Showing posts with label Vegetarian. Show all posts

Fresh Summer Blackberry Passion Fruit Tart


Wild Blackberry and Passion Fruit Tart

It's summer. Bike riding and berry picking season is open!
Hey, it's my new bike! I just love it. Totally worth the wait.

The bf has been trying to get me to get a bike for ages but I have never come across the "perfect" bike. To me, bikes are like a wedding dress...you just know when you have found the perfect one. That happened to me, finally after years of searching and stopping at bike shop after bike shop, at the end of this Spring. Just in time for some summer rides! Over the Independence Day weekend a friend came to stay with us and we went on a 20 mile ride along the San Francisco Bay. It was glorious. With my illness I had to take some medication but not too much so I felt even better knowing that I must be getting better.
Secret blackberry spot. Shhhh

I brought along a backpack with some empty plastic containers in the hopes that we came across some blackberries. It is just the start of the blackberry season so there are a few but not many out there for the picking. As luck would have it, there were some bushes along the trail that had not been picked clean! We had to do a little hiking through pokey weeds to get there but it was worth it. I got about 2 pounds of berries which is very good since it is only the start of the blackberry season.

To get the sweetest, most ripe fruit, only pick the ones that come off the stem easily. Leave any that have red on them. Look for the fattest, blackest and plumpest (is that a word?) berries.

I decided to make a tart so I could show off the fresh blackberry sweetness and flavor without weighing it down with too many other ingredients. We are also trying to keep healthy and fit so that might help a little to have a lighter crust.
The berries after being rinsed and dried. 

As far as the crust goes, I had almond flour sitting around so I thought I could use that up but I didn't have enough to make a whole tart crust consequently, I added some ground graham crackers to help bolster it.
A little almond flour and a little graham cracker.

After mixing the crust ingredients I dumped them into a tart pan and began spreading it with my fingers.
Pressing the crust up the sides of the pan.

When doing this, make sure you are keeping the crust relatively even in thickness. I usually end up with thick corners which is fine so long as you get it evenly up the sides as well. I love a big bite of crust here and there anyways.

Any passion fruit juice will do. This was a blend.

While the crust is baking you can start the filling. The juice can be any kind, really. The bf happens to be a big passion fruit fan so I used that but I bet a cherry juice would be awesome too.
The color of these while they cook is ahhmazing.
Once you have the berries cooking with the honey, lemon and juice you should start to smell that toasty crust. That means it is time to take the crust out! The corn starch and juice mixture, once added to the pot, will do a nice job of thickening the berry slurry so it coatsspoon.
The sauce is thickened and the crust is toasted perfectly. It smells so good in here!
Once you have the crust and filling ready, place the remaining berries berries spread evenly in the crust. Pour the warm berries over the crust, filling it completely.
Ready to be chilled. 
Once the tart is chilled, remove the tart ring and place on your favorite serving dish.
Chilled and ready to eat!!

You can serve this alone, with a sprig of mint, or with some vanilla ice cream!
Yum! I can't wait to do it again next year!

RECIPE:

For the crust:

1.5 cups almond flour
.5 cups graham crackers ground to a flour (about 4 whole crackers)
3 Tbsp honey
3 Tbsp butter, melted

For the filling:

1 cup passion fruit juice (I use welch's that is actually mostly grape juice) You can substitute the passion fruit juice with grape juice, blackberry juice or blueberry juice.
2 Tbsp corn starch
2 cups fresh, ripe blackberries
1/3 cup honey
1 lemon, juiced

Directions:

Place rack in center of oven and preheat to 350F. Have a tart pan with removable bottom ready

In a medium bowl combine the crust ingredients until fully blended and crumbly. Then dump into the tart pan. Spread it evenly, pressing it firmly to the sides and base. To push it up the sides, use your thumb and finger and pinch it to make about a 1/4 inch thick side.

Bake crust for about 15 minutes until it is toasted and smell fragrant. Check after 10 minutes.

Remove crust from oven and set aside to let cool.

Put 1/2 of the juice in a small bowl and blend with the corn starch. Set aside.

In a small sauce pot, combine the rest of the juice, half of the berries, the honey, and the lemon juice. Bring to a boil then simmer for 5 minutes. Then add the cornstarch-juice mixture and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring constantly until thickened. It should be the consistency of thin jam at this point.

Spread the remaining whole blackberries evenly in the cooled tart shell. Pour the heated mixture over the berries and spread evenly in the tart shell.

