Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot! A Cinco de Mayo Cupcake Recipe

A few months back, I created a spicy chocolate Senorita cupcake for the Iron Cupcake : Earth Music Challenge. I'm just back from vacation and don't have an egg to crack or even some buttermilk in the house to get me going so I thought I'd resurrect this recipe for those of you who may be interested in taking a themed cupcake to your Cinco de Mayo parties. It's chocolate, ganache and HOT -- what more could you ask in a May 5th cupcake! Enjoy!




Senorita Cupcakes (makes about 20)
(adapted from Martha Stewart's One Bowl Chocolate Cupcake recipe)
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (if you pair this cupcake with a simple chocolate ganache, feel free to add in up to 1 teaspoon cinnamon in the cupcake batter to make it extra spicy. I scaled mine back since I paired this with a spicy ganache. In general, I like Saigon Cinnamon for this recipe as it is rather strong and gives you an extra kick).
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners; set aside. Sift together cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and cayenne pepper and salt into a large bowl. Add eggs, warm water, sour cream, milk, oil, and vanilla, and mix until smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl to assure batter is well mixed.

Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full. Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 20 minutes, rotating pan once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.

Spicy Chocolate Ganache Frosting
4.5 ounces bittersweet chocolate (I used a Vosges Red Fire chocolate bar)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp butter, room temperature
2-3 cups powdered sugar

Break up chocolate and place in a heatproof bowl. In a small casserole, heat cream until just about boiling. Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate. Let sit for 1 minute then stir until combined. Next add the butter and stir until combined. If you want to make it spicy, add 1/2 - 1 teaspoon cinnamon.

Let cool for 10 minutes. Using a whisk or electric hand-beater, sift in powdered sugar one cup at a time beating after each addition. Continue adding sugar and beating until mixture is of good spreading consistency.

Please Go All the Way

You may remember this cupcake from my Valentine's Day 2010 box. Inspired the song by The Raspberries, Go All the Way is a raspberry swirled cupcake with milk chocolate buttercream. I was recently asked to submit a recipe for an article I participated in about food bloggers in France and this is the one. That article won't come out until May or June so I figured in the meantime I'd reward all you Little Miss Cupcake fans with a sweet treat -- an advance copy of the recipe. This is the perfect cupcake to enjoy with the warmer weather we're experiencing lately. So go bake a batch, take them to the beach, park, wherever and enjoy!

You'll find the recipe in the Notes section of the Little Miss Cupcake Facebook page. You'll need to become a fan to view it.

It Feels Like Sumthins Heatin' Up

Iron Cupcake Earth is back for year 2 and the first challenge brought to us by the Milwaukee Cupcake Queen is Music! The goal is to get the contest featured on the Ellen Degeneres show, and well, those of you like me who watch Ellen know how much she likes to shake her boot-ay!

I had several ideas as soon as I heard this challenge (including submitting my entire blog as I am so frequently inspired while cupcaking by that personal soundtrack in my head!). This year though, Iron Cupcakers are limited to only 3 entries per challenge so I'm baking up the monster hits I think are destined to ride up the charts!

My first cupcake this month is the Senorita cupcake. I know Ellen is a FOJT (Friend of Justin Timberlake) and I can so easily imagine the two of them shakin' it up and down the aisles of her audience as he serenades everyone with this sweet song about a brown-eyed senorita who deals with things she shouldn't have to. Justin thinks she deserves a crown (and someone like him who will love her right).

My Senorita cupcake is a Mexican chocolate cupcake spiced up with cinnamon and just a hint of cayenne pepper. It's topped with a Mexican chocolate ganache (made from a Vosges Red Fire exotic chocolate bar a friend brought me that I have been saving for something special!). Gold dusted "fan," rose and the proverbial crown complete the look.



You can make your own fire at home with the Senorita Cupcake recipe that follows. Gentlemen Goodnite, Ladies Good Morning.

Senorita Cupcakes (makes about 20)
(adapted from Martha Stewart's One Bowl Chocolate Cupcake recipe)
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (if you make a simple chocolate ganache, feel free to add in up to 1 teaspoon cinnamon in the batter to make it extra spicy. I scaled mine back since I paired this with a spicy ganache. In general, I like Saigon Cinnamon for this recipe as it is rather strong and gives you an extra kick).
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners; set aside. Sift together cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and cayenne pepper and salt into a large bowl. Add eggs, warm water, sour cream, milk, oil, and vanilla, and mix until smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl to assure batter is well mixed.

Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full. Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 20 minutes, rotating pan once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.

