Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Charger Cupcakes and Strike 2, Bon Appétit...

Remember the cookie cutters ECA and I made the other day?  Well check out the fruits of our hard labor!

This order included three types of cupcakes:
Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache Filling and Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

 Lemonade Dream Cupcakes 
(Vanilla Cake with Lemon Filling and Lemon Buttercream Frosting)


 Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Of course, ECA was quick to point out that the "50" on the 50-yard-line cupcakes was incorrect because it's actually supposed to look like this but I felt the need to take some artistic license for aesthetic purposes.  Being the adult that I am, I took his constructive criticism in stride. 

~♥~

I also took some time to try a new recipe tonight: Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips and Walnuts.  Verdict: Meh :-/  I wasn't impressed.  To begin with, after much discussion with my kid sister, we decided to omit the walnuts and just keep the chocolate chips.  That, I think, was our first mistake.  I thought the bread was way too sweet and dessert-like.  In retrospect, if we were to have omitted something, I would have omitted the chocolate chips.  A nice toasted nutty taste would have complemented the bananas perfectly.  Also, though I layered the batter and the chocolate chips as the directions indicated, the chocolate chips failed to stay afloat and opted instead to sink to the very bottom making a thick chocolate chip layer that caused the loaves to stick to the pans (despite my very best pan-greasing.)  Finally, the loaves didn't rise as my usual banana bread recipe does.  Instead of nice, golden-brown domes I was treated to flat, deep brown tops even though I set the timer for 15 minutes less than the suggested baking time.  Boo! Hiss!  Just as a side note, this is another Bon Appétit recipe failure (see the first here).  Strike two, Bon Appétit!
Here's the recipe in case you want to try it yourself:

♥Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips and Walnuts♥
Makes one 9-inch loaf

Ingredients:
  • 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
  • 1 t. baking soda
  • 1 t. baking powder
  • 1/4 t. salt
  • 3/4 c. semisweet chocolate chips
  • 3/4 c. walnuts, toasted, chopped
  • 1/2 (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 c. sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 c. mashed ripe bananas
  • 2 T. fresh lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 t. vanilla extract
Directions:
  1. HEAT oven to 350°F and butter and flour 9x5x2.5" metal loaf pan.
  2. WHISK first 4 ingredients in medium bowl to blend.
  3. COMBINE chocolate chips and walnuts in small bowl; add 1 T. flour mixture and toss to coat.
  4. BEAT butter in large bowl until fluffy.
  5. ADD sugar gradually, beating until well blended.
  6. BEAT in eggs one at a time.
  7. BEAT in mashed bananas, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.
  8. ADD flour mixture.
  9. SPOON 1/3 of batter into prepared pan.  SPRINKLE with half of nut/chocolate chip mixture.  SPOON 1/3 of batter over.  SPRINKLE with remaining nut/chocolate chip mixture.  COVER with remaining batter.  Run knife through batter in zigzag pattern.
  10. BAKE until tester inserted into center comes out clean (about 1 hour 5 minutes).  Turn out onto rack and cool.
  11. Try to suppress your utter disappointment at the dismal failure before you.  Or else have amazing success and come tell me all about it.  I'd love to hear how you made it better!


    15 comments:

    1. So cute! I love red velvet cupcakes! I just made them for the first time for my daughter's birthday. Love your decorations on top! :D

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    2. Some of my favorite seldom-fail recipe sources have yielded suprisingly disappointing banana bread recipes (Alton Brown and Cook's Illustrated to name a few). What's up with this phenomenon? Is it that hard to make a decent banana bread? Apparently so. After much trial and error, I've finally struck upon an absolutely glorious recipe from Flours Bakery in Boston, available through Food Network: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giadas-weekend-getaways/flours-famous-banana-bread-recipe/index.html

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    3. oooh I love banana nut bread and recently was introduced to strawberry nutty bread which is basically strawberry instead of the bananas OH MY word that stuff was heavenly, moist and all fluffy and sooo sweet... ummm yeah it was gone in no time lol..
      Red Velvet are my favorite flavor cake or cupcake, I also add red hots to the top, their spiciness is just right to add to the mix and at Christmas time I can decorate real pretty with them on the cake
      I love the little cupcakes what's a big football player know anyway about artistic license hmmm lol

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    4. I agree with you..I would have stuck with the walnut.

      I love your football cupcakes...so adorable!

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    5. Here is a tip for getting the chocolate chips to stay afloat, coat them in flour. The flour helps the chips to stick instead of sink.

      Walnuts are quite bitter so the sugar probably should've been adjusted slightly if you were omitting them. I don't always like walnuts in my baked goods so a lot of the time I sub pecans.

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    6. Love the cupcakes, they are the bomb.

      The Banana bread , not so much,lol. Yeah, I would go with the nuts instead of chocolate for banana bread.

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    7. The cupcakes look great! And now I want one :P

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    8. Girl, you crack me up! I deal with my husband's "constructive criticism" the same way. Puh-lease put me on the mailing list if you ever figure out a way to safely mail cupcakes...I want to try that chocolate ganache!

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    9. Those cupcakes are so cute! Nice work! :-)

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    10. Great job with your cupcakes! they look amazing :)

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    11. Hey now... I'm trying to get a couple of days of dieting in before Thanksgiving and this is making me hungry. YUM.

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    12. Miss Dot - Where have you been all my life? I love cupcakes and I LOVE to bake. I just browsed through a few posts and recipes and they looked yummy to me. I might have to make those streusel cupcakes sooner than later.

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    13. Yummy! I know a few chargers fans in this household that would LOVE those!

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