Chocolate Mascarpone Cheesecake?

I'm a little perplexed over the final outcome of this recipe. I mean grant it, I may have beat the mascarpone cheese like it owed me money; until it was a heeping mess of seemingly curdled cheese, but still. Was this supposed to be a lighter version of cheesecake (which in itself would be sacrilege) or did the fact that I over beat the cheese affect the texture of it? It was like a very strange light chocolate mousse or some sort of chocolate whipped cream. Cheesecake however, it was not. I anticipated a deliciously decadent lover. I expected my knees to buckle in a full bodied "O". I was left feeling like I had just been with a selfish pig who blew his load before me and didnt even ask if I wanted him to break out the bullet. I was disappointed, and annoyed because I had made a mess of my kitchen melting chocolate to cover oreos...

so that I could grind up the cookies...

and make a crust worthy of this masterpiece....

DAMN YOU MASCARPONE CHEESE YOU TEASE!

I knew something was amiss because the batter looked odd, but I shrugged it off (because obviously a baking diva such as myself is exempt from rules regarding the timing of my mixer) and I continued to add the remaining ingredients blissfully unaware of whether or not this peculiar detail would influence the final outcome. By the time I added the last ingredient my batter sort of resembled chocolate milk with weird specs of cheese floating in it. The cheese didn't lovingly embrace the other ingredients the way I assumed it would. There was no orgy of love in my mixing bowl. (Again I ask, is this normal? Help me out people. What's the 411 on the mascarpone cheese?) Being the delisional optomist that I am I continued on my mission only to be disillusioned when I was finally able to taste it after a very long 4 hour wait.

Don't get me wrong. The flavor was good, but the texture was way, way off...

I feel it may have the potential to be a phenomenal cheesecake if it were made with actual cream cheese as opposed to the mascarpone. I shaved my legs for nothing.

You and me are OVER mascarpone cheese!

I'm going to make this again with actual cream cheese and I'll update, and let you all know how it went.

For those of you who may be into a lighter chocolate cheesecake here is the recipe.


Chocolate Mascarpone Cheesecake
Source: Sticky,Chewy,Messy,Gooey
1 cup heavy cream
4 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
8 oz mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup sugar
3 large eegs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
pinch o' salt
1tbsp dark rum, brandy or grand marnier (optional; I left it out)
boiling water as needed


position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325F
in a saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer over medium heat. remove the pan from the heat before the cream starts to boil and add the chocolate, stirring constantly until mixture is smooth. set aside and let cool to room temperature.
in a large bowl, whisk together the mascarpone and sugar until smooth add the eggs one at a time, whisking well after each addition until the mixture is smooth. add the vanilla, salt, and rum (if using) and whisk to combine.
pout the cooled chocolate mixture into the mascarpone cheese mixture and whisk gently until smooth.
put eight 4oz custard cups, ramekins, or small oven proof coffee cups in an empty 9x13" baking pan. divide the chocolate-cheesecake mixture among the cups.
put the baking dish in the oven and then carefully pour boiling water into the pan, adding just enough water to reach halfway up the sides o the custard cups. cover with aluminum foil.
bake until the tops of the cheesecakes appear solid but jiggle slightly when shaken, 30-40 minutes. the perfect consistency is a little soft, but not liquid. the cheesecake pots will firm up as they cool. transfer the pots from the baking pan to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature. cover each pot with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight before serving. the cheesecake pots can be prepared up to 2 days before serving.
top each cheesecake pot with a scoop of ice cream and drizzle with chocolate and caramel sauces.

White chocolate lattice (because it is so cute and easy and I know you are dying to make some)
melt chocolate in pastry bag or sandwich bag
swirl design on wax paper
let harden (I put mine in the fridge)
Voila! lattice!

