Luna Online - Top Chef Entry
I'm recently addicted to Luna Online, but I haven't been active on their forums. Even though I started playing closed beta, I've been reluctant to jump in. Paranoia. lol.
Anyway, they've got a contest going called Luna Top Chef and the prizes seem pretty fun, so I thought I'd give it a shot! This is going to be a photo-heavy post, so I'll put most of the pics behind a cut and I'll include the recipes I used in addition to my notes and thoughts for next time.
Here's a sample to taste! I'll probably post all of the pics to facebook later in the week.
Cupcakes/Hamburger Buns:
Ingredients
1 3/4 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
1 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into cubes
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside.
Combine in a bowl both flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix on low speed until combined for about 3 minutes. Add in cubed butter, mixing until just coated with flour.
Add eggs 1 at a time until combined. Slowly add milk and vanilla to batter until completely mixed scraping down the bowl as you mix.
Scoop batter into baking cups filling about 2/3 full. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 17 to 20 minutes.
Set aside and allow to cool completely.
Once entirely cool, cut your cupcakes in half horizontally to achieve cupcake hamburger bun goodness.
Brownies/Hamburger Patties:
Ingredients
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cup sugar
4 large eggs
2 sticks butter
4 ounce unsweetened chocolate
1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
Frosting (Don't ask me why brownies have frosting, just trust me)
4 ounces (4 squares) unsweetened chocolate
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup pasteurized egg substitute, such as Egg Beaters
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
One 1-pound box confectioners’ sugar, sifted
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13 by 9 inch baking pan.
Melt the chocolate and butter in a 2-quart bowl in the microwave on high for 3 minutes. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted. Add the eggs, sugar, and vanilla and mix well with a spatula. Add the flour and stir to combine. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes.
While the brownies are baking, make the frosting. Melt the chocolate and butter in a medium bowl in the microwave on high for 3 minutes. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted. Add the egg substitute, vanilla, and sugar and stir with a spoon until smooth. Spread the frosting over the warm brownies. The frosting will set up when the brownies are completely cooled. When cool, cut into appropriately sized hamburger patties and store in the refrigerator in a plastic container with a snap-on lid.
The closer these brownies get to room temperature, the more melty and messy they are.
Frosting/Ketchup/Mustard/Lettuce:
Ingredients
2 sticks butter, room temperature
8 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract or other flavoring
1 drop or so of appropriate food coloring to achieve desired color
Directions
Cream softened butter and add 4 cups sugar, milk and vanilla. Beat with paddle attachment until smooth gradually add the rest of sugar to reach frosting consistency. Add more sugar if necessary to achieve proper consistency.
Separate batch of frosting in order to create your hamburger condiments. (I separated into 3 portions for lettuce, mustard, and ketchup).
Do not under any circumstances apply frosting to warm cake. Though still tasty, it's very messy.
Putting it all together:
*whew* Now that we have all of our ingredients made, it's time to get messy! Yay!
Um, so pretty much now you just put everything together and be all creative and such!
I brushed the tops of the burger buns with a little fresh orange juice and sprinkled sesame seeds to make them look more like real buns and less like decapitated cupcakes. The orange juice (or water or some sort of liquid) is necesarry to make the seeds stick and helps cut the uber sweetness of the cupcakes. Be aware of probable sugar rush following consumption and this treat may not be suitable for kiddies. hehe
I've seen some other great ideas for the burgers like topping them with the little decorative toothpicks or using colored fondant icing squares for "cheese". Another great idea is to use shredded coconut that has been tinged green with food coloring for lettuce. I personally hate fondant and shredded coconut, but I hear some people like them. ^^
Side note: I've never tried to make my own fondant. Might do a fondant experiment.
And of course, instead of baking everything from scratch, you could just use yellow cake mix for the buns, chocolate cake mix or brownie mix for the patties, and buy frosting for the condiments. I don't suggest it, but you could do it. lol
Next time, I don't think I'm going to bother with the mess of the brownie frosting. And the hamburgers are super sweet as it is. For those of you that know Hawk, he could only eat half of one of the small ones. *nods* They're that sweet. :0) So next time I'll also be looking for ways to cut out some of the sugar. Yummy experiments. Oh. Yeah.
And here are pics of the process! Behold the doom!
