Firecracker Cupcakes

I made a special dessert for the 4th of July: Firecracker Cupcakes!

About a month ago I made homemade Funfetti cupcakes, which were a big hit. To make them even more festive (did you think that was possible?) I sprinkled red Pop Rocks on top. Each bite explodes in your mouth like, you guessed it, a firecracker.

I used the same recipes again (this one for cupcakes and this one for frosting). To have a good firecracker effect, add the Pop Rocks right before you serve the cupcakes. Moisture is what makes them pop, so you don’t want them sitting too long on wet frosting (for the same reason, putting them in the batter won’t give you cupcakes that pop in your mouth).

Happy 4th of July!

One More Reminder – Go Vote!

Voting ends tomorrow (Wednesday) at the Ice Cream Cupcake Roundup. If you haven’t already done so, please go over and vote for my chocolate bacon cupcake.

Over 600 people have voted and as of Monday, the top 2 cupcakes were only 12 votes apart! Also, just for voting, you’ll be entered to win a prize pack – not a bad deal!

Thank you to everyone who has already voted – I really appreciate your support and hope you win the prize!

Week 26: Papaya Seeds

Side note: Please don’t forget to go vote for my bacon chocolate cupcake! The voting ends on Tuesday. Thanks for your support!

It’s already week 26, which means we’re halfway through the year and halfway through the 52 kitchen adventures! This year has flown by for me and I can’t believe it’s already summer. Is it just me or are you surprised that we’re halfway through 2010?

To commemorate the halfway point, I’m excited to share that I launched 52KitchenAdventures.com! If you type in the old address, it should redirect you to the new one. The look is the same for now but it is no longer hosted by WordPress, giving me more freedom. I’m working on a new look for the site and hope to have it up and running soon. Let me know if any links aren’t working for you.

This week, I decided to explore papaya. Now, you’re probably thinking, “Papaya? That’s not unusual,” as Russ was quick to point out when he heard. But we’re not using the flesh here – we’re using the seeds! Did you know that papaya seeds are edible? Interestingly, the seeds are often treated like peppercorns, which is exactly what they look like. They have a fairly mild peppery taste and can be eaten along with the flesh of the fruit to enhance its taste. The seeds contain an enzyme that break down protein, so you can also use them to tenderize meat.

I pureed the seeds along with fresh lemon juice and a few other ingredients to make a refreshing salad dressing. The little black flecks you see are the papaya seeds (I think it would be nearly impossible to completely puree them). By blending the salad dressing for a few extra minutes in the food processor, it thickened up quite a bit.

To compliment the refreshing papaya seed dressing, I created a summer salad with greens, papaya chunks, cherry tomatoes, blackberries, bell pepper and avocados. It was the perfect start to a light summer dinner.

Papaya Seed Lemon Dressing

• 2 T papaya seeds
• 3 T unseasoned, unsweetened rice vinegar
• 3 T lemon juice
• 2 T honey
• 1/2 t salt
• 2/3 C olive oil

Combine all ingredients except olive oil in a food processor or blender. Blend until well combined and seeds are crushed into small pieces. Slowly add in olive oil and blend until dressing is smooth and has thickened.

Taste & Create: Balsamic Blackberry Sauce

Taste & Create is a great concept: each month, food bloggers sign up to be paired up and make a recipe from their partner’s food blog and share the results. (Interested in participating? Go here to find out more!)

I participated in this month’s challenge, which partnered me up with Tamy from Always Eat on the Good China. There is a very wide range of recipes at Tamy’s site, but I bee-lined for the desserts (of course) and found a balsamic berry sauce that was too perfect to pass up – berries just came into season here and they are one of my favorite summer treats. We’ve also been eating a lot of ice cream lately, and this sauce brings a fresh summer flavor to the rich dessert, as well as adding oomph to even the plainest vanilla. The balsamic vinegar is subtle and adds a slight tang, making it more interesting than a plain berry sauce. You could also serve this over lots of other desserts (angel food and shortcakes come to mind) or eat it plain.

Week 25: Agave Nectar

Agave nectar has become more and more commonplace over the past few years (my local Costco even carries giant bottles of it). It’s a liquid alternative to sugar that you can use to sweeten baked goods, coffee, tea, etc., and is sweeter and less viscous than honey. Many vegans use it because some white sugar is processed using bone char. It is also touted as a “healthy” alternative to sugar, because it contains a higher fructose level, which causes a lower glycemic effect (in other words, it doesn’t spike blood sugar). However, the level of fructose depends on the type of agave plant and how much it was filtered, so I wouldn’t necessarily count on it if you are diabetic. It also still contains a decent amount of calories and grams of sugar, but it is sweeter than table sugar, therefore you can use less.

Agave nectar is made from the core of the agave plant (tequila is made from the same plant), whose juice is filtered and cooked down into a syrup. Based on the amount of processing, agave nectar comes in a range from light to amber to dark. Light has a mild flavor but as the nectar gets darker, it has a slightly stronger caramel flavor. The darker it is, the less filtered and therefore the more minerals it retains (including calcium, magnesium, iron, and potassium).

Baking with agave can seem a little tricky, since you’re replacing a dry ingredient with a liquid. You can easily replace a recipe calling for honey or maple syrup with the same amount of agave. To replace white sugar, use 2/3 C agave for every 1 C white sugar and reduce other liquids in the recipe by 1/4-1/3 C. Brown sugar has slightly more moisture than white sugar, so while you still use 2/3 agave for every 1 C brown sugar since it’s sweeter, you can reduce other liquids by only 1/4 C. Some people say agave causes baked goods to brown more quickly so reducing the oven temperature by 25°F and cooking them a little longer helps. I haven’t had that problem, but if your cookies are burning, try it.

