Cupcake Frenzy: From Portland to Los Angeles

A friend sent me a link to a list of MSN City Guide's top cupcake bakeries in the United States. I was shocked to find that not a single Los Angeles bakery made the cut. A Portland bakery did, however. Fortunately, the friend who sent me the link is engaged to a friend who just happened to be traveling to Portland last weekend. What are the chances! Better yet, she brought back a box of these scrumptious cupcakes. The Portland bakery is Saint Cupcake and I have to admit, they're among the best I've ever had.

Here's the box that made it safely from Portland to Los Angeles. The cupcake in the upper left (and featured solo at the top of the post) is The Fat Elvis, a banana chocolate chip cake with chocolate peanut butter frosting and a fried banana chip at the peak.

And here's the other Fat Elvis:

From Portland to Los Angeles
Los Angeles Cupcake Bakery Google Map

I do think L.A. got snubbed because there are some excellent cupcake bakeries here. To remedy that, I have a mission for you. A mission you should enjoy. Take advantage of a little anthology the LA Times put together. They made a Google map of all the cupcake bakeries in greater Los Angeles. Go on a hunt for your favorite.

Here's a screenshot of the map. So cool! We'll make up our own list of the top cupcake bakeries and we won't leave L.A. by the wayside. Are you with me!?!?!?!?

Fancy Shmancy Hamentaschen

Chag Purim Sameach! (that means Happy Purim for those not yet in-the-know, which I'm happily fixing)

Whether you celebrate the holiday or not, hamentaschen are fun cookies to make and yummy to eat. They're three cornered filled cookies made by rolling out dough, cutting circles with a cookie cutter, placing about a teaspoon of filling in the center of each, and pinching three points together while leaving some filling exposed. You can go crazy on fillings. In the past, I've made some pretty fancy fillings, such as a Marcy Goldman chocolate peanut butter one or a homemade apricot filling, which required stirring dried apricots over the stove with a bunch of other ingredients. You could also go the easier route and buy fruit preserves, chocolate chips, poppy seed filling, etc...

This year, I decided to make one fancy, one easy. For fancy, I went with a chocolate filling, made by mixing together, basically, the ingredients of a brownie over a double boiler. The recipe is from Alice Medrich in A Year in Chocolate. You know the recipe has to be good when it comes from the First Lady of Chocolate, creator of Cocolat, and inventor of the large truffle. Gosh, writing all this, I'm feeling so grateful to Alice for her contributions I think I should send her a thank you letter!

As for the easy filling, I bought a jar of apricot preserves.

The dough recipe I selected is from the incredible Carole Walter in her Great Cookies cookbook. It is one of my cookbook bibles. I had never tried her hamentaschen recipe and so it was about time. Of course, as predicted, the result blew me away. The dough is fantastic. It's soft and chewy, as opposed to pretty standard dry, crumbly types like you often see in bakeries.

Test your knowledge of Purim with this 12-question quiz.


Hamentaschen
Recipe by Carole Walter in Great Cookies
Makes 40 2 1/2-inch cookies

3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned in and leveled
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup (1 1/3 sticks) cold, unsalted butter or margarine, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks (save the egg whites)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 large egg whites, lightly beaten with 2 teaspoons of sugar

Make the dough:
1. Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in the work b owl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse two or three times to combine. Add the butter and pulse five times, then process 5 seconds to form meallike crumbs.
2. Place the eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla in a small bowl and mix with a fork to combine. Pour the mixture into the processor and pulse four or five times, then process for 1 minute, or until dough begins to clump together. Pour out onto a lightly floured surface and, with floured hands, form into two disks, wrap with plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 3 days. (This dough may be frozen for up to 4 months.)

Shape the hamentaschen:
3. Position the shelves in the lower and upper thirds of the oven. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Dab the corners of the cookie sheets with butter and line them with baking parchment.
4. Place a pastry cloth on a pastry board or other flat surface. Cover a rolling pin with a pastry sleeve. Dust the pastry cloth and the sleeve with flour. Roll the dough to a thickness of about 3/16 inch. Using a 3-inch round cookie cutter, cut circles of dough and place them on the cookie sheets.
5. When all of the dough has been cut, place about 1 1/2 teaspoons of filling in the center of each circle. Brush the perimeter of the circle with the egg wash. Using a dough scraper, lift the dough to partially cover the filling, spacing it at one-third intervals, like a tri-cornered hat.

Bake the cookies:
6. Brush the tops of the formed cookies with the egg wash, then bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown. To ensure even browning, toward the end of baking time, rotate the sheets top to bottom and front tto back. Remove from the oven adn let rest on the cookie sheets for 2 or 3 minutes. Loosen the cookies with a thin metal spatula and transfer to wire cooling racks.

Note:
When rerolling the scraps, do not gather them in your hand. Stack the scraps on a 12-inch piece of plastic wrap, bring the four sites to the middle, and using the plastic wrap as an aid, press the pieces of dough together, forming a small rectangle. Refrigerate before rerollilng.

Storage:
Store in an airtight container, layered between strips of wax paper, for up to 5 days. These cookies may be frozen.


