Beautiful Buttercream, German Buttercream

         In the past year I've encountered five different kinds of buttercream frosting. There's the American Buttercream, which is butter (or sometimes cream cheese), powdered sugar, milk or cream, and flavoring. Despite being a classic, most recipes for this frosting produce something sickeningly sweet that sucks the life out of the item it decorated. The next two buttercreams: French and Italian require a sugar syrup. Heating sugar up to 240 degrees and then slowly beating it into egg whites (Italian) or egg yolks (French). The problem with this method is that if you use a handheld mixer (I do) it's difficult to beat the syrup evenly into the egg whites, and if you don't beat it evenly you'll get rock hard chunks of sugar in your buttercream. Also, making sugar syrup requires standing next to the stove to make sure the sugar doesn't heat past the softball stage. It also requires perfect timing, so that your eggs form glossy stiff peaks, just as your sugar hits 240. Very difficult to do. So that leaves two other buttercreams: German and Swiss. Both are delicious and easier than French and Italian.
       Swiss Buttercream, like Italian buttercream this frosting is based on egg whites, buttter, and sugar. Except instead of cooking the sugar and then adding it to beaten egg whites, Swiss Buttercream is made by combining the eggs and sugar until 160 degrees, at which point all proteins coagulate and Salmonella dies. After this the mixture is beaten and butter is added. It's much easier and simpler than French or Italian methods, but equally fluffly and light.
       German Buttercream is very different from any other buttercream. It's rich like the American Buttercream, but not as sweet. It's also denser than Italian, French and Swiss frostings. It might no be as simple as the Swiss version but it is delicious and indulgent. It is my preferred buttercream. It starts with making  pastry cream, after the pastry creams is cooled, and equal amount of softened butter is added, and then the frosting is beaten until smooth. Of course the reason it's so good: fat. German Buttercream has butter, egg yolks, and whole milk in it, which is why you don't need as much of it to cover cakes and cupcakes.

German Buttercream:

• 3/4 whole milk
• 1/3 granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 tsp. almond extract
• 1 cup. unsalted butter (chopped into 1 tbsp. segments)

Stir milk and half of sugar together in a saucepan. Heat to just boiling.
While milk is heating, combine the rest of the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Then add eggs.
Temper eggs with milk, then pour back into saucepan.
Heat until the cornstarch begins to thicken the cream, then keeping on heat for 30 seconds.
Remove from stove, add butter and stir until covered.
Let stand for five minutes.
Beat on low until combined. Let cool.
When cooled beat in almond extract.
Spread or pipe onto your dessert.

Chocolate Variation:

Increase milk to 1 cup, sugar to 1/2 cup, leave almond extract out. After adding butter, beat in 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder.

Mint Truffle Cookies

See my how to video at vimeo.com, use password "Baking" to view. Or just follow the recipe below:

Mint Truffle Cookies (a variation from allrecipes.com)

Chocolate and mint are one of my favorite flavor combos on the planet. I found truffle cookies without mint too overwhelming with chocolate, mint softens the sweetness and highlights the chocolate flavor. These cookies are soft and chewy, perfect for a chocoholic.

Ingredients:
8 (1 ounce) squares of unsweetened chocolate, chopped

Tip: If you don’t have unsweetened chocolate mix together three tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa and one tablespoon of melted butter.

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
¾ cup un salted stick butter
6 eggs
2 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon  of vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon of peppermint oil
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons black cocoa
2 tablespoons double dutch process cocoa
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon of salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Melt butter in microwave or on stove.
2. Combine unsweetened chocolate and 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips and slowly melt until smooth.
3. Mix melted butter and chocolate thoroughly.
4. In a large bowl combine eggs and sugar until thick and pale (at least 2 or 3 minutes).
5. Stir vanilla and chocolate mixture into eggs until completely combined.
6. Add in peppermint oil and mix well.
7. In separate bowl dry whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.
8.Stir into flour mixture into chocolate batter in halves.
9. Fold remaining cups of chocolate chips into batter.
10. Split dough into two bowls and chill for at least two hours.
11. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
12. Wash your hands.
13. Take one bowl out and roll into 1 inch balls. Place balls on ungreased cookie sheets, 2 inches apart.

Tip: If your cookie sheets are bent or warped, make sure to press cookie dough balls onto the tray otherwise they will role towards the center.

14. Alternate bowls between chilling and rolling dough, to decrease to stickiness of the dough.
15. Bake for 13-17 minutes on center rack.
16. Allow cookies to cool for at least 15 minutes before removing from baking sheets.