Chill for three hours or overnight. Slice and serve!
Dessert, Holiday, Vegetarian
Share:

Chai Toasted Coconut Dairy Free Ice Cream

Homemade Chai and Toasted Coconut Dairy Free Ice Cream!

I LOVE chai lattes. I discovered them when I started working at a particular champagne house in the Napa valley and I had to make a long drive to UC Davis to recruit interns for Harvest every year. I would ride with a coworker who, like normal folks, loved coffee. We would stop at a coffee house before we made the trip. I started out not ordering anything because I just don't like the taste of coffee. One day my coworker suggested I try a Chai Latte. I didn't even know it was tea and not coffee so I had never even ventured a taste before. Ever since that day I have been a huge fan of the tea. I drink it mostly in latte form but sometimes I just add cool milk and drink it like a Thai iced tea. That is what gave me the idea to make a Chai Ice Cream.
A Chai Latte I had at a diner late last year

Here is an incredible Chai Latte I had in Kent, England. This was sure a memorable one!

My husband gave me an ice cream maker for Christmas because I am a huge ice cream and frozen yogurt lover. I have not been able to use the maker for the first quarter of this year because we have been uprooted. It has been a wild ride of moving here and there and sometimes not even knowing where we were going to be next. We are finally settled down in a beautiful and comfortable location. Last night my husband suggested we give making ice cream a go. Without a blink I began looking up recipes while the ice cream maker's tub froze overnight. I am in California and there is a huge rash of storms coming through the region after several years of drought. For this reason I am way too lazy to head out in the storm so I wanted to make something with what I have around the house. I am not against dairy but in the house we only have almond milk and canned coconut milk so I had to make a decision as to how rich I wanted my ice cream to be. That is why I chose to make a custard style ice cream. If I had heavy whipping cream or half and half, this recipe might not have had eggs in it and I would have been able to spend a bit more time on the couch. I think the creaminess and texture of this rich ice cream is worth standing at my stove for a little longer, praying my custard does not turn into scrambled eggs. I was able to take bits and ideas from a whole lot of different ice cream, gelato and custard recipes to make this ice cream. Once I understood the basics, I was able to put in the flavors I wanted and ingredients I needed to get the flavor and texture I was looking for...using what I had lying around the house.
Custard, ready for churning.

The coconut sugar turned the color of the milk a medium brown color. You can use other sugars but this is all I had in the house. The chai tea added even more brown coloring as I manipulated and smooshed the bags trying to get all the flavor out I could. This is a risky thing to do because it is not too difficult to rip or tear a tea bag. If you do rip a bag just let the bits float in there because you can strain them out in a later step. If you leave the loose tea bits in the ice cream, it will become bitter and we are not looking for that in a dessert today.
Spices that make Chai taste so good.   (photo from wikipedia)


My husband came in as I was making this and smelled the custard as it was chilling and thought it could use a little more flavoring. He has the worst sense of smell of anyone I have ever encountered. But I tasted the custard and thought a little more spice couldn't hurt so I added just a tiny dusting of ground cloves, ground ginger, ground cardamom and cinnamon. I can't really go overboard with a husband who can't smell well because it means his senses aren't too strong all around when it comes to tasting. And I love chai spice!

This recipe uses the following:

2 cans of coconut milk (approximately 14 ounce cans)
3 tea bags of chai tea
1/8 teaspoon salt (I like to make it heaping)
1 cup sugar (I had to use coconut sugar but regular white sugar is preferred)
1 vanilla bean (optional)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 egg yokes
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Other things you can add for extra flavor:
-1/4 cup more coconut shreds
-a dash of ground cardamom, ground dried ginger, cinnamon and dried ground cloves to up the chai flavor
-1/4 cup chopped and toasted almonds.

1. Shake one of the cans of coconut milk so the fat mixes in with the cream. Open the can and pour the contents into a sauce pan with the three chai tea bags. Put the burner on medium to low heat and stir in the 1 cup sugar and a big pinch of salt. Let this all steep and dissolve for about 10 minutes to really get the tea flavor pulled out. Do not let the milk come to a boil. You are looking to just heat the mixture until it is very warm but not boiling.

Coconut milk and Chai tea.

2. Scrape a vanilla bean into the pan and then toss the bean in as well. Remove the pan from heat and let cool a bit and to steep further. Meanwhile, separate 5 eggs. Whisk the egg yokes in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk about 1/3 of the warm coconut milk mixture into the eggs being careful to not heat the eggs enough to scramble. Slowly pour the egg mixture back into the sauce pan with the rest of the warm milk. Heat on medium low being super careful not to scramble the eggs. Use a flat ended wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan as it heats. Stir constantly during this step.

