So, here’s a thing I make at work a couple of times a week as a petit four. Consider them Rice Krispie Treats, perfected. They started out as these. Then they evolved.

That's as good as the photos get these days, folks.

Dirty Rice Krispie Treats

1. 2.75 oz. unsalted butter
2. Large pinch Kosher salt
3. 15 oz. marshmallows
4. 9 oz. Rice Krispies (or generic puffed rice cereal)
5. 4.5 oz. cocoa nibs

Place the butter and salt in a large-ish pot, something with a wide bottom. Heat over medium until butter melts and begins to brown, stirring occasionally. Cook the butter to a dark brown (not black).

While the butter browns, spread the marshmallows in a single layer in a large mixing bowl or on a clean baking sheet. Torch the heck out of ‘em. You could also put them under a broiler if you have no torch, but a torch is really the way to go here. You want a burnt, black, crispy shell on at least 2 sides of those marshmallows. With gooey insides. Once the butter and marshmallows are done, turn the heat down to medium-low and add the marshmallows. Stir occasionally with a buttered heat-proof spatula until completely melted.

SUPER DANGEROUS ACTION SHOT

Combine the cereal and cocoa nibs in a large mixing bowl and mix well. Butter a medium rectangular baking dish (or a half sheet pan, if you’re in a professional kitchen…I cut them 1×1.5″ for petit fours so they don’t need to be that thick, but they’d be too thick to fit a quarter sheet) and line it with parchment. Liberally butter the parchment. Butter, butter, butter. Once the awesomely burnt goo in the pot is totally melted, add the cereal and nibs and stir to combine as evenly as possible. Scrape into your buttered vessel and smooth evenly. At work I use a liberally buttered large offset spatula. If you’re into cake decorating you’ll have one. If not…use whatever a home cook would use to spread and smoosh Rice Krispie Treats. I don’t know. After this, I butter another sheet of parchment and lay it on top, then wrap and let it set up for a few hours. Then I turn that sucker out and cut it up with a buttered knife.

Not sure what the next post will be. Banana jam? Toasted almond milk? How to make lame-ass cultivated blueberries taste like wild ones? Perhaps the infamous ANIMAL CRACKERS, the recipe for which I’ve only shared with one very special person?

White chocolate is a unique ingredient, and while dark and milk chocolate have hordes of rabid fans, you’d hear those same hordes echoing horrible sentiments like “I hate white chocolate” and “white chocolate is gross” or even “white chocolate isn’t REAL chocolate.” Lately I’ve taken up the cause and have been stubbornly defending what I know to be a special, delicious ingredient. And it is TOO real chocolate!

Where's the white chocolate?

However, as with many things, sometimes it takes baby steps to get people to like an ingredient that they’ve completely dismissed. That’s why I was so elated when I learned that you could CARAMELIZE white chocolate to make it extra special!

But what IS it?

I ended up using white chocolate in the form of a caramelized ganache. Easy to make, easier to eat. Since caramelized white chocolate just screams for salt, I topped each cupcake with a random sprinkling of large crystal sanding sugar and coarse sea salt.

What's with the cherries and almonds?

The first time I ever made caramelized white chocolate, I decided that, while it looks like peanut butter, it tastes decidedly more like toasted almonds, if anything. I chose to make an almond flour cake, though not a gluten-free one. I wanted the natural almond flavor more than the density. For that toasted flavor I craved, I toasted the almond flour in the oven before using it, which worked perfectly.

Such a warm and inviting looking cupcake.

Instead of my usual filling-in-a-hole-in-the-middle style, I went for a muffin-ier approach in these cupcakes and added fresh chopped cherries to the batter just before baking. Honestly they weren’t my first choice, as much as I love cherry and almond together; I would have preferred apricots. But I just barely missed the end of apricot season by about a week as I waited for the weather to cool down enough for me to turn on the oven, and just went with the cherries from the bodega downstairs. They definitely do the trick, though, adding a sweet, juicy note to the almost-savory cupcakes. And they gave me the inspiration to use these sexy red wrappers I bought recently.

Quite elegant, actually.

A few notes about the ganache: while it eventually sets up to the point where it will hold its shape enough to pipe, that takes at least 24 hours in the fridge. Even after that point it’s very soft and melts easily. I prefer to use it as a glaze – you get plenty of the unique caramelized flavor while not overdosing on sticky sweetness.

