Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

Hi all!
Here is a much requested recipe. I've made it a few times but since it's kind of labor intensive I forgot to take pictures as I went along. This time Matt was around to help take pictures. This is one of my favorite desserts because it combines dark beer, whiskey, baileys, whipped cream and chocolate, oh my! So many of my favorites and such a treat!

 Like I said its pretty involved so I took LOTS of pictures. I found a way to cheat the recipe a bit to make it a little less intensive (box mix rather than from scratch), and I prefer a whipped cream icing instead of a buttercream but if you'd like, here is the original link:
http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2011/03/14/irish-car-bomb-cupcakes/

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

 

Cupcakes:
1 1/4 c. stout beer
1 Box dark chocolate cake, devils food, whatever is chocolate and you have on hand
 3 eggs (or whatever the box calls for
1/3 c. oil (or unsweetened Apple Sauce! Whatever your box calls for)

For the Whiskey Ganache Filling:
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1 Tbs Whiskey

Baileys whipped cream icing:
1/4 c. Bailey's Irish Cream
3/4 c. skim milk
1 c. heavy whipping cream -whipped
1 box Jello pudding (vanilla or white chocolate flavor)

1. To Make the Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pans with 22-24 liners.
 Make the cake per the manufacture's instructions except add Stout beer instead of water.

Divide the batter among the cupcake liners.

This is one of the big tablespoons that come with a 5 piece set. You know the kind you rarely use unless you really want some ice cream or cereal with big pieces.

By using this spoon I fill the cupcake liners 1/2 full. After you see what happens after baking you'll notice I may have filled them a bit too full.

This cupcake liner is half FULL not half empty!

Bake until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 19-23 minutes. Cool the cupcakes.

Opps, too full!

3. Time To Make the Whiskey Ganache Filling! 
Dump 8 oz of semi sweet chocolate chips in a bowl.

Heat the cream in the microwave for 1 minute and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then, using a whisk, stir it from the center outward until smooth.

Poof like magic! You have ganache!

Add the butter and whiskey and stir until combined. If the butter doesn't melt, put the chocolate mix into the microwave for 45 seconds.

Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped.

4. How To Fill the Cupcakes :
Shave off the tops of the over filled or lopsided cupcakes. Then, using a sharp pointy knife, cut a hole (~ the size of your thumb and 3/4" deep)  out of the flattened cupcake. It is very important that the cupcakes and ganche are cooled. The first time I made these the ganache was not cool enough and soaked into the cupcakes. This made the pocket open to get more Bailey's frosting so they came out more like a hostess cupcake rather than a chocolate wonder.

I let the cupcakes cool over night so that's my big blue robe in the background and Clifford sharing some couch time with me and the cupcakes. Isn't he a good boy for not trying to swipe one? I know, that's a pretty sad Weimeraner look but he got yogurt on his food for breakfast so he's not as pitiful as he looks. He's well taken care and loved!

Examples of cupcakes kind of like goldie locks , this one's off center, this one's too tall, and this one is juuuusssstttt right (even if it is a little over filled).

This is my other observer. Gypsy was just making sure the cupcakes were cut properly

I had to add this one too because Gypsy was using her best levitation skills to bring a piece of cake to her. Sadly this isn't a Volkswagen commercial  or a french revolution and she didn't get to eat cake.

Shaving off the top of the cupcake, using a serrated knife

To keep the last part from ripping off, I put my finger on the top of the cupcake and sawed through the last 1/2. This technique worked pretty well and kept my fingers away from the blades which is always a problem for accident prone me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Awkward picture time!!! Me trying to show how to cut a circle. Works best if you look below and see I used a 45 degree angle most of the time to create a crater out of the cupcake

Better idea of how you should do this.

The removal! Look at the size compared to my thumb. Just a wee bit bigger.

Pipe the cooled ganache into the crater you've just created

Ahhhh, the poor man's piping bag! I can never keep piping bags clean and all the tips organized so 95% of the time I just do this and it works great!

All filled and ready to go!

5. Time To Make the Baileys Frosting!
Whip the whipping cream. It took about 2 minutes of high speed whipping to go from liquid to soft peaks.

Measure out the baileys (1/4 c., but can go up to 1/3 c.) and add skim milk until the final volume is 1 c. (i.e. 1/4 c. baileys + 3/4 c. milk)

Baileys + milk= YUM!

Add the pudding mix to the milk and baileys and whisk until combined

Do this quickly so it doesn't set too much

Fold the pudding mix into the whipped cream

Place the icing in the fridge for about 30 minutes so it becomes a bit less soupy.
Pipe the icing over the cupcakes! Keep them in a cool place or the refrigerator until they are ready to serve.

The poor man's piping bag returns!!!

What you can't see if my tongue sticking outside the corner of my mouth as I concentrating really hard to make the swirlies

This is why I couldn't be a cake decorator, it took me WAY too long to decorate each cupcake

Whew! One done!

Swirlies!

Here is what the cupcakes look like if you bisect them

That's fun, alcoholic, and delicious! TRIFECTA!

Ok, LOTS of pictures on this one because its more technically difficult, but if I can do it, you can do it! The original recipe had quite a few more steps, so I just threw out the ones I didn't like or thought I could do more efficiently, and here is what you get.
Enjoy this one, make it on an weekend, take them to a party, and have fun! Just don't cut your fingers off or burn yourself on chocolate and be sure to taste the icing by itself! Its addicting!
Happy Eating!