Look how dark it got with the coconut sugar and tea!

3. Shake the second can of coconut milk before opening. Pour the can into a medium bowl and place the bowl into a larger bowl full of ice water to make an ice bath. Pour the heated custard mixture through a strainer into the cool coconut milk. Mix the custard in this cooling bath to chill it.

Straining the warm custard into the cool coconut milk in the ice bath.

4. Take a quarter cup of unsweetened, shredded coconut and put it on a piece of tinfoil. Place the tinfoil as is or on a pan and place on the top shelf in oven or toaster oven and broil for 1-2 minutes. Keep a very close eye because, much like toasting nuts, it goes lightening fast.

Toasting coconut in a toaster oven.
Add the toasted coconut flakes to the custard and pour the whole mixture into an ice cream machine. If you want to put in any extra seasonings or ingredients, do that now.  If you do not have a machine, that's fine. You can freeze the custard in any freezer-proof container or put into ice cube trays to blend when frozen.

First put in the machine...

...after about 15 minutes in the machine


More shots of the final product. 

Rich and creamy. Sweet and spicy.
Dessert, Vegetarian
Share:

Tiny Vacation #2: Tartiflette


As I mentioned in the last blog, I am trying to cling to the feeling of vacation. My trip was so wonderful that I can't get my brain to come home. June 2 was a Thursday. It was a rainy, cold day in the Bay Area. The bf and I were talking about what to eat for dinner. "Something with potatoes.", the bf said.

We had a lot of yummy, fresh, organic, farm fresh potatoes from our last fruit and veggie delivery. The high quality potatoes reminded me of the delicious ones I had in Chamonix in the Tartiflette. The potatoes in that dish were small, thin skinned potatoes that had a really clean, almost sweet flavor. I knew what we were going to have for dinner.

Tartiflette is a dish from the Savoie region of France. It is traditionally made with potatoes, Reblochon cheese, cream and bacon. I made a slightly modified version of the dish because the bf is currently a vegetarian. Here is my recipe:


Tartiflette:

1 white onion, sliced thin
1.5 lbs thin skinned potatoes
2 tbsp butter
1 box Morning Star Farms Bacon strips or 1/2 pound bacon
1 8oz package Creme Fresh
1 pound of Reblochon cheese or other Savoie cheese
1/2 cup dry Savoie white wine

Clean and boil the potatoes until tender, let cool and cut into large slices, about a half inch thick.

Sautee the onion in a little olive oil on medium heat until they start to sweat a little. Add the bacon and allow that to cook in the pan too.

Grease a large casserole dish with the butter.

Place half of the onions in the casserole dish and cover with half of the onion mixture.

Place the other half of the potatoes and cover with the remainder of the onion mixture.

Spread the Creme Fresh over the whole casserole.

Split the wheel of cheese in half lengthwise so you have two half discs and place on top of the casserole.

Sprinkle the white wine, if you want, over the whole dish.

Bake at 450F for about 20 minutes or until the cheese turns brown and bubbly.


The main modification I made was the bacon. I wanted to add the smoky flavor without using meat so the bf could eat the dish but I wasn't sure how to do it. I also thought of using smoked mozzarella but decided in the end to use the faken bacon. I bought the ingredients for this dish at Trader Joe's and they did not carry the type of cheese I wanted but I did see a cheese that was from the Savoie region so I figured it couldn't be terrible and went with it. I think the cheese I used is a bit stronger than the Reblochon but the dish was perfect just the way it came out.

I drank a glass of the wine I used in the dish out of a glass I bought in Switzerland. It is a cool glass that shows the topography of the Alps around it.


We ate and ate all night Thursday and still had lots leftover for the weekend which was also cold and rainy so it was great.
Main, Side, Vegetarian
Share:

Cauliflower, potatoes and pea curry




In my veggie box this week I got a whole head of cauliflower. I do not like cauliflower so it was a particularly exciting challenge for me. The bf loves the veggie and wanted to make something with it that his mother used to make for him. From past experiences with his family recipes I have learned that the food is very tasty but FULL of butter, cheese, grease and fat. All things I love but it sort of defeats the purpose of having a box of veggies sent to me every other week. After a brief explanation of my thoughts on the subject the bf conceded and allowed me to make up a recipe for the cauliflower.
As I said, I do not like cauliflower so I had to come up with a dish that masked the flavor and perhaps the texture too. I can see how cheese and butter would make that happen. I decided that I did need some sort of fat and if I also added some spice I could mask the vegetable pretty well. I also figured a cooked cauliflower florete might have a similar texture to a potato. I looked on line and found the perfect idea. A potato curry! A traditional cauliflower and potato dish in Indian and Pakistani cuisine is called Aloo Gobi. I took the idea and made it in more of a Thai curry way. I cooked it in about 15 minutes so this is a very easy dish to make. The recipe is below:

