Nutella Hot Chocolate Fudge Brownies

As I mentioned in my last post, finals are rushing up. You know what else is rushing up? MOVE-OUT DAY. Ugh. Have you ever tried packing all of your life up and moving into a tiny dorm room? It's pretty tough. You know what's even tougher? Packing all of your stuff back up so you can move OUT from the dorm room and back home. I feel as if I've somehow accumulated twice as much stuff as I originally brought, and I have no idea where it came from, AND I have to somehow bring all of it home in a single car trip. 

I've kind of started packing, and it's made me realize that a lot of the stuff I have in Santa Cruz is food. Or food related. I mean, I have cupcake pans and chocolate truffle molds here. And ingredients for baking. Since all of that is really bulky and would be difficult to take home (okay, taking 2 sticks of butter on an hour-long trip in a hot car just sounds stupid), I decided I should try to use up all my ingredients by baking a LOT of food for my friends at school to eat!

I had a nearly full jar of Nutella and a lot of hot chocolate mix, so I had a light-bulb moment and decided to make brownies! I was a little worried about the fact that I had no eggs, but the brownies turned out amazingly well! They are soft, incredibly fudgy, and the "edge-pieces" from the edge of the pan are very crunchy and chewy. (Side-note: I don't especially care for edge-piece brownies, but one of my best friends says they're the best part. I think he's insane, but it leaves more of the delicious gooey interior pieces for me.) I will definitely make these brownies again, and not just when I'm trying to use up my ingredients.

Nutella Hot Chocolate Fudge Brownies 

(makes 1 12x16 inch pan, or 2 9x13 inch pans)

1 C Butter
2/3 C vegetable oil
3 C sugar
3 C flour
2 tbsp baking soda
1 C cocoa powder
1 1/4 C dry hot chocolate mix (I used Nestle's rich milk chocolate)
1 C Nutella
3 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 C water
10 oz chocolate chips (about 1 1/2 Cups)

* May substitute water for 5 eggs - if doing so, reduce baking powder to 2 tsp.
* May substitute vegetable oil for an extra 1 C butter. You may also substitute butter for an extra 2/3 C vegetable oil.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease or butter your sheet pan.
2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, and hot chocolate mix.
3. In a medium sized sauce pan over low heat, melt the butter completely. Add the sugar, and stir slowly to dissolve the sugar. Add oil, and continue stirring the mixture. Do not allow it to boil.
4. Add the sugar-butter-oil mixture to the large bowl, and mix until all the ingredients are combined.
5. Add Nutella and water to the mixture. Keep mixing (either with a whisk or a hand-mixer) until the batter reaches a smooth, thick consistency and all ingredients are completely combined.
6. Add in chocolate chips, and stir until evenly incorporated into the batter.
7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s), and spread it evenly. Batter should be quite thick.

8. Bake brownies for 30-35 minutes if in 9x13 inch pan, and for 40-45 minutes if in 12x16 inch pan.  The sides should be very set, while the center is moist. Test for "done-ness" with a toothpick or fork inserted into the center of pan; there should be moist crumbs clinging to the fork, but no batter.

I couldn't resist sneaking a bite out of the corner, straight from the oven!

9. Allow brownies to cool completely before cutting into pieces. You should get between 4 dozen and 6 dozen pieces, depending on how big you want your brownies to be.

Mmm, look at the gooey brownie. This was so simple to make, and can be easily halved as well if you don't want to make the ridiculous amount I did. Honestly, these brownies are disappearing super fast, so you probably won't have any issue with eating them all... though your tummy might not thank you haha. Seriously though, anyone who says, "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels." has NEVER tasted my brownies. Try out this recipe next time you're in the mood for baking! :)

Chocolate Cupcakes with Mascarpone Whipped Cream Frosting

Hellooooo!

Things have been getting all crazy up in here, with finals rushing up. It's insane for me to realize that I'm gonna be a junior in college in a few months! Aw geez, I'm gonna be an upperclassman, how cool! I remember being a junior in high school... I had stupid hair, wore too much makeup, and had the self esteem of a salted snail. I also had a penchant for writing emo Facebook statuses and updating my profile picture every two weeks with another selfie. Ohhh, those awkward cringe-worthy years. Actually, I'm still awkward and cringe-worthy, but I heard that the new word for that is "quirky," which sounds ten times more complimentary.

So I made these cupcakes a while ago for a sweetie-pie I know who turned 22 (just like Taylor Swift's song)! I wanted to make simple, delicious cupcakes that didn't require a handheld mixer or anything fancy. I used a simple one-bowl chocolate cake recipe from Sprinkle Bakes, and they turned out moist, chocolatey, and not too sweet. I envisioned a chocolate ganache topping the cupcakes, so I decided to buy some kind of chocolate nut butter -- I bought chocolate almond butter from Trader Joe's, but Nutella would be equally delicious! I made a stiff, pipe-able whipped cream frosting that wouldn't melt like regular whipped cream, but would still be just as tasty. 

Cupcakes are some of my favoritest things ever (big surprise, I know) because they're not only yummy, but they're adorable, tiny, and colorful as well. Everyone loved these cupcakes, and I'm sure you will too!

Chocolate Cupcakes

Yield: 19 cupcakes

3/4 Cup + 1/8 Cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 Cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 Cups sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

2 eggs

3/4 Cup hot water

3/4 Cup heavy cream

3 tbsp canola or other vegetable oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line muffin tin with cupcake papers and set aside.

Sift together cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a large bowl.  Add eggs, water, heavy cream, oil and vanilla.  Mix with whisk or hand mixer until smooth.  

Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each half full.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Let cool. 

