EPIC CROWD PLEASER: Marianne's Sticky Toffee Cupcakes

WARNING: THESE CUPCAKES ARE RIDICULOUS IN A VARIETY OF WAYS. YOU WILL WANT TO EAT THE WHOLE BATCH. DON'T EAT THE WHOLE BATCH.

There. Got that off my chest.

The goddess Marianne once--for no terribly good reason, if I remember correctly--gave me an entire box of these. I ate almost the entire box. Sure, I offered them to my family, but I offered them at different times, so that for each family member who ate a cupcake, I also ate a cupcake. I don't know if you guys know how many family members I have, but let's just say that it came out to me eating a ton of cupcakes.

Then Marianne gave me the recipe. And I saw the amount of butter involved. And I added up the amount of cupcakes I'd eaten in the past 12 hours. One of the worst/best days of my life. Best for my taste buds, worst for my heart (the physical one, that doesn't get along with butter so swell...).

This is why I urge again: Don't make these if you don't have a very specific distribution plan. Otherwise, you will pull the pans out of the oven and then wake up three days later from your sugar coma, face and hands sticky with toffee. And then you'll die of a heart attack. But a happy heart attack.

Marianne-is-a-Wicked-Woman Sticky Toffee Cupcakes


Cupcakes
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature (wrapper saved to grease tins)
2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for tins
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup brandy
8 oz plump, moist dates, halved and pitted
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature

Toffee Glaze* 
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brandy
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Grease the tins of a muffin pan with the butter wrapper (and additional butter, if necessary). Flour greased tins and dump out excess.

Bring water, brandy and dates to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium low; cover and cook until dates are very soft--about five minutes. Transfer mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. Let cool fifteen minutes.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. With an electric mixer on medium high speed, cream butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is thoroughly mixed in. Reduce mixer speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of date-brandy puree, and beating until just combined after each addition.

Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Bake, rotating the muffin pans halfway through the baking process, until a cake tester in the middle comes out clean--should be about 20 to 25 minutes.

Toward the end of the baking time, make the Toffee Glaze. In a medium saucepan, bring cream, brown sugar, and butter to a boil over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. (I love that direction.) Cook for three minutes. Stir in brandy and salt, and cook one more minute.

As soon as the cupcakes are removed from the oven, use a toothpick to lift one side of each cupcake so that they are all standing on edge, raised slightly out of the tins. Using your fingertips to lift each cupcake a bit more, spoon two tablespoons of glaze into each cup, then nudge the cupcake back into place. Let cool 10 minutes.

To finish, invert the cupcakes onto a wire rack set over a baking sheet (or just onto a baking sheet, if you don't have a wire rack handy) and spoon two more tablespoons of glaze over each one. Let set for about five minutes (if you can wait that long) and then DEVOUR. But Please--SHARE!

*The Toffee Glaze is AMAZING even on its own--probably has something to do with the fact that it's nothing but brandy, cream, and sugar. Oh, and butter. Any leftover glaze CANNOT be thrown out. Instead, put it on ice cream, toast, scones, a spoon, or anything else that needs a bit more deliciousness.

TEASER: Chocolate Mint Cupcakes and Too-Much-Cheese and Mac

As the quarter draws to a close and my procrastination cooking grows to epic proportions, I've got two amazing recipes in the hopper. Cupcakes and mac 'n' cheese, folks! Get excited!
(I know I am!)

TO MAKE: Chocolate Peppermint Bars

I know, I know. You're saying "But you just MADE chocolate-mint cookies. Why do you need another recipe?" To you I say--Shush. 

I got this in my Reader feed from Serious Eats, who in turn got it from The Gourmet Cookie Book. Delightful!

I'm hoping to make these for all of my Seattle friends before I skip town--probably Sunday night in a post-paperwriting frenzy. Let you know how they turn out soon!

(I might also attempt some sort of cupcake based on the Chocolate-Peppermint theme. Stay tuned!)

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (6 ounces)
• 1 cup coarsely crushed peppermint hard candies (1/4 pound)

1. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F. Line a 13-by-9-inch metal baking pan with 1 sheet of foil, allowing 2 inches of foil to hang over each end of pan, and butter foil (except overhang).
2. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Beat together butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg until combined. Reduce speed to low, then mix in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips and candy. Spread dough evenly in pan and bake until puffed and beginning to pull away from sides of pan, about 20 minutes.
3. Cool completely in pan on a rack, then, lifting with foil, transfer to a cutting board. Cut into bars and lift off foil with a spatula.

TO MAKE: Decadent Dessert Blitz

In the past two days, I've had or heard word of two amazing desserts. One, chocolate-chocolate-chocolate cookies from my fellow choir foodie Paulette, and one from my cupcake goddess Marianne. Someone remind me not to make these on the same day--everyone in the vicinity will collapse into sugar comas.

Paulette's:

Triple-Chocolate Cookies
Bon Appétit, July 2005, by chef Tom Douglas

yield: Makes about 16

Ingredients

* 10 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
* 1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons all purpose flour
* 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
* 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
* 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
* 3 large eggs
* 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 6 ounces (1 cup) semisweet chocolate chips

Preparation

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Stir chopped chocolate in top of double boiler set over simmering water until melted and smooth; remove from over water. Cool melted chocolate 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in another medium bowl until crumbly. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue to beat until mixture is light, pale, and creamy, about 5 minutes. Add lukewarm melted chocolate and vanilla and beat just until blended. Fold in dry ingredients, then chocolate chips.

Drop chocolate cookie batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto prepared baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, 1 baking sheet at a time, until tops are evenly cracked but cookies are not yet firm to touch, about 16 minutes. Cool cookies completely on baking sheets. Using metal spatula, carefully transfer 4 cookies to each of 4 large resealable plastic bags, arranging in single layer. Freeze cookies overnight. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Keep frozen.)

P.S. Do not overbake!!!

 

Marianne's:

Chocolate Salted-Caramel Mini Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup warm water
Salted Caramel Filling
sea salt, for garnish
Dark Chocolate Frosting

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line mini muffin tins with paper liners. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add eggs, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and the water. With an electric mixer on low speed, beat until smooth and combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
2. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each about two thirds full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely.
3. To finish, use a paring knife to cut a cone shaped piece from the center of each cupcake. Spoon warm filling into each hollowed out cupcake. Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt over filling.
4. Pipe frosting onto each cupcake and garnish with sea salt.

Caramel Filling:
2 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup water
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

Heat sugar with the water and corn syrup in a heavy saucepan over high, stirring occasionally, until syrup is clear; clip a candy thermometer to side of pan. Stop stirring, and cook until syrup comes to a boil, washing down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush as needed. Boil, gently swirling pan occasionally, until mixture is caramelized and just reaches 360 degrees. Remove from heat; slowly pour in cream (mixture will spatter) and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Stir in salt. Use immediately; if at any time caramel begins to harden, reheat gently until pourable.

Dark Chocolate Frosting:

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon boiling water
2 1/4 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 pounds semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled

Combine cocoa and the boiling water, stirring until cocoa is dissolved. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter, confectioner's sugar, and salt until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add melted and cooled chocolate, beating until combined and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in the cocoa mixture. If not using immediately, frosting can be refrigerated up to five days.