Gianduja Cupcakes

Last year I had so many realizations in discover how to work with fondant, make sugar flowers, cakes and register all those experiences by the art of the photography that I’m really excited to learn more and more new techniques. When the New Year begins, we usually enumerate a lot of goals and resolutions. Mine was to learn to work with chocolate. I bought a professional book, a marble slab and all the confectionary equipment needed. Over the past three weeks I’ve been learning how to temper properly chocolate and how to make confections, ganache and nut pastes. As Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, I think this is the appropriate occasion to talk about what I have been experienced. Besides, is there a better time to explore this most marvelous ingredient present in the world? So for the first post I will share with you luscious gianduja cupcakes with vanilla buttercream topped with glittered gianduja chocolate hearts.

Can you imagine how those Valentines cupcakes are wonderful? If you are a Nutella lover as I am, you will love to make your own Gianduja. This nut paste is prepared using dark, milk, or white chocolate, sugar and hazelnuts. Freshly made gianduja retains such more aroma and flavor of the freshly roasted nuts than the one commercially available. To make a medium-consistency gianduja using dark chocolate, my suggestion is to use a 1:1:1 ratio – that is, one part dark chocolate, one part roasted hazelnuts, and one part confectioners’ sugar. If you opted for milk or white chocolate, you have to increase the amount of chocolate to approximately 1.25 parts to ensure a similar texture. When a softer gianduja is desired, add more nuts to the mixture or if you want it less sweet, the sugar may be decrease or eliminated.

The procedure to make gianduja is quite simple. First toast the nuts to the desire degree. Roasting nut before baking is an important practice for bringing out the flavors. It’s wonderful how hazelnuts smell good after some minutes roasting. It’s a delight! Second, grind the nut while still hot in a food processor with about 25 percent of the sugar to as fine a consistency as possible. Process them while hot will facilitate to release the oils. To achieve a smooth cream and to avoid a grainy texture on the final product, the nuts should be reduced to a liquid state. Once the nuts have been satisfactorily ground, the remaining sugar and the melted chocolate can be added. I chose dark chocolate this time. Be careful to don't overprocessing the mixture or the heat can cause damage on the chocolate producing an overly viscous paste. Finally, put the entire quantity onto a marble slab and agitate it generously until it is cooled to 27°C/80°F or below. This practice calls temper and it is needed to assure that the gianduja will have a smooth mouthfeel free of large fat crystals on the finished product. In a future post I will try to write more about the theory of temper chocolates! 

I’ve got the inspiration to create these glittered bonbons from this photo on Martha Stewart web site. To conquer the desired result on these gianduja bonbons I took a lot of time between failures and success attempts. My first attempt was to sprinkle edible glitter (disco dust) into the mold before filling with the melted chocolate. The result was beautiful but not vibrant as I wish. So I decided to make the opposite and the result was wonderful. I made a solid gianduja heart followed by chocolate dipping finalized with disco dust. 

For the gianduja cupcakes, I adapted the recipe from the lovely Meg Ray's book by adding ground hazelnuts and gianduja. For the frosting, I made a vanilla buttercream recipe from the same book. I have to say that these indulgent treats are beautiful and equally delicious. I was really happy that I was capable to make these cupcakes and I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. 

Hazelnut Gianduja

(from the book Chocolate and Confections: formula, theory, and technique for the artisan confectioner)

yield: 600g

Ingredients: 

200 g/3.6 oz hazelnuts, toasted

200 g/3.6 oz confectioners' sugar

200 g/3.6 oz 70 percent cocoa chocolate, melted

Equipment:

Food processor

marble slab

double boiler for melt the chocolate

thermometer

In a food processor, grind the hazelnuts with a small amount of the confectioners'sugar until liquefied.

Add the chocolate and the remaining confectioners' sugar. Mix in the food processor until homogeneous.

Temper the gianduja for immediate use, or store for future use.

Hazelnut Gianduja Cupcakes

yield: 15 cupcakes

1 cup cake flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

2 large eggs

120g/3.9 oz hazelnut gianduja

62 g/2 oz 70 percent cacao chocolate, melted

62 g/ 2 oz ground toasted hazelnut 

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and set aside.

Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, that's about 5 minutes.

Add eggs and beat until well incorporated.

Add gianduja paste, ground toasted hazelnuts and chocolate melted to the mixture and beat until well incorporated.