Chocolate Filling
Recipe by Alice Medrich in A Year in Chocolate
Makes enough for 3 dozen cookies

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, cold
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Melt the butter with the chocolate in the top of a double boiler. Stir frequently until the mixture is melted and smooth. Remove the top of the double boiler from the heat. Stir in the sugar, vanilla, and salt. Add the eggs, one at a time, stirring in the first until incorporated before adding the second. Stir in the flour and beat with a spoon until the mixture is smooth and glossy and comes away from the sides of the pan, about 1 minute. Scrape into a small bowl, cover, and refrigerate until needed.

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Step-by-Step in Pictures

Making the dough...
Time to chill the dough for at least an hour...
Making the chocolate filling over a double boiler...



Filling and shaping the cookies...



Baked!

The Motorcyclist's Diet

I had a gross realization today by way of a conversation with our Sys Admin over IM. First, an important detail: He rides a Harley to work. Well, today he is working from home until early afternoon and as his desk is in close proximity to mine, he needed me to get him some information he left on it. After doing the favor, I told him he owes me a cupcake for my efforts. He facetiously replied, "OK, I'll put it in my pocket." That's when it dawned on me, motorcyclists can't exactly carry things. So that was Dawn #1.

Then I experienced Dawn #2. Another reason I don't want a cupcake from a motorcyclist: Bugs. Bugs that will stick to cupcake frosting.

And finally, Dawn #3. Motorcyclists eat bugs. How can they not? Unless they wear something over their face or never open their mouths. Don't try to tell me that a motorcycle windshield is 100% bugproof. Bugs can go around. And when motorcyclists stop at red lights, there's no wind to keep bugs aimed exclusively at the windshield.

Gross. Bugs are the motorcyclist's diet.


(That's our Sys Admin on his bike, on a particularly smart day with his mouth covered. I highly doubt all days are like this.)

The Case of the Stolen Starbucks Latte

Story of the day: I saved a man's life.

At around 2:45 pm this afternoon, I was in dire need of a latte. I hadn't left the office yet, even for a two minute fresh air break. So off I went, walking the six or so blocks to the nearest Starbucks. I left a note at my desk in case anyone needed my whereabouts. I figured I'd be back within 20 minutes. So far so good, right? No glitch in this plan. I got the latte, took the first sip (which is ALWAYS the best sip), and proceeded to walk back toward the office. I was only one block from Starbucks at this point, standing at the corner about to cross to the next block when...

I witnessed an elderly man cross the street in his motorized wheelchair. Suddenly, the wheelchair got stuck in a ditch in the unpaved road and the man went flying forward out of the chair. Oh my gosh! I couldn't believe what I had just witnessed! I put my wonderful, waited-all-day-for-this latte on the curb, and SPRINTED to the man who was now on his side, immobile, in the middle of the street. With oncoming traffic. I positioned myself in front of him, waved my arms in the air, and stopped traffic from running him over. The cars halted, and a couple of the drivers got out to see if the man was okay. He was bruised and very shaken up. We did not want to move him without professional help so we called 911.

While waiting for the paramedics, a peculiar lady walked up to the scene of the accident, turned to the man, and asked him if he was all right. Then she tried to take his pulse. I was not impressed. At this point, I had retrieved my latte from the curb and was standing next to the man, a small crowd surrounding us, and this odd woman beside me. She called out to see if anyone had any water for him, but when no one did, she grabbed my latte out of my hand and served it to the injured man. Really stupid of her, since 1. It was scalding hot, and 2. It's a latte, which means caffeine, which is not good for a man who is already panicking and has an increased heart rate. I grabbed the latte back, though I was not about to drink it. Oh well. Perfectly good latte gone to waste.

Police arrived and wanted to interview me for their report. Then the paramedics came. I was able to leave, and I started to head back to the office. It was 3:15 and I had a meeting at 3:30. But then I turned around and headed back to Starbucks. I'll be damned if for my one break of the day, I choose to get a latte, and it's taken from me by a crazy lady. When I got to Starbucks, the barista says, "Weren't you just in here? What happened to your latte? Did you spill it?" As she was asking me these questions, I was on the phone, telling my mom the details of this interesting story that resulted in a "stolen" latte, and the barista, listening in (read: eavesdropping), goes, "No way! That all just happened? I'll make you a new latte. It's on the house."

So there were multiple happy endings to this story. I got my latte after all, still made it back in time for my meeting, and I saved a man's life. Plus, Starbucks was so nice to replace my drink free of charge. I love them, even if they are heading toward world domination.

Cake Decorating for Werewolves

My good friends David and Tzviah recently got engaged. So over the weekend, David's mother, Linda, who is an undisputable master chef and baker, pulled off an incredible engagement party in her backyard. I can't think of a single thing that was not made in her kitchen from scratch. Okay fine, she bought the tortilla chips and she didn't grow the bell pepper. The event just so happened to be on David's birthday, as well. Double whammy celebration day.

