FRIENDLY GHOST CUPCAKES (NO FONDANT!)

Posted in Cake by sallybr

The idea for these cupcakes came from this recent post in a blog I love… She added the disclaimer of “NO FONDANT” in her title and I decided to do the same because the first thing that comes to mind when you see these babies is… wow, that is A LOT of fondant! No, friends. The ghost “clothing” is made of modeling chocolate! How cool is that?

The road to make these babies was full of trepidation. I opted for cupcakes after exchanges with Haniela, the Cookie Goddess who is also an amazing baker in all fronts. She had made cupcakes covered in fondant (check them out here) so my adventure was a cross between two ideas.

First things first. I made chocolate cupcakes using this adorable pan from Wilton, the same that Haniela used in her bake. The result was a complete disaster. I forgot to spray the cavities (can you believe it?) and the cakes did not release. I was left with a mess of cake crumbs. I was ready to bag the project for that day, but Hani gave me the brilliant idea of making cake pops in the pan. I gathered the crumbs, mixed with a simple American chocolate buttercream, and pressed into the cavities. Froze for 1 hour.

That worked like a charm. Brought the pan to room temperature, dipped the bottom in hot water for 5 minutes, and they all came out perfectly domed. After that, I gave them a light coating with chocolate buttercream and placed back in the freezer while I worked on the modeling chocolate.

MODELING CHOCOLATE USING WILTON CANDY MELTS

Melt 15 oz WHITE WILTON candy melts gently in the microwave

Heat 1/3 cup light corn syrup in the microwave for just 10 seconds until barely warm

Mix corn syrup with melted candy, stir. When it forms a dough, stop immediately.

Allow it to sit at room temperature, covered in plastic for 2 hours or overnight.

Roll out between two sheets of parchment paper, cut circles large enough to drape over the cakes.

Cut circles for eyes using a small piping tip. Glue sprinkles, and if desired, spray with diamond dust or another type of glitter of your choice.

I am so in love with this project! Maybe one day I will be brave enough to do the large cake from Sprinklebakes blog, but for the time being I am happy with these. Huge thank you to Haniela for saving my day after the baking fiasco.

ONE YEAR AGO: Semolina Sourdough

TWO YEARS AGO: Incredibly Simple, times three

THREE YEARS AGO: Chile Rellenos

FOUR YEARS AGO: Vietnamese “Pizza”

FIVE YEARS AGO: Chocolate Bonbons with Mango-Ganache Filling

SIX YEARS AGO: Giant Cookie Meets Mousse

SEVEN YEARS AGO: The Brazilian Battenberg

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Salzburg Sourdough

NINE YEARS AGO: If I had One Hour

TEN YEARS AGO: Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cake

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Sourdough Rye Bread with Flaxseeds and Oats

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Apricot-Raspberry Sorbet: A farewell to Summer

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Marcela’s Salpicon

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Pork Kebabs

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Fondant au Chocolat

SIXTEEN YEARS AGO: Got Spinach? Have a salad!

20Sep2025

CAMPFIRE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

Posted in Cake by sallybr

I cannot take credit for the design, it is from a cookbook I highly recommend: Cupcakes for Any Occasion, by Rachel Lindsay (click here to order it). She used lemon cupcakes for her version, I opted for chocolate, going for a reverse creaming method that is so simple and easy to bake.

CAMPFIRE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES
(inspired by Rachel Lindsay)

for 10 cupcakes:
100g all-purpose flour
25g unsweetened cocoa powder
140g white sugar
1/4 tsp salt
50g unsalted butter, room temperature, soft
1 large egg
120ml milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 + ½ tsp baking powder

for the buttercream:
226g butter, very soft
452g powdered sugar
1 tablespoon heavy cream (or more to adjust consistency)
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
6 Oreo cookies, crushed fine
orange, red and yellow food gel coloring
Pretzel sticks (four per cupcake)
mini marshmallows (1 to 2 per cupcake)

Heat oven to 350F. Prepare a muffin type pan with cupcake liners.

Whisk the milk, egg and vanilla extract in a small bowl. Reserve.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, salt, butter and sugar into the stand mixer
bowl with the paddle attachment. Mix on a medium speed until all the butter looks like small pieces of sand. Add half the milk mixture, mix to incorporate until smooth. Give it a final minute mixing in high-speed. Add the rest of the milk, and whisk until fully smooth.