Spicy Chocolate Ganache Frosting
4.5 ounces bittersweet chocolate (I used a Vosges Red Fire chocolate bar)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp butter, room temperature
2-3 cups powdered sugar

Break up chocolate and place in a heatproof bowl. In a small casserole, heat cream until just about boiling. Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate. Let sit for 1 minute then stir until combined. Next add the butter and stir until combined. If you want to make it spicy, add 1/2 - 1 teaspoon cinnamon.

Let cool for 10 minutes. Using a whisk or electric hand-beater, sift in powdered sugar one cup at a time beating after each addition. Continue adding sugar and beating until mixture is of good spreading consistency.

PS I am competing to win the following prizes from our generous IronCupcake:Earth Prize Providers:
The Demy™ by Key Ingredient
Hello, Cupcake by Karen Tack & Alan Richardson
Bella Cupcake Couture
Cupcake Stackers by Gourmac
The Cake Mix Doctor Returns! by Anne Byrne

Here Comes the Bride, All Dressed in...Red?!?

Yup, you read that right. For the bride in this case is of the non-conventional variety. She and her partner decided to tie the knot after several years of "living in sin" (oh, the horror!) with 2 kids at their sides during the nuptials and a 3rd proverbial bun in the oven tucked under that gorgeous red throw she was wearing!



In my spare time, I handle PR for a wonderful parents' association for English-speaking families here in Paris called MESSAGE. We organize all sorts of great family-fun events, provide many support services like breastfeeding help and pre-natal classes, and overall serve as an extended family for throngs of expats who find themselves far from home. I've made many terrific friends over the years through this organization - people from all walks of life, from every corner of the globe, with all sorts of traditional and non-traditional family lifestyles. One of my greatest pleasures has been the opportunity to steer the organization via serving on its Executive Board, and that is how I came to know the afore-mentioned bride. Though she was married over the summer, we were unable to coordinate cupcakes for her actual wedding day and so the ones you see here were fashioned for her and her betrothed belatedly.



She is Dutch and her husband is French (And a fireman too! Woo hoo!). The only guidelines she gave me for these were that they be orange - you can read the history of the Dutch passion for orange here - and could they include "E's" for both her and the mister's first initials are "E" as well as pay tribute to their nationalities in the form of flags? Oh, and maybe have some sort of liquor in them too (I told you she was non-conventional!).

What did I come with? Two varieties of cupcakes : one that is wildly Cointreauversial (I was inspired by the lovely Dita von Teese who the hubby and I saw live last week; what a performance!) and one that is oh so de-lovley and delicious: the Orange Zinger cupcake! The chocolate ones that you see here with the Dutch and French "flags" are made from dark chocolate cupcakes, lovingly drizzled with a Cointreau glaze and topped with a milk chocolate and Cointreau buttercream. The heart flags are marzipan printed with words of love like "Cherish, Adore and True Love" and hand-painted with food coloring. The Cointreauversial Cupcake will be joining the Little Miss Cupcake line-up soon along with a few other Adult-Only varieties.



The Orange Zinger Cupcakes are orange cupcakes filled with an orange spice cream and topped with a white chocolate ganache frosting. They are decorated with home-made marzipan and marshmallow fondant. Here's the recipe; the cupcakes are great on their own plain if you want to add a little zing to your breakfast plate.



Orange Zinger Cupcakes
Makes approximately 14 cupcakes

For the Orange Cupcakes:
4 ozs. unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 ½ cups flour
½ cup buttermilk
¼ cup hot water
¼ cup Pulco or other concentrated orange syrup
zest of one orange

Pre-heat oven to 350/180 degrees. Grease 1 12-cup cupcake tin and 2 cups of second tin or insert cupcake liners.

Sift baking powder, salt and flour in medium-sized bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and blend well. Alternately beat in flour mixture and buttermilk, blending well after each addition. End with a flour addition.

Add hot water and mix well. Add zest and Pulco last and mix.

Fill cupcake tins 2/3 full. Fill unused cup molds halfway full with water. Bake for 18-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Once cool, remove cupcakes from tin and continue to cool on a wire rack.

For Orange Spice Cream Filling
(adapted from a recipe from I Heart Cuppycakes, originally from Dorie Greenspan's Book, Baking: From My Home to Yours)

1/2 cup sugar
Grated zest of 1 orange
2 large eggs, preferably at room temp
1/2 cup fresh orange juice (from about 1 medium sized orange)
1/4 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 teaspoons cornstarch
3 ozs. (1/2 cup+2 tbs) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon size pieces, at room temp

Combine sugar and orange zest in a heatproof bowl. Rub the sugar and zest between your fingertips for a few minutes, until the sugar is moist and the fragrance of orange is strong. Whisk in the eggs, then whisk in the juice and cornstarch.

Bring water to a simmer in a saucepan.

