Marshmallow Crème filled Chocolate Cupcakes

Marshmallow Crème filled Chocolate Cupcakes!!

If you’ve been searching for the best chocolate cake recipe ever…look no further! After a little research I came across this recipe shared by Ina Garten called Beatty’s Chocolate Cake. It got awesome reviews & was quite popular among fellow food bloggers, so of course I wanted to make it too!

But, I couldn’t help but wonder who the master creator behind this recipe was. I mean, don’t you want to know who Beatty is!? As it turns out, Beatty is the grandmother of a friend of Ina Garten. Back in the day, Beatty would whip up her famous chocolate cake & send it off with her husband on his milk route so he could deliver to their customers. Ohh that is surely one milkman I would look forward to seeing! What ever happened to milkmen anyway??

Beatty’s Chocolate Cake is light, super moist, and its rich, chocolaty goodness is sure to please any palate. The secret ingredient? Coffee! I decided to make a batch of cupcakes with this recipe & the results were marshmallow crème filled chocolate cupcakes topped off with a little ganache…absolutely sinful. If you leave out the marshmallow filling, they will still turn out delicious too :) XOXO....little j Y

Marshmallow Crème filled Chocolate Cupcakes

Recipe inspired from: Ina Garten’s Beatty's Chocolate Cake

* Makes 24 cupcakes

Cake:

1 ¾ cups flour

2 cups sugar

¾ cups cocoa powder

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp kosher salt

1 cup buttermilk

½ cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup freshly brewed coffee

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

Arrange cupcake liners in muffin pan. {Tip: Lightly spray the top of the pan with butter to avoid cupcake tops from sticking to it after baking.}

Sift flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into bowl of electric mixer. Mix on low speed {using paddle attachment} until combined. In another bowl or large measuring cup, combine buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Mix lightly with a fork. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Lastly, add in the coffee and stir until just combined. Pour or scoop batter into muffin liners {about 2/3 high}. Bake for 18 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes in pan before transferring to baking rack to cool completely.

{Modifications: To bake as a cake, pour batter into 8 or 9 inch round pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes at 350 degrees F.}

Filling:

1 (7 oz) jar Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Crème

After cupcakes have cooled completely, you are ready to add in the marshmallow filling. Scoop marshmallow crème into a pastry bag fitted with a round tip. Insert tip of pastry bag into center of cupcake & squeeze in desired amount of crème. If the crème puffs out of the cupcake, scrape off any excess before applying the ganache.

Ganache:

½ cup heavy cream (+ extra to achieve desired consistency)

8 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heat the heavy cream & chocolate chips in a bowl over a pot of simmering water until smooth. Add additional heavy cream to thin out the consistency of the ganache. Using a knife, spread a thin layer onto each cupcake. 

Honey Vanilla Pound Cake with Fresh Berries & Whipped Cream

Honey Vanilla Pound Cake with Sweetened Whipped Cream and Fresh Berries

It has been WAYYYY too long since I’ve posted on my blog, as I have been busy both in and out of the kitchen these past two weeks. Thanks to everyone who left such kind & supportive comments on my last post. While I was moping around my inability to find a nursing job, I lost track of the accomplishments I had been making. Let’s not forget that I made Top 9 on Foodbuzz twice in one week!! That surely is an accomplishment that I am proud of. As far as finding a job is concerned, it seems that my luck is picking up and it turns out that not everyone is overlooking my qualifications as I had originally thought.

So you may be wondering what exactly has been going on over here in sunny San Diego. For one….IT SNOWED and while the snow didn’t show up on my doorstep, it sure did get pretty close!

View of Snow Topped Mtns near my House

And then a few days after the snow came SUNSHINE & I soaked up all the goodness with my sweet puppy Ryder at the Del Mar Dog Beach.

