Bacon Cupcakes with Maple Buttercream

Since moving to Utah, I feel like I've gained extra hours in my day. I'm no longer spending 2 hours each day riding the subway. Nor am I working 12-hour days when I'm not running around to events/dinners/drinks only to come home and pass out on my bed, surrounded by a seriously neglected cat and a giant pile of dirty laundry.

As much fun as I had, rarely did I have time to myself and my growing list of personal projects-- crafts unfinished, books unread, skills unlearned. And I didn't realize how much I missed doing those things until I came to Salt Lake City. Don't get me wrong-- plenty of people make time for themselves in NYC. I just didn't prioritize it. Salt Lake City is forcing me to calm down, be present. And I consider that a good thing.

Of the many things I had on my To Do list, cooking more was one of them. I've always loved to cook, but found it easier to eat out in New York. After all, why learn how to make a falafel sandwich when you can buy one for $3 on the street?

But there's something awesome about being able to make something yourself. And that's exactly what I've been able to do. Everyday, a new recipe. Six months ago, I would have paid $5 for a bacon cupcake and not even blinked an eye. Now I'm making a dozen of them for the same price AND I get to say, "Hi there, want to try a bacon cupcake? Oh, I just whipped them up last night. No biggie."

I have to thank Vanilla Garlic for his wonderful Maple Bacon Cupcake recipe, which I adapted to the high altitude and my personal taste. It was light and fluffy, not too sweet, and with crunchy, salty bits throughout. The delicate frosting on top was a nice touch (though I reduced the sugar/syrup and doubled the recipe when it looked like there wouldn't be enough). Here's what I did. I hope you enjoy it!















BACON CUPCAKES WITH MAPLE BUTTERCREAM
Makes 12

Ingredients
4-1/2 Tbsp of butter, softened
6 strips of bacon
1 egg, room temperature
1 Tbs of brown sugar
4 Tbs of pure maple syrup
1-1/14 cup of unbleached flour
1 tsp of baking soda
1 tsp of baking powder
Pinch of salt
1/4 + 2 Tbs milk

Preparation
Preheat oven to 375. In large frying pan, cook bacon until crisp (make sure to drain the pan periodically to ensure bacon properly crisps). Reserve the bacon drippings and place it in the fridge. Finely chop 3-4 slices of cooked, drained bacon to make 1/4 cup of minced bacon; set aside. Slice remaining strips of bacon into 1-inch strips; set aside for topping.

Once bacon drippings solidify, scoop out 1/2 tablespoon of drippings and beat with butter until creamed. Beat in brown sugar and maple syrup. Add egg and beat until well combined.

Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.

Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Whisk in milk until smooth. Fold in bacon. You should have a thick, smooth, light brown batter, like this:















Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Like this:















Allow to cool. Frost with maple buttercream (recipe below). Top with 1-inch strips of bacon. Yums!


MAPLE BUTTERCREAM

Ingredients
8 Tbs of butter
3 Tbs of maple syrup
1-1/2 cup of powdered sugar

Beat ingredients on high until smooth and well-combined.

[Slowcooker] Bacon & Onion Brisket

My love affair with the slowcooker is official. It's been three weeks since I got mine and I'm still hopelessly in love with it. Every few days I toss some ingredients into the pot and hours later, something delicious miraculously emerges without my having to do much at all. It's my magic wand in the kitchen. I'm not even sure I can take credit for these dishes, since slowcooker did all the work!

All the things I've made in my Crockpot have been super easy to make (including pork loin with apple gravy, barbecued beef, garlic mashed potatoes and a chicken with stuffing dinner). I'll probably go through and share each of my favorite recipes, but I'll start with the brisket I made last night.

