Zero Bar Hi-Hat Cupcakes

You may have noticed by now that I tend to use any major and minor holiday as an excuse to indulge. Valentine's Day is no exception and because the only presents my husband has on his wish list are big ticket items we skip giving each other gifts and I bake him something sweet every year instead. This year I got my inspiration when he bought a few of his favorite candy bars a couple of weeks ago. Many of you probably have no idea what a Zero bar is. Understandable. They're one of the few white chocolate candy bars out there so, like me, you probably pass them up in favor of something more, well, chocolaty.

(Source)

Candy Blog described the essence of the Zero bar far better than I ever could. "It looks like a bar of the future. Something that robots would eat. Or maybe robots would bring them to us. They’d enter the room through the shooshing automatic door with a tray full of snacks that we munch on while watching TV beamed directly into our optic nerve." It's a white fudge-coated bar filled with almond, peanut, and caramel in some sort of nougat-like configuration. Not bad but wouldn't those flavors be even better as a cupcake? A cupcake covered in a ridiculous amount of frosting and then dunked into chocolate? Heck, wouldn't anything be better with that particular treatment?


Thus was born the Zero Bar Hi-Hat Cupcake: Light and fluffy almond-flavored cake filled with both peanut nougat and caramel, a blend of white chocolate and peanut butter frosting piled high on top, then dipped into a white chocolate coating. Even I thought I was going a little overboard with this one.

Despite being a bit of a Herculean task to eat one of these cupcakes the flavors all shine through nicely. I had to interrogate my husband to see if it was at all reminiscent of a Zero bar and he confirmed that it is. Mission accomplished!

As a side note, I noticed while mining previous blog posts for frosting recipes that many of the cupcakes I make are absurdly complicated. To the point where they probably put off most of you readers from ever attempting any of them. I think I should point out that if you're not feeling as ambitious as I you could usually make substitutions to save a few steps. For example, with these cupcakes there's no reason why you couldn't use store-bought caramel or even just stick a piece of a chopped up Zero bar into the middle of each cupcake instead of making the filling. Believe me, there are plenty of recipes I look at online and think I would never be skilled enough or want to put that much time into baking something. I don't want my recipes to be the kind that get ignored for that reason.

Almond-Flavored Cupcakes
Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour

1 cup granulated sugar
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons soft unsalted butter
2/3 cup milk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 large eggs

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2) In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt.

3) Add the butter and beat with an electric mixer at low speed, until the mixture looks sandy.

4) Combine the milk, vanilla, and almond extract and add, all at once. Mix at low speed for 30 seconds, then increase the speed to medium and beat for 30 seconds. Scrape the bottom and sides of the mixing bowl.

5) With the mixer running at low speed, add 1 egg. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 30 seconds. Add the second egg, again beating for 30 seconds.

6) Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, and beat briefly, just until smooth.

7) Scoop the batter by heaping 1/4-cupfuls into the prepared muffin tin. A muffin scoop works well here.

8) Bake the cupcakes for 23 to 25 minutes, until they've domed, and are a light golden brown around the edges. They'll spring back when pressed gently on top, and a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean.

9) Remove the cupcakes from the oven, cool in pan on a rack for ten minutes. Then remove cupcakes from pan and cool completely on the rack.

Caramel Filling:
Recipe adapted from Sprinkle Bakes

1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
Pinch of salt
1/8 cup plus 1 1/2 teaspoons heavy cream, at room temperature

1) Melt the sugar over medium heat in a large pot. With a wooden spoon, stir the sugar as it melts and cook until it becomes a deep amber color.

2) Add the butter and salt and stir it in until melted.

3) Pour in the heavy cream (mixture will foam) and whisk until you get a smooth sauce. You may have some lumps but keep stirring until they have melted. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

Pseudo Nougat Filling:
Recipe adapted from Cake Central

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup marshmallow cream
1/4 cup malted milk mix
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-3 tablespoons heavy cream or milk
1/4 cup chopped peanuts

1) Cream butter, shortening, and marshmallow cream together. Add malted milk, vanilla, and cream or milk and continue to cream until well incorporated. Beat on high for a minute until fluffy. Fold in the chopped peanuts.

2) Using the cone method fill each cupcake cavity half with caramel and half with nougat filling. Be sure to trim the excess cake off the bottom of each cone and replace just the top portion to cover the filling.

Peanut Butter Frosting
Recipe from 125 Best Cupcake Recipes by Julie Hasson

2 cups confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tbsp heavy cream or milk

1) In a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together confectioner's sugar and butter until creamy. Add peanut butter, beating well. Add milk and beat until smooth and creamy.

