Dairy Milk and Wispa Cupcakes

I’m on  a quest to perfect a cupcake recipe using English chocolate. I’ve mentioned Paul’s love of Wispa Bars before. And although he ranks Wispas #1, his love is not exclusive. He likes all Cadbury chocolate, including Dairy Milks. A Dairy Milk bar is Cadbury’s version of a milk chocolate bar.

My inspiration for the recipe came from Cadbury’s UK recipe website: Chocolate Cup Cakes. The cupcake I baked is an adaptation of King Arthur’s Flour Milk Chocolate Layer Cake.  The frosting is great; a simple whipped chocolate ganache. I’ll use it again. The cake is tasty. Not perfect; it’s a bit dry. My quest for perfection continues…

Dairy Milk Chocolate and Wispa Cupcakes

You can find English chocolate at World Market or at your local gourmet grocer.

Ganache Frosting

• 6 ounces Cadbury Dairy Milk, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1/2  cup heavy cream

Cupcakes

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 3 ounces Cadbury Dairy Milk, chopped (about 1/2 cup) and melted
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups cake flour
• 1/2  teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup Cadbury Drinking Chocolate
• 1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature

Topping

• 1 Wispa, chopped

Directions

1) For the ganache: Place the chopped Dairy Milk in a medium-sized bowl. Heat the cream until just boiling and pour over the chocolate. Slowly stir until completely melted and lump-free. Set the bowl in the fridge to chill while you make the cupcakes.

2) Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a standard 12 cupcake tin with liners.

3) In a medium bowl stir together: salt, flour, baking soda, and Cadbury Drinking Chocolate Set aside.

4) Place the oil, butter, sugar, and eggs in the bowl of your mixer. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl.Add the melted Dairy Milk and vanilla. Mix for 1 minute.

5) Reduce the mixer speed to low and add half the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear. Scrape down the bowl and add the buttermilk, mixing until incorporated, then mix in the remaining dry ingredients.

6) Pour the batter into the tins, and bake 15 to 17 minutes. The cupcakes are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, with just a few moist crumbs.

7) Rest the cupcakes in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.

8) To prepare the ganache: The chilled ganache should now be the consistency of chocolate pudding. Place it in the bowl of your mixer and whip with the whisk attachment until thick, light, and fluffy. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl to fully incorporate all of the chocolate.

9)Place a dollop of frosting on each cupcake and top with chopped Wispa.

Yield: 12 cupcakes.

Photos by Paulrus

Paul’s Special Occasion Ice Cream and Cookies

Today is a special day. Not only is it the 29th of February, a day only occurring once every 4 years. It’s 2/29/2012, a day that will occur only once; a day filled with peace,  love and happiness. To that end, I present Paul’s Special Occasion Ice Cream. What’s the special occasion? Eating this ice cream, of course.

Paul loves white chocolate. I often find him in the pantry eating my white chocolate chips. True story! I know white chocolate brings out strong emotion in people and divides people into different camps. You love it, you hate it, or you like it okay. I’m in the third group but I find myself baking with it more and more. You’re welcome, Paul. 😉

I churned up a batch of David Lebovitz’s White Chocolate Ice Cream from his book The Perfect Scoop. Since white chocolate is the main attraction, I used my block of Callebaut. No chips here. This is a repeat recipe. I’ve made it once before. Again, you’re welcome Paul. My repeat list is very short.   This time I swirled in some biscoff spread because it’s oh so good and since we discovered it we’ve been using it in everything.

White Chocolate Ice Cream

From The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

• 8 ounces white chocolate
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2/3 cup sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 5 large egg yolks
• 2 cups heavy cream

Place the white chocolate  in a large bowl and set a mesh strainer over the top.

Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan.  In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks.  Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula.  Pour the custard through the strainer over the white chocolate.  Stir until the white chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth, then stir in the cream.  Stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

I baked up a batch of Alice Medrich’s Macadamia and White Chocolate Chunk  Cookies from Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy to go with the ice cream. These are  a little different than other versions because you grind up rolled oats and add them to the batter. It makes them taste a bit nuttier and heartier than the traditional version. Very tasty. You can find the recipe HERE.

Photos by Paulrus

Crumpets!!! With 3 times as many exclamation marks.

Yes. They’re that good and worthy of {at least} three exclamation marks. Now that I’ve made crumpets multiple times, {or, um, twice}, I think I’m improving my technique. Case in point: the crumpets have been getting holier without having to go to church or say penance. The more holes a crumpet has,  the better routes for butter saturation. Holy moly.
For my second try, I decided to mix things up.  I substituted whole wheat pastry flour for the all-purpose. I also added honey and cinnamon  for flavor. I think for my next attempt I will use vanilla and maple syrup. I’m tempted to add chocolate chips, but I fear they will interfere with hole production.

Honey Cinnamon Whole Wheat Crumpets

Adapted from King Arthur Flour

• 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
• 1 cup lukewarm milk
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 3 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1) Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl, and beat vigorously for 2 minutes. A stand or hand mixer, set on high speed, work well here.

2) Cover the bowl, and let the batter rest at room temperature for 1 hour. It will expand and become bubbly. Towards the end of the rest, preheat a griddle to medium-low, about 325°F. If you don’t have an electric griddle, preheat a frying pan.

3) Lightly grease the griddle or frying pan, and place well-greased 3 3/4″ English muffin rings in the pan, as many as will fit.  Pour sticky batter by the scant 1/4-cupful into each ring; a muffin scoop works well here.

4) After about 4 minutes, use a pair of tongs to slip the rings off. Cook the crumpets for a total of about 10 minutes on the first side, until their tops are riddled with small bubbles/holes. They should be starting to look a bit dry around the edges. Their bottoms will be a mottled, light-golden brown.

5) Turn the crumpets over, and cook for an additional 5 minutes, to finish cooking the insides and to brown the tops gently.

6) Remove the crumpets from the pan, and repeat with the remaining batter, until all the crumpets are cooked. Serve warm. Or cool completely, wrap in plastic, and store at room temperature. To enjoy, warm in the toaster. Serve with butter, or butter and jam.

Yield: about twenty 3 3/4″ crumpets.

Photos by Paulrus

On Sabbatical

Or really just a break. Between traveling, vacation, and the holidays  oh, and work…I’m too busy to bake and post.

I’ll be back in January with fresh ideas. Thanks!

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Drunk Cherries

I’ve made these cookies and posted them using the name Bon Appetit used: Cherry and Chocolate Chip Cookies. I made them again and renamed these morsels of goodness to a more (in my opinion) appropriate name: Chocolate Chip Cookies with Drunk Cherries. You take dried cherries, soak them in kirsch, and add them to chocolate chip cookies.

Very popular with everyone.  For the recipe go HERE.