Slowcooker Bacon & Onion Brisket

3 lbs beef brisket
Salt and pepper to taste
6 slices bacon, sliced into 1/2-inch strips
2 medium onions, sliced
2 (14 oz) cans of beef broth
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 bay leaf

Rub brisket with salt and pepper (I used about 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper) and set aside. In large skillet, cook bacon slices until slightly brown (3-4 minutes). Remove bacon with slotted spoon and place into slowcooker**, reserving bacon grease in pan. In the hot skillet, place beef brisket and allow it to brown on all sides in the bacon grease. Remove and place into slowcooker on top of bacon. Cook onions in the skillet until softened (if there isn't enough bacon grease and beef fat in the pan, you can add some vegetable oil). Remove onions with slotted spoon and place over brisket in slowcooker. Mix balsamic vinegar into a can of beef broth and pour both cans of broth into the slowcooker. Add bay leaf. Make sure the bay leaf is in the broth and not perched on top of the onions. Cook on high for 6-8 hours or until meat is tender. One it's done, remove the brisket and let it sit for 10 minutes. Slice against the grain or shred with fork. Top with bacon, onions and au jus. Serve with starch of choice (we had it with Hawaiian sweet rolls).

TIP: You can reserve any extra au jus and make an easy French Dip using deli roast beef. I like mine with a little Swiss cheese.

ALSO: I promise I'll start remembering to take pictures. It's just that my camera is so crappy!

** I use a round 5-qt slowcooker

Utah Fun Fact

In Utah, if a holiday falls on a Sunday, they celebrate it the day before because the LDS church observes Sunday Sabbath**. Good luck to the kids who try to trick-or-treat on the day of Halloween. Everyone's outta candy, sorry, here's a walnut.

"Trunk-or-treating" parties are also very popular in the Beehive State where parents park their decorated cars in a lot and fill their trunks with candy, which I think is a little bit "To Catch a Predator", but I guess for over-protective parents, having your kids trick-or-treat out of people's cars seems like a fun idea.

More on why Utah kids (and subsequently, the rest of us) are celebrating Halloween on October 30 this year: http://saltlakecity.about.com/b/2010/10/12/trick-or-treat-saturday-or-sunday.htm

**Although I recently learned that by scholarly accounts, Sabbath is actually Saturday. http://www.servantsnews.com/sn9712/s71203.htm

I'm a Weeenner!

It's official. Life totally rocks right now.

Not only did I have a fab lunch yesterday with my awesome new co-workers, but I hit 500 followers on Twitter AND *drum roll* I won first place in my company's Iron Chef contest!

This is particularly exciting news because: (1) I never win anything ever, (2) I didn't totally embarrass myself in front of 25 people I'd only just met, and (3) I've clearly accomplished very little in my lifetime, making prize-winning bundt cake a defining moment in my life. Witness me grinning like a fool with my gift card (left).

But it really could have been a real disaster. I had baked a brand-new recipe with ingredients I don't normally use. Not wanting to destroy my beautiful bundt cake, I brought it to work without even tasting it. It could have been burnt or dry or something weird could have fallen into the cake batter-- I had no way of knowing. That's me, always living on the edge.

I had three goals: (1) find a recipe with good reviews that didn't take too long to make because earlier that day I found myself wandering the new Target in a daze and lost track of time, (2) make something using the only cake pan I own, (3) impress my co-workers so they'll want to eat lunch with me. Oh and one of the directors threatened to fire me if I brought in something nasty. So (4) don't get fired.

As always, I turned to trusty AllRecipes.com and found this super easy recipe for a pumpkin bundt cake. I mean, it really doesn't get any easier than this. Normally I never use cake mix, but because I had gotten hypnotized by Target like I mentioned earlier, I had to make do. It turns out the pumpkin puree does a good job masking the tell-tale flavor of cake mix. Next time I'll probably make yellow cake from scratch and increase the spices in the cake. The whipped cream is key, so don't leave it out. I definitely think it balanced the flavors in the cake and tipped the judge's hand in my favor. One gentleman tried to spoon the whipped cream directly into his mouth. Here's the recipe (incl. my modifications):


PUMPKIN BUTTERSCOTCH BUNDT CAKE

Ingredients
1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix

1 (3.4 ounce) package instant butterscotch pudding mix

4 eggs OR 3 eggs + 1TBS oil (for high altitude)

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 can (15 oz) pure pumpkin OR 2 cups fresh pureed pumpkin

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice OR this pumpkin pie spice recipe

Preparation:
Combine ingredients. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds; beat on medium until smooth (about 2 minutes). Pour into a greased and floured 10-in. fluted tube pan. Bake at 350' degrees F for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 15 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve with citrus whipped cream.


