Uncheery Cherry Chocolate Muffins

Happy Friday! Today I brought white chocolate chip pumpkin muffins into work to kick off this sweet holiday and have 2 parties tomorrow night. So today I'm dishing up one more spooktacular eat that will fit any Halloween soiree - cherry chocolate muffins!

Ever since my Dexter cupcakes, I've been trying to find a use for the remainder of that absolutely delectable sour cherry jam that I had used for filling the vanilla cupcakes. And since they came out so nice, I figured why not use it as filling twice! After all, what says gore like gooey cherry jam? For a Halloween twist, I went with a chocolate cake and white chocolate chips to highlight the red innards. Though I may have overfilled some of the muffins and the white chocolate chips sunk into the cake (see below for how to avoide both of these problems), it gave the muffins a bit of character and that 'eaten away' look which I think fits perfectly into the spooky scheme of things. And don't let the meager appearance fool you - these were moist and so delicious!

 

Cherry Chocolate Muffins
*Adapted from The Joy of Cooking
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 3/4 C all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 C buttermilk (I made my own*)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 C (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
1/2 C white chocolate chips (or chocolate chips if preferred)
1/3 C cherry jam (or more if preferred)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line your muffin tin with paper or foil liners. Melt the chocolate in your microwave (for tips on this, see this article) and let cool slightly. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk and vanilla (I measured out the buttermilk in a measuring cup and simply added the vanilla to the cup - no reason to use up another bowl!). In another large mixing bowl (either in your stand mixer or with a hand mixer), beat the stick of softened butter until fluffy, then beat in the egg. Add the melted chocolate and mix until blended.

Then, with the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the buttermilk mixture. Fold in the white chocolate chips. Note: some of my chips sunk causing an ‘eaten away’ look which works for Halloween, but might not be the most aesthetically pleasing presentation on other occasions. I recommend rolling them in a teaspoon or so of flour before folding into the batter.

Place a very small amount of batter - just enough to cover the bottom - in each baking cup. (Do not use too much! I severely overfilled some of mine and I ended up with mutant muffins!). Add a teaspoon or so of cherry jam and then cover with another scoop of batter.

Again, do not make the same mistake as me and overfill these! The overfilled ones did not set properly and fell apart when removed from the baking cup, while the muffins that I made using less batter were nothing short of decadent and divine (and in tact). Bake 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. This should make about 20-24 muffins, depending on how much you fill the cups.

The result? A chocolately, cherry gooey muffin. The sweetness of the chocolate was offset perfectly by the tart cherry jam all the while creating a gorey little treat. Perfect for Halloween, no?

So there you have it. One more Halloween treat that doesn't scream jack-o-lanterns, mummies and candy corns (not that there's anything wrong with that). And what I want to know is: are you dressing up for Halloween? What are you going as?

Psst...for more Halloween grub ideas, check out my Dexter cupcakes (recently featured as Top Killer Cupcakes for Halloween), Halloween Queso Dip and Pumpkin Spice Cake with Honey Frosting! Oh and to see me in a throwback Halloween costume, check this out!

Getting in the Holiday Spirit

The Halloween holiday spirit, that is. Today I'm happy to report that my Dexter cupcakes went all Halloween today as they are featured on City's Best - New York City as one of their Top 7 Killer Cupcakes for the upcoming Halloween holiday! Check it out, along with some other yum-inducing Halloween cupcake ideas from around the city that I will surely be pulling from for the party at my sister Kimberly's place this weekend.

Meanwhile, I mentioned that Shaun and I have been getting in the spirit since this past weekend. While I baked up some goodies to share with all of you later this week, Shaun whipped up this little beauty of a jack-o-lantern to deck out our living room:

 

I know, it's amazing. He is really the creative and artistic one in the family! Since I can't let anything go to waste, and I'd always wanted to try them, I dug out the pumpkin seeds from the innards of our jack-o-lantern and was determined to get my roast on with these little guys. After carefully plucking, rinsing, rinsing again and roasting, I have to admit...I don't really get what the big hullabaloo is over pumpkin seeds. They seemed like a lot of work for little reward. I roasted half with only olive oil and kosher salt and the other half with olive oil and pumpkin pie spice (typically the cure-all for anything!). My feelings after completion? They were just eh. Does anyong else feel this way?

 

Oh, and remember how I was telling you yesterday that Shaun made a delicious dinner on Monday night so that I could get my butt to the gym? Well I did remember to snap a pic of this delicious meal, and one of my favorite comfort food dinners - grilled cheese and tomato soup!

I realized that this could be great Halloween fare as well, since the tomato soup is orangey red (and those are homemade croutons people, crafted by a one Shaun Humiston) while the grilled cheese just oozes bright yellowy-orange. In fact, the grilled cheese could even be cut into smaller, bit size pieces - perfect as party finger food, while the soup could be put into tiny cups for a warming sip of soup for guests!

