Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes

These cupcakes are a chocolate-lover's dream!

INGREDIENTS:

For the Ganache Filling:
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
¼ cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon powdered sugar

For the Cupcakes:
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
⅓ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
¾ cup hot coffee
¾ cup bread flour
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Frosting:
1¼ cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
¾ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
¾ cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 ounces chocolate (milk, semisweet or dark), melted and cooled

DIRECTIONS:

1. Make the Ganache Filling: Place the chopped chocolate, heavy cream and powdered sugar in a small bowl. Heat in the microwave on high power until the mixture is warm to the touch, 20 to 30 seconds. Whisk until smooth, then refrigerate until just barely chilled, no longer than 30 minutes.

2. Make the Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a standard-size muffin pan with liners. Place the chopped chocolate and cocoa powder in a medium bowl. Pour the hot coffee over the mixture and whisk until smooth. Refrigerate mixture for 20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl; set aside.

4. Whisk the oil, eggs, vinegar and vanilla extract into the cooled chocolate mixture until smooth. Add the flour mixture and whisk until smooth.

5. Divide the batter evenly between the muffin pan cups. Place one slightly rounded teaspoon of ganache filling on top of each cupcake. Bake until the cupcakes are set and just firm to the touch, 17 to 19 minutes. Cool the cupcakes in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove the cupcakes from the pan and place on the wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.

6. Make the Frosting: In a food processor, process the butter, sugar, cocoa powder and salt until smooth, about 30 seconds, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the corn syrup and vanilla extract and process until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Scrape the sides of the bowl, then add the chocolate and pulse until smooth and creamy, 10 to 15 one-second pulses. Frost the cupcakes as desired. The frosted cupcakes can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Notes:

• The ganache filling can be omitted it if you'd like a more traditional chocolate cupcake.
• The frosting can be kept at room temperature for up to 3 hours before using, or refrigerated for up to 3 days. If refrigerated, let stand at room temperature for 1 hour before using.
• I used the Ateco #823 decorating tip for piping the frosting.

(Recipe adapted from Cook's Illustrated)

Cooking Tips : 

Learn To Cook Today With These Simple Tips!

Everyone loves to eat good meal.It will be an even better experience when you are eating food is good at cooking meals. This article should provide some tips that can help a novice become a great chef and the expert cook.

Apples turn ripe in the early fall; therefore, but unless they are stored properly, dry place. Apples tend to rot in warm dry air, make sure you store them in the fridge or in a cool place. One bad apple will quickly ruin the bunch so keep a close eye on them while stored.

Do you regularly cook with the flavors of fresh basil? Place the basil into a glass container. Make sure the basil's stems are covered with water. Keep it on a kitchen counter and it should stay fresh. The basil can actually grow roots if you change out the water changed occasionally. You should also trim the basil so it grows even more.

Always use airtight containers to store baking ingredients such as sugar or flour. Keeping your ingredients in sealed containers will stop them from spoiling or being infected with bugs. These containers are widely available and are available at most grocery stores.

Add chicken broth to your pan when cooking vegetables. Chicken broth is great for preventing sticking and gives them some great flavor with them.

Beans and tofu are excellent sources of proteins. Both are easily available to buy at almost every grocery stores. Try frying tofu with some interesting seasonings and you will have a tasty alternative to meat. Beans may be boiled with some spices and herbs for a meal full of flavor and protein.

When cooking with pumpkins, the first step is to slice in in half vertically. Place the two halves on baking pan with the cut side down.

This procedure will safely preserve them for up to a year. This is also gives you easy access to seasonal fruits at times when they would not normally be available.

This will allow your food the maximum amount of flavor possible.

Always measure cooking oils! This will help you lower the fat in your cooking. This lets you greater control over the amount of oil you are using.

Prepare some of your food the day before to save time and headaches. Cut up ingredients the night before going to bed at night. You won't be as stressed and a bit more eager to cook when you wake up.

You should be as organized as possible when cooking to avoid burning food and other mistakes, so that you can be sure the food is as great as it can be and that nothing burns. Having all your kitchen tools handy and organized will help you are productive when cooking. If you are unorganized, you will start to forget what you buy and that will make you spend too much money that could have been spent on something you would have eaten.

Use a substantial amount of salt liberally in the water used to cook pasta. This is the seasoning will set into the pasta. Salting cooked pasta will not be as effective in enhancing the same effect.

