Sugar Overdose

Friday, September 10, 2010

Daily Dose: Mango Souffles

I've always shied away from souffles, as they are notoriously tricky to make. But a blog devoted to sugary goodness wouldn't be complete with out at least an attempt. I'm happy to report that the souffles were a success! They came at the end of an Indian meal (shout out to Susan, who made an awesome dinner!), so the mango souffle was the next best thing to a mango lassi. Enjoy!

Mango Souffles

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter. Plus more for the ramekins
7 tablespoons sugar (1 tablespoons for the Mango puree and 5 for the batter). Plus more for the ramekins.
1 large mango, peeled, pitted, and chopped (about 3-4 cups)
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 large egg yolks, room temperature
4 large egg whites, room temperature
Pinch of salt

Directions:

This recipe has a lot more notes than usual, simply because the technique is absolutely integral to the end result. Sorry in advance for all the interruptions.

Generously butter the ramekins. Coat each buttered ramekin with sugar, tilting to make sure the sides are coated evenly. NOTE: this step is important. The ramekins need to be greased and sugared so that the souffle can climb up the sides as it rises without getting stuck.

Saute mango, 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoon of sugar. Cook until lightly caramelized. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Cool to room temperature. (Keep the pan you cooked the mango in for the Boozy Mango Sauce (below)).

In a blender, puree cooked mango. (Don't rinse out the leftover puree from the blender. You'll use any leftovers in the Boozy Mango Sauce (below)).

Preheat oven to 375°F. Transfer the puree directly to a medium sauce pot. Whisk egg yolks into mango puree. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is hot. Be careful not to boil! Carefully transfer mango mixture to a large bowl.

Using a stand mixer (or electric mixer), beat egg whites with pinch of salt until soft peaks form. NOTE: a soft peak holds it shape when the beater is taken out, but bows over at the very end.

Gradually add remaining 5 tablespoons sugar to egg whites and beat until semi-firm peaks form. Note: a semi-firm peak will still bow over at the end, but only slightly.

Before folding in the egg whites, add the baking powder to the mango puree. Gently fold 1/3 of egg whites into mango mixture to lighten. Gently fold in remaining egg whites in 2 additions. NOTE: it's important not to stir the egg whites in, but rather to use proper folding technique. Put your spatula in the middle of the batter. Turn over the batter as you pull down, meanwhile twisting the bowl with your other hand. Repeat until the egg whites are just incorporated. (I really hope that made sense!).

Divide souffle batter equally among prepared ramekins (all the way to the top). Bake souffles until puffed and golden, about 20 minutes. NOTE: Be careful not to over-bake, as this will cause the souffles to collapse

Boozy Mango Sauce
I couldn't get all of the mango puree out of my blender, and it seemed like such a waste. So I decided to add some liquid to thin out the left over puree, and make a mango sauce on the fly. I used limoncello, a dash of amaretto, and also white wine (see why it's called boozy mango sauce?). The sauce turned out really great! Sorry the measurements aren't very precise, but I was making this up as I went along.

Ingredients:
Left over mango puree
About 3-4 tablespoons limoncello liqueur
A dash of amaretto liqueur
About 1/4 cup white wine, plus a little more

Directions:

Add the liqueurs and wine to the blender. Put the cover on the blender and swish it around until the puree thins out and is no longer sticking to the sides of the blender.

Place the pan you used to cook the mangos back on medium heat. Heat the leftover gooey bits until golden. Deglaze with the thinned out puree. Simmer for several minutes to allow the alcohol to cook out of the sauce.

Serve over top of the souffles, or use to decorate the serving platter.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Daily Dose: Brownie Bites

Oops! I forgot to take pictures of the process for this recipe. I only remembered to grab my camera once they were out of the oven (but don't they look yummmmmmy!). Even with the lack of pictures to guide you along, this recipe is a must try. I like my brownies a little chewy, and these have the perfect consistency to them. And by using the mini-muffin tin, it's like each piece is a corner piece! Just remember to to use good quality chocolate, and you'll have a delicious batch of brownies in no time. Enjoy!

Brownie Bites
(Recipe courtesy of my dear friend, K)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2/3 cup all purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a medium saucepan, melt butter and unsweetened chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Cool.

3. Meanwhile, grease the mini-muffin tin (or an 8x8x2 or 9x9x2 inch bakng pan), set aside.

4. Stir sugar into cooled chocolate mixture in saucepan. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition just until combined. Stir in the vanilla.

5. In a small bowl, stir together the flour and baking soda. Add flour mixture to chocolate mixture; stir just until combined. If desired, stir in nuts.

