Frankenstein's Monsters Cupcake

                             Frankenstein's Monsters Cupcake; topper made from modelling chocolate and fondant

“I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel...” Mary Shelley

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel written by Mary Shelley about eccentric scientist Victor Frankenstein, who creates a grotesque creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. Wikipedia

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Goodness, I'm late, I'm late, I'm always running late but instead of making a white rabbit/Alice in Wonderland cupcake I had a slight panic moment when I saw Martha Stewart's Halloween issue is out already... it must be time to work out this years Halloween baking theme. Shall it be classic monsters? Yet, I've never done Hitchcock before.

Mad scientists appeal to me. I think I can make something with a bowl of green goo (green coloured peanut butter turned into powder perhaps?) or pop rocks/space candy, I love pop rocks, I could fill test-tubes with those and give them out to sprinkle of top of frosted cupcakes or bake them into the cases of chocolate chilli tarts.

Hmmm, what to do? What will you do? 

Also out now the first edition of Taste.com.au magazine. Definitely worth a look, with  Zumbo, Manu and Matt Preston writing stories/recipes plus a plethora of other aussie food journalists. Paper copy from Woolies, digital copy from itunes. 

I'm off now to read Martha Stewarts Halloween :) Happy Baking. 

Love Caramel Cupcake

                           love caramel apple spice cupcake

Missing my Mum who passed away seven years ago this weekend :( 

Mum loved everything "caramel", one of my first food memories is being allowed to have a piece of Cadbury Caramello chocolate. 

Stroopwafels the Dutch waffle treats are available in most Australian supermarkets. The thin waffle batter is filled with caramel. They can be quiet firm in texture and Mum like to put them over her cup of steaming coffee to soften the caramel to it's full gooey sticky potential. 

To make stroopwafel cupcake picks use a small cookie/aspic cutter and cut desired shapes. If it's cold weather (or your stroopwafels are past their prime... but hope it's not that!) it might be necessary to soften each waffle in the microwave on low for a few seconds.

Thread your shapes onto a toothpick. Pop them into your frosted cupcake.

Pull out of your cake for a bonus treat or if no one is looking try dipping them in your coffee :)

Apple Spice Cupcakes

makes 12 cupcakes

Preheat oven to 180C (350F)

12 hole cupcake pan lined with paper liners

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups plain (all-purpose) flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp mixed spice (pie spice)

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

2 eggs. room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract/essence

1/2 cup tart apple peeled, cored and cut into small dice

3/4 cup milk

Method

Place flour, baking powder and spices in a small bowl, stir with a fork. 

In a large bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attached, beat together butter and sugar until combined. Add eggs one at time, beating until incorporated after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Alternatively *beat in fllour and milk, starting and ending with flour. Stir through apple.

Divide the batter into the 12 holes of prepared pan. 

Bake 25 to 29 minutes or until light golden brown and the cupackes spring back when gently touched. 

Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes before removing cakes to cooling rack to cool. Frost once cooled.

*when beating in the flour, beat until just incorporated... over beating at this stage develops the gluten leading to a tough cupcake.

Martha Stewarts Caramel Buttercream

Halloween 2004, October Holiday 2004 

makes 5 cups

Optional: I added a four drops of a combination caramel flavour/colouring to recreate the caramel taste and colour my Mum liked.this confectionery flavour/colour from Roberts Confectionary Australia

I could not think of a better buttercream caramel frosting than Martha Stewarts Caramel Buttercream.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 6 large egg whites
• Pinch of salt
• 450 grams (1 pound-4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened and cut into tablespoon-sized pieces
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• caramel flavour/colour (optional)

Method

1. Make caramel: Pour 1/4 cup water into a medium heavy-bottom saucepan. Add 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved and syrup is clear. Continue to cook, without stirring, until syrup comes to a boil, washing down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush two or three times to prevent crystals from forming. Let syrup boil, gently swirling pan occasionally, until syrup is dark amber.

2. Immediately remove from heat; carefully pour in cream (caramel will bubble vigorously). Stir caramel until smooth. Transfer to a bowl; let cool.

3. Whisk together remaining 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, the egg whites, and salt in the heatproof bowl of a standing mixer. Set bowl over a pan of simmering water; whisk until sugar is dissolved and mixture registers 140 degrees on an instant-read thermometer.

4. Return bowl to mixer; fit mixer with whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until stiff. Reduce speed to medium low; add butter, a few tablespoons at a time. Continue whisking until smooth.

5. Switch to paddle attachment. Add caramel, vanilla and caramel colour/flavour if using; beat on lowest speed until combined, 3 to 5 minutes. Frost cooled cakes; I used a large closed star tip.

   *visit the official Martha Stewart site for another fabulous caramel frosting Martha Stewart's Brown Sugar Buttercream and it is easier to make.

