Great Ways to Use Cocoa Nibs: Tuesday Tips

I try to give a tip every Tuesday on this blog, and one part of the cocoa bean that I haven't addressed as far as tips go is the Cocoa Nib. I've posted recipes, of course, but today my Tuesday Tip is on What to Do with Cocoa Nibs. 

Cocoa Nibs are bits of fermented, dried, roasted and crushed cacao beans. Cocoa nibs are not chocolate pieces. They are roasted beans separated from their husks.  But, it's just chocolate in a different form--not sweet--since sugar isn't added. Nevertheless, they have a very unique chocolate taste. There are both raw and roasted cocoa nibs. They have different tastes, and I prefer roasted cocoa nibs. If you're going to buy cocoa nibs, go for organic, and definitely choose a chocolatier you like.

I use cocoa nibs in lots of ways, but my best advice is to use them sparingly until you get the hang of them. They're a bit bitter, and you won't want to overwhelm your dish. You'll soon figure out how many to put into your favorite foods. That being said, I use cocoa nibs in both savory and sweet dishes.

SAVORY

Add them to salads for some special crunch.

For an hors d'oeuvre, roll a log of goat cheese in crushed cacoa nibs.

Use as a crust on chicken.

Add them to chili.

Grind them up and use in your barbecue rub.

Add them to mole.

SWEET

Roll chocolate ganache truffles in chopped nibs in place of cocoa or nuts.

Add them to pancake batter.

Add them to granola or bake them into granola bars.

Mix into Greek yogurt (I add a little honey, too)

Throw them on your oatmeal.

Add them to smoothies.

Use them as sprinkles on cupcakes

Use them as sprinkles on ice cream.

Add them to brittle instead of nuts.

Use them instead of nuts or chocolate chips in Chocolate Chip Cookies. (see recipe below)

Add them instead of nuts in brownies.

Candy them with a caramel glaze.

Dip them in chocolate for another great snack.

OTHER

Add some to your coffee grinder for a special blend.

Eat some plain.

And here's a surprising use: Chew some as a Breath Freshener.

And, if all else fails, have some around and just smell them. The aroma is quite heady!

Chocolate Chip Cocoa Nib Cookies  
a variation on the traditional Toll House Cookie recipe

Ingredients:
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sweet butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups dark chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate chunks)
3/4 cup chopped cocoa nibs

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375° F.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and cocoa nibs. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Dying for Chocolate Cupcakes: Krista Davis

Photo: Krista Davis

My mystery and chocolate worlds collide again. Today I welcome Krista Davis, author of the Domestic Diva Mystery series (Berkley Prime Crime).

Krista Davis's The Diva Runs Out of Thyme and The Diva Haunts the House were nominated for Agatha awards. Her most recent book, The Diva Digs Up the Dirt, joined The Diva Haunts the House in the honor of making the extended New York Times Bestseller List. The Diva Frosts a Cupcake will be released in June. Visit Krista at http://KristaDavis.com and at her blogs, MysteryLoversKitchen h and Killer Characters. Her novels include recipes and entertaining tips, as well as being fun mysteries! Thanks, Krista, for this fabulous recipe and mouth-watering photos!

KRISTA DAVIS: DYING FOR CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

My name is Krista, and I am a chocoholic. When Janet so very kindly asked me if I would provide a recipe for Dying for Chocolate -- I flipped. Just the excuse I needed to play with chocolate. I immediately thought of a triple chocolate mousse cake that I used to indulge in. Those who live near Arlington, Virginia might know of Pastries by Randolph. His cakes are heavenly and the triple chocolate mousse cake has long been my favorite.

So I tried a recipe for a torte with a layer of white chocolate mousse, another of milk chocolate mousse and one of dark chocolate mousse. It wasn’t worthy of Randolph but it came out fairly well. Or so I thought.

Two out of four tasters had complaints. One, a die-hard chocolate lover, even said she could do with just the white chocolate mousse! Clearly, I need to do some tweaking on that recipe, but without a house full of company to eat such a cake, well, I’m sure you see the problem.

