Guest Blog: The Priestess's Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

The name of the cocktail that inspired these is so very not-PC. But whatev. There's nothing about The Priestess that is politically correct. Which is why I love her. Enjoy her and her recipe that incorporates three of my favorite kinds of booze (although I'm partial to Bushmills. Stop throwing things!).


A few years back, my theatre company, Impact Theatre (http://impacttheatre.com/), had a kickass Technical Director, Alain Jourdenais. He was fantastic, and we adored him. It was on an Impact Theatre annual season planning retreat that he introduced everyone to the Irish Car Bomb. This was so far back he had to tell the bartender in the Reno Hilton how to make them. Alain eventually left Impact to go to CalArts for lighting design. In October 2007, days before our first Full Houses Poker Tournament Benefit, we got the tragic news that Alain had died as a result of a car accident. He was 26. These are the cupcakes I created in his honor. I brought them to the benefit and they were a huge hit. They've been in my repertoire ever since.

They're labor-intensive, but pretty awesome.


Alain's Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes *click here for printable version*

First, make Guinness Cupcakes:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
2 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup Guinness Extra Stout, room temperature
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1. Preheat your oven to 350.
2. Beat butter on high until creamy, about 30 seconds. I recommend a Kitchen Aid for the mixing involved in this entire recipe, but I use a hand mixer. I learned how to bake using vintage cookbooks, my wits, and my mom's kitchen when I was 12. She didn't own a Kitchen Aid and I wasn't allowed to use the hand mixer. Therefore, I mixed everything with a wooden spoon or a fork. Now I can't bake anything unless I know how it feels, and a hand mixer is, in and of itself, a bit of a compromise. People who can successfully use a Kitchen Aid and know what's going on with their dough by the look of it mystify and amaze me. If you're one of those, mazel tov. For me, I have to feel it, and I'm stuck with the pain-in-the-assery of the hand mixer for this recipe.

3. Add sugar. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, maybe 2 or 3 minutes.
4. Add eggs one at a time, beat to incorporate between each.
5. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together into a separate bowl.
6. Pour Guinness and cream together into a large cup or spouted pyrex measuring cup. DO NOT DRINK. I know it's hard. You can drink the rest of the bottle, though.

7. Add about a fourth of the flour to the butter/sugar mixture and beat to combine.
8. Add about one third the Guinness/cream mixture and beat until combined. Don't be half-assed about the beating or add too much at a time or your mixture will look all curdled and weird.

9. Repeat above, alternating flour and Guinness and ending with the flour mixture.
10. Fill your cupcake papers 3/4 full.
11. Bake for approximately 24 minutes. Start checking them at 22 to see where you oven lands with this. I'd say anywhere from 22 - 25 is likely.
12. Let your cupcakes cool completely.

Now, make your Jameson's Pastry Cream:

1 and 1/4 cups whole milk
3 large egg yolks
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/8 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 c cornstarch (scant)
3 and 1/2 TB Jameson's Irish Whiskey

1. Mix sugar and egg yolks together with a wooden spoon in a pyrex or stainless steel bowl.
2. Sift the flour and cornstarch into the egg mixture and mix until it's smooth and pasty.
3. Heat the milk over medium in a saucepan until it boils. When it foams up, remove it from the heat and add it really slowly to the egg mixture, whisking constantly to prevent curdling.
4. Once it's all whisked together, put it all into the saucepan and cook over medium, whisking constantly, until it magically turns into pastry cream. This takes about 30 seconds and is heralded by the arrival of a thick, creamy texture.
5. Remove from heat, let cool for a bit, and whisk in the Jameson's.

Now Fill Your Cupcakes!

Use the cone method to fill your Guinness cupcakes with the pastry cream:

1. Take a completely cooled cupcake and cut a cone-shaped wedge out of the center.
2. Fill the hole with your pastry cream.

3. Cut the bottom off of the cupcake cone and replace the top like a little hat.
4. Repeat until all cupcakes are filled. Your husband, roommates, or assorted neighborhood hobos will eat the cupcake scraps. TRUST.

