Chocolate Malbec Cake

This was the birthday cake for my friend Kristen here in Tucson. Kristen is a great cook (the woman makes homemade pasta and a mean meatball), a wine lover, and, as any lady, a whore for chocolate. I had no other choice but to make this chocolate cake with red wine, cinnamon cream cheese frosting, and strawberries.

The egg whites make this cake airy, while the sour cream keep this cake moist. The butter just makes it fattening and delicious. Cinnamon, red wine, and strawberries all pair so well with chocolate that I thought I'd give this master combo a go, and the result was good -- I mean, really good (though I could be biased because 1. I made it, and 2. I had a few glasses of wine before I tried it...). And you can't beat fresh berries!

So to recap: Chocolate and wine. In a cake. You'll be glad you came. Happy Birthday, Kristen!

Chocolate Malbec Cake
adapted from Cooking with Wine

yields 2 8-inch cake rounds

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 egg whites
1/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups red wine (I used a Malbec, if you couldn't tell...)

Directions:
Heat the oven to 350°F. Butter the cake pans, line each pan with a round of parchment paper, and brush again with butter.

Sift flour with the cocoa, baking soda, and salt into a bowl.

Cream the butter in an electric mixer, beat in the sugar, and continue beating until the mixture is light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the egg whites, one by one, and then the sour cream and vanilla, and continue beating 1 to 2 minutes. Sift a third of the flour over the butter mixture and fold them together, using a spoon. Fold in a third of the wine. Add the remaining flour and wine alternately in two batches.

Spread batter in the prepared pans. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes or until a metal skewer inserted in the center should come out clean. Let the cakes cool 10 minutes in the pans, then turn them out on a rack to cool completely.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting (same recipe as the Owl Cupcakes)

Ingredients:
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons milk

Directions:
Beat butter and cream cheese. Add sugar, cinnamon and milk and beat for 2 minutes. Spread on anything.
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Owl Cupcakes and Death Valley

It would be a gross understatement to say that my friends Cecilia and Michelle like owls -- they love owls. They sport owl t-shirts and owl jewelry. Cecilia even has owl measuring cups. I can't really blame them. Baby owls are pretty darn adorable. So when I saw these owl cupcake liners from Meri Meri I immediately knew what had to be done...

Two weeks ago, Cecilia, Michelle, and I were lucky enough to camp in and around Death Valley, CA for 5 days for a planetary geology field trip. The views were overwhelming. I felt so small in the vastness. Standing in front of millions-of-years-old features makes you feel like a blip in time.

Back to the owl-lovers... here's Cecilia at Badwater Basin:

and Michelle at the Kelso Dunes:

and the 3 of us around the campfire - thanks for the picture, James -

We got not 1, not 2, but 3 flat tires on the trip, which naturally led to this series of pictures with all of the Canadian graduate students:

...which naturally led to the creation of this tumblr. But I digress.... The point: Death Valley is awesome!

You know what else is awesome? Cupcakes. And owls on cupcakes are stinkin' cute. Make some for your owl-loving friends and hear them squeal with delight.

*Note to rich men looking for a wife who will make our future children cupcakes like this all of the time:
I'm available, and waiting.


Vanilla Cupcakes
Martha Stewart

yields 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with liners; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until incorporated. Scrape down sides of bowl, and beat in vanilla.

Add flour mixture and milk alternately, beginning and ending with flour. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl.

Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about three-quarters full. Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 20 minutes, rotating pan once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack. Let cool for 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan, and let cool completely on wire rack.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons milk

Directions:
Beat butter and cream cheese. Add sugar, cinnamon and milk and beat for 2 minutes. Spread on anything.
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Strawberry Daiquiri Cupcakes

I recently made some de-licious strawberry curd. I spread it on almost everything: bananas, toast, cookies, even strawberries for some flavor to the max. Then, out of the blue, I had an idea...

More on that idea in a bit. First, can we please pause to praise this completely unnecessary but necessarily awesome aqua ceramic farmer's market fruit carton pictured above from Anthropologie **moment of oo-ing and ahhh-ing** 

Ok, moving on.

I had this idea to make Strawberry Daiquiri Cupcakes. Strawberries, cake, cream, curd, and last but not least rum all in one bite. You can thank me after you make this.

          

Here we go: A vanilla cupcake, soaked in rum, filled with strawberry buttercream, and topped off with strawberry curd and strawberries. Even presentation-wise, these are fun, and would be great for any adult gathering. The strawberry curd pops even more with bright cupcake liners and little paper umbrellas!

I will warn you: this is a project. There are many recipes and steps but I'm going to say that you could have these made and assembled in 3 hours. Don't kill the messenger! Especially the one who gives you the idea that such a dessert could exist...

How to Make Strawberry Daiquiri Cupcakes
Make Vanilla Cupcakes (recipe below).
Poke holes in the tops of the cupcakes with a fork.
Cut out center of cupcakes with a knife and fill with Strawberry Buttercream (recipe below).
Mix 1/2 cup simple syrup (recipe below) with 2 tablespoons of rum. Brush mixture over the cupcakes.
Spread Strawberry Curd (recipe below) on the cupcake tops. Garnish with a strawberry.
Enjoy.

RECIPES:

Vanilla Cupcakes
adapted from My Baking Addiction

yields 2 dozen cupcakes or 6 dozen mini cupcakes

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups milk
4 large egg whites
8 tablespoon (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pan with paper liners.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk and egg whites.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar at medium speed until the butter and sugar are very light and fluffy. Add in the vanilla extract and one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until well incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs, beating until the ingredients are fully incorporated and the batter is smooth. Then add the last of the dry ingredients, beating until, yes, that's right, the ingredients are fully incorporated.

Using a large scoop/spoon, distribute the batter between the muffin trays, filling each muffin liner until 1/2 to 2/3 full.

Bake for 20-24 minutes for cupcakes, and 16-18 minutes for mini cupcakes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. While cupcakes are cooling, make Strawberry Buttercream...

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Strawberry Buttercream
adapted from Confessions of a Tart

yields about 1 1/2 cups frosting

Ingredients:
1 sticks (8 tbsp) of butter, room temperature
1/2 cup strawberries, pureed (I measured out the strawberries first and then pureed them)
2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:
Cream the butter in the mixer on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes. On slow speed, gradually add about 2 cups of powdered sugar and turn back up to high for a few minutes to really incorporate the sugar. Turn to slow speed again and fold in the strawberries. Add more sugar until desired consistency is achieved. Once all the sugar is incorporated, turn to medium-high for a few minutes to mix well.

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Simply Syrup

yields 1/2 cup simple syrup

Ingredients:
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar

Directions:
Heat sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat until sugar has dissolved.
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Strawberry Curd

yields about 1 1/2 cups curd

Ingredients:
2 cups sliced strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons or 1/2 stick) butter, cut into pieces

Directions:
In a food processor or blender pulse strawberries until smooth. Strain through a fine strainer to remove seeds.

In a heavy saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Add strawberry puree, lemon juice, and egg yolks. Cook over medium heat for 7 to 8 minutes, or until very thick, whisking constantly.

Remove from heat. Gradually add butter, whisking until melted. Let cool. Place in a jar and store in refrigerator.
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