Happy Halloween!!This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was selected by Clara of I Heart Food 4 Thought. You can find the full recipe on Clara’s site or by purchasing the book Baking: From My Home to Yours
First, I mixed up the batter in my KitchenAid
Then I used my ice cream scoop to evenly divide the batter into 12 cupcakes and threw them in the oven.
They came out of the oven and seemed kinda — well — flat. They didn’t rise much at all. Does it seem weird that baking soda and baking powder were both in this recipe? Can someone explain to me how these ingredients work? But anyway, I had short cupcakes.
But I made ganache and frosted them anyway.
Then, I picked the orange M & M’s out of a bag to put on top of the cupcakes to give them a “halloweenie” feel. I only ate one of these and I thought it was pretty good. Very rich and chocolaty. I took them to the yearbook girls yesterday and they just picked at them. I think it was too much chocolate for their taste buds.
But I made ganache and frosted them anyway.
Then, I picked the orange M & M’s out of a bag to put on top of the cupcakes to give them a “halloweenie” feel. I only ate one of these and I thought it was pretty good. Very rich and chocolaty. I took them to the yearbook girls yesterday and they just picked at them. I think it was too much chocolate for their taste buds.
Your baking powder might be dead. Try putting some in a glass of water and if it bubbles up then it’s still okay.
I love your cupcakes though. They’re cute and I bet they’re dense and sticky. I’ve linked to them on my blog. 🙂
Too much chocolate for their taste buds?! I refuse to believe that possibility exists:)
Love the M&M's on top.
What a great idea.
I love food chemistry! I think its the science nerd in me. Baking poweder and baking soda are leavening agents, which means they produce carbon dioxide and cause the cupcakes to rise. Most baking powders are double-acting. Double-acting powders react in 2 stages so some gas is released at room temp when added to the batter but the majority of the gas is released when the batter temp increases in the oven. When baking soda is combined with moisture and buttermilk the chemical reaction produces bubbles of carbon dioxide that expand with oven heat and helps your cupcakes rise. So using both is a double burst of bubbles to make your cupcakes rise nice and tall. Not sure if your baking soda/powder are outdated? Hopefully I didn't bore you with too much science babble. HAHA. You're so cute picking out the orange M&Ms. Thanks for baking with me this week!
Clara @ iheartfood4thought
they were super rich, i needed a glass of water afterwards! cute idea to use orange m&ms 🙂
These were definitely rich. I love the orange m&ms on top – simple but halloween-y.
What the hell is wrong with those girls?? TOO CHOCOLATEY?
Mmmmm yummy looking cupcakes.
P.S. We received our book in the mail today, the girls love it. Jillian loved opening it. Thanks again.
Cute! I love how you fished out the orange M&Ms. Great! 🙂
Orange M&Ms on top is a great decoration for Halloween!
I love that you sorted the m&ms! I just don't have the patience! That looks great!
Too much chocolate? How can that be 😉 ?
Another difference between baking powder and baking soda — baking soda needs something else acid to react with (like buttermilk). Baking powder has its own acid built right in.