It was hard to snap a picture of Rye running around like crazy, but I did get this one after he had ran straight into the ocean {& really quickly out!}

Amidst all of the weather changes, we also had a little family celebration for my Mother’s birthday. Per her request {or at least close enough} I made her a lovely pound cake topped with homemade whipped cream & an arrangement of fresh berries. While the pound cake was good I have to admit it wasn’t great. It can be with a few alterations and I do suggest that you make some if you chose to go with this recipe. I found the cake to be a tad bit on the dry side and I think more moisture {perhaps milk or more honey} would benefit and make for a better end result. It was either lacking moisture or maybe I baked it too long. So be weary of the dryness and be sure you don’t over bake like I might have. Also, if you have never considered toasting your slice of pound cake, give it a try!  I love mine toasty & warm :) XOXO....little j Y

Honey Vanilla Pound Cake

Recipe by: Ina Garten via Cook’s Illustrated

*Makes one 8-inch loaf

2 sticks unsalted butter, at cool room temperature (cool = set out for 1 hour)

1 ¼ cups sugar

4 eggs, at room temperature

2 Tbsp honey

2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp grated lemon zest

2 cups sifted cake flour

1 tsp kosher salt

½ tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease & flour an 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5-inch loaf pan.

Using an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Meanwhile, put the eggs, honey, vanilla and lemon zest in a glass measuring cup but do not combine. With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the egg mixture, one egg at a time.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt and baking powder. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, with the mixer on low speed. Stir until just combined. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before turning cake onto baking rack to cool completely.

Sweetened Whipping Cream

Recipe by: Ina Garten

1 cup cold heavy cream

1 Tbsp sugar

½ tsp vanilla

Place the cream, sugar, and vanilla in a pre-chilled mixing bowl. Use the whisk attachment of your mixer and whip ingredients on medium then high speed until the cream forms stiff peaks. Be sure to not over whip. Serve with pound cake & fresh berries.

Looking for more dessert ideas?? Find them over @ Sweet As Sugar Cookies's Link Party!!

Tomato Basil Soup

Tomato Basil Soup

This past week I took some time to reflect back upon my life over the past nine months. It just doesn’t seem right that an educated girl like myself has to deal with unemployment. When I decided to become a RN I never envisioned being rejected so much and jobless for this long. I just don’t understand how I keep getting overlooked among the thousands {um yes, thousands} of applicants that are applying for the same position as me. Seriously, what do I have to do to get hired? Stand around on a corner somewhere holding this sign??

Despite all my frustration, I’m hopeful that employment is in my near future. I’m not taking no for an answer anymore. In the mean time, I’ll just continue on my path of positive thinking and gaining more experience through volunteer work. And let’s not forget about all those skills I’m gaining in the kitchen by actually having time to cook :) Nothing like a warm bowl of soup to cheer me up! 

XOXO....little j Y

Tomato Basil Soup

Inspired by: Ina Garten’s Cream of Fresh Tomato Soup

*Makes 8 servings

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 ½ cups red onions, chopped {2 onions}

2 carrots, peeled & chopped

1 Tbsp minced garlic {3 cloves}

2 (28 oz) cans diced or whole tomatoes {choose a high quality brand}

1 ½ tsp sugar

1 Tbsp tomato paste

¼ cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

3 cups chicken stock

2 ½ tsp kosher salt

2 tsp pepper

¾ cup heavy whipping cream

fresh basil leaves, julienned {for garnish}

homemade croutons {optional see recipe below}

Sauté onions and carrots in olive oil for about 10 minutes over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, sugar, tomato paste, basil, chicken stock, salt and pepper. Bring soup to a boil, then lower the heat and let it simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes. Use an immersion blender to purée soup to desired consistency. Stir in the cream. Serve warm with julienned basil leaves and/or croutons.

Croutons

½ sourdough baguette, chopped into bite-size pieces

2 tbsp butter

3-4 garlic cloves, chopped

3 Tbsp olive oil

kosher salt {season to taste}

pepper {season to taste}

1 tsp thyme

To make the croutons, start by chopping your sourdough baguette into bite-sized pieces & set aside. Heat the butter, olive oil, and chopped garlic in a pan over medium heat for less than 1 minute. Increase the heat to medium-high & toss in the baguette chunks, making sure each piece is coated well. Add olive oil as needed. Season the croutons with salt, pepper, and thyme. Stir bread occasionally for about 20 minutes, or until it turns a golden brown.

Final Result!!