Probably the Best Cupcakes I've ever made.

And believe me, I've made an obscene amount of cupcakes in my lifetime. These, however... a masterpiece. I don't know if I can top them.

They are Banana Espresso Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache. And before you squish your nose all on me at the thought of "Banana" I'm about to school you. If you think you don't like banana, then I urge you, please try these cupcakes. The banana in them merely acts as a sweet, hint of flavor that 1. enhances the chocolate and espresso, 2. Makes these cupcakes so moist and dense you would think they sopped up something tasty, and 3. doesn't really overly taste like banana, more like a underlying note of sweetness... almost like a honey flavor. The come out the most beautiful golden brown... like a chocolate chip cookie. And the ganache totally sends it over the edge.

For you normal people that enjoy a nice slice of fresh baked banana bread, these cupcakes will take that flavor payoff and RAISE you about a hundred. I mean. Seriously. Look at the inside... there's hunks of banana in these squishy pockets and those funky black flecks that show up when you bake banana (what are those anyway, like banana seeds?) Lest we forget to mention the chocolate. The CHOCOLATE that sets everything off perfectly. Ahhhh... I can't say enough.The Recipe:

4 medium sized ripe bananas, mashed but not all the way (1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar packed
1/2 cup melted butter (unsalted)
1/4 cup milk
1 egg

Stir all of these together with your best wooden spoon... NO MIXER, please.

Then, the dry stuff:
1 1/2 cups AP flour
1 tsp. instant espresso (I used just over)
1 tsp. salt (I used just under.)
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips (don't use Milk Chocolate ones. Trust me.)

Make a well in the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ones. Again, please no mixer. You want this to be soft and mooshy. Not all beaten up and bruised.

This makes about 12 cupcakes, bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
Let them cool for a few minutes in the pan and then move them to a rack.

When they have cooled, make the ganache: ( I made this recipe doubled, and ended up with tons of ganache leftover, so I'm giving you the half recipe. If you want to make the whole thing and have ganache for something else, knock yourself out and double the recipe.)

1/2 cup cream
4-5 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips

Heat the cream juuuuuust to a boil, stirring gently the whole time to avoid that nasty dairy skin thing. Pour the cream over the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and stir until smooth. Even whisk, maybe. Then dip the top of each precious cupcake in the ganache and let dry on a cooling rack to catch any drips.

It's actually a super easy and quick recipe. Easily, 5 Stars... no doubt. The recipe I read called for a peanut butter frosting, but I think that it wouldn't be right to add another flavor in there... I will have to try it to be sure. I'm glad I went with my instincts on this one.

Recipe for the cake courtesy of The Noshery and the Ganache Recipe is one I remembered from something I made of Martha Stewart's, but I don't have a link. But thanks, Martha.

Happy Cupcake eating! Make these for your sweetie and I'm sure you'll get a little PG-13 action at the very least.

Because it's summer and slushies from Sonic don't count as fruit.

Here's a salad that I made for a get together this weekend... I made it with baby spinach leaves, reeeaaallly thinly sliced golden delicious apples, and goat cheese rolled in roasted unsalted chopped pistachios and sliced on top. The dressing was a Meyer lemon vinaigrette that I made by whisking a little Meyer Lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon zest. I have this thing about Meyer Lemons lately. Anyway... summer light and refreshing, and the creaminess of the goat cheese goes really nicely with the pistachios. I think that's a peanut butter and jelly type flavor marriage there. Freeze the goat cheese, before you roll it, it is much easier to slice that way. You could easily add grilled chicken, or grilled salmon to this salad and make it a meal.

Other hits:


This yummy Avocado-y salad from Aida on the Food Network who amazes me with her GIANT smile... she's kind of like the Julia Roberts of the Food Network with that facial grill of hers. Click here! The only thing I really don't care for is fresh mozzarella. Maybe I just haven't ever found one that I really like, but to me it just tastes kind of flavorless. I like adding a different type of cheese, even using a regular mozzarella. You need a little bit more of a salty bite, in my opinion. One more thing, too... this recipe has wayyyyy too much oil in it. You could half it, and you'd probably be fine.

And, because cupcakes are my thang, I vote for this recipe, hands down. I want to marry it. It's Sprinkles recipe for Strawberry cupcakes. Holy. I mean. Shoot. Right? Click here!

Happy, happy. That's what you'll be.

Babycakes cookbook...

BabyCakes, the Book of Recipes: It's Here (Almost)! from BabyCakes NYC on Vimeo.

Babycakes NYC vegan bakery website----> Here.

Mascarpone Cupcakes with Strawberry Glaze

I made these for Mister's birthday party a few weeks back, and they went faster than a Friday afternoon. I got the recipe from an episode of our favorite teeny Italian girl, Giada DeLaurentiis... of the "Mmmm! This boiling water is so flavorful in my mouth!" and her high-horse Italian pronunciations. These would be Mass-Car-Poh-Nay cupcakes. Not Mascarpone-rhymes with phone.

The only thing I think I would do differently is that the recipe is made as a mini cupcake... and I made these full size. The mascarpone makes these literally melt in your mouth, and it's hard to do that in a three- bite cupcake. If you do make them into a full cupcake, try filling them truly 2/3 full. Not to the top. The one there on the lower right is one that was over filled.

The strawberry glaze is what totally makes these... but you could easily do a raspberry or even a peachy/mango glaze. Whatever frozen fruit you can find. Strawberry makes a perfect lovely shade of pink though. The don't end up very cakey... they will kind of have a batter taste to them. But in a good way. Again, they totally melt in your mouth. Dang.

For my first contribution, I am going to give these our top rating... 5 Stars, or Ridiculous. Make them now. Go. Do it. You will be the hero of your family, your office, your book club, your baby shower, your Edward Cullen appreciation meeting... etc.

Here's the link --------> Giada's Mascarpone Mini Cupcakes with Strawberry Glaze