Set the bowl over the saucepan and stir with a whisk as soon as the mixture feels tepid to the touch. Cook the orange cream until it reaches 180 degrees F, about 10 minutes. Whisk constantly to keep the eggs from scrambling – you’ll see that the cream will start out light and foamy, then the bubbles will get bigger, and then, as it gets closer to 180 degrees F, it will start to thicken and the whisk will leave tracks. When it starts to leave “tracks” the cream is almost done.

As soon as it reaches 180 degrees F, remove the cream from the heat and strain the cream; discard the rest. Let it cool until it reaches 140 degrees F, about 10 minutes.

Add ginger and cinnamon. Whisk to incorporate. Add the butter a few pieces at a time until butter is incorporated and continue whisking for another 3 minutes until mixture is thick and creamy.



Pour the cream into a container, press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface and refrigerate the cream for at least 4 hours, or overnight. (The cream can be packed airtight and frozen for up to 2 months; thaw overnight in the refrigerator.)


For White Chocolate Ganache Frosting:

4.5 ounces white chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp butter, room temperature
2-3 cups powdered sugar

Break up chocolate and place in a heatproof bowl. In a small casserole, heat cream until just about boiling. Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate. Let sit for 1 minute then stir until combined. Next add the butter and vanilla and stir until combined.

Let cool for 10 minutes. Using a whisk or electric hand-beater, sift in powdered sugar one cup at a time beating after each addition. Continue adding sugar and beating until mixture is of good spreading consistency.

Optional : I added a few drops of orange coloring to make the color really pop.

For assembly, cut a small inverted cone out of the top of each cupcake and set aside. Spoon about 2 tbsp. cream filling into each cupcake. Cut off most of the cone/part that fits inside of the cupcake and replace cap on cupcake, eat scraps.



Once filled, frost cupcakes with an offset spatula or a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Eat, enjoy!

Come Join Our Party, See How We Play

1969. The year when peace, love and music ruled at Woodstock. The year when Charles Manson would gain infamy. The year when the NY Mets won their first World Series, “Midnight Cowboy” ruled at the box office, The Beatles’ “Come Together” rocked the charts, Sesame Street debuted on TV and Penthouse on the newsstands, the Concorde took its first flight and another Kennedy in the news: this time, young Teddy who drove his car off a bridge in Chappaquiddick.

1969. The year when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin captured the attention of millions of TV viewers the world over as they walked on the moon. “That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." It was also the year that yours came truly came into the world.



My mother’s due date was in fact 20 July 1969. I was to be born the day the lunar landing module touched down on the moon’s surface. Thankfully I had hunkered down in the uterus and came out 3 days late...barely escaping a fate that would have had me going by the name of “Luna.” No kidding. It’s the name my mom had picked out. Over the years, I have imagined hundreds of times my walk through the school hallways to the shouts of “Hey, here comes looney Luna!” You know how cruel kids can be.

Thankfully, in the days between the moon walk and my actual delivery, my mother happened to watch a film that starred Catherine Deneuve, and in seeing this beautiful actress grace the screen, she decided that would be a fitting first name. Or at least that’s the story as I have heard it.



What have I learned from this story? That try as you might, life will not always go as planned and you need to be flexible and take it all with a grain of salt. That if you are open to it, inspiration will come from the unlikeliest places. And that “One and one and one is three. Got to be good-looking ‘cause he’s so hard to see.”



I’ve also learned a few other things in the 40 years I have lived and loved and dreamed and done on this planet. And in honor of my 40th birthday, I thought I would share them with you, accompanied by some cupcakes I created specially for the occasion: Snickers Cupcakes – Peanut Butter Cupcakes with a Salted Caramel Center, Caramel/Milk Chocolate Ganache and Chopped Peanuts, & Lavender Loves Lemon Celebration Cupcakes for the IC:E July challenge, Herbs(recipe below). These are Lemon Verbena Poppyseed Cupcakes with a Lavender Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Frosting. And they are delicious! Light, creamy and lemony sweet with a fragrant lavender under-current.



40 Things I Have Learned in My 40 Trips Around the Sun, and Then Some…

1. Childbirth hurts…a lot! Though thankfully the body has a wonderful capacity for forgetting pain. Once they put that bundle of joy down on your chest for the very first time, you’ll be ready to do it all over again.

2. It does get easier the second time around.

3. You can never change a man.

4. Use sunscreen liberally and get that suspicious freckle checked out. It could save your life; it saved mine.

5. Fresh marker can be easily removed from a fabric couch with plain old milk dabbed on the stain with a washcloth.

6. Time really does heal all wounds.

7. Keep xeroxed copies of your (and your family members’) birth certificate, driver’s license, social security card, etc. somewhere safe; it will come in handy one day.

