Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

It is impossible to be in New York without being aware of the cupcake mania striking the city.
Are cupcakes the new cookies?
I became familiar with them in Paris with Berko, which offers a large and beautiful choice of small cupcakes.
I decided to try it myself, being aware of two essential criteria for my cupcakes-to-be: the cake had to be very moisturized, and the frosting couldn't be buttercream (butter and conditioned sugar)!
I went through a lot of recipes, then I ended up with this one, and I made a few changes.
In order to make the cake more moisturized, I added buttermilk and baking soda mixed with white vinegar (the same method used when baking a red velvet cake).
I used more chocolate than cacao powder, just for the flavor that it brings.
I added orange zest as well, because it make a wonderful couple with chocolate.
And I chose a cream cheese frosting, which is very simple to make and very tasty.

The cake (for about 15 medium cakes)
Recipe: 

Chocolate (semisweet) 64% cocoa	3oz (about ½ cup)		85g	Melt in a bowl
Butter	1 stick	4oz	113g	Cut into small pieces and add to melted chocolate
Sugar	¾ cup	5 ¼ oz	150g	Beat together into a light mixture
Salt	½ tsp		2g
Eggs	2(large)		120g
Vanilla Extract	1 teaspoon		5g	Add
Flour (all purpose)	3/4cup	4oz		Combine and add to mixture
Orange Zest	1
Cocoa	1tbs	½ oz	15g
Baking Powder	¾ tsp		4g
Sour Cream	½ cup	4oz	113g	Add
Buttermilk	¼ cup	2oz	57g	Add
Baking Soda	½ tsp		2g	Combine together until fizzy and quickly pour into the batter
White Vinegar	½ tsp		2g

No step by step:
Sorry guys, I was rushing to make these cupcakes for my mother-in-law's birthday, and after a few attempts, I found out that rushing and taking pictures don't work well together for me!

Preheat the oven to 350°F

• Put the chocolate in a bowl and melt "au bain marie" (into a cooking pan filled with water).
• Add butter in melted chocolate removed out of the water. Cut butter into small pieces (it will melt faster).
• Beat together sugar, salt and eggs, until "nice and fluffy" and add to chocolate butter mixture.
• Add vanilla and orange zest (preferably organic).
• Combine dried ingredients together (flour, cocoa, baking powder, sifted) and add to mixture.
• Add sour cream and buttermilk.
• Combine baking soda and white vinegar, and when it fizzes, pour it quickly into the batter and immediately evenly separate the batter into the cupcake cases. 
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes according to your oven.
• Meanwhile prepare the frosting. 

(-;       240ml/1 cup milk + 1 tablespoon fresh lemon set for about 10 minutes = buttermilk

The cream cheese frosting
The recipe:

Philadelphia Cream Cheese	12oz		340g	Softened a little bit
Peanut Butter (creamy)	1 1/2 cup	6oz	170g	Add and combine
Vanilla (pure extract)	1 teaspoon		5g	Add
Confectioner's Sugar	1 1/2 cup	6oz	170g	Add and combine. Don’t over beat

• Soften the cream cheese using the paddle attachment of your electric blender; not too much or it will become too soft.
• Add peanut butter and beat until combined.
• Add sugar and beat until combined. 
• Keep refrigerated until cupcakes are completely cooled.

The batter should be thick enough to allow you to frost cupcakes with nice decoration.

                                                             

Enjoy!

Junior's cheesecake, really fabulous!

The first time I visited New York in December 1995, my friend took me to Junior's in Brooklyn to stand on line (on a freezy day) for cheesecake. According to her, it was so fabulous.
Really? Would it be delicate enough for my French palate.
I took a bite and ... it was love at first bite!
Since then, when I have a cheesecake craving, I stick to this creamy and dense cheesecake.
I like it plain or with strawberries, but definitely not with the thick jelly they put on it.
I wait for the strawberry season, to make my Junior's strawberry cheesecake my way.
So here is Junior's recipe, which I found on this website.
I followed their recipe exactly and only made a pastry crust for the bottom instead of a sponge cake layer.
And what's really interesting with cheesecake is that you can "customize" the crust according to your taste, by using:

• a sponge cake (like Junior's)
• Graham crackers, like a lot of New Yorkers
• a pastry crust, like others (and like me!) 

