Man Cakes #1

MAN CAKE!!!!!!!!!!!
I used leopard-print wrappers because leopard is a neutral. Every man likes leopard. Okay, maybe it's just me that likes leopard, but I've never had anyone refuse a cupcake and then throw it at me because of not liking the wrapper.

I named this cupcake "Man Cakes #1" because "Man Cakes" is such a great name I'm sure I'll use it again.

Bus+Stripper Pole=Party Bus

I made this cupcake originally for my brother's bachelor party. That's right-- it was a co-ed bachelor party, and I was his "Best (Wo)Man." It was pretty much the perfect party. We drove to San Diego from LA where we met about 20 of Chris's friends and hopped onto a party bus. The driver was wearing a pin-striped vest, tight jeans, and a fedora; and the bus had poles running through it. The only thing these could possibly be for is sexy dancing, which my brother's female boss proceeded to do. Our driver took us to 3 of San Diego's best breweries: Green Flash, where we had a tour; Stone, where we ate lunch; and Lost Abbey, where we tried our best not to fall asleep from too much alcohol. I gave these cupcakes out after Lost Abbey to try and revive everyone. We were supposed to go to Mission as well, but never made it to the last one. Once we had all cleaned up/napped, we headed out to a gastropub for dinner. We ate outside in the beautiful, warm San Diego air, and everyone made a speech for my brother. From there we ended up at an Irish bar/dance club, and the night ended with quesadillas sometime around 3:30am.

My brother (aka: the bachelor), my father (Yes! Even Daddy was invited to the bachelor party!) and me at Lost Abbey

Because we were traveling, I baked the cupcakes in jars for my brother's bachelor party. Instructions on how to do that can be found here.

The second time I made these cupcakes was for my friend Alex's birthday. Alex and I met about a year-and-a-half ago at a mutual friend's birthday party. We started talking when I noticed his shirt said "BaconStripsandBaconStripsandBaconStripsandBaconStrips." From there we discovered our shared love of beer, and we've been spending time together ever since. A couple days after his birthday, he came over to meet some of my other "beer friends" and we toasted him with beer and bacon-themed snacks, including this one.

Man Cakes #1 Instructions

yield: 10 cupcakes

1) Prepare the cupcakes

     Ingredients:
     1 cup scotch ale (I used Old Chub by Oskar Blues for Alex's birthday. Don't remember the one I used for Chris's bachelor party, but it was something from San Diego)
     1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
     3/4 cup brown sugar (light or dark is fine)
     1/3 cup baking oil (I used avocado but canola would work well, too)
     1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
     3/4 tsp. baking soda
     1/2 tsp. baking powder

     Directions:
     a) Follow instructions #1-4 for hipster PBR cupcakes found here. But use scotch ale, not PBR.
     b) Let cupcakes cool on wire racks.

2) Cook some bacon!

     Ingredients:

     1 lb. high-quality bacon (I used the applewood smoked bits and ends from Trader Joe's)

     Directions:

     a) Preheat a large pan over medium heat.

     b) Chop your bacon into pieces about 1/2 inch across.

     c) Add bacon to pan and cook, turning occasionally until crisp (about 6-7 minutes). You may need to do this in batches.

     d) Remove bacon from pan using a slotted spoon and place in a bowl. Chop if any of the pieces are still too big to put on top of cupcakes (as crumbles).

     e) Reserve bacon drippings by placing 4 layers of cheesecloth over the top of a glass jar and straining the cooled drippings through the cheesecloth. Do not put your drippings in the fridge yet, because you want them room temperature.

3) Glaze your cupcakes.

     Ingredients:

     1 tbsp. liquid bacon drippings

     1 tbsp. maple syrup

     Directions:

     a) Poke holes in your cooled cupcakes using a toothpick. Aim for 7-10 holes per cupcake.

     b) Mix together the bacon drippings and maple syrup in a small bowl.

     c) Using a 1/2 tsp. spoon, pour bacon-maple mixture over each cupcake slowly enough so that it can seep into the holes. Some may spill, so it's helpful if you leave the cupcakes in the pan for this to catch any spills.

     d) Store any leftover bacon drippings in the fridge and use them in place of butter or olive oil in almost anything--for frying quesadillas, for scrambling eggs, for putting on top of toast.... Okay, I'm kidding about that last part (maybe).

4) Mix your maple cream cheese frosting. Note: The following recipe is adapted from one you can find here.

     Ingredients:

     8oz cream cheese, softened

     8oz unsalted butter, softened

     1 1/2 cups powdered sugar 

     3 tbsp. maple syrup

     Directions:

     a) Using an electric mixer, beat your cream cheese and butter together until combined and smooth.

     b) Add in the maple syrup and beat until combined.

     c) Add in the first 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar and beat at high speed until light and fluffy.

     

5) Assemble your parts.

