S'mores Cupcakes

I've probably already mentioned the fact that I spend WAY too much time on Pinterest. I never get tired of drooling over pictures of delicious-looking food. All that time on Pinterest usually inspires me to bake which unfortunately inspires me to eat what I bake... hence, S'mores Cupcakes! I generally try to limit my baking sprees to coincide with parties or game nights, times when I know I'll be able to pass off most of the goodies so I have a limited number left at home to eat myself.

Anyway, today's concoction is probably derived from something I saw on Pinterest (or a combination of somethings) but it's more or less something I whipped together on a whim. I started with a box of chocolate cake mix and added a few of my own little touches to create S'mores Cupcakes. I actually made them once a few weeks ago but they needed some tweaking. This time I think they came pretty close to perfect.

To kick things off I made a graham-cracker crust in the bottom of each cupcake liner. All I did was crush up a package of graham crackers then mixed in a tablespoon or two of sugar, a dash of cocoa powder and about a stick of melted butter. After pressing this mixture into the bottom of each cupcake liner I popped them in the oven at 375 for about 10 minutes. Once the graham cracker crusts cooled I poured in the prepared chocolate cake batter and pressed a few mini marshmallows into the middle of each cupcake just for fun.

Next, I baked the cupcakes for about 20 minutes at 325 then let them cool completely. I actually put them in the fridge for a few minutes just to be sure the icing wouldn't melt. Here's the fun part, the icing... it would probably best be described by the term "omg" but I like to call it marshmallow buttercream. It's just your standard buttercream icing (2 sticks butter, 4 cups powdered sugar, little bit of milk) but I added a tub of marshmallow fluff to make it extra awesome. The first time I made these cupcakes I found that the icing didn't really "swirl" the way I wanted it to so I was pretty careful this time. I added just the tiniest bit of milk at a time to keep the icing from getting too runny and it really worked! See for yourself:

Now that's what I call cupcake perfection. Actually, the finished product is better but it's still pretty good at this stage. To finish things up I melted a combination of chocolate chips and milk chocolate baking chips in a double boiler (added a little butter to smooth it out). After I frosted the cupcakes I put them in the freezer so the frosting would harden enough to be dipped in chocolate. Once the icing was cool/hard enough I dipped all of the cupcakes in chocolate, sprinkled on some extra graham cracker crumbs and topped it off with a piece of Hershey's chocolate. 

Below I have a picture of a slight variation I tried. I promised my brother a cupcake delivery but since I ran out of graham cracker crumbs I had to try something else for the second batch. I filled the cupcake liners with chocolate cake batter then threw a handful of mini marshmallows on top and popped them in the oven. The marshmallows started to melt into the batter and browned around the edges, making them nice and toasty. The rest of the procedure was the same.

The cupcakes went over really well (both variations) so I think I'll have to add this concoction to my repertoire of favorite recipes. I have to say, I'm pretty excited about the chocolate-dipped frosting thing so don't be surprised if you start to notice a theme in future posts....  

Grilled Zucchini, Red Onion and Corn Salad

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted! Life has been pretty hectic for me, but I'm sure pretty much everyone can say that about their lives. I'm in the middle of a transition phase so it always seems like there is something I need to get caught up on. Not only am I in the process of moving (moving into a condo near Pitt next week with my sister who just started medical school) but I also quit my job at the restaurant I was working at as a baker/line cook.

I was really excited about the potential opportunities I saw with this job a few months ago when I originally interviewed, but ever since then things have been messy. It wasn't until probably two months after I was technically hired that the restaurant even opened and now, seven weeks later, it still hasn't had an official "grand" opening. There are too many problems to count but among them are a dearth of competent and reliable cooks, a lack of organization in regard to purchasing basic supplies needed to do the day's work (milk, butter, bread, etc.) and an owner who tries to be and do all things at once which only results in exhaustion and short-temperedness on her part and anxiety and frustration on everyone else's. Overall, I'm very glad to be out of that situation but also disappointed because I was really looking forward to using my skills and learning some new ones.

Anyway, now that I'm not working full-time anymore I am able to focus on my writing. I have been a freelance writer on the side (and full-time when I'm between jobs) and I've decided that it is what I should be focusing on right now. I am still entertaining the idea of starting my own baking business down the line (waaaay down the line) but for now I'm going to focus on writing. The exciting part about this is that, thanks to my experience working in the food industry, I have been able to get a few jobs writing recipe books! Not only is this a good use of my skills but it also gives me a chance to read hundreds of different recipes which serves to inspire me for my own cooking adventures. I'm not sure what the future holds for me but for now I am enjoying the opportunity to focus on something I love.

If you've managed to get all the way through this post, thanks! In my launch post I talked about how I wanted to go to culinary school and about documenting my adventures working as a baker but now that both of those things have changed I'm not entirely sure which direction this blog is going to go. I do plan to keep baking and posting recipes, so perhaps that is enough for now. Yesterday was my birthday so in addition to an ice cream cake from Coldstone Creamery, I also enjoyed some delicious homemade seafood pizza and one of my favorite summertime salads -- grilled zucchini, red onion and corn salad marinated in Italian dressing.

Ingredients:

3 medium zucchini

1 large red onion

4 to 6 ears sweet corn (or 2-3 cups frozen corn)

1 bottle Italian dressing (or your favorite vinaigrette)

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:  

1. Slice the zucchini long-ways into 1/2-inch thick pieces. Arrange the slices flat in a large glass baking dish and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle Italian dressing over the zucchini and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.
2. Thickly slice the red onion and spread the slices in a glass baking dish. Season with salt and pepper then drizzle Italian dressing over the slices then refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.
3. Peel off the first few layers of husk from the corn then soak the whole ears in water for at least 15 minutes. The moisture will soak into the husks and prevent the corn from burning on the grill.
4. Preheat your grill and lay down a layer of aluminum foil over an area large enough for the red onions.
5. Arrange the vegetables on the grill, laying the slices of zucchini flat and the red onions on top of the foil. Place the whole ears of corn on the grill wherever you have space.
6. Grill the vegetables for 5 to 10 minutes on each side until grill marks appear and the zucchini becomes tender. Cook the corn until the outline of the kernels are visible through the husk.
7. Remove the vegetables from the grill and let cool for 2 to 3 minutes then chop and stir them together in a large bowl. Season with more salt and pepper, if desired.