Cookies, Cupcakes, or Muffins?

My latest baking adventure proved to be one of the most surprising, and most delicious, adventures yet! I departed from my custom of only baking pumpkin items in fall and winter, and tried a recipe from this book for pumpkin butterscotch cookies. I substituted milk chocolate chips for butterscotch ones (apparently butterscotch chips are too processed for Whole Foods) and was blown away by the results. Here is the recipe:

• 2 C unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 t baking powder
• 1 t baking soda
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 t ground cinnamon (per family baking tradition, I slightly-more-than-doubled this)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 C sugar
• 1/2 C canola or corn oil
• 1 C canned pumpkin
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1 C butterscotch chips (or milk chocolate chips...I definitely put in more than 1 cup)

1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 325F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and butter the paper.
2. Stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs and sugar until smooth and lightened in color, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. On low speed, mix in the oil, pumpkin, and vanilla until blended. Mix in the flour mixture to incorporate it. Mix in the chips.
4. Using a 1/4 C measuring cup, scoop out mounds of dough onto the buttered parchment paper, and smooth them over. This method makes approximately 16 cookies.
5. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry, about 15 minutes. Cool them on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
6. Dust the cooled cookies lightly with powdered sugar. The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

The dough was so easy to make, and as you may recall from previous entries I always appreciate the use of oil in place of more fattening / less flavor-friendly dairy ingredients! I was initially apprehensive of the 1/4 C of batter per cookie, but the end result allayed all concerns. These baked items are less like cookies, and more like the plump tops of large cupcakes or muffins. They are unusually moist and pumpkin-y, and the extra cinnamon really complemented the rich pumpkin flavor. The edges of the chocolate chips got slightly crispy as they baked in the oily batter environment, but the chips' interiors stayed rich, creamy, and melted *just* enough. Plus, the crispy crunch isn't a bad thing in the context of the extremely soft, smooth cookie. They taste delicious right out of the oven but also keep extremely well, retaining all moisture several days after baking. While they taste phenomenal as is, one particularly fun way to enjoy them is to frost them in warm chocolate icing - it really is like having a pumpkin-chocolate cupcake! I have never experienced a pumpkin-chocolate combination that worked as well as these, or any baked good that stayed so moist over time.

With the success of my chocolate improvisation in mind, I hope to repeat this recipe as it was originally intended, with butterscotch chips. White chocolate chips, cranberries, or apple chunks may also be worthwhile...

Brooklyn and the Lower East Side

May's trip to New York City, plus recommendations from current and former residents, inspired a new round of dessert tasting when I was back in town in mid-June.

When impromptu city wandering led us to the Lower East Side, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to visit Sugar Sweet Sunshine, baker of delectable cupcakes. These cupcakes are infinitely superior to Magnolia's (though, alas, I did not see a single instance of purple frosting) in both cake and frosting. The cakes themselves are light - you can eat two cupcakes after a large meal, no problem - but are also moist and packed with flavor. The frosting is also light, but sweet and creamy and not airy. In addition, I appreciated the fun frosting colors and sprinkles. Behold the cupcake bounty below, with details from top left to bottom right:

• Black & White (chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream) - the chocolate cake was simply but richly flavored, and so moist! I think the bakery managed to find the perfect cocoa-powder-to-oil ratio. The vanilla buttercream frosting was light and fun, though I am still on the fence as to whose frosting I prefer (this bakery's or Sweet's). Of course, I greatly appreciated the cheerful pink coloring.
• Lemon Yummy (lemon cake with lemon buttercream) - this is the best lemon baked item I have ever purchased. The cake itself was citrusy and sweet - and almost creamy, as if it were a lemon tart that begrudgingly assented to being a cupcake. The frosting, of course, was pure heaven, and I am now motivated to make my own (confectioner's sugar, lemon juice, butter, and heavy cream, perhaps?).
• Ooey Gooey (chocolate cake with chocolate almond buttercream) - of course, the cake itself was divine. The frosting's almond flavor was a bit overpowering, most likely created via the more aromatic, and hence initially more flavorful, almond extract. Despite my antipathy towards nuts in baked goods, I think I would have preferred the actual-nut method - the extract permeated the chocolate, while discrete nuts would have added textural variety and isolated bits of flavor.
• Sunshine (yellow cake with vanilla buttercream) - this cupcake was pure vanilla excellence. If a bakery can do this simplest of cupcakes well, no wonder everything else is so good!
  

Sugar Sweet Sunshine will get my regular business on future New York trips. Next time, I am eager to try their Spiced Pumpkin cupcake with cream cheese frosting!

That evening, we traveled to Brooklyn's Cobble Hill neighborhood to satisfy a long-time dessert desire. My roommate, a former Brooklynite, recommended The Chocolate Room when she first learned of my obsession, and while I wish I had made it there sooner, it was still worth the wait. Here, you can see the Brownie Sundae and Chocolate Pudding.