XOXO
Stay Sweet;)

Like a silky blanket for my tongue

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was chosen by Melissa of It's Melissa's Kitchen and I have one thing to say about Melissa...She freaking rocks! She chose chocolate pudding! How fantabulous is that! I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders now that I can finally participate in a recipe because it isn't fruity. I feel like I won the TWD lottery! (yes I need every one of those exclamation points. The simple period does not adequately convey the amount of excitement I feel over this pick)

Holy Jesus, Mary and Joseph. The creaminess of this pudding is so velvety smooth you'll want coat your tongue in it and let it slowly dissolve just so you can savor every last second of this blissful experience. It is so ridiculously good that my eyes balls nearly popped right out of their sockets and rolled onto the floor. It was so rich and creamy that I nearly "O" because It tasted just like ice cream. ICE CREAM PEOPLE! The cure for everything from heart break to job loss. This stuff right here is the real deal.

I want to make it and sell it on street corners it is so sinfully decadent. I'm sure my hustle would surpass that of Jay Z and Fitty. Who knew that sweet innocent pudding had a naughty side? I feel like I walked into a bar and caught my grandma doing body shots I'm so shocked by this discovery. I am truly a reformed boxed/ready made pudding follower. I had no idea the differences between homemade pudding and boxed/ready made were so vast. The difference between the grand canyon and chip in your drive way. Oh how foolish I have been. Dorie you have shown me the err of my ways and for that this booty shake is for you. ((( Y )))

Make sure you check out the Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll to see everyone else's pudding!

If you are feening for chocolate pudding the likes of which you have never experienced you can find the recipe here Chocolate pudding

XOXO

Stay Sweet;)

Little puffs of love

Who knew that something so relatively simple could be so fabulous? They look so fussed over, and yet they came together so quickly and easily.

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was a peppermint cream puff ring (I vetoed the ring, and made only cream puffs because the thought of a giant pastry ring just didn't appeal to me) chosen by Caroline of A Consuming Passion, and I am completely in love with it. Dorie I profess my undying love and devotion to you. I would tattoo your name on my butt if you requested it of me. The original recipe calls for peppermint cream filling, but Dorie gives you a "playing around option" and one of those included chocolate cream filling, and I was all over that chocolate cream filling like a stripper on a pole.

I prepared the chocolate cream filling first and then chilled it for a bit, and as soon as I tasted that silky smoothness on my tongue my eyes closed in ecstasy. Its texture was wonderful and the flavor was rich and dark and immediately I thought of all the deliciously naughty things my husband and I could do with it (didn't you?). The pastry came together in a snap and before I knew it I was piping my little cream puffs onto a tray and placing them in the oven.

Once they were done I let them cool overnight and went to bed while visions of cream puffs danced in my head (shut up I couldn't resist). This morning bright and early I commenced filling them with the chocolate dream filling and my mouth watered in anticipation of the final verdict once this creation was completely assembled . I opted for a white chocolate glaze instead of bittersweet and just so it could still resemble the original recipe somewhat I added mint extract to the white chocolate glaze, and let me tell you that it was pure heaven.

The pastry is so fluffy and soft that it practically melts on your tongue and the filling...OOoohhhh the glorious filling. I could eat it by the spoonfuls. I want to bathe in it, and smooth it all over my body. If this filling is the devil then I'm definitely going to hell, but I'm sure I'll be in good company;)

XOXO

Stay Sweet;)

TWDers will no longer be posting the full recipe on their sites. We didn't think it was fair since this is Dorie's livelihood, but we’ve decided to compromise by taking turns and allowing whomever is hosting that week to post the recipe. So please head over to A Consuming Passion for the full recipe and a look at Caroline’s Peppermint ring!

The recipe can also be found in Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, and don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!

