Chocolate Cupcakes with Creamy Frosting

Assignment #8:

So yesterday was kinda awesome. I slept at 9:45 pm and woke up 12:30 pm. Then made this. This is probably the best cupcake I've ever made. Then got a great deal on a Windows Surface, which I bought, and I love it (I'm currently updating my blog with it). And stared at the beautiful Tesla Model S and learned about the upcoming Model X (which will probably be the most aerodynamic crossover ever). AND I got ramekins so I can make yummy souffle!

Anyway, the DELICIOUS cupcakes. The frosting tastes like my chocolate mousse, and it makes me happy. For this, I made some chocolate cupcakes and some Nutella cupcakes, and both were incredibly delicious. Recipe below! The darker, shorter one is chocolate, and the lighter, taller one is Nutella!

Ingredients for Chocolate Cupcakes: (yields only 9 cupcakes so double it if you want)
1 cup water
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder (NOT baking soda)
pinch of salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temp
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Nutella (optional)

Instructions to Make Cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Put 9 cups in the cupcake pan thing.
2. Take the water and boil it. Then take HALF a cup of that water and stir in unsweetened cocoa powder until smooth (could be in a measuring cup or bowl, but I used a measuring cup so I wouldn't need to wash extra dishes). Cool this to room temp by putting it in the fridge.
3. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
4. In a bigger bowl, cream softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy, using a mixer. Add eggs and beat until smooth. Scrape sides when necessary. Add vanilla extract. Then slowly add flour mixture. Do NOT overmix. When you overmix, the cupcakes will come out hard and dry. Just mix until just combined. Slowly stir in the cooled cocoa-water mix until smooth.
5. Fill each cupcake cup 2/3rds of the way. Place a tablespoon (or more!) on top each cupcake cup. Place in oven for 16-19 minutes. Cool before putting frosting!

Ingredients for Chocolate (or Nutella) Frosting:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup of cocoa powder OR Nutella... or 1/4 cup of both, but I didn't try that (but it sounds good!)
2 tablespoons heavy cream (for creaminess of frosting)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions to Make Frosting:

1. Beat butter until creamy (which takes a minute or two). Add powdered sugar and continue to beat. Add cocoa powder or Nutella and mix. Add heavy cream and vanilla extract.
• If too thin, add more powdered sugar (but not to much...maybe a tablespoon or two at a time). If too thick, add more heavy cream (maybe 1/2 a tablespoon at a time).
2. Frost cupcakes! Make sure the cupcakes have cooled or else the frosting will melt.

You can decorate it when you're done! Maybe with white chocolate chips, chocolate shavings, sprinkles, M&M's, or chocolate ganache! Deliciousness.

All Things Nutella: Nutella Drop Biscuits

Assignment #7:

So I've been trying to find recipes that don't need added sugar because I've been eating too many sweets lately. Luckily, I chose the perfect day to make this yummy breakfast as I woke up at 6:30am today. For this recipe, make sure your nails are cut because you'll be needing your hands. Also, since my brother is back from ASU, of course I would make non-Nutella biscuits :) Just remove the Nutella from the recipe if you can't consume Nutella. Image of non-Nutella biscuits are shown to the left.

Thank you to Two Peas and Their Pod for this recipe! (By the way, I cut the recipe in half because I didn't want to make too much)

Ingredients:

1 cup of flour

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (preferably cut into cubes)

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup Nutella

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. 
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Mix in cold butter with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. It might seem a little weird, but it really does end up looking like that at this point.
3. Drop 1/2 cup (resulting in 6 biscuits) of dough onto prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle biscuits with sea salt of you want. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Remove from oven, let cool to room temperature and serve. 

Short Update

It's been a while! Sorry I stopped posting but I needed to stop baking sweets for a bit. I needed to stop eating so unhealthily...

And sorry for this sudden news but I will be stopping the Nutella series for now because my brother is coming back from ASU tomorrow :) I made him the Fudgy Brownies to celebrate his arrival.