Finally, make your Bailey's Frosting. It's so simple, even a child could do it. Make Mommy some boozy frosting! Awesome.

Bailey's Frosting:

1 cup (2 sticks) of butter
2 boxes (2 lbs) powdered sugar
1/2 - 3/4 cup Bailey's Irish Cream

1. Melt the butter in a large bowl in the microwave.
2. Add the powdered sugar and 1/2 cup of the Bailey's and mix on medium high to high until incorporated.
3. Add more Bailey's in 1 TB increments until the desired consistency is reached.
4. Frost your cupcakes! A generous amount of frosting is both friendly and perfect for hiding the filling surgery you did earlier.

You'll want to eat these cupcakes the day you make them. Luckily, so will everyone else!

Have a great St. Patrick's Day, everyone, and raise a glass to Alain while you're at it.



Next up: Spring is in the air and I'm ready for something fresh tasting. I've seen the episode where he makes it and apparently I've tried the recipe myself, but I have no memory of it: I'm making Alton Brown's Lemon Meringue Pie.

Bailey's Irish Cream Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

That's a mouthful isn't it?! I assure you, however, it's a delicious mouthful.


I've made this cheesecake before, many times. With a different crust. You can choose which crust you like better. Or try both. Or make some kind of combination of the two. And honestly, it's ridiculously yummy and rich with any crust. You can use this recipe (I'd advise that you replace the 2 tablespoons butter in the coffee cream with 2 tablespoons sugar--I'm pretty sure it's an error in the recipe) or you can use this one (everything is exactly the same except the crust):

Bailey's Irish Cream Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
*click here for printable version*

Crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:
2-1/4 pounds cream cheese, room temperature
1-2/3 cups sugar
5 eggs, room temperature
1 cup Bailey's Irish Cream (For the love of all that is holy, don't use Carolan's. Just don't.)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Coffee Cream:
1 cup chilled whipping cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon instant coffee powder
chocolate curls (or more semisweet chips) as garnish

For Crust:
Preheat oven to 325. Coat a 9-inch springform pan with vegetable cooking spray. Combine crumbs and sugar in pan. Stir in butter. Press mixture into bottom and 1 inch up the sides of the pan. Bake until light brown, usually about 7 minutes. Maintain oven temperature at 325.

For Filling:
Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Gradually add sugar, then eggs one at a time, then Bailey's and finally the vanilla. Sprinkle half of the chocolate chips over crust. Spoon in filling. Sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips.


Bake until cake is puffed, springy in the center and golden brown, about 1 hour & 20 minutes. Cool cake completely in refrigerator.

For Cream:
Beat cream, sugar and coffee powder until peaks form. Spread mixture over cooled cake. Garnish with chocolate curls.


Obviously, at some point before serving, you need to remove the outer ring from the springform pan, but you'll need to leave the cheesecake on the bottom piece of the pan for serving, or it will become kind of a mess.

I will admit, I take the easy way out, (following the directions here) and use an electric mixer.


Tita Rax, who knows waaayyy more about cheesecakes than I do, says that in order for it to be authentically dense, it has to be mixed by hand. Honestly, I've done that and it's just too much manual labor for me. If you decide to take that road, you should know that you will need to cook the cheesecake for a little longer than the time given above.

As many times as I've made this, the whole cheesecake thing gives me fits every time.


See that big crack down the middle? It's moist in there. And I'm never sure whether it's just the right amount of moisture, or if it's the undone brand of moisture. So, I always end up nervously cooking it for anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes longer than the recipe indicates. But, really, it's cheesecake with Bailey's in it. Undercooked--overcooked--who cares? Yum.

TGIP Rating--Bailey's Irish Cream Chocolate Chip Cheesecake--KEEPER--duh!

Next up: I made this for a St. Patrick's Day party, but a much more fabulous St. Patrick's Day treat awaits you on the actual day. The Priestess, who performed my marriage ceremony, guest blogs. I can't wait!

Midweek Kitchen Confessions 11: Home SWEET Home

#1 I unpacked my kitchen first. That's just the way things work for me.


