Chocolate Cream Cups

Greetings, Dear CT Readers!

This holiday season sort of crept up on me! We were away in beautiful Hawaii over Thanksgiving (more about that in a later post) and now Christmas is only two weeks away (aaaaahhhhh!). Additionally, Hannukah is happening right now. So I am WAY behind on holiday baking, but starting to catch up with this delicious little recipe. Read on!

Chocolate batter

I’ve been making these Chocolate Cream Cups for as long as I can remember. My mom made them when I was growing up and they became a family and friend favorite. I have no idea where she got the recipe because I’ve seen similar recipes online but this one is definitely a winner. These adorable little cupcakes were also a top seller when my friend, Phyllis, and I ran I Love Cheesecake (local NJ dessert catering company) many years ago. We baked hundreds of these darlings for our customers because, not only are they yummy, but they are bite-sized. 

Cream cheese chocolate chip filling

Mini cupcake tins ready to go!

Ready for baking!

They are easy to whip together, make enough to feed a crowd (one recipe yields approximately four dozen cupcakes but you can easily double the recipe), freeze well (in fact, they are terrific eaten right out of the freezer, not that I would know anything about that...), and really, what more do you need to know except dark, moist chocolate cake with a luscious cream cheese-chocolate chip filling?! Helllooooo! These are a terrific addition to your holiday dessert table and because they freeze so well, you can bake them now (and cross one thing off your baking to-do list). 

Wishing you & yours a happy and bright Hannukah and a very Merry Christmas!

Terry’s Mom’s Chocolate Cream Cups

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine:

1 8oz pkg cream cheese

1 egg

1/3 c. sugar

1/8 t. salt

Whip until creamy; then stir in 6 oz pkg chocolate chips (I use mini chips).

In another bowl, combine:

1-1/2 c. flour

1 c. sugar

1 c. water

1/3 c. oil

1 TB vinegar

1 t. baking soda

½ t. salt

¼ c. Hershey’s cocoa powder

1 t. vanilla

Beat until smooth. Line miniature cupcake tins with gem-size cupcake papers. Fill each muffin tin about 1/3 with chocolate mixture & then spoon about ½ t. cream cheese mixture on top of chocolate.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Makes approx 4-1/2 dozen miniature cupcakes. Store in refrigerator. Cupcakes freeze well (in fact, they are wonderful right out of the freezer...).

“Eat Well, Stay Warm, Be Happy”

House of Cupcakes Grand Opening in Clifton!

Cook's Tour Readers, we have exciting news!

House of Cupcakes, founded by Ron and Ruthie Bzdewka, best known for their win on season two of Food Network’s Cupcake Wars is opening this weekend in Clifton, NJ. Not only will they offer over 35 varieties of delicious, made-fresh-daily cupcakes, but also mini-cupcakes, cheesecakes, special occasion cookies, and ice cream.

Here's part one of the exciting news: they are giving away 1,000 cupcakes this Friday, May 9 starting at 3pm; and Saturday, May 10, starting at 1pm (500 each day).

And if that's not enough, or if for some reason you miss out on the freebies at the store, The Cook's Tour can help. Next week, we will have an interview with Ron & Ruthie AND host our own giveaway for a random drawing of one dozen cupcakes!

So if you are in the north Jersey area this weekend, head on over to the Summerhill Square Shopping Center (next to Trader Joe's). Then come back next week to The Cook's Tour for your chance to win! It's a win-win! Sorry, couldn't pass that up. :-)

House of Cupcakes
259 Allwood Road
Rt 3 West
Clifton, NJ
973-777-7400
www.houseofcupcakes.com 

Bucu Burger Bar and Bakery

Burgers AND a bakery?  Bucu stands for Burgers and Cupcakes. What??? An interesting establishment has popped up in Paramus offering burgers and house-made cupcakes.  Where two of my favorite foods are involved, I knew I would have to investigate.

Started by Rick Ross and his wife, Kathy, they got the idea for Bucu as a compilation of everything people like: burgers and shakes, cupcakes, ice cream. They have not cut corners on any of the ingredients. The meat supplied by Pat LaFrieda (you’ve heard of celebrity chefs, LaFrieda is a celebrity butcher), is a special formulation made just for Bucu. The burgers are on the smaller side, as compared to the burger towers you might get at other joints, and while the meat had a nice texture, it was overdone for my taste. The people manning the counter do not ask how you’d like your burger cooked and when I spoke to Ross later, he assured me that you can get a burger cooked to order. Next time, I’ll be ordering up a rare, juicy burger-cheese combo.

