20 Sweets in 20 Weeks - #14: Death by Chocolate Cupcakes

Before we talk baking I have to say thank you everyone for your kind words and support in regards to my post on post natal depression. It has been so wonderful reading through all of your lovely comments, knowing that I am not alone in this and that the blogging community is always there to give me big virtual hugs. It is funny, since I wrote that post I have actually started to feel a lot better in general - like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders. So thank you everyone for listening and not judging.

Now on to the cupcakes. First of all - why is it that each week the sweet that I want to win the poll never makes it. I was really hoping to make a Cherry Ripe cupcake! Sheesh! But seriously I was kind of hoping that Death by Chocolate wouldn't win because I'm not actually that big a fan of chocolate. So of course it did win - Murphy's law!

These cupcakes are quite devilish - a moist chocolate buttermilk cake filled and topped with dark chocolate ganache, then a swirl of white chocolate swiss meringue buttercream and finally drizzled with milk and white chocolate. Wowsers - that is a lot of chocolate! I had quite a few taste testers for these cupcakes because I brought them to a dinner party - and they were definitely a hit. So if you or someone you know are a chocolate lover you should definitely give these cupcakes a try.


Chocolate Buttermilk Cake (from The Australian Women's Weekly - Classic Cakes)
Makes 24 cupcakes

180g unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
330g caster sugar
4 eggs, separated
110g self-raising flour
35g cocoa powder
180ml buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Line 2 12-hole muffin trays with cupcake papers.
2. Beat butter, extract and sugar in a small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy. 
3. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time, until just combined.
4. Transfer mixture to large bowl, stir in sifted dry ingredients and buttermilk.
5. Beat egg whites in clean small bowl with electric mixer until soft peaks form, fold into cake mixture in two batches.
6. Divide mixture into cupcake papers and bake for approximately 20 minutes (or until a skewer comes out clean). Note: my oven is not tip-top so your cupcakes make bake quicker/slower.
7. Allow to cool slightly in muffin trays and then move to a wire rack to cool.

Dark Chocolate Ganache

226g dark chocolate, in small pieces
2/3 cup thickened cream

1. Place chocolate into a bowl.
2. Bring cream to boil in a small saucepan, remove from heat immediately and pour over chocolate.
3. Stir until chocolate melts.
4. Place ganache in fridge and stir every 10 minutes until you reach a good piping consistency.

White Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Follow the directions for Almond Swiss Meringue Buttercream, but omit the vanilla extract and almond essence, and instead add 200g of melted white chocolate that has been slightly cooled.

Assembling the Cupcake

1. Cut out a well in each cupcake (eat the cut out piece :D).
2. Fill the well with dark chocolate ganache (I piped in the ganache).
3. Smear a layer of dark chocolate ganache on the top of the cupcake.
4. Pipe a swirl of white chocolate swiss meringue buttercream on top.
5. Melt 200g of milk chocolate, cool slightly and then coat the buttercream on each cupcake.
6. Melt 100g of white chocolate, cool slightly, place in a piping bag and swirl onto the milk chocolate on top of each cupcake.

Cupcake Hero - Snowball Cupcakes

It is that time again people - Cupcake Hero time! The magic ingredient for the challenge this month was coconut - and when I think of coconut I think of Golden Rough (yummy chocolates), Bounty, Cherry Ripe, Lamingtons, coconut cream pie and yummy marshmallows covered in tasty toasted coconut. So many good things have coconut involved in them!

I figured that since I am an Aussie gal that I should make some lamington themed cupcakes, and if you don't know what a lamington is then you are missing out. It is a sponge cake cut into cubes or rectangles, dipped in chocolate glaze icing and then coated in coconut. Yeah it is good.

So my plan was to have a chocolate cake (because I think that is tastier than a plain old sponge), topped with vanilla swiss meringue buttercream (SMBC) and then coated in chocolate and rolled in shredded coconut. And I did follow that plan, but what I ended up with was not a lamington cupcake, but a snowball cupcake (a snowball is a marshmallow coated in chocolate and then rolled in coconut). Seriously when you bite in to this cupcake it feels like you are eating a snowball and for that reason these cupcakes are completely and utterly awesome. I think I might be making these again!


