I have a confession to make… while I could pontificate ad nauseam on most gastronomic subjects, I am woefully naïve in the ways of wine and cocktails. I know that I like to drink them, but beyond that, I’ve never been a superior cocktail master, nor could I impart any significant knowledge on the origins, ratings, or flavors of a good wine.

But, I am grateful for the oenophiles and cocktail masters in my life who make the apt and judicious wine and cocktail pairings for the meals that I make. My dear friend, CS, has a profound and delightful knowledge of wine, unique liquors, and liqueurs, and is always fiddling with new cocktail combinations.

When she saw the post on the Blackberry Mascarpone Cupcakes, she e-mailed me to suggest this fun cocktail to go with them; I suggested that she write her own post, and I happily bring you this Blackberry Champagne Cocktail, courtesy of CS.

This cocktail would add adult sophistication to this sweet treat.

 
Although I am a big fan of an ice-cold glass of milk to wash down sweet indulgences, if you want to pair something besotted with these gourmet treats, a glass of brut champagne with a splash of Chambord would be delicious. 

Chambord – a French black raspberry liquor – can be sipped on its own, but paired with the cupcakes, the sweetness combination could lead to a diabetic coma.  Adding the nectar to champagne, however, cuts the sweetness while maintaining the liquor’s fruity essence. 

In terms of champagne, Roederer Estate “Brut” Anderson Valley NV is the best value that I have found.  OK, technically, it’s not champagne because it’s made in California, but Roederer is a classic French house with over 200 years of winemaking history.  With a 90+ point Wine Enthusiast rating, this new world bubbly can hold its own against Veuve Cliquot or White Star.  And with a $20 price tag, you don’t need to wait until the market rebounds to see a return on your pleasure investment.

Champagne makes everything better!

Blackberry Champagne Cocktail, Serves 4
Ingredients:

1 Bottle of dry Champagne
Approximately ½ Cup Chambord
Preparation:

Pour 2 parts champagne to a champagne flute. Add 1 part Chambord and top with a remaining 1 part champagne. 

No need to measure, but the proportions should be approximately 1 part Chambord to 3 parts bubbly.  Finish it off by sliding a blackberry onto the rim…Voila!

Hump day gets a little lift from blackberry mascarpone filled chocolate fudge cupcakes

It was PT’s birthday a few weeks ago, and I admittedly went a bit nuts in the cupcake preparations. I had fully intended to back a sheet cake sized to feed the 25 party attendees, but after reading Smitten Kitchen’s quite frankly frightening list of do’s and don’ts regarding sheet cake preparation and transportation, I decided that cupcakes would be much more practical…. Three days later, I could be found in my apartment-turned-bakery grooving to Lady Gaga with 3 types of frosting in my hair, surrounded by cooling racks, and stepping across boxes of cupcakes.

The results....

I made 4 different kinds of cupcakes, each with their own frosting and topping, filling, and personality. I’ll include each of the recipes over the coming weeks, but I wanted to start with PT’s favorite, a dangerously dense and dark chocolate confection that remains cake-like in name only. The cupcake is a thick chocolate fudge, filled with blackberry mascarpone that spreads over the top of the cake. The final touch are two ripe blackberries that serve as a light, juicy counterpoint to the richness of the cake.

These cupcakes are essentially a re-jigging of Nigella Lawson’s Baby Lava Cake recipe, just baked and topped a bit differently. They are at their best when fully brought to room temperature, and be sure to have a tall glass of milk on hand to wash them down.

Click here for a printable version of the recipe

Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes with Blackberry Mascarpone, Yields 12

Ingredients:

For Cupcakes

¼ Cup Butter, at room temperature

12 oz. Best Quality Bittersweet Chocolate

½ Cup Sugar

4 Large Eggs, beaten together

1 Tsp. Best Quality Vanilla

1/3 Cup Flour

For Mascarpone filling

2 Pints Blackberries

1 Cup Water

¼ Cup Sugar

8 oz. Mascarpone

Preparation:

Line your muffin tin with 12 baking cups.

Preheat the oven to 400°.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler (either real or makeshift). Set aside to cool slightly.

Cream the butter and sugar together with a mixer at medium speed. Slowly add the eggs and then the vanilla. Add the flour, and, once incorporated, add in the cooled chocolate. Continue mixing on low-medium speed until the batter is very smooth, about 1 minute.

Pour the batter near to the top of the baking cups and bake them for 12-14 minutes. Remove from the oven and let them sit in the muffin tin for 10-15 minutes. Carefully remove the cupcakes from the muffin tin, taking care not to squish their soft middle. Allow to cool on a baking rack for at least 45-60 minutes while you make the mascarpone filling.

To make the blackberry mascarpone, start by breaking the blackberries down into a lumpy jam. Boil the 1 Cup of water and sugar in a sauce pan over medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes, just until the mixture is slightly thicker.

Add the blackberries to the sauce pan and stir continuously for 12-15 minutes. The blackberries will start to break down and meddle with the sugar water after 5-8 minutes, like in the photo above. Continue cooking until it reaches the consistency of a hot jam. Remove from the heat, allow to cool for 15-20 minutes.

Add the mascarpone to the cooled blackberries and mix well.

Prepare your cooled cupcakes for the blackberry mascarpone by scooping a small bit of the soft middle out, leaving a small bowl for the filling. I use a teaspoon, holding it vertically and twisting gently to scoop out enough of the cake to leave a hole one inch in diameter and about 1/2-1 inch deep.

Once all of the cupcakes have been scooped, use a small spatula to fill the cupcakes with the mascarpone and spread as a topping over the top.

Top each cupcake with two blackberries, serve with a tall glass of milk, and humbly receive the forthcoming praise.