My sister is pretty much awesome, as evidenced by her invitation to us for her birthday to participate in a very sophisticated cupcake tasting.

After my chocolate tasting party last fall, I think I may be becoming a tasting connoisseur.

If you live around here, I can now tell you where to enjoy the finest cupcakes. Read on.

Step 1: Buy lots of cupcakes.

We picked some local cupcakeries and split up the job of bringing a few home to sample.

Here’s our spread (I didn’t have a camera on me, just the video camera):

Our stores:

Sweet Tooth Fairy (Provo)
The Cocoa Bean Cafe (Provo)
The Chocolate (Orem)
Cupcake Chic (Orem)
Dippidees (American Fork; also Springville inside Shay-Bee’s)
Smith’s (lots of locations)

We aimed to get a vanilla- and chocolate-based cupcake from each, plus a red velvet. But the flavors offered varied from place to place.

Step 2: Prepare to keep track of your opinions.

My sister created a handy score sheet to use as we tasted.

But first we rated the cupcakes on appearance and general appeal.

Step 3: Dig in!

This is easier said than done. We found it was best to divide each cupcake into quarters so as to slow the inevitable sugar rush.

Step 4: Compare notes.

The winners?

Appearance:

#1: The Cocoa Bean Cafe
#2: The Sweet Tooth Fairy
#3: Cupcake Chic
#4: The Chocolate
#5: Dippidee
#6: Smith’s

Taste:

#1: The Sweet Tooth Fairy (red velvet = #1, toasted coconut = #2)
#2: Cupcake Chic (coconut = #1, red velvet = #2)

The red velvet cupcake at The Sweet Tooth Fairy won because of its super moist, spongy cake and cream cheese frosting that was flavored with almond. This set it apart from every other red velvet cupcake we tried.

The coconut cupcake at Cupcake Chic was amazing. I think it’s mostly because of the vanilla cupcake that the coconut is mounted on. We 100% did NOT like the Cupcake Chic’s Neapolitan cupcake, but the strawberry frosting on it was divine. So if you like strawberry, go for their vanilla cupcake with strawberry frosting. It was also amazing.

The Chocolate and The Cocoa Bean Cafe were more grouped in the middle. The Cocoa Bean Cafe won the appearance based on their double frosting (an icing covered with a mound of frosting). Their cupcakes were also by far the widest and heaviest. BUT their taste came in the middle.

For me, Dippidees was the worst. By far. Their filling did not redeem them.

Smith’s was the big surprise; their cupcakes didn’t score high, but they weren’t the worst either. Their red velvet cake was moist.

So if you live around here and are needing a cupcake fix. this is what our very scientific research found: The Sweet Tooth Fairy or the Cupcake Chic can hook you up with something delicious. But be prepared to spend a little change; the cupcakes average about $2.25-2.50 apiece.

Because I apparently have nothing better to do, I’ve been trying to perfect making cake bites (formally known as “cake balls”). I admit, I have been a little obsessed.

The original cake bites recipes instructs:

1) make a cake
2) crumble it up and mix it with frosting
3) form into mini-balls and chill
4) dip in melted chocolate
5) eat!

I feel like the cake bites I made, following this recipe, with red velvet cake and cream cheese frosting turned out too goopy and too sweet. So I set out to find something I liked better.

I read comments online by other people who made a cake and didn’t use any binder (i.e., frosting) at all. Their cake was moist enough to form into balls and dip. But I was still interested in adding some additional flavor to the cake mix. Whatever binder you use becomes a major flavor enhancer.

I bought a professional cake bite from a local bakery (one tiny cake bite for A DOLLAR!) and thought about its texture and flavor, and then I tried to make mine a little closer to it.

I ended up making another red velvet cake (from a mix), and this time instead of mixing it with cream cheese frosting, I mixed it with melted dipping chocolate. Maybe about 9 oz. or so. The chocolate flavor was terrific in the cake, but I thought the texture was still too moist and goopy.

So then I added some flour and cocoa (tiny bit), and maybe a smidge of powdered sugar, to firm it up some. I think the result is much better!

The cake bites have strong chocolate undertones and, while still moist, aren’t sticky or overly sweet. I dipped them in vanilla-flavored Guittard chocolate. The red velvet cake bites freeze really well, which makes them stay on a sucker stick really well. So I made some of them into cake pops.

I have to say, the one problem I still have with the red velvet cake bites is that sometimes the filling oozes out from the chocolate shell. Not sure how to fix that yet.

I also tried a new filling by taking a chocolate cake mix and, instead of baking the cake, mixing the dry cake mix with 8 oz. cream cheese (1/3 less fat), Nutella (we had a little left that was getting old), and some water (to get it moist). It tastes kind of like those cream cheese cookies you make with cake mix, if you’ve ever had those. These turned out great as cake bites. I think, anyway. I’m basing this on John’s opinion, as I only dipped a couple tonight and then left for an hour, and when I came back, both were missing. John said they were good, though.

