Sugar Cube (18 page)

•
When making pastry dough, I usually cut up my fats and freeze them for 10 to 15 minutes, so they’re super cold and firm before blending them into the flour.

•
However you choose to cut in the butter, whether you do it in a food processor, in a stand mixer, or by hand, don’t overwork your dough, especially once you add the water. This will cause too much gluten to develop, which will result in a tough crust that is not flaky or fun to eat. Be kind to your dough and nurture it through the mixing process. And be sure to let it rest in the fridge after mixing.

•
Chilling the crostatas before baking is an important step, so don’t skip it. It will help them keep their shape during the first few minutes of baking. A hot, preheated oven is also important. When it comes to pies and piecrusts, most of the crucial baking reactions happen within the first 10 minutes.

Like Bert and Ernie or Batman and Robin, carrot cake with cream cheese frosting has to be one of the best duos in history. Still, even the most successful partnerships can use a little spicing up now and then. That’s why I decided to enliven my super-moist carrot cake with a beguiling hint of sweet curry, which is composed of mostly sweet baking spices. (I get mine from The Spice House or Penzeys.) It’s just a touch, so don’t think that they will taste like tikka masala.
MAKES 12 CUPCAKES

• 7 ounces baby carrots
  
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
  
• ¹
  /
  ₂
  cup vegetable oil
  
• 1 cup granulated sugar
  
• Scant
  ³
  /
  ₄
  cup packed dark brown sugar
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  
• ¹
  /
  ₄
  cup buttermilk, at room temperature
  
• 1
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  cups plus 1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
  
• ³
  /
  ₄
  teaspoon baking powder
  
• ³
  /
  ₄
  teaspoon ground saigon cinnamon (
  see tip
  )
  
• ¹
  /
  ₂
  teaspoon sea salt
  
• ¹
  /
  ₂
  teaspoon sweet curry powder
  
• ¹
  /
  ₄
  teaspoon baking soda
  
• ¹
  /
  ₄
  teaspoon freshly grated nutmegG
  
• ¹
  /
  ₄
  teaspoon ground cardamom
  
• ³
  /
  ₄
  cup finely chopped toasted pecans (
  see tip from Marionberry “Crack” Coffee Cake
  )
  
• ¹
  /
  ₂
  cup golden raisins
  

• ¹
  /
  ₃
  cup water
  
• ¹
  /
  ₃
  cup granulated sugar
  
• ¹
  /
  ₈
  teaspoon sea salt
  
• ¹
  /
  ₄
  teaspoon to
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  teaspoon sweet curry powder (depending on how much curry flavor you want)
  
• 1 recipe Cream Cheese Frosting (
  see tip
  )
  

• TO MAKE THE CUPCAKES:
  Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
  
• PUT THE BABY CARROTS
  in a medium saucepan and add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook until very tender (they should be so tender you can easily mash them between your fingers), about 10 minutes. Drain. In the bowl of a food processor or blender, purée the carrots until completely smooth. You should have
  ²
  /
  ₃
  cup measured in a liquid measuring cup. Let cool for a few minutes.
  
• IN A LARGE MIXING BOWL
  , whisk together the eggs, vegetable oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. Whisk in the buttermilk and carrot purée. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, curry powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and cardamom. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry in two additions, mixing just until combined. Stir in the pecans and raisins.
  
• DIVIDE THE BATTER
  equally among the muffin cups. Bake on the center rack until the tops spring back when lightly pressed, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the pans from front to back halfway through.
  
• TO MAKE THE CURRY SYRUP:
  In a small saucepan, combine the water, sugar, salt, and curry powder and bring to a boil over high heat. Continue to boil for 1 to 2 minutes to concentrate the mixture, bring out the curry flavor, and reduce any bitterness. (You can make the syrup a few days in advance; refrigerate until ready to use.)
  
• WHILE THE CUPCAKES ARE STILL HOT
  , brush the tops with the curry syrup. Let cool completely before frosting with Cream Cheese Frosting.
  

Can you build your entire reputation on a single cupcake? Yes, you can. And I did. I put these foxy brown beauties on my menu the very first day, and they blew people’s minds. They were like a gateway drug, luring people in with their coffee-chocolate-caramel decadence and opening the doors to my intense
Ginger Island Cupcakes
. Customers who had one came back a day later (sometimes just a few minutes later) to have more. Word spread, reporters came calling, and the rest is history. Now I couldn’t take them off my menu even if I wanted to, which I don’t.
MAKES 24 CUPCAKES

• 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  
• 2
  ³
  /
  ₄
  cups granulated sugar
  
• 1 cup dutch-process cocoa powder
  
• 1 tablespoon plus 1
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  teaspoons baking soda
  
• ¹
  /
  ₂
  teaspoon sea salt
  
• 1
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  cups buttermilk
  
• 1
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  cups warm strong brewed coffee or french-pressed coffee
  
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
  
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  
• 1
  ¹
  /
  ₃
  cups vegetable oil
  

• ¹
  /
  ₂
  cup strong brewed coffee
  
• ¹
  /
  ₂
  cup granulated sugar
  
• 1 recipe
  Sexy Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache
  , warm
  
• 1 recipe
  Salted Caramel Sauce
  , at room temperature
  

• TO MAKE THE CUPCAKES:
  Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.
  
• SIFT TOGETHER THE FLOUR
  , sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, coffee, eggs, vanilla, and vegetable oil. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk just until incorporated and there are no lumps. (It’s a thin batter, but it will bake up beautifully.)
  
• DIVIDE THE BATTER
  equally among the muffin cups, leaving about
  ¹
  /
  ₄
  inch of room at the top. Bake until the tops spring back when lightly pressed, 20 to 25 minutes.
  
• TO MAKE THE COFFEE SYRUP:
  In a small saucepan, combine the coffee and sugar and bring to a boil over high heat. Continue to boil for 1 to 2 minutes to concentrate the mixture.
  
• WHILE THE CUPCAKES ARE STILL HOT
  , brush the tops with coffee syrup. (You’ll use most but not all of it. Just discard the rest or use it in a cocktail.) Let the cupcakes cool completely before filling and frosting.
  
• PLACE THE CARAMEL
  in a squeeze bottle. Insert the tip into the top of each cupcake and squeeze in some caramel. (You’ll see them plump up a bit, but don’t fill them with so much that the cupcakes split.) Dip the tops in ganache, then tilt to shake off the excess. Let the chocolate set (it will be glossy but not runny) for about 30 minutes before drizzling with more salted caramel to serve.
  

•
I’ve taken to impaling these cupcakes with shards of Ruffles potato chips as a garnish. The chips are quite dramatic, plus I love how they offer a counterpoint of salty crunch to the rich cupcakes.