Gwyneth's Chocolate and Almond Cupcakes with Healthy Buttercream

If you've got an insistent sweet tooth like mine, but also try to be conscious of excessive refined sugar intake, this recipe's for you. Not a drop of dairy is used in the entire affair, it's low in gluten, and there's zero refined sugar. Sounds like a recipe for cardboard cupcakes, no? Trust me, it's not. I'm not going to pretend that these taste exactly like their sugar and dairy-laden counterparts, but that's not the point here. They've got a deliciousness that's all their own, minus the unhealthy bits. Perfect for those times when you want to have something sweet, while still being kind to that fab body of yours. xo

Chocolate + Almond Cupcakes
Ingredients:
1/4 cup roasted almond butter
2 cups white spelt flour
1 cup high-quality cocoa powder
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
A pinch of fine sea salt
1/2 cup Vegenaise or vegetable oil
1 1/4 cup good-quality maple syrup, divided
1/2 cup brown rice syrup
1/2 cup strong brewed coffee
1/2 cup soy milk or rice milk
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt together in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the Vegenaise of oil, the syrups, the coffee, the soy milk, and the vanilla. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ones, being careful not to overbeat (that's how you end up with a tough cupcake!).

Combine 1/4 cup roasted almond butter and 1/4 cup of the maple syrup and set the mixture aside. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. Fill each muffin cup halfway with the brownie batter. Evenly divide the almond butter-maple syrup mixture among the muffin cups and top with the remaining batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Let cool completely. Decorate with the Healthy Buttercream (recipe below) and a scattering of edible flowers if that's your thing.

Healthy Buttercream
Ingredients:
2 cups Spectrum organic shortening
1 cup tapioca starch
1 cup agave nectar (or grade A light maple syrup)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:
Place all the ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat with the whisk attachment until light and fluffy. The frosting can be refrigerated for up to a month, but bring it back to room temperature and rewhip it before using.

Chocolate Dump-It Cake

 

There's something about the changing of the seasons--especially the strangely poignant transition from summer to fall--that makes me very nostalgic and brings me right back to how I was feeling in years past around this time. This morning, when I launched myself out of bed to discover that it was cold(!) in my apartment, a flood of memories from last fall and winter came rushing back, and it struck me how different life is now than it was just a year ago....all in good ways. Last year, CA Creative was very much in it's infancy (about 6 months old) and we were working hard to build it, not entirely sure where it was headed. I was focused mainly on that, and spent the holidays here in NYC working, and not doing much else. It was an exciting time, but a slightly lonely one as well. This year, things are a little more settled, and life is a bit fuller. CA has grown up into a healthy, thriving business, I've scaled back on unnecessary parties and industry events that were taking up a huge amount of my time and energy, devoted more nights to quality time (i.e. laid back dinners) with important people in my life, and followed through on my goal to spend time doing things I love, like learning French and playing the piano. It's always a good feeling to look back, reflect, and suddenly realize that life has changed, progressed, and turned into something great.

This weekend, my boyfriend and I headed up to the Hudson Valley to go to a college football game with some old friends of his, and scored a rare, last-minute reservation at Blue Hill at Stone Barns--dinner was pretty darn close to perfect and it was a lovely, special way to spend the first truly chilly weekend of fall. Whenever the weather turns like this, the resulting nostalgia makes me want to get into the kitchen to make classic favorites, like this homey chocolate "dump-it" cake. Also coming up this week: chicken soup for all of you who are suffering from those all-too-common early fall colds, and the simplest, most delicious spaghetti with tomato sauce in the world. xo

Chocolate Dump-It Cake
From Cooking for Mr. Latte, by Amanda Hesser
Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1/4 pound unsalted butter (1 stick), plus more for greasing the pan
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pan
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon semi-coarse sea salt or kosher salt
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups sour cream, at room temperature
Sprinkles (optional)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, and place a baking sheet on the lowest rack, to catch any drips when the cake bakes. Put the sugar, unsweetened chocolate, butter and 1 cup of water in a saucepan. Place over medium heat and stir occasionally until all of the ingredients are melted and blended. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly, 15 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, stir together the milk and vinegar. Grease and flour a 9-inch tube pan. (If you prefer, you can grease it, line it with parchment and then grease and flour it. This is not necessary, but parchment does make getting the cake out easier.)

