Boston Creme Pie Cupcakes

So for some reason I was really craving Boston Creme Pie. Then I thought “Hey! I can make them in cupcake form!” Now, I’m the kind of person where I’ll lay awake at night just thinking of all the different ways I can make something or all the different things I have to do, so it wasn’t really the greatest thing ever that I had a while to plan these. Many things went wrong with this recipe. I used really moist cake (‘with a cup o’ pudding in the mix!’) and then made custard from a box, which sort of just blended in with the cake since it was the same consistency. The ganache recipe was slightly too bitter and I didn’t melt the chocolate enough, so it wasn’t tempered correctly. It was still slightly bonded together, but not… the oil was seperated so it wasn’t smooth enough to dip the cupcakes in. Everyone I asked said that it didn’t taste like a boston creme pie or bavarian creme donut, so I guess I failed in that regard. Also, for some reason, all the silicone containers refused to release the cake, so I lost a few to that. I brought these cupcakes down to UVA for my sorority sisters (and left some up here for Dan), and they all seemed to like ’em! bostoncremepie Boston Creme Pie Cupcakes makes about 24

  • custard filling (I used Jell-o brand, but I think homemade would be better)
  • yellow cupcake mix (the brand I used might have been too moist)
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • decorations/liners of your choice
  • piping bag or knife/scoop

Mix cupcake mix and follow directions to fill liners and bake. Once cooled, either pipe filling in with piping bag or nozzled bottle, filling cupcake three times  (Using the cone method might be better so that you get more filling. I thought using the cone method wouldn’t work because I would be dipping the cupcakes upside-down in the frosting, but that didn’t pan out. The cone method is using a knife to cut a circle at a 45 degree angle, then removing the circle, cutting the tip of the cone off, filling the hole and then replacing the circle back on top of the cupcake. This way you can really control the amount of filling that goes in).

Combine chocolate chips and creme over medium heat (using double boiler method or placing heat-safe bowl in a saucepan filled with 1-2 inches of water) until smooth and shiny. Let mixture stand 2-3 minutes and then start dipping cupcakes in the ganache, upside-down. Twist and then quickly flip the cupcake to prevent dripping (like dipping strawberries at godiva ^_^). Allow ganache to set for 5 minutes and then decorate. I used sprinkles and fondant shapes. Unfortunately, the frosting was still hot when I decorated so the sugar sprinkles basically melted into the frosting and the fondant got all melty. I used the ganache recipe from Georgetown Cupcake.

>> Georgetown Cupcake’s Chocolate Ganache Recipe

Carrot, Spinach, and Raisin Fried Rice

For some reason I got inspired to make a bento-esque lunch today.
Using some old rice, I made the below lunch:

  • flax seeds
  • raisins
  • carrots
  • spinach
  • soy sauce

Sides were: grapes and baybel light star cheese, pumpkin toast, and white pear tea.

The grapes were really fresh, they tasted like juice! The raisins you might think wouldn’t go with this savory rice, but I had remembered making an egg omelet in Japan with raisins (and peppers) in it and it was mighty delicious.

Sorry for the not so great quality pictures. My camera broke at the end of 2007 (button went missing) and I got a $20 IXY camera from eBay that never ever has enough battery for me to actually change the settings around on it to take a decent picture.

lunch0316

Appliances & Electronics

So after being rejected by all of the companies that actually granted me a face-to-face interview, I decided to carouse the internet before diving back into this whole job search thing. *sigh*

Some things that are top-seeders on my gotta-get list:

  • Almost forgot: A JOB
  • Kitchen-Aid Stand Mixer
  • Food Processor (maybe. The blender is so useful!)
  • Mochi Machine (okay, it does double as a bread/dough machine)
  • Electric Hot Water Heater/Dispenser
  • Baking Mat(s) (to replace parchment paper, which is $$!)
  • New Digital Camera (nice interface, and great quality)
  • MacBook, the cute lil’ one
  • iPhone (I’ll get this when my Sprint contract expires)
  • A new cosmetics case
  • New makeup, just a few new colors or ‘cool things’

I feel that some of these things will just need to come as a wedding/house warming present just because they’re so large. But if you’re ever thinking of anything to get me… ^_^

I just went to Sur La Table and got a muffin/cupcake tin and some liners. Let’s just say I’ve got something in the works. I actually have silicone cups I could have used, but I wanted to have decorative papers on these things I’m making and the silicone cups are -not- disposable. I should have bought more than one tin, not smart of me to try to make something with only one 12-cup pan!