A home is not operational until the kitchen is organized. I still have a few things to do: finding storage for dinnerware that is not frequently used, filling my pantry and fridge with foodstuffs, and getting rid of the flotsam that has landed on my baking counter.


Yes, that's what that peninsula is now called.

#2 After only two nights in our new home, I had to bake. I couldn't take it anymore. I used the smell of brownies to drive away the unfamiliar smells and the DNA of previous occupants still floating in the air. Last week, I scrubbed every surface I could get my hands on. This was my way of scrubbing the air.



#3 My first mess in my beautiful new kitchen.

Guest Blog-The Pie Queen's Apple Strudel

Apple Strudel may not be quite as American as Apple Pie, but it certainly tops the charts in Hungary and Vienna where it was perfected and made famous. Its origins can be traced clear back to the Greeks that first perfected the technique of making the thin dough for Baklava. They named it Phyllo which means 'leaf'.

I can't think of very many things that are more pleasing to the palate than a thinly sliced tart apple baked in the flakiest, most delicate substance on earth - Phyllo sheets - with a bit of sweetness and spice added. It makes a divine looking presentation and even more divine epicurean experience. This is the dessert of your dreams - a lowfat version of the traditional strudel pastry and a great alternative to traditional apple pie. Dare I say it is as 'easy as pie'…maybe even easier? And, exercising my rights as 'guest blogger' and resident daredevil - I now stray bravely away - just for today - from the world of pie into the delicate, mouth-watering and WOULD YOU BELIEVE HEALTHY world of Apple Strudel! Just think - no trans-fats and no cholesterol! Unless of course you consider the little matter of the smidgy of cholesterol in the butter…

If you've never tried using the paper thin Phyllo sheets you are in for a revelatory experience. Here's where I make good the 'easier than pie' part I promised. The most perfect dough possible, flaky-thin, tender, ready-made, ready to use and found in the freezer section of most super markets. Thaw the package overnight in your refrigerator or it will thaw at room temperature in about 2 hours. It may be stored in your refrigerator for up to 4 weeks. Most boxes of Phyllo contain two sealed packages for use with two or more recipes. This recipe takes only 6 sheets and there are usually two packages of 20 sheets in each box. A little goes a long way and it can be kept on hand in the freezer for weeks if not months.

NOTE: Do not open the Phyllo dough until all of your ingredients have been assembled and you are ready to work with it. When first opened it is sufficiently moist to maintain flexibility but due to its delicate nature it begins to dry out and become brittle rather quickly when exposed to the air. It helps to cover the unused sheets with a slightly damp tea towel or sheet of plastic wrap while you are working with it.

Having gotten this lengthy preamble out of the way…and hopefully heightened your anticipation in the process…here is the long-awaited recipe:

Apple Strudel - Serves 6 *click here for printable version*

[Just for the record T is pronounced 'tablespoon' and tsp is pronounced 'tisp']

2 large Granny Smith apples peeled, quartered, cored and sliced into small, moderately thin slices

3 T packed brown sugar

1 T fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

6 Phyllo sheets

5 T unsalted butter, melted (if you only have salted butter on hand it works just as well but increases the sodium content)

1 T confectioners' (powdered) sugar

Preheat oven to 350°

In a large mixing bowl, combine sliced apples, brown sugar, lemon juice and spices. Stir until well combined. Lay 2 sheets of Phyllo dough directly on top of one another on a parchment covered baking sheet that has sides. Using a pastry brush, brush the Phyllo sheet on top with 1/3 of the melted butter.

Lay 2 more sheets on top and brush the top sheet again with half of the remaining melted butter. Place the final 2 sheets on top and then spread the apple mixture over half of the Phyllo, leaving a 1" border on the three sides.

Starting from the long side, roll up the strudel, pressing the ends together. Place the roll, seam side down.

Brush the top with the remaining melted butter. Bake until the top is golden and crisp and the apples are bubbly, approx 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring from the parchment paper to a serving platter. Sift confectioners' sugar over the top. As I always say, "You can cover up a world of sin with confectioners' sugar." After the strudel is sufficiently cool, cut into slices for serving. Serve warm or cool.

