Mexican crullers (churros)

source: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/daisy-martinez/mexican-crullers-churros-recipe.html

Ingredients

• Crullers:
• 1 cup water
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 to 5 eggs
• Canola oil, for frying
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

To make the crullers: In a medium saucepan, heat 1 cup water, the butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt over medium-high heat until the edges of the liquid start to bubble. Add the flour all at once and stir briskly with a wooden spoon until well mixed and no lumps of flour remain.
Remove from the heat. Add 4 of the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well with a wooden spoon after each. The dough should look soft and glossy and keep a "hook" shape when the spoon is pulled from the dough. If not, beat in the last egg.
Scrape the dough into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Pour enough canola oil into a deep heavy skillet (cast iron is ideal) to fill 1-inch. Heat over medium heat until the tip of the handle of a wooden spoon gives off a slow steady stream of tiny bubbles. Carefully pipe the dough into the oil, forming 6-inch crullers. Pipe only as many crullers into the oil as fit comfortably. Overcrowding the pan will result in soggy crullers. Fry, turning once, until golden brown on each side. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Put the sugar and the cinnamon in a paper bag. Crimp the top and shake well to mix. Drop a few crullers at a time into the bag and shake until coated. Best served as soon as possible.

SPICED CHOCOLATE & CHURROS CAKE

source: http://thecakeblog.com/2013/04/spiced-chocolate-churros-cake.html

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 3/4 cups sugar
9 egg whites, at room temperature
4 1/2 cups cake flour, sifted twice then measured
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla bean paste

1. Preheat oven to 350. Prepare three 8″ round pans with butter, parchment and flour.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. Stir vanilla bean paste into buttermilk. Set aside.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium-high using the paddle attachment. Cream until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
5. With the mixer on low, add egg whites one at a time. Mixing well after each egg.
6. Add one third of your dry ingredients and mix just until combined.
7. Add one half of your buttermilk. Mix. Alternate ingredients again. Dry, wet, dry and mix gently. Do not over mix.
8. Divide batter between the three prepared pans. Bake 30-33 minutes, rotating pans once. Cake is finished when a toothpick comes out clean.
9. Cool 10 – 20 minutes before inverting cakes from pans. Cool completely before assembling cake. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate if not using until tomorrow.

For the Spiced Chocolate Ganache Filling
16 oz semisweet chocolate
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 cinnamon sticks
2 dried chipotle peppers, split in half
1 vanilla bean, split in half and scraped
1/4 teaspoon salt
dash ground pepper

1. Chop chocolate and place into a medium mixing bowl.  Set aside.
2. Combine cream, cinnamon sticks, chipotle peppers, vanilla bean, salt and pepper in a medium saucepan.  Bring almost to a boil over med-high heat.
3. Remove from heat and let steep for 10 minutes.
4. Reheat again, almost to a boil.
5. Pour cream through a fine mesh strainer onto the chocolate.  Discard contents in strainer.  Let cream and chocolate stand for 10 minutes without stirring.
6. Stir to combine the cream and chocolate until smooth, shiny and glossy.  Let ganache cool to room temperature.
7. Reserve about 3/4 of a cup of ganache for the top of the cake.
8. Beat the remaining ganache with a mixer on medium-high for about 2-4 minutes, until slightly lighter and fluffier.  This is your spiced, whipped ganache filling.

NOTE:  If ganache is not whipping up nicely, pop it into the refrigerator for 10 minutes and mix again.
For the Cinnamon Swiss Meringue Buttercream
5 egg whites, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. In bowl of stand mixer combine egg whites, sugar and salt. Place over a pan of simmering water and whisk continuously until temperature reaches 160 on a candy thermometer and the sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes. (The mixture should feel smooth when rubbed between your fingers).
2. Attach bowl to mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Starting on low speed and gradually increasing to medium-high, whisk until stiff peaks form and mixture is fluffy and glossy, about 10 minutes. Your bowl should no longer feel warm to the touch.
3. With mixer on medium speed, add butter a few tablespoons at a time, mixing well after each addition. Continue mixing until icing is smooth and silky, about 10 minutes.
4. Add vanilla extract and cinnamon.  Mix until well combined.

Note: If your icing looks curdled after adding the butter, continue mixing and it will return to a silky smooth texture. If it is too runny, simply refrigerate it for a few minutes and then mix it again.
To Assemble the Cake:

1. Layer your vanilla cake with the whipped ganache filling and stack.
2. Crumb coat and ice the stacked cake with the cinnamon buttercream icing.
3. Once shaped and smoothed to your liking, gently coat the sides of cake with a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar.
4. Create a small mound of the reserved chocolate ganache on the top of the cake.  (If your ganache is setup and firm by now, heat it in the microwave for 5 seconds on 50% power, stir and repeat until soft and spreadable again.)
5. Adorn with churros, if desired.

