Death by Chocolate Cupcakes

These are the cupcakes I would have made for Valentine's Day if only my husband weren't such a freak. He's not a fan of chocolate so I'm thinking these cupcakes with four different chocolate elements would probably kill him. Once again my book club comes to the rescue! I know those gals wouldn't ever think there's such a thing as chocolate overload. In fact, they seem to embrace this kind of indulgence.

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The cupcakes are inspired by one of my favorite desserts: Marcel Desaulniers' Death by Chocolate Cake. I miss living in Virginia where I could just hop in my car for a day trip to Williamsburg, sometimes expressly for the purpose of getting a slice of that cake from The Trellis. To. Die. For. Hence the name, I suspect. I don't know if I'll ever be ambitious enough to tackle making the seven-layer cake myself. That's right; I said seven. Seven layers of chocolate elements including brownie, mousse, cocoa meringue, and oodles of ganache. I'm starting to get a sugar buzz just thinking about it. It's just as rich as you'd imagine. No, make that richer than you imagine. Your imagination cannot possibly behold the majesty of that cake. And let me tell you from experience that if, by some superhuman display of gluttony, you are able to eat an entire slice by yourself in one sitting you will receive a look of shock, horror, disgust, and, I like to think, a little envy from your server. I've only done that once as I prefer to savor my leftovers the next day and continue the sugar high. Alright, I'll also admit that even I felt a little ill after that particular feat.


So until I pluck up the courage to make the entire cake I figured I could incorporate some of the elements into a cupcake. My favorite part of the cake has to be the surprising crunch from the meringue layer so I knew I had to incorporate that somehow. For Valentine's Day I piped the cocoa meringue into large heart shapes so they can serve double duty as a delicious element and cute toppers. The cupcakes are filled with chocolate mousse and the underside of the heart has a dab as well to help adhere it to the cake. The rich chocolate cupcakes are dunked into ganache twice for an extra thick layer. I'm pleased to report that a lot of the experience of eating the cake is here with my cupcakes. My success with these makes me think I just might be able to handle making the real deal one of these days. Don't worry; I'll be sure to share the cake if I do.

Chocolate Cupcakes
Recipe from Southern Food

8 ounces butter (2 sticks)
1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa, such as Valrhona or high-quality, such as Scharffen Berger*
3/4 cup water
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour, stir before measuring
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

*If you're using a standard baking cocoa (not Dutch-process or high-quality) add 1/2 teaspoon more of baking soda to the dry ingredients.

1) Line 24 cupcake wells with paper liners. Heat oven to 350°.

2) Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat; add cocoa, stirring until smooth. Whisk in the water and remove from heat. To the warm cocoa mixture, add the sugar, sour cream, 1 tablespoon vanilla, and eggs; whisk until smooth. In another bowl combine the flour, soda, and salt. Add all at once to the first mixture, whisking until well blended.

3) Scoop batter into prepared pans. Bake for 18 to 24 minutes, or until cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Cool in pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pans and let cool completely on rack.

Chocolate Mousse Filling
Recipe from Death by Chocolate by Marcel Desaulniers

6 ounces semisweet chocolate , in 1/2 oz pieces
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3 egg whites
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1) Ahead of time, put mixing bowl into the refrigerator to chill.

2) Heat 1 inch of water in the bottom half of a double boiler over medium heat (If you are not fortunate enough to own a double boiler, just stack a small saute pan on top of a small sauce pan. The lip of the saute pan should be just a bit wider than the sauce pan so that no steam escapes. Be very careful to keep any moisture out of your chocolate while you are melting it, or else it will seize and be very difficult to work with).

3) Place 6 oz of semi-sweet chocolate in the top of the double boiler and tightly cover the top with plastic wrap (do not allow the wrap to touch the bottom half).

4) Allow the chocolate to melt slowly, about 9 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir until smooth. Keep at room temperature until needed.

5) Place 1 1/2 cups heavy cream in the well-chilled bowl of an electic mixer. Whip on high (using the balloon whip attachment) until peaks form, about 1 minute. Set aside.

6) Whisk 3 eggs whites in a large stainless steel bowl, until soft peaks form (about 3 minutes).