I will be sending these home to my folks this week for Christmas. (Surprise ruined! Act surprised when you open the box, Mom.) Pictured here are brownie bites dipped in peanut butter candy melt and vanilla flavored dipping chocolate (green colored). The cake pop is red velvet cake dipped in the vanilla chocolate.

So I stumbled on a couple of blogs that got me hooked on the idea of making cake pops. I had eaten a red velvet cake pop at a special event a few months ago, and it was instant addiction.

Basically, a cake pop is cake rolled in a ball, dipped in chocolate, and mounted on a stick. Oh, yumminess. And if you don’t dig the stick aspect, you can skip that and just make cake balls.

I’ve tried three different types of cake balls/pops so far: red velvet, oreo, and brownie.

Here’s what I’ve learned about these three types:

1. Duncan Hines makes a red velvet cake mix. Super easy to make. Also super messy! Red everywhere. Wes was helping me mix and got some batter on his arm. Later John saw Wes and thought he was bleeding!

2. I’ve not perfected the red velvet cake ball yet. The recipe says bake a red velvet cake, crumble it up, and stir in one 16 oz. canister of cream cheese frosting. I did that and I thought the mixture was too moist and too sweet. I could have maybe used 8 oz. instead of 16. The owner of the candy supply shop where I bought my dipping chocolate said that they teach their clients to make cake balls differently: Instead of mixing in frosting, mix in melted dipping chocolate. She said it makes the texture more brownie-like. I may try that next time. I was hoping to love the red velvet cake balls, but I didn’t.

3. To make Oreo balls, crumble a package of Oreos in the blender (or food processor if you’re fancy like that) and mix in an 8 oz. package of cream cheese (note: NOT frosting, like with the red velvet cake balls. Just cream cheese). This makes an Oreo truffle. Try not to eat it all.

4. The brownie balls were my favorite. I just made a pan of brownies and scooped out mini balls to dip into the chocolate. Easy. I have my neighbor to thank for that brilliant idea.

For the chocolate, I started with almond bark from the grocery store, and some milk chocolate flavored candy meant for dipping and candy making that I already had in my pantry. I visited a local cake/candy supply store for two more types of dipping chocolate: mint chocolate and peanut butter. These last two were Guittard brand, and they taste really good.

A few things I learned about the chocolate aspect of making cake balls:

1. Almond bark tastes like nothing. I’m going for white dipping chocolate next time.

2. The Oreo balls taste best with mint chocolate. The brownie balls taste best with anything. They were my favorite. The red velvet cake balls, while I wanted to like them, didn’t do it for me. I guess they were best with the milk chocolate, since I didn’t like the almond bark at all.

3. Before dipping in chocolate, it helps if the balls are firm. I used a cookie scoop (which I finally bought last month and am wondering how I didn’t own one before now. It’s the Best. Thing. Ever.) to make the balls, and then I stuck them in the freezer.

4. I used a toothpick to dip the balls into the chocolate, and a spoon to help cover the ball completely. I used a second toothpick to push the ball off the first one.

Here’s some milk chocolate flavored candy I’m about to melt (in the microwave: 1 minute at 50% power, stir, then zap in 10-15 second increments, stirring until melted).

Melted peanut butter flavored dipping chocolate:

Dipping an Oreo ball:

And the final product. Although I have seen many photos of beautific cake balls, mine are not among them. I guess making them look nice is an acquired skill. But they still taste good.

We hosted Thanksgiving for my mom and sister’s family. What is Thanksgiving without a formal table setting?

The kids were more informal.

And because I’m a giver, here’s the recipe I used to make Chocolate Bavarian Pie, the pie which, when John tasted it, caused him to exclaim, “It tastes good! I’m surprised!” Which basically sums up my sad baking skills.

But the reason it tasted so good is because I followed the recipe (from Hershey’s Best Loved Recipes).

Chocolate Bavarian Pie

Ingredients

* 1 envelope unflavored gelatin
* 1-3/4 cups milk, divided
* 2/3 cup sugar
* 6 tablespoons HERSHEY’S Cocoa
* 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 cup (1/2 pt.)cold whipping cream
* 1 baked 9-inch pie crust or crumb crust, cooled

Directions

1. Sprinkle gelatin over 1 cup milk in medium saucepan; stand several minutes to soften.

2. Stir together sugar and cocoa; add to milk mixture. Add corn syrup. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture boils. Remove from heat. Add butter; stir until melted. Stir in remaining 3/4 cup milk and vanilla. Pour into large bowl. Cool; refrigerate until almost set.

3. Beat whipping cream in small bowl on high speed of mixer until stiff. Beat chocolate mixture on medium speed until smooth. On low speed, add half of the whipped cream to chocolate mixture, beating just until blended. Pour into prepared crust; refrigerate until set, at least 3 hours. Just before serving, garnish with remaining whipped cream. Cover; refrigerate leftover pie. 8 servings.

