Combat Cupcake

"You don't know what you got til it's gone." Joni Mitchell
"If you like it then you should have put a ring on it." Beyoncé

Words of wisdom :)  And I am guilty.  Looking over my posts and reviews about cupcakes and cupcakeries alike you'll see entries full of superlatives: "the sweetest cake," "the creamiest frosting," "the most unique flavors"...When was the last time I enjoyed a cupcake without judging or comparing, but simply for the pure joy of it?

Since coming to Afghanistan in February I have dreamt that I was eating cupcakes no fewer than three times.  I have perused online grocery stores, debating the merits of ordering flour, sugar and leaveners from across the world in the vague hope of being able to cobble together a dozen cakes in our meager kitchen.  I have Googled temperature conversions to operate our Celsius oven.  I have scoured vegan baking sites in search of the perfect egg-milk-butter-substitutions, as I have access to none of these.  All in search of the "perfect cupcake" given my circumstances.

So imagine my surprise when, on a particularly lonely and homesick night, I happened to come across tiny frosted cakes during a late night run to the dining hall.  Holding a styrofoam to-go box filled with barbecued beans and franks, I did a double take.  I looked around surreptitiously to see if anyone else had spotted what could not possibly be true.  I inched closer to the tiny card above the tray that read simply, "Cupcake"

Sure, it's baked in a Dixie cup. And the crumb texture could probably double as an exfoliator.   And the frosting is obviously powdered egg meringue.  I would not pay $0.75 for this in the States.  But so what?  Being so far from home, friends, family and everything I hold dear--particularly as I celebrated my birthday last Sunday with a thoughtfully shrink-wrapped bundt cake courtesy of my mother--has really reminded me not to take for granted even those smallest things that bring me joy.  Thanks to everyone who has helped to remind me of the truly important things in life, and next time you take a bite of that cupcake--be it superb or simply so-so--just think of me.

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Nannerpuss

Believe it or not, right now you're actually looking at the world's worst banana pudding.  As you know, whenever I have tons of leftover bananas I'm always on the lookout for unique banana recipes (aka anything other than the standard banana bread).  in this case I'd actually been craving homemade banana pudding and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to try it out for myself.

But have you ever tried to look up a banana pudding recipe?

Just try it. Humor me with a quick little Google search.  How many ACTUAL banana pudding recipes did you find, and how many vanilla-pudding-with-sliced-bananas-on-top recipes did you find?  So, you see my dilemma.

As the next best thing I thought about trying to crank out a chewy banana cookie and came across this awesome recipe from cupcake/cooking/cheese/restaurant/all-things-food blog Vanilla Garlic.  this recipe is actually his Grandma's and you may also remember it from my submission to the Washington City Paper's Young&Hungry back during the dark days of Snowpocalypse.

So, if you're also experiencing a banana pudding fail, try out these soft, moist cookies that are full of banana flavor and are awesome with chocolate chips.

Vanilla Garlic's Grandma Capune's Banana Cookies
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 cup mashed bananas
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups flour
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp EACH cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves
optional 1 cup walnuts and/or chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and continue to beat until well mixed.

2. Mix the mashed bananas and baking soda in a bowl and let sit for 2 minutes to froth a bit, this will give the cookies their rise.

3. Mix the banana mixture into the butter mixture. Combine the flour, salt, and spices and mix into the butter and banana mixture until just combined.

4. Fold in the pecans and/or chocolate chips if using. Drop into dollops onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake 11-13 minutes, or until nicely browned.

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Chocolate--STAT!

Believe it or not, although I'll be the first to own up to my own sweets obsession, I've never really been one of those girls (or guys) with the chocolate obsession.  Don't get me wrong, I love chocolate, but thankfully I've never suffered from the chocolate cravings that afflict so many others.  Except once.  And now I can completely commiserate.  It hit me hard and out of the blue, and I knew that one of the chocolate Dove squares my mother swears by just wasn't going to cut it.  I needed CHOCOLATE--warm, ooey, gooey, fudgey, chocolate.  And as usual, my old standby the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook did not disappoint.  It is so good in fact that it has been a favorite since the January 1944 issue of BH&G magazine.

This chocolate brownie pudding was everything I was looking for: comfortingly warm, deliciously rich and, most importantly, fast!  Honestly, the hardest part of this recipe was waiting for the finished product to cool on the countertop for a little bit so that the devilishly dark fudge sauce can come together.  That's right, this dessert even makes its own sauce.  Chocolate Heaven.

Feel free to add any of your favorite sundae toppings--walnuts, whipped topping or vanilla ice cream would all be great.  but for purists and chocoholics out there that need chocolate NOW, this chocolate brownie pudding is also just perfect as is in its unadultered chocolate glory.

Brownie Pudding

1 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup milk

2 Tbs cooking oil

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups boiling water

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8x2-inch baking pan; set aside. In a medium bowl stir together the flour, granulated sugar, 2 Tbs cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Stir in the milk, oil and vanilla. Stir in the walnuts, if using.