Add the flour and buttermilk in 3 additions always start and finish with the flour. 

line two standard muffin tins with paper lines. Fill each cup two-thirds full with batter. Bake at 350 degrees F until the tops spring back and a taster inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer the pans to a wire rack and let cool completely in the pan.

Vanilla Buttercream

(from the book Miette)

yield: 6 cups

2 cups (14 ounces) sugar

1/3 cup water

5 large egg whites

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

3 cups (1 1/2 pounds) unsalted butter, at room temperature.

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar and water. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan. Cook the mixture until it reaches 248 degrees F, 5 to 10 minutes, keeping a constant eye on it.

Meanwhile, combine the egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment.

As soon as the sugar syrup reaches 248 degrees F, immediately pour it into a heat-proof measurer. Pour a few tablespoons into the whites, away from the whisk, so the hot syrup doesn't splash, and whisk on medium speed for a few seconds. Be careful as the syrup is very hot. Pour in a little more syrup and whisk for a few seconds, until incorporated. Repeat until all the syrup has been added. Raise the speed to high and continue to whisk until the mixture cools to room temperature, 70 to 75 degrees F, 5 to 10 minutes.

Only when the meringue is cool enough should you begin adding the butter. Reduce the speed to medium. With the mixer running, drop in the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, waiting until each is incorporated before adding another. The mixture may deflate and begin to look curdle. Raise the speed to high and continue to add to add tablespoon-size pieces of butter, making sure each is completely combined before adding more. When all of the butter has been added, the frosting should be smooth and thick. Add the vanilla and mix to combine.

Use the buttercream immediately, or cover and refrigerate until needed. Store in a zippered plastic bag for up to 1 week in the refrigerator and up to 2 months in the freezer. (To thaw, leave in the refrigerator over-night, not on the countertop).  To use the buttercream that has been chilled, remove from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature, about 1 hour, or microwave in 15-second intervals, mixing in between each, until soft. If frosting has been frozen, this can take up to 2 minutes total. You can also soften the buttercream over a bain-marie or a double boiler. The frosting will soften from the outer edges of the bowl so mix from outside, folding the frosting inside. Transfer to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat until soft and spreadable, 2 to 3 minutes.

Gianduja Bonbons

Ingredients:

gianduja paste

70 percent cocoa chocolate melted for dipping, as needed

 pink and gold disco dust to coat the bonbons 

Equipment:

heart chocolate mold

double boiler

dipping fork

parchment paper

small brush to sprinkle the disco dust

Fill the chocolate heart molds with gianduja paste and then let they rest on the refrigerator until they release from the mold. 

 Dip with a dipping fork each gianduja heart in the chocolate melted. Place them on parchment paper. Before the chocolate sets, sprinkle disco dust by tapping brush gently over-top of each heart. Let they dry before top the cupcakes.

Snowflake Cookies

Born and raised in a tropical country means that snow is a magical event that happens only in films, cartoons and fairy tales. Years ago my husband and I had a pleasure to spend our Christmas in the charm city of Munich. We were walking in the middle of Marienplatz, just few hours before midnight in December 24th, when it started to snow. There was a huge Christmas tree all lined with beautiful lights, and the square was also totally decorated. And then everything became beautifully white. Could you image a better scenario to see snow for the first time? That was certainly one of the most beautiful and magical Christmas of my life.

The first snow of this winter in Beachwood was last Saturday. I could stay hours and hours watching the light snowflakes falling and slowly touching the branches of the trees and the last leaves of the autumn. That moment made me hypnotized because I always remembered my Christmas Eve in Munich and also  my visit to the Bavarian Alps and The Schloss Neuschwanstein. 

So I made these snowflakes cookies to celebrate this moment. Sugary cookies decorate with peppermint royal icing are perfect Christmas treats.

I wish you and yours a very wonderful Christmas!

Snowflakes Cookies Decorated with Peppermint Royal Icing

Sugar cookies

(from Martha Stewart Website)

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Assorted candies, sprinkles, or colored sugars, for decorating (optional)

In large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture; beat until combined. Divide dough in half; flatten into disks. Wrap each in plastic; freeze until firm, at least 20 minutes, or place in a resealable plastic bag, and freeze up to 3 months (thaw in refrigerator overnight).

