Mad Scientist Cupcakes

For R’s birthday this year, I wanted to combine everything he loves: cheesecake, chocolate, and sea salt caramel. I proposed a Friday happy hour at Mia’s, which provided an additional challenge: how to transport via bike and easily serve to the masses in a public place. After many hours of research, I mad scientisted together the perfect birthday dessert.

Note the creative use of shoelaces as no bungee cords could be found

Credit for my inspiration came from the following three locations: Annie’s Eats, Bake or Break Recipes, and Brown Eyed Baker

With these, I created…. Drum roll please!

Fudge Bottomed Cheesecake Cupcakes with a Pecan and Salted Caramel Topping

Yes, this one was a wee bit complicated, and I have to admit, I got distracted just now with starting to write this and burnt my pecans… Grrrr… gonna have to redo that bit. My first attempt at making caramel, using the recipe I found, was an absolute disaster! And silly me. I left that for last and then was rushing around at the last minute to finish things up and not be late. I swear I have made caramel before and not had it be so hard. I am not sure if it was the recipe or the high altitude or both. I had to start over because it was this awful crystallized sugar mass. I found this recipe MUCH more successful and yes, don’t touch it! I kept poking at it with my whisk and ended up with rock candy on my whisk, which even with being nonstick was a horrible pain to remove.

Fasten your seatbelts, kiddos, this one, takes some time. Set aside an afternoon, put on some fun danceable music (My selections were Vampire Weekend and Caravan Palace). It is worth it, though. They were a smashing hit and got rave reviews. I am soooo proud of my new invention!

Yield is 24 cupcake sized cheesecakes (Note: the original recipe said it would make 32. I only had enough crust mixture for 24, but I did have leftover filling.)

Ingredients:

For the crust:

1 ¼ cups graham cracker crumbs (or 1 ½ cups if you don’t want to use pecans)

¼ cup ground pecans

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

3 Tbsp. granulated sugar

For Fudge Bottom:

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate

¼ cup cream

½ tsp. vanilla extract

For the Cheesecake Filling:

2 lbs of cream cheese, room temperature

1 ½ cups of granulated sugar

Pinch of salt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

4 large eggs, room temperature

For the topping:

24 toasted whole pecans

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp of corn syrup (whoops, just realized I used 1 Tbsp, but it didn’t hurt it)

¼ cup of water

½ cup heavy cream

1 tsp of vanilla

Sea salt

Directions:

For Crust:

Preheat the oven to 325˚ F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. I ground my graham crackers and pecans separately in the food processer then processed them together to combine. In a small bowl, combine the crumb mixture, melted butter and sugar. I started by melting my butter in the microwave in the bowl and then adding the rest. Stir together with a fork until well blended and all the dry ingredients are moistened. Press 1 tablespoon of the mixture into the bottom of each cupcake liner. (I used my bottle of vanilla, but a small drinking glass would work to easily and evenly press the crumbs down). Bake until just set, 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack.

Not pressed

Pressing the crust

Baked golden brown

Close Up!

For Fudge Bottom:

Put chopped chocolate into a bowl with the cream. Microwave in 30 second increments until the chocolate begins to melt and stir together to combine. Add vanilla and stir. I put about 1 ½ teaspoons of the fudge into the bottom of each cheesecake and used the back of the spoon to spread it out. Let set for about 15 or 20 minutes.

NOTE: You could definitely taste the chocolate, but it wasn’t quite as prominent as I hoped. I might bump up the amount next time, which would require an increase in ingredients.

For Cheesecake Filling:

To make the cheesecake, beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer until fluffy. Blend in the sugar until smooth. Mix in the salt and vanilla. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. To assemble, put about 3 tablespoons of the cheesecake batter in each liner. Bake until the filling is set, about 22 minutes. Rotate the pans about halfway through baking. They will look puffed when you remove them, but will deflate some as they cool. Set on cooling racks to cool to room temperature. Then, transfer to the refrigerator and let them chill, ideally, for about 4 hours until serving.