Set aside about one-fourth cup. When your sauce is also ready, add this little amount of water to the mix.The addition of the starchy water will bulk up your sauce via amalgamation.

Onions have sulfurous gas. This unappetizing gas can ruin the flavor of fresh salsa. The gas is eliminated if you rinse and drying the diced onions.

When you barbecue, don't forget the lead time necessary to get the grill hot when you are ready to use it. The grill should be prepared 30 minutes before your coals are hot enough to start grilling. The heat should have an ash covering and the charcoal should emit medium heat. This is the best temperature to begin grilling your food.

It is important to take proper care for your wood cutting boards. A wood cutting board can warp or split by too much exposure to moisture, heat and dryness.Do not immerse the cutting board in water, but instead, soapy water. You can find oil designed for this purpose. Make sure you let your board dry before using.

There are quite a few ways that tortillas can use to heating up tortillas. One suggestion is to place tortillas on an oven at a temperature of 350 degrees and watch it closely until it is heated to perfection. You can also heat the tortillas by placing them on a gas stove.These methods will give you a much tastier tortilla than microwaving.

Spices can quickly lose their flavors when exposed to heat, light or humidity. This only exposes the spices to heat and cause them to lose their flavors.

There are many varieties of potatoes, and they are not all the same.

Set a timer in parallel with you as well.

The concentrated heat in a microwave will force the oils to separate. Baking will keep all its parts cohesive.

This will ensure that you from having to go to the store in a mad search for an ingredient while your preparation. It is actually quicker to prepare everything out in advance than to try to locate items while you are in the midst of preparing a dish.

Learn to use color as a guide to cooking. Colorful foods appeal to your meals will add both nutrition and visual appeal. Be creative with color, and watch your food get eaten up quickly.

This will cause the fat to congeal on the top. You can then easily pluck the fat from your soup and get rid of this hardened fat. You will save approximately 100 calories for every tablespoon removed.


As you have seen from this article, anyone can learn to cook with the correct techniques. Becoming someone who is skilled in the kitchen does not take unobtainable skills or training that spans many years. Cooking is an art that anyone can learn. Your family will appreciate everything you have learned, so go show it off and cook!



Try These Tips To Learn How To Be A Good Cook

Cooking may seem to be a chore, and is also a tasty past time to take up too. Anyone can become a good cook well if they learn to do it the tools and knowledge to learn. The following article will provide you need to inspire the cook in you!

If you are just beginning to cook more of your meals, head to the nearest library or bookstore and find a cookbook with simple, basic recipes that you will enjoy preparing. Try some recipes and be patient as you come up with something that works for you.

Your spices should be stored in any area that is cool and dark. Using fresher spices will make your food taste better.

To make your French fries crisper, let the raw potatoes soak for about half an hour in cold water prior to frying.

Try adding cauliflower in with your mashed potatoes to cut some calories and fat. The somewhat bland taste of cauliflower helps it to blend nicely with your potatoes while picking up the potatoes. Cauliflower is also the same texture and color of potatoes when mashed so it's a great way to add more veggies, so the dish will be transformed into one that has more vegetables and fewer calories.

If your burgers tend to stick to your grill, it will be difficult to flip them without mangling them in the process. Try brushing vegetable oil on the grill or pan to keep food from sticking.

Plan to make a big pot of stock so that the excess can be frozen and used later. Good homemade chicken stock is a wonderful base in soups, stews, stews and other dishes.

Don't mix unfamiliar wine in your meal that is a kind you wouldn't drink regularly. There are wines available that was made specifically for cooking.

Prepare things the night before if you cannot handle doing everything in one night.Cut up ingredients the night before going to bed at night. This alleviates stress and lower your cooking time the next day.

It is important for cooks to have their cooking supplies organized when cooking. If they are not properly organized, you won't know where to find the cheese grater or the spatula when you need them. Keep things that are similar tools in one area. For instance, since basil and parsley are both spices, put them in the same cabinet.

To avoid burning your food, it is of the utmost importance to stay organized. An organized cooking station is a much more productive cooking station. If you aren't organized, it is easy to lose track of things and waste your money and delicious food that you could have been eating!

