This past weekend took us to our first long distance volleyball tournament to Colorado Springs. It is a beautiful city surrounded by breathtaking mountains.
At each tournament, every team has their "team table", which translates to a feeding trough for teenagers, coaches and parents for the tournament day. All parents sign up for their assigned snack and we rotate each week. It works out really great so families don't need to run around in an unfamiliar city trying to get snacks to keep their player energized throughout the day, and it saves so much money for the families.
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| A new use for hotel wet bar (volleyball prep area). |
This weekend my assignment was sandwiches and fruit tray. Since we had a 2 hour drive ahead of us just to get to "The Springs", we decided to drive out the night before and do the hotel stay, since it ends up being a very long and exhausting tournament day typically.
Well it's a good thing that I have a lot of experience with on the road cooking and prepping from our various camping and catering adventures. I didn't want to prepare the fruit too early, not knowing the hotel room situation and what I would be able to store.
Upon check-in, our room had a wet bar and mini refrigerator. We hit the nearest grocery store after dinner and stocked up the little appliance with all the supplies it could hold. So, there I was at 6 am on tournament morning, cutting up fruit at our in-room wet bar counter and making the team's breakfast platter.
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| 15 Year Old's Food Fest Team Table after they devoured their first course. |
Also at our hotel, they had a wonderful desert case at the reception desk, that of course my teenagers scoped out. The youngest begged me for their overpriced cupcake. I have to admit it did look really good and I caved, once again. It is after all "chocolate month" with Valentine's Day and my birthday.
It was a dark chocolate cupcake with whipped peanut butter frosting and a cute little
Reese's Peanut Butter Cup crowning it. She was nice enough to share a bite with me and it really was as good as it looked.
Upon our return home, I found what I think could be the exact same recipe. I'll try it out....I think the total recipe for a dozen cupcakes would still run me less that the cost of that one cupcake!!
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| "A thing of beauty, is a joy (on my thighs) forever". |
Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting
Courtesy of
Brown Eyed Baker
Ingredients:
For the Cupcakes:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
½ cup (1.5 ounces) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
¾ cup (3.75 ounces) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
¾ cup (5.25 ounces) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon table salt
½ cup (4 ounces) sour cream
For the Peanut Butter Frosting:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
⅓ cup heavy cream
Directions:
1. To make the Cupcakes: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat to 350 degrees F. (If you are using a non-stick muffin pan, heat the oven to 325 degrees F.) Line standard-size muffin pan with baking cup liners.
2. Combine butter, chocolate, and cocoa in medium heatproof bowl. Set bowl over saucepan containing barely simmering water; heat mixture until butter and chocolate are melted and whisk until smooth and combined. (Alternately, you can microwave the mixture at 50% power, stirring every 30 seconds until completely melted.) Set aside to cool until just warm to the touch.
3. Whisk flour, baking soda, and baking powder in small bowl to combine.
4. Whisk eggs in second medium bowl to combine; add sugar, vanilla, and salt until fully incorporated. Add cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Sift about one-third of flour mixture over chocolate mixture and whisk until combined; whisk in sour cream until combined, then sift remaining flour mixture over and whisk until batter is homogeneous and thick.
5. Divide the batter evenly among muffin pan cups. Bake until skewer inserted into center of cupcakes comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes.
6. Cool cupcakes in muffin pan on wire rack until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes. Carefully lift each cupcake from muffin pan and set on wire rack. Cool to room temperature before icing, about 30 minutes.
7. To make the Peanut Butter Frosting: Place the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.
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