You may also notice that I used milk as the liquid in the ganache instead of the usual cream. I felt that the white chocolate was fatty enough and any more fat would make it too greasy and slick in the mouth, and I think that was the right choice, considering how buttery-moist this cake recipe is.

Half sweet, half savory, totally awesome.

Toasted White Chocolate Cherry-Almond Cupcakes

First, Make the Ganache:

1. 200 g chopped white chocolate, divided
2. 75 g milk

Caramelize half of the white chocolate in a shallow baking dish or sheet pan set in an oven at 250F. Stir every ten minutes and bake until the chocolate is a deep peanut butter color and fragrantly caramelized (don’t worry if it looks grainy, that’s normal). Allow to cool, then transfer to a double boiler over simmering water. Add the rest of the white chocolate and melt both together completely. Meanwhile, heat the milk in the microwave until it’s steaming hot (less than 30 seconds). Remove the melted chocolate from over the simmering water and gently stir in the hot milk until it is completely combined and emulsified. Chill in the refrigerator, stirring once every hour or so, until it is thick, spreadable and no longer runny.

Then, Make the Cakes:

1. 68 g almond flour
2. 4 oz butter
3. 4 oz sugar
4. 2 eggs
5. 1/4 tsp vanilla
6. 46 g AP flour
7. 1/2 tsp baking powder
8. Pinch salt
9. 1/3 cup chopped fresh cherries (from about 8 cherries)

Preheat the oven to 325F. Spread the almond flour out on a small baking sheet (I put mine in a pie tin so I wouldn’t accidentally sweep any away when I was stirring it) and toast, stirring every 2 minutes or so, until it’s fragrant and moderately browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Slowly beat in the eggs and vanilla, scraping down the bowl between additions. Sift together the dry ingredients and, with the mixer off, add all but about 1 Tbsp at once, then mix slowly until the dry is just incorporated. Scrape down the bowl, then toss the chopped cherries with the leftover 1 Tbsp of dry mixture. Gently fold the cherries into the batter. Bake in lined muffin tins for about 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

To Assemble:

1. Cupcakes
2. Ganache
3. Sanding sugar
4. Coarse sea salt

Use a small spatula or butter knife to smoothly spread a layer of ganache on each cupcake. Sprinkle lightly with both sugar and salt. Keep refrigerated (the ganache will set up fully once refrigerated overnight).

Makes 8 cupcakes with some ganache left over.

The winner of August’s Mystery Box Cupcake Challenge will receive prizes from:

• Bake It Pretty; $5 electronic gift card
• Beanilla; 3 Indian + 3 Tahitian vanilla beans & a jar of Ground Vanilla
• CT2Designs; a cupcake ring
• Miss Kitty Creations; a cupcake charm of your choice
• Sweet Cuppin Cakes; a prize pack worth $25

Thank you to all our prize sponsors!

It's like a one-cookie party!

First I had to get an appropriate cookie cutter. I went to a well-known cooking store but was disappointed in the option they sold – flimsy-looking, with a too-narrow stem in the design (it would definitely burn/fall apart) and no handle. I ended up turning to Etsy and finding a lovely handmade cutter (I picked up a teacup cutter too).

Not actually lime flavored.

My friend had included an example of someone else’s attempt at Margarita cookies, which had simply been sugar cookies flavored with orange zest – no lime to be seen! However I did like the idea of a nice orangey sugar cookie, so I kept that element, using Dorie‘s sugar cookie recipe.

Oh, salt.

Since all good Margaritas must have a nice, salty rim, I incorporated that by brushing the “rim” of the cookies with agave nectar (because it’s the tequila plant) and affixing large crystals of Bali smoked coconut-lime salt that my mom had sent me.

These cookies were Serious.

Finally, because you REALLY can’t have a Margarita without bitter, tangy lime, I decided to make sandwiches with the cookies, sticking them together with homemade lime marmalade.

Green, sticky, bitter...and absolutely perfect.

These cookies were pretty awesome. The sugar cookies bake up very crisp, almost crackery, but after they’re sandwiched and have a night or so to sit in the fridge, they soften and the lime flavor permeates both cookies, creating a really limetastical treat.

It's Margarita time!