Homemade Whipped Cream Frosting (For Piping)

8 ounces mascarpone cheese (or cream cheese)
1/4 Cup sugar
1 Cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Scrape the mascarpone or cream cheese into a large bowl, and add the sugar and vanilla extract. Whip it until it reaches a smoother, less clumpy texture. Pour in the heavy whipping cream and continue whipping until the consistency becomes smooth, fluffy, and stiff. Do not overwhip, or it will begin to look clumpy. If your frosting is too soft to pipe, chill it in the refrigerator for an hour.

Constructing the Cupcakes:
After the cupcakes are cool, spread each of them with about a tablespoon of chocolate nut butter on top. Pipe or carefully spread the whipped cream frosting over the top of the cupcakes. If desired, garnish with rainbow sprinkles like I did!

These cupcakes are sure to bring a smile to anybody's face! I hope you try them out. They are fantastic for birthdays or really any day. If you bake them for your special someone, they'll be astonished by your crazy baking talent, and will immediately fall in love with you. Why wouldn't they? I'd fall in love with someone who brought me cupcakes as delicious as these ones. MmHMM. Have a fantastic Memorial Day Weekend!

Mini Fruit Tarts Baked in Muffin/Cupcake Tins

Hello everyone!

Today is Wednesday, which I learned is traditionally called "Hump Day." I find that amusing for some reason. If you are not amused, I understand. I've discovered that not everyone shares my amazing sense of humor. For example, funnily-shaped bananas make me laugh. You know those bananas that aren't curvy? But are super duper straight? YEAH THOSE THINGS ARE THE BEST... And probably the reason why people in the dining hall give me strange looks and avoid me. I mean, a girl giggling hysterically while staring at the fruit stand is probably not gonna make very many friends, y'know what I mean?

I think I've made you feel vaguely uncomfortable at this point. But fear not, dear readers! There was an actual reason for my reminiscing about fruit...

Today, I will teach you how to make the most delicious fruit tarts of your life!!

I got the recipe from Joy of Baking, but adapted the proportions and amounts so that I could bake the tarts in muffin tins. I LOVE the idea of miniature desserts (which explains why my name is Princess Cupcake...)! I know there seems to be a lot of steps, but all of them are very simple and the results are definitely worth it!

Mini Fruit Tarts

Makes approximately 18 tarts

Shortbread/Cookie Tart Crust:

2 Cups all-purpose flour

3/4 Cup salted butter, room temperature

1/4 + 1/8 Cup white sugar

2 large eggs, lightly beaten 

Place the butter in a medium bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat until it is softened. Add the sugar to the butter, and continue beating until it is light and fluffy. Gradually add the beaten eggs to the mixture, and beat it until it is just incorporated. Dump in all of the flour at once, and beat it until it just starts to form a dough. Using your hand, pat the dough into one large round. Break the round in half, and wrap each half in plastic/saran wrap. Place the dough in the fridge for at least 15 - 30 minutes so that it will be easier to work with.

Once you are ready to make crust, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line your muffin tins with paper muffin liners.Then, prepare a flat surface by lining it with wax paper and generously dusting it with flour. Make sure your hands and rolling pin are covered with flour as well, as the dough will be quite sticky. Remove one dough round from the refrigerator, reserving the other one in the fridge until you are ready to work with it. Roll out dough with your rolling pin until it is 1/8 inch thick.Using a 3 1/2 inch cookie cutter, cut the dough into rounds. Press each crust-round into the muffin tin liner (keeping the liner in the cup), and use your fingers to flatten and crimp the dough until the crust reaches up about 3/4 of the way up the liner. Using a fork, lightly prick the bottom of each crust to prevent it from puffing up in the oven.

Once you have finished making all of the crusts, place muffin tins in oven for approximately 12-15 minutes. They should be a light golden color when completely baked. Allow crusts to cool in the tins. Carefully remove the crusts when finished cooling. They should look like this:

Pastry Cream:

3/4 Cup milk (either whole or 2% or fine. I do NOT recommend using milk that has a lower fat content than this. Nondairy milk does not work well either.)

2 large egg yolks

1/8 Cup white sugar

1 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tbsp corn starch

1 tsp vanilla

*Optional: 1 tsp liquor

In a medium heat-proof bowl, mix the sugar and egg yolks together. Sift the flour and cornstarch together and add to the egg mixture, mixing until the texture becomes a smooth paste.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan bring the milk and vanilla extract just to boiling (just until milk starts to foam up.) Remove from heat and add slowly to egg mixture, whisking constantly to prevent curdling. (If you get a few pieces of egg (curdling) in the mixture, pour through a strainer.) Then pour the egg mixture into a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until boiling, whisking constantly. When it boils, whisk mixture constantly for another 30 - 60 seconds until it becomes thick. Remove from heat and immediately whisk in the vanilla and the liqueur (if using). Pour into a clean bowl and immediately cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a crust from forming. Cool to room temperature. If not using right away refrigerate until needed, up to 3 days. Beat or whisk before using to get rid of any lumps that may have formed.

When making the pastry cream, it is useful to refer to this video for visual cues:

Fruit Topping:

1 1/2 Cup fresh fruit (blueberries, strawberries, pineapple, kiwi, melon, cherries, raspberries, blackberries, plums, peaches, etc.)

Wash your fruit, and if necessary, slice into small pieces (1/2 inch cubes are fine) so that they will fit in your tarts.

Homemade whipped cream (Garnish): 

3/4 Cup heavy whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla

1/8 Cup sugar

Constructing the fruit tarts:

Put about two tablespoons of pastry cream in each tart shell. Top with fruit. Garnish each fruit tart with a dollop of whipped cream. Serve immediately!

I hope you try these out! These tarts are sure to bring a smile to your face, and they are a perfectly light, Spring/Summer dessert!