Campfire Delight Cupcakes

Posted by: Maggie

Have you noticed that we're big fans of cupcakes around these parts?

Not counting this post, Annie and I have 106 recipes on this blog, 12 of which are cupcakes. 11% of our recipes are cupcakes. Ridiculous. Yet, I continue to bake them.

Of all the delicious things I make (I'm so humble, I know...) nothing elicits a happier response from my culinary guinea pigs than cupcakes. I'm a sucker for praise and admiration, so I keep baking them. When I made lemon cupcakes back in April, one of my coworkers told me the unexpected treat made her day. That's some powerful cake, man.

Jeff and I went to a Memorial Day barbeque last Sunday, and when I asked the hostess what I could bring she specifically requested cupcakes. I was more than happy to oblige, since I look for any excuse to pawn off baked goods to willing recipients. 

When I saw Sweetapolita's recipe for a sky-high, dark chocolate and toasted marshmallow layer cake a few months ago, I'm pretty sure I drooled on my laptop for a solid five minutes while gazing at the delicious looking photos. But, I make cupcakes - I don't do layer cakes. I don't even own a cake pan. While I could have put forth a smidgen of effort and adapted the recipe for cupcakes myself, that's not my style. I forgot all about the cake until a couple weeks ago when she posted the cupcake adaptation of her Campfire Delight cake.

These cupcakes were crazy delicious (anyone remember that reference? I know it's so 2005.) My friends at the barbeque gobbled them up. One guy there compared the cake portion to "a Hostess cupcake that actually tastes fresh." Sorry Hostess, but he's right.

I doubled the recipe and ended up with 53 cupcakes. I sooo did not need that many. The original, un-doubled recipe (as written below) was supposed to yield 18, but be aware that you may end up with a lot more. These cupcakes expand a lot, so be sure not to overfill your cupcake tins.

For the Cupcakes:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup black coffee
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line your cupcake tins with paper liners.

Sift all dry ingredients into a large bowl. In a separate medium bowl, add all the wet ingredients. With your mixer on medium speed, slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix for 2 minutes. The batter will be quite soupy - this is ok!

Pour batter into the prepared cupcake fan, filling just slightly more than halfway. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs. Cool cupcakes in pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes, and then remove from pan to cool completely.

While you're waiting for the cupcakes to cool, make your filling. DO NOT, make this filling with a hand mixer. You can cream together the butter and sugar with one, but put it away before adding the marshmallow fluff. I'm pretty sure mine is going to die very, very soon as a result of doing so, because the second I turned it on the filling spun around the beaters like cotton candy and got all up in the mixer's crevices. I don't know if a stand mixer would be any different, or if it would have helped had I used a paddle attachment like the recipe indicated. Use your best judgment about your kitchen tools, but I would recommend spraying a metal spoon with non-stick spray and just stirring this together the old fashioned way.


For the filling:

8 large marshmallows
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 ounces Marshmallow Fluff
Pinch of salt

Arrange the marshmallows on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place baking sheet on lower rack of your oven, and toast marshmallows under the broiler until they are brown. Mine took about 3 minutes, but keep an eye on them since they burn very quickly. Cream together the butter and powdered sugar until well blended. Add vanilla and mix on high for 2-3 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, and stir well with a non-stick spray coated spoon until well combined.

When your cupcakes are cool, cut a small portion out of the middle with a paring knife, or use one of those handy dandy cupcake corers to make the job easier. I recently got mine at Target for around $5. Using a small piping tip, fill the hollowed out portion of the cupcake with the marshmallow filling.

For the Frosting:

(Double this recipe if you frost heavily, like I did in the picture.)

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup icing sugar, plus more as needed
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup Classic Ovaltine
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
1/4 cup whipping cream

In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugar until well combined. Add in vanilla and Ovaltine, continue to beat until combined. Add in the melted chocolate, and beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Beat in whipping cream on medium high speed for about 2 more minutes. I added about 2 additional cups of powdered sugar to get it to piping consistency.

Frost cooled, filled cupcakes with frosting, garnish with chocolate sprinkles and a Whopper candy, if desired.

I recommend storing these in the fridge due to the cream in the frosting, but be sure to bring them to room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving.

Source: Sweetapolita

Baba Ghanoush

Posted by: Maggie


I ate a good third of this recipe as my dinner the other night. I decided that since eggplant is a vegetable, and since olive oil contains good fats, and because garlic is good for blood pressure that it was ok to scoop up this delicious concoction with half a baguette. Whatever. Still a health food.

I always go back and forth with which middle-eastern dip I like better - this, or hummus.  They're basically the same recipe, except one has chickpeas and one has eggplant. When it comes to my homemade versions, baba ghanoush is the clear winner. As for packaged versions, hummus wins. Packaged baba ghanoush is kind of tasteless, which is precisely why you should make this.

Serve this with sliced baguette, pita chips, cut up pita bread triangles, tortilla chips, or crackers. Serve it warm right after you make it, or chilled (I like it best warm, but I did enjoy the chilled leftovers for lunch the next day.) Whatever you do, just make it as soon as possible.

What you'll need:

3 medium eggplants
4 Tablespoons Tahini
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup lemon juice (about 2 large lemons)
3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/3 cup fresh parsley, minced
Kosher salt, to taste

Prick the surface of each eggplant several times with a fork so that it can release steam while cooking. Preheat your broiler to high, and place eggplant on a foil lined baking sheet. Blacken the eggplant under the broiler for about 25 minutes, turning every few minutes. You want to get the eggplant really shriveled, and super tender. (Side note: You could also do this on a grill, but I wouldn't recommend an indoor one - mine was far too weak, and I gave up and switched to the broiler.) If you don't mind heating up your kitchen, a broiler is the way to go.

