Having Your Cake

After a particularly heavy and delicious dinner, my father customarily asks, "What's for dessert?" often referencing an imaginary double-decker fudge cake that our imaginary maid has slaved over all day.



The recipe for this cake is simple enough, considering I used a box mix for the actual cake.
Since ease and speed were the goals of this whole operation, I used the recipe for chocolate frosting on the back of our Hershey's Cocoa container. If you are interested in making the cake as well, there's also a recipe for a corresponding cake on the label.



I have to say that the cake was pretty good, but the frosting was spectacular. The consistency was perfectly spreadable, but stiff enough to hold its shape; the balance between sugar and chocolate was ultimately delicious.

Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Frosting
Makes about 2 cups

1/2 cup butter or margarine
2/3 cup cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a glass container, melt the butter in the microwave. Add cocoa to melted butter.

Alternately add the powdered sugar and milk, beating on medium speed, until spreading consistency is reached.

If needed, add more milk. Stir in vanilla. Frost your cake!

Cupcake Army

The cover of the February edition of Martha Stewart Living featured a bunch of cupcakes with varying shades of fluffy frosting all displayed in the shape of a heart. This was probably done to get ladies (and guys) all pumped up to make cupcakes. Naturally, after seeing the cover, I was all pumped up to make cupcakes.



I had a Girl Scout meeting coming up, so I decided to make basic yellow butter cupcakes and top them off with the peanut butter frosting that was featured in the cupcake article. The original recipe called for a dollop of grape jelly on top, but I decided to use a different method. I picked out one large, pretty frosting tip and piped it onto the cupcakes. Then I added various things I found in the cabinet - basically, Reese's Pieces and giant milk chocolate chips. I even brought chopped nuts to the meeting as an option.



Overall, these were some pretty good cupcakes. The actual cake part was tender, springy, and buttery. The frosting, however, had a very unique taste. I was skeptical to begin with about the combination of cream cheese and peanut butter. The result was good, but it took a little getting used to. A lot of the girls who ate them loved it, but it took me a while to realize the depth of the flavor.



Yellow Butter Cupcakes
Makes 3 dozen regular-sized cupcakes

3 cup cake flour, sifted
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups (9 ounces) unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
5 large eggs, plus 3 large yolks, room temperature
2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.

Whisk flours, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.

Reduce speed to low. Mix buttermilk and vanilla with butter mixture. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with wet ingredients, and ending with dry. Scrape sides of bowl, and divide batter among muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full.

Bake cupcakes until testers inserted into centers come out clean, about 20 minutes.


Peanut Butter Frosting
Makes about 1 1/2 cups

6 ounces cream cheese
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup creamy peanut butter (not natural!)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy cream

Beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar with a mixer on medium speed. Add salt, then peanut butter, then vanilla.

In another bowl, whisk cream until soft peaks form, then fold into peanut butter mixture. Use immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.