Vanilla Rum Panna Cotta with Rum Roasted Cherries

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There is just something about reading John Berendt’s Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil amid the rumbling and booming of thunder, the wild rains beating against the windowpane, the violent flash of lightening shooting through the blackened skies, lighting up, ever so quickly, the room. Summer heat and white light, shades lowered against the brutality, suddenly changes into a frenzied tempest. Leaving behind her a languid afternoon, a sultry evening.

Another extraordinarily busy week, beginning out in the vineyards of Saumur last Saturday with Chef Nicolas Bourget of La Raffinerie in Nantes and Aymeric & Melanie Hillaire, winemakers at Domaine Melaric. Lessons in terroir, earth scooped up and pressed through fingers, lessons of wine as we watched leaves flutter in the breeze, drinking up the sunshine, as we sipped and swooshed whites and reds down in the dark, chilly cave, the only light the sweep of sunshine coming through the opened weathered wooden door. Children skittled in and out between the vats and between our feet and screamed in delight as we listened and questioned. More questions came to me for both chef and vigneron as we set up picnic table and barbecue, as marinated chicken and vegetables sizzled on the grill, as corks popped and tomatoes were sliced and tossed with olive oil and vinegar. Sylvie shot images and video as I asked the questions, all in preparation for a story. Lessons learned and new friends made.

Aymeric the vigneron and Nicolas the chef

The week swept by with the publication of my two articles (with photographer Ilva Beretta) and reached a dizzying height with a wedding anniversary. The end of the week approached with photographs taken of a Chef Ludovic Pouzelgues of Lulu Rouget after having interviewed Chef Nhung Phung of Song Saveurs & Sens.

The Lulumobile (as I call it) in front of Lulu Rouget

The strains of saxophone rise up like cigarette smoke from under the bridge below and float lazily in through the windows as the rain, calmer now, spatters against the panes, tapping on the tabletop just inside. Sweet, easy jazz vies with the drums and bombs on tv, as we spend a listless few hours, legs up, mind numb, wilting on the sofa, before wandering back into the kitchen to cook. Panna Cotta with Roasted Cherries.

From our perch above the street, we peer out from the darkness of the apartment and watch a future bridegroom dressed all in pink, baby bonnet fixed firmly on his head and shimmering pink pom-poms clutched in his fists, dancing in front of his entourage who are laughingly urging him on. They scatter at the first raindrops, scatter like children clearing a playground along with the rest of the stragglers who have yet to take shelter. The news has been as bleak as today’s weather, shouting and screaming images of war and mayhem; train accidents in France and in Spain have left a continent stunned. We shut off the television, fling open the windows to allow the chilly wind to whip in and try and shake the feeling of shock and sadness, try and find comfort in familiar laughter and something simmering on the stove. Emails from my family with news, messages from my son who is happily oblivious to the outside world as he hangs out on the beaches of Ca Bat along the bay of Halong, strumming the strings of a secondhand guitar. The clatter of the shells of mussels being tossed about in a white whine and shallots, saffron and chili revives and draws me into the kitchen.

I adore making Panna Cotta: it is a snap to put together, the flavor variations are endless and it is husband’s favorite dessert. The combination of vanilla and dark rum is simply wonderful, a beautiful balance adding warmth, an odd and earthy sweetness and a complex layering of flavors to the cream. Topped with Rum Roasted Cherries just makes this the best summer treat, elegant and special enough to share with friends, which we did. Groans of pleasure were all that broke the concentrated silence amid the clattering of spoons against glass as mouthfuls of smooth, silky Panna Cotta were scooped up. Even the children battled for the last bite, the last cherry popped into eager, happy mouths.

VANILLA RUM PANNA COTTA WITH RUM ROASTED CHERRIES

For the Vanilla Rum Panna Cotta:

3 cups (750 ml) cream or a combination of heavy cream, light cream/half-and-half and milk
2 tsps (1/4 oz, about 8 g) powdered unflavored gelatin
½ cup (100 g) granulated white sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract or the seeds scraped from one vanilla pod
3 Tbs dark rum or to taste

In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, pour 1 cup (250 ml) of the cream/milk mixture and sprinkle the gelatin on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes to soften the gelatin; I usually just tap the gelatin to push it under the liquid. After 5 minutes, turn the flame under the pot to low and allow to heat very gently for a 5 minutes until the gelatin dissolves completely, whisking carefully. Do not allow the milk to come to a boil: you can add a bit more of the cream/milk to the pot if desired while heating; if the milk starts to steam too much, simply pull the pot off of the heat and whisk until the 5 minutes are up.

