mixture onto the chocolate mixture, then stir until combined and smooth.
7) Let sit at room temperature until thickened, about 2 hours.
8) Beat with an electric mixer until fluffy.

Note: Keep close watch as this can suddenly separate.

To Assemble

3/4 cup cherry pie filling

1) In a blender, pulse cherry pie filling a few seconds until large cherries are broken up.
2) Using the cone method, cut out cones and fill cavity with cherry pie filling. Replace top of cone and pipe on white chocolate ganache.

Chili Chocolate Cupcakes With Mango Buttercream

Like many of the hard-core cupcake bakers out there (i.e., people like me who are too lazy to branch out and try baking anything more complicated) I've tuned in to Cupcake Wars a time or two. Alright, alright, I've seen almost every episode even though the show makes me so anxious and stressed out both on behalf of the bakers and because I'm reminded of the cupcake competitions I participate in. I think I'm developing an ulcer at the tender age of 28 as a result of that show. Those judges' minds are inscrutable and depending on their whims on a particular day they may harshly reject a perfectly good-looking cupcake just because it doesn't "capture the theme." Whatever that's supposed to mean. I've watched enough episodes to know that certain ingredients are difficult to incorporate into a cupcake. Like strawberries, I always figured mangoes were off limits for mixing into buttercream because they contain too much liquid. The only way to compensate is to add more and more powdered sugar, which overpowers the taste of the fruit you went to all the trouble to add in the first place.

Then I found Family, Stamping and Food's recipe for Mexican Chocolate Cupcakes With Mango Buttercream. Mango buttercream?! You mean to tell me that someone's been able to use mangoes and didn't wind up with a gloopy mess? This I had to see.

Alas, while the recipe's creator didn't mention any problems with the frosting I did not have the same luck when I tried to replicate it. As I feared, mine wound up runny and I was reluctant to keep dumping in powdered sugar because the frosting was already too sugary. Coming from me that's saying something since I've been known to consume the contents of sugar packets at restaurants while waiting for my meal. What? It's cheaper than ordering an appetizer. So it's back to the drawing board with mango frosting, but I do plan to keep experimenting since I love mangoes so much. I think this cupcake could have worked well with a mango filling or a delicious mango curd. Perhaps next time...

The cake, on the other hand, was near perfection. The chocolate pairs well with the chili (even though I've gotten dubious looks from people I've tried to serve them to) and there was just the right amount of kick from the spices. Not overpowering but definitely present. I happened to have a Milka chili and chocolate cream bar so I melted down a few squares of that and spread them on top of the cupcakes as they cooled for a crisp chocolate layer with an extra dose of chili.


Then I did my best to pipe the frosting on top even though it didn't hold its shape for long. Not that I let that stop me from scarfing them down in all of their sugary goodness.

Mexican Chocolate Cupcakes
Recipe adapted from Family, Stamping and Food

1 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle chili pepper powder
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup melted butter, cooled
1 egg
1/2 cup milk

1) Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 11 cupcake wells with paper liners.
2) Combine flour, cocoa, cinnamon, chili powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
3) Beat sugar and melted butter together on medium speed until well combined.
4) Add egg and beat to combine.
5) Beginning with the flour mixture, add flour and milk alternately with three additions of flour and two additions of milk, beginning and ending with flour. Beat until just combined.
6) Bake at 350 F for 18-23 minutes until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7) Cool in pan ten minutes, then remove from pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Optional: Melt squares of a chili chocolate bar and spread on top as cupcakes cool.

Mango Buttercream
1/2 cup room temp butter
3 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup mango puree

1) Beat the butter in a mixing bowl until creamy and smooth. Add 2 cups powdered sugar and beat until crumbly, add mango puree and beat until smooth. Add remaining powdered sugar and beat until fluffy.
2) Pipe or spread onto the cupcakes. The frosting may be too runny to hold its shape.