Chocolate Cupcakes
Makes 20

50g cocoa powder
125ml boiling water
185g unsalted butter, softened
330g caster sugar
3 eggs
225g self-raising flour
75g plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
125ml milk
2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Line two 12-hole muffin trays with cupcake cases.
2. Mix cocoa and boiling water in a cup. Set aside to cool.
3. Cream butter and sugar, add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
   
4. Sift flours with bicarbonate of soda and stir into butter mixture. Add milk and vanilla and mix well. Gradually add the cocoa and water, mixing constantly.
5. Divide into cupcake cases and bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream

4 egg whites
270g caster sugar
250g unsalted butter, softened
1 tbsp vanilla extract

1. Combine the egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl and whisk over a saucepan of simmering water until sugar is dissolved and the mixture is as hot as you can get it without the egg whites cooking. To test rub the mixture between your fingers and if you can't feel any sugar granules then it is ready.
   
2. With the whisk attachment on your mixer whisk the egg white and sugar mixture on high speed until a stiff meringue is formed and the mix has cooled down to room temperature. This should take about 10 minutes.
3. Now put the paddle attachment on your mixer and with the mixer on a low speed add a tablespoon of butter at a time. Once all the butter is incorporated turn the mixer up to medium speed and mix until the mixture is light and fluffy again. This should take about 4-6 minutes.
4. Add the vanilla and mix on medium speed until combined.

To Finish

350g milk chocolate
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup shredded coconut (approximately)

1. Melt the chocolate using a double boiler.
   
2. Add the vegetable oil and stir until completely combined. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Put the coconut on a plate.
   
3. Dip each cupcake in the chocolate mix and then roll in the coconut. Be careful - I had two cupcakes where the frosting came off completely in the chocolate - whoops!

Dipped in chocolate...

Rolled in shredded coconut...

Cut in half and ready to devour...

Yum...

Cupcake Hero - Chocolate Peanut Butter and Banana Cupcakes

The second round of Cupcake Hero has begun - ding ding! Well actually you can't vote yet - but you can bake if you still want to. The theme for this month is peanut butter, and my first thought was dang, I've already made my awesome peanut butter cup cupcakes. So what to make? Everyone knows that peanut butter and jam go together so I decided against that. But did you know that some people like peanut butter and banana sandwiches? I don't personally, but supposedly it is a done thing. Still peanut butter and banana just seemed to simple so instead I present to you my....

Chocolate Peanut Butter and Banana Cupcakes

Banana cake filled with peanut butter and dark chocolate ganache, topped with peanut butter swiss meringue buttercream, drizzled with dark chocolate ganache and finished with a choc-dipped banana chip

Before I give you the recipe for these babies can I just say holy moly! These cupcakes were darn good - this flavour combination totally rocks my world. All the folks at Mat's work raved over these cupcakes, in fact I think the only complaint was that it was a bit rich after eating two of them. So if you like peanut butter, bananas and chocolate (and really who doesn't) then I can definitely suggest you make these cupcakes, you won't regret it.

Banana Cupcakes (adapted from The Australian Women's Weekly Classic Cakes)
Makes 24

185g butter, softened
175g caster sugar
3 eggs
335g self-raising flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 1/4 cups mashed banana (I needed 4 bananas)
1/3 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Line 2 12-hole muffin trays with cupcake cases.
2. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time.
3. Stir in the sifted dry ingredients, mashed banana and milk.
4. Divide mixture into cases and bake for 15-20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
5. Let the cupcakes cool in the tins for 5 minutes and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
6. Prepare the peanut butter dark chocolate ganache, peanut butter swiss meringue buttercream and choc banana chips while you wait :)
   

Choc-Dipped Banana Chips

24 banana chips (have extras if you feel the need to snack)
100g dark chocolate

1. Melt dark chocolate either in the microwave or using a double boiler.
2. Dip one end of each banana chip into the dark chocolate, then place on a tray lined with baking paper.
3. Leave to set at room temperature.
   

Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Ganache (and Dark Chocolate Ganache)

13.5 ounces dark chocolate, in small pieces
1 1/2 cups thickened cream
1 tbsp smooth peanut butter

1. Place the dark chocolate in a bowl.
2. In a small saucepan heat the cream over medium heat. Bring it just to a boil - be careful to not let it overflow.
3. Pour the cream over the dark chocolate and whisk until smooth.
4. Transfer half of the ganache into a separate bowl and whisk in the peanut butter.
   