Here is the Chocolate Dream Filling recipe:

Chocolate Pastry Cream

From Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan

2 cups whole milk

4 large egg yolks6 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch, sifted

Pinch of salt

7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted

2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits at room temperature

Bring the milk to a boil in a small saucepan. Meanwhile, in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk the egg yolks together with the sugar, cornstarch and salt until thick and well blended. Still whisking, drizzle in about 1/4 cup of the hot milk-- this will temper, or warm, the yolks so they won't curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remainder of the milk. Put the pan over medium heat and, whisking vigorously, constantly and thoroughly (making sure to get the edges of the pot), bring the mixture to a boil. Keep at a boil, still whisking, for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat.Whisk in the melted chocolate. Let sit for 5 minutes, then whisk in the bits of butter, stirring until they are full incorporated and the pastry cream is smooth and silky. Scrape the cream into a bowl. You can press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the cream to create an airtight seal and refrigerate the pastry cream until cold or, if you want to cool it quickly--as I always do--put the bowl into a larger bowl filled with ice cubes and cold water, and stir the pastry cream occasionally until it is thoroughly chilled, about 20 minutes.

Dorie and I are on a "break"

Sorry Marie of A Year in Oak Cottage and sorry Dorie (its not you, its me I swear) I am not spending this Tuesday with Dorie so there will be no "La Palette’s Strawberry Tart" from me. It is heart wrenching actually as I had grand plans for the tart, but my thighs and I have come to the conclusion that since I have to bake a cake this week for my fondant and gumpaste cake decorating class, I really shouldn't have two types of dessert in the house. They cheered when I told them that it meant one less dimple to look forward to.

Though I don't have a tart for you (well unless I count myself) I do have my cake final from course 1 of my cake decorating class (I'm currently taking the fondant and gumpaste class because course 2 didn't have enough students signed up to proceed. A travesty. I know). It came out lovely even though the roses got a little smooshed during transit.

It is amazing to me how much you can learn in four classes. I am truly on my way to becoming a cake decorating diva. You can all sing me praises and bow down to my authority on cake decorating at your leisure. It was so pretty when I walked through the door my husband exclaimed "babe you MADE that?!", and with my head held high I strolled to the kitchen and stated "YES! Isn't is beautiful!". The buttercream is my usual recipe, but the cake was fabulous. Now onto the cake...

The cake was "Beatty's chocolate cake" by Ina Garten, and I have to say this cake must really be extraordinary because as hard as I tried to ruin it (I was missing half of the ingredients) it was still phenomenal! I know what you are thinking. Why would she even attempt to make this cake if she were missing half of the ingredients? Well if you must know, I had to make a cake for my cake decorating final, and I wanted a chocolate cake and I refused to settle for yellow cake or go to the grocery store. I do not settle. I am the baking diva, and If I want chocolate cake I will have chocolate cake damn it! Seriously I was short an egg; I had the wrong chocolate (and not enough of the one I did have so I tossed in a chocolate pudding mix); I was out of vegetable oil so I used butter; I didn't use the coffee; and I used regular milk in place of butter milk and this cake was still amazing! Don't get me wrong. The texture was a little off, but the taste was excellent! So rich and chocolaty, and I am absolutely positive the next time that I make it with all of the ingredients it is going to be orgasmic! I am shaving my legs as we speak in anticipation of this mouth orgasm...

Make sure you check out the Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll to see everyone else's tarts.

XOXO

Stay Sweet;)

Beatty's Chocolate cake by Ina Garten
Source:Food network.com

Butter, for greasing the pans

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans

2 cups sugar

3/4 cups good cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup buttermilk, shaken

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 2 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

When brownies grow up

Who knew you could take a simple brownie and turn it up a notch and serve it at your swankiest dinner party? This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was chosen by Di of Di’s Kitchen Notebook. She selected French Chocolate Brownies, and Dorie gave my five year old's palette a time out long enough for me to get over the fact that though this is not my favorite brownie recipe it is still an excellent one, and the perfect upscale version of my favorite dessert. These are gonna kill at my next dinner party when I add the rum soaked walnuts.