     Ingredients:

     10 glazed scotch ale cupcakes

     maple cream cheese frosting

     bacon crumbles

     Directions:

     a) Using either a star-tip or a round-tip, pipe frosting onto cupcakes.

     b) Top with crumbled bacon bits. 

     c) Unzip your pants, scratch a little bit, and eat your cupcake like a man.

The birthday man (Alex) with his MAN CAKE

Mariana Trench Cupcakes

This cupcake recipe is unique in that I have made it more than once. I have already made it twice, and I expect I will probably have to make it many more times.

I first created this cupcake for my friend Jamie. Her 24th(?) birthday party was nautical themed because she wanted an excuse to play a huge game of battle shots. I created this dark chocolate and sea salted caramel cupcake in honor of her birthday (thus, the name Mariana Trench). I also made myself a kraken costume (pictured below), and I think that was equally glorious.

Jamie and the kraken

The second time I made this cupcake, it was by commission. I offered to make cupcakes for my friend Erin's fancy-schmancy 30th birthday party. Erin's parents rented out the bar at Mory's, Yale's members-only restaurant, and people flew in from all over the country for an amazing celebration that included open bar, appetizers, and cupcakes. I ended up making 50 of these little buggers! I told Erin that I could make any cupcake flavor she wanted or create her a new one just for her. She insisted on having these cupcakes because she "still had occasional dreams about them." All fifty cupcakes were gone within a few minutes of being announced (I think there were only 35 people there--some people double-dipped). So with just a little bit further ado, the recipe.

With the gorgeous birthday girl, Erin

Mariana Trench Cupcake Instructions

yield: 14 cupcakes

1) Prepare the cupcakes

     Ingredients:
     1/2 cup butter, softened
     1 1/4 cups sugar
     2 large eggs, room temp
     3/4 cups all-purpose flour
     1/2 tsp. baking powder
     1/4 tsp. salt
     1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I like Hershey's Special Dark, available at most grocery stores)
     1/2 cup milk
     1 tsp. vanilla

     Directions:
     a) Follow instructions #1-6 for old-fashioned chocolate cupcakes found here.
     b) Put cupcake batter into a covered container, and refrigerate overnight.
     c) Remove cupcake batter from refrigerator and let rest on counter for an hour or so.
     d) Follow instruction #7 (and subsequent tips) for old-fashioned chocolate cupcakes found here.
     e) Let cupcakes cool fully on wire racks.

     Merely by accident, I found that refrigerating the batter overnight causes any small lumps in the batter to smooth out, darkens the color of the batter, and creates a cupcake that will slightly rise (contrary to what the author said about the cupcake) and be resistant to falling.

I did not refrigerate the batter for the ones in the back.  The ones in front were refrigerated prior to baking.  You can see they turn out much prettier and fluffier!

2) Stuff your cupcakes.

    Ingredients:
   1 10-oz jar fleur de sel caramel sauce (I buy mine at Trader Joe's, but you can also get one here or by taking a 10-oz jar of your favorite caramel sauce, heating it slightly, mixing in fleur de sel to taste, and letting cool)
      
     Directions:
     a) Core your cooled cupcakes. You can either do this using a butter knife and cutting in a small cone (should extend halfway down the height of the cupcake) out or by using a cupcake corer.  If you don't make cupcakes frequently, these are a waste of money. If you do make cupcakes frequently, these are a godsend. Make sure not to throw your cupcake core out, because you will be using it again.

A cored cupcake, plus the caramel sauce I love

     b) Spoon 1/2-1 tsp. of caramel sauce into empty core.  You should make sure to leave 1/4 inch of empty space between caramel and top of cupcake.

     c) Cut the bottom crumbly cake part off of the core to just leave the tops.  Tops should be about 1/4 inch tall.
     d) Stick the tops over the caramel to once again have a cupcake with no holes in it.

3) Make your chocolate ganache frosting.

     Ingredients:
     9 oz bittersweet or very dark chocolate, chopped (I prefer dark chocolate over 80% cacoa)
     1 cup heavy cream 
     fleur de sel

     Directions:
     a) Follow the instructions found here.
     b) Allow ganache to cool slightly, and then dip cupcake tops into melt-y ganache.  Make sure to twist the cupcake as you pull it up or else it will drip everywhere.
     c) Sprinkle fleur de sel onto melty ganache cupcake tops.  You could stop here if you want; the rest is just to make the cupcake look pretty.

     d) Wait for ganache to cool to room temperature.  Then use a stand mixer (or a hand mixer) to whip the remaining ganache into a creamy frosting.  Remember to start at low speed and slowly increase to high so it doesn't go everywhere.
     e) Put the whipped ganache into a piping bag fitted with a star tip, twist the top of the bag, and then use your hands to warm the ganache in the bag slightly.  This will make it easier to pipe your ganache.
     d) Pipe ganache crowns onto your cupcakes, and add sprinkles or more salt if you like.

Don't you just LOVE these wrappers?  These were by far the classiest cupcakes I've ever made.  Fit for royalty!