Chocolate-Dipped Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes

Posted on by

3

Well these cupcakes were an incredible hit. And how could they not be! I made this strawberry cake with a few adjustments, my favourite buttercream chocolate and strawberry-style, and I dipped the tops in melted chocolate. They were awesome. The cake in particular is amazing, it is rich with strawberry flavour. I could eat the cake all day. All day long.

Chocolate-Dipped Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes

Adapted from this recipe.

Ingredients

  • 6 cups  very ripe fresh strawberries, hulled
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 cup milk, at room temperature
  • 8 large eggs, room temperature
  • 2 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 4.5 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3.5 cups sugar
  • 8 tsp baking powder (or 2 tbsp and 2 tsp)
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1.5 cups butter, softened (not melted)
  • 2 cups (or more if needed) semi-sweet chocolate chips (or dark chocolate, I didn’t have any on hand)
  • 1.5 tbsp shortening

Directions

  1. Toss sliced and hulled strawberries in a bowl with the 1 tbsp of sugar. Let the strawberries sit and generate some delicious juiciness. Puree the strawberries with a hand blender (works great, you just need to move it around).

    Before and after. Pour the leftover puree on EVERYTHING. (Maybe not on meat)

  2. Reserve 2 cups of the puree for the cake. Use leftover puree as a filling/topping for the cupcakes or fold into the frosting, if desired (I folded the puree into some chocolate buttercream).
  3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake tins.
  4. In medium bowl, combine puree, milk, egg, vanilla and mix with fork until well blended. In a large bowl, add flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt and mix to combine. Continue beating at slow speed and add butter. Mix until combined and resembling moist crumbs.
  5. Add liquids and beat at medium speed for about 1 minute, until combined. Stop mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for 30 more seconds. Fill the cups 2/3 of the way.
  6. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the tops are spongy to the touch (time will vary). Once cool enough, place cupcakes on a rack and allow to cool completely before icing (about 30 mins).
  7. Prepare some Dreamy Buttercream (or your favourite frosting) and mix in 2-4 tbsp of cocoa (or more if you like it that way) until chocolatey enough for you. Fold in 1/2 cup strawberry puree (this step can be skipped, it does make the frosting a little slippery but it also adds a brilliant tartness that lightening it a bit).
  8. Frost the cupcakes in a swirl. Once frosted, place the cupcakes in the fridge to set the frosting, about 15 minutes.
  9. Meanwhile, melt 2 cups of semisweet or dark chocolate with 1.5 tbsp of shortening (it thins it out for dipping and allows it to set nicely). I microwaved my chocolate and shortening for about 45 seconds and then stirred until it was completely smooth. Let the chocolate cool for a few minutes but not set.
  10. Pour the chocolate into a deep bowl or cup/mug (deep enough that the icing wont hit the bottom). Dip each cupcake straight down into the chocolate, hold upside down to drizzle off the excess, set aside. Let the cupcake set for a few hours (in the fridge or at room temperature, works either way).
  11. Devour.

Naked cupcakes. These were amazing on their own... which you can see by the half-eaten one.

Dipped!

Cupcake anatomy. Layers of deliciousness.

Chocolate-filled Cardamon and Brown Butter Tea Cookies

Posted on by

0

Brown butter rules my life, as mentioned earlier. I am always looking for delicious recipes including this nutty treat.

Image

Adapted from these delicious bites: Brownie Bites

Chocolate-filled Cardamon and Brown Butter Tea Cookies

  • the resulting appx 3/4 cup from browning 1 cup of butter, cooled for 20 minutes
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamon
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • appx 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Image

Directions

  • Pre-heat oven to 350°F.
  • Combine cooled browned butter and sugar and beat at medium speed until smooth.
  • Add egg, vanilla, and cardamon, and continue beating until combined.
  • On low speed, gradually add flour until mixture is no longer crumbly and forms a dough.
  • Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Push a hole in the middle, fill with 5-6 chocolate chips and close dough. Place 1 inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until cookies puff and start to turn light golden brown, and small cracks form on the surface.
  • Immediately remove from cookie sheets. Cool 1 minute. Roll cookies in powdered sugar while warm and again when completely cooled. Store between sheets of waxed paper in loosely covered container.

