Banana Cupcakes with Vanilla Pastry Cream

I'm afraid I entered into a paradoxical pair of New Years' resolutions this year. I resolved to

1) Bake my way through Baked. Yummy.

2) Get in better shape and lose some weight. Bleh. 

Also, completely contradictory! Especially when you consider that eating something delicious is fun and enjoyable, while exercising is boring and painful. For me, at least. 

I'll spare you the shameful details of my sad state of fitness. But three weeks of consistent exercise has started to make some difference. It feels slightly less horrible than when I started. And my heart rate during my workout is 10 bpm slower than when I started, which I think is good. I think. I don't actually know anything, but I'm just going to assume it's good because it feels better to think I'm getting some results. 

The weight on the other hand...I know it's a slow road, and that diet is a huge part of it. And I've been watching what I eat. Except, you know, all the delicious stuff I have to make every week. And I HAVE to test it so I can give you and informed opinion. It is a responsibility I take seriously, the eating of delicious things so I can tantalize you from afar. 

Really, though, I have been careful about what I eat. It is a difficult thing to do. But these cupcakes are the kind of thing that make the agonizing self-control seem worth it. Sweet, creamy, not overpoweringly rich...they make me happy. Even though I can only have one or two. 

One thing I learned though: I am terrible at filling cupcake liners. 

UNTIL NOW!

A tip I learned: underfill. Cupcakes that don't quite make it to the top of the liner are small but not ugly. Cupcakes that overflowed and merged with their neighbor cupcakes are always ugly. 

And just ignore the fact the ugly cupcakes still taste delicious. Ignore it.

Banana Cupcakes with Vanilla Pastry Cream (printable recipe)

Ingredients

• 2 3/4 c all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 3/4 c sugar
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 c mashed very ripe bananas (3-4 bananas)
• 1/2 c buttermilk
• 3 c half-and-half
• 6 large egg yolks
• 1/2 c sugar
• 3 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two 12-cup cupcake pans with paper liners.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into a large bowl and set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and shortening together on medium speed until creamy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl, add the eggs, and beat until just combined. Turn the mixture to low. Add the flour mixture, alternating with the buttermilk, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Scrape down the bowl, then mix on low speed for a few more seconds.
4. Fill the cupcake liners about two-thirds full, erring on the side of underfilling. Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, until cupcakes test done. Transfer pans to wire rack an let cool for 20 minutes. Remove the cupcakes fom the pans and place them on the rack to cool completely.
5. To make the vanilla pastry cream, bring the half-and-half to a simmer in a medium saucepan and keep warm.
6. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and salt together until the mixture is pale, about 1 minute. Whisk half of the warm half-and-half into the egg yolk mixture, then pour that mixture into the remaining half-and-half in the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thickened, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla.
7. Set a fine-mesh sieve over a medium bowl and strain the pastry cream through it. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the cream to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until chilled.
8. Frost cupcakes using your favorite method.

Recipe courtesy of Baked: New Frontiers in Baking by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. Copied with permission.

The Baked Brownie

Maybe I'm just a little OCD, but this blog post about The Baked Brownie has become a little frustrating. The Baked cookbook mentions that these brownies have been lauded by Oprah (a favorite thing!), America's Test Kitchen, and the Today Show. And I totally believe them. But I thought, if I'm going to be telling all three of my readers about how great these brownies are, I might as well have my sources right. And after some fairly effortful Googling, I haven't found all the information I wanted. You know what I did find? A bunch of food blogs--and I mean a bunch of them--saying Oprah, ATK, and Today says these are the best brownies IN THE WORLD! And the nerdier, OCD-er, more competitive side of me doesn't just want to be another blogger talking about these much-talked-about brownies. So what am I doing? I'm being a total nerd and trying to find these sources so you can read for yourselves what these people have said:

1. Oprah declared these brownies a favorite thing. Official Oprah website source found. Check.

2. America's Test Kitchen. The only reference I could find was under mail order brownies, and I assume they were declared the best mail order brownies; I don't know for sure since I didn't feel like registering for their 14-day free trial to get more info. And maybe I'm splitting hairs, but being voted the best mail order brownies is not the same as being voted the best brownies ever IN THE WORLD! I'm not minimizing the Baked brownies; ATK has their own recipes to support. And, not to knock ATK, but who orders mail order brownies? Even if they're amazing, why would you pay $41+S&H and wait a couple days for them when you can just make some?

3. Today Show. I couldn't find any info.

Now, I know what you're thinking:

"Ami, you are a total nerd. We do not care about primary sources. GIVE US THE BROWNIES!"

A week ago, I would've had to say I can't publish the recipe. But, #1, this recipe is posted on many of the aforementioned blogs. And, #2, which is much more awesome, I actually wrote to the Baked NYC guys to ask about posting recipes, and they said I could! All of them! And that my blog looks great! So you get to have the recipes! But let me yammer just a little bit more.

These brownies are seriously wonderful. I'm not so uppity as to pooh-pooh all boxed brownies; on the contrary, I think Ghiradelli boxed brownies are delicious and plenty of homemade brownies taste like cardboard. And not even chocolatey cardboard. So I've sort of relied on the Ghiradelli box.

