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From Southern Treats to Exotic Eats

Mocha Cupcakes

Last week was quite busy! On Monday I went to a cupcake party, Wednesday was the 4th of July so we went over to a friend’s house to celebrate, Thursday I went to another BBQ, and Friday I had to say goodbye to one of my good friends that is moving. The cupcake party was a ton of fun...since I am trying to cut back on my sugar intake I managed to only eat half of a cupcake. Most would consider that a travesty but I considered it a victory since there were  11 varieties of cupcakes there! 

I wanted to make these cupcakes to take to the cupcake party but the first chocolate cupcake recipe I tried wasn’t what I was looking for--so I ended up making some different cupcakes to take (no worries, they will be on the blog soon!). When we made our plans for the 4th of July I wanted to bring something--I thought cupcakes were always a welcome treat! I tried a different chocolate cupcake recipe that was exactly what I was looking for and they baked up perfectly!

These were a big hit and our friends loved them. I decided to lightly frost the cupcakes so there wouldn’t be quite as much icing as there is with pipping. Either way these are a crowd pleaser!

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Cupcake Ingredients: 

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup brewed coffee 
• 1 Tablespoon white vinegar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 6 Tablespoons vegetable oil

Frosting Ingredients*:

• 1 stick (8 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, slightly softened
• 2/3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2/3 pound powdered sugar (about 2 1/2 - 3 cups)
• 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon espresso granules, dissolved in 1 teaspoon warm water
• 1-2 Tablespoons heavy cream or milk

*I used a butter knife to ice my cupcakes which doesn’t use quite as much frosting. I had just the perfect amount. If you are going to pipe your frosting, you might want to increase this recipe by half or double it. 

Directions:


For the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners and spray with non-stick spray, set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour and cocoa powder, making sure there are no lumps remaining. Whisk in the sugar and baking soda. 

In a separate small bowl, mix together the brewed coffee, vinegar, vanilla extract, and oil.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk until just combined. There may be a few lumps remaining which is okay. 

Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes.

Carefully remove the cupcakes from the pan to a wire rack to finish cooling.

For the frosting: In a medium bowl, sift together powdered sugar and cocoa powder, set aside.

Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip on medium speed until butter is creamy and smooth. With mixer still on medium, slowly add the powdered sugar mixture. Whisk until well combined. 

Add salt, vanilla, 1 tablespoon heavy cream or milk, and espresso-water mixture. Whisk on low until incorporated. If needed, add another tablespoon of cream or milk. Beat on medium until icing is smooth and fluffy.

After cupcakes are cooled completely, ice with frosting.

Peach Crumble

We are a peach loving family. Back home in Alabama I look forward to peach season every year. In my opinion, there are not any better peaches than the ones that come from Chilton County in Alabama. We always stop at Durbin Farms to buy our peaches, but you can find them all over the state. Sadly, since we have been away from home the last several years, I haven’t been able to enjoy Chilton County peaches as much as I’d like. I was able to find some Georgia peaches (which are a close second to the ones from Chilton County) here in Kansas at the very beginning of peach season, but a few weeks later they were all gone. While Missouri peaches aren't nearly as good as the ones from home, I have still been obsessed with them. I posted this picture on Instagram a couple of weeks ago: 

This picture pretty sums up how much our family loves peaches. We have had about 6 pounds of peaches in our refrigerator at any given moment the last couple of months. We mostly eat them fresh as snacks or with breakfast, but I wanted to also make something with them as well. I came across a peach and blueberry crumble recipe and thought it would be perfect. I ended up leaving the blueberries out but you can add them or raspberries as well. 

Overall we really enjoyed this peach crumble. I made it one afternoon and it was gone by the next day. I reduced the sugar some and added old-fashioned oats to the crumble topping and it was perfect. If you can’t find any good peaches you can substitute nectarines instead.

Peach Crumble

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Ingredients:

For the filling: 

• 2 pounds of peaches, peeled and sliced in 1/2 inch wedges (I used somewhere between 8-10 peaches)
• 1 cup blueberries or raspberries, optional
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch

For the crumble topping:

• 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup light-brown sugar
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup old-fashioned oats

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 

In a large bowl, combine white sugar and cornstarch. Toss in peaches (and blueberries or raspberries, if using) until peaches are well coated.

Pour filling into an 8x8 baking dish or pie dish.

In a medium sized bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in the flour until mixture resembles coarse sand. Toss in oats until just combined. 

Spoon crumble topping evenly over filling. Bake for about 40-50 minutes. After about 30 minutes tent with foil. Allow to cool at least 20 minutes before serving.

Source: slightly adapted from Mrs. Requeiro’s Plate, originally adapted from: Martha Stewart: Everyday Food July/August