8. If you are renting a property in a remote corner of Italy and you have cat allergies, always make sure to ask if a cat has been living inside the house before reserving and traveling all the way to said location.

9. Nothing brings a smile to someone’s face faster than the gift of cupcakes!



10. It’s true that you can’t pick your family but you can choose your friends. The true ones will be at your side through thick and thin, and when you need them the most. Ditch the others and fast!

11. If a guy can’t be bothered to return your phone calls within a reasonable amount of time, thank you for something nice you’ve done or regularly breaks/”forgets” dates to hang out with his friends, play video games, etc., he’s giving you a hint. Move on!

12. Despite all the tears, time, anguish and nights gone without sleep stressing over your wedding planning, your wedding day will probably be just one long happy blur in the end. Don’t sweat the small stuff.

13. No matter what your age, you can reinvent yourself. If you have a passion, go for it! Realize it on a small scale if a larger scale just isn’t possible. If you apply yourself, you can be anything you dream of being.

14. 20 ounces tomato juice, 6 ounces (pepper) vodka, 2 dashes Tabasco, 1 dash Worcestershire sauce, a pinch celery salt, 2 twists fresh cracked pepper, and juice of 1 lemon. Combine all together with ice and shake. Perfect kick-ass Bloody Mary every time.

15. You can’t always get what you want. But if you try sometimes you just might find you get what you need.

16. Never wake a sleeping baby.

17. Those grates you see in the sidewalk all over Paris? The ones where the exhaust from the subway escapes? Don’t walk over those wearing a skirt unless you want to re-enact that famous Marilyn Monroe moment.

18. No matter how much you are drooling over those Manolo Blahniks, Jimmy Choos, (insert your fetish shoe brand here) that you’ve seen all the stars wear in the celebrity pages this season…the ones you have just found on sale for half price….if they don’t fit properly in the store, they never will. Do your feet (and your wallet) a favor and keep walking.

19. In the US, when you receive a negative response like “No, we can’t do that” or “I’m very sorry but it’s just not possible” it’s usually the end of a conversation. In France, it’s the opening salvo in a negotiation where it‘s more than likely you will ultimately get your way.

20. A lot of it boils down to being in the right place at the right time….and who you know. So get out there as often as you can, and schmooze!

21. The book is usually better than the movie. Though the movie better than the Broadway show.

22. When you are wrong, admit it. And learn from your mistakes! There is nothing more annoying than someone who always tries to put the blame on others, or who keeps doing the same stupid things over and over.

23. Learn how to take a compliment graciously.

24. No one will respect you unless you respect yourself. The same goes for believing in yourself.

25. You can’t cram a semester’s worth of lessons into one night of studying. No matter how much NoDoz you ingest or what your roommates may tell you.

26. 20 (hell even 5!) years after the fact, no one will really care what your major was in college. They in fact might not even care where you went to college. A study published a few years back in Fortune demonstrated the only thing that does matter is that you have a college degree, not where it came from.

27. Always remember, there is no reset button in life.

28. There’s nothing like a good night of sleep to give you a fresh perspective on a dilemma.

29. If you are going to lie, maintain eye contact. A sure give-away is looking up and to the right which indicates you are accessing the creative side of your brain.

30. Always have one great perfect dress at the ready. You never know when you may be invited to a last minute party or when that cute guy from the creative department is going to ask you out.

31. A tattoo is forever; choose your design wisely. If you are going to get inked with your significant other’s name or your favorite motto, for god’s sake, check the spelling on the outline before it’s permanently etched on your body.

32. While the occasional shopping spree may be good mental therapy, don’t live beyond your means. I’ve seen too many friends declare personal bankruptcy (some before the ripe old age of 30) to erase their debt. It’s tragic.

33. It’s never too early to teach your kids proper manners, the value of hard work, the difference between right and wrong, to be altruistic, how to practice good personal hygiene, and a love of baking.

34. Learn how to make one good dish and make it well. I happen to like this one. The same goes for a knock-out cocktail. See #14.

35. Liquor before beer, never fear. Beer before liquor, never sicker!

36. Never show up for a party empty-handed. See #9.

37. Love and be loved. Live and let live!

38. Be grateful for what you have instead of looking with envy at that which others possess. Be generous to those who are less fortunate than you -- remember, what you sow, you reap. I’ve always been a firm believer in what goes around comes around.

39. There is only so much you can blame on your parents, or your dysfunctional home life, or the manner in which you were raised, or that “trauma” that affected you as a teenager. (Like your sister stealing your 9th grade boyfriend, I’m not talking about abuse and other sick, serious crimes people commit against children here). Take responsibility for the person you are today; if you’re not happy with the way you look or a certain behavior you have, etc., stop sniveling, get off the couch and change it! TODAY! You are the master of your own destiny.

40. Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow, don’t stop, it’ll soon be here. It’ll be better than before. Yesterday’s gone. Yesterday’s gone.

41. If you have the chance to participate in a study abroad program while in college, do it! If you hate it, you’ll be home when the semester is over but at least you have given yourself the chance to see the world, experience a new culture, learn new customs and flirt in a foreign language!

42. When making baked goods, always use the best quality ingredients you can afford. You really can taste the difference.

43. Strive to learn one new thing every day. Okay, at least once a week if you are lazy like me.



44. Know how to throw a party: invite all your close friends and cool people you want to know better, buy several bottles of bubbly, bake up some cupcakes (or have someone bake them for you!), slip into something sexy and fun, break out your favorite I-pod Playlist and party all night long!



I'm still working on the "learn to age gracefully" bit. My brain is having a hard time processing the fact that I am actually 40 years old today. In my heart and mind, I am still that wild, free-spirited 25 year-old I used to know. Though I guess it is all relative; as my mother-in-law told me yesterday, "Wait until you are 50, 60 or 65 years-old! I would do anything to be 40 again!"


Lavender Loves Lemon Celebration Cupcakes
Makes about 1 Dozen

4 ozs. unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 pinch salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup hot water
1 teabag verbena
2 tsps. poppy seeds

1. Place verbena in the 1/4 cup hot water and allow to steep while you prepare the batter.
2. Cream sugar and butter until light and moussey. Add egg and mix.
3. Add baking soda, salt and vanilla and mix again.
4. Add 1/3 flour and mix. Add 1/2 buttermilk and mix. Alternate adding flour and buttermilk and mixing after each, ending on a flour addition.
5. Discard teabag, add verbena infused water and mix.
6. Mix in lemon zest, juice and poppy seeds.
7. Fill cupcake liners 2/3rds full and place in a 350 degree oven for about 18 minutes. Cupcakes are done when a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
8. Remove from oven and let cupcakes cool on a grill.

Lavender Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 stick butter
1 8oz package of cream cheese
1/2 vanilla bean
2-3 cups confectioner's sugar
3-4 drops of purple food coloring
1 tbsp. lavender flowers
1/2 cup heavy cream

1. Heat cream over medium heat, add lavender and allow to sit undisturbed for a few minutes while flowers steep. Remove from heat and let cool 30 minutes, strain cream, discard flowers, set aside.
2. Combine softened butter and cream cheese and mix well.
3. Add about half of the confectioner's sugar and lavender-infused cream to the butter/cream cheese mixture and beat to combine.
4. Using the point of a sharp knife, remove vanilla beans from pod and mix in well.
5. Add remaining confectioner's sugar in stages until desired consistency and sweetness is achieved.
6. Add purple food coloring (I like Wilton's gel) and mix until consistent color is reached.

Last but not least, I am competing for the June ETSY PRIZE-PACK:

* A sweet cupcake ID bracelet by INSANEJELLYFISH
* A delicious treat from CIRCLEMONKEY
* a sweet surprise from Sweet Cuppin' Cakes Cupcakery
* PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth can not forget our good friend, CAKESPY who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice - sweet!

Last and certainly not least, don’t forget our corporate prize providers: HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS, HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, JESSIE STEELE APRONS, TASTE OF HOME books, and a t-shirt from UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM. Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers.

You're Out of Touch, I'm Out of Time

I have had this little Hall & Oates ditty circling 'round my brain for the past week as on several occasions I've realized just how far removed I am from my former life and native country. I've always considered myself to be a pretty savvy girl, so you can imagine my surprise when I found out waaaaaay after the fact that Jay Leno had taped his final Tonight Show. When did this happen? And why wasn't I told? And this wasn't the only incident!

I've been looking for an apartment to rent in my old neighborhood for a trip later this year, and wouldn't you know when I asked the owner of one potential place if she was down the street from x restaurant...you know the one...where all the celebs on Page 6 (the NY Post still exists doesn't it?) are photographed, there was just radio silence on the other end. Followed by a "Oh, I think I know which one you mean. Yeah, they closed a loooong time ago. There's a Starbuck's there now."

So, no, I don't know why everyone is gaga over Lady Gaga. Or who this Jon and Kate really are (except I gather they have lots of kids and he has some commitment issues!). I don't know who won American Idol or Dancing with the Stars, and has Izzie (whoever that is) been killed off of Grey's Anatomy yet?