Add to the lined pan, a little more than half full. These cupcakes rise a lot. Bake until a toothpick comes clean, about 16 minutes. Let cool completely before icing.

Make the buttercream. Whisk the butter in high speed for five minutes. Add half the powdered sugar, mix at medium-speed until fully smooth. Increase speed to high for 30 seconds. Add the other half of the sugar, pinch of salt, vanilla and heavy cream. Whisk in medium to high-speed until smooth. Adjust consistency if needed.

Keep half of the buttercream in the mixer. Add to it the Oreo crumbs. Transfer that to a piping bag fitted with a round tip. Divide the rest of the buttercream (around 110g portions) to smaller bowls. Dye each portion red, yellow and orange. Place them over plastic wrap as straight lines side by side. Make a sausage with that plastic wrap and insert into a piping bag fitted with a medium size leaf tip.

Decorate the cold cupcakes first with “stones”, using the Oreo buttercream. Add “flames”, stick Pretzels to make the decorations, using small marshmallows for additional touch.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I love the way the addition of Oreo cookies make the buttercream perfect to mimic stones. That could come in handy for Halloween designs in the future. I made a little mistake and used Pretzel sticks to insert the marshmallows, but in the cookbook she advises using toothpicks, and they will work a lot better, so keep that in mind if you want to try these. I am so happy with the way they turned out!

One extra bit of advice: when you pipe the “rocks”, smooth the surface with a brush to make them more round and smooth. I did not do that to some of them, and wish I had. Once the buttercream hardens you cannot quite smooth things out.

ONE YEAR AGO: La Couronne Lyonnaise, Two Ways

TWO YEARS AGO: Have a Heart

THREE YEARS AGO: Chocolate-Hazelnut Tartlets

FOUR YEARS AGO: Turkey Taco Salad

FIVE YEARS AGO: Cheese and Pesto Emmer Roll-ups and Elaine’s Cookbook Review

SIX YEARS AGO: Mango-Hazelnut Entremet Cake

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Lebanese Lentil Salad and a Cookbook Review

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Cottage Loaf

NINE YEARS AGO: Sourdough Loaf with Cranberries and Walnuts

TEN YEARS AGO: Sichuan Pork Stir-Fry in Garlic Sauce

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Our Green Trip to Colorado

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Ditalini Pasta Salad

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Celebrate Wednesday with a Thai Seafood Curry

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Post-workout Breakfast

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Semolina Barbecue Buns

SIXTEEN YEARS AGO: Lavash Crackers

23Jul2025

A TRIO OF BROWNIES

Posted in Cake by sallybr

I cannot pick a favorite. Ok, one is not technically a brownie, but a blondie. Tomatoes, tomahtoes… They are all delicious, luscious, satisfying, rich, borderline decadent.

BISCOFF BLONDIES

If you are a lover of Biscoff cookies, these will bring a huge smile to your face. The recipe comes from thebiteofthebakes.com but for some reason it is unavailable, so I will cut and paste it from the file I had previously saved. I linked to the main site, but for some reason it won’t work in Safari, only in Chrome.

BISCOFF BLONDIES
(from biteofthebakes)

170g butter
170g white chocolate
110g brown sugar
110g granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 egg yolk
30ml heavy cream
250g all-purpose flour
25g cornstarch
200g chocolate chips
150g chopped Biscoff cookies
200g Biscoff spread

Heat your oven to 350F. Line a 9×11″ rectangular baking dish with baking paper.

In a microwaveable bowl, melt together unsalted butter and white chocolate. Melt in short bursts stirring well each time until smooth. In a large bowl or stand mixer add your melted chocolate, butter and sugar and mix until combined.

Add the eggs, egg yolk and double cream and stir until combined, then add the flour, cornstarch, fold gently. Add the chocolate chips and Biscoff pieces. Pour the mixture into your lined baking tin and swirl on some melted biscoff spread and top with more biscoff biscuits.

Bake for 25-30 minutes. Once baked, let the blondies cool completely in the pan, then place the blondie (still in the tin) in the fridge for a few hours or overnight before slicing.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

RED VELVET OREO BROWNIES

RED VELVET OREO BROWNIES
(from cakemehometonight)

½ cup unsalted butter
½ cup light brown sugar
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs room temperature
1 large egg yolk room temperature
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp red gel food coloring
½ tsp white vinegar
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tsp salt
1 ½ cups roughly chopped Oreo cookies
8 Oreo cookies

Heat the oven to 350℉. Prepare a 9×9 baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and cover with parchment paper.

