sulmoney has too much free time

there was once upon a time that i made reese’s peanut butter cupcakes, which proved to be my most popular cupcakes of all time ever. they were dark chocolate cupcakes, with a full reese’s peanut butter cup baked in the middle, with peanut butter frosting, and a peanut butter cup wedge placed in there. this time, i wanted to make it a bit different, so i made peanut butter cupcakes with peanut butter cup chunks baked in, chocolate cream cheese frosting, and a peanut butter cup wedge in there as well. for the cake portion, i used this recipe, with modifications described below. makes 12.

cupcake ingredients

1. 1 cup flour
2. 1 teaspoon baking powder
3. 1/4 teaspoon salt
4. 6 tablespoons butter, room temp
5. 3/4 cup peanut butter (chunky or creamy, your choice)
6. 1 cup brown sugar
7. 1 egg, room temp
8. 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
9. 1/2 cup milk
10. 8 peanut butter cups

frosting ingredients

1. 8 oz cream cheese
2. 1/2 stick butter
3. 2 cups powdered sugar
4. 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
5. 4 peanut butter cups for garnishing

how to make it happen

1. mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. set aside.
2. in a separate, larger bowl, use an electric mixer and blend the butter, brown sugar, and peanut butter together for about a minute. mix in the egg and blend. mix in the vanilla and blend. 
3. mix the dry mix in 3 additions and the milk in 2 additions, into the wet mix. combine until just mixed.
4. now, chop up 8 peanut butter cups into eighths, and fold them into the batter. pour into cups, bake at 350 for 20 minutes. remove from oven, cooool it down.
5. frosting time! mix the cream cheese and butter until blended nice. then throw in the sugar and mix, one cup at a time. lastly, mix in the cocoa powder and mix. frost the cooled cupcakes as desired.
6. for the garnishing, cut 4 peanut butter cups into thirds, and throw each wedge into the frosting.

enjoy with milk! share with friends and family!

ok. so, i wanted to make something totally over the top with chocolate for whatever reason. i don’t even really like chocolate that much, but everyone else does. i had come across triple chocolate or death by chocolate products, so i decided togo a few steps beyond those, so i ended up making genocide by chocolate cupcakes. there is a lot of chocolate involved in these bad boys.

here is a little idea of what is going on here. i made the base cupcake with my dark chocolate cupcakes. i wanted to throw in a mix in here, and having in the past dropped various candies in there in the past (york peppermint patties, reese’s peanut butter cups), so for this, i dropped in a lindt milk chocolate truffle. knowing that putting in a candy and subsequently covering it with the next layer of batter leaves a bit of a depression in the cake surface, i decided to fill that with a semi-sweet chocolate ganache. next, i decided to have that ganache flow out of the hole and cover the cake surface. for the frosting, i used ryan’s baking blog’s (the best) chocolate buttercream recipe. penultimately, i dropped milk chocolate chips on top of the frosting. lastly, i dropped left over chocolate ganache on top. that results in 5 different chocolates overall? genocide for sure. let’s get down to business. makes 12.

for the cupcakes, please see this post, and follow steps 1-3. the only modification is that when adding batter to the cups, fill about 1/3 of the way, then add one truffle (need 12 total), then fill to 2/3 of the cup. you will need to push the truffles down, as they are pretty big.

to make the ganache, heat to simmering 1/3 cup of heavy cream over a stovetop. do not boil. pour over 5 oz of semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate. let sit for about a minute, then start to mix together to make a nice shiny concoction. then throw in 1 teaspoon of butter to the mixture, and keeping stirring until it is all mixed together. 

when the cupcakes have cooled, pour ganache into the depressions, and let some pour out, and spread it nice over the top of the cupcake. 

next, make the frosting. mix together 1 stick of butter and 3 oz melted chocolate until they are nicely mixed, then throw in 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1/8 cup of milk, and 2 cups of powdered sugar and mix together with a handheld mixer (i used a whisk and wooden spoon because i was at my parents’ house and my sister stole the hand mixer) until a nice frosting texture is made. pipe this bad boy on top of the cooled cupcake/ganache.

sprinkle chocolate chips on top, and drizzle any left over ganache on top. enjoy with lots of milk, these things are rich!

