Celebrating Mother's Day

 Celebrating my mom, Mary Pat Lentsch (photo taken Christmas 2004)

Mother's Day, a day set aside to honor mothers, motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, most commonly in spring.
Take time to thank your mom for her influence on your life's journey.
If you are a motherless daughter today, there are some ways to keep your mother's memory alive.

• Share stories and anecdotes about your mother.
• Wear your mother's favorite color -- a piece of clothing, nail polish, etc.
• Remember your mother's best advice and wisest sayings, follow, and share.
• Prepare your mother's favorite recipes, keeping her in your head and heart as you make and serve the dishes.
• Write something about your mother- a poem, a song, a recollection.
• Perform an act of kindness to honor your mother.
• Give to a charity in memory of your mother.

Some may have considered my mother a chocoholic. There wasn't a piece of chocolate she didn't like. She was tiny, weighing only 83 pounds. Her all-time favorite chocolate dessert was French Silk Pie from Bakers Square, but brownies came in at a close second, plus her supply of Dove Bars in the freezer kept her happy.

My mother liked to cook and try new recipes, and with eight of us she got in lots of practice. She always liked to try out some of her recipes in advance for upcoming bridge groups, which at one point numbered a total of 13!
So, in honor of Mom, I made this recipe as I know chocolate speaks to us all.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Ganache Icing

Cook's Notes: Imagine making a moist, chocolaty cupcake with a ganache topping and no mixer is needed. It's easy, tasty, and your day will rock with just one bite. 
cecipe from recipecritic.com and makes 10 cupcakes.
CupCake Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa powder e.g., Hershey's
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ cup coffee, cooled
• ½ cup buttermilk
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Chocolate Ganache Ingredients:

• 4 oz. heavy whipping cream ½ cup
• 4 oz. dark chocolate melting wafers or your preferred chocolate e.g. 1 bar Ghirardelli Bittersweet Chocolate, broken into small pieces

Cupcake Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place paper cupcake liners in a 12 cup muffin pan
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together coffee and buttermilk. Whisk in the vegetable oil, then egg and vanilla. Beat until thoroughly combined.
• Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and fold into the liquid mixture. Add salt and sugar and whisk until a smooth batter forms.
• Use a 1/3 cup measuring cup and add batter to each of 10 cupcake liners.
• Bake 22-24 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan and remove each cupcake. Set on a wire rack to cool completely. Add a sheet of wax paper under the cooling rack.
• Place cupcakes back into the muffin tin after icing. Refrigerate for one hour to have the icing set. 

Chocolate Ganache Directions:

• Microwave the cream in a heat-proof vessel for 50 - 55 seconds, watching it during the last few seconds to ensure it doesn’t boil over.
• Add the broken pieces of chocolate to a small mixing bowl and pour the hot cream over them. Allow it to stand for a minute or two, then whisk until the chocolate melts completely and the mixture is smooth. Let the ganache cool completely until it thickens but still pourable.
• The icing sets up fast, so only do 2 cupcakes at a time. Drizzle the ganache over the top and add sprinkles. Refrigerate the pan with the cupcakes for 30 minutes to set the icing.