150 wedding cupcakes

09-27-12:  What's that? You need 150 cupcakes for your wedding. Ok we can do that :) Jeanne's brother was getting married and she was tasked with baking and decorating 150 cupcakes. Seeing a great excuse to go visit her for a long weekend I volunteered to help!

 
Did I mention I've never actually iced a cupcake before? It's ok, you learn quick when you have no other choice! After some seriously sad looking ones we figured out adding some frosting to the center made them look a lot nicer. (I realize 99% of you already know this).


 

Since I was coming to help with the cupcakes I figured I'd also offer up my mad photobooth skills during the cocktail hour. When you have a backdrop like this how could things go wrong?

 
It's a whale skeleton- cool! Add in some cutout mustaches, a top hat, and a few frames and you are good to go! Don't go overboard with the props though or things will get a little chaotic.


Could we be any cuter? I totally realize we have no props here. LOL see simple can still be fun :)
The cupcakes were chowed, and the photobooth went off without a hitch! Add to that dancing my rump off until 1am and I call that one hell of a wedding!

Have you ever offered to bake something for a wedding and then realized GAHH are we going to get this done?? Did you have a photo booth? They are some of my favorites from my wedding, and I've since done one at 2 different weddings for friends. Wanna hire me? ;)



Your email will never be displayed publicly, so don't be scared to comment! :) Oh and make sure you type in your blog link so I can click over to you! There is a spot you can type it in.

Vegan PB cupcakes

Peanut butter and chocolate, is there really a better combination? I don't think so... it's just SO good. I actually found this recipe via a link on twitter. Wing it Vegan was telling Hannah of Bittersweet how much she enjoyed her cupcakes (featured in her cookbook My Sweet Vegan: passionate about dessert .) I quickly clicked over and was so excited with what I found.




Self Frosting Peanut Butter Cupcakes. Truth be told if you go over to Wing it vegan for the recipe you will see her cupcakes really look frosted... whereas mine just look marbled. This is because I think I did something wrong... Instead of 12 cupcakes I got 14 very full cupcakes.. and I didn't have enough room to put all the chocolate self frosting on top without them all overflowing. So I only used 1/2 the frosting recipe... and I didn't swirl it around like I was suppose to... since I didn't most sunk to the middle so you had a frosting like chocolate center! It was actually pretty awesome that way!


Either way you make them, these are a winner. Every person at work loved them. LOVED them. And even though they don't have any oil or butter Hannah somehow figured out how to make them have a cupcake texture. Seriously it's like biting into a moist cake, no sturdy muffin here. Vegan or not, go make these, you will NOT be disappointed.

So what's your favorite part about making vegan baked goods? Mine is being able to totally lick the bowl without even a glimmer of worry I'm going to get sick from raw eggs. :)

Your email will never be displayed publicly, so don't be scared to comment! :)

Health it up Banana cupcake edition

OK everyone, I'm very excited to bring the second edition of health it up!! The first round took place with Val and her coconut bar recipe (read about it here). This time Gina asked me to health up a banana cupcake with cream cheese frosting! Well Gina, here you go! Now who's next?? Got a recipe you love but it's awful for you?? Send it to stephchows at gmail.com and I'll do my best to heath it up and keep it super tasty!


banana cupcakes
recipe by stephchows

Beat the following together in a bowl
1 Tbs ground flax seeds + 3 Tbs water (do this first then add the rest of the stuff)
2 cups bananans
1/3 cup apple sauce
1/2 cup white sugar (I used splenda granulated)
1/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Whisk the following in another bowl
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
dash sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Then slowly add the dry mixture to the wet, alternating in the following
1/2 cup skim milk + 2 Tbs nonfat milk solids (powdered milk) (if you don't want to buy dry milk solids just use whole milk... I never have any so I use this lower fat trick to thicken it up a bit)

Pour into a cupcake holder lined muffin tin (makes 12) and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until tester comes out clean.

Now for the frosting... so I had some Panera low fat hazelnut cream cheese laying around... so I topped one with that and OMG it was good!!! Now if you aren't looking to buy the cream cheese premade up for you I'd use this sweeter go to recipe.

lighten cream cheese frosting
8 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese at room temp.
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Beat with a whisk until fluffy and creamy. Top cooled muffins and serve. :)


And then on a completely unrelated note... I bring you the work cats... snuggling on my desk and making me sleepy.