The tidy menu offers 5-6 “composed” burgers and the option to “build-a-burger.”  Some of the composed options include the “Jersey Burger” (applewood smoked bacon, blue & cheddar cheeses, topped with grilled onions), the “SB 48 Burger” (cheeseburger piled high with hand-cut fries and chili), and the “Pig Out Burger.”  We sampled this last burger because we thought it was actually a pulled pork sandwich, but it’s really a burger topped with pulled pork, Jalapeno Jack cheese, and horseradish coleslaw.

We loved the Haystack Onions – thinly sliced and so crispy with not a trace of grease. The Hand-cut Fries were nicely salted and seasoned.

Bucu also offers chicken wings, hot dogs, salads, and a few sandwich choices.  We didn’t sample any of these because, really, we came for the burgers.  Oh, and maybe, a cupcake.

Kathy is the head baker and creator of all the cupcake and cookie recipes.  She uses only Callebaut chocolate and rotates the selection of cupcakes daily, ranging from carrot to red velvet and everything in between.  I forced myself to try the Pistachio and Coconut.  Both had a really nice crumb and creamy frosting.

They’ve come up with an interesting twist using their cupcakes and ice cream – it’s called a “Cupcake Shake.”  Take a cupcake, add ice cream, whir it in the blender, and voila – a cupcake shake!  The owners said the Red Velvet Cupcake Shake has been flying out the door. 

Speaking of ice cream, they get their ice cream delivered weekly from “Max & Mina’s” in Flushing.  Known for inventive, bold flavors, Max & Mina’s offerings the day I visited were Dark Chocolate, Madagascar Vanilla, and Cookie Monster.  Just as you might imagine, Cookie Monster ice cream is blue and studded with Oreos, chocolate chips, and graham crackers.  It was really good!  But being the vanilla snob that I am, I turned all of my attention there.  And let me tell you, it did not disappoint. Rich, creamy, and full of intense vanilla-bourbon flavor – I emptied the cup in no time flat.

Open only a little over two months now, the restaurant is humming along. Prices are reasonable and decorated in warm earth tones; Bucu sets itself apart from traditional fast food operations. Even though you order at the counter, your meal is delivered to the table when ready.  All the food is made from scratch, and all the confections made daily in-house. The owners are on-site and hands-on.

When I asked Rick how he came up with the name (after all, it is a little unusual), he said he toyed with other, more traditional, names but thought Bucu would grab attention and draw people in. That it will, and the food will keep them coming back.

Bucu

65 Rt 4 West

Paramus, NJ

347-470-2828

www.eatbucu.com

Open 7 days, 11am-10pm

Late to the Party

The cupcake party, that is.  I know cupcakes have been all the rage in the food world for the last couple of years but I never really got on that bandwagon.  I like cupcakes as much as the next person, but I've never considered myself the kind of person who has to follow along blindly behind the leader of the foodie trend train.  


A few weeks ago, I needed a small amount of buttermilk for a recipe. And, of course, you cannot buy, say a half-pint, or pint, of buttermilk. Noooooo, it's only sold in your regulation quart size. But I figured I would use up the rest of it somehow.  Which brings me to Martha Stewart. Something else I was never caught up in. But I got this great deal for a subscription to Martha Stewart Living with a freebie subscription to her cute little Everyday Food magazine.  How could I pass this up?  In my first issue (March 2010) there was a full page ad for "Cupcakes Galore," a web gallery overflowing with delicious-sounding, and luscious-looking cupcakes.  But I didn't want to make giant cupcakes.  I wanted just a delightful, bite-sized, pop-the-whole-thing-into-your-mouth, cupcake.  And there they were: Mini-Carrot Cake Cupcakes!  They looked fabulous and they had that all-important ingredient - buttermilk. Luckily, a friend was having a belated Valentine's Day brunch and asked me to bring a dessert - hello, cupcake!  For such a small item, they were a huge hit!  That's them in the photo at the top. They are chock full of raisins, cinnamon, and carrots (natch), but I think what really set them apart from the rest of the cupcake crowd, was the maple cream cheese frosting.  With a generous tablespoon of pure maple syrup and a sprinkling of shredded coconut, the flavor melding with the carrot cake was deluxe!  I was hooked.


Well, now I was on this cupcake high and needed more.  I scoured the web for mini cupcake recipes, but nothing spoke to me.  Back to Martha I went and she saved the day.  Banana Buttermilk Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream was the answer to my cupcake habit because I still had buttermilk in the refrigerator and perfectly ripe bananas on my counter. It was like the perfect storm.  I altered the recipe a bit, though. Since I had leftover maple cream cheese frosting from the first batch, I utilized that.  And this recipe was for full-size cupcakes, so I simply altered the baking time to accommodate mini-cupcakes.  These were even better than the carrot cupcakes, I think, because they were made with sifted cake flour (instead of all-purpose flour), which made them lighter than air.  Here they are in the photo below, all dressed up and ready to go!