White Chocolate Buttercream
Adapted from BBC Good Food

90 grams white chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 to 2 cups powdered sugar

1) Melt the chocolate over a double boiler, stirring often. Cool.

2) Beat the butter and powdered sugar until creamy. Beat in the chocolate and continue to beat at medium-high speed until fluffy.

3) Using a spatula "paint" white chocolate frosting on one side of a piping bag and peanut butter frosting on the other side. (I found that my frostings kind of blended together despite this method working with other recipes in the past, so there's really no need to be precise here. You won't be getting that two-tone effect anyway from the frosting so feel free to just jam it all in there.) Pipe onto cupcakes using a large round tip in a tall spiral pattern.

4) Put the cupcakes in the freezer while you make the white chocolate coating.

White Chocolate Coating
Adapted from Martha Stewart

2 cups white chocolate, chopped
3 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil

1) Combine chocolate and oil in a medium heat-proof bowl set over a medium saucepan of barely simmering water; stir until melted and smooth. Transfer to a small bowl, and let cool about 15 minutes.

2) Holding each cupcake by its bottom, dip cupcake in the chocolate to coat frosting, allowing excess to drip off. Transfer to a baking sheet fitted with a wire rack. Spoon more coating around edge of cupcake and any exposed frosting; none of the frosting should show. Let cupcakes stand at room temperature 15 minutes before eating.

The Cupcake Recipe That Lied to Me

Oh yes, this is quite the tale of deceit. It is the story of an innocent little baker, eager to please her book club group with some tantalizing seasonal cupcakes. She scoured the internet searching for the perfect recipe and slaved away in the kitchen, only to be crushed by sadness at the discovery that her cupcakes tasted nothing like the ingredients she'd put into them. It is a dramatic tale of loss and betrayal, worthy of being ranked with Shakespeare's best. Or not. Perhaps it's just another all too common story of trying out an recipe from a random blog and coming up with something less than stellar. Reminds me that it's sometimes best to stick with recipes from published cookbooks.

The recipe in question was meant to be Eggnog Cranberry Cupcakes with White Chocolate Spiced Buttercream from Your Cup of Cake. From my book club's taste test the only flavors that could be detected in the finished product were the cranberry and the spice. Disappointing because my husband loves white chocolate and we both love eggnog, so I was hoping for a great combination of seasonal flavors here. Unfortunately, the eggnog flavor disappeared completely and there wasn't enough white chocolate in the frosting to actually give it that flavor. Still, the amount of spice is spot on and the frosting is nice and fluffy. If I hadn't told anyone what the cupcake was supposed to be they would have happily assumed I'd served them spiced cranberry cupcakes.

On top of that I took the trouble to leave a comment on the blog post basically saying that while the cupcakes were good they were not as advertised/what I expected so I was left disappointed. I didn't intend for it to be a mean comment or anything, just trying to help other readers out in case they're tempted to try this recipe. When I visited the page again later in the day to work on this blog post I noticed that the blogger had deleted my comment. That makes me a little mad. That's pretty poor blogging behavior right there, to censor things so only comments from adoring fans are shown and "real" comments from people who have tested the recipe get deleted. Despite the number of other delicious-looking cupcake recipes on her blog I don't think I can trust that her blog posts or the comments are honest and helpful so I'll pass on making anything else from her blog.

White Chocolate Toblerone Ice Cream & Molten Lava Cakes

Last month's Mystery Box Cupcake Challenge theme ingredient was white chocolate, which happens to be my husband's favorite. Needless to say, I bookmarked quite a few of the other entries in hopes of trying the recipes for myself one day. One near the top of my list was 500 days of Boy's White Chocolate Molten Lava Cake. While the idea of an ooey, gooey chocolate cake is appealing enough, what really caught my eye was the white chocolate ice cream that she made from scratch. I applaud anyone who makes everything from scratch like that.

Because I'd depleted most of my white chocolate supply with my own cupcake experiments I stole an idea from another entrant and snapped up a few bars of white chocolate Toblerone at the dollar store. Sure, it expired two months ago but it was such a good deal and I've got a strong stomach. The ice cream came together perfectly with tasty nougat nuggets and nuts from the melted Toblerone. This recipe is worth trying for the ice cream alone.