Ready for the oven

For Caramel and Pecan Topping:

Stir together sugar, corn syrup, and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Let boil until amber in color, about 3 minutes. PICTURE Don’t touch it! No, seriously, don’t. You will want to stir it and check and make sure it is not sticking. It won’t be. You will just end up with rock candy on your whisk. Remove from heat and whisk in cream. It might seem like it is going to explode, boil over, or lump together. Don’t freak – just keep whisking! After it gets to the consistency you like, whisk in the vanilla. Let cool to room temperature (or for 5 minutes if you are running super late like I was). Put about a tablespoon of caramel on each cheesecake and top with a toasted pecan and a wee sprinkle of sea salt.

What cooking caramel SHOULD look like

Costa Rica Parte Tres: Villa Vanilla and Manuel Antonio Park

We spent New Year’s Eve on a tour of a spice plantation called Ville Vanilla. This was absolutely one of the coolest things I have done in a while. For the tour, our guide explained the growing and processing methods as well as provided us a tour of the actual plantation. They grow vanilla, Ceylon cinnamon, allspice, peppercorns, chile peppers, and chocolate. It is all done organically. I am going to do my best to share some of the interesting highlights from my memory, but there may be a few inaccuracies as I am just pulling this out of my head.

Tables for drying spices and vanilla

Peppercorns and Allspice

Vanilla Beans

Bags of Drying Vanilla Beans

Vanilla is fascinating and you have a greater appreciation for it and the expense of vanilla beans and true vanilla extract once you understand the labor involved. Vanilla comes from the vanilla orchid.

The flowers have to be hand pollinated, and there is only about a one day window. Oh, and it needs to happen before 10 am because that is the preferred time window of the plant. They have to check the plants almost daily for new blossoms. After pollination, the bean will grow. It takes about 9 to 10 months to grow and then mature. After that, they go through an elaborate drying process that takes another 4 to 5 months. I also learned that vanilla beans can last for up to 40 years if stored properly.

Unripened Vanilla Beans

On the plantation, they grow a number of ornamental plants, including many blooming ones. They intentionally do this to attract all the bugs that would otherwise attack the plants they are actually cultivating. They are also trying to create a rainforest environment with the plants.

One of the many beautiful plants

And another!

They make their own compost from their goats' and cows' poop, and trimmings from all their plants.

I also learned a lot about cinnamon. What we think is cinnamon is actually a plant called Cassia that is sometimes known as Chinese or Vietnamese Cinnamon. It actually has a compound called coumarin in it that causes blood thinning, and some scientific studies suggest it is not so good for us and our liver, especially on a regular basis. However, actual cinnamon has multiple health benefits that have been indicated through studies. This link has some great information. It is essentially the bark off of a tree. After the tree is about 3 – 5 years old, it is cut down. They cut it into pieces, and do an initial peeling of the bark, then let it cure and do a second peeling of the bark. That second peeling is the cinnamon.

Peeled cinnamon trees

Cinnamon trees being peeled

Peppercorns are another one that I learned some cool stuff about.

They produce both white and black peppercorns, which are the same plant. The difference is that they harvest the black peppercorns at a younger age and un-ripened, so they are still green. For white peppercorns, they are allowed to fully ripen on the tree until red.

They are then harvested, placed in a mesh bag and put in their pond where the bacteria eats the skin off over about seven days. Obviously, this is why they are more expensive as the growing and production process is much longer and requires more steps.

Chocolate is another product of the plantation. We got to sample a cacao bean in its raw stage. It is basically a pod surrounded by this milky white flesh that is sweet and tangy at the same time, but tastes nothing like chocolate. To produce the chocolate, you have to let the seeds dry out, then they crush them with the equivalent of a huge mortar and pestle, just like the ancient Mayans use to do. This creates the cocoa nibs. These are then ground down into cocoa.

Cocoa!

Itty bitty cocoa - it always looks the same, just keeps getting bigger

At the end of the tour, they brought us to this cute little building that was basically an outside porch with a gorgeous view of the mountains.

