Super Bowl Sweets

On Sunday I watched the Super Bowl for the first time in my life. How I managed to make it 20 years without ever seeing the Super Bowl, I don’t know. And, not only did I (sort of) watch the game, I watched it at a Super Bowl party! The only sports I really like playing are tennis and basketball, and when it comes to watching sports…I don’t. Despite years of watching (and hearing) my dad watch football, I don’t know the rules at all. Oops. But this year I was invited to a Super Bowl party and I thought I’d give it a chance. After all, isn’t the Super Bowl also associated with great, stick-to-your-ribs comfort food?

My friend Katie asked guests to bring snacks, so I racked my brain for ideas. Cupcakes are my fallback baked good because I can easily make them in large quantities. Plus, they’re always a hit. I wanted whatever I brought to be festive and different. I became fixated on the idea of having the team colors represented in some way.

For the Ravens, I really wanted to capture that distinctive purple color. Because I live in DMV (DC/Maryland/Virginia) area and a few of my friends are from Maryland, I see that color a LOT. I decided that the rich blue-ish purple of cooked blueberries would be most appropriate, so I came up with a blueberry-studded cupcake topped with vanilla-and-blueberry-preserves buttercream. (That recipe will be featured in an upcoming post, after I perfect it further.) For the 49ers, I settled on yellow cake (gold) and strawberries (scarlet). Of course, to be fair, I had to make the 49ers cupcakes equally as visually appealing, so I came up with a variation of chocolate-covered strawberry cupcakes: yellow cupcakes studded with chocolate chips and topped with strawberry whipped cream and a chocolate-covered strawberry.

The recipe for the 49ers cupcakes follows. It might not be a bad idea to make them for any 49ers fans you know. Might cheer ’em up. These cupcakes would also be nice for Valentine’s Day.

Years ago I decided that some foods that were just so easy to make that I should always make them from scratch. Cupcakes are one of those foods for me. (Pancakes and chocolate chip cookies also make the list.) That said, yellow cake mix would work for this recipe in a pinch.

Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp fine salt
2 large eggs, room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup FROZEN milk chocolate chips
Note: Put your chocolate chips in the freezer a few hours before you start baking. By doing so, fewer chocolate chips will sink to the bottom of the cupcakes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl.

Beat eggs and sugar together in a separate bowl. Add milk, melted butter and vanilla and whisk together.

Pour half of the wet mixture into the bowl containing dry ingredients. Stir until just combined. Add the other half of wet ingredients and stir. Add chocolate chips and stir.

Pour batter into a muffin tin lined with cupcake liners. Bake approximately 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean. The cupcakes will be pale in color and not yet golden brown.

Strawberry Whipped Cream

1/2 pint heavy cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
10 large strawberries, coarsely chopped

Pour heavy cream and powdered sugar into a large bowl. Set aside.

Pour granulated sugar and chopped berries into a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. The berries should be soft and there should be a clear, thin, light red liquid in the pan.

Strain the berries in a colander over the bowl containing the cream and sugar. Discard the cooked berries or add more sugar and strawberries to make strawberry preserves.

Whisk the strawberry liquid, cream and sugar together. Then whip the cream vigorously just until soft peaks form.

Using a knife, top each cupcake with a healthy dollop of strawberry whipped cream.

Chocolate-Covered Strawberries

12-14 strawberries
3/4 cup milk or bittersweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy cream
Note: This chocolate glaze is adapted from the chocolate glaze in the recipe for eclairs. It does not form a hard shell like glazes for chocolate-covered strawberries do. Feel free to use a different glaze, but if you’re making both recipes, it’s mighty convenient to use the same one!

Pour chocolate chips into a bowl.

Melt heavy cream over medium heat in a small saucepan until it boils. Immediately remove from heat and pour over chocolate chips. Whisk until smooth.

Dip strawberries into glaze. Place on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper. Place in fridge for at least an hour.

Top each cupcake with a chocolate-covered strawberry.

Keep coming back to the blog – soon I’ll talk about preserves (my new obsession) and give you the recipe for my blueberry cupcakes! Here’s a preview…