Allow the food to sit a little while before it is served. Many individuals don't know it's important it is to let the meal rest. Many are tempted to quickly serve food hot off the oven. If you do this, you will lose most of the juices in meat when you cut into it. Always allow your meat sit for a little while.

Use a generous amount of salt liberally in the water when making pasta. The salt will infuse the pasta thoroughly. Salting cooked pasta will not give the same effect of absorption.

Save approximately 1/4 cup of this water. When you are ready to mix your sauce and pasta together, add some of the saved water. The pasta water's starch adds a "creaminess" to the starchy water will bulk up your sauce via amalgamation.

If you're going to be barbecuing, make sure the grill itself is prepped beforehand. The charcoal will need to burn about 30 minutes before it is used for cooking.The coals should have an ash covering and the charcoal should emit medium heat. This is the best grilling your food.

Tying a turkey is called trussing the turkey. Trussing helps to keep the legs and wings to the bird closely. If you don't truss the bird, the smaller pieces could dry out and burn.

Learn a little bit about any new foods that you haven't cooked with before. You may find that your research leads to many great new ways to use the possibilities you will learn about for food.

Do prep work to save cooking time. You can get your ingredients for future meals ready one or two days before you cook your meal. There are many occasions where longer prep times actually lend a wonderful meal.

There are a vast array of potato varieties, and they are not all the same.

Fruit is especially well on the grill. Try slicing peaches, nectarines, and peaches and then putting them on some skewers. Cook them on a grill that is clean until you see the grill marks. Serve the fruit atop ice cream or a grilled pound cake.

Make sure you use the right type of potato for your recipes. Potatoes fall into three categories: waxy, mealy or waxy. Russet is a common mealy potatoes. Waxy potatoes are great for steaming or boiling because their shape is maintained. The most popular waxy potatoes are red or white potatoes.

Cut the cinnamon rolls easily. It can be quite hard to cut cinnamon rolls before they have been baked.You can cut the dough easily by placing a heavy thread or clean fishing line to slice wherever you want. This will give you perfect slices of cinnamon rolls.

Certain fruits, including avocados, pears, apples, and pears will turn brown if sliced and left exposed to the air for too long. Lemon and salt water will stop the process, but it's better to use is pineapple juice.A small dip works well, so don't worry about leaving it to soak.

Cooking can be about more than staving off hunger and starvation. Cooking is a hobby that can benefit your health and increase the pleasure you get from enjoying delicious food. Sure, you will mess up from time to time, but those screw ups can actually help you get better and will happen less often as you get better. Use basic techniques to begin your journey to culinary success.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes

For the chocolate cupcakes: Recipe adapted from Hello, Cupcake!

1 box chocolate cake mix

1 cup buttermilk (instead of water indicated on box)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a regular muffin tin with 24 paper liners

- Beat together all of the ingredients for the cupcakes with an electric mixer on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes

- Divide batter evenly among cups and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean

- Allow cupcakes to cool in the tin for at least 5 minutes after they are done, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely

For the strawberry buttercream: Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

3 tbsp strawberry puree (from about 1/2 cup fresh strawberries)

1 cup unsalted butter, firm and slightly cold

3-1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

- Puree strawberries with a food processor and strain out the seeds by forcing the puree through a fine-mesh sieve

- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together butter on medium speed until light and fluffy

- Reduce speed of mixer and slowly add confectioners’ sugar, and beat until well combined

- Add vanilla and strawberry puree, and mix until just blended (If frosting is too thick, add more puree, if it’s too fluid, add more sugar)

- Pipe frosting on cooled cupcakes using a large star tip and top with half a chocolate covered strawberry (see below)

For chocolate covered strawberries:

12 medium-sized strawberries

Chocolate melts

- Cut strawberries in half, keeping the leaves and stems on as much as possible

- Using a double boiler, melt chocolate melts until smooth

- Dip each strawberry half in the chocolate and place on a tinfoil-lined baking sheet to dry

- Once chocolate is set, place one strawberry half on each cupcake

Recipe makes 24 cupcakes

Cooking Tips :

Helpful Cooking Tips For Real Life Situations

There are things you need to know. This article will teach you information about how to cook like a pro. Read them in their entirety to ensure you can cultivate your cooking prowess.

You should do the prep work done ahead of time. It is essential that the prep work finished before cooking commences. You can help lessen the potential stress by doing prep work done early.