I was impressed with the majority of the sundae. The homemade brownie was moist and dark; the fudge sauce was bittersweet, which gets us to two distinct chocolate flavors in one dessert; the whipped cream was oh-so-light and sweet; the cherry on top had been rolled in chocolate shavings. The ice cream flavor was of your own choosing, and I went with mint chocolate chip, hoping for a tasty yet traditional take on that classic flavor. I was slightly disappointed. The chips were actually very thick shavings of delicious milk chocolate (three distinct chocolate flavors in one dessert, mmm), but the mint flavor itself was slightly too fresh and leafy. It did not go well with the bittersweet chocolate, and left an almost sour taste in my mouth. The chocolate pudding, however, was just what a chocolate puddding should be, with perhaps an extra kick of robust chocolate flavor. Other things in the Chocolate Room's favor: they serve you a small scoop of Vahlrona chocolate sorbet upon sitting down, and offer a variety of unique chocolate items (both Chocolate-Room-specific and other brands) for purchase at their bar in the front of the restaurant. What could have made our experience better? Maybe a chocolate martini to mask that mint taste!

Not Gingerly with Ginger

I recently made a ginger cake for Greg's birthday - or, more accurately, a double ginger cake. This baking adventure represented somewhat of a departure from bakings past, as your blogger does not share the cake recipient's enthusiasm for ginger. In fact, it's probably one of my least favorite sweet spices. However, Bon Appetit came through (again) with an innovative recipe that maximizes the ginger flavor for ginger lovers, all within the framework of a delicious sour cream cake coated in raw sugar crystals that can be appreciated by any lover of baked goods. The intense ginger flavor comes from two sources - ground ginger, which I use regularly in spice cakes and whose taste I find pleasant in that context, and chopped crystallized ginger, which is infinitely stronger, gooey, and sticky. The result was well-received! Here is the recipe, in case you have a ginger lover to please:

• Softened butter (for brushing pan)
• 1/2 C raw (turbinado) sugar
• 2 1/4 C all purpose flour
• 4 t ground ginger
• 2 t baking powder
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 C (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 C sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 t vanilla extract
• 1 C sour cream
• 1 C chopped crystallized ginger

1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Brush softened butter generously all over inside of 12 C Bundt pan. Sprinkle raw sugar over butter in pan, tilting pan to coat completely.
2. Whisk flour, ground ginger, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl.
3. Using electric mixer, beat 1 C butter in large bowl until smooth. Add 2 C sugar; beat on medium-high speed until blended, about 2 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in 1 egg yolk and vanilla, stopping to scrape down bowl as needed.
4. Add flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with sour cream in 2 additions, beating on low speed just until blended after each addition. Mix in crystallized ginger. Spread batter in pan, being careful not to dislodge raw sugar.
5. Bake cake until top is light brown and tester inserted near center comes out with a few small crumbs attached, about 55 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool in pan 15 minutes. Gently tap bottom edge of pan on work surface while rotating pan until cake loosens. Place rack atop pan and invert cake onto rack; remove pan. Cool completely.

The cake mixes and bakes easily. Once you are ready to eat it, it tastes fine at room temperature, but a warmed slice will release its aroma oh so nicely. The sour cream batter provides a hint of sweet tang, which goes well with the spicy sweetness of the ginger. A delicious counterpoint to both tang and spice is the turbinado sugar crust baked over the exterior of the cake. Its sweet crunch really made the cake! I rarely rave about baked-item crusts, but this cake's edges are worth a rave and more. In fact, I think I will try crusting future Bundt baked items (my aunt's famous double-chocolate cake, perhaps?) in the sugar. One technical recommendation: be very precise about dollopping batter into the Bundt. Try to not have to scrape the batter around the pan to get an even distribution, as this will dislodge the sugar.

In other ginger news, I have a handful or two of crystallized ginger still left over from this baking...anyone want?

Red, White, and You

Sweet Cupcakes, already an inspiration for a past entry, recently released their summer cupcake lineup. One variety in particular stood out among the fruit-inspired confections: the “Red, White, and You” cupcake. Sweet describes this as “the vanilla bean Sweet [i.e., standard tasty offering] cake filled with Berry Bash jam and topped with homemade vanilla buttercream.” Behold the adorable little cupcakes, just released from their travel box.

And here, you can see them partially eaten through.

This cupcake is exceptional for several reasons. Firstly, the vanilla cake is dense, well-flavored, and somewhat crumbly. I welcome the confident vanilla, as the flavor is rarely employed beyond the token teaspoon in any given recipe. I also favor a slightly crumbly cake, as this suggests sugar and/or butter are not overused! Secondly, the berry jam is a pleasant mash of berries – I could taste blueberries and raspberries – and an enjoyable burst of color at the center of an otherwise-pale dessert. Lastly, the two tiers of frosting are, as with all Sweet frostings, delicious! I could eat just the frosting and forgo the cupcake if needed. Vanilla bean specks in the creamy white buttercream reinforce the vanilla theme. I particularly appreciate the first dollop being crusted in colored sugar – not only is it visually pleasing, but it provides an unexpected and fun textural change in a glob of gooey goodness. It sealed the deal, so to say, on this bold pronouncement: this is the best Sweet cupcake yet!

If Sweet Entry No. 1 did not convince you to get a cupcake, I hope this Entry No. 2 will!