It was the cake that I had a few issues with. I've never made molten cakes before so I'm afraid I didn't bake them long enough and the bottoms got stuck inside the ramekins. They wound up undercooked and too runny. I know the idea is to have a little of that runny texture in the center but it's probably best if there's something resembling cooked cake surrounding it. Oh well, it was still delicious. I'm recommending this recipe but hopefully you'll have better luck recreating the original results.

Toblerone White Chocolate Ice Cream
Adapted from (500) days of Boy

8 oz. white chocolate Toblerone, chopped
1 1/2 C heavy cream
1 C milk
1/4 C sugar
1/4 tsp salt
4 egg yolks

1) Combine the cream, milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan.
2) Bring to a near-simmer over medium heat; stir until all the sugar is dissolved.
3) In another medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks together.
4) Gently pour in the hot cream mixture, whisking continuously to temper the yolks. Return the mixture to the saucepan.
5) Stir constantly over low heat until the mixture thickens to a silky custard (175°F).
6) Place the chopped white chocolate into a large bowl.
7) Strain custard through a fine mesh sieve into the bowl of white chocolate and stir until smooth.
8) Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly cold.
9) Churn in your ice cream maker following the manufacturer’s instructions.
10) Enjoy with the White Chocolate Molten Lava Cake, and have plenty more for the morning after.

White Chocolate Molten Cakes (makes two)
Adapted from (500) days of Boy

1/4 C unsalted butter, plus extra to flour the ramekins
2 oz. dark chocolate, grated (the best you can find)
1 egg yolk
1 egg
1/8 C grams white sugar
1 tsp all-purpose flour
4 oz white chocolate Toblerone (your favorite kind)
Cocoa powder, to dust the ramekins

1) Preheat the oven to 350F.
2) Dust two ramekins with cocoa powder; shake out the excess. If you don't have ramekins, bake them in a cupcake pan.
3) Melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave, about 30 seconds. Stir until throughly combined.
4) Beat the egg yolk and egg and sugar together until pale and thick.
5) Add the egg mixture to the chocolate mixture.
6) Fold in the flour.
7) Divide the chocolate mixture between the two ramekins.
8) Drop in the white chocolate (2 oz. per ramiekin) and submerge into the cake batter.
9) Bake for 8-13 mins. Tops should seem set and no longer runny. Be careful not to overbake; you want them all hot, gooey, and molten.
10) Turn the cakes out onto plates.
11) Serve with a scoop of white chocolate ice cream per cake, and as much hot fudge as you want. Also fantastic by itself with a dusting of powdered sugar.

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.

It's That Time Again

Time for another round of voting in Sweetest Kitchen's Mystery Box Cupcake Challenge. The theme ingredient this month was white chocolate and there are some fantastic entries. While there's no need for me to actively rustle up votes like I did last time since I can't win the prizes, I'm sure some of you will be as interested as I in seeing what folks came up with and snagging some new recipes. That said, if you happen to find the time to vote for my "White Chocolate, Nutella and Banana Cupcakes" while you're there it certainly wouldn't hurt my ego. Also, if you're feeling extra charitable, you could vote for my friend's delicious-looking entry: "White Chocolate Passion Cupcakes by Tara," the last one on the list. Since so much of it comes down to how many friends/family members you can get to vote for you I figured I'd do my best to get her a few extra votes. That and her cupcake really does look unique and divine:












Other entries that have made it to the top of my list include:

White lime cupcakes filled with lime curd








Chai cupcakes with Toblerone white chocolate frosting. Wish I'd thought to try Toblerone as it's right up there with Nutella as one of my favorite childhood treats.






White chocolate molten lava cupcakes with white chocolate ice cream. Although not baked in a cupcake pan I'll accept this entry if only for the tasty-looking white chocolate ice cream recipe. Anyone who makes everything from scratch like that is cool in my book.



So stop by Sweetest Kitchen before August 26, check out the entries, and cast your vote. If you're interested in entering yourself the competition is open to anyone. Just check back after the first of the month for the next theme ingredient. Can't wait to see what I'll be experimenting with next!

White Chocolate Bread Pudding Cupcakes

Finally! I have two worthy contenders for Sweetest Kitchen's white chocolate Mystery Box Cupcake Challenge. While it was a toss up between these and the banana Nutella ones, I've decided to go with the others just to spite my husband who gave these his top vote. Ok, not really, but judging from people's reactions to the amazing and unexpected combination of banana, Nutella, and white chocolate I'm going to ignore his vote because he suffers from a sad affliction that has clearly affected his judgment on this and every other issue in life. You see, he doesn't like Nutella. I know, I know. There can be no help for someone so warped and, well, wrong, but at least he still manages to find a reason to live despite this lack of appreciation for one of the greatest foods known to mankind.

