With 135 recipes from places as far-flung as Baja California, Mexico; Brussels, Belgium; Richmond, Virginia; and Rome, Italy, Burt Wolf's latest cookbook captures all the international excitement of his new public television series, "Travels and Traditions."Illustrated with sixteen pages of full-color photographs, Good to Eat offers dishes that are often perfect choices for the health-conscious cook. Take, for example, the classic Minestrone Milanese, a filling, vegetable-packed soup
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
For the Filling:
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons confectioner's sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Icing:
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter
To make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners. In a medium mixing bowl, resift the flour with the baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until they're light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla. Then, with a wooden spoon, beat in half the buttermilk and half the flour and cocoa mixture, stirring well to combine. Add the remaining buttermilk, and remaining flour mixture and beat until thoroughly mixed. Evenly divide the batter among the muffin tins (about 1/4 cup of batter per tin) and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cupcakes are springy to the touch and toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool the cupcake tin on a cake rack. When completely cool, remove the cupcakes from their paper liners.
To make the filling: In a chilled bowl, whip the heavy cream with the sugar and vanilla until the mixture is tiff. With a small paring knife, cut out a small cone shape from the bottom of each cupcake and reserve them for later. With a knife or small spoon, remove about a teaspoonful of cake from inside each cupcake to create a hollow.
Fill a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch round tip with the whipped cream, and pipe it into the hollow (if you don't have a pastry bag, then just spoon the cream inside the cakes as best you can). Plug up the bottoms of the filled cupcakes with the reserved cake cones and set the cupcakes, bottom side down, on a baking sheet and refrigerator.
To ice the cupcakes: In a small saucepan, combine the chocolate, water, and sugar and bring to a boil. When the ingredients are at a boil, lower the heat and simmer very gently, stirring on occasion, for 5 minutes exactly. Transfer the icing to a bowl, whisk in the butter, and cool until the icing has set up a bit. Remove the cupcakes from the fridge, then pour the icing on each cupcake. With a rubber spatula, spread the icing out to the edges and refrigerate until ready to eat. Serve the cupcakes on individual plates.
