Chocolate & Ale Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting

WE INTERRUPT YOUR PREVIOUSLY SCHEDULED PROGRAM (COFFEE TALK) TO BRING YOU SOMETHING HIGHLY DELICIOUS THAT YOU REALLY MUST MAKE REGARDLESS OF WHETHER OR NOT YOU ARE IRISH OR WEARING GREEN TODAY.  THANK YOU. 

I wrote that in my very best old-timey radio announcer voice.

So here's the deal.  It is Friday, which means that we should be coffee-talking, but I threw a stray bottle of ale into my chocolate cupcakes the other day and it happened to be incredible.  Coffee Talk will be coming to you tomorrow, but for today, on this very verdant March 17th, we need to talk about the magic of ale and chocolate baked together and covered in caramel. 

I have no doubt that you have noticed my lack of holiday-themed treats.  I do, in fact, make Mr. Pedantic heart-shaped egg-in-hole breakfasts come Valentine's Day, and you will not find me without a batch of peanut butter eggs at my side in April, but here, in this little space of internet, I like to keep things a bit less...Pinterest-y?  I'll leave that to Martha Stewart. 

However, I just could not resist sharing these very holiday-appropriate cupcakes, because while they are quite festive, they are equally delicious. 

They are also the quickest cupcakes you will ever make.  You do not even need to break out your stand mixer for these guys. 

I wish I could properly describe the aroma of these cupcakes baking, but you will just have to bake them yourself to find out.  All I can say is that the scent of rich chocolate baked with yeasty ale is pure heaven. 

While the cupcakes cool, we need to tackle the frosting situation.  Salted caramel and cream cheese just felt right. 

See how smooth that frosting is?  Doesn't it make your eyes so happy? 

The key to a super smooth frosting is soft cream cheese and butter.  If you try to use butter or cream cheese that is even slightly cold you will end up with little cold bits strew throughout the frosting. 

It's been pretty cold these days around Norwyk Manor so I placed my butter and cream cheese atop my stove while the cupcakes baked, flipping them every so often so that the warmth was evenly distributed.  Cheat code for the impatient. 

A super simple homemade caramel goes into the frosting and the leftovers are used for drizzling. 

I also sprinkled a bit of edible gold sugar over these little cakes because the neighborhood leprechaun told me too. 

Let's forgo the pinching and shamrock necklaces and just eat cupcakes.  Cool?  Cool. 

Sincerely, 

Pedantic Foodie

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Chocolate and Ale Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting

makes 2 1/2 dozen / cake recipe adapted from Food 52

for the cupcakes

2 cups pure cane sugar 

1 3/4 cups all-purpose 

3/4 cup cocoa 

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 

2 eggs 

1/4 cup whole milk 

3/4 cup amber ale 

1/4 cup vegetable oil 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1/4 cup boiling water 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray muffin tins with nonstick spray.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk to combine sugar, all-purpose flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Add eggs, milk, ale, oil, and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth; about two minutes.  Then, whisk in boiling water.  The batter will be quite thin but do not worry! 

Divide the batter evenly amongst the 30 muffin cups, filling each only half way.  These cakes will rise significantly!

Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the cakes spring back when tapped lightly in the center.  Do not open the oven during the baking time else the cupcakes will fall. 

Place the cupcakes on cooling racks to cool while you prepare the frosting. 

for the caramel

3/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon water

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla 

2/3 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

In a small sauté pan combine sugar, butter and water.  Place over medium heat and stir until the butter melts and the sugar begins to dissolve.  

Once the sugar has dissolved, cease stirring, and boil for 5-7 minutes, or until amber in color.  Swirl the pan occasionally so that the caramel browns evenly, but do not stir or scape down the sides while the caramel is cooking.  Once the color is correct, remove from heat and add vanilla, heavy cream, and salt.  Be careful as the caramel will bubble and may splatter.  

Once the cream has been stirred in, return the pan to the burner and whisk until the caramel is smooth.

Allow the caramel to cool to room temperature.   

for the frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature 

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 

2 tablespoons heavy cream

2 cups confectioner’s sugar 

1/2 cup salted caramel, cooled 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and butter.  Beat on medium speed with an electric hand-mixer until smooth.  Reduce the speed to low and beat in heavy cream. 

