Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Icing

By Somer

I saw this recipe on an episode of Barefoot Contessa and thought to myself, “Are you freaking kidding me?!?”  Why had I not come across such a simply genius recipe before?  So I got the recipe from Food Network and filed it away for another day.  Two years later I finally decided to make it.  The best thing I can say about this recipe?  Meh.

Don’t get me wrong, chocolate cupcakes are always welcome in my toothed face portal.  And peanut butter?  I have to buy that stuff in TUBS because we go through so much of it.  This should have been a great thing.  This should have made me cry little salty tears of sweet satisfaction.  I am underwhelmed, and that almost never happens with an Ina Garten recipe for me.

Here’s the recipe:

Chocolate Cupcakes and Peanut Butter Icing

2006, Barefoot Contessa at Home

12 Tblsp. (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2/3 cups granulated sugar

2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk, shaken, at room temperature

½ cup sour cream, at room temperature

2 Tblsp. brewed coffee

1-3/4 cups AP flour

1 cup cocoa powder

1-1/2 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. kosher salt

Kathleen’s Peanut Butter Icing, recipe follows

Chopped salted peanuts, to decorate, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and 2 sugars on high speed until light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes.  Lower the speed to medium, add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and mix well.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, and coffee.  In another bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.  On low speed, add the buttermilk mixture and the flour mixture alternately in thirds to the mixer bowl, beginning with the buttermilk mixture and ending with the flour mixture.  Mix only until blended.  Fold the batter with a rubber spatula to be sure it’s completely blended.

Divide the batter among the cupcake pans (1 rounded standard ice cream scoop per cup is the right amount).  Bake in the middle of the oven for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes, remove from the pans, and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Frost each cupcake with Peanut Butter Icing and sprinkle with chopped peanuts, if desired.

Kathleen’s Peanut Butter Icing

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

5 Tblsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

¾ tsp. pure vanilla extract

¼ tsp. kosher salt

1/3 cup heavy cream

Place the confectioners’ sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.  Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work.  Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.  YIELD:  14-15 cupcakes

The above pictures inserted in the recipe should illustrate to you that things look as they ought to look.  The batter for the cupcakes was velvety and luxurious.  The fresh-from-the-oven cupcakes looked rich and moist, as they should.  Then I made the icing.

Maybe Ina used some sort of artisan peanut butter.  She does like to use more expensive and extravagant ingredients in her cooking.  But when I used my regular ol’ peanut butter and followed the recipes exactly, what I got was a globular mess.  I added a couple tablespoons of milk to try to thin it out just so I could spread it over the cupcakes, but it was still too thick.  I didn’t want to get in that battle of too much liquid/too much confectioners’ sugar and end up with something I couldn’t even use.  I tried to blob the icing on to the cupcakes, but the cupcakes were too moist and delicate that they crumbled.  So I basically just swiped on a knife-full and called it a day.  The cupcakes looked terrible.

They tasted good, though.  At least that first night they did.  Cupcakes and other confectionery treats tend to have at least a week shelf life.  These did not.  They pretty much need to be eaten fresh or they go to hell.  The cake dries out and turns into dust.  Not a good thing.

Fear not.  I will try this recipe again.  I will increase the icing recipe by 50% because it didn’t make enough for my liking and I shall have to work extra hard to make it into an actual icing consistency instead of blobular peanut hell.  I will also make sure to make this recipe when I know that I will be having company and that they will be eaten almost immediately.  I won’t give up.  This first try just wasn’t all that great.

Espresso Ice Cream

By Somer

The weather is starting to warm up.  Now that this time of year has finally come, I’m looking forward to the cool treats that come with it.  Ice cream is the simplest and best, in my opinion.

I decided to try an ice cream that I’ve heard of many times and never tried.  Boy am I glad that I made this because it was amazing!  This is a recipe from Ina Garten and I will definitely be making this many more times.  Unlike the candy bar ice cream I showed you earlier this week, this ice cream has a custard base so there is a little more prep time but the ice cream is creamier, richer, and thicker.  Here’s the recipe:

Espresso Ice Cream

Copyright, 2002, Barefoot Contessa Family Style, All Rights Reserved

Ingredients

* 3 cups half-and-half

* 6 extra-large egg yolks

* 2/3 cup sugar

* Pinch salt

* 2 1/2 tablespoons ground espresso coffee beans, decaffeinated or regular

* 1 tablespoon coffee liqueur (recommended: Kahlua)

* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

* 4 ounces (1/2 cup) chocolate-covered espresso beans, chopped

Directions

Heat the half-and-half until it forms bubbles around the edge of the pan and steam starts to rise. Meanwhile, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the egg yolks, sugar, and salt until mixed. Slowly add the hot half-and-half until combined. Wipe out the pan and pour the mixture back into the clean pan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for 5 to 10 minutes, until it’s thickened and the cream coats the back of the spoon.

Pour the cream through a fine-meshed sieve into a bowl. Add the ground espresso beans, coffee liqueur, and vanilla and refrigerate until completely chilled.  (Somer’s NOTE:  When you put the plastic wrap over the mixture, put the wrap right on top of the liquid so that a skin doesn’t form.)

Pour the espresso cream into an ice-cream freezer and freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions. Mix in the chopped espresso beans, spoon into a container, and allow to freeze for a few hours. Soften slightly before serving.

This is an elegant ice cream.  I wouldn’t be afraid to serve this at a nice dinner, it’s that good.  You might not want to let your kids have any of this though, unless you enjoy have super hyper children bouncing off the walls.  Enjoy!