ghetto delicious gourmet cupcakes - made from a box and topped with stuff from a tub

This past weekend, I met my cousins for dinner in Milpitas.  It was a long drive down the 880  - past 4 Walmarts.  

Admission - a guilty pleasure of mine, is to visit Walmarts late at night.   After the crowds of rowdy families are gone, I like to roam the aisles.   In addition to all of the basic necessities, they carry the most random stuff!   

I especially enjoy spending time in their food section. The assortment reflects the tastes of their clientele. My kitchen is filled with an assortment of Hispanic and Asian spices and ingredients I have found in the Walmart Food section!  

That night I was craving something sweet.  I actually picked up a box of strawberry Twinkies - but I put it back down.  Yup, the craving was pretty strong.  What I really wanted was a cupcake.  When I lived in New York, I would walk home from dinner in the West Village, and stop by Magnolia Bakery for a freshly frosted cupcake - YUM! In California, I was on my own. 

There's a place down the street from me that makes fancy cakes for weddings and special events. They have chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting that are so decadent - I can practically feel the inches grow on my hips as soon as they touch my lips.  The cake part is not typical - it is more dense - like a brownie.  So I wanted to make my own "ghetto delicious" version of this gourmet cupcake.

I picked up a box of brownie mix and a tub of cream cheese frosting and drove back home up the 880. 

The result?  It was pretty darn close to the original!  

Ghetto Delicious Gourmet Cupcake

• 1 box of brownie mix
• 1 tub of cream cheese frosting
• cupcake papers

Prepare brownie mix as directed on box.  Bake time will be shorter than the 13"x9" pan time - check with a toothpick for doneness.  

Remove from pan to cool.  When cool top with frosting.  

Don't judge.  Try them yourself.  They're really really good!  Just don't tell people you made them from a box and a tub!

Enjoy!!! 

i like to tinker in the kitchen

Often, when people introduce me, they will say, “This is e, she’s a ‘foodie’”.

Ugh!  I really dislike the word, “Foodie”.  I really don’t think this term is appropriate to describe me.  After an introduction like this, people have felt compelled to start name dropping – celebrity chefs, latest in trendy restaurants, food critic said….. blah, blah, blah.

Typically this is met with a blank look in my eyes.  You see - I don’t really keep up with all of that!

Then, our mutual friend will try to fill the awkwardness by saying,  “e is a great cook!” – this comment also makes me cringe, because - while I DO like to spend time in my kitchen, unlike people who deserve to be called “great cooks”, maybe 50% of the things that come out of my kitchen are fit for the general public. 

I can’t make buttercream frosting to save my life!  My attempts at French macarons were tasty, but have looked like little beige turds.   My finicky oven tends to over-cook and burn things. 

Based on what I’ve seen come out of my kitchen, I would definitely NOT describe me as a good cook.   What I would say, “I like to tinker in the kitchen.”

 

A classic example of my tinkering is – Sticky Toffee Date Cake

My friend J first made this cake for me for our Easter gathering.  He had started to watch the Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network, and saw this Sticky Toffee Date Cake on one of the episodes.  Yes, this cake was like crack – it was so good!  

May I present, Exhibit 1: J's beautiful cake!

We couldn’t stop eating it!  The cake was moist, and the topping was sweet ooooey gooey bliss!

Recently I was invited to attend youfedababychili's Battle Beer Can Chicken 4. I figured it would be the perfect venue to try out the Sticky Toffee Date Cake!!

This is a really cool cake to make.  When cooking the chopped dates, you add in baking soda, and the entire mixture bubbles up - whoosh! Then, you add the date mixture into the batter.  The batter becomes very watery - but then, you add in baking powder - and then more bubbles start to form!  The end result is a moist fluffy cake that isn't too sweet.

The challenge is to get the toffee sauce right.  

May I present, Exhibit 2: my first attempt at Sticky Toffee Date Cake moments after I poured the warm toffee sauce over the warm cake:

Not too bad - right?  I left the cake in the pan because I knew I was going to transport it.   

The next day, I arrived chez babychili, and realized that I would need to invert the cake - luckily I brought extra sauce.  