Margarita Cookies

First, Make some Marmalade!

1. 2 limes
2. 2/3 cup water
3. 1 cup sugar
4. Pinch salt

Wash and slice the limes. Roughly puree them, leaving some chunks of skin intact. Place the puree and the water into a small saucepan and cover. Simmer for 30 minutes. Uncover and add the sugar and salt. Bring to a boil and allow to boil for at least 5 minutes, then test a small amount of the marmalade on a chilled white plate, letting it sit for a minute and then poking it. If it acts like jam (not watery, wrinkles when poked) then it’s done; if not, boil for another 5 minutes and try again, repeating until it’s perfect. Transfer to a glass jar, Pyrex container or restaurant-quality plastic quart container, allow to cool slightly, then refrigerate until chilled. Cover for storage.

Also Make Cookies! (adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan)

1. 2 cups AP flour
2. 1/2 tsp salt
3. 1/2 tsp baking powder
4. 5 oz. (10 Tbsp, or 1 stick plus 2 Tbsp) unsalted butter
5. 1 cup sugar
6. Zest of 1 orange
7. 1 egg
8. 1 egg yolk
9. 1/4 tsp vanilla
10. Green liquid food coloring

Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder, set aside. Cream the butter with the sugar and orange zest. Once light and fluffy, add the egg, yolk and vanilla and beat until combined and emulsified. Gradually beat in the flour on low speed, being careful not to overmix it. Divide the dough in half and pat into discs. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350F. Roll the discs out one at a time, to about 1/4″ thick. Chill the rolled out dough in the freezer briefly before cutting the cookies (your dough will be firmer and won’t bend or tear when you move the cookies to the baking sheet). For every 2 Margarita cookies you cut out, cut out one half-moon shape and brush it lightly with food coloring (diluted with water if it’s very dark). Bake on a lined baking sheet for about 10 minutes, until very lightly browned around the edges. Allow to cool on the sheet for a minute before transferring to a rack. Cool completely before assembling.

To Assemble:

1. Cooled cookies
2. Marmalade
3. Agave nectar
4. Some manner of limey salt, or at the very least a nice crunchy sea salt

Spread a layer of marmalade on half of the Margarita cookies and sandwich with the other half. Chill for a little while to allow the marmalade to set back up so the cookies don’t shift around on top of each other. Brush a small amount of agave nectar along the “rim” of the cookies and sprinkle with salt crystals, making sure to press them in slightly. Add a small amount of marmalade to the backs of the lime cookies and stick them onto the “glasses” to complete the Margarita cookie experience.

Though they ended up being slightly belated (oh, work) these cookies were VERY well-received, and totally delicious. Plus, as I pointed out in the accompanying note I sent along, belated birthday presents are actually great – you get to stretch out the potential gift-getting timespan!

Roly poly lemons rolled into a cupcake.

Until I had some free time and went poking around to try and catch up with Cupcake Hero. Once I discovered this month’s theme, I knew I had my perfect excuse.

What could possibly be going on here?

Olive oil? Ohh yes, this would be wonderful! Sunny and fruity and creamy and salty…wait, what?

And you though BUTTERCREAM was fattening!

Yes, I decided that since Meyer lemons and cream go oh so very well together, these cupcakes wouldn’t need a real frosting, just a nice dollop of freshly whipped Chantilly cream. And then I thought of olive oil gelato, and of the lemon salt my mom had recently given me (yes another salt)…

A Serious Cupcake.

I ultimately decided that a little extra virgin olive oil plus the lemon salt would be the only proper way to top off these cupcakes, keeping in mind the simple garnishes usually given to frozen olive oil-flavored dairy-based treats.

Surprisingly complementary elements.

The first one I assembled and ate…eh, I was not that impressed. Oh, the elements were good, but the balance was off on top. So when I went to eat another one the next day (ok, the next MORNING, for BREAKFAST), I neglected to add the olive oil and salt. But after the first bite I realized the cupcake was missing exactly those elements of fruity savoriness and salty finish. So I adjusted the balance to add just the slightest bit of olive oil…and it totally and completely worked.

Maybe it needed a little more of this?