continuing with my recent (ok, last one only) trend of classic recipes, i present to you, chocolate chip cookies. every once in a while, all you want in life is a simple chocolate chip cookie and milk, and everything in life will be ok. or, you just want cookies and milk. enough with the prelude, on to the recipe! (makes about 20-30 cookies, depending on how big you want them. size matters)

dry mix

1. 2 1/4 cups flour
2. 1 teaspoon baking soda
3. 1 teaspoon salt

wet mix

1. 2 sticks butter
2. 3/4 cups brown sugar
3. 3/4 cups granulated sugar
4. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5. 2 eggs

the final ingredient is variable. if you want straight chocolate chip cookies, just throw in 2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips. but, get crazy with it. for this particular batch, i threw in chocolate chunks and some mini white chocolate chips, just because i had them in my baking cabinet. nuts, raisins, dates, candies, whatever, but 2 cups of it should be enough for a solid amount of fun. of course, adjust to your preference depending on your desired cookie:addition ratio.

directions

1. assemble the dry mix by combining the dry mix ingredients in a bowl and mixing.
2. to make the wet mix, first combine and mix to creamy the butter, the sugars, and the vanilla extract in a separate, larger bowl. then, add one egg at a time and mix after each addition. 
3. to make the batter, add the dry mix to the wet mix in two additions, mixing after each addition. lastly, add the fun bits to the batter, remembering not to over mix.
4. drop some batter onto a cookie pan, bake at 375 for 9-10 minutes, remove, let cool.

enjoy with milk of course!

the healthiest dessert in the world, chocolate mousse

that was sarcasm, in case you were wondering. chocolate mousse is one of those things that you have had before and definitely enjoyed it, and order it when possible. it’s so light and fluffy, and so chocolatey, how can it be bad? then, you make it, and you never want to eat it again. still, it’s damn good. recipe jacked from here, with some modifications to make it better of course. on to the ingredient list!

ingredients

1. 4 egg yolks (the yellow parts)
2. 1/4 cup granulated sugar
3. 1 cup whipping/heavy cream
4. 1 cup chocolate chips (semi-sweet)
5. 1/2 cup coffee
6. 1 1/2 cups whipping/heavy cream

what to do? sulman save me!

1. beat the egg yolks with a handheld electric mixer on high for 3 or so minutes, in a small bowl or tupperware
2. beat in the sugar in two additions
3. in a medium saucepan, heat the first cup of whipping cream, but do not boil it
4. add half of the warm whipping cream to the egg mixture, and mix it
5. pour this mixture then into the remaining whipping cream in the saucepan, and stir this mixture over heat constantly for 5 minutes, and again, no boiling, just a solid heating
6. pour in the chocolate chips and mix until they are melted
7. add in the coffee and mix
8. set this mixture aside in a fridge for about 2 hours, mixing every once in a while
9. in a separate bowl, beat the last 1 1/2 cups whipping cream with the electric mixer for longer than you think until it stiffens up
10. remove the chocolate mixture from the fridge and fold it into the whipped cream, and mix evenly until that lovely homogenous mousse is formed
11. distribute into serving dishes or cups, but remember to keep the mousse chilled until a few minutes before serving

after eating, induce vomiting. bulimia is in this season. jay kay.

how to make chocolate dessert cups

so this is not so much of a recipe, but more of a how to properly make chocolate dessert cups. you know what they are, those awesome dishes you see that are made out of chocolate that you can eat after eating whatever was inside of it (like chocolate mousse). aside from the fun of being able to eat the serving dish, they are pretty awe inspiring and i got a “holy shit” from everyone who saw them (and that’s why i do what i do in the kitchen). 

firstly, you will need some good, high quality, thick balloons. do not (do not [do not] {do not} do not) use water balloons. “why the hell not?”, you may ask. tis a fair question, as they appear to be perfect, as they are small and would make nice sized forms. well, the problem is they are too thin, and when you dip them into the melted chocolate, the heat from the chocolate will cause the balloon to expand and blow up like chernobyl, except with chocolate flying everywhere (such as all over my apartment. and all over my clothes. and in my face. and beard. not cute.). so yeah, proper balloons. blow them up just a wee bit. wash, dry, set aside.

nextly, melt some chocolate. the easiest thing is to melt some chocolate chips in a wide dish in a microwave. do this in 30 second bursts, stirring thoroughly after every heating cycle. milk chocolate should be ready to roll after two cycles. make sure to keep mixing once it has started to melt, as the heat from the chocolate will melt the other chips. set near balloons.

thenly, roll out some wax paper. dip a balloon less than half way up the balloon, and set it on the wax paper. repeat with next balloon. the trick with this step is how much dippage you are doing, and here is where my years in dental school pay off. when looking at a tooth, there is a distinct height of curvature for every surface; what this means is that when looking at a tooth, there is a point where the curve is the most. so, how this applies to this here project is that we are trying to keep the chocolate line below that height of curvature of the balloon, so that we can easily remove the balloon later without breaking the chocolate. enough dentistry. and ps, do not discard the left over chocolate, you will need it at the end.

