Cream Filled Chocolate Cupcakes

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

 

  

It only makes sense to follow up something as healthy and good-for-you as homemade veggie burgers with ... well, something completely the opposite. But after all those veggies you can certainly reward yourself with one or two (or three or four?) of these fun little treats.

 

And speaking of fun, these were a blast to make! I haven't had this much fun in the kitchen since the hamburger cupcakes. Between the coring (I used a zucchini corer that you can find for dirt cheap at any halal store; an apple corer or plain butter knife would work fine too), filling and swirly-loop design, it was a hoot!
Sure, that last detail probably wasn't necessary at all but let's be honest, we're just trying to recreate a childhood favorite here. 

I know this is gonna sound silly, but these really aren't that rich or decadent. I used my old fall-back chocolate cupcake recipe so the cake was very light and delicate and the cream filling was a homemade marshmallow cream  (super fun to make!)  that was also very light. The richest part of the whole cupcake was probably the ganache topping, which was the perfect compliment to the pillow-y like filling.

All in all, this was very easy to make. Sure, it had a few more steps than a "regular" cupcake would require but believe me, it's definitely worth it.

Cream Filled Chocolate Cupcakes

1 recipe chocolate cupcakes

Marshmallow Frosting
2 large egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Combine frosting ingredients with a pinch of salt in a metal bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water and beat with a handheld electric mixer at high speed until frosting is thick and fluffy, 6 to 7 minutes. Remove bowl from heat and continue to beat until slightly cooled. Use frosting the day it is made.

Ganache Frosting

1/2 pound fine-quality semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/4 stick (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter

Finely chop chocolate. In a 1 1/2- to 2-quart saucepan bring cream, sugar, and corn syrup to a boil over moderately low heat, whisking until sugar is dissolved. Remove pan from heat and add chocolate, whisking until chocolate is melted. Cut butter into pieces and add to frosting, whisking until smooth. Transfer frosting to a bowl and cool, stirring occasionally, until spreadable. 

1. Core your cooled cupcakes, being careful not to poke a hole out the bottom of the cupcakes, Keep the tops of the cupcakes aside (you can trim them a bit). Carefully pipe marshmallow frosting into each one and replace with a "cap".

2. Carefully spread a dollop of ganache on each cupcake. Keep aside until the ganache has slightly hardened and set up a bit.

3. Pipe a swirly design on top using remaining marshmallow frosting (totally optional, but totally fun).

Super(bowl) Food

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

This post was originally written for The Sisters Who Blog Network. Check out an amazing group of Muslimah bloggers and a world wide network of inspiring and creative sisters at Sister Who Blog!

Its that time of year again: The Superbowl. The weekend of mega-million dollar TV commercials and a seemingly 24 hour "pre-game". Oh ya, and I guess there's a football game of sort on as well. I'm not such a fan of the sport and can only tolerate a few minutes of watching here and there but even I get excited for this weekend. Do I have a favorite team? No. Is my home state being represented? Nope. Do I love game-day snack food? You betchya! To help get you in a Superbowl snack food state of mind, here's a round-up of some classic Muslim Wife Kitchen recipes to make your game day delicious:

1. Pizza dough can go a long, long way: Weather you opt for a couple trays of mini-pizzas or a platter of calzones, this pizza dough recipe is where you'll start off.

In a pizza rut and need some new flavor inspiration? Check out these MWK pizza options:

Chicken Gyro Pizza

Roasted Garlic Pizza

BBQ Pizza

Grilled Eggplant Pizza

Desert Pizza

2. Dips: Few things pair as good as football and dunking...chips, that is. This tomatillo salsa recipe is not only bright and refreshings, its super simple too! If you do opt for a classic guacamole, give it that extra something by using sour cream (piped on with a ziplock bag with a corner cut off) to resemble a football field!

