Sweet & Savory

IMBB 13 - Banana Cupcake Surprise

In less than six hours, J and I will be soaring over the great American Midwest bound for New York City for our (early) anniversary trip. We will be spending the next week and a half putting our best effort into eating through the Big Apple, as only a pair of insane foodies can do on their first trip in such a place. As such, we were compelled to post an early entry for IMBB13, hosted by Maki of i was just really very hungry. When we read that the theme was cupcakes, we knew exactly what we were making.

One of my favorite flavors of pie is that of Boston Cream Pie, which is not even really a pie. It's actually a cake, typically formed by layers of yellow cake, sandwiching a silky vanilla cream filling, and glazed with chocolate. My addiction to this classic combination of flavors had inspired me to brainstorm on a cupcake version. I'd been thinking about baking them for a while, and IMBB13 was the perfect occasion to finally do it.

My basic idea was to:

• use a butter cake batter for the cupcakes
• hide a dark chocolate truffle inside each cupcake
• cover the cupcakes with vanilla pastry cream

As you can plainly see, the end result was very different from the beginning idea. The cupcakes evolved in our heads. What started out as Boston Cream Cupcakes merged with Banana Cream Cupcakes and eventually became Banana Cupcake Surprise! I kept the first two steps of my original idea, but ended up topping the cupcakes with simply a slice of caramelized banana.

I made this last-minute change mainly because I ran out of time before our NYC trip. I will probably try it again with the vanilla pastry cream when I have another chance. And I promise to get recipes up here when we get back from our trip, but for now, I need to finish packing! :)

Parisian Macarons

Suppose that you wake up on a Saturday morning and you stretch out your kinks. Suppose also that upon looking out your bedroom window, you see a gorgeous blue sky and birds twitterpating about. This inspires you to go somewhere - somewhere exciting - instead of staying cooped up in your house all day. It has been a while since you visited your neighborhood farmers' market. A good start of the strawberry season could compel you to buy a flat of the cute delectable fruits and to make yourself an army of petite strawberry tarts. A thought crosses your mind: "why don't I go and visit the Ferry Market in San Francisco instead?" As exciting as your neighborhood farmers' market could ever be, the SF Ferry Market is dependably at least 10 times more exciting!

The outdoor booths display all sorts of food goodies and fresh produce, from the commonplace to the exotic. The temporary tents are set up as the sun rises and taken down around two o'clock in the afternoon, when the outdoor Ferry Market officially closes. Outdoor is the key here because, just when you think you've amassed the best collection of tasty tidbits from the artisan vendor booths, you notice the masses of people bustling in and out of the Ferry Building, in whose shadow the Ferry Market is set up. The Ferry Building houses merchants and restaurants of many specialties, including bread, cheese, meat, poultry, seafood, pastries, ice cream, chocolate, cookware, and gardening.

Well, suppose on this beautiful Saturday morning, you've filled your shopping bags with organic butternut squash, several bunches of dinosaur kale, and a few jars of June Taylor jams. Your stomach is grumbling, so you head inside the Ferry Building in search of the perfect appetite pleaser. The line at the Hog Island Oyster Bar looks to be way too long on said Saturday, doubled back and out the door. So you settle for a quick meal at Delica-RF1, a delicatessen with Japanese flair. The arugula and fuyu persimmon salad and chicken dumplings were delish and you attacked them with such fervor that you forgot to take pictures of the food for your devoted readers to drool over. This just means another visit another day to get photos!

Your appetite is satiated for the time being, but as you pass the numerous pastry shops, you cannot help but stare longingly at the displays. You finally cave to your sweet tooth and decide to buy some Parisian macarons from Miette. Situated between Tsar Nicoulai Caviar and Ciao Bella Gelato, this organic patisserie happens to have five glass jars filled with lovely macarons on display. While purchasing one of each flavor to try, you pine for the pretty cakes in the display case upon which the macarons sit. Quickly you contemplate whether you could finish an entire Chocolate Cream Layer Cake on the spot, seeing as your hands are already filled with bags. For a moment, you even consider gifting your dino kale to the ladies at the Miette counter and taking home the cake instead. In the end, you resolve to come back the following week with no bags, or else an extra pair of hands, to get your cake and maybe some of the other cute items in the store, including pastel-colored scallop-edged cake stands and assorted candies.

About halfway home, while in the car, you can no longer resist the alluring pull of the macarons so you start nibbling on them. The hazelnut one is your favorite - the organic nut flour used in place of the standard flour enhances both the flavor and texture of the macaron. Before you know it, there is but an empty bag in your hands. Too late once again, you realize that you forgot to take photos of the macarons for your readers. Oh well - there will be plenty more photo opportunities, since you will be going back the following week!