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment. Remove one dough disk; let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Roll out 1/8 inch thick between two sheets of floured parchment, dusting dough with flour as needed. Cut shapes with cookie cutters. Using a spatula, transfer to prepared baking sheets. (If dough gets soft, chill 10 minutes.) Reroll scraps; cut shapes. Repeat with remaining dough.

Bake, rotating halfway through, until edges are golden, 10 to 18 minutes (depending on size). Cool completely on wire racks. 

Peppermint Royal Icing

2 pounds confectioners' sugar, sifted

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons meringue powder

Scant 1 cup water, plus more if needed

1/2 tablespoon peppermint oil

With an electric mixer on low speed, beat ingredients until fluffy, 7 to 8 minutes. Use immediately, or transfer to an airtight container (royal icing hardens quickly when exposed to air) and refrigerate up to 1 week. Stir well with a flexible spatula before using.

Thin icing as needed by stirring in additional water, one teaspoon at a time. For piping designs, add just enough water that icing is no longer stiff; for floodwork, add water until icing is the consistency of honey.

Almond Cake with Date Mascarpone Filling and a Gum Paste Poinsettia

It has been a while that I don’t model a gum paste flower. While I was planning my holiday cake, I started to think first which flower I should use to decorate it. Well, the answer for this question was very simple! There is a flower that represents one of the most popular symbols of the Christmas: Poinsettia.

This beautiful flower is native to Mexico. Around the 17th century, the Franciscan missionaries, settled in an area of Southern Mexico, started to use them in Christian ceremony. But just in 1825, the poinsettia was introduced into the United States by Joel Poinsett, the first U.S. Ambassador to Mexico.

There is a very interesting Mexican tale that explains how poinsettia became a Christmas symbol. A young girl named Pepita would like to offer a present to Christ Child in the Christmas Eve celebration. But she was very poor and didn’t have money to buy him a present. So an angel appeared and advised her to gather a bouquet of ragged-looking flowering weeds. As Pepita walked toward the altar, her tears fall upon the weeds and they miraculously turn into glorious red blooms of poinsettia.

Backing to the cake, I made a delicious almond cake. It has almonds, rice flour and some healthy ingredients like coconut oil. It is also a gluten free cake. For the filling I made a simple cream with medjool dates and mascarpone cheese. The combination between the sweetness of dates with the light flavor of the mascarpone creates a delicate cream.

Almond Cake with Date Mascarpone Filling 

Almond Cake

(makes 1 round 7 in cake)

2 1/2 cups whole almonds

1 cup rice flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

3 eggs

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup agave nectar

Preheat oven to 350F

Place the almonds and rice flour in a food processor. Process until the almonds are finely ground. Combine the almond flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon in a bowl. In another bowl combine eggs, coconut oil and agave. Combine wet and dry ingredients. Bake the cake until golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes.

Date Mascarpone Cream

10 medjool dates

12 oz mascarpone cream

Place the medjool dates and mascarpone in a food processor. Process until form a smooth cream.

Gingerbread House

The gingerbread (Lebkuchen in German) was created by medieval monks in the 13th century. But the tradition of baking gingerbread house (Lebkuchenhaus) started only in the 19th century. In this time, the Brothers Grimm published a collection of fairy tale, including “Hansel and Gretel”.

Do you remember this part of the story?

“In the middle of the clearing was a little house made entirely of gingerbread! The roof was tarred with icing, the window frames were licorice, and the trees and bushes in the yard were made of gumdrops and lollipops! Hansel and Gretel were so hungry they ran to the house and began to lick and nibble it!”

I think many children wish to find a house like that and eat it all without guilt. At least, that’s how I felt every time my beloved grandma told me this story. By the way, this was my first gingerbread house and I had such a great time making it. I took the recipe from Martha Stewart’s website. I loved! You can find everything there, as the gingerbread and royal icing recipes, templates and how to assemble the house.

Grapefruit Macarons

With my eyes on the oven, I watched carefully tiny cookies becoming my first successful macarons shells: fine crust and their distinctive “foot” or pied on the bottom. Make macarons was a sweet dream since I start this blog. I’m fascinated for those charming almond shells and their delightful possibilities of flavors. But only last week I had a reliable result.

After several frustrating attempts, it seems to me a Christmas miracle. Or not! Maybe this time I made correctly the macaronnage and the drying time. Some bakers attribute those steps as crucial to obtain the perfect macaron. For those of you not familiar with the terms, macaronnage is the term for mixing the almond flour and meringue until the batter becomes nicely firm. This video helped me a lot to understand how exactly to do that.  After pipe the batter on the baking sheet, the dry time is very important. 