Continue mixing on the lowest speed while you gradually add confectioner’s sugar; scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions.  

When the frosting is smooth, slowly beat in caramel and vanilla extract.  

Spread the frosting on top of the cooled cupcakes and drizzle with the excess caramel.  Store in airtight containers and refrigerate until ready to serve.  Enjoy! 

Kale, Barley & Roasted Beet Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

Hey! Hey! Hey!!!

How are you doing?

I find myself constantly alternating between dreamy, instagram-worthy living where I have a cup of tea and homemade short biscuits at 3pm each day and trot around windy cities with my husband on weekends, and not being able to remember how long ago I washed my current bath towel and scrambling around at 4:45am to try to find Mr.  Pedantic a pair of black socks for work. I'm not sure how all three hundred pairs always manage to be dirty. 

This salad right here is for the organized days.  The days where we are purposeful about fueling these bodies of ours. 

This is my adaptation of an amazing salad I had when I visited Chattanooga a year and a half ago.  Up until that point, I would have told you that I did not eat beets.  

Then, I ordered a salad in some very hipster, exposed beams + crystal chandelier kind-of coffee shop and fell in love with the sweet, jewel-like cubes that lay atop my greens.  That salad taught me that roasted beets are nothing like the horrible canned slices of my childhood.   

This salad also makes me really like kale, which is sometimes a challenge.  I had a kale chip experience once.  I don't want to talk about it...

So let's make it!

Wash your greens, scrub your beets, and preheat your ovens. 

Beets are wrapped up in aluminum foil, along with a bit of olive oil, and roasted until soft and sweet. Then we get to peel off those skins, which is also known as, "time to dye our fingers fuchsia." 

I love the addition of barley in this salad because it makes my brain think I'm eating pasta and adds a very welcome chewy texture. 

Kale is chopped fine and gets cozy with our still-warm barley and a sweet honey and poppy seed dressing.  

The colors here are making me really happy. 

Now, for the toppings. 

I threw pistachios, dried cranberries, and feta atop this salad, but the sky is the limit!  Use whatever nuts or dried fruits you have on hand.  I think walnuts would be excellent. 

The salty feta alongside the sweet roasted beets is my favorite. 

I know it's Pi Day, but around here pretty much every day is Pie Day - just check the archives.  Oh, and when you need to detox, me and my new salad will be waiting here for you.  xoxo

Sincerely, 

Pedantic Foodie

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Beet & Barely Salad

serves 4-6

for the beets

3 medium-sized beets, greens removed

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 

Clean beets thoroughly.  Cut 3 large squares of aluminum foil and pour 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil into the center of each.  Place each beet on top of the oil and wrap the sides of the foil up and around the beet, sealing it tightly.

Place the foil-wrapped beets in a baking dish and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until fork-tender.  

(This is a great time to cook your barley.)

Allow the beets to sit until they are cool enough to handle, then peel away the outer skins.  Chop into 1/4-inch cubes. 

for the barley

1 cup quick-cooking barley*

2 1/2 cups chicken stock 

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Combine barley and chicken stock in a 3-quart sauce pan and bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat to low and simmer, with the lid on, for ten minutes. 

Remove the pan from the heat and allow the barley to sit, covered, for five minutes.  Drain away any excess liquid and fluff with a fork.  Drizzle with olive oil and toss to combine.

Allow the barley to cool slightly before adding it to the salad. 

*I buy Trader Joe’s “10-Minute Barley.”  Of course, if you prefer traditional barley, that will certainly work here - just prepare it according to the maker’s instructions. 

for the dressing

3 tablespoons honey 

1 tablespoon dijon mustard 

1/2 teaspoon sea salt 

1 teaspoon poppy seeds

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

In a small jar, combine honey, dijon mustard, sea salt, poppy seeds, and lemon juice.  Use a fork to whisk together. 

