Week 2...White Chocolate Mud Cupcakes!

 White Chocolate Mud Cupcake

It has been said "Coffee makes it possible to get out of bed, but cupcakes make it worthwhile".  I am not sure who says it but it has been said.  Many of my tasters would agree.  I made this cupcake as our staff was preparing for our Youth Retreat.  Lots of kids, lots of work, lots of stressed out staff! I should mention over 1/2 of my tasters are youth staff.  I showed up at 10:30 pm and they were still hard at work and I was a sight for sore eyes!  One even said she had prayed that I would show up with this weeks sample!  Well as an answer to prayer let me begin to unfold the story of the White Chocolate Mud Cupcake...

I have to say as I read this recipe I started to doubt myself.  I thought they would be horrible!  Then I thought...there has to be one bad experience...for humor sake.  What a great story it will be when these explode and I have this huge disaster on my hands!  So I went on with the recipe for White Chocolate Mud Cupcakes.
For The Cupcakes…

• 4 ounces cake flour
• 4 ounces super fine sugar (regular sugar worked just fine)
• 8 ounces unsalted butter
• 8 ounces white chocolate
• 4 large lightly beaten eggs
• ½ teaspoon baking powder

(I doubled the recipe because it would only make 12 cupcakes and I wanted 24)

Preheat your oven to 325° F.  Place the butter and chocolate into a double boiler and stir until melted, then set aside.  I do not have a double boiler so I used a large dutch oven pan and a smaller pan floating in the water.  In another bowl, beat the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer on slow until thick and well blended, then fold in the flour and baking powder.Slowly add the chocolate and butter mixture and mix until well combined then the recipe calls for you to spoon batter into cases until they are approx half full, I would suggest that you fill it 3/4 full.  It is not a high rising batter.  I like high peaking cupcakes so I would fill it 3/4 of the way. Then place in the middle rack in your preheated oven.

 Bake for approx 20 to 22 minutes or until cupcake bounces back then you tough the center, then remove and let sit for a few minutes before removing the cupcakes from the tins and placing them on a wire rack to cool.

 After I baked the cupcakes I then made the ganache frosting.  The first one I made was AWFUL!!!!  It curdled up and was just gross.  So I started again and with the new recipe.  Here is the recipe...

White Chocolate Ganache

24 ounces of white chocolate
1 cup of heavy cream
1 cup of butter

Melt together in a double boiler.  Once it is melted mix in your mixer until it begins to peak.  Remove from mixer and place in the fridge until it cools.  After it cools place in mixer again and whip for 1-2 minutes on high.  I then put it in a piping bag with a large round tip and placed on cupcake.  I then shaved white chocolate on top for decoration. 

People seemed to like them.  The cake part was compared to a cheesecake taste and texture a lot.  They were very rich tasting.  I believe when I bake them again I will add some vanilla to the cake batter.  People requested a little more flavor to the cake.  The ganache was good.  Very white chocolate tasting! 

Almond Joy Cupcakes

This weeks cupcakes were Almond Joy Cupcakes. Easy cupcakes with great reviews so far!  They say "When you look at a cupcake, you just have to smile" and I believe that is true.  When I finished these cupcakes I did just the same.  I enjoy baking but when I am done I am like a kid a Christmas I can not wait to share.  I am glad I have friends who want to share in this experience.  So here is the recipe for week 1...The Almond Joy. 

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups cake flour, sifted
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/2 tsp. salt
1 3/4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/4 cup Lite Coconut Milk

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs

You can also use a box mix.  I would use a devils food cake mix.   Only use 1 1/4 coconut milk, 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut, 1/2 cup vegetable oil and 3 eggs.

Preheat oven to 350°

Line muffin pan with cupcake liners.

In a large mixing bowl combine all ingredients. Mix on low for 30 seconds. Turn mixer speed up to medium and beat for 2 1/2 minutes.

Fill liners 1/2 full with batter.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until centers spring back when pressed.  I baked mine for 17 minutes

Let cool completely before frosting.

 

After the cupcake has cooled begin to prepare the filling for the cupcake.

In a mixer whip 2 cups of heavy cream until it peaks.  Add 4 tablespoons of powered sugar and 4 teaspoons of coconut extract.  Mix again for 1 more minute.  Then fill a pastry bag and place the tip in the cupcake and fill until cupcake puffs up.

Then you can prepare the frosting.
1 cup butter (2 sticks) room temperature
3/4 cup vegetable shortening
8 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
3/4 cup light coconut milk
1/2 tsp. coconut extract

 

 

In mixer beat together butter and shortening until smooth.

On low mix in your powdered sugar.

Pour in your coconut milk and coconut extract and mix until combined. Turn up speed to medium and mix for 45 seconds.

 

I added chocolate syrup to the top to decorate.  I had good feed back so far.  But some had suggested making the cake more chocolaty.  Easy to do add syrup or cocoa powder.  There was also a request for lighter more coconut flavored filling.  You can adjust the amount of extract you add for the flavor of that.

The sweet girls in this picture seemed to enjoy them as well!

The Joy Of Baking!

I have wasted enough time tonight watching videos on the "Joy of Baking" website!  I am so excited about royal icing I can't even put it into words!  Valentine's Day cookies WILL be out of this world this year!  Watch out.

New Year, New Idea!

This is a new year and I have decided to start a new blog for Sweet Peas Delights.  My friend Rachel and I have a very small baking business titled "Sweet Peas Delights".  We have done mostly family and friends cakes and events.  Our goal is to grow bigger but the lovely town of our current residence in life is prohibiting us from doing so. 

We bake out of need most of the time and lack the time to really experiment.  My goal with this blog is to experiment.  For the next 52 weeks I will bake a new cupcake or dessert item.  I will then share it with friends.  I will share it with friends who are very tough critics.  Friends who are known to say their true thought and opinions and not hold back due to how the person receiving the feed back would feel.  I have some of these friends and they shall be the judge! 

They say "Nothing heals the soul like cupcakes... It's God's apology for muffins.", so we will start there.  This weeks cupcake will be Almond Joy Cupcake (for my friend Cristina).  Pictures and comments to follow...