Sweet Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin

Hello all!
I know I said in my last blog that I'm not a fan of mixing my sweet and savory, but there is one food which I make this concession...Pork. There are so many great ways to do pork loin which include fruit or juices that it just begs to be a sweet and savory dish! This recipe is no exception, and its even better because the crockpot does the majority of the work! So toss your pork loin in and come back a few hours later to make the sauce and its done! The sauce was almost like a sweet and sour, terriaki sort but not quite. It was its own unique flavor that was great! Matt was thrilled with the results and happily had some for lunch the next day.
As always, here is the original link: http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2011/09/sweet-balsamic-glazed-pork-loin-slow-cooker.html

Sweet Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin

Ingredients:

Pork Loin:

2 pound boneless pork loin roast, trimmed of large fat pockets
1 teaspoon ground sage
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (or kosher salt)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 clove garlic, finely minced or crushed
1/2 cup water

Glaze:

1/2 cup brown sugar, light or dark
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce

In a small bowl, combine the sage, salt, pepper and garlic. 

Originally I only had sea salt, but you couldn't see it, so I added some pink Himalayan salt. But you can use plain old sea salt and it will be just fine!

Rub the spices all over the roast.

Not so easy when the pork loin is still frozen, but do the best that you can!

 Place the pork roast in the slow cooker and pour in the 1/2 cup water. 

See? I just sprinkled some on the top after I rubbed it on the bottom. I also made sure to put it in the crockpot fat side down. This will help keep the meat from getting over cooked.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. 

Looks pretty good, huh?

 Near the end of the cooking time for the roast, combine the ingredients for the glaze in a small saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil whisking constantly, then reduce and let the mixture simmer, stirring occasionally, until it thickens. 

Remove the pork from the slow cooker, shred and place on a platter or plate.

And this is where it went wrong... I didn't expect for the pork loin to fall apart when I tried to pull it out of the cooker, but it did and then went SPLASH back in the slow cooker, splashing juices all over the kitchen counter and the food saver. Learn from my mistake and use tongs!

Ok, so I got most of it out with the fork, but had to get the rest out with tongs. Using tongs originally would have kept my kitchen much cleaner

Drizzle the glaze over the pork and serve.

This was very very nice! The flavors blended nicely and it was so moist! I even forgave the mess it made when it plopped back into the crockpot when I tasted the finished dish. Best part is that you really only need a few minutes after the crockpot is done to make the sauce and then its ready to go!
Happy eating!

Meme's Yellow Squash casserole

Hi all!
Today's recipe was not great, but has lots of potential. It came from the cookbook, "Basic to Brilliant, Ya'll" and has lost of great ingredients but was missing just a bit of something. I'm pretty sure I know where I went wrong so we'll start with that. I used whole grain club crackers which had sugar added to them which made my crumb topping sweet. This would have been great with an apple crisp (hmmm...) but not so much with a savory dish. I really don't like to mix my sweets and savories, so this didn't tickle my taste buds. Rather than using the club crackers I think I would have been better off using plain ol' bread crumbs. Also, I think it could have used a bit of extra seasoning. Matt put some of trader Joe's South African Smoke which has paprika flakes, sea salt, garlic, and basil in it. I'm guessing the paprika is smoked because it has a great smokey flavor and definitely perked up the squash casserole. So keep this in mind, find some of your favorite spices and seasoning and add it to the mix!
So even without that stellar review, I'm still going to blog about it because it has so much potential and could be really nice if we tweek it just a bit. If you make it and find something you like adding to it, please comment below so we can share. I'm pretty sure a tablespoon of thyme might just be the thing it needs, but until then, I'd love to hear your suggestions as well!

Meme's Yellow Squash Casserole

Ingredients:
2 Tbs unsalted butter
2 Tbs canola oil
1 onion, preferably vidalia, chopped
3 yellow squashes cut 1/4 inch thick
2 zucchini  cut 1/4 inch thick
Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
2 large eggs
1 c. low-fat evaporated milk
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese (I used 2%  low fat cheddar cheese)
2 c. bread crumbs (the recipe called for bread crumbs or club crackers, and club crackers were yucky)

Pre-heat oven  to 400F & spray baking dish with PAM or canola spray
Cut up veggies and set aside

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, 3-5 minutes.

Add the yellow squash and zucchini. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until tender, 3-5 minutes.

I think I cooked the veggies too long because they ended up a bit soggy

Transfer veggies to a bowl with a slotted spoon to leave any liquid that has cooked out of the veggies behind in the pan.

 Add eggs, evaporated milk, and cheese. Stir to combine.

Transfer the veggie mix to the baking dish.

Sprinkle with bread crumbs and dot with butter.

Bake until veggies are tender and the topping is lightly browned ~30 minutes.

Serve warm, and if you don't like how it comes out, I'm sure you could find someone who will like it

Clifford LOVED the left-overs I couldn't finish!

It's a simple dish and like I said its got some pretty good ingredients (mostly veggies), but it needs some extra zing to make it extraordinary. I'm pretty sure the biggest hurdle would be to use regular bread crumbs instead of the cracker crumbs. 

Happy eating!