Café Magdalena de la Comida de los Diablos

Devil’s Food Coffee Cupcake topped with espresso bean dark chocolate ganache… ok, so technically ‘Magdalena’ would translate to something like ‘muffin’ but who cares when you have such a cool name for a cupcake as this one? This is my submission to the Iron Cupcake: Earth this month! The flavor is coffee, and a natural pairing with chocolate seems the most logical – why mess with a classic!

Ingredients:

Dark Chocolate Espresso Ganache
3/4 C + 2 TBSP Sugar-free Sweetened MimicCreme
1 3-oz bar of Endangered Species Dark Chocolate with Espresso Beans, roughly chopped
1/4 C vegan chocolate chips
4 TBSP cold Earth Balance vegan butter

Devil’s Food Coffee Cupcake
1 TBSP ground flax in 2 TBSP warm water
1.5 C King Arthur Organic white whole wheat flour
6 TBSP ground cocoa
3/4 C vegan granulated sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1.5 TBSP Earth Balance vegan butter, melted
1 TBSP canola oil
1/3 C hemp milk + 1/4 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 C + 2 TBSP black coffee

Directions:

1. Make the ganache: In a medium saucepan, scald the MimicCreme (until steamy) over medium heat. Remove from heat and add the chocolate. Let stand a few minutes, then whisk until smooth. Add the cold vegan butter, and whisk until smooth again, set aside leaving at room temperature until ready to use. (*Note: Those aren’t lumps in my ganache, that’s the bits of espresso bean from the chocolate bar).

2. Make the cupcakes: In a small bowl, combine the ground flax with the warm water, set aside. In a measuring cup, combine the hemp milk with the cider vinegar, set aside. Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, set aside. In another bowl, combine the flax egg, canola oil, hemp milk combo, melted vegan butter, extract, and coffee. Stir together the dry ingredients into the wet. Fill the cupcake liners 1/2 full – or evenly until all the batter is used up, minus a little for quality control 😉 . Bake the cupcakes 15 minutes. Let cool slightly in the pan, then allow to cool completely on a cooling rack. (*Lovliebutterfly: they came out flat again, and I just used all white whole wheat…I don’t know how I do it…hmm).

3. Frost the cupcakes with the room temperature ganache. I decided to go ‘old-school’ and frost it free-hand instead of with a piping tip. It made me feel like a kid at a birthday party, but with adult beverages 🙂 !Enjoy with a cuppa or cocktail!

Prizes this month are:

• DIANAEVANS – http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5599270
• a pair of cupcake earrings from LOTS OF SPRINKLES – http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6057281.
• CAKESPY – http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5243382

As an added bonus for February, SWEET CUPPIN CAKES BAKERY AND CUPCAKERY SUPPLY will be tossing in a variety of cupcaking supplies, http://www.acupcakery.com/index.html.

Last and certainly not least, don’t forget our corporate prize providers: 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; TASTE OF HOME books, http://www.tasteofhome.com; a t-shirt from UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM http://www.upwithcupcakes.com/. Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers, http://www.1800flowers.com

Happy Baking! And don’t forget to vote come March 1st!

Read Full Post »

Iron Cupcake VOTING OPEN!!

Hey everyone!! Iron Cupcake Voting is now Open (through Thursday Oct 2)…so go and vote for me and my Orange-Basil Mojito cupcake!!! The voting column is on the right hand side of the webpage, so go and vote!!! Preferably, for me 😉

Read Full Post »

Iron Cupcake: Earth – Basil

Ok, so the ingredient this month is Basil. Now I’m a huge basil-lover (whereas Jo is not such a fan), but using basil in a cupcake put me off at first (Jo’s reaction when I told her it was basil, “eww gross”). I did some investigating and discussing with my taste-testers what they might want to eat in combination with basil in a cupcake. After realizing that I like to turn alcoholic beverages into tasty edibles..the consensus became Orange Basil Mojito cupcakes! They turned out better than expected, but not something that I think I would make on a regular basis…like margarita cupcakes or something. I think next time I make these, I’ll stick to the traditional mint mojito. But I digress… Again, this month I’ll be competing in the Iron Cupcake:Earth Challenge for the following prizes:

*Jesse Steele aprons
*Cupcake Courier
*Taste of Home cookbook
*ETSY artist METAL SUGAR
*Head Chef’s by Fiesta Products
*Hello Cupcake!

So help me win by voting for me and the Innocent Primate’s Orange Basil Mojito cupcake!! So without further ado, here’s the recipe!