7) Add 2 tablespoons of sugar and continue to whisk until stiff peaks form, about 2 to 2 1/2 minutes.

8) Add a quarter of the heavy cream to the chocolate and whisk quickly, vigorously, and thoroughly, then add it to the eggs whites. Now add the remaining heavy cream. Fold everything together gently but thoroughly, and put it in the fridge until needed (for at least one hour).

Cocoa Meringue Hearts
Recipe adapted from Death by Chocolate by Marcel Desaulniers

4 egg whites
1⁄8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1⁄8 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa , sifted
1 tablespoon cornstarch

1) Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 225° F.

2) Put the 4 egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt into the electric mixer bowl. Whip on high (using the balloon whip attachment) until soft peaks fom - about 45 to 50 seconds.

3) Gradually add 1 cup sugar while still on high. Continue to whip until the peaks are stiff, about another 1 1/2 minutes.

4) Remove the bowl and use a spatula to fold in and thoroughly combine the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, 2 tbsp cocoa, and 1 tbsp cornstarch.

5) Fill a pastry bag with the cocoa meringue (if you have no pastry bag, fill a Ziploc bag and snip off one of the corners). Pipe 24 hearts onto parchment paper, about 2.5" big.

6) Place the meringue in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Then lower the oven temperature to 200°F and bake for an additional 1 hour, 30 minutes.

7) Remove the meringues from the oven and let cool on a rack for about 45 minutes before handling.

Chocolate Ganache
Recipe adapted from Death by Chocolate by Marcel Desaulniers

3/4 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
11 ounces semisweet chocolate , in 1/2 oz pieces

1) Heat heavy cream and butter in a 2 1/2 quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil.

2) Put 11 oz semi-sweet chocolate in a stainless steel bowl. Pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth.

Assembly:

1) Using a Bismarck tip or the cone method fill each cupcake with chocolate mousse. You should have some left over for step 3.

2) Holding each cupcake by the base, dip tops of cupcakes into ganache. Place on a wire rack to set. Once done coating all of the cupcakes dunk them all a second time. Let sit at room temperature to set.

3) Immediately before serving, place a dollop of chocolate mousse on the bottom of each meringue heart and place on top of cupcakes.

Triple-Layer Coffee Cream & Ganache Brownies

Today's post is brought to you by a special guest blogger. That's right; I've asked our foster dog to write a post explaining why I felt I deserved these decadent three-layer brownies after putting up with him for a week. These brownies covered with coffee frosting and a thick layer of ganache almost make up for the trauma.
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Hi, this is Major. What an exciting week I've had with my foster family! Yes, I like to overuse exclamation points just like my foster mommy. I'm not entirely sure why she's is huddled in the corner with a pan of brownies and a fork but I would like to tell you about all of the fun things I've been up to since I moved in:

1) Tore up a pillow case and attempted to impregnate the pillow

2) Tore open a blanket and ravaged the stuffing

3) Destroyed a rubber chicken dressed as a prostitute bunny

4) Ate foster daddy's Prickle toy he's had for 15 years

5) Pulled down the curtain rod in the living room

6) Took several walks with foster mommy where I displayed that I am not at all leash trained and that, despite the fact that she outweighs me by about 90 pounds, I can pull her along the sidewalk at my own pace. Also timed my bathroom break in a neighbor's yard so I hunkered down just as they were coming out of their house. I am just that talented.

7) Played fetch with sticks and tennis balls

8) Stuck my head into the shower so I could watch foster daddy shower, then licked his ankles when he got out (what? is that weird?)

9) Chased cats. Had a few altercations where they expressed their displeasure with me with the use of claws and lots of hissing. What did I do wrong? It's as if they're instinctively driven to hate me or something.

10) Got lots of new toys & treats. Ate most of them (in both categories).

11) Learned that the couch is for people and the chair is for doggies

12) Almost learned to stop jumping on people when they're standing up, but I get too excited sometimes and forget

13) Cleaned the floor for foster mommy when she dropped a pan of bacon

14) Stole a bag of foster mommy's Pfeffernusse cookies from the kitchen and brought them to foster daddy upstairs. (I don't know, he seemed like he needed them.)

