One, two chai chai chai...

Spicy Chai Cupcakes with Cinnamon White Chocolate Buttercream

America is celebrating Thanksgiving next week and though most matriarchs will have planned the food, tablescape and nap intervals months ago, in the off chance you find you're a last minute invitee here is a sweet treat to add to feast: Spicy Chai Cupcakes with Cinnamon White Chocolate Buttercream.

As I said last year American Thanksgiving is not to be taken lightly. There are rules of engagement. You are expected to eat, watch college football, eat more, nap, eat again, caffeinate and line up for Black Friday. I offer these tips as a foreigner who experienced five American Thanksgivings:

1. Wear stretchy pants. I cannot emphasize this enough. If you're lucky enough to have maternity pants in your wardrobe consider those you're most prized possession.
2. Wear empire waist shirts that fall loosely and hide the stretchy waist band in your pants. 
3. No button up collar shirts...though your boobs will not grow bigger eating this much food your stomach inevitably will, pushing your boobs up and out of the designated boob area of this type of shirt. This can only end badly with the buttons pulling at the buttonholes like a pre-green Incredible Hulk moment...exposing cleavage or worse: the belly/boob squidge...where the gut and boobs meet. This goes for men too.
4. Forget shapewear...otherwise you'll be digesting your food in your esophagus.
5. If you don't know anything about football, don't pretend you do. Trust me. Pick a pretty colour and cheer. 
6. Pace yourself with both food and cheer. Nobody likes a drunk glutton by the end of the salad round.
7. Rehearse and remember for what and why you are thankful. You will be tested.
8. Bring a change of clothes, comfortable walking shoes, camp chair and blanket for Black Friday lineups. DO NOT bring a guitar. Some other cheeseball already has.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving my American friends!

Spicy Chai Cupcakes with Cinnamon White Chocolate Buttercream

You will need:

Cupcakes:

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp allspice
3/4 cup softened butter
3/4 cup heavy cream or milk
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Cinnamon White Chocolate  Buttercream
adapted from Anna Olson

 2 cups unsalted butter at room temperature
20 ounces good quality white chocolate, melted and cooled to room temperature
2 1/3 cups icing sugar, sifted
2 tsp vanilla extract
cinnamon to sprinkle on top

Directions

Cupcakes

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake tins with liners. Should yield at least 12 cupcakes.
• In a large bowl whisk dry ingredients. Set aside.
• In stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, scraping bowl after each addition. Add vanilla.
• Alternate dry ingredients with cream in three additions beginning and ending with the dry. Scrape down bowl. Don't over mix.
• Fill cupcake liners two thirds full.
• Bake for about 18 minutes, until the tops barely bounce back when lightly pressed
• Let cool

Buttercream

• In a stand-up mixer or in a large bowl with electric beaters, beat butter until fluffy. 
• Beat in cooled melted chocolate on medium speed. Reduce speed and beat in icing sugar and vanilla.
• Chill for about an hour to set before using.
• pipe on to cupcakes and sprinkle cinnamon on top. (if you mix cinnamon into the buttercream it changes the color to almost the same as the cupcakes. For texture and color variation I just sprinkle it on top)

Gingerbread gets lucky...!

Gingerbread whoopie pies with white chocolate chai tea buttercream filling.

I lived in Virginia Beach for about five years while powering through grad school and I have to say some of my favorite memories are connected with U.S. Thanksgiving. It is a phenomenon. It is probably the most popular holiday of the year, ousting Christmas for top spot. It is an event...THE event of the year and it is not to be missed or approached halfheartedly.

Handy life lessons I've parked in my memory based on observations at friends' tables over those years:

1. Preparing for Thanksgiving begins at least three weeks in advance with cardio workouts, recipe testing and making room in the fridge for a giant turkey
2. Tablescaping is on par with college football when it comes to priority and devotion
3. Wear loose, patterned clothing so other guests will not detect your expanding stomach or hidden elastic waistband
4.  BEST TIP: post feasting gas releasing ritual...on knees and elbows, head down, butt in the air is by far the best way to let the wind out to make room for dessert...but probably best done far away from the dessert table.
5. Eat in the afternoon, nap hard in the evening because Black Friday really begins at midnight.

It seems the matriarch of the house hosting Thanksgiving likes to have absolute control over the meal, but if you are a guest it's always polite to ask if you can bring anything. Not everyone is like this, but based on my observations so much effort went into the meal itself that the dessert options were often store bought or the old standbys: pumpkin pie, apple pie, pecan pie...very yummy, indeed, but maybe it's time to spice up the dessert table with a little whoopie!

If you're celebrating Thanksgiving this week and are expected to bring a dessert (clear it with the hostess first) I implore you to bring these:  gingerbread whoopie pies with white chocolate chai tea buttercream filling.

I found the gingerbread whoopie pie recipe at Pink Parsley. Hands down the best recipe I've tried. They come out smooth on top, which seems to be the real trick to successful whoopie pies. She uses a lemon filling, which is delightful with gingerbread, but I like the spice of chai tea complementing the spice of gingerbread and the sweetness of white chocolate holding everything together.