When the chocolate in the pan has cooled a bit, whisk in the milk mixture and eggs. In several additions and without overmixing, whisk in the dry ingredients. When the mixture is smooth, add the vanilla and whisk once or twice, to blend. "Dump" the batter into the tube pan and bake on the middle rack until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool on a rack. (This can be tricky, so if someone is around, enlist them to help. Place a ring of wax paper on top of the cake so you have something to grab onto when turning it out.) Let cool completely.

Meanwhile, melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler, then let cool to room temperature. It is very important that the chocolate and sour cream be the same temperature, otherwise the icing will be lumpy or grainy. (Test it by stirring a little of the sour cream and chocolate together in a bowl; if it mixes smoothly, it's ready.) Stir in the sour cream, 1/ 4 cup at a time, until the mixture is smooth. Taste some! It's good.

When the cake is cool, you may frost it as is or cut it in half so that you have two layers (when I do this, I use 2 cups chocolate chips and 2 cups sour cream). You can sprinkle the cake lightly with colorful sprinkles if you like.

Peach Tart

Late summer peaches are some of my favorite things to eat in September--they're always sweet and small and perfectly juicy. I also happen to like to make tarts--they come together easily and always look super impressive, allowing me to take a lot more credit than I possibly deserve. And so we come to the peach tart, seen above. Pretty little thing, eh? I whipped it up last weekend to have after a Sunday supper of roast chicken and sauteed greens, and it was the perfect thing to top the meal off with. xo


Peach Tart
From Food52.com
Ingredients: 
1 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 
3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 cups plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
1/4 cup mild olive oil
2 tablespoons whole milk
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter
3 to 5 small ripe peaches, pitted and thickly sliced (about 1/2-inch wide)

Directions:
Heat the oven to 425 degrees. In a mixing bowl, stir together 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon sugar. Stirring enables the salt and sugar to sift the flour, so you don’t need to sift it in advance. In a small bowl, whisk together the oils, milk and almond extract. Pour this mixture into the flour mixture and mix gently with a fork, just enough to dampen; do not over work it. Then, transfer the dough to an 11-inch tart pan (you can use a smaller one if needed), and use your hands to pat out the dough so it covers the bottom of the pan, pushing it up the sides to meet the edge. This will work if you pat firmly and confidently, but not if you curl your fingertips into the dough. It should be about 1/ 8-inch thick all around; trim and discard excess dough.

In a bowl, combine 3/4 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt and the butter. (If your peaches are especially juicy, add 1 tablespoon additional flour.) Using your fingers, pinch the butter into the dry ingredients until crumbly, with a mixture of fine granules and tiny pebbles.

Starting on the outside, arrange the peaches overlapping in a concentric circle over the pastry; fill in the center in whatever pattern makes sense. The peaches should fit snugly. Sprinkle the pebbly butter mixture over top (it will seem like a lot). Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until shiny, thick bubbles begin enveloping the fruit and the crust is slightly brown. Cool on a rack. Serve warm or room temperature, preferably with generous dollops of whipped cream. 

Toasts with Chocolate, Olive Oil, and Sea Salt

If you're anything like me, after spending a couple of hours in the kitchen lovingly cooking a big meal, no matter how much you're hankering after something sweet, the effort just doesn't seem worth it. Instead, you'll more likely find me firmly planted on the couch, cold glass of wine in hand, watching something good on TV. But I do tend to forget that desserts like this one exist.