Me and R

There, they shared a series of sweets with us that showcased their yummy spices. We started with an iced cinnamon tea that was light, refreshing, and zingy. We then had an amazing vanilla bean cheesecake topped with mango. Unfortunately, the local pastry chef who makes it will not share her recipe. Sad!

We then had homemade cinnamon ice cream on a chocolate cookie with a touch of cayenne.

Next was a choice of hot chocolates: Either a vanilla hot chocolate or Mexican hot chocolate (with a touch of cayenne). I went for the vanilla. With the hot chocolate, we got a cocoa nib cookie – their version of a chocolate chip cookie.

We ended with a visit to their spice shop. It was a great experience, and I would recommend it to anyone who is this area.

After that we headed to Manuel Antonio for lunch and to check out the park and the beach.

One of my first observations was that this area was more touristy and developed than many of other beaches I have visited in Costa Rica. We tend to end up in more out of the way locations or areas that cater more to the ticos (locals). This suits me just fine. There was a little too much English being spoke around me at lunch! I did have a lovely piece of fresh tuna on the sandwich I ordered, so I guess I can’t complain too much.

Manuel Antonio National Park is one of the most well known parks in the area. We didn't go fully through the park. We walked to one particular beach and sat down for a while to relax and enjoy the water.

I saw multiple hermit crabs just running around on the beach. They are so funny. When they realize you are right there, they just drop and hide in their shell. After a few minutes they poke their little antennas out, and if you want to mess with them, you let them know you are still there, and they freak out and hide again!

There was also lots of capuchin monkeys (white faced monkey from Breakout), and they were some of the most bold I have ever seen. They are definitely used to the humans! Several were on the ground less than two feet from me. If you see them, hold onto your stuff. They are known for being little thieves, in particular, they like hats, bags, and cameras. Yes, I am serious.

Costa Rica Parte Dos: Rain Forest Rambling

A nice view in Tapantí

Our first hike was actually in a cloud forest. Is there a difference between rain forests and cloud forests you might ask? Or maybe you wouldn’t have, but we did have this chat on our first trip the other day. Well, I found this lovely link that does a good job of explaining the different types of forests. If you type “cloud forest” into Wikipedia, you also get a great explanation as well. However, if you are not feeling ambitious enough to do your own reading and research, cloud forests are at a higher elevations, and are, well, more cloudy. This leads to different types of vegetation and lots o’ moisture. As you may recall from the last sciency class you took, clouds are condensed water… The temperature can also be cooler than the jungle rain forests we often envision from movies and such where people are dripping in sweat.

First, I have an admission to make. Upon reflection, this is the first time, EVER, that I have done any hiking or this type of exploring while in Costa Rica. I know, embarrassing, right? There is a variety of reasons for that. Most would include a lack of interest or laziness. My thoughts went as follows: I am on vacation. I am here to rest and relax. I am at the beach and just want to sit in the shade and read my book. I do not want to go tromping through the jungle. I must admit, I think I also didn't feel confident enough that I was up to the physical challenge. I am not in perfect condition right now, but I am probably in the best shape I have been since I was a gym bunny in my mid 20’s. And, as I have mentioned in previous posts, between the influences of my graduate program and our Flagstaff relocation, I also have a renewed interest, passion, and appreciation for nature. I want to look at everything and explore. It is precious, endangered, and fleeting to me. I want to experience a new place by walking it and make new memories that involve the outdoors around me.

Our first destination was Braulio Carrillo National Park. Here is a second link with some more information, too. To get there, you take the Guápiles Highway. Apparently, the establishment of this highway was a big deal as it connects the capital, San Jose, with the Caribbean side of the country and has made travelling much easier, as well as providing access to this forest. Unfortunately, it also bisects a large virgin rain/cloud forest. You can imagine the ecological conservation controversy that arose over it being built. It was needed, but definitely has had an impact on this formerly pristine area.