A cupcake with Meyer lemon just isn’t complete without a blob of wonderful, citrusy curd in the middle…perhaps a little more than these actually had. I used my smallest round cutter to cut out the middle and had contemplated using the next-biggest size, but feared that the cupcakes might not have the structural integrity to hold together. I probably should have gone with the bigger size – these cupcakes are fairly sturdy, and much stronger than my standard, fluffy recipe.

Meyer lemon curd = basically tangy spoonable crack.

I made half the recipe of cupcakes you see here, but the full amount of curd. This is not the Meyer lemon curd recipe I’ve used before. While totally awesome, that recipe used whole eggs only, and I needed one that used yolks – four yolks, to be precise. Because I still had yolks leftover from the crazy awesome meringue topping on these babies. Because I made the full curd recipe, I have a lot left over. Um, significantly less left over today than the day I made them…mmm, curd.

Very elegant.

Meyer Lemon Olive Oil Sunshine Cupcakes

First, Make the Curd (adapted from Martha Stewart):

1. 2 whole eggs
2. 4 egg yolks
3. 1 cup (200g) sugar
4. Zest of 1 Meyer lemon
5. 1/2 cup Meyer lemon juice, strained
6. 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut in small cubes

Place the eggs, yolks, sugar and zest in a medium bowl over simmering water. Whisk often until somewhat thickened, then add the juice and whisk until thick. Remove from heat and gradually whisk in the butter. Strain and cool in the refrigerator or over an ice bath with plastic wrap pressed into the surface.

Then, Make the Cupcakes (adapted from Matt Bites):

1. 4 eggs
2. 1 cup (200g) sugar
3. Zest of 2 Meyer lemons
4. 3 cups (380g) AP flour
5. 3/4 cup (160g) extra virgin olive oil
6. 2/3 cup (160g) milk
7. 4 Tbsp Amaretto liqueur
8. 1 Tbsp baking powder
9. Large pinch of Kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 325.

Beat the eggs and sugar together until pale yellow. Beat in the zest. Combine the liquids together; do the same with the remaining dry ingredients. Alternately add in three additions, beating until smooth. Immediately pour into lined muffin tins and bake for 20-25 minutes, until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove from the tins to cool completely.

Once the cupcakes are cooled, use a small round cutter to punch deep holes almost all the way to the bottom (but not quite). Fill the holes with curd, trim the middles from the removed cylinders of cake and replace the remaining circular lids of cake onto the curd. Enjoy your little trimmings.

You Gotta Whip Some Cream:

Note: If you’re not serving the cupcakes all at once, it’s a good idea to make this in smaller batches. I know it can be a hassle to whip a tiny amount of cream, but once you get hand-whipping down it’s really no big deal. If you try to whip all the cream ahead of time or top the cupcakes all at once in advance, the cream will separate and get runny. You want it STIFF. Stabilizing it with gelatin is also an option but I didn’t have any.

1. 1 cup (240mL) heavy cream
2. 1 Tbsp sugar (I used vanilla sugar)

Chill your bowl and whip/whisk before whipping and make sure the cream is kept cold as well. Add the sugar to the cream and whip to stiff peaks (but not until it gets grainy).

And Then You’re Gonna Serve Them:

1. Filled cupcakes
2. Chantilly cream
3. Extra virgin olive oil
4. Lemon salt

Using a teaspoon, dollop the whipped cream onto the cakes, smoothing and flattening slightly. Drop a few dots of extra virgin olive oil on the whipped cream with the back of a spoon:

You only need a little...

Using a toothpick, swirl the olive oil into the cream, then sprinkle with a small pinch of salt. Eat as soon as possible!

Makes 24 slightly-smaller-than-average cupcakes (18-20 normal?)

These cupcakes are, as usual for me, a little odd, but overall really tasty. I imagine if you are a fan of preserved lemons you’d dig these. At first you taste the dense, not-too-sweet cake, the tangy curd, a hint of almond; then sweet cream, slick oil and a fun little acidic, salty finish. These easily brighten up even the coldest, snowiest Northeastern winter day.

“In a prehistoric dried up lake

A million years after the last earthquake

There lived a little girl who loved to bake

The only thing she made was cake and all she used was salt

That’s all she had, it’s not her fault

Saline the Salt Lake Queen”

- Rasputina

This was the first idea I had upon learning what this month’s theme was. Saline the Salt Lake Queen is one of my absolute favorite songs to listen to while baking, for obvious reasons.

