Fudge Cupcakes

I had been mulling over this recipe for quite some time.  I wanted to make these cupcakes ever since I read the book Fudge Cupcake Murders by Joanne Fluke.  I even went so far as to take the Eden Lake Cookbook out at the library to get the recipe.  I photocopied this recipe and held onto it for months.  I finally decided to make them about a week ago.  My husband and I each ate one without the frosting.  It wasn't very exciting but after they were frosted, zowie they were great!  I don't know why but the frosting adds the needed zing.  Try them, you'll like them!

FUDGE CUPCAKES

From Fudge Cupcake Murders

By Joanne Fluke

Ingredients:

4 squares unsweetened baking chocolate (1 oz. each)

½ cup raspberry syrup (for pancakes – Knott’s red raspberry)*

¼ cup white sugar (granulated)

1-2/3 cups flour (don’t sift)

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup butter, room temperature (one stick)

1-1/2 cups white sugar (not a misprint – you will use 1 and ¾ cups sugar in all)

3 eggs

½ cup milk

Directions:

1.       Line a 12-cup muffin pan with double cupcake papers.  Since this recipe makes 18 cupcakes, you can use an additional 6-cup muffin pan lined with double papers, or you can butter and flour an 8-inch square cake pan or the equivalent.

2.       Microwave the chocolate, raspberry syrup and ¼ cup sugar in a microwave-safe bowl on HIGH for 1 minute.  Stir.  Microwave again for another minute.  At this point, the chocolate will be almost melted, but it will maintain its shape.  Stir the mixture until smooth and let cool to lukewarm.  (You can also do this in a double boiler on the stove.)

3.       Measure the flour, mix in the baking powder and salt, and set it aside.  With an electric mixer (or with VERY strong arms), beat the butter and 1-1/2 cups sugar until light and fluffy.  (About 3 minutes with a mixer – an additional 2 minutes if you are doing it by hand.)  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition to make sure they are thoroughly incorporated.  Add approximately 1/3 of the flour mixture and 1/3 of the milk.  (You don’t have to be exact – adding the flour and milk in increments makes the batter smoother.)  When that is all mixed in, add another third of the flour and another third of the milk.  And when that is incorporated, add the remainder of the flour and the remainder of the milk.  Mix thoroughly.

4.       Test your chocolate mixture to make sure it is cool enough to add.  (You don’t want to cook the eggs!)  If it is fairly warm to the touch but not so hot you have to pull your hand away, you can add it at this point.  Stir thoroughly and you are done.

5.       Let the batter rest for five minutes.  Then stir it again by hand, and fill each cupcake paper three-quarters full.  If you decided to use the 8-inch cake pan instead of the 6-cup muffin tin, fill it with the remaining batter.

6.       Bake the cupcakes in a 350 degree F. oven for 20 to 25 minutes.  The 8-inch cake should bake an additional 5 minutes.

*If you can’t find raspberry syrup, mix ¼ cup seedless raspberry jam with ¼ cup light Karo syrup and use that.

FUDGE FROSTING
 

Ingredients:

2 cups semi-sweet (regular) chocolate chips (a 12-ounce bag)

14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

18 cupcakes or 12 cupcakes and 1 small cake, cooled to room temperature and ready to frost

If you use a double boiler for this frosting, it is foolproof.  You can also make it in a heavy saucepan over low to medium heat on the stovetop, but you’ll have to stir it constantly with a wooden spoon or a heat-resistant spatula to keep it from scorching.

Fill the bottom part of the double boiler with water.  Make sure the water does not touch the underside of the top.

Put the chocolate chips in the top of the double boiler, set it over the bottom, and place the double boiler on the stove top at medium heat.  Stir occasionally until the chocolate chips are melted.

Stir in the can of sweetened condensed milk and cook approximately 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the frosting is shiny and of spreading consistency.

The cupcakes are even better if you cool them, and let them sit for several hours (or even overnight) before frosting them.

Hannah’s Note: If you want to make these in mini-cupcake tins, fill the cups 2/3 full and bake them at 350 degrees F. for 15 minutes.

 Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Chocolate Graham Cracker Cupcakes with Toasted Marshmallow Frosting or S'mores Cupcakes

I found this recipe on Martha Stewart's website but this delicious recipe is courtesy of Jennifer Shea, owner of Trophy Cupcakes in Washington State.  I finally made the cupcakes today after much debate and contemplation.  The recipe looked fairly difficult.  They got rave reviews from my intrepid tasters! 

