GORDON RAMSAY RECIPES INGREDIENTS: alton brown guacamole

It’s almost time.

I can count on one hand the number of days I have left @ the Sweet Spot. I’ll soon be moving and un-veiling my new location!

Ohhhhh, the bittersweet excitement…

I am so excited and anxious that I decided to makes some stellar cupcakes. So stellar that they hit the cupcake right out of the cupcake park- so to speak.

And once I did, it was impossible for me to stop taking pictures of them.

They’re just so homey, yet fanciful.

And delicious! Oh boy, are these some yummy cupcakes!!

I modeled the recipe after my Nutella Swirled Peanut Butter Banana Bread that I made last year. The only thing that these cupcakes are missing from the banana bread are the chopped Reeses and chocolate chips. That’s an easy problem to solve though- sprinkle some chopped Reeses and mini chocolate chips on top! SCORE.

A killer moist banana cupcake with Nutella swirled right into the center, topped with a creamy peanut butter frosting!

Gosh. Bananas, Nutella, and peanut butter were just made for each other. I’m tellin’ ya.

Nutella Swirled Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

For the Cupcakes:
½ cup butter, at room temperature
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 medium)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup buttermilk, at room temperature
½ cup Nutella
For the Frosting:
1 cup (8 ounces) butter, softened
¾ cup creamy peanut butter
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350°F and line two 12-cup muffin pans with paper liners.
In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time beating, scraping after each addition. Add vanilla and banana. Mixture might curdle- that is okay.
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine.
Add ⅓ flour mixture to butter mixture then ½ the buttermilk. Add another ⅓ flour mixture followed by remaining buttermilk, then remaining flour mixture. Only mix until each is just combined.
Fill muffin cups ½ full with batter.
In a small microwave safe bowl, microwave Nutella for 30 seconds and stir to loosen (more if necessary). Dollop 1 teaspoon Nutella on top of each cupcake. Swirl Nutella into cupcake with a toothpick, using a figure 8 motion.
Bake cupcakes 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a Nutella-free section comes out clean. Remove from oven and set pan on wire rack to cool. Cupcakes might be sunken where the Nutella sits- that is normal.
FOR THE FROSTING: Cream butter and peanut butter together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until well combined and smooth. Add powdered sugar and mix on low until powdered sugar is absorbed. Add vanilla and milk. Beat on med-low for 2 minutes until fluffy and creamy. Spread on cooled cupcakes.

Tagged as:
banana,
cake,
cupcakes,
dessert,
nuts,
peanut butter

There are few things better than a bowl of great guacamole. It seems like an unwritten rule of life that almost everyone loves guacamole. We love it so much that we’re willing to pay $2 to add a tiny dollop of it to a burrito bowl at Chipotle. I’ve also never seen anyone complain when someone orders it as an appetizer. Since it turns brown if not eaten, we justify eating ridiculous quantities because “it will go bad if it’s not eaten now.” I personally judge Mexican restaurants based on two things: 1) margaritas 2) guacamole. If they pass with both of those, I really couldn’t care less about the rest of the food. I’m a happy camper.

Guacamole is easy to make, but it’s also easy to add too much of one ingredient and accidentally ruin the entire batch. It then becomes a desperate attempt to even out the flavors, and this almost always backfires because unless you have spare avocados you’re probably out of luck (and the avocados from the store are never ripe right away). This is my go-to guacamole recipe. It’s based on Alton Brown’s guacamole, which has a five star rating and 634 reviews. Let’s take a second to think about that. More than 630 people of all culinary backgrounds have made this guacamole and it still has a five star rating?! That’s rare. It makes perfect sense when you try it, though, because it’s amazing. It has the perfect amount of everything, and then a few random additions like cayenne pepper.

I always adapt his recipe slightly, omitting the cumin, using an entire jalapeno (be sure to completely seed it), and bumping the cilantro up to two tablespoons. If I have an extra lime or a lemon I also squeeze a bit more lemon or lime juice on top before serving. Alton Brown also recommends leaving it out for an hour before serving. While I’m sure this does help the flavor, if you’re in a pinch for time I guarantee no one will complain about eating it before an hour has passed.

Enjoy!

Go-To Guacamole
Recipe based on Alton Brown’s Guacamole

Ingredients

3 Ripe Haas avocados, halved, seeded and peeled

1 lime, juiced

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 medium red onion, diced

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

1 clove garlic, minced

Directions

In a large bowl place the scooped avocado pulp and almost all of the lime juice, leaving about one tablespoon for use later in the recipe. Mash together gently with a fork until lime juice is integrated into the avocados. Next, add the salt and cayenne pepper, mash together until mixed. Then, fold in the onions, jalapeno, tomatoes, cilantro, and garlic. Add the rest of the lime juice*. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour and then serve. If you run out of time, go ahead and eat it before the hour. It’ll still be delicious!

*A lot of people may know this, but a really great way to juice a lime if you don’t have a citrus juicer is to use a fork. Simply press the fork inside the center of a lime half and squeeze while moving the fork from side to side. Easy peasy.

Chef Gordon Ramsay Recipes

Tag: alton brown guacamole

Nutella Swirled Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

Go-To Guacamole

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