These cupcakes, however, are perfect for him as white chocolate happens to be his favorite. He's enjoyed the past month as I've experimented with white chocolate in my cupcake creations. He's so sweet and devoted to the cause that he even went with me for a late night road trip to the nearest Whole Foods, which is not actually near, just so I could stock up on more good quality white chocolate for my experiments. This is one such experiment that turned out wonderfully! I am eschewing tradition with the substitution of bread pudding for the standard cake one has come to expect when handed a cupcake. While some may argue that I'm testing the boundaries of the definition of a "cupcake" here, I'd say these fall squarely into the category. They are self-contained nuggets of delicious goodness topped with the ever-important frosting. My deadened taste buds are beginning to perk back to life and these were a wonderful treat to welcome them back.

Imagine the taste of cream-laden bread pudding made with sweet white chocolate offset by tart cranberries and the slightly bitter crunch of homemade toffee in a single serving size. It's all topped with an airy whipped white chocolate topping. I was initially concerned that the bread pudding wouldn't bake together into a cohesive cupcake-like unit, but when baked in paper cup liners they slid right out in the perfect cupcake shape. No fork required for this bread pudding!

If you make these for yourself, be sure to read through the recipe as there's a lot of cooling, setting, and waiting involved. You'll need to allot time for all of that. They are well worth the effort, though. Even the stress of getting your homemade toffee just right and not burnt is worth it, trust me.

You can check out my other white chocolate cupcake experiments here on my blog:

• Peanut butter cupcakes frosted w/white chocolate buttercream


• Peach cupcakes w/a white chocolate ricotta mint filling topped w/whipped white chocolate ganache


• White chocolate Cosmo cupcakes


• Banana cupcakes w/white chocolate cream cheese filling topped w/a swirled blend of white chocolate & Nutella buttercream

Toffee
Recipe from Cupcake Bakeshop

1/4 plus 1/8 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar

1. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring everything to a boil. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
2. The mixture will start to boil with vigor. Do not stir. Let the mixture boil over medium-low heat until the mixture turns a deep nutty brown, about 15-20 minutes.
3. Pour on to a prepared baking sheet (either covered in a silpat or oiled parchment paper) and leave it to cool.
4. After the toffee has cooled, break it into small chunks. I found using a potato masher helped after I'd broken it into smaller chunks by hand.

White Chocolate Bread Pudding
Recipe adapted from Cupcake Bakeshop

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 loaf of dense white bread, 1 or 2 days old
5 ounces good quality white chocolate, chopped
4 large egg yolks
1/4 plus 1/8 cup sugar
1/2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
toffee from recipe above, chopped

1. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, whisk together the cream, milk, vanilla, and flour. Bring to a boil, stirring. Remove from heat, cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes.
2. Chop bread into 1/2″ cubes. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.
3. Bring mixture back to boil and stir in chopped white chocolate. Take off the heat and continue to stir until chocolate is melted.
4. Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl. Slowly add the warm chocolate mixture, whisking constantly until combined.
5. Pour the mixture carefully over the bread cubes. Add cranberries and stir until all cubes are covered with chocolate mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 15 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 14 cupcake wells with paper liners (paper cup liners work best).
7. Set aside about 1/8 cup of the toffee. Sprinkle the remaining into the bread cubes. Stir to combine.
8. Scoop soaked bread cubes into cupcake papers until bread cubes are level with the top of the rim.
9. Carefully pour the remaining liquid into each cupcake filling until nearly full.
10. Bake at 350 degrees for ~22-25 minutes until set.
11. Remove from oven and cool in pan 5-10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool cupcakes completely on a wire rack.

White Chocolate Whipped Frosting
Recipe adapted from Inside BruCrew Life

3 ounces white chocolate, chopped
1/8 cup plus 1/2 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 plus 1/8 cup powdered sugar

1. Stir white chocolate and 1/8 cup heavy cream in a pan on low heat until melted and smooth. Cool.
2. Using mixer with the whisk attachment, beat 1/2 cup heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
3. Using mixer with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on high until light and fluffy. Beat in cooled white chocolate mixture until smooth.
4. Fold in the whipped cream by hand until incorporated.
5. Pipe onto cupcakes (for an extra treat warm the cupcakes first) and sprinkle with remaining toffee pieces, if desired.



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