In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the unsalted butter and brown sugar. Microwave for 90 seconds until the butter is melted, and then whisk until the mixture is well combined and smooth. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the granulated sugar, eggs, and egg yolk. Use an electric hand mixer to whip the eggs and sugar for 2 to 3 minutes until light and pale. While mixing on low speed, slowly drizzle in the brown sugar mixture to temper the egg mixture. Add in the vegetable oil, vanilla extract, red gel food coloring, and white vinegar and mix until well combined.

Add in the all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, and salt, and mix on low speed until combined and smooth. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Fold in the roughly chopped Oreo cookies.

Pour the red velvet brownie batter into the prepared baking pan and spread evenly with an offset spatula. Add additional broken Oreo cookies to the top of the brownie batter. Bake the brownies for 24-26 minutes until set. An inserted toothpick in the center of the brownies should come out with moist crumbs. Remove the pan from the oven and cool the brownies to room temperature. Cut the brownies into 16 squares.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

S’MORES BROWNIES

S’MORES BROWNIES
(from Eric Kim, by New York Times)

½ cup/113 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided
135 grams honey graham crackers (about 9 whole crackers)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
113 grams semisweet chocolate, broken into pieces
½ cup (100 grams) packed dark brown sugar
½ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ cup (60 grams) all-purpose flour
170 grams marshmallows

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Grease a 9-inch square metal baking pan with ½ tablespoon of the butter. Line the pan with parchment paper leaving an overhang to make it easier to remove the brownies after baking. Use another 1/2 tablespoon of butter to grease the paper.

Line the bottom of the pan with a single layer of graham crackers, breaking them as needed to fit, then crush the rest of the crackers over and sprinkle with the granulated sugar.

Melt the remaining 7 tablespoons butter and chocolate gently in the microwave at 50% power. Stir in the brown sugar and salt, then let the mixture cool slightly until the bowl is no longer hot to the touch. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla, then continue whisking until smooth and shiny, about 1 minute. Whisk in the flour until no white streaks remain. Pour the batter over the graham crackers lining the pan.

Top the brownie batter with the marshmallows in a single layer and bake until the top is toasted and a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center of the brownie comes out smudged with a little chocolate, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool completely, then refrigerate in the pan until ready to serve.

To serve, lift the brownie out of the pan and slice into squares or bars. Enjoy chilled, or at room temperature.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

I hope you try one or two or all of these recipes, because they are absolutely wonderful,
I guarantee it!

ONE YEAR AGO: A Typical Dinner at The Bewitching Kitchen

TWO YEARS AGO: Rolled Buttercream

THREE YEARS AGO: Miso-Ginger Turkey Meatballs with Cabbage “Noodles”

FOUR YEARS AGO: Smoked Shrimp Tacos with Roasted Jalapeño Salsa

FIVE YEARS AGO: Corn Fritters

SIX YEARS AGO: Minnie Macarons

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Air-Fried Mexican Meatloaf

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Mimi’s Sticky Chicken, a Call from my Past

NINE YEARS AGO: Perfect Soy-Grilled Steak

TEN YEARS AGO: The Devil’s Bread

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Heart of Palm Salad Skewers

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Potluck Frittata and Lavoisier

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Home-made Corn Tortillas

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Whole-Wheat Spaghetti with Peanut Sauce

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Brigadeiros: A Brazilian Party!

SIXTEEN YEARS AGO: Lemony Asparagus

24May2025

OREO CUPCAKES

Posted in Cake by sallybr

A fun departure on the classic chocolate cupcake, I added some crushed Oreos to a favorite recipe of mine, and some also went into the buttercream. If there was any doubt about the nature of these babies, I dealt with the issue by sticking half an Oreo on top. The drizzle of ganache is optional, but why would you skip it?

OREO CUPCAKES
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

for the cupcakes:
120 grams (1 cup) all-purpose flour
50 grams (1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons) natural cocoa powder
225 grams (1 + 1/8 cups) granulated sugar
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
85 grams (about 1/2 cup) grapeseed oil
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
75 grams (1/3 cup) milk, room temperature
170 grams (3/4 cup) very hot water
4 Oreo cookies, crushed

for the Oreo buttercream:
1 cup (227 g)) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 + ½ cups (300 g) powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
1 to 2 tbsp heavy cream
1/3 cup Oreo cookie crumbs

for the ganache drizzle:
¼ cup (42 g) semisweet chocolate chips
2 tbsp heavy cream

Makes12 cupcakes

Heat oven to 350F.

