Carrot Cupcakes (and the latest in cupcake delivery systems)

Cupcakes. The "cup" part is pretty straightforward it's the "cake" that ends up filed away under "Saccharine Disappointments". So here is a cake in a cup that is just the right amount of sweet, abundantly moist and has this great slightly crisped on the top thing going on.

My cupboards don't usually have Pam cooking spray (or similar), but I always have a tiny spray bottle for food spritzing needs (like Bourbon on a ham, mmm). If you have cooking spray go ahead and use it, but if you don't just put a bit of vegetable oil in a spray bottle, shake it up with a touch of water and spritz away!

Carrot Cupcakes

(just over 1 dozen, about 14)

1 c unbleached AP flour

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

3/4 c canola oil

1 c sugar

1 1/2 c grated carrots

cream cheese frosting

Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a muffin tray with paper lines greased with cooking spray

1) Combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.

2) In the bowl of your mixed, beat the eggs and canola oil til evenly combined.

3) Gradually add the sugar to the mixer, then raise the speed to high and beat an additional 3-4 minutes (until the contents of the bowl are a bit thick).

4) Beat in the vanilla. Fold in the dry ingredients, then fold in the carrots.

5) Divide the batter between the muffin cups and back for 30 minutes.

6) While they cool, make your cream cheese frosting. Scrape the frosting into a ziplock bag with a corner snipped then "pipe" the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

You're going to need this one, so permit a boring utilitarian frosting post!

Cream Cheese Frosting

(yield: 3 c; frosts two dozen cupcakes)

8 tbs butter, softened

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1 tsp vanilla extract

16 oz confectioners' sugar

1) In a mixer beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth.

2) Beat in the vanilla and confectioners sugar then raise speed to high and beat until the frosting is light fluffy (it sort of gets the pretty sheen).

Bonnie's Birthday & Salted Fudge Brownies

Yesterday was Bonnie's birthday, so we made pizzas and brownies! This recipe for Salted Fudge Brownies from Food&Wine caught my eye. They're as easy to make as any brownie recipe (ok, maybe you need a couple more ingredients than out of the box brownies, but they're still dead simple) and they taste like, well, fancy! Yes, I am declaring these Fancy Brownies!!

I did pretty much everything per the original recipe, except that I don't have a 9" square metal pan, so I used my 8x13" metal pan instead with no disasters, just a shorter cook time (think 25 minutes instead of 35).

Salted Fudge Brownies

(yield: 12 big square brownies)

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter

2 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine

1/4 c plus 2 tbs unsweetened cocoa (Dutch processed - look for "Alkali" under Ingredients)

2 c sugar

3 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 c AP flour

12 tsp fine seat salt

Preheat oven to 350 F

1) Line a metal cake pan (8x13" metal) with foil and grease the foil with butter.

2) In a nonstick pan melt the butter and chocolate over the lowest heat, stirring occasionally.

3) Remove from heat and whisk in - one at a time- cocoa, sugar, eggs, vanilla and flour making sure each is incorporated before moving to the next.

4) Spread into pan, then sprinkle with the sea salt. Swirl the sea salt into the batter with a butter knife. Smooth top and pop in the oven.

5) Bake for 25 minutes - edge will be set, center a bit soft and if you insert a toothpick it will come out with a bit of batter.

6) Cool at room temperature for an hour, then refrigerate an hour more. Lift from pan the foil, remove foil and cut!

The World's Greatest of the Best of the Greatest Chocolate Chip Cookie

Because it wouldn't be a cookie recipe without a title like that? Why else would you try yet another recipe for one of the most basic of cookies otherwise!

I've tried lots - lots and lots - of chocolate chip cookie recipes. Lots. This is the best, my recipe, the one I eat out of the bowl and only some of the dough makes it into cookie form and when it does end up as cookies they're the ooey gooey chewy kind. If you like your cookies puffy and fluffy then this is the World's Least of the Worst of the Least recipes.

On chips: How many chips you add is a deeply personal decision. I won't judge. Me, I like a relatively moderate chip-to-cookie ratio. Also, try a milk chocolate chip instead of semi-sweets, or dark chocolate if that's your thing.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

(about 24 cookies)

2 1/4 c AP flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp kosher salt

2 sticks butter, cold cold cold from the fridge

3/4 c dark brown sugar - packed

3/4 c granulated sugar

1 tsp almond extract

2 eggs

chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375 F

1) Cream the butter and sugars. I don't want to hear any complaints about how this is hard work since the butter is cold, I don't even have a mixer and I can do this in minutes! (if any step were more important than the rest, it would be this one)

2) Add the extract and the eggs, give 'em a good mix.

3) Combine the flour, salt and baking soda then add to the wet ingredients and stir til evenly mixed.

4) Add the chips. At this stage you can chill the dough for a bit - it only helps - but cooking right away doesn't hurt any.

5) Scoop out (I like to use an ice cream scoop) balls of dough leaving plenty of room - otherwise you get what my niece calls a "double cookie", which, while it is cooler than a double rainbow is a pain to transfer from sheet to cooling rack.

6) Bake for 10-12 minutes until they're brown on the edges. The cookies will look a bit underdone in the center when you remove them from the tray to the cooling rack.

Chocolate Pie

Easy to make, scrumptious to eat - and oh yes, lighter on dairy than the average pie! If you're weird about tofu...don't be.

