Announcing sated magazine! and Earl Grey Dark Chocolate Cupcakes and a giveaway!

Grab a cupcake, have it ready, because today is a celebration of a BIG announcement. Okay, are you ready? Because here we go......!

May I proudly announce a project that has been nearly a year in the making....

drum roll please.......

sated magazine!

I am so, so excited to announce, jointly with the wonderful Anita Chu of Dessert First, a new gastronomy publication, sated magazine.

This is the project that I have been hinting at and alluding to all over the place for the past few months on the blog and via twitter/instagram. It's what has taken up all of my life and energy between dissertation-work spurts. There is so much to tell you all about sated that I don't even know where to start, even though I've been dying to reveal the secret for months and months now!

What is sated?
Sated is a quarterly print publication that is dedicated to exploring and appreciating a single food subject at a time in great depth, through a combination of recipes, art, photography, stories, and articles. For me, it is the ultimate culmination of our love, fascination, geeky-ness, and complete obsession with food: where it comes from, its beauty, its stories, the people and places involved.

Where did sated come from?
Many, many months ago now, Anita and I were discussing--over dessert, naturally!--our inspirations and aspirations and frustrations, and in a combination of all these things, we discovered that we had shared dreams and visions about what we want and hope to do in the food world. That's when the concept for sated was born: it was to be our collective dreams about food poured into magazine form. Since then, we've worked so many hours bringing together this first issue (and planning the next ones!), though it wasn't until very, very recently when I could finally believe that this was all happening, that sated was actually going to launch for all to see. :D!

The first, inaugural issue of sated is coming in May and is dedicated to all things dark chocolate. We'll be releasing teasers and revealing more details of the issue in the coming weeks leading up to its launch, but suffice it to say that we've got it all--dark chocolate recipes of your dreams, a behind-the-scenes look into chocolate-making, articles and how-tos about chocolate, and lots and lots and lots of chocolate imagery. Though largely produced by Anita and myself, we have also had a great starting team of contributors working with us, including but not limited to the talented Kamran of the sophisticated gourmet and the ever-fascinating Dan Jurafsky of language of food. Anyways, I can't reveal too much now, but to stay up-to-date on all of the news leading up to the big launch in May, you can follow the sated magazine blog, the official satedmag twitter feed, and sign up for our mailing list!

Also, to celebrate the big reveal of sated, Anita and I are giving away to two copies of the premier issue of the magazine to readers of our blogs, since without all y'alls continued and enthusiastic support, none of this could ever be happening! There are many chances for you to enter the giveaway:

1. Leave a comment on this post for one entry.
2. Leave a comment on Anita's post for one entry.
3. Follow sated on Twitter and tweet about it (mention @satedmag) for one entry (you do not need to post a comment here; we'll track it through Twitter).
4. Like sated on Facebook and leave a comment on the page for one entry (you do not need to post a separate comment here).
5. Sign up to be on sated's mailing list for one entry (you do not need to post a separate comment here).

That's five chances to win! This giveaway will run on our blogs until 11:59 PM PST on May 18, at which point we'll choose two lucky winners at random to receive a copy of the very first issue of sated magazine! :D! (<- can you tell that I am very, very excited?)

[click on photo for a larger image]

To celebrate, here is my latest dark chocolate obsession: earl grey + dark chocolate. Something about the strong fragrance of the bergamot-scented black tea makes it a robust pairing against the deep, dark roast of dark chocolate. In these earl grey dark chocolate cupcakes, I infused a combination of cream and condensed milk (for some extra sweetness) with earl grey and used it for a whipped ganache frosting that's a bit firm but melts into your mouth as you eat it, just as chocolate should. Topped with a dash of seasalt to enhance the flavors within, these cupcakes are a richly indulgent shot of chocolate. You know, to tie you over until sated is released!

Read on for recipe....


Earl Grey Dark Chocolate Cupcakes
makes 12 - 14 cupcakes

for cake
1 cup (200 g) sugar
1 cup (140 g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (46 g) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/2 tspn salt
1/2 tspn baking powder
1/2 tspn baking soda
2 large eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup hot coffee

for frosting
6 teabags of Earl Grey
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup + 2 Tbspn heavy cream
5 oz (142 g) unsweetened chocolate
8 Tbspn butter
1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
flaked finishing salt

1. for cake. Preheat oven to 350° F. Prepare 12 - 14 cupcake tins with cupcake liners. Set aside.
2. In a mixer bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix to combine.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the beaten egg, vegetable oil, and milk. Stir to mix.
4. With the mixer on low, pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix on low until evenly distributed.
5. Pour the hot coffee into the batter gradually and mix on medium low until smooth.
6. Fill the cupcake liners about three-quarters full. Bake for 20 – 30 minutes. When a toothpick inserted at the center of the cupcake comes out cleanly, the cakes are done. Remove from oven, remove from pan, and let cool completely on a wire rack.
7. for frosting. Place the Earl Grey teabags, condensed milk, and heavy cream in a small saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Bring to a simmer, remove from heat, cover tightly, and let steep for at least one hour.
8. Meanwhile, finely chop the chocolate and cut the butter into pieces. Place the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set aside. 9. Remove the teabags from the milk mixture, making sure to squeeze as much liquid from the teabags as possible before discarding.
10. Add the sugar to the milk mixture, return to the stove, and bring to a simmer.
11. Pour the hot milk mixture over the chocolate and butter. Let sit for two minutes, then whisk until smooth. Let cool completely to room temperature.
12. Once cool, transfer the ganache to the bowl of a stand mixture fitted with the paddle attachment. Whip on medium until light-colored and fluffy. Use immediately to spread or pipe onto the cooled cupcakes. The whipped ganache will firm up more once spread or piped.
13. Top with a sprinkle of finishing salt.