6. Scoop (or spread) the batter batter into prepared pan.

7. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 16 minutes for mini-muffin tin (30 minutes for 8-inch or 25 minutes for 9 inch pan). Cool completely.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Daily Dose: Guinness Cupcakes

For the beer lover in your life! This recipe combines Guinness Stout with chocolate (YUM!). Don't worry about the beer overwhelming the taste. In fact, if you didn't tell me there was beer in the cupcake, I would never have guessed. But, even though the beer flavor isn't strong, it does add complexity to the flavor and results in a cupcake that has just the right amount of sweetness. Enjoy!

Cupcakes
(from BigCityLittleKitchen)
***NOTE: this recipe makes about 60 mini-cupcakes. Next time I'll half the recipe so I have a more manageable number of cupcakes***

Ingredients:
1 cup Guinness
1 stick, plus 1 tb, unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups dark brown sugar
3/4 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 tb vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking soda

Directions:

Combine the Guinness and the butter, chopped into 1-inch chunks, in a large sauce pan, and heat to melt the butter.

While the butter is melting, combine the brown sugar and cocoa powder in a mixing bowl. Once the butter is melted, add the beer and butter to the mixing bowl and combine.

In a bowl, whisk the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla, then add to the beer mixture.

Sift together the flour and baking soda, and add to the batter.

Scoop into mini-muffin molds and bake for 11-14 minutes, or until inserted cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Frosting
I had about 2 cups of frosting left over from the caramel cupcakes, so I used that as a base for this frosting. If you are starting from scratch, you can try this Guinness, chocolate and cream cheese frosting, which I used to modify my caramel frosting. I've never tried the recipe as it is intended, but it looks like it would be good!

Ingredients:
2 cups of caramel frosting
1/2 block cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup Guinness
2 tablespoons sugar

Directions:

First, combine the sugar and Guinness and reduce over medium heat until you have about 1/4-1/2 cups. Add the cocoa powder, cream cheese and Guinness reduction to the caramel frosting. Beat until well incorporated. Frost the cupcakes with a knife or piping bag.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Intervention: Creamy Zucchini Soup

Yesterday's caramel cupcakes brought me close to my sugar max. So I decided to take a break from the sweets and post a savory recipe. This recipe is perfect for a quick, weeknight meal. It's hearty, with just the right amount of heat. You won't have leftovers with this soup!

Ingredients:
1 small onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, diced
2-3 cloves of garlic, diced
4 small to medium zucchinis (I used yellow, but any variety would work), chopped
2 teaspoons thyme (fresh or dried)
3 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3 wedges of Laughing Cow cheese
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

Directions:

Place oil in a stock pot and heat over medium-low heat. Saute the onion, jalapeno, garlic and thyme in the oil until the onions are translucent, 3-4 minutes.

Add the zucchinis and saute for another 3-4 minutes. Add the stock and Worcestershire sauce and bring the contents to a boil. Simmer until the zucchinis are tender. Remove from heat and add the cheese wedges. The cheese won't break down and incorporate until you blend the soup, so don't worry if it looks less than appetizing at this step.

In small batches, blend the soup in a blender until smooth. Since you're working with a warm liquid, it's really important to do small batches. The first time I made this, I was impatient, did big a big batch, and ended up with soup all over my kitchen!

Serve and enjoy! Makes 4 servings.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Daily Dose: Caramel Cupcakes

I'll be honest, I was nervous about this recipe. My attempts at making cakes from scratch have always been less than successful (from eggy, to dense, to dry - my cakes weren't exactly crowd pleasers). But I decided to shun my usual box-mix and give this recipe a shot, and I'm really glad I did! These cupcakes are delicious and a nice change from the usual chocolate or vanilla cupcake. Enjoy!

Cupcakes
(Recipe from Amy at PlayingHouseBlog)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 24-cup mini-muffin pan or insert paper liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the sugars and butter. Add the eggs and vanilla until combined.

Alternate the flour mixture with the milk until you get a smooth batter.

Spoon into the mini-muffin pan, each about 2/3 full.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a testter comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Caramel Frosting
I've tried a few different caramel recipes, and this is as close to "fool-proof" as I've gotten. The sauce stays nice and smooth, perfect for drizzling over ice cream or pies - mmmmm.

For the caramel:
(Adapted from Epicurious)

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup light corn syrup

3/4 cup whipping cream

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine sugar, 1/2 cup water, and corn syrup in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil without stirring until mixture turns a deep amber color, occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling pan, about 10 minutes.

Remove from heat. Carefully add cream (you may want to stand back — mixture will bubble vigorously). Stir sauce over low heat until any caramel bits dissolve and sauce is smooth. Add butter and vanilla.

For the frosting:
(Recipe from Amy at PlayingHouseBlog)

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
3 Tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
pinch of salt
3/4 cup caramel (see above)

Cream together softened butter and powdered sugar on low using an electric mixer. Add cream, salt, and vanilla and beat on medium speed until smooth and no lumps appear. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the caramel, a few tablespoons at a time, and beat to incorporate.