So I turned my focus to cupcakes. My next Domestic Diva Mystery will be THE DIVA FROSTS A CUPCAKE, with loads of cupcake recipes. Have you noticed that cupcakes have gotten super fancy? It’s not enough to bake them and add frosting. Now they have to have fillings, too! Plus, I knew the Dying for Chocolate audience would be special. You’re chocoholics, like me. So I embarked on Double Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes with Raspberry Cream Filling and Raspberry Tinged Chocolate Frosting. Any recipe with a name that long deserves a special name, and since they were developed just for Dying for Chocolate, I’m calling them Dying for Chocolate Cupcakes.

If you’re not game for lots of steps, skip the raspberry cream. I decorated some with a raspberry (easy!), left some plain (easiest), and dotted some with Callebaut’s Dark Crispearls. If you haven’t tried the Crispearls yet, look for them. They’re terrific!

There’s good news and bad news about this recipe. The good news is that it freezes very well. Just slide the cooled cupcakes into a zip type freezer bag. I usually slide a sheet of waxed paper inside over top of them so they won’t stick to the bag. To thaw, simply remove from freezer to room temperature for 45 minutes or so. The bad news is that they’re actually pretty good frozen should you happen to have a middle-of-the-night chocolate crisis. I would recommend filling and frosting them after they have thawed. I did freeze some filled ones for about a week and the filling, while not as good as when fresh, wasn’t the soggy mess I expected.

Dying for Chocolate Cupcakes

Double Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes (makes 18 cupcakes)

16 hazelnuts
1 cup flour
1/4 cup high quality unsweetened powdered chocolate like Pensey’s
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate (1 square)
1/2 cup milk (I used nonfat)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter (room temperature)
1 cup sugar
 2 eggs (room temperature)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400.

Place cupcake liners in cupcake pan.

Toast hazelnuts on a pan for about 4-5 minutes until fragrant. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate. When you take the hazelnuts out of the oven, reduce the heat to 350. Let the hazelnuts cool enough to handle, then rub off the skin. It’s okay if a little skin remains. Grind the hazelnuts fine.

Combine flour, hazelnuts, powdered chocolate, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and blend well with a small whisk or a fork.

Cream butter with sugar. Add each egg and beat well. Add the flour mixture in small amounts, alternating with the milk. Beat in the melted chocolate and then the vanilla. Beat to combine.

Divide between cupcake papers, filling each about 1/2 full. Bake 15 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Cream Filling

1/4 cup sweetened whipped cream
3 tablespoons defrosted frozen raspberries* (set aside the liquid for the frosting)

Mix the whipped cream with the raspberries. Cut a small divot out of the middle of each cupcake. Fill. Replace divot and frost.

Frosting

2 squares unsweetened chocolate
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
liquid from raspberries plus enough water to equal 1/4 cup
3 1/2 to 4 cups powdered sugar

Melt the chocolate with the butter. I do this in short bursts in the microwave. Add enough water to the reserved raspberry liquid to make 1/4 cup and heat. Mix the chocolate with the raspberry liquid. Beat in powdered sugar until the consistency is thick but not stiff, (about 3 ½ cups of the powdered sugar). Refrigerate about 15 minutes until it’s easier to handle and will keep its shape. Frost the cupcakes.

Photos: All photos c. Krista Davis

Retro Pudding Cupcakes in Chocolate Crusts

This Retro Ad from June 15, 1962 for No Bake Pudding "Cupcakes' in a Candy Crust was the spring board for a really delicious pudding cupcake. The Chocolate Crust recipe is simple and elegant, and to fill the cupcake shells, you can use your own recipe for Chocolate Pudding.  Or you can fill these Chocolate Cupcake Crusts with chocolate mousse or something else!

Chocolate Cupcake Crusts 
Makes 6-8 cupcakes

Melt 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate in small saucepan over low heat.
Spoon chocolate around sides and bottom of 6-8 paper baking cups.
Chill about 1/2 hour.
Peel paper cups from candy crusts before filling

National S'mores Day: S'mores Recipe Round-Up

S'mores Pops

Today is National S'mores Day, and there's a lot to celebrate! S'mores are made by sandwiching a toasted marshmallow and a piece of chocolate in between two graham crackers and heating the whole 'sandwich' over the campfire or grill.

