White Chocolate Pudding with Blackberry Curd

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White Chocolate Pudding w/ Blackberry CurdOne of my favorite Christmas gifts this year was Deb’s book, The Smitten Kitchen. As with her blog, I want to make pretty much everything the woman puts in print. But, decided on this white chocolate pudding with blackberry curd as a great place to start. I’m not really a fan of white chocolate, or at least I’ve thought I haven’t been. But over the past year it’s really grown on me – and how could any form of pudding be, really?

We enjoyed these the night before we left for Charleston, they were that easy to bring together. Even with an insanely hectic day I still managed to carve out 10 minutes to cook the pudding, and the curd. Speaking of curd, I’d never had any flavor other than lemon – and let me just tell you, I’m sold. They were just so darn pretty, and delicious. The pudding was creamy and rich. And the blackberry curd on top was such a nice punch in contrast with the sweetness from the pudding. I’m looking forward to trying it with raspberry as well!

White Chocolate Pudding with Blackberry Curd

For the pudding:
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon table salt
2 1/4 cups whole milk
6 ounces white chocolate, chopped
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

For the blackberry curd:
1/2 cup fresh blackberries
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1 large egg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

To make the pudding, combine the cornstarch, sugar, and salt in a heavy bottom saucepan. Whisk in the milk, scraping the bottom and sides of the pan with a heatproof spatula to incorporate the dry ingredients. Place over low heat and stir constantly, scraping the bottom and sides. Use a whisk as necessary, should lumps begin to form. After about 15 minutes, when the mixture begins to thicken and coats the back of the spoon, add the chocolate. Continue stirring for about 2 to 4 minutes, or until the pudding is smooth and thickened.

Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Strain the pudding through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl with a spout, and pour into individual serving dishes. Chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours.

Meanwhile, purée berries in a food processor or blender until as smooth as possible. Press through a fine-mesh strainer to remove seeds. You should have between 3 and 4 tablespoons of purée.

Whisk together the blackberry purée, lemon juice, sugar, salt, and egg in a heavy 1-quart saucepan. Stir in the butter, and cook over moderately low heat, whisking frequently, until the curd is thick enough to hold the marks of the whisk, and until the first bubble appears on the surface, about 4 to 5 minutes. Divide the curd among prepared cups, gently spreading it on pudding surfaces.

Let chill for 1 hour before serving.

Source: slightly adapted from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman

Lemon Cupcakes with Blackberry Buttercream Frosting

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Lemon Cupcakes with Blackberry Buttercream

A month or so, my good friend Jamie (aka my cupcake groupie) mentioned that she’d seen a lemon cupcake with raspberry frosting over on Pinterest, that looked to-die-for. It sounded great, and I added it to my “to-bake” list. Sadly, I hadn’t come across any good-looking raspberries since she’d mentioned it. That is of course, until 1 day before we left for Charleston. Oh yeah, and they weren’t raspberries, they were blackberries. But I decided to make it work, and make them happen! I mean, how can you go wrong with any lemon-berry combo?

They were absolutely, positively fabulous. I used Annie’s recipe for lemon cake, homegirl has yet to let me down on the cake front (or any other front in the kitchen for that matter!), and it was absolutely perfect. Light, lemony, and a beautiful brightness from the addition of lemon zest. And for the frosting, I just used my standard buttercream recipe, then added some pureed blackberries for flavor and color. They were so gorgeous, and it’s always a proud moment when you get that kind of beautiful color with no additional food coloring.

These little gems just have me hungrier for the warmer, sunnier times to come in the next month or so. However, it’s looking like we have one more blast of winter ahead of us this week! I hope everyone stays safe and warm, and bakes these fabulous cupcakes to brighten your day while you’re stuck inside!

Lemon Cupcakes with Blackberry Buttercream

For the cake:
3 cups cake flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
16 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 lemon, zested
2 cups sugar
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups buttermilk, at room temperature
1 tbsp. lemon extract
1 tsp. vanilla extract

For the frosting:
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
4 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
1/2 cup blackberries
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch salt
blackberries, for garnish

To make the cupcakes, preheat oven to 350. Line 2 cupcake tins with paper liners, set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the butter and lemon zest. Beat on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of bowl and beat for 1 more minute.

Add the sugar to the butter mixture, 1/4 cup at a time, beating 1 minute after each addition. Mix in the eggs one at a time until incorporated.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition.  Combine the buttermilk and the lemon and vanilla extract in a liquid measuring cup.  With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients alternately with the wet ingredients, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing just until incorporated.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for 15 seconds longer.

Fill the cupcakes liners 2/3 of the way full with batter (I like to use a large cookie scoop). Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 18 minutes. Let cool in pan about 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely.

For the frosting, puree the blackberries in a small food processor. Strain the pulp out into a fine-mesh strainer. Using a rubber spatula, push the blackberry pulp through the sieve to remove the seeds. Discard the seeds, and set the pureed blackberries aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment cream the butter over medium speed for 1 minute. Reduce speed to low, and carefully add in the confectioners sugar. Add the vanilla extract, as well as the blackberry puree. Increase speed to medium, and beat until smooth and frosting is combined.

Frost cupcakes as desired (I used Wilton 2D) and garnish with a fresh blackberry.

Source: cupcakes adapted from Annie’s Eats, frosting adapted from here.