15) Got barked at by the neighbor's tiny, pathetic excuse for a dog

16) Learned to sleep quietly through the night in my crate

17) Licked and nibbled everything in sight

18) Learned to use a spiral staircase (after days of having to be carried down the stairs by foster mommy and daddy)

19) Prevented foster mommy from working out unless I'm passed out asleep on another floor of the house. All that jumping around and waving of her arms is obviously an invitation to me to play and bite, right? Besides, she's already skinny enough so clearly doesn't need to exercise.

20) Helped foster mommy take pictures for her blog. Her pictures were lacking a certain je ne sais quoi until I inserted my furry face into the frame.

21) Tried to steal a neighbor's trash can lid and drag it home with me

22) Did a little interior decorating by moving the draft stopper to the dining room, moved the dustpan brush to the living room, and moved the cats' newest toy upstairs. Really helped the feng shui of the place.

23) Gave foster mommy a 2" bruise on her thigh when I got too excited and thought we were doing attack dog training. I sunk my teeth in but fortunately didn't break the skin. Next time she should probably wear one of those padded suits. Silly girl!

24) Made friends with this adorable little creature that I found under the back deck He's not much of a conversationalist but he's fun to play fetch with.



So there you have it! Only three more weeks to go with my foster family but I'm hoping to accomplish a lot more in the time to come. Until my next blog post you can entertain yourself by making some of these brownies for yourself because it doesn't look as if foster mommy's going to share hers.

Coffee Cream Brownies
Recipe adapted from Crustabakes

For the brownies:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 ounces chopped chocolate (I used semisweet)
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda

For the coffee filling:
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
2 tsp instant coffee granules
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 cups confectioner’s sugar

For the ganache:
1 cup ( 6 ounces ) chocolate chips (I used bittersweet)
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

1. In a microwave or small saucepan, melt butter and chocolate. Stir until smooth. Cool slightly. In a small bowl, beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla. Stir in chocolate mixture. Combine flour and baking soda, gradually add to the chocolate mixture.

2. Spread into a greased 8 inch square baking pan. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

3. For the filling, heat cream in the microwave for about 15 seconds or until lukewarm. Add coffee granules and stir until the coffee is dissolved. Using a mixer, beat butter and confectioners sugar until combined. Beat in coffee mixture until combined. Increase speed to medium-high and and beat until light and fluffy. Spread over brownies. Put pan in the refrigerator while you make the ganache.

4. In a small saucepan, combine chips and cream. Cook and stir over very low heat until chocolate is melted and mixture is thickened. Cool slightly. Carefully spread over filling. Let stand for 30 minutes or until glaze is set. Cut into squares. Store in refrigerator.

Peanut Butter Brownie Cups

With Hurricane Irene bearing down on us the natives are getting restless. Their panic is driving them to the stores to stock up on water and fill their tanks with gas. My panic, on the other hand, is driving me straight to the kitchen. What if there's a power outage that lasts for days? Sure, I've got plenty of non-perishable foods to sustain me but what if I have to go all that time without getting to eat freshly baked goods?! The horror, the horror.

This morning I rushed downstairs to bake something to satisfy my craving for chocolate and peanut butter. These brownie nuggets are baked with both chocolate and peanut butter chips. To make them incredibly indulgent I deviated from the original recipe and topped them with both rich chocolate ganache and peanut butter frosting. I don't even want to consider the calorie count but can tell you these sure worked to satisfy that craving.


So don't worry about me in the days to come as the rain and winds buffet my home. As you can see, I am all set to weather the storm.

Peanut Butter Brownie Cups
Recipe adapted from Cookies & Cups

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tablespoon water
1 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips separated as follows: 3/4 cup (to melt), 1/2 cup (to stir in)
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup peanut butter chips

1) Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease 12 cup muffin pan.
2) Combine sugar, butter and water in medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on HIGH for 1 minute or until butter is melted.
3) Add 3/4 cup semi-sweet chips; stir until melted.
4) Add egg and vanilla extract and stir well. Add flour and baking soda and stir until blended. Allow to cool to room temperature.
5) Stir in 1/2 cup each of PB chips and semi-sweet chips. Spoon a heaping tablespoon batter into each prepared muffin cup.
6) Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until top is set and wooden pick inserted center comes out still slightly wet.
7) Place muffin pan on wire rack. Centers of brownies will fall upon cooling. If some do not, with back of teaspoon, tap center to make a hole.