Cauliflower, Potatoes and Pea Curry

7 or 8 small potatoes
1 large onion, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
17 ounces of light coconut milk
1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
2 tbsp Mae Ploy Green Curry paste (or other curry paste)
1 tsp Turmeric
1 handful basil, chopped

1. Cut the potatoes into 3/4 inch squares and boil until slightly tender, about 5 minutes
2. Sauté onions on medium high heat in olive oil until onions are tender then add the coconut milk, peas and cauliflower.
3. Stir in the curry and turmeric and cook until cauliflower is tender, about 5 minutes.
4. Add cooked potatoes and stir until blended.
5. Top with basil and serve
Makes 4 large servings. Per serving: Calories: 510, Fat: 20g, Fiber: 11g, Protein: 15g

My secret ingredient that makes this dish so simple to create is the Mae Ploy curry paste. I love this product because it is packed with spice and flavor and it costs next to nothing. One little package of it can last months and months or more depending on how often you make curry. All you need to do is all coconut milk and you have an instant Thai curry dish that tastes like it is from a local restaurant.
Another good thing about this meal is that it is a vegetarian dish. The protein from the potatoes make it a well balanced meal. There is a higher amount of fat than I usually allow to have in my dishes but the coconut milk is so delicious and adds that creamy texture I wanted in this dish.
cauliflower, curry, Mae Ploy,
Share:

Greek Veggie Salad - Summertime goodness




Whole Food's Greek Salad

Every day I try to use some of the fruits and vegetables I received from Farm Fresh To You. I hope this excitement never goes away. I spend my afternoons day dreaming about ways to eat, cook and serve the different varieties I have in my box. Last night was the bf's turn to cook. (We both love to cook so we have to switch turns.) He used up the carrots in a pretty tasty way which is a rare thing for me to say because I think carrots taste horrible. I do not know what recipe he used but I found several similar ones online. He cut the carrots into one inch chunks and boiled them. He added honey and sesame seeds. I liked them a lot. I think if I were to make them I would add some savory flavors. Maybe some soy sauce, ginger and hot pepper flakes. If I get more carrots, I will make something up and share it with you.
Carrots with honey and sesame
I was up very late last night. I usually go to bed around 8:30pm because I have to get up at 4:00am for work. Last night my ear was hurting me really bad so I took a pain pill. Pain pills are good and they are bad. They are good at stopping the pain. They are bad because I can not sleep when I have taken one. So there I was in a catch 22. I can't sleep with ear pain but I can't sleep on the pain killers. I opted for being awake with no pain over being awake and in pain. I lay on the couch watching Cheers until about 10:00pm when I started getting the late night munchies, another phenomenon I rarely experience. I rummaged through the kitchen looking for snacks. I found crackers but no spreads or cheese. I found kettle chips but that was a bit fatty for me. Then I came across my box of veggies. I thought, how can I use these as a snack? I ended up making a veggie salad that I totally devoured. It was so good! I found the recipe on the Whole Foods website here. I used the recipe as a guideline for the ingredients but did not use the volumes suggested. I used up my cucumber, two tomatoes, a bell pepper and half of an onion from my veggie box. I also got to use oregano from my new herb garden. I am posting the recipe below.

Greek Vegetable Salad

2 slicing tomatoes
1/2 onion
1 bell pepper
1 cucumber
1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives
1/2 cup crushed feta cheese
2 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp red wine vinegar
coarsely crushed pepper and salt.