May I present Exhibit 3: e's cake plated

Not the prettiest cake I ever seen....  Tasty, but not the oooey gooey delight it should have been. Once the sauce had cooled, it turned solid and grainy.  I was grateful to see that the group of very accomplished chefs and food bloggers at the event consumed it anyway. (Bless you guys!)  

 

I couldn't give up!  Practice makes perfect - right?  So a week later, I decided to make this cake again for my friend S's son B's second birthday party.

May I present, Exhibit 4 - STDC 2 aka CTDC (Crunchy Toffee Date Cake)

Thinking that I could solve the graininess issue, I cooked the sauce a little too long, and it had gone into the "Hard-Ball Stage".

The sauce formed a crunch coat on the top of the cake.

Exhibit 5: The extra sauce

You should NOT be able to mold sauce into shapes.........

Again, the cake was tasty, and the toffee pieces on top were absolutely delicious!  We had to refrain from just picking off the toffee pieces.

However, I did have a 'tinkering' success!  I  adapted the original recipe, and made an extra gluten-free version of this cake especially for S.  Since the extra sauce was too hard for the cake, she put some store bought frosting on top and had two servings!  She was thrilled to find a delicious gluten-free dessert.  I was thrilled that she enjoyed it so much!  Yay!!!

Below is my recipe for
Gluten Free Sticky Toffee Date Cake!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, prepare one 9 in round cake pan

Cake

• 1/2 pound dates, pitted and chopped
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1/2 cup + 2 Tbs granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup rice flour
• 1/4 cup flax meal (why not? everyone needs some extra fiber and omega-3s!)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbs + 2 tsp baking powder

 Sauce

• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Place dates into large saucepan with 1 3/4 cups of cold water.  Bring to boil, stirring to break up the dates.  Simmer for 1 minute.  Remove from heat.  Sprinkle baking soda over the top.  Chemical reaction #1.  The mixture will bubble and expand - keep this in mind when selecting the pan.  You need about 2-3 inches extra space to accommodate this.  (note: if any reader has insight on why this happens, please comment - baking soda bubbles when it comes into contact with something acidic. From what I have read, dates are supposed to be alkaline.  So what's causing this?)
2. In separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar together til pale and creamy/  Add the eggs one at a time.  Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Add the vanilla extract, then rice flour, flax meal and salt.  
3. Add the warm date mixture in two batches.  Mix on slow speed.  The batter is watery, so may spatter.  (I made the mistake of mixing at too high of speed, and am still finding dried sticky date batter in random places around my kitchen)  Scrape down sides of bowl and mixer to incorporate.
4. Sift in baking powder - when J and I have made it without sifting, you tend to get clumps of uncooked baking powder in the final product.  I find adding the baking powder through a sifter helps prevent this from happening. The batter will bubble up.  Mix til incorporated, but don't over mix.  This batter was VERY watery - much more than the traditional wheat flour version.  I had to adjust cooking time to accommodate.
5. Pour batter into pan.  Bake for about 40, then lower the temp to 300 degrees and cook for another 10-15 mins. Check periodically.  Cake is done when a toothpick comes out clean in the middle of the cake.  
6. While the cake is baking, make the sauce - again, this part has never come out successfully for me.  These are the directions as written in Ina's recipe.  Combine the butter, brown sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla extract in a medium saucepan.  Bring to boil and then reduce to simmer gently for a minute or two until thickened and well blended.  You might want to use a candy thermometer so that you don't over cook like I did - "Thread" stage is between 235-240 degrees F.
7. When the cake is done, poke little holes all over the surface with a toothpick.  Pour the caramel sauce over cakes while both are still warm and leave to soak for about 10 mins.  (I typically will pour half of the sauce over the cakes, and then save half to serve on the side.  This cake can be too sweet.)  The original recipe says to serve the cakes upside down.  I prefer to use a spring-form cake pan and serve it top-side up.

There is very little difference in taste and texture between the original and the gluten-free version.  Both were moist and lightly sweet.

 

I will continue to tinker in the kitchen, and continue my attempts to master this tricky sauce.  

To my friends and family who continue to support my hobby and endure my wacky food creations - I am so grateful, and love you all dearly!  Just don't call me a 'foodie"!!

xoxo

e