And last on the agenda for today is a photo I came across while sorting through my picture library on Sunday ( I swear, one of these days I will organize my photos and then my life will be complete!). It's one of my first Halloween costumes - Raggedy Ann!

The costume actually spawned from a life size Raggedy Ann doll and was born when my mom realized that the dress on the doll actually fit me too! Add a sweet wig and I was on my way. I'm not sure what age I am here...Mom?

So there you have it, a little roundup of what's been going down at the Humiston household to prep for Halloween and get ourselves in the spirit. So what about you? Have you been decorating? Gravitating towards orange and red foods, as we have? And bonus question: what were you for Halloween as a child? Any fun costumes?

Pumpkin Spice Cake with Honey Frosting

It’s Tuesday! After a rocky start to the week (Monday is just not my strong suit), the day picked up with a trip to the gym, a Giants win (!), and Shaun cooking up tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner. This morning got me going with some maple cinnamon oatmeal, pumpkin spice coffee and planning what to make for Saturday’s Halloween party at my sister Kimberly’s.

Meanwhile, I hope you’re not sick of pumpkin just yet because today I’m serving up a pumpkin spice cake that’s moist and festive. When our friend Kristen celebrated her birthday a couple weeks ago, I knew a pumpkin cake would be just the ticket for a Fall soiree. Not to mention that a little bird told me that she was a fan of pumpkin. It was a no brainer. So when I stumbled up this Martha Stewart recipe for Pumpkin Spice Cake with Honey Frosting, I knew it was meant to be.

So I got to work planning the cake, making just a few changes to fit my own specifications that 1) I didn't have the proper baking pan and 2) wanted the frosting to have just a hint more sweetness than the original recipe called for. The result? A moist, slightly sweet autumn cake that was quick and easy to boot. Looking for a great Halloween or Thanksgiving recipe that will WOW your guests? Look no further, my friends.

Pumpkin Spice Cake with Honey Frosting
*Adapted from Martha Stewart
for the cake:
1/2 C unsalted butter, melted
2 1/2 C all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
2 large eggs
1 1/2 C sugar
1 15oz can pumpkin
for the frosting:
1/2 C unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 oz cream cheese
1/4 C honey
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 C confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x9" baking dish. Ok, I don't have a 9x9" baking dish. And I couldn't find a foil one last minute at Whole Foods either. So I decided to take a chance on my 8.5" round cake pan. I figured, why not? (Spoiler alert: it worked! sort of). In a mixing bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, butter and pumpkin puree. Add the dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Pour into baking dish.

Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 45-50 minutes. Cool 10 minutes and transfer to a wire rack. So remember how I said the cake pan sorta worked? Well here's how it turned out:

It's like my cake spawned a little baby on top. I'm assuming that this was caused by not using the correct pan. To remedy the situation, I simply sliced off the excess on top. Using a long bread knife, I very carefully evened out the top. I may have even got down on my knees to be exactly eye level with the cake top.

The moral of the story? Use the proper pan...and if you don't have it or can't find it, improvise. No one knew any different. Fortunately, this excess cake meant some sampling for the chef. You know, just to make sure it tasted alright.

Meanwhile, make the frosting. In a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer, combine the softened butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add the honey and mix until completely combined, scraping up the bottom of the bowl to make sure it's all combined. That honey can pack some weight and sink right to the bottom. Though I'd never used honey in frosting before, it gave an extra layer of flavor that was the perfect complement to the pumpkiny goodness of the cake.

Mix in the vanilla and sugar, adding sugar 1/2 C at a time. Now frost that bad boy. I got the rustic look on mine by dumping a lot of icing on the top of the cake and spreading it over the edges and down the sides...carefully! Cake decorating is certainly not my specialty (though I'm not ruling it out down the road :)), so I used a slow and steady hand to spread the icing with a butter knife so it was just right.

To top it off, I added a thick layer of Halloween non-pareils sprinkles that I snagged at Target that very morning. Aren't they festive? And doesn't this simple sprinkle design (if you could even call it that) just scream this cake is for grown-ups, but still celebrates the season!?

I toted mine on a cute cake caddy that was gifted to me by my awesome Mom, hence the blue plate. Slice it up and bask in the oooh's and aaaah's from the crowd!

 

So there it is, a chic yet rustic and absolutely delicious cake that's perfect for any autumn occasion, especially you're upcoming Halloween fete! So what do you think? Are you over the pumpkin craze? Are you planning any fun desserts for upcoming Halloween parties? And bonus question: How did you get through you Monday yesterday?

Psst...missed the first part of Halloween week? Catch up here!