Chocolate & Chipotle

Iron Cupcake: Earth - Chocolate with a Twist

**VOTE NOW!!!! Through Friday, January 2 at 12 noon CST.
PLEASE vote for me**

 
VOTE NOW!! VOTE FOR ME!!!!
VOTE NOW!! VOTE FOR ME!!!!!

So I almost didn't do this one what with Xmas and holiday baking but I couldn't stand it! I found this FABULOUS chocolate portand immediately thought of a wine infused cupcake with a mulled wine chocolate sauce I had seen in Cooking Light.

So as the days passed I went from a chocolate cake to a butter cake with chocolate chips, but hey it is the holiday season so my end result is a Red Velvet Chocolate Port Cupcake with Mini Chocolate Chips infused with a Dark Chocolate Mulled Wine Chocolate Sauce and topped with a Mulled Chocolate Sauce Cream Cheese Frosting, WHEW!!! Say that three times fast :) It is the PERFECT adult holiday Dessert!!!

 

Look how happy my cute snowman cupcake plate is (I made him too) ... he loved them too!! The hardest part of this recipe is the chocolate sauce ... not because making it is hard, because if you have any vanilla ice cream in the house, it may not make it to your cupcakes *LOL* don't worry there is PLENTY for ice cream when you are done.

 

I modified a recipe from The Cake Doctor because of the time constraints with my holiday baking and present buying and wrapping ...

 
VOTE FOR ME!!!! VOTE FOR ME!!!!!

This month we have some FABULOUS  prizes,

an original work of art from BETTY TURBO - http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5002976

as well as a pair of cupcake earrings from LOTS OF SPRINKLES at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6057281.

PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth can not forget our good friend, CAKESPY, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5243382
As an added bonus for December there is a limited edition cupcake pincushions by Moda Home, complements of SWEET CUPPIN CAKES BAKERY AND CUPCAKERY SUPPLY, http://www.acupcakery.com/index.html.

Last and certainly not least, don’t forget the corporate prize providers: HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS, http://www.fiestaproducts.com, HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, http://blog.hellocupcakebook.com, JESSIE STEELE APRONS http://www.jessiesteele.com; the CUPCAKE COURIER http://www.cupcakecourier.com; TASTE OF HOME books, http://www.tasteofhome.com. Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers, http://www.1800flowers.com .

Comfort at it's best - Mac n Cheez!!!

Who doesn't like mac n cheese?!? I remember the blue box with the powdered cheese that Mom made, how something so orange and dry could turn into a fabulous dish one will never know. Of course as I got older the blue box lost it's charm of being good mac n cheese. For years I searched for a good recipe, one that was easy, cheesy and would give me that feeling I had as a child with that blue box.

Well look no more I HAVE IT!!! After tweaking this time and time again, this recipe for Mac n Cheez is not for the faint of heart and it isn't for the blue box connoisseur ... it is however the best ever, the cheesiest and the most comforting of food you can make! It is so comforting that when I make it I won't make anything to go with it because we can't stop eating the Mac n Cheez :)

It isn't cheap, it isn't as quick as the blue box but I tell you, you won't have any better!!!

Best EVER Mac n Cheez

1/2 stick of butter
2 cups milk
1 cup 1/2 n 1/2 (I used Fat Free)
6 oz Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded
8 oz Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded (reserving 2 oz)
8 oz Velveeta Cheese, cubed
1/4 c. blue cheese, crumbled
1/4 c. Gorgonzola, crumbled
1/2 c. Asiago Cheese, shredded
2 T. Colman's Mustard
1 T. Tabasco
1 box Elbow Macaroni
1 c. crushed Chez It crackers

Pre-heat oven to 350, coat a 13 x 9 baking dish with cooking spray. In a large pot bring enough water to cook macaroni to a boil and add 1 t. salt and 1 T. olive oil. Cook macaroni until al dente (DO NOT over cook) Drain macaroni and add back into pot.

Pour milk, 1/2 n 1/2 and butter into a large sauce pan and heat over low flame. Slowly add each kind of cheese and stir until cheese has melted. Add mustard & Tabasco and stir to blend. Add cheese sauce to macaroni in the pot and combine. Pour into the baking dish.

Top with crushed Chez It's and reserved 2 oz cheddar cheese. Place in oven and bake until golden brown and bubbly, approx 30-40 minutes. If you can, let stand for about 15 minutes (we never make it that long) ENJOY!!!