Whisk in the sugar and the rest of the cream or cream mixture and continue to heat over low until the sugar is dissolved and the liquid is thoroughly warmed through. Whisk in the vanilla and the rum, taste and add more rum if desired. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly before dividing evenly between 6 glasses, verrines or ramekins.

Cover each with plastic wrap and slide into the refrigerator to chill and firm overnight.

For the Rum Roasted Cherries:
(adapted from a recipe on The Kitchn)

30 plump, ripe unpitted cherries
2 tablespoons demerara or granulated brown sugar 
(cassonade)
Pinch sea salt
- fleur de sel
2 Tbs dark rum

Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C).

Place the whole unpitted cherries in a small roasting pan and toss with the sugar and a pinch of salt. Place in the oven and roast until the cherries start to release their juices and the sugar melts and begins to caramelize. This will take about 10 minutes but watch the cherries very carefully, as the sugar may start to burn.

At the end of 10 minutes, remove the roasting pan from the oven and add the 2 tablespoons dark rum and toss until all of the sugar is moistened and the cherries are coated. Return the roasting pan to the oven for 5 more minutes. Watch very carefully to make sure that the sugar does not burn. Remove the roasting pan from the oven to a wooden board or cooling rack. Allow the cherries to rest until cool enough to handle. Remove the stems from all of the cherries except a few for decoration if desired. Pit all of the cherries (except the few still with their stems) over the roasting pan to catch any juices and discard the pits.

Place the roasting pan on the stove over a very very low flame and stir and toss, gently pressing the cherries with the back of a spoon or spatula just to release a bit more juice. Toss and cook gently but very quickly – only a minute or two – until the last of the sugar has melted and a thick, cherry red juice forms. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to either warm or room temperature.

Spoon a few Rum Roasted Cherries onto each chilled and set Vanilla Rum Panna Cotta with a bit of the cherry rum juice and serve immediately.

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Chocolate and Vanilla Frosted Birthday Cupcakes

THE STORY OF THE 50 CUPCAKES

We were sitting across from each other at the old wooden dining room table inherited from my in-laws before he was even born, each of us at our respective laptops, working. Suddenly he looked up at me, pausing in his typing, a glimmer of mischief in his golden eyes, and he said “You’re requisitioned to make 50 cupcakes for my birthday party.” Sly grin slid over his face, smugness oozing from each and every pore. “Requisitioned? Don’t you mean “commissioned”? I asked, always in the habit of correcting those slight errors of language in my multilingual boys. 

Typety type type. His fingers once again clattered across the keyboard of his laptop. He peered closely at the screen before reading aloud: “Requisition: an authoritative or formal demand for something to be done, given, supplied, etc.” “No,” he assured me, “I meant requisitioned.”

And so I found myself scurrying around my kitchen in a panic, flour puffing up around me in great clouds, cocoa powder leaving dark traces across my face, the heavenly scent of vanilla the only thing calming me down. I am always thrilled when my boys ask me to bake for their friends and a birthday party to boot, but why do I take on such Herculean chores that I know only throw me in a tizzy? The cursing emanates from the kitchen on waves of chocolate and cinnamon as I make every effort to measure, stir, pour without dropping anything on the floor, pans and bowls balanced precariously on counter edges and stovetop, utensils scattered willy-nilly all over the kitchen, cupboard doors and drawers gaping accusingly. I watch the clock closely as the minutes tick by, knowing that I have little wiggle room for errors, mishaps or flops. And I still have bowls of buttercream to whip up.

But this is a special day. My baby boy turns 25. Yes, 25 years old. As my own mother would say whenever one of her own children announced yet another birthday “What? You are almost as old as I am! Soon you will be older than I!” Oh yes.

With Uncle Michael

My little bundle of joy. No need to carry you along on a voyage of the years flown by; those of you who are parents already know how it works, those who are not parents will not understand the nostalgia, poignant sadness touched by joy. From plump little baby to curious – more than curious, in his case – toddler to young boy passionate about nature and a gloriously happy eater. Through those turbulent teen years to that odd limbo between adolescence and adulthood – mostly spent in bed, head firmly buried under covers - when he had no idea where to go, what to become, to this. A smart, handsome, funny, oh-so clever and talented young man. Architect, entrepreneur, future politician….