Today I made something fantastic: Molten Chocolate Cake. But I can’t take credit for it; it was just good ingredients and a good recipe. And it was SO EASY!

John and I both have this thing for Scharffen Berger chocolate. We had never heard of it until we were in San Francisco several years ago and took a tour of their factory. It. Was. Amazing. My favorite memory is the chocolate tasting where they gave us bits of different percentages of dark chocolate and helped us recognize features like “fruity undertones” or “smoky finish.” I felt like a true chocolate connoisseur.

For a long time I couldn’t find Scharffen Berger chocolate in Utah but now it’s sold at Albertson’s (or “Fresh Market,” as some of stores have been bought out). I get a 6 oz. bar of 70% Bittersweet Fine Artisan Dark Chocolate in the baking aisle.

The recipe for molten cake is on a recipe card inside the package. Here’s exactly how I made it.

Scharffen Berger Molten Cake

6 oz. Scharffen Berger 70% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate, coarsely chopped
8 Tbsp (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 eggs plus 2 egg yolks
1/4 cup white sugar
pinch of salt
1 to 1 1/2 Tbsp flour

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and move rack to lowest part of the oven.

Put the chocolate pieces and butter chunks in a microwaveable bowl and microwave for about 1 1/2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds. Don’t overheat; the chocolate will melt more as you stir it.

In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment combine the eggs, yolks, sugar, and salt and beat on high speed for 4-5 minutes, or until the mixture is thick and pale. When the whisk is lifted and the batter is run back and forth over itself, it will hold a slowly dissolving ribbon.

With the mixer on low speed, sprinkle the flour over the batter and mix until combined.

Fold the egg mixture one-third at a time into the chocolate mixture.

Generously spray four cavities in a jumbo muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray. (The recipe calls for 5-6 oz. ramekins, but I don’t have ramekins. A jumbo muffin pan does the same thing. Or, you can use the regular size muffin pan; you’ll get more than four cakes and you won’t need to cook them as long.) Fill muffin cavities with batter within 1/4 inch of the top.

Bake 8-10 minutes until the sides of the cake are firm. Centers will be soft to the touch but set.

Let stand for 1 minute, then unmold each cake onto a serving plate. Serve immediately topped with a custard sauce or ice cream.

I’m not kidding–this stuff is so good. Perfect chocolate flavor, not too sweet. Try it!

Today was a bizarre day with a bizarre beginning.

It all started at 3 a.m. when I woke up inexplicably awake and hungry. So hungry that no matter how hard I tried to distract myself with soothing, relaxing, sleep-inducing thoughts, my mind continually returned to food. Pancakes, specifically.

This was a little boggling to me since the night before we attended a church Christmas party where I ate a LOT. I had taught Zumba right before and came famished. And pretty much ate my weight in roast beef, real mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, carrots…it was so good.

So as much as I tried to reason myself back to sleep it didn’t work. I finally got up around 4:30 a.m., went downstairs, turned on Christmas music, and made myself pancakes.

When the pancakes were gone I popped in Emma with Gwyneth Paltrow and did some online Christmas browsing. (What else are you going to do at 5 a.m.? Something practical like laundry? No way.) I finally crashed on the couch after 6 a.m. until Wes woke up at 7.

The next bizarre thing that happened was that I went shooting.

You heard me.

It was part of a church activity for the guys, and wives were invited. They successfully lured us out into sub-freezing temperatures with the promise of glazed donuts and hot chocolate. Pretty much manna from heaven.

This is the first time I ever held a gun. Do I look like I know what I’m doing?

If you said “no,” you’re right. John helped me and I shot it a couple times before my hands iced over and threatened to fall off. Not only was it FREEZING but there was a storm blowing in, and the wind was fierce.

I didn’t know this about John (and we’ve been married seven years), but the man can shoot. He hit the clay pigeon every time. He only started missing when the fellows were playing Annie Oakley (I know–who knew there were guy shooting games?) for a long time and his own fingers started icing over and threatening to fall off.

Here he is, and if you look closely at the sky you can see the orange clay pigeon that he just shot into three pieces.

Once I had my two shots of glory I was kind of done and joined the rest of the womenfolk in normal womenfolk-type things, like in-depth conversations about menstruation, menopause, and hysterectomies. Good times.

And the bizarreness didn’t stop there. After the activity ended we arranged for our babysitter to stay with Wes longer so we could actually go to a movie together. We never do this. We sneaked in $1 (actually, they’re $1.19 now) chicken sandwiches and bacon cheeseburgers from Wendy’s for lunch.

We saw Blind Side. I had serious doubts about the film when I saw Sandra Bullock in the previews with blond hair and a twangy southern accent. I was so wrong. SUCH a good movie, such a good story. And Sandra Bullock gave the performance of her life.

We were glad to be home at the end of all this, but we had fun together. Don’t EVEN ask how much I ate today. All I know is that I totally ate enough that I won’t be waking up again tomorrow at 3 for pancakes.