Brown Butter, an unnecessary walkthrough

Posted on by

8

I love to brown butter. It’s true. And so I made a walkthrough for anyone who is afraid of trying this easy and delicious treat. Also, I’ve heard rumors that  Earth Balance Buttery can be browned. I will try it one day and report back.

Melt one cup of butter in a small pot. I have done this with both salted and unsalted butter, choose wisely based on your intended use.

Melted butter over medium heat. Keep heating, the butter will begin to foam.

While the butter foams, I tend to swirl once or twice.

You can see the foam has gone (water has left the butter) and it is getting golden. Once you start to see the milk solids browning on the bottom swirl until deep in colour and then remove from heat and pour in a bowl to cool quickly.

Yummy, nutty, butter on the bottom. It looks burnt but that's just my crappy camera. Scrape all the good bits into a bowl and use where necessary.

Spice mix in a jar

Posted on by

0

So I just posted one of my delicious curry recipes. Here is the spice mix made bulk (though I will go through this jar in no time).

Yum.

 

How much of each for the big batch:

  • 2 tbsp salt
  • 1.5 tbsp ground black pepper
  • 1.5 tbsp ground cumin
  • 1.5 tbsp ground cinnamon
  • 1.5 tbsp ground coriander
  • 1.5 tbsp ground cardamom
  • 1.5 tbsp ground cloves
  • 3/4 tbsp ground ginger
  • 3/4tbsp ground turmeric
  • 3/4 tbsp chili powder

If you don’t have hot peppers on hand when cooking with the spices you can use cayenne pepper to taste.

Amazing Curry

Posted on by

4

This curry is coursing through my veins. I found it, tried it, tweaked it, and have cooked it at almost once a week over the last five months. I’ve made it with chicken and turkey but my favourite so far is the ground beef version. I am going to try the recipes with lentils because Genesis is all about lentils and I can see them tasting amazing in this dish. This is an easy-to-vegan recipe. Switch out the ground beef for TVP, lentils, chickpeas, etc. This time around I added lentils and peas which added an nice texture and sweetness.

Seriously tasty.

AMAZING CURRY

  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1.5 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1.5 tsp ground cardamom
  • 1.5 tsp ground coriander
  • 1.5 tsp ground cumin
  • 1.5 tsp ground cloves
  • 1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 3/4 tsp chili powder
  • 3/4 tsp ground turmeric
  • 3/4 tsp ground ginger
  • 2 lbs of ground beef (alternatives: 2 lbs ground chicken, turkey, lamb, etc. or veggie it up: all lentils, tvp, chickpeas, etc.)
  • 2 tbsp coconut oil
  • 2 cans coconut milk
  • 1 large red onion (very large… or 1.5 kinda large onions. Can use white or yellow, I just like red onions)
  • 4-6 green serrano chili peppers or jalapeños (to taste)
  • 1 head of garlic (seems like a lot but this is a lot of food)
  • 1/2 cup peas
  • 1 cup lentils
  • 1 lime

Directions

  • Mix together all the spices in a small bowl and set aside.
  • Brown your protein in a large pot with the coconut oil (or olive oil if you are so inclined), add salt and pepper to taste.
  • While browning the meat chop your onion, peppers, and peel your garlic.
  • Drain your protein and set aside.
  • In the same large pot saute the onions, peppers, and crushed garlic (you can add a little more coconut oil if you need to). Cook until onions become lightly translucent.
  • Add the meat back in. Add lentils and peas (and any other veggies you want) and sprinkle everything with your spice blend.
  • Stir the mixture over medium heat for a few minutes until the spices become fragrant.
  • Pour in your two cans of coconut milk, stir to combine.
  • Cook everything until hot throughout and the meat is cooked (shouldn’t be long if you’ve happily browned away already).
  • Serve over rice, or quinoa, or more lentils, or green beans, or a tire (I bet it will make it delicious). Squeeze lime over everything.

Now… pictures!

Spices lined up, ready for mixing.

Onions, peppers, and garlic.

About to be served.