Chocolate Ganache Filling
Recipe adapted from Crustabakes

3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 1/2 tablespoons heavy cream

1) In a small saucepan, combine chips and cream. Cook and stir over low heat until chocolate is melted and mixture is thickened. Cool slightly. Spoon into hollows in the center of each brownie cup.

Peanut Butter Frosting
Recipe adapted from 125 Best Cupcake Recipes by Julie Hasson

1 cup confectioner's sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tbsp heavy cream or milk

1) In a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together confectioner's sugar and butter until creamy. Add peanut butter, beating well, Add milk and beat until smooth and creamy. Pipe onto brownie cups.

Opera Cake Cupcakes

My mom has commissioned me to come up with some French-themed cupcakes for her upcoming book club discussion of The Elegance of the Hedgehog. Weirdly, despite the fact that France is known for its delicious desserts, most of those are difficult to translate into cupcakes. Their fruit tarts are delicious but the defining element is the tart. Napoleons are tasty morsels but without the crispy pastry layers it's just a bunch of pastry cream and icing. And so it goes. To add to the challenge, these cupcakes need to be freezable so things like chocolate mousse are right out as the liquid would separate upon thawing. Time to get my thinking cap on.

I'd had my sights set on recreating Opera Cake as a cupcake for a while now because the full-size version is too intimidating for a baking neophyte like me. Once I remembered that it's a French dessert I knew I had my first book club cupcake candidate. A traditional opera cake is an almond sponge cake soaked with coffee syrup layered with coffee buttercream and chocolate ganache. While I couldn't do anything nearly as fancy and elegant as the full cake, I could at least capture those flavors in miniature.

I tried two variations to see which way brings the flavors out the best. Both begin with a version of the Princess Cake Cupcakes I made a few weeks ago but with the substitution of almond meal and almond extract. I poured coffee syrup into each after scooping out a cone and then filled half with coffee buttercream and half with chocolate ganache, using the opposite flavor as frosting on top.

The cake has a spongy texture so it soaks up the coffee syrup nicely. There's just a hint of almond although I'm wondering if the final batch couldn't do with more. Just as I expected from the coffee buttercream recipe's rave reviews, it was perfect with the right amount of bitter coffee flavor to offset the sweetness. It was hard to stop myself from eating it all with a spoon!

Still waiting for feedback from my lovely co-workers as to which arrangement they prefer, but my vote goes to the ganache filling with coffee buttercream on top. I think that helps separate the flavor of the coffee syrup in the bottom of the cake from the coffee buttercream on top and is truer to the original with the layered flavor effect. You're welcome to try it both ways as printed below in the recipe, or try whatever variation appeals to you. You can't really go wrong. Whatever you choose you'll experience a fantastic symphony of flavors that's sure to please you. Bon appétit!

Almond Cupcakes
Recipe adapted from 125 Best Cupcake Recipes by Julie Hasson

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup almond meal
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
6 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 egg whites
1 tsp almond extract
1 cup buttermilk

1) Preheat oven to 350 F and line 15 cupcake wells with paper liners.
2) In a small bowl, mix together flour, almond meal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3) In a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together sugar and butter until well combined. Add egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in almond extract. Alternately beat in flour mixture and buttermilk, making three additions of flour mixture and two additions of buttermilk. Beat until combined.
4) Scoop batter into prepared pan. Bake 22 to 27 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on rack.

Coffee Syrup
Recipe from The Splendid Table

1/4 cup water
2 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 3/4 teaspoons instant coffee granules

Stir everything together in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Cool. (The syrup can be covered and refrigerated for up to 1 week.)

Chocolate Ganache

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon butter, at room temperature

1) Place chocolate in a bowl and set aside.
2) Heat cream and in a saucepan over medium heat until it just boils. Pour over chocolate and let sit for one minute. Stir until smooth.
3) Add butter and stir until smooth.

