Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Cream-Filled Chocolate Cupcakes

I've made these cupcakes twice, and both times they were delicious. And, they're very easy if you have the right tools.

Ingredients
FOR THE CUPCAKES
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for muffin tins
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for muffin tins
2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup sour cream, room temperature
FOR THE FILLING

1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme (7.5-ounce jar)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter two 6-cup (each with a 1-cup capacity) jumbo muffin pans; dust with cocoa powder to coat, tapping out excess. In a medium bowl, whisk together cocoa, flour, baking powder, soda, and salt.
2. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. On low speed, add half the flour mixture, followed by sour cream, ending with remaining flour mixture; mix just until incorporated (do not overmix).
3. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking. Cool in pans, 5 minutes; remove cupcakes and cool, right side up, on a wire rack.
4. Meanwhile, prepare filling: In a medium bowl, whisk marshmallow creme and butter until smooth. Chill until slightly firm, 15 to 30 minutes. Transfer mixture to a heavy-duty resealable plastic bag, and seal; cut off one corner of the bag to make a 1/8-inch opening.
5. Using a small melon baller, scoop out center of each cupcake from the bottom, and reserve (you will use this to plug cupcake after filling). Hollow out each cupcake a bit more, discarding crumbs. Insert tip of plastic bag into each cavity, and squeeze to fill; replace plugs. Using remaining filling in plastic bag, decorate top of cupcakes.


My advice to you is:

~Don't dust the pans with cocoa powder. It burns in the oven and makes the cupcakes seem dark and burnt.
~Cook for about 25 minutes, not 30. And keep checking on it. They will be big, but the birning is what you need to look out for.
~The frosting melts fast, so fill and ice the cupcakes quickly and refrigerate them for a while before eating.

Good luck!

Saturday, May 15, 2010

A Little About Me

Hey, I'm Hannah. I enjoy singing, the color orange, my phone (the awesome Samsung Intensity... it's intense!), and organization. I know, I know, organization. Well, paper clips and binders and stuff like that just appeals to me. Anyways, I have 2 brothers, 1 sister, and my mom's PREGNANT with her 5th. My mom's used to all the kids, because she's a very successful dance teacher. My dad owns a comic store.
My sister, Devin, is 11, and she obsesses with fashion designing and... boys. She likes to sing. And cook, arrange flowers, sculpt Greek gods, sew, and do other girly things. Below her I have 2 brothers~ Isaac & Joe, who are 4 and 2. And, as I said, my mom's pregnant... with a GIRL! We like the name Ruby. Ruby Mae. My parents are divorced, as i forgot to mention. Isaac, Joe, and Ruby (or Ruby Mae) are my stepdad's. Devin and I are my dad's, obviously. YES, i get to see my parents equally! Everyone asks me. Well, you just have to live with it, right?

Enough about me. I (well, I guess it IS about me again) created this blog out of sheer boredom, and through many tries I think this is it. Well, thanks for listening to my "little" intro there. I tend to ramble on about things.
So, to say farewell (for now), I can only end with these 2 things:
1. Please follow!
2. Questions? Comments? Email me at h.noelle.blogs@gmail.com