Want more chow like what you just read? You can click to subscribe to the feed, follow me on twitter, or become a fan on facebook! Can't wait to see you there!

Butterscotch + Muffin =

Butterscotch + Muffin = A sticky mess from muffins gluing themselves to the pan...


But is also equals a really tasty tasty muffin!! So what if they were a pain to get out of the pan.... just use cupcake liners and you'll be good to go :)


Fudgy Chocolate Butterscotch Cupcakes (makes 12)
recipe by steph chows

1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/4 cup splenda OR (1/4 cup white sugar)
2 Tbs brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup Hershey's 100% Cocoa Special Dark
2 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
dash salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup butterscotch chips
cupcake liners

Preheat over to 350 F
Mix apple sauce, sugars, vanilla, beat in egg
In a separate bowl mix flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon.
Add flour mixture to wet mixture a little at a time, stir in boterscotch chips.
Spoon batter into 12 cupcake liners
Bake for about 20 minutes or until tops are firm to touch.
Dust with cocoa/powdered sugar mixture.

PBBB cupcakes... cupcake hero!

Cupcake hero is back! Cupcake hero is back!! CB of i heart cuppycakes has brought it back! And she hates bananas... so the secret ingredient this month... BANANAS!! She's a fun one isn't she? Figures if she likes it, it must be darn good! And check out the sponsors... I could possible win.... this or this or this!

CB is a freakin awesome girl and she loves her some cupcakes... and I'm totally trying to bribe her with the fact I used BACON, yes bacon, (has anyone else noticed that bacon is so IN right now??) and peanut butter... who can say no to PB and bacon? Really now! Now don't think I'm just trying to cover up the banana goodness with these kick butt flavors, they actually go well with the banana... come on haven't' you ever heard of Elivis' love for this in sandwich form??? Must be why he went from skinny Elvis to big fat Elvis huh? Man these things are good... well lets face it, top anything with bacon and it's probably going to taste good. Needless to say I filed these under the "not healthy" category ;)

So my official submission for cupcake hero September is:

PBBB cupcakes AKA Peanut Butter Bacon & Banana Cupcakes
recipe by stephchows
makes 12

dry
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup oat flour (I just take oats and spin them in a coffee grinder to make flour)
1.5 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 Tbs milled flax seeds
1 tsp cinnamon

wet
3 very ripe bananas (about 1.5 cups)
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla

to add at the end
1/2 cup skim milk

for the filling
12 Tbs peanut butter (i used all natural chunky- but use what you like)
12 slices thick cut bacon cooked until crisp

Whisk together dry ingredients in a medium bowl
Beat together wet ingredients in a large bowl.
Slowly add dry to wet, alternating in the 1/2 cup of skim milk.
Scoop into 12 muffin tins, bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.


Let the muffins cool for about 5 minutes, then slice in half and spread 1 Tbs of peanut butter on each muffin, top with 1 large slice of very crisp bacon (break it up to fit), then put the top of the cupcake back on. Serve warm right away.

CHOW



PS don't forget about the giveaway!!
You have until Sunday the 20th to enter!





And since you asked! Here are the nutritional facts for these bad boys!

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

I always buy carrots and think I'm going to eat them... and then I never do... and they go bad... but this last time before I let that happen I decided to do something with them... no I didn't just eat them... I made dessert out of them. I mean you might as well use them in something you'll enjoy right ;)

Carrot cake can be seriously dry, BLEH, no thank you. These are super duper moist, and not an ounce of butter. Please believe me, these things taste so moist and decadent, you'd never know they are made with no oil or butter. Add a little cream cheese frosting on top, and you are good to go!

I pretty much pulled this recipe out of thin air, and was very excited they came out well. I mean that is the worst when you try something random and it's a big *whomp whomp* Next time you need a quick dessert to bring along somewhere just print this out and you wont be sorry :)

Oh and the pumpkin puree... you don't taste it at all... it just adds an amazing moistness and tenderness to the cake!


steph chows carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting
for cupcakes you will need:
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup splenda granulated (or 1/2 cup white sugar)
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups carrots (gratted)
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2-3 Tbs skim milk

In a large bowl beat together:
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup splenda granulated (or 1/2 cup white sugar)
2 eggs

Then fold in:
1 1/2 cups carrots (grated)
1 tsp vanilla

In a small bowl whisk together:
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Gentry stir dry into wet. Add in 2-3 Tbs fat free milk as you stir. Fill 12 cupcake lined pans. Bake for 20 minutes at 350.

