Samoas Cupcakes

 

One of my friends is totally crazy about Samoas cookies.  Not that I can blame her.  Chocolate, coconut, and caramel is a pretty hard combo to resist.  I'm just as crazy about the Samoas ice cream that Dreyer's recently came out with. 

So, with Samoas on the brain, I decided to make my own version of a Samoas cupcake.  I used King Arthur Flour's golden cake recipe as the base, whipped up a caramel coconut filling, and topped it all off with rich chocolate ganache. 

Oh boy was it ever good.  I loved KAF's cake recipe.  It was so moist and fluffy and had a nice crumb and great vanilla flavor.  I think this will be my go-to vanilla cupcake recipe, at least for now.  With the yummy, gooey filling and luscious frosting, this was the best Samoas I've ever eaten.  Thank goodness that I had people I could give these cupcakes to, or else I would have devoured the whole batch.  It's nice to know that I can now have Samoas more than once a year.

Samoas Cupcakes (Sweet as Sugar Cookies)

Vanilla Cupcakes (King Arthur Flour)
2 c. sugar
3 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3/4 c. unsalted butter, soft
1 1/4 c. milk, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla
4 large eggs

Caramel Sauce (In the Pink and Green)
1/2 c. sugar
3 Tbsp. salted butter, cubed
1/4 c. + 1 Tbsp. heavy cream, at room temperature

10 Tbsp. sweetened shredded coconut

Chocolate Ganache 
1 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 c. heavy cream

For the cupcakes:  
Line 2 muffin tins with paper liners.

Cream the sugar with the butter until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and add the vanilla.  Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt and sift the mixture.  Add half the mixture to the wet ingredients and beat to combine.  Add the milk and stir to combine.  Then, add the rest of the flour mixture and mix well to combine. 

Divide the batter evenly into the muffin tins.  Bake at 350F for 20-25 min. until a toothpick comes out clean.  Remove from the muffin pans and place on wire racks to cool. 

For the caramel coconut filling:  In a medium saucepan, cook the sugar over medium heat, whisking as it melts.  When it turns a deep amber color, add the butter and stir until melted.  Add the heavy cream and whisk till the caramel is smooth.  Remove from heat and let cool.  Add the shredded coconut till combined.   

For the ganache:  Place the chocolate chips and heavy cream in a small bowl and heat for 1 min. at 50% power.  Stir and repeat the process as necessary till smooth.  Chill the ganache briefly until it reaches your desired consistency. 

For the assembly:  Cut a small cone from the center of each cupcake.  Fill with 1-2 tsp. of the coconut-caramel filling.  Spread with chocolate ganache. 

Makes 24 cupcakes

Peanut Butter Snickers Banana Cupcakes

Years ago, my dad asked me if I could make banana cake, not banana bread, but cake.  At the time, I didn't know of any good recipes for banana cake, so the request went unfulfilled.  Recently, I decided to try one of the banana cupcake recipes that was out there on the internet, but it turned out horrible.  The cake was dense beyond belief, gummy, and stuck to the wrappers.  Absolutely inedible.  After that, I worried that perhaps a good banana cake just did not exist.  Maybe bananas were meant to be made into bread and only bread, or, if cake was possible, it was always going to be heavy and dense.

 

Then, I came across this recipe for Banana Cupcakes on the blog, the Brown-Eyed Baker.  From the pictures, it looked like the cake would actually come out, dare I say, fluffy.  The crumb looked light and most definitely did not resemble banana bread of any sort.  So, I decided to give things another go.

 

And, I was thrilled with the results.  The cake, yes it was cake, was fluffy and soft and light and super moist to boot.  There was also a wonderful banana flavor in every bite. I frostedthese cupcakes off with a peanut butter buttercream and then, since I had a bag of peanut butter Snickers minis (which are totally yum), I decided to top the cupcakes off with them (cause more sugar is always a good thing).  Add a drizzle of melted chocolate and these cupcakes were a mouthwatering combination of banana, chocolate, and peanut butter.  Simply irresistible. 