afterly, put the whole set of chocolate dipped balloons into the freezer or fridge for a while to let the chocolate harden up. like, at least 15-75 minutes. jay kay, 30 is more than enough. 

laterly, remove from the chilling source, and sit it outside in room temp for about 5 minutes. with a pair of scissors, take a small, small snip from near the neck of the balloons, and let the air out slowly and steadily. in theory, whilst deflating, the balloons should easily separate from the chocolate, but they hardly do. you will need to separate them, and you will need to do this gently by peeling the balloon away from the chocolate. put a wee bit of pressure on the bottom of the cup in order to do this. remember, slow and steady. free the cups from the wax paper, and replace them back on there.

lastly, you will inevitably have some holes, especially at the bottom, so you will fill them in using the leftover chocolate from before. remelt as necessary, and just drop a dollop on the hole, and let it set somewhere. like a fridge. 

your cups are then ready to be used for whatever. i will provide a filler soon enough.

hello. aujord’hui, i present to you, christmas cupcakes. please note, i do not celebrate christmas, but for whatever reason, i own a christmas tree with decorations, and i have some stockings hanging up as well. basically, they are ghiradelli dark chocolate cupcakes with peppermint frosting with crushed candy canes on top. i got the cupcake recipe from here. ‘twas quite tasty, and i did not make many alterations.

ghiradelli dark chocolate cupcakes ingredients

1. 1 and 1/8 cup of flour
2. 1/4 cup of ghiradelli unsweetened cocoa powder
3. 1 and 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
4. 1/4 teaspoon salt
5. 1 egg
6. 1/2 cup brown sugar
7. 1/2 cup granulated sugar
8. 1/2 cup plus about 2 tablespoons milk
9. 1/3 cup coffee
10. 1/2 cup melted butter

peppermint frosting ingredients

1. 1 stick butter
2. 2 cups powdered sugar, plus a bit more to add here and there
3. 1/4 cup milk
4. 1 and 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
5. green coloring

step by step, day by day

1. first step, make the dry mix. whisk the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt together. set aside in a separate bowl. save for later. like maybe 5 minutes later.
2. second step, make the wet mix. in a larger bowl, whisk the egg and the brown and white sugars together. then, whisk in the milk, coffee, and melted butter. 
3. third step, whisk the dry mix into the wet mix in like 3 or 4 additions. pour the mix into a 12 cupcake tray. oven it for 15 minutes at 350. take ‘em out. let ‘em cool. 
4. for the frosting step, beat the butter with an electric blender until smooth and creamy. then, slowly add the powdered sugar in 4 additions, adding the milk right before additions 2 and 4, all while ensuring to blend evenly after each addition. read carefully, it’s not nearly as complicated as i typed it out to be. after addition 4, add the peppermint extract. beat it nice and smooth until it is nice and smooth. actually, thickish and stiffish? whatev, it should be a good consistency suitable for piping. 
5. after the frosting is made, separate the frosting into two; one half you leave as white, the other half you add the green coloring to, and blend until the color is even. throw each half into it’s own ziploc bag. cut off an end of each bag, and throw both bags into a piping bag, cut ends facing the bottom of the piping bag. this way, when you squeeze down on the bag, you get a blend of both green and white. frosting secrets revealed! apply to cupcakes.
6. lastly, throw about 3-4 candy canes into a plastic bag and crush them. i used the end of a ping pong paddle to crush them up, but you can use whatever. sprinkle the crushed candy canes onto the frosting. arrange the things into a christmas tree arrangement if you feel like it.

like always, enjoy with milk and friends!

little while ago, i promised to drop lots of recipes post thanksgiving. then, i forgot i have lots of work. that, and tumblr died for a few days. it’s ok, here is my arguably best recipe, mini oreo cheesecakes. if these were panty droppers, this shite is instant orgasm.

crust ingredients

1. 1-1.5 cups of graham crackers, crushed
2. 1/4 cup brown sugar
3. 1 stick butter, unsalted
4. 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

cheesecake ingredients

1. 1 pound cream cheese
2. 1/2 cup granulated sugar
3. 2 eggs
4. 1 tsp non-imitation vanilla extract
5. some oreos

chocolate cream cheese frosting recipe

1. 2 tablespoons butter
2. 4 oz cream cheese
3. 1 cup powdered sugar
4. 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
5. 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

extras…like ricky gervais

1. hershey’s cookies and cream kisses
2. mini white chocolate chips

mix all together, and done…jk. do this instead.

