Devil's chocolate cupcakes with chocolate ganache and salted caramel filling

I made these Devil's food cupcakes with chocolate ganache frosting and salted caramel filling for my parents' annual Christmas Day lunch from Martha Stewart's "Cupcakes" books.

You can also find the recipes for the cupcakes and the frosting through these hyperlinks to her website. Rather than topping the cupcakes with chocolate shavings as pictured in the book, I used shards of the hazelnut brittle I had made earlier.

Come out, come out wherever you are!

So apparently I missed Delurking Day by one day. Please don't hold it against me. It's a good day when I can take a shower with a 5-month-old crawling in the house.
I'm dying to know who my lurkers are! Apparently I have readers in Croatia, the Isle of Man, the Palestinian Territories, Bulgaria, Sweden, Malaysia, Egypt, Armenia, and on and on - so please, please reveal yourselves!
I won't bite, I swear!
If you can, tell us:
Your name, where you're from, your favourite street food, and what you had for breakfast.
I'll start.
My name is Mary, I was born in Toronto, my favourite street food is a hot dog with mustard, ketchup, hot sauce, sweet corn relish, and sauerkraut.
I had Kashi cereal for breakfast. Not very exciting, I know. I had pecan chocolates and brioches for dinner. The photo is of me stuffing my face at my bridal shower. I'm happy because there are cupcakes (thanks, Mom). I have braces. (They're off now). Well? what are you waiting for? G'head! Spill!

Emerging Trends: Keep it simple, stupid

The latest foodie forecast from SideDish, from the U.S. Center for Culinary Development, predicts that 2010 will mark a return to simplicity.

More and more brands are introducing simpler versions of their products, such as the Milky Way Simply Caramel bar. New candy bars include Twix Java Chocolate Cookie Bars and the 3 Musketeers Truffle Crisp Bar, "both illustrating the growing sophistication of flavors in the candy bar world."

Meanwhile, Target is unveiling its Archer Farms Simply Balanced private-label line extension with products free of artificial flavourings, synthetic colours and trans fats.

Simplicity also means a return to comfort food classics like childhood favourite mac and cheese, with variations on the traditional recipe being featured in new cookbooks such as Michael Symon's "Live to Cook" or "Two Dishes" and also at hip restaurants in New York City and beyond; new global variations on fried chicken; and chefs embracing oft-overlooked, affordable and sustainable fish like the mackerel.

Even the pancake's more sophisticated spherical Danish cousin, the aebelskiver, which is served with syrup or jam, is being introduced to North American palates with Williams-Sonoma featuring pans and mixes for the unique pancake and New York magazine is reporting "that a Brooklyn saloon, Henry Public, also offers the treat dubbed Wilkinsons. They are served with rum-caramel dipping sauce or jam."

Not to forget the ultimate comfort food, artisan pizzerias are popping up across the United States and fuelling the renaissance of the pizza pie with "with creative chefs updating pies with long-fermented dough, hand-made cheese and rustic toppings baked in 900-degree ovens."

Hazelnut brittle

Over the years I've tried to make brittle several times. And every one of those times, it's turned into a gloppy sticky mess that I've had to scrape off the cookie sheet. And every time I've bemoaned to myself that I should have had a candy thermometer.

Finally this year, my husband crossed one of the items off my Christmas wish list and bought me a candy thermometer as a stocking stuffer.
Lo and behold, on my first try using the thermometer, my brittle was a success.

Sorry I ever doubted you Lucy Waverman. Although I must admit your instruction to watch the syrup turn into the colour of a light amber didn't work the first time around, I did some Googling and found out the "hard crack" stage was about 290-300 degrees F and my trusty digital thermometer beeped when it reached that stage.

I also looked at several other brittle recipes, such as this one from Martha Stewart, before I embarked on Brittle Experiment # 4,238.

Be warned, though, candy is quick to burn so it can go quickly from brittle to a hot mess if you don't keep your eye on it.

And don't be like me and stir the syrup out of impatience. Swirl the pan, gently.
And your efforts will be worth it.

I used this brittle as a sophisticated cupcake topper (more on that to come) but you can also break it into smaller pieces and use it between layers of cake, or pulverize it to add crunch to any sweet treat.