CITRUS WHIPPED CREAM

Ingredients
1 cup heavy cream
1.5 Tbs confectioner's sugar
1 Tbs orange juice
1 tsp orange zest (1.5 tsp if you like a lot of zest)

Preparation
In a large bowl, whip cream until stiff peaks begin to form. Beat in sugar, juice and zest until peaks form. Enjoy!

Speaking of candied bacon...

I just tested my candied bacon recipe and it was a success! Will take pictures next time, as the 6 slices of bacon went straight from the pan into my mouth in about 20 seconds flat.

My recipe is inspired by the candied bacon I used to eat at Shopsin's (which I would get with their mac'n'cheese pancakes). I used a little dijon mustard in my recipe for some depth. But be careful with this one-- it's a little too easy to eat!

Candied Bacon

Ingredients
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 Tbs brown sugar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
6-8 slices regular cut bacon

Preparation
Combine maple syrup, sugar and dijon mustard in a large bowl. Cover bacon with mixture (I used my hands to roll the bacon around in the bowl).

Assemble the bacon in a single layer on baking pan lined with parchment paper.

Bake on top rack at 375", flipping once, to desired crispness. I typically drain the fat halfway through.


NOTE: The recipe might also work with granulated sugar, if that's all you have. But I do think the hint of molasses is a great addition.

My Favorite Things: NYC Edition

I was looking through my scribble book and found this list I forgot I was making: my favorite places in NYC, Brooklyn and Queens.

Here's some super yummy stuff that tops my list...

Coffee: Abraco (they're very serious about their espresso; try their saffron cake) and Blue Bottle (a west coast transplant)
Tea: Cha-Am (perfect Japanese tea house; their green tea float with sake ice cream is fab)
Brunch: Clinton St. Baking Co and Five Points
All-you-can-drink Brunch: Kittichai (i like their lychee martini, but my friends favor their bloody maries) and Calle Ocho (six kinds of sangria!)
Pizza: Bleecker St. Pizza, PizzaMoto and Grimaldi's (you can get it to go to avoid the lines)
Deli: Sorriso Italian Pork Store
Diner: Shopsin's and B&H (get their grilled cheese on challah; fyi, they're vegetarian)
Kosher: 2nd Avenue Deli (yum pastrami sandwich and fried chicken livers)
Middle-eastern: ilili (some of the best brussels sprouts and lamb dishes)
Italian: Morandi and Cafe Condessa
Senegalese: Joloff (try their signature dishes)
Korean: Hahn Mi Oak and Bonchon Chicken
Venezuelan: Caracas Arepas Bar
Chinese: food court in the Flushing Mall
Gastropub: The Spotted Pig (famous for their burger, but apps are great, too)
Vegetarian: Red Bamboo (awesome lunch specials)
Raw Food: Quintessence and Rockin' Raw
Fine-Dining (raw food): Pure Food & Wine
Fine-Dining: Gramercy Tavern, Jean Georges and Saul Restaurant
Bar: Little Branch (a throwback to the speakeasy era), Manhattan Inn (great decor, interesting cocktails) and Crocodile Lounge (mainly for the free pizza and skeeball)
Wine bar: Ten Degrees
Happy hour: Sushi Samba and Haru (both b/c I love cocktails and sushi)
Chocolate shop: L.A. Burdick
Supermarket: Garden of Eden and Fairway

If you're looking for something specific...