The Pastry Crust:
The recipe:

Flour (pastry)	125g	1 ¼ cup	4.4oz
Butter (non-salted)	100g	½ cup (1 stick)	3.5oz
Salt	5g	1 teaspoon
Sugar	125g	½ cup + 2 tbs	4.4oz
Egg + water	1+ water for reaching 85g	1 egg + 3 tablespoons of cold water	1 egg + 1.2 oz of water Egg + Water = 3oz

Step by step:

You can see in this post how to make the crust step by step (It is the same method as the short crust pastry).
Because you are going to crush the crust, you don't need to refrigerate it once it's done.
Roll out the dough between two pieces of wax paper (so it doesn't stick to your rolling pin), and place on a cooking rack, without forgetting to take off the the wax paper that cover the crust.
Put in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes until it reaches a nice golden brown color.

The recipe:

Wait until it cools, crush with a rolling pin (or in a food processor).

Add to these crumbs:

one stick / 110g / 3.9oz of cold melted butter, and combine together.

Generously butter a 9-inch springform pan. Wrap the outside with foil, covering the bottom and extending up the sides. 

Pour the crumbs on the bottom of the pan, and press lightly.
Reserve in the refrigerator while doing the cheesecake filling.

The Cream Cheese Filling:

The recipe: 

Cream cheese	908g	(4) 8oz = (32oz)		Beat on low 3 minutes: an 8oz package of cream cheese + 1/3 cup sugar + cornstarch. Beat in remaining cream cheese, add sugar and increase on high speed until combined.
Sugar	315g	1 2/3 cup	11.1oz
Corn starch	30g	¼ cup	1oz
Vanilla extract (pure)	15g	1 tablespoon		Add.
Eggs	2 (extra large) = 140g			Add one at a time, beat well between each one
Heavy whipping cream	180g	¾ cup	6.3oz	Blend in and mix only until completely blended (don’t overmix).

Step by Step:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. 

Put in a bowl an 8oz package of cream cheese + 1/3 cup of the sugar, and the cornstarch. Beat with an electric mixer on low until creamy, about 3 minutes. Personally, I added lemon zest in the batter to give it a nice flavor.

Beat in the remaining packages of cream cheese. Scrape the bowl occasionally.

Increase the mixer speed to high and beat in the remainning 1 1/3 cups of sugar. 

Then beat in the vanilla and blend in the eggs, one at a time, beating the batter well after adding each one.

Blend in the heavy cream.

At this point, mix the filling only until completely blended.

Be careful not to overmix the batter.

Gently pour the cheese filling on top of the pastry crumbs.
Place the springform pan in a large shallow pan containing hot water that comes about 1 inch up the sides of the pan. Bake the cheesecake until center barely jiggles when you shake the pan, about 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Cool the cake on a wire rack for an hour. Then cover the cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until it's completely cold, at least 4 hours or overnight. Remove the sides of the springform pan.

Enjoy!

Matcha cake for the perfect tea time

Like I explained before, matcha tea was my 2011 revelation. Since then I've been putting matcha tea in everything. 

I came up with this cake, which is a little bit of a pound cake, but lighter. 

I used almond flour, thinking that it would be a nice combination with matcha; plus butter and half-and-half for moisture.

The recipe:

Eggs	3 (large)	5.8oz	166g	Beat together until « light and fluffy »
Lemon zest	1 (fruit)
Salt	A pinch
Sugar	1+1/3 cup	9.4oz	266g
Half and half		3.5oz	100g	Add
Baking powder	½ tsp + ¼ tsp		3g	Mix together and add
Flour (all purpose)	¾ cup + 1 tbspoon	3.9oz	110g
Almond flour	¾ cup	2.5oz	70g
Matcha powder	1 tbsp	0.7oz	20g
Butter (melted and cold)	½ cup + 1tbsp	2.3oz	66g	Add and combine

Step by Step:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Beat eggs, lemon zest, salt (I use fleur de sel), and sugar together until the batter gets lighter.

 Whisk all the dry ingredients together well.

Add the dry with the wet and combine. This is the matcha powder I bought at Kalustyan's:

                                                                                  

 It couldn't be easier to make.

Look at this nice green batter!

As you can see, melted butter is all over the mold. Then I applied a cooking sheet around it, so the cake would not stick.

It is quite a small mold:6.58 inches lenght, 3.38 inches width, 2.75 inches depth. , which allows about 450g/15.9oz batter.

So I had enough batter for four extra little muffins.

Cook for 35 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. 

As soon as you take the cake out of the oven, wrap it in plastic so it will keep its humidity and be very soft. Let it cool wrapped on a rack. 

Enjoy!