Peanut Butter Swiss Meringue Buttercream

4 egg whites
270g caster sugar
250g unsalted butter, softened
4 tbsp peanut butter

1. Combine the egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl and whisk over a saucepan of simmering water until sugar is dissolved and the mixture is as hot as you can get it without the egg whites cooking. To test rub the mixture between your fingers and if you can't feel any sugar granules then it is ready.
   
2. With the whisk attachment on your mixer whisk the egg white and sugar mixture on high speed until a stiff meringue is formed and the mix has cooled down to room temperature. This should take about 10 minutes.
3. Now put the paddle attachment on your mixer and with the mixer on a low speed add a tablespoon of butter at a time. Once all the butter is incorporated turn the mixer up to medium speed and mix until the mixture is light and fluffy again. This should take about 4-6 minutes.
4. Add the peanut butter and mix on medium speed until combined.

Now that you have all the components ready and the cupcakes are cooled it is time to finish it all off. First using either an apple corer or a small knife cut a well into each cupcake...


Now it is time to fill each cupcake with the peanut butter dark chocolate ganache, I used a piping bag to do this but you could just use a spoon...


Fill each well right up to the top...


Then replace the top of each cupcake...


Finally pipe a swirl of the peanut butter swiss meringue buttercream, add a choc-dipped banana chip and drizzle with some dark chocolate ganache...


Enjoy your chocolate/peanut butter/banana creation...


Yum!

Z is for Zebra cupcakes

Vanilla and chocolate striped cake topped with vanilla and chocolate swiss meringue buttercream

First of all I just have to ask - how could you not want fruity cocktail cupcakes? Especially when they are named zombie? I mean, come on, it was Halloween and everything! As you can probably tell I was really hoping the zombie cupcakes would win the poll last week, however, it was not meant to be, because Zebra cake won the poll in a landslide.

So what is a zebra cake you might be asking? Well it is simply a cake that has stripes of chocolate and vanilla - hence looking like a stripy zebra. The great thing about these cupcakes is that they are super easy to make and they have a great visual impact. Here is how you make them...

Zebra Cupcakes (adapted from Baking Bites)
Makes 20 cupcakes

4 eggs
1 cup caster sugar
1 cup milk
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp almond extract (I just added extra vanilla extract instead)
2 cups plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and line 2 12-hole muffin trays with cupcake liners.
2. In a large bowl, mix together eggs and sugar until mixture is light and creamy and the sugar has mostly been dissolved.
   
3. Stir in the milk, vegetable oil, vanilla and almond extracts.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Pour into wet ingredients and whisk to combine.
   
5. Measure out just over two cups of vanilla batter and place it back in the medium bowl. Sift cocoa powder over the bowl and whisk until fully incorporated.
6. Put 1 tsp of vanilla batter into the center of each cupcake liner and let it spread slightly on its own. Put 1 tsp of chocolate batter in the center of the vanilla. It will push out the other batter and, as it sits for a moment, will also spread itself. Alternating spoonfuls of the two batters, repeat the technique until you fill each cupcake liner about 2/3 to 3/4 full (for me this was about 6 tsps).
   
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the cupcakes are light gold and a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
8. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then cool on a wire racks.
   

Now to finish off these zebra cupcakes I thought I would get a bit smart and swirl some chocolate and vanilla swiss meringue buttercream together, and this is how you do it...

Vanilla and Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

4 egg whites
270g caster sugar
250g unsalted butter
1 tbsp vanilla extract
100g dark chocolate, melted

1. Combine the egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl and whisk over a saucepan of simmering water until sugar is dissolved and the mixture is as hot as you can get it without the egg whites cooking. To test rub the mixture between your fingers and if you can't feel any sugar granules then it is ready.
   
2. With the whisk attachment on your mixer whisk the egg white and sugar mixture on high speed until a stiff meringue is formed and the mix has cooled down to room temperature. This should take about 10 minutes.
3. Now put the paddle attachment on your mixer and with the mixer on a low speed add a tablespoon of butter at a time. Once all the butter is incorporated turn the mixer up to medium speed and mix until the mixture is light and fluffy again. This should take about 4-6 minutes. A tip: for the first time ever my SMBC would not firm up! So I put the runny mixture into the fridge for 10 minutes and then beat it and it was fine. I have now learnt that SMBC does not like hot weather!
   
