CV of Justin Lang

Ingredients:

Directions:

Cupcakes

• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup hot water
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 3 tbsp canola or other vegetable oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line muffin tin with cupcake papers and set aside.

Sift together cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a large bowl.  Add eggs, water, heavy cream, oil and vanilla.  Mix with a hand held mixer until smooth.
Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each half full.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Let cool before frosting.

Frosting

• 2 sticks softened butter
• 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 4 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, cream together sugar, cocoa and butter; beginning on low speed then increase to high.  Beat until fluffy and lightened in color.  Transfer mixture to a piping bag fitted with a decorative tip.  Frost cupcakes.

Strawberries:
18-24 Strawberries – you’ll need as many as you have cupcakes
Vodka, rum, or your choice of liquor 80 proof or higher (use Bacardi 151 for fail-proof results)

Hollow the strawberries carefully.  If you pierce the side of the strawberry accidentally, start with a new one.  Since you’ll be setting the liquor aflame, it is important that your strawberry is leak-proof.

Set one strawberry atop each frosted cupcake.  Fill strawberries with liquor just before lighting (see tips).  If you need to light them all at once, (say, for a party) use a turkey baster to quickly fill all the strawberries and a grill lighter in lieu of matches.

Yield:  About 20 cupcakes

Notes for flaming strawberries:

• Any alcohol below 80 proof will not light well.  I used 80 proof and got a nice blue flambe’. Note: some have had trouble getting 80 proof to ignite – lots of people are recommending Bacardi 151 as a fail-safe.

• You can add a little sugar to the inside of the strawberry to sweeten things up.  However, the flame seems to last longer without the addition of sugar.

• Make sure to use a liquor that you like.  Vodka is a good choice if you want very little flavor.

• Alcohol evaporates, so light the strawberry soon after you spoon the liquor in.

• Do I have to say it?  Probably not, but my conscience will not let me go without.  Do not attempt to eat a flaming strawberry.  It’s a relatively short burn time, lasting about 30 seconds to 1 minute. So, enjoy but be careful.  Use your noodle.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons self rising flour
• 4 tablespoons white granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoons Nutella
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil

Method

1. Combine all ingredients in a large coffee mug. Whisk well with a fork until smooth. Microwave on high for 1 1/2 – 3 minutes. (Time depends on microwave wattage. Mine took 1 /2 minutes.) Top with whipped cream and a little chocolate sauce if desired.

2. Top with whipped cream and chocolate syrup. Enjoy!

Note: Depending on the wattage of your microwave, you may have to increase cooking time.

• 1 tbsp instant espresso powder
• 1 tbsp boiling water
• 8 oz. unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• OR 3/4 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips
  confectioners’ sugar, for dusting (optional)

Dissolve espresso powder in boiling water. Set aside to cool to tepid. Beat butter and confectioners’ sugar together on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is very smooth. Beat in vanilla and espresso, then reduce mixer speed to low and add flour, mixing only until it disappears into the dough. Don’t work the dough much once the flour is incorporated. Fold in the chopped chocolate or chips with a sturdy rubber spatula. Using the spatula, transfer dough to a gallon-size zip-loc bag. Put bag on a flat surface, leaving the top open, and roll the dough into a 9 x 10 1/2 inch rectangle that’s 1/4 inch thick. As you roll, turn the bag occasionally and lift the plastic from the dough so it doesn’t cause creases. When you get the right size and thickness, seal the bag, pressing out as much air as possible, and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, or for up to 2 days. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Put the plastic bag on a cutting board and slit it open. Turn the firm dough out onto the board (discard the bag) and, using a ruler as a guide and a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1 1/2-inch squares. Transfer the squares to the baking sheets and carefully prick each one twice with a fork, gently pushing the tines through the cookies until they hit the sheet (okay, I didn’t poke the cookies and they’re fine). Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point (I didn’t do that either – I bake one sheet at a time). The shortbreads will be very pale–they shouldn’t take on much color. Transfer the cookies to a rack. If you’d like, dust the cookies with confectioners’ sugar while they are still hot. Cool the cookies to room temperature before serving. Makes about 3 dozen.

I am ALWAYS on the hunt for a good desert.  My theory with this one is, since you cannot have cake all the time, and is seems to be “hard to make”. Why not have them in bite size?

I’ll have to try this one out VERY soon. Well.. maybe not ME, but someone I know. ;)

Ingredients

• 1 Box of Cake Mix ( I chose chocolate)
• 1 Can of Cream Cheese Frosting
• ~50 Lollipop sticks
• Candy Melts (2 bags)
• Sprinkles (for fun)
• Styrafoam board

Yet another desert recipe. I must be hungry for desert or something!  I think the fact that we don’t have any ice cream on hand plays a big role in to my posting tonight. Check out www.scarlettabakes.com for more tasty photos and how they came about. FINALLY, the recipe!

Chuckwagon Apple Fritters

• 2 c. self-rising flour
• 1/4 c. dark brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 c. buttermilk
• 3 large eggs
• 5 apples (I opted for 2 Pacific Roses and 3 Braeburns – feel free to mix it up and go with any variety and combination that you prefer.)
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice, fresh
• 1 1/2 c. white sugar, granulated
• 1 tbsp. cinnamon, ground
• 1 tsp. ancho chile, ground
• 4 c. peanut oil (This is for frying. I prefer to fry with peanut oil, but you can go with any other light oil. Just be sure to adjust your heating temperature accordingly [see my tips for successful fritter frying below].)

Prepare the apples by peeling all 5, shredding 2 of the apples, and roughly chopping 3 of the apples. Again, you can do this in whatever combination you prefer, the idea with the shredding and chopping is to get a variety of textures going on in your fritters.

To prepare your fritter batter, place the flour, brown sugar and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the eggs, buttermilk and lemon juice, mixing just until you have a uniform batter. Fold in your apple pieces.

Meanwhile, heat your peanut oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pan. Following are a few tips for successful fritter frying:

1. Don’t make your fritters too large. Fritters that are bigger than a tablespoon of batter won’t cook through and are much more likely to burn as you fry them. Don’t worry, the batter expands as you cook it. Stick with a tablespoon for scooping your fritters, and lightly grease it on both sides so that the batter slides right out into the hot oil.
2. Your oil can’t be too hot when you begin frying or your fritters will burn instantly. Heat the oil over medium-high heat and don’t be scared to test your oil’s temperature with a few trial fritters. The fritters should take approximately 2 minutes to cook on each side – they will turn a deep golden brown as you fry them.
3. Flip your fritters regularly. Watch them closely. The color is key. Look for dark, golden-brown – no black.
4. Don’t over-crowd your fry pan. Work in batches of 4-5 fritters at a time.
5. It may be necessary to skim away any small pieces of residue or little fritterettes in between batches. Keeping your oil clean by removing these bits will maintain its temperature.

Once your oil is at the appropriate temperature, use a greased tablespoon-sized scoop to drop the batter into the oil. Fry your fritters using the instructions that I included above. As soon as they have cooked, remove them to paper towels to drain and cool slightly.

Meanwhile, mix the white sugar, cinnamon and chile powder in a small bowl. As soon as the fritters are cool enough to handle, toss them in the chile sugar and serve.

YIELD:  approximately 25 fritters (For reference, my finished fritters were approximately 2-3″ around.)

I HAD to share this.  Maybe if I am sweet enough to Renee she’ll make these for us one day! hint hint! :) You can get the full recipe from Handle The Heat.