Now initially I didn't care for these brownies for several reasons (the main one being I'm a picky bitch). They are cake like, The tops are EXTREMELY cracked which makes them unappealing (to me, and lets face it my opinion is the only one that matters here), I didn't care for the cinnamon, and they take forever to bake. But they are one of those foods which are the enigmas of life in that they taste absolutely FABULOUS the next day. The cinnamon becomes an understated flavor and makes them interesting. The bittersweet chocolate is rich, and draws you in delicately. Long after they were gone I found myself craving them, and they are far from what I look for in a brownie. It's like my favorite bar treat had a snobby make over and I'm loving it.




Their addiction factor sort of sneaks up on you. Similar to when you get a subtle whiff of your husbands cologne and you are immediately filled with goose bumps and perky nipples, and you realize that this is one intense bar snack. Make these tonight...the anticipation of how amazing they will be tomorrow is worth it.

Make sure you check out the Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll to see everyone else's treats.

XOXO
Stay sweet;)


I left out the rum soaked raisins (because raisins are gross and remind me of giant rat droppings), but I plan on adding rum soaked walnuts next time instead of the raisins to make them a little more grown up and exciting.

French Chocolate Brownies
makes 16 brownies
Adapted from Baking From My Home to Yours.

Ingredients
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1/3 cup raisins, dark or golden
1 1/2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons; 6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into 12 pieces
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sugar

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 300°F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, butter the foil, place the pan on a baking sheet, and set aside.
Whisk together the flour, salt and cinnamon, if you're using it.
Put the raisins in a small saucepan with the water, bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until the water almost evaporates. Add the rum, let it warm for about 30 seconds, turn off the heat, stand back and ignite the rum. Allow the flames to die down, and set the raisins aside until needed.

Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Slowly and gently melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and add the butter, stirring so that it melts. It's important that the chocolate and butter not get very hot. However, if the butter is not melting, you can put the bowl back over the still-hot water for a minute. If you've got a couple of little bits of unmelted butter, leave them—it's better to have a few bits than to overheat the whole. Set the chocolate aside for the moment.
Working with a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until they are thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Lower the mixer speed and pour in the chocolate-butter, mixing only until it is incorporated—you'll have a thick, creamy batter. Add the dry ingredients and mix at low speed for about 30 seconds—the dry ingredients won't be completely incorporated and that's fine. Finish folding in the dry ingredients by hand with a rubber spatula, then fold in the raisins along with any liquid remaining in the pan.
Scrape the batter into the pan and bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top is dry and crackled and a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and allow the brownies to cool to warm or room temperature.

Carefully lift the brownies out of the pan, using the foil edges as handles, and transfer to a cutting board. With a long-bladed knife, cut the brownies into 16 squares, each roughly 2 inches on a side, taking care not to cut through the foil.

Serving: The brownies are good just warm or at room temperature; they're even fine cold. I like these with a little something on top or alongside—good go-alongs are whipped crème fraiche or whipped cream, ice cream or chocolate sauce or even all three!
Storing: Wrapped well, these can be kept at room temperature for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months.

Crisco goes awry

Cake decorating homework assignment - Disaster #1





Don't let that deceiving exterior fool you. Much like its maker, there is trouble lurking within...


As some of you may already know I have signed up for a cake decorating class to feed my addiction, and to say that my first assignment did not go smoothly is an understatement. Not that I had trouble following the directions or that it was complicated. Simply that my constant inclination to improve on the perfect went amiss. Why, oh why, am I constantly plagued with delusions of grandeur regarding my baking skills? Clearly I'm a novice, and have no business imposing my self proclaimed creativity on unsuspecting class projects. This poor cake never stood a chance against my ego.


For starters when I went to the supermarket to buy Crisco for my buttercream, they were all out of regular Crisco and only had butter flavored so I excitedly picked up the butter flavor. In my head I had visions of my class cheering me on about how delicious and flavorful my buttercream was, and what did I use, and how did I think of using butter flavored Crisco. I would be celebrated as a genius! I would be the world renowned buttercream queen! I tell you the ego is tricky, tricky thing. Now keep in mind that for my first class project I had to bring in a layer cake frosted in light blue buttercream frosting, representing a pretty sky (we are going to add a rainbow to it in class), and note the color of my cake. Now onto my buttercream debacle.