In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, cocoa powder, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk very well to fully combine the dry ingredients.

Add the oil into the mixing bowl and mix on medium speed with a hand mixer until well combined. Add the eggs and vanilla extract to the bowl and continue mixing until smooth.

With the mixer still running, slowly pour in the milk and then the hot water. Continue mixing until everything is evenly incorporated, the batter will be super thin, do not worry about it. Fold in the crushed Oreos. Place the batter in cupcake pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes clean. This will take 20 to 25 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.

Make the ganache and allow it to cool. Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. In another small bowl, heat the cream in a microwave for about 30 seconds, or until bubbling. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips and allow the mixture to sit for 2 minutes to melt the chocolate. Stir the mixture until smooth and shiny. Use it when barely warm, so that you won’t melt the buttercream.

Make the buttercream. Whip the softened butter for 5 minutes with a paddle attachment. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla and salt and mix until incorporated, in low-speed. Add the heavy cream to adjust consistency, then the crumbs of Oreos. Mix at medium-high for a minute or so until smooth. Frost the fully cool cupcakes. Place in the fridge for 15 minutes to set. Then add the drizzle, and a half of Oreo on top. Sprinkles are optional.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Most Oreo cupcakes call for black cocoa, but I prefer a less intense version, so I used a considerably milder recipe. The addition of crushed Oreos was my way to amplify the chocolate taste. Because these cakes rely on oil, they are super moist to start with and stay this way for a few days. Crushed Oreos in the buttercream give a super pleasing texture. Make sure they are finely crumbed. And yes, you crumble the cookie and the filling. Easy!

ONE YEAR AGO: Chocolate and Wax Seal Stamps

TWO YEARS AGO: A Star is Born!

THREE YEARS AGO: Turkey Taco Salad Bowl

FOUR YEARS AGO: Turkey Jalapeño Meatballs

FIVE YEARS AGO: Whole Chicken Sous-Vide

SIX YEARS AGO: Incredibly Simple Times Four, May 2019

SEVEN YEAR AGO: French Style Baguettes

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Sad Times

NINE YEARS AGO: Slow-Cooker Carnitas Lettuce Wraps and Paleo Planet Review

TEN YEARS AGO: The Making of a Nobel Reception

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Fennel Soup with Almonds and Mint

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Green Curry Pork Tenderloin

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Farfalle with Zucchini and Ricotta

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Slow-baked Salmon with Lemon and Thyme

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Hoisin Explosion Chicken

19Apr2025

EASTER BAKES

Posted in Cake, Chocolate Bonbons, Cookies by sallybr

A small collection of bakes to celebrate the occasion… Cupcakes, cookies, bonbons…
Let’s start with cupcakes, shall we?

For the cupcakes, I went with chocolate, and used this recipe which is simple and wonderful. Frosting was a simple American buttercream, but the gilding of the lily was the little nest made with rice noodles broken up in little pieces, coated with melted chocolate and assembled in mini-muffin tins. I have tried other methods to make the nests and this was by far my favorite.

This is really a very very messy process, and there was some colorful language going around The Bewitching Kitchen, I won’t lie to you. But aren’t those nest super cute? Totally worth the trouble. Get the noodles and cut them with scissors in small little pieces. It will make a Royal mess in your kitchen and you will find pieces of noodles in unexpected places. Melt chocolate, coat them well (gloves are mandatory), and while everything is still pliable and warm, stick little portions inside mini muffin tins. Add the eggs and let it all set.

TRI-DIMENSIONAL EASTER EGGS

These are not made of chocolate, the shells are my favorite chocolate cookie (click here for recipe, I omitted the chipotle powder for this version) baked into these cute little molds. Once they are baked, I brushed them with luster powder mixed with vodka, decorated with Royal icing and filled with mini peanut butter eggs.

BUNNY BONBONS

A little labor of love, you’ll need a special mold for these babies, found at one of my favorite stores, Evil Cake Genius. It is a three component mold, so you make the top, let it set, fill with whatever you want (I used lemon brigadeiro), then close the bottom with more chocolate. A very detailed video is available here.

EGG NESTS CHOCOLATE COOKIES

Very little icing on these cookies, I brushed them with Americolor White + a touch of turquoise before baking. Then just added a few details with piping consistency icing, and placed mini eggs on top. They went together nicely with the cupcakes!