Yeah, I was late to the party but I'm on board now!  How about you?  What's your favorite cupcake?


Print Carrot Cake Recipe Here!


Print Banana Buttermilk Recipe Here!


Print Basic Cupcake How-To Here!


Print Maple Cream Cheese Frosting Here!


Carrot Cupcakes

Food, Glorious, Food!

What a food-centric weekend we had!  I guess that's to be expected from a food blogger, eh?  But what fabulous finds I've got for you today, my friends.  Read on...


Those adorable (and scrumptious) little cupcakes pictured above are from the wonderful dinner we enjoyed at the soft opening of Bar Cara Friday night.  Bar Cara is the new offering from the DePersio family (of Fascino fame). While Fascino is all dark red banquettes and elegant food, Bar Cara is hip and rustic at the same time. The space is colored in soft, muted, almost spa-like colors, with a definite coolness factor in the air. Bar Cara has a liquor license (Fascino is BYO) and a great bar area to enjoy a pre-dinner drink. 

Here's where the rustic part comes in. For the past year, Fascino has been offering "Traditional Tuesdays" with Chef Ryan DePersio's modern spin on Italian favorites (such as Veal Parmigiana and Sausage and Peppers). Some of those items have made the trip to Bar Cara along with sensational pizzas, a fabulous pork burger, great zucchini fries, and Ryan's addictive polenta fries. 


When we heard that pastry chef and family matriarch, Cynthia DePersio, made all the dough for the pizzas, we had to start the meal with one. The crust was incredible - light, airy, with just the right amount of chewiness. I was so busy oohing and aahing over the crust, I didn't get a picture! 

I loved my entree of Braised Sausage with Creamy Polenta - my idea of the perfect comfort food.  If there is a burger on a menu, Barry cannot pass it up.  So, true to form, he ordered the Pork Burger on a delicious brioche roll.

Finishing up the meal brings us back to the delectable cupcakes at the top of the blog.  Perfect little bite-sized morsels of lusciousness, these cupcakes are!  A trio times two, made for sharing: carrot, banana, and chocolate. Hello, Cupcake!

Finally, North Jersey has a great spot for a glass of wine and a pizze, or a burger and a beer, or a civilized cocktail.  The DePersio clan has done it again. 


The restaurant's web site will be up shortly (bar-cara.com), so in the meantime, here are the details:  1099 Broad St., Bloomfield, NJ; 973-893-3681. The restaurant officially opens tonight, Saturday, January 23. 

As if that wasn't enough, Saturday brought us to Tarry Lodge in Port Chester, NY. Savvy readers will know this as the latest endeavor of famed chef, Mario Batali, and wine partner, Joe Bastianich. The partners took a run down lodge first built in 1906 and renovated it back to beautiful saloon-like grandeur.  As you would expect from this group, everything is done to perfection, with no stone left unturned.  Port Chester is a hard-scrabble town and Tarry Lodge is a little out of place here, but at lunch today, it was packed. Obviously, this is a destination restaurant and gracious service has found a home in Port Chester - from the reservation confirmation call, to the host who seats you, to the perfectly, unobtrusive service. And how nice it was to be able to enjoy a Batali restaurant without having to go into New York (love NYC, but honestly, sometimes it's just not worth the trouble).

Reminiscent of our Friday night meal at Bar Cara, we started with pizza (you know the old saying: "one can never have too much good pizza!"). The group choice: Capricciosa, Artichokes, Prosciutto Cotto, and Crimini - fabulous!  There are about 15 different pizzas to choose from and I don't think you could go wrong with any.  Look at that beautiful, burnt to within an inch of it's life, crust (I just love saying that). 


Three of us ordered the Brasato al Barolo with Polenta and Horseradish (translation: probably the best short ribs I've ever had).  

A rectangle of moist, tender beef surrounded by creamy polenta with a few shards of horseradish in a barolo reduction.  Are you a short ribs fan? Make your way to Tarry Lodge.

Other entrees enjoyed by our table: Black Fettucine with Shrimp and Artichokes and an Artichoke Fontina Frittata with Sopresatta Vinaigrette (on the specials menu).

Not one to skip dessert if presented with out of the ordinary options, Tarry Lodge offers some great choices, but I am so predictable: Apple Crostata with Cinnamon Gelato. Delicioso!  The other dessert of choice was the Chocolate Cake with Bitter Oranges and Pistachio Gelato (nary a crumb was left).

So there you have it - two fabulous meals in one weekend.  And sometimes that's all you need to get you through the dark, cold days of winter. 


Mangia bene!