Remembering you Mum this weekend. 

xx

Chocolate more your thing? You might be interested in Bubble Wrap Chocolate

  or perhaps Chocolate Peppermint Twist Brownie Cupcakes

Martha, Martha, Martha.... Martha Stewart Living

You may have read on my blog previously about how much "I love Martha Stewart", but there is a cost to loving Martha Stewart in Australia particularly if you want to read Martha Stewart Living magazine.

Can you believe the cost of a 12 month subscription in Oz... $245.00!!

If I lived in the US and could buy it through Amazon the same 12 month subscription $28.00!!

Current exchange rate of the Australian dollar doesn't explain it.

Borders Australia sells individual copies somewhere between $17 and $21.95 depending on how our dollar is trading. If I want to wait a month I can get Canadian copies of Martha Stewart Living for around $15 each. 

*Sigh* I only get the "occasion issues"; Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving & Halloween but I do love my Martha and treasure every copy. 

Martha's Everyday Food App

         Martha's Everyday Food App $1.19 (AU)

Today I'm looking at Martha's Everyday Food App for iPhone from the "we don't live in the US perspective". 

Cons: The store location & features connected to that don't work in Australia. The recipes are in same format as Martha Stewart's website so they aren't in metric. *The suggestions for shopping your list are US based, whilst an onion is an onion, many of the other products/brands we don't have here.

Pros: The shopping list feature is so good I'll be replacing my current shopping list app with it. Type your grocery list manually or use pre listed products (*see cons), I love being able to save my lists in categories, email the lists with a touch of a button.

The App comes pre loaded with lots of recipes from Everyday Food magazine. All recipes are easily searchable, either singularly or under categories such as "dinner" or events such as "Easter". Shopping list suggestions are intuitive, i.e. for pecan pie it was suggested I needed 'pecans' but may already have 'sugar'. All recipes are clear, concise, with colour pictures and all can be emailed.

I searched 'pavlova'

clear recipe

and instructions

emailed recipe; you receive a link to the recipe on Martha Stewart's website where you can then print it out

My favourite feature; All and I mean all of the recipes on Martha Stewart's website are at your fingertips, follow the easy ziplist sign up and you can send any recipe from the Martha Stewart website straight to your iphone!! 

Despite features that don't function here, for $1.19 Martha's Everyday Food App is still a fantastic app for any Australian interested in cooking. For me it's Martha Stewart heaven!

For more information or to download Martha's Everyday Food App here or go directly to the iTunes store and search "Martha's Everyday Food" 

New York-Style Baked Cheesecake

New York-Style Baked Cheesecake

It might seem slightly daunting seeing the length of this recipe today but this baked cheesecake is so fabulous it's worth foregoing the mix and chill type cheesecakes just once and trying this baked New York-Style Cheesecake.

Step-son Dan adores this cheesecake & it's become a must have for not only his birthday yesterday but for all special occasions. 

The following recipe was first published in Martha Stewart Living Magazine in May 2004. I've kept it pretty much the same, only reducing the oven temperature & increasing the vanilla. 

The cheesecake tin used in the magazine is larger than the Australian standard, I used a 22cm (8.5in) springform cheesecake tin which leaves enough filling to make 12 cupcakes in silicone moulds. If you do have the 10 inch springform tin used in the magazine you can bake one large cheesecake, increase baking time by 15-20 minutes. 

Due to conversion Aussie's will have leftover cream cheese & sour cream.

Wobble

There is many cheesecake making & baking tips like making sure your ingredients are at room temperature, not over beating once the egg is added, baking in a water bath, but I think the one to remember is the "wobble". Regardless what size pan you are using what you are looking for is the sides to be set & centre still wobbly, turn off the oven at this point for the perfect cheesecake!

The all important "wobbly center" zone

Starting with the pastry base from the magazine, but by all means substitute with your favourite biscuit/cracker crust if desired.

Vanilla pastry base

Ingredients

113g (1 stick US) unsalted butter softened

1/4 cup sugar

1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla

3/4 cup plain flour (all-purpose)

pinch of salt

Method

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter & sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy; about 3-4 minutes.

butter & sugar before beating

after beating; what "light & fluffy" looks like

Mix in egg yolk & vanilla then add flour and salt & mix until just combined. 

Shape dough into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and chill at least 30 minutes.

dough ready to chill

Roll out dough 3/4 of the dough between non-stick baking mats or baking paper until you have an 8cm circle. Lift the mat/paper and flip dough onto the base of your cheesecake tin. Attach the sides of the cheesecake tin & wrap the exterior (including base) with a double layer of foil. 

springform cheesecake tin wrapped in double layer of foil

Preheat oven to 180cel (350F) Freeze dough in the pan for 15 minutes. Place tin on a bake tray and bake for about 15 minutes until golden brown, set aside to cool.

Divide the remaining 1/4 of the dough between *12 silicone cupcake cases, using your fingers to press down dough on the base of the cups.

Bake base for 7 to 8 minutes or until set. Set tin on a rack to cool.