Being organized is a key step when planning to prepare a meal for family and friends.Make sure you have all of the ingredients ready. This can seriously reduce stress level and help manifest a more positive outcome.

Look at your recipes and decide which steps you can be completed beforehand. You can simplify the cooking process by doing your preparations a day or more in advance.This makes preparing even the most complicated recipes fun and fast.

Garlic is a popular ingredient that has one notable downside; its trademark scent transfers easily stay on your hands. Try rubbing your hands on the inside of a steel when they smell from an odoriferous cooking ingredientThis will cleanse your hands of the smells from transferring to the food that you have to handle next.

Add some chicken broth to your pan when you cook them. Chicken broth adds flavor to your vegetables and prevents them from sticking to your pan.

Beans and tofu are great sources of protein that you need to add some to your diet. Both are readily available at most grocery stores. Try frying tofu and you will have a tasty alternative to meat. Beans boiled with some spices and herbs is a meal full of flavor and protein.

Leave the bone in a roast if you are pressed for time. The reason this cooks your roast faster is because the heat throughout the center of the roast.

Try making your own fresh tomatoes. Cut tomatoes in thick slices or in half, or slice ripe regular tomatoes into half inch slices for drying.You can also store them in a jar with some fresh herbs and olive oil. Place this in the refrigerator and be sure to use it within two weeks.

It will be very helpful to have their supplies nicely organized. If you do not organize them, you will waste time running around trying to find everything. Try to keep things with similar things in proximity to one area. For example, put all your spices in one cabinet.

To avoid mistakes like burning your food while you are cooking, stay organized. Having all your kitchen tools handy and organized will ensure that you are productive when cooking. Being disorganized means having difficulty finding things and quite possibly ruining an entire dish, which makes you miss out on the goodies that you could be indulging in.

You should clean your dishes as you use them to cook.

One of the best cooking tip is just be flexible and creative; do your own thing. You need not have to follow a recipe to the "T". That is the definition of a sign of a true cook!

This adds some extra flavor to the herbs and helps to keep them on the board. Do not add more salt to the dish you are making to prevent over-salting. The salt that is used on the board will stick to the herbs some extra flavor because it sticks to them.

It is important to maintain a wooden cutting boards. A wood cutting board can warp or split by too much exposure to moisture, heat and dryness.Do not immerse the cutting board in water, but instead, clean it using a sponge and warm water. You can do some restoration to a damaged board by regularly oiling it with a product specifically for cutting boards to maintain yours.Make sure that your board has completely dry before using.

Tying a turkey is called trussing the turkey. Trussing helps to keep the legs and wings to the body so that cooking is done evenly. If left untied, then the extremities are more likely to burn.

Try to make sure you cook your cake to the proper temperature and do not to overcook or under cook it. The time recommended on the box or in a recipe is a guide to be used with caution, because many factors, like elevation, can have an effect on the actual time needed. A tried and true method is to insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it removes cleanly, more baking is needed; when the toothpick stays clean after insertion, it needs longer to bake.

Fresh herbs and different types of natural seasonings can help spice up even the traditional dish. Dried herbs aren't quite as conspicuous in complex dishes. Fresh herbs produce a stronger flavor and can improve the taste of any dish.

Set a timer in parallel with you as well.

Bouillon cubes dissolved in the appropriate amount of water will also add flavor to those meals that call for water. This is a good way to moisten your food you are cooking the necessary amount of moisture while also adding another level to the taste profile.

Microwave citrus fruit before juicing it to get every last drop of juice.Heat your citrus fruits for just ten seconds or so. After you remove it from the microwave, roll it on the counter before you cut it.

Try cooking with saffron if you want to try new spices. Saffron can impart a bright flavor that cannot be replicated with any other spices. Saffron is a great ancient spice that you should explore.

Fresh fruits like avocados, bananas, pears, bananas, peaches and pears are likely to turn brown when sliced and exposed to air. Lemon and salt water will stop the process, but it's better to use is pineapple juice.A small dip works well, so soaking the food is not needed.

The advice that was presented in this article can help even the most inexperienced cooks become cooking geniuses. Some people have a knack for cooking, while others have to learn the hard way. Think of this article as a starting point in your education.

Great Cooking Tips Everyone Needs To Know

It is a fact that humans need to eat. But there's more than just the need to survive. Cooking great food can be even more rewarding than just eating one. Here are some great tips that will kick your cooking to a new level.

