Monday, April 25, 2011

Food & Memories

Sometimes life gets a little hectic, and this is one of those life moments.  AP exams, sports, food, and life - there's no time for anything! So I GREATLY apologize for the lack of posts, and I will try to get back to a regular blogging cycle soon! But for now...


Food has the magical ability to connect itself with memories, especially from your childhood.  It's able to grab your emotions by the threshold and do whatever it takes to get that comfort of being a kid again.  I recently just returned back to my old hometown, and can you guess where I wanted to eat for lunch & dinner?  Yes, the places I went out to eat at as a kid.  The waitresses and chefs were the same, the decorations were only updated, and the food - never been better.  As I was explaining to our waitress about the time we sat at this exact table and there was a power outage, as result from the thunderstorm, all the lights went off, but luckily there were backup lights so we were able to finish our meal in peace.  6 years later, the waitress still remembers that too, and remembers us :)

But anyways, enough about me, let's get on to food.  Cupcakes & Cakes seem to be a popular item that I bake, and it's true, but thats because I'd find a new variation of a cupcake that I'd want to try, and all the other recipes get shafted.  Sorry savoury recipes, but you just don't taste as delicious and sinful.




One that I recently tried (and loved) was the S'more cupcake (or as Martha Stewart calls it, the Chocolate Graham Cracker Cupcakes).  The graham cracker topping with gooey melted marshmallows was addictive, and with the chocolate cupcake with graham cracker crusted bottom - to die for.  Instead of making the Marshmallow Topping, I just put marshmallows on the top and also put a chunk of chocolate in the middle of each cupcake so that it would melt and be even more s'morey!  And boy was I right.

I had some batter left over (I halved the recipe) so I made a souffle type dessert in a ramekin (I put marshmallows inside the left over batter and topped it with a graham cracker).  Which I found was just as good (or even better possibly) than the cupcakes. It was like a souffle/lava cake/s'more/heaven in a remekin. 


S'more Cupcakes (Chocolate Graham Cracker Cupcakes)
Adapted from Martha Stewart


Yield: 2 Dozen  (this is the full recipe)
Ingredients


  • 2 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (from about 20 squares)
  • 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 standard muffin tins with cupcake liners; set aside.
  2. Sift 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into the bowl of an electric mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix ingredients together on low speed.
  3. In a large bowl, mix together eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Add to flour mixture and beat on medium speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl and continue mixing on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add boiling water and stir to combine; set cake batter aside.
  4. Place graham cracker crumbs, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and melted butter in a large bowl; stir until well combined.
  5. Place 1 tablespoon graham cracker mixture into the bottom of each prepared muffin cup. Use the bottom of a small glass to pack crumbs into the bottom of each cupcake liner. Reserve remaining graham cracker mixture for topping.
  6. Place 2 teaspoons chocolate in each muffin cup. Transfer muffin tins to oven and bake until the edges of the graham cracker mixture is golden, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and fill each muffin cup three-quarters full with cake batter. 
    Fill each cupcake with marshmallows, and chocolate chunks. Sprinkle each with remaining chocolate and graham cracker mixture. Return to oven and bake, rotating pans halfway through baking, until tops are firm and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer muffin tins to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan and let cool completely.
    Eat and enjoy your campfire treat, without the hassle of making a fire.

5 comments:

  1. WOW these cupcakes looks absolutely delicious! Glad to be your new follower! :)
    http://cookskinny.blogspot.com/

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  2. Food memories are always (well not always) the best! These look wonderful :)

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  3. I love how all your other recipes get shafted when you find a cake or cupcake recipe! We speak the same language. :-) Love the idea of a s'more cupcake--cuter and cleaner than the campfire favorite.

    S'mores must be on some subliminal almost-summer wavelength. I had some leftover chocolate/chili/cinnamon ganache from Cinco de Mayo. After a serious dinner discussion of what to DO with that ganache and our lack of dessert items we opted to smear it onto graham crackers s'more style. Delic! Great post and enjoyed your memories.

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  4. Hahah it is! No messy fingers to lick off - wait, nevermind, I still had my sticky tasty fingers after eating the s'more cupcakes.

    That sounds delish for sure! Thanks :)

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