Last Minute Cupcakes with Melty Chocolate

I don't know about your little ones, but when my daughter comes home from school, she is famished!  Living in Italy, we often stop by the local bread shop, pick up a few mini pizzas with sausage, and she is one happy little lady.  But then there are days where all my little pinkalicious princess wants is a cupcake.

The other day, Laela came home from a long day of learning and playing, begging for something that sweet that she could help create.  In a moment, I was bamboozled into making quickie cupcakes that I found in the Nigella Express cookbook.  They are ridiculously easy, and when topped with some chocolate (that you can easily melt over low heat on the stove, or in the microwave for a few seconds), you feel like you're throwing the most fancy of tea parties.

For the cupcakes you'll need:

• 1/2 stick plus 1Tb soft butter
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tsp sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract (or if you live in Italy and only have powdered vanilla, use about a quarter packet of the vanilla powder.  No more, or it will be a vanilla BOMB.)
• 1 TB milk

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 400-degrees farenheit
• Line muffin pan with paper liners/grease muffin pan with butter (I just stick a hunk of butter into a paper towel and spread it around each muffin section evenly).
• Cream the butter and sugar either in a bowl by hand or with an electric mixer (it should look creamy and well blended, kind of like icing).
• Add the eggs, one at a time with a little of the flour, mixing as you go.
• Fold in the remaining flour, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla, and milk.
• Spoon the batter into paper liners/greased muffin pan, dividing equally.
• Put in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until cooked and golden on top. (you can test with a fork or toothpick.  If it comes out clean, they're done.)
• Let cool on a clean counter or wire rack.

For the topping:

Nigella recommends using whipped cream:

-Whip 1 cup heavy cream, once fluffy, put a dollop on top of the cupcakes. 

My daughter and husband are chocolate lovers, so I simply melt a half a bar of chocolate (4 or 5oz- doesn't matter if it's light/dark/milk/white) in a small pot on low heat.  I dip each cupcake in the pot, turning a circular motion as I lift from the pot to remove any excess chocolate. Continue with each cupcake.  If you have the willpower, allow the chocolate on the cupcake to cool before serving. (This seldom happens in my house.)

Enjoy!

(note the melted cioccolato allll over my little girl's happy face!)

(**This recipe is from Nigella Express, page 187 by Nigella Lawson)

Breakfast Bars

I feel like breakfast doesn't get enough attention.  We're all in such a rush in the morning, that we slug down our coffee, and if we're lucky, grab some kind of processed "food" on our way out the door.  In an effort to cleanse my house of processed food (yes, even the beloved granola bar), I decided to look into making my own granola bars.

I found this recipe in the Nigella Express cookbook that Kyle got me a while back.  You can vary some of the ingredients, such as the nuts or seeds, just don't mess with the oats or sweetened condensed milk.

Also, my Dad complained that they were chewy, while a lot of other people (especially Laela) liked that they were chewy.  I think this is a personal preference issue, so if you are a "crunchy" granola bar type of person, the longer they are in the container, the crunchier they get.  If you want them crunchy immediately, store them in the fridge, and crunch away.

Ingredients:

• 1 14-fl-oz can condensed milk
• 2 1/2 cups rolled oats (not instant)
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup mixed seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, flax)
• 1 cup natural unsalted peanuts (I didn't have a whole cup of peanuts, so I used almonds and pecans as well)

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees and oil a 9- x 13-inch baking pan or just use a disposable aluminum foil one.

2. Warm the condensed milk in a large pan.

3. Meanwhile, mix all the other ingredients together and add the warmed condensed milk, using a rubber spatula to fold and distribute.

4. Spread the mixture into the oiled or foil pan and press down with a spatula or, better still, your hands (wearing those disposable latex CSI gloves to stop you from sticking) to make the surface even.

5. Bake for 1 hour, remove, and after about 15 minutes, cut into four across and four down, to make 16 chunky bars. Let cool completely.

Store in an air tight baggy or container.  Will keep for about 2-3 months (if they aren't gobbled up by then!)

A Ridiculously Fast, Ridiculously Good Ragu!

It's cold.  It's gloomy.  It's time to make a rapid ragu!

I got this recipe from the fabulous Nigella Lawson's cookbook, Nigella Express.  It's nothing short of amazing.  Beef?  Check.  Bacon?  Check.  Cheese?  Oh just give me my heart attack and be done with it!

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons garlic oil
• 1 cup cubed pancetta (or bacon if you don't have pancetta handy)
• 1 pound ground lamb (I used a meatloaf mix)
• 1/4 cup caramelized onions *available at gourmet and specialty stores as Onion Confit, or recipe follows
• 1/3 cup Marsala
• 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1/3 cup green lentils
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup grated red Leicester or Cheddar, optional

Directions:

• Heat the oil in a wide, medium-sized saucepan, and fry the pancetta until beginning to crisp.
• Add the lamb breaking it up with a fork in the bacony pan as it browns.
• Tip in the caramelized onions, Marsala, tomatoes, lentils and water and bring the pan to the boil.
• Simmer the ragu for 20 minutes stirring occasionally. Sprinkle over the cheese before serving, if using.

Caramelized Onions:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups sliced onions (about 2 medium size onions)

Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil and heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until the onions are a deep golden brown and soft, about 25 to 30 minutes. Make sure to use a gentle heat and cook the onions slowly so they don't burn. Onions will keep in the fridge for up to 1 week

 

I served this over angel hair, and Kyle ate the leftovers sans pasta for lunch the following day.  I hope you enjoy this as much as we did!

Nigella's Caramel Croissant Pudding

I don't know about you, but I absolutely love breakfast.  When I came across this Nigella's Express recipe with stale croissants, caramel and custard, well, I have to say I swooned.  While I'm not normally a sweets person, especially not for breakfast, I love caramel, and I just knew Kyle and Laela would really enjoy it.  After all, does Nigella ever share bad recipes?  I think not.

I'm going to warn you.  This is one seriously decadent breakfast, and I'm pretty sure it's in NO way healthy.  But it's totally worth the indulgence.

Nigella's Caramel Croissant Pudding

Ingredients:

• 2 stale croissants
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 2 tablespoons bourbon
• 2 eggs, beaten

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 350- degrees.
• Tear the croissants into pieces and put ina  small gratin dish; I use a cast-iron oval one with a capacity of about 2 cups for this.
• Put the sugar and water into a saucepan, and swirl around to help desolve teh sugar before putting the saucepan on the burner over medium high heat.
• Carmelize the sugar and water mixture by letting it bubble away until it al turns a deep amber color; this will take 3-5 minutes.  Keep looking, but don't be too timid.
• Turn the heat down to low and add the cream- ignoring all spluttering- and, whisking, the mnilk and bourbon.  Any solid toffee that forms in the pan will dissolve easily if you keep whisking over low heat.  Take off the heat, and still whisking, add the beaten eggs.  Pour the caramel bourbon custard over the croissants and leave to steep for 10 minutes if the croissants are very stale.
• Place in preheated oven for 20 minutes and prepare to swoon.

Nigella says this serves 2 greedy people, but I think it could serve 4 with a salad, since it's so rich.

And no, I didn't get any pictures of this one.  It disappeared faster than I could get the camera!