Note:  I am not a churro-making expert but tried several recipes when making this cake.  I chose this one HERE for the cake.

( It’s a Miracle! ) Yellow Butter Vanilla Cake

source: http://www.threelittleblackbirds.com/2011/12/yellow-butter-vanilla-cake/

(Makes 3-9 inch rounds, one half sheet cake, or 3 dozen cupcakes.  Recipe can be scaled in half if necessary)
Printable Recipe
339 g (1 ½ cups) unsalted butter, softened
452 g (2 ¼ cups) superfine or bakers sugar (I use organic cane sugar ground fine in a food processor)
5 large eggs room temp
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons sweet sherry cooking wine or madeira
405 g unbleached all-purpose flour – (I use organic unbleached soft wheat flour)
25 g potato starch (if using bleached a/p flour  or cake flour – omit this and add 25 g more flour)
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
296 ml (1 1/4 cups) buttermilk
8 ounces (1 cup) sour cream
Instructions:
Turn oven on to 350 degrees. Place oven rack in the middle of the oven.
Generously butter the pans then place parchment paper (cut to fit) on the bottom of the pan only. BTW: I am making a 6 inch, 3 layer cake for this blog which will leave lots of batter left over for cupcakes.  For most of my cakes, I bake in 3 inch high cake pans and tort them (cut them into layers) after they are cooled and semi-frozen.  For this recipe, however, you want the shortest amount of baking time to keep the cake moist and tender.  For this reason, I bake this cake in single layers, which means more pans to butter and parchment.  In the end, the extra work is definitely worth it. Alternatively, you can also bake this recipe in a half sheet pan and then cut your layers out of that (works well for smaller cakes), and then you are only dealing with one pan.

To cut the parchment paper to fit: Place the cake pan on top of a sheet of parchment paper, using a pencil draw around the edge of the pan. Cut out with scissors and place the paper pencil side down into the buttered pan. Set the pan(s) aside.

Have all of your ingredients ready.  Remove the sour cream and buttermilk from the fridge and set on counter to warm up just a bit.  Make sure your butter is room temperature and measure out amounts on a scale or by volume.

It’s very important that your eggs be room temperature so they don’t turn the butter cold when incorporated and produce lumps (which can cause large air bubbles in your cake).  I never take my eggs out to warm up before hand however.  Instead, I remove my eggs cold from the fridge, place the eggs into a bowl and cover with warm water while I prepare the batter.  By the time I need them, they are room temp.

In your mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and the sugar together.

TLB Tip: Don’t rush this important step. I usually mix for a minimum of 5 minutes. Start on low speed until the butter and sugar are well combined then crank the mixing speed up to medium high and let it go until light in color and very fluffy. You want to incorporate a lot of air here so that the texture of the cake will be light and airy. If you rush this, the cake will be dense and thick.

While the butter is beating, sift together the flour, potato starch, baking powder and baking soda into a bowl.  Scoop most of the flour mixture back into the strainer and sift one more time.  Add the kosher salt and set aside.

Add the sherry to the butter and sugar mixture and mix well, scraping the bowl as often as needed.

Next, add in the eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl often.

TLB Tip: When a recipe says to add the eggs one at a time, it really means one at a time.  Again, don’t rush this.  Add the egg and mix completely until no streaks of the egg remain.  Stop the mixer and scrape the bowl and paddle down after each addition of egg.  The eggs need their time to emulsify so they can build stability in your cake when baked.

Add the flour mixture to butter mixture on low speed alternating with the buttermilk (mixed together with the vanilla and lemon zest), starting and ending with flour.

TLB Tip: Now is the time to keep the mixer on low speed and never any higher.  We want to keep the gluten levels as low as possible to keep the cake tender.  Once the flour hits the butter, mix only until half way incorporated before adding the buttermilk.  You will still see flour that hasn’t mixed in yet and that is okay because we will render that in the next step.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and scrape off any residual batter/flour from the paddle.  Scrape down the bowl, add the sour cream and fold/stir in the sour cream by hand.

Keep mixing and folding until sour cream is completely mixed in and batter is nice and smooth, making sure to reach down to the bottom of the bowl with the rubber spatula and fold upwards.

Divide batter evenly among pans, lightly tap pans once against the counter to dislodge any large air bubbles and settle the batter.
Bake the cakes until the tops spring back just slightly when touched in the center and a toothpick comes out clean.  About 20-25 minutes depending on your oven and cake size. Start testing for doneness 3 minutes before timer beeps and watch the cakes carefully. Do not overbake.