The batter is very watery.  Don't be alarmed by that.  I was lazy today so I used chocolate morsels rather than chopping or shaving a chocolate bar.  It didn't really work because I ran out of chocolate to put on top of the cupcakes.  Also, I found that I had left-over batter.  I'm not sure why there was so much batter left after I filled all 24 cupcake "cups" but I could probably have made another two or three cupcakes with it. Another issue I had with these cupcakes was that I didn't want to go out and buy a torch.  I found out from another blogger that I could have frosted the cupcakes with the Marshmallow Frosting and not torched them or I could have tried to brown them very carefully under a broiler.  Instead, I used homemade marshmallows to top each cupcake.  They came out great!  I will post the recipe for the marshmallows soon.


Chocolate Graham Cracker Cupcakes with Toasted Marshmallow Frosting


Ingredients:

Makes 2 dozen.

2 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (from about 20 squares)

1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used semi-sweet)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 standard muffin tins with cupcake liners; set aside.

Sift 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into the bowl of an electric mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix ingredients together on low speed.

In a large bowl, mix together eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Add to flour mixture and beat on medium speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl and continue mixing on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add boiling water and stir to combine; set cake batter aside.

Place graham cracker crumbs, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and melted butter in a large bowl; stir until well combined.

Place 1 tablespoon graham cracker mixture into the bottom of each prepared muffin cup. Use the bottom of a small glass to pack crumbs into the bottom of each cupcake liner. Reserve remaining graham cracker mixture for topping.

Place 2 teaspoons chocolate in each muffin cup. Transfer muffin tins to oven and bake until the edges of the graham cracker mixture is golden, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and fill each muffin cup three-quarters full with cake batter. Sprinkle each with remaining chocolate and graham cracker mixture. Return to oven and bake, rotating pans halfway through baking, until tops are firm and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer muffin tins to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan and let cool completely.

Transfer frosting to a large pastry bag fitted with a large plain round or French tip (such as Ateco #867 or Ateco #809). Pipe frosting in a spiral motion on each cupcake. Transfer cupcakes to a baking sheet. Using a kitchen torch, lightly brown the frosting, taking care not to burn the cupcake liners. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container, up to 2 days.

Marshmallow Frosting


Makes enough for 2 dozen cupcakes


8 large egg whites

2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set over a saucepan with simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and whites are warm to the touch, 3 to 4 minutes.

Transfer bowl to electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat, starting on low speed, gradually increasing to high, until stiff, glossy peaks form, 5 to 7 minutes. Add vanilla, and mix until combined. Use immediately
 
Enjoy!
 
The Creative Cook

Blue & Gold - Cake Auction

This is the year that D is a Webelo II in Cub Scouts so the boys are supposed to make a cake for the Father/Son Blue & Gold Cake Auction. Since B was away all last week in Utah, Arizona and California, I had to step in and help D make his cake for the auction. We had talked about what they wanted to do and they both agreed to disagree. B wanted to do a bunch of cupcakes on a cupcake tree and D wanted to do a cake. I decided to do both. I made the big cupcake that I posted on this blog almost a year ago with the Double Chocolate Pound cake Recipe I got off the Wilton website with the exception of the espresso. I didn't want to sell a cake with espresso in it to a family with kids. I also made Oreo Cookies & Cream Cupcakes and bought an inexpensive cookie tree on Ebay. It was supposed to be disposable but I think it could be used many times by the new owners. Both the cookie tree and the big cupcake went over very well at the Blue & Gold today. They got numerous bids. My work was well received, thankfully. Take a look at the pictures and let me know what you think. I made two batches of the Oreo cupcakes so we had a chance to sample them. They were yumm-O! I used the store bought Wilton Decorating Frosting but I'm including a great looking recipe for butter cream frosting.

Tomorrow I'll post pictures of some of the other cakes that were auctioned off. They were all really awesome.

Oreo Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

(24 cupcakes)

2-3/4 cups all purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 ounces (2 sticks/16 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

1 -1/2 cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup (8 fl oz) whole milk, at room temperature

1-1/2 cups coarsely crushed Oreo cookies

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Line 24 standard sized (3.5-4 oz) cupcake wells with paper liners.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes on medium speed. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla. On low speed, add the flour mixture in two parts, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour. Fold in the crushed Oreo cookies. Divide the batter evenly among the 24 cupcake wells. Bake at 350F until cupcakes are golden and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 to 20 minutes. Cool cupcakes in pan for 5 minutes then gently remove from pan to cool on a wire rack. Cool completely before frosting.

Butter cream Frosting

(enough to lightly frost 24 cupcakes)

4 ounces (1 stick / 8tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temp

2 to 2.5 cups confectioners' sugar

3 to 4 tablespoons whole milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat the butter with an electric mixer until fluffy, about 30 seconds.

Sift in 2 cups confectioners' sugar, 3 tablespoons milk, and vanilla.

Beat on low speed until sugar is incorporated.

Increase the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy.

Adjust the frosting consistency and sweetness with the remaining 1 tablespoon milk and the remaining 1/2 cup sugar.

Frost your cupcakes.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook