Thursday, October 29, 2009

Boston Dessert Week; Oreo Cupcakes

Welcome to Day 4, the last day of the first annual Boston Dessert Week. Take a moment to get sad...ok, now get happy! Because my final dessert post is about Oreo Cupcakes, and they're pretty amazing!!!

These babies were Jess's inspiration, Jess's project, and Jess's great success. I can only claim to have overseen the frosting-making (and by "oversee" I mean I watched closely, and made sure my fingers were in the bowl and my tongue on the eggbeaters...).
The cake is the Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake recipe from the Hershey's box, that by now everyone should know is the best chocolate cake recipe out there. Jess also put an Oreo in the bottom of each cupcake. 

And then to top things off, Oreo Frosting - Oh. My. God. So GOOOOOOD!!! We frosted them pre-dessert party (and post-run. Sidenote: I know I said I'd blog about my run - but really it was just a good workout with my old team. Nothing crazy, but everything that is good about college running). Anywho, it took A LOT of willpower for me not to OD on sugar right then and there. 

We started out frosting with a piping bag, but little chunks of Oreo kept clogging the tip...so we did the rest of the cupcakes with a knife.

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake
(Source: Hersheys.com
Ingredients: 
- 2 cups sugar 
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 
- 3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa 
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 
- 1 teaspoon salt 
- 2 eggs 
- 1 cup milk 
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil 
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 
- 1 cup boiling water 
- 8-10 Oreo cookies, crushed or put through food processor (optional) 
 Directions: 1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans (For cupcakes or other pan sizes, see variations listed below.) 
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans. 
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.

Oreo Buttercream 
Ingredients: 
- 1 cup butter 
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract 
- 2 tbsp. water 
- 1 lb. confectioner's sugar (if you don't have a scale, it's approximately 4 cups) 
- 1 tbsp. meringue powder 
- 12-14 Oreos, finely crushed in food processor 
Directions: 1. In bowl of stand mixer, cream butter, vanilla, and water. 
2. Add confectioner's sugar, meringue powder, and crushed Oreos. Mix until well combined. 
3. At this point, your frosting will be very thick. To top cupcakes, it's better to have medium to thin consistency icing, so you'll have to add more water. I probably added another 2-3 tbsp. to get the desired consistency, but you'll want to add the water little by little to make sure you don't add too much. When it's the right consistency, it should be pretty easy to stir by hand (think about whether you'd be able to easily squeeze it out of a piping bag). If you accidentally make it too thin (runny), add more confectioner's sugar.
Recipe Source: Heather Drive