Food Column: A sweet taste of childhood treats
Let me begin this column with a story.
The other day I walked in the door at home after school. I was met by the other Michael, and our conversation quickly turned to an upcoming dinner party we were planning. We had invited two other couples for a nice evening of dinner, drinking, and laughter.
The other Michael mentioned one of our guests − let’s call him “Ned.”
“I just learned that ‘Ned’ is a lot older than I thought he was,” Michael said innocently.
I paused and looked at him. Ned is my age. Like me, he was a member of the Class of 1985. That makes both of us 57, a fact that I pointed out to Michael.
He should have considered his response more carefully.
“Yeah, I know,” he said. “He looks so much younger. I never would have thought he was as old as you.”
Thanks for those words of encouragement.
You see, I am insecure about a lot of things. My appearance, however, is generally not one of them. Except in one area, that is − my age.
I don’t mind being 57. In fact, I am happy to be 57. As friends point out, it’s better than the alternative. That said, I don’t appreciate people thinking I’m older than that. Over the years, I’ve had people consistently assume I was five, 10, 15, or even 20 years older than I actually am. The coup de grace happened seven years ago when a man at my church took me aside and asked, “So, what are you? Sixty-five? Seventy-five?”
I was 50 at the time.
Michael tries to tell me that it’s only because my hair and beard have gone prematurely gray. It’s true. I used to be blonde, but lately, when I get my hair cut, I see precious few blonde hairs falling to the floor and more silvery gray ones.
As I said earlier, I am OK with getting older. Still, every now and then I like to pretend that I’m still a kid. I watch stupid TV shows that I enjoyed in my 20s (“Friends” is still funny), and I read young adult novels meant for tweens (Simon v. the Homo Sapien Agenda is particularly good). I also like to eat some of the things I enjoyed eating when I was in my teens.
The only difference is that nowadays, I don’t have to rely on my mom or dad to buy these things for me. Because I am an adult, I can eat whatever I want, regardless of how close to dinner time it is. Another benefit is that I’ve learned that a lot of these things are easy to make myself.
But what should I make? For some reason, I was craving Hostess cupcakes, so I cobbled together a recipe and gave them a try. They were great. My next conquest was a recipe for peanut butter bars, the kind they used to serve in the lunchroom at my high school. They were even easier than the cupcakes and made me feel like a kid again.
That was the point. It doesn’t matter how old people think I am. What matters is how I feel, and most of the time, I feel pretty good. So, I’m going to go ahead and dunk my Oreos in milk and eat the occasional Pop Tart.
Just don’t tell me I look 75.
Cream-Filled Chocolate Cupcakes
Hostess cupcakes always looked so good when I’d see them in the store. The chocolate cake coated with chocolate icing and that squiggle of white frosting was incredibly tempting. Sadly, on those rare occasions when our parents would buy them for us, I was always disappointed. The icing was hard and peeled off in a single sheet. The cake was OK, but there was never enough cream filling to suit my tastes.
Hence, it’s no surprise that 50 years later I wanted to try making my own. I cobbled together recipes from the websites Sally’s Baking Addiction and Bakerella, and I was very pleased with the results. OK, so my squiggle isn’t very good. These treats still taste a lot better than the ones you get in the store.
Note: If you want to make just the cupcakes and ganache, you’ll still have a great dessert. However, I think it’s the cream filling that put these cupcakes over the top.
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
1 cup flour
½ cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup buttermilk (you can also use whole milk with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice)
½ cup hot coffee (you can substitute hot water
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. This recipe makes at least 15 cupcakes, and so you will need a second tin or reuse the tin. Set aside.
Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl combine the oil, sugar, egg, vanilla, and buttermilk. Mix in the dry ingredients. Add the hot coffee (or water). Mix until combined. The batter will be thin.
Pour into the prepared muffin tins (do not fill more than 2/3 full). Bake for 20-22 minutes (a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake should come out clean). Allow cupcakes to cool completely before proceeding with the recipe.
Cream Filling
Ingredients
2 cups powdered sugar
6 tablespoons butter, room temperature
7 oz. marshmallow cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons heavy cream
Sift the powdered sugar into a mixing bowl. Add the butter, and mix until combined. Add the marshmallow cream, vanilla, and heavy cream. Mix until fluffy.
To assemble Yyour cupcakes:
Use a paring knife to cut out a small circle in the center of each cupcake (the circle should be about the size of a nickel). Lift out the cake about one inch down. Fill the hole with roughly 1 teaspoon of cream filling. Replace the small circle of cake you cut out. Repeat with all of the cupcakes.
Chocolate Ganache
Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter, softened
10 oz. bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (I used chocolate chips)
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/3 cup heavy cream
In the top of a double-boiler set over simmering water melt the butter and chocolate along with the corn syrup and heavy cream. Stir constantly until butter and chocolate are melted and smooth. Alternately, you can heat everything in the microwave. Just be sure to begin with 30-40 seconds at a time so as to not burn the chocolate.
Dip the top of each cupcake into the ganache. Allow icing to harden.
Note: The cupcakes are fine on their own. However, if you want to give them that distinctive squiggle, use the leftover cream filling. You can use a pastry bag and fine tip.
Lunch Room Peanut Butter Bars
If the previous recipe is more challenging than you would like, these no-bake peanut butter bars are the answer. They can be thrown together in a few minutes (they will take longer to set), and they require few special ingredients.
I remember these bars fondly from my days at Sheldon High School. Soft with a nice coating of chocolate icing, they are comforting on a day when you want something sweet.
There are hundreds of recipes for this dish out there. This one comes from the website More or Less Cooking.
Ingredients
½ cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 ½ cups Graham crackers, crushed (about 12 crackers)
1 cup smooth peanut butter
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
Line an 8x8-inch baking dish with foil.
Melt the butter in the microwave. Stir in the powdered sugar, peanut butter, and crushed graham crackers. Press this mixture evenly into the bottom of your prepared pan.
Melt the chocolate chips until smooth. Spread over the peanut butter mixture. Refrigerate for about 60 minutes to firm up the chocolate.
Slice into squares and enjoy!
Michael Knock is a food columnist for the Iowa City Press-Citizen.
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Food Column: A sweet taste of childhood treats