So 50 cupcakes and all of the trouble and anguish that it entailed (necessitated, one could say) was well worth it. A gift for Clem and his friend who shares this birthday with him, a joint party. So I baked. I used several recipes, two for chocolate cupcakes, two for vanilla. And only one disaster of overfilling and overflowing cupcake batter. By the time that I arrived at the frosting stage, I only had time for my Simple Chocolate Buttercream Frosting, but happily it is the best and my sons’ favorite frosting. So I made six batches. Yes, six. And as the clock inched closer to 6 p.m. and pickup time, I pulled out pastry bag and plain tip, all the colored sprinkles I had in my cupboard, the cookies I bought a day earlier expressly for the purpose and began the assembly line production. If in doubt of one’s piping and decorating skills, simply shower cupcakes with sprinkles.

Ta daaaa!!!

Happy Birthday, Clément!

For the cupcakes, I used:

CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

Simple One-Bowl Special Chocolate Cake : makes 12 cupcakes

Emergency Blender Chocolate Cupcakes (an Abby Dodge recipe) – makes 12 cupcakes

VANILLA CUPCAKES

Better-Than-Instant Vanilla Cupcakes (an Abby Dodge recipe) – makes 12 cupcakes

Yellow Layer Cake (from The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum) : makes about 36 cupcakes filling the cups only half full. Do not overfill!

Try my Vanilla Sponge Cake in cupcake cups for the same light, ethereal cupcake, filling the papers only half full.

Simple Chocolate Buttercream Frosting – without the mascarpone if the cupcakes will be sitting out or made a day ahead. Feel free to whip in mascarpone if serving immediately to have a richer frosting (you will also need less buttercream). Make one – the recipe given is a double batch - recipe of the frosting at a time (or half, as needed), piping as you like. Simply have enough softened butter, powdered sugar and unsweetened cocoa powder on hand and ready to make more single or double batches as needed; this recipe whips up in a flash. If the buttercream is too soft to pipe immediately, simply pop into the refrigerator for 10 minutes or so.

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VANILLA BEAN CINNAMON SPONGE BIRTHDAY CAKE

Writing … frees us from the mass identity we see in the making all around us. 

In the end, writers will write not to be outlaw heroes of some underculture 

but mainly to save themselves, to survive as individuals. 

– Don Delillo 

Salty, sour, bitter, sweet projects lined up on my desktop, teasing, taunting, mocking my laziness, the disorganization of my muddled mind, the disarray of my life. One story down, how many to go? Another birthday come and gone in the madness that is our life with nary a cake in sight. As I get older, I wonder if I get wiser or just crazier. But one thing I do know and can swear by; the more work that piles up on my desk, the more deadlines close in, menacing with their drawn claws and bared teeth, the more I am stimulated, the better and faster I write. I feel like Mike Mulligan and his trusty old steam shovel Mary Anne.

Meanwhile, I spend my days at my desk weaving tales, yet no time for my lonesome little blog. I shut down social media and close myself in a bubble of words and visions. Topics historical, political, personal crowd together, elbowing each other for space, surging forward to be the first out of my fingertips and onto a virgin page.

I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, 

what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means. 

– Joan Didion 

Yet, yet, I finally had the time to bake my birthday cake; better late than never. The day after, I began pulling out flour and sugar, cinnamon and my box of fragrant vanilla beans, stacking them all up on the counter under my kitchen window. As the hours flew by, and then another day, I would occasionally pause in between words, sentences, paragraphs and forage in the cupboard for one more thing I had forgotten, bars of chocolate, baking soda and cocoa powder. A box of heavy whipping cream. Ah, yes, the jar of jimmies, the chocolate sprinkles. I rifled among the pots and kitchen equipment and found my round layer cake tins and added them to the increasing mountain of supplies on the countertop. And then son appeared.

“Will you bake a chocolate layer cake for a friend’s birthday party tonight? I’m invited and offered to bring a cake.”