Thank you for reading! Will definitely start updating with more chocolate delights! :)

All Things Nutella: Nutella Crepes

Assignment #6:

I love the combination of banana and Nutella. The first time I've ever tasted Nutella was with bananas, inside a crepe from La Petite France which was absolutely delicious, so I wanted to start making crepes myself. But since I woke up at 1 in the afternoon today, I totally skipped on having this for breakfast! My father though was kind enough to cook them this evening. When I made the batter for this recipe, I insolently added the flour all at once, resulting in a very clumpy, flour-y consistency. So take heed of this. Add flour slowly.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup flour
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/2 tbs sugar
1/2 tbs butter or vegetable oil
Nutella
1 sliced banana (optional)

Instructions:

1. Mix together milk, butter and eggs. Add sugar.
2. Add flour SLOWLY.
3. Pour 1/4 cup of the batter into a low-heated skillet.
4. Once the bottom has very slightly browned, flip crepe.
5. Once that side has slightly browned, put crepe on a plate out of the skillet. 
6. Liberally add Nutella on half of the crepe. Add slices of banana on top of that.
7. Fold other half over.
   
   
   
   

All Things Nutella: Nutella French Toast with Bananas

Assignment #5:

This morning, my mother and I made this: Nutella French Toast with Bananas! It's quite simple to make too. Just make sure you use thick bread instead of the thin ones we used. They ended up falling apart after being soaked. It's really yummy and flavorful, contrary to what I expected. A wonderful breakfast.

Ingredients:

4 slices of bread
A jar of Nutella
1 large egg
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
butter (for the pan)
2 bananas
Powdered sugar for serving

Instructions 

1. Spread Nutella on 2 slices of bread and put the other 2 slices on top, like a Nutella sandwich.
2. Find a shallow bowl. Whisk egg and milk together. Add melted butter, vanilla, ground cinnamon, and salt.
3. Dip each side of each sandwhich in the liquid mixture. 
4. Set skillet at medium heat on stove. Coat skillet with some butter.
5. Put one Nutella sandwich in the skillet until the bottom becomes light brown. Flip sanwich until that side becomes light brown. Repeat with other sandwich.
6. Place the two sandwiches on a plate and liberally bananas and powdered sugar on top.

Love at First Bite

 

 

Fudgy Brownies

I've been making too many sweets that my parents and I aren't able to eat them all. I always have been getting really sick from the Nutella. So, I will be taking a break from the Nutella and talk about a delicious dessert I was lucky enough to have been able to make. 

On my 17th birthday, my brother gave me a cookbook (Sweet Chic by Rachel Schifter Thebault) filled with recipes for sweets and sweets only! He knows me so well. So one day, I asked him what I should bake. I baked a few recipes of cookies and tiramisu cupcakes. But then I came across this recipe. "Fudge Brownies." So I made it for me and my brother, and they were THE MOST DELICIOUS BROWNIES I HAVE EVER EATEN. No joke. No hyperboles. My brother never has an interest in the things I bake except when I bake this. I'm pretty sure it's his favorite ♥ This post is dedicated to you, Robin! These brownies are super fudgy, so to see if they're fully baked, shake the pan a little and see if the middle moves. If it does, then put it in the oven a little more. Here's the recipe!

Ingredients:

16 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips or 8 ounces finely chopped bittersweet chocolate (I haven't noticed a difference in taste or a texture between the use of these two)

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9-inch square metal baking pan with parchment paper AND spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Heat butter and chocolate in a bowl over a double boiler. Stir constantly with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, until the butter and chocolate are fully melted and combined. Remove the bowl from the heat and cool to room temperature.
3. Whisk the eggs in a large mixing bowl. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt, and continue to whisk until they are all combined. Add the melted chocolate, slowly and whisk until incorporated, about 1 minute.
4. Once the chocolate is incorporated, sift the flour into the bowl and gently stir with a rubber spatula until the flour is combined, about 1 minute.
5. Pour the brownie batter into a prepared pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, rotating the pan once halfway through. Before removing the pan from the oven, gently shake it--if the middle of the brownies remains still, they are done. Run a knife along the sides of the pan and allow the brownies to cool in the pan to room temperature, about 1 hour.
6. Once cooled, the brownies can be sliced and served immediately, kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, or wrapped tightly and frozen for up to 8 weeks

All Things Nutella: Nutella Hot Chocolate

Assignment #4:

So summer in AZ is EXTREMELY HOT. Don't come to AZ for summer vacation. Lucky for me, my house has air conditioning. But last night, the A/C has been really cold, and I was wearing pants and a sweater. So to help me warm up, I had a little late night treat! Those delicious cookies I made Monday and a cup of Nutella hot chocolate. And due to my laziness, I refused to get a pan from some kitchen cabinet and use the stove. Instead, I just used the microwave. In total, it took 3 minutes to make this hot chocolate. 