1. first thang first, make the crust. i adapted my recipe from this one here; mine is more chocolatey. crush up the graham crackers until they are finely crushed. pretend you are gonna do lines of crushed graham crackers, so no big chunks (that was a cocaine reference, fyi). then, mix in the brown sugar and the cocoa powder. mix it all together. then, melt that butter stick and add the melted buttah to the mixture of powdah. blend. press into base of mini cheesecake pan. set aside.
2. for the cheesecake, i adapted this recipe. take the cream cheese, and electric blend it with the sugar until creamy. add one egg at a time and electric blend smoothly. then, throw in that vanilla extract. i have expressed it many times before, but if you use imitation vanilla extract, just stop. electric blend. next thing, chop up some oreos (as many as you so desire), and throw them into the mix. do not use the electric blender to mix; just use a wooden spoon or something similar. pour the mix into the wells. bake for no more than 20 minutes at 350F. remove from oven. let chill. throw in fridge overnight.
3. the next day, make chocolate cream cheese frosting, like so! blend the cream cheese and butter with electric blender until smooth. add vanilla extract and blend. slowly add the powdered sugar in two additions, electric blending after each addition. then, add the cocoa powder at the end, and electric blend. is done! 
4. to make it all look hot and sexy, put the cheesecakes onto a plate or some serving instrument. on each cheesecake, put a kiss. not from your lips, but from hershey’s. then, squeeze a dollop of the frosting onto each cheesecake to cover the kiss. decorate as you wish. i threw on some mini white chocolate chips because it looked sexy. that’s all!

ok, it takes some time, like any cheesecake, but it is oh so worth it. just make it happen. you will make friends all over the world. or, at least with your roommates.

chocolate pudding cake

i got this recipe from here. i modified it because i do not believe in instant coffee. if you are going to drink coffee, buy a coffee grinder and a coffee press. i used instant cappuccino instead. and i did not use walnuts because i do not like having nuts in my mouth. here is what you need.

pudding part

1.5 cups of boiling water

2 teaspoons instant cappuccino (coffee)

powder part

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup cocoa powder

cake part

3/4 cup flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 egg

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. make the pudding part first. boil some water. throw in the cappuccino. mix. set aside. wait.
2. make the powder part next. combine white sugar, brown sugar, and cocoa powder in a separate bowl. mix. set aside. it’s like topeka in 1957. wait. 
3. make the dry mix part of the cake part next. mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in another bowl. mix. set aside. wait.
4. make the wet mix part of the cake part next. melt the butter in a separate bowl, and whisk in the sugar, milk, vanilla extract, and lastly, the egg. mix. set aside. wait.
5. make the cake part by adding the dry mix to the wet mix. mix. set aside. wait.
6. pour the cake part into a cooking pan (8x8 is what the recipe calls for. pam or butter/flour that bad boy to avoid stickage). spread evenly. set aside. wait.
7. evenly distribute the powder part over the top of the cake part.
8. slowly (slowly) (SLOWLY) and evenly (evenly) (EVENLY) and gently (gently) (GENTLY) pour the pudding part over the powder part, which is over the cake part. make sure that the powder layer is fully (fully) (FULLY) saturated. it looks ugly at this point. deal with it.
9. pop it in the oven for 25 minutes at 350F.  remove from oven. wait a couple minutes. serve warm. 

enjoy! photo reply or let me know how this worked out for you if you make it!

fudge cookies

i got this recipe from here. i modified it to what you see below.

1 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons cocoa powder

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup yogurt (i used sour cream)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt into a small bowl and set aside. make a mental note: “dry mix”.
2. melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. transfer to a larger bowl. mental note: “wet mix”.
3. add the cocoa powder to the wet mix and whisk.
4. add the sugars to the wet mix and mix using a wooden spoon. they are made out of wood.
5. add the yogurt/sour cream and vanilla extract to the wet mix and mix.
6. add the dry mix to the wet mix and mix until the mixture is just mixed. do not overmix or i will kill you. mix.
7. roll into small balls and place on a cookie sheet (you can use wax/parchment paper if you so desire), and bake for 12 minutes at 350F. extract from oven when it beeps and allow it to cool for at least 10 minutes before eating. 
8. eat cookies while drinking milk.

let me know how it came out! add a photo reply of your own if you end up making it!