A nearest and dearest has a birthday today!! So of course I baked, decorated, surprised, and delighted. It’s what I do. My way to express love and gratitude, the feelings that bubble up inside when I know I’ve surprised someone… and the joy of sharing something delicious. That’s me. That’s who I am.
Even though I tend towards “healthier” baking, I still love the simplicity of a more traditional approach. This cake is that. Simple. Flavorful. Soul-satisfying. Nothing soothes me more than this cake. And the aroma of it is heavenly—I dare you to find something that smells as good.
That being said, of course I put my own spin on it anyway. Whole wheat pastry flour instead of white, coconut sugar instead of refined cane sugar, and dark chocolate ganache. And an om, obviously. Symbolic both for the birthday recipient, and for me.
Yes, I do (copious amounts of daily) yoga, meditate, study yogic philosophy. That is my om.
But my om is also baking, decorating, and the giddy feeling that arises from a successful surprise of a gastronomical treat. No matter how simple, this will always be my favorite gesture.
Love the world. Share some cake!
*This recipe is the same one found here, and here, for my favorite banana cake with chocolate ganache glaze. Simple, delicious, and a perennial favorite.
But. If I didn’t tell you… could you guess what this decadent wedge holds? Well… if you know me, I’m sure you have a decent idea… just take  a minute to think it over and then get back to me.
Okay.
Did you think?
Did you guess vegetables?!
Because if you did… you’re right! And maybe the green peeking out of that first picture was kind of a giveaway… whatever. Get a little more specific: perhaps two servings of vegetables, and about two servings of fruit?! And it’s dessert. Cholesterol free, vegan, and delicious dessert. Make this for your friends when they’re skeptical that vegan = delicious.
Besides, when I do things like this, I get to eat things like this as a reward:
See? Life is all about balance (and trx handstands, natch). As Oscar Wilde so wisely said: “everything in moderation, including moderation!”. I do have to say though, this torte requires less moderation than usual since it’s so freaking good for you. Chocolate= antioxidants. Zucchini= veggie (veggie = by definition, healthy, obvs). Banana= potassium. Whole wheat flour = whole grain fiber. Almonds = healthy fats! Wheeeee!
Chocolate Zucchini Torte
Recipe gratefully adapted slightly from Kohler Created, here! Next time I would perhaps leave out or reduce the oil, as the cake is definitely hydrated (you see I avoid that ‘oist’ word) enough with all the produce crammed inside.
2 c whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 c canola oil
1/4 c unsweetened applesauce
1/3 c granulated sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground coffee
1.5 ripe bananas, mashed
4 tbsp water
1/4 c unsweetened almond milk
2 c zucchini, finely grated
1/2 c dark chocolate chips
For topping: 3 tbsp brown sugar + 1/2 c chopped almonds
Preheat the oven to 360. Grease and flour a 9″ cake pan.
In a largeish bowl, sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and powder, and salt. In another bowl, combine oil, applesauce, sugars, vanilla, and coffee. Beat vigorously (use those biceps!) for a few minutes… or use a mixer. In a smallish bowl, mash bananas, then add water. Add bananas, beat to combine, then add milk.
Combine 1/2 c of the flour mix to the grated zucchini and chocolate chips. Slowly beat in the remaining flour into the banana bowl, until incorporated. Stir in zucchini and mix thoroughly. The batter should be thick (and delicious). Pour into the prepared pan, top with brown sugar+almonds, and bake for about 45 minutes, until a tester comes out clean. Cool in the pan before attempting to slice! This cake is even better the next day (promise!), if you can make it last that long…
Who forgets the SUGAR when making brownies?! I mean, really. SUGAR. Psshhh.
…
Well, that would be me, apparently.
Whoops.
Not entirely sure where my head was the evening I was making these: perhaps screwed on a wee bit backwards? I realized what had happened (or rather, NOT happened) when the so-called “brownies” were about halfway done in the oven. Out of slight curiosity (and irritation: wasting food, especially baking materials, is like a cardinal sin in my book), I decided to let them finish baking and then taste them. Fully prepared to hate them, I whipped up another batch so that brownies could be had for Mutti’s reunion… and then took the *ahem* REJECTS out of the oven to cool before I attempted to taste them.
mmm
But wait.
Time for the bombshell. You’d think completely sugar-less brownies would be nasty, right?! But… they’re NOT! They turned out like some kind of brownie-bread, or at least that’s what Vati and I thought. So rather than throw them out, we decided to hang on to them for breakfast and dessert purposes. Waste not, want not! Besides, then you can have GUILT-FREE BAILEY’S for breakfast!! If that isn’t awesome, I’m not sure what is. The brownies themselves (properly made) actually aren’t too bad for you—they originally come from a Cooking Light recipe. QED, brownies minus sugar = healthy breakfast. Ha. Winning.
Do yourself a favor: make them, sans sugar. Top them with mascarpone cheese and blueberry jam and cinnamon… and eat them for breakfast.
Epic fail? Absolutely not.
Remind you of anything? Mayan calendar, perhaps??
Bailey’s Brownies
For REAL brownies, use sugar. Obvs. Please don’t leave it out. They’re wonderful brownies: hydrated and fudgy interior, chewy exterior and a crackly top. Perfection. For “brownie bread” (excellent for breakfast and all-purpose snacking), omit sugar and pretend you did it on purpose.
Recipe gratefully borrowed (and slightly adapted) from Gimme Some Oven, here! Makes an 8 by 8 pan of brownies.
1 c whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
my-cup-runneth-over 1/3 c chocolate chippies
1/4 c butter (1/2 a stick)
2 eggs
3/4 c sugar
1/3 c (slightly overflowing, hehe) Bailey’s Irish cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
breakfast is served..
Preheat the oven to 350, and line an 8 by8 pan with foil (this makes for ridiculously easy removal).
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt butter and chocolate chips together, using bursts of about 30 seconds. Let cool. Once cooled, whisk in eggs vigorously for a few seconds. Once incorporated, whisk in sugar, Bailey’s, and vanilla. Add flour mixture and stir until just combined. Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing out the top a bit.
Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until a tester comes out with a few moist crumbs (don’t overbake, unless you like brownie bricks! I don’t exactly recommend this). Let cool in the pan for a bit, then lift the foil onto a cooling rack to completely cool.
Not THAT kind (pshhh—get your mind out of the gutter); THIS kind!
and then there was one.
Except to me they’re really like healthful no-bake cookies. But in ball form. Because I don’t really use these for energy, let’s be real… but they’re perfect snackies for when you want something kinda sorta sweet but good for you all at the same time. But not dessert. A ball.
Besides, saying BALLSSSSS is fun! Try it: just make sure there’s no one around, they might look at you a little funny.
And they’re fun to stack, and roll around…
all by its lonesome
Let’s face it, I have yoga brain after my class this morning. Yes, I know the class was finished at 11 and I had a chai afterwards and should be fully functional by now (at 4:15 pm), buuttt my brain says… NO. Apparently we’re having a small tantrum today: it’s fuzzy Thursday. Acceptable, I suppose, for my day off. Good thing I don’t have to do anything more strenuous than go grocery shopping (oh wait. That required efficient decision making.whoops, FAIL) and photograph balls. Tee hee.
yum yum yum
Anywayyy. I digress. These balls are delicious and easy and come together in a snap. They’re a little on the crumbly side and excellent to grab on the way out the door (just don’t get crumbs all in your car; oh wait… I already did that).
I suppose you could call them blobs… but balls is more fun!
Balls balls balls:
aerial shot!
No-Bake Energy Balls
Ever so slightly adapted from Running to the Kitchen, here! I doubled the recipe and got 18, since I’ve made a single recipe before and we fight over them…
1 c raw cashews
1/2 c rolled oats
4 tbsp nut butter (I’ve used all peanut, half peanut/half almond, both are good!)
3 tbsp dark chocolate chips
1 tbsp chia seeds
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
Couldn’t be simpler: chuck nuts into your food processor. Pulverize until they’re a fine powder. Add in oats and pulse again. Add everything else (nut butter, chocolate chips, chia, maple, and vanilla), and pulse until it all comes together. Form/roll into balls and store in the fridge. Easy money.
Time to bust out the pumpkin, ahhh yeahhh. Because as we know, I am the Queen of Orange.
But before we do that (and because of this ridiculous Indian Summer we’ve got going here: a hundred degrees in October?! Excuse me?! We know I loathe hot weather. Can’t it just be fall already?? I can’t quite do pumpkin until it’s at least a little cold-ish)… I bring you the end of Birthday Month!! Slightly belatedly, but hey–better late than never. So with that in mind, here’s this little bit of deliciousness: Vaccuum Vati’s birthday cake!!
mmm
As per request, things got a leeeetle spiiiicayyy up in hurrr since Vati wanted cayenne pepper in some form of dessertness. I thought about brownies for a split second but nahhh, why make brownies when you can make cake?! Pssh. Brownies. It’s a birthday, after all.
I’ve never baked with cayenne before, though I’ve had desserts where it was sneakily present.
hehhe.. edge on!
I think I’ve decided I like it, at least in this cake—the pepper sneaks in subtly, rather than punching you in the face going “I’M SPICY! EAT ME AND CLEAR YOUR SINUSES, PITIFUL HUMAN!” Or at least that’s what a lot of those less subtle desserts feel like to me… sort of like the sea salt and vinegar Kettle Chips. But I digress. This cake is super hydrated (remember, we don’t like the m-word), rich, chocolately and spicy. Just sweet enough (though I didn’t cut the sugar on this one as per request as well, as SOMEONE has an (inherited, I’m sure) sweet tooth the size of Texas). And the frosting?! Oh yes. The frosting. Hooooly crap. I had to save myself from cleaning the bowl out with my face, it is that good. Maybe if you make this, Â double the frosting and save the second bowl for something creative. I don’t know, like eating with a spoon or something, with a token graham cracker so you pretend you’re using it as “dip”. Haha. Yeah right. I’m sure you’ll think of something, you’re a creative bunch.
The first word that comes to mind is… craggy. Um. No comment.
Anyway. Go in the kitchen, get out a bowl. It’s simple. Spicy chocolate cake, you know you want it… you’ll thank me later!
mmm.
Spicy Chocolate Cake with Cinnamon Mascarpone Frosting
Slightly adapted from Baked Bree, here! I made a half recipe in 6″ cake pans, so I’ll include those measurements here.
For the cake:
1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 + 3/8 c whole wheat pastry flour (sorry for the awkward measurements…)
1/2 + 1/8 c granulated sugar
1/2 c packed brown sugar
4.5 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 c milk bev (I used 1% milk)
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 c unsweetened applesauce
1 egg
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
4.5 tsp Bourbon vanilla
This couldn’t be simpler… in fact, it’s pretty close to instant cake gratification. Lezzz dooo eeeet!
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease two 6″ cake pans, line the bottoms with circles of parchment paper, and then lightly grease that (coconut oil is fab for this). In a largeish bowl, whisk together dry ingredients: cocoa through salt. In a smaller bowl, whisk together milk, oil, applesauce, egg, vinegar and vanilla until combined. Pour wet into dry (see? EASY.). Chuck batter into prepared cake pans (ideally the top is evenish, if not.. oops oh well, you get to do trimming, which means there are cake scraps to be eaten), and bake for about 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean (For full-size cakes, increase bake time to 45 minutes). Let cool in the pans for a few minutes, then upend onto a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
Subliminal messaging eeeeaattt meeee!!!
While the cake is baking: make the frostinggg (Keep your fingers away from the bowl, please) (as if). I made half the recipe. Don’t kid yourself, make extra. My measurements below are for half but really… what else would you do with that leftover mascarpone?!
half of 1 tub (8 oz) of mascarpone cheese
1/2 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp Bourbon vanilla
pinch of salt
1/2 c powdered sugar
1 c heavy cream
Whip yo’ cream (and yo’ hair) until stiff peaks form. Once cream is whipppp-ed, set aside. In a bowl, “whisk” (and by whisk, I mean sort of stir) mascarpone, cinnamon, vanilla, salt, and powdered sugar. Fold cream into the mascarpone mixture, and try not to eat it all at once. Some is supposed to go on the cake, you know…
With half the recipe, I had enough to put a layer between the two cake layers, and frost the whole thing.
Apparently once as a toddler, I said to my mother (regarding an ordinary dinner): “Always eat your veggies first, except for special occasions”… pause… “Is this a special occasion?”. See? Apparently my brain is hardwired this way (it must have been all the tofu I was fed as a kinder). Veggies are delicious. But I also love dessert… so what better when dessert and good-for-me ingredients tango together and create fabulous babies?? Or rather, when I can sneak healthy-type things into otherwise deceptively delicious desserts. Precocious child that I was (ha) I apparently developed my philosophies waaaay early in life: always attempt to get away with eating dessert first! Life is short.
pieeeee!
Although I also was quoted saying (in response to my mother saying that veggies made you strong), “No mommy, sleep does that!”. Hehe. Right on both counts, I should think?
Anyway. Pie. The next in the series of it’s-too-hot-to-bake-much-less-live-ew ‘baking’, here’s pie! Thankfully it’s cooled off slightly around these parts in the last few days, so I’m thinking cookies or somesuch later today. Because (after getting up at 5)Â I washed my car, which desperately needed it, and now I’m tired and need sustenance. Preferably snacky cookies. Uh oh, look out. But back to pie. Who doesn’t love pie? Delicious. Snappy. Frosty. Melty.
Just goes to show, bananas are awesome in pretty much any form. Besides, I love that they give this pie body and make it acceptable for breakfast. Potassium win. Plus antioxidants from cocoa and healthy fats from cashews and peanuts. AND dark chocolate. Definitely breakfast material in my book. Or at least elevenses, that awkward hungry time between breakfast and lunch (otherwise known as second breakfast, if it involves a muffin in Ricardo’s class).
that crust could have used a minute less in the oven…
Peanut Butter-Chocolate Banana Pie
I gratefully borrowed the recipe from Back to Her Roots, here! I made a few small adaptations so that I didn’t need to make a run to the store, but if I made it again, I’d like to try peanuts in the crust (I used cashews, as it was what I had). I also made this in a deep-dish pie dish, so I made 1.5 times the filling so that it would be a little taller. In a normal dish, the amount below should be fine. Maybe next time some coconut needs to go somewhere in this? Food for thought…
//
Putz and acquire for the crust:
1.25 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Pinch kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup raw cashews*
1/3 cup milk bev (I used 1% cow’s milk)
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil (canola is fine too)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Filling-tastic (second set of numbers is the amount for a deep dish pie):
3 large, ripeish bananas (or 4.5)
1/4 cup honey (optional, only add if bananas aren’t very sweet)**
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa (1/4 + 1/8 c)
1 cup light coconut milk (canned, please) (1.5 c)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (1.5 tsp)
1/4 cup natural peanut butter (1/4 + 1/8 c)
Chopped salted peanuts and dark chocolate for the topping, plus ice cream if you’re feeling frisky.
*The original recipe called for equal amounts of unsalted peanuts, but I still had raw cashews left over. The crust was still really good (I love the addition of nuts), but I’d be curious to try it with peanuts.
**I used just about 1/4 c of honey in my total amount of filling (1.5 times the recipe above), since I wanted this to be a bit sweeter than I usually prefer (sharing is caring). I may leave it out next time, depending on banana sweetness.
hello, dark chocolate, I love you.
Preheat the oven to 375.
In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and cashews. Pulse until combined and nuts are finely ground. In a liquid measure, combine milk bev, egg yolk, vinegar, oil, and vanilla. With the food processor running, drizzle the liquids into the dry ingredients and run until the dough forms into a ball.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Using a floured rolling pin, roll out until slightly larger than the diameter than your pie pan of choice. Transfer the crust to the ungreased pie pan and flute the edges. Use a forkish thing to poke steam vents in the bottom (no one wants soggy, puffy crust). Bake for 16-18 minutes, until lightly browned (mine would have been good at 16ish, my edges got a bit brown). Let cool completely before filling.
While the crust is cooling, make the filling! If you’re not like me and have a decent blender, use that. If you’re like me and your blender is utter crap (yes. it is. it struggles even with a basic milkshake, much less anything more solid. Blender fail), use your food processor again. Chuck in all the filling ingredients (bananas through peanut butter, above) and blend until smooth, scraping the sides if necessary. Once the crust is cool, pour in the filling and smooth it out. Top with chopped peanuts and chocolate. Carefully transfer to the freezer, and freeze for 2ish hours. Mine sat for longer, so I let it thaw on the counter for about 25 minutes before we served it, which worked perfectly.
I know it’s slightly blurred, but I love this one!
I do apologize for the large gaps between posts (I know, I know, it’s my wittiness that you miss)…
I’ve been busy busy of late and have been eating lots of tasty, albeit fast and non-photogenic, food of late. Like tempeh, for instance. I recently discovered that I do, in fact, enjoy this fermented “textured protein”, in spite of a childhood derision for said food object. Like, refusing to ever eat it EVER again. I suppose I’m eating my words on this one… (but that being said, I seriously WILL NEVER EAT tofurky sausage. Like, EVER. Ranks up there with one of the most disgusting things I’ve ever brought near my face… so unless they radically change the formula, there will be no more  of that). So. Tempeh. Tasty, especially in peanut sauce… but definitely NOT conducive to appealing looking photos… at all. You can thank me later for sparing you the pictures.
cooookies!
SO.
Instead, you get COOKIES! Surprised? Yeah, I thought not. But whatever, these are good and a nice change up from my pb-chia-oat-coconut routine. Except that these do have pb and oats, but there is this crazy addition of this thing called COCOA POWDER! Woah. Really going out on a limb here, aren’t we? Besides, I really obviously have a thing for pb cookies… and I had a jar of that amazing coconut-pb spread begging to go into cookies… and it was less hot… and chocolate and pb are a match made in heaven… so there you go. Chocolate cookies. With pb. And oats. Good(ish) for your health, wonderful for your soul. Be happy. Indulge.
bowl ‘o cookies
These cookies are on the soft side (although they are supposed to be chewy… huh. I’m thinking the reduction in sugar is causing the lack of chewiness, so if you prefer a sweeter cookie, go with the amount in the original recipe), so if you like crunchy cookies (Miss Kira, I’m looking at you), leave these in quite a bit longer so they can harden into rusk-like hockey pucks (just kidding!!). They’re lightly sweet but nicely chocolatey. I used a chunky peanut butter which is kind of funny considering I HATE nuts in my baked goods… I kind of didn’t put two and two together that chunky nut butter = nuts in cookies… but for some reason these are acceptable and pass my nut test. Go figure…?
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Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cookies
I made a full recipe and got 19 cookies… the original says you can get 36, but I question what kind of weirdo wants cookie that small… pshhh. Ever so slightly adapted from Eating Well. I didn’t have pb chips—if so, I would have used them.
Lezzzz DO IT! Scrounge and procure:
1 c chunky peanut butter (or coconut peanut butter if you’re cool like me)
1/4 c canola oil (I may try half applesauce at some point for kicks)
1/3 c brown sugar
1/3 c granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp plain yogurt (mine was nonfat)
3/4 c whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 c rolled oats (or quick oats)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4ish cup of chocolate chippies
failed attempts at cookie henge…
Heat the oven to 350, and line two-ish baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, oats, baking soda, and salt. In a larger bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together peanut butter, oil, and sugars until blended. Beat in eggs, vanilla, and yogurt until just combined. Stir in dry ingredients (the dough is on the sticky side) and chocolate chips. Drop by respectable spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets, flattening slightly with your hand or the bottom of a glass (turbinado sugar on the flattened tops is nice, but I was out). Bake for 8-10 minutes, being careful not to over bake. Mine went for about 10, but I was testing the convection settings on my oven, and mine probably could have gone a bit less. Let cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.
for some reason I really like this one… It makes the bowl look luminous!
These cupcakes have THREE kinds of alcohol in them. Impressed? Yes. You should be. And no… I did NOT bake these in my car… though I’m pretty sure my car would smell aaaamazing if I had done so. Though perhaps making your car smell like alcoholic beverages is really not the best idea…
Anywayyy.
As a belated Vati’s Day reward for Vacuum Vati (AAND as a virtual birthday present for Carl—Happy Birthday!!), I decided to make him/them cupcakes! But wait. Not just ANY cupcakes, oh no. These correspond appropriately to the logic these two jokers so often spout when they get together: beer = a meal in a glass; cupcakes = sissy dessert. By my logic, then: beer in a cupcake = a complete meal + non-sissy, manly dessert. QED. Ha. Infallible logic, don’t you think? And why settle for just beer in a cupcake, when you could have 2 more types of alcohol as well? And what better compliment to beer than Irish whiskey and Bailey’s?! Let’s be real, Bailey’s goes with anything.
mmm
That being said, these cupcakes are indulgently delicious. No stinting on the butter in these babies (live a little every so often!). The cake is moist (eww no, not that word again!) HYDRATED, and delicately compliments the slightly bitter chocolate-whiskey ganache. Bailey’s buttercream completes an already ridiculous combo, rounding out the flavors perfectly. Guinness, Jameson, and Bailey’s… an inspired trifecta! These take the Guinness brownies to an entirely new level (and I definitely like them better)… are you salivating yet? Hmm, I thought so.
In endeavoring to be politically correct and inoffensive to all parties involved, let’s call these..
//
Depth Charge Cupcakes!
(hehe. get it?! Like a shot dropped into a beer… use your imagination.) I made a half-batch and ended up with 12 cupcakes, a perfectly manageable number for 3 people. I’ll give my measurements here; double if you need a mega-batch. Recipe very slightly adapted from Brown Eyed Baker! I reduced the sugar slightly—it may even be okay to take it down a bit more, as per sweetness preferences.
Let’s do this:
un-sprinkled
For the cupcakes:
1 c whole wheat pastry flour
scant 3/4 c sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
very heaping 1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1/3 c plain lowfat yogurt
1/2 c Guinness
1/2 c unsalted butter, softish
1/4 c + 1/8 c unsweetened cocoa powder
For the whiskey-ganache:
4 oz dark chocolate (I used one bar of Trader Joe’s 72% Fair Trade Belgian chocolate)
1/3 c heavy cream
1 tbsp butter, softish
2 tsp of Jameson or other Irish whiskey (mine were two teaspoons that *oops* accidentally mega-runneth over)
For the buttercream:
1 c unsalted butter (2 sticks), a bit soft
2.5 c powdered sugar
a good glug of Bailey’s (somewhere in the vicinity of 5 tbsp)
a dash of Jameson (I didn’t measure, likely around 2 or 3 tsp)
filled :)
Proceed!
Preheat the oven to 350, and line a cupcake/muffin tin with liners… mine happened to be Spongebob. Don’t judge! In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. In a larger bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together egg and yogurt until combined. In a small saucepan, bring Guinness and butter to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat and stir in cocoa powder. Let cool a bit. Once cool(er), add the Guinness-butter mixture to the egg/yogurt, and beat until combined. I ran the mixer on low while adding mine, since it was still on the warm side, to prevent scrambled eggs (ewww, who wants that?!). Reduce speed to low and add in flour mixture, beating until combined (but minimally, to keep cupcakes fluffy!). Fold in any remaining flour. Pour batter into cupcake tins, and bake for just about 17 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack to cool.
up close and cupcake personal
While the cupcakes are baking, make the ganache! In a small saucepan, heat cream until just barely simmering (watch it like a hawk—we don’t want it scalded! Ewwwy). Break chocolate up into smallish pieces and place in a heatproof bowl. When the cream reaches the simmer point, pour it over the chocolate and let sit for one minute, then stir it carefully together until incorporated. Add butter and whiskey and stir until combined. Let sit for a bit, until it firms up just slightly but is still scoop-able.
For the buttercream: I recommend a stand mixer for this. Do as I say, not as I do… a hand mixer was not the smartest choice…
Beat softened butter a few minutes until fluffy. Add in powdered sugar gradually, until completely incorporated. Add in Bailey’s and whiskey and beat until combined. It should be spreadable: light and fluffy!
Assembly:
Using a metal decorating tip (I found a small spoon for scooping to be helpful), cut out the centers of the cooled cupcakes, about 2/3 of the way down (extra bonus: eating the centers is totally acceptable). Fill the resulting hole with slightly-cooled ganache. Frost as desired. Sprinkles are nice :)
Imbibe. Indulge. Enjoy your canon ball depth charge in cupcake form.
Whilst watching Mad Men tonight, I came to a rather giggle-inducing revelation:
Apparently I never make brownies without spiking them…?!
I’m like the Roger Stirling of the brownie world.
so much yummy.
I mean really. It’s like Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce take over when I decide to make them. Am I satisfied with a normal, dense chocolatey brownie? Obviously not. Brownies are sooo much better when they have Bailey’s in them. Or Guinness. But really, at least if you indulge in these at lunchtime, you won’t be sloshed by the time you get back to work (*AHEM* Roger Stirling). That being said, I do love my Mad Men. And my Draper-style brownies. Dark. Mysterious. Imbibed. Heehehe. Besides, I’m graduating in a week and it’s finals for all those other underclassmen mortals. Pshhh, what else am I going to do besides bake and watch Mad Men?! I can think of so many other less appealing options (like studying. Post thesis… what is this studying you speak of?!).
you see what I did there?! Cleverly, with the slicer?!
But you see, I almost NEVER make brownies for myself. I might bake them for a friend or for a function or something, but usually I eat about half of one and max out. I’d much rather have a cookie or a huuuge slice of cake. Also because I rarely make a brownie recipe that I’m truly satisfied with. BUT. THEN. I watched some Mad Men and made these. And was INSPIRED. Because of course when you think of Mad Men, you think of alcohol, right?!
Soooo, what better to put into Nutella brownies than Bailey’s?! That’s like a match made in culinary heaven. Or at least that’s what Kira and I decided, so in it went. And ohhh, am I glad it did. These are perfect brownies: chewy on the edges, fudgey dense in the middle, and subtly flavored with Irish cream and hazelnut. Mmmm. AND they have that perfectly crackly top. Win win win, all around.
Just like SCDP at the CLEO awards, ha.