4. Now put half of the mixture into a separate bowl. In the mixer bowl add the vanilla extract and mix on medium speed until the extract is combined and you have a good piping texture.
   
5. Put the other half of the mixture into the mixer bowl and add the melted dark chocolate, mix on medium speed until the chocolate is combined and you have a good piping texture.
6. Now Grab two piping bags and put some vanilla SMBC into one bag and some chocolate SMBC in the other bag.
7. Then snip off the ends of the two piping bags and pop them in another piping bag.
8. Swirl your SMBC onto each cupcake.

Two bags of frosting...


Both bags of frosting together, ready to pipe with...


And finally the frosted cupcakes...


Now after all that hard work, time to taste the goods - first strip off your cupcake (how rude!) and admire the stripes...


I cut mine in half to fully admire the zebra stripes, so pretty...


The ratings?

Me - 10/10 - absolutely perfect, the cake is nice and moist, not too sweet and just perfect really. The SMBC was so nice and creamy - great!
Mat - 9/10 - a great way to finish off the A..B..Cupcakes project - a great tasting cake.

I'll post up a wrap up of the A..B..Cupcakes project tomorrow - until then have a lovely day!

Y is lemon 'Y'oghurt Cupcakes

Lemon yoghurt cake topped with blueberry swiss meringue buttercream

What comes to mind when you think of yoghurt? To me it is instantly berries - delicious, fantastic berries. When yoghurt won the poll I knew straight away that I wanted to incorporate berries into the cupcakes somehow. But then I remembered the waffle cupcakes, they had blueberries in the cake and I only made them a short while ago. So I decided that the cake portion of these cupcakes would have to have a different flavour, something that goes well with berries. And that my friends is how I decided upon lemon yoghurt cupcakes.


Lemon Yoghurt Cupcakes (from Best Recipes)
Makes approximately 24 cupcakes

1 3/4 cups caster sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
2-3 tsp lemon juice (I used 3)
Grated zest of 2 lemons
3/4 cup oil (I used vegetable oil)
1 cup natural yoghurt (I used low-fat)
2 cups self-raising flour

1. Preheat oven to 180 C and line 2 12-hole muffin trays with cupcake cases.
   
2. In a bowl mix sugar, eggs, salt, juice, zest and oil with a fork.
3. Add remaining ingredients and combine well.
4. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
   

Now seen as I had some frozen blueberries left over from the previously made waffle cupcakes I decided that the buttercream would be blueberry flavoured, so....

Blueberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream

4 egg whites
270g caster sugar
250g unsalted butter
500g blueberries, pureed

1. Follow the directions for Almond SMBC but replace the vanilla and almond with the pureed blueberries.
2. Once the cupcake have cooled pipe a swirl of the SMBC onto each cupcake.

Doesn't it look pretty...


And just for a bit of fun I thought I would show you my miniature photography set up today. Normally I have a big light box out but I couldn't be bothered moving it. So a piece of paper and three lamps seemed to work quite nicely.


The ratings?

Me - 7/10 - I love the blueberry SMBC but the cake was a bit dense/too moist for me. Still yummy though :)
Mat - 7/10 - it was good but he is over lemon.

X is for Xiaodianxin (or Cookie Dough Cupcakes!)

Choc chip cupcake topped with brown sugar Swiss meringue butter cream and a cookie dough truffle

So cookies won the poll last week. Personally I was going for banana because I wanted to make some yummy banana split sundae themed cupcakes - but hey whatever you guys want, I'll make it. Since I already made Oreo cupcakes as part of the A... B... Cupcake project I didn't want to make another cookies and cream themed cupcake - so what to make? In steps one of my favourite food blogs - Culinary Concoctions by Peabody - if you like baking and you like blogging then you must visit this wonderful blog. I remembered a post a while ago about Cookie Dough truffles and thought that would be the perfect theme for my cupcakes this week.

Everyone likes sneaking a bite of the cookie dough before you bake the cookies. It is like an unwritten law in baking. These cookie dough truffles just take it to the next level - the dough is made for eating, NOT baking! They are egg free for all of those who are scared of eating raw egg - so there is no need to be afraid.

So before we start on the cupcakes, make up these yummy cookie dough truffles first....