It's tough being an expat sometimes and being so far from where I came from. It's like living in a time warp or a parallel universe where the place I started at still exists but for me it's the NY/America of 2003 while for everyone else, time has moved on and life has continued.

This is a roundabout way to get to the cupcakes today but just wanted to get that off my chest. It's had me kind of down lately and guess I'm feeling a little "out of touch." Thankfully, I have expat friends here who can totally relate to the America of long, long ago that we all come from! Many of our conversations include the "Did you ever watch/see/go to/eat etc.?" and there will inevitably be lots of "Yes, I love those!" in response. One of these recent conversations centered on a good old American favorite - the Reese's Peanut Butter cup - which I gather is one of our most coveted and missed snack foods here (though being the savvy girl I am, know that these can be found at Monoprix from time to time on Ave des Ternes - pass it on!).



An expat friend (though she is Franco-American, so only half of her qualifies) invited us to a BBQ this weekend to which I offered to bring cupcakes. I know she loves peanut butter - in fact, security check took 2 jars off her mom at the airport recently cause apparently it's not allowed in your check-on - and was in on the Peanut Butter cup conversation. I headed to my "go to" site for recipes to find something suitable. The following comes from Chockylit who I wish with all my heart would come back to cupcake blogging. She truly knows how to work a cupcake! Maybe in a parallel universe she is hard at work, happy and blogging away, and one of these days, "out of touch" me will finally discover this!

This is the cupcake version of a Reese's Peanut Butter cup and is one of the most delicious cupcakes you will ever taste. It takes some time to bake, make and assemble but I guarantee it is worth the effort. Creamy peanut butter filling, rich chocolate ganache and a light, airy chocolate cake which balances it all out. I'm reposting the recipe but gotta give Chockylit 2 whisks up for this excellent recipe!

Peanut Butter Filled Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache

Chocolate Cupcakes
24 regular cupcakes / 350 degree oven



5.4 ounces dark chocolate or 3/4 of a 200 gram bar of Valrhona 61% cocao
22 tablespoons butter
1-3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
6 eggs
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
4-1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder, unsweetened
1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt

1. Melt chocolate and butter over a water bath.
2. Add sugar and stir, let mixture cool for 10 minutes.
3. Beat in an electric mixer for 3 minutes.
4. Add one egg at a time, mixing for 30 seconds between each
5. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and a pinch of salt into the mixture and mix until blended.
6. Scoop into cupcake cups and bake at 350 F for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Peanut Butter Filling
(note and update via Chockylit)

4 ounces or 1/2 package of Philly cream cheese
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk

1. Beat cream cheese and peanut butter until combined.
2. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until combined.
3. Add the milk and beat until combined.



Note: This makes a pretty stiff mixture, like the center of a peanut butter cup. If you want something pipe-able, you could add more milk. I wanted to retain the strong peanut butter flavor, so I kept the milk to a minimum.

Update: I think that the filling was too thick. As I was eating a cupcake (I managed to resist them until late last night) the peanut butter filling fell out onto the plate. It wasn't too terribly hard to stick back on the cupcake, but if I were to do these again, I would add more milk to the filling.

Chocolate Ganache

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
5 ounces semisweet chocolate
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon butter, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar

1. Chop chocolates and transfer into a heat proof bowl.
2. Heat cream until bubbles form around the edge of the pan, pour cream over the chocolate.
3. Let sit for 1 minute then stir until combined.
4. Add butter and vanilla and stir until combined.
5. Transfer to the bowl of an electric mixture and let cool for 10 minutes.
6. Sift powdered sugar into the mixture and beat until combined.
7. Continue to beat with an electric mixer until lighter in color and creamy.

Assembly
1. Using a small pairing knife, cut off the top of the cupcake in the shape of a cone. Flip the top over and cut off the cone.
2. Fill the cavity with a teaspoon or so of peanut butter filling.
3. Replace top.
4. Frost with ganache.
5. Decorate as you wish. I topped the cupcakes with fondant and peanut butter flowers.

Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?

I first heard this song when I was working for Burger's King's ad agency. We were using it as part of a campaign for the Whopper highlighting the many different ways you could order it (cause after all, "at Burger King, you can always have it your way." Yes, after working for them for 10 years, the brainwashing still works!). This is a pretty groovy cover of the song by Thao; it was originally recorded by The Lovin' Spoonful. I'm not sure what is going on with the sock puppets in the video but they're kind of cute and I just like 'em!



This song really struck a chord with me as I am one of the most indecisive people you will ever meet. I think it's due to the fact that I was born between signs; that is, my birthday is on the cusp of when Cancer goes into Leo.



The thing you should know about me is that because I never can make up my mind, it is very easy to influence my decisions. Present me with a good argument and I'll buy it. So much so, that I often find myself arguing other people's point of view convinced that it is my own.