Here's what you need:
Gingerbread Whoopie Pies
adapted from Pink Parsley, who adapted it from King Arthur Flour

• 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened (1 1/2 sticks)
• 3/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup molasses
• 3/4 cup whole fat yogurt (I use Stoneyfield organic whole fat plain yogurt)

White Chocolate Chai Tea Buttercream
adapted from Anna Olson

• 2 cups unsalted butter at room temperature
• 20 ounces good quality white chocolate, melted and cooled to room temperature
• 2 1/3 cups icing sugar, sifted
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup chai tea concentrate (you can use store bought, or if you'd like to make your own you can find a recipe here. If you use this one, you will not need to add vanilla extract)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and spices.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy.  Mix in the egg, beating until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl if needed.

With the mixer on low speed, mix in half the dry ingredients.  Add the molasses, then the remaining dry ingredients.  Finally, add the whole fat yogurt, mixing until just incorporated.

Use a medium cookie scoop or a pastry bag fitted with a round tip to form the whoopie pie shapes on the prepared baking sheet.  Space the whoopie pies a few inches apart, and bake 9-12 minutes, rotating the cookie sheets halfway through, until the whoopie pies are cooked through and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger.

Even though they look rough as they're going in to the oven, they still came out smooth on top.

Remove from oven and allow to cool 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Repeat with remaining dough.

While the whoopie pies are baking, make the filling, OR the icing can be made ahead and chilled for up to a week, or wrapped and frozen up to a month (thaw refrigerated). Once thawed, beat to make fluffy, then use.

In a stand-up mixer or in a large bowl with electric beaters, beat butter until fluffy. Beat in cooled melted chocolate on medium speed. Reduce speed and beat in icing sugar, vanilla and chai tea concentrate (icing will be a little soft). Chill for about an hour to set before using.

Arrange the whoopie pies so that each bottom has a matching top (as close in size and shape as you can). Fill a piping bag or ziploc with the filling and put a dollop in the middle of the whoopie pie. Place the top on and press gently until the filling meets the edge of the whoopie pie.

Refrigerate until filling is firm and they will be ready for transport. Keep refrigerated until an hour or two before serving. You want the  the filling to reach room temperature before consuming.

An alternative to gingerbread whoopie pies is pumpkin. Just as festive, of course, but maybe find out if there will be a lot of pumpkin desserts before you commit to adding yet another pumpkin to the table. Here are two recipes that are quite lovely and would go spectacularly with the white chocolate chai tea buttercream: Browneyedbaker.com and Mowielicious.com 

My eldest tackling a pumpkin whoopie pie with white chocolate chai tea buttercream filling.

For those of you ramping up for the event of the year, I wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving. May you enjoy the people you're with, get a parking space on Black Friday and kick off the Christmas season with a belly full of gingerbread whoopie pies!

THANKSforGIVINGme PUMPKIN SCONES

Pumpkin Scones

Oh Canada celebrates Thanksgiving this weekend and, as per annual Thanksgiving protocol, I am reminded of the many blessings in my life. I have a loving, patient husband, two adorably loveable little girls (though I find my thankfulness barometer goes up when they're in bed sleeping - they're under 5, you get me), my health, safety, shelter, mobility...I have it pretty good. I am indeed full of thanks.

It is tradition in our family to share a meal during this harvest holiday with friends and/or family. We are not gluttons, but I'm not going to lie - stretchy pants are encouraged. This year we are hosting, but the men (who happen to know their way around a kitchen) will do most of the cooking...I did say I have it pretty good.

And what is Thanksgiving without something pumpkin-ish? Since I'm still a pie crust dummy, I think my contribution will be either pumpkin scones or pumpkin whoopie pies. Maybe both!

If you're going to feast with friends or family this year what will you bring to the table?

Here is my scrumptious pumpkin scone recipe if you're looking for something different to add to the feast...or maybe to have with tea while preparing the night before (or day of, if you're like me!).

Here's what to do:
Preheat your oven to about 360 degrees F. Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet.

whisk together:
1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup cake/pastry flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder (fresh, opened within the last month)
4 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves

In a measuring cup whisk together:
1/4 cup plain yogurt (I use whole fat yogurt)
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (canned or fresh... not pumpkin pie filling)
1 egg room temp (for room temp: place egg in small bowl and cover with hot water, let stand for 2 minutes)
1/2 tsp vanilla

Take dry ingredients and cut in one stick (1/2 cup) of cold unsalted butter (either by food processor, or pastry cutter or by hand...it's best to touch it as little as possible so the butter remains cold).

 The texture should be sandy and mealy.

Pour wet mix on top and stir in with fork.

Don't over work it, just until all the wet is mixed in...should have some crumbly bits left at the bottom of the bowl. If you find it's still too dry, add a little more yogurt or heavy cream to help.

Dump out mix onto a lightly floured surface. gently work in any crumbly bits. Form dough into an 7-8" disc and cut into 8 pie-like portions.

Place on parchment on cookie sheet.
Bake for 20-ish minutes. Should be golden around edges and a little golden on top.

 While cooling, melt 1/2 cup white couverture chocolate (I use Belgian white from the Bulk Barn) in a double broiler:

• bring about 2-3 inches of water in a saucepan to a simmer not a boil
• place a bowl on top - not in - the saucepan 
• place the chocolate in the bowl and stir while melting until almost melted 
• remove bowl and continue to stir until all the chocolate has completely melted

Pour chocolate into a piping bag (I just use a Ziploc and cut the very tip of one corner) and zigzag the chocolate over the scones. Or however you want to do it...there's no right way! The white chocolate does add the "scrumptious" factor though.

ENJOY!

Happy Thanksgiving!