Rocky Road

Not long ago, I tried a local cupcake sweetry called Gigi’s. I ordered a have dozen cupcakes of a variety of flavors to spur on my own creative juices. Confession: I ate then all myself! So as I often do…I ate each cupcake thinking how I could make it better. My top candidate for a makeover was the Rocky Road. Now in all fairness, I am sure Gigi’s cupcake would have been perfect if it had been fresh. However, a few days later not so much. It was good after I heated it up and added ice cream. But as my avid readers know, I do not do good rather I create magic. So off to the drawing board I went. Now one thing you need to know is perfection does not always need to be made from scratch. There are cases such as this that magic comes from a box with a little tweaking. May I recommend if you ever need a delicious chocolate cake in a hurry try this easy mix with chocolate chips. The icing for these cupcakes involved chocolate gauche which I have never attempted before so I went completely by the book or in this case my new favorite blog…http://howtoeatacupcake.net/2008/03/rocky-road-cupcakes.html.

Rocky Road Cupcakes

1 triple chocolate fudge cake mix
1 1/3 cup of water
½ cup of vegetable oil
3 eggs

1 teaspoon of almond flavor
1 cup of chocolate chucks (or chocolate chips)

Preheat oven @ 350 degrees. Mix the first four ingredients together for about two minutes. Fold in chocolate chucks. Spoon into cupcake wrappers. Bake for 20 minutes.

Chocolate Gauche

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup mini marshmallows
½ cup chocolate covered or plain almonds, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup chocolate chucks

Put the chocolate, butter, condensed milk, and salt in a heatproof bowl or the top of a double boiler and place it over, but not touch­ing, a saucepan of barely simmering water (or the bottom of the double boiler). Cook, stirring constantly, until the chocolate and butter have melted and the frosting is smooth and thick, about 5 minutes. Remove from the water and stir in the vanilla. Scrape the chocolate mixture into a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer at medium speed until the frosting thickens further and cools to lukewarm (so it won’t melt the marshmallows), about 3 minutes. When thickened, the beaters should form lines in the frosting. Fold in marshmallows, almonds, and chocolate chips. Allow the frosting to thicken until it’s a spread able consistency that won’t run down the sides of the cupcakes. (Just play around with it, you’ll know when it’s ready.) Let the cup­cakes sit uncovered until the frosting firms up, about 1 hour. These cupcakes are best stored in a covered container to protect the frosting; store for up to 3 days at room temperature.

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

One of favorite fall treats are Caramel Apples. A few weeks ago, I was strolling through the produce section when this glorious display of caramel apples caught my eye. I did what any pregnant woman would do and ripped open the package to bite into that sweet juice absolutely delicious fall treat. As I stood there licking the caramel off my figures, the strangers now staring at the pregnant woman eating in the middle of the store meant nothing to me because all I could think about was how great it would be to make this wonderful sweet into a whole batch of cupcakes. Thus, my caramel apple cupcakes were born!

Apple Cupcakes

2 sticks butter (room temperature)
1 cup and 2 tablespoons sugar
2 cup of all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
4 eggs
1 ½ cups unsweetened applesauce
2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of nutmeg
2 cups finely chopped apples (I used one Gala and one Fuji)

Cream together butter, sugar, eggs. Mix together flour, salt, baking powder. Add flour to cream mixture. Mix in applesauce, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Fold in chopped apples. Fill cupcake wrappers. Bake at 350 for 25 min. Eat some hot out of the oven before proceeding to frost the others. I thought they tasted just like apple pie filling.

Thick Caramel
1/2 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup6 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon heavy cream1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups of nuts (garnish)

Bring the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and sweetened condensed milk to a boil over medium-high heat stirring to combine. With a wooden spoon, stir all ingredients together and then slowly add the heavy cream. Continue to stir for about 20 minutes until the caramel reached 248 degrees. It is important to continuously stir the mixture and to allow it to reach temperature.Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and salt. Transfer to a bowl and continue to stir for 2-3 minutes allowing the caramel to cool slightly. Drizzle caramel on top of the cupcakes. Sprinkle with nuts.

Tin Angel

The Tin Angel on Westend Avenue is one of those places that you have probably driven by a hundred times thinking someday you should check that place out. If you walk the block, Tin Angel is known as the local eatery around the corner where every one is greeted by a friendly face. The restaurant has a warm and cozy environment. The brick walls and tin ceiling are covered with unique works of art. The menu is as colorful and well decorated as the atmosphere featuring traditional American cuisine. The chefs are on a constant quest to seek out the most flavorful, inventive, seasonal dishes possible to display on their menu. As a result, the food is nothing short of amazing. If your in the area around the lunch hour, try some local favorites such as the Margarita Pizza, Parthenon Pita, In side Out Eggplant Parmigiana, or Chicken Basil Brie. For dinner, treat your taste buds with the unique flavors of Seared Pork Tenderloin, Tangerine Duck, Catfish Pomme de Terre, or Cha-Cha Chicken. Whether you walk through the doors at noon or at sunset, you must try their Fried Green Tomatoes with Horseradish sauce.