Now that's not to say that I am a pushover because I will definitely stand my ground til the end of time. I just have a really hard time deciding what to do...this weekend, for dinner, with my life, etc.



Which brings me to the receiver of today's cupcakes. A 3 year-old named Sienna. She saw a picture of the cupcakes I made last week for the Agence Ludique and decided on the spot all she really wanted for her birthday was some green mice cupcakes (or so says her mom. I'm sure her wish list must include a Dora DVD, maybe a princess costume, or a new ball for the park. Well, that's what my daughter wants anyway!).



I really admire Sienna's ability to make up her mind and hope that I one day grow up to be as decisive as she is!



To go along with the green mice, I put together some other four-legged, no-legged and winged beasties for a garden animal party theme. These are a mix of cupcakes from the Black & Whites menu: Rogue, Storm, Vanilla Lovers and Chocolate Squared cupcakes topped with marzipan and marshmallow fondant designs.

Daring Bakers Challenge - Cheesecakelets

Strawberry, Raspberry, Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Ripple, Turtle, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Key Lime, Chocolate Coconut Cream, Pumpkin, Oreo, Dutch Apple Caramel, Chocolate Tuxedo Cream, Tiramisu, Dulche de Leche, Chocolate Mousse, Vanilla Bean, Kahlua Cocoa Coffee, White Chocolate Raspberry....Have I hit a flavor that tempts you yet? What do these all have in common you may ask? Look no further than the Cheesecake Factory's Cheesecake Menu and you will find these and many other delicious, mouth-watering flavors.



When we last lived in NYC, we had the Little Pie Company right around the corner from us and we went through a phase where we hit that joint weekly for their cheesecake and a few other goodies. Problem was they were a small business at the time and after a few months, I started getting a complex that I was maybe going there a little bit too frequently....that their employees were starting to notice those extra bumps and curves I was packing thanks to their sweet treats, and so I decided to back off for a while (and head to the gym a little more often).



The one offer I would never turn down though was a lunch and slice of cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory in Miami on one of the many monthly pit-stops I used to make there when I worked for Burger King's ad agency. I have many fond memories of dining there with my former colleagues Pat & Holly; we would usually spend a couple of hours there between early morning meetings at BK HQ and the jaunt to Miami International to catch our flight back to NYC dishing about our Clients and bemoaning their reactions to whatever it was that we were presenting that day. Nothing made tolerating even the worst Client meeting better than a slice of Vanilla Bean or Oreo Cheesecake.



I was so ecstatic when the April Daring Baker challenge was announced and low and behold, it was cheesecake! This is hands-down one of my favorite desserts and I will never refuse a slice when offered. (Even when it came on the heels of a meeting where I sampled about 20 different Whopper sandwiches as part of R&D -- true story!).



The other day I was walking past a restaurant in my neighborhood that proclaims it serves the "Best Cheesecake in Paris." They apparently even won an award for it. I have been steering clear of them since. In the meantime, I am happy to content myself with the recipe you'll find below.



The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge. I decided to reduce this down to cupcake form, or cheesecakelets, and made 4 varieties:
- Abbey's as it is published below which yields a nice creamy slightly lemon-flavored cheesecake
- A Pecan Caramel Variety (Pecan crust with caramel de sel de Guerande topping)
- A White Chocolate & Strawberry/Rose Petal Variety (white chocolate cheesecake topped with fresh strawberries and a strained strawberry/confit de rose petal sauce)
- A Triple Chocolate Variety (dark chocolate crust with a 2-layer cheesecake - milk chocolate and white chocolate topped with milk chocolate shavings).



Here is the recipe. You can make this as a regular size cheesecake or do as I did and render it into cheesecakelets. I halved the recipe and ended up with 12 regular-size cheesecakelets. Enjoy! And many thanks to Jenny for this awesome and so simple recipe!

Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake:

Crust:
2 cups / 180 g graham cracker crumbs (I used crushed Speculoos cookies)
1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted
2 tbsp. / 24 g sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Cheesecake:
3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature (In Paris, you can find Philly cream cheese at specialty cheese stores or the American groceries. For this recipe, I used a mix of approximately 3/5 Mme. Loik fromage nature, 1/5 St. Moret and 1/5 creme fraiche. Next time I will definitely use the Philly cause nothing really compares!)
1 cup / 210 g sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)
1 tbsp liqueur, optional, but choose what will work well with your cheesecake

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (Gas Mark 4 = 180C = Moderate heat). Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan (I used a lined cupcake tin). You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker's choice. Set crust aside.

3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and alcohol and blend until smooth and creamy.