Chai: Chocolate Bar (they make theirs from chai leaves)
Donut: The Dougnut Plant
Bagel: Ess-A-Bagel (if you're on the westside, for the love of God do not go to Murray's and just go to Brooklyn Bagels instead) and Tasty Bagel
Candied bacon: The General Greene
Falafel: Oasys (open late, if you're bar-hopping in Williamsburg) and Mamoun's (it's $2.50 and on St. Marks)
Sandwich: Choice Market (their roasted salmon sammie is incredible) and Bite (i always get their Sabih Sandwich)
Gyro: food stand at the southwest corner of Penn Station
Cheese: Murray's Cheese, Bedford Cheese and Tedone Latticini Dairy Products
Cupcakes: Butterlane (love their french buttercream) and Magnolia (plain with chocolate buttercream)
BBQ wings: Samantha's Southern
Burger: Corner Bistro and BLT Bistro
Roti: Ali's Trinidad (the oxtail one is my fave)
Mussels: Chez Oskar
French fries: Five Leaves (truffle fries)
Steak: BLT Prime
Brownies: Fat Witch (peanut butter)
Shake: Stand4 (the toasted marshmallow shake is my fave)
Frozen custard: Shake Shack
Cookies: Milk & Cookies and Jacques Torres
Croissant: City Bakery (pretzel croissant)
Cheesecake: Artisanal (the crust tastes like almond roca!)
Lobster roll: Pearl Oyster Bar and Luke's Lobster
Chocolate Milk: Ronnybrook Dairy
Bread pudding: DessertTruck (only when the weather permits)
Cake: Momofuku Dessert Bar (banana cake truffles) and Baked (chocolate cake with salted caramel buttercream)
Ice cream: Go! (for fried green tea ice cream), Sundaes & Cones (they have cool flavors like corn and wasabi) and Blue Marble (organic, hormone-free and delish)

Making this list got me feeling nostalgic. So excited to be going back in a couple months. Will be packing pants with elastic waist bands 'cause I will be eating the heck out of NYC when I'm back.

Mocha Rum Cake In The Sky

Today was my first entree into baking a cake at high altitude. 4,350 feet, to be exact. I don't think I've ever lived this far up. I feel like I'm living in a desert in the sky.

The first week we got here, I tried baking cookies to disastrous effects. I had no idea why my tried-and-true chocolate chip cookie recipe was so flat and hard and dry. It was the fine print on my bag of Nestle Tollhouse semi-sweet chocolate morsels that clued me in:

"FOR HIGH ALTITUDE BAKING: Increase flour to 2.5 cups. Add 2 tsp. water..."

I thought, wait a second... there are mountains everywhere here, and it's awfully dry and the air is kind of thin... holy mother, I'm living at high-altitude and by some law of physics it's affecting my baking! So I tried it Nestle's way. And my cookies still turned out crappy. I had my heart set on baking cookies for the leasing office and maintenance staff at our apartment complex (to thank them for helping us get settled in) and I wasn't about to give them rock-hard cookies.

Three batches of cookies later, I finally got it right. Thanks to this high-altitude chocolate chip cookie recipe I found online. The gals at the leasing office were very pleased.

Still, after all the difficulty I had baking cookies, I wasn't sure if I had the energy to wrestle around with a cake recipe for two days like I did with the cookies. Knowing me, of course, I decided that today would be a good time to bake a Mocha Rum Bundt Cake-- while sleep-deprived and fighting off a cold. Thanks, masochistic inner voice!

I chose rum cake because a Swedish friend of mine from elementary school baked it almost 20 years ago for me and to this day, I still remember it. We lost touch and I never got the recipe, but if my version tastes anything like the one she made, it's going to be rum cakes for the holidays forever.

The original recipe is from a 1994 issue of Gourmet magazine. I altered it according to comments from others and then adapted it based on these high-altitude baking guidelines. That means I increased the rum and oven temperature and decreased the baking soda, coffee and sugar.

How did it turn out? Amazing. Super, super moist. Definitely making it for the holidays. Baked it with 1-1/4 cup dark rum, but that might be too much for most, so took it down to 1 cup in the recipe below. Make sure to grease your bundt pan heavily so it doesn't stick! Mine just slipped out. Easy peasy.















High-Altitude Mocha Rum Cake

Ingredients
cocoa powder for dusting
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped
3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup dark rum
1-1/3 cups strong brewed coffee
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs, beaten lightly
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
confectioners' sugar for dusting
lightly sweetened whipped cream

Preparation
Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter a 4 1/2-inch-deep (12-cup) bundt pan and dust with cocoa powder, knocking out excess.

In a bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. In a large metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt chocolate and butter, stirring until smooth. Remove chocolate from heat and stir in rum, coffee, and granulated sugar. With an electric mixer beat in flour, 1/2 cup at a time, scraping down side, and beat in eggs and vanilla until batter is combined well. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake cake in middle of oven until a tester comes out clean, about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Let cake cool completely in pan on a rack and turn it out onto rack. Cake may be made 3 days in advance and kept wrapped well and chilled.

Dust cake with confectioners' sugar.