I recently went to Whole Foods at the Pasadena store to buy some unsweetened shredded coconut for my Mom (she loves making Mochi). Whole Foods is one of the stores that carry affordable and high quality products/ingredients. I love the idea of being able to purchase certain ingredients by the amount I prefer and there’s no fancy packaging involved (we save a lot with less packaging process). Then, I came across with their cornmeal. Cornmeal typically comes in different texture. Our general grocery store usually carries the coarser texture. Guess what I discovered in Whole Foods? They carry a finer texture of cornmeal! My dad recently bought fresh blueberries from his work and I came across this recipe my Professor had email me. It is called, “Double Corny Blueberry Muffins.” Since I do not have fresh roasted corn on hand, I simply doubled my blueberries. I hope you enjoy the recipe adapted from Chef Robert Wemischner (www.robertwemischner.com).
Blueberry Cornmeal Muffins
Yield: 12 Muffins
For the light streusel topping:
4 ounces (3/4 cup) all-purpose flour
2 ounces (generous 1/4 cup) granulated sugar
2 ounces (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut up into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
Pinch salt
For the batter:
3.6 ounces (3/4 cup) – all-purpose flour
3.6 ounces (scant cup) – cake flour
2.8 ounces (scant 1/2 cup) – yellow cornmeal
4 ounces (generous 1/2 cup) – granulated sugar
1/2 t. – salt
1 T. baking powder
2.4 ounces (1-1/2 large) – eggs
5.6 ounces (5/8 of a cup) – milk (whole or 2%, as desired)
1. Sift altogether the dry ingredients, set aside. In a separate bowl, mix all the wet ingredients together until well blended. Pour the liquids into the dry ingredients and lightly but thoroughly mix until all of the dries are evenly moistened. Do not overmix. Fold in the blueberries and mix lightly to incorporate. Use a number 24 Ice Cream Scoop and fill in the muffin pan with one scoop.
2.Top each muffin with an equal quantity of the streusel. Place the muffins on a heavy sheet pan set onto an oven rack positioned about halfway from the bottom of the oven and bake for approximately 20-25 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Test for doneness by inserting a skewer into the center of the muffin. If done, the skewer should come out clean.
Since I wasn’t familiar with the Ube ingredient in baking, I tried a recipe online in an attempt to making Ube Cupcakes. Sure thing, I only have the before picture below because this formula failed. For one thing, the formula seems like a yellow cake recipe with the Ube mashed incorporated in the mix of ingredients.
Then my awesome friend Jenny (my taste tester) told me it didn’t taste like the one she had before. Her response was, ‘it tastes like a regular cake with subtle Ube flavor in it.’ I reduced the sugar from the recipe too, since I figured Ube has a natural sweetness to it. The amount of sugar on the formula was a bit overwhelming (good thing I reduced it, Jenny’s mommy and my mommy said the sweetness was about right). It was a disappointing recipe but a great experience to learn what the possibilities may be to improve it. Hopefully I’ll have time to create my own recipe next time around and kudos for the person sharing the recipe. Tune in for more desserts!
Yummy! Going crazy with chocolate! I think I’m in love with Chocolate because every time I feel like making cupcakes, I always dive into a Chocolate Cupcake. When I made this, I wasn’t patient enough to wait for my meringue to stiff peaks so my piping wasn’t as elegant as I wanted it to be. Also, David made a request on chocolate too, but he loves these cupcakes. I personally think the Meringue frostings were ooey gooey to my teeth like melted marshmallows and the bitter chocolate flavor from the cupcake makes a great balance and worthwhile. Hope you enjoy this recipe.
Chocolate Cupcake
Yield: 30 Mini Cupcakes
1.5 oz. – Lindt’s 85% Cocoa Chocolate (Use your preferred chocolate)
½ Stick – Butter (@ room temperature 67°-75°)
1/2 Cup – Sugar
1/2 Cup – AP Flour
1/4 Tsp – Baking Soda
1/4 Tsp – Baking Powder
1/8 Tsp – Salt
1 Large – Egg (@ room temperature 67°-75°)
1/4 Cup – Milk (or Buttermilk/Sour Cream)
Meringue Frosting
3 Large – Egg Whites (@ room temperature 67°-75°)
1 3/4 Cup – Sugar
1/4 Tsp – Cream of Tartar
1/2 Tsp – Vanilla Extract
1/2 Tsp – Almond Extract
Chocolate Coating
6 oz. – Semi – Sweet Chocolate (Use your preferred chocolate)
2 Tsp – Canola Oil
Procedure:
Chocolate Cupcake
1.Melt the 1.5 oz. chocolate, set aside.
2.Cream butter and sugar until fluffy (approximately 3 – 5 minutes).*Reminder: This allow maximum amount of air bubble to be trapped so that the recipe will rise in the oven and be light in texture. When your butter is not at room temperature, this will make it hard for your butter to cream smoothly with the sugar to trap the air bubbles. When butter is too soft, it does not allow us to hold air bubbles also. I usually take it out of the fridge 1-2 hr prior to baking depending on the weather.
3.Add the melted butter, continue creaming until combined.
4.Add the egg slowly, continue creaming until fluffy.
5.Sift AP Flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt into a bowl. Add 1/2 of the flour to the mixture and mix until combined. Add 1/2 the milk and continue alternate with dry ingredients.
6.Use a number 70 Ice Cream scoop for and scoop into mini cupcake pans.
7.Bake at 350°F for 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool.
Meringue Frosting
1.Combine egg whites and sugar together in a Bain Marie with mixing bowl. Whisk the egg whites and sugar until sugars dissolves and it reaches 160°F. *Note: You will see a lot of bubbles, that’s okay. Egg white needs to reach the temperature to allow to kills the bacteria from eating raw egg whites, best to use pasteurized egg whites also.
2.With whisk attachment, whisk the meringue on medium to high speed until egg white is cooled. Add the Cream of Tartar, continue to mix to stiff peak forms. *Note: This takes approximately 10 minutes to reach stiff peak.
3.Add the two extracts and whip to combine.
4.With a round tip, pipe mini cupcakes to desire shape. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Chocolate Coating
1. Melt Semi-Sweet Chocolate and Canola Oil in a Bain Marie until smooth.
2.Set aside to cool approximately 15 minutes or when the chocolate reaches 96-98°F. *Note: Depending on the type of chocolate, this temperature gives it the best coating and consistency.
3.Dip mini cupcakes with chocolate and shake excess, allow the chocolate to set and ready to serve.