*Whew* I'm really excited about my entry! And who cares if I don't win... cause those are some hamburgers of doom. Yummy doom.
Anyway, they've got a contest going called Luna Top Chef and the prizes seem pretty fun, so I thought I'd give it a shot! This is going to be a photo-heavy post, so I'll put most of the pics behind a cut and I'll include the recipes I used in addition to my notes and thoughts for next time.
Here's a sample to taste! I'll probably post all of the pics to facebook later in the week.
Cupcakes/Hamburger Buns:
Ingredients
1 3/4 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
1 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into cubes
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside.
Combine in a bowl both flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix on low speed until combined for about 3 minutes. Add in cubed butter, mixing until just coated with flour.
Add eggs 1 at a time until combined. Slowly add milk and vanilla to batter until completely mixed scraping down the bowl as you mix.
Scoop batter into baking cups filling about 2/3 full. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 17 to 20 minutes.
Set aside and allow to cool completely.
Once entirely cool, cut your cupcakes in half horizontally to achieve cupcake hamburger bun goodness.
Brownies/Hamburger Patties:
Ingredients
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cup sugar
4 large eggs
2 sticks butter
4 ounce unsweetened chocolate
1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
Frosting (Don't ask me why brownies have frosting, just trust me)
4 ounces (4 squares) unsweetened chocolate
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup pasteurized egg substitute, such as Egg Beaters
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
One 1-pound box confectioners’ sugar, sifted
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13 by 9 inch baking pan.
Melt the chocolate and butter in a 2-quart bowl in the microwave on high for 3 minutes. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted. Add the eggs, sugar, and vanilla and mix well with a spatula. Add the flour and stir to combine. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes.
While the brownies are baking, make the frosting. Melt the chocolate and butter in a medium bowl in the microwave on high for 3 minutes. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted. Add the egg substitute, vanilla, and sugar and stir with a spoon until smooth. Spread the frosting over the warm brownies. The frosting will set up when the brownies are completely cooled. When cool, cut into appropriately sized hamburger patties and store in the refrigerator in a plastic container with a snap-on lid.
The closer these brownies get to room temperature, the more melty and messy they are.
Frosting/Ketchup/Mustard/Lettuce:
Ingredients
2 sticks butter, room temperature
8 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract or other flavoring
1 drop or so of appropriate food coloring to achieve desired color
Directions
Cream softened butter and add 4 cups sugar, milk and vanilla. Beat with paddle attachment until smooth gradually add the rest of sugar to reach frosting consistency. Add more sugar if necessary to achieve proper consistency.
Separate batch of frosting in order to create your hamburger condiments. (I separated into 3 portions for lettuce, mustard, and ketchup).
Do not under any circumstances apply frosting to warm cake. Though still tasty, it's very messy.
Putting it all together:
*whew* Now that we have all of our ingredients made, it's time to get messy! Yay!
Um, so pretty much now you just put everything together and be all creative and such!
I brushed the tops of the burger buns with a little fresh orange juice and sprinkled sesame seeds to make them look more like real buns and less like decapitated cupcakes. The orange juice (or water or some sort of liquid) is necesarry to make the seeds stick and helps cut the uber sweetness of the cupcakes. Be aware of probable sugar rush following consumption and this treat may not be suitable for kiddies. hehe
I've seen some other great ideas for the burgers like topping them with the little decorative toothpicks or using colored fondant icing squares for "cheese". Another great idea is to use shredded coconut that has been tinged green with food coloring for lettuce. I personally hate fondant and shredded coconut, but I hear some people like them. ^^
Side note: I've never tried to make my own fondant. Might do a fondant experiment.
And of course, instead of baking everything from scratch, you could just use yellow cake mix for the buns, chocolate cake mix or brownie mix for the patties, and buy frosting for the condiments. I don't suggest it, but you could do it. lol
Next time, I don't think I'm going to bother with the mess of the brownie frosting. And the hamburgers are super sweet as it is. For those of you that know Hawk, he could only eat half of one of the small ones. *nods* They're that sweet. :0) So next time I'll also be looking for ways to cut out some of the sugar. Yummy experiments. Oh. Yeah.
And here are pics of the process! Behold the doom!
*Whew* I'm really excited about my entry! And who cares if I don't win... cause those are some hamburgers of doom. Yummy doom.