Well, am I simply a nice mother willing to bend over backwards to help my child? Or am I just thrilled when one of my sons asks for something homemade? Tickled pink that they are proud enough of my baked goods to bring them to friends, no matter how often they themselves spurn a slice of cake or a cookie themselves? My son coming home after the party and telling me that the cake was eaten in seconds flat, that the birthday girl, when asked a day or two later how the party went could only repeat over and over again “You missed an awesome cake!” is reward enough.

And so a day later, I finally made mine. It has been ages since I made this wonderful sponge and knew that I wanted to flavor it with seeds from a vanilla bean rather than the usual liquid extract and a dash of cinnamon. I paired it with my son’s favorite Simple Chocolate Buttercream and with a drizzle of Orange-Chocolate Ganache. But as I found the sponge too delicate for the buttercream, I will make it again and sandwich the layers with stabilized (a bit of gelatin) whipped cream, the whole topped with the ganache glaze. And I also think that this perfect sponge would make a wonderful 3-layer cake instead of two.
 

Writing is my way of reaffirming my own existence. 

– Gao Xingjian 

 

VANILLA BEAN CINNAMON SPONGE LAYERS
This is a classic sponge, light and ethereal, to which I have added the seeds from one vanilla pod/bean and a dash of cinnamon which I know will work so well with the chocolate and orange of the buttercream frosting and the orange-chocolate ganache.

3 Tbs milk
2 Tbs (30 g) unsalted butter
¾ cup (150 g) sugar
1 vanilla bean or ½ tsp liquid vanilla extract
3/4 cup (95 g) flour, lightly spooned into measuring cups and leveled
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon, optional
5 large eggs
A few grains of salt + drop or two of lemon juice to stabilize whites

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Butter and line two 8-inch (23 cm) round cake tins (measure along the bottom of the tin) with parchment paper.

Prepare the ingredients:

Place the butter and the milk in a small saucepan. Over very low heat, gently warm the milk and butter until the butter is almost but not completely melted. Remove from the heat and swirl the pan until the butter is completely melted. Set aside to cool slightly.

Measure or weigh out the sugar into a small bowl.

In another small bowl, measure or weigh out the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon and stir together.

Using a small, sharp knife, slice the vanilla bean down the center and scrape out the seeds.

Separate 3 of the eggs, placing the 3 yolks in a large mixing bowl. Add the 2 remaining whole eggs to the 3 yolks in the large mixing bowl. Place the 3 whites in a small to medium mixing bowl, large enough to hold the yolks when beat into a meringue. Add a few grains salt and a drop or two of lemon to the whites.

Make the cake:

With an electric mixer, beat the 2 whole eggs and the 3 yolks together with 6 tablespoons of the sugar and the seeds from the vanilla bean on high speed, for 4 to 5 minutes until the batter is very thick, light and fluffy and the batter drops off in a slow ribbon when the beaters are lifted. Beat in the vanilla if using the extract.

Using very clean beaters (wash the beaters if you only have one pair), whip the egg whites on low speed for 30 second, then increase the speed to high and continue beating until foamy. Once the whites go from foamy to opaque, gradually begin adding the remaining sugar about a teaspoon at a time. Beat until all the sugar has been added and the meringue is thick and glossy and soft, moist, shiny peaks hold.

Gently fold in a third of the creamy egg white meringue into the cake batter to lighten it, then fold in the remaining beaten whites in two more additions. Sift or spoon half the flour mixture over the batter and gently fold it in before adding the remaining flour and folding in just until incorporated, making sure that no pockets of dry ingredients have formed. Do not over mix.

Make a well on one side of the batter and pour the warm melted butter/milk mixture into the bowl. Gently but thoroughly fold this mixture into the batter. Again, do not over mix.

Divide the batter between the 2 prepared pans, gently smoothing the tops. Bake for about 20 minutes, until the top is light brown and springs back when gently touched in the center. Remove the pans from the oven onto cooling racks and immediately and carefully run a shapr knife around the edges to loosen the cakes from the sides of the pans; this will keep the cakes from ripping as they cool and shrink slightly. Invert the cakes onto wire cooling racks, pull off the parchment paper then invert back, right side up, onto the racks and allow to cool completely before frosting.

SIMPLE & EASY CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

12 ounces (350 grams) powdered/confectioner’s sugar
8 ½ tablespoons (120 grams) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1.76 oz or scant 7 Tbs (50 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
4 tablespoons very hot water

Using an electric hand mixer, cream the butter and the powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Add the cocoa powder and the hot water and beat, scraping down the sides as necessary, until well blended and fluffy.