I open the infamous butter flavored Crisco and much to my surprise it's yellow. Now a more experience baker would have known this, but being the novice baker that I am I had no idea that meant my pretty white buttercream would in turn be yellow as well. So I plop my shortening in with my butter and I begin adding my sugar and instead of pretty white fluffy buttercream, much to my dismay I start to get pretty yellow butter cream. Now alarm sets in as I realize if I add blue coloring to my yellow cake frosting it will turn green! What's a novice baker to do? I had no idea, so i added some cocoa and made chocolate buttercream. Fast forward to assembling my layer cake...





I began by making a dam to hold in the filling just like they showed us in class. As I start to frost my first layer I realize that my buttercream is unusually stiff, and hard to spread and it hits me that I forgot to add additional milk when I added the cocoa so it was the wrong consistency, and it pretty much ripped my cake layer to shreds when I tried to frost it. After much trial and error of removing crumbs and giant cake pieces and filling in holes my first layer was frosted. Just then my ego starts to take over, and I think to myself Wouldn't it be awesome if I added some fresh strawberries to the filling? It would be so impressive, the instructor and my classmates would say "Wow, you are so creative! You really shouldn't be in this beginner's course you are just too talented!".

Then because I can never leave well enough alone, and my inner baking diva cries to be heard i added coconut...

Now I have a HUGE 2" gap, and I'm clueless as to how to fill it and again panic sets in (aside from the cavernous gap note how level my layers are. Ha! I may be a novice, but I have the heart of pastry chef ).

How the hell am I going to fill in this monstrous gap with the unruly buttercream? Damn my stubborn pride. Also I am a bit nervous that I will not have enough to frost the entire cake. So after an hour and half of ripping the cake to shreds with the unforgiving buttercream I did it (as you can see by the initial picture posted above above), and because I deserved it, I ran a victory lap around my dining room table and cheered myself boisterously because I am a baking diva after all.

I wake up this morning and run to the fridge to check on my cake and what do I find? I find my masterpiece sitting in a pool of gooey strawberry juice mess. What kind of craziness is this? What in the world happened? Can you not refrigerate cake with fresh fruit in it? I have no idea what happened, but I'm taking it to class anyway (if it doesn't collapse first having been drowned in evil, evil strawberry goop) and I can only hope that even if my cake doesn't get the acclaimed accolade it deserves it at least survives the day.

Stay tuned for part two of this disaster when I take it to class and attempt to decorate it...

XOXO

Stay sweet;)

Devil’s Food Cake (Literally)
Source: Ghirardelli.com

· 1 1/2 cup(s) Sweet Ground Chocolate and Cocoa (I used Ghirardelli)
· 2 cup(s) flour
· 1 cup(s) granulated sugar
· 1 teaspoon(s) baking soda
· 1/2 teaspoon(s) cream of tartar
· 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt (optional)
· 1 1/2 cup(s) buttermilk
· 1 cup butter, softened
· 4 eggs
· 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease the bottoms of two 8- or 9-inch round cake pans, and line with waxed paper. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, ground chocolate, granulated sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Add 1 cup of the buttermilk and 1 cup of butter. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of buttermilk, the eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans. Bake 30 to 45 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean when inserted into the cake’s center. Cool on a wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove cakes from the pans, discard the waxed paper, and transfer them to the wire rack to cool completely.

Unruly buttercream

1/2 c. shortening

1/2 c. butter

1 tsp. vanilla

4 c. sifted powdered sugar

3/4 c. sifted cocoa

3-4 tbsp. milk

1 Tsp. light corn syrup

1 Tbsp. Meringue Powder

Cream shortening, butter, and vanilla together until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar, cocoa, and meringue powder on medium speed, scraping down bowl often. Add milk and corn syrup until light and fluffy.