Nashville Originals

Nashville Originals is a dedicated band of local restaurateurs; dedicated to the challenge of sustaining the independent restaurant as a feature and a fixture of local culture and community. What and where you eat, as Nashvillians, helps define the city. Their home grown restaurants reflect who we are and point the way in the future development of the city. From September 15th until the 21st, Nashville Originals are bringing the first annual restaurant week to town to give a happy time to diners. They will be featuring the finest cuisines at a very affordable price in an attempt to showcase the restaurants best elements. This is a win/win for all parties involved. Check out http://www.nashvilleoriginals.com/restaurantweek.php for a list of local eatterys that are aprt of this special offer. In the mean time....Gather, eat, enjoy life in the restaurants that are Nashville Originals.

Crayola Cupcakes

For the past ten years, I have had the honor to be apart of one family as their Nani. Quite often people ask me what is a Nani...well in the girls' words a Nani is better than a baby sitter but not quite the mommy. A few weeks ago, I kept the girls for a few days while the boys were at camp and their parents escapes for a romantic getaway. During that time, we had more fun than possibly imaginable swimming, picking berries, and of course cooking. Eliza, 8, loves helping in the kitchen and Georgia, 5, is my little foodie. With this in mind, I came up with special kid friendly cupcakes great for a rainy day or a colorfully creative party. First we, mixed up a regular box of yellow cake batter. Then we added a little vanilla flavoring to give the cake a richer taste, but you could add any flavoring you want. Next, we divided the batter equally into three bowls. After dividing the batter, add several drops of food coloring to each bowl and stir. I would recommend using colors that have a drastic contrast. Then scoop a large spoonful of each color in the cupcake tins until they are filled almost to the top. Bake as directed on the box. When the cupcakes are completely cooled, ice them and decorate them. We chose to ice ours in vanilla and roll them in colored sugar. Since these cupcakes were so bright and colorful we decided to call them Crayola Cupcakes. The girls loved making these cupcakes...even more than that they loved eating them! I hope that some day this recipe can help create a memorable afternoon with your favorite little ones too!

The Queen’s Delight

A few weeks ago, my friend, Julie, was having a birthday celebration. Her boyfriend, Chris, had heard that I made delicious cupcakes so he asked me to make her chocolate cupcakes with white icing. Apparently no one told him that I don’t make just any cupcakes but rather I take what was once thought to be a kitty treat and trans form it into something heavenly. Knowing that Julie and Chris have very simple taste pallets I created something simple but delectable. Let’s just say that self proclaimed “Princess” Julie was not disappointed. For the cake portion, I used a bundt cake recipe that I acquired a few years ago from my former roomie Audrey. We used this recipe at least a hundred times for parties or dinner guest. It is always a crowd pleasure. For the icing, I decided to make a cream peanut butter icing. On top, I placed a miniature Reese’s Cup to resemble a crown. When serving, I would recommend having a goblet of milk nearby to compliment this royal sweet treat.

Chocolate Cake

1 box of triple chocolate cake
1 small box of chocolate instant pudding
8 ounces of sour cream
1 cup of oil
¼ cup of water
4eggs
2 teaspoons of vanilla
6 oz (or more) of chocolate chips

Combine first seven ingredients-all but chocolate chips. Mix for about 4 minutes. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into cupcake tins (or bundt pan). Bake at 325 for about 25 minutes for cupcakes or one hour for a bundt cake.

Peanut Butter Frosting

1 cup powdered sugar

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (do not use old-fashioned or freshly ground)

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 teaspoons (about) whipping cream

Put powdered sugar and next 3 ingredients in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat until mixture is smooth, adding whipping cream by teaspoonfuls if frosting is too thick to spread. Spread frosting in swirls over top of cupcakes. Garnish with miniature Reese’s Cups. (Store in single layer in airtight container at room temperature.)

Cheesecake Factory

FYI: July 30th is National Cheesecake Day! The Cheesecake factory will be celebrating by offering any of their delicious cheesecakes for $1.50 a slice. You can not beat a deal like that. May I suggest calling up a few of your closest friends ordering a hand full of flavors then play pass the plate. It's a great way to try multiple flavors for next to nothing as well as making memory to last a life time. Grab a fork, Let's celebrate...