The name S'mores (alternatively Smores) comes from the two words "some more," because everyone always want s'more. This American treat was developed by the Girl Scouts in the early part of the 20th century, making use of the newly mass-produced marshmallow. Marshmallows were easy to transport, as were candy bars and graham crackers, and the marshmallows could be toasted over a fire to make a fabulous campfire treat in a situation where other types of sweets would have been difficult to come by. Of course, the quality of the chocolate and marshmallow, and even the graham crackers (if you make your own) will vary, but S'mores aren't about haute cuisine, at least not in my house.

The true origin of the snack is unknown, as camping recipes were passed from family to family - often over the campfire itself. The  first printed record of the recipe was in 1927 in a girl scout manual "Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts".  Read more HERE.

The Original 1927 Girl Scout Recipe for S'mores

Some More:
8 sticks (for toasting the marshmallows)
16 graham crackers
8 bars plain chocolate (any of the good plain brands, broken in two)
16 marshmallows

Toast two marshmallows over the coals to a crisp gooey state and then put them inside a graham cracker and chocolate bar sandwich. The heat of the marshmallow between the halves of chocolate bar will melt the chocolate a bit. Though it tastes like "some more" one is really enough.

I have a Round-Up of S'mores Recipes at the end of this post, but I wanted to post another fun recipe. Maybe you've already tried this on your own. Let's face it, S'mores are pretty versatile!

One of the newest ballpark foods at AT&T Park (Go, Giants!) is the S'mores Sandwich. This ooey-gooey delight is an excellent way to eat your s'mores. Marshmallows and Ghirardelli chocolate are sandwiched between two pieces of fresh buttered bread and grilled. Yum! The closest I've been able to come up with a recipe to match this treat. I love using my Panini Press! Depending on the bread, chocolate and marshmallows, you'll have a lot of variety in this easy recipe! 

S'mores Panini 

Ingredients

Sweet butter, room temperature
4 slices sourdough (or buttermilk bread)
8  large marshmallows (or 1/2 cup marshmallow creme)
2 Tbsp. dark chocolate chips or 3 ounces dark chocolate, broken

Directions

Butter one side of the bread.
Place 2 slices on a plate, buttered side down.
Put 4 marshmallows on each piece of bread--(or divide marshmallow creme among bread slices, spreading evenly and leaving a 1-inch border).
Sprinkle chocolate chips or broken chocolate pieces over marshmallows, dividing equally (leave an inch margin if you can).
Cover with remaining bread, buttered side up, pressing slightly.
Preheat panini press to 375 degrees.
Put sandwiches on press; close press.
Cook sandwiches until golden brown and heated through, about 3 minutes.
Transfer to a work surface. Cool for 1 minute.
Cut in half and serve.

And in celebration of National S'mores Day, here's a Round-up of Recipes for S'mores that I've shared here on DyingforChocolate.com over the years. 

Traditional S'mores on the Grill

S'mores Brownies using a Brownie Mix

Brownie S'mores from Scratch

S'mores Cupcakes

Chocolate Chip Cookie S'mores (2 recipes)

Chewy S'mores Bar Cookies

S'mores Pie 

S'mores Ice Cream Sandwich

S'mores Ice Cream Pie

S'mores in the Microwave

Wacky Candy Bar S'Mores 

Peanut Butter S'mores  

S'mores on a Stick (S'mores Pops)

Want to drink your S'mores? 

Make a S'mores Martini! Two recipes

Novelty S'mores Recipe: 

S'mores Keyboard 

Girl Scout S'mores Merit Badges

Howard Johnson's Retro Ad

I remember long summertime car trips on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. We'd always stop at Howard Johnon's for ice cream.  This advertisement is from July 2, 1951. With 28 flavors, I find it fun that the cone in the ad is chocolate!

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today is National Zucchini Day. Zucchini is such an abundant summer crop. Plant a single plant, and you'll be picking zucchini all summer long.

So what to do with it? Add Chocolate!

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread with Pistachios
Geeky Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
White Chocolate Walnut Zucchini Bread
Chocolate Chunk Zucchini Bread
Chocolate Zucchini Cake

The other day was National Chocolate Chip Day. I did a Round-up of Chocolate Chip recipes last year, but alas, no Zucchini Chocolate Chip recipe! What an oversight. So here in honor of the Zucchini Day holiday, is my go-to recipe for Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies!