Place cupcake cases on top of a baking tray and bake for 7-9 minutes or until golden brown. Leave oven on.

New York-Style Cheesecake

Ingredients

1/2 cup plain flour (all-purpose)

7 packets of Philadelphia Cream Cheese (225g each in Australia, you will have 175g cream cheese leftover) (US 8oz packs)

2 1/4 cups sugar

1 cup of sour cream (250ml), room temperature

2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract

5 large eggs, room temperature

butter to grease pan, boiling water & roasting pan

Method

Put the cream cheese in a bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix for 3-4 minutes until fluffy. Sift together flour and sugar, with the mixer on low speed add flour/sugar mix in a slow steady stream; mixing until smooth. Add the sour cream and vanilla; mixing until smooth.

Add eggs one at time, mixing until just combined (do not overmix).

Grease the sides of the tin with butter, pour cheese mix into the tin filling to almost the top.

Divide remaining cheese mix between the 12 cupcake cases.

Bake your cupcakes first; reduce oven temperature to 135cel (275F) & bake for about 20 minutes until the sides are set and the centres are still wobbly. Cool on rack. Once cool refrigerate uncovered for 4 hours. Mini cupcake cheesecakes keep for up to 3 days in a sealed container in the refrigerator or can be frozen, well wrapped for up to one month.

cupcake cheesecake in silicone moulds

Increase oven temperature to 160cel (325F)

Place large cheese cake into roasting pan place on oven rack, carefully pour boiling water around tin until halfway up the sides of cheesecake tin. 

cheesecake in roasting pan ready for the oven & water bath

Bake one hour & 30-45 minutes, or until sides are set but centre is still wobbly. Turn oven off, put a wooden spoon in the oven door to allow the cheesecake to slowly cool for one hour in the oven.

cooly slowly helps prevent your cheesecake cracking

Transfer cheesecake tin to rack and let cool completely. Refrigerate uncovered for a minimum of 6 hours, but preferably overnight. 

Raspberry Sauce

Ingredients 

2 cups of fresh or frozen raspberries

 juice of half a lime or lemon

1/4 cup sugar

Method

Using a blender or a food processor, process until smooth and push through a strainer to remove seeds.

Taste at this point, if you feel it needs more sugar stir in a little extra until it is dissolved. Keeps in a sealed container in the refrigerator up to 3 days.

Serve chilled sauce on cheesecake slices.

*Variations; the cheesecake can easily become lemon, lime or your citrus of choice by adding 2 teaspoons of finely grated zest when beating the cream cheese & reducing  vanilla to a 1/2 teaspoon.

Leftover raspberry sauce can be drizzled over vanilla bean ice-cream or served with chocolate cake.

Frosting

Pink Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting, dark chocolate cupcake with strawberry and chocolate Pocky Sticks, that I piped with contrasting chocolate.                       

I've spoken before about how we tend to "ice" cupcakes in Australia rather than frost, this probably explains why...

The frosting I grew up with and still used today in many food publications in Australia is icing sugar, butter & maybe a bit of milk. Tasting a bit like the whipped butter you have on pancakes, which is great melting on a hot pancake mixed with dripping maple syrup but not so great on your cupcake!

What you want a frosting to be is light, with a silky texture and satiny sheen. The type of frosting that you can pipe that perfect swirl with.

Who makes the best frosting in the world to date?? Martha Stewart of course! 

Today I made;

Martha Stewart's Swiss Meringue Buttercream Recipe

Ingredients
Makes about 9 cups, enough for about 28 cupcakes

2 1/2 cups sugar
10 large egg whites
4 cups (900g or 2lb) unsalted butter
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Method
Place sugar and egg whites in the heat-proof bowl of an electric mixer. Set bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, and whisk until sugar has dissolved and egg whites are hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. Test by rubbing the mixture between your fingers; it should feel completely smooth.
Transfer bowl to mixer stand. Using the whisk attachment, beat on high speed until mixture has cooled completely and formed stiff and glossy peaks, about 10 minutes.
Add the butter, one piece at a time, and beat until incorporated after each addition. Don't worry if the buttercream appears curdled after all the butter has been added; it will become smooth again with continued beating. Add vanilla, and beat just until combined.
Switch to the paddle attachment, and beat on the lowest speed to eliminate any air pockets, about 5 minutes. If using buttercream within several hours, cover bowl with plastic wrap, and set aside at room temperature in a cool environment. Or transfer to an airtight container, and store in the refrigerator, up to 3 days. Before using, bring buttercream to room temperature, and beat on the lowest speed with the paddle attachment until smooth, about 5 minutes.
© by Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

To make the pink white chocolate frosting like I did:

Melt 125g of white chocolate, let it slightly cool. At the end of the beating stage of the Swiss meringue butter cream with the mixer on low add melted chocolate. 

Add a few drops of pink colour & strawberry essence and you have "Pink strawberry chocolate Swiss Meringue butter cream frosting". 

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