Chocolate Cream Cupcakes

I was going to jump on the Red Velvet Cupcake bandwagon for Valentine's Day but my daughter vetoed that choice and, instead, chose the Chocolate Cream Cupcakes that are featured on the cover of Cook's Country magazine. It didn't take much convincing, I had been coveting those cupcakes for a few weeks and was waiting for an opportunity to try them.

This is a modern day, new and improved take on the Hostess Chocolate Cream Cupcake. What could go wrong? Nothing. That's what. They are even better than I'd hoped. I was a little hesitant about the ingredients in the filling, being marshmallow creme, butter, gelatin and vanilla. But it's true what they say, butter really does make everything better. The filling was really delicious and not at all sickly sweet as I'd feared.

The cupcake itself is terrific on its own. It has a deep chocolate flavor and a moist, tender crumb. So if you weren't inclined to stuff it with marshmallow filling, it would still be great. And the glaze, oh the glaze...delicious. Nothing but chocolate and butter. I used a good quality milk chocolate instead of the semisweet chocolate chips called for in the recipe. Worth every penny and every calorie.

This recipe is easily doubled, which is what I did. It only makes 12 and since I was sending them off to school with my daughter for Valentine's Day, and I knew I wouldn't be able to part with them without at least trying one - or three, I doubled the recipe. I would point out that, if you do double it, it will take a little longer for the filling to set up in the fridge, so you'll want to wait a little longer than the alloted 30 minutes to reach the desired consistency.

Not as Valentine's Day-appropriate as the Red Velvet would have been... so I threw a candy heart on top and called it a day. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say these are my new favorite cupcake. 

Chocolate Cream Cupcakes

(adapted from Cook's Country)

yield: 12 cupcakes

For cupcakes:

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup boiling water

1/3 cup cocoa powder (I used Dutch processed)

1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 Tbsp. instant coffee

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

For filling:

3 Tbsp. of water

3/4 tsp. unflavored gelatin

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

1 tsp. vanilla extract

pinch of salt

1 1/4 cups marshmallow creme (not sauce)

For glaze:

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used Callebaut milk chocolate)

3 Tbsp. unsalted butter (I used salted)

Batter: Adjust oven rack to middle and heat oven to 325 degrees. Line muffin tin with paper liners. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl, set aside. In large bowl, whisk boiling water, cocoa, chocolate chips and instant coffee until smooth. Add sugar, sour cream, oil eggs and vanilla, mix till combined. Whisk in flour mixture until incorporated. Divide evenly among muffin cups. Bake until toothpick comes  out with a few dry crumbs attached 18 - 22 minutes. (I baked for 18). Cool for 10 minutes, remove from muffin tins, and allow to cool completely.

Filling: Combine water and gelatin in large bowl and let sit until gelatin softens, about 5 minutes. Microwave until mixture is bubbling around edges and gelatin dissolves, about 30 seconds. Stir in butter, vanilla and salt until combined. Let mixture cool until just warm to the touch, about 5 minutes, then whisk in marshmallow creme until smooth. Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes. (Transfer 1/3 cup of marshmallow mixture to a piping bag fitted with small tip if you want to pipe decorate line on finished cupcake; reserve remaining mixture for cupcakes.)

Glaze and assembling cupcakes: Microwave chocolate and butter in small bowl, stirring occasionally until smooth, about 30 seconds. Cool glaze to room temperature, about 10 minutes. Cut cone from top of each cupcake and fill with about 1 tablespoon of marshmallow mixture. 

Cut the tip of the cone off the top of the cupcake and replace the circular disk as the 'lid'. Frost with 2 teaspoons of glaze, let sit 10 minutes. Pipe curlicues across glazed cupcake. Serve. Can be stored at room temperature in airtight container for 2 days.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Flour Frosting

Do you have a princess in your house?


It's my daughter's turn to bring the class snack tomorrow for her kindergarten class. For the month of December, the school's rigid guidelines for healthy snacks has been abandoned, and the kids are encouraged to bring their 'favorite' snack. Perfect, I thought. It will give me an excuse to get some Christmas baking done. My daughter loves sugar cookies - I figured I could do up a double batch of Christmas themed cookies, send half with her, and still have some for my own baking stash. Two birds with one stone and all that.

Except that today she declared that her favorite snack is chocolate cupcakes. With white frosting and sprinkles. Not on my Christmas baking list. But what the princess wants, the princess gets. I can't argue with her today, I haven't the strength.

I used my 'go to' recipe for the chocolate cupcakes by Hershey's but decided to experiment with the frosting. I wanted a nice creamy white frosting without the sickly sweet sugar taste and the grit that comes with it. After some blog surfing, it became clear, the solution would be Flour Frosting. Not exactly the most appealing name, I admit, but trust me, it's good. I read several recipes and then, gleaning the parts that I thought sounded best, came up with this version.

