Hamburger Cupcakes!!

I read Serious Eats daily, so last week after following a link from Serious Eats to this Flickr photo set about how to make good looking cheeseburger cupcakes, I had my heart set on these trompe l'oeil burg bites hitting my stomach, like now.

I was planning on making them for a certain event on August 14th, but when he mentioned his love of cheesecakes I decided to bake these little bundles of cheesy joy for my own birthday on the 8th instead. But wait, the 8th was a couple weeks away.. the urgency to try a new recipe set in.. what if they don't turn out? Might as well have a trial run, it could even coincide with my work-friends b-days.. yes.. those are proper excuses for cupcake mania. Let's begin..

Bake Duncan Hines French Vanilla cake in muffin pans as per instructions, helped by loads of butter-PAM spray.
Repeat with Swiss Chocolate extra moist cake.
Slice the little white cupcakes in half, like a hamburger bun.
Repeat with Choco cake.
Add food coloring to Duncan Hines cream cheese frosting (this is a cheeseburger after all). You'll need loads of yellow coloring, and a couple drops of red. I aimed for a Cheez Whiz color instead of the neon American Cheese.
After softening, spread gently over Chocolate cupcake tops.
Add a skinny dribbly line of red icing in a tube.
Start layering and assembling as such, from top to bottom:

White cupcake top
Chocolate cupcake top, frosting side up
Dab of frosting (should be invisible once assembled, just so the layers stick to eachother)
White cupcake bottom.

Once assembled, pastry-brush a few drops of OJ on the top of the cupcakes and sprinkle a few sesame seeds. The seeds won't affect the taste if you're worried.

Four hours later..

I might have been talking about these for a couple days non-stop, but the look on people's faces as they inspected them was unsurpassed. "Who brought in a tray of burgers to the office?" "They look.. so... REAL!"

Clearly I have a thing for burgers, but I never expected these to have such a far-reach. One co-worker took some to her kids, two others to their boyfriends, this dude took some to his friends and some other friends shared one while I took pictures of the ketchup dribbling action.

Taste? Like cake, nothing unusual. The mind-trick took the whole experience to a new level. I've finally found a food that makes everyone as excited and smiley as I get when I talk about food. I've had a perma-smile since, at least half of it caused my the burgers. ;)

The rest of the Food Pourin' shots:

If only I could be a Serious Eats correspondant...

Here's an homage to the Serious Eats profiles. If only..


Name: M. aka The Food Monstar Location: Canada
Occupation: T.A., full time eat monster

Guilty pleasures? the reaction people have to succulent or shocking food, dissecting fruit, Japanese Pretz, the first bite of a burger.

Describe your perfect meal. A pot of coffee, asparagus eggs Benedict poached medium with a side of Broadway's garlic-onion homefries, with a side of Mole Enchiladas. No room for dessert.
What food won't you eat? the dreaded combo of dill & vinegar, I also despise bitting into a piece of fat.

What would you like to try but haven't yet? Kobe beef.

Favorite food persons? George Motz for opening my eyes with his documentary "Hamburger America", and Ed Levine for giving foodies everywhere a place to call home (page).

When did you first realize you were a serious eater? When people started inviting me to parties and events just for the food.

What do your family and friends think of your food obsessions? They've learned to wait until I've taken a photo before diving into a dish; they all think it's rather neat-slash-annoying that I have a foodie obsession.

Favorite food sites or blogs? Serious Eats, A Hamburger Today, This is Why You're Fat, Cake Wrecks, Amateur Gourmet, The Kitchn

Everyone has a go-to person they call for restaurant recommendations. Who's yours? the Ottawa Foodies website.

What is your favorite meal of the day and where do you get it? Breakfast at Broadway's (those homefries!) or StoneFace Dolly's for their Eggs Benedict with Lemon Diablo Hollandaise sauce.

Do you ever cook? What's the best dish you make? Yes, I make the best chili you've ever had.