THAT looks rich.

I had just recently tasted the magnificence that is smoked sea salt, and how EXTRA magnificent it is with chocolate. Oh so good. It goes with a lot of things though, and is something I am thrilled to add to my arsenal of fall-friendly ingredients. I have SO MANY PLANS for it, guys.

The candy has nothing to do with the cupcake, they just looked nice next to it.

I thought that a gooey, smoky, salty chocolate cupcake would be a perfect tribute to the song, with the smokiness playing well into the desolate, crater-riddled landscape that the Salt Lake Queen inhabits.

Same goes for the licorice...though I guess licorice is commonly salted.

I originally was going to use a very bitter 86% cacao chocolate for the ganache but since I made the ganache a bit early and had to refrigerate it overnight, it broke when I was trying to reheat it. Oil leaking everywhere does not a tasty frosting make. I didn’t know what to do so I started over a couple days later with some less intense chocolate I happened to have on hand, but I’m not sure what percentage it is (just received a giant block in a goodie bag from a school event I volunteered to help with). It made a very silky, delicious ganache though. You can go as dark as you’d like but I wouldn’t go too light – I have recently grown very fond of quality milk chocolate but it’s not appropriate here.

Where did the other half go? In my tummy, of course!

Since the color wasn’t as dark with the second batch of ganache I did add a little black food coloring. I originally though I might dye it darker but I like how it turned out anyway. Make sure you use good quality cocoa powder and chocolate, however dark you decide to go – I used Scharffen Berger cocoa powder and, uh, I have no idea what brand the chocolate in the ganache was. Cacao Barry maybe? We use that at school mostly and the squares had cacao beans on them so that’s a safe guess.

...This half went in my tummy, too, only I waited until after I ate lunch.

Along with putting the smoked salt directly into the batter (I kept increasing the amount of salt in the recipe every time I checked it), I sprinkled some on top of the piped ganache, and decorated with a few large crystals of gray Brittany salt, which has a delicate, pure salt taste to it.

These cupcakes are soft, chocolatey, mysterious from the smokiness and just salty enough. They’re also quite a bit tastier than what I imagine Saline was cooking up in her kitchen among the brutal ruins.

Mmm, salt.

Saline’s Salty Chocolate Cupcakes

First, Bake the Cakes:

1. 1 cup boiling water
2. 1/2 cup good quality cocoa powder
3. 1 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp AP flour
4. 1 tsp baking soda
5. 1/4 tsp baking powder
6. 1 1/2 tsp smoked sea salt
7. 1/2 cup butter, soft (make sure it’s unsalted)
8. 1 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar
9. 2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 350. Pour the water into the cocoa powder and whisk until smooth, then let cool to room temperature. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add the eggs one at a time, incorporating them fully into the butter mixture. Alternately add the wet and dry mixtures in thirds, beating them in fully before adding more. Once the batter is completely combined and smooth, pour into lined muffin tins and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting. Makes 15-16 full sized cupcakes.

Then, Make the Ganache Frosting:

1. 12 oz. bittersweet chocolate (the darker the better), chopped small
2. 12 oz. heavy cream
3. Few drops black food coloring (if your chocolate is less than 80% cacao)

Place the chopped chocolate in a medium heatproof mixing bowl. Heat the cream in a saucepan until it just boils, then pour evenly over the chocolate. Let the mixture sit for up to 30 seconds to allow the chocolate to melt, then, using a whisk, begin slowly stirring from the middle out until all the chocolate is fully melted and emulsified into the cream. If there are any chocolate “chips” left over, you can gently heat the mixture over a double boiler of simmering water, stirring constantly, until everything is melted. If you do that, don’t let it get too hot or your emulsion may break (causing fats to separate and general ickiness). Stir in the food coloring until it’s the right shade of dark, grayish brown. Let the ganache cool to set up a bit, then stir a little to whip up and place in a piping bag fitted with a star tip. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes. Sprinkle the cupcakes with a little smoked salt (and a few crystals of gray salt if you have it, or any large, crunchy, delicately flavored salt).

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• The Demy™ by Key Ingredient
• Hello, Cupcake by Karen Tack & Alan Richardson
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• Cupcake Stackers by Gourmac
• The Cake Mix Doctor Returns! by Anne Byrne