Fancy Ding Dongs

         Earlier this week I threw together some chocolate fudge cupcakes, then because it was late I quickly filled them with a strongly vanilla flavored whip cream, and topped them with chocolate ganache.  When I brought them in they were a hit, then during lunch my art teacher came up to me, and said, "Good cupcakes, they were like fancy ding dongs." As much as I like gas station food on road trips, I was a little worried.  So I added some more expression powder (there was already some), and switched the water for coffee. Then, I added some coffee extract to the filling and ganache.
       
Chocolate Expresso Fudge Cupcakes:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 3/4 cups All Purpose Flour
• 2 tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 cup Hershey's Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tbsp. expresso powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 4 large eggs
• 3/4 cups vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup strong coffee   

Preheat oven to 350 F. 

Mix all the dry ingredients together: sugar, flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder, baking powder, expresso powder, baking powder, and salt. 

Mix all wet ingredients together: eggs, oil, vanilla extract, and strong coffee.

Then add wet to dry gradually, beating until fully combined.

Pour into a lined cupcake pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Cupcakes are done, when a toothpick is inserted to cupcake comes out clean. 

Vanilla Coffee Whip Cream:

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 tbsp. expresso powder
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp. good quality vanilla

After you put the cupcakes in the oven, heat cream in heavy bottomed pot over low to medium heat until simmering.

Add expresso powder and stir until dissolved.

Remove from heat, pour into a container.

Place plastic wrap directly on top of cream, to prevent skin from forming.

While cream is cooling, place a medium sized bowl and beaters in freezer. Cream whips best when cold.

After cream has cooled remove plastic wrap and pour into cold bowl.

Beat until soft peaks have formed.

Add sugar and vanilla extract. Beat until stiff peaks have formed.

Refrigerate until ready to use.

Construction

 Materials:

• pastry bag 
• scissors
• small knife
• a rimmed baking sheet lined wax or parchment paper

When cupcakes are cool and filling is made begin construction.

With knife cut a deep cone shape out of the top of the cupcakes (about 1 1/2 inch diameter and about an inch deep).

Fill pastry bag with whip cream and cut the tip until it's 1/2 inch across.

Pipe empty cupcakes full of filling, until even with the top of the cupcake. 

Place cupcakes upside down on lined baking sheet and refrigerate.

Chocolate Expresso Buttercream:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 tsp. salt
• 6 egg yolks
• 1 1/4 cups unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

Combine milk and half of the sugar in a heavy bottomed and heat until just boiled.

While milk is heating, mix cornstarch, sugar, and salt together. Then beat in egg yolks.

Temper milk into eggs (while whisking egg mixture very fast while slowly pouring hot milk into it).

Chop butter and put in a large bowl. Pour pastry over butter and let sit for 5 minutes.

Mix together, and then add cocoa powder.

Let cool.

Construction 2:

Materials:

• Pastry bag
• Star tip
• Remove cupcakes from refrigerator, put plastic aside.

Fill pastry bag with frosting and decorate cupcakes however you want.

Place cupcakes right side up on baking sheet and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Bake Wise: The Best Cocoa Powder

           About three years ago I made a switch from Shaw's Baking Cocoa to Ghirardelli Unsweetened Cocoa. However, Ghirardelli is expensive! So as a result I baked chocolate sparingly, but I least it was good quality and delicious when I did bake it. Right? Wrong. Taster's in a Cook's Illustrated study said that Ghirardelli had a "smooth but undistinguished" flavor. In conclusion their study recommended it with reservations. Even more of a surprise to me was the cocoa powder that got the best reviews and therefore the most recommended cocoa, Hershey's Cocoa Natural Unsweetened. At 44 cents an ounce it's 12 cents cheaper per ounce than Ghirardelli's cocoa.
          Hershey's nib roasts their cocoa beans, meaning they shell them before roasting them. In fact, the top three brands all nib roasted. Of the four recommended cocoa powders Hershey's came in first and third, with Hershey's Cocoa Natural Unsweetened and Hershey's Cocoa Special Dark, second was claimed by Droste Cocoa, and fourth by Valrhona Cocoa Powder. Powders by Ghirardelli, Scharffen Berger, Nestle, and Equal Exchange were recommended with reservations.

          Cook's Illustrated tested fat content, roasting style, price, particle size, and Dutched or natural. Not only were top brands nib roasted, they had smaller particles creating a larger release of flavor. Whether a powder was expensive, fatty, or Dutched did not make a significant difference.