If you are using metal skewers, avoid ones with rounded surfaces and try ones with square or beveled designs.

Prepare in advance as much as you can ahead of time. It is essential that the prep work done before you start cooking. You can help lessen the potential stress by doing as much preparation ahead of time as you can.

This will optimize the flavors in your food more flavorful when it is ready to serve.

There is something you can do to rescue your sauce and use it instantly. Mix one tablespoon of starch and two tablespoons of water together in a bowl. Stir the mixture into a warm thin sauce to thicken it up. The mixture needs to be added slowly and constantly stirred so that it doesn't get too thick.

Try putting some cauliflower to your mashed potatoes to cut some calories and fat. The taste of cauliflower will blend nicely with the other ingredients. Cauliflower has the same texture and color as potatoes, while lowering calories from classic mashed potatoes.

You can use this seasoning on other than meat. Try using it to season roasted pumpkin seeds sprinkled with the seasoning for a tasty snack or chickpeas. Everyone will be wondering what your secret ingredient.

Have you ever had a hard time figuring out the time your meat should be grilled? Use a meat thermometer (a digital one is more accurate) so that you can ensure the inside is cooked correctly.

If burgers get stuck to the grill, it may be hard to take them off without breaking them. Try brushing vegetable oil on the cooking surface prior to cooking so that food from sticking.

Oils and butters often contain needless fats. Try using nonstick cooking sprays that will help your food not contain anything unhealthy and keep it free from fats that contribute little to a healthy lifestyle.

This will keep fruits fresh for much longer. You will also be able to enjoy certain fruits that are not in season.

This will help to give your dish to become more flavorful.

Place unripe fruits in a plastic bag that is perforated right after you have poked small holes into. If you put them in the bag with holds the air will go through the bag, and the gas will stay in, keeping the fruit fresh and tasty.

One of the best cooking tip is just be flexible and creative; do your imagination. You need not have to follow a recipe word for word. That is a sign of cooking finesse make a true cook!

Save approximately 1/4 cup of this water. When your sauce is also ready, add this water as well. The addition of the sauce and make it creamier.

When you are sauteing a food, try to avoid filling the pan with oil. Make sure you do this at a low temperature.

It is important to take proper care for your wood cutting boards. A cutting board made from wood can crack and warp if it is exposed to excessive moisture, heat or dryness. Do not submerge the board to clean it, just sponge it off using warm, clean it using a sponge and warm water. You can do some restoration to a damaged board by regularly oiling it with a product specifically for cutting boards to maintain yours.Allow your board to dry completely before using.

Spices rapidly lose their flavor and aroma if they are kept in areas that are bright, humidity, or heat. This exposure will keep them exposed to heat and other unfavorable conditions that zap all of their flavor.

Try not to overcook or over cook your cake. The times on the recipe are great as a guide for cooking, but these guidelines can be inaccurate because elevation and other factors have to be taken into account when determining how long to leave the cake in the oven. A better way is to test the cake by inserting a cake is finished is by sticking a toothpick into the center of the cake.If it comes out clean, more baking is needed; when the toothpick stays clean after insertion, the cake needs to be baked longer.

There are many varieties of potatoes, and they cannot be equally substituted for each other.

Set a watch timer that you can easily carry with you as well.

You could also add bouillon cubes to the water that you are using. This keeps your food while adding more flavorful.

Always take your butter is soft and not melted when you are making cookies. If the butter is melted, stick it in the freezer for several minutes, or you can place the dough in a refrigerator after the ingredients are mixed. Your cookies will be less likely to spread if you make sure your dough has been allowed to cool.

Use cooking oil for measuring sticky foods easily. Before you even measure, add a little cooking oil to the spoon, such as canola, and the thing being measured will fall off the spoon easier, which will reduce the waste and will make clean up easier. This works well for peanut butter too.

Those of you who enjoy cooking fish dishes should consider trying to catch your own.

This will cause the remaining fat to congeal on the top. The fat can then be removed and discarded.This can save you about 100 calories easily.

Learn to have fun when you cook; you may find that you enjoy it even more than eating. Use these tips in your day to day life and improvise on them for added benefits. By doing this, your cooking skills will greatly improve and you will be the one people ask to bring food to different events.