CUPCAKE PʘRN!
Have you seen all the CUPCAKE blogs on the web lately? I had to investigate this new phenomenon. I needed to see what all the insane hoo-haa was about. I had a plan. I took to spying on them a little more closely. I was online for days, staring into one Cupcake blog after another. I was losing sleep, constantly thinking about the newest fad ~ Cupcake Pʘrn!
CUPCAKE LURKER!
I must confess, I've been a "Cupcake Lurker" the past few months. But, in my defense, I did it all under-cover and I can honestly say that no Cupcakes were harmed in any of my experiments. Does eating them count? Then yes, I am guilty. I am in love with these baby cakes!
WHAT CAN I SAY? I HAVE SOME SERIOUS ISSUES
Years ago when my kids were little, I made BILLIONS of cupcakes for them to take to school, to Girl Scout meetings and Pot Luck dinners. Even back then, I enjoyed making cupcakes. They were so effortless, I could make them in my sleep. (OK, so I'm exaggerating a little.) Truth be told ~ and without patting myself on the back too hard ~ mine were THE BEST!! Seriously, John said so, my kids said so, so it must be true! With all that praise, it was hard to believe that deep down inside, I knew they were the corniest, stupidest little cupcakes :-( Bad, bad hubby for lying to me all those years. No wonder I have serious competitive issues. I think I need counseling, but what do I know? Even today, my kids say I'm a Praise Whʘre! Can I put that on my resume?
Speaking of competition....I recently discovered a whole new universe outside my little boat ~ outside my teeny, tiny scope of things. I call it Extreme Reality Baking!
Being the totally obsessed dessert foodie that I am ~ and I say that conservatively ~ I had to get in on the ground floor of these all-consuming, never ending blog events where food p*rn is red-hot! What I didn't realize, was this has been going on for quite a while. Great, now I have to play catch-up!
"CUPCAKE HERO"
Soooo..... I recently decided to enter another highly competitive food event! The "CUPCAKE HERO" specializes in just that, CUPCAKES. Every month a slew of artistic bakers and cupcake engineers get their new assignments. This months theme is Marshmallow! I can choose whatever cupcake I want to bake, as long as it has marshmallow in the cupcake, filling or frosting. Then we take pictures, type out the recipe and post it to our blogs for the rest of the world to see! We also submit it to the Cupcake Hero staff for a very professional and tasty judging. The winner receives a super cool Cupcake Hero t-shirt!
So, without further ado, here's my Cupcake Hero Marshmallow Cupcake entry for this month!
COCONUT MARSHMALLOW BROWNIE CUPCAKES
I LOVE chocolate, I LOVE brownies, I LOVE coconut and I LOVE cupcakes, so why not blend them together to satisfy all my urges? I believe I pulled it off just fine. I Created A Hybrid!
(You can always cheat and use your favorite brownie mix! But make the "cakey" recipe. after all, these are supposed to be cupcakes!)
- 2) 1 ounce squares unsweetened chocolate
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unbleached white flour
- 3/4 cup Marshmallow Fluff (for the insides)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Spray cupcake pans or use paper liners. Set aside.
- Melt unsweetened chocolate and butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Careful! Don't burn it! Remove from heat.
- Using a wooden spoon or spatula, stir in sugar until well mixed.
- Add eggs, vanilla and salt and beat well with spoon.
- Fold in flour and mix just until smooth.
- Spoon batter half way up in liners.
- Pipe or spoon 1 tsp Marshmallow Fluff in the center. Spoon a little more batter over the top to cover the fluff.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Don't over bake.
- Let cool and frost as desired.
- Sprinkle with toasted coconut.
- Makes 12-18 yummy cupcakes.
See how I squirted the Fluff inside the batter? It's not just on top.
COCONUT MARSHMALLOW BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
- 2/3 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup Marshmallow Fluff
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract
- 1-2 teaspoons milk
- 1 1/3 cups powdered sugar
Directions:
- Beat butter and Marshmallow Fluff together until mixture is smooth.
- Add coconut extract and milk and beat again.
- Add powdered sugar a little at a time and beat until frosting is smooth and creamy. Add more milk if needed to spread or pipe.
IS EVERYONE A WINNER?
I would like to think that everyone is a winner, but I know the
nasty truth. The reality is, with such intense competition, I might not take first place. And then what? Enter the next food event? And the next and the next until I finally get my prize? Don't let this cute, little cupcake fool you. Extreme Baking is here to stay and it's a cut-throat industry!
Would this be the end of the world for me? Nah, I'll just beat
myself silly trying to keep up with all the other baking events, always
pushing, further, harder, sweeter, more outrageous. I'll go where no
baker has gone before. Remember, It's all for the Praise folks, It's all for the Praise!
BUSTED!
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