Meet $10,000.00 Cupcake Winner and my FRIEND, Elaine Barbee

As promised, I want to introduce you to a wonderful friend of mine from the St. Louis, MO area who I am so proud of and who I love very much.  It's Elaine Barbee from St. Charles and I met her when I read her bio on RWOP and learned that she lived just a few blocks away from my husband's brother and where we had previously lived.  Instantly we became friends and learned that we had so much in common.  First and foremost, she is a born again Christian, and not afraid to tell you that...secondly, she is a mom and great family woman, and third, she is a FANTASTIC cook!... Now all of those things we had in common to start with and our friendship has grown from there.

So much I want to tell you, like what all she did for us when we were in St. Louis when my hubby's mom was in the hospital but today I also want to share more about her and what God has done in her life lately.  Here is part of her story.

February 22nd sitting in a suicide policy committee meeting in Columbia, Mo., I see that my phone has a new voice mail waiting and the number is a different area code. I am curious and when the meeting hits a lull, I listen to my voice mail and suddenly the last year makes sense.

Hi, I am Elaine Barbee from St. Louis, Mo. I am a wife, a mom, and my job is Assistant Regional Administrator. What is that?? I supervise a high secure violent offender unit, and three alternative community based programs for juvenile delinquents, training, leadership development, community partnerships, and whatever else needs to be done.

I've been at my job for 25 years. It was a vocation, I loved working with kids and sharing my talents with them. My boss retired a year ago and his job had been promised to me by all that made those decisions. At the last moment it was given to someone else. Not only was I crushed the next year would prove to be very challenging with some very negative coworkers.

Three months after the disappointment at my job, another crisis came up, my 11 yr old son had a serious health issue and had to have a very serious surgery. We knew at some point he was going to have to have surgery. At the time we were told this the Doctors thought possibly the surgery would have a life altering impact on him. God was very good. What was supposed to be a 3-4 week hospital stay for him with weeks maybe months of rehabilitation turned into a 9 day hospital stay and only 6 weeks of recuperation. He is back to normal with no problems or ongoing treatment.

So you ask, what does all of this have to do with CUPCAKES???

It was during this time my friend Amy was telling me about the RWOP challenge with Paula Deen. She urged me to enter the contest. She was not the first friend to urge me to enter food contests. I had some time off of work to stay at home with my son and he was sleeping a lot, so with the help of family and friends, started video taping recipes for the contest. I learned a lot about writing recipes, having the kitchen and ingredients prepped, and video taping & editing. This proved to be very challenging and more than what I bargained for!

I started getting messages and friends on the site. It was crazy, thought it was a contest and here people were reaching out to me. Especially Debbie Fabre! We became friends, champions for each other, pushing each other, and especially praying for and with each other through many trials. God knew we would need each other. The friends kept coming and they were all cheerleaders in the contest and in life.

Through them I learned so much about writing recipes, editing, video taping etc.. This would lead me to a whole subculture that I did not know existed. Contest cooks!!! This whole world of food contests and people that entered them all the time! Merry Graham had a facebook page that was just for such people! What a mentor she has become to me in cooking and faith. More people to pray with and for!

God has put people in my life to help me through! There were so many avenues that seemed to lead nowhere. Yet so many wonderful people in my life praying for me and cheering me on.

February 22nd was one of those days where I was just floating and biding my time at work until I could retire, wondering where God was leading me and what the last 25 years had been about. I listen to the voicemail, its from Lisa Schiffman of Tuttifoodie. She told me that I was the grand prize winner of the Scharffen Berger Cupcake Adventure Based Contest for my You Make Me Want to Shout Cupcakes. She went on to say that the Judges loved them above and beyond 2000 entries. At this point I was so excited that I couldn't stand it. I had to ask for a break and go call Lisa back to get the details! It was evident that God had a different plan for my future and all of the events leading up to this moment were for a reason!

Plans are what you make while God is laughing!

Congratulations Elaine!

Press Release Source: Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker On Monday March 7, 2011, 9:00 am EST

HERSHEY, Pa., March 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Scharffen Berger® chocolate and TuttiFoodie.com announce the winners of the Fourth Annual Chocolate Adventure Contest® - Cupcake Edition 2010 – and this year, it's all about chocolate and stout beer. As part of the contest, daring bakers were invited to develop an original cupcake recipe using Scharffen Berger chocolate and one or more of 14 "adventure ingredients."  The $10,000 Grand Prize went to "You Make Me Want To Stout" by Elaine Barbee from Missouri. A deeply rich chocolate cupcake included stout as the only adventure ingredient, used in four different ways, was unanimously chosen as the winner among over 2,000 recipe entries.

The Famous Cupcake

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the recipe:

You Make Me Want To "Stout" Cupcakes

Creator: Elaine Barbee / MO
Adventure Ingredient: Stout Beer
Servings: 36

 

 

 

INGREDIENTS

batter:

• 2 cups flour
• 2/3 cup Scharffen Berger Unsweetened Natural Cocoa Powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups milk stout beer, room temperature and divided
• 2/3 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups dark brown sugar
• 2 eggs

filling:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup milk stout beer, room temperature
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon good quality bourbon vanilla extract

stout reduction:

• 1/2 cup milk stout beer, room temperature
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar

buttercream frosting:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 6 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 2-3 Tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/2 cup stout reduction
• 2 teaspoons good quality bourbon vanilla extract
• edible gold stars, optional

PREPARATION

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. For the cupcakes: Line cupcake pans with paper liners and set aside.
3. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
4. In a medium saucepan bring the stout up to a simmer on medium heat.
5. Leave the saucepan on the stove and turn off the heat.
6. In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar.
7. Add the eggs and mix until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
8. Set the mixer speed on low and slowly begin pouring in 1 cup of hot stout.
9. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, until all of the dry ingredients have been incorporated.
10. With the motor running, pour the remaining cup of hot stout into the batter and mix until just combined. The batter should be thin.
11. Pour the batter into the liners about 2/3 of the way and bake for about 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cupcakes.
12. Poke a hole into the center of each cupcake with end of a wooden spoon and remove the cupcakes from the pans onto a cooling rack. Set aside.
13. For the filling: In a medium saucepan whisk together the cream, stout, eggs, sugar, flour and salt until smooth.
14. Place the pan over medium heat and bring to a slow boil, constantly whisking until the mixture thickens, about 8 to 10 minutes.
15. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla until fully incorporated.
16. Allow the mixture to cool slightly before spooning the mixture into the holes of the cupcakes.
17. For the reduction: Place the stout and sugar in a small saucepan, stir and bring to a boil.
18. Once the mixture has come to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 15 minutes until the mixture reduces by half.
19. Remove the mixture from the heat and set aside. The reduction will thicken as it cools.
20. For the frosting: Place the butter in a standing mixer or in a bowl using a hand mixer and cream until light and fluffy. Begin adding the sugar to the butter, 1/2 cup at a time until all of the sugar has been used. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
21. Add 2 tablespoons of cream and the vanilla to the butter mixture and continue beating on medium speed.
22. Slowly pour the reduction into the frosting until fully incorporated and the frosting is light and fluffy. If the frosting is stiff add the remaining tablespoon of cream into the frosting.
23. Scoop the frosting into a piping bag and pipe the frosting onto each cupcake.
24. If using edible stars, place them on the top of the frosting at them time and serve.

*Note: If you can't find milk stout this can easily be replaced with creamy stout for the same results.

Well, the rest is history.  Keep watching Elaine for all the great things she has in store for us.  I know this is just the beginning!