Chocolate Stout Cupcakes

Ingredients

For the Stout Chocolate Cupcakes:

• 1 cup stout (such as Guinness)
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup sour cream

For the Whiskey Ganache Filling:

• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons Irish whiskey (optional)
• For the Irish Cream Frosting:
• 3 to 4 cups confections sugar
• 1 stick (1/2 cup or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup tablespoons Baileys

Instructions

Make the Cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to a simmer in a heavy, large saucepan over medium heat. Add the cocoa powder and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add the stout-chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add the flour mixture and beat briefly on low speed. Using a rubber spatula, fold the batter until it's completely combined. Divide the batter among the cupcake liners, filling them two-thirds to three-quarters of the way. Bake the cupcakes until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, rotating them once front to back if your oven bakes unevenly, about 16-18 minutes. Cool the cupcakes on a rack completely.

Make the Whiskey Ganache:

Chop the chocolate and place in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then whisk until smooth (if there are still pieces of unmelted chocolate after whisking for a couple of minutes, you can heat it over a double boiler, whisking constantly until it's completely smooth). Add the butter and whiskey and stir until combined.

Fill the Cupcakes:

Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped (you can put it in the fridge to speed up this process, but make sure to stir it every 10 minutes). Meanwhile, using your 1-inch round cookie cutter, an apple corer, or a small sharp knife, cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes. You want to go most of the way down the cupcake but not cut through the bottom — aim for 2/3 of the way. Put the ganache into a piping bag with a wide tip (or a plastic bag with a corner snipped off) and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top. Technically, you're only supposed to fill the ganache to the top of the cupcake, but I allowed mine to peak, so it looked like a little hershey's kiss on top. I figured a little extra whiskey ganache didn't hurt.

Make the Irish Cream Frosting:

Whip the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, for several minutes until very light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a few tablespoons at a time.

When the frosting looks thick enough to spread, drizzle in the Baileys and whip it until combined. If the frosting is too thin, beat in another spoonful or two of powdered sugar.

Lastly, ice and decorate the cupcakes. I used green sprinkles to make it festive for St. Patrick's Day, but they're also pretty on their own.

Peach Cobbler

Ingredients

• 4 cups peeled, sliced peaches
• 2 cups sugar, divided
• 1/2 cup water
• 8 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• Ground cinnamon, optional

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

1. Combine the peaches, 1 cup sugar, and water in a saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.

2. Put the butter in a 3-quart baking dish and place in oven to melt.

3. Mix remaining 1 cup sugar, flour, and milk slowly to prevent clumping. Pour mixture over melted butter. Do not stir. Spoon fruit on top, gently pouring in syrup. Sprinkle top with ground cinnamon, if using. Batter will rise to top during baking. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes.

S'more Brownies

Ingredients

Crust:

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• Pinch fine salt

Brownie:

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 4 large cold eggs
• 1 cup all-purpose flour

Topping:

• 4 cups large marshmallows

Directions

1. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat oven to 325 degrees F. Line an 8 by-8-inch square baking pan with foil so it hangs over the edges by about 1 inch.

2. For the crust: Lightly butter the foil with some of the melted butter. Stir the rest of the butter together with the crumbs, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Press the crumb mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, make the brownie. Put the butter and chocolate in a medium microwave safe bowl. Melt in the microwave on 75 percent power for 2 minutes. Stir, and microwave again until completely melted, about 2 minutes more. Alternatively, put the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with 1 inch or so of water to a very slow simmer; set the bowl on the pan without touching the water. Stir occasionally until melted. Stir the light brown and white sugars, vanilla and salt into the melted chocolate. Add the eggs and beat vigorously to make a thick and glossy batter. Add the flour and stir until just incorporated.

4. Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the top is crispy and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out mostly clean, with a few crumbs, about 40 to 45 minutes.

5. Remove from the oven and carefully position a rack about 6 inches from the broiler and preheat on low. Layer marshmallows across the top and toast under the broiler until golden, (keep an eye on it, it can go quick), about 2 minutes. Cool on a rack, gently removing the brownies from the pan using the aluminum flaps. Carefully separate any marshmallow from the foil and fold away. Cut into 12 (2-inch) squares.

Grand Marnier Crème Brûlée

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup milk
• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 1 vanilla bean
• Zest of 1 orange
• 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier® liqueur 
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 5 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• Grand Marnier® Louis Alexandre liqueur (optional) 

Directions

1. Finely grate the orange zest and let it macerate in the Grand Marnier liqueur for an hour.
2. Bring the milk and cream to a boil. Add the vanilla bean, the macerated orange zest and the sugar and let infuse for an hour. Strain to remove the vanilla bean and the orange zest.
3. Add the egg yolks, mixing gently so that the mixture does not froth. Pour into ramekins and cook in the oven at 230°F in a bain-marie for approximately 50 minutes. (If using a convection or forced convection oven, cook at 175°F without the bain-marie (more difficult) for approximately 30 minutes.) The crème brûlée is coked when it is set in the middle and “trembles” when the ramekin is tapped.
4. Take the crèmes brûlées out of the oven and allow to cool, then place them in the refrigerator. Just before serving, sprinkle with a thin layer of brown sugar and caramelize with a blow torch or under the broiler (more difficult).

CHEF’S NOTES:

If the custard cooks too quickly it will be slightly granular, not creamy as it should be.

If a little moisture has formed on the surface of the crème brûlée when it is taken out of the refrigerator, soak it up with paper towels before sprinkling with brown sugar.

Serve the crèmes brûlée with a glass of Grand Marnier® Louis Alexandre liqueur.