Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

I took German in middle and high school, partially because I thought it would help me on the SATs (nerd!) and partially because my older brother also took it and I thought we'd be able to speak to each other without Mom and Dad understand. Over the years, I've gradually forgotten almost everything I learned during those six years, but a few things stayed with me, including one of my favorite German sayings: "wenn die Katze fort is, tanzen die Maeuse," or "when the cat is away, the mice will play!"

My parents were away this past weekend, which meant that I was free to stay up late, sleep in late, loaf around the house, and eat lots of junk food. Lucky for me, my friend hosted a BBQ at her house on Saturday, which meant that I did actually consume a modicum of vegetables... along with enough ribs and chicken to induce a mild meatache. Yes, you read that right -- I said meatache.

Of course, I couldn't arrive at a BBQ empty handed, so I whipped up a batch of these chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting that I bookmarked from Mel's Kitchen Cafe a few months back. Mel describes them as the "Perfect Chocolate Cupcakes," which seemed too good to pass up. I also scrounged up these bright green foil cupcake liners, which I absolutely adore. 

Lessons learned? Several. If I make these again in the heat of summer, I'll try to chill the frosting; you can tell from the picture that it melted a bit and ended up resembling a snowdrift much more than frosting. Live and learn. Also, my friends told me the cupcakes were good, but then, that is the trouble with having really wonderful friends. They'll always say the cupcakes are good, even if they're awful. I have a feeling I overbaked these just a tad, but they were too polite to say anything.

Here is the recipe, which I had to adapt ever so slightly. I didn't have heavy cream for the frosting, so I subbed almond milk -- that may have contributed to the generally droopy look of the frosting. Also, I baked the cupcakes for the recommended 18 minutes, but they didn't seem to be fully done, so I left them in a little bit longer. Too long? Perhaps. But there is always next time.

Perfect Chocolate Cupcakes from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Makes 24 cupcakes
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, Dutch-process or regular unsweetened
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon hot water
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks plus 1 tablespoon (17 tablespoons total) butter, at room temperature
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sour cream

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 standard cupcake pans with paper liners. In a glass liquid measuring cup, combine the cocoa powder and hot water and whisk until smooth. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter and sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is smooth and the butter is completely melted. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer (or to a stand-alone bowl, using a handheld electric mixer) and beat on medium-low speed until the mixture is cool, about 4-5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Blend in the vanilla and then the cocoa mixture until smooth. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three additions alternating with the sour cream, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing each addition just until incorporated. So basically you’ll add 1/3 of the flour, mix, then add 1/2 of the sour cream, mix, add another 1/3 of the flour, mix, add the rest of the sour cream, and finish with the last 1/3 of the dry ingredients.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared liners, filling no more than 2/3 full. If you live at a high altitude or have had overflowing cupcakes in the past, err on the side of filling the liner of one cupcake 1/2 full and baking it alone first to judge how the cupcake will rise in the oven. Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 15-18 minutes. Remove the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

And here is the frosting recipe, also from Mel's Kitchen Cafe: Quick Vanilla Buttercream Frosting.

(Save the Polar) Bear Claws... 5 years in the making

On November 2, 2011, I received the following email from my dad:

found this as i was cleaning up old boxes of stuff....must have kept it thinking 'how interesting'....note date...eve of your graduation!!

The attached file contained a New York Times magazine clipping from May 20, 2007, entitled Flour Power: Even a bakery -- especially a bakery -- can lower the wattage, about a New York City bakery called Birdbath that billed itself as a "green bakery." The primary point of interest, at least for Dad, seemed to be a recipe for (Save the Polar) Bear Claws.

It warms my heart a bit to think that even then, my dad felt like baking could be "a thing" for me. As far as I can remember, I didn't really get into baking until sometime in college, and I didn't actually get to practice much while I was in school because I didn't have a proper kitchen. Despite all of that, Dad seemed to know that someday I might appreciate this clipping, and he managed to save it all this time. Parents know best, I guess... Or maybe it is partially attributable to my family's mild "hoarder" tendencies.

Anyway, fast forward 5 years from when Dad first snipped the article, and my parents have befriended the nicest, coolest stone fruit farmer at our farmer's market, and have taken to making preserves from his glorious bounty. Re-enter ye ole' bear claws recipe, which calls for both dried and preserved apricots.

I finished baking these tonight, and while they're certainly delicious, the truth (as Mom pointed out) is that these aren't really bear claws -- at least not in the traditional sense. As you can see from the picture, they're much more like my old standby pop tarts, but with notches cut on one end to resemble bear toes. I actually prefer the pop tart pastry recipe, because I think the addition of egg yolks makes for a more delicious crust, but these bear claws do use mascarpone cheese, which is an interesting twist. Would I make these again? I'm not sure. Am I glad I tried them once? Absolutely. Aren't they cute? Plus, let's be honest -- it is extremely difficult to go wrong with pastry and fruit. 

Here's a link to the original article from the NYT. Recipe follows.

(Save the Polar) Bear ClawsUse organic ingredients where possible.
For the dough:

4 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 pound (4 sticks) butter, softened

1 pound (2 cups) mascarpone

For the filling and topping:

2 cups unsulfured dried apricots

1/3 cup apricot preserves

1 large egg yolk

2 tablespoons heavy cream

3 ½ tablespoons turbinado sugar.

1. Place the flour and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. With the mixer on low, add the butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, until incorporated. Then add the mascarpone, 2 tablespoons at a time, until blended.

2. Divide the dough into 3 equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

3. Prepare the filling by bringing the apricots and 2 ½ cups water to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes. Let cool completely, then drain apricots and roughly chop.

4. Dust a work surface lightly with flour. Roll one disc of chilled dough into an 9-by-13-inch rectangle, ¼ -inch thick. Then cut the rectangle into 3 (9-by-4 1/3-inch) smaller rectangles. Lay each rectangle vertically. Place 2 ½ to 3 tablespoons apricots on the bottom half of the rectangle. Top with 1 ½ teaspoons of apricot preserves. Fold the top half of the dough over the fruit and press down along the edges to seal. Using a paring knife, cut away a small amount of the sealed edge to tighten the seal. Cut 4 ( 3/4-inch-long) slits into the sealed end (opposite the fold) to make bear nails. Repeat with the remaining discs of dough. Refrigerate the bear claws for 30 minutes.

5. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk, cream and a few drops of water. Place bear claws on the baking sheets 2 inches apart. Brush the top of each bear claw with the egg wash, then sprinkle with sugar.

6. Bake until golden brown, about 30 to 35 minutes. Remove bear claws from the oven and let cool. Makes about 9 bear claws. Adapted from Maury Rubin, the owner of Birdbath bakeries.