This recipe is from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life (2007) by Barbara Kingsolver with Steven L. Hopp and Camille Kingsolver. I've added walnuts, because I like a little crunch.  This book should be a staple on your shelf. It's part memoir, part journalistic investigation. It tells the story of how the family was changed by one year of deliberately eating food produced in the place where they live. Barbara Kingsolver wrote the central narrative; Steven Hopp's sidebars explore various aspects of food-production science and industry; Camille Kingsolver's brief essays offer a nineteen-year-old's perspective on the local-food project, plus nutritional information, meal plans and most importantly for this blog, the recipes. Being that it's mid-summer: there's a Zucchini Season Meal Plan in the book. The recipes are all fabulous, and here is the recipe for Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies. As I mentioned, I added walnuts for extra crunch.

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup sweet butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Combine in large bowl.

1 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Combine in a separate, small bowl and blend into liquid mixture.

1 cup finely shredded zucchini
12 oz chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
Stir these into other ingredients, mix well. Drop by spoonful onto greased baking
sheet, and flatten with the back of a spoon. Bake at 350F degrees, 10 to 15 minutes.

How easy is this? And delicious...

Tuesday Tips: Natural vs Dutch Process Cocoa

How often have you wondered if you should use Natural or Dutch cocoa in a recipe? And what exactly is the difference? Will it affect your baking?

Cocoa powder is made when chocolate liquor is pressed to remove 3/4 of its cocoa butter. The remaining cocoa solids are processed to make fine unsweetened cocoa powder. There are two types of unsweetened cocoa powder: Natural and Dutch-processed.

Actually, there's nothing very Dutch about Dutch Processed Cocoa. It's only called a Dutching process because the person who invented it, Coenraad J. van Houten, was a 19th century Dutchman who pioneered the use of the hydraulic press to defat chocolate liquor. Van Houten's solution lay in simple chemistry. Cocoa in its natural state is slightly acidic, as indicated by its pH value of around 5.4. By soaking the cocoa nibs in a basic (or alkaline) solution, he found he could raise the pH to 7 (neutral) or even higher. The higher the pH, the darker the color. And, the acids present in natural cocoa were neutralized, reducing its harshness.

To learn more about the differences between Dutch-processed cocoa and natural cocoa, read this article in Cook's Illustrated.

Planning to bake with cocoa? Here's advice from David Lebowitz, the King of Chocolate.

Because natural cocoa powder hasn’t had its acidity tempered, it’s generally paired with baking soda (which is alkali) in recipes. Dutch-process cocoa is frequently used in recipes with baking powder, as it doesn’t react to baking soda like natural cocoa does.

Many classic American recipes, like Devil’s Food Cake, use natural cocoa powder. There is also a reaction between natural cocoa powder and baking soda that occurs in recipes, which creates a reddish crumb, like Devil’s Food Cake.

There are exceptions to each, of course. And according to Fine Cooking magazine, “You can substitute natural cocoa powder for Dutch-process in most recipes (though not vice versa). Flavor and texture can be affected, but generally only in recipes calling for 3/4 cup or more.” However when a batter-based recipe calls for natural cocoa powder, do not use Dutch-process cocoa powder. But I always advise folks to follow what the recipe says. For sauces and ice creams, they can be swapped out. For cakes and cookies, I don’t recommend it, as your results may not be the same if you make substitutions.

If a recipe calls for either, the main different is that Dutch-process cocoa will give a darker color and a more complex flavor whereas natural cocoa powder tends to be fruitier tasting and lighter in color.

Here are a few cocoas I like that are great in brownies, devil's food cake and other chocolate baked goods: King Arthur Flour Double-Dutch Dark Cocoa,  Callebaut, Guittard, Valrhona, Ghirardelli, and Trader Joe's.

When used alone in cakes, cocoa powder gives a full rich chocolate flavor and dark color. Cocoa powder can also be used in recipes with other chocolate (unsweetened or dark) and this combination produces a cake with a more intense chocolate flavor than if the cocoa wasn't present.

Most recipes call for sifting the cocoa powder with the flour but to bring out its full flavor, combine the cocoa powder with a small amount of boiling water. (If you want to try this in a recipe, substitute some of the liquid in the recipe for the boiling water.)

