Bakin-n-Bacon

It's what's inside that counts...

Although the decorating and the photography are lacking in this post (although big thanks to Amanda for letting me use her cell phone--again--since I  forgot to take photos before dragging the cupcakes to work), this is one of the best.cupcakes.ever.

So what makes this cupcake so special? Just like with people, it's what's inside that counts (except for folks like Heidi Pratt, where the inside and outside are equally plastic). In this case, the center contains a rich truffle filling. Therefore each cupcake packs a 1-2 sucker punch of chocolate. The creamy, uber-smooth peanut butter icing (Swiss buttercream) tops it off for a mouthful of mmmmmmm.

Although I don't visit the Cook's Illustrated website as much as I used to because I have radically changed how I approach baking and cooking lately (thanks to Ratio by Michael Ruhlman - watch for a post on that later), I occasionally still visit the CI site. The most recent issue featured "Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes" so I gave them a go after reading the article, since CI claimed to have solved a conundrum that has vexed me for years.

The problem that CI tackled with this recipe is one that once caused me to smash a cake with my fist, shooting moist chocolate shrapnel across the entire kitchen and creating a heckuva mess. When you start loading a cake with a lot of chocolate the structure weakens, and you are left with a tasty cake that crumbles with a stern glance. Forget about icing the bastard; you will be lucky if you can get it out of the cake pan in one piece.

To counter this issue, the fine test kitchen pros at CI surmised that using bread flour, with its high protein and gluten content, would toughen the cake structure so loads of chocolate flavor could be added without the cake falling apart. Then, to gild the lily, they included a dense, fudgy center by topping the cupcake batter with a dollop of rich ganache. The ganache sinks during baking and becomes a hidden gem to discover when you bite into the cupcake.

Although some CI baking recipes have left me cold, this one delivers big time. The cupcakes were moist without being dense, tender while not being too crumbly, and tasted fantastic. The peanut butter icing was good enough to eat with a spoon, and the truffle center elevated the cupcakes even higher.

I will have to make them again. Soon. Then it's on to the outlet mall to buy bigger pants.

Finally, a justification for my laziness...

The following is an excerpt from an interview with Sara Moulton:

Q: How would you say that your new cookbook differs from so many other quick-cooking ones out there in stores?

A: I’ve always had one job or three, but I’ve also always had dinner at home at least three times a week with my family. I tried to think of my own tricks. When I worked in restaurants, you have to have your mise en place, all your little bowls of ingredients all prepped ahead of time, because you are making one dish at a time. But at home, I was chopping an onion while heating the pan. Or I was chopping garlic while that onion was cooking. In this book, I dispense with mise en place except for Asian recipes. I take advantage of simmering or searing time to tackle the next step. And if you need to, you can just pull the pan off the stove while you chop the next thing you need. Why do it all ahead of time? It’s a waste of time.

I've always felt guilty for not having good mise en place. And, admittedly, it has bitten me on the ass a few times as I've forgotten to add an ingredient or gotten the onions a tad too dark while chopping up some other ingredient. But, for the most part, I cook and bake as I go, and it usually works out well. I hate the thought of dirtying up many bowls and taking up a lot of time when, as Sara says, you can often do a task while waiting on another part of the project to finish.

Now if anyone questions my lack of mise en place I can say: If it's good enough for Sara Moulton, it's good enough for me.

Keeping up with my alligator mouth...

I've been making bold statements about my baking to coworkers, and finally one of them asked me when I was going to do all the baking I have been promising. So I whipped up a batch of lemon poppyseed muffins at 5:30 a.m. one day last week.

Now the heat is on - I need to find time to resume baking at least weekly, or I won't be able to live up to my boasts. Once I finish this large project I'm working on for my husband's company, I should be able to jump back into the baking fray with full force. At least I hope so!