ORANGE CHOCOLATE GANACHE DRIZZLE
Once the cake is decorated, save the remaining ganache to spoon over ice cream or even chill and form into truffles or use in the center of molten lava cakes.

Orange Chocolate Ganache (this recipe can easily be halved):
3.5 oz (100 g) Lindt Excellence Orange Intense or equivalent orange-scented 70% dark chocolate
½ cup (125 ml) heavy cream

Chop the chocolate and place in a small heatproof bowl. Bring the cream just to the boil and pour over the chopped chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted and the ganache well blended, smooth and creamy. Leave to thicken at room temperature, stirring occasionally, until drizzling consistency. If you like, allow to get very thick and then thin with a bit of Cointreau.

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BETTER-THAN-INSTANT VANILLA CUPCAKES

MINI TREATS & HAND-HELD SWEETS (a review)

A bottle of half-drunk wine sits on a rumpled, faded tablecloth on the coffee table in front of the darkened television set, silent remnants of a meal eaten late in the evening by a family too tired to carry everything into the kitchen when it was done. Old, scruffed and battered moving cartons, decades-old packing tape, yanked off and pressed back into place too many times to count hanging loosely off the sides, are piled willy-nilly in the foyer, bags of paperback novels are lined up like soldiers down the long shelf-lined corridor. A move is imminent, the house groans under the weight of too many belongings, the pressure of time tilting in the wrong direction, coming perilously close. Neither focus nor energy to cook or shop, just barely enough time to dash to the other apartment and back again, stopping off on the way to pick up prepared foods and that necessary bottle of red or white, depending upon our mood.

So when the craving hits – whether that uncontrollable urge to measure, blend, stir, whisk or that crazy need to eat something sweet and homemade (all the time, as my husband never fails to remind me) – I turn to something simple, fast and easy. I love my one-bowl cake recipes, whether my brother’s Spicy Carrot Snack Cake or one of my amazing, please-everybody Chocolate Cakes, my Chocolate Chip Banana Bread or my latest discovery, Lemon Pecan Quick Bread with a swirl of jam down the center. Nothing fancy, no imaginative masterpiece, just simple and sweet, comforting and good. Staple ingredients that I have on hand at all times, measure the dry, measure the wet, whisk and in the oven and do some ironing or writing while it bakes. The hardest part of each of these recipes is the waiting until it is done and cooled enough to slice and enjoy.

And this is where Abby Dodge comes in. I love Abby. Call it friendship, call it admiration and respect, call it a girl crush, call it what you will, I love Abby. Yes, she and I are friends and I’ve had the great good pleasure to spend face time with her in both Paris and New York, the time in between punctuated by the occasional phone call. She is warm and funny, so kind and generous. Friend and mentor. But don’t think that I promote her cookbooks because she is a friend. I would never offer empty praise nor would I make promises to my readers and fellow baking aficionados about something that I myself didn’t absolutely love. Abby is an astonishingly talented baker and creates desserts and cake and treats that are often incredibly simple to make yet hit the spot every time – delicious, perfect, satisfying and homey.

 With Abby and Gail of One Tough Cookie

I am the happy owner of three of Abby’s cookbooks – The Weekend Baker, Desserts 4 Today and Mini Treats & Hand-Held Sweets and I love baking from them. Her Espresso Chocolate Cake with Mocha Mascarpone is a stunner and more than worthy of any celebration! Her Creamy Espresso Pudding soothes the coffee lover in me every time. Her Raspberry Blueberry Coffee Cake is tender and delicate with the sweet tang of fresh berries, a family favorite for breakfast. And her Nutella Fudge Brownie Bites? Do I even need to explain? I have come to have complete faith in Abby’s recipes; I know each will work and each will make my very hard-to-please family smile. And eat.