Cream Cheese Frosting
Beat together the following:
4 oz room temp cream cheese 1/3 less fat variety
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Spread on top of cooled cupcakes and refrigerate if not eating right away.

These stay moist for days... so no worries about storing them in a sealed container in the refrigerator overnight or for a few days.

AND don't forget to sign up for the jam exchange if you haven't already :)

Baby Shower Cupcakes

First don't forget to sign up for the jam exchange!
And if you didn't see it, take a look at John's guest blog :)


I'm a big fan of all things home made, so when I found out a few friends were expecting I had to get the move on and start crocheting some cute little things!

First was Zoe and Geoff, for there little boy/girl I made a set of cute puppies.


Next was Josh and Chris, for their little boy I made a ring rattle and a little dinosaur!


Now we can't forget about some chow right? When I think of baby showers I think of very scary situations filled with many many woman and stupid stupid horrible games... this was not going to be the case for this baby shower though *phew* cause me, I can't handle that crap...

Even though one baby was a going to be a boy for sure... I made the cupcakes pink anyway... why? because I had strawberry foam... and I wasn't about to waste it :)

Fudgy Chocolate Cupcakes (makes 12)
1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/4 cup splenda blend for baking (or 1/2 cup white sugar)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup Hershey's 100% Cocoa Special Dark
2 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
dash salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chocolate chips (i used semi-sweet chips)

Preheat oven to 350 F
Mix apple sauce, splenda, vanilla, beat in egg
In a separate bowl mix flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon.
Add flour mixture to wet mixture a little at a time, stir in chocolate chips.
Spoon batter into 12 silicon muffin cups (or lightly greased cupcake tins or use cupcake liners!)
Bake for about 20 minutes or until tops are firm to touch.

Strawberry cream cheese frosting
4 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbs strawberry foam (I'm sure jam would work too... just lumpier)

Beat all the ingredients together until smooth, spread on top of cooled cupcakes.

This little pink dino is on its way to one Joel and Jennifer who gave birth to a little girl named Olivia... man I'm going to stop drinking the water... everyone is pregnant!!! Yes Neva, Anjali, plus more, I'm looking over at all of you too! Pregnant ladies are everywhere!!!!

Speaking of Anjali... I made her this cute little bear who's wearing a red sweater!


Hey Neva... what kind of fun animal might your little bun in the oven like???

Call me Opus: the return of the guest blogger

"I gotta make some changes. I'm not a woman. I'm a child. What kind of life is this?"
- Elaine Benes, Seinfeld, 1995

My thoughts mirrored Elaine's (substitute 'man' for 'woman' please) as I scooped mint chocolate chip ice cream into the middle of a split choc chip cupcake (recipe found here) in order to make a pseudo-ice cream sandwich. Are you kidding me? Doesn't this amount to playing with my food?! What's next, I'm gonna borrow an Easy Bake Oven?! Compounding my confliction was the fact that exactly one night previous, Steph and I both had already partaken in this same activity. But now, alone, deep in the shadows and still of the night, I found myself carving out delicate blades of minty green, gently layering onto cushions of chocolately goodness. Alas, in a matter of seconds, all that remained (after my final bit of self respect evaporated) was a longing for, to quote Billy Idol’s ‘Rebel Yell’, "more, more, more"...

I decided to distract myself with another ponderous point: is mint chocolate chip supposed to be white or green? As a rather husky youngster, I recall summer trips to the ice cream stand; but depending on which place we patronized, the color of said ice cream varied. It seemed the name changed too, the 'mint' alternately jumping (like Frogger) from the beginning to the end of the posted moniker, and back again… Does any of this even matter? Probably not (I am a realist), but interestingly, my rant is justified (albeit creepily) by IceCream.com: "as a Mint Chocolate Chip lover, you tend to be ambitious and confident… yet a little skeptical about life." Hmmmm… (By the way, to find out your Ice Cream Flavorology (is that a word?) check out this)

In the 80's (I have heard), a hilarious politically- and socially-minded cartoon strip named 'Bloom County' by Berkeley Breathed featured, among an array of motley characters, Opus the penguin. A gentle soul, Opus often found solace from the less-than-ideal world we inhabit by plopping himself into nature’s womb to refresh and renew his spirit. Maybe these ice cream sammies were just my version of Opus' 'dandelion break', seeing how it's never going to get warm enough here in Western NY for dandelions...