Set eggplant aside to cool for 5 minutes. Cut the eggplant open, and scoop out as much of the flesh as possible into a large bowl. Mash the eggplant with a fork, and mix in the remaining ingredients.

I have to stop blogging about foods that I've been out of for days. Now I just want to make this again.

Source: The Pioneer Woman

Chocolate Ice Cream

Posted by: Maggie

Happy Friday! Is anyone doing anything fun this weekend? I'm going to see Bridesmaids tonight with one of my girlfriends and I'm super excited. I have the gross-out sense of humor of a 14-year old boy, and I hear that this movie will strongly appeal to that side of me. I'm really not big on serious or sad movies. I'll watch them on occasion if something really interests me, but I think life is too short to spend 2 hours watching something that will just depress you.

I present to you today the only recipe for chocolate ice cream you will ever need. It is perfectly rich, perfectly creamy, and unless I'm in a major time crunch I don't ever see myself buying chocolate ice cream from the store again. It comes from David Lebovitz's "The Perfect Scoop" cookbook, which Annie was kind enough to give me for my birthday last month (in addition to an ice cream machine!)

I'm feeling kind of brain dead this morning, so instead of rambling on about uninteresting drivel, I thought I'd share this little game I've been seeing on some of my favorite blogs over the past few months. I don't know about you, but I'm incredibly nosy, and curious about the lives of bloggers outside their blogs. So I hope this doesn't bore you to death - I'd love to see your own "ABCs" in the comments and learn more about our readers!


Age: 27 (hellooooo scary age)
Bed Size: Full, much to my dismay. I used to live in an old rowhouse in DC, and when I bought my bed I was worried a queen wouldn't make it up our narrow staircase.
Chore you Hate: Unloading the dishwasher.
Dogs: I like dogs, and grew up with a very sweet pug named Humphrey, but I am honestly more of a cat person. Since my apartment is tiny I don't have any pets, but I like to pretend that our family cat Pumpkin, who lives far, far away in New Jersey is mine. Isn't he cute?

Essential Start To Your Day: Diet Coke. At least two of them. Preferably from a nice chilled can, but I've been known to drink it from a warm bottle out of desperation.
Favorite Color: Green!
Gold or Silver: White gold. That's right, I'm difficult and didn't choose one of the actual options.
Height: 5'6 3/4" according to the doctor, but I round up to 5'7"

Instruments that you can play: I have played the piano since I was 5, and I was a band geek in high school. I played flute mostly, but halfway through senior year I started playing piccolo on occasion.
Job title: I'm a contractor for the Department of Justice.
Kids: None yet, but I like them!
Live: Old Town Alexandria, Virginia

Mom's Name: Patricia/Patty/Tricia...Mom? Do you read this thing still? Love you!
Nicknames: Well, the name on my birth certificate is Margaret, so Maggie is a nickname. Some of my friends from kickball started calling me Muh-G-G. My college roommate's boyfriend called me Magnum. A friend from middle school/high school called me Meeeg (long e.) My grandpa called me Bird Turd. My boyfriend has been known to call me Devil Woman. Apparently I'm a very nicknameable person.

Overnight Hospital Stays: Other than when I was born, just one. I got really dehydrated back in 6th grade from a bad case of the flu, and spent 2 nights hooked up to an IV at Monmouth Medical Center. Good times.
Pet Peeve: I could write a whole separate blog about all of my pet peeves, but slow walkers annoy the crap out of me. I try to be patient. I work one block from the White House, and I understand that it's a beautiful and historic area. But at rush hour, I just want people to get out of my way so I can get to/leave work.

Quote from a Movie: One of the few serious movies that I love, love, love is "Blow." I've always liked this quote: "So in the end, was it worth it? Jesus Christ. How irreparably changed my life has become. It's always the last day of summer and I've been left out in the cold with no door to get back in. I'll grant you I've had more than my share of poignant moments. Life passes most people by while they're making grand plans for it. Throughout my lifetime, I've left pieces of my heart here and there. And now, there's almost not enough to stay alive. But I force a smile, knowing that my ambition far exceeded my talent. There are no more white horses or pretty ladies at my door."

Righty or Lefty: Righty
Sibling(s): Annie and Emma
Time you Wake Up: I set my alarm for 6 a.m. and usually make it out of bed around 6:30 a.m. On weekends I get up around 9.
Underwear: I can only think of hilariously gross things to write here that are not food blog appropriate, so I'm moving on to the next letter...

Vegetables you Dislike: The only one I can think of is Yellow Squash, but I haven't tried it in years. I probably like it now - I'm really the least picky eater ever.
What makes you Late: I procrastinate getting ready in the morning. I always have to check facebook, read my email, etcetera, and that majorly slows me down.
X-Rays: Too many to count. I'm accident prone.
Yummy Food You Make: I like to think everything, but these are some of my favorites.
Zoo Animal: I'm a fan of the pandas.

Anyone still there? Have I bored you to tears?

If you're still around, here's what you'll need to make some delicious ice cream:

2 cups heavy cream
3 Tablespoons Dutch Process Cocoa Powder
5 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, warm 1 cup of the cream with the cocoa powder, whisking to thoroughly blend. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 seconds, whisking constantly.

Remove from the heat, and stir in the chopped chocolate until smooth. Stir in the remaining 1 cup of cream. Pour the mixture into a large bowl and set aside.

Using the same saucepan, warm the milk, sugar, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Going very slowly so you don't cook the yolks, pour the milk mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a spatula, and scrape the bottom of the saucepan as you stir. When the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spatula, remove from heat.

Pour the mixture through a mesh strainer into the chocolate mixture, and stir until smooth. Mix in the vanilla extract. Stir the mixture over an ice bath until cool. Chill the mixture in your fridge for at least 8 hours, and then freeze according to your ice cream maker's directions.

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