To assist in the preparation, because there was MUCH to do, my sister and I came over both Saturday night and Sunday and one of my "tasks" (which is SO the wrong term since I get pleasure from this), was to decorate a birthday cake for David. I brought over some of my cake decorating equipment and frosting dyes, and set to work in a corner of the dining room. Silly me, I didn't start the project till midnight. Finished at 4am Sunday. And that's the worst kind of 4 a.m. because I drove home and then painfully, begrudgingly changed all my clocks to 5 a.m. for Daylight Savings. My all-nighter timing was impeccable, dontcha think?

The cake itself is uber moist, quite chocolaty, and yet doesn't have all the bad-for-you-ness that other recipes have. No eggs. No butter. The frosting used between the cake layers was a Mocha Buttercream. Be careful not to eat all of it straight out of the bowl. This is highly likely. And of course, to decorate the cake, I whipped up a couple of batches of Home Decorator Buttercream to dye in all sorts of fun colors. The key to the Decorator Buttercream is to make two versions: one with corn syrup, one without. The corn syrup makes the buttercream spreadable, so only use it for frosting the surface and sides of the cake (and inside if you opt not to use Mocha Buttercream, too). The version without corn syrup will make a stiffer frosting, perfect for piping onto cakes and keeping the shape of whatever you design. Nobody wants a "wilted" frosting rose or a crooked frosting nose; familiarize yourself with the purpose of corn syrup.

The cake was a big hit. Mazel Tov to David and Tzviah on their engagement and Happy Birthday David!


Amazon Chocolate Cake
Adapted from the Cafe Beaujolais cookbook by Margaret Fox

3 cups flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 tsp. baking soda
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 cups cold water
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. corn oil
1 Tbsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. white vinegar

Mix together flour, cocoa, baking soda, sugar, and salt. Sift (though recipe will be fine if you don't). In separate bowl, mix together water, corn oil, vanilla, and vinegar. Whisk together the wet and dry mixtures. Pour through strainer into bowl, breaking up lumps and pressing them through strainer. Mix and pour into 2 greased 9 inch round cake pans or one 9x13x2" pan. Tap the edge of the pan against the edge of the counter, or drop from 6 inches several times to the counter to pop air bubbles. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.


Mocha Buttercream

2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1 Tbsp. instant coffee powder
2 Tbsp. espresso (liquid)
1 cup unsalted margarine or butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 egg yolk

Melt chocolate, instant coffee, and espresso in the top of a double boiler or in a microwave. Let cool slightly. Place margarine or butter, sugar, and egg yolk in bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Blend thoroughly, and add chocolate and coffee mixture. Mix and chill to spreading consistency - about 15 minutes.


Home Decorator Buttercream
Recipe by my mommy

1 tsp. vanilla, clear is preferable
2 Tbsp. liquid (water, milk, whipping cream, etc.; I prefer milk)
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup butter/margarine
1 lb. powdered sugar, sifted
2 Tbsp. white Karo syrup

Beat until fluffy. The Karo syrup increases the frosting's spreadability. Makes enough frosting to cover a 9-inch two layer cake or a 9x13x2" cake.
My mom's note, in her words: This is the decorator cream that I use to make the frosting to cover the entire cake, if it has the extra Karo syrup added. Without the Karo syrup, I use this frosting to make all the roses and decorations on top of the cake.

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Step by Step in Pictures

First cake layer gets a slathering of Mocha Buttercream...


Second cake layer is very very carefully placed on top of the first...

I piped some musical notes around the sides of the cake...

And here it is again: the final product...

Green Globs of Goodness: The Marnimole

This is how the Marnimole came into being. My boss brought a bunch of avocados into the office today from his yard. They were realllly soft. Soft as in, wait another day and they'd be making their own guacamole beneath the skin. It's early afternoon and Boss says to me, "Marni, come on, make guacamole for us. For happy hour tomorrow. And by guacamole, I mean Marnimole." [Note: I did not write down his exact quote. This is how my brain recalls it many hours later.] So at the end of the work day, I went to the office kitchen and claimed all the avocados that hadn't already been snatched up by coworkers and willed to make some guac tonight. Only one rule: Use what I have in my pantry; grocery store trip not allowed.

Here's what I did, more or less...

The Marnimole
Recipe by Me
Name coined by El Jefe

8 ripe avocados
Juice of 1 giant meyer lemon
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 Tbsp. Tapatio hot sauce
1 14.5-oz. can diced peeled tomatoes, juice drained and discarded
Salt and pepper, to taste

In a large bowl, add the "meat" of the avocados. So that the avocados don't blacken, immediately stir in the lemon juice, ever so gently. Add the fresh garlic, garlic salt, hot sauce, tomatoes, salt, and pepper, and stir gently to blend. Don't mash the mixture or it will become soupy from using soft avocados. When the guacamole is as you like it, drop the pits of a couple of the avocados into the bowl. They look nice and I've heard they add shelf life to the guacamole.

I Need to Study Up on My Brownie Literature

I just took a Brownie Trivia Quiz on The Nibble, a fun online food magazine. Four multiple choice questions and I got zero right. I will now go mope about my lack of brownie knowledge and hunt for a brownie to make me feel better. Why don't they teach these things in school?

Take the quiz! Tell me how you do!