P.S. Maybe next time I'll actually cook… if you’re good!

Mocha Cake with Mocha Cream Cheese Frosting

Another Ellie, The Food You Crave! Page 282. Don't they just look delicious? If you are looking for a super sticky sweet dessert though... this isn't for you. It's described as the chocolate cupcake from your childhood all grown up. The frosting is really not sweet at all, it has a nice intense espresso flavor, almost a bit bitter, so if you like coffee, you'll like these... if you want total sweet... I'd skip the frosting for sure. The cupcake was ok... but nothing amazing, unfortunately, ... but they sure do look pretty :)

A scary cupcake tale

Ahh cupcake contests how I love you. Clara over at I heart cuppycakes obviously has an affinity for cupcakes hehe. She is constantly churning out amazing cupcakes and has a seriously awesome sense of humor! (ok it totally sounds like I'm sucking up to bribe her... hahahaha... wa-wah i'd never do that *bribe bribe bribe*) Plus I hear she prefers small unmarked bills ;)

Anyway she rocks and is hosting a Halloween decorating cupcake contest!!! After seeing her amazing bat over a moon cupcake I was going to throw in the towel... I mean seriously how cool is this!! Clara convinced me that I should still submit something so off I went brainstorming...

Later in the week I went home and started making some chocolate cupcakes, knowing for sure they would be the base for my creation. After taking them out of the oven to cool I turned around to see a SPIDER crawling across the plate I was about to use...

GAHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Why why must spiders always sneak up on you!?!? And it doesn't end there!! That little thing kept crawling towards me forcing me to run away from my cooling cupcakes and hide upstairs in my room!

After some time I decided to venture back downstairs (baseball bat in hand) to save my wonderful chocolate cupcakes from the big scary spider... alas what I found was even more horrifying!!!

spider eggs!!!!! BLEHHH!!!!!!

Why oh why mister spider did you have to come and torment me tonight! So Clara with a sad heart I must say this is my scary creepy creation made not by me but by mr spider...

Chow!

So you're probably wonder what those "eggs" are huh... or maybe you are a super smarty pants and already know :) Tapioca pearls!! You can buy them dry at an Asian Market. Normally they go in things like bubble tea but they were too gross and eyeball/egg looking not to use for halloween! They are super easy to make

Tapioca Pearls (for use in bubble tea or to gross someone out!)
1/3 cup dry pearls
3 cups water
simple syrup (aka sugar water)

Bring 3 cups of water to boil. Add the tapioca pearls then turn down the heat to medium and cover. Cook for 25 minutes.

After the 25 minutes is up, remove from heat and let sit for an additional 25 minutes.
After that, drain and rinse. They are going to be slimy so don't let them sit in the colander for too long.

Put the tapioca into a jar and fill with sugar syrup until they are covered.

Simple syrup is two parts sugar to one part water, heat the mixture until the sugar is completely dissolved. (I totally remember learning about super saturating in science class, i loved science class!!)

Once pearls are cool and have soaked awhile add them into tea to make bubble tea or use in all types of places to creep people out!!

Chow!

Spaghetti Squash Muffins

This past weekend I made this super tasty squash, peanut, mushroom spring rolls... *so where's the recipe??* well I have the recipe right here... but you see the nice picture I took with John's camera... yeah it's still sitting in John's camera over at his house... so you'll have to wait for that one... but let me just tell you.. YUM!!!!

Anyway after making said spring rolls, I had a bunch of spaghetti squash left over. This was the first time I've ever made spaghetti squash and I had no clue what else to do with the leftovers... to the internet I go! I found this great recipe on Cooking Light. These things were super tasty (even though John refuses to try one since it has *gasp* vegetables in it) I then pointed out he loves the pumpkin muffins I make... he had no response to this... hehehe

So once I post the spring rolls, make those then with the extra squash make these! yum!

Spaghetti Squash Muffins
Ingredients
* Cooking spray
* 2.5 Tbs splenda blend
* 2 Tbs packed splenda brown sugar
* 1/4 cup stick margarine or butter, softened
* 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 2 tablespoons skim milk
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 large egg
* 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup chopped cooked spaghetti squash
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.

Place 12 cupcake holders into a muffin pan.

Beat sugars, margarine, ginger, and cinnamon at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended. Stir in milk, vanilla, and egg; beat at low speed of mixer until well-blended. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Stir in sugar mixture and squash. Spoon into prepared muffin pan, spreading evenly.

Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Chow!

Cupcake Hero - mix it up!

So this month for cupcake hero we got to mix things up and pick 2 ingredients from the last year in one cupcake! It's funny I've actually used more than 1 featured ingredient in things before... but I wanted to try something new this round!! I decided on jalapeno and lime... sounded like a mixed drink to me :) and had good potential. And so I present to you...

Gunpowder lime cupcakes

First lets make the cake
Chipotle Flourless Chocolate Cake
adapted from Simple Recipes
Ingredients

• 5 oz. of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon of chipotle chili powder
• Dash of cayenne pepper
• Pinch of salt

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
   
2. Melt the chocolate and butter together over a double boiler or in the microwave, stirring occasionally until smooth.
3. Whisk together the eggs and the sugar in a large bowl, and then slowly, a bit at a time, whisk in the melted chocolate. Add the salt and spices and taste, adjusting the spices if needed.
4. Pour into 8 cupcake liner filled cupcake sheets (I didn't use the silicon ones this time but the paper cups) and bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let it cool completely on a wire rack.
   

Now for the key lime pie topping!

Skinny key lime pie
One 4-serving package (or half an 8-serving package) Jell-O Sugar Free Lime Gelatin
dessert mix
2 cups Cool Whip Free, thawed
1 1/2 tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 no-calorie sweetener packet
8 low-fat honey graham crackers (2 sheets)

Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup boiling water with gelatin mix and sweetener. Stir for at least 2 minutes (until completely dissolved). Then add 1 /2 cup cold water, the lemon juice, and the vanilla extract. Refrigerate for about 45 minutes, until slightly thickened but still mixable.

Next, stir in the Cool Whip. Mix until thoroughly blended (a wire whisk works best). Divide mixture among 5 dessert dishes. Refrigerate until firm (at least 3 hours).

Scoop key lime pie ontop of a cooled cupcake and serve immediately.

OK so I also want to submit the thing I made last month because I LOVED it THAT much. And I think it's better then the above recipe (which is good but this one is ... SO FREAKIN GOOD!!!!)

Flourless chocolate jalapeno cake with espresso cream... mmmmm

Recipe is here http://stephchows.blogspot.com/2008/08/cupcake-hero-jalapeno.html

Iron Cupcake Basil

It's Iron cupcake time again! This month the theme ingredient is Basil! I actually planted a bunch of basil in John's backyard... yeah he didn't know about it until after it was done :D and as John likes to say when I do things I'm not supposed to "it's a good thing you're cute" hahaha

Anyway I went out to my mini herb garden and to my surprise a little candied basil plant had started growing!

Ok not really... but it's a fun little story :)

The sponsors for this month are: ETSY artist METAL SUGAR, her link is: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14597777 as well as to our corporate sponsors HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS http://www.fiestaproducts.com , HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, http://blog.hellocupcakebook.com , JESSIE STEELE APRONS http://www.jessiesteele.com ; CUPCAKE COURIER http://www.cupcakecourier.com and TASTE OF HOME http://www.tasteofhome.com.

Voting begins Sunday Sept 28th - and ends Thursday Oct 1st at noon. So make sure to vote for me!! please and thank you :)


Basil Flourless Chocolate Cake
Ingredients

• 5 oz. of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons fresh chopped basil
  
• Dash of cayenne pepper
• Pinch of salt

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
   
2. Melt the chocolate and butter together over a double boiler or in the microwave, stirring occasionally until smooth.
3. Whisk together the eggs and the sugar in a large bowl, and then slowly, a bit at a time, whisk in the melted chocolate. Add the salt and spices and taste, adjusting the spices if needed.
4. Pour into 8 cupcake liner filled cupcake sheets and bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let it cool completely on a wire rack.
   

Now for the chocolate topping and candied basil!

Chocolate Frosting
Mix equal parts melted semi sweet chocolate and fat free cool whip. Stir until blended and spoon onto cupcake tops

Candied Basil
Brush clean basil leaves lightly with water and place facedown into sugar. Dry on sheet pan, sugar-side-up, for 2 to 3 hours.

Decorate tops of cupcakes with leaves or pick a small flowering top of a basil plant and place into center of cupcake to make it look like a mini basil plant is growing.

Chow!

Iron Cupcake go vote!

Hey guys it's time to vote for Iron cupcake!!! Voting started yesterday at noon... so you can go vote now!!! Click on this LINK or the picture of the iron cupcake badge above or the one in the sidebar and head over and vote for my Cupcakes! Yum!!!

Here is my entry. To see my recipe click HERE!

Chipotle Flourless Chocolate Cake

Thanks guys!!! I hope you enjoy the recipe totally give it a try!!

Iron Cupcake Earth - chili pepper

So I've joined another cupcake monthly challenge... IRON CUPCAKE!! Yes I know more cupcakes so tasty! Voting will begin on Sunday, August 31st at 12 noon at NO ONE PUTS CUPCAKE IN A CORNER, and will be open through Thursday, September 4 at 12 noon. So everyone you NEED to go vote for my cupcake please please please! :)

If I win I get all these cool prizes... provided by: ETSY artist CAKESPY, as well as to our corporate sponsors JESSIE STEELE APRONS; CUPCAKE COURIER and TASTE OF HOME

And the theme for Iron cupcake... a familiar one... Chili Peppers! We can use any kind of chili pepper, in any form... I chose the powder form... jalapeno powder (also known as chipotle powder) it isn't always easy to find, but wegmans being the best super market in the world carries it! I thought about what flavor combination would go well. I know the Aztecs are known for hot hot chocolate... so I started there. I found an interesting recipe for a chipotle flourless chocolate cake... mmmm. But I wanted to add something to cool off the taste buds after setting them on fire! This made me looking for some kind of liquid based milky cream to drizzle on top... hmm what else goes well with chocolate... coffee of course... ahhhh an espresso cream perhaps!? yes yes that is it! The best part is it uses silken tofu as the base of the cream, that means it's healthy right? Ehhh not so much, this recipe isn't really bad for you but it does have a good amount of chocolate and sugar... not that that is a bad thing! In this case it's a very very tasty good thing! I was able to reduce the amount of butter though :) and I used sugar not my normal splenda since I was baking these for some very special ladies I work with and one is pregnant and I wasn't sure if she's steering away from artificial products or not. OK ok I know you want to know the recipe! Here it is!!


Chipotle Flourless Chocolate Cake
adapted from Simple Recipes
Ingredients

• 5 oz. of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon of chipotle chili powder
• Dash of cayenne pepper
• Pinch of salt

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
   
2. Melt the chocolate and butter together over a double boiler or in the microwave, stirring occasionally until smooth.
3. Whisk together the eggs and the sugar in a large bowl, and then slowly, a bit at a time, whisk in the melted chocolate. Add the salt and spices and taste, adjusting the spices if needed.
4. Pour into 8 cupcake liner filled cupcake sheets (I didn't use the silicon ones this time but the paper cups) and bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let it cool completely on a wire rack.
   

Now for the Espresso Cream!

Espresso (French Vanilla) Cream
slightly adapted from myrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup firm silken tofu (about 1/2 [12.3-ounce] package)
• 6 tablespoons fat-free sweetened condensed milk
• 1/4 cup brewed espresso(I used strong browed french vanilla coffee), cooled
  

Method
To prepare espresso cream, combine tofu, condensed milk, and 1/4 cup of brewed espresso in a blender; process until smooth. Chill.

Serve cream in a spoon or small dish next to the cupcake.


I love the idea of serving the cupcake unwrapped with a spoon full of the cream on the side... then your guests can pour as much cream as they want on top and chow!

The ladies I made these for had to say this...

"Yum with a Kick! Wow - I've never tasted anything like this before. Spicy and the espresso crème cools it down, just like you said. Thanks for the heavenly treat!"

"Amen to that! Definitely the highlight of my day. Thanks again for your thoughtfulness!"

Hope everyone loves this one as much as I do!!

Chow!!