Come in, shut the door and have a seat. And maybe an infused brownie to chase your mid-morning cocktail…
1/4 c Bailey’s (more, if you’re feeling particularly frisky)
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Couldn’t be simpler, just like Don Draper whipping out a creative ad campaign: Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly grease an 8 by 8 pan. In a largeish bowl, cream together softened butter and sugar. Add in eggs and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Mix in Nutella. Add flour and salt and stir until just combined, then toss in Bailey’s and stir until just mixed (don’t overstir, pretty please). Spatulaize the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for just about 25 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Err on the side of slightly underdone though, as they will continue to cook in the pan and dry brownies are ickyyy! Let cool for about 10ish minutes, or however long you can resist them… then cut and devour. With more Bailey’s on the side, naturally ;)
Nah, not really. Except that I’m going to, because these aren’t your average chocolate-stout cake/brownie… oh no. Within these babies lurks a whopping dose of antioxidants and dietary fiber like no one’s business. Which is probably why Vaccuum Vati (for whom these were made in the first place, as he luuurvs Guinness and chocolate) ate two for lunch. With the remainder of the Guinness. Lunch of champions, most definitely. You know why? Because these brownies are made with whole wheat flour and black beans! Yeeeahh. Black beans provide an unbeatable protein-fiber combo, which supports digestive health, blood sugar regulation, and cardiovascular health. Beans, beans they’re good for your heart…! Ha. Besides that, beans AND cocoa powder have tons of antioxidants and phyto-nutrients, which translates to the prevention of several cancer types, as well as a myriad of other health bonuses. YAYAY for beans! Especially when they’re disguised as dessert.
I for one LOVE beans straight out of the can (though definitely not with crumbled up power-bar thrown in there, like my chiropractor… oh Rob, what are we going to do with you?!), but these brownies are another beast entirely. They totally grew on me: straight out of the pan, I wasn’t a super fan, but after they cooled off, I found myself going back multiple times to “trim” the uneven pieces and swipe little crumbs that fell off when I was photographing. Definitely worth it. For lack of instant coffee powder, I used finely ground espresso, which might account for the stronger coffee flavor, but it pairs well with the Guinness and chocolate. And these probably have the BEST consistency of any black bean brownies I’ve tried: perfectly gooey in the center with slightly chewy edges. Deeelicious. Not super sweet, but just perfect (and this is coming from Vati, who swears by death-by-dessert sweets). A win all around, especially since you can fool your brain into thinking you’re eating a fully-fatted dessert ;) Besides all that, these are cholesterol-friendly, with no eggs, butter, or oil.
mmm.
Guinness Black Bean Brownies
I made a half batch, since these are mostly for Vati, but it still made a large-ish batch. I’ll give the half size measurements here, for an 9 by 9 square cake pan. Recipe with thanks from Farm Girl Gourmet, here!
Procure:
7.5 oz black beans (1/2 a can), drained and rinsed
3/4 c whole wheat pastry flour
1 c sugar*
1/2 + 1/8 c unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp finely ground espresso (or instant coffee, if you have it)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 c stout beer (I used Guinness, what else?!)
1/2ish c chocolate chippies
*More sugar than I would normal use in a recipe, but it’s necessary to balance the Guinness and the coffee flavor, and these still aren’t too sweet. If you want a sweeter brownie, feel free to add sugar to taste.
You'd never guess there were beans in these, would you?
Preheat the oven to 350, and lightly grease a 9 by 9 cake pan (If you double it, use a 9 by 13).
Drain and rinse the black beans, and then put half of them back into the can. Fill it with fresh water, just to the top of the beans. Toss all this into a blender or small food processor, and puree. Set aside in a smallish bowl.
In a larger bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, coffee/espresso, salt, and baking powder. In the smaller bowl, combine bean puree, vanilla, and beer. Toss this into the dry ingredients along with the chocolate chippies, and stir until just combined (try not to over stir). Pour batter into the prepared pan, and bake for somewhere between 20 and 25 minutes. I took mine out at 24, and they were perfectly gooey (but I don’t like SUPER gooey brownies, so bake according to preference: 20 for goop, 24 for gooey with chewy edges. Whatever you do, pleeeease DO NOT overbake them. There is nothing worse than dry brownies! Ew.) I recommend letting these cool completely before eating: the flavors develop and become just that much better :)
Wait...are those...cookies?! 