Ultimate Theobromine Delight - Triple Chocolate Cupcakes

I'm back with another cupcake recipe! ...my cupcakes are becoming so popular, that I had to order new cases ... hopefully they will come soon, because I'm running out of my decent reserves.

So this one is all about chocolate...

Theobromine is one of the chemicals that make chocolate so irresistible. It is a methylxanthine found in products of the cocoa tree, Theobroma cacao. The Latin name of this plant is derived from two Greek words - theo (god) and brosi (food) - "food of gods", maybe? I forgot to tell you that, apart from science, I'm also little bit into etymology.

...back to theobromine... Along with caffeine, anandamide and few other compounds, theobromine is one of the chemicals responsible for the lift that one gets from eating chocolate. It increases heart rate, dilates blood vessels and opens up airways (BC1036 is a programme intended to develop theobromine capsules for the treatment of cough - European phase III (clinical study in development) and a post-marketing safety study currently runs in Korea).

- I made these triple chocolate ones for my boyfriend's birthday which is tomorrow -

Triple Chocolate Cupcake - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JENÍČKU!

Ingredients (makes for about 12 medium cupcakes)

     Cupcakes
110 g plain flour
100 g butter
60 g quality dark chocolate (at least 65%)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
0.5 tsp. baking soda
0.5 tsp. baking powder
0.5 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract* (not the Dr.Oetker clear essence!)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup full fat milk
*the only good vanilla extract I discovered in CZ/SK so far is the one from Marks and Spencers, in the UK I like the one from Dr.Oetker (brownish and thick, available with, or without the vanilla seeds)

     White Chocolate Frosting
200 g quality white chocolate
1/3 - 1/2 cup whipping cream (at least 35%)
1 egg yolk
10 g whipping cream stabilizer (CZ/SK smeta-fix Dr.Oetker)

Directions
      Cupcakes
1. Preheat oven to 180°C
2. Mix eggs with both sugars
3. Melt butter with chocolate and add it to the egg and sugar mixture
4. Mix the remaining dry ingredients and slowly add the dry mixture and milk to the egg and sugar mixture and mix thoroughly until smooth
5. Line a cupcake/muffin pan with cupcake cases and fill each one a bit over 1/2 full
6. Bake for about 20 minutes (toothpick inserted in the centre should come out clean)

     White Chocolate Frosting
1. Melt the white chocolate with cream and let cool for a while
2. Mix in the egg yolk
3. Add the stabilizer and mix for about 3-4 min on medium to high speed

Green Mortar - Pesto alla Genovese

Italian cuisine belongs to my favourites. I also love herbs, especially basil...and, as you might have noticed, green is my favourite colour.

Pesto is amazingly versatile. It can be used as a light and simple pasta sauce, soup garnish, or to spice up caprese salad and other dishes. Having a jar of basil pesto in the fridge came in handy many times...

Pestare means to pound/to crush in Italian, hence the name of this delicacy which is traditionally prepared by grounding the ingredients with a circular motions of pestle in the mortar. 

I got my very own mortar as a Christmas present from my grandma - a great addition to my personal kitchen lab!

Pesto alla Genovese

Ingredients (makes for about 1 full bigger mortar)

3 handfuls of basil leaves
0.5 tsp. coarse-grain sea salt
60 ml extra virgin olive oil
1-2 garlic cloves
30 g pine nuts
4 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Crush the basil leaves with salt against the sides of the mortar until you get a smooth paste (the coarse-grain salt will help crushing the leaves)
2. Add the olive oil and pound some more
3. Add halved garlic cloves and continue grounding in circular motion (garlic should not be the dominant ingredient, if you happen to have a "stronger" garlic, put in less)
4. Add pine nuts and Parmesan and crush until fine and smooth
5. Store refrigerated in a glass jar

Hearty Wellcome - Strawberry Red Velvet Cupcakes

Recently, I fell in love with cupcakes, especially because I bought several types of colourful cupcake cases when I visited Nottingham in January, and also because they are easy to transport which comes in handy when you constantly travel back and forth and want your family and friends to eat what you baked so that you have a reson to bake some more...

I'm a scientist... so as soon as I've heard about red velvet, I knew I had to try it.

Even though the red colour is, according to most recipes, achieved by artificial food colouring, the red colour should originate from anthocyanins, pigments found in cocoa powder. These pigments change in colour depending on pH. In acidic conditions, the resulting colour should be red. Therefore, in theory, if the pH of the dough stays below 7...

...Well...it worked, but not enough...and I wanted them to be bright red, so in the end, I added some liquid artificial food colouring.

Also, the dough is not supposed to be chocolate, and people often flavour it with vanilla extract...

It's not easy to get a good quality vanilla extract in Slovakia or Czech Republic, and I also got a bit bored of the omnipresent vanilla dough. The spring is coming and I've decided I wanted to have something fruity instead. Besides, red velvet just calls for strawberries!

...and here they are, my strawberry red velvet cupcakes!

Strawberry Red Velvet Cupcakes with Strawberry Cream Cheese and Sweet Cream Frosting

Ingredients (makes for about 12 medium cupcakes)

     Cupcakes
200 g butter
1 1/4 cup plain flour
3/4 cup sugar (half white/half brown)
3/4 cup strawberry puree
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup full fat milk
0.75 tbsp. liquid red food colouring
0.5 tbsp. cocoa powder
0.5 tsp. white vinegar
0.5 tsp. baking soda
0.5 tsp. salt
1 large egg

     Frosting - Strawberry
150 g cream cheese
1/2 cup strawberry puree
3-4 tbsp. powdered sugar
1 tbsp. strawberry jam
   
     Frosting - Sweet cream
1/2 cup cream (at least 33% fat)
1-2 tbsp. powdered sugar
10 g whipping cream stabilizer (CZ/SK smeta-fix Dr.Oetker)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 180°C
2. Mix together all the dry ingredients
3. Melt butter and mix it with sour cream, milk, egg, strawberry puree, and vinegar
4. Slowly add the dry mixture to the liquid one and mix thoroughly until smooth, add the food colouring and mix a bit more
5. Line a cupcake/muffin pan with cupcake cases and fill each one a bit over 3/4 full
6. Bake for about 20 minutes (toothpick inserted in the centre should come out clean)