TLB Tip: When you can smell the delicious buttery aroma of these cakes baking, it’s time to start testing for doneness.  Cakes will let you know, by smell, when they are done cooking. They might not always be done, and you can put them back in for a few more minutes and watch them carefully. But this way, you will not over bake them.

Cool cakes in their pans for 20 min (set a timer). After 20 minutes, cakes will still be warm to the touch, which is what you want.
Place a layer of plastic wrap over the cake still in the pan…

Place a cooling rack over the cake…

With one hand on the bottom of the cake pan and the other on top of the cooling rack, carefully invert the cake over to its bottom…

Carefully lift off the cake pan, and gently peel off the parchment paper…

Wrap the cake with the over hanging plastic wrap and then one more layer of plastic, being careful not to wrap too tight and cause the edges of the cake to be misshapen. Place cakes in the freezer while you clean up and prepare the frosting (this will make the cakes easier to trim, level, tort or shape).
If you will be leaving the cakes in the freezer for an extended time, wrap the cakes again in tin foil over the plastic wrap to prevent freezer burn.  Cakes can be kept frozen for up to 4 months.
BTW: This recipe also makes fantastic cupcakes…

Light, fluffy, moist, buttery, tender…delicious!

FAQ: Is Potato Flour the same thing as Potato Starch? The answer? No!
Potato Starch is a very fine “flour” with a bland taste, that is made by removing the potato peel, made into a slurry and watery mix, then dehydrated to form Potato Starch. The Potato Starch is not cooked, thus it does not absorb much water.
Potato Flour is heavy with a definite potato flavor made from the actual potato including the potato skin and will absorb large amounts of water because it has been cooked and contains the peel. It is not used as main flour in baking as it would absorb too much liquid and make the product gummy.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

source: http://www.bakerella.com/chocolate-peanut-butter-cupcakes/

Servings: 18 cupcakes

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup cocoa
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2/3 cup milk
• 2/3 cup hot water
• PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 oz. peanut butter chips
• FROSTINGS
• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• 4 cups confectioners sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 2 Tablespoons milk

Instructions

1. FOR CUPCAKES: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Fill cupcake tray with cupcake liners.
3. In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients together with a wire whisk. Add eggs, oil, vanilla and milk and mix until combined. Add hot water and mix. It will be very liquid.
4. Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full. Pour into liner with a large spouted measuring cup for ease.
5. Bake for 15 minutes or until done. Cool and make the cookies.
6. FOR COOKIES: Note: You can make these ahead of time.
7. Beat butter and sugars for 3-4 minutes until creamy. Add the peanut butter, egg and vanilla and mix until combined.
8. In another bowl, stir the dry ingredients with a wire whisk and then add to the peanut butter mixture and stir until combined.
9. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.
10. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough into small balls about an inch or so in diameter. Chill again if necessary and then roll in peanut butter chips.
11. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 10-14 minutes. Cool.
12. FROSTINGS: For chocolate frosting, beat 1/2 cup butter until creamy. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and mix. Slowly add 2 cups confectioner's sugar and cocoa and mix until combined. Add 1 Tablespoon milk and mix until creamy and smooth. For peanut butter frosting, beat 1/2 cup butter and 2/3 cup peanut butter until creamy. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and mix. Slowly add 2 cups confectioners sugar and mix until combined. Add 1 Tablespoon milk and mix until creamy and smooth. Fill a decorator bag fitted with a 1M tip with chocolate frosting on one half and peanut butter frosting on the other. Squeeze bag to force frosting into the tip and swirl frosting on cupcakes. Top with a little peanut butter cookie.

Source: Bakerella.com

The first thing I unpacked though were my baking pans. A good place to start. Especially since I have a new oven to work. One 18 years newer than my last one. Yikes and Yay! I was actually kind of nervous … like meeting someone new and hoping you’ll be good friends. But you have to hang out together for a while first to find out.

So, I decided to break the ice with a cupcake recipe I make all the time. I thought it would be a good way to see how it compares to my old oven in terms of baking times and such.

So far so good.

Really good!

And I made chocolate and peanut butter frostings to go with it.

And whipped up some peanut butter cookies to go on top of it.

But, that was really just an excuse for me to try out some basic cookies in the oven, too.

So I stuck them on top of the cupcakes.

I rolled chilled cookie dough into small balls and then rolled balls with peanut butter chips in my hand, instead of stirring them into the dough to make sure each little cookie was well covered in chips.

Oh… and the frosting. Peanut butter and chocolate. I’m easy.

Place a decorator bag fitted with a 1M tip into a large glass and spoon even amounts of chocolate and peanut butter frosting on each side.

Fill the bag, twist off the end and squeeze evenly until the frostings fill the tip.

Then pipe pretty swirls.

And put a cookie in it.

And then take it out and eat the cookie.

And then eat the cupcake.

And then keep eating. I mean share with friends.