Cookie Dough Truffles (from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp salt (I left out the salt - bring on the sugar rush!)
2 cups plain flour
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
½ cup chocolate chips (I upped this to 1 cup - mmm chocolate)

1. Using a stand mixer (or a bowl and beaters), cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
2. Beat in the vanilla.
3. With speed on low, slowly add flour, alternating with condensed milk, beating well after each addition.
4. Fold in the chocolate chips.
5. Shape into 1-inch balls and place into an air tight container. Store in freezer for at least 3 hours (I stored mine overnight).

Next we need to make the cupcakes...

Choc Chip Cupcakes (from Cupcake Heaven by Susannah Blake)
Makes 12

115g unsalted butter, softened
115g caster sugar
2 eggs
115g self-raising flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and line a 12-hole muffin tray with cupcake cases.
2. Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy.
3. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
4. Sift in the flour and fold in, then stir in the vanilla extract (I added the vanilla extract in with the eggs).
5. Sprinkle over the chocolate chips and fold in.
6. Spoon mixture into cupcake cases and bake for 17 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
   

Now I wasn't able to preheat my oven because little miss Z was running (okay crawling) around in the kitchen and I didn't want her to burn herself. So my cupcakes were in the oven for longer and I had to open the door a few times to check if they were ready, this resulted in sunken cupcakes....


But we all know that such mishaps can be covered easily with a good dollop of frosting. So now that the cupcakes are cooling it is time to make a batch of Brown Sugar Swiss Meringue Butter Cream.

Now frost those babies...


Next I got a bit tricky with my cookie dough truffles and I coated them in milk chocolate (drool) - to do this I simply nuked 395g of milk chocolate in the microwave, dipped each truffle in the chocolate, then placed them on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Then pop those babies into the fridge until set. Yum!

Once they are set top each of the cupcakes with a cookie dough truffle...


Except this truffle - it was special you see, it had a little 'M' on it. I was going to give it to Mat but then I ate it. You know, to make sure it wasn't poisonous.


Now enjoy your cupcake in 3 simple steps...

1. Pick off the truffle and lick the frosting off of the bottom of it...


2. Eat said truffle...


3. Enjoy the choc chip goodness..


The Ratings?

Me - 8/10, love the SMBC, the truffles were yummy - I just wished the cupcakes didn't sink.
Mat - 4/10, he didn't like the cookie dough truffle and the cake was too sweet - hard to please!

Oh and don't forget to enter the Sprout Head giveaway!

Baking Mondays - W is for Waffle Cupcakes

Blueberry-buttermilk cake topped with maple syrup Swiss meringue butter cream, sprinkled with blueberries and drizzled with maple syrup

What does a waffle mean to you? To me it means a blueberry waffle with maple syrup, ice-cream and some extra blueberries on top - can you say yum? So when waffles won the poll last week I knew exactly what I wanted to make and I am happy to say that unlike last week, these cupcakes did not fail to impress - everything went according to plan, and the plan was awesome! So without further ado...

Blueberry-Buttermilk Cupcakes (from epicurious)
Makes 24 cupcakes

3 cups plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 2/3 cups caster sugar
3/4 cup (169g) unsalted butter, softened
3 large eggs
1 tbsp grated orange peel (I only had enough for 3/4 tbsp)
2 tsps vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk (I used 1 cup)
2 cups (320g) frozen blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Line 2 12-hole muffin trays with cupcake cases.
2. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl (I sifted all the dry ingredients first).
   
3. Using an electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Beat in the orange peel and vanilla.
   
4. Beat in the dry ingredients in 3 additions alternately with the buttermilk in 2 additions.
   
5. Fold in the blueberries.
   
6. Spoon the mixture into the muffin trays and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Cool cupcakes in trays for 10 minutes and then transfer to wire rack.
   

Now while the cupcakes are cooling you can prepare your...

Maple Syrup Swiss Meringue Butter Cream

4 egg whites
1 1/4 cups caster sugar
250g unsalted butter, softened
2 tbsp maple syrup

Follow the instructions for Almond Swiss Meringue Butter Cream but omit the almond and vanilla and instead add the maple syrup.

Now that the cupcakes are cooled, pipe a swirl of Maple Syrup Swiss Meringue Butter Cream on each one...


To finish up top each cupcake with a blueberry (or a few if you are feeling generous) and then drizzle with maple syrup...


Now enjoy your cupcake...


The ratings?

Me - 10/10, I love blueberry cakes - and this one is delicious! The maple syrup SMBC is a wonderful flavour.
Mat - 10/10, sensational!