The term "dessert" may even be a stretch for what this is, which is basically a square of excellent chocolate melted over toasted bread and sprinkled with the very best olive oil you can buy and some Maldon sea salt. Amanda Hesser ate it in Barcelona at a tapas bar and was so enamored with it, she promptly wrote about it in the New York Times when she was the food editor there. Lucky for us. This takes all of 10 minutes to put together, and hits the sweet spot every time. Recipe down below. All photos by Mark Iantosca. xo

Toasts with Chocolate, Olive Oil, and Sea Salt
From Cooking for Mr. Latte, by Amanda Hesser
Ingredients:
8 1/4-inch baguette slices
8 thin 1-inch squares of best-quality bittersweet chocolate
Extra virgin olive oil, for sprinkling
Coarse sea salt, for sprinkling

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lay bread slices on a baking sheet. Lay a chocolate square on top of each. Sprinkle with a little olive oil and sea salt.

Bake until chocolate is molten but not seeping through bread, about 3 to 5 minutes. Bread should crisp slightly but not toast. Sprinkle with a little more olive oil and salt, and serve immediately.
Yield: 4 servings.

Pecan Butterballs (or Mexican Wedding Cookies)

I first had a version of these cookies during a frosty NYC Christmas when I went to a friend's mother's Upper East Side home for the holiday. They were a family of unbelievably good bakers and cooks, so I eagerly accepted every invitation they proffered me. That year, I was greeted at the door with a plate of these little, round cookies that melted in my mouth immediately upon contact. I'd never really had anything quite like them--delicate, shattering wisps of butter, punctuated with bits of crunchy pecans, and topped with a sheer dusting of white powdered sugar. They dissolved into air like magic as soon as I bit into them, and I was smitten. I promptly asked for the recipe but was given an elusive "just a little bit of that and a little bit of this" answer, and so I resorted to Googling "Mexican Wedding Cookies," the name of them being the only solid bit of information I was able to glean.

Four years later, I'm still playing around with the various recipes I've discovered (some called Pecan Butterballs, some Mexican Wedding Cookies), trying to perfect the cookies. I've come pretty darn close with this version. xo

Pecan Butterballs (or Mexican Wedding Cookies)
Ingredients: 
1 stick unsalted butter
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, plus extra for dusting
1⁄2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup finely ground pecans
Pinch of fine salt 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter until fluffy. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Beat for 1–2 minutes. Gradually beat in flour. Stir in nuts.

Shape dough into 1" balls, using about 1 tablespoon of dough for each. Place 1" apart on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake 20 minutes, turning sheet so that cookies bake lightly and evenly. When they're nearly cool, roll in confectioners' sugar. Use any extra sugar for dusting over the cookies.

Peach Compote

In lieu of going out, I spent Friday night curled up on my couch catching up on the August issues of Bon Appetit and Vogue, and making some headway in The Emperor's Children, by Claire Messud. Wild and crazy, it was not. But it was also exactly what I needed after a busy work week filled with meetings, appointments, and evening events. Bon Appetit has undergone a full makeover since the changing of the guard there, and I'm absolutely loving it--this issue may just be my favorite ever. Not least because I found a simple, delicious recipe for apricot compote in it, which I decided to make for breakfast this morning. I made a few tweaks (i.e. subbing peach for apricot since it was all I had, but a stone fruit is a stone fruit, right?), and it came out perfectly--sweet and glazed and slightly charred on one side. Served on a bed of full-fat Greek yogurt, it was a nice way to start the week. Recipe below serves one. xo

Peach Compote
Ingredients:
1 ripe peach, pitted and halved
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 tablespoon white sugar
Full-fat Greek yogurt
Fresh tarragon leaves for garnish (optional)

Directions:
Combine peach halves, lime juice, and sugar in a large skillet. Cook over medium heat, turning occasionally, until peaches are glazed and syrupy, about 5-6 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and chill. Serve with the yogurt and garnish with tarragon leaves, if desired. I didn't have tarragon on hand (and don't particularly like herbs and fruit together) so I grabbed a baby spinach leaf and stuck it on purely for decorative purposes.

Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Milk Chocolate Frosting

Last weekend, I celebrated the 30th birthday of one of my oldest friends, and thought the event warranted a big batch of something sweet. And so, I spent a quiet, peaceful Saturday morning digging through a massive pile of cookbooks in bed, on a hunt for an ideal birthday cake recipe. I ended up landing on this one from Amanda Hesser's New York Times cookbook (which, incidentally, is rarely far from my side in the kitchen), for peanut butter cupcakes with milk chocolate frosting. When I read the recipe through, visions of Reese's peanut butter cups went flitting through my head, and it was a done deal.

Turns out, it was a pretty good decision. The cake turns out fluffy and light and streaked through with just the right amount of creamy peanut butter, and the chocolate frosting is about the best I've ever had. I had a bit leftover after I was done piling each little cake high with dollops of it, and so I ended up using the leftovers for spreading on hot toast the next morning a la Nutella, and it was excellent. But who am I kidding? I would've spread it on cardboard and eaten it if that was my only option. It's that good. xo 

Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Milk Chocolate Frosting
From The Essential New York Times Cookbook, by Amanda Hesser
Ingredients: 
For the cupcakes:
3 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk 

For the frosting:
3 cups powdered sugar
Pinch of salt
2/3 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
3 sticks of butter
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
6 tablespoons whole milk

Chocolate flakes or sprinkles (optional) 

Directions:
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper cups. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars on a low speed until combined, then beat on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Mix in the peanut butter, then beat in the eggs one at a time. On low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk to the batter in three parts.

Fill the baking cups ¾ full with batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 17 to 19 minutes. Cool on rack.

To make the frosting, sift together the powdered sugar, salt and cocoa powder. In a mixer (using the paddle attachment again), beat the butter until smooth. On a low speed, slowly add the cocoa mixture. Add the vanilla, then add the milk a little at a time, beating until the frosting reaches spreading consistency.

Frost the cooled cupcakes, and sprinkle with chocolate flakes or sprinkles. Enjoy!

Brownies

Let's start the week off with something sweet, shall we? A couple of Sundays ago, after a particularly long run along the West Side Highway, followed by a rather strenuous episode of housecleaning, during which I somehow came up with several heaping bags full of clothes to donate, I was famished and decided that I deserved a good, hearty meal followed by something chocolatey and decadent. 

The makings of the meal have escaped me by now, but who could forget these brownies? Taken straight from the New York Times Essential Cookbook, these are a true classic, coming to us from the year 1943 when they were first published in the newspaper. When it comes to brownies, I'm a staunch believer that simple is best--a straightforward amalgamation of good chocolate, butter, sugar, eggs, flour, vanilla, and salt just can't be beat. Also, the hallmark of a good brownie is that paper-thin, crispy, crackly, shiny layer on the top. Without that, can you really call it a brownie? I think not. And as you can see in the picture above, this version delivers a perfect crust. Bake up a batch and give out your leftover squares to friends and co-workers. It's a great way to start the week. xo

Brownies

From The New York Times Essential Cookbook, by Amanda Hesser

Ingredients:

¼ pound semisweet or bittersweet chocolate

8 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 large eggs

1 cup sugar

½ cup sifted all-purpose flour

½ cups chopped nuts

1 teaspoon vanilla

¼ teaspoon salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan and line base with parchment.

Melt chocolate and butter in a saucepan over low heat. Once melted, remove from heat.

Beat eggs with sugar until sugar mostly dissolves. Add chocolate mixture. Add other ingredients, and mix well. Pour batter into pan, and smooth the top.

Bake 25 to 35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out almost, but not quite, clean. Let brownies cool for a few minutes, then remove them from pan and allow to cool on wire rack. When cool, cut into 16 squares.