These pumpkin oatmeal cookies very moist and have a soft cake-like consistency. They’re made with whole wheat flour, oatmeal and some of the butter can be substituted by unsweetened applesauce, making these cookies as “healthy” as cookies can be without making them taste like cardboard.

Vote for Me and Enter to Win an OXO Prize Pack!

I’m excited to announce that the Ultimate Bacon Chocolate Ice Cream Cupcake I made last month is a finalist in the Ice Cream Cupcake Roundup!

Please go over to the Cupcake Project website to vote for it by July 1st. You’ll be entered to win an awesome OXO prize pack just for voting and I would really appreciate your support!

Week 24: Forbidden Rice

Forbidden rice sounds so mysterious. Despite the name, it was easy to find at the grocery store, sitting among all the other types of rice. However, at one time this was not the case. In the past, this ancient grain was eaten only by the Emperors of China, who believed it ensured longevity and improved health. In fact, it is a healthy whole grain, high in iron and an antioxidant called anthocyanin, which is believed to prevent disease.

Although I chose to make a dessert, this nutty heirloom rice would also make a wonderful savory dish, whether steamed and served plain, in a pilaf or a salad. And while the forbidden rice appears black, it is actually a deep purple, turning broths a stunning violet hue.

Using coconut milk and fresh mango, this forbidden rice pudding is slightly sweet, with a nutty bite and tropical flare. It can be served either warm or cold, so it is an easy dessert to make ahead of time.

Forbidden Rice Mango Pudding

• 1 1/2 C forbidden rice (black glutinous rice – not wild rice)
• 3 C water
• 1 C light coconut milk
• 1/4 C sugar
• 1 medium mango, peeled and chopped (about 1 C)

Rinse rice until water runs clear. Place rice and water into a medium saucepan, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for around 25 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed. Mix in coconut milk and sugar and cook, uncovered, for 10-15 more minutes. Remove from heat and either serve immediately or store in the refrigerator. Serve with chopped mango.

Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes

To celebrate the end of the school year, I made cupcakes to thank my interns and program assistants, as well as for our staff lunch, where we celebrated my co-worker’s pregnancy. Someone mentioned that the mom-to-be loves funfetti cake but I haven’t used a box cake mix in several years.

Instead, I found lots of recipes online for making funfetti from scratch, and ended up doubling two recipes: this one for the cake and this one for frosting to make around 19 cupcakes. I used oblong rainbow sprinkles in the batter, which melted in the oven and made perfect little splotches of bright color inside the cupcakes.

I piped the frosting with a 1M tip and decorated it with three types of sprinkles – the oblong rainbow ones, tiny rainbow nonpareils and pastel confetti.

Which sprinkles do you like best?

Week 23: Pork Belly

Pork belly. To me, it conjures up memories of rich, decadent and deeply flavorful dishes at upscale restaurants. To others, it’s a total mystery. I’ve often received a blank stare when I mention it. “Pork belly?” they ask. “I’ve never eaten that. What’s it like?” I bet that even if you think you haven’t, you actually have had it before – ever tried bacon? Bacon is often derived from pork belly. But using an entire pork belly is a different story, so I set out to find some. It was illusive at first, as it’s not written on any signage in grocery stores or farmer’s markets that I visited. Once I started asking vendors, it was a whole other story.

My local pork farmer, Bledsoe Natural Pork, doesn’t bring it to the farmer’s market unless it’s requested because it requires such a cold temperature to stay fresh. I checked with a local grocery store, Nugget Market, who does sell it and for an astonishingly cheap price. I scooped up a few pounds and went to work looking for a way to prepare it. We didn’t need to look far – the Momofuku cookbook has wonderful ideas for pork belly. Not surprising, considering that pork belly is very popular in Korean and Chinese cuisine.

Using the Momofuku cooking technique, Russ created a simple braised pork belly with some fantastic baked beans. By baking the beans in the rendered pork fat along with ketchup and brown sugar, he created a deeply flavorful side dish that was both savory and sweet at the same time.

Gourmet S’mores

The other day I opened up a magical package:

A gourmet s’mores kit from Regional Best that I won at Tastestopping!

The vanilla marshmallows from KitchenWitch were my favorite part – fluffy homemade marshmallows coated with a light vanilla crust. As you know, I love homemade marshmallow and the vanilla just made it that much better. The high quality wafers of dark chocolate were also excellent.

The maple crackers were really good on their own -crunchy, with a sweet layer on one side- but were a bit too crispy for the s’mores in my opinion. They worked pretty well as an open-faced s’more, but with one on each side it was difficult to bite into. I still wanted to make something s’mores-like with the crackers, so I came up with a more grown-up version of s’mores:

Individual gourmet s’mores in ramekins!

By crushing the crackers and adding melted butter and a pinch of salt, the crunchy crackers were turned into the perfect crust for melted chocolate and puffy, gooey marshmallow. Although you can never replace the classic s’mores, this is a simple yet richer version of the campfire treat.

Gourmet S’mores

Makes 2 servings.

• 1/2 C maple crackers (or graham crackers), crushed
• 1 1/2 T unsalted butter, melted
• 1 pinch of salt
• 2 wafers of chocolate
• 2 large vanilla marshmallows

Preheat oven to 300°F.

Combine crackers, butter and salt and mix together with your fingers. Press half of mixture evenly into the bottom of a small ramekin. Place chocolate on top, and then marshmallow on top of that. Bake until marshmallow is puffed up and golden brown.

For more gourmet s’mores recipes, check out posts from other winners below!