As I mentioned above there are two types of unsweetened cocoa powder: Natural and Dutch-processed. When in doubt, use the type specified in the recipe. Some prefer using Dutch-processed cocoa as a slight bitterness may be tasted in cakes using natural cocoa and baking soda.

Another Tip: Don't confuse unsweetened natural and Dutch-processed cocoa powder with sweetened cocoa drink mixes. They are not the same thing. 

O.K. all the above is basic baking cocoa information. For me, though, the reality is that natural and Dutch processed cocoa powder are pretty much interchangeable. There are very few recipes that are thrown off by the presence or absence of the acidity of cocoa powder. In fact, many of the ingredients you regularly use in baking are slightly acidic, so even recipes that seem to rely on the acidity of cocoa powder to produce leavening are getting their acidity from milk, butter, egg yolks, honey (sugar is neutral), etc, and the recipe should turn out just fine whichever cocoa you use-- Dutch process or natural cocoa powder.

Judy Greber's Chocolate Sour Cream Fudge Cake

A reasonable facsmile of Bob's Birthday Cake! It was devoured!

Today I welcome author Judy Greber aka Gillian Roberts. Besides being the author of two mystery series, mainstream fiction and non-fiction, Judy is a fabulous cook with a wonderfully appointed kitchen with a spectacular view. Who couldn't create a great chocolate cake in that kitchen? This recipe for Bob's Birthday cake aka Chocolate Sour Cream Fudge Cake is a keeper.

JUDY GREBER/Gillian Roberts:

In our family, when it’s your birthday, you get to choose the menu, and the rest of us prepare it for you. Whatever you like. Whatever you love. For dessert, we’ve got butterscotch pudding lovers, ice-cream cake lovers, chocolate mousse lovers, lemon anything lovers, but for “the patriarch”, a.k.a. my husband, it’s this chocolate cake.

He is a chocoholic, and I confess that I’m an enabler, keeping him hooked, so for many years on birthdays and off (how could you wait 364 days for another stab at an ultimate chocolate dessert?) I tried out recipes. This one evolved from a time, long ago, when I was researching a (non-mystery) novel titled Mendocino, which happily took me to that charming town in Northern California, I ate at a delightful restaurant called Cafe Beaujolais. It still exists, but it has a new owner/chef. Back then, it was owned by Margaret Fox. I didn’t have the chocolate cake, but I loved her cooking so much, I bought her Cafe Beaujolais cookbook and in thumbing through it, found this cake.

Over time, I’ve tweaked the recipe and I use a different icing than she suggested, but here’s what ultimately became known hereabouts as “Bob’s Birthday Cake.” The search is over...

Chocolate Sour Cream Fudge Cake 

Ingredients: 
2 cups flour
2 Tablespoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 1/4 cups light or dark brown sugar
4 ounces bitter chocolate, melted and cooled
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup sour cream
1 cup strong hot coffee

Directions: 
Sift together flour, baking soda and salt.
Beat butter, sugar and eggs for 5 minutes in the bowl of an electric mixer, until very light and fluffy.
Beat in chocolate and vanilla.
Stir in about 1/3 of the dry ingredients, half the sour cream, another 1/3 of the dry ingredients, the rest of the sour cream, and finally, the remainder of the dry ingredients. Stir just until mixed.
Stir in hot coffee
Pour into 2 9" square pans ( 8" rounds work, too) greased and lined with waxed paper.
Strike each pan on the edge of the counter to release air bubbles.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.
Cool pans on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edge, turn out, and cool completely. Frost with:

Fudge Frosting 

Yield: 4 cups

Ingredients:
3/4 cup unsalted butter, 1 1/2 sticks
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup half and half
4 teaspoons instant coffee powder
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:
Combine butter, 3/4 cup sugar, half and half and coffee powder in large saucepan.
Stir over medium heat until sugar and coffee powder dissolves and mixture simmers. Remove from heat.
Add both chocolates; whisk until smooth.
Whisk in vanilla.
Pour chocolate mixture into large bowl.
Sift in powdered sugar; whisk to blend.
Press plastic wrap onto surface of frosting.
Chill just until firm enough to spread, stirring occasionally, about 1 1/2 hours.

--there is no need to wait for a birthday to enjoy this!

