Happy St. Patty's.
I finally gave in and purchased a Kitchenaid, many thanks to an amazing team of friends and family that have kept a lookout for me for deals and rebates over the last ten years... Found a deal to good to pass on and am now part of the Kitchenaid family of bakers. I was reluctant to give up old fashioned stirring and whisking (n.b. I received my first whisk in my twenties, as part of a birthday gift and until then, had predominantly used forks and chopsticks). But I'd be hard pressed to say I miss trying to beat heavy cream or eggs by hand. It's amazing how within a day, I can be a total convert to the K.
For my first experiment, I tried making Bailey's Irish Cream mousse. The recipe originates from Epicurious. I do love the mousse.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Irish-Cream-Chocolate-Mousse-Cake-103235
Mousse
- 4 large eggs
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 12 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups chilled whipping cream
- 1/4 cup Irish cream liqueur
Whisk eggs and sugar in large metal bowl. Set bowl over saucepan of simmering water (do not allow bottom of bowl to touch water) and whisk constantly until candy thermometer registers 60°F, about 5 minutes. (I transferred everything to the kitchenaid)
Remove bowl from over water. Using electric mixer, beat egg mixture until cool and very thick, about 10 minutes. (After using the kitchenaid, I transferred this back to a different bowl...washed out the kitchenaid bowl so I could do the cream part in it as well)
Combine cream and Irish cream liqueur in medium bowl; beat to stiff peaks. Pour lukewarm melted chocolate over egg mixture and fold together. Fold in cream mixture. Cover and chill until set, at least 4 hours or overnight.
Place chocolate in top of another bowl over simmering water; stir until melted and smooth. Remove bowl from over water. Cool to lukewarm. (I cheated and did the chocolate part in the microwave.)
Combine cream and Irish cream liqueur in medium bowl; beat to stiff peaks. Pour lukewarm melted chocolate over egg mixture and fold together. Fold in cream mixture. Cover and chill until set, at least 4 hours or overnight.
I tried pairing the mousse with a chocolate stout cupcake. I'm accustomed to alcoholic baked goods no longer tasting all that alcoholic and thought this would be a good cupcake for St. Patty's. Of course, I forgot that I actually don't love stout. And as luck would have it, the cupcake does taste very stout like--much more stout than chocolate. So if you love stout, this would be the perfect cupcake. Definite recipe keeper if this is your thing. If not, the mousse would probably have gone better with a yellow cake or devils' chocolate cupcake, as the stout overshadows the mousse a bit.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups Irish stout (recommended: Guinness) I used Guinness
4 ounces unsalted butter
3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 cups dark brown sugar
3/4 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda (I used 1 t baking powder, 1.5 baking soda)
Procedure
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a cupcake or muffin pan with 24 regular-size cupcake liners.
Place the stout and butter in a medium-size saucepan and whisk together on medium heat until the butter is melted. Remove from the heat. Sift the cocoa powder into a medium-size bowl and add the sugar. Slowly whisk into the stout mixture. In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla and lightly whisk until smooth. Add this mixture to the saucepan and whisk thoroughly (it may appear lumpy). Sift the flour and baking soda together in another small bowl and then add it to the saucepan, mixing a final time until the color is even.
Fill the cupcake liners three-quarters full with batter and bake until the cakes spring back after touching, about 27 minutes. Cool the cupcakes in their pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
To assemble: Pipe the frosting onto cooled cupcakes using a large plain tip. Dust with cocoa powder if preferred.
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