Calories 91

Protein 1g

Carbohydrates 17g

Total Fat 3g

Saturated Fat 1g

Cholesterol 5mg

Sodium 48 mg

Dietary Fiber 1g

It was just hubby and I tonight. Unfortunately hubby did not want to share this with me since he's planning on being pencil thin by year's end. The resident blogger is away…so that left it pretty much up to me. Let's see - I've had one serving as the official taste tester and just to let you know - it lived up to all of its campaign promises. All of them. What could be more American than that? Now. Nobody's looking, I'm the only one up and there are five servings left…well, I am the Pie Queen am I not?

Commentary from April:

Photos were taken by The Pie King. Note to self: hire him as your blog photog, he's much better at that than you are.

As you might imagine, the strudel was delicious. 91 calories?! T'ain't nothin'!

TGIP Rating--Apple Strudel--KEEPER--Note to self: bake this yourself some time. Remember how you haven't worked with Phyllo dough? That needs to be amended.

Next up: I fall back on a favorite to celebrate St. Patrick's Day--Bailey's Chocolate Chip Cheesecake.

Deli-Style Rye Bread

Mary: Bread... that this house may never know hunger.
[Mary hands a loaf of bread to Mrs. Martini]
Mary: Salt... that life may always have flavor.
[Mary hands a box of salt to Mrs. Martini]
George Bailey: And wine... that joy and prosperity may reign forever. Enter the Martini Castle.
[George hands Mr. Martini a bottle of wine]


I got this recipe from my December sister. I have no idea where she got it, so I'm just going to go ahead and give to you. I call it Plagiarizing it Forward.


Deli-Style Rye Bread *click here for printable version*

Makes 1 large or 2 smaller loaves

Sponge:
2/3 cup rye flakes (optional--and I didn't use)
2-3/4 cups water
1-1/2 tsp dry active yeast
2 Tbsp honey
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (or bread flour)

Rye Bread:
1-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (or bread flour)
3-1/2 cups rye flour (I used dark, but medium or light would work just as well)
2 Tbsp caraway seeds
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp table salt
Cornmeal for sprinkling

Glaze:
1 egg white
1 Tbsp milk

1. For the sponge: heat oven to 350 degrees; toast rye flakes on small baking sheet until fragrant and golden brown, about 10-12 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Mix water, yeast, honey, rye flakes and flour in the large mixing bowl of a heavy duty mixer to form batter.


Cover with plastic wrap, and let sit until bubbles form over the entire surface, at least 2-1/2 hours. (Can stand at room temperature overnight.)

2. For the bread: Stir all-purpose flour, 3-1/4 cups rye flour, caraway seeds, oil and salt into the sponge.


With machine fitted with dough hook and set on speed 2, knead dough, adding remaining 1/4 cup rye flour once the dough becomes cohesive; knead until smooth yet sticky, about 5 minutes.


With moistened hands, transfer dough to a well-floured counter, knead it into a smooth ball, then place in a lightly greased bowl.


Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, 1-1/4 to 2 hours.



3. Generously sprinkle cornmeal on a large baking sheet. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and press dough into a 12x9 rectangle. (For 2 smaller loaves, halve the dough, pressing each portion into a 9x6 1/2-inch rectangle.) With one of the long sides facing you, roll dough into a 12 inch (or 9 inch) log, seam side up. Pinch seam with fingertips to seal. Turn dough seam side down, and with fingertips, seal ends by tucking dough into the loaf.


Carefully transfer shaped loaf (or loaves) to prepared baking sheet, cover loosely with greased plastic wrap, and let proof until dough looks bloated and dimply, and starts to spread out, 60-75 minutes. Adjust oven rack to lower center position and heat oven to 425 degrees.

4. For the glaze: Whisk egg white and milk together and brush over sides and top of loaf (loaves). Make 6 or 7 slashes, 1/2 inch deep on dough top with serrated knife or single edge razor blade. Bake for 15 minutes, then lower oven temperature to 400 degrees and bake until golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted in center of loaf registers 200 degrees, 15-20 minutes for small loaves and 25-30 for larger loaf. Transfer to a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Slice and serve.