I recently went scrambling desperately through The Weekend Baker for something chocolate. My son was complaining that there was nothing to eat for breakfast, no snack waiting when he got home from class. He is as persnickety and fussy as they come, and for him I needed something that he calls “plain”, which translates as: nothing fancy, no creamy additions, no odd bits and strange flavors. Something that is familiar, that he recognizes. You see what I am up against? He’s lucky, because I just happened to be craving, for some inexplicable reason, chocolate cupcakes. Sometimes, those odd cravings just hit, don’t they? Happily, I discovered something called Emergency Blender Chocolate Cupcakes in the index and saw that, indeed, they were super easy and fast to make. Since simplicity and plain are the keywords around here and I knew that I would be topping those cupcakes with no frosting or whipped cream, I would definitely not be pushing a single red cherry down into the batter or hiding a rounded teaspoon of homemade Salted Butter Caramel Sauce (something I always seem to have hanging around these days) inside the center of each cupcake, I had to think in another direction, find something to make them special. So I made them into mini Bundts. And they were perfect.

And Mini Treats & Hand-Held Sweets (100 Delicious Desserts to Pick Up and Eat) arrived on my doorstep just as the last Chocolate Cinnamon Bundtlet disappeared (I do believe he ate the last four all at once). I had just made Abby’s Brown Butter Apple Hand Tarts from her most recent #BakeTogether – a recipe based on one from Mini Treats. I wanted to make something son, husband and I would love and I selected Almost-Instant Yellow Cupcakes. Which I refer to as Better-Than-Mix Yellow Cupcakes! Again, these were together in a flash. Abby suggests frosting these cupcakes with Strawberry Cream Frosting but I topped mine with our favorite Easy Chocolate Buttercream Frosting. The cupcakes, like the Chocolate Cinnamon Bundt Cakes, are perfect! Dense and moist without being gooey or sticky, tender and so full of flavor that no frosting will hide the vanilla tastiness. I don’t often make cupcakes and rarely make vanilla cupcakes, but I cannot get enough of these. I haven’t eaten anything so delicious for ages! Yes, yes, I should write something much more poetic, descriptive, evocative, but how can I think anything other than “ooooooh mmmmmmm” as I am pushing one fabulous cupcake into my mouth after another they are that good?!

“Serving up dessert from this Mini Treats & Hand-Held Sweets means no plates, no forks, no spoons – no kidding.” explains Abby. “Easy-to-make and even easier-to-serve desserts that will dazzle” is the aim of Mini Treats & Hand-Held Sweets and Abby, as usual, hits it on the nose. The cookbook is filled with great recipes: Double-Trouble Chocolate Cupcakes, Streusel-Topped Double Cherry Slab Pie (the next on my own list), Lemon Meringue Pie Poppers, Mini Mocha Roll Cakes, Blood Orange and Creamy Tangerine Pops, White Chocolate-Cherry Popcorn to name a very few. And Abby, as she does in all of her cookbooks, gives extremely precise instructions that will give even the beginning baker confidence and great results, fun suggestions for twists to change up and personalize each treat, and her own Kitchen Wisdom oozing with her long experience.

Abby’s Emergency Chocolate Cupcakes and these Almost-Instant Yellow Cupcakes should be at the top of your baking repertoire, both perfect when you need a fast, easy, versatile and extraordinarily delicious treat, snack, breakfast or dessert. For more of Abby's great recipes visit her blog.

Disclaimer: I received a review copy as a gift from The Taunton Press but the decision to post a review and all opinions are my own. The decision to bake as much as I do from Abby's cookbooks is my own as well.

BETTER-THAN-INSTANT VANILLA CUPCAKES
From Mini Treats & Hand-Held Sweets by Abigail Johnson Dodge

1 ¼ cups (lightly spooned in the measuring cup and levelled with a knife) flour
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 tsps baking powder
½ tsp salt
6 Tbs (3 oz) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
½ cup water
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 yolk from a large egg, at room temperature
1 Tbs vanilla extract

Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 375°F (190°C) – I have an unusually hot oven so I set mine to 180°C). Line 12 regular-sized (2 ¾-inch diameter) muffin cups with paper or foil liners (I used silicone cupcake cups).

Put the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium or large mixing bowl and whisk to combine.

Put the melted butter, water, egg and yolk and vanilla in a small bowl and whisk until well blended. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and whisk until well blended and smooth, about 1 minute.

Portion the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 full. (I poured the batter into a large measuring cup with a spout, which makes pouring easier and neater.) Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 14 to 16 minutes. Move to a wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes. Carefully remove the cupcakes from the pan, set them on a wire rack and let cool completely.

Frost as you please. Eat as many as you like, in thoughtful moderation and saving some to share.

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