Add the olive oil to the mixture and top your jar with a tight lid.  Shake until the dressing is smooth and well combined.

toppings & assembly

6 cups kale, cut roughly into bite-size pieces 

1/2 cup dried cranberries 

1 cup crumbled feta 

1/3 cup pistachios  

cooked barley

roasted beets

prepared dressing

There are two ways to make this salad.  The first option is to prepare it as instructed below for serving a large group.  The second option would be to refrigerate the roasted beets, barley, and dressing in separate containers and build individual salads as you need them.  (The individual elements will last at least a week in the refrigerator.)  The choice is yours.  For an individual salad, I used two good spoonfuls of dressing. 

Pour the dressing into the bottom of a large salad bowl and add chopped kale, barley, and roasted beets; toss to coat.  Allow this mixture to sit for five minutes or so.  This resting time will give the kale a chance to soften.  Top with cranberries, feta, and pistachios.  Serve immediately and enjoy! 

Banana Muffins with Almond Sugar Streusel

Muffin Mondays.  Can we make that a thing?

We have had some extra chilly mornings recently and I find myself wanting to simply curl up with an endless cup of tea and a generous supply of muffins and tea cakes.  

Have I ever mentioned how much I adore carbs?  Oh yes, it would seem that I have.  I really do love them. 

While I did give my dining table a spring-ready makeover, I am holding onto these blustery mornings and cozy afternoons with all my might.  Every season has its charms and I am learning to appreciate them more and more rather than forever looking to what's next.  

I think banana bread was one of the first things I started baking on my own.  Back in the days where I had to break out the step-ladder to reach the baking soda, I produced not a few loaves of banana bread that my brother and I then devoured as soon as the timer signaled - "done!" 

Banana bread will forever be one of the greatest and coziest of foods.  

I had a bunch of bananas that I had bought for Mr. Pedantic's breakfasts but since he's been a bit under the weather lately they were left to become brown, and soft, and justtttt right for baking into deliciously moist muffins. 

Now, you must refrain from going to buy a bunch of bananas just for these muffins.  I have done that many a time and, 1. they will never ripen, and 2., you will probably suddenly discover that you adore bananas and eat them all before the first brown spot has appeared. 

Just go about your normal business, and buy a bunch with more than your husband will be able to eat.  Then, when your back is turned, they will do their ripening thing.

Sometimes you have to trick your produce into compliance. 

Because I cannot have a muffin without a topping, I made a super-sugary streusel with slivered almonds. 

I've been trying to replace regular ol' white sugar with pure cane sugar and I swear it is not as sweet, but I love the texture of the coarse granules. 

You will never find a perfect, not-overfilled muffin tin in my kitchen.  I used to call it a problem, but now I'm going with the slightly more elegant title of "signature."

I toted a bunch of these still-warm muffins up to our apartment office as a Valentine's Day treat. 

Handy men, receptionists, and Mr. Pedantic all agreed that these muffins were the perfect weekday pick-me-up.   

Now, make that second cup of tea and start ignoring those yellow bananas.  We have got this week in the bag.  Carb power forever and ever. 

Sincerely,

Pedantic Foodie

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Banana Almond Streusel Muffins

makes 18 / recipe loosely adapted from Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook

for the streusel

- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

- 1/2 cup raw or pure cane sugar 

- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

- 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes 

- 1/2 cup slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, whisk to combine flour, sugar, and baking powder.  Add butter cubes and use your finger tips to work the butter into the flour mixture until the butter is in pea-sized pieces.  Toss in silvered almonds and cover the bowl with plastic wrap.  

Refrigerate the streusel while you prepare the muffin batter.  

for the batter

- 2 eggs

- 1 1/2 cups mashed, ripe bananas (about 3 medium)

- 1/2 cup vegetable oil

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

- 1 cup pure cane sugar 

- 2 cups all-purpose flour 

- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 

- pinch of salt 

- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a large bowl, whisk to combine eggs, bananas, oil, vanilla extract, and sugar.  Set aside.

In a separate bowl, sift to combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.  Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and whisk until smooth, but do not beat.  

Spray muffin tins with nonstick spray and divide the batter evenly amongst 18 cups.  Sprinkle each muffin with about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the prepared streusel. 

Bake for 20 minutes - until the edges are golden and a butterknife inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean.  The streusel make look underdone, but it will set as the muffins cool. Allow to cool for 15-20 minutes before serving.  Enjoy! 

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