As I think I've confessed before, I am no bread expert. Far from it. But I realized while making this bread, that most of the time when I make bread I'm in a big fat hurry to get it done in time for dinner. Which may account for some of my frustrations and missteps with the process. This time it was different. I don't know if that's because this recipe is easy, or if it's because I gave myself more time to prepare it and wasn't working under a "deadline". But really, I was surprised at how easy it was and how nicely it turned out.

I was a little skeptical about using the mixer with the dough hook. My own dough hook is as yet unused. But it worked really well. And "with moistened hands" took me aback as well. But, yet again, it worked perfectly. I got the machine-kneaded dough out of the bowl and off the hook (HA!) and onto my kneading surface without covering my hands with it. I've also never tested the temperature of my bread to check its doneness. Again, I did it and it was perfect.

It's not as high of a loaf as I would like to have (you know, for pastrami sandwiches), but maybe if I use bread flour the next time, it will be a little puffier. It was, I humbly submit to you, perfect as breakfast toast (with butter).


I chose this recipe this week because of the quote at the top. As we move into our new home starting this coming week, those are all things we deeply wish for: food at our table, spice in our lives, joy and prosperity. But why rye bread, you ask? Well, because I've never made it before. And because it reminds us of a deli that we loved in a place that I still think of as home.

TGIP Rating--Deli-Style Rye Bread--KEEPER--Try with bread flour. And see if you can find rye flakes. I can't help but wonder how/if they would change the taste and texture.

Next up: The move catches up with me. I leave you in the capable guest-blogging hands of the Pie Queen.

P.S. to my December sister: I think it is the rye flour that makes the bread seem not so smooth. The flour itself has a lot of texture to it.

Midweek Kitchen Confessions 10: Comfort Chip Cookies

I make them to help myself feel better. About life. It's not eating them that does it for me, it's making them. I thought if I made them with the girls after school it would help them feel better. About life. But I ended up making them by myself. And the girls still don't feel better.

P.S. I use half salted butter and half unsalted and I follow the high altitude directions in the Nestle Toll House recipe. Otherwise, here in Utah, cookies end up as flat as paper.

Wine Cake

So, a family secret you probably won't care about: my Great Aunt Dorothy has never been known as a great dessert-maker. When my Great Grandpa lived with her for several years before his death, he complained bitterly about her baking. He said everything she made was too dry. In her defense, at the time, they were living at a pretty high altitude and she most likely had a difficult time altering her recipes to deal with the altitude. Yes, I know I've already lost half of you. But try to stay with me, it'll be worth it.

Aunt Dorothy is known for one great contribution to our family culinary heritage: Wine Cake. I doubt she created the recipe, although, who knows? But she did bring it into the family fold, and for that we are all grateful.

I confess, I cheated a little...well, a lot...this week. I cheated on my commitment to making everything from scratch and using organic and/or local ingredients wherever possible. This recipe goes about as far in the other direction as you can imagine. But it's delicious. And super super easy. Which is necessary when my stress level=buying and selling a house.


Those are all the ingredients right there. Yup. That's it. Here's the recipe:

Wine Cake *click here for printable version*

1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1 small pkg. instant vanilla pudding
4 eggs
3/4 cup oil
3/4 cup sherry
1 tsp. nutmeg

Combine all ingredients and beat. Pour into greased and floured tube (bundt) pan. Bake at 350 for approximately 1 hour. Let cool in the pan for 20-30 minutes. Then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.


That's it. For one of the most delicious cakes you'll ever eat. It's spicy and nutty and moist with a slightly crispy outside.


P.S. I had to find an excuse to put these dear little angel candleholders on a cake, even though we weren't celebrating a birthday. I remember them vividly from my childhood. On an angel food cake. With pink frosting.


TGIP Rating--Wine Cake--KEEPER--And pass down for more generations. And think of active, funny, healthy, wise Aunt Dorothy every time you make it.

Next up: Rye bread. That our new house may never know hunger.