Upper Midwest Gourmet

So, I can’t seem to get over cupcakes, feel free to suggest different varieties of desert experiments. Cupcakes are just terribly convenient- and tasty!

For now, you’ll just have to suffer through another cupcake recipe. I hope you’re detecting the sarcasm, because these cupcakes are delectable. I just may have licked the bowel clean… but really, there is no way of telling. I mean honestly, who could resist this?

So here you are my friends:

Mocha Cupcakes:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/4 cup granulated white sugar

3 large eggs

1 ½ tablespoons of Fabbri Moka delipaste

1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups cake flour

¼ cup Ghirardelli Sunrise unsweetened cocoa

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

¼ cup milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and lightly butter or line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

2. Beat sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and Moka delipaste.
In a separate bowl Sift together the flour, unsweetened cocoa, baking powder and salt.

3. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

4. Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for about 18-20 minutes or until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing.

-Makes 12 cupcakes

Mocha Butter Cream:

Ingredients:

2 cups powdered sugar

½ cup butter, room temperature

2 tablespoons milk

2 tablespoons Ghirardelli sunrise unsweetened cocoa

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon finely ground coffee beans*

Directions:

1. Cream together butter, vanilla, half of the required powdered sugar and half of the milk. Once this is blended well, add the second half of powdered sugar and milk.

2. Secondly, add in Ghirardelli cocoa until blended.

3. Finally, add in ground coffee beans. Start with a tablespoon, and then increase to taste.

* Use espresso beans or a darker roast for a more authentic “Mocha” flavor.

Next time you are making your way from the Twin Cities down to Rochester or if you are just enjoying Southern Minnesota make sure to stop in Pine Island at the Better Brew Coffeehouse! They are preparing the best coffee drinks in their area and are always happy to meet someone new.

If it is high quality ingredients prepared perfectly that makes you happy, then this cafe is sure to put a huge smile on your face.

The owner, Marie, along with her other awesome ladies on her staff, know what they are doing and take pride in every drink, baked good, or meal that they create. They care about being organic, fair-trade, and eco-concious which is right up UMG’s alley. If you want a great experience with some yummy treats then you need to go to Better Brew Coffeehouse today!

Better Brew Coffeehouse
Owner/Manager: Marie Hlava
301 North Main St.
Pine Island, MN 55936

507-356-2100

UMG wants to congratulate Alan (Flamenco Coffee Roaster) and Kayla!

They got married last Saturday and it was blast had by all!

Thanks for including us in your special day. We wish you both nothing but the best in your life together!

This week I experimented with several sorbet flavors. Two were standard Simple flavors, Mojito, which is a new flavor from Fabbri and Lemon. The other two were made using the Fabbri Simple Neutral base, Cola and Wild Berry. The Cola was flavored by an Amoretti extract and the Wild Berry was made using a combination of fresh fruit and Fabbri delipaste. Check out these photos of the finished product. When your mouth starts watering, give us a call for recipe ideas and product ordering. Remember, summer’s not over yet!

Amoretti has a large line of Pastry ingredients. I have been playing with some of their compounds and extracts lately.

It’s kind of like my own little cupcake heaven.

If you would like to play too, give us a call. All their ingredients can be drop shipped to you. Let us know if you would like to experiment with any bakery, pastry, beverage, gelato or ice cream applications. I promise you. It is a lot of fun.

Here’s the basic cupcake recipe that I have been using for my experiments (makes a dozen):

1/2 cup butter (room temp)

2/3 cup granulated white  sugar

3 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (also try subbing sifted cake flour)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup milk

Be sure to add your favorite flavoring ingredient (See below inspiration).

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line or grease 12 muffin cups.

Beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs and vanilla, beat until well blended.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.

With mixer on low speed, alternately add flour mixture and milk. Mix thoroughly.

Evenly fill cups and bake 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out of the center clean.

For Orange Cream Cupcakes:

Add 2 tablespoons of Amoretti’s Blood Orange compound and the zest from 1 orange.

Top with Cream Cheese frosting! (See recipe below)

For Blackberry-St. Germain Cupcakes:

Add 2 tablespoons  Amoretti Blackberry compund, 1 teaspoon Amoretti Elderberry Blossom extract, and 1 teaspoon Amoretti Champagne extract.

Top with Berry Buttercream (See recipe below).

For Strawberry Champagne Cupcakes:

Add 2 tablespoons Amoretti Strawberry compound.

Top with Champagne buttercream!(See recipe below).

Cream Cheese Frosting:

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese,  1/2 cup butter, softened

2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar,  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners’ sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.

Berry buttercream:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
4-5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons Amoretti Blackberry compund, 3-4 tablespoons of milk

optional: 1/2 cup of fresh blackberries and/or raspberries whipped into frosting. Yummmm.

1. Beat butter until creamy, scrape bowl.
2. Add 2 cups of sifted powdered sugar, one tablespoon of milk and blackberry compound, beat until combined.
3. Add more powdered sugar (One cup at a time) along with milk (one tablespoon at a time) as needed to get to whatever consistency/sweetness you wish to achieve.

***Champagne buttercream: Sub 2 teaspoons Amoretti Champagne extract for blackberry compound.