4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. (If making cheesecakelets, you will want to fill each cupcake liner to just about the very top.) Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes (my cheesecakelets were ready in 21 minutes), until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill (You really do need to do this. I tried one about 2 hours after it came out of the oven and was not at all happy with the result. After letting them sit overnight in the fridge, they were excellent). Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.



Little Miss Cupcake Varieties:
Pecan Caramel:
When you throw your cookies into the food processor add in about 1/2 cup of pecans. After the cheescakelets have chilled, top with homemade caramel sauce. Make it more savory by using salted butter or throw in some sel de Guerande - coarse sea salt.

White Chocolate & Strawberry/Rose Petal:
At Step 3 of the original recipe, melt about 100 grams of white chocolate with the cream. Let cool for a few minutes and then stir into the cheesecake filling ingredients. For the topping, slice strawberries, mix with some granulated sugar and allow to sit for a few hours in the fridge. Once cheesecakelets have chilled, top with sliced strawberries and then mix some of the juice that has accumulated in the bottom of the bowl with some rose petal jelly. Pour over tops.

Triple Chocolate:
Replace butter in original crust recipe above with about 100 grams melted dark chocolate. For the filling, mix all ingredients except for the cream and divide into two bowls. For the milk chocolate layer, add a few tbsps. cocoa powder to 1/2 cup cream and then mix into one bowl. Use this mixture to cover crust in pan half-way. For the white chocolate layer, repeat as above in White Chocolate & Strawberry/Rose Petal variety and pour this mixture over the milk chocolate layer. Once cheesecakes have cooled, use a carrot peel to make milk chocolate curls for decoration.



**To see more Daring Bakers' cheesecake creations, please visit our Flickr Group : Daring Bakers Look Good**

Happy 1400th Cupcake Day to Me!

When I started baking for other people a few months back, I figured it would be mostly friends who rang me up for cupcakes. Yesterday, I had a client from Australia (more on that below) and today, I finished off a box of 1400 cupcake liners I bought back in December! Wow, how the time flies when you are having fun! A big thank you to all of you out there who continue to support me in this endeavor.

I don't know if it's cause the markets are rallying (at the time of this writing) or cause the moon is in the 7th house, but people have been clamoring for cupcakes this week. I wasn't even this busy over the holidays! So here in photos is what I have been up to this week...

Little Miss Morsels:
A new product on my menu. The ones pictured are Kiss Kiss Bang Bang cupcake bites -- they come in several varieties but I recommend the chocolates -- made as a gift for the staff at a customer's daycare. What did she say about them?



"The creche staff ranted and raved today at pick-up. They can't even deal with how good they were. Yes, were. Not one was left by the afternoon. You have a total hit on your hands!!! I'll be ordering more in the future!!!"

Somewhere Beyond the Sea:
Nemo has long been one of our favorite movies. When I started working on these cupcakes for a birthday party with an underwater theme, my son went bonkers. He wanted me to recreate every sea creature in the movie. Which I would have liked to have done but as it is, I spent 3 nights molding and shaping these guys made from marshmallow fondant and marzipan.



I liked the starfish and their googly eyes the best.



My son came up with the idea for the electric eel. Much better than the simple sand dollars I had in mind!



Here's a close-up of an octopus which I think came out well.



Bake Like (and For) a Rock Star:
Here's the order that was called in from Australia....



for an American....



who happened to be in Paris for his birthday.



What was he doing here? Oh, he just happens to be one of the guys from sunny California's Machine Head. They were opening up for Metallica who were playing back-to-back sold-out shows. He's apparently a chocoholic so the request here was for Kiss Kiss Bang Bang red velvets and Chocolate Squared. I couldn't resist the Eiffel Tower gummies. Let's hope these gave him extra energy for last night's show.

Monkey See, Monkey Do:
My friend's son, James, is 3 tomorrow. He's an adorable kid and loves all things dinosaur, lion, etc. The design for these come from Hello, Cupcake!



They are Caramel Dolce lions (which you have seen here before) and Lemon Tart Monkeys. It was while I was baking these this morning that I used my 1400th liner. Woo Hoo!



Marguerites for Marguerite:
And last but not least, some cupcakes for Marguerite's baptism. A marguerite is a daisy in French so I thought these were fitting.



I paid 23 euros (!!!) without tax for these daisy cutters yesterday but I love how they came out. Simple and beautiful.



These are marzipan roses on Berry Berry Good strawberry cupcakes, and,



Marshmallow fondant daisies on Storm cupcakes.



Hungry yet? As I always say, For Every Occasion, a Cupcake and so glad Little Miss Cupcake could be a part of so many of your special occasions these last few months. Here's to 1400 more!!!! ;)

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