2. Pour batter into prepared pan. In a small bowl stir together the brown sugar and the 1/4 cup cocoa powder; stir in the boiling water. Slowly pour the mixture over the batter.

3. Bake for 40 minutes, cool on a wire rack for 45-60 minutes, serve warm. Top with vanilla ice cream, if desired.

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Pudding Parade

I'd like to apologize for the plethora of pudding recipes lately--most of these past few dishes I whipped up during the Second Snowpocalypse back in February and I guess I didn't realize at the time how much I consider puddings to be a comfort food. Not surprising I guess, most of these recipes have the warm, down-home feeling that can't help but comfort you--like when you're tucked cozily inside while surrounded by 4 feet of snow in a city that can't even manage to function when it rains, for example.

Like rice pudding, bread pudding is another dessert that I've come to embrace. Admittedly, even the name is off-putting. But, as a young college student starving after a long restaurant shift, the leftover bread pudding from the buffet once proved more than I could resist. Maybe because I was so hungry and my expectations so low did leftover buffet bread pudding doused in crème anglaise seem such a revelation. Or maybe just because anything doused in crème anglaise becomes instantly irresistible.

Also similarly to rice pudding, bread pudding recipes come in a range of consistencies from wet and custardy to dry and cakelike. I like mine somewhere in the middle. I don't usually make bread pudding (or my own breadcrumbs for that matter) because I never have that fabled staple on hand--"day-old bread." What is day-old bread? In the modern era of pre-sliced, packaged loaves, I think it's increasingly rare that any of us regularly have a nice, crusty loaf of freshly baked bread that we can let dry on the counter overnight for perfect bread pudding cubes. Actually, I'm sure there are plenty of you out there that frequent bakeries regularly and don't find this strange at all--don't judge me.

Luckily, after a recent visit from my parents, I actually had a perfectly crusty Italian loaf on hand but, if you don't or don't have time to wait around on stale bread, just toast your cubes in the oven for 10 minutes first and they'll be pudding-perfect.

Bread Pudding

4 eggs, beaten

2 1/4 cups milk

1/2 cup sugar

1 Tbs vanilla

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

4 cups dry bread cubes

1/3 cup raisins

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl beat together eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. In an ungreased 2-quart baking dish, toss together bread cubes and raisins. Pour egg mixture over bread mixture, press lightly with the back of a large spoon to moisten all bread cubes.

2. Bake uncovered for 40-45 minutes or until puffed and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool slightly, serve with caramel sauce, bourbon sauce or crème anglaise if desired.

Serves 8, only 4 grams of fat per serving! (minus the crème anglaise of course...)

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Twice As Rice

For a food blogger, I am a ridiculously picky eater. I don't think I dislike more foods than other people do, just that the ones I can't stand are probably some of the most common in American cuisine. Give me a warm plate of foie gras with fig compote and brioche toast points and I will relish it--actual relish however? Ugh, I hate pickles. And mustard. And I cannot describe the absolute loathing disgust I feel towards tomatoes. As you can imagine, my cheeseburgers are pretty boring.

You probably also remember that I may have possibly said at one point that I hate rice pudding. Cold, mushy, bland and with a texture that's just...eeww. I mean, what's to like? I remember going to a school sleep away camp in junior high where the dessert at dinnertime was rice pudding every night. Even ravenous teenagers that had been drug through the woods for three days would not eat this stuff.

So why the change? I have no idea. I simply woke up one morning in February craving the stuff. And not just any old stovetop or refrigerator rice pudding but warm, thick, delicious rice pudding spiked with--you guessed it--cardamom. At the Washington Cooking & Entertaining Show way back in November, I happened to try an eensy, weensy, safely tiny portion of rice pudding offered by a Thai food stand and remember being intrigued by their use of coconut milk. Maybe this was the subconscious beginning of my rice pudding craze.

I say craze because I have a feeling this is only the first of many rice pudding attempts. Even though I was pretty content with this batch, I know I could do better. While I liked the custardy feeling of the baked pudding, I think I might actually prefer more of the creaminess you can get from a stovetop pudding. Also, this time I was timid with the coconut milk, afraid to go overboard with the modern twists on this traditional dish. But next time I'm hoping to do the basmati rice justice with a healthy dose of coconut milk and maybe even some chopped mangoes.

Of course, you can always make this dish with regular milk and short-grain rice, so don't feel like you have to get too fancy. Or, like me, if you're just easing into a dish you previously detested with the passion of a thousand suns, you may want to take it slow. Who knows, maybe this time next year I'll be singing the praises of Caprese salad. But I wouldn't count on it.

Anyone out there have any similar experiences with a food they used to hate?

Baked Spiced Rice Pudding
3 beaten eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup cooked rice
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 tsp each cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a bowl combine eggs, milk, coconut milk, sugar, vanilla and spices. Beat until combined but not foamy. Stir in rice and raisins. Pour egg mixture into a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish.