Chocolate Pie

1 c milk chocolate chips
1 c semi sweet chocolate chips
1/3 c amaretto liqueur (or coffee liqueur if that's your thing)
1 block silken tofu
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbs honey
1 graham cracker crust

1) Using a double boiler (or by placing a small metal bowl over a saucepan with simmering water) melt the chocolate and liqueur.

2) Combine tofu, melted chocolate mixture and honey in the blender and blend til smooth.

3) Pour blender contents into the crust and chill in the fridge for a few hours (filling will set).

Salad for Dessert: Watermelon and Cantaloupe

Salad for dessert, my attempt to come to a BBQ armed with a way out of the chocolate goodness I inevitably want to stuff myself with. A refreshing alternative on a hot day, this rather Italian dish even has the Mackenzie seal of approval (at least, she asked for the recipe and the woman doesn't even like cantaloupe!).

The recipe can easily be scaled up or down, I just scooped as much fruit as I had for the party, then made the dressing to suit! You could chop the fruit if you don't have a melon baller or similar utensil, but I recommend picking one up for a few bucks - the melon balls look like little ice cream scoops! I made it at the last minute, thirty minutes or so before we had to scoot out the door to the event, and still had time to pop it in the freezer for a quick cool down beforehand.

Watermelon and Cantaloupe with Mint and Amaretto

(servings: 8)

2 bunches of mint, leaves picked

1/2 c fresh lemon juice (2-3 lemons)

1/2 tsp amaretto

4 c watermelon balls (1/2 of a large watermelon)

4 c cantaloupe balls (2 cantaloupe)

1/2 c simple syrup (1 c sugar, 1 c water, bring to a simmer and bubble for 5-10 minutes 'til sugar dissolves. Let cool. Save the extra for mojitos!)

1) Blend or process the mint, lemon juice, simple syrup and amaretto until smooth.

2) Combine the watermelon and cantaloupe in a bowl or the cleaned half of the watermelon, then dress. Serve, or chill and serve later.

Easy Apple Tart

I am not exactly great about making desserts. Eating them is fine and well, but the whole making of them thing tends to fall off my priority list when I would rather be cooking up the rest of the meal. However, Adam made a very specific request for "an apple tart with Chantilly cream". Okaaay...So I googled, made the first apple tart I found, and as a complete apple tart n00b I can say with confidence this recipe is not only delicious, it's dead easy!  Note: I covered the tart with aluminum foil in the latter half of cooking to keep the crust from over-browning. 

Apple Tart
(serves 6-8 )

Crust:
1 1/4 c AP flour
1/2 c butter, room temp
2 tbs sour cream

Filling:
6 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced
3 egg yolks
3/4 c sour cream
3/4 c sugar
1/4 AP flour

Glaze:
1/4 c apricot preserves
1 tbs orange juice concentrate
mint, garnish

*Combine preserves and orange juice, then brush the top of the warm tart with the mixture.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

1) Pulse the flour, butter and sour cream in a food processor until a ball forms.  

2) Press with floured hands into a 10 or 12 (ungreased) inch tart pan.  

3) Bake for 15-18 minutes - the crust should be set but not browned.  

4) Remove the crust, and place on a baking sheet while you prepare the filling. 

Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

5) Arrange the sliced apple in concentric, overlapping circles in the crust (overfilling is key as the apples with shrink down during baking)

6)  Beat the yolks, sour cream, sugar and flour until smooth, then pour over the apples.

7) Place the tart in the oven and bake for about an hour, or until the custard is set and a pale gold.  

8) Glaze, then serve warm with the Chantilly cream and some mint

Chantilly Cream
1 c heavy whippng cream
2 tbs powdered sugar
1 large marshmallow, halved

1) In a chilled metal bowl whip the cream until frothy.

2) Add the powdered sugar and continue to whip until it begins to mound.

3) Pop the marshmallow in the microwave for ten seconds, then add it to the cream and continue to whip until soft peaks form.  Don't over-whip!!

Buttermilk Pie à la Hominy Grill

We recently got to take a trip down to Charleston, South Carolina. The main events were my brother, Tim's, graduation from The Citadel which was only topped by his Commissioning into the Marine Corps. as a Second Lieutenant. Somewhere in between we ate a lot of food and drank a lot of wine.

Shortly after deplaning Tim, Dianna, Mom and Dad whisked us away to the Hominy Grill, a very fun local place that illustrated its hearty reputation with a full house in mid afternoon.

While they featured delectables like collard greens, cheesy grits and a fantastic cucumber salad the bulk of the meal was outshone by their buttermilk pie.

Smooth, light and incredibly satisfying it's dead easy to make and a wonderful all-season dessert (though I vote for a summer evening with berries on top!). They make some recipes available online though they also have a small cookbook for sale.

Buttermilk Pie

1 c buttermilk, room temp
6 tbs unsltd btr, room temp
1 c sugar
2 eggs, separated
3 tbs flour
1 tbs lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1/2 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated
1/4 tsp salt
1 pre-baked 9", deep dish pie shell

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

1) Cream the butter and sugar then add teh egg yolks and mix til combined.

2) Add the flour, lemon juice, nutmeg and salt.

3) Continue mixing while slowly adding the buttermilk.

4) In a separate bowl whip the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Add a small amount of the buttermilk mixture to the whites and fold gently.

5) Gently fold the egg white mixture into the remaining buttermilk mixture.

6) Pour into the pie shell and bake until lightly browned and barely wiggling in the middle (about 50 minutes).

7) Let cool to slightly warm or room temperature, then serve!

Hominy Grill
207 Rutledge Avenue
Charleston, SC 29403
843.937.0930