Boston & Cannoli Cupcakes

I traveled to Boston for work this week, a trip I make a few times each year. I always stay in the same cozy bed and breakfast, The Newbury Guest House.

Located right in the heart of Newbury Street in Back Bay, with reasonable rates and fantastic shopping and dining in either direction, it's the perfect place to stay...even in crummy weather.

I arrived in Boston in the middle of a difficult weather pattern resulting in cool temperatures and a steady drizzle. Even the Hancock Tower was enveloped in fog. 

But when I saw that history-seeking tourists on bikes and duck boats weren't thwarted,

I decided to put on my rain jacket and head out on my own adventure, a culinary one in search of the best cannoli this side of my grandmother's kitchen. Having been to Boston many times, I knew exactly where to go.

So I took off east on Newbury Street and strolled through the Public Garden, 

making way for ducklings, of course.

(Sculpture Tribute to Robert McClusky, Author of 'Make Way for Ducklings')

Continuing through Boston Common and past the Granary Burial Ground,

(Established in 1660, Resting Place of John Hancock and Samuel Adams)

the sight of the Freedom Trail let me know I was on the right track!

I passed through Fanueil Hall and Quincy Market,

over the Greenway,

(Final Part of the Big Dig, Opened in 2008)

and there it was, emerging from the fog, Hanover Street, home to the North End. I was getting closer!

Just a few more blocks, past many of the cafes and restaurants in this city's Little Italy, 

was 300 Hanover Street. I had finally arrived at Mike's Pastry.

With a wide variety of Italian cookies, cannoli, cakes, and pies, I've never been there without a line or a difficult choice to make.

But even more challenging than deciding what type of pastries to purchase and have packaged nostalgically in a box secured with strings,

is waiting to get home to eat it.

Suffice it to say, my cannoli wasn't going to make it all the way back to Philadelphia -- it barely made it back to Newbury Street! So when I did get back to the City of Brotherly Love, missing the sweet treat and lacking the bravery to fry cannoli shells myself, I figured I'd go for the next best thing -- Cannoli Cupcakes.

A light cake with mild almond and citrus flavors, chocolate ganache filling, ricotta cream cheese frosting, and garnished with mini chocolate chips -- with these around, I may just be able to make it until my next trip to Boston and Mike's Pastry.

The cake for this recipe is a modified version of The Food Network's, with Cupcake Day Dreams' ricotta cream cheese frosting, and a virgin version of Java Cupcakes' chocolate ganache.

Click here to print this recipe!

Yield: 24 cupcakes

Cake Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups sugar
• 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 4 eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 cup milk

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 cupcake pans.

Combine flour, orange zest, baking powder, and salt in bowl. In a stand mixer, cream the sugar and butter on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping after each addition. Add vanilla and almond extracts. On low speed, alternate adding flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Mix until smooth.

Fill liners 3/4 way. Bake until golden brown and toothpick inserted comes out clean, approximately 15 minutes. Cool in pan for 5 minutes and transfer to wire rack. Cool completely.

Ganache Filling Ingredients:

• 4 ounces dark chocolate
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon corn syrup
• 1 tablespoon butter, room temperature

Instructions:
Break chocolate into small pieces and put in a medium bowl.

In a small pot on the stove, heat the cream and corn syrup until simmering. Do not boil. Pour cream mixture over the chocolate and stir until smooth. Add the butter and stir until melted.

Ricotta Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:

• 16 ounces (2 bars) cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup ricotta cheese, drained overnight
• 2 ounces (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• mini chocolate chips for garnish

Instructions:
In a stand mixer, cream the butter and cream cheese on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add ricotta, sugar, and vanilla. Mix until smooth. Switch stand mixer to high and beat for 2-3 minutes.

Putting It All Together...

1. Use an apple corer to remove centers of cupcakes.
2. Use small spoon or piping bag to fill holes with ganache.
3. Pipe frosting on cupcakes, making sure to pipe to the edge.
4. Roll cupcake in mini chocolate chips to garnish.

DISTANCE TRAVELED FROM PHILADELPHIA TO BOSTON: 280 miles
http://newburyguesthouse.com/
http://www.mikespastry.com/

Phuket & Pina Colada Cupcakes

Two weeks ago, I spent a weekend in Phuket with dear friends. It was a great respite from the busy city touring I'd done in Hong Kong and Bangkok and the perfect way to end a trip to Southeast Asia.

We stayed in a villa at our resort -- two bedrooms and bathrooms, kitchen, living room, deck,

and private infinity pool with a view of the Andaman Sea.

We spent mornings at our pool, afternoons at the beach,

and evenings enjoying cocktails, delicious Thai Food, and one another's company. It was stunningly beautiful and completely relaxing.

And what could be better than spending a weekend in paradise in a resort villa? Having room service deliver pina coladas to the private pool at your resort villa!

So when a stressful work week had me reminiscing about vacation, the thought of Pina Colada Cupcakes seemed like the perfect way to honor our time in Phuket.

The recipe is modified from others for pineapple coconut cake and coconut cream cheese frosting.

Yield: 18 Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick (8 Tbsp.) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. rum
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup cream of coconut
• 1/2 cup canned crushed pineapple, strained, juice reserved

Toppings:

• maraschino cherries
• pineapple wedges
• toasted coconut

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare cupcake pans with liners.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a stand mixer, beat butter and brown sugar at medium speed until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, then add rum and cream of coconut. Mix until combined. Add dry ingredients, half at a time, mixing and scraping bowl between additions. Once flour is incorporated, using a rubber spatula, gently fold in crushed pineapple.

Use an ice-cream scoop to fill cupcake pans with batter until each is 3/4 full. Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean (25-30 minutes). Remove and cool for 10 minutes. Pierce top of cupcakes with a fork and, using silicone brush, soak tops with reserved pineapple juice. Cool another 10 minutes, brush again, then cool completely.

Once the cake has cooled completely, pipe coconut cream cheese frosting onto each cupcake and garnish.

Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 stick (8 Tbsp.) butter, at room temperature
• 8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coconut extract
• 4 cups powdered confectioners sugar
• 1 tablespoon rum 

Instructions:

In a stand mixer, blend butter until smooth. Add cream cheese and blend until well combined, about 30 seconds. Add vanilla extract, coconut extract, and powdered sugar (1 cup at a time) and blend on low speed until combined. Increase to medium speed and beat until it begins to get fluffy.

Add rum. Beat until fluffy, about 1 minute.

Garnish:

Garnish edges with toasted coconut.

Skewer a pineapple chunk and maraschino cherry and insert into frosted cupcake.

DISTANCE TRAVELED FROM BANGKOK TO PHUKET: 512 miles

http://www.capepanwa.com/