Cartoon of the Day: Chocolate Cake

10 Ways to Dress up a Plain Cupcake!

Photo:Au Pair

Sophie Leake at AuPairCare.net sent me a link to a post she did on the blog for 10 Ways to Dress up a a Plain Cupcake for Your Child. She gave me permission to reprint her post here on DyingforChocolate.com. I think her ideas are great, and they go beyond cupcakes for children. Let's face it, adults like cupcakes, too, and there are some really cool ideas here in her post. Maybe these should be on Tuesday Tips?

Thanks, Sophie.

SOPHIE LEAKE: 10 Ways to Dress up a Plain Cupcake

While gourmet cupcake bakeries are on the rise, there’s no need to pay top dollar at a bakery for super cute and tasty birthday cupcakes when you can make them for much cheaper on your own.  Check out these 10 ways to dress up a plain cupcake for your child’s next birthday.

1. Flavored frosting with fruit makes an elegant cupcake decoration.  Bake up your favorite vanilla or yellow cupcake and then add a few tablespoons of a fruit puree to the mix.  Take the same fruit puree and add a tablespoon full to your favorite buttercream recipe.  Now take some fresh fruit and top your frosted cupcake with it.  This method works well with raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, or blueberries.
2. Plain frosting with sprinkles let you know it’s a party.  Instead of adding vanilla to your buttercream frosting add 1 to 2 teaspoons of cotton candy flavoring.  Frost your cupcakes like normal and sprinkle with jimmies.  Sprinkles are always a fun and festive treat.
3. Frost the cupcakes and then dip them in melted chocolate for a special treat. These special treats are called hi-hats.  Instead of making a normal buttercream frosting, make a meringue type frosting.  In a metal bowl beat 1 ¾ C sugar, ¼ C water, 3 large egg whites, and ¼ t of cream of tartar on high until it becomes frothy.  Now place it over a pan of simmering water and continue to beat on high speed until you get stiff peaks. (They will hold their shape when you lift the beater.)  This step takes 10 to 12 minutes.  Stir in 1 t of vanilla extract and then put the meringue into a pastry bag and pipe the tops of the cupcakes.  Now melt a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips and 3 T. of shortening in the microwave.  Put the melted chocolate in a tall narrow container for dipping.  Next, dip the cupcakes into the chocolate as if they were chocolate dipped ice cream cones and then allow them to cool.
4. Use a cookie as a cupcake topper.  If your child likes the combination of chocolate and peanut butter there’s a fun way to make a cupcake for him that combines both of his loves.  Make your favorite chocolate cupcakes and allow them to cool.  In the meantime, make some buttercream frosting and add in ¼ C. of peanut butter.  Frost the cupcakes with the peanut butter frosting and top with a peanut butter sandwich cookie.
5. Create small decorations out of fondant.  Fondant is made of shortening and sugar.  It rolls out like dough and you can buy it at most craft or baking stores.  Using gel colors you can color your fondant any color you’d like.  Dust the counter with powdered sugar and roll out the fondant so that it’s about ¼” thick.  Using tiny cookie cutters cut out shapes that will coordinate with the theme of your party.  You can lay the fondant on top of the frosted cupcake or let the fondant dry and then stand the shape up in the frosting.
6. Give your cupcakes the airbrushed look.  No need to buy an expensive airbrush to get the airbrushed look.  The same coloring comes in an aerosol can now and can be used on cupcakes.  Frost your cupcakes like normal and allow the frosting to crust (dry to the touch).  Place the cupcakes on a newspaper covered surface.  Using long strokes spray the top of the frosted cupcake.  Make sure to start and stop off of the cupcake.  If you’d like you can make them half and half by blocking half of the cupcake with a piece of cardboard while you are spraying.
7. Make S’mores cupcakes using a kitchen torch.  Instead of using frosting to frost your cupcake, use marshmallow cream.  Have some mini chocolate bars or broken pieces of chocolate ready to stick into the marshmallow cream.  Crush some graham crackers and keep them beside you in a bowl.  Take a kitchen torch and toast the marshmallow cream, sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs, and stick a piece of chocolate into the marshmallow. 
8. Dress up cookie dough cupcakes with mini chips and mini cookies.  To make cookie dough cupcakes, take some store bought chocolate chip cookie dough and roll it into 1 inch balls.  Make your chocolate or vanilla cupcake batter as usual, but before baking add the cold cookie dough to the center of the cupcake.  Make the cookie dough chunks big enough so they are not fully submerged in batter.  Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick comes out clean.  Frost with vanilla buttercream, sprinkle with mini chocolate chips, and top with a mini chocolate chip cookie.
9. Edible sugared flowers will add a touch of whimsy to your cupcakes.  Edible flowers are available at specialty grocery stores.  Buy a mixture of edible flowers and lay them out on some waxed paper.  Beat up an egg white and pour it into a shallow bowl.  Pour some superfine sugar into another shallow bowl.  Take your flowers, one at a time, and dip them first into the egg white and then into the sugar.  Place the coated flowers back on the waxed paper to dry.  Frost your cupcakes like normal and top right away with a sugared flower.
10. Add chocolate cut-out flowers for a springtime birthday.  Melt a cup of candy melts with 1 T of shortening.  Spread it onto a piece of waxed paper about 1/8” thick.  Place onto the bottom side of a cookie sheet and place in the refrigerator for about 5 minutes.  Once the chocolate is set remove from the refrigerator.  Take a small metal cookie cutter in the shape of a flower and dip it into a small bowl of hot water.  Dry it off and quickly use the warm cookie cutter to cut out flowers from the chocolate.  Frost the cupcakes with green frosting and apply the chocolate flowers to the cupcakes.  Using a little frosting you can apply M&M’s to the centers of the flowers.  Do one flower or a whole bouquet on each cupcake.