1. Cut tomatoes, onion and bell pepper into bite sized pieces and place in a bowl
2. Cut the cucumber in half then strips and dice into bite sized pieces
3. Add the olives and feta
4. In a separate bowl whisk the oil and vinegar with the salt and pepper.
5. Pour dressing over vegetables and mix gently

It's very yummy and it has nothing bad for you in it. I ate about half of the salad last night and didn't feel terrible about it the next day. I refrigerated the left over salad and brought it to work today. It had time to marinade so now the flavors are melded. I can't wait for lunch time!
Lunch Time at Work

Granted, my picture taken at my desk with my phone camera isn't as pretty. Plus, the salad has been in the fridge over night. It still tastes fantastic. I love the bits of oregano.
Main, Side, Vegetarian
Share:

Chicken and Mushroom Wild Rice Risotto with White Truffle Oil




Last weekend we went grocery shopping at Whole Foods for the first time. We had been there before to check it out but this time we actually did some buying. There are a ton of awesome things there. We had just eaten and so we didn't buy as much as we had planned but because we were not hungry, we only bought the most delicious looking stuff. One of the things we bought was a little box of mixed mushrooms. I think I have cooked with mushrooms only once in my life, in college I believe. They looked so yummy that we couldn't resist even though we are not giant mushroom fans.
Mixed Variety of Mushrooms from Whole Foods

Once home, I was faced with the question of what to cook with my new mushies. I initially planned on chopping them up really small and mixing them with ground turkey and some cheese to make mushroom burgers. Then I thought that I really wanted to showcase them in a dish because they were kind of fancy and a bit expensive. I decided on making a mushroom risotto. I have never made risotto before. I know, I am Swiss-Italian and I have never made risotto. Oh, sure I have made rice with cheese in it but I have never made actual risotto where you are slowly adding the liquid and stirring constantly.

In my pantry I only have brown rice, wild rice and long grain rice. I decided while day dreaming up the recipe in my head at work earlier that day that I would use brown rice instead of the traditional Arborio rice. When I got home I found that, no, we did not have brown rice. There I was standing with all my wonderful mushrooms and onions...and when I went to the cupboard to get my rice, no dice, no rice. I had to use the wild rice. It took me a long time, a lot of stirring, a lot of worrying, but in the end it was fantastic so I thought I would share the recipe here with you.
Wild rice

I decided to add some chicken for protein to make it a whole meal. Also, the process of adding the broth in batches and stirring the rice as it absorbs the liquid is meant to release some of the starch in the rice which gives the risotto that creamy texture. I was afraid that wild rice would not release the starch in the same way as the traditional rice would so I added little sprinklings of flour every so often to make up for it.

Chicken and Mushroom Risotto with White Truffle

1 lb Mushrooms chopped (preferably mixed varieties)
2 tbsp butter
3 chicken breasts cut into 1/2 inch pieces
Salt and pepper (if you have truffle salt, you can add that for extra flavor)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 large onion
1 1/2 cup wild rice medley
1 cup dry white wine
6 cups chicken broth
1 tbsp flour
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
fresh oregano, if desired
White truffle oil, if desired (recommended!)

1. Melt butter in large pan and add mushrooms. Cook for about 5 minutes
2. Add chicken, salt and pepper and cook until chicken is just cooked through, about 5 more minutes. Set aside
3. In a medium sauce pan heat the oil and add the onions. Cook until tender, about 3 minutes.
4. Add rice to onions and cook on medium heat until lightly toasted.
5. Add wine and stir until it is absorbed into the rice.
6. Add a half cup of the broth and lightly sprinkle with a little of the flour. Stir until absorbed.
7. Continue adding the broth a half cup at a time until the rice is tender. This may take over an hour. You may add more than the six cups or less depending on how the rice reacts. Add light dustings of flour until you can see the rice begin to look creamy.
8. Add the rice to the chicken and mushrooms and mix in the cheese.
9. Serve in bowls and top with chopped oregano and a drizzle of white truffle oil. If you do not have truffle oil you can just drizzle a good olive oil over the top.
I calculated the basic nutritional info and found that wild rice is high in calories. Not that that really matters because it has other great nutritional qualities. It was just interesting to me. Assuming this makes 4 servings (we ate the whole thing between the two of us, but for normal people it should feed 4)

Calories: 495; Fat: 17g; Fiber: 5g; Protein:39g

This may be a bit of an indulgence but it also has some really great ingredients in it. Mushrooms are a healthy source of potassium, calcium, iron and copper. Wild rice is very high in fiber and protein as well as potassium, phosphorous, antioxidants and B vitamins.
Main, Side, Vegetarian
Share:

Mexican Chocolate Cupcakes and Hominy and Chilies Casserole


My food group had a theme of Tex-Mex this month. I looked all over the internet for healthy recipes but learned that Tex-Mex, by nature, is mostly unhealthy. The host of this month's party is from Texas and said it herself: "Basically, you take some food and cover it in queso". Queso, meaning gloppy, yellow cheese. It tastes fantastic, don't get me wrong, but finding a recipe that is good for you and delicious is out of the question. So, I gave up on that attempt and created a couple recipes based on what I was in the mood for eating. Both these recipes are vegetarian because one of the hosts of the pot luck is a vegetarian and I wanted to make something she could enjoy.