*Bow Chicka Bow Wow*

Have you ever wondered what would happen if an Oreo and a thin mint had an illicit affair in a dark corner of your kitchen cabinet? Poor thin mint wouldn't stand a chance against Oreo's creamy seductive filling. He would have thin mint melting off her minty chocolate coating in no time, and 10 minutes later you would have these little guys running all over your kitchen. Aren't they the most adorable things you've ever seen?! Mini oreos with minty chocolate coating, just like mama thin mints only better.

Last night I was suddenly attacked with the midnight munchies. So I ran for my cabinet for the perfect treat to satisfy my tormenting taste buds, And I saw them there. Hiding in the corner, the blue bag shining proudly in all of its mini Oreo glory. I hurriedly shoved three in my mouth waiting for sweet satisfaction, instead all I felt was disappointment. My taste buds turned up their snotty little noses at the mini Oreos. Since it was late, and I knew I couldn't bake because I was exhausted, and I've become quite the vixen in the kitchen (Hey I like that, I'm going to Make that my new display name) as of late I decided to come up with a quick fix for the mini oreos. So into the microwave went some chocolate with a bit of mint extract and when it came out I tossed in some mini Oreos scooped them out and let them harden and TADA!

Sweet, sweet victory over the midnight munchies. They were chocolaty, they were minty, and they were perfect. I am thin mint lover, but these truly will make you convert to minty oreo minis. Try them, they will concur your midnight munchies with their gentle minty flavor and smooth chocolate coat. America's favorite cookie gets a make over, and its looking damn sexy.

Minty Oreo Minis

Source: The Kitchen Vixen (That's me people)

25 Oreo Minis

1/2 cup of chocolate (I used merckens)

1/4 tsp of mint extract

white chocolate design (optional)

Source: Cupcake Project

1/4 of white chocolate

Directions

Melt chocolate in microwave safe bowl at 50% power for about 5 minutes or until melted. Stir in between. Once melted add the mint extract and mix. Drop a few cookies in at a time and scoop them up and place them on foil or wax paper to harden (I put mine in the fridge because time was of the essence). While they are hardening microwave white chocolate using the same directions stated above, but do not add the mint extract (I mean you can if you want to, your kitchen, your rules). Once they have hardened sufficiently put the melted white chocolate in a small sandwich bag and cut a small hole in one of the corners and decorate your cookies.

Enjoy!

XOXO

Stay Sweet;)

PMS Who? Cupcakes

As I was perusing some of the awesome cooking blogs that are out there, I stumbled upon this masterpiece from the cupcake project for these "Better than sex cupcakes", and I swear I heard the angels in heaven sing a chorus as I gazed upon this beauty. I mean chocolate times five! This woman is a genius! I must promptly start petitioning to have a Nobel prize awarded to her for this stunning creation. I'm a hardcore chocoholic, so when I come across a recipe that caters to my addiction I nearly piss my pants with excitement. I changed it up a bit, and used different recipes for everything, but the original concept is pure brilliance. I mean chocolate cupcakes, with chocolate chips, and chocolate mousse filling, frosted with chocolate ganache and chocolate butter cream frosting! As you can see I messed around with them a bit. Some of them have buttercream frosting on top and some of them have chocolate mousse on top. Also some are filled with buttercream instead of chocolate mousse. I know, I know. I can never leave well enough alone. I cant help it. I'm under the delusional impression that I'm creative so bear with me.

OMG! Look at that creamy chocolate mousse filling! How can you see that and not get light headed and filled with goosebumps from the anticipated ecstasy that is sure to follow?! Though I swear they were so good they made my nipples perky after the first bit, they were NOT better than sex (I just want to know what kind of wackass sex you are having if cupcakes are better than it, but that is another story), hence why I changed the name to "PMS Who? Cupcakes". These cupcakes will leave PMS broken and bleeding in a corner crying for its mama. I am not kidding. They are no joke. Make them for your man, he's sure rub them all over your body and give you fabulous loving that is hopefully much better than these cupcakes;)

XOXO

Stay sweet;)

P.S. My cupcakes were lacking chocolate chips because I forgot to put them in. I was devastated, but they were still yummy, and I plan to make them again very soon.


