Cupcakes and Weddings

Last weekend, my friend Mona got married. She and I grew up together and were inseparable for many years. At her rehearsal dinner, we feasted on Lebanese food at Al Bustan and listened to lots of funny and touching speeches. Secretly, I hoped I'd get away without making one. I had plenty to say, but have never been a fan of public speaking. As the microphone kept getting passed around the room, I wanted to crawl under our table and hide. Soon enough, I found myself trying to explain to 125 people just how much Mona means to me.

At the wedding on Saturday at The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers, a beautiful spot where I once sat next to Glen Close and made Matthew Modine think he knew me (more on that another day), I was so happy to see our friends, a big group that goes back over 20 years. I didn't want the night to end. This might explain why I let some of them persuade me and Daniel to attend the after party at the SoHo Grand.

We knew we'd pay the price the next day, and indeed we did. Leo woke up less than two hours after we got home and Nico soon after. My Mom had slept over and kept them entertained while we "slept in", but our little boys sound a lot like wild baboons first thing in the morning. Needless to say, we were dragging the entire day.

Daniel likes to tease me about how I eat too many sweets. On a day when we were dreaming about bedtime by 3pm, a few cupcakes from the new Butter Lane in Park Slope helped us both wake up.

Butter Lane
240 7th Ave (between 4th and 5th Streets)
Park Slope, Brooklyn

Butter Lane is Coming to Park Slope

I wasn't surprised when King of Cupcakes on 7th Ave closed. Sounds like they had a falling out with their investors, but their cupcakes were disappointing and easy to pass up. What I didn't expect was Butter Lane, the East Village cupcake shop, to take its place. Their cupcakes are dangerously good. I'm delighted (and a little scared) they'll now be in walking distance and not a subway ride away. I went by yesterday to see if they had opened yet, but no luck. After doing a little research, I found out they'll be up and running in May. They're referring to this location as a pop up shop to gauge neighborhood interest, but I'm sure Butter Lane will have no problems in Park Slope.

Butter Lane
240 7th Ave, between 4th and 5th Streets
Park Slope, Brooklyn

Robicelli's Romeo y Juliette Cupcakes

So, Lent starts tomorrow which means I'll be giving up sweets very soon. I stopped by Crespella this afternoon in search of my last dessert and couldn't have been happier to find these cupcakes from Robicelli's. They reminded me of a simple and delicious dessert that I eat a lot in Brazil—guava paste and queijo minas, a cheese that sort of squeaks while you eat it. I've seen other riffs before, including a guava souffle with cream cheese ice cream, but this might be my new favorite. Unlike other cupcakes that aren't as complex and make me think it's fine to eat a few, these were rich and filling and and I only needed one. I made sure to eat mine very slowly and loved the bright guava flavor.

I've been hearing about Robicelli's for a while and now I know why they get such rave reviews. Made by a Brooklyn couple that clearly likes to have fun in the kitchen, they are ridiculously good. Take a look at their past flavors to see more cool combinations. They couldn't be more creative. Of course I want to try many more and now I know where to find them. Too bad I have to wait forty days before I can have another.

Butter Lane

I've been meaning to write a post all day since my last one was old news after 3pm. But I spent the day in the city seeing Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical with Nico. After the show, the cast came out and answered some questions. Some kids wanted to know why they added things that hadn't been in the book or how they designed the set. When Nico had a chance to ask a question, he said to Trixie, his favorite character, "Do you like ice cream?"

After, we walked over to the East Village cupcake shop Butter Lane to pick up some sweets to bring to lunch with Daniel, Leo and our friends Orrin and Alyson. It's a cute and cozy place that smells heavenly and all of the ones we bought were delicious, especially the banana with chocolate hazelnut frosting which I split with Ginger who lives around the corner and is the person who first introduced me to Butter Lane. Hoping to keep Nico from having a cupcake until after lunch, I bought him slices of fresh mango at a bodega nearby. He had a few pieces before the whole container toppled over, spilling onto the sidewalk. He ended up with a chocolate cupcake with chocolate icing that he refused to share. We made Magnolia cupcakes together last week, and they were good, but it made me realize that I still have no idea how to properly ice them. I loved the ones at Butter Lane and just saw on their website that they offer classes. They're sold out through August, but I still want to give one a try.

