So option number two - cupcake wars - would have to fit the bill for the day. In reality, this is a very tough challenge considering our lack of baking resources in our kitchen....and then we didn't start until 10 PM, so let's just say we were having to eat cupcakes well into the night/early morning - not quite the best thing to have right before bed, but fun nonetheless.
I selected Red Velvet for my cupcake. Cliche - especially for anyone who has seen Cupcake Wars - but I had personally never made them and really hadn't even eaten one before - at least not that I can remember. Additionally, the next day was Valentine's Day so a red cupcake just seemed to fit the bill.
Derek's choice obviously was limited to three options as Ad Hoc only features three cupcakes and Derek wouldn't dare venture to another source!! The options were White, Chocolate, or Carrot Cake. After first selecting chocolate but not being able to find the right "alkalized chocolate" at Whole Foods - Derek switched to Carrot Cake - one of my top 3 favorite flavors. At this point, I had already concluded that I would be voting for Derek's cupcake over mine for the simple fact that I find Carrot Cake irresistible - if executed correctly, of course.
I went first in the kitchen since I wanted to quickly get mine in and out of the oven, thinking about how I need to just go to bed with work looming early the next morning. After deliberation, I selected the red velvet cupcake recipe from JoyofBaking.com - crossed my fingers, and hoped it would work out.
Katie's Entry:
Red Velvet Cupcakes
source: http://joyofbaking.com/RedVelvetCupcakes.html#ixzz1E43wJtfn
1 1/4 cups (125 grams) sifted cake flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoons (10 grams) regular or Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/4 cup (57 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cups (150 grams) granulated white sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (120 ml) buttermilk
1 tablespoon liquid red food coloring
1/2 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Red Velvet Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and line 12 muffin tins with paper cupcake liners.
In a large bowl sift together the flour, salt, and cocoa powder.
In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until soft (about 1-2 minutes). Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add the egg and beat until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.
In a measuring cup whisk the buttermilk with the red food coloring. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.
In a small cup combine the vinegar and baking soda. Allow the mixture to fizz and then quickly fold into the cake batter.
Working quickly, divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups and smooth the tops with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 18 - 23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean.
Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes and them remove from pan. Let cool completely before frosting. Either spread the frosting with a knife or offset spatula, or use a large 1M Wilton open star decorating tip to pipe the frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting: OK I cheated in this arena. Not because I was lazy but because I had been lazy about a week ago when I made mini brownies decorated with football lacing made of frosting, store bought cream cheese frosting to be exact. With about half of the container left sitting in my refrigerator, I decided to use it up and mix it with the rest of some grainy Neufchatel cheese that Derek had bought and disliked. Putting two mediocre ingredients together isn't exactly recipe for success, but I thought I'd give it a try. I also threw in some vanilla and cinnamon and hoped for the best after blending all of the elements together.
Makes 24 mini cupcakes.
MY REVIEW: First the cupcakes. The batter, to me, seemed pretty thick and didn't WOW me. Without many additives to a normal batter recipe except for a scant portion of cocoa powder and red food coloring....and vinegar...the batter tasted a bit floury. But not knowing what it is supposed to taste like, I still hoped for the best and threw the cupcakes into the oven.
Thankfully, they puffed up nicely and turned out looking like a red velvet cake. The next test was taste. They were good - but just good. They were not heavy but they were not super light and fluffy. And the flavor was interesting, again, good, but not great. I'd rather have a chocolate or lemon...or....gasp...carrot cupcake.
And the frosting was OK, a little grainy due to the already grainy cream cheese substitute that I used, but the flavor ended up being pretty good! Still, I asked Derek to use some of his frosting as I'd be taking these to the office and didn't want to serve frosting that would be slightly off-putting in texture.
My Cupcake Grade: B
Now onto Derek's Carrot Cake, compliments of Ad Hoc at Home.
Ad Hoc Carrot Cupcakes
Cupcakes
2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 large eggs
1/4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla paste or pure vanilla extract
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup canola oil
3 cups finely shredded carrots
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped toasted walnuts (Derek used pecans, un-toasted)
Cream Cheese Frosting (makes about 3 cups)
1 1/2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into chunks, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla paste or pure vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 350°F and have all ingredients at room temperature. Also have your cupcake liners and pans ready.
Wash and peel your carrots. Using a grater, shred your carrots and set aside.
Using your stand mixer, beat the eggs, milk, vanilla extract, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until smooth.
Add in the oil.
Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and ground cinnamon. Slowly add this and mix.
Add in the shredded carrots.
Using an ice cream scoop, divide the batter evenly into the cupcake liners.
Bake for 20-30 minutes (depending on your oven) or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Remove the cupcakes and let it cool to room temperature.
For the Frosting:
Have all ingredients ready at room temperature.
Using your stand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth.
Add the butter and mix until smooth. Include the pure vanilla extract.
Beat in the icing sugar until frosting is smooth.
Once the cupcakes have cooled, frost and eat!
MY REVIEW: OK so I'm not sure who to give the credit to, the chef who crafted, or a least blessed, this recipe, or the chef who executed it for me. I suspect credit is due in both arenas. These were fabulous, simply to die for. Wow.
From the start you could tell these were a totally different product than what I had produced with the red velvet cupcakes. The batter was very runny in contrast to my slightly thick batter. However, this runny batter baked up into an extremely moist and light cupcake that certainly satisfied my carrot cake loving soul.
He could have reduced the sugar by a little bit - and if he had made larger cupcakes, I would say the pecans should have been larger as they were diced pretty fine - but for the small bite size cupcake - it worked! I'd love to also try raisins in it since I love that addition to carrot cake - Derek does not.
The frosting was good as well - nothing special, just a solid cream cheese frosting that went beautifully with the cake.
Derek's Cupcake Grade: A
Bare:
Iced:
Gosh, I hate to admit it - but his cupcakes, regardless of my flavor preference, were just a cut above my product. I want one this moment as I type this...You better believe that I'm ready for another battle....
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