Coffee Buttercream
Recipe adapted from 125 Best Cupcake Recipes by Julie Hasson

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 tablespoon instant coffee granules
1 teaspoon hot coffee

1) In a small bowl, mix together coffee granulates and hot coffee. Stir until coffee granules are dissolved. Let cool completely.
2) In a small bowl, using an electric miser on low speed, beat together butter, sugar, and salt until well combined. Increase speed to high and beat until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, beating until frosting is smooth.
3) Add cooled coffee to butter mixture, beating until smooth, creamy, and well mixed. You will need to scrape down sides of the bowl several times while mixing.

To Assemble

1) Using the cone method, cut a cone out of each cupcake. Spoon approximately a generous amount of coffee syrup into each cavity. Try to coat both the sides and bottom of the cavity to help spread the flavor around.
2) For half of the cupcakes, fill with chocolate ganache. For the remaining half fill with coffee buttercream. Replace cone tops.
3) Let the remaining chocolate ganache sit for approximately 30-40 minutes until no longer runny. Beat with a mixer for 1-2 minutes until it's the right consistency for piping. Be careful to not overbeat.
4) Pipe ganache onto the coffee-filled cupcakes and pipe coffee buttercream onto the ganache-filled cupcakes. Conduct your own taste test to determine your favorite!

Coffee Cupcakes With Orange Chocolate Ganache Filling and Baileys Buttercream

I'd heard of the Cupcake Hero competition here and there but hadn't ever properly looked into how to enter. There was some confusion for me because the host changes each month to the previous month's winner, so I had a hard time figuring out where to join. This month, however, I've tracked the competition to The Insomniac Baker so I'm on board and ready and rarin' to go! Fitting because the theme this time around is caffeine.

While I'm usually not the type to get hopped up on the stuff I do relish the challenge of incorporating something new into a cupcake. I've already come up with the best tea cupcake I can imagine, so it was time to broaden my horizons and try something different. I'm not a coffee drinker but I do like coffee-flavored sweets (ok, I like sweets of any flavor) so why not try a coffee cupcake? This is a first for me because my husband doesn't like coffee, so I'll be on my own eating this one. Oh, the sacrifices I make for my art.

I only own two bottles of liquor: cheap vodka I use for vodka cream sauce and a small bottle of Baileys I bought on a whim. The latter perfect for my current baking experiment. After all, what goes together better than coffee and a splash of Baileys? Decided on coffee cake and Baileys frosting, I had to brainstorm to find just the right filling. Did some research into various cocktails made with Baileys and fell for the idea of incorporating orange into the mix. In the form of orange chocolate ganache, naturally. Bam! Sometimes the cupcake creation process really is that simple.

The end result is a coffee-flavored cake with a sweet and subtle Baileys buttercream offset by the slightly bitter but oh so rich chocolate ganache filling with a hint of orange. Just like a tasty cup of gourmet coffee. And just like your coffee no one would ever suspect that it's laced with booze.

Coffee Cupcakes
Adapted from 6 Bittersweets

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons instant coffee powder

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a standard muffin tin with 12 paper liners.
2) Heat the milk gently on the stove or in the microwave, then add the instant coffee powder, stirring to make sure that it's completely dissolved. Set aside.
3) In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
4) In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and yolk and mix until combined into the batter. Then add the vanilla and mix again.
5) Alternately beat in dry ingredients and milk mixture, making three additions of dry ingredients and two of milk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Beat just until combined.
6) Fill cupcake liners until they are about 2/3 full. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool in pan on rack for ten minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely.

Orange Chocolate Ganache Filling

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1/3 cup heavy cream
Peel from 1/2 large orange, torn into pieces
1 tablespoon butter, at room temperature

1) Place chocolate in a bowl and set aside.
2) Heat cream and orange peel in a saucepan over medium heat until it just boils. Strain out orange peel and pour cream over chocolate. Let sit for one minute then stir until smooth.
3) Add butter and stir until smooth.
6) Using the cone method, cut a cone out of each cupcake and fill the cavity with ganache. Replace top.

Baileys Buttercream

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 1/4 to 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons Baileys Irish Cream

1) In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter for 45-60 seconds.
2) Add 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar and beat until mixture comes together.
3) Add Baileys and beat an additional 45 seconds. Add additional powdered sugar if necessary.
4) Pipe onto cupcakes and enjoy!