Chocolate Ganache

All you need is a food scale and you can never mess up ganache. This is delicious and SO simple to make. I learned how to do it at my Epicurean cooking class I took with Jackie a few weeks ago.

Ingredients

• Equal parts of bittersweet chocolate, chopped and heavy cream by weight

Directions

1. Measure equal parts of bittersweet chocolate, chopped and heavy cream.
2. Put the chocolate in a medium bowl and set aside.
3. Heat up heavy cream in a medium pot until a gentle boil is established.
4. Pour heated cream into bowl of chocolate and stir chocolate until melted.
5. Let ganache cool down to room temperature before using.

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Matcha Green Tea Buttercream

Makes 2 dozen

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 cups sugar (*tip: try reducing this to 1 1/2 cup, it was a bit sweet)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or 1 vanilla bean, scraped
• 5 large eggs, separated
• 1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
• 1 cup plus scant 1/3 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 standard muffin tins with cupcake liners; set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixere fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add vanilla; beat to combine. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Sift together both flours, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. With the mixer on low, add flour mixture; mix until well combined. Add sour cream; mix until well combined.
4. In a clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold egg whites into batter.
5. Fill each muffin cup half full with batter. Transfer muffin tins to oven and bake until a skewer inserted into the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean, 18-22 minutes. Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

Green Tea Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Follow recipe for Swiss Merginue Buttercream, at the end when you add the vanilla, add 1 tablespoon of matcha green tea powder.

Buttercream Frosting for Cookies

This is from Jess:

Ingredients:
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 box powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
½ teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon almond extract (the secret ingredient)

Instructions:
In a mixing bowl, beat softened butter on high for 30 seconds to a minute.
Add 1 box of powdered sugar and beat on low until sugar clumps up around butter.
Scrape bowl.
Slowly add milk, 1 tablespoonat a time to butter and sugar. You may need more or less than 2 tablespoons to get the desired consistency.
Continue to beat at medium speed until soft peaks form.
Add vanilla and almond extract.Beat thoroughly to incorporate, adjusting vanilla and almond extract to taste.

Note: The more milk used, the wetter the frosting , the longer it will take for your cookies “to set”. It is agood idea to let frosting set up before stacking and plating the cookies (usually an hour or more).