P.P.S. They were also lacking the ganache that was suppose to frost the top of the cupcakes before the buttercream, but it was late and I was too tired to melt anymore chocolate, but I will make these again and pull out all the stops. I promise.

PMS Who? Cupcakes Part 1- The Ghirardelli Grand Fudge Cupcakes
Source: Ghirardelli.com
Makes approx. 24 cupcakes

3/4 cup(s) Unsweetened Cocoa
2 cup(s) all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cup(s) sugar
1 teaspoon(s) baking powder
1 teaspoon(s) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
1 cup(s) butter or margarine, softened
1 1/3 cup(s) milk
2 large eggs
2 teaspoon(s) vanilla
2/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (I forgot them, but I beg you in the name of all that is holy DO NOT FORGET THE CHOCOLATE CHIPS)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease and lightly flour baking pans. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Reduce speed to low, and add vanilla and eggs one at a time, scraping bowl after each addition. Alternately add flour mixture and milk (starting and ending with the flour mixture), while mixing on low speed. Continue to mix until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips. Scoop batter into cupcake cups about 1/2 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 22-25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

PMS Who? Cupcakes Part 2 - The Ghirardelli Chocolate Mousse
Source: Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet baking chocolate wrapper (yes ghetto I know, but I'm all about convenience, and when I took off the wrapper it was just there begging to be made) Also I had been trying to find a good mousse recipe, and this one caught my eye because it was one of the few where the eggs aren't completely raw which kind of skeeves me out.

4 large egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1-1/2 bars (6 oz.) Ghirardelli Semi‑Sweet Chocolate Baking Bars, chopped

Beat egg yolks in small bowl on high speed until thick and lemon colored, about 3 minutes. Gradually add sugar then beat. Heat one cup whipping cream in saucepan over medium heat inst until hot (do not boil). Gradually stir half of the hot cream into egg yolk mixture then combine back into hot cream in saucepan. Cook over low hear about 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until mixture is blended and thickens. Let cool for 10 minutes, then add chocolate to mixture and stir until thick, about 5 minutes. Cover and refrigerate for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally, just until chilled. Beat remaining 1-1/2 cups whipping cream in chilled medium bowl on high until stiff. Mix 3/4 cups of the whipping cream into chocolate mixture until blended. Fold remaining whipped cream gradually into chocolate mixture until well blended. Fill pastry bag.

Filling cupcakes using the cone method (Do not be impressed I just learned about this literally 3 days ago)

Make a small round incision (about 3/4 of an inch) on the top of the cupcake going down into the cupcake in the shape of a cone (like a mini snow cone). Not too far down or you'll get all the yummy cupcake center out. Cut off the end of the cone so that you only have the top of the cupcake left to cover the hole up with. Pipe in chocolate mousse and cover with the left over top of the cone. Don't worry if it looks all beat up at this point. Once you frost them you can't tell the difference.

PMS Who? Cupcakes Part 3 - The Chocolate Ganache
Source: cupcake project
3.5 oz of Semi-Sweet chocolate broken into small pieces
1/3 C heavy cream

Place the chocolate in a small glass bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan until it just starts to boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and stir until all the chocolate is melted and integrated with the cream. While it is still warm, spread a thin layer of it over the cupcakes. It will harden when it cools.

PMS Who? Cupcakes Part 4 - The Chocolate Buttercream
Source: Ghirardelli Unsweetened Cocoa label

6 Tbsp. Butter softened to room temperature

2-2/3 cups Confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup Unsweetened cocoa

1/3 cup Milk

1/2 tsp. Vanilla extract

In bowl, beat butter until light and fluffy. In separate bowl mix sugar with cocoa. Blend sugar mixture with butter alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Beat until smooth. Blend in vanilla. Fill pastry bag and pipe pretty designs on your cupcakes!

Enjoy!