2. Place casserole dish in a 2 quart square baking dish or pan on an oven rack. Pour boiling water into baking dish around casserole to a depth of 1 inch.

3. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, stirring after 30 minutes. Serve warm or cold.

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Cardamom Panna Cotta

I have only recently come to realize how completely in love with cardamom I am. If you're not already intimately familiar with this sweet, permeating, Indian spice, it may sound intimidating, but a small dash of this amazing powder will put your cinnamon to shame.

I still remember my first encounter with cardamom during a spectacular Restaurant Week lunch at Rasika: the meal closed with a tiny gulab jamen--sort of like an Indian donut soaked in honey and spiked with--you guessed it--cardamom. New to the whole Indian spice game, I walked away from the meal determined to discover what had made the dish so distinctive. Cardamom is a member of the ginger family and comes in black and green varieties. And don't worry if you only have cardamom pods on hand, you can grind or crush them yourself, with 10 pods equalling about 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground cardamom--just remember to strain out the pods after infusing into whatever dish you're making.

Ever since my Rasika experience (an absolute MUST try for Washingtonians also for their one-of-a-kind palak chaat if not for their exquisite use of cardamom), I've been on the lookout for cardamom-centered dishes to put my newly acquired jar to good use (I've said it a million times people--Spices. World Market. $2.99. Do it.) I've also been on a panna cotta kick lately (conveniently, so it seems, are most DC restaurants) so after some searching I sort of fused Alice Medrich and David Lebovitz's recipes for panna cotta for this delicious cardamom version. Also feel free to add orange or rose essence or top with chopped pistachios.

Cardamom Panna Cotta
3 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 tsp ground cardamom or 5 cardamom pods
1 cup whole milk
2 1/2 tsp unflavored gelatin

1. In a small saucepan, heat the cream, sugar and salt until steaming, stirring from time to time. Remove pan from the heat and add cardamom. Cover and allow to steep for 25 minutes (or less if using ground cardamom).

2. Meanwhile, pour the milk into a small bowl and sprinkle with gelatin. Set aside, without stirring, for 5-10 minutes to allow the gelatin to soften.

3. Add the milk and gelatin mixture to the cream and reheat to steaming, stirring well to dissolve the gelatin. If using cardamom pods, strain the mixture and discard the pods.

4. Pour the panna cotta into custard cups or serving dishes. Refrigerate for 4-12 hours, unmold and serve topped with ground cinnamon, orange zest or chopped pistachios, if desired.

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Cupcakes in Belgium

Please join me in welcoming back Tanya Brothen, travel blogger and co-cupcake taster extraordinaire, for her latest cupcakery guest review. This time, Tanya was kind enough to take some time out from her globe trotting to give us a peek into Brussels' Lilicup bakery.

Belgium is not known for its cupcakes. Waffles and chocolate, yes. Moules frites, yes. Beer, definitely yes. But cupcakes? Non.

Enter, Lilicup. Run by a delightful Belgian-American, it's the store that is single-handedly trying to bring cupcakes, cheesecakes, and other stateside sweets to the residents of Brussels. That's right: Lilicup is the city's one and only cupcake store. And after celebrating its grand opening in November 2009, the ensuing buzz around town has been non-stop.

The first thing you notice about Lilicup is that it's adorable. With a pink awning and heavenly window displays, you can't help but be drawn in. Besides, after seeing nothing but croissants and tarts for weeks, aren't you just a little curious about the pastry store that doesn't look like the rest? Order at the counter and then grab a seat if you'd like to eat in while sipping an espresso. or, you can take your cupcake to-go at a reduced price.

The old standbys are all there--red velvet, carrot cake, and chocolate - but my favorites are the ones with a more local flavor. Try the violette or rose cupcakes, flavors that are often seen in France and French-speaking Belgium, but are less widespread in the U.S. I recently stopped by for my regular violette fix, and was reminded that a Lilicup cupcake is not just something you taste; it's a complete sensory experience.

The smell of a violette cupcake is subtly sweet. The color of the frosting looks fanciful and wholesome at the same time. The crunchy candy topping gives it an appetizing texture. The flavor is simple yet intense. it actually tastes like a violet flower! In a sugary-not-woodsy kind of way. Alas, it all ends too quickly, as these are European cupcakes that come in European sizes.

Lilicup has one more thing that sets it apart in Brussels: excellent customer service. It's a scare commodity in the Belgian capital, but the ladies at Lilicup are friendly, welcoming, and efficient. And they make a mean cupcake.

If you go
Lilicup

Open Tuesday-Friday, 10am to 5pm

Saturday, 10am to 6pm
+32 (0) 2 538 02 68

Tanya Brothen is a Minnesota native who began her travel blog, Parisian Spring, after moving to Paris while completing her Master's degree in international affairs. Just returned from a stint in Brussels as a Presidential Management Fellow for the Department of State, stay tuned to her blog to see where her travels take her next.

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