Rain in Braulio

We were optimistic that we may catch a sunny day, but instead, we got a rain forest type of day. By that, I mean rainy. Oh well, it let me put my fairly new Marmot Precip rain jacket to the true test. I wish I could say it passed with flying colors, but by the end of our soggy hour and half hike, it was starting to soak through. However, I was much dryer than Husband who forgot to pack his rain jacket for the trip. I also discovered, as you will see in a few photos, it is hugely unflattering in pictures. Oh well. Not what I bought it for, right?

It really is almost indescribable, so I will let R’s pictures do most of the work for me. It has that wild almost prehistoric feel with gigantic ferns and towering trees and vines and dripping water. We walked near a river for part of the trail, so your ears were filled completely with the sounds of water, both rain dripping off the leaves and the roar of the river. It is green and lush to a point that you start to become blasé to what is surrounding you, and then you see a new plant or fern or vine that makes you stop and look closer. I would love it when I would find a fern that was all curled up still, like those party favors you blow into so that they unroll and make a noise.

Party Favor Fern

This is actually in Tapantí, but you can see the layers of plants growing

What I found most fascinating is the vegetation growing on vegetation growing on vegetation. There would be multiple types of mosses growing on all the tree trunks, as well as two or more different types of plants or vines growing off of or wrapped around the tree. I would just stand there and stare and see how many different ones I could see. Some of the giant palm and fern leaves also had moss growing on them. I pulled a word out of my recently acquired biology vocabulary that even my science-smart father-in-law was unfamiliar with: commensalism. Dr. W and Dr. J would be so proud! It means a relationship between two organisms where one benefits, and there is no harm or benefit for the other. Look at me being all smart and stuff!

I also got put to the test on this trip. My challenge was to find this super large tree and was told we were not leaving for home unless I found this tree. I realized it must be ridiculously huge and hard to miss, but I was still feeling the pressure! Luckily, you really can’t miss it. It is a ceiba tree. The locals call it the Heavenly Tree or the Sacred Tree, and is associated all the way back in history to the Mayans. It has these nicknames because it is so tall that it believed to hold up the heavens and push down the earth. The roots were crazy large and grew on top of the surface because that is where all the nutrients are. You start seeing the roots before you even came upon the tree. I had no problem finding the tree. It was hard to miss.

Part of the reason for this trip was because my father-in-law needed to pick up a drawing that a local Costa Rican artist had done for him. The young man’s name is Cope, and he is a genius. He does some of the most striking and realistic drawings I have ever seen. His primary interest is nature and birds, and he has done the illustrations for a guidebook to Costa Rican birds. His story is an interesting and inspiring one. He comes from a low-income background and has had little formal education and no formal training in art. Someone discovered his talent, and decided to become his benefactor, and started providing him with supplies so that he could practice and create his art. The rest is history, as they say. Both Cope and the world are very fortunate that his life took this turn. It would have been a shame for his work to go undiscovered or undeveloped. I highly suggest you take the time to take a quick look at the links I included, even if you are not interested in birds!.

All in all, it was a good way to spend the day.

We embarked on our next rain forest adventure a few days later. Again, we hoped for dry weather, but instead got mas lluvia (more rain).

I think I enjoyed this drive quite a bit more. Although the other has spectacular views of the vegetation and many waterfalls, there is a sameness to it after a while. It is also cut through mountainous terrain so often you are just driving through a corridor of green covered mountain. It is pretty, but this drive had more variation. I would describe the terrain of the area to be more rolling hills than mountains, so you can see more and farther. As it was a rainy cloudy sort of day, the cloud cover hovered along the tops of the hills with little bits caught in the valley making fog patches. There is also a lot more variation in vegetation. You have palm trees next to palm trees next to trees dripping with Spanish moss. I also am always amazed that many of the flowering plants, like impatients and hydrangeas, that people buy in the states to plant as decoration are practically weeds in Costa Rica. For example, impatients just grow along the road as common weeds.