Allow the cookies to rest are what cause the fine macaron crust and the foot. I made some tests with different length of drying times and the best result was with the cookies dried for 2 hours as the book Miette advises.  I tried to bake some cookies without drying, but the shells cracked and the foot didn’t form. I also tried drying them for just one hour. Although they developed the foot, the crust cracked.

About the flavor, I love grapefruit and its sweet and tart taste. You can also substitute the grapefruit for another season citrus that like most, as Clementine and orange.

The art of baking these delectable confections is intriguing. Conquering the perfect balance of chewiness and crispness is pleasurable. I have to confess you that my felling when a saw my first macarons was wonderful: smiles on my face, happiness, and the desire to make more and more of those French morsels of beauty and savor.

Grapefruit Macarons

Ingredients for the shells

(from the book Miette)

(makes eighteen 1-inch sandwich cookies)

1 1/2 cups (7 1/2 ounces) whole almonds - I used blanched almonds

2 1/4 cups (10 ounces) powdered sugar

3 large egg whites

1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon finely grated grapefruit zest

Preparation

Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a 1 1/2-inch bottle cap as a template, draw 1-inch circles in rows on the paper, about 1 inch apart. You should have room for eighteen circles on each sheet.

Place half of the almonds and half of the powdered sugar in a food processor. Process for 30 seconds, until the almonds are finely ground. Pour the mixture into a separate bowl, and repeat the process with the remaining almonds and powdered sugar. Sift  or strain through a sieve to remove any lumps. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the egg whites and cream of tartar and whisk on high speed until very stiff peaks form, 3 to 4 minutes.

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold about one-third of the almond mixture into the egg whites. Fold in the remaining mixture in two more additions, just until the ingredients are completely combined.

Fit a pastry bag with a medium (1/2- or 5/8-inch) round tip and fill the bag with the meringue. Pull up the cuff and twist it to seal and tighten the meringue down into the cone. Purge the bag of air bubbles by squeezing the bag. Keep the bag tightly twisted so that meringue doesn't come back up on your hands. Using the template as a guide, pipe 1-inch circles, 1/2 to 3/4 inch high, onto the baking sheets. Set the room temperature for 2 hours. this allows the macarons to develop their distinctive crust and a "foot"or base on the bottom.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Bake the macarons until set but not browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the baking sheets to wire racks and let the macarons cool completely on the pans. When they are cool, use your fingers to carefully lift half of the cookies from the parchment and turn them upside down. Using a pastry bag fitted a medium (1/2- or 5/8-inch) round tip and filled with either the grapefruit buttercream, squeeze a nickle-size dollop of filling onto each of the upside-down cookies, and then top with the remaining macarons to complete the sandwich cookies.

Store the macarons, refrigerated, in airtight containers for up to 2 weeks. Serve at room temperature.

Grapefruit Buttercream

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoon freshly squeezed grapefruit juice

2 teaspoon grated grapefruit zest

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together the butter, sugar and milk until smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla, grapefruit juice and zest. Stir until well combined and smooth. 

Candy Cane Brigadeiro

Who would say that a simple sugar candy originated around 1600’s in Europe to decorate Christmas trees would become one of the most traditional Christmas symbol. These peppermint flavored sticks has sweetened the holidays in many ways: cake, cupcake, cookie, brownie, bark, macaron and why not say brigadeiro.

Brigadeiro is a classic Brazilian treat presented in almost our celebrations. It is basically made with sweetened condensed milk, chocolate and butter. To my version of candy cane brigadeiro, I added peppermint oil and coated with crushed candy cane. I prepared two flavors, one with bittersweet chocolate and another with white chocolate.  I really enjoyed those combinations and I hope they sweeten your Christmas too.

Candy Cane Brigadeiro

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

100g bittersweet chocolate (I used Callebaut Belgian Chocolate) - or 100g white chocolate to make the white chocolate version

1 teaspoon peppermint oil

Pour the condensed milk into a medium saucepan and place over low heat.

Add the chocolate, butter and peppermint oil. Stir the mixture until it starts to show the bottom of the pan while you scrape it with a spoon. The mixture should be thick enough to show the bottom of the pan for a few seconds before the mixture back again. Transfer to a greased bowl. Let it cool, make little balls and then coated with crushed candy cane.