3.Fingerfoods: You're gonna need to keep your hands free to do all the high fiving and touchdown signs during the game (you know you do it, just admit it), which is finger foods are the way to go for the best viewing experience. If your crew likes it hot, try out these jalapeno poppers. Remove the seeds to tame the heat if you must!

 

And does anything scream FOOTBALL more than a soft pretzel dunked in hot cheese sauce? A game-day must in our house!

5. Maincourse: The game will be airing in the evening which puts us smack in the middle of dinner time. If you need some main course fare, these easy dishes will easily feed a crowd.

Spicy Chili and Jalapeno Cornbread

The key to this easy pasta dish is baking it in a springform pan to maintain the individual layers. This really can feed a football team!

 If you're already making guacamole, why not grill up some quesadillas to go with it? This spicy shrimp and spinach combo is delicious!

6. Sweet Tooth: Last, but certainly not least, is the sweet ending to celebrate your teams victory or console a losers heart ;) To make this football cake, simply bake your favorite chocolate cake recipe (I use the same one for my cupcakes) in a round pan. Then divide the cake in half, cut off a 1 inch sliver going the length of the cake and reattach your two halves. This will give you an oval football shape. 

For these cute football cupcake toppers, simply pipe some melted chocolate onto wax paper in the shape of footballs. Once they are completely cooled, slowly lift off with a spatula and decorate with white frosting. 

I use the Bakers one bowl brownie recipe and always end up with rich, fudgy brownies. Once they're completely cooled, cut out in a football shape (Wilton has a cookie cutter), frost and decorate and you're ready to go.

Train Cake

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

First, I wanted to tell y'all about this cake when I first decided to make it, but that that'd be jumping the gun a little bit. Then, I made it and was itching to run to the computer to post it right away but seeing as I made it for an Eid party I had some party details to attend to (namely: hosting the crazy thing!). And now it's been over a month since Eid ul Adha and that means I'm one month late in telling you to GO MAKE THIS NOW because it's so gosh darn cute and so easy!

 

You can easily just make one car of the train or chose the colors/candy you want. I'm almost certain that everyone (young and old alike) will bust out into a silly, goofy grin 'cuz thats just what fun cakes are meant to do!

Train Cake
Ingredients
One recipe chocolate cake, divided and baked into three loaf pans
double batch of frosting tinted with preferred food coloring
1 pack of colored Twizzlers
1 pack of large sized Smarties (or round cookies) for the wheels
extra candies for decorating

1. Bake and cool three loaves of cake. Cut two loaves in half and trim about 1" off a third loaf. 3 of the halves will be train cars, stack the 4th half on top of the trimmed loaf as the front engine.

2. Apply a thin layer of frosting to each cake and refrigerate (this is your crumb topping) at least one hour. Then apply another layer of frosting on each car. Decorate with candies to your liking.

3. Using a large spatula (or two!), carefully lift each car onto a large flat surface (I flipped a baking sheet, covered with foil, upside down ).Enjoy!

More Super Food

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

Couple more goodies from today's super spread (yes, I'm supposed to be on bed-rest and I have a feeling I'm gonna be paying for this come tomorrow...!)

Super Bowl Sunday

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

I absolutely love theme-foods! New baby girl? Pink cupcakes coming right up! Recovering from an illness? How about some get-well-soon smiley face cookies? And of course, the mother of all themed-food get-to-gethers: Superbowl Sunday. Here's some football inspired goodies from the past to help inspire your superbowl spread:

Sunday Night Football

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem



We had some last minute company for dinner and I took a laid-back approach with pizza, a fajita bar and some home fries (fries baked in the oven). No pics of the food as it was all sent over to the guys side before I could take any. But don't worry, I did snap a few of the most important part of the meal:

Viking's Purple Frosted Cupcakes with Chocolate Footballs (yes, I'm aware it's not quite as purple as it should be, but it did the job! And yes, we're also equally aware the Vikings lost, but at least the cupcakes were good!)