Thursday, December 30, 2010

Black Swan Muffcakes..."Mmmmm So Pink, So Pretty!!!"

    I'm a little late, okay about 4 or 5 days to the Muffcake party, but ever since Salty Seattle suggested them I cannot get them out of my head. Another thing I can't seem to get out of my head is the movie Black Swan. We get sent DVDs from the studios every year at this time, in order to vote for the screenplay awards. One of the films I've really loved this year is Black Swan. I've watched it twice already and will definitely be voting for it at nomination time. That aside,  if you've seen the movie you'll know what a natural it is for the Muffcake theme. This movie screams for Muffcakes all around!
   In a nutshell, Black Swan is about an ambitious and really nutty young ballerina about to dance the lead in Swan Lake who finds herself in a battle first to find and then to harness her dark side, the notorious Black Swan. One thing leads to another, there's sex, there's ex, (this is not your Gramma's Swan Lake) there's bulimia, there's delirium and there's a whole helluva lot of pink.
   The young dancer played by Natalie Portman, and her Mama Dearest Barbara Hershey, live in a pink girlie-girl world in the film, pink rooms, pink stuffed animals, pink grapefruit, pink frosting, pink... which brings me back to these Muffcake things.
   Muffcakes are simply a cross between a muffin and a cupcake. But what pray tell is the difference. Size? Frosting? Actually the difference lies deep within. In the heart of the Muffcake if you will. I had to go deep within my dark side (okay, actually Google) to discover that a cupcake contains twice as much egg, fat and sugar as a muffin, transforming it magically to....cakedom.
   I would start with a muffin. Muffins are easy. I could make muffins with my eyes closed. It would be the cupcake that would be hard. Actually not really. Here's what I did:


Black Swan Muffcakes




First preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
I started with a simple muffin batter.
 Sift 2 cups of cake or pastry flour, then measure them again and sift them together with:
 2 tsps of baking powder
1/2 tsp of salt
 In another bowl mix together:
 1 egg
 3/4 cup of milk
 Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture then add in:
 4 Tbs of melted butter
 4 Tbs of sugar
 Mix this together well. This is your Muffin batter or as it will be known...The White Swan.

   Now for the Black Swan!
 Divide the batter in half. To one of the halves add:
 1 egg
 2 Tbs of melted butter
 3 Tbs of unsweetened cocoa
 4 Tbs of sugar
   Mix this together well. This is your cupcake batter, or as it will be known...the Black Swan.

   Grease a muffin tin.
   Now for the tricky part. Into each muffin cup add a bit of the White Swan batter.
On top of that add some of the Black Swan batter.
Or you can go the other way.
It's your call Bunkey. You are the boss of this show.
   Pop the Muffcakes into the oven for about 20 to 25 minutes.
They'll come out looking like this. Half Muffin, Half Cupcake!!! It's an abomination. No. It's a Muffcake.
 I made a simple butter cream frosting. Mix together with an electric beater:
 4 oz of unsalted butter with 1 cup of powdered sugar.
 When you have a nice creamy frosting base, add in a bit of vanilla and 2 Tbs of warm water.
 I added in a drop of red food coloring to give it that pink Muffcake glow.
I then dusted some sweetened, shredded coconut with unsweetened cocoa powder and sprinkled i on one half of the cupcake.
   I sprinkled the other half of the cupcake with plain, sweetened, shredded coconut.
 There you have it. White Swan, Black Swan.
Here they are as seen in migration seen from the overhead Swan-Cam.
   But what is at the heart of the Black Swan Muffcake??? Of course I had to slice one open to see the beating heart.
  And what good is a Muffcake without someone willing to get up close and personal with one?
It's Alans' birthday so of course he got the first Muffcake.

 
    Mmmmmmmmm  Muffcakes. My Little Princess you are perfect...and delicious!

10 comments :

  1. These are gorgeous!! I want a dozen...gotta go see this movie. I've heard so many things about it!

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  2. This sounds great! I haven't seen the movie but I'd eat the dessert for sure.

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  3. These sound divine! How lucky to be able to preview the movies - I have yet to see black swan - it is on my list. Happy New Year - may it be filled with much happiness!!

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  4. These muffcakes sound wonderful! I love the black and the white! I still have to go see black swan!

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  5. wisha ya happy new year 2011
    muffcakes look sogood,..

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  6. Gorgeous muffins, Kathy! Love the idea of sandwiching the chocolate in between.

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  7. LOVE IT - the movie and the B/W muff cakes - with coconut no less! Cheers to you in 2011, Kathy!

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  8. @Amy,
    thanks so much..they were delicious..I'm going to look at it again. I'm hooked on that film..so much I missed the first time, I noticed so much more the second

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  9. @Sanjeeta kk,
    thanks Sanjeeta! I loved making them..now I want to try a cream filling

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  10. I want to watch this movie so bad!
    Happy New Year sweetie!

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