Delicious Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache (with Gluten-Free Alternative)

These cupcakes are REALLY GOOD! And I'm pretty picky about chocolate cake. I love the ganache on top, and I could (and have) just eat it by the spoonful. This recipe is adapted from a Julia Child cookbook, but she uses espresso in the cake. To make a gluten-free flour alternative, mix 1 part tapioca flour, 2 parts potato flour, and 6 parts rice flour (by weight). You can then just substitute it straight for the bread flour.

Cupcakes:

• 7 oz. dark chocolate
• 3 oz. butter
• 3/4 cup bread flour
• 3/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 5 eggs
• 1 cup sugar

Preheat the oven to 350°. Melt the dark chocolate with the butter in a double boiler. In a bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. With a mixer in another bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar for about two minutes, until the mixture has tripled in volume. Slowly drizzle the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture, whisking it while drizzling until they are mostly combined. Fold in the flour mixture with a rubber spatula. (I still haven't really gotten the art of folding down yet.) Pour the batter into about 18 cupcake liners and bake for about 17 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Ganache:

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1-1/2 Tbsp. butter
• 1-1/2 Tbsp. sugar
• 6 oz. dark chocolate

Melt melt chocolate with other ingredients in a double boiler. Cool at room temperature for an hour or two. Just kidding, who has the patience for this?? You can put the pot from the double boiler in a bowl of ice water to cool it off way faster. Stir it while it's cooling. Once the cupcakes have cooled, spread the ganache on, and try not to eat them all in one night!

Butternut Squash Soup

This recipe comes straight from Emeril on the Food Network website. I pretty much stick to the original recipe on this one. I start craving this soup once fall arrives, and it never fails me. I made it a month or so ago, but it's taken me while to get around to posting.

Ingredients:

• 1 butternut squash, about 2 lbs.
• 2 Tbsp peanut oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1-1/2 tsp chopped garlic
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced carrot
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 Tbsp finely minced jalapeno pepper
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

Cut the squash in half, lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds. Peel the squash, and cut it into 1-inch pieces. In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring often, until they begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the carrot, cumin, salt, and pepper. Cook for 1 minute and then add squash, jalapeno pepper, and veggie stock (okay, Emeril calls for chicken stock). Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Remove from the heat and puree the soup using an immersion blender (I LOVE my immersion blender) or transfer to a blender or food processor. Puree until smooth. Return to the heat; add the cream and adjust the seasonings. He calls for topping it off with a shrimp salsa here, but I skip that. Yum!