Pumpkin Cupcakes – Happy Halloween!

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For the office Halloween event this year, I handed out chocolate chip walnut cookies and these pumpkin cupcakes—with cream cheese buttercream and handmade marzipan pumpkins—in lieu of the usual candy fare.

Hm, well, that’s not entirely true. I admit I put out some Almond Joys and Snickers to get rid of the surplus from my Costco variety pack, after having picked out all the Crunch and Twix for myself =)

These cupcakes were made at 2am once again, but well worth it to see the trick-or-treaters at work look so eager and happy. I never received cupcakes for Halloween as a kid, but I guess I like to hand out what I would have liked to receive!

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Chocolate Cupcakes – Spun Sugar Crowns

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My co-worker gave me a Cooks Illustrated recipe for Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes with Ganache Filling, which I tested out over the weekend. These are delicious and indeed quite ultimate!

The rich, moist chocolate cake is made with melted bittersweet chocolate, and has a hint of coffee in it that really enhances the chocolate flavor. The cupcake is also filled with a smooth, creamy ganache. Out of the oven, this cupcake tastes and looks like a chocolate soufflé. I chose a dark chocolate frosting that has a soft and smooth texture much like the ganache filling.


For the topping, we decided to experiment with spun sugar crowns. It is going to take us some more practice to fine-tune this skill, but we were able to put together a couple crowns and spirals. Anyone have tips for cleaning caramelized (or crystallized) sugar from saucepans?

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“Mooncakes” – Mid-Autumn Festival

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And for those of you on the lunar calendar . . .


We didn’t get a chance to eat actual mooncakes this year, but I was suddenly obsessed with baking my own alternative. After a quick trip to Michael’s to pick up a couple tools, I figured out a way to make a cookie-coated brownie “mooncake”!

1) Start with a brownie and a cookie-cutter


2) Wrap thinly with cookie dough and imprint. Note: chill the cookie dough in the freezer for easier handling and pat gently with flour-coated fingers to mold around the brownie.


3) Bake! Or rather, brûlée in order to preserve the imprinted pattern.

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