Black Bottom Raspberry Cream Pie

Today is National Raspberry Cream Pie Day, but what's a raspberry cream pie without chocolate?

One of my favorite recipes is from Bon Appetit (July 2004) aka Epicurious for Black Bottom Raspberry Cream Pie. The "black bottom" is a layer of chocolate pudding.. and as a bonus there's a chocolate cookie crust. Be sure and chill the pie overnight before adding the topping.

As far as berries go, any great organic raspberry works. I love Driscoll's berries because they're always good. This is raspberry season, so pick up a few pints today and make this incredible pie to celebrate. No time to make this delicious pie? Dance the Black Bottom! See video below.

FYI: This recipe is also a great black bottom 'anything' recipe: bananas and other fruit go very well with it, too.

Black Bottom Raspberry Cream Pie 

Crust
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 3/4 cups crushed chocolate wafer cookies (about 30 cookies from one 9-ounce package)
1/2 cup sweet butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar

Filling
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 1/2 cups whole milk, divided
2 large egg yolks
1 large egg
4 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 tablespoons sweet butter

Topping
3 1/2-pint containers raspberries
1 cup chilled whipping cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For crust:
Spray 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish with nonstick spray. 

Blend cookie crumbs, butter, and sugar in medium bowl. 

Press mixture evenly over bottom and up sides (not on rim) of prepared dish.

Chill crust 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake crust until set, about 10 minutes, then cool.

For filling:
Combine sugar, cocoa, and cornstarch in heavy medium saucepan; whisk to blend well. 

Gradually add 1/4 cup milk, whisking until cornstarch dissolves. 

Whisk in remaining 2 1/4 cups milk, then egg yolks and egg. 

Stir over medium-high heat until pudding thickens and boils, about 8 minutes. 

Remove from heat. 

Add chocolate and butter; whisk until melted and smooth. 

Spread pudding in prepared crust. Press plastic wrap onto pudding to cover and chill pie overnight.

For topping:
Peel plastic wrap off pie. 

Cover chocolate layer with raspberries, pointed side up, pressing lightly into chocolate to adhere (some berries will be left over). 

Beat cream, sugar, and vanilla in medium bowl until peaks form; spread over berries on pie. 

Arrange remaining berries atop cream. 

Chill pie at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours.

And, the dance sensation that started it all: The Black Bottom.  In this video, the Varsity Drag title is in error. The Black Bottom replaced "The Charleston" as the next most popular dance of the 1920's. Released June 28, 1926. Written by Buddy De Sylva, Lew Brown and Ray Henderson.  Black bottom dancing was for the young and energetic. This song and style of dancing were popular in the1920's.