It's Strawberry Mousse...

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not moose. Hubs and I visited Alaska this past summer and found out that many dishes we had contained moose. This recipe does not contain moose but it is mousse.
Oh and it's also not the kind you of mousse you might put in your hair for added volume. This mousse is the creamy dreamy dessert kind of mousse. Hopefully that clears up any mousse/moose confusion!

Sorry for the silliness, I couldn't resist. Anyway this mousse is good eaten on its own but it really makes a fabulous filling for cakes and cupcakes. I used it for the filling in a chocolate cake. I had some leftover so I filled some chocolate cupcakes. I frosted the cake and the cupcakes with this frosting.
This cake has all the flavors of a chocolate dipped strawberry, in cake form. Delicious! 

Strawberry Mousse
(Printable recipe)

Ingredients:
2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and cut in half
1 packet unflavored gelatin
1/3 cup cold water
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp. lemon juice
2 cups heavy cream, chilled

Method:
Puree the strawberries in the food processor. Strain the strawberries through a mesh strainer. (you could skip this step if you don't mind seeds in your mousse.) Add sugar and lemon juice.

Sprinkle gelatin over the cold water to let it bloom for five minutes. Melt the gelatin in the microwave.*
Stir the gelatin into the strawberry puree and let it thicken for a few minutes.
Whip the heavy cream until medium stiff peaks form.
Gently fold the whipped cream into the puree with a rubber spatula until well incorporated. If using for a cake filling, refrigerate the mousse for 2 hours up to overnight before using.

*Note: (This is the method I use to dissolve gelatin.) To dissolve granular gelatin in a microwave: Combine 1 envelope unflavored granular gelatin in 1/4 cup cold water in a heat-proof bowl. Let sit until gelatin is softened. Microwave, uncovered, at 100 percent power, at 10 second intervals, for a total of approximately 45 seconds; check it in between each interval. Watch the gelatin mixture carefully because you don't want it to boil, otherwise it must be discarded because it will have lost its binding properties,

Make a dam around the cake with frosting. This will keep the mousse from getting loose...

no mousse on the loose!

This mousse is so easy and delicious you"ll want to make it all the time. I used fresh strawberries in mine but you could use thawed frozen berries if fresh berries are out of season.

Devil's food cupcakes

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I recently had a birthday. At some point birthday's have gone from a highly anticipated to slightly dreaded events. I don't dread them so much because of getting older aspect but more for the fact that they mark how quickly time flies by. Every birthday I can't believe another year has slipped away and I'm another year older. Yikes when did that happen??!! The upside of course is, it's your birthday so cake and ice cream are required eating, and of course gifts are nice too. I usually get at least one cookbook for my birthday. This year I was given a copy of Martha Stewart's Cupcake cookbook. I've had a love/hate relationship with Ms. Stewart in the past. I love her ideas and she makes everything looks so easy. Remember the marshmallow peep bunnies anyone??? I was definitely not feeling the love for Martha when I was making those peeps.
This cookbook is just cupcakes. It's a beautiful cookbook filled with great recipes and drool worthy photos. It was hard to decided which cupcakes to make first. I went with the devil's food because they were frosted with a ganache frosting and looked completely decadent. The cupcakes are very tasty but the topped with the ganache they're a chocolate lovers dream. I'm loving Martha again right now!

Devil's Food Cupcakes
Source; Cupcakes by Martha Stewart

Ingredients

3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
3/4 cup hot water
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream, room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cocoa and hot water until smooth. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
2. Melt butter with sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat, and pour into a mixing bowl. With an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat until mixture is cooled, 4 to 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add vanilla, then cocoa mixture, and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the sour cream, and beating until just combined after each.
3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three- quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 15 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.
4. To finish, use a small offset spatula to spread cupcakes with frosting. Refrigerate up to 3 days in airtight containers; bring to room temperature and garnish with chocolate curls just before serving.

Chocolate Ganache Frosting

1 pound good-quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 1/3 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup corn syrup

Directions

1. Place chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. Bring cream and corn syrup just to a simmer over medium-high heat; pour mixture over chocolate. Let stand, without stirring, until chocolate begins to melt.
2. Beginning near the center and working outward, stir melted chocolate into cream until mixture is combined and smooth (do not overstir).
3. Refrigerate, stirring every 5 minutes, until frosting just barely begins to hold its shape and is slightly lighter in color. Use immediately (ganache will continue to thicken after you stop stirring).