"3 months is a long time" chocolate cupcakes

Last night, the cowboy & I celebrated 3 months of marriage. We had leftover thai green curry waiting for us, so in lieu of an elaborate, romantic meal, I whipped up some simple chocolate cupcakes.

I think we should eat cupcakes (or something just as sweet) on the 25th of every month.

This was also a long, overdue excuse to test drive the KitchenAid. My oh my, isn't it a wonder! Maybe I'm just so used to beating/whipping everything by hand, but it felt a little indulgent to use not a single arm muscle. I turned it on, stepped back & just watched in awe. Neat. (At one point, I found myself losing my senses & using my HANDS to stir the last ingredient in - this will take some getting used to.)

These are the little nuggets unfrosted. Like little chocolate muffins.

Last night we ate a few with some leftover Mexican chocolate frosting slathered on top, but they disappeared too quickly for me to take a picture. Here's how they looked in December.

Simple Chocolate Cupcakes

*loosely adapted from Joy of Baking*

1/2 Cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1 Cup (240 ml) boiling water

1 1/3 Cups (175 grams) all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 Cup or 8 tablespoons of unsalted butter, room temperature (if you can wait for it to warm - I can't)
1/2 Cup white sugar
1/2 Cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 generous teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C or Gas Mark 5) & prepare your baking cups, tray or whatever you plan to bake these in (I tried mine in my new silicone muffin tray - no butter required! - plus, leftover mini cupcake cups).


2. Whisk the boiling water into the cocoa powder until smooth. Set aside to cool.

3. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder & salt. Set aside.

4. In yet another bowl, cream the butter & sugars by hand or by magic mixer.

5. Add eggs, one at a time & continue beating until smooth.

6. Beat in vanilla - preferably something you bought on honeymoon (adding an extra teaspoon of lovely memories for flavor)

7. In increments, add dry mixture & mix only until incorporated (don't over mix).

8. Add in cooled cocoa mixture & again only stir until incorporated (here's where I lost me marbles & used my own arm to stir!) 

9. Scoop in messy spoonfuls into your prepared muffin tin or cupcake cups.

10. Bake approximately 15 minutes, though I find every oven is different - & mine downright sucks - so really I judge by eye. You want it to rise up a bit, be a little springy to the touch & when a knife or something pointy is inserted down the middle, it comes out clean.

Then, please tell your husband to be patient & let these cool significantly before attempting to take them out of the pan. Because they will be crumbly, though really nice & warm. Mmm. And if you foolishly frost them while still warm, the homemade Mexican frosting will get all ooey & gooey. Double mmmm.

**The frosting was homemade last December & frozen. My brain is too broken to recall the exact recipe but it involved confectioner's/powdered sugar, cream cheese, dark chocolate, cinnamon & a touch of hot chilli powder. I kept adding confectioner's sugar until it was like frosting, but not enough to make it as stiff as store-bought, which I liked. You could say it was my version of this recipe from FoodNetwork's Ingrid Hoffmann.**

food for thought (or rather, food for talking)

I’ve always loved food. Obsessed, you might say. And I tell ya, I never really could trust somebody who didn’t feel the same. Yes, these people do exist & I have met a few in my time (though I tend to scurry quickly away because they give me the willies). Some people out there just see food as a necessity or, on the more extreme end of sad, a necessary evil. Like gas for an indispensable vehicle, rather than the edible magic that it is. Can you imagine?

Leaving aside tragic people & the creepy feelings they inspire, let’s talk recipes. Maybe it’s just our, um, age or recent nuptials (sounds better) that have pushed hubs & I into being way more domestic than we were a couple years ago. We now live in our own little abode (own, as in no roomies) which we try our best to make homey & cozy without putting holes in the wall. I've been making lackluster items with my hands & trying my best to grow (apparently miniature) vegetables in the cement patch. And we are making our first stab at parenthood, too. All growed up, you see.

So, lucky for me, I married a fella who loves food as much as I do. Our idea of a successful weekend includes adequate couch time with the resident sausage, in between forays into the kitchen for elaborate curries & pot pies, epic breakfasts & baking experiments that go on for weeks. Squeeze in a good flim, plus the requisite play time with the pup (perhaps a light dusting of snow flurries) & I’m in heaven.

It only makes sense then that I find myself talking & therefore blogging about food. And there are so many fantastic foodie blogs out there - perfect for stealing all my time. There’s no greater escapism than finding a new recipe, food story or tasty new blog on a cold Dublin morning, as the paper work piles up & all are sneezing & complaining around you in that cubicle sorta way. I get endless enjoyment from reading about other people’s kitchen shenanigans, taking note of tasty new recipes & especially soaking up art-in-its-own-right food photography.

A particular interest of mine is taking traditional / comfort / much loved dishes that are meat-centric & making them meat-free. Cuz I'se is a meat-free lady. I love Rick Stein even though he's constantly gutting fish & frying poor defenseless shrimps. I also REALLY love the Hairy Bikers & they are so into meat, you could say they are starting to resemble their main ingredient.

I also swing the other way into the wild world of quinoa & spelt & things that in dried form look like rabbit pellets but are packed with nutrients & make a mean addition to chili. And we need more adventurous, humorous, meat-free cooking out there. I'm on it, don't worry.

I’ve had some lip-smackin’ success in the kitchen recently that I’d love to share with the wider world, but I have a problem. Recipes: they ain’t my forte. My cooking is usually a happy accident – I hardly ever pay attention to measurements of herbs & spices. I’ll sprinkle on some cheese until it looks like enough cheese. You know? Only with baking do I pay a little more attention to cups & teaspoons because that just seems like a more delicate art form.

Thus, I admit it. Like Rachael Ray before me (yeah, I said it) I believe an eyeball is the best measuring tool you can have. When’s the last time you measured out a tablespoon of olive oil when sauteéing something? Really? I don’t.

But I’m going to try to get more specific when I think I have something worthwhile to share, whatever leads me to the world’s best chocolate cookie or causes a disastrous sauce to ruin my day.

Did I mention I got a KitchenAid mixer? Look out Food Network.

rum rice

I haven't posted much food-related stuff lately & that's too bad. Cause the great Neilo meals just keep comin' out of our lil' kitchen. I blame it on the wedding. But don't worry - the best idea I ever had (the Neilo & Susie Irish-American vegetarian cooking show) has not been canned, just put off for a little bit. I swear.

I should mention one of the mister's fabulous food ideas of late. Rice cooked in Malibu rum! Sounds strange & it is. Your meal will smell slightly like suntan lotion, but living in a sun-deprived place like this, I count that as a positive. (It doesn't taste like sunscreen.)

Again, no precise recipe needed here. Just think basmati rice cooked lovingly in chopped tomatoes, chillies, assorted fresh herbs & ground spices & Malibu coconut rum. Yes, coconut rum. Mmm mmm was that tasty.

Stir fry in some fresh green friends (in this case baby zucchini, spinach & green peppers). Pile on some fake chicken & you've got yourself one happy wife (to-be).