The first thing that came to my mind was hominy. Made from corn kernels, it is not a well known ingredient that has no fat and minimal calories. It is very good for you. I love hominy and I see it in giant tubs in the Mexican markets so I figure it must at least cover the "Mex" part of the theme. I figured if I tossed in some chilies it would cover the "Tex" part and to tie it all together, of course, cheese. The result was a HUGE hit at the party. Everyone asked me for the recipe which is always a great compliment so I am providing it below.

Tex Mex Hominy Casserole

1/2 white onion
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tsp cumin
Juice of 1 lime
1 small jalapeno, some seeds removed
1 poblano pepper, seeded
1 can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (7.5 oz)
1 can of white hominy(29 oz)
1 can of kidney beans, drained
3/4 cup light sour cream
1/4 cup vegetable broth or water
1 package of shredded sharp cheddar (12 oz)
2 corn tortillas cut into thin strips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Dice onion and chop garlic, place in a small pan with oil and cook until fragrant, about three minutes. Add the pepper flakes, cayenne and cumin and lime juice, reduce heat and simmer for about two minutes.

2. Chop jalapeno, poblano and chipotlte peppers finely together. You can use a food processor or one of those hand slapping choppers. Add peppers to a 9 inch square casserole dish, or something similar, along with the hominy, beans, sour cream and broth. Mix thoroughly.

3. Add about 2/3 of the package of cheese and blend in with the rest of the ingredients then top with remaining 1/3 of cheese. Place tortilla strips on top in a lattice pattern.

4. Bake for 30 minutes then broil for a few minutes at the end for an extra crispy tortilla topping.

If you are like me then you want a relatively large serving so I figure this serves 8. I added up all the calories et. al. from all the cans of ingredients as well as what calorieking said about the oil and veggies then I divided it all by 8 and here is what I got:

Calories: 380, Fat: 18g, Sodium: 1128mg, Protein: 17g, Fiber: 7g, Carbs: 37g


The day of the pot luck party I was feeling particularly thin, and good thing because of all the food I was about to eat. I was really craving Mexican chocolate. I recall one time when I was young my mother brought home an angular yellow box full of wrapped discs of hardened chocolate.

My mother explained that it was spiced chocolate from Mexico used for making hot chocolate. I really liked the hints of cinnamon and other spices it had. I thought that would make a yummy cupcake. I wanted to make the cupcake even more interesting by adding some heat to it with some cayenne pepper. I had to eat a lot of cupcakes to come up with the right ingredients but it was worth it!

Mexican Chocolate Cayenne Mini Cupcakes

1 box of devil's food cake mix
2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp cinnamon
4 eggs (in lieu of how ever many the cake box tells you to use)
1 cup buttermilk (in lieu of how ever much water the cake box tells you to use)
Vegetable oil (what ever amount is on the instructions on the cake mix box)
1 disk Mexican chocolate, chopped into chip sized bits.


1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line mini cupcake pans with muffin paper cups.

2. In a large mixing bowl combine the cake mix, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Add the egg, buttermilk and oil. Stir until combined. Add the chocolate bits and stir until it is incorporated in the mix.

3. Spoon batter into muffin cups filling them up about three quarters of the way. Bake at 400 for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool and remove from pan.

Frosting

For the frosting, I didn't have any butter in the house and I was too lazy to go to the store just to buy one stick so I improvised a sort of ganache. You can make it as spicy as you like by adding more or less spice. I found that the chocolate seems to calm the spice down a lot and was surprised by how much pepper I was putting in just to get a tiny bit of spice in the flavor.

4 disks Mexican chocolate, chopped up to melt faster
3 Tbsp buttermilk
1 Tbsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp sriracha hot sauce (if you dare)

1. In a double boiler melt the chocolate with the buttermilk. Once melted add the cinnamon. Add the pepper in increments until you have achieved the level of spiciness you would like. Add sriracha sauce if not spicy enough.

2. Remove pot of chocolate from double boiler. Take a cooled cupcake, invert and dip into the chocolate mixture. Roll the cake until the top is covered in a layer of the chocolate. Let the frosting cool and repeat with all cupcakes.

The chocolate that I used had cocoa nibs in it. This made the frosting a little crunchy which people really liked so do not worry if your chocolate doesn't seem to completely dissolve.
Dessert, Main, Vegetarian
Share:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)