“Mantry” Cupcakes and an Oregon Brut

The fabulous cupcake testers at my office have been ever so patient with my learning process over the past seven months. At this point, they request and they shall receive. Last week one of my co-workers “cupcake challenged” me to make- “chocolate cupcakes with crispy bacon bits, chocolate cream cheese frosting and a garnish of bacon cooked JUST right”. Being the girl that (very) mistakenly ordered ‘limp bacon’ once at a restaurant in college in front of many mature ladies and gentlemen, this was a cupcake challenge on several levels.

But I like challenges and I like to succeed at them so, “chocolate cupcake with crispy bacon bits, chocolate cream cheese frosting and a garnish of bacon cooked JUST right” it would be. I have since christened them my “mantry cupcakes” (man pantry) because the male audience was so receptive to these. I guess you can’t really go wrong with chocolate and bacon.

The first round had to be thrown out. Not enough flour, surprise surprise. I’m having a premonition that I missed out on huge success with souffles somewhere along this journey. The second round cooked beautifully and had an especially spongy top. I ran out of butter after the first batch so I substituted greek yogurt and sour cream for the second batch. HIGHLY recommend.

I used Dutch cocoa in the cupcakes but semi-sweet chocolate chips in the cream cheese frosting. I decided to only partially melt the chocolate chips for the frosting to give it some extra texture. Aesthically yes, I understand that this may have cause the frosting to resemble something of a cow patty, but it tastes really good :-). As far cooking bacon, JUST right, you’ll just have to take my word for it. I let it sizzle in full strips for about 20 minutes, flipping every few minutes.

Recipe (makes 24):

Cupcakes:

• 3/4 cups Dutch cocoa
• 3/4 cups hot water
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups Greek yogurt
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 1b bacon, cooked and crumbled (set aside about 1/3-1/2 c for topping)

Frosting:

• 8 oz whipped cream cheese
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 16 oz confectioners sugar
• 1 cup semi-sweeet chocolate chips
• 1 tsp vanilla
• bacon strips for garnish

Combine all cupcake ingredients and beat until smooth. Cook at 350 degrees for 22 minutes. Remove and cool. Combine all frosting ingredients and beat until preferred texture. Meanwhile, cook bacon on high until crisp. Cut into pieces and garnish frosted cupcakes.

Kramer Vineyards is one of my favorites in Oregon. They have great sparkling varietals as well as delicious Pinot Gris’ and fantastic Pinot Noirs. It’s located in Gaston, and I highly recommend checking it out if you’re in the area. Good people, good wine and the most amazing view.

My dad gifted me my sparkling wine this week, the NV Kramer Vineyards Domaine Krieger Brut. When you have a cupcake that’s a little bitter, a little salty, and very rich, it’s tough to find a match that will complement all of the cupcake’s flavors. This Brut did just that. It’s 100% Chardonnay grape and the major flavors are apple and melon so there’s a little acidity, just enough to undercut the saltiness of the bacon. It has got a ton of bubbles, and is very refreshing. It almost makes you feel like you didn’t just take in your full day’s calories with this week’s post 🙂

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Cheers,
Jenna

Dark Chocolate Chili and an Organic Rosé

Hi friends, it’s been a hot minute. Another week off last week due to travel and work but the end of the tunnel is officially in sight and I’m back in cupcake and champagne action.

This cupcake has been on the books for a couple of weeks and I went totally rogue on the recipe. The inspiration was actually one of my favorite snacks– the Dark Chocolate Chili bar from KIND Healthy Snacks. I love dark chocolate and I love all things spicy so it seemed like a match made in heaven. Recipe as follows (makes 12 cupcakes)-

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup chili powder
• 1 cup dark chocolate (60% cacao) bites (Ghiradelli is my favorite)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup low-fat milk
• 1 cup butter

Mix dry ingredients, mix wet ingredients, combine and bake for 19 minutes. Look at these beautiful bad boys-

I was nervous about the dark chocolate bites (past experiences have sometimes ended poorly when I use large quantities of ingredients that thin the batter), so I over compensated with flour.

I mixed together a buttercream frosting (didn’t want to distract from the zing-y flavors of cinnamon and chili) and garnished with my muse, the KIND Dark Chocolate Chili bar.

My cupcakes’ companion this week was a unique Rosé from La Jara Organic. It’s a frizzante, its carbonation is achieved through a second fermantation in the autoclave. Made with a combination of organic Glera and Raboso grapes, it’s bright pink– a big drawing factor for me 🙂 — and has a faint raspberry flavor. It’s nice and light, would also work really well with Sushi or Thai food.

I was almost unable to enjoy it, due to a battle with its unique cork, but it was worth the struggle. Raspberry complimented both the cinamon and chili very nicely.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Cheers,
Jenna

Dark Chocolate Sour Cream and a Napa Blanc de Noir

I know that I should be making light, fluffy, summery cupcakes when the sun is high in the sky, but chocolate has been calling my name all day. And I never say no to chocolate. In fact, I embrace it wholeheartedly and tried to stuff as much chocolatey goodness as possible into this week’s cupcake. I think I succceeded… meet the chocolate-ganache-filled-dark-chocolate-cupcake-with-dark-AND white-chocolate-sour-cream-frosting cupcake. I’m brainstorming a more succinct name.

When I introduced the idea of Bubbles and Sprinkles to my family, my retired yogi father (read: former Wall Street banker who is now REALLY embracing the great Northwest and everything it has to offer) pushed the idea of low sugar cupcakes. This is a laughable idea to me, because I think that cupcakes should be as pretty and sugary as possible. However he may have been on to something when I decided to pair this week’s cupcake with a California Blanc de Noir.

Blanc de Noirs are sparkling white wines that are produced completely by black grapes. When there’s minimal contact with the darker skin of red or black grapes, the white flesh and grape juice produce white wine with slight amounts of red pigments. They’re very fruity and full of flavor and if you’re looking for a decadent evening (like I apparently was), then this pairing is for you. The winner hailed from my weekend trip to Napa, where although the focus was wine, I couldn’t pass up the Blanc de Noir at Domaine Carneros. Although the bottle seems to have gone mysteriously missing… here are a few pictures of my first sampling.

(pinkies up)

Domaine Carneros also had some of the best Pinot Noirs I’ve ever had. This was their 2010 Estate Pinot Noir.

This week my baking goal was to tackle dark chocolate ganache and had a really fun time doing it. While my chocolate cupcakes baked (yummy recipe here), I mixed equal parts simmering heavy cream and 60% cocoa chips, and added a tablespoon of room temperature butter. Depending on the taste that you’re looking for, you can substitute dark rum or coffee for butter.

Once cooled, I scooped out the top of the cupcake and filled with ganache. I substituted sour cream for cream cheese in my dark chocolate frosting and lo and behold, a rich, but not too sugary, dark chocolate sour cream cupcake. The combination of cocoa, sour cream and the blanc de noir is super rich but not too cloying and I really enjoyed the different textures in each bite.

Bonus– both the ganache and the frosting served as excellent fondues for my strawberry garnishes 🙂

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Cheers,
Jenna