Ramping up for SXSW
So, the next week or so will be a blur of faces, panels, movies, dancing and food I really shouldn’t eat broken up by brief and insufficient bouts of sleep. Or as most call it South by Southwest. I live in Austin, TX and have for long enough that I call myself an Austinite. But it was only recently that I started attending SXSW.
The first night has me cooking. The Second Annual Pastries and Pasties. I’m only in for the Pastries, specifically Heart Burn Cupcakes.
Heart Burn Cupcakes
The Cupcake
First things first. You’ll need a rehydrated chipotle pepper. Take a dried chipotle (or if you are daring, two) and place it in a bowl of water overnight.
Dry:
2 c flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 c cocoa powder
2 oz grated dark chocolate
1 T instant espresso powder
Wet:
1 c buttermilk
1 fl oz red food coloring
Damp:
1/2 c butter
1-1/2 c sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 rehydrated chipotle pepper, seeded and chopped finely
Weird stuff at the end:
1 tsp baking soda
1 T white vinegar
In a medium bowl (and not your mixing bowl), sift or generally mix together the dry ingredients. Set aside. It knows what it’s done.
In the measuring cup that holds your buttermilk, add the food coloring. You can stir if you want to. Or not. Your choice. Set aside — it was in on it with the dry ingredients. Separating them might not be a bad idea.
Beat the butter in a mixer until it all sticks to the side of the bowl and running the mixer just becomes a waste of electricity (or right before that). Pour in the sugar and keep mixing it until it beads up and get clumpy. Add the vanilla and the eggs. Keep beating until the butter mixture looks like frosting. I’m not sure if this is necessary, but it’s sure fun to watch. Add the chipotle(s).
With the mixer at low speed (unless you want an excuse to buy all new kitchen equipment), slowly add the wet and dry ingredients alternating to the damp ingredients until you have something that looks like weird reddish pink goo. Or batter.
Mix the baking soda with the vinegar. Watch it fizzle. Add this to the batter, FOLDING (by hand, don’t use the mixer) it in until it looks like it’s all in there.
Line your cupcake tins and spray down lightly with some sort of non-stick spray. Fill 2/3rds with batter, try not to eat all the batter.
Mini cupcakes: Bake at 325° for 18 minutes (or do the tooth pick thing) Makes about 5 dozen.
Regular Cupcakes: Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Makes about 3 dozen.
Frosting:
Find your favorite cream cheese frosting recipe. Add about 1 T of cinnamon. Or more. Going overboard on the cinnamon is never a bad idea. Subtlety is for wimps.
Dollop, pipe, spoon or do something to get the frosting on the cupcakes. Do not eat all of the frosting (unless you ate all of the batter).
Take some Tums, then enjoy the cupcakes. Then takes some more Tums.