R and I - see all the clouds behind us

In particular, I liked that we drove through coffee country. It is pretty spectacular to see coffee bean trees for as far as your eyes can see. I became even more amazed as I started seeing the trees hanging precipitously from the side of steep hills. At first I was impressed by their growing power, but then my amazement began to shift to the reality that someone is going to be picking those beans because of course, all coffee must be handpicked. I cannot even imagine how difficult that would be.

This time our destination was Tapantí. We took two different shorter hikes. Both ended at the river, which was moving fast and brown from all the recent rain. Although there was some sameness to the feel of the forest when comparing it with our first cloud forest hike, there was also some differences. In particular, this area was much mossier, and I would say more similar to the moss I am familiar with growing up with in the states. Not as “ferny” looking.

The stone markers on either side of the path were moss covered. This made for a cool effect to delineate the path boundaries. The railing, when there was one, was also slick with moss, which made it not very helpful! This moss truly covers everything, even the trunks of the coffee bean trees. There was an entrance to a coffee bean plantation that had old wooden fences with the balls on the posts. You could not even see the wood as everything was green and mossy. It was the one thing I wish we had gotten a picture of as the contrast was so striking and weird.

I should also mention that both of my in-laws are avid bird watchers. Over the years, I have slowly began to appreciate and pay more attention to what they see and notice birds more often. I doubt I will ever have the wealth of knowledge they have acquired, but both R and I do have fun helping to keep an eye out for birds for them to identify. It was a little too soggy for much bird spotting on these trips but, we had two interesting bird sitings along the way. The first, even I have to admit, was one of the cooler birds I have seen. It was difficult to catch it in full flight to capture the gorgeous wing markings, but this one sort of shows it. It is called a Sunbittern. The other one is a Black Guan. I also liked this little humming bird that was at the restaurant with the name of Violet Saberwing

The Guan is in the middle of the picture.

Violet Saberwing

Sunbittern is roosting on the tree branch with wings spread

Sunbittern taking flight

The second hike had some nice waterfalls along the way, and ended with a view of a high one that was pretty spectacular. Again, we could tell it is raining a lot in the area right now, as there was lots of little streams running over our path as well.

Waterfall in the Mist at Tapantí

As we left the park, we encountered a really cool animal called a coatimundi. It was a funny looking little creature. It looked like a dog crossed with a raccoon crossed with an ant eater, with a little bear thrown in for good measure. The craziest part was that it was not the least bit scared of us and was in fact quite curious. We stopped the car, and it literally came running up to us. Perhaps a little too curious…if you know what I mean. Those teeth looked like they could leave a mark, but it made for some good pictures. Its boldness reminds me of those squirrels in parks and on college campuses that have no problem coming right up to you if you are near something they want.

Curious coatimundi coming to check us out

Look at all the dirt on his nose from grubbing

After hiking we stopped at a little restaurant that is also a trout farm. I decided to order the trout since it would, of course, be fresh. Unfortunately, I don’t think my brain fully registered what that meant, until I noticed off in the distance the fishing flopping around. I thought they were just leaping out of the water, and then R clarified that those were the ones that they had just pulled out for our lunch. I was like, oh. Then they pulled out the machetes and started swinging. Here is a picture Robert caught of my shock and realization of what was going on. I did eat my fish as it was already ordered and would have to be paid for, but um, it definitely was another push towards vegetarianism. I remember my friend, J, being asked in class one time if she would kill a fish since she does not eat meat and part of her reasoning is that she would be unable to kill the animal to eat it. She realized she probably wouldn’t be able to kill a fish either. I was definitely feeling that way on this day…

My look of horror and shock!

On our return trip, we also stopped by this huge dam. I don’t know if it is always this impressive, but all the recent rain made for some spectacular views. This is one of the major water sheds for the area. I definitely got vertigo when I looked down.

Our final stop was this really old church called Ujarras where the grounds have been made into a park. Efforts have been made to preserve what is left, but you can see it pretty much just ruins. Several families were picnicking in the park while we were there.