 

So, what do you know, a good banana cake DOES exist.  Next time Dad, your wish is my command.  

Elvis Cupcakes (created by Sweet as Sugar Cookies)

Banana cupcakes (from Brown-Eyed Baker)

1 1/4 c. + 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
5/8 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter 
3/4 c. + 2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
3/4 c. mashed very ripe bananas
1/4 c. buttermilk (I used plain nonfat yogurt)
2 Tbsp. milk (I added this)

12 Peanut Butter Snickers minis

Peanut Butter Buttercream (Sweet as Sugar Cookies)

1/2 c. butter
5 Tbsp. peanut butter
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
milk (to desired consistency)

Preheat oven to 350F.  Line two cupcake pans with paper liners.  Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside. 

Cream the butter with the sugar till light and fluffy.  Add the bananas and mix well.  Add the vanilla and the eggs and beat for 1 min. until well combined.  Mix in the flour mixture, alternating with the yogurt, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.

Fill the cupcake liners about three-quarters full.  Bake for 20-25 min. until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Transfer the pans to a wire rack and let cool for 20 min.  Remove the cupcakes from the pans and place on the rack to cool completely.

For the frosting:  Beat the butter with the peanut butter until well combined.  Beat in the powered sugar till light and fluffy.  Add milk until it reaches your desired consistency.  

Makes 12 cupcakes

Notes:  
1.  The batter seemed a little dense, so I added a little extra milk to the recipe, about 2 Tbsp.
2.  The original recipe called for buttermilk, but I used nonfat yogurt since that's what I had.
3.  The original recipe called for a combination of butter and shortening, but I just used butter.    

Brown Butter Ginger Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

Even though I've found the BEST chocolate chip cookie HERE, I still can't resist trying yet another recipe.  Besides, this recipe was kinda different from all the others since it called for the addition of ginger.  It sounded like a delicious twist to your everyday cookie.

What I really liked about these cookies was their texture.  They stayed thick, even after baking, and had this amazing crisp exterior that gave way to an absolutely perfect chewiness within.  It was the kind of cookie that you'd get from a bakery.  And, even though I couldn't taste the ginger, they still tasted fantastic.  I gave these to someone for their birthday and was told that they couldn't get enough of them and that they were gone in no time.  Which means that these cookies are definitely worth making (and giving if you can bear to part with a few of them).

Brown Butter Ginger Chocolate Chip Cookies
(adapted from Une Gamine dans la Cuisine)

11 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. + 3 Tbsp. light brown sugar
1 tsp. ginger powder
1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 c. semisweet chocolate chips

Melt 10 Tablespoons of butter in a medium saucepan (set the remaining 1 Tablespoon aside). Cook over medium heat, swirling occasionally, until the butter turns brown and develops a rich nutty aroma- about 5-8 minutes, depending on the heat. {Note: The butter will go through a "foamy" stage, once it settles down, keep a close watch on the colour.} Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Set aside to cool to room temperature. 

Combine the cooled brown butter with the remaining 1 Tbsp. butter.  Beat with the sugars.  Add the egg and beat to combine.  Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ginger powder.  Add to the butter-sugar-egg mixture and mix well.  Fold in the chocolate chips.  

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. For each cookie, measure out about a 1/3 cup of dough (I made my cookies smaller - about 2 Tbsp. each). Form each into a ball, place on the cookie sheet, and flatten slightly (to a little less than 1/2-inch thickness). Once all the dough has been measured out, cover the sheet with plastic wrap and chill for about 12 hours. {Note: The longer you chill the dough, the better the flavour!}

When you're ready to bake: Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line another cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place about 4 cookies on the sheet--leave about 1-inch of space between each cookie. Bake for 8-11 minutes, or until the cookies are light golden in colour.

Note:  I forgot to let them chill for the 12 hours, but will definitely do it next time.  Either way, the cookies still tasted great.