Ingredients:

Orange-Rum-nectar glaze: I adapted the Simple Agave Nectar Icing also from VCTOTW. I substituted orange juice for the liquid, added in some rum, and used powdered sugar in place of the soy powder.
1/3 C orange juice
1 TBSP arrowroot
pinch of salt
1/3 C canola oil
1/3 C agave nectar
1.5 tsp orange extract
1/2 C confectioner’s sugar
1 TBSP rum (light flavor like a coconut, or a neutral flavor)*optional

Orange-Basil Cupcake: I adapted the Basic Vanilla Cupcake in VCTOTW (per usual), and used orange juice in place of half the milk. I also switched out the vanilla extract for orange extract. And to give it a triple shot of orangey citrus goodness, I add the zest of 2 clementines.
1/2 C orange juice
1/2 C hemp milk
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 TBSP cornstarch
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 C Earth Balance vegan butter, softened
3/4 C turbinado sugar
2 tsp orange extract
zest from 2 clementines, or 1 orange
fresh chopped basil

Directions:

1. Make the icing: In a small saucepan, until dissolved. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk until the mixturewhisk together the orange juice with the arrowroot and salt thickens into a puddinglike consistency, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl and add agave nectar, whisk to combine.
2. Add the canola oil, orange extracts, and rum (if using), whisk to combine. Sift in the confectioner’s sugar and whisk until combined, creamy and smooth. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (while the cupcakes bake and cool), to overnight.
3. Make the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F and line mini muffin pan with mini cupcake liners.Whisk the hemp milk and vinegar in a measuring cup; set aside. Sift the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl and mix.
4. In a separate large bowl, use a hand mixer to cream the vegan butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes – don’t over mix. Add in orange extract, and mix. Add orange juice to the milk/vinegar and alternate adding the wet and dry ingredients to the creamed vegan butter/sugar mixture.

5. Fill the cupcake liners two-thirds full, sprinkle with chopped basil, and bake for 15 minutes (for mini’s; 20-22 for regular size). Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Top with chilled agave nectar icing and enjoy!!

Happy Baking! And remember, drink and bake responsibly 😉 !!! Don’t forget to vote for Innocent Primate Orange Basil Mojito cupcakes between Sunday, September 28 (12noon central) and Wednesday Oct 1 (12noon central)!

Read Full Post »

Iron Cupcake: Earth – Chili

Here’s my first submission to the Iron Cupcake: Earth Challenge. The first ingredient challenge was using chili pepper in a cupcake. I love using chili pepper in all things, and chocolate is no exception! This recipe was adapted from VCTOTW, added chili powder, and I think it has to be my current favorite chocolate cake recipe right now – I’ve made it several times this month. I used the basic chocolate cupcake recipe with some minor changes and additions…so here, I offer my chili chocolate cupcake up to the ancient Aztec goddess Xochiquetzal, goddess of dancing and flowers and fertility, and most importantly was the mother of Quetzalcoatl – the Aztec god which was credited to having brought down from Paradise to us, on a beam of the Morning Star, the cocoa tree. Hopefully this offering will cover me in getting plenty of votes 😉 …and to vote for my cupcake, visit http://mkecupcakequeen.blogspot.com between Sunday August 31 at noon and Thursday Sept 4 at noon. Prizes that I’m competing for this month come from corporate sponsors including Cakespy, Jessie Steele aprons, Cupcake Courier, a new publication from Taste of Home, Fiesta Products, and the Hello, Cupcake! book.

Xochiquetzal Cupcakes:

1 C almond milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
3/4 C turbinado sugar
1/3 C canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 C oat flour
1/3 C buckwheat flour
1/3 C cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ancho chili powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 C chopped walnuts

For the spicy unbuttercream frosting:
1/2 C Earth Balance Vegan Butter
1.5 C confectioner’s sugar
1/2 tsp ancho chili powder
pinch of cayenne
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 C hemp milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line muffin pan with paper liners.
2. Make the cupcakes: Whisk together the almond milk and vinegar in a large bowl, and set aside for a few minutes to curdle. Add the sugar, oil, and extracts to the almond milk mixture and beat till foamy. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, chili powder, and salt. Add (in two batches) to wet ingredients and beat until no large lumps remain (a few tiny lumps are okay).
3. Pour into liners, filling three-quarters of the way. Bake 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick (or knife) comes out clean. Transfer to cooling rack and let cool completely.
4. Make the unbuttercream frosting: Beat vegan butter with the sugar and chili powder, and beat until fluffy. Add the vanilla and soy milk and beat until fluffy. Fill a pastry bag to pipe onto cupcakes or spread a layer using a knife.

Happy Baking! …And don’t forget to vote for the Innocent Primate Xochiquetzal Cupcakes!!!

Read Full Post »