Chocolate Recipes & More

I got my author copies of Chocolate Never Faileth yesterday!!!

My children literally danced around the house, sang, and then personalized their copies with Sharpies.

(My son asked if they seriously all got copies, and I had to respond with, "Um, yeah. Actually, I've put aside copies of ALL my books for each of you kids." Apparently chocolate is the first one he particularly cared about.)

(Not that I blame him.)

Within minutes, my youngest begged to make something out of the book. Her first request (Easy Chocolate Pudding, page 87) was met with, "Sorry, we don't have whipping cream." She would not be deterred. She had to make something from the book. Right. Now.

So I helped her make my Sinful Chocolate Cupcakes (page 21) and Classic Chocolate Buttercream Icing (page 170) to go on them.

We used her copy of the book, so it's been officially "christened" in the kitchen, complete with a dusting of flour and a splatter of milk.

The kids enjoyed reading the anecdotes and quotes, looking at the pictures and recipes and remembering how we tested this one and how we came up with that one. My daughters were so tickled with their copies that they shoved the books into their backpacks to show off at school.

It was a fun trip down memory lane . . . especially when I thought about how it's been just under a year since I turned in the manuscript on October 6, 2009.

In honor of the release and my children's enthusiasm, below are the recipes for the cupcakes and the icing. (You'll have more icing than you need for a dozen cupcakes. Like that's a problem, right?)

I'm getting word of a bunch of fun promotional things coming down the pike (one of which I'll let you know about just as soon as it's official!). For starters, watch for TV ads on KSL 5 this weekend between general conference sessions. (I KNOW!!! How cool is THAT?!!!)

This week's book signings:

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 5-8 pm, BYU Bookstore

Signing books and giving away samples.

And the next day:

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, flagship Deseret Book store in Salt Lake

Also giving out samples and signing books. BUT THE TIME HAS CHANGED. I'll be there immediately following the afternoon session of general conference: 4:00 - 5:30. (So NOT during Ladies Night. BEFORE it.)

With housekeeping business out of the way, it's recipe time!

Sinful Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

2 tsp baking soda

1 cup sour cream

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

2 cups flour

1/4 cup cocoa

Preheat the oven to 400. Put paper baking cups into a cupcake pan. Melt the butter; cool in the freezer for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the soda and sour cream. Stir well and set aside. The mixture will puff up as it sits. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and vanilla. Add the cooled butter and puffed-up sour cream mixture. Add the sugar and mix well. Add the baking powder, flour, and cocoa; beat for a minute or two until the batter is fully mixed. Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners and bake for about 18 minutes. Cool and ice with your favorite icing. Makes 1 dozen.

Classic Chocolate Buttercream Icing

Ingredients:

1 stick butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla extract

dash of salt (about 1/8 tsp)

half of a 32-oz bag of powdered sugar (about 4 1/4 cups)

2/3 cup cocoa

5-8 TB milk, as needed

Beat together butter and vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift together powdered sugar, cocoa, and salt. Add a generous 1/2 cup to 1 cup of the powdered sugar mixture to the butter mixture, followed by 1 TB milk. Continue alternating between the two until you reach the desired consistency.