So, if you're looking for a new way to dress your cupcakes, and you aren't a fan of overly sweet icing, give this one a go. It's sweet enough that the kids still love it but not so sweet that the adults are scraping it off. It's easy, although it does take a little longer.  The end result looks a little different than a regular icing, it's not as smooth looking. (I noticed that this was also the case with all the recipes I found that had pictures.) So taste it before you assume you've screwed it up, it's surprisingly good. I piped mine with a star tip to disguise the less-than-perfect appearance, a few Christmas colored sprinkles, and it was perfect. It might be a new favorite.

The recipe for the chocolate cupcakes can be found here.

Flour Frosting

5 Tbsp. flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 cup milk
1 cup softened butter cut in cubes
1 tsp vanilla or vanilla powder
pinch of salt

In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk the sugar, flour, salt together. Add the milk and cook over medium heat, whisking continuously until the mixture thickens (about 5 minutes). Add the vanilla.

Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer and refrigerate until cool. Once cool, beating on medium speed with paddle attachment, add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time.

If the frosting is too soft, chill it for a few minutes until it becomes more firm. 

Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake

I am thankful that my sister came over yesterday and spent 6 hours with me while we completely re-organized my cluttered kitchen.


I am thankful that A&E had a "Hoarders" marathon on today, which always makes me feel better about my house-keeping skills. 


I am thankful that my housecleaner comes tomorrow.


I am thankful that my kids were not in the midst of their usual bedtime tantrums when the police knocked on my door tonight because my husband somehow managed to accidentally dial 911 with his cell phone in his pocket. 


I am thankful that when said policemen came to the door, I had already changed out of my dirty tank-top.


I am thankful that they believed me when I told them that we were good-upstanding citizens and that there was nothing sordid going on.


I am thankful that I found yet another amazing chocolate cake recipe that I can share with you.  


I am thankful that everyone will remain open-minded and not turn their noses up at this recipe just because it contains mayonnaise. I promise, you can't taste it.


This recipe rivals the Hershey's Perfect Chocolate Chocolate Cake recipe that everyone loves (including me). It might even be better. Yes, I'm aware. That's a big claim. Just try it. It's super moist and delicious. 


It might also interest you to know that this recipe was in Bon Appetit magazine and the contributors are also the authors of "Baked: New Frontiers in Baking". 

Happy Thanksgiving fellow Canadians!

Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake

(Source: Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito via Bon Appetit)

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), chopped

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 3/4 cups boiling water

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1 1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1 cup sugar

1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar

1 1/3 cups mayonnaise (do not use reduced fat or fat free)

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour 3 eight inch diameter cake pans with 1 1/2 inch high sides. Combine chopped chocolate and cocoa powder in medium metal bowl. Add 1 3/4 cups boiling water and whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.

Sift flour, baking soda and baking powder into another medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat both sugars and mayo in large bowl until well-blended (about 2 to 3 minutes). Add eggs one at a time, beating until well-blended after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture in four additions alternately with chocolate mixture in 3 additions, beating until well-blended after each addition and occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Divide batter among prepared cake pans (about 2 1/3 cups for each.)

Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, 30 to 32 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on racks for 20 minutes. Run small knife around sides of cake to loosen. Carefully invert cakes onto racks and let cool completely. 

*I chose to make small cupcakes, and I baked for approximately 16 minutes.

Chocolate Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes to "supplement" my dad's birthday cake for his party. Both my sister and I made one cake, but you never know how far they will go and so it's nice to have a back up plan. The kids always tend to favor cupcakes too so it was well worth the effort. I used the same chocolate cake recipe that was in a previous post, (and in fact used it for the birthday cake too) because it is fool proof and incredibly moist. The chocolate ganache icing is also very easy, and is a nice change from the typical sweet icing that usually accompanies cupcakes. Even though the sweetness factor is more subtle, the kids loved them too.

Perfect Chocolate Chocolate Cake Recipe:
2 c. sugar
1 3/4 c. flour
3/4 c. cocoa (sifted)
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1 1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
2 eggs
1 c. milk
1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 t. vanilla
1 c. freshly brewed espresso or coffee

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin with medium or large paper or foil liners.

Whisk together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat on medium speed of mixer for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (or coffee of espresso). Fill muffin tins 2/3 full. (I only got 22 cupcakes.)

Bake for 22 to 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely. Frost.

Chocolate Ganache Frosting:
8 ounces of good chocolate chopped (I used milk chocolate)
1 cup cream

Place chopped chocolate into medium bowl. Heat cream in pot until it just starts to boil. Pour over chocolate. Let sit 2 minutes then stir until smooth. Put in fridge until cold. Whip until light. You can pipe it on the cupcakes or simply spread it with a knife.