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

1/4 cup Nutella

2 tbs cocoa

Whipped cream (optional)

Instructions:

1. Put the milk in a microwaveable cup, and put the cup in the microwave for 1 minute.
2. Take out cup and whisk in the Nutella and cocoa until well-mixed.
3. Place the cup in the microwave once more and microwave for 1 minute. 
4. Stir and put whipped cream on top.

Enjoy!

All Things Nutella: Future Projects

So here's my to do list! I probably need to buy more Nutella... I organized this list in order of importance (to me). 

1. Nutella Lava Cookie Cups: I've wanted to bake this ever since I first laid eyes on it.
2. Nutella Souffle: I'm going to try and make my own chocolate souffle first. If I can't, I'm not worthy to bake such a delicacy.
3. Nutella Chocolate Chip Cake: Chocolate on Nutella on chocolate
4. Nutella French Toast with Bananas: This recipe actually calls for strawberries, but I don't like strawberries, so I shall be making it with bananas. Hopefully, one day during the summer, I'll wake up early in the morning and make this for myself.
5. Nutella Waffle Sandwich Cookies: I already put Nutella on my waffles so this is just a modification.
6. Nutella Drop Biscuits
7. Nutella Mousse Cups
8. Nutella Crepe Cake
9. Flourless Nutella Cake: I'm not actually on a gluten-free diet, but since I'm the only one eating all of these treats, I might as well eat one thing that's remotely healthy
10. Triple Chocolate Nutella Cookies
11. Nutella Truffles
12. Chocolate & Nutella Macarons: I've never actually had macarons before. They look delicious, but for some reason, to me, they seem like they're lacking texture and flavor by just looking at them... But this recipe is a good start for me, then.
13. Banana Nutella Granola: Again, remotely healthy

If only had a car so I can drive to my friends' houses and enjoy these treats with them. Or they can drive to my house, but that seems like too much of a hassle for them. And I would have to clean my house. 

In any case, feel free to enjoy any of these deliciousnesses!

All Things Nutella: Nutella Milkshake

Assignment #3:

I've been dying to try one of these! Didn't know I would be the one to make it though. Seeing as it is summer, it would be wrong not to make this. Only two words can describe this beverage: Blissful Simplicity. Really easy to make and refreshing. I added a bit more milk into it because I actually get a little sick if there's too much Nutella in one bite/gulp.

Here's what I did.

Ingredients
1/2 cup milk
3 scoops of vanilla ice cream
1/4 cup Nutella

Instructions
Blend them all together. I used a Ninja blender which are incredibly powerful, but I'm sure it's only made to blend fruits. Since the ingredients are all soft, a weak blender should be fine.

Enjoy and have a great summer :)

All Things Nutella: Nutella-Stuffed Brown Butter + Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies

Assignment #2:

I would rate this recipe a 7/10 when it comes to difficulty, but a 10/10 when it comes to deliciousness. The thing with "brown butter" is that you have to melt butter until you almost burn it, making it brown in color. Why burn the butter? Well, when the butter become brown, it has a nutty scent. In fact, brown butter in French is beurre noisette which literally translates to hazelnut butter, if my French is correct.

When I tried this recipe today, I took the saucepan off the stove too early, so the butter didn't have that hazelnut flavor it should have, which is fine by me because, to me, Nutella itself has enough of a hazelnut flavor. Make sure your butter is brown. During the prep process, the hard part is keeping your hands clean. When putting Nutella in the cookie dough, you must be careful not to squish the dough to much, making the Nutella ooze out of the cookie. This way, the Nutella explodes surprisingly when one bites into the cookie.