 Now I'm trying to watch the Oscars which have been kind of weird so far, but I guess these awards shows always are. James Franco, for one, doesn't seem too excited to be there. The Kirk Douglas bit was bizarre. Anne Hathaway could carry the show on her own in my opinion and Mila Kunis has the best dress. I'm hoping it gets better, otherwise, I'm going to bed soon and will catch up on all the winners tomorrow. 

Butter Lane
123 East 7th Street
East Village, Manhattan
212-677-2880

Blue Marble Ice Cream Cupcakes

Nico and Leo's birthdays are still a few months away, but I bought 12 ice cream cupcakes yesterday for one of them. I got them through Doodledeals, a site that has cool offers for kids and moms. I'm subscribed to their newsletter and get an email each morning. When I saw yesterday's deal, it was 6:55, and I hadn't even eaten breakfast. That didn't stop me from buying some before it was 7:00. Most people who read my blog regularly know I love Blue Marble and who doesn't like cupcakes?

I meant to share this sooner, but it turns out the deal is available until tomorrow at 5am. If you live in New York City and want some awesome sweets for an upcoming birthday or just want to treat yourself to a dozen ice cream cupcakes, don't pass this up. For $27, you'll get 12 artisanal cupcakes made with organic ice cream and you have until June 30, 2011 to order them.

Whiskey-Soaked Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

 

For my friend Mona's engagement party Saturday night, I volunteered to bring dessert. I thought about trying a new recipe, but came up with a better idea: I'd transform one of my favorite cakes from Melissa Clark into a boozy batch of cupcakes. This was a celebration after all, not a formal sit-down dinner. And I've been to plenty of parties where people prefer cocktails to sweets. I always need dessert and was determined to make something that would fit in. 

As I suspected, dark chocolate cupcakes with a cup of whiskey, plus a little extra brushed on top for good measure, were perfect for a Saturday night engagement celebration turned dance party. All 24 were quickly snatched up and devoured after we feasted on two types of fondue, lasagna, pork tenderloin, braised cabbage and a salad with pomegranate seeds.

Before making them, I searched online to see what kind of guidance I could find. Even though I've made the recipe as a bundt cake countless times, baking needs to be so precise. I found this site where a chef recommended adding an extra 1/2 cup of flour to give the cupcakes "structural assistance" which sounded good to me. I also cooked them for a lot less time. After about 28 minutes in my oven, they were perfect—light and moist with a sophisticated dark chocolate flavor that's rich, but not too sweet, with a welcome burst of whiskey.

I considered sprinkling powdered sugar on top too, but Daniel made a glossy ganache using bittersweet chocolate, cream and some butter to help dress them up a bit.  After that, he made white icing so we could write Mona and her fiance Jawad's initials on top. Time was running out by this point and we ended up writing on the cupcakes before they had fully cooled. They looked kind of sloppy at first, and reminded me of the bubble letters I used to favor back in middle school. I met Mona in 6th grade, so I could have said that was the look I was going for. Or maybe that Nico helped decorate them? Sadly, he didn't. This handiwork was all our own. Slowly, they took on a life of their own, and by the time we brought them to the party, they looked kind of cute. Mona and Jawad knew they'd been made with love and no one paid too much attention to the letters. The words dark chocolate and whiskey were way too distracting. 

Whiskey-Soaked Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache Glaze

Adapted from Melissa Clark via The New York Times

For the cupcakes:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
5 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1/4 cup instant espresso powder
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup whiskey, more for sprinkling
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda

For the chocolate ganache via Heather Drive:
1/4 cup heavy cream
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line two cupcake pans with liners. In microwave oven or double boiler over simmering water, melt chocolate. Let cool.

2. Put espresso and cocoa powders in a 2-cup (or larger) glass measuring cup. Add enough boiling water to come up to the 1 cup measuring line. Mix until powders dissolve. Add whiskey and salt; let cool.

3. Using an electric mixer, beat 1 cup butter until fluffy. Add sugar and beat until well combined. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract, baking soda and melted chocolate, scraping down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula.

4. On low speed, beat in a third of the whiskey mixture. When liquid is absorbed, beat in 1 cup flour. Repeat additions, ending with whiskey mixture. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling about 3/4 full. Bake about 25-28 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into center comes out clean.

5. Transfer cupcakes to a rack and using a pastry brush, brush each one with more whiskey.

6. While the cupcakes are cooling, heat cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until steaming, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat, add the chocolate and let stand for 5 minutes. Add the butter and stir until smooth.

7. Transfer to a small bowl and once they've cooled, dip the top of each cupcake to thoroughly coat.

8. Allow chocolate ganache to set before serving and storing.