UNTIL NOW!

These are not even on the same planet as the boxed brownies. And without further ado, please enjoy:

The Baked Brownie (printable recipe)

1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp dark, unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Droste Dutch-process)
11 oz. dark chocolate (60 to 72% cacao), coarsely chopped
1 c unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 tsp instant espresso powder (I couldn't find this in time, so I used finely ground instant coffee. It's not as concentrated as espresso powder, but worked in a pinch. I'll get some real stuff one of these days. I know, how un-Mormon-y of me. If you don't want to use it, just leave it out, though I hear adding it increases the chocolatiness of the flavor.)
1 1/2 c sugar
1/2 c firmly packed light brown sugar
5 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the sides and bottom of a 9x13-inch glass or light colored metal baking pan.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, salt, and cocoa powder together.
3. Put the chocolate, butter, and instant espresso powder in a large bowl and set it over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth. Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water and add the sugars. Whisk until completely combined, then remove the bowl from the pan. The mixture should be at room temperature.
4. Add 3 eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Add the remaining eggs and whisk until combine. Add the vanilla and stir until combined. Do not overbeat the batter.
5. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the chocolate mixture. Using a spatula (not a whisk), fold the flour mixture into the chocolate until just a bit of the flour is still visible.
6. Pour batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes, rotating pan halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Do not over bake. Let brownies cool completely, then cut them into squares (or hearts!) and serve. Yield: 24 brownies
Brownies keep at room temperature for 3 days when tightly covered.

Recipe courtesy of Baked: New Frontiers in Baking by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. Copied with permission.










I gave these to my family valentines, even though every single one of is actively trying to lose weight. They are too good.
I'll go back and add the recipes to my previous posts, too, then this blog can be a recipe resource! I'm so  excited about it.
Go, make them. And be happy forever.

Lemon Lemon Loaf

I keep making the mistake of planning what I'm going to make next on a full...overly full stomach. So when I look through the book, nothing really sounds good. Which is kind of a problem when I need to make another dessert. Truth be told, we're not really huge dessert eaters at our house. And even though every dessert thus far has been good, we just don't make much of a dent each day. So a week later, we still have dessert. And then I have to make another one! It was making the project a little tiresome.

UNTIL NOW!

Considering these facts, and others, this Lemon Lemon Loaf turned out to be the perfect recipe. First of all, it makes two loaves but can be easily frozen. Secondly, it has a light lemon flavor that isn't overly sweet, making it less overwhelming. But don't let that fool you; this is not a light, airy cake. In fact, the texture totally surprised me. I was expecting cake, but it was denser than that. Quite eggy. Which may not necessarily sound super appealing, but I actually really liked it. It was like a lemony, loafy version of crepes.
I was fully intending to say it needs some poppy seeds. The recipe specifically says it doesn't want extraneous ingredients like poppy seeds, but I love them. I love them! I love some texture in my food. Like, I love the pulpiest orange juice I can find, and I usually double the poppy seeds in any poppy seeded recipe. Nevertheless, I had to admit that, despite my misgivings, these Baked guys were right; it just wouldn't be quite right with poppy seeds. And that's okay with me.
There is a part of me that wonders if I did something wrong...I followed the directions exactly, except where it said to mix the batter in a food processor, since I don't have a food processor. I mixed it in my Kitchenaid with the whisk attachment...but that wouldn't be the same. Maybe someday I'll have a food processor and can try it again.
If I were to change something, though, I would make the loaf itself more lemony. Despite a lot of lemon zest and some juice, the flavor didn't come through a lot. It's pretty dependent on the painted on, lemony glaze.
It was good, though. And I have another loaf in my freezer. This time, I'm actually glad there are plenty of leftovers.

Lemon Lemon Loaf (printable recipe)

For the Lemon Cake:

1 1/2 c cake flour

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

2 1/4 c sugar

8 large eggs, at room temperature

1/4 c grated lemon zest (from about 4 lemons)

2 c (4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted & cooled

1/2 c sour cream, at room temperature

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

For the Lemon Syrup:

1/3 c fresh lemon juice

1/3 c sugar

Make the Lemon Cakes

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the sides and bottom of two 9x5x3-in. loaf pans with cooking spray. Line the bottom with parchment paper and spray the paper.

2. Sift both flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl.

3. Put the sugar, eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a food processor and pulse until combined. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.

4. Sprinkle in the flour mixture, one third at a time, folding gently after each addition until just combined. Do not overmix.

5. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake in the center of the oven for 20 minutes, rotate the pans, reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees and bake for another 30 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool in the pans for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, Make the Lemon Syrup

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat the lemon juice and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved. Once dissolved, continue to cook for 3 more minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

2. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper and invert the loaves onto the pan. Use a toothpick to poke holes in the tops and sides of the loaves.

3. Brush the tops and sides of the loaves with the lemon syrup. Let the syrup soak into the cake and brush again. Let the cakes cool completely, at least 30 minutes. Yield: 2 loaves

(The soaked but unglazed loaves will keep, wrapped in two layers of plastic wrap and frozen, for up to 6 weeks.)

Recipe courtesy of Baked: New Frontiers in Baking by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. Copied with permission.