The recipe says to keep the cookies in the fridge for 2 hours, but since my fridge was full, I put my cookie dough in the freezer for 30 minutes. Luckily, my mother was there and helped me during the baking process, helping me scoop out the cookies. Since my oven is more powerful than others, my mother informed me to preheat the oven at 325 degrees F and baked the cookies for 12 minutes. Thanks to my mom, the cookies came out much better than I had expected them to.

I was incredibly happy with the results. See for yourself! Note that I didn't sprinkle any sea salt. The reason for this is because I don't like having salty desserts.

Thank you to Ambitious Kitchen for this awesome recipe and the How To for brown butter!

And thank you to my readers! Make sure you try this recipe out! :)

Ingredients

      2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

      1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

      1/4 teaspoon of salt

      2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter

      1 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

      1/4 cup granulated sugar

      1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk

      1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

      1 tablespoon plain greek yogurt

      3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

      1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

      1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

      1 jar of Nutella, chilled in refrigerator

      Coarse sea salt for sprinkling

Instructions

1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. The butter will begin to foam. Make sure you whisk consistently during this process. After a couple of minutes, the butter will begin to brown on the bottom of the saucepan; continue to whisk and remove from heat as soon as the butter begins to brown and give off a nutty aroma. Immediately transfer the butter to a bowl to prevent burning. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
2. With an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, vanilla, and yogurt until combined. Add the dry ingredients slowly and beat on low-speed just until combined. Gently fold in all of the chocolate chips.
3. Chill your dough for 2 hours in the refrigerator, or place in freezer for 30 minutes if you are super eager, although I cannot promise the same results if you do this.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Once dough is chilled measure about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. Flatten the dough ball very thinly into the palm of your hand. Place 1 teaspoon of chilled nutella in the middle and fold dough around it; gently roll into a ball — it doesn’t have to be perfectly rolled! Make sure that the nutella is not seeping out of the dough. Add more dough if necessary. Place dough balls on cookie sheet, 2 inches apart and flatten with your hand VERY gently. (Really only the tops need to be flattened a bit!)
5. Bake the cookies 9-11 minutes or until the edges of the cookies begin to turn golden brown. They will look a bit underdone in the middle, but will continue to cook once out of the oven. Cool the cookies on the sheets at least 2 minutes. Sprinkle with a little sea salt. Remove the cooled cookies from the baking sheets after a few minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.

All Things Nutella: Nutella Brownies

Assignment #1:

This dessert literally is Nutella in brownie form. From first bite, the flavor seemed to be just chocolate, but the more and more you chew, the more the hazelnut flavor comes out. An exquisite experience. The brownie could be more moist though... Make sure to eat these as soon as they become room temperature, or else, they become really chewy.

Thank you, Mother Thyme, for this recipe.

Ingredients
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup Nutella

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a small bowl combine flour and salt and set aside.
Using an electric mixer blend butter until light and fluffy. Mix in sugar, eggs, vanilla and mix well followed by Nutella and stir until mixture is creamy. Stir in flour mixture.
Pour into a greased 8-inch square brownie pan and bake for 30-37 minutes. Cool pan on wire rack.

Only the Beginning

Welcome to my new blog! My name is Alison Llave, amateur baker. Does my name seem familiar to you bloggers? Then you might have encountered my other blog about my high school senior research project, which you should check out if you have some free time.

So why am I starting another blog about chocolate? This summer is my last summer before college, and I plan on spending this summer baking delicious treats. So I might as well share with the world about the things that I bake.

I'm still not sure yet how to organize my blog posts, but maybe I'll start off the weekly or biweekly (depending on how fast I can eat my creations) series. This week is "All Things Nutella." Nutella, for those of you who don't know, is a chocolate-hazelnut spread. People with nut allergies should be highly aware of the nut contents of this product. I, myself, have nut allergies, but I cannot resist the ambrosial taste of Nutella. And luckily for me, my nut allergies aren't that bad compared to my brother's. Since my brother will be away in a college camp studying Mandarin for the next two weeks, I thought it would be a good opportunity to fill the house with Nutella goods.

If, by chance, you want to make these goods yourself, don't bother waiting for me! Check out this link: http://anightowlblog.com/2013/03/nutella-recipes.html