Blueberry Doughnut Muffins

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Blueberry Doughnut MuffinsWhen I saw these muffins, I was pretty sure they were going to be a hit. I love blueberries, I love doughnuts, and I love muffins – win, win, win. What sets these muffins apart from the standard blueberry variety and into the realm of doughnuthood is that the “muffin top” is dunked in a dreamy glaze.  It made a regular, ordinary muffin a little more special. And, it really helped to seal moisture into the muffin. These guys were just as good on the third day as they were on the first!

We have muffins and yogurt often in our home for a quick breakfast before everyone gets off to work or school for the day. They’re so easy to grab and run out the door with, which is another reason to love them. So, I’m always happy to have another recipe to add to my repertoire. And I’ll definitely be making this one again. Looking forward to trying it with different fruits – I’m sure strawberry would be phenomenal too!

Blueberry Doughnut Muffins

For the muffins:
2 lemons, zested
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 1/3 cup fresh blueberries

For the glaze:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter; melted
1 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon warm water

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a muffin tin with liners and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the lemon zest and sugars. Whisk to combine.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, cream together the butter, vegetable oil, and sugars until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla, beating to combine.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour. Gently fold in the blueberries by hand.

Scoop the batter into the prepared pan, filling 2/3 of the way full (I use a large cookie/ice cream scoop). Bake for about 15-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

In a medium bowl, prepare the glaze by mixing together the melted butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, lemon juice and water. Whisk until smooth.

When muffins have cooled slightly, dip the muffin crown into the glaze and allow the glaze to harden. At this point, you can leave them as is or go for the double dip. I glazed my muffins twice.

Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Source: adapted from My Baking Addiction

Chocolate Cream Pie

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Chocolate Cream Pie

What I’m about to say is a trifle embarrassing, and I’m kind of ashamed to admit it….but, I’m not a pie person. Fruit pies that is. Sure, give me a lemon meringue or a Derby pie – and I’m a happy camper. But, I just don’t care for fruit pies. I’m slowly trying to change that, but it’s been a long row to hoe, and while I’ll enjoy a slice of blueberry pie that I’ve made for my fruit-pie-fiending family – I’m just not quite there yet.

I wanted to make something chocolate for Valentine’s Day. But since our dinner is always relatively low-key in the form of a heart-shaped meatloaf, I didn’t want anything too fancy or extravagant. I’ve been wanting to make chocolate cream pie for ages now, so I decided to go with that. Quickly came together, no rolling of crusts or crimping required. Just a simple Oreo crust, with a chocolate custard poured in, then you let it chill most of the day. Took less than 20 minutes to throw together. The custard filling was wonderful – rich and decadent, and not too sweet. Bittersweet chocolate really is the best in my book! Then it’s topped with some fluffy whipped cream right before slicing and serving!

It was one impressive pie, and I’m also to admit by 11 PM on Valentine’s Evening – it was already half gone. And, everyone else only had 1 slice – so you do the math. It also makes a fabulous breakfast! What I’m getting at is that it didn’t last long. This one was so easy I’ll definitely be turning to it again on those days when you want dessert – but don’t want to spend hours doing so. Which, could be me any day of the week! Have a great weekend, everyone.

Chocolate Cream Pie

For the crust:
16 Oreo cookies (with filling), broken into rough pieces
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Chocolate cream filling:
2 1/2 cups half-and-half
pinch table salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
6 large egg yolks, room temperature
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter (cold), cut into 6 pieces
6 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Whipped topping:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream (cold)
1 1/2Tbsp. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350°. In bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade, process cookies with 15 one-second pulses, then let machine run until crumbs are uniformly fine, about 15 seconds. (Alternatively, place cookies in large zipper-lock plastic bag and crush with rolling pin.) Transfer crumbs to medium bowl, drizzle with butter, and use fingers to combine until butter is evenly distributed.

Pour crumbs into 9-inch pie plate. Press crumbs evenly onto bottom and up sides of pie plate. Use the bottom of a drinking glass to press the crumbs down and firmly into place along the bottom and along the sides of the pie plate. Refrigerate lined pie plate 20 minutes to firm crumbs, then bake until crumbs are fragrant and set, about 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack while preparing filling.

Bring half-and-half, salt, and about 3 tablespoons sugar to simmer in medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve sugar.

Meanwhile, stir together remaining sugar and cornstarch in small bowl. Just as the half-and-half mixture starts to simmer, sprinkle the cornstarch mixture over yolks and whisk until mixture is glossy and sugar has begun to dissolve, about 1 minute. When half-and-half reaches full simmer, drizzle about ½ cup hot half-and-half over yolks, whisking constantly to temper; then whisk all of egg yolk mixture into simmering half-and-half (mixture should thicken in about 30 seconds). Return to simmer, whisking constantly, until 3 or 4 bubbles burst on the surface and mixture is thickened and glossy, about 15 seconds longer.

Off heat, whisk in butter, then add both chocolates and whisk until melted, scraping pan bottom with rubber spatula to fully incorporate. Stir in vanilla, then immediately pour filling into the cooled crust. Press plastic wrap directly on surface of filling and refrigerate pie until filling is cold and firm, about 3 hours.

Just before serving, beat cream, sugar, and vanilla in bowl of standing mixer on low speed until small bubbles form, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium; continue beating until beaters leave a trail, about 30 seconds more. Increase speed to high; continue beating until cream is smooth, thick, and nearly doubled in volume and forms soft peaks, about 20 seconds. Spread or pipe whipped cream over chilled pie filling.

Source: adapted from The New Best Recipe by America’s Test Kitchen