Reality...its not about the contest. Is it about getting into the kitchen and creating, experimenting, and watching everyone participate in the tasting process.
This months theme was Nuts and Seeds. So many choices!! Nuts are a favorite food, second only to cheese. Pecans, walnuts, almonds!!! how do I choose?
The experiments began with a chocolate cupcake recipe. I used Martha Stewart's One Bowl Chocolate Cake recipe. I choose three different fillings for the inside of the cupcake - caramel and pecans (store prepared), heath bar (the candy bar) and creamy pralines (homemade).
The carmel was too large of a chunk and fell to the bottom when baking. The heath bar chunks were too small and blended with the chocolate batter.
The most successful was the Chocolate Creamy Praline Cupcake. This was my first choice and attempted the other items as back up, so I was excited it was a success!! The pralines were just the right size, did not sink or melt too much. There were a nice creamy crunchy sweet gooeyness. I frosted with a Italian Buttercream Frosting, topped with creamy praline crumbs and drizzled with caramel sauce.
Recipes to follow!!
